Chapter 1
Link stood behind his anvil in the Knight's Forge blacksmith hammering away at a shortsword, flipping it over with his tongs every couple of hits to shape the blade
evenly. His short platinum blond hair caked with grime and soot gave it an almost black appearance, his tan cheeks also had a layer of dirt on them giving him a darker
appearance as well as brightening his already crystal blue eyes. His face, soft and round made him appear younger. Link was considered short for his age standing at
5'7", and a little underweight. His small body stitched together with dense muscle from years of work in the forge. He wore tattered black pants, a loose white
long-sleevedshirt, a pair of worn black boots, and a messy brown apron to protect his body as well as his already worn clothes from further damage. He had been Mr.
Zed's apprentice for two years now creating arms, armor, and supplies for the soldiers of Hyrule. Working in the forge has always provided him a distraction and sense
of peace from the hardships of life. When he was eight years old his father was killed by a group of bandits that enslaved him, using him to work as a laborer until he
became strong enough to fight in underground slave pits.
The pits were used as a form of entertainment, as well as a way for people to gamble on fighters in an attempt to win some easy money. At the age of fourteen he
was deemed strong enough and put into his first fight. It was a tournament between 7 other slaves. He stood in a large colosseum with wooden benches lining the
arena and escalating in rows. Nearly every seat was taken with viewers cheering for their prized fighters to win. Link stood to the right in the sandy arena, the desert
sun beaming overhead making it hard to keep his eyes open. His heart was pounding in his ears and his chest felt tight. He found breathing to become more and more
difficult as he glanced down to his hand to look at the small sword that was forced into his grip a few minutes earlier. " I have bet a good amount of money on you, do
not disappoint me". Kuli told him as he pressed the small rusted sword into his hand, ushering him into the arena.
A well dressed man wearing a dark purple robe and matching scarf wrapped around his head stepped out in front of the audience. His wrists and fingers adorned
with a gaudy amount of jewelry made of silver and gold as well as a few refined gems. After a quick bow he raised his hands above his head gesturing for the crowd to
settle so he could speak. " Welcome ladies and gentlemen, tonight will be a spectacle to behold." He turned his head and gestured at the combatants. " Only one of
these fighters will be victorious today by eliminating all other combatants". He turned and addressed the slaves. " There are no rules for this fight, your only goal is to
survive. The last person to still draw breath will be named the victor". As he returned to his seat Link looked around the arena at the other fighters. Six men and one
woman, all of them stood in a large circle facing inward. All the other fighters wore Leather armor except for the red-haired woman 2 spaces to his right and the man
standing directly across from him. The man wore a set of heavy metal armor probably steel from what he could tell. Everyone was larger than him, even the red-haired
girl stood at least two feet taller than him.
As he took in everyone's appearance he found himself woefully under-equipped. He had no helmet to cover his bald head, and he only had his tattered khaki shirt,
pants and worn sandals to protect him. The weapon he was given had more than a few nicks and didn't appear to have a cutting edge. 'how many people have died
using this' he wondered to himself. Link gripped his sword as hard as he could, knuckles straining under the pressure. He was shaking, every sense in his body was
telling him to flee but deep down he knew there was no escape. Heart pounding, his mouth was uncomfortably dry, and bile had risen to his throat he took a hesitant
step back when the announcer stood and shouted "Begin". Without hesitation the other fighters leapt forward trying to quickly dispatch those that they thought were
the biggest threat.
The Arena quickly turned into chaos, fighters slashing, jabbing, blocking, rolling, and roaring out battle cries. Combatants started rapidly dropping, the slender man
with shoulder length black hair jabbed his spear into another man's chest. As he wrenched his spear out of the now dead body the red haired girl threw one of her
daggers into his eye, killing him instantly. Behind them the fighter with the heavy armor was swinging his giant two-handed sword attempting to take out two fighters
simultaneously. One of them was able to dive out of the way while the other wasn't as quick to react, the heavy sword bisecting him at the waist. There was a shuffle to
Link's right and on instinct he brought his shortsword up just in time to deflect a shortsword as a man with one eye lunged at him trying to impale him. As he deflected
the sword away from his body the tip caught his left sleeve, grazing his shoulder and ripping the sleeve off. The man kept with the momentum slamming his shoulder
into Link's chest knocking him to the ground. The impact left him breathless and he tried to recover, quickly scrambling to his feet. Upon standing he looked up to see
his attacker laying on his stomach with a dagger in his neck and blood slowly pouring out.
Looking to his left he made eye contact with the red-haired girl, her golden eyes fierce. She glanced down to the side of his bicep noticing the small tattoo that was
now exposed. Eyes narrowing, confusion evident in her features "Eredin?" she asked just above a whisper before both of their attention was brought to the ringing of
metal and a choked gurgle. Behind the woman the large heavy armored male brought his sword down in an overhead strike, his opponent brought his blade up above
his head trying to block, but the sheer weight of the large man's blade and the force behind it were enough to cut straight through his sword and embed itself in the
defenders shoulder. Falling to his knees the large man placed his foot on the corpse's chest and pushed him off with a grunt. Blood painted his face, none of it his. He
glanced up at the 2 remaining combatants and smiled. Resting his blade on his shoulder he started walking towards Link.
