It's nearly been a year since this was updated, far too long to leave a story in the same condition unfinished. So I'd like to start out by apologizing to those of you out there who read the first two chapters and expected more. There weren't very many of you, I know, but those of you that there were, I let you down. I realize now that it was mistake to start this when I have so many other things to work on. To a more prolific author, there wouldn't be a problem but I'm unable to differentiate between a promising idea for a story and a promising story for me to write. All that said, here is chapter three, incomplete and imperfect. I've been sitting on it for a while because it never felt right and it still doesn't, but after that I'll outline where I wanted to go with this story from the various notes I already have. I still feel like it's a good idea for a story, now I realize I just can't do it. I will, however, try to show you what I was planning on doing. And even though the rest isn't technically a story, I would appreciate feedback on what it could have been.
Five Weeks LaterNorthern Canyons
"Oh shit…"
The expletive escaped Doran Greylock's lips almost as soon as he regained consciousness but had any other person been in his situation, he was sure they would have done much the same. He awoke disoriented, lying on his side in a world of darkness and confusion. His head throbbed with a dull pain and every inch of his body poured with sweat, such was the intense, dry heat. The earth beneath him was almost scalding to the touch but that was the least of his problems. Where was he? He opened his eyes and for a brief moment he thought he'd been struck blind. The next moment he attempted to stand up and thought himself an invalid. But slowly, reason filled his mind once again and he realized that he was merely blindfolded and bound, rather than sightless and crippled. Quickly, other questions began to circulate among his thoughts, jostling for position to grab his attention. What was going on? Why was he tied up? Who had done this to him? However, the question that actually grabbed his attention at that moment was "what was that sharp object jabbing into his back?"
"So I see you're awake, finally," someone said in a gruff voice, "I've been waiting on you, boy. Thought you'd sleep all day."
Doran cocked his ear toward the sound and suddenly became frightened.
"Wh-who are you?" Doran asked, "what do you want?"
He heard footsteps coming toward him and tried to crawl away, but ended up forcing the unknown object further into his flesh. As it punctured the skin, the man grabbed Doran by his hair roughly and dragged him away from it.
"Don't do that. I didn't track you for three weeks just to see you kill yourself before I could get what I wanted out of you."
Suddenly, Doran realized that he was nude and the worst thoughts his imagination could come up with began to run in front of his eyes. Apparently, the fear must have shown on his face because the man gave a short, bitter chuckle.
"No, boy, nothing like that. I just need you to answer a few questions and we'll be done here. How does that sound to you?"
Doran was baffled.
"Uh, sure, that sounds fine. But why go through the trouble of all this?" he asked, his head finally clearing and his memory of last night beginning to come back to him.
He lies down in the middle of filthy straw and animal feces as he tries to go to sleep. The disgusting odor of animals is all around him, smothering him, but that's not what's keeping him awake. Needles are sticking into him everywhere, attacking his flesh, but that's not what's keeping him awake. He's trying, so very hard to fall asleep, but he can't. It's not just the uncomfortable surroundings or the fact that he has just committed treason by means of desertion; it's what he's seen and what he knows. It's the images that he witnessed first hand and the screams that begged him for help that he ignored. It's not what he did that haunts him, it's what he didn't do. No man can forget such things, he thinks to himself, no one can just leave that behind himself forever.
It is last night, and Doran Greylock cannot sleep. It is night and he is all alone in the stable, all alone in the world. He has run out of rupees and things of value to sell and no innkeeper has the mercy to let him in. He has snuck into a stable and stolen as many oats as his rotting teeth can chew, and as much of the pig slop as his stomach will allow. He is cold and thirsty; he must be the most miserable wretch on the face of Hyrule.
He stands up and stretches, realizing that he'll not get any sleep this night, either. It has been four days since slumber has overtaken him, and even then nightmares prevailed over reveries. Yet in dreams the images are less distinct, and he welcomes nightmares to the lifemare his existence has become.
It is last night and the clouds cover the moon, hiding its sacred light from view. Doran looks through the window and can see but the faintest of outlines as the moon tries its best to break free. He can see almost nothing, but suddenly he hears the horses in the stable begin to whinny in fright. He turns to go investigate and when he comes upon one of the equine creatures, he pats it on the head and shushes it, calming the beast. Though he is alone in the world, the only consolation Doran has found in these past weeks is among the animals. Hylianity has shunned him at every turn. Rightfully so, he admits. Rightfully so.
But then the moon does find a break in the clouds and he is enveloped in the soothing glow. It pleases him for some unknown reason, but he tries to just accept it and enjoy the moment while it lasts. He hears the sound of footsteps behind him, but before he can turn to discover what it is, something heavy is brought down on his head and he descends into darkness once more.
