The Legend of Zelda: The Scepter of Darkness

Chapter 10: Fiery Awakening

So hot… The storm must've ending and now the sun has come out… These blankets are getting stuffy…

Mmm… Is something burning…? Ah, it must still BE raining and so the fireplace has been lit to warm the guests. Yes, that must be it! …unless…

She suddenly sat straight up, gasping out. "What in the world?!"

Flames lashed about in the ceiling and through the walls. The sight out through the window wasn't much better. Nearby buildings were scorched in flames as soldiers on horseback rode through the city streets. The royal guard of Hyrule also fought back with mighty forces, but quenching the flames and fighting off the enemy were two different things.

Saria did what she knew best to do. She quickly rolled out of the bed and made her way out, attempting to stay as low to the ground as she possibly could. On the way, she reached up and grabbed her quiver and bow off the end table, also not forgetting her cloak, either. Moving on ahead, she went up and felt the door. Though it was warm, her hand was not scorched, so she quickly turned the knob and kicked it open. A flaming log fell down from above, but other than that, the area immediately outside the room seemed alright.

She leaped over the flames and quickly made her way down the hall. Most others seemed to have gone, but some came out of nearby rooms, as well. She quickly made her way down the stairs, avoiding fallen wooden boards and logs from the ceiling and walls that had been set ablaze.

The main floor, on the other hand, was a mess. It seems that the fires had been started here, hence how she was able to sleep through much of the early parts. The entire front entrance had collapsed in upon itself. Smoke rose to the ceiling; toxic fumes filling the air. The good news, though, was that the fire appeared to have spread upward more than it did outward; there was a nice path to the path halls which was still open. The flames were fast approaching, though.

Once again, Saria leaned towards the ground, attempting to stay clear of the smoke above. She rapidly pushed her way forward, making it around the front desk and to the back. A figure stood ahead, pointing the way towards the exit. "This way!" he cried out.

Saria nodded and quickly moved in that direction. More fires were back here, as well as smoke, but it wasn't nearly as numerous. This room seemed to be the dining hall. Four large tables were in the room, each seating five. The kitchen area was straight ahead through a door. She made her way onward and saw the exit nearby. It figured that the back exit would be through the kitchen…

As she stepped in, a pile of flaming debris suddenly fell from above. What's worse, though, is that she thought she saw a fiery figure within that pile. She gasped out and backed away. "Oh no…" she muttered softly.

She lowered her head and closed her eyes, saying a quick prayer, and then quickly turned back to try and find another way. A few people came in behind her, and now the man that directed her here seemed to be heading this way, at well. A couple others, clearly workers here, also came through, seeming to find that everyone left had already either gotten out or had died trying.

The fires continued to spread inward and the survivors found themselves searching around frantically for a way through. One of the workers pointed to the far corner, to the left of where Saria now stood, but to the right of where they had first came in. "There is another path around there. Let's hurry!"

Saria nodded. "Yes, of course," she stated in reply.

The civilians rushed toward the path and Saria followed behind, with the workers in tow. A door opened up into a storeroom, but there was yet another path to the left which went back into the kitchen, again. The door was just to the right as they entered into the kitchen area and it was wide open. Everyone rushed out into the back alley and Saria simply followed behind, but when the rest turned left, she instead decided to head right.

Rushing through the alleyway, she came out into the west street. Things were such a mess out here, though; she didn't know what to make off it! What in the world was going on? Who was doing this? Soldiers on horseback rode through the streets, burning everything in their path. Strangely enough, it seemed that they tried their best to AVOID contact with any and all civilians.

Hyrule's own soldiers fought back, and fought well, but the attack came so sudden that the enemy had a distinct advantage over them, for they had more time to plan out their maneuvers. Regardless, the enemy was still being pushed back. An attacking army generally doesn't have nearly as many reinforcements as that of the defenders, for some must still stick back at the mother country for support there. Saria had studied up on various books of histories over the past years and had learned of such things.

She stood watching from the alleyway, wrapping her cloak back around her body once more, hiding her face from the view of these outsiders. The attacking army was being pushed towards town square, where most of the fighting seemed to have taken place. The defenders used long spears that worked well in combating their enemies which rode swiftly through the streets.

Suddenly, a ball of fire came flying in from over the south wall, landing a short distance behind her. It exploded upon impact and she was flung into the street. Rolling over on the ground, Saria attempted to regain her footing. She looked up and saw a fallen warrior, his legs still gripping around his now-dead horse. Though startled, that was not what caught her eye. On his helmet was a familiar symbol… a rock formation, human-shaped, with a shield in the left "hand" and a sword in the right. She recognized it as the emblem from one of the countries she had visited.

"That's the emblem of Masa!" she proclaimed, stunned beyond all belief. She quickly forced herself up; eyes unable to shift from the body lying there. "Th…That's not possible! Masa is good ally of Hyrule…"

Swiftly and suddenly, a strong hand pulled her up off the ground. She struggled and screamed, crying out, but to no avail. The rider looked into her eyes, smiling. "I've got you, now," he stated.

