Disclaimer:
The Legend of Zelda is property of Nintendo.
Author's Notes:
Barely made the deadline this time, but I managed. The next chapter should be soon since I have a day off of school tomorrow. Hope you enjoy, and PLEASE REVIEW!
The Legend of Zelda: The War of Power
Chapter 12: Forfeit
"Go get Nabooru," Alria said to her Gerudo partner atop the watchtower. She watched the younger Gerudo descend the ladder and run towards the fortress before turning her gaze back to the desert. Moments before, she had beheld a large whirlwind appear from seemingly nowhere and blow apart the sands, creating a path on solid ground. Although Alria was a member of the Gerudo Elite, as was Nabooru, and could make decisions herself, she wanted the older Gerudo's opinion on this strange phenomenon.
"Alria!" a voice shouted from below, "What is it!" Alria looked down from the watchtower at the edge of the desert to see Nabooru calling up to her.
"I think you better see this for yourself!" she called back. Nabooru quickly climbed the ladder and looked upon the strange sight.
"When did this happen?" she asked, still gazing at the strange whirlwind path.
"Just about a minute ago," Alria answered, "A tornado like wind swept the sands apart."
"This isn't good," Nabooru said, "I feel a strange power coming from the winds. It seems to be a portal of some sort, and there appears to be something coming through it."
"Should we ready for battle?" the younger Gerudo asked.
"Yes," Nabooru said, "I'll alert everyone. Keep the gate closed, and call me if anything happens."
"Yes, Nabooru," Alria said as the elder Gerudo descended the ladder. She turned her gaze back towards the desert and waited for a sign.
***
"So whose bright idea was it to go over the mountain?" Dek asked.
"It's not like I had much of a choice," Link responded, "I thought it'd be faster to go over instead of around."
"So you choose the way that nearly gets you flattened and thrown off a mountainside several hundred feet in the air," Dek said sarcastically.
"How high up are we now?" Zelda asked, "It's getting pretty cold."
"You could have worn warmer clothes, Princess," Dek said, smiling.
"We're probably about two thousand feet from the base of the mountain," Link said, answering the question, "We're making pretty good time, but we should find somewhere to rest soon. It's pretty dark outside."
"You don't sleep walk do you, Princess?" Dek said, "Because we wouldn't want you walking off a cliff in the middle of a night. What would I do if I couldn't gaze upon your flawless face every hour of the day?"
"Shut up, Dek," Link and Zelda said in unison.
"I am merely trying to brighten the mood," the high elf said, "I know Hyrule's in a lot of trouble right now, but there's nothing we can do about it right now so you should at least try to enjoy yourselves." Link had briefed the elf on the nation's situation before the three had continued up the mountain.
"We should probably stop here," Link said, gesturing to a wide ledge, "If we go any higher we're going to freeze to death in the night. It's cold enough as it is."
"I don't suppose you two brought any supplies or anything?" Dek asked. Link and Zelda looked at each other, embarrassed.
"Well…" the princess started before being interrupted by Dek.
"You mean to tell me you took off across the Emerald Mountains without anything?" he asked incredulously.
"We thought we were going to be taking a ship to Calatia," Link said in defense, "We didn't plan on this."
"Well, I have some food," Dek said, "It's not much, but I guess we can split it. I don't have anything else in the way of provisions, though. If we get over this mountain in one piece, the forest thickens on the other side, and it's really green. That's why they call these the Emerald Mountains. We should be able to hunt for something then." Link looked around at the barren, rocky mountainside, and was surprised that the landscape would change so dramatically on the other side.
"It should only be about another thousand feet up," Link observed, looking skyward, "It will probably take about a day to get all the way down to the other side."
"I guess we're sleeping on the ground tonight," Zelda said.
"Too used to grand linen beds and such, Princess?" Dek asked, smiling.
"No," she answered, "I'll be fine tonight, but I can't say the same about you. I kick in my sleep, so don't be surprised if you wake up while falling to your doom." Dek paled as the princess smiled innocently, causing Link to explode in laughter as he lay up against the rocky mountainside next to Zelda.
