Disclaimer:
The Legend of Zelda is property of Nintendo.
Author's Notes:
This is my first story, and this chapter might seem a little unoriginal, but the story will get better as it goes on. I'll try to update quickly if there's people who review that are interested in the story. If I don't get reviews, I'll still update, it just won't be very often, but I'm not going to give up if I don't get 10 reviews or whatever. And I'm thinking if this story is well liked I'm going to make it into part of a trilogy. All the really good stories come in trilogies: Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, for example. And I really like Lord of the Rings, so that my show up in my writing. Oh, and if you want to know some good stories to read, check out my bio.
New Note(10/29/03): I just finished editing this chapter and now I've updated it. I decided that I better go through and edit all my chapters after I found a lot of mistakes in this chapter. From now on, I'll edit before I upload a new chapter, and my apologies to those of you who had to suffer through the many mistakes in the first few chapters.
The Legend of Zelda: The War of Power
Prologue
In the realm of Hyrule, there lays a massive forest known as the Lost Woods. This forest is feared by many, for it cannot be navigated by anyone save the Kokiri. The Kokiri live in the heart of the Lost Woods, and their existence is known by few outside the forest. The Kokiri are unique from the different races of Hyrule, for they do not age, and remain children forever. They are peaceful in nature and would do nothing to harm another creature. On most nights, the Kokiri village was peaceful, and the music emanating from the forest was soothing. This night, however, was different, for the Lost Woods, the forest that surrounded the Kokiri and protected them, was burning.
***
Link woke to the smell of burning wood and noticed the extreme amount of heat surrounding him. He opened his eyes to the sight of flames inches away from his face. In a second, Link rolled out of his bed and onto the floor, observing his surroundings briefly. The fire was engulfing his house in the tree and sending black smoke into the air. Link instinctively grabbed his sword and shield, not knowing how they would aid him in extinguishing the flames. He knew he needed to get out before the structure caved in, and his only way out was the front door. Link held his shield in front of him and leapt through the door.
Link hit the ground hard, the sight of the raging flames throughout the village causing him to forget to roll into the fall, and a sharp pain went through his leg. Ignoring the pain, Link limped to where the Kokiri were collecting water from the river so they could put an end to the fire. The fire would not be doused, however, and Link, attempting to think straight, concluded that it must be a kind of magical fire, as the water only seemed to fuel the flames. Everything was burning from the tops of the highest trees to much of the grass below him, to the tree stumps that housed the Kokiri. Link sought out one particular house amongst the chaos. He had to make sure his best friend was alright.
"Saria!" Link called into the inferno, receiving a small reply in response.
"Link!" Saria yelled, "Link! You have to get out of here!"
Link ignored her and ran through the flames. He found Saria huddled in a corner, and went to help her. Link picked Saria up in his arms, a task he found easy to do, since he was now twelve winters old and much taller than the Kokiri. He covered Saria to the best of his ability and ran out of the front door, receiving a number of burns in the process. To his dismay, he found that the fire had grown considerably larger in his short absence, and the Kokiri were getting tired. Link began to walk towards the river, where Saria would be safest, but stopped when she made a small noise and grabbed the neck of his green tunic.
"Link," Saria said quietly, "This is no ordinary fire." Even as Saria said these words, the fire engulfed the river. Link started towards the river, but Saria stopped him. "It will not stop," she said, "and will devour all of the Lost Woods. You must leave quickly, and you must survive. You are needed badly by this world, and must continue to fulfill your destiny."
"I will not leave you and the Kokiri here to die," Link said, "I must help you to stop this madness or our home will be gone."
"It is already too late," Saria said, "I will use my powers as a sage to teleport you out of this forest to safety. Take care of yourself. I love you, Link." With those last words, Saria's small form began to glow with a greenish light. Link opened his mouth to object, but was stopped by a flash of light. When he opened his eyes, he was just outside the Lost Woods, on Hyrule field.
Link stared at the flames as the massive forest burned and he fell to his knees. "Saria…I must…help…" he started before falling to the ground, the pain from his burns overwhelming him and throwing him into darkness.
