OK, I've gotten bored with boldening my ANs, sorta distracts from the chapter itself. Anyway, nice long chapter here. This was developed from a couple of short ideas from ConGie and Logan1047, Logan in particular because I'd let the subplots get out of hand. One will be more or less resolved in this chapter. Also, some background on Arylus here. Now, I've played the game again and am acutely aware that Link's Triforce remains on his left hand/paw even in wolf form, but I've said forehead so far, so I might as well stick with it - he's got some markings on his forehead that I mistook for the Triforce.
Thanks to Moonlit, Ninja, ConGie, Logan and Crimson for your reviews! And welcome to new readers TwilightSonAmyLuver and Inverness!
If you're enjoying my story, you might like Twilight's Silver Lining by my good friend ConGie; much as I would love to give the link, the editor keeps removing it, so search for it if you're interested - it's quite good!
Read and Review please!
Enjoy!

Chapter 12
History

When I left the library many hours later, I had a fair idea of what Arylus was and why they knew so much about Hyrulean legends.

The librarian was an elderly but kind man, and he knew exactly where to find the books buried in the endless shelves in the building. In minutes, I'd been given six heavy books and a table to myself to read them. It took me a while to get used to their writing style, but what I read explained so much.

Arylus itself was only a few centuries old.

It had been founded by Aryalus, leader of a group calling themselves the Arylites. They were old Hyruleans from the time of the horrific Civil War that had united Hyrule. And they had wisely avoided it.

According to the histories I'd read, particularly one of many books written by historian Lazlar, Aryalus was so sick of the fighting and death around him he chose to flee the land. He and a large group who felt the same discovered the path up to Snowpeak and the mountain pass. They had braved storms, packs of wolves and each other, but with few casualties, they had made it through the mountains and into this new land.

As for why they had so much more information, that was simple. Aryalus' group consisted not only of those with no desire to fight, but those who simply couldn't. The traders, women and children and, most of all, historians and scholars came here with him. They sought a peaceful land to work and live in, and they got it. They severed all ties with Hyrule centuries ago. So to me, it seemed odd that they would be so eager to re-establish relations with those who had wronged them.

In any case, one of the books was a rather extensive tome on the formation of the world. Another was a very detailed history of the Triforce and how it related to the Goddesses, which I read with great interest, but the other book was more immediate. It had another mention of World's Point; Zelda had given me Orlon's book, which I still needed to return to him, but I'd tried reading it and gained a headache quite quickly. The language seemed completely alien. However, this book was in our language. And as I read it, things began to match up.

In ancient times, the Goddesses had not only stood on the mountains, but had supposedly walked the earth itself, sometimes among the life they had created. They left power imprinted in the ground wherever they went; that power was eventually absorbed by living beings. Hyrule Castle was built on one of the sites of the greatest concentration of magic power. I smiled; Zelda's magic came from the Goddesses themselves, it seemed.

As I returned to the castle to give Orlon his book, I reflected on the chapter that told of the World's Point. It was completely ambiguous; it didn't actually tell me it was on the mountain, although Arrik Peak was mentioned in such a way it suggested the Point was there. However, the wording made reference to 'the meeting point of the three Golden Goddesses.' To me, this did suggest the mountain, as all three Goddesses had met there to gaze over their creation before returning to the heavens.

As I entered the castle, I found the Thrones empty. That struck me as odd, but then I heard voices coming from a room to the left of the Throne Room. Even more curious, the guards were gone. I knew the day was ending, but for them to be completely gone was odd. I moved cautiously up to the door and listened. I could make out two voices.

King Dalné was the first, and Orlon was the second. They spoke in hushed tones that no-one outside of the room should have heard. No-one without unnaturally heightened senses, that was. I became not only curious, but worried when I caught the tone of their conversation.

"…fully ours," King Dalné said angrily.

"You have no honour!" Orlon spat. "You want to use me?"

"Like how the Hyruleans used us? Subjected our ancestors to wars beyond imagination? Made us flee to here?"

"But how can you justify this? How many would you kill to satisfy a grudge centuries old?"

"Enough."

"No, this won't happen. I won't allow it. We have a life of peace here and Hyrule is no threat to us!"

