For the last six years had Jynmael worked at the king's behest to help raise young Zelda alongside her parents and her nursemaid Impa. Since her birth had the people of Hyrule been in even higher spirits than usual, the sun shining brighter and the breeze smelled fresher. All around the kingdom came to pay tribute to the king. Though, Jynmael never stopped looking towards the horizon while the others celebrated, knowing full well what was coming. Ganon would return once more, and repeated cycles had shown it to be unpredictable. Perhaps he would return when the princess was of age, perhaps when she was still a child. And he still had no luck finding the boy. All three pieces of the Triforce needed to be present for what he had in store. Otherwise, his efforts would be for naught, and the cycle would merely be set to repeat once more. For now, he could only resolve to help raise Zelda. A notion he would have enjoyed more had King Rhoam continuously interrupted his attempts to lecture her on the mythology oh Hyrule. Dismissed as mere fairy tales and folklore. Never had Jynmael been so thoroughly insulted by mortal words than to be told to focus on more "practical" ventures. Rhoam's attitude had been indicative of a much larger problem that had become more prevalent in the royal family as generations had gone on. Many years ago, he was a respected member of the king's counsel. The kings of the past had regarded him with reverence and wisdom. Now he was regarded as a mere old man with a jumbled mind, unable to distinct Hyrule's history from the legends he had clung to for years. Kept around for his skill in the written word and for his loyalty to the crown. Ten thousand years of peace had softened the royal line. The peace from Ganon's tyranny proved to be a mixed blessing. But Jynmael would not be deterred by the king's words. The fate of Hyrule depended on his actions, and he could not succeed without Rhoam's cooperation.
The doors to the royal throne room parted open with a thud, the thick heavy oak doors almost as old as Jynmael was. Rhoam looked up from his papers and sighed softly at the sight of the old man lumbering in. His wife patted his shoulder and nodded for him to be respectful. Though not of the royal bloodline, the queen had always been much more courteous to him than Rhoam was. Even if she found his prophecies and legends to be mere tales. Impa was absent, instead taking it upon herself to watch Princess Zelda while the girl played in the garden. Jynmael took a knee before the king and shakily rose to his feet.
"Your majesty, I wish to discuss with you about the princess' destiny…" King Rhoam closed his eyes and sighed, leaning into his hand.
"Here we go," he muttered under his breath. Jynmael's insistence on the matter was growing more and more bothersome as Zelda grew older. The queen gently placed a hand on his shoulder, the feeling of her satin clad touch soothing the monarch.
"Have patience, my dear. Let him get it out of his system and just be calm." King Rhoam sighed and slowly nodded. Though he expected Jynmael to be back again with the same ravings.
"Speak your mind," he ordered. The old scholar cleared his throat and leaned on his macabre staff for support.
"I request the official aid of your soldiers to assist in the search for the legendary hero. Wielder of the Triforce of Courage himself. My progress on my own has been miniscule, and I fear that time slips through our fingers." King Rhoam shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing gruffly through his nose.
"I will not send my best men on a search for mere fairy tales, Jynmael. I have made this abundantly clear before." The old scholar's grip tightened around his staff at the king's impertinence. "The Yiga Clan is of greater concern to me than your legends."
"Let Impa deal with them," Jynmael said disdainfully, brashly flicking his wrist. "Your guards would be better suited to finding Hyrule's chosen champion rather than chasing about masked vagabonds. Her safety depends on it."
"This is for her safety," King Rhoam huffed. "The Yiga Clan concerns us all equally. Considering their apparent allegiance to Calamity Ganon, I figured you would take a greater interest in them." The renegade Sheikah had concerned Jynmael for some time, but their sleight of hands and martial artistry meant little to one of his magical prowess. Until Ganon's power was made manifest, the Yiga Clan's supposed connection to him was mere conjecture.
"My King, we cannot ignore the circumstances set before us. Princess Zelda is the first woman born into the family line in ten thousand years! Calamity Ganon is no doubt set to return anew, and the cycle of old will begin again!"
