Hyrule, Castle City
The sun just barely began to rise over the high marble walls of the great city. A low mist clung to the surface, making a haze of far off buildings. Within the walls of the main castle the barracks of the Ordonian Auxiliaries were alive with soldiers moving frantically around their small compound. General Delkin was observing his soldiers as they packed carts full of supplies and organized themselves into an organized column.
"General Delkin, sir" a low aged voice called from behind him. Delkin glanced and then turned to look at the man. The man was tall, towering nearly a whole foot above Delkin. He was an imposing figure among the Auxiliaries, not just due to his height but his muscular build as well. His hair was a dark brown which was the same as his beard. He was approaching Delkin in his silver plated armor while smoking from a pipe. His armor was nowhere near new. It was adorned with dents and shallow cuts where swords had broken against it. Aged from years of battle.
"Alfred, we are not going to see the enemy for at least another week. Why are you suited in your armor?" Delkin asked looking over the large man in his aged silver armor.
Alfred, the Infantry officer of the Auxiliaries, stood in front of Delkin and gave his general a quick salute. "A warrior, sir, should always be ready for battle, sir" he said, smirking slightly while smoke seeped out of the corners of his mouth.
Delkin shrugged off the answer. "What is it you need then? You should already be at the front of the column with Sven. " The young general could never fully understand Alfred. He was loyal, but then he was also very stubborn.
Alfred took out his pipe and tapped the tobacco out of it, dumping it onto the ground in front of Delkin "I came here to inform you that the cavalry has successfully occupied Fort Hylia, sir" he pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to Delkin. "Good man that Baldwin got them there faster than I thought"
Delkin took the tiny piece of parchment unfolding it. "Baldwin does have a knack for over achieving." Baldwin is the Cavalry Officer of the Auxiliaries and has been known to overreact to certain events. As Delkin read the small printed text he realized why he hated these pigeon messages, they were always difficult to read. After re-reading the information, Delkin dropped the paper and squashed it with his boot against the dirt. "Not much of an urgent message" Delkin walked by Alfred making his way towards the column of soldiers. Alfred turned and followed his general. They walked in silence, the only noise was Alfred's armor cracking against itself.
"Aye, but a good one, sir. It means those bokoblins haven't moved beyond their first encampment." Alfred added more tobacco to his pipe before lighting it "That also means you will have a detailed report of their base within the next day or two."
"You will be getting that report. Me and Sven have other matters to attend to, don't you remember?"
"Of course I remember, sir, it's just…." Alfred leaned down and whispered "You never know who is listening." He straightened himself back to his height and the two continued their walk.
Delkin noted the comment from his soldier. He did have to be careful about his moves, nothing should go wrong in the next coming months but he was ready if they did. The two men approached the column of soldiers and supply wagons. Delkin couldn't help but smile at the sight, his men were perfectly organized and in proper formation. "You really taught the importance of a proper formation, didn't you?" he asked Alfred, approaching the front of the column. There Sven was waiting mounted on his horse while holding the reins to two other horses' one pitch black and the other a dark brown.
Alfred let out a loud laugh "HA! Of course, sir, the way to learn discipline is through a perfectly coordinated march. Once the boys got that down, it was easy." Alfred mounted his black war horse who was also covered in aged plated armor.
Delkin just shook his head and mounted his dark brown horse. "Even your horse has armor, Alfred? Who did you get to do that this early?"
Alfred was moving the tobacco in his pipe when Delkin asked the question. "One of the stable boys. He was sleeping in, so I gave him a job to do."
Delkin shrugged slightly defeated. He turned to his second in Command, Sven, who was also mounted and was carrying the sigil of the Auxiliaries, an Ordonian Goat head with the Royal Family's crest as a backdrop. "Sven, has everything been arranged?"
Sven saluted and nodded in response "Yes, sir! Everything is ready."
Delkin glanced at the sigil and frowned seeing it. He then looked back at Alfred "Alfred, take the men to Fort Hylia and do nothing more. Sven and I will meet you there within the week."
Alfred nodded and saluted "Aye, sir. You don't have to worry about us, I'll get the boys to the fort. May Ordona watch over you, sir."
"If those stupid monsters attack you or the men, give them the cold steel." Delkin and Sven turned their horses towards the gate of barrack compound and snapped the reins of their horses galloping out. They rode through the empty streets and left the city behind them as they rode down the King's Highway towards Kakariko.
Alfred watched his superiors ride off through the gate, their silhouettes slowly disappearing from his vision. He smiled slightly, those two were going to be the ones to free Ordon from Hylian rule one day and he wanted to be a part of it. Only a matter of time until that day came, but he had other things to think about. He pulled out his sword and turned his horse to the men.
"Boys, we're marching to war!" He shouted with the cheers of his men being the response. He kicked his horse lightly and moved forward. The men of the Auxiliaries followed their new commander. drums beat loudly as the men of Ordon marched off to defend the people of Hyrule.
