Eolan stepped into his quarters early that morning after a long and fretful night on the main drawbridge of Castle Town. Drowsily he sat down at his small table and removed his boots, his armor stored in the arsenal in the floors above. Wearily, he ate the breakfast of fruit, bread and cheese left for him by the castle servants, and he washed it down with sweet, white wine. As he had requested, a hot bath had been drawn for him, the steam still rose above the water, catching the wind of the morning breeze outside. He smiled at the sight. The tiny blue and red birds in a cage beside the window chirped merrily in the early light. They had fallen from their nests in the spring and so the old knight had kept and fed them throughout the remainder of the season. Now the two birds were fully feathered, and fluttered about their cage as the knight approached. He opened the door and let the little creatures hop onto his hand. The red one climbed his shoulder as he gently stroked the blue one's head, its eyes closing with pleasure. The little red one gently nibbled his ear with its beak, and Eolan kissed its tiny face. He offered them the crumbs and seeds that had fallen from this morning's breakfast. As they pecked at the grains, Eolan gently pushed the window open. He watched as the birds took notice, their little heads swiveling about as the wind ruffled their feathers. They both fluttered to the window sill, inspecting the outside world and blinking in the sun. Then, the two small birds leapt from the window sill and sailed off into the morning. With a sigh, Eolan watched them go for a moment before he turned toward the tub at the corner of his room. He undressed and sat down in the still nearly scalding bath water. His thoughts drifted, muddled with sleeplessness and anxiety. Eolan sighed again loudly. The events that had transpired that evening played in his mind as he closed his eyes… Yet another young man had come and crumpled before the castle gates. This one entirely different however, black of hair and eyes, on a common spotted mare; nothing like the fierce red creature that the first boy had appeared on. His thoughts turned again to Zelda. There had been no word of the princess. Neither himself nor any of his command had been able to locate her, even those that had not been overwhelmed by Bulbin or chased off by squealing Bokoblin. He had never been so worried for anything in all his life. He had never taken a wife, for that held no interest for him. The princess however, he dearly loved and had invested in her all of his hopes for the future. She was her father's daughter; kind, wise and fair. In her hands, he knew that the king's legacy would be safe and that Hyrule would continue its bloom of renaissance that had begun after Daphnes had overthrown his usurper. The last request the king had given him before Eolan had been barred from his room, was to watch over the princess. Daphnes had asked this in a moment of clarity between the fever dreams that had consumed his mind. Eolan's team had searched far and wide for Zelda and the boy in green who Eolan had, in those earlier days, dreamt of killing. He had blamed himself mostly. He had been the one so sure that the boy was dying, so sure that he would never rise again and that to bring him to Zelda was the correct thing to do. Now, after weeks of being angry with himself, he thought perhaps his inclination had been right after all.

It must have been the princess… that boy was as good as dead. She must have gone willingly with him.

He thought of Impa. Where had she been in all this? He hadn't seen or heard from her since all of this began. Hadn't that been where Zelda had ridden? Eolan had ordered all of Kakariko searched, and it was as if the Sheikah lady had disappeared. He thought again of the dark-haired boy. He had undoubtedly come from the recently raided Ofaria. With the extent of his injuries, he was likely a swordsman; maybe the son of a knight. He had been armed quiet extensively with fine weaponry. He suspected the raid on the forest village was no random act of violence, and that the beasts that stalked the fields searched also for the princess and the young blue-eyed swordsman. Commanded by who or what, he was not yet sure, though he had some ideas. Tairyn was a traitor, of this he was sure though he could not get close enough to him or to King Daphnes to prove it. He had command of the guard somehow. Perhaps he was the one controlling the Bulblin hordes as well. Maybe this forest dweller knew something, and Eolan had given orders to the nurses to find him should he awaken. Eolan submerged himself once more beneath the now cooling water. He surfaced, sweeping his grey hair from his face and pulled the drain stop.