"I will not allow you to drag my daughter into your inane doomsday prophecies," King Rhoam stated, slamming a fist onto the armrest of his throne. It took all of his patience not to just cast the old man out right then and there. Though he had to admit that there was a certain uneasiness to the idea that now of all times was a woman born into the family line. True, the Hyrule bloodline had been a male one for ten thousand years exclusively. But it was a far cry to expect trouble to show its face now, of all times. He had listened to the tales Jynmael spoke of when he was a boy. Of the cycle of the Triforce and its chosen. But never had there been a gap of nearly a dozen millennia before. "And I cannot donate my forces to cove the lands for a boy we don't even know actually exists." He sighed and nursed his brow. For his wife's sake was he maintaining composure. Which Jynmael was whittling down all the time. As much as he disregarded his ramblings and theories, King Rhoam still did care for him. He was like family, having served him, his father, and his father before him going farther back than can be feasibly reasoned. At times, he wondered if he truly was immortal, like his father jested. But he was old. Incredibly old. Even in old photographs, he was old. With age does the mind begin to wander and even degrade. Perhaps it was time to order him to retire. King Rhoam put the thought out of his head and rose to his feet, pointing at the ceiling. A stained-glass rendition of the Triforce loomed over them like it did in Jynmael's quarters. "If there is truly a great danger upon the horizon as you say, then may it shatter this glass roof and make itself known right here and now!"
"Be mindful of what you ask for!" Jynmael warned, pointing a gnarled finger at him. "Do not tempt fate." A rather poor choice of words it would prove to be as a bolt of lightning did just that. The stained-glass ceiling shattered, the sheer force of the impact causing part of the roof to collapse. The king escorted his queen to safety as the rubble around them began to tumble. The floor shook with from a thunderclap, and dust from the stonework began to rise as the architecture crumbled. Coughs and pained shouts echoed through the wall as the guards took up positions around the room. King Rhoam clutched his injured side, a sharp pain shooting out through it. No doubt he had broken a few ribs. But what most concerned him was his wife. She was nowhere to be seen. Desperately did he start calling her name out before a throwing dart whizzed past his head and planted itself into the stone before him. Blood trickled dow his ear from the blade grazing it.
"For the glory of Calamity Ganon!" King Rhoam turned to see a handful of Yiga Clan assassins repelling through the hole from ropes. Purple and red smoke billowed in the center, its presence setting fire to the carpet that led out of the room. His royal guard surrounded Rhoam, shields presented and swords bared.
"Get to safety, my Lord!" one said. "We'll hold them off!" With a mighty shout did the two forces engage in combat. The clanging of metal and the shouts of war echoed within the king's own throne room. A notion he never believed would come to pass. Two guards backed away to escort Rhoam to the door while their comrades fended off the assassins. Impa had trained her loyal guardsmen well, creating a combat style that accommodated both Hylian and Sheikah techniques. Even with all their training, the Sheikah traitors proved to be on the losing side of this invasion. The Yiga assassins could draw no quarter, at least until the interference of the miasma festering behind them. A smoky tendril emerged and swatted the guards away like flies. It seemed to growl menacingly as it bared its tip at King Rhoam's direction. He would have met his end right then and there had it not been for Jynmael. From the eye sockets of the skulls tied to his staff did bolts of lightning emerge, singing the miasmic entity. Despite the smoke that billowed from it, the being seemed to feel no pain. It withdrew through the hole in the roof as swiftly as it had arrived, dissipating in the sky like fog. The Yiga assassins turned their gaze upward and cried in protest. The dark being they had sworn to had ultimately abandoned them. And they would be given no chance to retreat as the guards quickly dispatched them in their moment of need. Blood had fallen upon the floor of Hyrule Castle for the first time in thousands of years. "My Lord! Are you alright?" The king said nothing, merely staring wide-eyed in disbelief at the burnt carpet before looking up to the ceiling. Jynmael hobbled over to the scorched floor, prodding at it with his staff. His mouth hung open in thought from underneath his hood.
