Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own Legend of Zelda or any of it characters and names. However, the Black Warriors, Count Secras and the orbs are mine. You will feel my wrath if you try to steal them.
Author's Note: This is the most writing I've done for one chapter.
Teri watched from a tree as some of her men dove into the waves that crashed onto the beach. The Zoras had brought her men to the mainland and offered them various activities. One was to stay on the beach, which only ten of them decided to do because they just absolutely adored the sea.
The other one hundred and forty men were tired of the ocean. They had spent months on a boat and were eager to get their land legs back. Horses were brought for them from the Romani Ranch. The ranch could only spare thirty horses but only twenty-five of the sailors knew how to ride. These men followed the horses to their home and they would then move on to the Woodfall region and explore the forests.
The rest of the sailors were guided by the Zoras to Clock Town, which was preparing for the annual carnival. The Zoras planned the excursion so that they would arrive at midday and stay until the festivities. Teri and the other sailors would leave and arrive just in time for the fireworks that night.
Teri looked across the sea and saw Gerud climbing a ladder to a building in the middle of the ocean. She wondered if the thin ladder would be able to support the massif man. It did and when Gerud got to the top, he turned and waved. Teri waved back but jumped when she heard a voice below her.
"That's not possible!" the voice cried. Teri looked down and saw Link climbing down from his red horse. He looked afraid and angry.
"Let me guess, ye think that is Ganondorf, true?" Teri asked, hanging upside down from the branch. Link looked up in surprise, not expecting Teri to be up in a tree. He nodded and she shook her head at the same time.
"It's not?" Link asked in amazement.
"No," Teri answered, dropping from the branch, "That is Gerud. The Zoras expressed the same fears as ye. From what I have heard of this Ganondorf, he is the opposite of Gerud. He is quite friendly and has a gentle heart. No evil shall come from him."
"That is good to know." Another voice said. Teri turned and saw a woman dressed in a white gown that reached to her feet and a pink top. Her dress was adorned with many jewels. Her long blonde hair was fairer than the noon sun and her eyes were the color of the sea. She rode upon a majestic white horse. Teri knew right away that this was the princess Link had mentioned before.
The Hylian was helping Zelda off her horse. That is what impressed Teri most of all. The fact that she rode a horse instead of riding in a carriage changed Teri's opinion about her. From the way Link had reacted on the first night, Teri believed the princess to be one who controlled many servants; one who was too frail and too weak to do anything herself. That view had been altered. When Link was afraid of being late for her, he probably was afraid of the beating the princess would personally administer. That's how Teri viewed her anyway.
"Princess Zelda," Link said, "allow me to introduce the captain of the sailors of Hesra, Teri of Hesra."
"It is a pleasure to meet you captain Teri." Zelda said with a warm smile.
"And it is an honor to meet ye princess," Teri said, bowing her head.
"I'm sorry if I'm a little over-dressed." Zelda said, blushing slightly.
"You were probably expecting to see me in Zora's Hall I suppose?" Teri suggested.
"Yes, that was our original plan." Zelda said.
"We had to get out and get our land-legs back," Teri explained, "We've been out at sea too long. Only a handful of us decided to stay in the water." She glanced at her men who now trying to tackle each other, "But if you want, we can go into Zora's Hall."
"How about to Clock Town?" Link offered, "We'll be there well before the fireworks start."
"We plan to go there later on," Teri said.
"Let's go to Zora's Hall." Zelda said firmly.
"How?" Link asked, "By boat or by ocarina?"
"What is an ocarina?" Teri asked. In answer to her question, Link pulled the blue flute from his pouch.
"Play a certain song and you will transported to various areas of this land and the land of Hyrule." He explained.
"I am willing to try it." Teri said. Link nodded and put the flute to his mouth.
"Place your hand on his shoulder," Zelda said. Teri did as told and Link played a melody. When he finished, the world recognized that he had played the Song of Soaring. Two white wings emerged from Link's back and it covered up the trio. A moment later the wings released and they stood on the shore where Teri's ship had docked the day before.
"Amazing!" she gasped, "And ye can go to any part of your land with this?" she asked, pointing at the instrument.
"You just have to play a different tune," Link answered, "Come, let's go inside. The wind is chilly here."
