Characters: Link, Zelda, Teba, Sidon, Riju, Yunobo and Ridley

Settings: Hyrule Castle, Hateno Village

The morning air didn't feel right. It never did to the Hylian that noticed something off in the way the wind grazed his skin. However this morning especially didn't feel right. Link looked around his bedroom to see if anyone had entered his Hateno home. Nothing could be seen. He couldn't shake the feeling though. Something was off.

Link took in a long drawn out breath, before pushing his covers to the side of him, and getting out of bed. He picked up a small brown object from his bedside table. It was the size and shape of a tablet. He pressed a finger to the slate, causing it to burst blue and orange energy. It was a Sheikah Slate. He scrolled on the screen of the slate, and then pressed what looked to be an emblem of a sword. Sure enough, a flash of blue light came from the slate, and a small broadsword appeared in his hands.

The Hylian grasped the hilt of the sword tightly. He then walked towards the door, and opened it to see what this strange feeling morning had brought upon him. The sky hadn't turned its bright blue yet, signifying how early he'd woken up. He scanned the outside of his house. Bolson and Karson had not yet made their way to the pot outside his house. Zelda had not come by for a visit to talk to him about how he'd be faring under retirement. And there seemed to be no sign of hostile forces attacking the village. So what could have caused Link to have felt something off. But then his question was answered. Standing on the bridge that connected his house with the rest of Hateno, stood a man. Based on the way the moon reflected off of him, Link could tell the man was heavily armored, however, he could see no weapon drawn. As Link blinked, the man vanished.

Link's thoughts started to go into overdrive. Were the Yiga attacking his home? After about an hour of patrolling the perimeter of his house, and even the entire village, he'd decided to go back home. While part of him doubted it, he convinced himself that what he'd seen had simply been a figment of his imagination. He entered his house, and proceeded to go back to sleep. Some retirement.

--

Zelda gave a sigh. It had been a few months since she'd retired her knight. It wasn't a decision she had wanted to make, as it lessened her contact with her good friend. However, the risk of allowing him to stay in her service was too grave for Zelda to not have retired him. After Ganon, she had worried for his safety. But then a band of warriors from other kingdoms had come to Hyrule, in a band they had dubbed the Smash Brothers. They had talked of a foe known as Galeem, and how they needed the aid of a warrior that much to Zelda's surprise, had gained fame for his deeds of killing the Calamity even outside of Hyrule. She had begrudgingly allowed him to join them on their quest. She hadn't wanted to, but Link very much so did. He never shirked duty, and knew where he was needed. However, upon his return, he had come back with such stories of horror, that Zelda couldn't allow him to continue upon his warrior path. She remembered their discussion of his retirement like it had happened yesterday.

Link had walked into the Sanctum and kneeled upon his summoning. Zelda shook her head in a humored manner that betrayed the grave news she was going to bring upon him.

"Link I've told you multiple times that you do not have to kneel in my presence."

The knight gave a small smile, standing up. "What did you need of me Zelda?"

Zelda swallowed hard. She didn't want to hurt her friend with the sentiment she was ready to discuss of him. However, she had no choice. His safety was of the utmost importance.

"Link I-", She stopped. His eyes bore into her soul. How could she strip him of the one tether he had to his past life before the Calamity? "Link. I am sorry to tell you this… I have… I have decided to retire you as my knight. I mean it as no offense to you or your skills. I simply have concern regarding your safety and wish you to live as long as possible." She tried to make it sound as regal as possible, however the obvious falters in her voice made this nearly impossible.

The generally impassive expression on his face was still intact. However, she could see a subtle difference in his expression that could only be described as horror. However, any thoughts he had on the matter, he kept to himself, as he always did. Silence was his greatest ally in times of stress. He simply nodded and bowed. He then exited the room. Zelda simply sat on her throne in shock at his lack of response. It made her job easier, however, him just leaving her abruptly to wallow in her own sadness had definitely felt worse than it would have had he protested.

Later that night, one of her guards had given her a report that he had seen Link leave the castle.

Zelda shook off the memory. She had to be alert if her kingdom was to fare, and dwelling on old knights was not going to help her in the slightest. Zelda had a planned meeting with Robbie later that night to discuss plans for outfitting the Hylian army with ancient Sheikah armor. Such a large order of armor would require a large sum of rupees to fund, and the importance of that needed to outweigh her guilt at retiring Link.

The castle entrance burst open, and Zelda fully expected her guest to be Robbie's arrival. However, it was not a Sheikah who had entered the room. It was a Rito. And he looked grave. It was Teba. Before Zelda could ask what was transpiring, Teba addressed her. "Princess. The Castle is under attack."

Zelda couldn't hide her shock as she blurted, "What?"

Teba continued. "Some kind of portal opened up and a creature came out of it. We don't know where it came from, but another one of the fuckers has appeared.. The other Champions are dealing with it, but we need to rally the Hylian army". He then flapped his wings, and proceeded to fly out of the throne room to the supposed battle.

--

The Champions were starting to lose their patience. This had been the 3rd portal that opened, and while their skills were the most adept in the kingdom, they were sure to need reinforcements if these portals were to continue.