Eolan, off duty and dressed in a fine jacquard doublet listlessly wandered the halls of the palace. He was at once too tired to read or be of use and too anxious to sleep. He stopped at one of the large, arched windows on the upper floors. He looked out to the town below. He could hear music and a din of voices drifting up to his pointed ears from the city streets. He wondered now, with the summer in full swing and the land sweet with flowers, did they know? Did any one of them suspect something was wrong? There had been no signs posted of the missing princess, only of who had been thought her captor, less the public panic in the absence of a standing monarch. The king had always actively engaged with his people. They most certainly had noted his absence. They could not know the princess had been lost. Eolan sighed, and turned from the window to return to his aimless pacing about the halls. He passed a handful of knights on his way, walking past to destinations unknown. A few of them smiled at him as they went by, but Eolan could not return their gesture. These boys, some he had known since childhood, boys he had trained to be soldiers had become strangers to him. And Tairyn, that mouthpiece, the constant smirk on his face enraged him. Eolan had tried numerous times in the passing weeks to see the ailing king and failed. Told no by his own command.

"The mage's orders." They'd said.

"He is working very hard to heal the king." They'd said.

Eolan had been twenty-six years old when he had fought beside a young King Daphnes to take the city from his uncle. He had been in the room when the prince had privately beheaded the usurper. He had fought for him again in the northern lands. He had been at the bedside of the queen when the princess came into the world. He had been at the king's side when the queen's body was committed to fire. In spite of all this, his own guard told him no. It infuriated him and yet he could do nothing.

"Sir!" A small voiced cried.

Eolan turned to see the tiny, brown-haired nurse quickly coming toward him.

"Yes?" He said, and the girl caught her breath.

"He's coming about, sir." She said.

The old knight nodded and followed her down the stairs.

Khai awoke that morning on a cot in a strange stone building. His eyes stung with fresh tears as he faded back into consciousness. He was sure of only a few things in that moment: the dry aching, feeling of too much liquor, the screaming in his leg and shoulder, and that the girl he loved was dead. He attempted to turn himself over on the flimsy bed to try and figure out his whereabouts, but the pain proved too much and he stiffened with a loud groan. He stared up at the high ceiling, a round wooden chandelier with fresh candles hung above him. He remembered the burnt husk of the forest village, the smell of smoke thick as it turned to mist in the rain. Why hadn't he been able to get to her in time? Why had he let her go alone? These questions rang out again and again, her beautiful face flashing ceaselessly through his mind. The girl who sang as she made bread, the girl who pressed every flower he'd ever given her into a book of poems. He had been in love with her since they had been children but he had pushed her away for so long, had teased her and tormented her in his childish attempt to cover his affection. Khai had wanted nothing to do with feelings when he was younger, he did not want anything to make him soft. How he regretted that now, there was so much more time that could have been had. He said her name over and over in his mind, openly weeping now, nearly wailing as he stared blankly at the chandelier. Into his field of vision, a young brunette appeared. Upon seeing the state he was in she gave a little gasp and disappeared out into the hallway. Moments later, a graying, bushy eye-browed knight leaned over his bed. Upon seeing him, Khai vaguely recognized him through his hysterics.

"Shh..Shh now, you're alright." Said the knight

Khai clutched his arm.

"Please… you have to help me… My village…Ofaria... we were ambushed… there were hundreds of them…so many people, dead! The princess…she..." He rambled, his words nearly incoherent.

Eolan quickly shushed Khai.

"Quiet, boy." He snapped, looking nervously about the room.

"Now, take a breath. Do you know where you are?" Asked the knight.

Khai shook his head, stifling sobs and trying to control his breathing.

"You are in the castle infirmary. Do you know how you got here?" Said Eolan.

Khai shook his head again, squeezing more tears from his eyes.

"You rode to the gates last night. I suspect you were quiet drunk as that is what your speech suggested. You fell from your horse and it was then I saw that you were badly injured. You had been stitched up previously but either in your careless riding or in the fall, you tore them. You will be alright now though. I have seen to that." Said Eolan.

Khai mouthed the word "Ofaria" and the old knight put a hand on his shaggy black head.

"Hush. We will talk soon. Concentrate on getting well. I shall visit you again tomorrow." He said, and with that he left Khai to his weeping.

The next day, the old knight made good on his promise. Eolan returned in the afternoon after the infirmity attendants had brought lunch. He offered Khai a cool but friendly smile as he sat down in a chair beside his bed. In his hand, he held a book.

