Disclaimer:
The Legend of Zelda is property of Nintendo.
Author's Notes:
I'm going to keep the author's notes short this time and basically get right to the story. It's not like you all look forward to reading the author's notes or anything. And I may have an email address up in the near future.
Anyways, thanks for all the reviews, and I really hope you enjoy this chapter. It's one of my favorites, and there's a lot of action. Have fun and PLEASE REVIEW!
The Legend of Zelda: The War of Power
Chapter 13: So It Begins
"Wake up!" Dek yelled into Link's ear.
"Ah!" the boy said as his eyes flew open, "What was that for?"
"I don't know," the high elf said, smiling, "It seemed like a good idea."
"What's going on?" Zelda murmured from next to Link, "Couldn't you guys be a little more quiet?"
"Nope," Dek said cheerfully, "The sun's been up for an hour already. I would've let you wake up by yourselves, but you two were sleeping pretty good and it didn't seem like you were getting up any time soon. Comfortable, Link?" Dek smiled as Link sat with a confused look on his face. Only then did he notice that Zelda's head had been resting on his shoulder the entire night.
"Um," he stammered, standing up. Dek laughed.
"You two are funny," he said, "Anyways, I found a little bit of food in my pack, but I used up all my water before I ran into you. It's not much, but it should give us enough strength to get over the mountain." Dek handed Link and Zelda each a small piece of flattened bread.
"This is it?" Link asked, looking at the bread that was about the size of his open palm.
"Yeah," Dek answered, "That's all I have. It doesn't have much flavor, but it's a special Elven bread that will give you plenty of energy. It's basically the equivalent of a full size meal but in a smaller package."
"And without any taste," Link said as he bit into the bread. As he finished the small meal, he immediately felt his strength return to him after being drained by the long hike of the previous day.
"Wow," Zelda said as she too finished her bread, "That's useful."
"Yep," Dek said, "But you have no idea how sick of this stuff I am. I've been eating it for the past six months. I could really use some meat."
"Well, let's get going," Link said, "Is there a stream or something on the other side?"
"I think so," Dek answered, shouldering his pack before the three started up the mountain once again.
***
"The Gerudos have already been attacked?" Impa asked the shaking carpenter.
"Yes, ma'am," he answered nervously, "Me and my men were working on repairing the bridge over that canyon when we heard a lot of shouting going on. We crept in until we were almost in that big fortress there. Then we saw those ladies being attacked by a bunch of soldiers. We didn't know what to do, so we left and I came to tell you."
"Is there anything else?" Kard asked the man.
"Nope," he responded, "That's it."
"Then you may leave," the general said. The carpenter hastily exited the room as Kard turned back to Impa.
"The Gerudo may rebel," he said, "Unless Nabooru can convince them that those weren't really Hylians, the ties that our forefathers established with the Gerudo may break."
"Nabooru has told me that many of her people have been waiting for a reason to go to war with the Hylians," Impa said, "It seems like they may have their excuse now. Nabooru will probably be cast down as a leader by the faction of Gerudos that still hail Ganondorf as their king."
"Should we attempt to contact the Gerudo?" Kard asked.
"No," the Sheikah said, "The Solatians have most likely taken the fortress."
"The attack will come sooner than we had thought," Kard said, "They probably already surrounded us."
"Send for the Goron and Zoran leaders," Impa said, "It looks like we have a war on our hands."
***
"Whoa," Zelda said, nearly speechless as the three companions gazed out over the landscape from atop the mountain. The princess could see the village of Rok far below, and even the massive expanse of Hyrule Field in the distance. The Great Sea was directly to the west, and south lay the majestic Emerald Mountains.
"This is amazing," Link said, awestruck.
"Yeah, it's quite a view," Dek said, turning around, "I've seen stuff like this before, though, so I'm not that thrilled. We better get going."
"Living in the castle your whole life doesn't let you see anything like this," Zelda said, still amazed.
"If you two are done daydreaming, we can get going," Dek said impatiently.
"Alright, calm down," Link said, before turning to Zelda, "Come on. Dek over here's going to have a fit if we don't get moving."
"Hold on," Dek said, looking to the south, "Lay on the ground, but slowly."
