Author's Note
Now I know that this is not the next chapter to Total Corruption, nor is it the next chapter to y'all's newest favorite of mine, Nine Tailed Rebirth. Not to worry, I'm still working on the other two, but I just had the sudden urge to write a different tale on the Twilight Princess. Twilight Princess is one of my favorite Zelda games, and I thought that I could do the game justice with my style of storytelling. And so here we are.
LEGEND BELOW
"Well aren't you adorable." = Normal speech.
''I wonder what he really looks like.'' Normal thoughts.
"Oh Hero, chooses by the goddess." = Higher beings speech.
CHAPTER ONE/THE FALL
Twilight. The time of day just before the sun sets, and night falls. It was usually considered beautiful, the colors washing over the rapidly darkening skies were a sight to behold. Most of the world held that view of it, and few sought to change that. However, some believed it to be more then just a simple spectacle. There was a legend pertaining to the twilight, a myth. A tale passed on from one generation to another, dating back to the beginning of Hyrule itself.
The legend stated that during the short span of time where day began to turn to night and twilight formed, there was a momentary connection between the world of light, and that of the twisted dimension of darkness. Where the world of light was filled with beautiful landscapes and full of life, the land of darkness was a breeding grounds for the darkest evils to ever walk the land. Of course, that was simply the legend, and not many truly believed in it.
But as the years went on and people's of all shapes and sizes began to travel the world and take residence in their respective lands, the legend of monsters and different worlds began to seem more and more possible. The world was not monster free, that was for sure. But they were sparse across the land, never appearing in more then one or two. Each tribe of people had their own respective warriors to defend from the monstrous evils that plagued them.
As the years passed, the world would face many sudden aggressive hardships from the hands of the current so called king of evil. It had been that way from the beginning. There was always those that opposed the goddess's original purpose, and sought to try and change the world for their own benefit. Yet each time, the people of the light would always find a way to fight off the evil, and that usually led to the uprising of a chosen Hero, one blessed by the goddess herself.
This chosen Hero would stand up to all evil himself when the rest of the world was forced back by the forces of darkness. Time after time events like that arose, and each time a hero was there to save the day. That was the legend of the Hero blessed by the goddess, one passed down throughout all tribes and nations. It truly was a legend to remember.
However, after the last King of evil was supposedly vanquished, another one never arose. The world had been preparing for the expected arrival of another threat, but that threat never came. As the years passed on, and no large scale evil ever returned, the world began to get lax in their vigilance.
What was the point in preparing for something that would never come? There was no point, they stated. Soon the need of a hero was a moot point, and the need for a protector was practically nonexistent. The Legend of the Hero would never be forgotten, but it eventually turned into more of a story the old generation told the young in an attempt to make them strive for greater things, trying to shape the new generation like that of the fabled Hero. But legends and stories and myths alone wouldn't hold the people over forever, and they would eventually let their guard down.
And that was the Kingdom of Hyrule's fatal mistake...
A dark evil had once again risen to attempt to destroy all that was good, and this time, there was no one with the power to stop it. This time, it seemed, the world of light would fall to the darkness. And unless someone of heroic stature rose to the challenge, they were sure to fail in their efforts. When that hero failed to appear, the world slowly began to fall into darkness, literally.
From the very middle of the land of Hyrule itself, where the royal castle stood tall, a sinister twilight had begun to take over. This darkness blotted out the sun, throwing the land into a perpetual twilight where monsters would roam free. The people of the land were left blissfully unaware as they were turned into ghosts of their former selves, unable to continue normally under the curtain of shadow. The royal princess herself was taken captive by the forces of evil, and slowly but surely the curtain of twilight began to cover the land. And for the poor souls that were aware of what was happening, they were powerless to stop it in their ghost like forms, forced to watch as their beloved land of Hyrule was torn away from them. It truly did seem as if all hope was lost...