"Good afternoon, young swordsman. How do you feel?" He asked.

Khai looked up at him with red, bleary eyes.

"Terrible...what does it look like?" He said.

Eolan nodded.

"That is fair... What is your name, boy?" He asked.

"Khai." The boy said.

"Well met. I am Eolan. I am captain of the Knights of Hyrule." Said Eolan, offering the young swordsman the book he held.

"I thought you might like some reading material. I trust you can read, yes?" Asked the knight.

Khai glanced up at him and took the book from his outstretched hand.

"Yeah, I can read. I'm not a moron..." He said.

The young man flipped the cover open, his eyes scanning the illustration on the inside. He noticed, tucked between the first few pages a piece of paper sticking up. Khai slid the note out and opened it up.

Boy,

the note began,

Make no indication of what I am about to tell you in your face nor movement...

The boy glanced up at the knight.

I have sent aid to Ofaria. Say nothing of who you are, where you are from or what you have seen to anyone else in this castle. When you are well, you and I will talk. Until then, I will visit you once a day. Hand this note back to me if you understand what I have written.

Khai and the old knight's eyes met and the boy slowly handed him back the piece of paper.

"Thank you, sir..." He said.

"You are welcome. Get some rest, I will see you again tomorrow." Said the knight as he rose from the chair.

Khai looked up at him again as Eolan turned to go.

"Sir?" Khai called after him and the knight turned.

"Thank you, also, for saving my life... I owe you a debt." He said.

The knight offered him a shallow bow and turned to go.

As Eolan had said, he came back the following day, the day after and the day after that. They kept their conversations light, Eolan mostly offering mostly news of the world outside the castle to the black-eyed boy. Some times he would bring sweets. Though miserable and beset by grief, Khai looked forward to these hours of the day more than anything. By the fifth day, Khai could walk again without his leg causing him too much pain. He was given fresh garments and allowed to limp about the lower floors as he pleased. More than a few times he had caught a glimpse of the ghostly white-haired mage drifting about the hallways. They had even made eye contact once. Khai had seen a sort of smugness about him, and hated him instantly. On the sixth day, Eolan appeared in full knight's regalia.

"Khai, do you feel up for a walk? The flowers in the gardens might do you some good." He'd said, and Khai had agreed with enthusiasm.

He raised an eyebrow however, when Eolan had furtively handed him a dagger and its sheath. The sunshine and the sweet summer air were invigorating for the boy as he with the old knight in tow strolled past the many colored roses mostly in silence. Eolan scanned vigilantly for anyone near by, anyone who could possibly be listening. As they walked beneath a massive grape arbor, Eolan stopped suddenly.

"We can talk candidly now Khai, we have not been followed." He said and Khai shot him an odd look.

"Talk about what?" He asked.

Eolan placed a hand on his shoulder.

"There is something dark happening in this kingdom. I have my suspicions that what happened to your village was no ordinary raid…and that it will happen to others. I have never seen the Bulbin tribe be so bold, and the Moblins crawling from the caves… When you first awoke, you mentioned the princess. What do you know, boy? Have you seen her?" He implored.

Khai dropped his gaze, the memories of Link carrying the noble girl into the village flashing through his mind.

He looked back up at Eolan, his eyes flitting about as if he were unsure what to say.

Eolan gripped his shoulder tighter.

"You must tell me! Is she hurt? Do you know where she is?" His wide green eyes begged an answer.

Khai looked up at him.

"No, she's not hurt. She's with my friend… my brother really...Link. He came to our village with her and a boar full of Bulblin archers chasing them and…"

"Light hair? Blue eyes? Pierced ears?!" Eolan interrupted.

"…Yeah, that's him. He told us that there's some kind coup going on. He told us this crazy story about these magic triangles and how he and the princess are part of this whole big thing. He said that there was this guy here trying to overthrow the king… that he's got the king under a spell or something." Khai said.

The old knight's face twisted in anger.

"Tairyn… I knew it. It has to be him." He said.

Khai tilted his head.

"Tairyn?" He asked.

"The mage, the Sheikah… he's a traitor to his kind." Eolan answered.