"Exactly - we know it isn't at the moment and that's why it's a perfect time to strike, to end their dominance of the land! The Hylians think they're the perfect race and to Tessek with humans? That time will draw to a swift end."

"No! This is madness! You'll slaughter hundreds of innocents! And what of the Princess?"

"I'd see to her fate personally."

The fear I was feeling could not be suppressed even by the Triforce. I was utterly terrified. Could my ears be hearing right?

They were planning to invade Hyrule! Strike it down while it was weak!

I shivered at the thought. The whole thing was a ploy, orchestrated by the King with Orlon the unwilling accomplice. Even if he didn't go along with it, I could tell Arylus' army was better equipped and trained than Hyrule's at the moment. Zelda had told me one more disaster could finish the land. A chill swept through me when I realised just how right she was without realising it.

If Arylus invaded Hyrule… it was all over.

I had to do something to stop it.

Wait, the mountain pass. It was blocked. There was no way through it.

'But what if that's not the only pass?' I thought. 'There could be another way!'

There had to be a way to stop this happening.

"You heclic, Dalné," Orlon spat. I could feel the hatred in his voice.

"You would defy your King, nay, your own brother?"

"My brother died long ago. What I see before me isn't him. Dalné wouldn't be capable of this."

"Times change, and we must change with them. This land is barren. Hyrule is rich. The time is perfect to return our people to their former glory."

"I won't let you."

Wait a second. Orlon truly was standing up to Dalné.

"You won't let me? Ha, you are a fool. What can you do to oppose me?"

"I…" His voice quivered in fear. "I'll… fight you!"

And then I heard two sounds I knew to be so familiar. Two sounds that truly scared me as if I was the subject of them.

The first was the metallic ring of metal as it slid out of leather.

The second was the ripping of flesh as that metal tore its way through it.

A third sound rippled into my ears. It was a gasp of shock, leading into heavy breathing.

Dalné had stabbed his own brother.

Another sound caught my ears as Dalné slid the knife out of his brother's flesh. I knew the sounds so well, I could picture the scene. It grew more intense when I heard the sound of a body falling to the ground. The heavy breathing continued.

"You are such a fool, Orlon. You have no spine to do what is needed. You fell in love with our enemy. As far as I care, that's treason. And this is a fitting end. I'm sure that with the guards readying for the attack, your body won't be found for several hours. Plenty of time for you to bleed to death."

A sickening gurgling sound came from Orlon. "You… you are no King. You are a cold-blooded murderer."

"I do what is needed," Dalné justified. "Peace and starvation, or a short battle and prosperity? I do this for our people. Well, my people. They won't be yours for much longer."

I didn't know what to do. It went against everything I'd thought in the last few days, but I prayed to the Goddesses for guidance. Somehow, they'd always known what was right. Zelda had a good reason to trust them. Maybe I should.

I don't know if they answered, but I heard footsteps starting from the voices and growing softer. Dalné was walking away.

I waited until the footsteps faded from my ears and poked my head around the corner.

The hallway was empty. But on the floor, I saw the small trickle of blood leading to an alcove.

I dashed silently over to the site of the attack.

Orlon was slumped against the stone wall, breathing heavily. Blood flowed from a deep wound in his abdomen, by the look of the red-ringed patch on his elegant white shirt. Now it was a crimson red.

He tried to look up at me, but I dropped to my knees and covered his mouth slightly to stop him speaking.

He reacted in surprise, but my hand muffled his cry.

"Shh," I whispered. "You don't deserve this. I see why they wanted to get to know me now. He wanted as much information on Hyrule as he could."

Orlon nodded weakly.

"Listen, I'm going to help you. Lift up your shirt."

Orlon did. I saw the gash on his stomach; the knife had been vicious. It was a wound left by a serrated dagger. No other knife could desecrate flesh like this. It was a cruel way to die, to bleed out of such a wound.

I placed the pack beside me and took out the second blanket. Using my knife, I cut strips from it and wrapped them around Orlon's abdomen. He groaned in pain as the strips touched his wound.

The blood started to flow into the cloth. This wouldn't help him for long. He needed help.

If I took him to a doctor in Turris, no doubt the King would find him and have him put to death. There was one more option.

