The war had only begun one week ago and already more lives had been lost than in any other war in Hyrules history. Ever since the tribe of Ruiken moved into the continent, peace soon became an idealistic dream. The tribe of Ruiken became an obsession to King Rhoam of Hyrule as they looked almost identical to other hylians with slight differences here and there; their ears pointier, eye and hair colour being more vibrant and ruikenians tend to be naturally taller. However the likeness between ruikenians and hylians ends there as anyone of the Ruiken tribe was a seemingly natural born warrior, they were ruthless and quite clearly the best fighters in all of hyrule. They had tracking abilities similar to a wolf and a killer instinct to match. They had the stamina and speed to outrun a horse.
Originally this wasn't a problem, the ruikenians kept to themselves and didn't disturb anyone, but Rhoam got greedy, he wanted to have the ruikenians to be a part of his kingdom, they would make amazing soldiers and with them no one would dare oppose him. Rhoam eventually went to meet the ruikenians and offered for them to live under his rule; they declined and told him that they would bow to no one but a fellow ruikenian. After weeks of arguing with his council Rhoam decided begrudgingly to declare war on the Ruiken tribe, he hoped the sheer size of his army would be able to beat the Ruikenians skill.
The Gorons, Zora, Rito and Gerudo simply offered resources, not wishing to be fully dragged into a war. After much bloodshed and pain shared by both sides, the ruikenian leader and Rhoam met on the battlefield. A large empty and once green plain now soaked in crimson blood was where history was made. A truce of sorts had been called for, as both armies stood opposite one another. King Rhoam dropped off his horse and trudged forward before shouting.
"Kharmerr, let's end this ourselves!" Rhoam knew what he was doing, Kharmerr was the most fierce and deadly of all ruikenians and would easily best Rhoam in a one on one fight, but Kharmerr had been fighting for days now with no rest and nothing to eat or drink. The reason for this was that Kharmerr had been enraged as his beloved wife had been killed, she herself was a fighter and had been killed from an arrow through the heart whilst fighting off two hylian generals on the battlefield.
"You're a fool Rhoam, this will be finished once and for all, in a matter of seconds!" Kharmerr shouted back as he slowly walked towards the opening, facing Rhoam, his pride wouldn't allow him to decline a challenge. Instantly the two dashed at one another and despite Kharmerr's fatigue he was still able to keep up with Rhoam. The two began a dance of death that would stick in the memories of all soldiers present for the rest of their lives, it was entrancing and almost beautiful to watch as spurts of red flew out in between the flashes of their blades. Kharmerr was slowing down and both combatants could tell. kharmerr's only chance at winning was to finish it in one swift blow. Putting all of his strength and speed into one last attack he sliced upwards, faster than should have been possible, aiming directly for a deep slash across Rhoams heart, however in the last second Rhoam managed to angle his body away and the blade missed his chest and instead cleaved off his right arm. Both fighters screamed as the attack struck, Kharmerr knew he had lost, he had no hope for being able to fight back now and Rhoam knew this and pushed through the gushing blood and pain and impaled Kharmerr straight through the heart. They both dropped to their knees as Rhoam held Kharmerr's dying body.
"I'm sorry Link, I failed you son" was all Kharmerr could whisper out staring up into the grey sky. Rhoams best fighter and second in command snapped to attention and dashed beside him and began attempting to stop the blood flooding out of his arm. Rhoam payed no attention as he stared vacantly into the sky. As he was helped to stand up he turned and faced the ruikenian army.
"Your leader was an admirable man and even more admirable warrior, this war is over." he bellowed out before being carried back. He gave the signal for his army to charge and wipe out the rest of the ruikenians. They didn't put up much of a fight as they were all fatigued much like their leader had been and their hope had been crushed after watching their leader die. Rhoam had given up on using the ruikenians as soldiers, he realised just how strong their will and spirit is in that fight with Kharmerr, he wouldn't be able to command them or lead them. The rest of the ruiken tribe were eventually hunted down like dogs and killed. All but one boy that had been whisked away in all of the panic.
10 years later
"Oi Link wake up!" was the screech that rudely woke Link up from his deep slumber. The voice belonged to a young child, Kaide, the daughter of Links mentor and saviour. Shoving off the covers of his bed and pushing the small girl out of his way, Link got out of bed.
"What is it Kaide? What could possibly be the reaso-" Link began speaking only to get cut off by the seemingly frantic girl.
"Daddy said to come get you because he has an urgent job for you!" This managed to dash away any of Link's lingering sleepiness as he grabbed his clothes before bursting out of his house. Link lived with his mentor's clan in a small village, his mentor's clan were outcasts of the legendary sheikah tribe, they were cast out for reasons unknown to Link, his mentor was never willing to speak on it. Link made his way to the town hall and burst through the doors causing everyone in the building to turn and stare at the frantic and dishevelled Link. A council meeting was clearly being held, Link would normally be a bit bashful, but he was on full alert with his mind coming up with a million different possibilities.
"Nice of you to finally join us Link, take a seat" came the voice of his mentor, Kagami Uchiha. Link did as told without hesitation, he cast a look around the long table and saw the other council members sending him small smiles which calmed him down a bit.
"Uduak has not returned from his hunting trip for days now and since it is your 18th birthday we decided that we would send you Link, to go retrieve him. You have proven yourself over and over to be the greatest fighter we have, think of this as your last test" Spoke Kagami clearly and calmly. Uduak wasn't a close friend of Link's, but they respected each other, Uduak mainy makes weapons rather than use them, much like his father. Link stood up immediately staring Kagami dead in his eyes before speaking with all the conviction possible.
