Disclaimer:
The Legend of Zelda is property of Nintendo.
Author's Notes:
Whoa! This is awesome! I'm up to thirty-two reviews now after getting about fifteen in just two chapters. You guys are great! To show my gratitude, I'd like to address a review and thank everybody.
To Shadow Rogue: Sorry about having the same ideas and stuff, but I'm sure your story will be great. I'll try to read it when you start, as long as I can find which one it is.
Thanks to: Ruby-sama 4.5, Ani1, Sareth, Ri2, cab, Sakura of Dai-gate, Linut, and Shadow Rogue for all the great reviews. Reviews really keep me going and let me know that people are actually reading what I'm writing. I'll try to address one review every chapter, but sometimes I might not have time to do that and get the chapter up for my self established two day deadline.
I may put my email address up on my bio page soon, but I'm not sure yet. It'd be nice to get letters from readers, but all I ask is that if you email, take the time to write a short review also. I don't want emails flowing in at the expense of reviews.
And in my story, Hylians have a lifespan of up to one hundred years.
Everybody, read, enjoy, and PLEASE REVIEW!
The Legend of Zelda: The War of Power
Chapter 11: Deception
"They're Hylian," Malon said, stunned, "What's going on?"
"No, they're not," Zelda said, "It's a spell. That sorcerer put a spell on the army that makes everyone think they're seeing Hylians." The princess placed her hands on either side of her friends' heads and golden light flowed from her fingertips. One by one, Link, Malon, Amir, and Hawehn felt as if a veil was removed from their eyes. They could see now that the soldiers were indeed Solatian.
"This definitely isn't good," Link said, "Every village that gets attacked will blame Hyrule itself. That sorcerer's trying to cause a rebellion."
"We must not let this continue," Amir said, a determined look on his face, "This is mindless slaughter. I will not allow it to go on!" The Calatian drew his sword and charged towards the soldiers, yelling as he did so.
"We have to help him!" Zelda cried to Link. The boy stood staring at the sight of the large man fighting the entire Solatian squadron.
"No," he said, obviously with much difficulty, "I've never walked away from a battle before, but I can't put you in this kind of danger, Zelda. I'm sorry."
"Link," Zelda said, worried about the struggle that was taking place inside the boy, "Are you sure?"
"Hawehn, what's the fastest way to get to Calatia?" Link asked, ignoring the question.
"The sea is blocked," the woman said, "So you would have to go over the mountains to the south."
"Then that's where we're heading," he said.
"But you have to help him!" Hawehn cried, "You can't just leave him there."
"I have no choice. I'm sorry," the boy said, turning away from the crying woman, "Come on, Zelda. Malon, you have to head back to the ranch immediately. Borrow a horse, and get back there as fast as possible. You have to warn Impa about the magic they're using to disguise themselves. Maybe she can find some way to counter it." Malon merely nodded, tears in her eyes.
"Goodbye, Link," she said hugging him before her and Hawehn ran to the stables to free the horses.
Link grabbed Zelda by the hand and the two ran towards the immense mountains.
***
"I'm not going to last much longer," Amir thought as he slew another soldier. He knew that Link would not be able to follow him, his responsibilities to the princess too great.
"Destroy that man!" the Solatian general yelled as Amir killed yet another Solatian. All eyes turned towards the powerful Calatian and Amir found himself instantly surrounded by the soldiers.
***
Hawehn watched Malon ride off towards Hyrule before turning to look at the carnage surrounding Amir. The guards were attacking the man relentlessly, and it was a wonder that he had survived this long.
"I have to help him," she thought as she desperately tried to formulate a plan. The woman got on the horse Roundhouse, whom Amir had remembered to bring back, and drove him towards the struggling Calatian. As Hawehn rode, she felt the smoke of the flames threatening to force her into unconsciousness, but she fought against the feeling with all her might. She had to survive so that the carnage would end. She felt that everything was up to her now, and that her father's, Amir's, and the villagers' lives were in her hands. The woman rode from house to house and gathered the townspeople as quickly as possible.
