(A/N: So I had this little ditty in my head and I just needed to write it out. This is a test regarding a part of my original novel that draws its inspiration from the Legend of Zelda series. This series is intended to give me the opportunity to try my own hand at a Legend of Zelda original idea and see what you, the fandom, think. Please note that until I am finished with my fanfic Soul Chess, that you will only find this initial chapter for the fanfic. I am only posting this chapter so that I can see if you, the fandom, like this idea or if I, once I finish Soul Chess, should abandon it based on feedback I am receiving. I'm also going to cultivate Link the way I perceive him. Now the way any particular fan can perceive Link varies from person to person, so I'm going to go with how I perceive him going from what we fans have seen in dialogue choices and the things Link has been forced to endure in so many incarnations in general. Also, this is revolving around a "young adult" Link somewhere between the age of 18-25, but what age I will remain ambiguous about in universe to let you fans decide for yourself. So, I'm…blathering, here's the pilot chapter to the Legend of Zelda: Dragon's Roar).

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda universe or characters. I am just a fan.

(Cue the main Legend of Zelda theme and let it play in your head a little bit before reading)

It was an average day in the Hyrule's marketplace. It was a few hours before noon and Link was just waking up. Of course, his manner of coming out of the land of dreams was anything, but typical.

Link rolled around in his bed sheets and eventually rolled over so much to one side that he fell out of bed and onto the floor, snapping away and expressing his pain with a grunt. A little sore, he got up and rubbed the back of his neck before proceeding to get dressed into his knight's uniform: green tunic, white pants, brown leather boots, long green cap, and equipped his shield and sword. He used the standard steel shield, bearing the Hylian crest, and masterfully crafted, steel sword used by the rest of the knights. Link was a lieutenant in the Royal Army under his captain: Impa.

Impa was a woman twenty years Link's senior. She had tan skin and short blonde hair with a braid that came down along the right side of her face. She had violet eyes, was very tall, was slim, had a nice rack, and wore a blue uniform similar to Link's green one, signifying her as a captain. Of course, unlike Link, she didn't wear a hat.

In fact, Link's hat was a present, hand sewn by his lifelong friend, the princess herself, Zelda. Link and Zelda had gone to the same school in Hyrule together. Link may have been an orphan, having been left in front of the orphanage in town when he was just a baby, but he was very capable as a young child. Originally, like many others, he avoided Zelda, afraid to approach her because of her regal appearance and status. However, it was when Link was only seven that he and Zelda became close and had been the best of friends since.

During the second grade, Link and Zelda's teacher had taken the class out to Hyrule Field for a picnic. During the picnic, the class was set upon by a small band of bokoblin thieves. The teacher began corralling the students together to leave the picnic and run. However, Zelda had been too paralyzed with fear to move. Noticing this, the teacher had tried to go and help her, but it was then he, and the other students noticed that Link was missing too.

Acting on pure instinct, Link charged back towards Zelda and the oncoming bokoblins. He grabbed Zelda by the hand and managed to lead her towards a tree that was a little far away from the rest of the students. Link had gone over there to snap a branch off one of the trees and ripped off the attached twigs before using said branch to bash away the bokoblins. Given their cowardly nature, the bestial creatures were not about to deal with prey that could fight back, not without a dark master pulling the strings on the other side of Hyrule's lands. They fled, leaving the picnic, Zelda and Link's class, relatively unharmed. Only a few sandwiches had been consumed and the blanket and basket had been beaten up, but other than and the shock still coursing through everyone's veins it was like nothing had happened.

"My hero," Zelda had said to Link, giving him a peck on the cheek. Link merely smiled and rubbed the back of his head in gratitude.

Since then Link and Zelda had been thicker than water together. It was like they were a regular couple. However, it was after their education that their cutesy, lovey-dovey relationship slowly drifted apart back to being just good friends. Zelda remained in the castle as she sat in on political meetings and learned how to be a lady of the court, while Link did his best to find a job.

The boy tried a little bit of everything during his teen years including, but not limited to: blacksmith's apprentice, delivery boy, storeroom keeper, and even tried his hand on the ranch near the castle town. Each and every one of his jobs ended in a bit of a disaster, which allowed Link to realize that they weren't for him.