***
Chapter 1: The Dream
I'm running…but why? I can't see what is chasing me. Wait. I can now see someone. He is cloaked in shadow. There is something glowing on his hand. It looks like a part of the Triforce, but that's not possible. Link and I have two of the pieces of the Triforce. Gannondorf should have the Triforce of Power and he's sealed in the Sacred Realm. This isn't right. This person also has the Triforce of Power. What's going on? Has Gannondorf returned?
"So," the figure began, "I have found the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom. I did not think that the Triforce would choose someone so young to carry a piece of it."
"Who are you?" I asked.
"That does not matter to you, Princess," he said, "I will only tell you that I am one more worthy of holding the Triforce of Power than Gannondorf ever was. I will succeed where he failed, and destroying you is the first step to my success." The dark figure held up his hand, and I could feel my energy leaving me. I felt a burning pain throughout my body, and I felt something torn from my heart. There was a bright flash, and when I opened my eyes, the Triforce of Wisdom was floating in front of me. In disbelief I looked at my hand, only to see the mark of the Triforce slowly fade.
"No!" I shouted as the man reached out to claim what was once mine. The Triforce of Wisdom merged into him upon his touch, and I was once again blinded by the light. When I had recovered, the Triforce of Wisdom glowed next to the Triforce of Power on the shadow's hand.
"I have two parts of the Triforce now," he said to me, "I have only to find the bearer of courage to complete the sacred triangle and become far more powerful than anyone on this earth. I no longer have need of you, Princess Zelda." The man then held up his hand once more. Dark energy began to circle around his palm and black sphere formed in front of my face.
"I have failed," I thought as the energy came at me and my world went black.
Zelda's eyes snapped open and she stared at the ceiling of her room. She was sweating profusely and had nearly rolled off the bed and onto the cold floor. Zelda tried to calm herself, reminding herself that she was still living and that she had just been dreaming. This failed to help, however, because Zelda had learned to trust her dreams and that they were sometimes prophecies.
"Having trouble sleeping?" a voice asked from across the room before stepping out of the shadows.
"It was terrible, Impa," Zelda began to tell her guardian, "and I don't know whether to ignore my dream or regard it as a prophecy of some sort."
"I would advice you to trust all of your dreams, Zelda," Impa told her, "for they have rarely led you wrong in the past. Now, tell me this dream, and we will see what we can make of it." Zelda then proceeded to tell her guardian the entire dream, and even Impa, although she was a Sheikah, looked worried by the end.
"I thought that the Triforce of Power would forever remain with Gannondorf in the Sacred Realm," Impa said, "The Sages never acknowledged the possibility that it could move on to another host. The seal placed on Gannondorf does not extend to something such as the Triforce of Power. If the Triforce of Power now resides in another, we may have to deal with someone like Gannondorf again."
"And if the Triforce of Power can never be sealed away," Zelda interjected, "then it could continue to move on from bearer to bearer. We would not be able to deal with a Gannondorf over and over again."
"However, the Triforce of Power may not be truly evil," Impa said, "and it may choose a host who would use its power for the benefit of mankind, and not for destruction."
"But, eventually something so powerful will corrupt the mind of the one using it," Zelda said, "and any good caused by it would be undone."
"I think I will consult the Sages concerning this matter," Impa said, "But for now, I think you should sleep." With that, Impa left the room and Zelda lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.
***
"Link! Get down here!" the general called up the stairs.
"I'm coming, Diggs!" a voice called from above the stairs, "Just wait a minute!"
"Come on, kid!" Diggs shouted again, "You're going to make me late again!" Seconds later, a crash was heard, and a boy came stumbling into view at the stop of the stairs, stilling pulling one boot onto his foot.
"Alright, I'm ready," Link said as he ran down the stairs, "Let's get going." Diggs was already heading for the door, and Link ran outside after him. Diggs began lecturing Link as they headed for the castle.
"I managed to get you this job helping Talon out," Diggs said without looking back, "the least you could do his be on time."