"So that was you that hit me on the head, wasn't it?" Doran realized as the man took off the blindfold. Blinking, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the bright sun. As he looked down, he finally saw that the object jabbing him had been nothing more than a jagged rock. But then there were rocks all over, scattered about the ground, sharp as any spear. Looking up at the steep walls that were on either side of him, he saw he was in a canyon, still in the North he assumed, but not in a place he recognized or had ever been before. It was hot and barren, but the walls were too steep to see Death Mountain rising above and thus he couldn't find his bearings.
As he looked back in front of him, Doran finally saw his fearsome captor. Standing before him, however, was something different than what he'd imagined. The voice had been husky and rough, but instead of the hulking, snarling scoundrel he'd expected, he saw an ordinary, albeit over-the-hill, man of average height and built. At first glance, the man could have been Doran's own father. He had a neutral expression on his face that was impenetrable, but the eyes held something in them Doran didn't want to look at for very long. Doran averted his own eyes from the man's stare and studied the rest of him closer, trying to figure out what kind of a man he was in the power of. The wrinkles and tanned skin showed he was a man used to working under the sun, and the hands were gnarled and calloused from hard labor. Large veins ran along his exposed forearms and while the man had obviously lost some of his youthful vigor, he by no means looked like a pushover. He was a man who was no stranger to hard work, and looked like one who had devoted his entire life to the pursuit of a singular goal, one that was never finished. A farmer. The man definitely looked like a farmer if he was anything, but he wore a heavy breastplate over a worn out scarlet shirt and had a pair of thick leather pants on to cover his legs. It all looked to be standard military issue, even though they were of an antiquated design and indeed, the breastplate had the insignia of a former King of Hyrule. A veteran, as well. Doran saw the man was carrying no weapons but when he looked a short distance away, he saw the man's armaments: a simple shield and a beautiful sword leaning up against the cliff wall.
"Yeah, I gave you that bump on your skull," the man finally responded, jerking Doran's attention back to him, "But believe me, in a few minutes, you won't even be giving that a second thought."
The man turned and walked over to a plain wooden board. He bent over picked it up off the ground. As the man walked closer, Doran saw that one end had a set of long nails crudely and crookedly driven through it.
"I'm gonna' tell you what I know about you, right off," the man began, "I know you're a soldier in the Hyrulian military and I know that a little over five weeks ago, you, along with the eleven others people, went into the Kokiri Forest. While there, you raped, tortured, and Excruciated as many of the fairy children as you could find. I know this, because I saw it happen. I know that one person –you- deserted your squad and eventually fled to the North while the other eleven men left the forest a few days later and continued… elsewhere. I know that once in the North, you wandered around from town to town until you spent all of your rupees and had to pawn your horse and what little equipment you hadn't already discarded. Finally, I know that you've took up the habit of sneaking into stables and sleeping in them."
He paused and looked Doran in the eyes with an expression so cold, Doran found it difficult to draw breath into his lungs.
"But the thing of it is, I didn't come here because of what I know. I came here because of what I don't know. I came here because of what you know, and the things you're going to tell me. The things you're going to tell me for your sake."
"Please, sir, Doran pleaded earnestly, "I had nothing to do with that. I didn't even touch those kids. I didn't do anything-"
"Yeah, you're right," the man admitted, "You didn't do anything to hurt them and that says a lot about you, boy, it really does. But you didn't do anything to stop the others, and that says a lot, too. You may think you did nothing wrong, but the fact of the matter is that you didn't do anything right, and there's a big difference between the two. Inaction certainly isn't the greatest of sins, but it's by far the most common."
"By the Goddesses, I'm sorry," Doran said as genuine tears began to fall down his cheeks, "I swear if I could go back I'd stop them. I'd try to-"
"Hush," the man commanded with gentle force. "Son, there's a lot of things in life we wish we could go back and change, but unfortunately we can't. We just have to deal with the consequences of our actions. This isn't punishment, understand? This is just consequences. You tried to run away from them, but now that they, and I, have caught up with you, you're going to have to deal with them." He patted the board against the palm of his hand. "You're really not a bad kid. I don't think you wanted what happened to happen and it's a shame that you got caught up in all of this but it's a lie to say that you're not just as responsible for it as the others. You were there and you are guilty of their sins because of your cowardice, if not your deeds. I'm against lying and I won't do it to you now. The fact of the matter is that you aren't going to get out of here alive. I will kill you today, and you have to understand that before we go any further. However, I also need you to understand that the manner of your death and the length of it depend solely on you. I'm going to ask you those questions that I need answers to. Tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth and you'll be all right. Deviate from this in any way, and I'll let you know it," he said, patting the flat end, "but if you lie to me, boy, if you try to tell me a falsehood you'll meet this end," he said as he pointed to the rusty nails. "This is a simple system and if you accept your fate like the man you should have been that day, you might redeem yourself and die with little pain."
"Oh for the love of Din, don't do this," Doran begged frantically, "Please, I don't deserve this!"
