Lake Hylia
"Impa, I hope you can hear me...we've failed. Volga and Dodonga have the Earth Scale. If they're going anywhere, it is to the Domain to join with the other. Be warned… I wasn't powerful enough, and neither was Lana."
That message rings in Impa's ears for minutes as she looks at the crystal lake underneath the setting sun. She has been unable to reestablish contact with Lanacia and Joshua in the past hour, but it has been for naught. With them out of commision, Impa has only two choices; one, to stay here and deal with the Dragon Knights; two, head to Gerudo without Joshua in tow. The first is the best option, she knows one knight is close by, the others on route, while the second is a political disaster if she gets in or the dragons get there first. She has no choice but to wait.
Hearing the beating of hooves on the grassy plains bordering Lake Hylia, Impa turns to the arrival of Malon Ranch-Pago, a member of Ordon unit and wife one of the members, Colin Pago. A strong-willed woman, given her background as the daughter of Ordon's largest ranch and supplier of its second homegrown delicacy, Lon Lon Milk. Her red hair dances like flames in the breeze, suppressed by cold blue irises. However, she's the nicest of the five, a side effect of caring for animals her entire life. In times like these, it is hard to maintain such a personality, but somehow Malon kept it through one war and eight years of service to the Queen. Impa prays she maintains it now. If she does, Malon will be an excellent mother in the future...something Impa wishes she could be right now. "What news is there from Deya?"
"Same as this morning. No sight of anything weird."
Impa sighs. Deya Village is the closest Hylian village to Zora's Domain. There's no possible way Morpheus can head here to Lake Hylia or the upper part of the Domain without being seen. "Shit. To add to this, Volga has the Earth Scale, beat Lana and Josh for it. This is getting worse."
"His Majesty was defeated? Lana too, with the Triforce of Power? They're the strongest of us, what does this mean?"
"Joshua is still the strongest without a Triforce, but Lanacia has not used the Triforce to that degree since Cia. I believe she is holding back for that reason, but… I think Joshua is the right choice for it."
Malon chuckles. "Giving a Gerudo King the Triforce of Power, that's quite the issue, even if it is one of the good ones."
Impa smiles. "I would never hear the end of it from my mother. Anyway, anything about the capital?"
Malon folds her arms across her tunic. "Yes. The capital is on lockdown. King Alduin, if I may speak freely, finally gained some sense."
"You know I only represent the Queen, right?"
"Just trying to be respectful." Malon bends down to pick up a rock, rubbing off the dirt with her thumb. "So what's the plan?"
"I don't know. Without Zelda back, your team defending the king, Josh and Lana possibly recuperating, I don't know what to do. An easy solution is to hope and pray."
"Maybe we should get more help." Malon throws the rock, watching it skip over the lake's surface. "I mean, out of the eleven of us, Link, Linkle, and we in Ordon Unit are magically inept. Link's saving grace is the Triforce of Courage, so that makes six people who can't really fight these knights on their level. That leaves you, Joshua, and the three with Triforces. Lana won't use hers, Link and Zelda aren't back, Joshua has been beaten, and you have a slight advantage with your Water magic but Volga did almost win. If I must say it, our chances suck."
Impa sighs as the rock drops beneath the surface. "We don't even know what these scales are for. Maybe the others know, but what will happen when they're gathered is unknown. My only idea is to stay here and hope Joshua can get home in time."
Malon fishes in her pocket for her Gossip Stone, a magical rock that allows long-distance communication. Since Ordon Unit cannot use magic naturally, this stone allows them to communicate over large distances. She simply tosses it up in the air. "I hope so."
1.5 hours ago, Hyrule Castle
"General Lanayru." Colin finds the aged General of the Hyrulean Army sitting in his office outside the training grounds. The officer keeps his eyes on the parchment he writes on, gesturing the younger man to come inside. Taking a seat, Colin watches as his senior officer places his quill back in the ink bottle, stamps the parchment, and rolls it. Placing it to the side, he turns his weathering face to Colin.
"What brings you here today, Sir Poga? Does His Majesty have more orders for me?"
"No, sir. This is more...of a social visit. If you have time, that is?"
"Of course I do, for you kids. I owe it to your father, after all. Well, except for Link, the sly bastard. Comes here, says nothing to me."
Colin smiles. "That's the general consensus, sir. As for my visit, it pertains to… His Majesty."
