Author's Note: Okay! I'm back to writing and posting fanfiction after a hiatus of god knows how long. This story is one that I've been working on for a long time (since before the release of Hyrule Warriors) and I'm still nowhere near close to done. After a lot of edits, rewrites, and procrastination I finally finished the first chapter to where I like it. Also something worth noting is that this is a new era of our heroes/villains and it is a magic-tech society. My story takes place in the Child Timeline, long after the events of Twilight Princess and perhaps after the events of Breath of the Wild (if it falls under the Child Timeline, jury is still out). My main inspiration for this story are all of the Legend of Zelda games and Hyrule Warriors. But anyways, I hope you like this story because I've been working really hard on it! Please R&R! Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Nightmare
Zelda was surrounded by nothing but endless darkness, devoiding her of all her senses. There was nothing to see but the endless blackness. There was nothing to hear but the deathly silence. There was nothing to feel but an aura of foreboding. Desolation, darkness, and loneliness was all this place knew. Such sensory deprivation could drive anyone insane.
"Hello?" She called out to the open. No response.
It seemed like she was all alone amid the darkness, which made her feel more than a little uneasy. But was she really alone?
She wandered about aimlessly for what felt like an eternity. There seemed to be no end in sight to the endless deluge of darkness. Was there any light at the end of the tunnel?
Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks as a sense of dread filled the air. There was an overwhelming malevolent aura surrounding her, it almost felt suffocating.
Panic surged through her. She had to get out. She just HAD to. Lest something bad would happen.
But she was paralyzed with fear, unable to move, terrified that even the slightest movement could signal her doom. To even blink or breathe could mean certain death.
Where could she go? There wasn't anywhere she could go. She couldn't run or hide from it, she knew it would find her. She knew she was trapped.
There was also something familiar about the energy, as if she's encountered it before. However, as she searched her memory, she couldn't find recall every feeling anything so dark before. Just what was this sinking feeling? Why did it feel so familiar?
It was as if something from ages long past was trying to tell her something, but she couldn't tell what.
To say that she was afraid was a complete understatement. She managed to call out, voice trembling, "W-Who's there?" No response.
But within the darkness, an image of a man, from lands beyond, appeared before her.
He was a tall and muscular man. He had skin so tanned that it almost looked green, hair as red as the fiery depths of hell, and golden eyes that conveyed a predator cornering their prey. His armor made him look only more buff and intimidating. Everything about this man conveyed dominance and power.
It was HIM that was giving off the overwhelming evil aura, she realized.
Like his aura, there was something about him that she found familiar, but again, she couldn't put her finger on it.
She was about to speak again, but the man's image dissipated into the darkness. It was replaced by the land of Hyrule that had fallen into chaos.
Dark clouds covered all the land, no beacon of light could break through, no hope in sight.
She saw a Faron Woods that had burned to the ground. The once lush and plentiful flora was now scorched beyond recognition or turned to ash, leaving no traces of its former beauty. The once lively fauna was now nothing more than rotting carcasses slowly turning into bones, maggots and rodents feasting upon them like an all you can eat buffet. She could see traces of a ruined Faron Village. Many of its people lay dead and the surviving few desperately clung to life, unsure if they'd live to see another day.
She saw a Death Mountain that had never-ending eruptions, as if it was raining fire from hell. The ground constantly shook ever so violently, the very earth cracking and splitting in half, lava bursting into the air. Goron City and Kakariko Village were decimated, most of their inhabitants were dead, and bodies sprawled out on the ground, lifeless. Some of the Gorons and humans who were still alive were struggling to protect each other, looking to find any beacon of hope. The residents of a destroyed Kakariko Village wandered about aimlessly and tried as they may to find a place to take cover in, but it was all hopeless.
She saw a Zora's Domain that was entirely frozen. The city was nothing more than a barren wasteland of ice. Most of the Zoras and humans were either dead or trapped within the ice. The few who were still alive were freezing to death, likely to die from severe hypothermia, human bodies slowly turning blue from the cold. The situation at Lake Hylia wasn't any better. The water was drying up, sure to leave Hyrule without water.