Khai's eyes widened.

"White-haired guy?" He said and Eolan nodded.

"I think he is commanding these demon tribes somehow." Said Eolan.

Khai froze, feeling his fists involuntarily balling with rage.

"Where is he? I'll kill him right now. If I can't do that then show me where his room is and I'll kill him there…" He snarled.

Eolan shook his head.

"No Khai, there's…" Before he could finish, the young man was already starting back to the castle as fast as his injured leg would allow.

Eolan caught his shoulders and spun him around. Khai angrily shrugged him off with his good shoulder.

"No! Let go of me! I'm going to murder him… I don't care who sees, I don't care what happens to me! He has to die!" He cried.

The boy turned again to go.

"Khai!" The old knight barked, and Khai stopped.

He turned toward Eolan, black eyes burning with rage.

"There is something greater at work here. Something bigger and far more powerful than Tairyn. If we act rashly, more lives could be lost. I have more questions for you." Said Eolan.

"And what are those?" Khai snapped.

"Your friend…did he have a triangle on the back of his hand?" Asked the knight.

Khai crossed his arms, wincing at the pan in his shoulder.

"Yeah… that's why Roland believed his dumb story. He and the princess both do." He said.

Eolan fell silent for a moment trying to process his thoughts. Khai sighed with frustration.

"Either, way, it's all nonsense, all that fairy tale stuff. I've never believed it. It's stupid." He said.

Eolan nodded.

"In truth boy, neither do I… but I have always believed in Zelda. She is good and kind… very intelligent though foolhardy at times. She will make a wonderful queen. Which is why we must not act rashly. Weather supernatural or not, there is some evil in this castle. We must be sure that it does not find the princess and we must save the king if we can… tomorrow, before light, meet me in the east tower. That one there." He said, pointing up to a spire in the distance.

"You'll take the second stairway up from the kitchen. Follow the servant's stairway for five flights and exit through the door on your right; you'll see an outside hallway. I will bring you your sword, shield and whatever armor I can carry." Said Eolan.

Khai nodded, looking up to the tower. The two began to head back toward the castle. Khai looked aside to Eolan.

"I can't guarantee that if I look at him that I won't stab him to death…" He said.

The old knight stopped.

"Don't look at him then… the man is capable of powerful magic. Do not engage him."

Khai grimaced, but promised he wouldn't.

As the town and the castle still slept, in the early hours of the morning, deep beneath the city streets they stood in the catacombs beside an underground lake of foul water. The walls were lined with the bones and decaying bodies of soldiers and others that had been interred there ages ago, and the place stank of death as Tairyn unsteadily opened the stolen Shadow Book. Though he stood straight, Tairyn was undeniable fearful of the entity behind him; his power was far too quickly returning. As he felt the aura of the Dark King wash over him, he found that it made his stomach turn. His palms were soaked as he held the thick, black book. The figure stood now behind the slightly quaking Sheikah, draped in black and gold velvet. His milky eyes burned into Tairyn's back as he stood beside the cloudy water. Tairyn swallowed, finding now that his mouth was rather dry.

"Lord, the spell you wish me to cast is not intended to reanimate this many corpses, nor to be used on bodies this old. I am unsure of what effect it will have." He said.

Tairyn heard the shuffling steps of the wraith-like king and felt a rough, clawing hand grip his shoulder.

"It will do as I said it will. Proceed, Sheikah." Said the smoldering voice from behind.

After a moment's pause, as he felt the hand of the Dark King grip his shoulder to the threshold of pain, Tairyn began the incantation. As he chanted, he felt the hand on his shoulder grip tighter still and watched as the triangle upon it glowed brightly. Suddenly, Tairyn felt ill and nearly emptied the contents of his stomach onto the ground as he felt a powerful current run through him. Ganondorf's hand gripped his shoulder tighter still, and Tairyn continued the chant, in spite of his breaking voice. The water glowed the color of lightening. The walls of the catacombs began to tremble as the long dead bodies convulsed and fell into the pool beneath. The sound of rattling bones nearly deafening as the stone walls became bare. There was a lull for a moment, and then the pool began to bubble violently as if the entire expanse of it were a boiling pot. From the foul and darkly enchanted waters now slowly marched the army of newborn Stalfos, their numbers seeming to grow endlessly as they crowded the shallows.

