The Legend of Midna: Call of the Twilight

Chapter 6

The Hylian army cheered as the dark tide retreated into the distance. The five Sages pursued them, calling their power to wakefulness. The Sage of Fire dredged up molten lava, producing eruptions that incinerated many enemies; light and dark beams rained down upon the devilish legions, disintegrating anything they touched. The Sage of Forest reached out for the plants; vines wrapped around the legs of fleeing beasts, their thorns digging their way into their prisoners' bodies, while brambles shot up from the ground, their lethal thorns skewering anything unfortunate enough to have been above them. Ghost warriors walked among the black beasts, their spirit swords rending their opponents in two. As soon as the dark beasts had vanished over the horizon the Sages pooled their energies together and erected a luminous barrier around Castle Town, impenetrable by the powers of darkness. Wearily the Sage of Light floated over to Zelda. "We shall hold the barrier for as long as we can," he puffed, then floated back to his companions.

Zelda could not believe her eyes. They'd won; they'd driven back the dark army with little effort. A small frown creased her forehead as she looked toward the Gerudo Desert. The curtain of darkness has not yet lifted, she mused. It would take more than the single defeat of this army to dispel the dark curtain that was ever so slowly advancing upon Hyrule.

"My princess."

She drew herself out of her thoughts and looked at the man kneeling before her. For a fleeting second she saw Link, his blond hair and green garb fading away to be replaced by Rayn's dirty blond hair and armor. In one hand he held a sword, its blade stained with blood; in the other was a mangled shield.

"Rayn," she acknowledged, and the man rose to his feet.

"Your Majesty, we faired well on the battlefield today," said Rayn.

"Are there any casualties?"

A small trace of guilt crossed his face for the briefest of seconds. In an instant it was gone again, as he replied, "50 dead, 127 wounded. It seems that the Goddesses were with us that battle."

Zelda nodded, hiding her surprise behind a smile; she'd expected numbers well into the thousands. "Indeed they were," she said. "Tell the men that they may have a one day leave to visit their families, then report back to me as soon as you're finished. We must discuss a course of action for the coming battles," she ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Rayn saluted to her, then turned and walked away. The princess watched him leave, her eyes lingering on his broad shoulders and blond hair. She shook her head and waited, already anticipating what would come from the area where the men had been stationed. A few minutes later, as she'd predicted, she heard joyous whoops from the army's tents, while Darbus rolled up to her, his mighty Megaton Hammer in hand.

"That was a good fight, Sister!" he said, laughing. The patriarch's shoulders shifted up and down, making it seem as if two boulders were grating against each other as they rolled down a mountain. She smiled but said nothing in response, focused on keeping a straight face despite the awful sound piercing her ears. But as far as Zelda was concerned, there were no good or bad battles, only battles. Battles that despite every rulers good intentions had to be fought from time to time.

"Gorons plowed through those beasts like they were nothing! We are unstoppable!" crowed Darbus. Shaken out of her musings by his loud voice, Zelda frowned.

"Do not become overconfident, Darbus, for that only leads to disaster. I trust you haven't forgotten your... accident... in your own mines?"

The Goron shifted uneasily, well aware of the fact that if it had not been for Link, he would have remained a monster sealed within the Goron Mines. With a grunt he abruptly rolled away. Shaking her head, Zelda headed to the castle, putting on her best smile as she walked through the streets of Castle Town. The people cheered as she waved and hurried past them, praising her for the victory she had achieved. Once in the courtyard she meandered around the large, twisting statue for a bit before heading to her private chamber. As soon as Zelda had shut the door a voice spoke.

"Permission to speak to you in private, Princess?"

She whirled around to find Rayn seated at her desk, his arms folded across his chest. Finely toned muscles graced his arms, a testament to his rigorous sword training, while his sapphire blue eyes stared at her with such passion that -

Zelda blinked, breaking free of her own reverie. As if Rayn would ever do such a thing, she thought, slightly miffed, and replied, "Permission granted, considering you're already here. Though next time I would appreciate it if you had the courtesy to wait outside the door."

Rayn wasted no time getting to the point. "Princess Zelda, I formally ask that you remove me from the post of commander."

She stared at him, bewildered. "Why?"