She saw the remnants of a city in the sky. Lightning flashed through the sky, splitting much of the city into pieces. Piercing winds destroying the crumbling city with each gust. Many of its residents were dead, but the remaining few cowered in the ruins, wishing it all to end.
She saw another land, a desert with searing heat at day and freezing gusts at night, before her. It was Gerudo desert. There were no traces of water and Gerudo town was mostly destroyed with it's people in utter panic. Riots broke out and they resorted to violence for their means of survival.
What she saw next was the Hylian Capital in utter ruin. The people of Hyrule Castle City either dead or struggling to find refuge to no avail. Hyrule Castle changed into something of evil's design. He was a tyrant that reigned supreme over the land.
Monsters roamed the land of Hyrule and her people were suffering, but there was nothing she could do about it.
No matter where she looked, her land complete ruins and pandemonium ensued.
Suffering. Despair. Death. These were the only things she could see.
Seeing all of this made her want to break down in tears, but what could she do? She was helpless, she couldn't do anything.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" A gruff voice said from behind her.
She whipped around to see the same man standing before her. He truly towered over her like a behemoth and he truly was intimidating.
At that moment, she couldn't remain calm anymore and she finally broke down. She fell to her knees and began sobbing, knowing she couldn't fight anymore.
He grinned wickedly and chuckled in victory, "You and Hyrule are all mine now, my fair princess."
She felt herself falling into the abyss, everything ripped right out beneath her. There was nothing she could do now. There was no hope for her or Hyrule.
Zelda screamed and sprang up from her bed in a panic. Her eyes looked about frantically to see the familiar surroundings of her room, though it brought little relief. Her heart was racing, her body was shaking in terror, and tears stung her eyes. She realized it was all merely a nightmare, but somehow it felt so real.
She remembered everything verbatim. All of the horrific images, the feelings of despair, and that man. She felt hopeless and she was unable to help her suffering people. Everything was overwhelming in that moment.
Suddenly someone burst into the room, voice full of concern, "Zelda! Are you all right?"
Zelda looked up to see Impa, the leader of the Sheikah tribe and captain of the Hyrulean guard. Impa was a woman of her 30s, sporting slightly tanned skin, white hair swept to the side in a single frontal with a loop bun in the back, red eyes, and black clothes. Her body was very fit due to the long hours of rigorous training she did almost every day. She was also one of Zelda's attendants, advisors, mother figure, and closest friends.
Seeing Impa's concerned face made Zelda's heart sink. The last thing she wanted to do was make Impa worry.
Impa sat down on the bed and observed the very shaken up Zelda. Did she have a nightmare? So Impa asked, although she had a feeling she knew the answer, "Nightmare?"
Zelda nodded faintly; Impa's guess had been right.
Impa was usually a fairly calm and even-tempered woman, rarely ever letting her emotions get the best of her. She normally wasn't the type to pry into other people's business unless there was an important reason. But seeing Zelda like this, on the verge of breaking down in tears and shaking violently, made her feel more than a little uneasy. There was just this nagging feeling she couldn't shake off. She asked, carefully choosing her words, "If you don't mind me asking, your majesty, but what happened...?"
Zelda contemplated the idea, but hesitated, unsure if she should tell Impa about the dream or not. She weighed the pros and cons of telling her or not. Perhaps if she told Impa it might make her feel better. At the same time, however, she didn't want to worry Impa even further. But then again, Zelda had a feeling that Impa would worry either way, regardless. Knowing Impa, she'd want to know right away.
What did Zelda have to lose in telling her? Impa was one of her most trusted confidants.
So, Zelda began, voice trembling, "I was in darkness, but then I saw the image of a man...a Gerudo man..." She trailed off for a second, feeling a lump in her throat and tears stung her eyes once more, but continued, "Then I saw...all these horrifying images of Hyrule in chaos and its people suffering...dying...It was as if there was no hope for them..." Now the tears really began to fall. She buried her face in her hands, crying her eyes out.