"Consider it done" With that Link made his way out of the hall swiftly, missing Kagami's proud smirk. Link jogged down to the stables and hopped onto his horse and greatest companion, Epona. Link already knew Uduak's hunting route and his sword and other weaponry were already with Epona. Epona dashed through the forest effortlessly narrowly missing all the trees and other obstacles, Link barely had to direct his partner, they had ran through this forest so many times that every little detail was imprinted in Link and Epona's minds. Something glinted out of the corner of Link's eye as he brought Epona to a halt, he turned and saw what had caught his attention, a bloodied kunai sticking out of a battered tree. It must have been Uduak's, by the looks of things he was fighting off something massive and powerful, worry began to settle in Links stomach as he turned again and spurred Epona on following the trail of destroyed trees and blood. It didn't take long to get to the end of the trail, what he saw shocked Link momentarily. An opening of sorts had been created through the trees being destroyed and in the middle he saw Uduak hunched over staring up into the red eyes of a lynel.
"You fought surprisingly well, I thank you for this battle, but I am still yet to find a worthy combatant" the lynel seemed genuine about what it was saying as he brought up his massive axe ready to finish the job. Link jumped into the opening before shouting out.
"WAIT!" The lynel froze and turned to Link, seemingly analyzing him before lowering his blade and nodding for Link to continue.
"If you let my friend leave, I promise you I can give you a worthy fight" Link was hoping the lynel's want for a worthy opponent would outweigh it's want for blood. Link was the strongest fighter in all of the Uchiha clan bar his mentor, knowing this he was more than confident enough to take on the lynel.
"A bold claim boy, but I sense power within you, lets see if you will be worthy" came the rumbled reply from the lynel as Uduak limped away from the opening and sat down next to Epona before muttering tiredly to Link.
"Thank you, and be careful"
Link unsheathed his broadsword and slowly approached the lynel. They circled one another for a couple seconds, both searching for weaknesses in the other. In a flash the lynel charged at Link with speed that betrayed its size, swinging horizontally with his axe. Link ducked and sped forward slashing at the beast's belly before rolling backwards out of the way of another horizontal swipe. Looking at his work Link realised just how thick the lynels skin is. Huffing, Link took up a stance staring the lynel dead in the eyes. The lynel took this as a challenge and took a couple steps backwards before once again charging at Link and swung at him as ran past, only for it to be effortlessly parried by Link. Time seemed to freeze down for Link as the Lynels eyes widened and he wobbled off balance, diving forward Link began hacking and slashing at the lynel in a flurry of attacks with speed unparalleled. Time snapping back into place the lynel swiped upwards intent on batting Link away at the very least. Link backflipped out of the way of the attack, ready for whatever else the lynel would throw at him. All of sudden the lynel did the last thing Link expected it to do, it threw its head back and roared with laughter. It's head snapped back down as it grinned at Link.
"My name is Ivailo, what is your name, fellow warrior?" the lynel spoke cheerfully with a grin on his face. Link grinned back, understanding the excitement of a good fight.
"My name is Link!" he shouted back, the answer seemed to appease Ivailo as his grin somehow got wider as he spoke again.
"Let us see who is the better warrior" he bellowed before leaping backwards a good couple of feet. At first Link was confused before he saw the lynel take a deep breath, Link cursed before bursting into a sprint as he just barely dodged a large fireball that had been spat at him. He turned to face the lynel again only to see another wave of flames heading towards him, Link ran again to the right and turned in the direction and came face to axe with the lynels weapon, the lynel had used the flames as cover whilst he charged so Link wouldn't see him coming. Links whole body bent backwards at a ninety degree angle almost immediately letting the axe swing harmlessly over him. Springing upwards Link went to drive his sword through the lynel only for it to be deflected before it could meet its target. Link strafed left as the lynel brought down a second axe he had gotten off his back, time slowed down once again as Link became hyper alert, he once again attacked in a flurry of swipes and slashes at the left side of the lynels body. Link dashed backwards, looking at the damage, he had cut the lynel quite deep this time as blood seeped out of its wounds. Ivailo paid no attention to it however as turned to face Link again. They both charged at each other, the lynel going for a double slash with both of his axes, but Link anticipated this and slid below the lynel, cleanly slashing at the lynels front right leg. Springing back up he swivelled around, seeing the lynel dropped onto his knees, he dived up and above the lynel, knowing if he charged straight at it the lynel would just swing at him. He slashed the back of the lynels nape dropping the lynel to the ground even further. Taking a step back, ready to go for the finishing blow, Link stopped and aimed his blade into the Lynels eye before speaking.
"I'll let you live, you spared my friend and I have given you a worthy fight, we have both completed our parts in this deal. There is no point in taking your life, especially after you gave me such a good morning exercise" Link spoke calmly, gaining a smirk and cocky tone towards the end. Huffing out a disbelieving laugh the lynel spoke up.
"I knew it, you were holding back this entire fight, you truly are an incredible warrior Link. I thank you for this fight and your mercy" with that said the lynel limped off into the forest after sending a star struck look towards Link. Link turned towards Uduak who was on the back of Epona looking at him like he was one of the goddesses. Smirking at him, Link jumped up onto Epona as well and began making his way back home.
A/N: Hey, thank you for reading this, I'm welcome to any sort of criticism or ideas you have :) I took some inspiration for this from Freyjadour's story "Fate favors the Fearless" It's really good and I would recommend reading it even though their last update was in 2015 :)