I had to get him to Hyrule.

"Listen, you'll survive if I can get you away from here. I can get you to Hyrule but I need to be outside."

Orlon raised his hand weakly and pointed behind me. I saw a door, probably leading to a courtyard area. Perfect.

I wrapped my arms around the man and carefully picked him up. He was poorly built and not very heavy, but it was an incredible effort. He groaned louder as I took his weight. My muscles protested, but I silently reminded them this is why I had them. I had all those skills, all those abilities, all of it, to save people. Especially those who truly needed it. I was accepting my role as the saver of lives.

I carried Orlon slowly over to the door and pushed it open with my boot.

Trouble.

The courtyard was large, surrounded by the castle wall. At one end, a couple of hundred feet away was a guard. He was facing away, but would probably turn at any moment.

I had seconds to act. I placed Orlon on the ground and whipped the Shadow out of my pack. I didn't have time to change form; I had to pray I could send him on without me.

I placed the Shadow on my head and my hands on Orlon's limp body. I imagined Castle Town, the warp point across from the West Gate. Such a familiar place.

I felt the magic build in me, travelling down my arms. It was intense power; I was trying to warp him much further than I had ever gone. And I was trying to warp a human, too.

I forced the magic out of my and felt it surround his body. He felt it too and cried in surprise. At that, the guard turned to face us. "HEY YOU!"

Oh crap.

I kept my focus. He had to get to Hyrule and warn Zelda. He had to make it…

The magic was draining me. The Triforce burned on the back of my hand. There was an instant where I felt an unknown warmth around me, but it was gone just as quickly. Then I looked down to see Orlon disappear in a flicker of black specks.

I could only pray I'd done it right as the guard approached me, sword drawn. I was too weak to fight back effectively, but my hand went to my sword, determination burning within me.

(~^~)

"YOUR MAJESTY! COME QUICK!" Yelled Pellen from outside the Throne Room. I was off the Throne in an instant, running towards him at speed. He had never shouted to me before. This had to be life and death.

"What is it?" I shouted as I saw him running towards me. He spun around and raced back in the other direction.

"It's Orlon!" He cried as he ran.

We both bolted out of the Castle into the Town. Pellen led us to the doctor's house in the eastern corner, barely pausing to throw the door open.

On the doctor's bed, a man lay, the sheets covered in crimson blood. He was unconscious, but I could see it was him.

The doctor stood over him, tending to a wound on his stomach. I watched in horror as he exposed the torn flesh. He had been seriously attacked.

"Princess," said the Doctor as he looked up. He looked grave. "This man was stabbed by a serrated blade. It has caused serious injury to him. I don't know if he will pull through it. The best I can hope for is that the wound is not as deep as it appears."

I looked in horror at Orlon's unconscious face. It seemed impossible he was here. Wait, how did he get here?

"Pellen, how did he get here?"

"A group of children playing on the West drawbridge found him lying on the field. He was out when we got to him."

The doctor looked up. "That's not what I heard."

I turned to him. "What did you hear?"

The doctor looked back to him. "They told me he appeared from thin air in a swirl of black."

A chill swept through me. That could only mean one thing.

What was happening in Arylus?

(~^~)

CLANG.

Our swords met with a vicious ring of steel. My arm quivered under the force of the blow; the guard had tried to hit me with the flat of his blade, probably to knock me out. I noticed with slight pride that my sword had left a notch in his; the Blade of Courage was much stronger than his cheap army sword.

I looked at his eyes, screwed up in focus. He was forcing the blades closer to me, and I didn't have the strength to stop him…

Suddenly, my hand burned again.

I felt warmth flooding through me, like when I let the Triforce heal me, but much stronger now. I felt my strength come flooding back in seconds. I breathed deep; my tiredness was banished and my focus came back. My eyes twitched and I growled at the guard, pulling my arm slightly back before reversing the move with incredible power.

I shoved the sword back into his with such force that I threw him several feet back to crash on his back on the ground. His head hit the stone and he lay still, but he was breathing. The sound of steel on stone rippled through the air as his sword fell from his hand. I caught my breath and looked around, my strength back at full. No doubt more guards would be approaching. The sound of sword-fighting seemed to attract all within earshot. I dropped the Shadow back into the bag for safety.

