Author's Note: Four years have passed since I started writing Hyrule's Heroes. Four years of plot work during the days, four years of staying up late, far past when I should be asleep, trying to squeeze out just one more paragraph. Granted, I haven't made near the progress I would have wanted...but its a start.

Time has changed a lot. Most obvious is my writing style. I've learned a lot since the first words, and I dare say I might have gotten better at this. Comparing my latter books and the first are almost a painful experience, with plenty of "I wrote this?!?" and "This is horrible!" at every sentence.

The characters, and the plot, have also changed. Wynn's not the same person, Seron's most certainly not the same person; all of the characters have matured along with my writing. Certain elements of the story have sprung from things I had only the barest hint of four years ago, and things that were important then have grown stale.

As it neared the anniversary of Hyrule's Heroes' creation, I realized that all of my books were becoming obsolete as the story evolved. I desperately wanted a chance to change things, to rework the world I was creating. I wanted a second chance.

And so here it is.

This is Book 1 of Hyrule's Heroes. The basic story is the same as the last. The characters are still all here. The battles are all still here. But as much as it is the same, it is different. All of the characters are the same at heart, but now they are deeper; if I am true to aim, Wynn will no longer be the stereotypical goody goody, Jier will no longer be just a shadow (But he's so GOOD at it!), and Fami will no longer be a flake (Heaven help me...). Events will be different; there will be new scenes, new battles, new character interaction. In short, this is a total revamp of Hyrule's Heroes.

I hope you enjoy this. For my old fans (All 3? 4? of them...) this will be a whole new light on the story, a whole new experience. For the new readers...well, at least I hope to make a better first impression. ^_^ In any case, happy reading, and comments and compliments, and the occasion criticism, are certainly appreciated.

Oh, before I start...a few words. First, Hyrule, Link, Zelda, etc., do not belong to me. Alas, they are the creations of another mind, and I'm just borrowing them. Wynn, Fami, Nerah, Tane, Shezarah, Jier, Seron, Kiara, Icarnos, Agno, Baro, Vailen, Devain, etc. etc. DO belong to me. And also, a few thanks. First, I thank the Muses. My inspiration, my critics, my support; I thank you, TKC and Lightyear. I also thank Matt. Granted, he hasn't seen a word of this in 3 years, but he was my first reader. He'll read all of this...eventually. I also thank Eric, Abra-chan, and SSM. Oh, and my readers here on FFN: Thanks to Shae, and to StarDragonBlue, who I sadly haven't seen a review from in some time. Regardless, without readers like you all, then this story may have died out long ago.

I won't hold you up any more. The story's ahead; enjoy the works of this poor mind.

~Pendragon

Chapter 1

The sun was rising over Hyrule Field. Today, after seven long years of darkness, light and hope were returning to this once-peaceful realm. Only the night before, the evil king Ganondorf, conqueror and tyrant, had been slain by the Hero of Time, Link. Now free of the oppressive rule of the monstrous King of Evil and the fear that had hung over the hearts of all that had to fight to stay alive against his vicious monsters every day, celebrations had erupted everywhere, the different races and peoples forgetting their differences and prejudices and dancing together around the light of a bonfire. Life could once again return to what it had been before Ganondorf and his cruel reign.

It wasn't long that morning before the village of Kakariko was moving with its usual hustle and bustle. Many familiar faces went about life as they were used to, but did so with a little more enthusiasm, more spring in their step and more warmth in their smiles. The cut-ups, jokers and loudmouths infamous for their mischievous antics, met at their favorite tree and began throwing taunts at passerby, who merely ignored them and smiled. The woman known only as the Cucco Lady came out of her home and began tending to her cuccos, even the fowl seeming more energetic and less harried. Businesses opened throughout the village, the shop keeps looking forward to a day of new profit and happier customers.

As much as things were as always, however, things still had changed. Some people had already begun to pack up, preparing to return to what had once been their homes in the Hyrule Marketplace. When Ganondorf had made Hyrule Castle his home, the town had been besieged by monsters, and the luckier inhabitants had fled to Kakariko to make a new life. Now, however, they could go back to their former homes without having to fear being so close to the domain of the evil king. Here and there were new faces, with travel routes reopened. In one corner of the town, avoided by most intelligent villagers, a small gang of thuggish men had gathered, the glint in their eyes warning all that they were looking for trouble. Across the way, two young men stood conversing, arguing, the lighter haired man emptying out his pockets, the darker man shaking his head consolingly. A red-haired man yawned loudly as he leaned up against a building, watching the passerby with half-lidded eyes.