"These men have destroyed our homes!" she yelled over the roar of the battle, "We must take our village back from them!"
"But they are Hylians!" a man yelled, "We cannot fight our own people!"
"Do not believe what you see before you!" Hawehn yelled, "You must see the truth with your heart. They are not Hylians, they are Solatians, and they will learn that it was a mistake to enter Rok!" The villagers one by one concentrated and were briefly able to see the soldiers as the men they truly were.
"What kind of power is this?" a villager asked.
"I do not know," Hawehn answered, "But it will not destroy us! Find your horses, grab what weapons you have, and hide among the trees on either side of the narrow road. Once the enemy is in sight, we will ambush them from both sides. We must fight for our village and our way of life! We will not let them enslave us!" The people shouted in agreement and went to do as they were told. Hawehn quickly hid her unconscious father among a group of shrubs far away from the battle before riding towards Amir.
***
"Kill him!" the general shouted, "He is just one man!"
Amir barely heard the shouts as he continued fighting, almost carelessly now, in an attempt to push back the Solatian force. He knew he could not hold out much longer. The man could feel the many gashes covering his body, and he thought he might have been hit by a few arrows, though he was too numb to realize it. Somehow, he still continued the fight.
"Amir!" a sweet, but desperate, voice shouted from behind him. Amir recognized it as Hawehn's. "You must fall back. Don't think about why, just do it!" The Calatian obeyed and turned and ran towards the figure of Hawehn atop Roundhouse. The woman helped to pull him up onto the horse, and they sped off down the road, Hawehn hoping they could reach the narrow, tree-covered section before they were struck by an arrow.
"After them!" the general screamed, "Do not let them escape!"
Roundhouse ran as fast as his old limbs would allow, and they soon found themselves passing by the hidden villagers.
"Now!" Hawehn shouted as the soldiers neared the trap. The villagers, all atop horses, and carrying various rusty swords and long knives, emerged from the grove of trees on either side of the road. The Solatians were taken completely by surprise and they went into a state of panic, unsure of what was occurring. The untrained townspeople slaughtered the soldiers as the general called for a retreat. The villagers, however, gave chase and the enemy was soon vanquished.
A cheer arose from the people as they began to gather water from a nearby river to extinguish the fires. Although most of the houses were beyond repair, the townspeople had derived great satisfaction from the fact that they had just defeated a squad of trained Solatian soldiers. Hawehn was surrounded by the villagers, all chanting her name, as she and Amir dismounted Roundhouse. The Calatian managed to flash the woman a smile despite his pain.
"That was amazing," he said before Hawehn grabbed his hand.
"So were you," she said as she kissed the large man.
***
"Link, are you okay?" Zelda asked the boy, who had not spoken since the two had fled the village. Once again, he said nothing.
"You need to tell me what's wrong," she said, "I know it was hard for you to do that, but it was hard for me too."
"I know," Link finally said, "I'm sorry. It's just…I'm supposed to protect people. It's my responsibility to fight for the safety of everyone else. I've never had to make a choice like that before."
"I realize that," the princess said, "Because I have responsibilities for the people also."
"Yeah, I know," Link said quietly, "But I can't stop thinking about all those people that will lose their lives back there because of a decision I made."
"That's how I feel all the time," Zelda sighed, "It's a large burden, but you get used to it after a while."
They stopped suddenly as they heard cheering coming from down below. The two ran to the edge of an outcropping of rock and looked at the town below them. The people were cheering as they put out the fires, and Hawehn and Amir were surrounded by a crowd of villagers, eagerly shaking their hands, or hugging them in some cases.
"I don't believe it," Link said, noticing the dead Solatians, "They actually did it." Zelda started down the mountainside but Link grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Wait," he said, "Look at the Solatian ship." Zelda turned her eyes towards the ship sitting just off the coast of the village. As she watched, she could see people dashing across the deck, and suddenly many cannons fired simultaneously, producing an ear-splitting sound.