"Talon's probably sleeping on the job anyway," Link said as Diggs went quiet, knowing it was most likely true. Link then found himself staring at Diggs, lost in his thoughts. Diggs was a general of the king, which was a grand accomplishment since he is only twenty-eight winters old, and he had apparently found Link four winters ago on the verge of death in a remote corner of Hyrule field. Diggs had been traveling with the king as he made his annual visits to many of the nations near Hyrule. Diggs had seen Link lying on the ground from a good distance away and had immediately run to help him, leaving the king and the other soldiers confused. He lifted Link in his arms and ran back to the king. After the king saw the injured boy, Link was cared for by the king's personal nurse and began to slowly recover. When Link had finally been able to get out of his bed, he had wanted to go back to the forest where Diggs found him. It was then that Diggs told Link there was nothing left of the forest. Link had let out a cry of agony before attempting to run away. Diggs had stopped him and told Link that if he had no home, he should return to Castletown with him. Before Link could react, arrows were streaming at the party from two sides as they were ambushed, most likely by a terrorist group. Diggs ran to protect the king as the other soldiers returned fire. They had been walking through a canyon near Gerudo valley and the terrorists emerged from hidden caves in the canyon walls. The royal guards were doing all they could to get rid of the threat, but the rocky walls were protecting the terrorists. Even as more terrorists were killed, more were found charging the king's party from the front and the rear. More royal guards were drawn away from the archers to attack the new threat. Diggs was fighting with a huge terrorist who had nearly made his way to the king. The terrorist swatted Diggs' sword away with his superior strength and landed a punch to Diggs' jaw. Diggs was on the ground, bleeding from his mouth, and the terrorist prepared to shove his sword through Diggs' chest.
It was then that Diggs' saw a flash of green and before he could blink, Link was ferociously attacking the terrorist. The young boy was a blur as he parried the opponent's attacks with ease. Link thrust his sword into the terrorist's midsection when he saw an opening, and the big man fell to the ground. The boy then ran to help Diggs, who was speechless. Before Diggs could utter his thanks, Link was off again, running to help with the battle. The terrorists were destroyed after much loss, and Diggs was able to thank Link for saving him and to offer him a place to live. Link accepted, seeing he had nowhere else to go, and he had lived with Diggs in Castletown ever since.
Every day, Diggs had to get up early and go to the castle to do his duty as a general, and Link would go to the castle with him and meet Talon, the Lon-Lon Ranch owner. Talon would give him some crates of milk and other supplies from the ranch and a list of where they were to be delivered. Link would make the deliveries and travel out to the ranch every evening to give the profits to Talon, earning a small sum of rupees for himself.
Awakening from his daydreaming, Link realized they were almost at the castle. The guard at the gate looked once at Diggs and ordered the gate to be opened. Up the path Link saw the boulder behind which was the fairy who had given him Din's fire seven years ago, and he had found the magic to be extremely useful during his journey in the future.
When they had reached the castle, Diggs proceeded to enter the castle through the front as Link went around the side to meet Talon. "See you later, kid!" Diggs called out as he walked inside.
"Bye Diggs!" Link shouted back. Link walked around the castle to the place where Talon unloaded his products into the castle storage room. Talon was not in his usual spot today, however, and Link assumed he must be late or was not making deliveries today. On the days when Talon was not there, Link usually entertained himself by wandering around the castle and sometimes seeing Zelda. Link could not enter into the castle through the front, even though the guards knew him to be a friend of Diggs', so he had to find another way in. The boy was disappointed when he found the storage room door to be locked, and he could no longer fit in the gutter hole in the wall like he could when he was ten winters old.
Link walked further around the perimeter of the castle to a large tree. He had used this tree to get into the castle many times before, as the longest limb of the tree reached a small ledge, about fifteen feet in the air, that he could sidle across. Link climbed the tree quickly and walked out to the edge of the branch. Taking a large step, he carefully placed both feet on the ledge. After sidling along the ledge for what seemed like hours, he was at an area in the thick castle wall where the stones had become somewhat loose over the years. Several bricks jutted out from the wall and formed footholds that Link could use to scale the castle wall.
