A/N: This chapter was revised as of 2/20/16

Before any of you start panicking and yell "OC!" at me, listen. I'm just setting up the backdrop for the story. The characters featured in this chapter do not reflect the rest of the story. I just wanted to create some kind of prologue before the real adventure begins.

Let's get going.


Chapter ii:

The Knights of Hyrule

Alastar had never been the strongest of warriors. His training had been insufficient for this kind of situation. Then again, no one had ever been prepared for this.

As he ran through HyruleCastle's corridors, he wondered how he had gotten himself into this. Generally speaking, it had all begun in a very nice manner. After Ganondorf's defeat at the hands of the sages, Hyrule had begun a period of reconstruction. It had not been a happy time, Alastar remembered, even if he had been a little younger back then. Just rebuilding Hyrule Castle had taken them several years, not to mention all the other disasters that had occurred in the past. However, the hard endurance of the Hylians and other races had won in the end, and he had eagerly joined as a soldier of Hyrule's Army. He figured that, during this period of peace, he would surely be able to make good use of it and become a master swordsman. How wrong he had been.

Something flew across the window in front of him, shattering the glass. It was round, black and small. Quickly recognizing it as one of the Goron's "Special Crops" he backed away as quickly as possible, just in time for the explosion to take out a large part of the wall and the ceiling. The force of the explosion was so big, that it knocked Alastar backwards, sending some debris on top of him. Fortunately, it wasn't that much, and there didn't seem to be any harm done to him, to his relief. Standing back up, he let out a sigh. He needed water badly. His blue armor not only weighted a ton, it asphyxiated him, and the ashes left by the explosion did not help matters at all. Still, he needed to be on the move, since there wasn't any time left. If he didn't get to the castle's keep on time… Well, he did not want to think about that. Things were very bad already, no need to worsen them now.

He resumed his trek through the halls. Catching a glimpse of the broken wall as he ran past it, he could see the charred and dark battleground that once had been the castle's gardens. There weren't many men left there. He had to be faster, before it was too late. Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from far ahead. Quickly retreating into the shadows, he remained silent. The creature making the noise slowly entered into view. It was tall and muscular, possessing only one eye, and very light armor (then again, its hide looked way more durable than Alastar's own armor). He could see that the creature was armed with a couple or so of those "Special Crops". Evidently, this had not been the creature responsible for the explosion that wrecked the wall in the hallway, but it was important to know what he was up against. Not that it mattered anyway, since their enemies were far more versatile than any other army that he had seen or heard.

After a few minutes, the creature was lost from view and took another route through the hallways. Alastar noticed he had been holding his own breath during the whole affair. Letting out a sigh of relief, he continued down the opposite hallway, heading towards the castle's keep. The encounter had reminded him of a conversation he had about six months ago, his superior's voice echoing in his ears:

"Now you listen up, Alastar: rumor has it that there's a strange gateway way past the mountains to the north of here. Folks say the entrance to The Sacred Realm has been opened again, that the power of the Triforce is calling out for a new master."

"Sir, do you believe this?"

"Of course not, do not concern yourself with the tales of common folk. It's just a tale to frighten people about the dangers of the unknown."

"Frighten? I thought The Sacred Realm was a really charming place, sir."

"That's because you haven't yet heard of the whole tale: according to the populace, The Sacred Realm's been transformed."

"What do you mean?"

"They say an evil… Thing has taken over The Triforce and corrupted the realm. Folks now tell stories about this… Dark Realm of sorts. They say that everyone who steps inside the new realm gets turned into what their heart reflects."

"So… If mister Ingo from the ranch enters the realm, will get turned into a Cucco or something? They say those birds hold grudges that can last years…"

"Concentrate, Alastar! The tale is horrifying to people because of one certain implication: What kind of people would be interested to enter the realm to claim the triforce?"

"…The very same kind of people someone like Ganondorf would approve of."

"Exactly. Now, I don't want to believe in any myth or legend or what-have-you. But that doesn't take away the fact that, if true, it means that… Something is beckoning the worst people in Hyrule and turning them into monsters. Probably even making an army."

"Then is it true that Ganondorf's back?

"I don't know, Alastar, I don't know."

Evidently, after some time, these "rumors" became actual worries, and after that, they transformed into serious matters that were actually discussed in the royal court, from what he had managed to hear. Ganondorf had indeed returned, or "Ganon The Evil King", as the people that had suffered his army's attacks called him. Initially, many had scoffed at the overly dramatic name, but, as time passed, it became apparent that Ganon had regained his old nickname back. The army made of monsters passed through many villages. Countless knights fell to The Horde's attacks during various months. Alastar had not ever been sent to one of those battles, for he was not yet ready, which, frankly, made sense, although it did depress him somewhat, since he did indeed want to help defend his kingdom before it was too late.

Considering the current events, you could say that he now had finally gotten his chance.

He turned a corner and reached a giant set of doors. The very doors that led into the castle's keep. Feeling his heart skip a beat, he desperately ran towards the large doors, knocking on them as hard as he could.