"They're signaling for help," she realized, "Rok will be doomed if the reinforcements are nearby." Suddenly the princess clutched her head in pain. "The sorcerer…," she said, "The one who killed my father… He's on a ship, and it's coming closer… It should be here any minute… He's using magic to give it speed." Link ran over to support her as she nearly fell off the rocky outcropping.
"We have to go," Link said, "Amir will get the people out of here and to safety."
"Do you think they'll make it in time?" Zelda asked quietly.
"I don't know, but we need to get out of here," Link said before he and the princess took off up the mountain once again.
***
"Come on!" Amir shouted, "The enemy will be here soon. We have to make for Hyrule, and quickly!" The people ran back and forth across the village, gathering their few remaining possessions. The youngest and eldest villagers were seated upon horses as the people gathered around the Calatian.
"It is almost a four day journey on foot to Hyrule Field," he said, "We must go now." Many of the people wept as the group began the march, reluctant to leave their home behind. Amir ignored the burning in every muscle of his body as he led the people down the road, telling Hawehn that she could tend to the wounds later.
***
"The princess is with them!" Gahoch shouted, "Do not let them escape!" On his command, the large ship began firing cannonballs at the fleeing villagers. The first wave of shots did not get far enough to injure the group, much to the sorcerer's dismay.
"Everyone!" he yelled, "Get to shore! If the princess returns to Hyrule, our disguises as well as the invasion will be revealed! They must not get away!" The Solatian soldiers quickly piled into small rowboats that were lowered into the water. They started paddling madly to get to the village. When the soldiers, bar a few left to command the boat, had all reached land, Gahoch took the last group in a boat with him.
"Get them!" the sorcerer shouted, "Use whatever means necessary, just destroy them!"
***
"Everyone!" Amir shouted as the ship began firing on the group, "Run! Stay on the main path! We have to get out of here!" The Calatian dropped to a position at the rear of the group, making sure that all the villagers stayed on course.
"We can't outrun them, Amir!" Hawehn shouted, alongside the horse carrying her wounded father who had just come into consciousness seconds before.
"She's right," Cletts said, "We don't have the endurance necessary, and some of us are too old to keep this up for long."
"Everybody keep going!" Amir yelled before turning to Hawehn, "Move on, I'll just be a second." Although the woman looked doubtful, she kept going.
"Don't do anything stupid," she said before turning and disappearing down the road. Amir looked after her for a brief second before drawing his sword. He held his sword horizontally with his arm outstretched for a moment, summoning up the strength needed for his task, before unleashing a powerful spin attack. The Calatian spun on his heel four times on the narrow road before re-sheathing his sword. Three large trees on either side of him crashed to the ground, barring the path. Since the thick foliage alongside the road was nearly impossible to walk through, he had blocked the only way through. Amir ran after the group, hoping that the obstacle he had made would provide the villagers with a lot of distance between them and the soldiers, though he knew that if the sorcerer was with them the barrier would be of no use.
***
"I really hope they're okay," Zelda said as she and Link continued to climb, "They can't outrun those soldiers."
"Amir will think of something," the boy said, looking down to see the Solatians arriving on land in their small boats, "If he hasn't already."
"Are we going to find some level ground soon?" Zelda asked, "This slope is just getting steeper as we go along."
"Hopefully," Link said, "But I'm kind of unfamiliar with the landscape. I've never been through these mountains before. There was probably a path that started at the base, but we didn't exactly have time to look for it."
"We're lost, aren't we?" the princess asked.
"Yeah, basically," Link answered shrugging.
"Link," Zelda said, "When people ask that question, usually they want a response that will help make them feel better."
"Well, I'm not going to lie to you," he said, "We're completely lost."
"Do you think Malon will make it back in time?" the princess asked suddenly.
"Yes, I think she will," Link answered, "She'll definitely make it back before the Solatian soldiers down there do, as long as she doesn't stop along the way. There may be other groups of soldiers that have made their way into Hyrule already, though. I hope she doesn't run into any trouble."