The beast that had exited this portal was the largest one yet. It was a dragon, but not like the ones seen in Hyrule. It had thick, sharp, purple scales, bright yellow eyes, and a pointed snout, with razor sharp teeth. Its tale was sharp as a knife, and its claws were no different. It flapped its large purple wings and launched itself into the air. Ridley had entered the fray.

While the previous 2 enemies they'd dispatched had not shown the ability to speak, Sidon, being the most diplomatic of the bunch, had stepped forward to try and converse with the dragon. "You are trespassing on the lands of Hyrule. State your business, or face the repercussions."

Sidon wasn't anticipating a response. But Ridley gave one. He grinned in a malicious manner, his eyes full of bloodlust. "I have no business here, other than to lick the blood off of your spine", Ridley said in a surprisingly calm manner for a beast his size. It sent a chill down Sidon's spine. Then, in a flash, Ridley dashed at the band of 5, baring his razor sharp claws.

4 of the 5 of them managed to dodge this attack. Teba on the other hand was not so lucky. He slashed right across his left eye, leaving a streak of crimson staining his pale feathers. He couldn't allow the pain to register. He had a fight to win and a duty to his nation. And no mere dragon was going to change that.

Teba swooped up into the air, trying to lure Ridley away from the others. The dragon obliged. This was to be a battle in the sky. Once high enough, Teba pulled out his Falcon bow, and loaded it with a bomb arrow, aiming for Ridley's head. He then let the arrow loose.

Ridley saw the oncoming attack. He proceeded to allow the flames within him to course towards his mouth. He blasted a ball of fire, causing the bomb arrow to ignite prematurely. But the explosion left a cloud of smoke. Ridley could not see his attacker. The dragon flapped its wings furiously to clear his impeded vision, however, even with the smoke cleared, his attacker was gone. Ridley looked around him in panic. Where has this coward gone off to?!

Then, for a split second, Ridley heard the flapping of his enemies' wings. But it was too late. By the time the sound registered, all Ridley could feel was a deep slice going up his body. Teba had flown from below, and slashed up the dragon with a Feathered Edge, the primary sword choice for a Rito warrior.

Ridley's limp body struck the ground with a mundane finality. He'd died almost on impact from the sword slash. Teba flew down gracefully to meet the other Champions. But this was no time for celebration. As almost right after Ridley had been killed, the rift of another portal had begun to open. However, the castle gates opened right as a new beast started to come from the portal, and much to the Champions' relief, troops from the Hylian army started to charge at this new portal. The fight was far from over, but victory was almost assured with the new forces added to the might of their offensive.

--

It would only be about 2 hours into his slumber, before he was awoken again. The chatter in Hateno was louder than usual. Much, much louder, almost to the point of shouts. The village was always a calm and peaceful place, yet the tone in which the peoples' voices seemed to gossip was one of dread. Some retirement.

Link pushed his covers off of and proceeded to throw on a Hylian Tunic. He pushed open his door and headed into town with a sense of urgency that rivaled the feeling he had the previous night when he'd seen the armored man. Could he have done something to the townsfolk in my sleep? He pushed that thought aside. Had any attack occurred in Hateno, he would have heard it. Link was cursed with highly adept hearing.

As the townsfolk's eyes found their way to Link's form, they're gossip stopped, as they all went silent. All of them seemed as though they wanted to say something, yet no one had the courage to speak up. Thadd, one of the 3 village guardsmen, the other 2 being Link himself, and a man named Manny, made his way to Link to address him. "Sir, Hyrule Castle has been attacked."

Link's mind started racing. Hyrule castle hadn't been attacked since the Calamity, and to his knowledge, there were no threats strong enough in Hyrule to pose a threat to the Kingdom's wellbeing. What could have possibly attacked it to stir up so much unease. And were Zelda and the Champions ok? Thadd seemed to be unsatisfied from Link's lack of a response, so he pressed on.

"Do you plan to go to the castle?"

Link didn't have to give the prospect a second thought. "I do"

There were some audible cheers from the crowd that ensued his proclamation. Link had zoned it out as he had already turned back around towards his house. He had no time to lose if he was to breach the castle in a timely manner. Upon entering, he went over to his staircase, kneeling, and placing a hand on the 3rd step. He hesitated, taking in a deep breath, and then reaching for the step, he proceeded to rip it open, revealing a storage crevice. He reached his hand in, and pulled out 3 items that he had not seen in a long, long time. One of them was a sky blue tunic, with the white sword emblem sewed onto the front. The next was a blue and silver shield, with red and yellow symbols engraved on it. The last was a sword, emanating an aura of pure light. The Champion's tunic, the Hylian Shield, and the Master Sword. Sheathing his weapons, putting on his tunic, and placing his Sheikah Slate into his belt, he made his way out of his Hateno home, and to the castle. Some retirement.

--

Author's note: For any reader, these first 2 chapters may seem like things are going by really fast or really slow. If you fall into neither of these categories, great! It means I'm doing my job right. However if you do, know that the overall conflict will take multiple chapters to unravel, and the pacing will vary chapter to chapter. I also don't know how many chapters there will be, but expect between 20-40.

Also know that as later chapters come by, character deaths will become rather common. Don't get too attached to anyone lmao :)

The next chapter will set up the events happening on Dreamland, and the one after that will show the convergence of Arbiter and Zelda's crew. Also, stay tuned for the mystery of the armored man...