"By no means is this their natural magic," he muttered. King Rhoam ventured to his side and observed, feeling a cold sweat manifest down his back.
"Calamity Ganon…" Jynmael nodded. It seemed Rhoam had gotten what he asked for, and Jynmael the proof he needed. "I don't get it. Why not finish us if it were he?"
"This was not meant to be an assassination, regardless of the Yiga Clan's involvement," Jynmael noted. He stroked his withered thinning beard. "But rather a warning. Of his dark return." For the first time in his life did the king know true fear. Their everlasting piece had now been brought down around their ears. And the one he had written off as a madman was actually right all along. His thoughts swiftly darted to his darling daughter. In Impa's care she was no doubt safe, but he knew not how many more Yiga assassins were in the castle.
"My Lord!" Rhoam and Jynmael turned to bear witness to a horrible sight. The dust from the rubble had cleared, and the air was now breathable once more. Though Rhoam felt all of it leave his chest as though he had been struck from seeing his wife. Between heavy stones was she pinned beneath, a single arm dangling through an opening. Blood trickled down and soaked her satin gloves. The royal guard were digging her out as swiftly as they could, but it mattered not. It did not take Jynmael's magic to tell him she was gone. The king fell to his knees, vision spinning and hands growing clammy. In the blink of an eye had his entire world been turned upside down. He leaned forward as his arms trembled beneath him. Utterly nauseous did he feel. The kingdom's sworn enemy had returned, and the love of his life was killed before he had a chance to react. The doors at the other end of the hall burst open to reveal Impa in attendance with a dozen armed guards and little Zelda to her side. The Sheikah's red eyes widened as she took sight of the mangled corpse being lifted from the rubble. King Rhoam would remember the look of pain on his daughter's face as she recognized who was there before her.
"Don't look!" Impa cried, pulling the princess in. Jynmael clutched his chest and shook his head, knees struggling to hold him up as grief weighed him down. He had wanted to show the king he was right, but not like this. Not like this.
"Jynmael…" The old scholar looked to the king whose blood had run pale. He swore he could see the beard losing its color right before his fading eyes. King Rhoam took hold of his forearm and pulled him in. "Find this boy… so that we can stop this. Protect our home…" The words Jynmael had wanted to hear for so long were bittersweet. The validation reviled him in that moment, the taste at the back of his throat disgusting him at what it had cost to obtain. Even before Calamity Ganon's true return had a victim been claimed. He cursed under his breath, at Ganon and his own struggles. But now he knew the truth. And he would have the king's full support. Now he could do what had to be done to stop this cycle and save Hyrule forever.
The funeral for the queen was more painful than anyone could have imagined. Thousands from all over Hyrule came to pay tribute to the fallen monarch. Always had she been kind and gentle, caring and noble. It took Impa all her strength not to let the tears fall. But she had to remain strong. For the troops, for her king, and for Zelda. Zelda surprised the lot of them most of all. King Rhoam would not have thought little of her remotely had she broken down. But the six-year-old girl remained stoic as Jynmael read the queen her last rites before laying her down for eternal rest. Perhaps it had not fully set in yet. Or perhaps she was remaining composed for the sake of the crown's dignity. But it would set the stage for the rest of her life as she would have to mature quickly to take on her mother's duties. Her smiles and laughs were now gone. Replaced by an empty detachment from the world. After the funeral, Zelda began pouring herself into the books and the power of prayer. Her pilgrimage to the town's church, the springs throughout Hyrule, and even the forgotten Temple of Time drove her forward. Zelda dedicated all her time to studying under Jynmael, listening to him recite the tales of old for any advantage against Calamity Ganon. Committing them to memory and even reciting them back to the old scholar. All the while, Jynmael was given the aid of both Hyrule's top couriers and the Sheikah scouts to comb the land for the boy. The one who would seal the shadows and protect Hyrule as foretold in tales of old. One of humble upbringing and of kind heart. The wielder of the Triforce of Courage himself.
The major Link in his plan to save them all.