Impa regarded her silently for a moment, at a loss for words. The nightmare she described sounded horrifying dream and her breakdown from explain it was quite unsettling. But even more than that, there was another thought that struck Impa's mind.
Though it wasn't commonly known or believed, it has been said that Zelda's ancestors had prophetic visions in their dreams, able to predict a coming darkness. Was her nightmare a prediction for something to come? Impa didn't know.
She looked outside the window. The sky was still fairly dark, light only just peeking out on the horizon. If she had to guess, it was about 5:00 in the morning. It was rather early, but Impa was fairly certain that Zelda wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, in fear that she would return to even worse nightmares.
"Zelda," Impa finally said, breaking the silence after several minutes, "Would you like some breakfast?"
Zelda removed her hands from her face and wiped her tears. "Yes...I would like that..." Her voice was kind of hoarse, but it was expected.
Impa got up from the bed and looked back at Zelda, "Would you like me to bring it you or do you want to eat it at the dining hall?"
Zelda got up immediately and blurted out, "No, I don't want to eat it in here, I'll go to the dining hall. Anything is better than staying in here engulfed in anxious thoughts."
Impa nodded at that, it was to be expected, "All right, but get dressed first. You know how your father, advisors, and nursemaids would react if you were wandering the castle in a nightgown."
Zelda groaned slightly, she saw that coming. Impa was right, if she had done that she'd receive a giant lecture on how to act like a proper princess and how such a thing was unbecoming of a lady of royal bearings. "Yes, all right."
"I'll be waiting for you in the dining hall," Impa said. With that, she left the room, shutting the door behind her.
Zelda went to turn on the light and walked to one of the dressers and opened. She picked out a basic white bra along with matching underwear. She preferred these to corsets, which felt far too constricting for her but her nursemaids usually insisted she wear one for special events.
After putting the undergarments on, she went to her large closet that housed all her dresses, opening. After pondering what to choose she decided on a purple long-sleeved floor length dress with an elaborate design of lace and Triforce markings, among others. She also put on white tights under the dress and chose low-heeled shoes that matched her dress. It was one of her favorite outfits, if she had to be honest.
She redid her hair in her usual style, which entailed of a pair of French braids with white ribbons braided in the front and a half-up-half-down style tied with a purple ribbon in the back. It all worked well for her pale skin, brunette hair and sapphire blue eyes.
To finish, she put on a golden diadem crown that had amethyst gems.
She looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were still at bit red and puffy from her crying. She also had slight dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep. She also still had that lump in her throat too. She felt awful, but it couldn't be helped. Even if her nursemaids were to scold her on the fact, she decided against makeup.
With that, she walked out of the room and into the hallway. Save for a few servants who worked the night or early morning shifts, the castle felt quite empty at this hour.
She passed by Inlaya's room, whose door was slightly cracked open. She peeked into the dark room, eyes taking a moment to adjust, to see Inlaya sprawled out on the bed, blonde hair spilled everywhere.
Zelda was about to turn to leave the room when she heard Inlaya cry out in her sleep, "N-No! Stop..."
At this, she stopped in horror. Was Inlaya having a nightmare? Concern took flight of Zelda as she rushed to Inlaya's bedside.
Upon closer inspection, Zelda noticed Inlaya trembling and crying in her sleep. Yes, she was definitely having a nightmare. Could it be...?
Trying to snap Inlaya out of it, Zelda frantically shook her awake. "Inlaya! Wake up!" Zelda cried out.
All in a mere moment, Inlaya's eyes snapped open, her body sprang up from her bed defensively, and a small scream escaped her. Her cerulean blue eyes were full of fear and her body trembled. She exclaimed, still a bit panicked, "Zelda! You scared me..."
"You seemed to be having a nightmare, so I wanted to see if you were ok." Zelda explained.
Inlaya sighed, trying to calm herself down. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair, trying to make sense of the nightmare she just had.