***
"Get Nabooru!" Alria shouted, "Get moving! Sound the alarm! Hurry!" The guard below the watchtower quickly obeyed the orders as Nabooru came running. The Gerudo climbed the ladder quickly and met Alria at her post.
"Oh…my…" Nabooru said, looking towards the desert. A multitude of figures lined up in military formation could be seen approaching the fortress through the wind tunnel. "How many are there?" she asked the younger Gerudo.
"I've approximated over five-thousand, judging by the width and depth of their formation," Alria answered, "They look like they're ready for a battle."
"If it's a battle they want," Nabooru said, "Then they will see first hand what the Gerudo can do." The alarm sounded at that moment in the form of a high pitched horn. The female warriors suddenly left what they were doing and rushed to the desert gate as Nabooru descended from the platform, Alria with her.
"The enemy approaches from the desert!" the elder Gerudo yelled, "There are five-thousand, at least, against less than one-hundred of us! They may have us outnumbered, but they will not take us without a fight! Archers! Get to your posts! The archers will take out as many as possible before they get through the gate! Prepare for battle!" The Gerudo swordswomen lined up in front of the iron bars as the archers climbed to their respective towers to take aim at the enemy.
"Do not shoot until I give the order!" Nabooru barked as she climbed atop the watchtower nearest the gate once again, "I will see what they want!" She watched as the soldiers approached.
"What is your business here!" she yelled as two figures stepped forward from the rest.
"We are here on special orders from the rulers of Hyrule," one of the two men said, "We are to destroy the Gerudo who have betrayed us. You have been found guilty of hiring a sorcerer to assassinate the great King Harkinian." The Gerudo remained calm despite the false accusations, their harsh training aiding them in hiding their emotions, though some were shocked as they looked to the army and saw that they were indeed Hylians.
"These are false charges!" Nabooru shouted, "I know for a fact that Impa would never turn on the Gerudo. You claim to be Hylian, yet you come from the west, the direction of the Great Sea." The other figure stepped forward.
"It all adds to the element of surprise," he said, "For you would not expect an army to cross through the treacherous desert."
"I don't believe you," the Gerudo said, "I don't know what's going on here, but you are not Hylian."
"Believe what you wish," the man said.
"Attack!" the other man shouted as the army drew their swords.
"Fire!" yelled Nabooru. A split second later, arrows were raining down upon the army from above. The projectiles that were directed towards the leaders, however, were deflected by a magical shield that appeared surrounding the two. They casually walked up to the gate, and the second man leveled a strange staff at the iron bars. The gate was suddenly ripped apart down the middle, and the two halves were pulled from the wall and cast off into the desert sands.
"Don't let them through!" Nabooru ordered as the Gerudo swordswomen attacked. The female warriors became a blur as they swept towards the army, their scimitars flashing and cutting down all who opposed them. The two men continued to walk through the chaos as if it was nothing; the Gerudo's attacks being deflected by the strange shield. The second aimed his staff at the archers atop the massive stone wall and twirled it horizontally. A wave of flame erupted from the crystal atop the staff, and the archers were swept from their posts and fell to the ground. Nabooru saw this and leapt from the watchtower into the battle below, moving swiftly to reach the two men. She reached them quickly and immediately attacked the shield with her twin scimitars. The Gerudo was relentless, and soon the shield began to flicker, much to the men's dismay.
"Get away from that!" one of the men shouted, leveling his staff at the woman. A blast of magic exploded from the tip, but Nabooru skillfully dodged it and continued her barrage, easily avoiding the many balls of energy directed at her.
"Gahmig!" the other men yelled, "Can't you make it stronger?"
"No, my liege!" he answered, scared, "I've used too much power! I need time to recuperate!" Suddenly the shield shattered, leaving the two men basically defenseless against the Gerudo warrior.
"I don't who you are," Nabooru said, advancing, "Or why you're posing as Hylians, but this ends now. Your men are no match for the Gerudo. You will all die." The two men looked to the battle to see that they were losing. The soldiers were falling constantly, no match for the skills of the Gerudo warriors.
