Chapter 11
The advertisement started running on the television in the early evening. Russel and his family were eating dinner in the dining room within sight of the television, still turned to the news channel. It was a series of quotable moments from the king's and Princess Zelda's speeches over the last year, and showing the evils which the eastern republic's apartheid policies had brought to the people of that nation. It always ended with that one shot of the king, with Zelda at his right hand and Link at his left, their faces eventually framed in a Triforce outline and exclaiming "The divine favors the righteous cause!"
Russel, Tara, and Colin didn't say much as they ate the fried cucco that Tara had prepared. She had offered for Dali to stay for dinner, but he declined and his men were recalled to their barracks shortly after the Royal Family Protection Service men arrived on their property in black dress suits, badges, and military grade assault rifles. Russel and Tara had come up with the list of their friends and family, almost a quarter of Ordonville it seemed by the time they were done, and given it to Dali who dutifully turned it over to the R.F.P. lead officer, a stranger to them.
Since the security men arrived, about twenty or thirty of them, they spread out around the house and barn and down the driveway. There was at least one man at every entrance to their house and one posted upstairs. Even their horses got their own security detail as men took up station at both the front and back doors of the barn.
The men weren't unfriendly, and Russel and his family weren't unfriendly to them, but they were strangers, crisply professional, and they took their job very seriously; and that was making the family more uncomfortable than anything else. Poor Elsie Finniel had tried to come by to find out if that was really Link on the T.V. and she found herself undergoing a pat down as her name was checked on the list. The poor sixteen year old girl was in tears from the embarrassment of the thorough R.F.P. body search by the time she was able to make it to the front door, and Tara had her sit with her in the kitchen trying to calm her down with a cup of warm, sweetened milk while she tried to start their supper. Russel was so angry at their treatment of the girl he wanted to throw them off his property, but then he got another good look at the news vehicles and reporters lined up along the road trying to get onto his property to score an exclusive interview, and the security personnel warning them off. He didn't like it, but perhaps it was better than the alternative.
The advertisement was almost the last straw for him. He hadn't asked for any of this when he let Link go, and now he began to regret it bitterly. If Link knew what was happening here, Russel thought, surely he wouldn't go along with it. If he knew how they treated poor Elsie, and who knows who else they didn't let through... Well, Link was a better man than that.
Elsie went home not long before they sat down to eat, not sure of what they could or should talk about in front of their "protection." The cucco was tasty, and the greens Tara cooked up with it weren't as fresh as if they were from their own garden, it wasn't the right season for that yet, but they weren't bad either. There was a store bought pumpkin pie and leftover birthday cake from the past Sunday for desert, but none of them really felt like eating the cake. Without Link there, it just didn't seem right.
Then the television changed again, and another local news announcement came on the air. "This just in, the Royal Hyrule Military Guard is ordering all Guardsmen on leave to return to their assigned barracks. All reserve Guardsmen are being ordered to report to their nearest R.H.M.G. command post for active duty. All former and retired Guardsmen are being requested by the R.H.M.G. supreme command to report to their nearest command post for active duty. No explanation as of yet is being given except for the declaration of war by the eastern republic as of yesterday."
Russel stared at the television screen pensively. "It must be serious if they're asking all the veterans to come back." He said. "They must be expecting something big."
"What could they be expecting, Dad?" Colin asked.
"Well, the only thing I could think of that would need all of us retired guardsmen would be if they were expecting an invasion." Russel said. "I wonder if Link gave that order, or if someone below him did."
Tara looked at her husband, and the look on his face. "Russel, what are you thinking?" She asked, a serious tone to her voice, as though she was afraid of the answer.
"They're calling all of us up." Russel said. Tara couldn't fail to notice that he was using the word "us."
"Russel, it's been years, and your leg never healed right. You've already done your duty to Hyrule." Tara told him, a pleading creeping into her voice.
Russel took a deep breath and sighed, and then said, "If Link really is the Hero, then he's already done his duty to Hyrule too. And yet he came back when Hyrule needed him, no matter how much he's already given, and if the legends are to be believed, it's more than anyone could have asked of him. Can I do any different? Do I have the right or the excuse if Hyrule needs me again too?"
