Chapter One
Spring in Hyrule………a very busy and noisy time in Hyrule Castletown. The Spring Festival was fast approaching and everyone was busy. Even the Heroes were working hard.
"Whew………I don't think this was in our job resumes, Link." Kage, Hero of Memories, complained, as he nailed another board into place.
"Well, think of it this way, Kage; at least we'll be able to relax later." Link said, as he wiped some sweat from his brow.
"Yeah, right. By the way, what wrong with Sheik? He's been actin' pretty weird here lately." Kage said, as he glanced up at the wall where Sheik now perched.
"I don't know. He seems to be troubled by something but he won't tell anyone what's bothering him." Link murmured, as a concerned look crossed his features. Almost two and a half years before, Sheik had helped the Heroes defeat Ganon. It had been a long, difficult journey for all of them.
"Whatever it is that is troubling him, he'll tell us when he's ready." Yasha said, as he placed his hammer to one side, signaling that it was time for a break. As the three left the area for their break, Link looked back at Sheik. The Sheikah was still sitting in the same spot as before, no change.
"What could be bothering him, I wonder?" Link thought, as he slowly turned and walked away. On the palisade, Sheik gazed eastward. He sighed softly as he looked up and around. In his mind's eye, he could see another, older structure; the one that had stood there before Hyrule Castle had been built.
"Helm's Deep………….we're sitting on the blood and bones of our predecessors." Sheik thought, grimly.
"Sheik? What're you doing up here?" Zelda asked, as she sat down beside him.
"Just thinking, hime." Sheik replied.
"Thinking about what? What is it that is depressing you so?" Zelda asked, worriedly.
"Did you realize that we are sitting on a battlefield?" Sheik asked, ignoring Zelda's question.
"Well, it is the place where you, Kage, and Link defeated Ganon. Why should that depress you?" Zelda replied, not understanding what Sheik had meant. Sheik shook his head.
"That isn't what I meant. This castle is sitting where a far more ancient battle took place. Have you ever heard of the Battle of Helm's Deep?" Sheik asked, finally looking up and meeting Zelda's gaze.
"There's an ancient ballad about it. Why?" Zelda asked, confused.
"We are sitting in Helm's Deep right now. This is where the brave men of Rohan and the Elves of Lothlorien made a valiant stand against the forces of Mordor and Isengard." Sheik murmured, sadly.
"You mean that that old legend took place here? Right where Hyrule Castle and Castletown are built?" Zelda asked, in complete disbelief.
"Yes. This very spot. This is the only place that hasn't changed since the days of the Fellowship. While the rest of the land changed, Helm's Deep remained the same, even though the cliffs surrounding it are nowhere near as sheer as they were several thousand years ago." Sheik murmured, his eyes distant.
"You almost sound as though you were there before the land became what it is now." Zelda said, enthralled.
"I see it through dreams. Sometimes it seems so real, I can even hear the voices of the men and elves that fought and died here." Sheik said, his eyes farseeing, looking into a distant past.
"Sheik, is there another reason why you're sitting up here?" Zelda asked, curiously.
"Zelda-hime, there is something you must know. An ancient evil is stirring, and soon it will awaken. It is far away now, but if allowed to, it will come here. You must send the Heroes out to meet it." Sheik said, his tone gravely serious. Zelda was shocked by the tone Sheik had just taken.
"If I do, then what will happen to Hyrule if it is attacked? This country's army is still very small and would be no match against a huge force. Hyrule would be overrun before help could arrive." Zelda said, now extremely worried.
"Gather together the other Sages. Seeing as they are each a representative of each of their races, it would be easy to ask them for a precautionary protective force." Sheik advised, as he stood and started to walk to his room. It was then that Zelda realized that Sheik was not wearing the Sheikah insignia! Instead he wore a gray tunic and white leggings. At his waist he wore a leather belt and he wore matching boots on his feet.
"Sheik, where is your uniform?" Zelda asked, shocked at the sudden changes in her friend.
"I was no longer comfortable wearing it. Aunt Impa, my mother, Sallah, and Sunku feel the same way. And, as you will soon see, it would be dangerous to wear it in the times to come." Sheik said, quietly, his words carrying a dire warning in them. After Sheik had disappeared inside, Zelda rushed to her father to tell him what she had just learned.
"A new quest?! Are you serious?!" Kage yelped, his voice echoing slightly in the huge antechamber. King Harkinian nodded, gravely.
"Zelda has just informed me of what the Sheikah have sensed. I am asking you, the Legendary Heroes, to go and see if you can tak down the evil before it gets here. But you will not be going alone, Kage, Link. I am sending Sheik and Yasha with you. Should you meet up with any strangers with the same mission as you, join up with them. Now, go and gather what you are going to need, since you will be leaving at first light tomorrow morning. It that clear?" Harkinian asked.
"Yes, Sire. We will do what we can." Link replied, as he and Kage bowed, then went to get ready.
"It's too bad we've got to miss the Spring Festival after all the work we'd put into it." Kage mused, as he packed his haversack with clothes and other essentials.
"I know. But I have a feeling that the Festival will be cancelled this years." Link said, as he shouldered his quiver of arrows and the Master Sword, then strapped his haversack onto his back.
"No doubt about that, since a black shadow has already begun to hover over this land. Even the souls of the dead are restless." Yasha murmured, as he stood in the hallway outside of the Heroes' rooms.
"Then I think we should go ahead and leave. The more time we linger, the closer the evil gets." Link said, as he rushed off to the stable. As the sun started to sink towards the west, the four riders galloped away, leaving all they had known behind. Before long, they reached an opening in the natural wall that surrounded Hyrule.
"I don't think any of us have ever been beyond this part of the wall before. I'm almost afraid of what lies beyond it." Kage said, in a subdued tone.
"We're not alone in this quest, Kage. We have the prayers of Hyrule and the gods' blessings with us as we travel into the land beyond." Yasha said, reassuringly.
"And we have each other. That's what counts." Navi added, as she and Mizuu floated near their charges.
"Then let's go, before we decide to turn back." Link said, as he urged Epona forward onto the rocky path that lay before them. Their journey had begun.