"What are you talking about?" Link asked.
"Shut up and listen to me," the high elf snapped, "There's something coming." Link opened his mouth to argue, but Zelda grabbed his hand and pulled him down to the ground with her. The two lay flat on their stomachs as Dek quickly did the same. Link and Zelda gasped as they saw what the elf had been staring at. A cloud of strange creatures was quickly approaching the three travelers.
"What are those things?" Link whispered.
"Kawelts," Dek answered, "They're a type of small dragon. We may have to fight if they come this way. They're extremely hostile, and we're out in the open up here. There's nowhere to hide."
"We have to fight that many dragons?" Zelda said skeptically, "That doesn't sound good."
"Get ready," Dek said, rising to a kneeling position and removing his bow from his back before fitting an arrow to the string, all in one fluid movement, "They're coming straight at us." The elf took aim as the creatures came closer.
"Dek," Zelda said, "Give me your sword." The elf quickly obliged, tossing the blade to Zelda who caught it with ease. Link drew his longsword as the three waited for the attack to come.
"They can't spew flames," Dek said as the threat came nearer, "But their scales are tough. Aim for the underside where their armor is weakest. If we can't beat these things, make a break for it. If we get split up, we meet at the base of the mountain." Link and Zelda nodded as the creatures came within earshot. The sound of the creature's screeching pierced the three's sensitive ears. Link could now see the dragons individually. There were at least thirty of them and each one was approximately the size of an average person. They were pitch black in color, and two large leathery wings jutted from their sides. The creatures had no front legs, and Link assumed that they must spend most of their time in the air. Their head was attached with a long neck, and rows of deadly teeth lined their jaws. A huge claw emerged from the toe of each foot, and their long tails ended in a curved blade. Dek wasted no time in felling two of the creatures with his well aimed arrows, and the elf immediately reloaded his bow and fired again. The projectile lodged itself in a dragon's side, but the Kawelt kept flying.
"You going to be okay, Zelda?" Link asked, tightly gripping his sword. Zelda nodded. Suddenly, the dragons were upon the three and Link and Zelda leapt into battle amid the flurry of claws and teeth.
***
"King Darunia and General Mahalda of the Gorons," Impa said, bowing, "Princess Ruto and General Mikau of the Zora, and Sahrashala the wizard. I welcome all of you here."
"The Solatians have begun the war earlier than we had expected," General Kard said, stepping in, "They have taken the village of Rok just outside Hyrule as well as the Gerudo Fortress. Their army has most likely surrounded us. They are waiting for the order to invade."
"There is another problem," Impa said, "The Solatian sorcerer Gahmig is using magic to disguise the troops as Hylians. Sahrashala, we were hoping you could counter that."
"I should be able to," the old wizard said, "I will have to look over some books. I will let you know when I have found something." He left the room quickly.
"Where is the enemy coming from?" Mahalda asked. The general was an especially large Goron, towering over even Darunia, and his body was covered with the many scars of battle. His knowledge of battle tactics was unrivaled by all bar Kard and General Mikau, and he had led the Gorons to many victories in the past.
"We know they have taken the southern borders of our land," Kard said, laying out a map of Ahras, "We are assuming the Gerudo fortress is taken to the west. To the east, they will most likely enter Hyrule through the charred remnants of the Lost Woods. They will not expect any opposition there. Assuming that they enter through these points, they would have Castle Town surrounded. To prevent this, the Gorons will guard the eastern perimeter of our land. The Zora will protect the southern borders near Lake Hylia, and my men will be stationed to the west and near the city."
"Do we know the size of the Solatian army?" Mikau asked.
"No," the Hylian general said, "They may greatly outnumber us, so be prepared for a hard battle. King Halberd may have also enlisted other countries to his aid."
"What about Calatia?" Ruto said, "Will they help us?"
"We have sent a messenger to Calatia to ask for their assistance in this war," Impa answered, "But it may take a good deal of time before we receive any support."
"Prepare your troops," Kard said, "We do not know when this attack will come, so I advise you to be ready at all times. We will wait for the Solatians to make the first move. The war has nearly begun."