Southern Hyrule Field.
The flat green landscape surrounded the wagon for miles. The lush green grass was everywhere except for a lone dirt road that cut through it. Many wagons and travelers had taken this road, evident by the depressions made in the earth. On this road now was a small wagon being pulled by two horses. In the wagon was Link, and their father, Gaepora. Raven was a few yards ahead of the wagon with a musket prepared for any danger that may fall upon them. Besides the potential threat of roaming bokoblins, there was still bandits and raiders to be cautious of. They had been traveling for a few days now. The sun was high in the sky as they traveled, this signaled it was midday to the travelers.
Link looked upon the great plains of southern Hyrule. All around was green grass as far as he could see. The lush fields weren't anything new to him, but the fact that they weren't the same fields from his house made a big difference to him. Being outside from his farm for the first time, really meant something, that there was a real world beyond it.
Gaepora seemed to have noticed this astonishment in his son, he ruffled his son's blonde hair. "Don't look too amazed, Link, hahaha! We're not even at the capital yet!"
Link tried to push away his father's hand "I know, I know, agh!" he finally pushed his father's hand away "But it feels so relieving being away." Link took a second to breathe in what felt like fresh air "It just feels so good to get away from that farm!" Link laid his head back in the wagon looking up at the sun.
His father looked back at him with a smile "I felt the same way too, my first time." Gaepora continued to lead the carriage on course.
"Father, how many times have you been to the capital?" Link asked sitting back up.
His father thought for a moment, rubbing his chin "I can't say exactly, but I have been there many times. Some as a farmer, some as a soldier."
Link couldn't help but think back to a few days ago when the Ordonian soldiers showed up. He still didn't understand why his father disliked them. From what he was told they rebelled, but why would he hate them all for that. "Father, do you remember the soldiers from the other day?"
Gaepora nodded "Yes, why do you ask about them?"
Link looked down at his feet, too nervous to look up at his father "Well, I just remembered you saying always respect soldiers, but you… um, um…" Link felt his father place a hand on his shoulder.
"I know what you are going to ask. There is a reason why many in Hyrule dislike the Ordonians. They rebelled against our king, they idle their false goat god and…." Gaepora stopped to think while Link stared at him "The last one I'll tell you when you're older. It happened during the Ordonian Revolt, do you remember when I left for that?" Gaepora asked looking at Link.
Link nervously scratched the back of his head "I um kinda do I just remember missing you a lot thats all. Did something um really bad happen during the war?"
Gaepora frowned slightly "How about for now we'll just leave it that and when you're a little older i'll tell you. " Link just nodded. He wasn't at all satisfied with the answer.
They continued on their path for a few hours, the only delay was being stopped by an Ordonian patrol. That was the worst experience Link had thus far. The first thing that happened was that Raven was nearly dropped to ground by one of the Ordonians. Gaepora then nearly attacked them as they made some threatening moves towards his oldest son. Once the situation was handled Gaepora took the musket from Raven and told him to get back to the wagon with Link. The soldiers then ordered everyone away from the wagon to conduct an inspection. Link noticed that his father was extremely angry around them at the time. The soldiers weren't too pleasant either. Link found it hard to look at them without making eye contact. They all looked just as angry as his father. The search only took a few minutes and soon they were back on their way. All three of them were now in the wagon. Raven was in between Gaepora and Link.
Gaepora patted his eldest son's back "You alright Raven? They didn't hurt you at all?"
Raven shook his head " No I'm fine was a little scared at first but no they didn't hurt me at all"
Link looked at his dad. "Why did you have Raven out with the musket anyway? You don't think those bokoblins at Lake Hylia would come this far, do you?"
"With those monsters you can never be too safe. Also these parts of Hyrule are known for some small bands of thieves. Just wanted to make sure we had our selves covered However, seeing that patrol does give me a slight faith that those Ordonians at least have some sense of what they're doing" Link still didn't understand why his father was so harsh towards the Ordonians.
Link sat on the thought for the rest of the trip. He was having trouble trying to understand what made his father hate Ordonians so much. The sun was starting to lower when Kakariko came into sight. Its tall windmill, being the tallest building, was towering over the wall's and the other small building of the city surrounding the larger building. The closer they got to the gate the more populated it became. People were walking in and out of the large town. Wagons were forced to a stop at the gate for inspection. As they waited, Link looked up in awe at the tall wooden wall. The towers were made of stone and Link could see the soldiers walking around inside them and on top of them. He had never seen any buildings this tall before and was nearly drooling at the sight of such gigantic structures.
Raven, who was sitting next to his brother, noticed the completely awe stricken face his brother was making "Pretty cool, huh?"
Link nodded quickly a few times still looking up at the wall and towers, his smile not fading. Raven couldn't help but laugh at his younger brother. "Jeez, if you're making such a big deal about this, I don't want to know what you'll do when you see the king's castle."
Link looked to his brother "Is it really bigger than this?" he said pointing towards the gate.
