-Six Years Later-
The moon hung high in the night sky as the inhabitants of the Southern Hyrule Field Anti-Hybrid outpost slept, warm in their beds. Few sentries were posted on such calm nights like this. The air was warm and the crops were good, leaving everyone in a blissful state even if they were awake; that's why he chose tonight.
"We're under attack!" An armor clad guard roared just before an arrow burst forth from his windpipe, causing the man to gurgle in pain as he gripped the shaft and fell to his knees. A loud bell began to chime almost immediately after the guard fell to the ground, his fingers limp around the arrow, and his eyes glazed over.
Within minutes, the fortress was alive and awake with hundreds of men, all armed and angered by the sight of the full moon hanging lazily in the center of the night sky.
"I see him!" One archer from up on the wall yelled. Bringing up his bow, he took aim; but gasped as an arrow flew out from the darkness, split through the thick string of the bow, and embedded its tip within his shoulder.
The guard howled in pain and dropped his now useless weapon, but was silenced quickly as a blast of fire collided with his body and the surrounding area of five feet.
"Magicians to the wall!" An unknown soldier called out. Men with long sticks poured out into the courtyard from within the structure and climbed the stairs until they all stood atop the stone barrier. "There!" One of them shouted as he launched a ball of fire off into the darkness. The ball exploded upon impact, sending tiny flames about the point of impact.
"I got hi-" The magician started, but was cut off as a spear of ice found its way into his abdomen. He fell back and writhed in agony, though no one came to his aid, for they were all too busy building a shield of magic to block a hail storm of razor sharp ice now targeting everyone on the wall. Just as their shields began to falter, the ice suddenly halted and all was silent.
Before anyone could react, a man wearing a hood and a blue tunic materialized before the wizard on the far right and thrust his sword through the magician's gut. Holding up the body in front of himself, the man in blue charged forward, intent on either impaling another body, or throwing them off the wall.
The archers in the courtyard quickly took aim as blood began to drizzle down the wall from above. Just as the man finished off another wizard, the arrows were loosed upon him, though none met their mark as a powerful gust of wind threw them all back down to the ground, along with the last wizard.
Lightning split the sky for but a moment, and the man in blue was gone from his perch above, and now down in the courtyard, cutting down at the very least, one enemy per swing. As soon as the remaining guards recovered from the sudden onslaught, they rushed forward with a cry before being blasted away by some form of magical green-yellow light.
The man in blue stood silent and still as his enemy recovered, before long, they all ran forward again, but the same fate met their efforts once again.
"Surrender now, no more blood need be shed tonight unless you will it." He calmly offered.
As if to answer him, an archer pulled back his bowstring and let loose a bolt at full power at the same time as another flash of lightning lit the night. When everyone's eyes refocused, the archer lay dead, his own arrow deeply embedded in his forehead. They looked back to the man in blue and were surprised to see he now held a bow of his own, knocked with another arrow and pulled taut.
"Last chance."
Despite the show of skill presented by the invader, they rushed forward for a third time. He quickly fired his arrow into the closest target, closed the bow and slipped it into his holster on his leg before drawing his sword and hacking through those unfortunate enough to be caught within his reach.
Before long, each fell to his blade, save for one. The last soldier dropped his sword as the man in blue turned to face him directly, letting his last victim slowly slide off his weapon, where it dropped to the ground. The soldier dropped his sword and pointed to a door on the far side of the courtyard. "Through the door, up the stairs, down the hallway, and to the left. You can't miss it!"
"Thank you." The invader simply walked past the guard and let him run away in fear. He opened the door that was specified and entered into a grand ballroom, if it could really be called that. It wasn't terribly spectacular, but from the look of the tapestry, it at least held some sense of formality.
Doing as the guard said, he strode to the other side of the room and climbed a gray, carpet covered staircase. Once at the top, he continued onward past four statues and down a hallway where it T'd off both to the left and right.