Auru lifts an eyebrow, then sighs as he leans back in his chair. "His decision to finally be on alarm ransacks your mind too? You aren't alone. For a month I've been trying to get him and Her Majesty to do so. No offense to them, but can we trust the Hero and the Gerudo this time around as much as we did then? Joshua will serve his interests as the Gerudo King first, Link will serve Hyrule's people, not its royalty. If Zelda and Alduin's interests conflict, they're not in. That's why I wanted to raise the army. Two attacks now, five days without Her Highness, and I finally get my desire, but with consequence."
"Consequence?"
"Yes. Our army is half a million strong, but if I send out troops to every corner of the country, including the Gorons to Eldin, the few Gerudo we have back to the desert, and the Zoras to the Domain, we lose three-fourths of our fighting force in the capital. I can't do anything about the non-Hylian forces, they're now under command of the regional leaderships, but our people...Do I send more soldiers to Kakariko and Rauru, just to have more troops close to the capital? Do I seek to protect villages like Deya and Ordon on the outskirts of our territory? Do I protect Hateno, our most vital trade hub, or do I go for Mido and protect the ports? This is not like Cia at all. That war, she came directly to us, off guard, but we had the forces. She didn't care about the towns, just her simple goal. We don't know the goal of these monsters."
"Actually," Colin interrupts, "That is why I'm here. Your wife comes with a message."
"Oh really? For me or our little ball of energy that keeps bothering the kitchen staff?"
"Paya is a sweet little girl. You are only in your mid-forties and just stick her on Karene and Malon all the time."
"Only. Besides, Karene and Malon accepts the duty and love it. Anyway, what's the message?"
"Oh. Speaking of Malon, she and Impa ventured to the Domain. Joshua and Lana are heading to the forest, as you already know from earlier today. But what Pipit didn't speak of is what the dragons are looking for. Three stones, to be exact. One of them is with the knights. Another is thought to be in the Faron Woods, and the third...Gerudo territory.
"Then why is Impa-and the dragons- headed for the Domain"
"In their time, the desert was a sea. Zora's Domain is where the water is. It makes sense for both parties to head there. Impa's banking on the knowledge that the dragons, especially Volga, doesn't know all too well the history of the Era of Sky."
Auru nods as he strokes his chin. "Smart, Impa is. And with that, I have an idea." Auru begins placing pins on the map stretch on his desk along the eastern border of Hylian territory from Kakariko to Castletown. A few pins make it to the north and west, but the vast majority line the border between Hylia and Gerudo. "The majority of the marching army will stake out the desert border, keeping us in line with the women but allowing us to respond quickly when those warriors arrive. I'll deal with whoever leading the Gerudo in their king's absence. The capital will have its protection, but if anything is to happen, troops in Rauru and Hateno will be able to arrive quickly here. I will leave Commander Ashei in my place, under the king's command, of course. Now to get these plans approved by him."
Present moment…
Colin along with the rest of his team and the commander watch from the castle walls as the Hyrulean Army leaves Castletown in a hurry. With the king's order earlier in the day, the grand army has had time to prepare. They will travel as far as they can with the remaining daylight before setting camp, then in the morning, the army will separate into multiple groups, heading to the villages of Hyrule or to the Hylia-Gerudo border.
"Well, Ashei, you have your plate full now," Ralph says to Commander Ashei. "I just hope whatever the general is thinking pays off."
"What could he be banking on, then?" Karene questions. "By lining the army outside the desert, it is almost like threatening war. With their king in Hylia, the presence of the army can mean only one thing to the Gerudo-he's captured or worse."
"Forget his plan, how did he convince His Majesty of this?" Ashei folds her arms and looks at Colin. "You were with him, yeah?"
"Not when he met with the king. I don't know his game plan either. All I told him was that Impa and Malon were in Lanayru, and he decides to do this. Oh, and the reason for their presence there."
"So he plans on the knights heading there?" Pipit leans forward on the wall, twiddling his fingers. "We haven't heard from Impa, which means something else is up. Maybe Josh and Lana got the Earth Scale first and joined Impa. Maybe...there's something else at work." Sighing, he stands up, just in time to see King Alduin approach the group of five. They proceed to bow, but the king calls them off.
"No need, my friends. Like you, I'm just a spectator of the might of Hylia, Eldin, and Lanayru. The glorious Hyrulean Army. I wasn't here last time the army took to Hyrule Field, being that of a lesser noble house and all. It took days for my estate to get news of the attack of Cia. Oh, right, there was Ganondorf, in which I wonder how it was to watch the battle instead of evacuating the city." Folding his arms behind his back, Alduin stares at the spectacle with a forlorn stare. "Hyrule is back at war once more. I had hopes Impa could resolve this without us going this far. War is nothing but a nasty affair. Families will be destroyed in the name of Hyrule and the gods...those who die are martyrs, those who return are made as heroes. I wonder how heroes are treated by royalty after wartime. Decorated with medals and honors, or maybe sent into exile… Link and Joshua might know best."