A Zora escorted the three to a large room just above the stage. There was a long, wooden table, painted blue. Pictures of fishes, Zoras and other creatures of the sea were carved along the sides of the tables. The Zora left them as Link and the two ladies took sat down. Zelda sat at the head of the table. Link was to her immediate left. Teri sat opposite of him.
"There are others coming as well," Zelda said, "I hope you do not mind."
"I will not mind if Gerud is here." Teri said.
"Do you think he's still at the doctor's laboratory?" Link asked.
"Yes," Teri replied, smiling, "Gerud as an unquenchable thirst for knowledge."
"Then I'm sure he will enjoy being here," Zelda said, "Link go get him. We won't start until you come back with him." Link rose from his seat and opened the door. He was about to close it, when he saw a familiar face.
"Right this way your majesty," Link held the door open to a female Zora. As she sat down, Link closed the door.
"Princess Ruto," Zelda said, "I am pleased to see you again. From my understanding you have met captain Teri already."
"We have indeed," she said, smiling at the captain, "Although I would call her captain Goy."
"I'm sorry, how do you call her?" Zelda asked, leaning forward.
"Goy is my surname," Teri explained, "Link merely forgot to mention that in the introductions."
"That's because in this land, our surnames is the name of the land we come from." Zora added.
"Ah," Zelda said, "I see. Well then captain Goy," Teri nodded, "We're just waiting for the rest of our people and Gerud to arrive."
"Why the others?"
"You are the first visitor from any other land that came from the sea." Ruto explained, "When we of Hyrule learned of Termina, we were amazed, yet we have somehow, always known about it. There is also the fact that Termina is almost identical to Hyrule."
"We just want to know why you came here now and see what we can learn from each other." Zelda added. Teri was silent for a moment.
"Do you consider my crew and I a threat?" she asked suddenly. Zelda was stunned by the question.
"No," she answered, "Not at all. What makes you think that?"
"I shall answer that when the others arrive." They said nothing until Gerud came through the door. Ruto gasped when she saw him.
"It's okay princess," a voice from behind the giant said, "It's not Ganondorf."
"You could have fooled me." She said as Gerud tried to take a seat next to Teri. But the chair broke underneath his enormous bulk.
"I'll see if I can get one of Ganondorf's chairs from his home." Link said, hammering something into the wall.
"Link, what are you doing?" Zelda asked.
" 'The man inside whom you believe to be Ganondorf, is not. He is called Gerud and is the opposite of Ganondorf. Do not fear him or attack him. Thank you.'" Link read the sign he had made in the laboratory. Then he disappeared behind the closed door. It opened again and a creature with wild, white hair and skin made of rock entered. He paused at the doorway.
"Good thing my brother put the sign up." Darunia said.
Ten minutes later, Mayor Dotour, Lulu, Nabooru (Gerudo from the Hylian wastelands), the Deku King, Impa and the King of Hyrule were all seated around the table. Link had managed to find one of Ganondorf's chairs but Gerud had refused to sit in it.
"It is too rich for me." He explained.
"Yeah," Link sympathized, "I thought the diamond-crusted arms would scare you. But it's the only one I could find."
"It is alright," Gerud said, "I prefer to stand in any case. Sorry for the trouble."
"No problem." Link said. That's when the door opened for the last time.
"Ah, Raru," Zelda said as a bald man with a thick white mustache entered, "It is good to see you again."
"A pleasure to see you as well princess," Raru said, bowing, "Saria will not be able to make it. The Great Deku Tree has taken ill and she must tend to him as well as the rest of the forest."
"Nothing serious I hope?" Link asked.
"She needs to see you." Raru answered.
"Oh," Link said, surprised, "Did she say why?"
"No." Raru said. Link looked at Zelda, who nodded her head.
"Sorry about this Teri," Link said, walking to the door, "Perhaps you can tell me your story at the festival."
"I will be a great pleasure." She said, smiling. Link returned the smile and then went outside.
When he was down in the main hall, he took out his ocarina and played Saria's song. Saria had taught it to him when he was ten. He was worried about her and raced back to the forest. Fortunately, nothing had happened to her, but Saria wanted to make sure that Link wouldn't return to the forest when nothing was wrong. So, she taught him her song, which would allow them to communicate across great distances through the power of their minds.