While down on his luck, using part of his most recent paycheck to buy some bread, Link sat outside the town grounds looking over the horizon and enjoying the view. During his lunch consumption, he saw a dust cloud coming up the road. As it neared, Link recognized it was a bull from the ranch with the ranch's owner frantically chasing after it, not that Link could see that much.

Once again, that same instinct that had taken over him when he was a boy took over him again. Using only the shield he carried with him that he had made during his smithing days, since only knights and guards were permitted to carry bladed weapons, Link charged to meet the bull head on. Bracing himself behind his shield the bull impacted its horns into the metal and, pushing back, Link managed to slow its charge. Link was pushed back along the ground until the bull pushed him near a rock and Link picked up said rock and whacked the bull over the head with it. The blow knocked it unconscious.

The entire ordeal had been witnessed by Commandant Bastion, the leader of the royal army. Bastion was a strong man with massive girth, due to his immense upper body muscle mass, though this was impossible to see over his finely crafted silver colored, steel armor. Bastion had short black hair and a short mustache, the hairs of which growing along the sides of his philtrum. Bastion had brown eyes, an eyepatch over his left eye and carried a large two-handed sword with the blade made of stone, chiseled and worked in order to have a sharp edge, and stood at 76 inches tall. Upon recognizing Link's name, from Zelda's stories, he invited Link into the knight's academy where Link spent several years in training and came out of the academy as a lieutenant of the Impa Brigade.

Out of all the brigades under Commandant Bastion, the Impa Brigade was the most important. They were the small group in charge of Princess Zelda's immediate care and welfare. Link shared his position under Impa with three other well trained knights: Atticus, Botor, and Camilia.

Atticus had a mustache like the commandant's stood almost as tall as Link and carried a short sword and rounded shield. He had flat black hair and a hooked chin with large lips. Every knight was given the option to wear either a cloth uniform with chainmail, like Impa and Link, or armor and cloth underneath, like Atticus and Botor.

Botor, speaking of which, was a short man with dark brown hair and carried a long spear rather than a sword and shield. He was a little pudgy in some places and yet still was capable of doing his Knightly duty like anyone else.

Camilia was the only officer in the Impa Brigade. She was also the only officer that had less experience in the brigade than Link. She had been transferred over to the brigade after the pleading and begging with her former captain to be in Impa's brigade. Camilia was a big fan of Princess Zelda, though fan didn't exactly describe the level of enthusiasm she put into making sure all of the Princesses needs were tended to. Often enough she'd given Link a glare or two to take any volunteer work from him to Zelda unto herself. Camilia had tangerine hair that she wore back in a ponytail. She had emerald eyes and, like Link and Impa, wore the chainmail style uniform. She was also the only member of the Impa Brigade that had to work her way up the ladder from the bottom rung. Instead of going into the Knight Academy, Camilia had started as a lowly assistant to her father, a high ranking soldier, and was eventually appointed to be a squire and continued to climb ranks until she was allowed to be a soldier herself, completely of her own will. She was also the only member of the Impa Brigade that came from a higher class family. Atticus, Botor and Link were all common folk, as was Impa herself, but was often treated as higher class due to her long history at Zelda's side as a caretaker.

Link had been stationed in Impa's brigade right out of academy graduation at Impa's request no less. She knew Link from his and Zelda's school days and upon hearing he was a certified knight she took him under her wing, knowing that would make Zelda happy. Of course, that didn't mean Link was allowed any leeway in shirking his knightly duties either just because he was favored by Zelda, Impa still rubbed him into the ground like any of her other brigade members and lieutenants.

Dressed and equipped, Link walked through the marketplace waving to the folks that knew him. Many were old bosses of his or townsfolk he had helped either as an academy student, a knight, or out of the goodness of his heart. Impa would often say that Link was a Hero to Hyrule. He was a model knight and while it inspired many around him, others were sometimes jealous of what his good nature brought him in terms of favor with Zelda.