"If Impa doesn't find out about the disguised Solatians beforehand, Hyrule's doomed," Zelda said, "The Hylians won't know who to fight."
"And anybody attacked by the Solatians will think they were betrayed by the government," Link said, "My guess is that Halberd will take the largest group of soldiers and enter Hyrule through the desert. He will probably take the Gerudo by surprise, slaughter many of them, and then emerge from the east into Hyrule Field. The surviving Gerudo will turn against Hyrule, thinking that it was Hylian soldiers that destroyed them. It's a cowardly and ruthless, but effective, plan."
"You've thought about this a lot," Zelda said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I guess I have," he said. Suddenly Link leapt to the side, grabbing Zelda and pulling her with him. A cannonball impacted the spot they had stood just seconds before, shaking large rocks loose which then rolled down the mountainside.
"How did they see us?" Zelda yelled as she looked to the ship just off the coast that had fired upon them.
"I didn't realize their telescopes could see us from this far away," Link said, "We have to get out of here." Link and Zelda fell to the ground for cover when they heard the explosion of gunpowder. This projectile, however, was not aimed for the two, but rather for an area far above them.
"They're trying to cause an avalanche!" Link yelled as rocks fell from above. Another shot was fired and the cannonball impacted the mountainside a good distance above them. Boulders were lodged loose, and Link and Zelda soon found themselves frantically trying to avoid falling debris. It took the ship one more blast to set the disaster into motion. Immense boulders tumbled down the mountainside, and Link could find no escape route.
"There's no where to go!" he yelled, "They have us trapped!"
"Hey hero!" a voice shouted to Link's left, "Don't give up so easily." Link turned to see a person standing on a ledge across a large gap, holding what looked like a coil of rope in his hands. The boy thought he recognized the voice, but could not see the figure clearly through the thick dust.
"Grab this!" the person shouted, throwing the rope, with a rock attached to the end to add appropriate weight, across the gap. Link, knowing he had no other choice but to trust the unknown figure, grabbed Zelda around the waist with his right arm before gripping the end of the rope with his other hand.
"This is gonna hurt!" he yelled as he leapt from the ledge a second before the two would have been showered with boulders. Link swung on the rope blindly, having no way to stop himself, and crashed into the side of a cliff ledge. His left shoulder screamed in pain as his body ricocheted off of the wall. Link barely managed to retain his hold on Zelda as well as his tight grip on the rope.
"Hold on," a voice called from above, grunting, "Have you been putting on weight?" The owner of the voice registered in Link's mind as he said this.
"Dek!" he called, "Is that you!"
"Yep," the voice said back, "I always show up to save your butt." After a good amount of pulling on Dek's part, Link and Zelda found themselves atop the cliff. Link quickly rose from his lying position on the ground, as did Zelda.
"Dek!" he said enthusiastically, "Where the heck have you been for the past six months?"
"Well," Dek answered, shaking Link's hand furiously and patting him on the back, "I was mostly finishing my training. It's a good thing I did, too, or I might not have been able to pull you two up. What kind of crap have you been eating to put on that much weight?"
"Anything he can find," Zelda answered before Link could speak, "It's good to see you again, Dek."
"You too, Princess," he said, smiling, "I have not gazed upon your radiant beauty for-"
"Don't start," Link said, "Those poetic lines get really old."
"You're just jealous," Dek said, grinning, "You wish you had the eloquence of speech that I have."
"Yeah, that must be it," the boy said sarcastically. Link looked over his old friend Dek and was surprised at how much he had changed in the last six months. Link remembered back to when he had met the elf just a day after he had made his decision to live with Diggs in Castle Town. The two had become fast friends, and Dek often stayed with Link for long periods of time in Diggs' house, having no where else to go. The elf had no place that he could call a permanent home, having left his people as a child to explore the world. Diggs' had told him that his house was open whenever he was in town, a statement that had made Link extremely happy. Dek was only a year older than the boy, and Link didn't have any male friends, so he was glad for some companionship. Still, Dek frequently traveled to other places of the world, sometimes for months, and would return when Link least expected it.