"We need you right here! Dammit Russel, don't be stubborn about this! Do you think these men will even let you go?" Tears came to Tara's eyes. "I don't want anything to happen to you, you stubborn fool!"
Russel got up from the table, standing up straight. "And if I stay here, and don't go when I'm called, what kind of a man would I be? What kind of an example would I be for our son?" He said gesturing to Colin. "If I want my son to be a man of wisdom, power, and especially courage than I have to be that man first. I always came back before, and I'm going to come back now. Besides, I doubt they'd put an old codger like me on the front lines. They'll probably have me guarding some out of the way supply station or something. I'll be fine, Tara, and these gentlemen here will make sure nothing happens to any of you. That's why they're here."
"You come back to me, old man." Tara told him, conceding and seeing that there was no way she could talk him out of it, moving around the table and throwing her arms around him. "You come back to me in one piece, or I'll kill you myself." She said.
"Yes, ma'am." He replied as he returned her embrace. Then Colin got up and joined their embrace. "I love you, Dad." He said with a mixture of fear for the future, and pride in his father.
"I love you too, son." Russel said, holding his family tight.
"They're going to invade." General Shepherd told the military staff who had been placed under his authority. The day had been extremely busy for him, and it wouldn't end until early the next morning for him if he was luck. He had spent the last couple of hours after his conversation with King Daphnes in the palace war room, the military command center for the entire R.H.M.G., being brought up to speed on Hyrule's current military capabilities, available manpower, mobile armor, naval assault craft, and air forces, as well as the ability to repel the same. Really, this should have been Link standing here preparing his nation for war, but Shepherd didn't want to take him away from Zelda so soon. He's going to need to deal with a larger threat than an enemy invasion, Shepherd reasoned. He smirked at the thought, because for anyone else that would have been an arrogantly foolish idea, but not for Link. Nope, the invading army was left to the ordinary mortals to deal with.
The total population of the United Kingdom of Hyrule was only somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty million with an active R.H.M.G. force of about sixty thousand spread between the provinces performing both military and law enforcement duties. It was kind of like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police except with a distinctly military function to it, especially during wartime. There were another ten to twenty thousand reservists, and between forty to fifty thousand retired veterans. Shepherd had given the order to call all of them back to active duty. The reservists had no choice, but he hoped the veterans here in Hyrule were just as patriotic about their duty as the good men he knew back home. He couldn't force them to come, but he did order that they be requested to return to uniform in preparation for an attack. Intelligence on the eastern republic's military capability was sketchy at best, and Shepherd had this bad feeling that whatever they were planning was going to happen soon.
"If it was me, I'd be using air transports to drop men and armor into Hyrule Field once they clear the coastal mountains and then push towards Castleton. That would be the quickest route if they intend conquest. Do we have anti-aircraft on the mountains?" He asked.
"We have a few batteries sir, artillery and missile launchers stationed here, here, and here." Another General pointed out three separate locations along the mountain range which ran north from the Parapa desert all the way to the south near Midoton. "We've discussed placing more, but the palace's policy has been to try and keep the peace with the east. It was thought that more militarization would run against that goal."
"Some people just can't be negotiated with." Shepherd said. "My people learned that the hard way, again and again."
"Yes, sir." The General said in agreement.
"Okay," Shepherd started trying to think through what the three scientists who were his friends and companions had told him about their enemy. Where would he go? What would be his objective? "What about the Temples. I've got it on good authority the east's president may take a particular interest in the Sages' Temples. What kind of defenses are stationed there?"
"Two of the Temples are in ruins in the East. We don't have any information on their condition. Of the remaining six, the Temple of Spirit is nearly impossible to access through the western desert. No one goes in or out except the Sage, and she hasn't been seen in almost two decades. We'd lose men just trying to protect it. The Temple of Shadow is buried deep inside the cliffs outside of Old Kakariko Village, and to be honest, only her royal highness actually knows where to find it. Locating the Temple of Forest is almost as difficult through the Lost Woods of the Kokiri Forest. The Temple of Fire sits in a volcano surrounded by molten rock. No need to explain why we're not guarding the entrance. It's suicide for us to try and enter. The Temple of Water is at the bottom of Lake Hylia and remains under twenty-four hour Guard by Zora Extraordinary Forces. The Temple of Light, just outside the walls of Old Town has a regular R.H.M.G. patrol posted, but we generally allow tourists and the devout access to the outside grounds, just not into the building itself. That leaves the Temple of Time the outside of which, as you have experienced, is under heavy guard by our men as well. None of the Temples are accessible by anyone without the express permission of the Sages except for the members of the royal family. The truth is, if any of the Temples are this man's target, for whatever reason, then I would say let him try. We'll be rid of him that much sooner, sir." The General responded.