The sun had just begun to set on the farthest reaches of Hyrule, a province just outside of the land itself, in the land of Ordona. The land of Ordona had yet to be affected in any way by the slowly spreading curtain of twilight, and those that resided in it were blissfully unaware of the doom that seemingly awaited them.
The people of Ordona were different then their Hylian counterparts, and their lifestyle displayed that quite clearly. Simple people of the land who lived in dainty wooden houses and worked day by day to provide for themselves and their families. Farmer and crafters alike, the Ordonians treated each other like family, no matter who you were or what you looked like.
As the sun set around the forests of Faron, two of the local villagers were just finishing up gathering firewood for the coming days. The younger of the two was a fare young lad, dirty blond hair, bright and sharp blue eyes, and a toned body that spoke true of his day to day life as a goat herder. He was accompanied by an older man that was probably old enough to be his father, but the physical differences proved that to be wrong.
Where the older man looked to be nothing more that of a simple ordonian, the younger lad was most certainly anything but. If not for the sharp eyes, lightly blue tinted skin, strange gill-like marking on the sides of his ribcage, sharpened teeth and long pointed ears and claws, he could probably pass as a Hylian. Yes there was no mistaking him for normal, that was for sure. But even then, all of the residents of Ordona treated him like family, so who or what he was mattered not to them. Even if it did, neither the village residents nor he himself knew of his heritage, so that still wouldn't change anything.
The younger one, Link, had just finished strapping the firewood to his horse when the older man gained his attention.
"Link, my boy, come here." The older man, Rusl was his name, urged Link away from his horse and to his side by the creek. The young man stopped halfway through mounting his horse and joined Rusl's side. The man motioned for Link to sit with him beside the creek. The young man saw no reason to reject his offer, and took the time to relax by the calmly flowing water.
The two sat there for a while, just soaking in the calming feeling of watching the setting sun reflect off of the water. Links's eyes were closed, his shoulders slack as he let out a breath. He loved the way the wind tickled his hair, the sounds of the forest at sunset, and little fish that would nip at his feet resting in the water. It was the calm spring days like this that the young man lived for.
"Tell me..." Link was pulled back to reality as Rusl spoke up next to him. He pulled his attention away from the flowing water and turned to face the man. "Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls?" The question caught the young man off guard, and left him without response. "They say it's the only time when our world intersects with theirs..." Without waiting for a response, Rusl continued on.
"You remember the stories of the dark world, don't you..?" Rusl asked quietly. Link was silent, but gave a nod in response. Rusl smiled before turning to face the ever darkening skies, something on his mind. "They said it was an evil place, something that brought nothing but doom to those that ever witnessed it..." Link was silent as he listened, never interrupting.
"I've never seen it myself, but I believe that it does exist..." He said with a grim smile, before shaking his head of such downtrodden thoughts. "Ah but enough talk of sadness, I've got a favor to ask of you link." Rusl stated, suddenly changing the direction of the one sided conversation. Link offered a smile in acknowledgment, letting Rusl know that he was all ears.
"I was supposed to deliver something to the royal family of Hyrule the day after tomorrow..." He started, turning to glance in the direction of the land he just spoke of. "The mayor tasked me with this, but... Would you go in my stead?" He asked, giving the young man a moment to think it over. Link paused in thought, turning to give the fabled kingdom of Hyrule a glance. From where he sat, the only thing he could see were the snow peaked mountains far in the distance, and opposite of that was a lava spewing volcano. He knew that there was much more to it then that, but he couldn't help but wonder.
"You have... never been to Hyrule.. have you?" Rusl asked, bringing Link's attention back to him. Link smiled but shook his head. No, he never had been to Hyrule, and he truly would love to see it one day. Rusl turned away, a glazed look in his eyes as he seemed to relive some old memories. "In the kingdom of Hyrule there is a great castle, and surrounding that castle is Castle Town, a community far bigger then our little village." There was a smile on his face as he recalled the time when he used to travel. "And far beyond the land of Hyrule is the rest of the world... You should look upon it with your own eyes one day..."