Rayn shrugged. "Your Majesty, I cannot specify the reason, but I can no longer fulfill my duties as commander."

Zelda shook her head. "I won't allow you to resign, Rayn, for two reasons: One, you're the best commander this army has ever seen. Two, this army would never have made it through today without your leadership. It was your plan, not mine, that spared thousands of lives on the battlefield."

Rayn looked away. "You are far too generous with your compliments, Princess," he murmured. "I am honored you think so highly of me."

"You're too modest for your own good, Rayn; perhaps you should spend some time with Darbus."

He ignored her feeble attempt at a joke. "Princess, I humbly ask you to reconsider and let me resign from my post."

Now it was Zelda who folded her arms, her sapphire eyes piercing his forest green eyes. "Ask me a thousand times, Commander," she said, emphasizing his title, "and the answer will always be the same: no. I have faith in you," she replied. Rayn nodded slowly, getting to his feet.

"All right. I will continue to serve as this army's commander, on one condition."

Zelda nodded. "Name it."

He took a deep breath. "Milady... you must stay off the battlefield."

Immediately Zelda shook her head. "No! Do not ask that of me; you know that I fight not only to redeem myself but the name of the royal family in the eyes of our people!"

The commander sighed. "I had hoped..." He trailed off. "Never mind. I shall continue to serve as the army's commander, but know that I do it reluctantly." He took his leave of her then, walking out of the room before she could say another word.

Rayn... what was that about?

Zelda sat down at her writing desk and let out a sigh. She and Rayn had been childhood friends, long before she'd assumed the mantle that befitted her position. They'd had fun, doing things that only little children would ever deem fit for doing, speaking freely and acting without the restraints of their respective classes. But as she'd grown older he'd drifted away, sensing that it was time for her to start acting as Hyrule's princess. She never saw him after that, always busy with lessons of Hyrule's history, archery, basic swordplay, and the like. It was during the siege of Twilight that she saw him once more. Blond hair flailing in the violent breeze, sword raised high in the air, he'd valiantly led his men against the dark messengers of Zant. Her heart had leapt as he stepped in front of her, sword grating against the claws that threatened to wound her. And his eyes! Sky blue like Link's, lacking the feral rage of the hero - but wielding a certain determination she could not quite place. She didn't need the Triforce of Wisdom to tell her what her attention to these details meant. She liked him. Perhaps enough to love him if this odd courtship continued. She'd noticed small favors he'd had pulled for her - flowers in her room ('To make lively an already vibrant room,' he'd said), lessons in more advanced swordplay that princesses were not required to learn. She'd responded accordingly - small, gentle touches, fixed eyes upon him when she believed no one else was looking - but Rayn had seemed to have not noticed. Either that, or he was desperately clinging to his status as a commoner in order to protect her reputation. Zelda nodded to herself; that was probably it. Rayn would never do something he believed would tarnish her reputation as the Princess of Hyrule. She got up, leaning her bow against the desk. She'd play things by ear. With any luck, they'd survive this crisis, and after that... Zelda allowed a small smile to grace her lips. Well, who knows?

-----

Rayn slowly made his way down the stairs. He'd been serving as the commander of Hylian forces for the past seven years. What Zelda had said was true; he was the best general the country had ever seen. His plans had been executed flawlessly, always with little to no casualties. In terms of respect, he was held in almost the same regard as Link, the Hero of Twilight and his doppelganger. There was only one problem - he'd broken one of the few cardinal rules of being a commander.

He'd fallen in love with the princess.

He had no idea how it had happened. They had been friends as children, yes, but nothing more - he'd known that eventually she would lead Hyrule and wed some foreign prince, but never had he imagined himself with the Princess of Hyrule. A commoner and a noble - it was unheard of! He sat on the steps leading into the castle, head in his hands. When did it all start...? he wondered, and the answer presented itself as if it had been waiting for him to ask. It had been during the siege of Twilight, when he and the other knights had been turned - unknowingly - into spirits. He'd watched her from atop the wall. Always standing by the window, her eyes filled with the hope that the hero chosen by the gods would come to dispel the Twilight, her faith had never wavered. And it had been then that he'd stopped seeing her as Zelda, the child he'd grown up with, and started seeing her as the stunning woman Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. With that wonderous image of her fixed in his head he'd kept the Knights of Hyrule together until the twilight over Hyrule had vanished. He'd done little things here and there to earn her favor - the Requiem of Spirit as he had escorted her down to the battlefield was only the latest in a long line of small gestures that he had unknowingly been doing to woo her. But it was impossible - she was a goddess. And like all goddesses, she was unattainable.