He turned left and found a small set of stairs leading downward. The man quietly stepped down into darkness, and stood still as soon as the ground leveled out. As his eyes adjusted to the low levels of light, he looked around to find cages lining the entire perimeter. Whispers suddenly filled the room as the cells' many prisoners peered from behind their bars to see whether they were to be fed or beaten.
A woman in a cage to his right almost immediately began weeping when she caught sight of his blood soaked form and crawled as far back in her prison as far as she could. The invader frowned at the thought of these cells being considered protection to its inhabitants.
The man slowly walked over to the woman's cage and looked inside to see a Zora - Hylian mix, covered in bloody welts and bruises. Her clothing was ripped so much that the few scraps left were tied around her arms and legs where her beatings were worst to stop the blood flow. From the look of her current condition, she had possibly been through more than just the beatings her skin portrayed.
Hearing her sob louder when she saw him outside her cell, tears began to build in his own eyes and he slowly unsheathed his sword. "Please." The woman barely made out in a broken voice. "No more. I beg you."
With a few slices, the man cut clean through the cast iron bars and pulled them away as she buried her face in her hands. The invader slipped his blade back into his scabbard and knelt in front of the woman. She gasped suddenly as he gently hugged her, stroking her back as soothingly as he could manage.
"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." He whispered before pulling away, and bringing his hood back so she could see his face. "My name is Zorn, and I'm here to get you all out of here."
Her sobbing slowly decreased until she could speak clearly enough for him to understand. "No you aren't, you're just like the last guard."
"No, ma'am, I'm not" He pulled her back into a hug and gently whispered. "I'm just like you."
She sniffed a few times. "Liar."
Zorn sighed and stood. "I need to get the others, there isn't much time." He slowly walked out of her cell and began cutting through the next cell, and the next, and the next. The room quickly filled with gasps, that eventually turned into astonished cries of freedom as people began to step out of their cages.
He finished the last cell and walked back to the stairs from which he entered the room as a smile crept across his face. "Alright, now everyone listen up!" All heads turned towards him and silence filled the room. "I haven't dispatched all the guards nor their leader, but the majority of them are dead. Make sure no one is left behind, and follow me, understand?"
"Who are you?" An elderly looking man asked.
"My name is Zorn, I am a Hybrid who has a personal score to settle with the one known as Kabalstin, as do all of you I presume. Time is short so please, those strong enough, help the weaker, I will fight off any resistance we encounter. Are there any more questions?" He asked as he began to count how many there were before him, eventually reaching a total of twenty.
"Where will we go? The Hunters are everywhere!" Called out a younger looking Zora – Goron.
"I have liberated Kakariko Village, Death Mountain, and most of Faron Woods; however there is a newly established settlement that I have yet to set foot just past Faron's Spring. They could be safe, as I have heard they are a simple farming village, but we can never be too careful, can we?" His smile slowly dropped as the sound of clanking armor and yells came from behind him.
"The intruder is in here!" Called out one voice.
"Close it off!" Cried another.
Zorn whirled around as a gate fell down at the top of the stairway and was quickly locked by a guard standing behind the bars. Just as the lock clicked into place, an arrow slid through the small clearance offered by the bars and found its way into the man's lung. He cried out in pain and fell on his back with his grip locked tightly around the shaft.
A blue figure stood behind the bars meant to lock them all in the dungeon with a ball of flame slowly building between his hands. The guard looked to the intruder just as the flames were released. The flames easily melted the bars away, leaving nothing but rapidly cooling iron at his feet and scorched stone in its wake.
Zorn smirked and called back to the prisoners. "It's time to go!"
He kept his eyes focused towards the end of the hall, only listening to the many bodies climbing up the stairs. He spared a quick glance back before motioning for them to follow him. They all moved onwards as fast as they possibly could, making less time than Zorn would have liked, leading to several encounters with guards, but they made it to the courtyard regardless.
