"Is that man gone now?" Zelda asked, poking her head into the room.
"Yes he is," Harkinian answered.
"Good," Zelda replied, seemingly relieved. "Who was that man?"
"That was Stebos Darkedge. He helped us in the war against Ganondorf, years ago, when you were very little."
"I know," Zelda answered. "I remember…"
"What?" the king exclaimed, surprised, "You were barely six months at that time! Did you recognize his face after all those years?"
"No," Zelda answered," I didn't even see what he looks like today because I was too afraid to look, but…I remember…I remember that power. I could feel it coming back today." Zelda turned to her father. "I don't like this…I don't like this at all…"
"Neither do I, Zelda," her father agreed, "neither do I." "So here's a recap of the battle plan," Favar started, pointing to the map. It was yet another mid-afternoon in Gailins, back in the throne room, which that apparently doubled as Favar's personal military operations study. The white afternoon light shone brightly in from the windows, and it carried along with it the fresh afternoon breeze that rustled the papers on the table. There were four figures standing around the table: Link, Favar, Nikkole – Favar's second in command, and Lauren, who really wasn't at the table, but exploring the throne room.
"So far, throughout this entire war, we have been defending against attacks on every encounter," Favar explained. "This will be our first offensive strike against the enemy. We believe that the enemy holds positions at Marshwood, a small town near the Gailinian and Kerahian border. Once we take that town, we will be able to move along down the river towards the Kerahian capital, Slaincore. However, that all rests on whether or not we can capture Marshwood."
Link raised his hand in question. He had sat through a morning full of meetings with Favar and his cabinet of military advisors, but he still didn't know what his role in the overall plan was. "What is it that you want me to do during all this?" he asked.
"You have a very special role in this mission, Link." Favar answered. "Nikkole will explain."
Nikkole stepped forward to the table. A little younger than Favar, he stood a few centimeters taller than Link. His orange hair had the same style as Favar's, but was just a bit longer on the top. He wore a similar outfit as the king too. His vest was a light yellow, and the shirt under it was a startling bright orange, matching his hair. Though his clothing covered his body, Link could tell that there were sculpted muscles hiding under the fabric.
His sword hung at his right side. A lefty Link noticed. From what he could tell by the sheath, the blade was a wide broadsword – definitely not a decoration. Link didn't doubt his ability to use it either. From what Link figured, he was probably a very respectable warrior. Nikkole noticed Link sizing him up and smiled.
"Link," he started, snapping Link's attention back to reality, "after every battle, the opposing force always sends out a messenger back to their headquarters. It is your mission to find the messenger and follow it back to their base. Once you are there, I am sure you will find proof on whom the attackers are. Once you are finished, report back to rendezvous point B. Then you will be given the opportunity to travel back to Hyrule and report your findings. Hopefully then, that will be enough to convince King Harkinian to send us aid."
"Ok," Link said. "I understand. And how do I recognize this messenger?"
Nikkole answered. "The messenger will be the only meridian knight on horseback." At that moment, the doors to the room opened, and four other Gailians walked in. They wore what looked like military uniforms.
Link turned back to Nikkole and Favar. "That clears things up, thanks." The four officers made their way to the table, glancing at Link briefly.
"Your majesty," the one in the middle said. "Here are the latest reports from the front lines at Macon and Jackson." He proceeded to place the papers on the table, but was startled by a
tremendous crash that came from the back of the room.
An old suit of armor fell into view from behind one of the pillars. Embarrassed, Lauren peeked out from behind the stone column, his face a bright red.
"Uh, sorry, I was just looking at the, and he, yeah…his…umm…" he stuttered, turning to look at Favar. "Umm, yeah…am I in trouble?" Even though an air of extreme seriousness permeated the room, the group burst into laughter. Lauren looked on, bewildered. "Uh…are you guys ok?"
"I just don't know how to read this," Harkinian admitted. It was late, and he was discussing the current predicament with General Carley. Harkinian had also asked Zelda to sit in on the meeting. "From the last we ever knew, Stebos was serving the kingdom of Kerah. Now he says he is an "independent" fighting against Kerah and Gailins both. I don't understand."
"I don't believe we should be helping this man," Carley interjected. "He is obviously a renegade warlord hungry for territory. We don't know if he is trying to form his own kingdom, or take over the other ones, or even possibly perform a military coup. We should not be extending aid to help a radical revolution in countries a hundred of kilometers away from here. It just doesn't make sense, and we should not be getting involved."
"But I gave my word…" Harkinian started.