Caught up in a little retelling of his past adventures, the two didn't realize what time it was and before they knew it the sun was just about gone. "Ah, I apologize, I did not mean for us to stay out this late. We should probably head on back now." Rusl said as he stood up, dusting himself off as he made his way down the trail. "I'll speak with the mayor tomorrow about this..." He said with a smile. Link, for his part, quickly got to his feet and followed after him, bringing along with him his trusty mare. He was tired, and after a long hard day such as this, he couldn't wait to get back home to take some well deserved rest. Perhaps he could convince his neighbor to make that special soup of hers again, he could really go for some of that.
That, or go for a nice swim in the lake. It had been a while since he last had the chance to take a dive, and he had been eagerly awaiting for a day off. He didn't have much planned tomorrow, perhaps he would do just that.
The two walked back home at a leisurely pace, ready for the day to be over. However, unknown to them, their whole world was about to be flipped on its head. No one from Ordon Village had any idea of the ever encroaching curtain of twilight that was practically on their doorstep...
Morning had come quickly for the fishlike Hylian lad. He felt as if he had not gained enough rest, and the sharp glare of the sun's rays from his nearby window didn't help his restlessness. He awoke with a groan, attempting to roll over to escape his natural alarm. But in doing so however, he had somehow forgotten where it was that he had fallen asleep the night before, and ended up rolling right off his indoor balcony and to the floor below. The resounding thud had the undesired affect of awakening his mare that had been asleep outside.
Link pushed himself off the ground with an annoyed frown, brushing his hair back in an attempt to clear his head. He let out a huff, he didn't have anything to do today, maybe he could just fall back asleep in a different spot, away from the sun...
"Hey!" That hope was destroyed when he heard the shout from one of the neighborhood kids calling out to him from outside his treehouse. "It's morning already, Link! Wake up!" He let out a toothy yawn as he realized that those kids were not about to let him sleep his day away inside. Rubbing at his eyes to try and push off the edge, he opened his front door, being greeted by the early morning sunlight. He felt as if the light looked different today, but he brushed it off as merely something his sleep deprived mind made up. Maybe he should have paid more attention.
"Hey! There you are! We were just about to come up there and wake you up." He looked down from atop his front porch, spotting a kid named Malo along with two others. He couldn't help it as another yawn escaped from his mouth. He took a seat on the edge of his porch, smiling warmly to the three below. These kids were sort of troublemakers in the village, always playing around and accidentally getting themselves into trouble. But they never meant harm, they just didn't know the consequences of their actions sometimes.
"Good morning Link!" Link turned his attention to the only girl in the little group, Beth was her name, as she greeted him with what she thought was a charming smile.
"Oh Link, didja hear!?" Malo blurted out a question excitedly, seemingly bursting with energy. "They're selling a slingshot at the store right now! A slingshot!" If it wasn't for the fact that he cared so much for these kids, he wouldn't have hidden his confused disappointment at the young boy's question. He was kind of hoping that they'd want him to teach them horse riding again. Ah the simplicity of the younger mind, easily distracted by the first thing that catches their eyes.
"I wanna know how powerful it is..." Talo, the smallest and also the youngest of the group spoke up quietly. He was holding his little hands outstretched as if holding onto a slingshot. Link knew the little boy wasn't aware of it, but he was quickly convincing him to buy the slingshot if only to let them play with it.
"Talo, if you and Malo want it so badly, then just go and buy it from my mom's shop!" Beth felt as if she had to reprimand the younger two, feeling as though they were bugging Link. Link himself felt touched by the reminder of just how much they also cared for him as well, even if he wasn't at all annoyed by their pestering.
"Aww! C'mon Beth! I don't have any Rupees. Can't you just lend it to us for a little while?" Malo whined. He was dirt broke, not being old enough to have a job and all. That little problem commonly led to him asking Link to buy things for him, and Link was embarrassed to say that he almost always bought whatever it was for them. Just like what he was about to do with the slingshot...