Of course these belonged to the unenlightened masses. As a knight, it was uncouth, immoral, and when Zelda would come of age, illegal, for Link and Zelda to have an intimate relationship with one another. Zelda was reaching that age in her life where her father would have to pick a prince from the other royal lands, or the noble houses, to wed Zelda to. Link, as a commoner, would be either castrated or beheaded for having such a relationship with Zelda.

However, though Link's opinions on the matter were relatively unknown, Zelda wished it were not so. She cherished Link; he was the only true friend she had. In her educational years the other students were afraid to approach her unless she approached them. Until the picnic incident Link was the same way. As a knight to her guard, Link's interactions with Zelda were more professional than they were personal and Link never seemed to try anything funny of his own accord, though sometimes Zelda wished he would or that she would have the courage to make such a request of him. She had been taught to do what was right for the kingdom and on that moral grounding she would do her best to stand upon. Nevertheless she yearned for that close relationship that she and Link once had now that she knew, thanks to her own gained knowledge from the many books in the royal library, the true value of a very close relationship.

Currently Zelda was in the theater house, currently empty, practicing her song for today's festival. A festival, of which, Zelda believed that her day of opportunity would finally come. Today was the Hylian Dragon Festival. It was a celebration of the eight dragons that kept the harmony of the elements that controlled Hyrule's lands intact.

Argant, the red dragon of fire, was known for his unparalleled courage and fierce determination in relation to all of dragon kind. He was always attributed with Hyrule's vast mountain ranges and volcanoes. Typhoon, the blue water dragon, was attributed with Hyrule's seas, known for his vast wisdom. Hurricane ruled the skies of Hyrule as he was the gray dragon of the wind. He was known for his great loyalty as the fairy kingdom drifted high above the clouds and Hurricane was considered their guardian. Whiplash, the white dragon of ice, was known for his trickery and quick wit. He ruled the northern snowy wastelands. Emerald, one of the more powerful dragons, the green dragon of earth, was responsible for the canyons, the dirt the soil, all of the ground that did not fall under Argant's territory. Emerald was known for his great strength and endurance. It was fabled that when the planet was an itty bitty planetoid that Emerald used to carry it on his back. Valg was the yellow dragon of lightning. He controlled Hyrule's storms and known for his quick temper and his cautious ways. Maldor, the bronze dragon of light was fabled to bring Hyrule the sun every morning and give the ability for all creatures to be able to see. He was known for his righteousness and grace and was very slow to anger. He always spoke softly and calmly, but it hid his immense power well. The final dragon, Shadow, was the black dragon of Darkness. However, much unlike the evil Bokoblins, Moblins and other foul demonic hellspawn that ran about Hyrule, Shadow was a benevolent creature, bringing the Night and serenity to Hyrule. He was known for his remarkable way of, despite controlling the shadows, which normally hide the truth, seeking the truth and being able to reveal it through the fear that he struck into those that would abuse his element when he showed his presence. Much like Maldor, no living being wanted to see Shadow's Temper.

The festival was celebrated once a year, but on some years, weeks before the festival, strange weather patterns would be noted by the other tribes throughout Hyrule's lands and reported to the King. This was the sign of the special festival: The rise of the Dragon of Unity.

Once every seventy-five years, a very powerful storm would rage across Hyrule's skies. The storm would be fierce and consist of all of the eight dragons combining their powers to make it happen. Then, after the torrential downpour and the sun finally would peak through, the Dragon of Unity, Yewgmenth, would appear. With his multi-colored, rainbow scales a Yewgmenth would appear in the sky, his scales glistening in the sun, accompanied by a gorgeous rainbow. With a fierce roar Yewgmenth would make his declaration to the people of Hyrule of his magnificent presence and then take a leisurely fly through the sky all day before returning to the other realm where he and the other dragons typically resided.