Six guards spilled out of the passage between the castle wall and the rest of the castle. All had their weapons drawn – a wide assortment of different swords. I heaved myself to my feet, planning what I would do.

As a group, they rushed me. I took another deep breath, crouched low and sprung.

I didn't move from the spot; instead, I spun around it. I threw my sword out before me, the flat of its blade to the soldiers. It hit each one of them on the head, battering them until they fell to the ground, out cold. I would not kill them.

My fight was not with them.

My fight seemed to be with the next group to appear.

From the same gap came even more soldiers.

My lip curled when I saw King Dalné leading them. The group stopped a few feet from me. I counted ten, maybe fifteen soldiers, most with swords, but others with spears and one with a mace.

Dalné met eyes with me and yelled, "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

My eyes flashed. "You don't know?" I said coldly. "You seriously question my actions? I heard it all, Dalné." If he knew what I was talking about, he didn't show it. This just made me angrier. "Hyrule was all you ever wanted, wasn't it? That's why you wanted to know everything you could about my life there, get an idea of how successful your attack would be. Well, I have news for you." I spat at his feet. "You threatened the last of my life. The last things I have are my land and my Princess. And I will fight to my death to defend them. I've saved Hyrule from worse than you before." For good measure, I pushed back the glove on my sword hand and showed him the glowing Triforce. "The Goddesses gave me the means to protect Hyrule from anything. Especially you." I spun my sword around my hand to further intimidate him. "You have one chance. Stand down. Confess what you've done. And leave Hyrule alone."

My will was set as steel. Hard as the blade. I would fight everyone I needed to if it would protect Hyrule. I could see Dalné quaking in fear for a moment. His men around him were looking at each other in confusion and questioning what I had said. Their first duty was to their King, but they had a sense of right and wrong. If what I said was true, their loyalties were on the line.

"You dare come here and question me, outsider? Your kind are the reason we fled Hyrule in ages passed!" The King spat at me. "You betray the trust we gave you and threaten me? For this, you will die!" He stepped back and the soldiers snapped into formation before me.

The Triforce burned on my hand, fuelling my body. I felt all my strength coming from the relic. It gave me all the energy I needed. Golden light pulsed through my veins as I focussed on the soldiers.

They all drew closer. There were sixteen in total. I had some moves I could use, but I hadn't practised them in at least a month, probably more. Perfect.

As the men approached, weapons drawn, I thought of the Hidden Skills the Hero's Shade had taught me. One in particular was good for this group.

I breathed slowly, remembering the technique. I felt the power flow from my Triforce into my sword. I crouched, timing the move, then leapt into the air.

The soldiers beneath me paused to wonder what I intended. I wasn't aiming for any of them, which would explain their confused looks. Just as well.

As I landed a couple of feet before them, I plunged the sword into the ground and released the golden energy. Just as I had intended, the energy blossomed out of the sword in an intense shockwave that expanded outwards, catching anything in the area and forcing it back. All sixteen soldiers were caught by the force and knocked to the ground. A few were knocked clean out by the force, a few writhed on the ground in confusion, and another couple looked up at me. I heaved the sword from the ground and spun it around my hands menacingly. They swiftly fell back to the ground, feigning unconsciousness.

I turned to face Dalné, his face one of fear. He'd underestimated me. As he turned to run, I knew I had to stop him. And there was one quite effective way.

As he fled, I leapt up again and raised my sword. I hurtled towards him. He heard me coming and turned to see me, sword poised, aimed straight for him. He turned and ran.

I wouldn't kill him. I vowed to myself that no-one would die here. It would only lead to more death and that's exactly what I wished to avoid. Instead, I had carefully planned this jump, and I brought my sword down in just the right spot.

Dalné jerked backwards as he ran, choked. He tried to run again but couldn't move. I had impaled the sword through the end of his long robe into the ground. He began fumbling at the complex fastener around his neck when I heard the guards rise behind me.

I just knew several swords were aimed inches from my head, and I was disarmed now. I turned to see I was correct. Dalné sneered from behind me, still struggling to release his robe.