The soldier set her in front of him, using his left hand to prevent her from getting away. He raised his sword up in his right, calling out. "To arms! Our mission has been fulfilled!"

Saria gasped. "M-mission? What mission? What in the world are you talking about?!"

The man snickered. "You brought this curse and now you must pay…pay with your life!"

"Wh-what?! That's impossible!" 'No one else could possibly know of this…' she thought to herself.

XXXXX

Link made his way back through the courtyards; finding it strange that all the guards were gone. He reckoned that it was probably time for them to change shifts. No sooner had he made his way around the corner, though, before seeing smoke billowing beyond the gates of Hyrule Castle. Soldiers rushed down from the castle and the opposing courtyard to the front gate, where an army of enemy soldiers fought trying to get through.

Acting upon instinct, Link lunged forward, locking swords with one of the intruders. He pushed forward, as did his rival. However, Link was too swift, and the enemy soldier failed to notice the swift kick that Link swung upwards while the soldier concentrated on the sword. Link quickly turned and swung his foot around again, slamming into the face of another soldier. Suddenly, he heard a yell from behind him.

Spinning around, he saw an enemy soldier that had slipped through the line and now stood before his eyes. A Hyrulean spear was gutted through his stomach. The soldier pulled his spear back out and the enemy fell dead. Link gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks," he stated.

Immediately he spun back and swung his sword around, slashing across the shoulder of another enemy soldier that had come up from behind him. The man fell to the ground, weakened, and Link kicked him aside, moving onward to help the defenders push the line back to town square.

A group of defenders rushed forward, but were suddenly bombarded by enemy arrows from the rooftops. Link had followed behind, but was suddenly glad he wasn't moving as fast as those others. Finding a fallen enemy warrior nearby, he managed to grab a small dagger slipped into a sheath hung from his belt. Turning back, he rushed forward, and threw the dagger up as hard as he could. The dagger cut through the air, slicing past one of the enemy archers on the rooftop of the now burning inn. The archer fell to the ground and Link suddenly got an idea.

He forced his way through, fighting off those that approached and leaving the rest to the defenders, until at last he found the dead archer. The battle raging behind him still left eerie thoughts in his mind, but if this worked out, then they'd be much better off. Rummaging over the body, he found the bow used by the archer and a quiver. There were still twenty-seven arrows left in it. Plenty enough.

No sooner did he grab the quiver and swing it over his shoulder when he heard afwik and an object come spinning towards him through the air. Link quickly rolled back as the arrow struck the ground a few inches away. Had he been a few seconds slower, that arrow would've hit him in the head.

Moving swiftly, he threw an arrow into the bow and spun, launching it immediately. Link was swift and acute with the bow. He trained a lot with Romani back at the ranch using his old bow, which he left in the spare room where he was staying. He also had practice using the Fairy Bow from the Forest Temple. As such, his aim was unmatchable.

The arrow hit the archer directly in the chest. He fell from his perch and into the street below. A few warriors nearby saw this and immediately turned to Link, moving toward him. Link chuckled, slipping the bow into the quiver and drawing his sword, bracing himself. "You don't want to mess with me," he stated.

The lead man chuckled back. "Hehe, confident, aren't you, boy? The way I see things, you're outnumbered three to one."

Link kept that snicker on his face as the man and his two companions drew their swords, charging forward. The green clad boy rolled forward, slipping between the middle man and the right one. He swung the blunt of his blade back, knocking the leader in the head, then followed that by swiftly swinging his foot around and kicked him away, knocking him down to the ground, still alive, but unconscious.

The remaining two were surprised by this maneuver and immediately turned to strike, but Link had other ideas. He brandished his sword in his hand and made a quick three-sixty, hitting both of them with the blade of his sword across their chests. Because they wore heavy armor it didn't hurt them much, as Link had realized, but the impact of the blade striking that spot knocked them back and knocked the breath right out of them. Both fell backwards and passed out.

Link swung his sword back behind him and slipped it into the sheath that hung from his back, grinning slyly. He rubbed his hands together as if to say "Job well done."

He turned back to face the battle behind him, but suddenly, he heard a horn call out from a side street. Instantly everything stopped. Both the defenders and the attackers turned to face in the direction where the horn had blown. Link was surprised at this.

"To arms! Our mission has been fulfilled!" a voice cried out.

Suddenly, all the remaining attackers left, rushing after the one who had blown the horn. The defenders were too stunned to even think about following them. Link raised an eyebrow and walked to the central fountain where one of the guards stood. "What's going on?" he asked.

The guard nodded. "It seems that whatever they came here to do, they have done it. It is obvious to me now that the battle and the fires were only a distraction for their true objective. They never intended on hurting anybody except those who would get in their way of achieving their goal."

Link was starting to understand this better, now, but one thing still boggled his mind. "Uh, what goal…?" he asked.

The man pointed to the lead warrior, riding out on horseback with a horn in his right hand. His other held firmly in his arms a girl. Not just any girl, though.

Link gasped out. "Saria!"