"Maybe, but I'd like to hedge my bets. Let's station more men here at the Sacred Grove command post. See how many of the veterans respond to the recall from the surrounding towns and have them reinforce the Guard command post there, that'll free up our active duty for the main fight in the Field. Have the rest of our armor and ground forces waiting to the east of Castleton. I want assault gyrocopter patrols in flights of five across the Field, and I want eyes on radar at all times. Have the navy blockade the ports around Mido as well." Shepherd said. "All eyes to the east."
"How do you know it will be the eastern Hyrule Field, sir? Why not invade through the northern desert using naval transports?" Another officer asked.
"Unless the tides have changed in two hundred years, the seas will be too rough to make the landing, and if they do manage to get troops on the shore, then they have to march them through the desert and still come at us through the field. No, this is what I would do." He said.
The old gray cavalry uniform still fits, Russel thought. He hadn't worn it in some number of years, and then only for a reunion with his old unit at a gathering in Ordonville. He strapped the scabbard of his old sword to his back in uniform fashion to finish the ensemble. He should have been carrying his shield as well, but he had given that to Link before he left. He would have to see if the barracks had a spare, or just go without. Most likely he would be carrying a rifle anyway, but a properly enchanted shield could save your life against gunfire, though not the life of your mount. His padded metal helmet lay at the bottom of his old chest. There were still a few dings in it from times when he shouldn't have come back alive but did anyway. He picked up his old helmet with the visor, and went back downstairs, retrieving his old service rifle and revolver from their mountings on the wall as he went.
He hugged his family goodbye one last time, and then walked past the confused security men without saying a word heading for his stable where the horse that had been with him against more wild trolls and octoroks than he cared to count waited. He pulled his tack out and began to saddle his mount.
"Sir, I need to know where you intend to go." Came the annoying voice of the lead R.F.P. officer.
"Didn't you hear the news, son?" Russel asked him as he buckled the saddle into place. "I've been requested to return to duty."
"Sir, you've been requested, but not ordered." The officer pointed out tactfully.
"Do you just sit on your ass, son, when your king requests you to do something?" Russel asked, enjoying the look on the officer's face at the question.
"Sir, please remove the saddle from the animal. As your security lead, I cannot allow you to..." He never got the chance to finish his sentence.
"Let me put it to you this way, son." Russel interrupted him. "You're technically R.H.M.G. yourself, right?"
"Yes, sir, I am." The man answered with some pride in his voice.
"And what rank do you hold in the Guard?" Russel then asked him.
"Lieutenant, sir." He asked, not sure where he was going with it.
"Mmm-hm. Now, have a look at my collar. What rank does it say I have?" Russel asked him.
"Lieutenant Captain, sir." The man said, beginning to sense defeat.
"So, lieutenant, I have just been recalled to active duty, therefore I outrank you. So, please understand I mean this with the utmost respect when I say, like hell I have to do anything with this saddle other than report for duty. Do I make myself clear, lieutenant?" Russel told him.
"Yes, sir." The poor man replied.
"Good. Now, if you will be so kind as to carry out my orders and take good care of my family. And if I hear about any more of your men feeling up any of my nephew's friends, or anyone from town again just so they can talk to us, you can be sure the palace will know about it. If I know Link, he won't be too pleased to hear how poor Elsie was treated." Russel said.
The man stiffened. "Understood, sir. Your family and friends will be safe with us. I promise."
Russel then came around to the horse's left, checked his saddlebags one more time, and hoisted himself up into the saddle. "Glad to hear it, lieutenant." Then addressing his mount, "Ready for one last adventure, Xavier?" The horse snorted and pawed the ground in response. "Yeah, me too. Well, let's do it anyway."
The R.F.P.S. Officer stepped out of Russel's way, and, standing at attention, saluted him saying, "Good hunting, sir."