It was said that those able to see Yewgmenth during his flight throughout the day were promised good fortune in their lives. And this year's festival happened to be one of those years. Of course, besides just Yewgmenth's foretold appearance, the Dragon Festival was meant for knighting graduating knights-in-training and since Zelda was old enough now, she was, this year, to pick her own personal knight and bodyguard. Besides just her royal guard, who gave their lives to protect Zelda and make sure she was safe, Zelda's personal knight was meant as a direct bodyguard, never to leave her side and take her anywhere she wanted as Zelda would be allowed to travel outside of Hyrule's castle and town without permission from the king. It was her coming of age ceremony this festival and Zelda knew exactly who she would knight. Impa too had a pretty good idea of who Zelda would pick: someone who had been at the princess' side for years on end and been her companion for most of her life.

Oblivious to this fact himself, only to Zelda having to pick her knight, not to the festival itself, Link continued forward to the large guarded door that led to the outskirts of the castle courtyard. "Ah, Sir Link," the guard to Link's left addressed him, "Captain Impa was waiting for you in the garden. She wants all of her lieutenants present and accounted for in time for the festival. There is a lot to be done before it starts."

"Absolutely," the knight on the right said, "And, did you hear, this year is supposed to be the rise of the Dragon of Unity."

"No kidding," the knight on the left said, "Well then we've sure got our work cut out for us to make sure that the castle and the courtyard can weather through the storm wouldn't you say?"

"Well I'm sure Commandant Bastion knows what he's doing," Link attested.

"That's certainly true. Commandant Bastion's kept Hyrule intact for the last two generations. We're fine as long as he's in charge of the knights."

"You'd best run along Link," the knight on the right stood to the side, best not keeping Captain Impa waiting.

"Right, see you at the ceremony," Link said and headed inside the large doors to the courtyard where Atticus, Botor, Camilia and Impa were all waiting for him.

"Nice of you to finally join us," Camilia tapped her foot, arms folded, "Just because you are Zelda's favorite doesn't mean you get special privileges. You can't keep us all waiting."

"Settle down Camilia, Link isn't late in the slightest," Impa told her, "In fact with his arrival we can get started a little bit ahead of schedule. As some of you may or may not know, this year's festival is the rise of the Dragon of Unity."

Atticus was blown away by this shocking revelation, "I say, are you serious?"

Impa nodded, "Yes, which means we have to make sure the whole town, and the castle, is ready for the storm to be weathered. Or rather that is most of the army's job today prior to the festival."

"What do we have to do?" Camilia asked.

"Since we are the princess' faithful guard we must make sure she is well protected during the ceremony and that she is in complete preparation to give her part of the ceremony. Atticus," Impa called to him.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am," Atticus saluted readily.

"I want you to go through the courtyard and make sure check for all potential areas of assassins, heretics, fanatics, monsters, and anything else that could be harmful for the princess from all angles and locations and report to me so that I may readily assign a guard at each location," Impa instructed.

"I say, I will do my best!" Atticus trotted off in his armor to get started.

"Botor, I have a list of things I require to aid my role in the ceremony and the princess herself, as I will be required to stay in the castle and monitor the rest of the brigade, I need you to gather my purchases for me," Impa handed Botor a scroll.

"I will find everything on this scroll and report back to you, my captain," Boccus saluted and began huffing and puffing towards the castle entrance to reach the market.

"What can I do?" Camilia volunteered.

"Well the only thing I have left for now is that, Camilia, the royal pet has gone missing again. Could you track him down?" Impa requested.

"Agh, see this is why wolves don't make good pets. I know Zelda raised him since he was a pup and he imprinted himself on her, but wolves are free spirited animals and belong in wild, not to mention they're vicious and not as high class as a much more regal pet."

"If you're not up to it I can always ask Link to do it. He gets along very well with Lukin," Impa responded.

Lukin, the royal pet, was a wolf from the Ebony Woods that Zelda had found caught in a snare trap howling. The trap was in the castle garden, the cub was far from home and was looking for food, rabbits and the like. The howling had been right outside Zelda's bedroom door. Lukin had white paws, legs and belly, but his back was as black as midnight. Zelda had raised him like a domestic dog since he was small, but that didn't stop him from acting true to his nature, which included killing wildlife and sometimes bringing it to Zelda's bedroom door, though he'd been trained to stop doing such things when he began to grow. Lukin was fully grown now and was bigger than Botor. In fact the poor knight had once had the misfortune of being mistaken for a tree.