***
Link barely dodged to his left as the deadly jaws of the dragon shot past him. Wasting no time, the boy slashed at the beast as it flew past, severing its deadly tail. The Kawelt screamed in pain and charged toward the boy madly. Link attacked the dragon and sword met scales as the beast's head was loped off.
"We can't keep this up for long!" Link shouted to his comrades, "We've barely made a dent in their numbers, and we've been at this for a while!"
"We really don't have much of a choice!" Dek yelled back, "They would pick us off easily if we ran. There's too many!"
Link stabbed his sword down a dragon's throat as it opened its mouth to severe the boy's head. Dek fit two arrows onto his bowstring and felled a dragon as it charged towards Link from behind.
"Thanks!" the boy said, "But that one should have been mine!"
"Whatever!" Dek laughed as he leapt out of the path of a dragon.
"If you two would stop talking!" Zelda yelled, "Then maybe we could get this done faster!" The princess leapt above a Kawelt as it charged her, cutting a gash in its back with Dek's short sword as she did so. Zelda paused to study the battle. Roughly a third of the dragons had been slain, leaving many more still. The creatures seemed to attack in a pattern, Zelda noticed. They would swoop down from above to attack before flying back up quickly to escape danger.
"They're trying to wear us down!" Dek yelled as the two Hylians realized the same thing, "These things are way too smart!"
"I'll stun them!" Zelda shouted amid the screeching, "Then take out as many as you can." Zelda concentrated before spreading her arms outwards. A bluish light poured forth from her body and there was an explosion of magical power. The dragons were hit by the blast and began plummeting to the ground. Dek slay many with his well place arrows, while Link and Zelda picked them off as they fell. The remaining creatures that were not affected by the blast were easily killed as they flew in to attack their prey. Soon, the dragons had been destroyed and Link, Zelda, and Dek stood atop the mountain, panting.
"That was some attack, Princess," Dek said between breaths, "You've gotten better at that magic of yours."
"I didn't even know you could fight like that," Link said accusingly. Zelda looked down to the ground.
"Um, yeah," she said, "Sorry about that."
"It's fine," Link said, "Good job, by the way."
"Yeah, it looks like you're keeping that sword for the time being," Dek said, "Until you can get a better one. There's a village in these mountains that we can stop at to pick up some supplies. You two did bring money, right?"
"Some," Link said, "There was just enough for the cost of a ship to take us to Calatia. I think it added up to about four-thousand rupees. That should be enough to buy food." Zelda suddenly tripped and fell to the ground as Link rushed over.
"What's wrong?" Link asked, concerned.
"Nothing," the princess answered, "I'm just tired after using that much magic during a long fight. I'm not used to the strain."
Link smiled as he supported Zelda and the three began the walk down the mountain.
***
"Dad!" Malon shouted as she entered the house, "I'm home!" She quickly heard a crash coming from upstairs and Talon came stumbling out of his room. He rushed down the stairs and grabbed his daughter in a fierce hug.
"Malon!" he cried, "I thought you were gone forever! There's been talk of war in the village, and I heard someone say Rok had been burned! I was so worried about you!"
"It's okay, Daddy," the girl said, hugging her father, "I made it back."
"Are you hungry?" Talon asked, concerned, "I bet you haven't eaten in a good while."
"I guess food would be nice," Malon said, breaking the hug, "You should probably get some sleep, Dad."
"You're not gonna run off on me, are you?" he asked, smiling.
"No," the girl said, "I'm staying right here."
***
"We must attack immediately, my lord," Gahmig said, "While Hyrule is still ill-prepared."
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Halberd said, leaning back in a large Gerudo chair, "Though I was just getting used to having control of this fortress."
"I'll get our men ready and then give the signal," Gahmig said as he left the room.
"Incompetent fool," the sorcerer thought as he strode through the corridors of the fortress, "He is utterly unfit to lead this war. I grow tired of manipulating him." Gahmig emerged onto a large balcony overlooking the fortress.
"Solatians!" he yelled, "Ready yourselves! The time for attack has come! You have five minutes to prepare before the invasion begins! Get moving!" The sorcerer watched as the men began running back and forth, attempting to line up in military formation as quick as possible.