"You are foolish, boy. You should have struck when you had the chance. Now you are mine, traitor."

I turned to face him, unfazed. "The true traitor is he who would stab his own kin to further his goals," I said coldly. It was a heinous crime in Hyrule to kill one's own brother, or even attempt it. Even Royalty weren't above it. Hopefully, they felt the same here. "Perhaps he still has the dagger he used?"

Dalné froze, his hands at his throat. I saw Rikkar step forward. Three members of the Guard went with him while the rest surrounded me. I couldn't run for it, but I could see with satisfaction the events that took place next.

Rikkar's previously-submissive face changed. He had raw determination on it, a strong dislike for the King if I was proven right. Without asking, he felt the King's robes, searching for a weapon. In moments, he pulled something from Dalné's pocket.

The dagger was short and elegant, its handle gold and inset with jewels. The blade had numerous teeth cut from both edges of its shiny steel. It was a vicious weapon.

It pleased me more when I saw the blade still had traces of Orlon's blood on it. 'Goddesses,' I thought. 'I hope he made it. I ended up in Snowpeak once!'

Rikkar's face turned to one of venom. "You are a traitor to your people, Dalné. All this time of insisting on peace and you yourself resort to killing your own brother? All this for a land we abandoned long ago?" He turned to the guards flanking him. "Arrest him!" He barked.

The guards ripped off Dalné's impaled robe and forced him into the castle. As Dalné was marched off to the dungeons, I heard him yell something about his heir and the barren wasteland he would inherit.

Rikkar turned to the guards and nodded. The lowered their weapons. "Young man, you have shown us that we placed our trust in the wrong ruler. We owe you a debt of gratitude." He reached for my sword and drew it from the ground. He admired it for a moment before handing it to me with a look that said, 'a beautiful blade.' "Now," he continued, "we must find Orlon. Perhaps he still has a chance-"

"He's not here," I said, cutting him off.

"Where is he?"

"If I got it right, in Hyrule," I said honestly.

"How??"

"I have my methods," I said. I didn't want to reveal my powers. "If I got it right, he should be under the care of Princess Zelda right now. And I'm pretty sure I did."

Rikkar shook his head. "There's more to you than meets the eye, isn't there…"

At that moment, we were interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps. More soldiers approached us, led by a man in elegant armour who had to be the Captain. Rikkar snapped to attention before him, along with the other soldiers.

"Lieutenant, what is going on here?" The Captain demanded.

"King Dalné has been arrested, sir," Rikkar said.

The Captain's eyes seemed to flip over as his jaw dropped. "WHAT?!" He screeched.

"He attempted to kill Orlon, sir. This young man discovered his treachery. We found this in the King's robes." He held up the dagger.

The Captain was silent for long moments as he studied it. Evidently, the golden hilt would make it the King's personal weapon, one which no other person would handle. And with the blood on the blade, the Captain seemed to accept Rikkar's words.

"Goddesses…" He whispered. "But why?"

"He was going after Hyrule," I stepped in. It gave me a fighting tongue when I spoke of my home under threat. "He was going to invade it and reclaim it for Arylus!"

The Captain turned white, and I felt fear sweep through me. I could sense why he had gone so pale. No, please no…

"Th-then the advance guard is already on their way!" He stammered. "He told us Hyrule had declared war on us!"

Ice lined my insides. "WHAT??" I yelled.

"Forty men were sent on ahead to take strategic points in Hyrule!" The Captain continued, the true weight of what was happening dawning on him. "Oh Goddesses, WE'D be declaring war if they reach Hyrule!"

"What were their orders?" I demanded.

"To- to take anything of use along their path, kill anyone who resisted, and if the remaining army does not catch up, to march on to Hyrule Castle!"

It hit me, too, what was happening. Forty men were nothing to a fully-equipped army, but Hyrule was in pieces. The army was disorganised, its best men dead or too wounded, its structure weak. If the advance guard were as well-trained as I guessed, they could inflict serious damage on the land. The army was too concentrated in Hyrule to defend the outlying villages.

I had to stop them.

"How far ahead are they?"

"Th-they left Turris yesterday!" The Captain stammered.

"Oh Din, I have to stop them getting to Hyrule… wait, Arrik Pass is blocked!"