Their savior looked across the open ground to the closed gate and shot a bolt of lightning into its epicenter, throwing it off its hinges and a good distance away from the area from what it was designed to protect. The many escapees increased their pace at the sight of freedom within their grasp, some even giving joyful shouts of excitement.
Zorn watched as each and every one of those in his group walked safely into Hyrule Field, save for one. Oh no... Just as he thought this, a voice called out from a balcony above the ballroom entrance. "You! Stop where you are!"
He almost laughed out loud at the command, but kept quiet and looked to where the voice came from. Gazing down upon him was the ever infamous Lawrence Hastings, Captain of the outpost. He stood at six and a half feet in height, wearing simple battle armor, helmet included, and wielding a broadsword in his left hand. In his right, he held a bloodied woman, his sword to her neck. "I don't know why you have come and let loose all these freaks! But if you so much as take your eyes off me, I will end this one, are we clear?"
"Crystal clear." He replied. Zorn looked upon the woman, her face of fear and pain, and realized that she had been the first one he had freed, but why was she left behind? Lawrence handed her off to a guard then made his way down from the balcony until he stood directly in front of Zorn.
"Well I'll be damned," The captain started. "You're barely even a man. How old are you? Eighteen, nineteen? Or maybe you are just an old magic man?"
"Tomorrow will be twenty-one." Zorn stated.
The captain snorted. "Bullshit, I was awake when you shot that first arrow, I saw your entire infiltration, you are too skilled to be so young. My only question is why, if you have such talent, do you wait until now? You have, after all, had many nights like this, so why now?"
"That's twice I've been called a liar today," He chuckled. "Seems no one believes what they hear these days. As for why tonight, I was only just released from my studies as a Master."
"I don't believe you, but that doesn't really matter, the point is: you are very good. I have a proposition for you uh..."
"Zorn."
"Zorn, it 'tis a duel of the sword. If I win, you serve me and round up all of those prisoners you let free. If you win, you and those abominations can have a one hour head-start ahead of my men. If you don't agree, you can all die right now."
A smile slowly crept onto Zorn's face. "What makes you think you are in any position to make deals?"
"What makes you think I'm not?" Lawrence countered.
"Just curious." He replied, his smile not fading. "Alright, I guess I could humor you with a little swordplay."
The captain's brow twitched and his attitude visibly faltered for a split second before being forced back into submission, transforming Zorn's smile into an almost devilish grin. "No magic, no arrows, only melee, understood?"
"Of course."
Lawrence backed away ten paces as did Zorn, each drawing their sword and holding it at the ready. The two stared each other down from across the way, waiting for the unspoken signal for the match to begin; and as if to answer their wait, the first of many drops of rain fell, and the two immediately began circling one another.
He certainly is confident. Zorn thought as he waited for his opponent to attack. Even after watching me earlier. The distance between the two swordsmen steadily lessened over time until they were almost within arm's length. Lawrence was the first to swing, fed up with waiting for such a long time. Zorn brought his sword up and knocked away the deadly steel flying towards him, then swung back with a weak attack, simply testing the captain for the time being.
His enemy jumped away, out of the wide path of the sword. Bad form, that one easily could have been blocked. He watched the captain's feet as they began circling once again, waiting and watching. Lawrence awkwardly placed one foot in front of the other and tripped up over himself; seeing this, Zorn took his chance and swung his blade upwards to meet the stumbling captain's forehead.
Before the weapon collided, his opponent twisted away, apparently in control of the fall all along, and quickly lashed out at his head. Zorn ducked and kicked the captain squarely in the chest, knocking him a few feet back. He recovered quickly, swinging for Zorn's abdomen.
Zorn kicked the weapon upwards, surprising Lawrence to say the least, then smashed the hilt straight into the center of the captain's helm, denting the metal inwards. He cried out in pain, working the helmet slowly off his head until he was free, and slightly dizzy.
