CHAPTER 5
In a cave in the mountains bordering Hyrule Field, a dark wizard worked long into the night. He was now desperate to finish his task. His master had taught him the secrets of using magical talismans to increase his strength, and with this, he could double his magic powers.
Seron sneered as he remembered the insolence that fool, Deihawk, had shown him earlier. Deihawk had dismissed him, insulted him, and made him seem useless. But with this medallion, Deihawk would learn to regret that.
Seron smiled slightly as he worked. He had learned that yesterday's attack on Zora's Domain had failed, and miserably. Perhaps Deihawk wouldn't be so hasty the next time Seron offered his services. Yes, Seron would be forgiving enough to offer Deihawk another chance. And if Deihawk refused again, he wouldn't live to regret it.
Seron stood up, his back aching from the many hours he had spent working on the medallion. He had sat at that table for hours without a break. But now, he held the item he had needed to increase his powers.
The dark apprentice stared into the faceted black jewel, which seemed to suck in the light. Now, no force on Hyrule could rival his powers. Now, perhaps a demonstration of the powers could be arranged.
He walked out of the cave, and into the night. He looked out over the cliff onto Hyrule Field, searching for something. A shadowy smile came to his face when he spied what he had been searching for.
Meanwhile, a lone Tekitite crawled among the grasses of Hyrule Field. It was a spider-like monster, with four legs and one eye. It was as tall as a man's waist. It chittered softly to itself as it hopped along, terribly afraid. It, not even one of the brightest of its species, knew what happened when one walked through the field at night.
It jumped up, shocked, when it noticed a soft chuckling coming up from the cliffs above with its superior hearing. It started to flee, but didn't get very far. It shrieked as a blast of black lightning slammed into it.
Seron motioned with his left hand, because the right was clutching the medallion, and the Tekitite slowly rose into the air until it was at eye level to Seron. Its single eye was alive with fear, and it chittered wildly.
A much larger blast of dark magic came from the medallion, and enveloped the monster, pulling it into the midnight-colored jewel. With one last screech, the Tekitite disappeared into the medallion. Seron lowered the medallion slowly, and then whirled and pointed it at the ground nearby. He mumbled a few incantations, and then watched as another blast speared the ground. A shape slowly formed, to his delight. It was much like the Tekitite, but stood upright. Its single eye bulged from its head, and it clutched a small sword and shield in its insectile hands. It chittered, and then bowed to Seron.
Seron laughed, and then pointed at the ground nearby. Again and again the black light flew, and soon dozens of the monsters stood before him, all bowing to their master. Seron turned back to the cave.
"Come, my Tekitons. We have much to prepare for. Tomorrow, we shall set forth on our plan to rule Hyrule!" And with that, Seron released an evil laugh, one that echoed all over Hyrule Field. A laugh that warned all that would listen, evil was growing stronger.
******
"Tane, it isn't your fault!" Shezarah shouted at the ex-mercenary. They, and Jier and Nerah, were in Kakariko with the Survivors and some of the injured Gerudos. After the battle, the wounded were sent either to Kakariko or Zora's Domain. They had helped escort the soldiers back to the town.
Tane sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes never moving from a spot on the floor. He blamed himself for Wynn and Fami's capture. Why, if he hadn't made a foolish dash at that dark man, then Wynn would still be with them. And to make it worse, he still didn't know what had caused him to charge like that. Tane couldn't recall the man, no matter how hard he tried.
"Listen, just leave me alone," Tane groaned. She had hovered over him, ever since after the battle, when Tane had described how he had failed his friends. It had been two days ago, and he was still in misery. And to make it worse, Shezarah wouldn't go away. It was almost as if she cared what happened to him, a failure...
Tane noticed her moving next to him, and she put her hand on his shoulder. She sighed loudly, and then whispered, "Tane, you didn't fail."
Tane jerked to his feet. "It was MY fault! I failed Wynn and Fami! If I hadn't charged at that man, they wouldn't be prisoners of the marauders, or worse!" he shouted, fire in his eyes.
Shezarah stepped back, a look of shock on her face. "Tane..."