"What?"

"There was an avalanche when I came through – blocked off a mile or so of the pass!"

"Well, that would stall them as they would head to Arrik first, but there is a second pass through the mountains that all soldiers are aware of," Rikkar suggested. "It is further to the east than Arrik, and it is much easier to defend against people attacking from here."

I caught what he meant. I had to intercept them at Arrik Pass.

"Go, son! You know what you're doing!" Rikkar said. "Your horse is faster than ours!"

I nodded to him, and he led the way out of the castle at a run. It was a blur until we reached the gate, and the second guard stepped forward to stop me. Rikkar intercepted him while I grabbed Tharor. I looked back to seem him give in and they both opened the gate.

"Good luck!" Rikkar shouted as Tharor took off at full speed into the field.

*

I didn't want to take Tharor to her limit, but she could sense the urgency and poured everything she had into a full-speed canter back to Gurta. It was all a blur. Hours passed with me on her back as we thundered across the open plains. I realised dimly that Dalné had a point; Arylus was barren, it had very little natural vegetation and few animals. But the route to a better life was not through violence. Violence would only lead to more. I knew that better than anyone.

Even as the sun set that day, we roared across the field, passing no-one as darkness cloaked the plains. Tharor was incredible. For hours, she held that canter, going so fast the landscape was a blur. It was actually me who tired first, and I pulled her to a stop for a few hours in the early morning before we set off again, reaching the same speed in seconds. She was just a bundle of limitless energy.

She began to tire after running for nearly a day and a half, but then I realised we could see Gurta before us! It was little over half a day away, and with regular breaks after that point, we reached it as the Sun settled on the second day. I guess I'd broken a record.

When we walked into the village, Tharor drawing incredibly deep breaths and walking unsteadily, Hurmer shot out of his mismatched hut to greet me. He looked in horror at Tharor, but when I gave him a quick summary of the events that took place in Turris, he understood the urgency of the situation. He told me the soldiers had passed through that day, and that I was only a couple of hours behind them.

Rist came out of his hut to see what the fuss was about and saw me. He held the Clawshot in his hand and, as I slid off Tharor, started trying to bargain with me for it.

"Rist, listen," I snapped. He flinched. "Forty men armed to the teeth are heading to Hyrule. I've got one chance to head them off, and I need the Shot back now!"

Rist drew a panicked breath and gave me the Shot. I shoved it into my bag and said, "Thank you for everything. I'd love to say more, but I haven't got the time!" Rist and Hurmer nodded and with that I turned to run out of the village, their wishes of luck faint in my ears.

As soon as I was out of their sight, I reached for the crystal and morphed. As a wolf, my speed tripled, and I dashed the three miles between the village and the mountains in minutes. I could smell the horses again; these were different animals, bred to carry heavy loads. They weren't fast like the messenger's horses. These carried people to war as reliably as they could.

In minutes, I saw the army gathered at the mouth of the pass. It was a few miles from the snowdrift that filled the pass. They had taken a defensible position at the mouth against any man who thought of going up against them.

Fortunately, I was no man.

To the left of the mouth was a small outcrop with rocks beneath it. I scanned it and saw it connected to the ridge up above the pass. Perfect.

I moved out of the way of their light, my sharp wolf eyes picking up every detail in the light of the rising moon. They were grouped around a large fire, central to the pass, with sentries watching both the mouth and the passage into the mountains. Their horses stood idly, a herd of them grouped on the side leading to the snow. I formed a plan as I jumped up on the ridge. It wasn't foolproof but it would buy more than enough time to get to Hyrule.

I chose the best spot on the ridge and leapt down, directly behind the sleepy horses. In an instant they were wide awake, and the whites of their eyes showed in terror as I growled at them, adopting a pouncing stance and baring my sharp teeth. In another instant, they charged away from me, an unstoppable stampede back out into the field. They decimated the camp, knocking over the armour and weaponry the soldiers had brought with them.

The soldiers couldn't react in time. It had taken me three seconds to scare the horses into this. The best Hyrulean soldier wouldn't have his sword drawn from his waist in less than five, and most of these men didn't even have their swords within reach.