"Do something!" one of the men yelled, "This isn't supposed to happen!" The other man, Gahmig he had been called, did not respond as Nabooru advanced farther.
"This ends now," she said as she charged the two men. One of the men fumbled as he attempted to draw his sword, and Gahmig clutched his staff tightly. Before the Gerudo could reach them, however, a black fog enveloped the fighters, blinding the Gerudo warriors completely.
"What's going on?" Nabooru said, no longer able to see the enemy.
"It is Gahoch," one of the men said, "My apprentice has cast this spell to aid us. He is becoming quite powerful to be able to do this. The mist blinds our enemies but leaves us perfectly capable to see. Victory has just slipped through your grasp, thief."
"Gerudo!" Nabooru barked, "They have blinded us, but we can still win! Fight with your remaining senses, and we shall destroy them!"
"Finish them!" the other man yelled. The soldiers attacked fearlessly now, sure that their opponents could not defeat them without the use of their eyes. The Gerudo, however, were trained to rely on more than one sense in battle, and they managed to cut down a large number of the soldiers. Nabooru listened intently to the faintest of sounds, using her hearing to dodge many blows, but she knew her people could not survive much longer. The soldiers were far too many, and the desert warriors would eventually fall. After another twenty minutes of fighting, the number of Gerudo was quickly lessening.
"Gather around me!" she yelled, "Quickly! All Gerudo who are left! Follow my voice!" The few remaining warriors soon found their way to Nabooru's voice as the Gerudo leader began to glow with an orange light.
"We have to leave!" Nabooru shouted sadly, "To run is not the way of the Gerudo, but these people are using cheap tricks to ensure their victory! We may leave now, but we will return and seek revenge on these cowards!" Nabooru called upon her powers as a sage and the Gerudo warriors disappeared in a flash of light.
***
Gahoch nearly collapsed from exhaustion as he finished the spell. The sorcerer had never attempted to create the powerful mist before, and had never planned on sending the fog such a long distance to aid his master.
"We see them!" a soldier shouted, bringing the sorcerer to reality. Gahoch looked up to see the fleeing townspeople in the distance.
"Good, good," he said, "They thought that a simple road block would give them enough time to reach safety. How pathetic. Princess, your time has come."
"Sir," an officer said from next to the sorcerer, "They have nearly reached Hyrule field. We cannot follow them there until King Halberd gives the order."
"Increase the pace!" Gahoch yelled, angered that his prey was escaping him, "Get moving! They will not escape!" The soldiers, although tired from running all day, quickly broke into a run. Gahoch watched as the army closed in on the refugees.
***
"We're not going to make it, Amir!" Hawehn shouted from her place next to the Calatian at the rear of the line. Amir looked back to see the Solatians rapidly approaching.
"Keep going!" he shouted, "Do not stop! We are nearly there! Just hold out a little longer!" He watched as the worn people attempted to move faster, their tired legs nearly numb from the stress.
"I'm going to have to hold them off, Hawehn," Amir said, reaching for his sword.
"No!" the woman cried, "You can't! You barely survived last time!"
"We have no choice," the big man said, "It's either that, or all these people die."
***
"Sir!" a Solatian general yelled, "If we get any closer, we risk being discovered by the Hylians! We must stop!" Gahoch growled in frustration.
"Fine," he said, "Stop the troops. I will finish this myself." The sorcerer suddenly disappeared in a plume of smoke, leaving the general gaping in disbelief.
***
Amir was surprised when the army suddenly stopped their pursuit and fell back.
"We must be too close to Hyrule for them to follow," Hawehn said from beside the man, "They cannot risk being spotted by the Hylians."
"But if we make it to Hyrule, we will alert the leaders to their presence," Amir said, "They would not let us escape this easily."
"You're right," said a voice from above the Calatian. Amir leapt to the side as a man crashed to the ground where he had stood moments before. He recognized the cloaked figure as the sorcerer who had thrown him from the ship. The Calatian drew his sword quickly and prepared to attack.
"I should have know you would survive," Gahoch said, "You've caused me and my master far too much trouble. It will be my pleasure to take your life."