"Open, I am Alastar, a member of the Hyrulean Army!" He yelled.

The doors opened to reveal a dark chamber inside. There were a few torches hanging from the walls, but they didn't help that much. The chamber was medium sized, with nothing relevant to catch anyone's attention, except for the large circle drawn on the ground with white powder, with six people sitting on it, silently muttering to themselves. A seventh person sat in the center of the circle, his or her head facing the floor. The person looked strangely familiar. It almost looked like…

"Oh, Queen Zelda! I am sorry to interrupt—

"What is the matter with you?" Said a voice as two strong arms pulled him into a corner of the chamber and closed the doors behind him. Alastar could recognize him as another knight he had seen before. Looking around now, he could see that there where a total ten soldiers in the room, including him.

"Look at him, he's way too young", said one of them. "Are we so desperate to win that we have to send in our youth to a death sentence?"

"I can fend for myself!" Said Alastar, enraged. "And what's with the few numbers anyway? Are you men telling me that all that remains to protect the Keep are ten men? I thought that I was going to be joining a large group!"

"You don't have any idea of the mess you signed up for, do you?" Scoffed another soldier. "You've been sent to the slaughterhouse little soldier. Tonight, you will die."

"That's enough, soldier", said the queen, suddenly standing up. Everyone in the group turned in amazement to look at their ruler. "Nobody in here's going to die. This can end now. If you have no faith left in us, you might as well retire. We won't accept faithless men in our new kingdom."

"My queen", said Alastar, trying to measure his words. "What is going on? I thought… This… What is going on?"

During all the times he had seen Queen Zelda (which, admittedly, could be counted using the fingers of one hand), he had never seen her do what she did next: She looked at the ground, with a look that expressed regret. He swore he even saw a few tears fall to the ground. Seeing his own ruler in such a state made him feel a sense of hopelessness. If there was one person he could say that would never break down, it was his own ruler, Queen Zelda. Things had spiraled way out of control for everybody, it seemed.

Finally, she regained some of her composure. She looked at everyone in the room, save for The Sages, who were still looking down at the ground in silent meditation as if nothing had happened. Her voice even sounded a little cracked, as if she was trying to make an effort not to break down again.

"I feel I owe you all an explanation." She said. "Some of you have probably already guessed it already, but this attack on the castle by Ganon's forces was always expected."

She gave him an almost apologetic look. This felt so awkward. Someone who was older than him shouldn't be apologizing to him, of all people. She continued talking, with a tone demonstrating the dread that she felt for what she was about to say.

"We knew that Ganon's Horde was aiming to reach Hyrule Castle. He does indeed possess the Triforce. There was no way to stop him. No way except for one: According to what the sages and I can sense, Ganon's wish corrupted The Sacred Realm, turning it into a barren wasteland, where his powers were amplified, turning him into a beast reflecting his own dark heart. He now intends to take control of the castle and the whole kingdom, extending his influence from the Dark Realm into our own."

"We figured that we could, however, put a stop to it. We could try a way to drag him back into the Dark Realm and seal the entrance."

"That's preposterous!" Said one of the older knights. "What about the legendary blade, the Master Sword? Isn't it supposed to be The Blade of Evil's Bane? Surely that would be able to stop Ganon!"

"Yes, but for that, we would need someone worthy of holding it, a hero, so to speak, and you know what happened…" Responded another knight. Everyone in the room turned into an even somber mood, when recalling that experience.

"Nevertheless," said the Queen, "We did not find anyone suitable to carry the blade and we had no time for him or her to pass the necessary trials. We needed to think quickly. So we let him come to us."

"And you let every soldier in the castle face Ganon as a distraction, knowing full well that not even the castle's walls were match for someone with the might of the Goddesses at his side", responded Alastar in shock.

"I am terribly sorry. Letting such a young person put his life in risk is not right at all… But you have to forgive us. It is the only way. We need whoever's left to protect us while we conjure the seal. We will need Ganon to be close to us in order for it to work. It is the only way."

Everyone in the room was silent. Alastar, seeing no other thing to do, proceeded to ask if anyone had a spare sword left, since he had lost his. They gave him one that belonged to an enemy combatant. The minutes passed, and they could hear the rumbling getting closer. All men where ordered to get to the castle's Keep, but many had stayed behind in order to face Ganon and his men. Alastar was afraid; he had never felt so much fear in his entire life. He was afraid to die, afraid to fail the sages, afraid to lose the Hyrule he had long sought to see rebuilt… Heck, he was even afraid to lay eyes upon the famed Ganon. But, everyone was afraid, and that made them have an advantage: As long as they didn't give into it, he figured, they could never lose. Fear made them be alert and fight for survival. A man or beast like Ganon who didn't know the true meaning of fear was sure to be overconfident and blind to his own weaknesses. So, staying in his position with a newfound resolve, Alastar waited for the King of Thieves' arrival.