"Your Majesty," Ralph interrupts the king, "what is the general thinking about sending most of the force to Gerudo?"
"To bait the knights, of course," Alduin says, dropping the frown setting on his face. "If the army moves towards the desert, the knights will think there's something of importance there. It is a dangerous plan, but I'm sure Auru has various countermeasures. It is why I approved it. I trust the general with his choices. It is his choices, after all, that kept Cia's forces from completely overtaking Hyrule in the first place." He turns to the soldiers, all except Ashei looking quite mortified. "Oh, is there something wrong?"
"No, Your Majesty," Pipit says quickly as he resets his face. He looks to the others, staring at them until they do the same and resume gazing at the procession below. Reaching into his pocket, he taps his thumb repeatedly against the Gossip Stone inside, directing his 'call' to Malon and hoping she'll get the warning. Beside him, Colin silently curses himself.
Impa shouldn't have told them to tell the general. Even if his plan works, it poses a huge risk to both Hylian and Gerudo lives.
Lake Hylia
"Impa." Impa looks down to the shorter woman, Malon holding her blinking Gossip Stone. Whoever is causing the blinking isn't vocally speaking, but the taps are a coded message in signs of trouble. Since the rest of Ordon Unit is in the capital, that means something bad is going on.
Impa narrows her eyes in critical thinking of possible situations. "There's little to no possibility Castletown is under attack."
"Then maybe it is the army being mobilized. That would make sense, given that King Alduin and General Auru knows the details of our situation." Malon places the stone in her pockets. "But that doesn't constitute a warning...unless the trouble is the army."
"Hmm... Oh. So he's headed for the desert...in hopes to lure the Dragon Knights there." Impa sighs and turns for her horse, Malon following behind. "We have no time to lose. It'll take us three days to get to the border, two if we push it." Just as they reach their horses, water sprays all around them, as if a big fish just exited its watery home. However, as Impa's senses immediately go haywire, she knows the cause is not an enormous fish. Her right-hand shoots up to the hilt of her large sword, throwing her left in front of Malon. Whether by coincidental timing or divine intervention, the Dragon Knight of Water, Morpheus, finally appears.
And he's not alone.
Gasping for air, it is a moment before Morpheus spots the Hyruleans nearby. Chuckling, he looks to the stone statue at his feet, holding his hand at its chest. "Well, this is not anything short of a surprise. I've been in these waters for an entire day, rejuvenating my power lost over thousands of years sweating in the Eldin region, and I find our last brother. Now, Impa, is that right? The kidemónas? Your kind is quite the preservative type. Multiple chances of going extinct, multiple times regaining numbers. In my time, your group was just created, dedicated to protecting Her Grace."
"Then you know that I won't let you accomplish whatever you're planning with the stones quite easily then." Impa waves her free hand, summoning water spears around her. She launches them as a test, which Morpheus passes easily as he disintegrates the attack with ease. He doesn't expect the yellow blast of light appearing right afterward. While he's stunned, Impa nods to Malon. "I'll catch up."
"Yes ma'am!" Malon leaps on her horse and rides off quickly. Impa turns back and dash attacks Morpheus, kicking him back in the lake. He resurfaces a moment later, landing perfectly on the surface of Lake Hylia, growling (or the aquatic equivalent of it) as Impa strides on the water surface as well.
"Bitch."
"Not the first time I've been called that by one of your kind. Your element is water, as it is mine, however, my sword, Biggoron's Sunblade, has the added power of light." She cuts her blade across the water's surface, causing multiple waves to rise along the ripples. Morpheus leaps back in the air and soars towards Impa. Summoning a three-pronged spear similar to Volga's, Morpheus holds it forward as he skims the water's surface at high speed. Believing she will not be able to defend against her opponent's attack (nor wanting to draw out a fight she knows she cannot win without expending herself), Impa vanishes with a flash of light.
As she reappears on solid ground, she watches as Morpheus loses his balance, crashing on the shore. Impa holds a short smile as she walks towards the statue of the 'brother' Dragon Knight. She has no clue who it is but based on Morpheus' time inside Lake Hylia before now, they are very weak upon awakening. This might be the only knight they capture. As she hears Morpheus stirring, Impa quickly calls for Pipit through the Gossip Stone. "Pipit! I'm coming to you now!"