"You are a coward, Solatian," Amir growled, "You use deception and secrecy to win your battles, and you harm innocents. I will not allow you to live any longer."
"You speak bravely," the sorcerer said, "But so did the king before I killed him. You, like him, are no match for me. I will finish you quickly so that I can move on to the princess."
"The princess isn't-" Hawehn started before Amir shot her a look telling her to not reveal anything to the sorcerer. Gahoch suddenly lunged at the Calatian while he was distracted. Amir brought his sword up to block the thrust of the staff before rolling to the side to dodge a lightning attack from the crystal. He leapt towards the sorcerer with his sword raised, but was met by a flash of light and a blast that drained the remainder of the sorcerer's magic power. He found himself flying backwards through the air before he hit the ground roughly. The man looked up to see the jagged crystal atop the staff inches from his throat.
"You will trouble me no more," Gahoch said. Before the sorcerer could deal the killing blow, however, he fell to the ground, unconscious after receiving an unexpected blow to the back of his head. Amir looked and saw Hawehn tightly clutching a dull sword as she looked worriedly upon the Calatian. As Amir got to his feet, the sorcerer disappeared, leaving only a black smoke in his midst.
"Well, I guess we made it," Hawehn said, smiling, as she embraced the man.
***
Malon rode through the marketplace as Epona raced towards the castle. The girl had stopped briefly at the ranch so that she could give Roundhouse a rest, but then had immediately continued on to Castle Town atop Epona. She had ridden hard over the last few days, stopping only to rest at night. Malon knew that Impa needed to be informed of the crisis, and that she was the only one who could tell her. With the fate of Hyrule resting atop her shoulders for the first time, she found something within herself that enabled her to become almost inhuman. She had eaten little, slept little, and made the journey to Hyrule Castle in just one night. Malon was relieved to return to Hyrule and discover that she had arrived in time, as the land remained peaceful for the time being.
Epona came to a stop at the gate barring the road that led to the castle.
"What is your business here?" one of the two guards asked.
"I have urgent news to be told to Impa the Sheikah," Malon said, "It is regarding the assassination."
"I'm sorry," the second guard said, "But nobody is allowed into the castle at this time."
"Tell Impa that Malon wishes to speak with her," the farm girl said, "If she doesn't come, then I will leave." A guard on the opposite side of the gate reluctantly left to deliver the message. Malon dismounted Epona and led the horse to a spot underneath a tree on the dirt road. The girl sat on the ground and leaned back against the tree, waiting to be granted admission to the castle.
The guard arrived back ten minutes later, stating that Impa had ordered him to let the girl in. The gate was promptly opened, and Malon continued down the path on foot, holding Epona's reigns. She soon came to the entrance to the castle and the drawbridge was lowered shortly.
"I'll take your horse to the stables," a guard at the door said. Malon nodded and handed the reigns to the man before entering the castle.
"Follow me, please," a guard said, walking off. The girl followed, amazed at the decoration of the massive castle. Stained glass windows filtered the sunlight through into the main hallway in various glittering colors. Enormous pictures of the Hylian Kings of Old hung throughout the hall and the stone walls seemed to shine with their own light. After being led through the many castle corridors and up a few flights of stairs, Malon found herself before a large wooden door.
"This is the Hyrule Castle war room," the guard said, "Lady Impa is inside waiting." The guard opened the door and Malon nervously entered before she heard the door being shut behind her.
"Welcome, Malon," Impa said, rising from her seat at the table, "This is General Kard." She gestured to the man at her right as Malon bowed politely. "What news have you?"
"I just came from Rok," Malon started, "They were attacked by the Solatians. The soldiers were slaughtering the townspeople as Link, Princess Zelda, Amir, and I arrived. The town was burning, and Link told me to return to Hyrule and warn you-"
"What happened to the princess?" Impa asked, interrupting, "Is she okay?"
"Yes," the girl said, "Before I left, Link led Princess Zelda away from the Solatians. I think that they were going to try to reach Calatia by going over the mountains to the south of Rok."
"The Emerald Mountains," Kard said, receiving a confused look from Malon, "That is the name of the mountain range. So the Solatians have already started the invasion?"