Raven jokingly face-palmed himself and laughed again. "A lot bigger than that, trust me. It's the king of Hyrule, for Farore's sake. It's so big it even cuts the clouds that get too close to it."
Link couldn't believe what he was hearing. There was no way Raven was being serious. Their father re-joined them, snapping the reins and getting the wagon moving into Kakariko. When they entered, Link looked around at all the shops and buildings. The town was still buzzing with excitement even though it was starting to get late and the sun was slowly fading. Link watched the many buildings pass by, each one ranging in height. He gazed up at the tall windmill that dominated the town. It dwarfed everything else around it. The cart suddenly stopped and Link was broken from his daze. He looked around quickly and saw that his father was undoing the horses from the wagon.
"Come on, Link, stop stargazing and help load some of the goods inside." Gaepora said as he re-tied the horses to a pole giving them water and food. "Raven, you go first. Don't want Link getting lost inside" their father said with a light laugh.
Raven laughed too. "Yah, come on, you big daydreamer, it's time for work!" Raven grabbed a box of fur hides and began walking towards a decently sized stone building.
"I am not a daydreamer!" Link shouted back at his brother, quickly grabbing another box full of fur hide and jogged after his brother.
The family unloaded their wagon within an hour, just as the sun finally set. The village was now lit by the many torch lights spread along the streets. Gaepora lead his sons to the room they would be staying in. It only had two beds, but he told his sons he would take the floor for them this time. He also told them he would be going out to meet some friends. While he was getting himself ready, he thought maybe to bring them along. They were both old enough to enjoy a night out and they had to start anyways so why not the present. He turned to ask his sons but quickly changed his mind. Both of them were passed out on the beds. He smiled softly looking down at his boys. He blew out the few candles that lit the room and left. Leaving his sons to sleep the night off.
Gaepora exited the tavern and walked through the streets of Kakariko. He was walking back towards the entrance of the city, that was where his friends were meeting. The bar they frequented in their younger days was still there. Every year was the same, come to Kakariko after harvest. Go have drinks at the same bar and then depart for the Capital City. As he drew closer to his location, he heard a distant voice from the gate yelling at someone on the other side. By this time the gate was shut and wouldn't be opened. It was one of the laws of Hyrule. He thought nothing of it until he heard the gate open all of a sudden. Gaepora stopped dead in his tracks and stared in bewilderment as he watched two horse men enter the city. He stood there in silence as they slowly trotted by. Both men were very young. One was holding the sigil of the Ordonian Auxiliaries. The other man was wearing a clean military style jacket so Gaepora could only guess that this was the General Delkin he had heard of from his travels. But why was he here in Kakariko? He should be heading towards Lake Hylia where the threat was.
Gaepora felt the sudden urge to confront both men. There was no reason for them to be here. "Oi!" he yelled at them but both Ordonians continued their pace away from him "Oi! Ordonians!"
The two horsemen stopped and turned to Gaepora. There was a small space in between both parties as they glared at each other. Gaepora watched as who he assumed to be General Delkin dismount from his horse. He watched as the general walked up to him. Both men were now only a few feet apart and were glaring daggers at each other.
Delkin spoke first "Is there something wrong, sir? Did we happen to disturb your night out?"
Gaepora looked at the young man before him, taking note of the two swords at his hips. "You're General Delkin, correct? Leader of that mop band they call soldiers?"
Delkin scoffed at the comment made towards his men and thought of walking away. "Yes, I am the general of the Ordonian Auxiliaries, how can I be of assistance, sir?"
Gaepora jabbed his finger into Delkin's chest "Then why the fuck are you here in Kakariko? You should be off toward Fort Hylia" he jabbed Delkin again. "Are you people so stupid you can't even follow basic common sense? The King ordered you to secure that fort so why is their general nearly fifty miles away?" Delkin simply stared back at the man and didn't respond which only angered Gaepora further.
"The king for some reason trusts you and your soldiers to protect us, but all you are is just another monster for us to fear!" Gaepora and Delkin both glared at each other.
Delkin took a step back from Gaepora. He placed his right hand lazily on his sword hilt "Is that all you have to say or should you throw in a few more insults? I'm not here for your approval, Hylian."
Gaepora stood in silence for a moment but then spoke up against the general " I wonder did your people need approval for what they did at castle Oak Heart?"
Delkin looked away from Gaepora for a quick moment "I wasn't there for that...however should the actions of the past affect how I am?" Gaepora took a step forward to challenge Delkin but was interrupted when the general continued "In our capital every temple was burned, every sanctuary was destroyed, followers of Ordon were butchered like cattle." Both Delkin and Gaepora glared at each other. Neither one saying a word. Delkin turned on his heel and walked away "Like you said, your King trusts me and we're here for a very important mission from his majesty though I can't tell you exactly what that is… but he trust's me more so than his lords and nobles." Delkin mounted his horse and both Ordonians rode off into the city.