Uncharacteristic anxiety consumed her. Sure, she had nightmares before, but for some reason or another, there was something about this one that she couldn't shake off. But she couldn't pinpoint why.
"Yeah...it was gruesome..." Gruesome was an understatement.
Zelda nodded knowingly, "I don't doubt it."
Inlaya looked at her clock to see the time: 5:15 a.m.
She groaned, it was way too early! The sun wasn't even awake yet. But then again, she didn't want to go back to sleep. Or rather, she was afraid to.
Trying to distract herself from the dark thoughts trying to take a hold of her mind, she blurted out, "I'm hungry."
"All right," Zelda said, "Impa's making breakfast right now. I'll go wait outside for you while you get dressed."
"Okay," Inlaya said, "I'll do that."
With that, Zelda left the room and waited outside while Inlaya got dressed.
As she waited, her mind reeled with dark thoughts. No matter how much she wanted to otherwise, she couldn't get the horrific images of her nightmare out of her head. Zelda has had nightmares before, but this one haunted her mind. Unlike most of her nightmares, this one felt all too real.
Why did she have that dream? What did it all mean? Did it mean anything at all? Was it a premonition foretelling something bad to come? Or was it just a dream and she just overthinking things? But if that was the case, why couldn't she let this go? Why was there a feeling of uneasiness that she couldn't shake off?
To add, Inlaya, too, had some sort of nightmare. Zelda couldn't help but wonder if it was the same.
But the only way for Zelda to confirm that was to ask Inlaya about it. At the same time, Zelda was afraid to find out.
Inlaya was the Sage of Light and carried the title of the White Sorceress. Inlaya's parents were high ranked and respected members of the Royal Court, taking of the role of advisers for the king. Inlaya was also Zelda's cousin, albeit she and her parents were not considered to be from the Main Branch of the Hyrulean Royal Family. When Zelda takes the throne, Inlaya will become one of her advisers. For now, Inlaya was the Royal Diplomat who took care of relations with the people and races of Hyrule.
Like her element, Inlaya was very a kind person who possessed a compassion and innocence like no other. She was typically very optimistic and idealistic, always seeing the good in others and in life. She had always been an outgoing energetic ball of sunshine, forever cheerful and eager to please. There were times that the Royal Court and other people would criticize her for such things, thinking she was too naive and wouldn't take her roles seriously, but this isn't the case. However, she was a very caring and loyal person that couldn't turn her back on anyone in need, especially her friends. She embodied all things angelic and light. Zelda could count a handful of times Inlaya was in a state of distress or experiencing strong negative emotions, it seemed like what she saw just now adds to that number. For Inlaya to be so shaken up and worried worried Zelda more than just a little bit.
Suddenly a feminine voice came, snapping the princess out of her troubled thoughts, "Your highness...I didn't know you were awake."
Zelda looked up to see a girl with snow white skin, midnight blue eyes, and long black hair with bangs that framed her face. She wore a long sleeve black dress that fell to her knees, black leggings, and black shoes.
The girl before her was Kandadara, the Black Sorceress and the Sage of Darkness. She also was Impa's adoptive daughter along with her younger sister, Sayaia. Kandadara worked as an assistant to Inlaya when she takes care of diplomatic business. Unlike Inlaya, Kandadara was a very introverted and shy girl that primarily kept to herself with a very small amount of close friends. Kandadara had bit of a pessimistic streak and was prone to anxiety spells. She was a mysterious one, often being very guarded, secretive, and very difficult to get to know. But in the same breath, she was very kind and could never bear to bring harm to anyone. She was cautious but she was sensible and a voice of reason. She didn't have very many friends and some people could find her intimidating because of her silent nature, but she was a good person who meant well. Her loyalty to her family and friends was like no other. For many years Zelda, Inlaya, Kandadara, and Sayaia were all very close friends.
She was not proud of the fact that her element was darkness and shadows, as such magic had very negative connotations, to put it mildly. It was something she feared greatly and wanted to keep a tightly guarded secret, lest it could cause an uproar. As far as Zelda knew, the only people who knew about Kandadara's dark magic were Zelda's father, Impa, Inlaya, Sayaia, and herself.
