We have all heard the story of the Twilight Princess.

The Hero of Time and his Twili companion joined forces against insurmountable odds and somehow, conquered Ganondorf's army and saved not just Hyrule, but the Realm of Twilight as well.

For the purpose of this tale, I have taken the liberty to change a single event in the course of history, a change that I believe will make our hero's journey much more… tragic. Or epic. I'll allow you to decide.

And who am I?

You'll find out in due time.

Link struggled through the miniscule tunnel that lead to the Ordon Spring. It was smaller than he'd remembered, or rather, he was larger. But he was in a foul mood, and so the blame belonged solely to the passage itself. It wasn't that he resented Ilia's love for animals. But with the task before him, the journey so far away from the village- to Hyrule Castle no less, his mind was flooded with worry. A conflict with Ilia was the last thing he needed. Truthfully, Link wished she'd show him the littlest affection. He watched the way she treated the horses, her soft hands brushing them with utmost care. Her demeanor towards him was polite, perhaps at times more than just friendly, yet he had always remained her friend, rather than partner. Maybe as he left the village, she'd give him a kiss to take with him on his journey… Link's thoughts were interrupted by voices from within the Spring.

"I had no idea... I hadn't heard the details about Talo's capture..." It was Ilia. Her voice was worried, the soothing, low soprano tempered by wavering uncertainty. "But, Colin..." The young boy in question boldly positioned himself between Ilia and the gate. He stood an entire head shorter than the girl, yet looked as if he was lecturing her. Link finally squeezed through the tunnel, grunting in frustration as his entire midsection popped through the hole. Epona quickly brushed passed Ilia and began to nuzzle his head. Ilia gave a half-smile.

"So you still prefer your master over me, huh, Epona?" She felt the slightest bit dejected, but understood the special bond Link and Epona shared. From the moment they met, it was as if they were old friends who'd been together as long as anyone could remember. "Don't worry about your horse, Link." She knew she was the only one who needed to be told that. "Fortunately, it looks like the injury isn't too serious. You two can go on together." She was a bit embarrassed- partially because her jealousy seemed to take a backseat to feelings for both the horse and the boy. She'd always wondered about Link. He was courteous, and at least appeared to be interested in her. But it seemed like whenever she approached him he grew especially quiet. She wasn't sure if it was out of politeness or discomfort. She decided then to give him a kiss when he left the village, to see how he'd react.

"But, Link..." she began, watching him handle Epona for a moment. "Can you at least promise me this?" He stopped, and turned to her. Their eyes met, and for a moment both stopped. She continued. "No matter what happens on your journey, don't try to do anything...out of your league. Please." She took a deep breath, having said what needed to be said. Suddenly, Ilia felt a deep pang of sadness, finally realizing that this was the last time she would see Link for a long time. She'd miss him terribly. "Just come home safely." She finished, turning her head to hide a gleam that looked like a tear.

Link opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly a rumbling from the path next to the forest jarred the three youths to attention. The rumble grew to a roar, which crashed through the gates to the spring and overtook the three present. Link was hardly able to draw his wooden sword, when a titanic boar galloped by him. For a moment his world was a blur, a green hand here, a red eye there. He saw Ilia collapse, and watched as Colin was lifted off the ground. In an instant, the side of his head seemed to implode, some unseen blunt object knocking him off his feet and smashing him into the ground. Link heard the sound around him drown in the thick blackness that rose in his mind.

And then, nothing.

When Link awoke, there was little to remind him of the struggle that had just taken place. His hair was sticky, and matted with blood. As soon as he recognized his own consciousness, he leapt to his feet. The spring was tranquil. Link took deep breaths, trying to piece together what had happened. He dashed out of the trampled gate, looking to the path that lead back to Ordon. A translucent barrier loomed over the pass. After approaching the wall breathlessly, Link hesitated. Nothing made sense anymore. Where were Colin, Epona and Ilia? What was going on in the village? Before he could ponder any further, a massive hand erupted from the obstruction. Once again, Link's world was black chaos.