Without warning or a change of expression, the man suddenly swung the board and the soldier felt the nails bite into his shoulder like a viper's fangs.
"Aaaaah!" the soldier screamed out in pain as his shoulder burst into hot fire. The man had no reaction to the Doran's pain, but left the nails in the soldier's flesh for several seconds before he stuck his foot on Doran's chest and pulled it out. Unfortunately, as the nails had not been put through the board straight, when they were pulled back out, chunks of flesh and blood came with it forming a wound as large as a man's fist. Doran fell over and wriggled on the ground in pain, wailing and weeping to express his agony. He cursed, he prayed. He called to the Goddesses, then to whoever might be in hearing distance, and to the man himself, but it did no good.
"That was a lie, boy," the man told Doran even as he did nothing to help, "Those children didn't deserve what happened to them, but you deserve everything you're going to get today and worse. But go ahead and holler. Get it all out. There's no one around her to hear you and we've got a long day ahead of us."
Later that day
Doran raised his bloody head and stared out of his remaining eye, weakly. A nail had caught the edge of the other several hours ago and what was left of it was swelling painfully. The board came down again, knocking him over. He spat out a few more bloody molars before getting jerked upright again by his torn scalp.
"I'm going to keep asking you until you give me the right answer. Where did the others go?"
Doran's thoughts were dulled by pain, but he managed to use his torn lips to speak.
"Ah dun-dun-dun't know," he slurred. Long ago his teeth had snapped shut and bitten through the end of his tongue. He could no longer remember if he'd swallowed it or been able to spit it out.
The man let go of him, and Doran fell on his face, smearing some more blood on the dirt. It ran out of his mouth over his lips and out the slash in his cheek. His hair was slicked wet from the multiple gashes in his head. His face, chest, and back were covered with dark purple bruises. A pain under his ribs made him think -made him hope- that one of his organs had ruptured and that he'd be dead soon, internal bleeding or maybe even shock. The man had recently brought an iron into their "situation," out of necessity. He let one end rest in a campfire then used it to cauterize any outer wound serious enough that he thought Doran might bleed to death out of. There was no hope of relief any more, only a lifetime of pain that would not cease, that would never cease. But for a moment, Doran could lie there and perhaps drift away into nothingness…
Fire erupted in the back of his thigh, spreading from the back of his knee up to his buttocks. He screamed as loudly as his parched voice would allow, before passing out from the pain. In what seemed the next instant, he was awakened not by a feeling, but by the smell of his own burning flesh.
He had his own personal daemon. Doran knew he was doomed to hell, but now he welcomed it. Perhaps there his crimes would not be considered so dreadful that they would warrant such special attention. If he was lucky perhaps his tormentor would have three or four other assignments to steal its attention, now and again.
His daemon pulled itself down close beside him.
"Where can I find them?" the voice whispered in his ear.
"Ah dun-"
"You do know. You know who they are and you know where they'll go. I tracked them south to Vyrnse City before I lost them. They aren't in the city and they didn't go back to Hyrule. They can't go back without their prize. They had to go somewhere to look for it. If you aren't like the rest, why are you protecting them? Why are you still lying to me?"
Doran hadn't thought he was holding anything back before. Throughout it all he'd tried to tell the truth, but it hadn't been enough. The man had forced him to repeat his answers over and over and every time he slipped up, the man informed him of it. Maybe he was holding things back. Maybe he was trying to lie to the man and protect the murderers like himself. He wasn't sure anymore. He could hardly remember anything before today. He knew he'd been born by a woman but he couldn't even remember her face. The pain encompassed his existence. The pain was…
Wait. He remembered something. An image in his mind. Sweaty, raucous laughter. Alcohol, all over the bar. Women all over the men. Men all over the women. Where was it? He wanted to tell the man where it was so badly...
"Thuhs ah bothuh," he said as it came to him.
"A what? A brothel? Where is it? You know exactly where it is. Tell me."
"South p'ains. Be'ow thuh 'ake."
"Lake Hylia, you mean?"
Doran tried to nod and hoped the man noticed.
"Thuhs ah tradun' outpos'. They mught be thur."
"Might be? That's not good enough, Doran, that's not good enough at all. Will they be there?"
"Yeth," he answered with more certainty as his treacherous memory returned to him, "Thuh'll be thur. Thuh sed if theh couldun fine thuh sowd, theh'd go thur an' get thuh smith to mek un."
"Good, Doran," the man commended and he petted Doran's head gently, "We're done here. Get some sleep."
Doran Greylock smiled. He felt pain for a moment as something cut across his throat, then warmth. Still smiling, he let one ragged breath leave him, and as the warmth faded, drifted off into the tender, accepting arms of oblivion.