Because of his size, Lukin stayed in the courtyard, though he frequently would venture out into Hyrule field by jumping right over the castle walls, into town and out into the wilderness. His reasons varied though he usually did this when he was really hungry, feeling especially adventurous, or just to stir up trouble. The last one was the most frequent.

"What? No!" Camilia cried out, "I can lure Lukin back to the castle by myself! I'll do it," she said and then glared at Link, "And I will prove to Zelda once and for all that I am her most faithful and loyal knight." Camilia dashed off towards the northern section of the courtyard.

"Well Link you're in luck. Currently I don't have anything I need done right now," Impa told him, "Although, Zelda's practicing her song for the ceremony in the theater. It's been barricaded right now, but I suppose we do need someone to watch from the inside of the theater. Tell the guards stationed outside to let you in. If Zelda wouldn't mind anyone watch her practice it would be you."

Link smiled in gratitude for the opportunity Impa was giving him. He went off to the theater, relayed Impa's message to the guards and let himself inside. He opened the large door very slowly so as not to disturb Zelda's concentration. As he opened the door he could hear her angelic voice singing the song of the festival. He closed the door very quietly and sat in the back row and listened to Zelda sing for a little while, admiring her voice. Zelda was using a harp to accompany her voice, but she'd have a whole orchestra during the ceremony. The famed princess of Hyrule looked absolutely stunning in her royal dress. It was a stunning garment of white silk with an elongated version of the Hylian crest at the bottom front of the dress. Zelda wore a violet blouse over her dress and white, velvet gloves. Her bright blonde hair cascaded down her back and she had her hair styled the same way she always did with two braids alongside either side of her head, laced up. She was also wearing her royal, gilded tiara. Zelda dressed in a variety of colors on different occasions, but for special ceremonies she was required to wear the traditional royal outfit. Of all her outfits, Link had to admit to himself that Zelda looked the most beautiful in her current state of attire.

Besides listening to Zelda's voice, Link took a look around the Royal Theater. He'd never been in it before. It was very plain for something considered royal. The walls were brown, there were two floors of seats with red velvet seats and the stage was wooden with a curtain behind it to reveal the rest of the stage, currently blank. There were no stained glass windows, no concrete pillars. It was just an expansive, plain looking room.

When Zelda took a break from her singing Link walked down the aisle to where she was onstage. She brightened up the moment she saw him. She descended the stairs along the side of the stage and bounded up to Link giving him her brightest smile as she stood in front of him. "Oh, Link, I wasn't expecting to see you until the ceremony, did Impa ask you to come and check up on me? Or did you just show up to hear me sing?"

Link shrugged with a smile, "A little bit of both."

Zelda laughed joyously, "Thanks that really makes my day, Link." After a few moments of silence she looked up at ceiling at the glass chandelier hanging overhead. "You know, we've never been alone like this since we were in school, you and I."

Link's face went from joyous to a little serious, and somewhat regretful.

"Oh, I didn't mean to upset you," Zelda apologized, seeing Link's expression, "And I'm not blaming you either." She looked to the side with her hand over her chest, seeming a little bit troubled, "Mostly I think it's me," she mumbled.

Link put a comforting hand on Zelda's shoulder and then walked closer to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close to him as if meaning to apologize. Link wasn't good with words. In fact, he preferred to let his actions speak for him most often. He only spoke when body language simply wouldn't cut it.

"You're so sweet Link," Zelda nuzzled a little into him. The two stared at each other for a little bit before Zelda suggested, "Say there's a little bit of time before the ceremony begins, do you want to spend some time together. I know I'm supposed to practice," she put a hand on Link's arm, "but with you at my side, I'm sure I'll be all right. You'd never let me down Link, I know you."

Link smiled, "Sure Zelda, where to?"