Before she could finish, the door to the house they were in burst open. In rushed a familiar Zora, gasping for air. It was none other than Zaruu. He had just dashed all the way from Zora's Domain, conveying important news for the Princess. News he knew an old friend would find VERY important.
The two heroes watched as Zaruu tried desperately to regain his breath. Shezarah pulled out a seat for the Zora, and he collapsed. After a few moments, he was capable to tell his friend what he had learned that was so important.
"Tane, pal, I have news. You may want to sit down." Both Tane and Shezarah complied, and Zaruu continued. "We captured a few of the marauders after the battle, and have been interrogating them. None would talk, except for one. We were finally able to get one to tell us only one detail, but an important one." Zaruu paused, looking Tane in the eye. "He told us the name of the leader of the marauders."
Tane lunged to his feet, his mouth dropping open. "Who? Who is it?" He demanded of his friend, knowing the man that he had charged must have been the leader. Tane had seen him ordering the marauders. Tane desperately needed to know who it was, and why he was familiar, so he could try to understand his own foolish actions during the battle.
Zaruu's gaze dropped to the floor. It was a while before he could muster the bravery to answer his old pal and comrade. "Tane...It was Deihawk."
Tane stared at Zaruu in shock. "No...it can't be..."
Shezarah moved next to him and placed her hand on his arm. "Who is Deihawk?" But Tane could not answer. His mind was whirling with memories, both good and bad. Finally, Shezarah led him back to his chair, and he collapsed, shaking his head in shock.
Shezarah turned, and noticed Zaruu moving to leave. "Zaruu...what is wrong?"
Zaruu looked her in the eye. "Tane has just found out that the one man he hates most in the world is still alive, and worse than ever." And with that, the Zora was gone.
Shezarah sat again at her seat next to Tane, and stared at his face. She sat back as she noticed a tear glittering in his eyes. Whoever this Deihawk was, he had done something horrible to Tane, that was sure. And that was enough to earn her hatred, but he had also captured Wynn and Fami.
Tane suddenly covered his face in his hands, sobbing. Shezarah placed her arm around his shoulders, trying to console him. After a minute, Tane sat back up. He turned to Shezarah, and placed his hand on hers. "Shezarah, I think its time I told you of my past," he said quietly, and began.
******
"I was just a young boy when I first met Deihawk. He came to the small, broken-down house my parents and I called our own. We were poor, but hard-workers, and were able to scratch out a living, but it was difficult."
"Deihawk was in his late teens then. He was strong, and had no home. He was just the answer to my family's troubles: my father was getting sicker, and couldn't manage the farm alone. Deihawk came to us when we needed him the most, and we paid him the best we could."
"Deihawk was like an older brother to me. He was always there when I needed him, and helped my parents raise me. My parents considered him to be their own son."
"But eventually, he began to spend more and more time with some people that my mother once told me were raiders. Deihawk began to act meaner and meaner, and spent less time working. The farm began to wither, and my father confronted him about it. Deihawk attacked him, and then left the farm for several days."
"He finally came back, but he wasn't the same. He was always cruel to the animals around the farm, and to my parents. He ignored me. My parents were considering asking him to leave, but thought they could wait for a few more months, to let him settle down again."
"One day, though, he came to me, and gave me a small pouch of rupees. A gift, he called it. He told me to go to the Hyrule Market, and spend it on myself. It was a gift I now wish I had never taken."
"That evening, when I returned, I noticed a red light shining over the hills leading to the farm. When I crossed the final rise, I saw something I have never forgotten. The farm was burning! The animals were running, and some of those raiders were fleeing the farm. All but one. Deihawk stood near the burning house, an evil look on his face. Several raiders lay around him, dead. He saw me, and ran to me. I tried to run, but he was too fast, and he caught me. He told me that he had killed my parents, and that he would kill me, too. He had killed some of the raiders that had helped him steal from the house, and another death wouldn't bother him. He beat me, and threw me to the ground. He drew his sword, and approached me. I was afraid, and knew I was going to die. Just as he was about to finish me, I grabbed a rock, and threw it at his face. It connected, and ripped a gash in his face. I ran, hearing Deihawk curse me. I ran! Like a little coward. That's what he called me. A little coward."
Tane broke down, unable to continue. Shezarah drew him closer, and held him long into the night, until both were asleep.