Link stood up and walked away from the bloody corpse, feeling the twinges of guilt before he shoved them back away from his consciousness. Justice felt no guilt, so neither could he. He wiped the blood off his dagger onto his pants and stuck it back in its sheath. As he retrieved his shovel, a ball of light floated over to him.
"Is it finished?" the light said quietly.
"No, but for this one it is," he said as he began to dig. "You hear what he said?"
"Yes, and the fairies nearest there are investigating as we speak. I must ask though, why did you kill him before we could validate his claims?"
"He was telling the truth, as much as he could. He couldn't lie to me anymore. He didn't want to. But all the same his information may be off, so if he is, it'd be best to get there before the bastards have had a chance to get far away."
"And if they weren't there to begin with?"
"Then we'll just have to keep looking until we find them, won't we? Greylock gave their names, descriptions, and heredity, several times over. They can't hide from me."
"Of course."
The ball of light sped away, and for the next several minutes the only sounds that could be heard were that of digging and physical exertion. When the hole became large enough to suit him, Link dropped the shovel and walked back over to the soldier's body. He grabbed the soldier's ankles, and dragged him over to the hole, grunting.
"I'm not sorry that you're dead, boy, and I'm not sorry I did it. I'm sorry that you did what you did and that you made me do this. If you'd never been in that situation, it's possible you would have done a lot of great things with your life," he stopped as he reached edge of the hole, "Instead, any potential you might have had is ruined. May the Goddesses have more mercy on you than I."
He rolled the corpse into the hole, and started recovering it with dirt.
Beginning of notes:
Calga Outpost
Scene begins with introduction to a seedy brothel/tavern. Dimly lit, alcohol drenched, generally a nasty place. The focus of the story is on the group of soldiers in the middle of brothel who are taking turns partaking of the women and drinking. Two upstairs with the women, the rest on the first floor. One of the soldiers on the first floor (Amadeus) is talking with a tongue loosened by his drink. He's halfway into his story about what he did to these two bitches on their last assignment and the rest of the drunk soldiers are amused as they've heard it many times before while the few other people still in the tavern obviously could do without it. The guy probably talks about how the blonde girl kept giving them lip when they searched her room until Captain Tanner put her in her place (hit her, bent her over the bed). The soldier talks about how Tanner got to break her in for the rest of them, but Amadeus preferred the redhead who didn't just take it, but got turned on by it so much the others got tired of the blonde and started gangbanging the fiery redhead, who by the way, gave great head. But then Klaud had decided her wanted his dick sucked because amateurs were usually the best at it (so he says at least). Of course he didn't know that the bitch had a knife under her bed and she'd cut him from taint (you know that fleshy bit round yer' asshole) to groin before he'd been able to knock her off of him. Klaud looks up at this point of the story and is still in obvious pain, causing much amusement for the rest of the soldiers. Amadeus continues the story by telling how Tanner had eventually come in and told them to wrap it up as the sword wasn't there. He said they can do what they want with the girls but he's killed the mother and would suggest doing the same with them. Martin and Marius took locks of hair from the girls while Nigel was a bit more morbid and took nipples. Ulprus cut off a slice of the blonde's buttocks for consumption later, the sick fuck. This causes another laugh. Then, as Tanner ordered, they burned the house to the ground and slaughtered the livestock to make it look like the work of marauders.
As Amadeus finishes his tale, it becomes even more apparent that the rest of the establishment doesn't at all like hearing the story but it is equally apparent that they don't want to incur the wrath of the Hyrulian military. So the awkwardness remains among everyone else, even as the soldiers continue to revel. (Maybe one of them points out that there was no point in killing the animals and burning the house if Amadeus was going to blab the story every place they went) A man in the corner gets up to leave, obviously disgusted, but one of the soldiers, Serge, spots him and starts messing with the stranger. "What's the matter old man, don't appreciate our stories?" The stranger looks at Serge with rage knotting in his brows but just says "No, I don't appreciate them one bit." Amadeus joins in and suggests that he's insulted. The stranger says he doesn't give a damn about how a prick like him feels and says if the guy doesn't get his hands off him and step back, he'll regret it. Then the stranger starts for the door again. This time he's stopped by three of the soldiers and before he can ask what's going on, he gets punched in the stomach and goes down. One of them kicks him in the face and he goes over backwards onto the floor. Another stomps on his crotch and when he goes to hold himself, they kick him again in the hands. They all laugh at the stranger in his miserable condition but as Tanner comes back down from upstairs, re-dressing, he tells the soldiers that that's enough, just throw the old man out and make sure he doesn't come back in.
They do, and a conversation takes place between the captain and his men. He warns them not to get into trouble like that needlessly. The man may have some friends or he may come back later and try something. Tanner has been in this part of the country long enough that they allow him certain things, but wanton killing is a stupid waste… unless it comes as a result of an assignment. He likes his men to be satisfied, after all. He informs them that he's done with lovely Nina upstairs so one of them can go get himself satisfied now, if he likes. Zanobi starts heading upstairs but Nigel shoves him down and tells him to wait another turn.