Tairyn watched uneasily as the Dark King walked to inspect his fleet. He cleared his throat.

"It seems that your power has aided the spell, my lord. What was to be one or two has now become hundreds. I hope they are to your liking. With their force, we shall become the Gods of this realm." Said Tairyn.

The Dark King laughed quietly as he lowered the hood and cast his eyes over the many decaying bodies that shambled forward.

"Yes… Gods." He said, as he placed his hand on the nearly flesh-less head that stood stiffly before him.

He lingered there for a moment before he crushed the soldier's skull in his enormous hand and the Stalfos crumbled back into the water. The others still stood, awaiting orders. Ganondorf laughed again, cruelty in its sound.

"They know who their master is." He said, and he turned to Tairyn.

"I want more of them, Sheikah." He said.

Tairyn's eyes flitted to the demon and then to the army behind him.

"My lord, these are the greatest number of corpses I could provide you. I do not know where another catacomb such as this could be found." He said.

Ganondorf turned to him, an execrable smile set about his face.

"We do not need another catacomb. The castle is wrought with bodies as we speak. Any corpse that touches these waters will fall under my command. That is so isn't it?" He asked.

Tairyn paused as the king's statement broke over him like black water.

"…It seems so, my lord…" He said.

The Dark King tuned again to the army.

"I command that you shall decimate all who live within these walls and bring their bodies to these waters, I want a deathless army of thousands. Now go, slaves. Kill! Kill for your king!" He bellowed, his malicious baritone echoing fiercely off of the walls of the now empty crypt.

The Stalfos shuffled brainlessly forward and began to march slowly up the stairs as Tairyn stood fearfully beside. He turned again to the shadowy and towering king.

"M...My lord…all?" He stammered.

The demon stepped heavily forward, pulling the hood back over his head.

"Go to the forgery and lock them in. Tell them if they attempt to escape, they will be joining my ranks in death. I want my corpse army furnished as have been the Bulblin soldiers. Send a fleet of riders to the mountain city. Kill the Gorons to get the ore, and I want Kakariko burned as the forest village was. The peasants shall know now what it is to fear… Instruct the riders to collect the bodies of those they slaughter." Said the Dark King, as he brushed past the now pale Tairyn.

The mage followed close behind.

"My lord, surely you will need a cook? Servants? Others to…"

Tairyn was cut off as Ganondorf slapped him in the face hard enough that it knocked him from his feet.

"You, Sheikah... talk far too much." Said the Dark King.

Tairyn watched as the hooded figure disappeared into the upper floors. As he stood, his joints protesting, he felt a gnawing twinge in the pit of his stomach.

I will destroy him utterly… I will wish pain on him that would make the Goddesses weep.

Spitting a clot of blood upon the ground, he ascended to lock away those in the forgery, already he could hear the terrified screams of the men above.

Before the dawn, Eolan stood waiting in the eastern tower. He had procured a bag full of armor and his young friend's broadsword and scabbard. He waited tensely. He had given up his night duties at the bridge by feigning sickness and though he had taken great care not to be seen on his climb to the tower, still he worried that one of his command had spotted him. He stood perfectly still, watching as the sun inched closer to the top of the mountains and the sky became a dusky lavender.

"Eolan?" A voice whispered from the shadowed hallway.

The old knight turned, his hand set to the hilt of his sword until he was sure it was the young forest dweller who emerged now from the shadows. The knight relaxed.

"Good morning, here." Eolan handed the bag to Khai, who eagerly opened it.

Khai smiled an enormous, toothy smile as he pulled the contents from the bag.

"I've always wanted a set of armor. I never got to make one myself. Roland mostly dealt in swords and battle axes and stuff." He said.

"Roland was…your uncle? Brother?" Asked Eolan.

Khai shook his head and he slipped the chainmail over his chest.

"No, Roland was my mentor. He took me and Link in after Link's mother died. He was a weapon's smith. He sold what he made. His house has a forgery in the back…out in Ofaria. My father was a knight, he died when the north invaded... I never knew him... Roland died in the raid." He said flatly.