As the captain growled, Zorn snickered quietly to himself. Relies on chance and surprises; fool. With a howl of anger, Lawrence lunged forward to which Zorn easily parried. The captain spun around with the momentum already achieved, and brought his blade around into a diagonal slice. The blade was slapped away by one of his arm guards as rain began to fall a bit harder.
His opponent rolled away before lunging at him once again, trying to maintain the illusion of power with ferocity. Their two blades clashed over and over again, sending sparks through the air as their speed increased. Zorn twirled around, as if dancing, blocking nearly as much as he attacked; though with the many dizzying spins, it was hard to tell which he did more of.
Their swords collide one final time before Lawrence was knocked away with a forceful shove. The captain fell to the ground, panting like a marathon runner as rain began to pool in the corners of his eyes. He looked up to Zorn whom just stood, grinning down at where he lay.
"So does this mean I get a head start?"
Lawrence slowly stood, his breathing now beginning to settle, and motioned to the guard on the balcony. Zorn snapped his eyes upwards in time to spot the guard tightening his arm in preparation to kill. Within mere moments, Zorn knocked Lawrence back to the ground and launched a solid ball of ice as thick as a cannonball into the armored chest of the guard, sending him away from the woman. She fell to the ground without any form of support and he threw a shield around her form just before the captain was upon him once again.
With the rules no longer in play, Zorn shot his hand forward, and blasted a fireball at Lawrence, knocking him on his back. The flames licked at him for a few seconds before being extinguished by the rain. He quickly got up, and realizing that he no longer had control of the situation, he fell back on the oldest of tactics.
"All men to the courtyard!" He called out as he ran towards the door to the ballroom. Zorn grinned and threw his sword at the escaping pansy, the hilt colliding with the back of his head, sending him into the land of make believe.
(Hello Neighbor.)
The blades on the underside of each arm sprung open as guards began pouring into the courtyard, all armed and with eyes trained on him. Several archers took aim from balconies, as well as two magicians, the latter being the last of the group he took out earlier.
Time seemed to slow as the first archer took his shot, the arrow taking several seconds to make more than even a few feet from its original resting place. Zorn snatched the arrow from the air as it flew closer, and time resumed to its normal speed. He fired it with a blast of air back at the original owner, the shaft imbedding itself deep within his cranium.
Things quickly became a blur as the first of many swords swung towards him. He ducked underneath the first swing and stabbed in between the wielder's ribs, slicing out the back of his armor as he cut at the throat of another enemy. He butterfly kicked over a low swing and dented in the helmet of one guard, a sickening crunch resounding from the attack, before shooting several fireballs into an oncoming trio.
Zorn narrowly dodged an arrow that whizzed past his face, the tip embedding itself in a friendly target. The guard fell to the ground as another arrow shot passed Zorn, doing the same as the first. He ducked low to the ground, and sliced the backs of several guards' legs as he rolled around in a wide circle before coming up and upper-cutting another, his blade ripping out the jaw and tongue of the guard as he forcefully whipped himself around to catch a sword.
A spear of ice shot just past his nose, chilling it ever so slightly for but a moment before sticking harmlessly into the ground. Zorn shot a lightning bolt up into the wizard, the powerful attack striking true, cooking its victim in an instant as yet another arrow flew towards him, this time cutting a thin line across his cheek.
Even at the speed things were already going, it seemed to only escalate further to the point where a few lucky men landed a fairly decent punch either on his arms or back, though never anywhere else. He was sure there was going to be bruises and possibly welts, but it was nothing a little bit of magic couldn't fix in a hurry.
As their numbers began dwindling, the remaining two archers and the last magician became more of a threat, sending their projectiles down upon him nearly every time he struck down an enemy. Zorn howled in pain as one arrow finally struck home, embedding itself with his left bicep, making it almost all the way through, had it not been for the feathered tail. Gritting his teeth together, he snapped one end off and removed the wooden shaft, narrowly dodging a spear aimed at his neck.