Russel nodded crisply in response, donning his helmet. And then he trotted Xavier out and across his property and down the road. He rode past the news vehicles and reporters who hadn't yet been informed of the recall to duty, and so didn't know the uniformed cavalryman riding off into the night was the very man with whom they sought an interview.
Link was in the royal stables that night with Zelda settling Epona into her new home. He had just received his personal effects, his sword and clothes which he left behind at the Sacred Grove days before, and his nine year old mare who had been his first and only mount since he had come to live with his foster family. The white haired, brown bodied horse wouldn't allow anyone else to ride her.
"See, it's not so bad girl. I was promised you'll get all the oats you want." He said, trying to calm her down in the somewhat intimidating new surroundings. He had felt a little intimidated himself, and he could remember the palace being his home in many, many of his previous lifetimes.
"She looks so much like the others. It's no surprise you two were drawn to each other." Zelda observed, her hand on the mare's nose, stroking her head.
"She likes you. That's a good sign. She doesn't usually like too many girls." Link told her. "She tends to get a little protective of me."
"Well, that's something we might share in common then, won't we Epona?" Zelda told the horse. Epona nodded as though she understood.
"I thought I might find you here." Shepherd's voice carried to them from outside the stall. "I heard that Epona's horse hauler had arrived. How'd she take the trip?" He asked.
"Pretty well, although I think it'll be her last one for a while not under her own power." Link responded. "I'll try and run her tomorrow a bit."
"Yeah. Uh, I spoke to your father, Zelda, about the Temple of Light, he wants us to wait until midnight before we enter. Is that okay with you?" Shepherd asked.
"Yes, of course. Who will be entering with you?" She said, her face and voice shifting from the playfulness of a few seconds before to something more solemn and formal.
"Just Link and I. No one else. Just a quick check on the Sage of Light. He should be aware of our presence the second we set foot in the Temple, right?" Shepherd asked.
"That is correct." Zelda responded.
"Good, so hopefully this will go quickly. If he doesn't show up within a minute, Link and I will conduct a search. Is there anything in there that we should be aware of right now before we enter? I understand the Temples can have some pretty nasty surprises for uninvited guests." Shepherd asked, remembering the trouble he had getting through some of the levels in the Zelda games he had played.
"You must play or sing the royal lullaby while standing over the Triforce emblem on the floor of the entry hall. Link knows the song I speak of. It will disarm the ancient traps for unwanted trespassers and allow you access to the rest of the building. The Sage's residence is in the rectory towards the south wing of the Temple." She explained.
"And will we be able to access the whole facility?" He asked.
"Everything but the Sanctum. For that you will need the key for it, and that is hidden within the Temple itself. Only the Sage knows where it is kept. I have not been made privy to its location." Zelda told him.
"And what are the chances the Sage will be in the Sanctum?" Shepherd asked.
"I don't know, but it is a possibility. But if that's the case, the Sanctum should be unsealed. I can't think of a reason why the Sage would lock himself in there. Link should know the way. He's been in there before." Zelda explained.
Shepherd looked to Link who nodded quickly, "From before." He said.
"Right, got it." The General said shaking his head, still trying to comprehend it.
"Okay, second order of business, the sangraal jewel." Shepherd went on, "Rodney wants to know how we're going to deliver it once you get into close proximity with Xehanort. We can't just blow up Fi again, especially if it's in a Temple or a crowded area."
"No, certainly not." Link agreed. He remembered the pain of losing one of his oldest friends in a previous lifetime and didn't want to experience it again., machine though she might be. "Can it be fixed to another blade? One that isn't made of the same metal as the Master Sword?"
"Good question, do you have one in mind?" Shepherd asked.
Link went to the bundle that had been given to him upon Epona's arrival and retrieved his trusted Ordonian fencing blade. "The blade needs to be sharpened for real combat, but other than that it's a good sword that's never failed me before." He said.
Shepherd took the sword in question, "It's got a good balance to it." He said, feeling it. "You sure you want to give it up for this?"
"Better this one than Fi. Besides, I don't think I'll be going to the championships this year, do you?" Link asked sarcastically.
"No, I guess not." Shepherd agreed. "By the way, I went over Hyrule's defensive capabilities with your Generals, do you want the whole thing or the short version?"