The horses knocked down five or six men who tried to calm them to no avail. All of them collapsed to the ground, out cold but still breathing. Thirty-four to go.

At the same time as the horses were running, I had leapt into the centre of the group, spinning about my landing point to knock the legs from under seven or eight of the men. The rest reacted in outright fear of a feral, vicious beast among them and scattered, scrambling for their weapons.

The sentries were the main threat now. Eight of them came for me, swords drawn and shields raised. I'd have little chance against them; my claws and teeth wouldn't fit in the gaps in their shields. Instead, I used them to my advantage. I leapt at the nearest guard, landing neatly on his shield for an instant before leaping off him with such force it knocked him back. I flew into one of the unarmed soldiers; he threw out his arms in a vain attempt to block me, but my weight knocked his arms aside and I head-butted him to the ground. In an instant I was up again, bouncing off the outstretched shield of another sentry to knock over another man. In moments, they had worked out my routine and I changed it. The next jump took me over the head of a sentry, but he was quick; his sword caught my left side and I felt burning pain in my abdomen and hip. It wasn't a deep cut, but it hurt like Tessek.

I rolled on the ground and turned instantly to face his back. I leapt and planted my claws in his back; he collapsed forward in pain. I wasn't killing them, just wounding them to stop their quest.

I felt another sword slice burn across my back, right through the patch of missing fur where the beta had ripped it from my neck. I was lucky the cut was so shallow; any deeper and it could have killed me. I backflipped off the fallen soldier and swatted the attacker in the face with my tail. In his confusion, he tripped over his fallen comrade to join him on the ground.

By now, plenty of the other soldiers had weapons and I was outnumbered. Two came at me at once; with precision, I jumped between them, my back paws outstretched to catch both their faces, leaving deep scratches.

Completely unexpected, a boot met with my side and sent me sprawling. Pain rippled through me from the gash on my left side as I landed, the blood matting my fur. I heaved myself to my feet to see ten or fifteen soldiers approaching me. I couldn't take them. I had to escape.

I looked behind me for a way up. There was one, but it was single-use. The rocks were too unstable to try a second time, so I had to get this right. I leapt.

As I lined myself up to land on the first rock, I felt something cold and heavy catch my head. I felt the rock appear and then crumble underneath me. Seeing stars, I looked up to see myself falling back to the ground, a thrown sword beside me.

I hit the ground hard, blistering pain consuming me. But I wouldn't give up. My Triforce burned on my forehead, sending the pain away for a few moments. I looked to see the rock was gone. The rest of the path was still there. As were the soldiers, who rushed me as one.

That did it. I leapt up again, this time straight into the advancing soldiers. I landed on the face of the nearest one, and as he reached up to bat me away, I launched myself onto the head of another, and from there I jumped to the second rock. It held for the instant I needed to jump up to the ridge. Safe.

Not safe.

A whizzing sound caught my attention and a wobbling noise sounded behind me. An arrow had come close to hitting me, missing by inches. I looked down to see more soldiers grabbing bows, nocking and loosing arrows at me.

Either side of the ridge was a no-go; it was too open. I had to get higher, out of range of their arrows. I looked up and saw a small path upwards, barely within range of my leaps. The jutting rocks were the same as below; one jump would remove them, so I had to be fast. I focussed, arrows whizzing around me as I ran up to the first jump. My battered body sailed upwards to the rock, and I caught it under my paws to jump again.

Arrows soared up to me, most missing but only just. Then one caught my tail. It stung with immense pain as I jumped, but I couldn't risk falling. My tail flailed from side to side as I realised it had upset me balance. I had only a few more jumps until I was out of range, but the pain from the arrow was blinding. I tried to compensate for the extra weight, but I knew I wouldn't last much longer.

As I reached the next jump, I saw a small cave open out ahead of me. It had no path up to it, but it would do for me to recover. I leapt into it just as another arrow slammed into my back paw. I blacked out before I hit the ground.

OK, I should be able to upload chapter 13 tomorrow, and I think you'll love it - the subplots are given a rest for the time being!
Happy new year everyone! Goodbye awful year 2009, welcome in 2010! (We can finally stop saying 'two-thousand-and-!')
Laters!