After climbing twenty feet using the stones, Link could look over the outer wall of the castle. He was able to see five guards watching the surrounding area from above. When the guards simultaneously turned their backs to him for a brief second, Link flipped himself over the wall sideways and landed on the stone floor of the outer castle roof. He quickly hid himself in the shadows a moment before the guards looked his way once again. Link then had time to look across the roof to see where it ended and the inner courtyard began. When the guards turned their heads once more, Link dashed across the stone roof and leapt from the edge, disappearing into another large tree. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the hard part was behind him. Usually, he could make it through the courtyard and into the castle without breaking a sweat. Things turned out to be different today, however, and Link lost his footing on the tree branch. He fell through the tree, snapping branches as he plummeted, and hit the ground hard. Link stood slowly, groaning as he did so, and was noticed by one of the guards.
"Hey!" the guard yelled, "Stop, kid! Don't move!" With that, the guards within earshot looked at Link before running to him. Link realized that he would get a long lecture and a harsh punishment from Diggs if he was found sneaking into the castle, and decided to run. He didn't even want to think about how much trouble he would be in if he was caught, and he would probably get Diggs in trouble with the king. Link flew through the courtyard outrunning the guards quickly. He thought he could easily make it out the castle, until he heard more yelling and saw guards approaching from three directions. Link ducked inside the first door he could find and began running down the hallways of the castle. He had been in the castle before with Zelda, so he had a vague idea of where he was going. Link decided to try to make it to the large library, where he could easily hide from his pursuers.
Link was running down a hallway towards the library when more guards emerged from a room ahead of him with their backs turned towards the boy, and Diggs was with them. Link stopped quickly, pivoted on his heel, and dashed through the hall in the opposite direction. Link turned to check on his pursuers, skidded around another corner, and ran straight into someone, knocking the other person and himself to the ground in the process.
"Hey!" Link yelled angrily, still lying on the ground, "Why'd you run into me!"
"It was your fault, you moron!" the other person countered, "Link, are you always getting in trouble?" It took Link a moment to realize who the voice belonged to.
"Zelda!" Link yelped as he slowly stood to his feet, "Um…I'm sorry?" Link reached his hand out to help her up. She took it, leapt to her feet, and gave Link a quick hug. Link was extremely surprised. "You're not mad?" he asked the princess, "I just ran you over."
"No," Zelda explained, "I'm not mad. I was hoping you would show up today, I needed to talk to you about this dream I had." Link was about to relax when a group of five guards ran around the corner.
"That's him!" one of them shouted, "Don't let him attack the princess!" They drew their swords and charged.
"Uh, sorry Princess," Link said apologetically, "I think I better go now." With that, Link was fleeing from the guards once again.
"Link!" Zelda called after him before turning to her guardian Impa, who was concealed in the shadows. "Why does he always have to get himself in so much trouble?"
"Don't worry, Zelda," Impa said, smiling slightly, "I'm sure you will see him again before the day is done. Maybe you could go visit him in the dungeons after those guards are through with him."
***
Link was starting to grow tired. He had been running through endless corridors, but the soldiers refused to give up. Link would be out of danger by now, except that once a group of guards began to tire, more soldiers would be there to replace them.
"I'm not having much luck today," Link thought briefly has he turned another corner, "If Diggs finds out about this, I'm doomed. I hope I don't run into-" His thoughts were put on hold as Link rounded a corner and one of his fears was realized. Standing at the end of the hallway, arms crossed, with a dark scowl on his face was Kard, the commander of the royal guards of Hyrule Castle. Link knew that the commander hated him. Link had embarrassed the commander on numerous occasions when he was visiting the castle. He had once beaten Kard in a jousting tournament during a festival a few years ago, and Kard had seemed to hate the boy ever since. The commander was a very large man, almost two feet taller than Link, and twice as broad. He had a short beard and small mustache, with brown hair down to his shoulders, and whenever Link looked at him he wore a scowl on his face.
"Your escapade ends here," Kard said as he glared at the boy. Link desperately looked for a way out, but the hallway was empty.
"Uh," Link fumbled for words, "I got … lost…and I ended up in the castle! And then the guards were chasing me and I didn't know what to do, so I ran."