Zelda slipped out of Link's hold and grabbed him by the hand around to the backstage area where there was a cover over a trap door that led beneath the stage. Using the appropriate ladder, Zelda and Link climbed down into the passageway underground and used it to navigate through the castle's secret passageways, known only to Zelda, the commandant, the Impa Brigade, and used the passage system to bring Link out into Zelda's personal garden. Besides the main entrance, currently closed and barricaded outside, the only other way into the garden was through the passageway or through one of the windows of the hallways that surrounded it. It wasn't the most private place in the castle, but Zelda came here often because it was quiet.

The garden itself grew many colors of tulips and roses and was surrounded by a shallow moat, about three inches deep, on all sides except for the low rising bridge that lead to the main entrance. Zelda walked up to the window on the opposite side of the main entrance which was the window that peered into the royal chambers and sat down on the stone bench in front of it. She patted the spot next to her inviting Link to come sit down next to her. Link smiled and did so and Zelda then promptly lay her head on his shoulder and put her hands on his leg.

"Could you put your arm around me?" Zelda requested, "Like you used to?" Link obliged, putting his arm around the back of Zelda's shoulders and letting her rest against him. He was reminiscent of how many picnics they had when they were in school, just the two of them. Zelda and Link would frequently sit under a tree in the schoolyard or in the courtyard with Zelda resting her head against Link's shoulder just as she was and Link would have his arm around Zelda's shoulder, letting her comfortably rest against him, just as she was doing now.

From her current position, Zelda wrapped her arms firmly around Link's torso. Link wondered if this was all Zelda intended to do, not that he minded. This was nice. The weather was beautiful, the aroma was heavenly and Zelda…Link was only noticing now how well grown in Zelda had become over the years. Even as part of the Impa Brigade he didn't see her in person as often as he would've liked and after finishing his education he didn't see her very often during those long lonesome years of his life. Link had been so caught up in his knightly duties and practicing his swordplay on off-time that he hadn't had much time left for himself or to notice the change Zelda had gone in what had to be at least seven years.

Link's eyes trailed down Zelda's body. He looked down at her soft, gorgeous blonde hair, her closed eyes concealing her pretty blue irises and her luscious lips, lips still untouched by another. She was bosom was plentiful and had to be extremely soft and tender, but…no, he couldn't. Zelda was practically forbidden fruit now that she was coming of age. He had to learn to grow out of it. She was a princess and he was just an orphan boy. He was her knight, not her betrothed. Still, it was hard to convince himself. He had known Zelda practically all his life. She was special to him. She trusted him with her life. He knew that. It just wasn't fair.

In the cozy warm atmosphere Link, much like Zelda, found it hard to stay awake and both fell asleep. Impa was standing in the middle of the garden when they woke up, surprising Zelda.

"I-Impa," Zelda quickly bolted to her feet, ran out onto the grass and fanned out her dress. "Wh-what are you…h-how did you…?"

"It wasn't easy to figure out, when I didn't find a trace of you or Link in the theater, but found evidence that the curtain to go back stage had been moved, followed by the lack of dust around the trap door, I figured you'd come here," Impa replied.

"How long have you been standing there?" Link asked, getting to his feet and walking towards his captain.

"Long enough," Impa answered. "The ceremony starts in about an hour, I need to prepare Zelda and you should head to the barracks and get some last minute practice in."

Link was confused, "Last minute practice?"

"Oh that's right, I guess I forgot to tell you and the others," Impa brought the side of her hand up by the side of her head and massaged her forehead with her middle finger, shaking her head slightly at her forgetfulness, "Today is Zelda's coming of age ceremony in addition to the Dragon Festival. That means the princess will be choosing one of our own brigade who must then duel into submission the other members of the brigade, that do not think the chosen individual has what it takes, in order to prove his or her skill as Zelda's personal bodyguard. If the chosen bodyguard loses then victor is then challenged by anyone who believes he or she does not have the qualifications. Once someone is defeated though, they are not allowed to try again. The process continues until there is a champion."

"I don't get it, what's the difference between being in your brigade and being Zelda's personal knight?" Link had no idea about this at all.

"Once she's considered an adult by the rest of the world, the princess is allowed to go anywhere and do anything without her father's consent, but she must have a designated bodyguard accompany her wherever she may go. That is the purpose of Zelda's personal knight," Impa told Link. She looked at Zelda, "I trust you have put a lot of thought into your decision."