******
"Wynn, wake up. Wynn..."
Wynn slowly opened his eyes, and then flinched in pain. Oh, how his head hurt! He tried to sink back into sleep, but the hand shaking his shoulder gently wouldn't allow that.
Suddenly, everything came back to him. The battle...Merce...the look of shock on Fami's face as she saw the club hurtling for his head...Wynn moaned. Where were they? Why did Merce do this?
"Wynn!" Fami exclaimed. Wynn found himself engulfed in a giant hug from the girl. He would have smiled, but the threat of blacking out from the pain hovered about him.
"Fami...where are we?" he groaned.
"Wynn...I don't know. Merce brought us here. He was there when I woke up." She pointed behind her. "He said we were prisoners of the great Deihawk."
Wynn noticed she was pointing to a table a short distance away. Between them and it, however, was a set of iron bars. They were in a small cell, and Wynn could tell from the moaning nearby their cell wasn't alone. Sitting at the table was an immense figure, wearing a golden set of armor with a gigantic ax strapped to his back. When the figure, obviously serving as a guard, noticed Wynn was awake, he stood and moved to the bars.
"Nice to see you are finally awake." The gravelly voice coming from the armor was cocky and sure. "Hope you like your quarters. Because you are going to be here for a long, long time."
******
Deihawk let out a roar of anger. He was alone, in his chambers, since he had dismissed his guards. He was still outraged by his failure to conquer that blasted Zora's Domain. He would have succeeded, if it hadn't been for those Hylians that were at the fountain. He had vaguely recognized many from his attack on Kakariko, another failure. If he didn't start winning soon, his own men might overthrow him. This was the way things went in his organization. Even his right-hand man had gained his position by killing Deihawk's former second-in-command, Solan.
Deihawk grimaced at the memory of Solan. He had been weak, and had strong principals. He had even gone against Deihawk's orders several times. If his new second hadn't killed him, then Deihawk may have ordered Solan's death himself.
A sudden clatter sounded from outside his chambers. Deihawk turned, ready to begin screaming at the men he had posted outside the doors, when those men flew into his chamber, all knocked out. Several monsters barged into the chamber, armed to the teeth. Following them was a cloaked figure.
Deihawk lunged for his dagger, but a blast of black lightning caught him in the side, knocking him to the floor. He scrambled to his feet, glaring at the figure.
"You!" he hissed.
"Yes, it is I. I have decided to offer you another chance," Seron told the furious marauder.
Deihawk, roaring in anger, leaped at Seron, hands outstretched to choke Seron, but another tendril of lightning wrapped around his throat and lifted him off the floor. Seron smirked at his now hopeless prisoner. "Ready to negotiate now?" Seron asked innocently.
******
Silver Knuckle walked silently through the underground home of the marauders. He had found out that they had captured Wynn and the Kokiri girl by ambushing a small party of the fleeing raiders after the battle. He had also discovered where their base was hidden. His eyes glowed evilly. Those unfortunate marauders wouldn't be telling anyone about him, though. He had seen to that.
He had come to the secret entrance, under a cliff deep in Hyrule Field, and had waited there. He had desired a way to slip in unnoticed, and, after a long wait, it came to him. Seron, that fool apprentice, had barged in, flanked by dozens of monsters the likes of which Silver Knuckle had never seen before. Silver Knuckle had trailed them, careful not to attract attention. After a short distance, he had broken away, knowing instinctively this was the direction that they had taken Wynn.
As he walked, he heard voices up ahead. He peered around a corner. It was the hero, with the girl, talking to an armored figure. Silver Knuckle stepped back in shock. The figure's armor was identical to his own!
Silver Knuckle paused, thinking. Perhaps it would be better to eavesdrop, rather than barge in. Yes, perhaps he could find a weakness to the hero. And so Silver Knuckle stood, listening to his nemesis and the guard talk, and heard a conversation that would change him forever.
******
"So, you two are the ones that Merce captured? That's too bad," the menacing figure encased in gold said to Wynn, a mocking tone in his voice.
Wynn and Fami didn't answer, merely staring back at their antagonist. Wynn looked to the table. On it lay his needed Biggoron sword and chained mace. The figure continued with the same tone. "The name is Gold Knuckle. I am the right-hand man to Deihawk, leader of Deihawk's Raiders."