Perhaps a bit more here, but if that's it, the meat is covered and will suffice.
Scene shifts to the stranger outside who is of course Link and a la Unforgiven, he stumbles out into the muddy streets bruised and bloody. As he crawls his way into an alleyway, a ball of light comes near him and asks if he would like to be healed and Link responds that he won't make one of them give their lives over this. He'll be fine in a couple of days and he'll need their sacrifices soon enough. The fairy informs him that all is ready and the armaments he's requested have been delivered to a rustic home in the middle of the wilderness. Link thanks them and says he'll be seeing them on the road to Hyrule when the soldiers decide to leave. Scene is left with Link in horrible pain, but no other introspection into his thoughts is given.
Scene shifts once again, this time to the road to Hyrule as the soldiers have begun their trip back to the castle. They are talking and making fun of Klaud (the one injured by Link's daughter) because he still can't ride a horse in a normal way and the scene is generally jovial, considering it's from the vantage point of sadistic murderers and rapists. Then an arrow whizzes by Captain Tanner's face and everything is brought to a halt. He orders the men to circle until they locate where the bowmen is, but another arrow comes and sticks into Tanner's arm. He yells out in pain and anger before a third arrow buries itself in his throat and he gurgles and dies. The men see that they're being attacked from the edge of the forest and get their horses to lie down so that they can use them as cover. They aren't sure how many archers there are but it's beginning to appear like there's only one, maybe two. The soldiers figure they can either wait for him to run out of arrows then fan out and rush him. As they work out the specifics of the plan, the arrows stop coming. Ince stands up then ducks back down a second later without any retaliation. They decide to go for it and begin their counter-attack but after they get beyond the shelter of their horses, more arrows begin to fly and Marius and Ulprus go down, the former dead the latter only wounded. But by this time, the soldiers have already closed the gap between themselves and the forest and the guy would have to be an expert shot to get them all, something he obviously isn't. The sounds of whisking arrows ceases once again, but it's replaced by another sound and before the soldiers can realize what it is, the bomb comes rolling towards them. Spread out as they are, only Faust is hurt by it, but seriously injured. Another bomb comes out but Amadeus is able to dodge this one but concussion of the blast throws him. Amadeus looks up just in time to see Ince, Martin, and Serge reach the forest edge with swords drawn, only to see it go up in a fiery explosion, with the three aforementioned soldiers caught in it. But then the mysterious assailant steps out of the forest's edge, revealing himself to be the stranger from the tavern/brothel. Amadeus jumps to the wrong conclusion and a conversation about that results. The strangers says Justice would like to have a few words with them. In the end though, it's Amadeus, Nigel, and Zanobi against one man no longer in the prime of his life. All have a sword and shield, but Nigel also brought his long spear, wearing the shield on his back. They position themselves equally around him while he stands in the middle looking around for a sign that one of them is about to attack. Amadeus nods at Nigel and the latter lunges with the spear, but the stranger wheels and blocks the blow away with his shield, leaving himself open for Nigel's sword. But before Nigel can strike the death blow, the stranger fires an odd, spring-loaded mechanical contraption held in his hand, hidden behind his shield. It shoots a metal spike through Nigel's mouth and out the back of his head, killing him. Amadeus and Zanobi immediately lunge from opposite sides then, forcing the stranger to drop the contraption. He blocks one with his shield while parrying the other with his sword. Amadeus kicks the leg of the stranger, forcing him to one knee, and Zanobi immediately stabs the man through the back, then several more times in the back and chest. The man wheezes and dies and Amadeus and Zanobi turn around to survey the damage caused by the man. Most of their comrades have been killed, only Faust, Nigel, and Klaud are still alive. Klaud for whatever reason is still behind the horses, which pisses Amadeus off to no end. Amadeus tells Zanobi he's going to kill that lame bastard on principle.
Before he can go to the coward, however, he hears something odd and looks to see the tip of a sword sticking out of Zanobi's chest. Before he can react, the sword is pulled out and swings toward Amadeus's neck, lopping his head off. The stranger is alive once again, blood stains and all. It is explained, probably from Link's point of view, that a fairy gave its life for him and he was resurrected. Probably a few other things like how he got the bombs and hookshot (a direct plea to Dampe on the part of the Kokiri and his wife and children because he's too old to race anymore). could be left out As this is explained, he goes to each of the injured soldiers and cuts their throats. Later, he brings his horse and wagon down from its hiding place and starts loading the bodies onto the back. When he's done, he throws a canvas over the top of the bodies, climbs into the driver's seat, flicks the reigns, and heads for the privacy of his cottage. End chapter three.