"That was pathetic, boy," the commander said coldly, "I think you better come with me." Link reluctantly walked over to Kard and reached into his tunic pocket. When he was a few feet from the soldier, Link threw the Deku nut down and it exploded in a flash of light, blinding Kard for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, Link was gone. Kard twirled around in time to see Link running the other direction, a fair way down the hall. Kard cursed loudly and chased after the boy.
***
An hour later, Link still wasn't really sure why he was running. Kard would eventually find him and his punishment would be that much worse. Still, he didn't feel like getting caught yet, so he had continued to avoid the commander and the castle guards. He was currently hiding underneath a large desk in the library, waiting until the guards left to look in another room.
Link was concentrating on the guards, so he didn't notice someone sneak up behind him. With a crash, the desk tipped over and Link rolled out onto the floor. The boy yelled loudly before turning around to face his attacker.
"Zelda!" Link shouted, ecstatic that he was not looking up into the face of Kard. Zelda stared at Link for a few seconds before shaking her head back and forth.
"Link," Zelda started, "Why didn't you just ask me to help you right away. I can order these guys around, remember?"
Link suddenly felt very sheepish, "Um," he said, looking down at the ground, "I guess I wasn't really thinking." Before Zelda could respond, Link felt the air rushing out of him as he was thrown to the ground. He rolled over to see Kard glaring down at him.
"I finally found you, boy," Kard growled, "and you're going straight to the dungeons! This is my revenge for all the embarrassment you've caused me!" Kard reached down to grab Link's collar, but Zelda stood in his way.
"Calm yourself, Kard," Zelda ordered him, "Link hasn't hurt anyone, and you have no right to throw him in the dungeons. I told Link to come here because I needed to talk to him. Now, please excuse us immediately." The commander could barely contain his anger, but he did not dare disrespect the princess. The big man directed a scowl towards Link, who smiled back innocently. Kard then marched out of the room, slamming the door. He then could be heard yelling at some innocent soldier in the hallway. Zelda smiled then turned to Link.
"Alright," she started, "now that we have time, I can finally tell you about my dream."
***
"But that doesn't seem possible," Link thought out loud, after hearing about Zelda's dream, "I never thought the Triforce pieces could leave their hosts. When the Triforce split, each piece chose someone whose attributes best matched each piece, and I thought the pieces would remain with that choice until he or she died."
"But Gannondorf didn't die," Zelda said, finishing off Link's thought, "and if the Triforce of Power has chosen a new host, then this person, or thing, most likely reflects the attributes of the Triforce of Power, and is therefore very much like Gannondorf. I don't think we can survive another Evil King. What do you think, Impa?" Zelda turned and looked at the shadows to her right as the Sheikah seemed to appear in front of her. Zelda's guardian was always protecting her, and she used her Sheikah training to blend in with the shadows. She was virtually invisible to all but Zelda, and sometimes Link and the king, when she used this technique.
"I think you should not worry yourself right now, Zelda," Impa said, "and that you should watch for any disturbances in Hyrule that may signify somebody rising to power. Do not let this dream haunt you, but do not forget it. It may be just a dream, or it may be another prophecy."
"You contradict yourself too much," Zelda said with a smile. The Sheikah smiled slightly before she put on her serious expression once again. Impa was extremely good at masking her feelings, something she had learned to do from her training, and showed no emotion to anyone other than the princess.
"Well, Link," Zelda said, turning to the boy who was on the verge of falling asleep, "It's late now, you should probably get back to town. I'll warp you out of here with Farore's wind so you don't get caught and pounded by Kard. Thanks for coming to see me." The princess gave Link a quick hug and a green light formed around her hands she stepped away from the boy before he disappeared with a flash of green.
"I wish I could get out of here and go with him," Zelda sighed, "This castle's boring."
"I think that could be arranged," Impa said to the princess with a grin. The princess gratefully leapt into the large woman's arms and embraced her.
***
Far away from the castle, across vast plains and seas, a dark figure stood on the peak of a mountain and gazed in the direction of Hyrule. His gaze pierced mist and mountain until he was focused on the castle. He smiled when he saw a young man leaving the castle and a princess staring out her window.
"Soon," he thought, "Soon her power will belong to me."
In the dark of the night, the symbol of the Triforce of Power shown on the man's gloved hand.