SageOfTheMinish and Sirael Lythling, I always appreciate your interest in my fic. Master of Reality, I'm glad you enjoyed what you saw! As for the LoZ manga, I have the ones for OoT and MM. I've been trying to find them online again, but... not having much luck x.x.
((Edit: Thanks Sirael for pointing out my typo! I fixed it immediately.))
Aha, school has started again and my coursework is taking away from what little time I have available to work on Queitus. I'd like to resume work, though, and so I plan on updating the fic more often. We'll see how this goes, though... best laid plans, after all...
Legend of Zelda and all official characters are licensed by Nintendo. They are not mine, I take no credit for them, and I make no profit off of them. All extra characters are mine, as well as the overall plot of the story.
It takes a while to finish a chapter, so expect sporadic updates. I'll try to post every time I finish a chapter. Finally, I hope you all will enjoy the fic.
The Legend of Zelda: Quietus
X
I'm alone. Where is everyone?
My sword. Only my sword. Of course.
Monster!
Attack. Kill. Destroy. It's a threat.
Why?
It's trying to kill you! Attack!
A slash to sever the Moblin's head.
A stab to drive the sword through a Wolfos' heart.
Dead. All of them.
The gushing blood. The festering entrails.
I did this. I did this.
So much death. Why?
Doesn't matter.
Damnit, why must I kill!
I'm a knight. I follow orders.
Hack. Slash. Thrust. Duck. Dodge. Roll. Strike.
The shadow… it's back. It's coming!
Coming to kill me.
The monsters are everywhere. They're coming for me.
They're tearing me apart! The pain! Someone, stop this!
Stop them! Kill them!
The shadow. It's come. He's here.
The sword. It's falling. My neck.
Kill me.
Please.
--
Link's eyes snapped open.
His cot was a mess, the sheets soaked with sweat, tangled around his thrashing body. There was a dull ache in his left hand and on instinct the Hylian looked over at it. The symbol was there, the three triangles, the Triforce. It had never vanished since appearing two weeks earlier.
Ever since the princess fell ill, the nightmares have always been the same. I used to kill all the time in my dreams, and then the monsters would attack me… but now… Now there's always someone there, to finish me off… someone I know…
Link sat up on the modest cot and looked around at the other Knights sleeping in the barracks. No one seemed to notice the restless Hylian. All the better, he thought. I need to get out of here… there's something wrong out there, and I need to find it before things get out of hand.
Eriol… where are you, brother? Although the king had promised to allow him to search for his brother, the princess' illness convinced the Hylian to stay. As the days passed and Zelda recovered, Link's thoughts again turned towards his brother and he wondered how Eriol was handling himself. The Great Deku Tree said that he was with that witch, Medara… I can only pray that she has done nothing to harm him…
Untangling himself from his sheets, Link stood. He gathered the few possessions he owned and made his way towards the armory. The Great Deku tree also told me that I would find Eriol soon…I haven't had a chance to break free from here, so I suppose I should take comfort in that for now… He sighed. I should head to Kakariko… appeal to the Gorons for their pearl… Shaking his head, Link wondered again if Eriol was alright. He was beginning to think that he would never be able to find his brother at all.
--
Link slid the chainmail over his white linen shirt then pulled his green tunic on over it. I never thought I'd wear something like this, he thought to himself, running a finger along one of the tunic's seams. Now it just feels… natural. With a slight smile, Link buckled a belt around his waist, then pulled on a pair of leather bracers. It was best to travel with only light armor– the chainmail would be his only indulgence.
Link double-checked his supplies once more before choosing one of the sheathed swords mounted along the wall.He slid it over his shoulder then picked up a quiver of arrows before checking the weight of several bows. After hesitating for a moment, he also grabbed a Hookshot. The grappling device may come in handy. A Hylian shield completed his equipment list. Once had had all that he wanted, he turned to the door – to face Princess Zelda.
"Are you leaving us?" she asked, her tone of voice unfathomable.
Link fell to one knee automatically. "Princess… you should be in bed, recovering…"
Zelda approached the kneeling knight, her soft pink gown whispering along the floor. "Stand, Link. I have told you before, there is no need for formality between us."
Link stood hesitantly, leaving his amassed weapons on the floor. "I'm sorry, Princess."
"Zelda," she corrected. "And I am quite tired of lying in bed. My fainting spell was not as bad as everyone thought. Only this made everyone cautious." She held up her left hand, her dress sleeve falling away to reveal the faintly glowing Triforce mark.
"I wonder what it means," Link murmured, lowering his eyes to gaze at his gloved left hand.
Zelda lowered her head and took one step into the armory. "It means that someone has found the Triforce of Power…"
"The Triforce of Power? I thought it was sealed away in the Dark Realm by the Hero of Time."