Beth was about to retort that she'd get into serious trouble for trying to pull that off, but stopped when she spotted Link nimbly hop down from atop his perch. She blushed when he approached her, he gave the girl an affectionate attention pat on the head before leaving the group behind. He barely made it out of the alcove that housed his treehouse when he was stopped again, this time by a timid blond haired boy.
"O-Oh! Link. Good morning, I um..." The blond boy, Colin was his name, seemed to struggle with himself as he tried to tell Link something. "Fado was looking for you earlier.. He said the g-goats were getting out of hand again..." Link sighed tiredly. Seems like he wasn't going to get a break today...
The end of the day had come in a flash. Link had helped his fellow ranch hand Fado with the unusually rowdy goats, even though it was his day off. Of course that meant that he had to track down his horse that had seemingly vanished in the middle of the night. But he knew where it was without even having to look. His childhood friend, a girl named Illia, had taken the horse to the spirit spring just outside of town early in the morning to care for her. The girl had been worried about Link's upcoming journey, and was trying to make sure that at the very least his trusted mare was ready for such a trip.
After that he ended up buying the slingshot for the kids to play with, but he didn't end up letting them keep it stating that they weren't mature enough to use it properly. The slingshot he bought was adult sized, and much more powerful then he initially thought. Used correctly, it could probably knock someone out cold. Definitely not the thing you would leave in the hands of children.
After that he had been forced to run around town to help out Colin's mother with finding her lost baby carriage. The woman was expecting soon, and couldn't afford to lose her only baby carriage. Link had quickly tracked it down. The item had floated down the river, and had ended up stuck nestled in between two rocks at the far side of the water wheel house. He then demonstrated his superior swimming skills, and quickly rescued the carriage and returned the item safely to its owner.
Once finished, Link decided to return home for a much needed change of clothing. However, upon reaching the little alcove that hid his treehouse, he came across Rusl. The man hadn't much to say, but there was a subtle grin on his face that tipped Link off. He had left with only a greeting, and said that he left something in his house. Link, eager to find what was left for him, practically scaled the ladder to his front door.
Upon entering his living room, he spotted an old wooden chest that was sitting on his floor. With anticipation he opened it, only to find a masterfully crafted wooden sword within it, the same one Rusl let him train with. The man never let him keep it, saying that he wasn't old enough. But he must have felt safe giving it to him now. Link couldn't help but feel grateful for the new level of trust Rusl had been showing him lately, and a large smile had adorned his face because of it. He felt like testing his skills, and it just so happens that the same group of kids from before were outside his house when he went to train.
Upon exiting his house, the newly adorned wooden sword quickly caught the children's attention. "Wow Link, a wooden sword! That's so cool!" Beth cooed in awe. Link let out a soft laugh, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. He still fell so happy just knowing that Rusl trusted him with such a thing.
"Hey hey, Beth's right! That so cool! You've got to teach us how to use it!" Link was about to reflexively tell them off, seeing as they were much too young. But he stopped himself. He didn't need to teach them, but it couldn't hurt to show them a few basic moves, right?
"Alright..." He responded verbally, catching the kids a little off guard. It wasn't often that the young fishlike Hylian spoke, and when he did it wasn't more then two words. It wasn't that he couldn't talk, but talking seemingly did not come naturally to him. He really only spoke when really required of him, or when he really felt like it.
He drew the wooden sword from his back and bent down into his basic stance. The kids were amazed already, and he hadn't even done anything yet. Calming himself, he focused on the training dummy standing before him. Then suddenly, he launched. The training dummy had no idea what was in for it, being a side affect of not being sentient and all that. Link assaulted it with a flurry of moves, starting with horizontal and vertical slices before following it up with an over head swing. When he stopped, the dummy was left without armor, and its bucket helmet was laying in tatters on the ground. The children were silent in shock, amazed at Link's show of swordplay, even if what he wielded was nothing more then a glorified training sword.