And that is the end of all that's outlined in a detailed form. In chapter four, Link was to interrogate each of the soldiers with a different method, though only of few of them would have been shown in the story, notably Amadeus and Captain Tanner. Oh yes, that's what all of fairies were for. Each time one of the soldiers died from too much abuse, they'd be brought back to life and the process would start over (one I was especially proud of was letting Tanner rot, and bringing him back to life, full of maggots and other such insects, which, as you might imagine, would be horribly painful). I was working on the soldiers' personalities and backstories for a while but that's no longer important. All that's really important is that they did very bad things. The detailed sequence of the fate of the Kokiri and story in the tavern were intended to make it very clear how Link could do what he did in what would have been chapters 3 and 4. He doesn't torture them for his own benefit; he does it because he wants to know what's going and hold everyone involved accountable. It would be tough to make a character as iconic as Link evil, and it would be wrong anyway. He seems to be a highly moral individual and that is an important character trait that can't be twisted, even after going through all of this. So to make him do "evil" things, his motivation has to fit with his morals, in this case it's taking justice into his own hands.
The main point behind chapter four, besides giving us an insight into the killers' minds and motivation, is why they were looking for the sword at all. Captain Tanner is the last interrogated and most important. Through him it's revealed that he is not just some renegade officer, but a personal friend of the crown prince of Hyrule. Tanner had had the task (by the crown) of leading his band through rebellious areas and disheartening the populace by killing civilians in the most gruesome way possible for the past several years. Argument here being that the deaths of a few dozen civilians saves the lives of hundreds or thousands of soldiers and rebels who would have died in battle if the rebellion ever really took off. Yes, the soldiers Tanner works with have problems but the nature of their assignment means that a person has to be somewhat crazy to do it, or else they'll go crazy. Again, so the argument goes. This was intended to make the nature of what they were doing more ambiguous. Though in the case of the Kokiri and Link's family it's obviously and clear-cut that it's wrong, but doing the same thing to "save lives" is not quite so easily defined. I think most of us would still agree it's wrong on moral grounds, but disregarding morals, it makes a kind of rational sense.
But all that is a side issue to the main revelation that the crown prince has been directing Tanner and his men in everything they've done, including telling him to get the sword. How much of a shock this is to the reader, I have no idea. I probably telegraphed it too much in the first two chapters and definitely would have in the third, but it was to be a bit of a surprise. In any case, it is to Link. Link asks why Tanner went to the Kokiri instead of just coming to his house to take the sword by force. Tanner says that as he was leaving the castle, he was instructed by a rider on a black horse to go to the Kokiri first, call Link there, then get the sword while he was gone. Tanner doesn't know who the person was or how they were able to navigate the Lost Forest, but the rider had the royal seal and knew about the assignment, so Tanner figures the guy came from the prince.
This brings up the question, "Why does the prince want the sword at all?" Link is still rather incredulous due to his former trust of Hyrule, but that trust is quickly beginning to wane. Tanner doesn't know why the prince wanted the sword, only that he started wanting it after talking with a couple of witches. When the prince came back, he was quite mad but he wouldn't tell them why.
Chapter four would end with Tanner taunting Link by saying Link is no better than they all are, torturing people so long as the ends justify the means. Link would disagree saying his torture is the ends, punishment for evil, not the means. Then he leaves Tanner to his slow, painful death. Then the story shifts to Hyrule Castle and follow the prince, albeit through the eyes of one of his guards.
I don't know whether you caught it or not but by the math if Link was one of the two soldiers featured in the first chapter (and he was) he'd be the confident captain, not the doubting footman. So chapter five catches up with the footman who followed a very different path from Link. Aldon is his name. He's still a good man, as to be shown by his reactions to some of the things the prince has done, and totally loyal, which is probably his greatest fault.
Aldon is still a soldier, but instead of being a frontline guy anymore, he's part of the royal guard and personal protector of the prince. (Before I forget, I never actually came up with a good name for the prince so his title will have to do for this outline of what might have been, I'm afraid.) Anyway, this soldier has been taking care of the prince for some time now, more of an escort than a bodyguard because the prince also has a sheikah who performs that function. Basically, Aldon stands outside of the prince's door and goes with him even when the prince is out and about. Over the years, this soldier has gotten to know the prince quite well and he invites his new partner (the previous one having died of mysterious circumstances) for a couple of drinks in an alehouse in the market surrounding castle Hyrule. The old soldier (he'd be about fifty here) asks the younger guy (no name) about himself. A short explanation of the partner's life and path to becoming part of the castle guard follows. Exemplary combat record, new to the palace life. The two of them talk about various things, the conversation revealing the subtler aspects of their personalities, but none of it crucial in a plot sense.