Rayn turned his thoughts to the battle earlier that day. 50 men had died because he had not wanted to put her in harm's way. It had become painfully clear to him then that his love was impairing his judgement, and so he'd tried to resign from his post. Only Zelda had not let him, and so he was stuck in his position. 50 brave men died today, 25 more than I had intended... and it's all because of my infatuation with her, he thought somberly as he entered Castle Town's market square. Putting those thoughts aside, the commander mulled over battle plans as he walked. It was obvious that the dark beasts had only temporarily retreated; he had no doubt in his mind that they'd be back, and in far larger numbers. Rayn was so encompassed in his thoughts that he did not notice the scout waving a hand in front of him until the man shouted in his ear.

"Commander Rayn!" bellowed the scout. He glared at the man, irritated.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"Sir, we have a situation; reports indicate that 50 Stalfos knights have been spotted joining the dark beasts."

The commander cursed. Stalfos were just as skilled at guarding and attacking - if not more so - as the members of his own army. If there had been only ten a small battalion could have fended them off; with fifty, it would take nearly half the army to bring them down.

"And sir?" The scout fidgeted. "That's not all. They're wearing Hylian armor."

At this the blood drained from Rayn's face. The men who died today... some dark magician has ressurrected them to fight, he realized, his horror growing with each passing second. He'd been the one who had gotten them killed in the first place - and now he was going to have to kill them yet again. Hurriedly he issued orders to the scout. As the man raced away to fulfill his orders, Rayn sighed. He headed for Telma's Bar; perhaps a drink or two would soothe his anguish.

----

Hours later Rayn stood up to leave - and fell flat on his face. He slowly got up, silently cursing the floor for tilting so much. The commander stumbled out the door and into the streets, avoiding anyone he saw as he made his way to his tent. Once inside he threw himself on his pallet, covering his face with his pillow in a futile attempt to drown out the loud buzzing in his skull. Maybe having a few bottles was a bad idea, he mused as he groaned. Sleep, Rayn decided, would fix everything; tomorrow he'd draw up whatever battle plans he could come up with; surely one would work. His mind wandered aimlessly for a few seconds before sleep finally overtook him. Unbeknownst to him several men had been peeking into his tent.

"Is the commander... drunk?" inquired one soldier.

"Yep. I won't envy him in the least when morning comes."

------

Zelda sat down at her desk, a fresh pink dress on, when the Sage of Shadow materialized before her. "Princess Zelda of Hyrule," said the Sage stiffly.

"What is it now??" asked the princess, weary of speaking to people.

"A great evil presence has entered this land," replied the spirit. Zelda thought for a moment.

"Is it Ganondorf?" As unlikely as that was, one could never tell what the Goddesses had in store for Hyrule.

"No. Ganondorf's aura was far weaker, for - you may choose not to believe me - he still had some specks of goodness left within his soul. This presence... it is overwhelming. Pure evil radiates from it; it seems bent on destruction."

She looked at the Sage of Shadow, both distressed and mystified. "Does this presence have a name?"

The spirit shook its head. "Its mind is impenetrable; we cannot see into it. It is a being of great power; you would do well to be wary of it." The Sage vanished from her chamber. She silently cursed the Goddesses for her ill luck.Just when things were looking up, she thought mournfully. Yet something the spirit had said sparked her memory.

"Pure evil," she muttered, rummaging through her desk and extracting a large book entitledLegends of Hyrule. The princess flipped through the book, her eyes intently scanning each page for the phrase. At last, she found it.

Majora's Mask - of pure evil defeated by the Hero of Time during his time in . It is said that would have and killed had Majora. Though the of Time...

The text was broken in some parts and was unreadable in others. Zelda gritted her teeth in frustration and closed the book. Pure evil... could it be Majora's Mask? she wondered, returning the book to its resting place when a shattering sound pierced her ears. Alarmed, she looked out the window and froze in shock.

The Sages' barrier had been broken.