"Yes," Zelda nodded, "I'll be revealing my decision at the ceremony of course. Not before or after."

"Yes, I understand," Impa smiled, "Link, run along, the princess and I have work to do."

"Yes captain," Link headed off to the barracks where he met up with the other members of the Impa Brigade. He strutted over to Atticus, Botor and Camilia who had become his set group during his time with the brigade. Atticus was polishing his sword, Botor was practicing some thrusts with his spear and Camilia was making sure her shield was up to par with her standards.

Link took a quick look around the room, with the exception of Impa, the person who could possibly give him the most trouble in combat would be Camilia. Amongst the members of the Impa Brigade, Link was well respected by his peers and lower ranked veterans so he really only had to worry about his fellow Lieutenants. Against Atticus, Link had a serious advantage in range. Link's sword was longer than the armored knight who had the shorter sword because he couldn't hold a big one underneath all of his armor.

Against Botor, Link may not have the advantage in range, but he had a significant advantage in speed. Botor was heavily armored, but due to his weight and small stature he was very slow. Link figured he could punt Botor like a ball and then stick his sword in his face and that would be the end of it.

Camilia was another story though. Much like Link she was excellent with a sword and unlike Atticus her sword was the same length as Link's. The only difference between her and Link was that Link was a full year older than Camilia and so had more experience. It would come down a true show of skill and resourcefulness and Link knew that Camilia would not let up against him. She adored Zelda, wanted everything to do with Zelda, she'd come at Link with everything she had if they clashed.

As Link stood around wondering how he should get some practice in, one of the low ranking soldiers bounded up to him. "Hey Link," he said to him, "A couple of the boys wanted to see some of your more impressive techniques out back, can you show us?"

"Sure," Link agreed. Out back there were stacks upon stacks of empty, old wooden boxes, perfect for training. Test dummies became too expensive to keep making since the knights went through them like toilet paper so budget cuts had to be made somewhere.

Link practiced a few of his moves for fellow soldiers like his rapid thrust in which Link would perform several forward thrusts with his sword very quickly, his leaping strike in which he grabbed his sword with both hands, even the one normally holding his shield, and leapt at his opponent. The resulting momentum could sometimes snap a sword clean in half. He also showed off his personal favorite: the spin attack. Link would hold his position and put up his shield to guard himself and then spin in a complete circle, sometimes multiple times, to attack everything around him. He also had a variant he called the Rising Spin Attack in which he basically took to the air and spun as many times in the air as gravity and his momentum would let him before dropping to the ground.

"Awesome moves Link," one of the knights said, "But we were hoping to see your really cool moves like your rolling parry, your helm splitter, and your really awesome rushing strike attack."

The three moves that had been mentioned were definitely some of Link's more impressive techniques, however, for some reason, he wasn't always able to execute them perfectly. It was hard to explain to his fellow knights. For some reason, in certain situations, like his the incident with the bokoblins back when he was seven, a powerful sort of internal force would take hold of Link and he would become one with the battlefield. It was like an adrenaline rush would surge through him. Link didn't know how to explain it since it wasn't any sort of typical adrenaline rush. There had to be real danger involved or else Link was unable to fight at his full potential. Then again, if he did, he'd be fighting with the mindset to use lethal force, a very bad idea when he was only supposed to subdue his target during the ceremony.

Link's brigade buddies weren't too disappointed. Many of them were brand new to the brigade, others had only heard of Link's full potential so they were eager to see the greatness of the nicknamed Hero of Hyrule. However, what all of them, and Link, did not know was that Link would be forced to use his greatest techniques sooner than they thought.

End of Chapter 1

(A/N: So not much to say in the ways of plot much this chapter, just a lot of backstory and the details of the Legend. Chapter two, which is part two of this two part pilot, has the rest of the beginning of the adventure. I think you'll enjoy that chapter a little more than you enjoyed this one, or maybe a lot more I don't know. I'll say everything else about this chapter in the ending author's notes for the next one).