"Kandadara," Zelda greeted politely, "Good morning."
Kandadara glanced at Zelda, but her gaze seemed far away. "Yes..." She murmured, "Good morning..." Similarly, with her expression, her voice seemed distant.
Kandadara had an aura of unease about her, which Zelda supposed was nothing new. But there was something that worried Zelda. Kandadara was typically one to be up early, but not this early. Did she have a nightmare too?
She just had to know, so she asked, feeling more than a little anxious, "Kandadara, are you ok?"
Kandadara nodded and said softly, "Just...a nightmare..."
Now Zelda was worried. Could both Inlaya and Kandadara had the same dream as she? This couldn't be a mere coincidence. Could it?
Zelda was about to respond, but then the door to Inlaya's room opened.
Inlaya had decided on a pale-yellow dress with white long sleeves that fell to mid-calf. The dress also had a rounded scalloped collar and hem. To match the white sleeves, she put on pair of white tights under the dress. For shoes, she chose a pair of brown ankle boots. Inlaya was a self-proclaimed fashionista who loved donning beautiful outfits, no matter the occasion.
Inlaya turned to Zelda and her elemental opposite in surprise, "Kandadara! I didn't know you were awake."
Kandadara was about to respond, but was cut off by a familiar voice.
"Zelda, you can get -Oh..." Impa began to say, but stopped mid-sentence when she saw both Inlaya and Kandadara.
They all turned to her. "Hi, Impa..." Inlaya managed to give a shaky smile. "Nice...morning...isn't it?" Inlaya wasn't sure what to say; she felt horrible.
Impa regarded them silently, then said, "Inlaya, Kandadara, I wasn't expecting to see you both awake..."
Kandadara murmured softly, "I had a nightmare..."
"You too?" Inlaya asked, more than a little worried. She wasn't the only one?
Deep down, Zelda knew the answer, but wanted a confirmation in hopes that she was just being paranoid. She asked, voice uneasy, "It was the same as mine, wasn't it...?" She hoped that it wouldn't be so.
Obviously Kandadara and Inlaya were confused by that.
Inlaya shrugged, "I don't know. I just remember being surrounded by darkness. Then I remember seeing a destroyed Hyrule...I remember the hopelessness and despair everyone felt…It was really freaky..."
Zelda had been right.
"That's very strange," Kandadara commented grimly, "I had the exact same dream."
"This is alarming," Impa commented, more than a little worried.
"It's not just coincidence?" Inlaya asked, hoping for some semblance of reassurance.
Zelda shook her head. "All of us having the same dream just seems too strange to be coincidental," she said, "I feel like it's more than just a dream…"
Inlaya felt her stomach lurch at that and shuddered. "Please don't say that, Zelda."
"Regardless," Kandadara said at length, "I still think it's more than a little suspicious, whether it was a premonition or merely coincidence."
Zelda turned back to Kandadara, curious about something else. She asked, "Kandadara, what about Sayaia? Did she seemed distressed in her sleep? Was she having a nightmare too?"
"Sayaia seemed sound asleep when I woke up," Kandadara replied, "I didn't think it would be good to bother her if she wasn't having a nightmare."
Inlaya spoke, a worried tone, "Would it hurt to check on her?"
Kandadara nodded at this, "Yes of course, that makes sense."
With that, the four of them went off to check on Sayaia.
Author's Note: So this is the first chapter of this story done. I might come back later to edit and rewrite some of the chapters at a later date, but I'm satisfied with the chapter for the time being. The nightmare sequence was intentional and an omage to Ocarina of Time as well as Hyrule Warriors. I hope you liked my story and my OCs, I'm still working on fleshing them out but they will be a decent part of the story as well as our canon mains. Don't worry, Link will appear shortly, I could never forget our favorite green clad hunkster hero! Reviews would be much appreciated and I'd like to hear your thoughts! Until next time!
-The Shy Sweet Lolita