The main focus of this chapter, though, is the wandering bard who comes inside to entertain the crowd inside with his wild and fantastical tales from all over the land. All is fine and good, both guards enjoy themselves and laugh at appropriate times. Then the bard announces that his last tale is of the rumors surrounding the Prince's conception and birth, and the old guard quietly informs the young that they're going to have to do something to shut him up. The young guard starts to get up, but the older pushes him back down and explains that it would look suspicious and possibly be dangerous to haul him away in front of so many people. More importantly, it would provide credence to the bard's story if others had heard it before. Aldon guard explains that they'll wait until he gets done and pick him up then.
And the bard's story is this: After the death of princess Zelda's father, King Hyrule, there was much pressure on the newly crowned Queen Zelda and her husband King Regalia, to make an heir to the throne so as to avoid the confusion and apprehension that has often felled past monarchies when there is no clear successor. Though never spoken of, it was widely known that the king was having difficulties in the royal bedroom and for seven years they were unsuccessful. Then something changed, though no one knows exactly what that change was. It is known that nine months to the day before the prince's eventual birth, a terrible windstorm blew in from the north and that from that day until the prince's birth, there was not a drop of rain to be had within twenty miles of the castle. It is also known that on the day of the prince's birth, that awful drought ceased and a great downpour fell across the land. The palace announced that this was a sign of great joy, the prince's life would surely be marked by all manner of good tidings. And if this was the whole story, perhaps that would be true. However the bard has heard a very different version of the day's events from someone inside the palace when it happened. The downpour did not come when the prince was born; it came when he died.
You see the prince was born feet first and suffocated before he could be fully removed from the womb. When the queen heard this, she was said to have whispered "Thank Farore." The midwife then took the dead infant to what would have been his room, placed him in a carriage, and left the room. A few hours later, they heard crying coming from the room and investigated only to discover that the child was alive once again. A miracle, indeed.
The bard finally finishes his story and leaves the alehouse. The two soldiers pick the bard up, and he protests that he is free to tell tales wherever he likes in Hyrule; they have no right to censor him. Aldon agrees, but says that slander is not allowed. It was Nayru Zelda thanked, not Farore. Then they take the bard and haul him off to the castle Hyrule's dungeon. This sets up the next chapter which is getting a closer view of the prince and his personality.
No need to describe exactly what things the prince was doing here and perhaps it would have been too much had I written it out anyway. We see what kind of a man the prince is and see what kind of a man Aldon is by contrast; Aldon will help the prince in his sadistic vices and do nothing to stop him, but unlike Tanner, Aldon does not enjoy it. As far as plot goes, this is also an important chapter because it's learned that even though King Regalia is still alive and issuing decrees and such, he's deathly ill and in fact hasn't spoken a sensible word in years. He's being kept alive on what you could call "magic life support." Physician/mages work to preserve the king long past his natural lifespan. But few people know this. The prince goes to "speak" with his father to learn how he feels about various issues. Of course this is all a sham and the prince is running the country. Also important to note, the prince is on very poor relations with his mother. And if I haven't mentioned it yet or it hasn't been implied, the prince is the king and queen's only child.
After that I'm not quite sure what I wanted to do with it. I know where I wanted to go, but not whose eyes to use to see it. The situation would be explained (either in this chapter or a referenced in a previous one) that once the Gerudo were dislodged from their fortresses, they eventually relocated to the infamous Spirit Temple/Desert Colossus in the middle of the desert. They made a pact of some sort with the twin witch sisters Koume and Kotake and have been held up in the fortess for years, successfully defending the colossus with a combination of Gerudo (wo)manpower and witch magic. The Hyrulian military, although quite skilled at siege campaigns, has suffered disastrous campaign after disastrous campaign because of the hardy defenses at the colossus and their own supply lines, horribly stretched by the distance away from Hyrule proper and desert sandstorms. However, it's become an issue of pride with the prince and as soon as one campaign ends in utter and embarrassing defeat, and new one is prepared and launched. Needless to say, thousand of good men are being lost in a waste, and the kingdom is weaker than many realize.
Koume and Kotake might take center stage here, though I'm not sure what the world would look like from their perspective. In any matter, they are gifted with prophecy and in scientific terms, they know all things that they will ever know at all moments. It isn't quite omniscience, but they have access to their entire memory and knowledge at all times from all times. It doesn't mean they can change what will happen, it just means that they can accurately prophesy the future, especially when it pertains to them. So when they make the prophecy that only a hero who wields the Master Sword can vanquish them, naturally the prince is very perturbed. This at its root is the reason why the prince sent his soldiers out to find the master sword but it's not until later in the story that we discover how he found out who had it and how the soldiers were able to pass through the Lost Woods.