"Yes," Malon said, "I was sent here to warn you of a strange magic they are using to disguise the entire army. The sorcerer is creating a veil that covers the Solatians and makes them appear as Hylians."
"So they have become even more cowardly," Kard sneered.
"If they have already attacked villages outside Hyrule," Impa started, "Then the people will turn against the kingdom. They will think that the soldiers were sent by Hyrule to destroy them. We could end up with a rebellion on our hands."
"Can we counter the effects of this magic?" Kard asked, "My men cannot fight the enemy if the Solatians look like ourselves."
"Send for Sahrashala," Impa said, "He may be able to counter the spell." Kard left the room as Impa looked to Malon once more.
"You are free to return home, Malon," she said, "When this is all over, you will be honored for your act of bravery in completing your task. Good job." Malon bowed, awestruck, before leaving the room and returning to the ranch atop Epona.
***
"What were you thinking, Nabooru!" a Gerudo yelled, "Gerudos never flee from any battle! You robbed us of an honorable death!"
"How dare you!" another said.
Alria watched in horror as the few remaining Gerudos rebelled against their leader. The battle had resulted in the deaths of more than half of the female warriors. A mere forty-two had been alive after the ordeal, and many had been wounded badly. The surviving Gerudo had opened their eyes to discover that they had been transported to an old Gerudo cave in a remote area of the canyon. The cave had once been used by a Gerudo spy team sent to observe the Hylians in Castle Town long ago when distrust was at its greatest between the Gerudo and the Hylians. The two races had recently come to terms, though Alria worried that the friendship would regress after the recent battle. Nabooru firmly believed that the soldiers were not truly Hylian, and Alria thought the same, though the others held different opinions.
"I had to do it!" Nabooru argued, "If we live, then we can fight them again and avenge our sisters who perished! And we can warn the Hylians that something is amiss."
"The Hylians were the cause of this!" a Gerudo shouted violently.
"They killed us and claimed our fortress!" another warrior yelled.
"We must seek revenge!" a large Gerudo boomed as the warriors, bar Nabooru, Alria, and a few others, cheered. The abnormally muscular Gerudo approached Nabooru.
"I, Obaru, will lead our people if you are unwilling," she said, "We wish to destroy the Hylians after they betrayed us! We will not let the traitors live!" The Gerudo cheered once again.
"We must not do this!" Nabooru argued, "It will only result in more death. I must go to Impa who is currently leading the Hylians and talk this over with her."
"Your time as ruler is hereby ended," Obaru said, "All who wish for Nabooru to be cast down, speak now."
Each warrior, besides Nabooru and Alria, eventually stated their agreement with this choice, though some were a bit reluctant.
"Alria?" Obaru asked expectantly. Alria shook her head, refusing to participate in the act. Obaru looked shocked. Alria had been her student as a child, and the elder Gerudo had come to love the younger much as a mother would her child.
"You will not speak?" she said in disbelief.
"This is a foolish act," Alria stated boldly, "Stop this madness. Nabooru has led our people since Ganondorf's absence, and we have become prosperous under her leadership. You must not do this."
"Ganondorf was a far greater leader than this failure could ever hope to be," Obaru said angrily, pointing to Nabooru, "And if you do not agree with our decision, then I am afraid certain steps must be taken. I am sorry, Alria. As the new leader of the Gerudo, I hereby cast you from our ranks. You are no longer Gerudo." Alria stood with a look of horror etched on her face. Of all the punishments of the Gerudo, excommunication was the harshest and most difficult to endure.
"Nabooru," Obaru said, "You will remain our prisoner for the time being. Maybe you will come to see that our way is right."
Alria slowly left the cave and descended the steep canyon wall using the large ladder. She could not believe what had just happened. The Gerudo hoped that she was dreaming. All that she had worked for in the eighteen years of her life was gone. Her life had been forfeit. She refused to let the tears come; refused to collapse in a heap of despair, refused to sink to a level lower than any Gerudo had fallen to before. But, as she left her sisters behind and the light of the sun turned to darkness, she wept. She fell to her knees on the rocky canyon floor, and cried until sleep overtook her.