Dek was of the race of the High Elven, a people that were similar to Hylians. The high elves tended to be taller than most Hylians, and they had shorter ears. Although Hylians, who are also elven, have sharper hearing than the high elves, the high elves have incredible eyesight, better than even the extremely good eyesight of the Hylians, and they tend to live up to ten or twenty times longer than the Hylians, which sometimes results in elves that lived two-thousand years or more. Because of their good eyes and quick reflexes, the high elves often excelled at archery. Dek, following the tradition of his people, was extremely skilled with a bow, but he also carried a short sword, and had proven himself to be quite good with it. Dek was different from most of the High Elven, however, in a number of ways. He was shorter than most of his people, reaching a height of only six feet, making him eye level with Link. He also tended to think differently than most elves. The High Elven had long ago hidden themselves from the world, seeking a safe haven among the unexplored areas of Ahras. Dek had told Link that they had found a place to dwell where no mortal could come unbidden, but he would not reveal where, refusing to betray the trust placed in him when he was allowed to leave the sanctuary. Dek thought that the High Elves should not hide from the troubles of the world, but rather lend their aid to those who needed it. He had received permission, after much trouble, to leave the refuge of the elves and to journey about the world as he wished. Link and Dek were in many ways very similar, both traveling throughout the land to help the people of the earth.
Now that Link looked upon his friend once again, he noticed few changes in the elf, aside from his newly formed muscles that resulted from his training. His appearance was overall the same as Link remembered. Dek had shoulder length black hair, naturally shorter than most elven hair. He wore a black tunic as well as black pants and blue gloves and boots. Dek's bow and quiver were strapped across his back, and his dagger hung at his side.
"You done scrutinizing me?" Dek asked, breaking Link out of his thoughts.
"Sorry," Link said, rather embarrassed.
"Well, if you two are done," Zelda said sarcastically, "Then maybe we can get out of here before we find ourselves smashed into the ground by a cannonball."
"No need to be like that, Princess," Dek said, smiling, "That thing can't hit us from this distance. There's nothing to worry about." As if to prove the elf wrong, a boulder fell from above, dislodged by the projectiles, and crashed to the ground a mere foot away from Dek.
"Um," he stammered. Zelda grinned and began walking away, Link laughing uncontrollably.
***
"Are we really going to cross this?" King Halberd asked his advisor as the two looked towards the vast Gerudo desert.
"Do not worry, my king," Gahmig said, "I have developed a way past the sands. Is the army ready?"
"Yes," the king answered, "They await my command to march."
"Everything is moving along perfectly," the sorcerer said, "The Gerudo will not know what hit them, and when it is over they will blame the Hylians."
"Will we be able to defeat the thieves?" Halberd asked, unsure, "I have heard that they are extremely skilled."
"We outnumber them fifty to one," Gahmig said, "The victory will belong to us. We must make our move now. Call the troops."
"Prepare yourselves!" King Halberd yelled, "The first battle of this war is approaching! The Gerudo thieves will fall! Get ready to march!" The Solatians immediately situated themselves in order of rank before the king, who looked upon his large army proudly.
"Good," Gahmig said, "It is time." The sorcerer raised his staff towards the sky as a whirlwind formed above his head. The tornado touched the ground on command from the man before moving into the desert. The winds pushed the sand to the side, forming a sort of tunnel that led straight to the Gerudo fortress.
"This will take us to the fortress with incredible speed," Gahmig said after finishing his spell, "It is a portal of some sorts that shows the straightest path through the mystic desert, and it will also enable us to move extremely quickly and reach the distant fortress in less than a day. Without it, we would wander in the sands until we died."
"Men!" Halberd shouted, pleased at the results of the spell, "March!"
The Solatian army began the march across the dessert as Gahmig placed yet another spell of deception upon them, making them look like Hylians to all but themselves.