The legend of the Hero of Time was one held dearly by the people of Hyrule. In the ancient days, the Gerudo prince Ganondorf Dragmire had ventured out of the Desert Colossus and into Hyrule, swaying the king into his favor. It was not long that, through the royal family, Gannondorf gained access to the Sacred Realm, where the famed Triforce existed, left by the three Goddesses. He was able to claim the Triforce of Power for himself while the other two pieces vanished from the world. He returned to Hyrule as Ganon, King of Darkness, and overthrew the Hylian king and took the throne for himself. What followed was a period of darkness where Hyrule was ruled by monsters with Ganon at the head of it all. Then, without warning, a stranger from the Lost Woods emerged, wielding the Master Sword. He fought his way through Ganon's minions, using an heirloom of the royal family to travel through time and right all the wrongs Ganon had committed.
In the end, the stranger, dubbed the Hero of Time, triumphed. Ganon was sealed away in the Dark Realm and Hyrule began reconstructing itself. The Hero then vanished, though rumor held that he promised to return if ever the forces of darkness threaten once more. A statue of the Hero stood in the main hall of the castle.
"I'm glad you are familiar with the legend," Zelda said, looking up at Link with a smile. There was a sadness about it that Link noticed immediately. "The Triforce was indeed sealed away… which means that something far worse than we could have ever anticipated has occurred…"
Link tensed, abruptly understanding. "You don't think… the Dark Lord…"
"Is there any other explanation? He was the last to claim the Triforce of Power, and he took it with him when he was sealed away. If the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage have both reappeared, then that can only mean…" Her breath caught in her throat.
Link abruptly knelt before the princess, taking her hands in his own. "Do not fear, princess. The gateway to the Dark Realm has long been sealed, and there is no way he can escape the Hell he created there. Ganon can not rise again, nor will I, or any of the other Knights, allow him to. We'll find out what's happening and win this war. I promise."
Zelda was startled by his earnest proclamation, and a faint blush tinged her cheeks. She smiled faintly and stared down into his steady, confident gaze. "If you say so Link, then I will believe you."
Smiling himself, Link stood. "I'm going to Death Mountain to obtain the Goron's pledge of allegiance. While I'm in Kakariko, I'll be able to find out more about what's going on beyond the mountains."
"But what about your brother?"
Link's smile faltered. "The Great Deku Tree promised me that Medara would not harm him. For now, I have to trust in that. I love my brother, and I want him to come home… but what good would that be if we had no home to come back to?"
Zelda saw the pain on Link's face and decided not to press the issue. "A point well taken. I wish you the best of luck on your mission then…"
Link nodded and went to leave, but Zelda's hand on his shoulder made him pause. "And please," she said, "be careful."
"With your blessing with me, Zelda, then nothing can touch me." Flashing another confident smile, Link picked up his arms and left the armory. Zelda's pale lavender eyes, saddened at his departure, followed wistfully.
--
Medara watched the mass of wild men and monsters below her with a smile on her face. They marched more or less in formation towards the pass through Death Mountain to join the battle against the Arcadians, who refused to surrender the path to Hyrule. From her position atop a rocky overhang, Medara had a clear view of Ganon's… no, Eriol's… army.
"We're ahead of schedule… my lord," the witch murmured to the armored general behind her.
Eriol stood beside his powerful warhorse Blade, both prepared for war. Eriol wore armor made of some metal that proved both light and durable. His sword was sheathed on his back beneath a flowing black cape that billowed in the slight breeze. "That's good," he replied. "We'll soon arrive at Goron's Pass and sweep into Hyrule."
"And then we can defeat both the king and your brother," Medara said as she turned to approach her master, sliding a finger along one armored arm. "Then everything will be as it should."
Eriol smirked and glanced over at the witch. "I only care about getting my revenge on Link. You and Ganon can do what you want with Hyrule."
Medara smiled and leaned closer, her eyes swirling from blue to brown to green. "Is that the only thin you care about?"
Eriol quickly looked away, his face flushing. "Well…"
"I understand," Medara cooed. "The mission first. But after…"
With an embarrassed grin, Eriol walked over to the edge of the overhang. "Do we really need so many monsters?" he asked, changing the subject. "I thought that monsters were the scourge of the world…"
Medara's emerald eyes turned a dull red as she scowled. He's not like us, she reminded herself. He's just a farm boy from southern Hyrule. The fool's too dense to even understand what's really going on. She took a breath to calm herself. My job is to keep him happy… no matter how annoying he may be… Putting a new smile on her face and willing her eyes to a pleasant blue, she joined Eriol's side. "The monsters are a part of nature, just like everything else. If they were our enemies, then why would they march alongside us to war?"
Eriol grunted noncomittedly.
Medara slid an arm around one of his. "Don't worry, Eriol… everything will soon be well. We expect to join the fight against the Arcadians within a day or so.
"And from there," Medara murmured, "we enter Hyrule…"