Not many people noticed when the gruff man stepped through the village gates. After all, his was a familiar face; the Carpenter Boss, as he was known, had lived in this town for most of his life. If they had taken time to look, however, they would have noticed a few things unusual. One was the purpose in his stride; he was not a lazy man, and could easily be called determined, but today he was on a mission. Another was the slight tremble of fury in his eyes. He was renowned for his explosive temper, but this morning something had definitely angered him. He stormed straight to the center of town, ignoring the taunting greetings of the cut-ups, and stopped, placing his hands on his hips. "Hey!" he shouted, trying to draw everyone's attention. Some turned to face him, but most casually went on with their business, too busy to pay attention to this interruption. His ire growing, he took a deep breath. "HEY!" he bellowed, the sound echoing off the walls off the buildings. Now, all eyes turned to regard him in shock. He smiled, satisfied.

"I'm looking to hire me a fighter, a man of action. Anyone here fit the description?" None answered, but at least five ears perked at the words. "I'm willing to pay one hundred rupees to the man that'll get rid of those ReDeads infesting the marketplace. Not too much for that kind of money, I know, but I need this job done!" He gave a grin, approving of his own generosity. "Any volunteers?"

Now, while most of the villagers rolled their eyes and went on with their lives, he did have the attention of three parties. The group of thugs stood from where they had been reclining, their leader scratching his chin as he considered how high he could jack up the price. The red-haired man regarded the Carpenter Boss curiously, shrugged, and proceeded to go back to sleep leaning against his wall. The two young men turned, the lighter one uncertain, the one dressed in black prompting him on.

"One hundred rupees?" jeered one of the cut-ups. "You're never going to find anyone that stupid!"

"Make it two hundred rupees," called the brown-haired young man, his darker companion stepping back into the shadows, "and you have a deal."

The Carpenter Boss considered the young man. He was in his late teens at least, his manner and the grace of his movements spoke volumes of his experience. He was broad-shouldered and obviously muscular, and wore battered leather armor with a short sword belted to his side. His brown hair was uncombed, and he looked to need a shave from the shadow under his chin, but his eyes were intensely bright despite the early hour. He came down the stairs near where he stood to face the Carpenter Boss, folding his arms across his chest.

"Two hundred!" gagged the older man. "That's theft! Robbery!"

"That's my price," insisted the young man, eyes narrowing.

"A bit overpriced for such a wimp, don't you think?" Both men turned to face the crowd of men coming down the stairs. The thugs sneered down at the two, cracking their knuckles. The leader sneered at the younger man, raising his chin. "One hundred fifty rupees, and the five of us men will do what this boy charges two hundred for."

One of the scrawnier thugs chuckled. "ReDeads? Little boy looks like he'd get smashed by a crippled Tektite!"

"One fifty?" questioned the younger adventurer. "Sure you can count that high?"

Now interested, the red-haired man watched the bickering, a smile growing on his face.

The Carpenter Boss looked to the thugs. The five men were heavily scarred, and their tattered armor was filthy and unkempt. They obviously had more experience than the other man, if less skill. The leader was a brute of a man, bulging muscles and a face pockmarked by scars. Uglier, dumber, and with more attitude than they had a right to, the Carpenter Boss concluded, but cheaper was good.

"One fifty it is," he said. The thugs turned, gloating at the other man as they walked with the Carpenter Boss towards the exit of the village.

The younger man tensed furiously, his hand squeezing the hilt of his sword. "I'll be here if you decide you want the job done right," he shouted coldly, before walking back to the shadows where his dark-clad companion awaited.

******

The Carpenter Boss strode purposefully towards the Marketplace, the gang of toughs following behind him. It wasn't long before they could see the drawbridge that led into the town, once closed only during the night, then destroyed during Ganondorf's ascension. Seeing the bridge, reconstructed and better than even before, the Carpenter Boss crowed loudly. "Look at that! We've only been working for a day, and we've already got the bridge back to working!" He regarded the men lounging near the bridge. "Don't see how, with all those lazy buffoons I hired," he grumbled, glaring threateningly at the impassive men. "Once you clear out those zombies, we'll be able to start work on the town itself. While those monsters are in there, these cowards-"

"We don't really care, old man," interrupted the leader of the toughs. "We're here for the money, not your life story."