This time his surroundings had changed. Rather than the cool spring of his home, Link found himself lying on a cold stone floor, with bits of grime and dirt caught in his hair. He felt unlike ever before, as if his entire body had been rearranged. He then attempted to stand, but found the task impossible. His legs felt too weak to support his own weight. Link tried no less than five times to pull himself up, before cursing his situation with a growl. He saw a light several feet in front of him, and began to crawl towards it. He found this much easier than walking. After only a half-dozen steps, a force pulled him backwards. It felt like a shackle. Link turned to look back at it. In the dim light of the torch ahead of him, Link spotted something that terrified him. A paw. A tail. Link jumped out of fright, but found whatever it was continued following him. He shouted in anger, and found it came out a bark. He froze. His canine assailant stopped in response.

Hearing the drip-drop of a leak, Link turned and crawled towards it. Confusion gripped him. Despite the events, he felt as if he were more aware than ever before. He was sure it was dark, and yet he could see much better than usual. He felt his paw touch water, and gazed downward. An animal stared back at him. Link took a moment, almost stupefied, to scan the features of this beast. It had a soft, young face. Deep blue eyes, much like his own. The same gaunt, lean structure. He noticed the triangle mark on his forehead, and remembered his own hand. Suddenly realization flooded through him, and he screamed- rather, howled.

He had become a wolf.

For a day, at least it seemed, time meant nothing in this dank, sepia-washed castle; Link cowered in the corner, refusing to believe any of this was more than a sick nightmare. Perhaps as a human, he would have cried, yet all he was able to accomplish in this state was a pitiful, low whimper. After the sharp panic died into dull sadness, Link began to replay the events in his mind. What struck him most was the vivid image of Ilia falling. There was a beast. Something green, wielding a colossal weapon. Yet she fell as if shot by a bow, or a sling. A deep yearning grew inside the young wolf. Ilia was in trouble. Maybe she was nearby. Maybe she was dead. The panic returned. He had to do something. Link struggled against the chain, feeling it tightly clamped around his leg. He lunged forward, and collapsed. It was completely secured.

The next seven days were a cycle of futile war for Link. Every time he struggled against the chain and failed to break it, he grew more determined to shatter his bonds. The first day he tried simply lunging away from the wall, hoping to at least dislodge a brick. The second he chewed the third chain, after noticing a small crack in the center. On the third, the frantic wolf began to swing his leg, in an attempt to crack the chain against the wall. For the fourth day, Link simply lay still and inspected the shackle, trying to discover some way to escape. The next day he tugged on it with all his might, only to tire himself within the first six hours. Day six, he tried to utilize the rocks around him to smash the chain- and found his canine paws quite lacking. The final day he simply pulled dejectedly while lying flat and resting.

After the week of vain attempts to escape had passed, Link had reached the end of his rope. He wasn't hungry, or thirsty. Just tired. Tired of struggling against impossible odds. Tired of trying to find logical explanations for what had happened that day. Tired of seeing Ilia's body fall to various devices. He felt his eyes droop shut, and settled in for a rest that he would not wake up from. For a moment, in his mind, he saw Ordon Village, and remembered the peaceful life that seemed to be real only long ago.

Soon afterwards, a small blue mote floated through the barred window and balanced itself on the slumbering wolf's nose. In an instant, Link felt a surge of memories, and suddenly found himself in a different place entirely. The visor of a helmet obstructed his eyes. The make of the surrounding area was similar to where he was currently, with the same stone and emblems, however it was much more ornate, and looked to be in better condition. He felt as if he had no body, or was seeing an event through someone else's eyes. Ahead of him, armed soldiers stood at ready, facing a colossal opened door. A tall, snakelike man in full armor raised a gauntlet and pointed towards the back of the room. Dark creatures rushed forward, disintegrating those close to the entry. "It is time for you to choose: surrender or die." A deep voice heralded the end of all those present. It took on a mocking tone. "Oh yes, a question for all the land and people of Hyrule..." It cocked its head. "Life? Or death?!"