Grabbing his sword with two hands Link stared in horror as the man slowly approached. Arms trembling, the bile rose back into his throat. Time seemed to slow with
every menacing step the bulky man took until his shadow was upon Link. Frozen with fear Link released his weapon letting it fall into the sand with a dull thud. Tears
started to flow from his eyes, and his bladder emptied where he stood. "Do not despair young warrior, this fight isn't over yet" the woman said with a gentle voice
before lunging at the heavily armored man with her last dagger. Switching his attention from the kid to his new opponent the bulky fighter pulled his sword from his
shoulder in a horizontal swing attempting to cut her in half before she could reach him. She dropped to her knees mid stride leaning backwards and slid beneath the
large blade. After narrowly dodging she planted her dagger in the side of his knee between his armor and was rewarded with a cry of anguish. Before he could recover
she planted her hands on the ground and kicked her legs up to his stomach and pushed with all her might, sending the large man backwards.
As he tried to catch himself the pain in his knee caused him to trip landing on his back. Quickly before he could get his bearings she picked up Link's discarded sword
and jumped on top of her opponent. Before she could drive the sword through his neck he reached up grabbing her shoulder and placed a hand on her abdomen,
heaving her over his head. With cat-like grace she rolled into it landing in a crouch and spun around just in time to leap out of the way of a vertical strike from the large
claymore. " I should've gone for you first," he said, taking off his helmet and letting it fall to the ground. She smirked "too late now to fix that. I wouldn't worry
too much about it though, I hear it's best to go to the grave with no regrets". " You're good" he admitted "but, I won't be dying here". As he lifted his sword she dove
towards him throwing a handful of sand into his face. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough of a distraction. As he reached with his free hand to clear his eyes she stabbed
the shortsword through his hand and into his skull, killing him instantly. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she walked over to the fallen giant pulling the sword out
of his head. Link was at a loss for words, he didn't think anyone would be able to stop the raging hulk, but she had done it with ease.
" Please," he said, his voice catching in his throat. "Please just make it painless" he begged, dropping to his knees. She walked over to him kneeling before him, and
placed a hand on his shoulder. "Have courage little warrior". Placing the sword in his hand and curling his fingers around it. "My name is Rila, I'm sorry I couldn't do more
to help you. . . Eredin". Before he could respond she angled the sword to line up with her heart and pressed all of her weight into it. Stunned, all he could do was stare
into her golden eyes with tears rolling down his face as the life faded from hers. The only thought he had was escaping his lips "why". As he brought his hammer down
on the shortsword in his grip he missed hitting the anvil head on sending a shock up his arm enough to break him out of his reverie. It had been a little over two years
since that day in the fight pits where Rila spared his life. He still hadn't understood why she did it, the best he could think of was perhaps she simply didn't want to kill a
kid and would rather die with a clean conscience.
Setting the hammer and sword down, he shook his arm trying to release the fatigue. "LINK" the gruffled voice of Mr. Zed called out from the front of
the shop. He walked to the doorway to find the source of the voice. "Yes" he called out crossing the threshold, Mr. Zed was standing behind a counter with a few
samples of their wares. He was a tall burly man, with a bald head and the largest brown beard Link had ever seen on a person. It nearly reached his beltline. His clothes
were nicer than link's and not as dirty, he wore a similar apron that was a little more worn from more prolonged use. Turning to face the young man he smiled "why
don't you clean up back there and we'll close the shop early today. The Harvest festival should be starting soon so i doubt we'll be getting any customers for the rest of
the day." Nodding his approval Link hurried to the back to put away his tools and apron. It only took him a few minutes before he was back up front ready to go. " Here's
your pay for the week, try not to spend it all on the festival" Mr. Zed said, handing him a small leather pouch full of rupees. " I think everyone will be recovering tomorrow
so let's just come back the day after, how does that sound?" Link smiled "thank you, that sounds fine. It will be nice to recover a little bit after this last order the crown
put in." Zed let out a hearty laugh " that it will, two hundred swords in a month is quite a tall order but we did it. I'm grateful for the dedication Link, I'll see you in two
days." Link nodded and stepped out into the early afternoon sun.
Taking in a deep breath he tried to ignore the smell of manure and half-baked bread that always seemed to permeate around the shop. Sighing, he walked down the
street making his way outside of the castle walls to his home in the old-town district. The streets were busier than normal, people were rushing back and forth setting
up decorations and stalls for the festival. The annual harvest festival was held right before summer to celebrate Farore the Goddess of creation, and to give thanks for
her blessings. Once outside of the castle walls Link was able to pick up his pace towards old-town. There were a few houses left standing in old-town that were
inhabited by those that were unable to afford living in market town proper. Link finally made it home. The house wasn't anything impressive, it had a single floor and
was made of simple stone with two windows covered by wood panels and a thatched roof. As soon as he walked into the entryway, he heard the familiar soft voice of
Ashei call out " Link is that you?" she asked, stepping into the living area.
He continued into the house until he found her standing barefoot in the living room. Her black hair fell around her shoulders, a stark contrast to her pale skin. Ashei was
shorter than him, her eyes reaching his chin. She wore a pair of tight black pants and a blue tunic held tight against her body by a black belt that displayed her petite
frame. She was quite beautiful for her age and well developed which earned her more than a few creepy stares and akward compliments from customers at the tavern
she worked at. "yeah, Mr. Zed gave me the rest of the day off because of the festival." Her dark blue eyes met his "Well, that was nice of him. Clare has been bugging me
all morning about the festival. I got her to lay down and take a nap so she'd have energy for later." Link smirked "or so she would stop bugging you for a while I bet."
Ashei let out a sigh and smiled "that girl is something. Well if we're going to go to the festival perhaps you should clean up a bit yeah?" The corner of his mouth lifted
"That would probably be best, it shouldn't take me long."