"So that is Count Secras?" Zelda said, seeing the floating man above the black mass.
"Unfortunately, yes." Teri said, looking through the telescope, "He brings the shadow with him and therefore his power is at its peak where ever he may go."
"In that case, we should have no problem defeating him." Raru said, "Both Zelda and I use the power of the light and to some extent, so do the other sages. I worry only about the Black Warriors."
"Indeed, they worry my men as well." A gruff voice said, "They fear them more than the living dead that walked this town during Ganondorf's reign." Zelda turned and saw her father approach.
"You should be inside." She said as the king leaned on the ledge, "I can take charge."
"This is my castle and therefore I am in command." The king said, "I'm not running this time."
"You may have to," Impa said, "Because Count Secras may be tougher than we thought." Zelda searched for an explanation from the Sage of Shadow, but she gave none. Zelda used her far-reaching eyes and looked closely at Count Secras. And she understood what she meant. On Secras' right arm was a shield.
"Link's shield." She said, not realizing what this meant. Then her words reached her own mind and her breath caught in her throat. "No." she whimpered.
"The mirror shield?" Raru asked.
"I see it now." Ruto cried.
"That does not mean…?" Darunia asked.
"Perhaps not." Impa said. Then after a pause, "At least I hope not."
A guard came rushing towards them.
"Your highness," he said, "They are within range of our archers."
"When you are ready." The king said. The soldier bowed and ran off. Moments later, the first arrows were shot. Most of the Black Warriors raised their shields. But some arrows managed to catch some of them off-guard. With that, their infantry charged, while their own archers fired back. Their skill with the bow was incredible. Many of the castle's archers fell. Only five archers were left out of thirty.
Meanwhile, the majority of the host was rushing towards the moat. Some of them stopped and threw ropes with hooks on their ends at the walls. They were about to climb when the drawbridge started to lower.
"What's going on?" the king demanded.
"The Count is a very learned wizard." Teri said.
Once the drawbridge was down, the Black Warriors raced across. The Hylian soldiers were there to greet them. They collided and the battle began.
"They won't last long." Gerud said. Then he started to walk away.
"Where are ye going?" Teri asked.
"To help them as much as I can." He said. He started to run. Zelda was following.
"He has the best idea." She said. The other sages hesitated, and then followed.
"I shall not hide this time." The king said, drawing his sword.
"Kill one of them for me." Gerud said to Zelda.
"I will kill several for you and the others." Zelda said.
"I need a weapon." The giant explained.
"Shouldn't you have thought of that before you went rushing into battle?"
"Black Warrior swords are made of strong metal. I examined the weapons ye have. They are very weak."
"Now you tell us this." Zelda said.
"Would there have been time to forge new weapons?" Gerud asked. Zelda did not answer. Instead, she opened her hand. A Black Warrior was about to take the head of one of her soldiers. She yanked the sword from his grasp and put it in Gerud's hand.
"Wield it well." Zelda said, flicking her wrist. The Black Warrior flew into the air and crashed into a building.
"I shall." He stopped to block a blow from one of the creatures. Zelda continued to walk through the mass. She cleared a path for herself by pushing the warriors aside with just her mind. There was one that just would not get out of her way. After she pushed him for the second time, Zelda sent a stream of light through the creature's stomach. Black blood filled its mouth and the hole. It fell to the ground silently. With that, she walked on past the mass and onto the drawbridge.
Once across she stood under Count Secras. The count had been watching her approach and he was quite impressed. Never had he seen a lady with such beauty or power. When she was close, Secras floated down to Earth.
"One who moves with such grace and possess such beauty can only be a princess." Secras said flatteringly.
"And one with a black heart such as yours, must be killed." Zelda said bitterly.
"Come, come princess." The count said, "Such a harsh tone should not be used between us."
"I see not why." Zelda said.
"Princess, surely in all your wisdom ye can see that we need not fight this battle. In fact," Count Secras lifted a hand. All the Black Warriors retreated. The Hylian soldiers did not pursue. "I must admit that I was rather rash in my actions. I see know that it may be possible to resolve this problem in a civilized fashion."
"I'm afraid that is not possible." Zelda said.
"And why is that?" Count Secras asked.
"You came to my land because Captain Goy fled you land with the orb of the sea. You need that orb to complete your domination of the land. And in all in the name of evil."
"But why should this concern ye?" Secras asked.
"Because the sailors have asked for our help and we are giving it. And now that you know of Hyrule and Termina, why should your control be limited to just Hesra? With your power, you can take our lands as well."
"Then," Secras said, "ye should not be fighting me, for my power is far greater than yours."
"You have no idea of the powers I wield." Zelda said.
"Then let's see." And with a wave of his hand, a gust of wind blew Zelda into the air. But she stopped her movement and floated in the air. She shot a bolt of light at Secras. He lifted the mirror shield and the bolt bounced back. Zelda ducked under her attack.