Morpheus stands up, spots Impa with his fellow knight, and charges a blast in fear. "Aquamenta!" Impa performs the teleportation spell, but not before the statue takes a hit from the attack. She and the statue warp through space, landing moments later on the ramparts of Hyrule Castle, surprising the group around her.
"Impa?"
"What are you doing here?"
"No time!" she shouts. She watches as the stone underneath her hand begins to crack. Morpheus's attack must have been a way to undo the seal on the knights, which if so, this one is about to awaken. "Get this one to the dungeons now before he wakes. If he does, knock him out." Ordon Unit and Ashei grabs the unsealing knight and rushes off the ramparts. Sighing, Impa stands up, rolling her shoulders. Despite the natural ability of a Sheikah, the Hylian side of her feels herself getting too old for such excitement.
"Seems everything is not going to plan, Lady Impa." Impa turns to King Alduin, who nonchalantly stares at the city around the castle.
"Alduin, what are you doing? Did you send the army to the desert?"
"Auru did. I approved. Is there a reason I shouldn't have done so?" Impa so wanted to tell him, but keeps that information to herself. Alduin sighs in annoyance, finally looking at Impa with furious green eyes. "I am no fool, Impa. You might think I am beneath Zelda in the head, that I don't know that because you voted for me to become king instead of Link doesn't mean you truly wish for him to be in my place. I know you do. I know you faked this role of loyalty each and every day. But there's something in the desert that the Knights are after, something that you don't wish to tell me. I know why. How ironic is it that Castletown has been safe since Zelda's disappearance, how ironic that both times the enemy has appeared here they only attacked Zelda. So you suspect that I am a traitor, huh?" He steps over to Impa, looking at her straight in her red eyes. Only three men in her life are her height and have the balls to get in her face as such. Joshua, Link, and now Alduin.
But unlike the other two, where she can step up to them as well, Impa almost takes a step back. "And what if I do?"
"If you did, you would need to kill me or at least interrogate me first, huh? But you'll need to convince the Council and Zelda as well, because if you kill me without it, you just committed treason and sentenced yourself to death by Zelda's hand. But if you're wrong, you just accused me of allying with the enemy and sentenced yourself to death."
"A risk I'm willing to take."
"What for? Does anyone know about this? I doubt it. Maybe Ordon Unit suspects you don't trust me, hence why Pipit's report seemed a little empty yet Auru composed a plan that's so damning it must have a logical reason. So tell me Impa how incompetent and traitorous a king I am that I sent your husband and a third of my total army to their deaths on the border of Hylia and Gerudo." Impa looks away, deciding not to speak again. Alduin sighs, then steps away from Impa. "You may continue your mission, whatever it is in the desert, but if the Gerudo feels offended by Hylian troops, you take the fall for it. Not me, not the High General. You may not come close to the prisoner either, else I will suspend your service immediately. And once your return, Impa, I expect a full report. You, and you alone."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Turning her head to the city, Impa lets the previous encounter go in favor of the current predicament. No matter what she thinks of Alduin, she knows his threats aren't empty words. To prevent the worst occurring on the border, she'll need the king of the desert. "Joshua."
"Impa?"
Sighing in relief, Impa begins her discussion. "Have you left for the desert yet?"
"Yes. I've left Lana at the Temple of Souls, something she wanted to continue investigating. You've caught me in the middle of summoning an emergency meeting. What is the issue?"
"General Auru. One-third of the Hyrulean Army is coming, and you know how numerous that is."
"Is he? Then he knows how aggressive that is, considering my policy...but it is an excellent front. If the Knights catch wind of this, they'll know we know where the last scale is, and that we're 'fighting' over it. Do not worry, I've secured it."
Impa nods, feeling some ease. "Take care, then. I'll join you soon."
Joshua holds the Lightning Dragon Scale in his hands, feeling the ancient power within. Looking up to Riju, the second-in-command folds her arms as she looks at her king. "What are you thinking?"
"This has been above the heads of kings and chiefs for a long time, yet it is the gateway to our current enemy regaining their full power. I do not trust Impa or Alduin with this, yet it would be smarter, for us, to do exactly what I'm thinking."
"You're giving them the scale?" Riju raises her eyebrows in confusion, but then she sees the glint in Joshua's eyes. In response, she cracks a smirk as she steps to his side. "You're evil, even if it does work."
Joshua chuckles. "If it works, our people are safe and the dragons can be caught in confusion. If not, we got a fight. The bastard general is attempting to draw the knights here, we're going to push them back. We are, after all, a betting duo."
Riju nods then steps away from Joshua. "I'll go oversee the assembly of our forces. You continue with this diabolical plan of yours."
"Ours."
"Right, 'ours.'"