"These people are no warriors," Gahmig though, "But we outnumber the Hylians greatly, even these failures should be able to complete this task." The sorcerer waited until the men finally got into formation before pointing his staff to the sky. From the tip of the crystal exploded a massive ball of purple light. The sphere flew high into the sky and exploded in an enormous flash that encompassed the land of Hyrule.
***
"Look," Dek said, pointing north towards Hyrule. Link and Zelda turned as there was a brilliant explosion of light that illuminated the night sky.
"It's time," Zelda said, still gazing at the light, "The war has begun."
***
Malon rushed to the door of the ranch house and opened it slowly, peering into the darkness. She beheld a shivering figure standing in the cold beneath the heavily falling rain.
"Come in," Malon said, gesturing to the interior of the house. The person slowly entered the room as the girl shut the door quickly to keep out the water. Malon turned and realized that her guest was Gerudo. The warrior wore the customary attire of the desert thieves; the white, baggy pants and small top, and had the naturally tanned skin of the Gerudo. She had long hair tied back behind her head, but her hair was black in color, quite different from the usual bright red hair of the desert people. Malon also noticed that the girl had a much smaller nose than the traditionally large ones that the Gerudo were known for, and she thought that this girl must be considered very beautiful among her people.
"What brings you here?" the farm girl asked, curious.
"I was in need of shelter," the Gerudo answered, "I am unused to the cold climate of this land."
"Why'd you leave the desert?" Malon inquired as her guest briefly winced, as if the memory pained her.
"I was cast down from the Gerudo society," she answered sadly, "I had nowhere to go, and I saw your ranch so I came here when the rain started. I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but I didn't plan on freezing to death."
"No, no," Malon said, "It's fine. You can stay here as long as you like, though you might not like our food. What do you people eat in the desert, anyway?"
"Unlucky travelers," the older girl said with a straight voice. Malon's face immediately contorted into a look of horror until the Gerudo began laughing.
"Kidding," she said, "My name's Alria by the way, nice to meet you. Thanks for your hospitality."
"You're welcome," the farm girl said, smiling, "I'm Malon. My father, Talon, is upstairs sleeping, and you'll probably meet him later. You'll meet Ingo, too; he's the ranch hand. He acts tough, but he's actually quite nice on the inside. Kind of like a Gerudo." The two girls laughed as Malon led Alria to a small table.
"I'll get you some soup," Malon said as she began to walk away. She stopped, however, when she noticed a bright flash of light streaming in through the small windows of the house. The two ran outside and watched as an orb of purple light expanded in the night sky, passing over the ranch as it spread.
***
"This can't happen yet!" Impa yelled as she turned away from the light, "Our troops aren't anywhere close to ready!" Kard quickly ran to sound the alarm and the sound of blaring trumpets could be heard throughout Castle Town shortly after. The Hylian soldiers quickly gathered at the base of the castle.
"War is upon us!" General Kard yelled from in front of the men, "We leave tonight! We will force the Solatians out of our lands!" The army erupted into cheers as they marched out of the city to meet the oncoming threat.
***
"Where is Sahrashala?" Impa said angrily to herself as the soldiers left.
"Calm down," a voice said from behind her, "I'm right here."
"Did you find a counter spell?" the Sheikah asked the white-bearded man.
"Yes, yes, I did," he said, "It took quite a while, though. And I need to be as close as possible to that sorcerer to use it."
"That can be arranged," Impa said, "Let's go."
***
"Finally!" Gahoch shouted, "The conquering of Hyrule has begun!" The soldiers yelled as they charged towards the land of the Hylians.
***
"Hurry!" Amir boomed as the bright light extinguished itself, "We must make it to Castle Town! The invasion has begun! We will be slaughtered if we do not get out of the open!" The Calatian tried to pick out the castle amid the darkness and the rain.
"The city is still a good distance away," Hawehn said sadly, "We'll never make it, and there's nowhere else to go. I think this may be the end." Even as she said this, Amir turned and saw the Solatian army approaching rapidly from the south.
"The people are too tired to run," Cletts said, "We have no chance of escaping those soldiers."