Zorn ran for the stairs leading up to the balconies' level and launched himself at the first archer, stabbing his target in the gut before he could get another shot off at him. The other archer fired from a short distance away, the first archer providing a decent shield against the projectile. Zorn threw the meat shield at his enemy, pinning him to the ground and giving him enough time to rush over and slit the man's throat.
The intruder quickly stood back up and ran onwards towards the magician, who was firing a flurry of fireballs towards him. Zorn fought against the agonizing pain in his arms as he caught the many fireballs headed towards him, combining them all into one big blazing inferno. The magician's eyes widened and he quickly spun on his heel, sprinting away from the ball of flame that was unleashed upon him as soon as his back was turned.
As soon as the rain played its part, all that remained was a Goddess awful stench that was quickly being subdued a bit more as each droplet fell, and what seemed to be remnants of... Something...
Zorn did his best to heal up his arm before stepping to the edge of the balcony and hoping atop the railing. The remaining forces in the courtyard below looked up to where he appeared, some throwing spears at him, some running for the stairs, but all attempts to stop him were in vain. He extended one palm towards those still on the grounds and closed his eyes as he whispered: "Din's Fire."
A very small ball of light the size of a marble slowly grew in his hand, the heat building as each second passed until he had to place his other arm over his face and turn his head. The ball suddenly disappeared and all was silent. Then, as if the gates of hell had opened, the area where his hand had been pointed exploded.
The concentrated flames stayed within a perfect circle, and as quickly as they came, they vanished. Zorn opened his eyes a gazed down to the red hot ground below where his enemies had been only moments ago. The few guards that remained stared in awe before they, quietly as possible, backed down from whence they came and ran for the exit.
Zorn sighed and stepped down from the railing, then walked over to where the woman lay. He removed the shield from around her and placed a hand over some of her wounds, healing the freshest ones first. She looked up to meet his eyes, fatigue obvious on her face, and gave the best smile she possibly could.
"You saved me."
He smiled back at her, not halting the healing process. "You are worth saving, my dear."
Her eyes sparkled as she continued to smile. Zorn finished with what he could in the short amount of time he had been given to heal her, and then continued on his own arm for another minute or so before carefully lifting her into his arms and carrying her into what was left of the courtyard.
As they stepped down from the last step, Lawrence began to sit up, his hand holding the back of his head. Zorn sat the woman down up against a wall and walked over to where the pained captain sat, picking up his sword along the way.
Lawrence caught sight of all that was around him and his jaw fell limp, then he saw the intruder moving towards him and began to panic. Zorn's underarm blades slid back inside his gauntlets and he replaced his sword within its scabbard. The captain began to crawl away from him as he came closer, but was not fast enough and was snatched up by the collar.
Zorn narrowed his eyes into slits as he whipped the captain face directly in front of his own. "Now you listen to me, and listen good. The only reason I'm letting a scum bag like you live is so you can deliver a message for me, understand?"
Lawrence gulped and shakily nodded his head.
"Good. I want you to tell that swine Kabalstin that I will follow through with the promise I made him; tell him Zorn is coming for his head!" As he finished, he threw the captain the ground and walked back to the Zora - Hylian without another word. He picked her up and sparing no more time within the outpost, he left.
Zorn led the group of Hybrids, after finding where they had all gone, to Kakariko Village, where he made sure they were all well fed and cared for. The owner of the local Inn was kind enough to offer them all shelter, however cramped it was, until they were all well enough to fend for themselves.
Several Hybrids were strong enough upon their arrival to not require care, and quickly found ways to help those still in need. It brought a smile to Zorn's face to see them all free. Though he had fought Kabalstin's forces in the past, this had been the first large outpost, as well as the first inhabited by prisoners.
Though he wanted to stay longer and make sure for himself that everything went according to plan, he had a previous agenda already rolling along. As morning grew closer, he made his way up to the graveyard; He had slept all of the day before and still had the energy to continue on until night fell once again. He had planned everything down to the letter for the prior night so that this day would be perfect, so that his time with her would be perfect.