The Carpenter Boss whirled on him furiously. "Is that so? Well, then, by all means! Get in there!" he bellowed. Some of the other thugs flinched, but the leader nodded his head sarcastically, rudely shoving the man out of the way as he walked into the town, freeing his sword from its sheath, the others following close behind.

"Young punks," the Carpenter Boss growled, turning to vent his frustration on his workers. He was not a patient man, and knew he was not going to like to wait for the mercenaries to get done with their bloody work.

To his surprise and relief, he didn't have long to wait. Shortly afterwards, he could hear the cries and screams of battle. If he had cared to notice, he would have noticed that the cries were human, but he was too satisfied to be concerned with such a detail. However, he did notice the four men dashing out of the town, one clutching a torn arm, another applying pressure to the gash on his head. He watched them run off, terrified, into the field, fleeing the monsters. As the last of them, the leader of the group, ran out, he grabbed at the man's shirt, trying to hold him to interrogate him. Instead, the mercenary glanced at him, not really seeing him through the terror in his eyes, and shoved away, knocking the Carpenter Boss down as he followed his comrades.

The older man sighed as he picked himself up off the ground. "Some men," he grumbled. Glaring at the snickering workers, he shook his head wearily. "Two hundred it is," he moaned, and began the slow walk back to Kakariko Village.

******

While the Carpenter Boss was making his lonely walk, the young man was still arguing with his raven-haired acquaintance. Now, the dark-clad man was leaning against a wall, his hand held out in front of him in a gesture of helplessness. The brown-haired young man was adamantly pressuring him, refusing to give up.

"Come on," the brown-haired man insisted. "I really need that information! I don't have the money right now, but I swear I will get it to you!"

The darker young man shook his head. He was slimmer than the man he was talking to, with an angled face topped by ebon hair and dark eyes. He wore black leather armor and a flowing black cape. His dress was unusual, showy even, yet he still stuck to the shadows, perhaps trying to draw a little less attention than his style of dress usually drew.

"Sorry, friend," he said apologetically, shrugging. "You're asking me to make a big risk. Looking into mercenary bands, even for someone with my connections, is risky business. Even if I got you what you needed, I might need to go into hiding, and how would I get my money then?"

"This is important!" insisted the other man, turning away in frustration.

"I know, I know," insisted the darker man. "Listen, I'll be around here for a few days. You get the cash, and we'll talk, O.K.?"

"A few days might be too late!" cried the first, whirling. To his shock, the other man was gone, disappeared into the shadows. Roaring in frustration, he slugged a nearby wall, doing nothing to relieve his anger and only making his hand hurt. "Is everyone in this village a creep?" he demanded, sucking on his torn knuckles.

"I hope not," came a soft voice from behind him. The young man turned to see a woman, about his age, standing nearby. She was tall and lean, with red hair and a cheerful face. "But I suppose you're talking about Agno? That bully certainly fits the description."

The young man blinked, confused, and then remembered the leader of the thugs. "Oh, yeah, him. One creep in a long list today." He started to offer the young woman his hand, then noticed the shape he had just left it in. Instead, he nodded his head in introduction. "By the way, my name is Wynn."

The young woman smiled brightly. "Wynn, eh? Nice to meet you." She stopped, thinking. "Everyone around here just calls me the Cucco Lady."

Wynn recalled seeing the woman earlier, tending to the fowl on the other side of town. "Interesting name you have there," he said, chuckling. He glanced to the side, seeing the Carpenter Boss reenter the town. "Ah, it looks like Agno and his pals weren't too successful. Maybe I'll see you around," he said, moving towards the stairs. The Cucco Lady waved a farewell, starting back towards her cuccos.

As he walked, Wynn noticed the red-haired man chuckling as he watched Wynn. Wynn glared up at him, wondering what the man found to be so funny, and then turned away. "Not all creeps," he grumbled, "evenly split between creeps and creepy."

He smirked as he stood before the Carpenter Boss, the older man regarding him with relief and a fair dose of chagrin. "So, I guess you get what you pay for, eh?"

"Two hundred rupees, and not one more!" the older man bellowed. Wynn smiled, nodding imperiously. Grumbling all the while, the Carpenter Boss turned, and together they made the long walk back towards the Marketplace.

******

It wasn't long before they stood before the drawbridge. "Good luck," grumbled the Carpenter Boss, motioning harshly towards the open gates. Wynn saluted him arrogantly, walking into the dismal ruins of the marketplace without another word.