"All this will be for nothing if we stop now," Amir said, "Keep going! It can't be much farther! Don't give up!" The villagers attempted to keep moving, but they soon grew too weary to continue. The people lost all hope as they heard the victorious yells of the army behind them.
"We're caught right in the middle of all this," Hawehn said sadly, "We're all going to die." Amir looked around, not wanting to believe the woman's words. The soldiers were quickly approaching and would be upon the villagers in a matter of minutes. The people were in a panicked frenzy, those who could still run dashing off in many directions.
"Amir," Cletts said as he dismounted his horse, "Get my daughter out of here. She does not deserve this." The man smiled before turning to his people. "Let the young ones go!" he yelled, "Us elders will stay and give them a chance to escape and live their lives! Get the youngest on horses, and get out of here!" The older inhabitants of the village rallied behind Cletts after saying their goodbyes to their children and grandchildren.
"No!" Hawehn cried, "Daddy! You must not go!" Cletts smiled and hugged his daughter.
"Listen to me," he said softly, "You must flee. Go with Amir. He will take care of you. I love you, Hawehn. Goodbye." He kissed his daughter's forehead as arrows flew past their heads. Amir quickly pulled Hawehn up onto Cletts' horse and they shot off into the distance, Hawehn crying uncontrollably.
The remaining villagers screamed in pain as they were brutally slaughtered beneath the moonlight.
***
At the insistence of Hawehn, Amir directed the horse to Lon-Lon Ranch. The Calatian passed through the large gates and ran to the door of the house before knocking furiously. The door was opened by Talon shortly and Amir and Hawehn were quickly let inside.
"We have to get out of here," the Calatian said, "The Solatian army approaches. You are not safe."
"We're already packing," Talon said sadly as he stuffed a few belongings into a bag, "Alria here saw that big light and told us we needed to leave. I was doubtful, but I guess I have proof now." Amir watched as Malon and the Gerudo who he assumed was Alria finished packing their sacks.
"I wish we could take the animals," Malon said sadly, "But I guess we have no choice. Ingo should have the horses ready by now." The group ran out of the house and into the rain to see the ranch hand leading four horses out of the stables. Malon quickly mounted Epona as Talon and Ingo sat upon their horses. Alria mounted a horse as well before turning to Malon.
"That's a beautiful horse," she said, indicating Epona, "I haven't seen one like that in the eighteen years I lived at the fortress."
"Thanks," Malon said as Epona neighed happily, "I'm not really sure where we got her from, but she's been my friend for as long as I can remember."
"Alright," Amir said as he and Hawehn mounted their horse, "We should be a good deal ahead of the troops approaching from the south, but the Solatians are probably invading from all sides. We need to make it to Castle Town as quickly as possible."
"Let's go," Malon said sadly as the riders flew out of the ranch and she looked upon her home for the last time.
***
"Don't let them through!" Mahalda yelled as the Gorons fought against the Solatian army that had come pouring down from Death Mountain just a half hour before. Mahalda rushed the army, swinging his war hammer into the nearest group of enemies. He ignored the feel of swords slashing at his sides as the Gorons fought back wave after wave of Solatian forces. The general briefly wondered at the fact that the soldiers had scaled the enormous mountain without alerting the Gorons to their presence.
Mahalda made his way to Darunia amidst the chaos of the battle. "There's a lot of them," the Goron king said, "But we should be able to prevent them from reaching Kakariko." The Gorons continued to crush the enemy forces with their superior strength, and victory soon seemed within their grasp. It was then, however, that Mahalda realized something was amiss.
"Something isn't right," he told Darunia, "This is too easy. We should back our people out of here. This seems like a trap." At that moment, the two Gorons saw a soldier running towards the battle lifting an enormous torch above his head. Mahalda then noticed a single bomb fuse jutting up from beneath the ground. The soldier had nearly reached the fuse.
"They planted bombs underground!" he yelled, "Fall back! Fall back!" His words came too late, however, as the fire ignited the bomb and set off a chain reaction. Mahalda felt the ground dissolve beneath him as the hundreds of powerful bombs exploded simultaneously. The heat from the blast was tremendous and the Gorons were catapulted through the air in a shower of rock and ashes. The Goron general hit the ground and knew no more.