"That shield does not belong to you." She said.
"Oh, but I'm afraid it does." He replied. His arm went back to his side.
And he felt an incredible pain surge through his arm. He cried out, startled and scared as the pain intensified. He looked at his arm and saw a golden glove clasped around his arm.
"Forgot that I had these in storage." Link said.
"How did ye get back?" Secras tried to ask, but Link had taken his shield back and threw the Count into the ground. He clasped the shield and then he walked towards the Black Warriors. They were moving to defend their master. Link stopped when he was fifty feet away from the first line.
"Let's see what happens to your swords and shields after a hundred years." There was the sound of metal breaking. The warriors' swords and shields had rusted. Just by breathing could they be broken. Link turned around and walked back towards Count Secras, who managed to stand up again. He was clutching his right arm.
"Ye did not have these powers when we first met." Secras said through gritted teeth.
"No," Link said, "But thanks to you, I was able to unlock a good portion of it."
"Ye still can not defeat me." The count said, "For I have the power of the orbs within me." Link felt the ground beneath him shake. He did a flip backwards just as the ground opened up and a wall of fire roared up. As he landed, the wind picked up. Link was lifted into the air. As he rose, he saw vines growing rapidly from the ground. They were coming for him.
"Well, this is interesting." Link said. He drew his sword and pointed it upwards. The Master Sword flashed and the vines turned to dust. Then the blade flashed again and the soles of his boots turned to iron. He fell quickly to the ground. He returned his soles to normal, but the wind was still blowing.
It was then that a shadow went around the wall of fire. It picked Secras up and flung him into the air. The wall of fire rose higher still and a column of water erupted close by. The fire was burning Secras when the water knocked him back down to the ground.
Link was on his feet and turned his attention to the Black Warriors. They had not moved since their master had started to attack. Link caught Zelda's eye. He pointed at the Black Warriors. They were still at least four and a half hundred Black Warriors. But they were all bunched together. Taking a deep breath, she focused all her energy into her hands. With a cry, she launched a ball of light at the Black Warriors. They looked up, but saw it too late. They all perished in the explosion.
"That's the end of one threat." Zelda said, gasping for breath. Link smiled at her and turned back to Count Secras. He lay in a heap on the ground. He could not stand. He tried to get to his feet, but they abandoned him and fell again. He pushed himself up on one arm and seemed to mutter something, before falling again.
"And so ends the other threat." Link said as he came back into town with the remaining Hylian soldiers, "Thank you for your aid." He was talking to the soldiers.
"Once again, it was a true pleasure to fight alongside you brother." Darunia said, hugging Link tightly.
"Darunia," Link said in a squished voice, "Your hugs will forever be the strongest force." They laughed as Darunia let go of Link. He turned and saw Zelda staggering towards them. Link rushed to her side.
"I'm sorry," he said, picking her up, "I can't believe I left you up there."
"Don't worry about it." Zelda said in a tired voice, "I didn't fall, so I have nothing to blame you with." She looked at Teri, who had tears welling in her eyes, "Your land is free again." Teri was about to say something but a voice interrupted her.
"But yours is not." The familiar voice said. They stared in horror as he came forward. He had the same black armor and the same red hair grew to his neck. The only difference was that he wielded a giant sword.
"So this is the man ye all confused me with." Gerud said, "I see not how. His heart is far darker than mine can ever be."
"Who are you?" Ganondorf asked, pointing at Gerud.
"I am Gerud of Hesra, guardian of the Sea Temple of Hesra." Gerud replied.
"Hesra?" Ganondorf asked, but he did not seem truly surprised, "Count Secras mentioned that land and that sailors had come from there. He never mentioned a guardian though."
"How was he able to tell you this?" Link said, who had given Zelda to her father. He now had his sword drawn.
"By mail." Ganondorf said, sneering, "He also told me about two things that could greatly increase my power."
"For the moment, your power is nothing compared to mine." Link said, tightening his grip on his sword.
"Hm, I know of the boost you got kid." said Ganondorf, "But I've figured out most of the secrets behind the Triforce of Power. I can't take the other two pieces," he raised his hand to his face, "But I can make you beg to give it to me." He closed his hand into a fist. That unleashed a wave of air that knocked everyone, even Gerud to the ground. Ganondorf leapt onto Ruto. He crushed her wrist and took the orb as she withered in pain. Then he leapt high into the air, disappearing behind the castle walls.
Link was the first back on his feet. Leaving Ruto in the care of the others, he gave chase. When he was outside, he saw Ganondorf bent over Secras' corpse. He stood and in his hands was four orbs.
"I shall claim the fifth one, once I find a very special mask." And with that he disappeared into the air. Link ran after him. Epona wanted to follow but her master forbade it.
"I need stealth more than anything." He said. With that, he left slowing down time so that he could keep up with Ganondorf. All the while he wondered what mask he could be referring to.