Zorn grinned madly and his cheeks flushed at the thought; today was the day. He made his way through the hole on the far side of the graveyard and hopped into the pool of water once on the other side. He swam down to the bottom and let the water carry him through the tunnel on the northern wall.
Darkness followed soon after he was pulled through, and he could only feel how fast he moved through the tunnel. Before long, he was greeted by the morning sun coming up just over the horizon as he was dumped into the crisp waters of Lake Hylia. His senses were alive as the cool water hit him, like one of Darunia's left hooks, and took the most calming of "Breathes" he had in years.
There was something magical about the water here, when compared the rivers and ponds he had to deal with over the last few years, it was like the contrast of pure vanilla and sweaty undergarments. But what made it all even better was what was waiting for him at the bottom of the lake.
Zorn quickly swam down to the crater at the bottom and found the vent to The Water Temple. He quickly swam through it and broke free into the temple only seconds later. He jumped to the center tower and ran to the left, then jumped across to a door and burst through it. As he had when he was younger, he continued onwards until reaching the room with the dead tree in it. As before, the door behind him was blocked almost immediately by bars that slid into place.
Zorn stepped forward into the water, crossed to the other side of the "room" then spun around, and as expected, there stood a shadow at the base of the tree.
"It's been a long time, Zorn." The Shadow said. "I was beginning to think you were going to leave her to herself, but every time I would say something, she would scold me and say: He promised, and if I know him, he will return."
The Shadow pushed himself off the tree and walked towards him. "Seems she was right, and thank the Goddesses!" It threw up its hands. "With only me to talk to, you would think she would change the topic every once in awhile!"
Zorn smiled at his doppelganger and shook his head. "It's good to see you again."
The Dark One smiled, which was rather frightening with the sharpened teeth. "You too, Zorn, but enough of this idle chatter, I know why you're here, and I'm guessing you wanted to surprise her by being there when she wakes up so I won't hold you here any longer."
The bars on the doors slid up and the endless fog around them faded until they were in a true room.
"Thanks, er..." Zorn realized that he had never actually know The Shadow's name and felt a little embarrassed by the lack of knowledge.
"Enki." The Shadow filled in for him.
"Enki, thank you Enki." Zorn turned towards her door and slowly entered, being sure to keep silent. He looked to her bed as the door opened enough for him to slip through but found the blankets pulled back and empty. His heart plummeted and he let the door open itself the rest of the way, his hand unable to keep a grip. "I'm too late..."
Enki chuckled from behind him. "No you aren't."
Zorn turned around, a confused expression spread across his face. "What?"
"She only comes in here during the day, usually just to get something. She spends the rest of her time in your old room."
As Zorn stood in front of the door that had been his for a large portion of his life, his heart pounded madly within his chest, threatening to break free. He slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes caught sight of her form, asleep, in his bed. Why she was there, he couldn't begin to fathom, the same going for the unbelievable feelings flowing through him.
All he could think as he stood there was how beautiful she looked; it was like nothing else in the world. Before he knew exactly what he was doing, he had quietly closed the door and was walking over to the right side of the bed. He carefully sat down on the side of the bed, making sure he didn't send too much motion through the bed, and just looked at her.
He couldn't believe he was here, after such a long time, home. All he had done since he left in his spare time was think about what it would be like to come back. And all seemed too good to be true. But as those deep purple eyes fluttered open, time stood still. What was real and what wasn't no longer held significance.
All that mattered now were the eyes of a Goddess, staring deep into his own, and the smile that sent him to Heaven then brought him back.
I'm sorry this as taken so long, there has been a lot going on. I hope this chapter was worth the wait, I worked really really hard on it. I think I rewrote it three times just so I was sure everything sounded right. Oh and Hello Neighbor is a reference to Mister Rogers. I'll update again as soon as I can, I promise!
The Sage of Water,
~ConGie