Eolan nodded once in acknowledgement.

"I see… I am sorry for your loss. Well boy, are you ready for this morning? He asked.

"Ready for what?" Khai asked as he strapped the steel arm guards in place.

"To do what we must to protect the realm." Eolan answered.

"To kill? Oh yeah… I'm more than ready." Khai said.

Eolan sighed, noticing the young man fumbling with the back and breast plates. He moved toward the boy and roughly adjusted them, tying the leather at the seams and taking care that the steel was in the right position.

"That may be part of it lad, but our task is greater than just killing. We must save Daphnes." Said Eolan, and he handed Khai his shield, sword, strap and scabbard.

Khai looked down at the weapon for a moment before he took it from the old knight's hands. Glancing up to his face, Khai set the sword about his hips.

"What's the plan?" He asked.

A terrified scream filled the courtyard below as Eolan opened his mouth to speak and both men rushed to the side of the bridge to see the cause of the commotion. They each recoiled in horror at the sight.

Tairyn raced up the steps to his chamber, the screams of the servants and those unlucky enough to be near the basement floors driving an electrified nail through his heart. This is not what he wanted, not in the slightest. The forest dwellers were one thing; foul and uneducated as they were. The Gorons and Zoras were even less, but Castle Town? All of the servants? The knights? The gentry who made their homes there? He felt sick. The groaning and murmuring of the undead growing louder as the screams grew more plentiful. He skidded to a stop in front of his chamber door. Shaking, he pulled the ring of keys from his belt and frantically searched for his own door key. He heard a woman's horrified scream and his knees nearly buckled under his own weight. He opened the door and slammed it shut once he had stepped inside. He leaned against it, his white hair sticking up around his braids and blood still trickling from his lips. He could still hear the screaming. His hands flew to his head

"What have I done?! What have I done?!" He cried

Impa had also heard the screaming, as she had crept invisible along the walls of her old apartment. She stood still now, watching and waiting. She had casually made her way into the castle in the early hours of the night. A proficient glamouring spell in place, she was no more visible than a rain drop in a pond. She had silently moved about the palace in the shadows, passing soldiers and hearing finally for herself their treasonous whispering. All men she had known, and trained alongside. This was the third time she had done this. She had been spying on the inner workings of the palace at the same time she had attempted to disappear entirely from her home town. She did not wish to risk being cornered by Tairyn's men or to provide any clue that Zelda had been in Kakariko at all. This evening, she had wandered the castle for the better part of the night cloaked in darkness, eavesdropping on conversations here and there and hoping to find something that would aide the princess and the boy. She had returned to her room and finding it locked, had waited nearly three hours for the servant girls to open the door to set breakfast on a table inside the room before she could enter. She found that Tairyn had moved from the lower floors into her quarters, and she had hoped that no one had been around to hear her disgusted groan. Still though, her bookshelf had remained untouched as far as she knew. She went to it, carefully looking for any strange old tome her grandmother may have passed to her. Book after book she skimmed, until from the pages dropped a yellowed piece of paper. As the sun rose in the window behind her, she picked up the weathered paper from the floor and examined it. It was a letter, addressed from the Queen of Hyrule, to her great, great grandmother. Impa had only just begun to unfold it when she heard the first scream, than another. She flung herself against the wall, feeling a great and sickening dread welling in her chest as she tucked the letter into her pocket. It was then that Tairyn crashed through the door; slamming it and crying out his lament to what he thought was nothingness. Impa struggled to keep her breathing quiet and searched for a way out of the room while Tairyn was distracted. She looked to the window. She swallowed hard, she knew the drop. She knew she was hundreds of feet above the ground, but still… she couldn't go where the screams were coming from even with the glamour, she knew that much. Something evil was awake down there, something that would see her.

The demon… it has awakened completely.

She shifted herself down to the floor as silently as she could. On careful hands and tiptoes, she made her way to the open window. Tairyn, through his panic, had sensed someone in the room long before Impa had dared to move and as she stood to push the window pane and make her escape the mage turned to her. He could see her moving through his room. She looked like a magnifying glass hovering over the space she occupied.