Link's feral eyes opened with a start. He began to unconsciously growl. Somehow he felt certain- he knew. It had a name. Zant. Zant, the Twilight King.

The next year sped by. Link, fueled by his hatred for Zant, refused to allow himself to die. He found that wherever he was, his bodily needs had been slowed greatly. Once a week, he'd drink the water that had accumulated underneath the leak, and once a month, he'd capture whatever bugs or creatures he could find crawling around in his cell and devour them. He became accustomed to his wolfish form, comfortable with it, even. He understood the nuances of his teeth and claws, and practiced tearing into flesh many times.

In a year's time, Link's mind returned solely to escape. He wanted to kill his enemies, and save his friends- though he could hardly even remember their names anymore. However, chained to a wall in a forsaken dungeon, he was hardly able to kill or save anyone. It was around that time when the wolf noticed a sprout coming up through the cracks of the dungeon floor. It was unlike any plant he'd ever seen before; the trunk was thick, long, and spiked at the top. The plant had no leaves. Within a few days it had doubled in size, and remained strong. Link noticed that the cracks it had grown through had expanded, and upon closer inspection, found it was actually pushing the stone apart. Immediately a plan formed in his mind. He lifted his back leg and, with some difficulty, caught the chain on the sharp sprout. Using his front paws, he packed the third link down on the trunk. If whatever plant it was continued growing, he would be able to escape.

Within 48 hours Link awoke to a creaking. The crack in the chain had grown, and a piece of it had dropped off and clattered against the ground. He could no longer sleep, so excited by his discovery that he could only watch and wait with bated breath. Soon, the creaking returned, and Link knew he was near freedom. And then, all at once, the tree shuddered just a bit. The wolf heard a sharp noise, and looked downward at the chain. The third link had snapped. Link lifted his leg. It moved past its previous limits.

With a strange noise of celebration, the unchained canine bounded across the jail cell. He flipped off the walls, felt the wind of his extreme movement cool him. He promised himself never to take the simple pleasures of life- like being able to move around, for granted. After traversing the cell completely, he came to the bars in front of him. Suddenly his excitement was muted, as he realized that his struggle might have been in vain. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a patch of dirt that passed underneath the bars and into the lit hallway. The wolf attacked this piece of ground, digging underneath and beyond his final obstacle.

Link's excitement returned, and he sped down the hallways of the castle like never before. He managed to forget, if only for a moment, the events that had placed him in his current situation. Yet, at the back of his mind, his doubts and fears remained. His worry for Ilia. His hate for Zant. At the end of the grimy passageway, Link found an open door, one that appeared to have been worn down by time. Beyond it laid an unlit tunnel. The same stone pattern covered the walls. In the near distance, Link heard the sound of flowing water.

Traveling into the tunnel, Link discovered it was some sort of canal, perhaps a sewage system once used to keep Castle Town clean. His senses allowed him to pick up on the presence of strange blue motes surrounding him. One drifted miserably in the corner. Upon approaching it, Link was shocked to find it was actually a human being. He had the armor of a Hylian guard, but his cuirass was stained with blood. "Please, no…" he began, "Do whatever you want. Just don't kill me. Please…" Link watched the spirit dissipate into thin air. It disturbed him to know that Zant and his minions had defeated even the guards of the castle.

Link stifled his doubts and pressed onward. There had once been a series of gates in the canal system, but they'd long since rotted away, leaving only dreary vestiges of a once functional complex. After exploring the tunnels thoroughly, Link came to another door, and beyond it, a demolished set of winding stairs. Something like sunlight filtered through the cracked walls, pushing Link to move forward. He jumped between the pieces of staircase, nearly falling to his death more than once. His emotions ran wild as he came closer and closer to the top of the castle. He hefted himself over the final ledge, and found that in front of him, a half open door led outside. Outside. Back to Ordon. Back to the home he once knew. He pushed the door open with his nose.

When Link took in what he saw past that door, he could only howl in agony.

Dark here. Certainly good to be back at FF. Here's to a new story, and hopefully better writing.