No Rest for the Wicked
Prologue
The western sky does look pretty. A golden glow, with streaks of red-orange flame on the underside of steel-gray (finally, a color I can appreciate) clouds, melting into pinks and blues and touches of green. I can see why that fop that came to the barracks last evening (Lost in the castle, and too embarrassed to admit it. The princess will eat him alive.) said it looked like a painting fit to hang in the castle halls at the end of the day.
Din, I hate sunsets.
Night's creeping up the other horizon like an army of thieves, or a spreading bruise. Night. Rhymes with fight. How appropriate. And how silly for the captain of the Royal Guard to be playing rhyming games in his head. I suppose I should grunt a bit and sharpen one of my weapons, but I can't do that. They're all sharp, and I'm all wound up.
Not from fear. More like… disgust. Yes, that's it, disgust. I'm totally disgusted that we have to guard against these, these, (lunatics! idiots! greedy little bastards!) these cultists who think freeing the Tyrant from wherever in the Hells the Glorious One sent him will bring them wealth and power. They never succeed, but each misfired portal lets something out. Last time it was a field-full of burning, writhing corpses. The time before that, a carnivorous mist that stopped destroying only when the sun rose and burned it off. Sometimes, it's hordes of poes, or redeads, or stalfos.
Either way – the Tyrant or these terrors (Ha. Alliteration. More word games.)– it's a bad deal for the people of Hyrule if we don't stop them before they try to open a portal. And I know they'll try tonight. Longest night of the year, and a full moon. A once in a lifetime opportunity, with all the arcane power you could want. It's the official opinion of the court magicians that this time, they could very well succeed.
They're going to try. I'm going to stop them. Or we're all going to die.
A/N: This is just the prologue. The real story starts in earnest next chapter.
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And no, that's not Link whinging up there. He'll make his flashy lil' entrance in a bit.