"Shide halha saet." He said, and Impa's invisibility sucked off of her like clouds on a hot day.

She froze, her ruby eyes meeting his.

"What are you doing in my quarters, Impa?" He asked, his voice strained and grave.

Impa noted the trickle of blood at his mouth as she quickly turned and bolted for the open window.

"Shide sha ehset!" He cried, thrusting the back of his hand forward.

Impa found herself unable to move in mid stride, and she trained her eyes furiously on the man before her as he willed her to turn toward him. She struggled, unable to break the psychic grasp in which she was clutched.

"You've stolen my grandmother's book…haven't you?" She asked, keeping her voice calm and low though she wanted nothing more than to scream.

Tairyn nodded.

"Guilty, yes… Our magic did not die with her." He said, pulling her closer with a flick of his wrist.

Impa tried to will the magic that held her away, but its grip was far too strong.

"You have betrayed your people… this land. You've awoken the beast and you will pay for it." She said

"Maybe so…" Said the mage.

The screams were closer now and Tairyn turned toward the door before he turned again to Impa.

"I did it for us Impa, I did it for our tribe. I did it to pull the Twili from the shadows and unite our people once more. So we could be free, Impa, from the slavery our people have endured for so long." Said Tairyn.

Impa glared at him.

"You did it so you could play at being king. You know these tales, you know the consequences of your actions. How could you Tairyn? Did you think you could control it? Did you think it wouldn't burn villages and slaughter the innocent? Because that is what it does." She said.

Tairyn's eyes fell to the floor.

"I knew some would die, yes... but I never meant for this... I had such an intricate plan..." He said.

Impa shook her head in disgust.

"To what?! Take the Triforce?!"

Tairyn looked back up at her.

"Yes. That was the plan. Control the demon and bring the other two close to it while it was weak... The princess was never meant to escape. I knew the boy would come for her eventually... I even took the sword into my possession with the help of the book. Yet, despite precaution, here we are..." He paused, seeming to gather his thoughts.

"...Impa, do you remember the stories we heard as children of ancient Hyrule? Stories of fairies and immortal children... dragons that spoke, trees that spoke and guarded their forests? Do you ever wonder why our Hyrule is so much less magical? Why the fairies are pushed into the deep forests and caverns, why there are hardly any dragons left at all?" He asked.

Impa's brows furrowed.

"What are you getting at Tairyn?" She asked.

The mage's shoulders heaved in a great sigh.

"I have a theory... I believe that the longer the Triforce remains in three pieces, the more wanes the magic in these lands. Hasn't that always been the ideal scenario, to recombine it? Its magic is the source of all things beautiful and terrible, it is the birthright of every living thing. I wanted a part of that. It was never meant to be hidden away..." He said.

Impa began to struggle against the spell that held her again.

"It was hidden away because of people like you, Tairyn! It was kept secret by the royal family because they are connected to the Gods. They protect it not only from men like you but from the demon you have awoken! You're a traitor, and nothing can justify it."

He and Impa looked at one another, silence passing between them as the cries from below became more desperate. With another motion on his hand and a soft uttering of words, she was free from his grasp. As her feet touched the floor and she realized she could move again, she bolted toward the window.

"Impa!" She heard him scream behind her.

It gave her pause, and she turned to him.

"Don't go that way. There is no way you'll make it down from the roof. Please. There is a better way" He said.

Impa scoffed.

"I am supposed to trust you, traitor?"

He made a move toward her and she turned to window and tried once more to jump. Again, she felt herself immobilized. He turned her to face him and motioned for her to come closer. Still she struggled, her braid coming loose and nearly losing one of her boots as she kicked. He looked up at her. For a moment, their eyes met.

"Impa…did I ever tell you how beautiful you are? " He said suddenly.

She stared at him, so taken aback that she hardly noticed it when he took her hand. He muttered something and before she could react, the two of them disappeared into a cloud of tiny, black squares.

When they materialized, Impa and Tairyn were outside the eastern castle gates. Both dizzy and nauseated from the teleportation they stumbled backward. When Impa regained her senses, she looked to the town behind Tairyn. As far as she could see there was chaos. There were people stampeding out of the gate, the night lit only by the moon as the dead tore the living to pieces. From out of the darkness around her, the glowing eyes of the Stalfos appeared. The smell was nearly unbearable as they drew closer and Impa drew her sword praying that simple steel would be enough. She braced herself.