When Link finished playing the melody, he instantly heard Saria's voice.
"I know what you're going to ask," it said, "But you have to help the Great Deku Tree. He's been petrified."
"Petrified?" Link cried, "How?"
"I don't know." She said, "That's why I need your help."
"Right, I'm there."
Five minutes later, Link was standing in front of the largest tree in all of Hyrule: The Great Deku Tree. This was the sapling that Link managed to save a few years back after defeating Ganondorf's phantom in the Forest Temple. But as Link approached the tree, he felt the oddest sensation.
"He's still alive," Link said, putting a hand on the tree's trunk, "but he just can't move?"
"He was saying something and then he just stopped." Saria explained, "The last thing he said was, 'I feel a disturbing.' Then he froze."
"So we have someone or something out there powerful enough to petrify the Great Deku Tree." Link said, walking towards Saria.
"What could it be?" Saria asked. Link didn't hear her question though. He suddenly felt an evil, and powerful, presence. It was coming from the village. At that moment, a cry rang out through the forest. Birds took to the air as the yell was silenced.
Link and Saria headed for the village. But three creatures blocked the path, nothing like they had seen before. They were completely black except for a red line that ran down their chest. They were over six feet tall and their bodies were well built. They had long claws on their hands and feet. Their faces were that of men but sharp teeth protruded from their mouth. Their ears were longer and pointer than Link's and they had no hair. Two of them wielded axes and carried a shield. The other, apparently the leader, held a large sword in each hand.
"We're in trouble." Link said, pulling out his bow. As the leader charged him, Link pulled out an arrow, strung it up and it fly. The creature cut the arrow in half without breaking stride and then leapt at Link. The Hylian jumped to the side, pulling out another arrow. This time he lit the arrow on fire with his magic before releasing. Again the arrow was cut and the back monster managed to avoid the bolt of fire.
"This isn't working." Link said, dropping his bow and unsheathing his sword. He got his shield in place just as an axe came crashing down. Link tried to push his adversary away, but he was overpowered. He saw a sword coming for his head. Link dropped to the ground and rolled backwards. The sudden movement got the axe wielder by surprise. It fell forward-- right into the path of the other's sword.
"One down." Link said as the creature's head was rolling on the ground. This seemed to upset the other two fighters. They let out a fierce roar before jumping high into the air. Link watched as the sword-wielder pointed his weapon downwards. He was planning to impale the Hylian. Link had enough time to look for the other one. It was planning to catch Link if he rolled backwards. So he went forwards instead.
But the creatures had more maneuverability in the air than Link could guess. As it saw Link roll under his companion, the creature thrust its arms and legs forward. Not only did it stop its momentum, but the force pushed him back. Right on top of Link. It started to come down without a sound, raising its axe above its head.
It would have been the end of Link had it not been for Saria, who finally came out of her state of shock and remembered who she was. The creature was greatly surprised when it suddenly stopped in mid-air. He looked around and saw that vines had come out of the ground and wrapped themselves around him. One vine yanked the axe from his hands. They started to pull him away from Link, at which point he began to yell. The leader could only watch as a tree root came out of the ground and impaled his soldier. A silence of fear and disbelief reigned for a few moments.
It was Link who broke the silence.
"What are you?" he asked the creature as he stood up. His sword and shield were raised. The creature stared and growled at him but he finally spoke.
"In my land, I am called a Black Warrior."
"How original," Link said, "Did you do this to our tree?" he gestured towards to the Deku Tree with his head. The Black Warrior looked at it.
"No," he said, smiling, "My master did."
"And who is your master?" Saria asked.
"Count Secras." It answered proudly, "He has come to take over your land and make you all his slaves."
"He wouldn't be the first." Link said, "Where are you from?"
"The land of Hesra." the creature replied, "The same land your sailors come from."
"You know about Captain Goy?" Link asked.
"Yes," the creature growled, "She has something of my master's. Count Secras wishes to have it back."
"What does she have?" Saria asked, her curiosity getting the better.
"Ask her." The Black Warrior said, "But you best hurry. She might already be dead."