"Wow! That was so cool!" The trio shouted in unison. Link blushed lightly gently under the praise, returning the sword to his back and resting his hands on his hips.
"Gosh Link, you really need to teach us how ta' use one! Seriously! There's been these mean monkeys that keep messing with Colin's mom, and we want to get them good!" Malo exclaimed, swinging an imaginary sword in his hands. The boy's excitement disappeared when, as if it had been waiting there the entire time, a monkey just like he had spoke of, was standing at the edge of town. "Hey, there it is!" Malo shouted, before running after it. The other two were quick to follow, ignoring Link's call for them to stop.
The sun was going to set soon, and the forests weren't safe at night, especially as of late. Link ran to Colin's side, who was standing nearby nervously. "Find Rusl!" Link ordered firmly, getting a nervous nod from the younger blond. After that Link turned his attention to the skyline, fear and concern welling up within him.
The sun was setting, and there was a eerie twilight approaching. He didn't let that affect his judgment however, and was quick to run after them, but the little buggers were quick on their feet. By the time he had made it deeper into the forest, the darkness had begun to take over, and he found himself struggling to find the children, or his way around. Next thing he knew he had almost run headlong into some sort of massive wall of darkness, stopping only a few feet short of it. His eyes were wide with shocked horror as he stared up it, the thing seemingly never ending. It felt dangerous, he could feel the maliciousness from where he stood.
But the kids! Were they on the other side of this ominous wall? What if they were? He didn't know what was on the other side, nor did he know how to get there. Before he even had the chance to create a plan, the wall distorted, ripping open. On the other side was a darkened twisted version of the forest he knew so well. That, and a couple of evil looking creatures that he never had the pleasure of seeing before. He only got a short shout of shock out before a large dark claw like hand reached through and took hold of him, violently yanking him from the safety of the light and into the unrelenting darkness. He screamed in fright at the evil beast that took hold of him, grunting in pain as it began to crush him in its massive hand.
Was this it? Was this where he met his end? Failing to find the lost children, instead only finding a world of horrors and evil. Was this where his journey would end, before it really even had a chance to start? As the light seemingly began to leave him, his hand began to glow bright gold. The monsters, afraid of this new power, threw him to the ground. He fell to the ground in pain, and couldn't get back up. His body burned all over, unable to survive in the darkness. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, his eyes shot open wide staring at nothing. Then suddenly the light from his hand grew brighter, too bright. Pain filled his very being, and he let out a gravelly scream that shifted halfway through into a throat wrenching growl as his body was suddenly and very forcefully turned from that of a somewhat normal Hylian and into that of a blue furred wolf. Then, it stopped. The pain, the light, everything. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out, falling almost lifelessly to the ground.
The creatures that previously attacked him now approached him with caution, weary of the harmful light that he had seemingly just made. The beasts, seeing that the light creature was out cold, decided to instead capture him and bring him to their leader. Without waiting, the servants of darkness grabbed him by the legs and began dragging him away into the twilight.
Yet, sitting quietly on the sidelines was a tiny little imp, watching the whole ordeal go down from the safety of her hideout. She didn't dare jump into the fray to try and save him, as doing such would practically be suicidal. No, she would bide her time, waiting for the perfect opportunity, just like she had been all along.
She was weak and frail, small, she couldn't accomplish her goals on her own. She needed the help of someone bigger, someone stronger. And just her luck! Here on the edge of the curtain of twilight she finds a light worlder, but instead of him turning into another one of those useless spirits, he turned into a big strong wolf!
"Puurfect." The imp practically purred, a wide smile forming on her face. The other light worlders that can though here earlier were useless to her, but this one? Oh, this one was going to be the one!
"Oh, such a poor little Wolfy! Don't worry Wolfy, Midna will save you." The imp, apparently named Midna laughed to herself, before jumping into the shadows, following the dark beasts all the way home. There, she would save him...