"Down!" Impa heard Tairyn cry beside.

"Get back, slaves!"

She saw the creatures fall back, those which still had eyelids to blink over their glowing sockets winked like fireflies as they shrunk away from Tairyn's outstretched hand. He turned to Impa.

"Go." He said.

She shook her head in terror, tears sliding down her cheeks

"Tairyn… What have you unleashed on this world?"

"Go!" He roared.

She did, she tore off into the night, once again covering herself in the cloak of a glamouring spell as she sprinted into the east.

Eolan and Khai, swords drawn, crept slowly along the walls of the eastern corridor. Both of them had seen the horrors below and now heard the cacophony of shrieks of the men and women in the lower floors. Khai was shaking, though he did not let the old knight see.

"Khai... Khai!" Eolan called in a near whisper.

The boy jerked his head toward the knight as he flattened himself against the wall behind a pillar outlining a door along the hall. Khai followed his lead and they both stood there waiting and petrified. From the dark, the two could see four pairs of glowing eyes moving slowly through the hallway. They moaned and hissed, their movements unsteady as they shambled across the floor. Eolan looked to Khai.

"I'm going to rush them… stay here unless it looks like I need help." He whispered.

Khai nodded, licking his dry lips and readying his sword. Both men waited until the unnatural gurgles of the creatures were close. Eolan sprang from his hiding place with a roaring cry and sliced the head from one of the undead. Eolan hacked and slashed at the remaining three as both men watched in horror as the severed body parts of the creatures began to fuse back together. Khai, with as much grace as he could muster, leapt out from behind the pillar and joined Eolan as he stabbed at the assailing creatures. Together, they managed to fell the the zombified bodies. Eolan looked at Khai.

"You looked like you needed help." Said Khai.

The two of them made their way through the halls together, Eolan at the front with Khai following close behind. Slashing, stabbing, beheading the undead creatures as they made their way to the upper eastern floor. To King Daphnes's room.

"Eolan!" Khai called, skewering another animated skeleton.

"What do we do when we find the king?!" He called.

Eolan blasted one of the creatures in the face with the hilt of his sword and then lifted it by its rib-cage, throwing it to the tile floor far below.

"You take him if he can walk, I'll take him if he can't!" He said

Khai and Eolan struggled up to the entrance of northern tower, the decaying soilders unwavering as they slowly flooded the upper halls. Other knights ran frantically about, fighting through the throng of Stalfos and all trying desperately to reach the stairs. As the other men fought to get down, Eolan and Khai fought their way up into King Daphnes's tower. Finally, as Eolan stood in front of Khai and another wave of skeletal warriors approached, the boy turned to the tower door at the old knight's behest. Khai stood there for a moment, time nearly stopping as he numbly looked around him. He reached for the door handle. Before he could grab it, the door flew open and a figure now stood huge and imposing before them. Khai nearly fell backwards down the steps and he stedied himself now beside Eolan, both men horror struck. It made its way down the steps toward the knight and the black-eyed boy. There was an awful grin set about his face and Eolan's breath caught in his throat. The being descended the stairs, laughing maliciously as he surveyed the carnage from the floors above. He turned his white eyes toward the knight and the swordsman. As it moved slowly down the stairs, Eolan realized to his horror that this thing…was somehow Daphnes. The knight readied his sword, searching desperately for a way to escape. He looked down to the floor below. It wasn't too far down and for now, it was clear of monsters. Eolan spoke over his shoulder to Khai, his blade in a high guard.

"Khai, I am going to need you to jump over this railing to that landing below. Do you hear?"

Without hesitation, the boy nodded and vaulted over the side of the hallway. The old knight fallowed suit. They both landed hard and Khai let out a loud cry of pain as he hit the ground. Eolan pulled him to his feet as they both scrambled for the stairs.

"The servant stairway. Out the back, the horses are there. Follow me!"

They managed to fell the few shuffling corpses they found as they fled the castle, the uproarious laughter of the demon above resounding.