Link gave him a look which couldn't be mistaken for anything else other than, "What do you think?"
So Shepherd filled him in, ending with his own educated guesses and the measures he had taken. Link agreed with his assessment, and the measures he had taken to augment the military's numbers. "By my estimates that should more than double our fighting forces when it comes down to the ground fighting." Shepherd said.
"What about the normal emergency response roles of the Hyrule Guard?" Zelda asked. "People are going to be frightened if they do invade. They'll need someone in the towns and cities to keep order."
"That's why I also requested the veterans and former guardsmen to be recalled to active duty, to fill those roles that would be left behind by the younger, more able bodied men pulled to fight." Shepherd said. "It would have been helpful if I could have been able to form militias as citizen guards as well, but I was told that forced conscription was made illegal years ago by parliament."
"That is true. It was legislation my father sponsored." Zelda told him.
"Right." Shepherd said, trying to think of a quick way to change the subject. "So, we'll meet back together by eleven o'clock, then, and I will take this to Rodney now and let him figure it out."
The black robed figure moved silently and swiftly among the passersby on the streets under the city lights. The sidewalks of the metropolis were filled with more and more people the closer to the heart of the city he came. There were all kinds of people. Some looked as though they were merely returning home from work, others looked as though they were looking for the next party. He passed by a theater of some kind with scores of people lined up outside to see something inside called, "The Hero's Heart," at least according to the marquee. He wondered what hero, and what had happened to his heart.
The streets were filled with cars, trucks, and other vehicles, as well as a few carriages with horses that seemed to move from one neon-lighted venue to another, as well as around a park that couples strolled through holding hands. There was an energy, a life to the place which was almost electric. He hoped for their sakes that he was successful in his task. He didn't want anyone else hurt.
He could feel the source of the light drawing him towards a massive cathedral like building sitting just outside of the walled fortifications of the city's center. Unlike the rest of the city, this building had no people visiting it right now, but it sat behind stone walls of its own, guarded by professional looking soldiers in gray uniforms with very serious looking firearms. He studied the situation carefully. His spells of concealment had held so far, but he could feel this place was different. He didn't know if things would fall apart here or not.
"Well," he whispered to himself, "I didn't come this far to turn back now."
He then carefully and silently headed up the steps towards the first checkpoint where stood two guards. Neither of their heads turned in his direction, though he stood right between and in front of them. He continued on and past them, making no sound. He continued in this same way past the next set of guards, and the next set after that, as well as the dozen or so guards patrolling the perimeter of the inside of the walls around the central building.
"Wow, it sure is beautiful." The stranger said to himself in admiration. The Temple had its own grove of trees off to the north side, and two pools of water separated by a marble walkway leading straight up to the doors. Over the main doors there was a triangle symbol that he didn't recognize, but had seen in different places all over the city. "It must mean something important." He reasoned. The tall spires of the building crowned it majestically.
He walked up to the oddly simple wooden doors and placed his white gloved hand on the door feeling for any magical traps or seals. He sensed several. The seal on the door was absolute. Absolute that is, for everyone except a keyblade master.
He motioned with his right hand and what looked like a large golden key with a sword grip appeared. He pointed the keyblade towards the sealed door and a keyhole appeared where none had been before. He thrust the key into the lock and turned it. The door opened silently inwards, and the dark robed figure slipped in, closing the door behind him so no one suspected anything was amiss.
After he was certain the door was closed and sealed, he removed his hood to give his large eyes more light to take in the large entry hall which greeted him. His large, round black ears unfolded and began filling his senses with what sounds could be heard in the otherwise silent building.
At the opposite end of the hall from the doors was a kind of altar with a marble depiction of wings upswept. On the altar had been set three large gold and jeweled pendants. One was composed of sapphires, one of rubies, and one of emeralds. They seemed to shine with an inner light of their own in the otherwise darkened hall. Behind the altar was a set of doors that were also closed.
"Something doesn't feel right here." The stranger said to himself. "This is a center of light, I can feel that, but there are too many shadows that don't seem to belong."
Just then behind him heard a noise at the door. He quickly pulled his black hood back over his black, short furred head, and ducked off to the side, blending in with what he hoped were natural shadows as the main doors opened once more, and two men stepped inside.