"Impressive," Fami said, feinting boredom.
Gold Knuckle glared at her. "Insolent. Well, you'll learn, or..." He hefted his ax, making his point clear. Wynn stepped in front of Fami protectively.
"You know, that's how I got my position. The guy that was in my place went soft, and I got rid of him. Poor Solan," Gold Knuckle chuckled, "never saw what hit him."
As he said this, a look of shock came across Wynn's face. "Who...who did you say...?"
Gold Knuckle laughed, coming out of his remembrance of his accomplishments. "Solan. He was Deihawk's old second, till I axed him."
Wynn threw himself at the bars separating them, a look of rage on his face. He grasped at Gold Knuckle, but the fiend merely stepped back. "What, a friend?" Gold Knuckle asked.
Wynn stepped back, glaring at Gold Knuckle in a fierce hatred. "He...he was my best friend...the only one I had growing up...But he had to leave, when his parents died...I never found out what happened to him..." And with those words, Wynn collapsed, memories flooding him. Fami came up to him, and wrapped her arms around him, to comfort him, but to no avail. Wynn was lost in the memories of the deceased friend he lost so long ago.
And, for that matter, so was another in that room. Silver Knuckle himself was fighting a tide of images of a young man he had once known, long ago...
******
Deep in the same caverns in which Gold Knuckle told Wynn of his friend's death, a young man strode confidently through the tunnels, a fierce scowl on his face. He was young, in his middle teens. His blond hair was dirty and uncombed, and his green eyes flashed with an inner light. He wore a simple tunic, with a sword strapped to his side. His face still bore the recent slashes from a previous battle, and he walked with a slight limp. He walked straight past several guards and to a door, which he went through without hesitation. He walked straight into the office of the only man he respected, or had respected, and glared at the man, enraged.
"How dare you call for a raid on those settlers near Lake Hylia? Those people were defenseless! They were poor, too. We didn't gain anything from killing them!"
The other man stood slowly, an irritated look on his face. He had the beginnings of a mustache on his lips, and a large scar above his eye. It was none other than the dreaded leader of the marauders, Deihawk. He was many years younger than the man Wynn and the others encountered at Zora's Domain, and had a much more youthful face. However, the scowl on his face stole all chances of pleasantness from the man.
"Listen, Solan, you know how things work here in my organization. If there is a chance that we can get a profit, we take it," Deihawk said, speaking as if he were talking to a young child. His voice had a comradely tone to it, but it was obvious Deihawk was getting fed up with his second-in-command.
"But..."
"We got a profit, Solan. Now, leave it at that." Deihawk said firmly. He silently added, "And I made sure the rumors about those settlers hiding that little rodent, Tane, were false."
"Deihawk...next time consult me first." Solan ordered. He walked out of Deihawk's office, oblivious to the glare Deihawk was giving him behind his back. He walked past the guards, and towards his quarters. He had had to put up with this ever since he had left his old home. This was his new home, but he still missed his dead parents...and Wynn. Wynn had been a good friend, and Solan had hated leaving him behind, but Wynn wouldn't survive in this group. He was too naïve, too unsuspecting. Why, the first chance they got, the marauders would stab Wynn in the back...
Before Solan could finish that thought, an unspeakable agony shot up through his back. He fell to his knees as he felt the knife being removed from his back. He slowly turned, and looked at his murderer. "You!" he snarled, recognizing the sniveling lackey from earlier encounters. Solan had never cared to learn his name. The man was bulky, wrapped in ragged armor, and his bald head shined in the torchlight. He had an enormous smile on his face, revealing rotting teeth.
"Now, I'm second-in-command!" the man declared, and walked away. As Solan watched him go, he noticed the blackness encroaching on the edges of his vision.
"I'm sorry...Wynn..." He gasped one final time, and was gone.
*****
Silver Knuckle gasped, and then ran, fleeing wildly. In his head, he was in denial of the things he had just seen. He ran out of the caverns, past the sleeping guards, and into the sunlight. He never stopped, afraid of what he had learned.
He hadn't just known Solan, the young man that had died so long ago. He was Solan!