The young adventurer quickly lost his bluster as he walked into the village. All around him, buildings were in shambles, plants lay wilted, and even the cobblestones of the ground were uprooted and scattered. He could hear the low moans of the beasts everywhere, echoing off the walls. He stopped, leaning against the crumbling walls of what had once been a shop. He tried to remember everything he had been taught about ReDeads, and everything he had seen from his encounters with them. He knew the beasts were zombies, undead manlike creatures that existed to suck the life out of the living. He knew that looking into the eyes of one of the beasts was a chilling experience, inspiring enough fear in even the bravest man to paralyze him long enough for the monsters to surround him and overwhelm him.

Suddenly, a nearby window exploded outward. Leathery hands flailed out, grasping at the man. He cried out, throwing himself backwards. He looked into the window, and saw only empty, soulless eyes staring out. Fear overwhelmed him, and he couldn't move, his brain refusing to work. The monster was the one to break the connection, turning to shamble out of the building in an attempt to get at Wynn.

The man's first instinct was to run, to flee this place and never come back. Remembering his confidant words and boasts, he restrained the urge, standing and drawing his sword. He could feel the beast calling to him, demanding he meet his gaze. He faced away, trying to control himself as he heard the slow footsteps make their way towards him. Almost on him now, he could feel the lifeless creature reaching for him, toothless mouth open in preparation to suck out his life. Snarling, Wynn turned, one hand covering his eyes, the other whipping his blade past the beasts defenses, hacking and slashing blindly. The sword bite several times, but failed to stop the creature. It was right on top of him now, arms encircling him in a twisted hug, maw reaching for his throat. In desperation, Wynn threw his sword across with all his strength, feeling it make contact. He heard the creature fall to the ground bonelessly, and only then dared to uncover his eyes. He looked down in surprise at the headless ReDead, decapitated by his last desperate strike.

"I hate ReDeads," Wynn commented, stepping over the corpse with one last glower. He looked into the town, still hearing the moans, wanting nothing more than to run away, but refusing to give up. He noticed motion beside him, and was relieved to find it to be only a tattered banner flapping in the wind. He regarded it thoughtfully, his mind working out a solution to the monsters' powers. With a grim smile, he reached up and tore a strip from the banner, then wrapped it across his eyes. Making his sightless way forward, he walked forward, ready now to begin his grisly task.

******

"We'll never get done at this rate," complained the Carpenter Boss. He tapped his foot impatiently, stopping every few moments to glare at his hired help who, unlike he, were unconcerned with the wait. Roaring in frustration, the man turned his gaze back to the town's gates. He could hear fighting inside distantly, but this time it was battle cries instead of screams of agony that rang out. He expected any moment now to see the young man dash out, bleeding from every side, but instead time passed without any resolution.

The sun was setting when Wynn stepped out of the town. He was covered in blood, but little of it was his own. He walked out calmly, a blindfold dropping from his face. He slung his sword through a quick butterfly loop before slamming it into its sheath. He stepped before the Carpenter Boss, smirking.

The Carpenter Boss glowered at him. "Are they dead?"

Wynn nodded, bowing snidely over an arm. "I assure you, I am perfectly all right, but I thank you for your concern." The older man glared at his sarcasm, and Wynn straightened, his smile never dropping. "There isn't a one left in there. But let me tell you, two hundred rupees isn't worth that!"

"A bit late for such reconsiderations," chuckled the Carpenter Boss. "But here's the money I owed you."

Wynn grinned enthusiastically as the man dropped glittering rupees into his hand. However, his smile quickly changed into a frown, and then he looked at the older man furiously. Five blue rupees were all he held. "This is fifty! You promised to pay me two hundred!"

"That I did, son!" chuckled the Carpenter Boss. "I just didn't say when." Seeing Wynn's eyes turn dangerous, he held his hands before him. "Now, wait just a minute. As soon as we get done with our job and get paid, you'll get your money. And you know where to find me. They say patience is a virtue, you know."

Wynn gaped at him, jaws open, before turning and storming off, back towards the town, shouting complaints all the while. The Carpenter Boss watched him, amused. "Kid reminds me of myself when I was younger," he commented nostalgically. Then, his face returning to its usual scowl, he turned on his workers, who paled under the fierce gaze. "Get to work!" he bellowed, and the men dashed to their feet and into the town, the Carpenter Boss hot on their heels, shouting all the while, completely forgetting the young man making the long walk back to Kakariko village under the setting sun.