"You don't even know where she is." Link said, having trouble hiding his fear.
"Does the name Zora's Hall ring a bell?" the Black Warrior asked, smiling. Link could not bear to wait any longer.
"Saria." The girl brought her hand to her shoulder. They walked away, leaving the Black Warrior on the spike that had come out of the ground.
Using his Ocarina, Link was standing on the platform underneath the science lab in Great Bay. What he saw made his heart rise to his throat and made his knees weak. Zora's Hall was in ruins. Black smoke covered the sky above. Flames were being doused by the red waves. Link could see the bodies of several Zoras floating in the ocean.
"I'm too late." Link said.
"Not exactly." A voice said from far away. Link looked at the shore and saw that the entire meeting room crowd was there. Link thanked the gods as he swam towards them. He rushed into Zelda's arms and kissed her. Saria appeared just as they let go of each other.
"Oh no." she gasped when she saw Zora's Hall.
"You weren't even gone five minutes Link," Zelda was explaining, "when he heard an explosion. A Zora came up and told us that we were under attack. We got out just before the real firepower hit us."
"When we appeared on the shore," Raru said, "We saw many warships. They using canons, arrows and some sort of magical weapon, which did the most damage."
"How many Zoras escaped?" Link asked.
"If any of them managed to get out, they would have gone through the back-way." Lulu answered, "They should be halfway to the sister colonies by now."
"I'm surprised that they destroyed the place." Link said, looking at Teri, "I thought Count Secras wants his possession back." Teri's eyes widened at the mention of the name.
"How do ye know of him?" she asked.
"We encountered three Black Warriors in the forest." Link explained, "The leader of the pack told of us a few things before Saria killed him."
"How did you kill it?" Teri asked in amazement.
"I am the Forest Sage," Saria said, "You would find it very difficult to beat me on my turf."
"Then you are extremely powerful," Gerud said, "For even I, with my strength and knowledge in the magical arts, would not have survived the encounter."
"Back to the present though," Link said, "What is it that Count Secras wants?" Teri paused before digging into her pocket and pulling out a small blue orb.
"This is what Count Secras seeks," Teri said, "The Orb of the Sea. My land is divided into five parts: the land of fire, forest, wind, sea and light."
"Sounds familiar." Nabooru said.
"A temple resides in each part. Within each temple, there lies an orb, which keeps the balance in each land. Removing the orb from the temple disrupts that part of the land."
"Count Secras was the guardian of the temple of the light," Gerud continued, "He was a brilliant man and kind-hearted. But he decided to journey to the sixth part of Hesra: the shadow part."
"Nobody knows why he went there. What ever his intentions were when he left, when he came back his intentions were to rule this land. He brought back a huge army of Black Warriors and created many demons of his own. He quickly took the orbs from the Fire and Wind Temples and with their power, took the orb of the Forest as well."
"What the orb of Light?" Raru asked.
"The Temple of Light has very strong defenders and it is the only temple that the Black Warriors actually fear." Teri said, "But it may have fallen during our journey."
"We took the orb of the Sea because no matter what, the balance would be lost." Gerud asked.
"I'm going to guess that if Count Secras gets all the orbs, the shadow will consume your land." Link suggested.
"That's the general idea." Teri said.
"You said the orb has powers?" Ruto asked after a moment of silence. Teri gave the orb to Gerud. The giant stretched his arm out towards the sea. His began to shake, as if it straining to stay straight.
The sea in front of them began to swell. The water rose high into the air. But Gerud's arm fell down and the wave crashed back into the ocean.
"It can control the sea." Teri explained, "Gerud is the only one strong enough to have any effect on the orb."
"Can I try?" Ruto asked. Gerud looked at Teri, who nodded her head. He placed he orb in Ruto's hand. She stared at for a moment, then let out a long deep sigh. A column of water shot into the air and then curled and twisted as if it were a snake. It fell back into the sea as Ruto put her arm back down.
"This makes doing that a lot easier." Ruto said.
"Cool." Link said while the others stared with open-mouths. Then Link felt a twinge of pain in the back of his head. It was coming from the inside of his head. He turned away from the sea. There was a column of smoke in the horizon.
"The town!"