"Oh enough of this 'I gave my word' nonsense!" Carley barked. If it were any other man, Harkinian would have dismissed them right then and there for lack of respect, but Carley was different. Sometimes not the most practical or economical, but his ingenuity and creativity on the field always seemed to pull Hyrule through the tough times. "This is war and men's lives hang in the balance! Just tell him that we cannot help. This is not our battle."
"When a king's word is not respected, neither will his reign be respected," Harkinian calmly countered. "Everybody knows about the great deed Stebos did for our country, and at the expense of five thousand men, I cannot afford to jeopardize the situation by breaking my word, and having the entire kingdom questioning my rule."
"I understand where you are coming from, but common sense will have to overrule this bureaucratic nonsense. You are putting Hyrule in a dangerous situation."
"And that is why I am sending you to oversee our forces." Harkinian answered. Zelda smiled. Her father always had the hidden card up his sleeve. "There is no one better to head this mission than you."
Carley opened his mouth to negate the situation, but Harkinian had backed him into a wall. Harkinian continued.
"You see, I know you and I know how you think. If you find out that there's anything fishy going on, you may take it upon yourself to make the decisions that are in the best interests of Hyrule. I want to know exactly what the situation is over there."
"Fine," Carley gave, "but it want it affirmed that I feel that this mission may lead to the end of Hyrule."
Harkinian stifled a laugh. "General, I hardly believe that this could spell something that drastic of consequences." Harkinian looked up to see that Carley wasn't joking. "Your statement has been duly noted." Harkinian said. "Dismissed."
"Thank you, your highness," Carley answered. With a crisp salute and an about face, Carley strode from the throne room and through the doors, shutting them on his way out leaving Harkinian and Zelda alone. Harkinian frowned.
"That couldn't have gone any better," Zelda joked. Harkinian didn't take to her humor, frowning even deeper.
"I just don't know about that…" he wondered. "I hope he follows my commands…Carley's always been rather liberal in his interpretations of orders…"
Zelda asked the obvious next question. "Then why are you sending him to lead this mission?"
Harkinian sighed. "Simply put, because he's the best. His decisiveness and ingenuity more than make up for his unpredictability, and that is actually one of his traits that makes him good. The enemy never knows what is coming."
"But if you think that he may disobey your orders, why take the chance?" Zelda questioned.
"Because you will be there to make sure everything goes alright."
"Oh really?" Zelda mused, "This is the first I've heard of it."
"Yes, because you will also be there for another reason."
"Continue," Zelda said, intrigued.
"Just two days ago, I sent Link on a mission to Gailins to inspect attacks that were falling upon their land."
"I see…" Zelda started.
"It gets more complicated, trust me," Harkinian warned. "I promised Gailins that if they could identify their attacker, that we would mobilize to defend them. However, now that we know that the aggressor is Stebos, this leads us to a very tricky situation. Gailins claims they are being attacked and they don't know who it is. They could be lying and are just trying to get us to take out Stebos for them. But then Stebos claims to be under attack by Kerah and Gailins both. So, if he is telling the truth, then Gailins is on the offensive side and not on the defense like they claim." Zelda held up her hand to get her father to stop talking before his speculations went too out of control. "I see," she said, "but I still don't understand why I am going. You should just get one of your other Generals to over-see the mission."
"You must go because I cannot let the military know that Link is trying to help Gailins."
"So you are keeping secrets from your own military advisors now? I think I am starting agree with Carley about this bureaucratic nonsense." Zelda stopped to see her father frowning at her. She quickly dove for a change in subject. "Then what happens if they find out what Link is doing there, say, they get into a fight when he is there?"
"That's why you are going. You're the princess of Hyrule. That title carries some weight. If anything should go wrong, then order Carley to back down the troops. You do out rank him."
"I don't like this," Zelda bluntly stated. "But if you think you know what you're doing, then I'll play along."
"Thank you, Zelda."
Morning was approaching. Silhouettes of armored troops marched down the wide road. Leading the army marched the pikes men, with their wooden spears held high against the pastel colors of dawn, waving back and forth with each step. Following them were the swordsmen and the archers. Riding follow-up were the mounted knights, trotting along on their horses. Behind them taking up the rear, rode Favar, his royal coterie, and Link.
"You will have to be weary when tracking the messenger knight, Link," Favar warned. "If it senses you following it, it will ride faster and try to teleport away. Then we will have no chance of finding it." Link acknowledged the words with a nod. "And watch out for anyone clad in orange armor. They are the Kerahian guard, and are not to be taken lightly. Being human, they don't posses a meridian knight's brute strength, but they have more control over magic, and are much smarter."
"I will look for them," Link stated, "and if I do indeed find the ones who are responsible, I will report back to you, and depart for Hyrule to alert Harkinian of your condition."