So eventually Link is going to end up at the Desert Colossus, though there would probably have been a scene involving those soldiers camped out in front of the Colossus and their pitiful condition. He's going to meet up with Nabooru who doesn't remember Link at all, or at least doesn't remember him favorably. She had been captured by the witches but released from their spell as per the conditions of the Gerudo's/witches' agreement. Eventually Link begins to speak with the witches who make up the meat of this section. They explain in very confusing terms their nature of prophecy (as described above) and the fact that they remember how Link slayed them once before, albeit in a different time line. But they bear no regret for it. Instead they explain why it is that the prince sent the soldiers after the sword (again, above) but they don't know how the prince found out Link had the sword. Link makes an outburst about what happened to the Kokiri and his family as a result, and they are sad but admit that they knew. They explain that he always wanted to be the Hero of Time and he was needed now so they had to do something to force him into action. Link is almost overcome with emotion, admits that he wanted to be the hero of time but not like this. Almost mechanically, tears streaming down his face, he shoves the sword through Kotake's chest, then follows the action by cutting off Koume's head. Both die together and as their spirits rise (invisible to all but Link) they express grief for Link's family but maintain that they did what had to be done. Then they ascend and disappear.
After this I'm not so sure what happens. After he kills the witches, does he join up with the Gerudo and defeat the remaining Hyrulian forces outside? How this would be accomplished and why he'd join with them like that seems a stretch, so maybe the Gerudo just decide to use the opportunity to attack the weakened Hyrulians without him before they realize the witches are gone. Yes, that works.
In any event, Link now knows that he has to strike against the crown itself, which is a tough barrier to cross considering his former allegiance to it and especially his allegiance to Zelda. The ultimate goal is that he storms the castle with an army made up of the various displaced races, though not at the lead as that's just too cliché and doesn't work for me, anyway. Link may be a hero and great man, but I can't see him as a leader of anything, unless he does it by example alone. Maybe he helps convince these races due to his former contact with them, but someone else must be the general. A couple of chapters would address Link's relationship with Ruto (almost making how he finds where the rest of the Zora have been a side issue). I'm not real comfortable on pushing bestiality, even anthropomorphous bestiality, and besides, a romantic relationship is only slightly more likely than a physical one, slim as opposed to none. Link loves Malon and Zelda, though not necessarily in that order, and there's no room for Ruto. So Ruto would love him, being destined to marry and all that, but not really in a passionate way. More like, Ruto pretends to love him because that's kind of the relationship she's always had with him. But this is less a plot element (even though it's part of the reason Link is able to convince the Zora to come out of their hiding) and more a way to develop characters and show that development. The Gorons would need little convincing, considering the state they're in, and the Gerudo would probably have to be held back.
So there Link arrives near the castle part of a sizeable army. Link has two sages (Ruto and Nabooru) while Hyrule has another two (Raidu and Impa) and two (Darunia and Saria) are dead. Link has one piece of the triforce, Zelda another, and the last has disappeared with Ganandorf. A third on one side, a third on the other, and a final third unable to participate.
A ferocious battle occurs in the plains surrounding Hyrule castle and in the city, in several stages. There is one army inside the city but the army Link is with can't attack it because of the garrison of troops using what was once the Lon Lon Ranch. If they try to assault the city, the garrison will come at them from behind and the rebels will have no chance. So, perhaps in a flashback conversation between Link and Ingo, it is revealed that there is a secret back entrance into the ranch and Link leads a small team there one night to see if it still exists. It does, and they let more warriors in from the inside; hell is raised. The main Hyrulian forces taken care of, the battle is now much easier, but still difficult as Hyrule Army has access to a number of advanced armaments such as artillery and rudimentary muskets as well as natural weapons like trained Dodongos. All would have provided an excellent battle scene as they fought through the first army, then the city streets, and finally attack a well-defended castle, going hallway to hallway in search of the prince.
Link would of course be the one to pursue the prince, but he'd have to go through the prince's sheikah first, which Link would kill but be badly wounded in the process. All makes for the dramatic show down between Link and the prince, Link seriously wounded, the prince in good (physical) health. Link would prevail but be suffering from a horrible wound in his abdomen as well as many smaller ones. He's dying and he knows he is, but he goes to see Zelda one last time.
Impa stops him from seeing her and he knows he can't beat another sheikah in his condition, but Nabooru has also survived and the two female warriors begin an epic struggle of their own, quickly moving out of scene. Link has a conversation with Zelda and it's revealed here who is at fault for most of the story. Zelda had told the prince that Link was in possession of the Master Sword and Zelda is also the one who opened up the Lost Forest without imagining the repercussions. She explains that she was trying to save his life and is very sorry for all that happened. But Link is the personification of Justice and this isn't enough for him. He ends up striking Zelda down and, as the chaos and fire rages all around him, he picks up the ocarina of time and plays the notes that will carry him back in time to undo all that happened.
But this isn't the end of the story.
As he does this, he meets with the three goddesses whom he cannot comprehend or perceive, but on some level he perceives them as three forces who are one and who are totally separate, and his mind can't handle such things.
A discourse between the two would begin with Link angrily accusing them of all sorts of things, venting his rage that they had the power to stop everything that happened but didn't, ultimately building up to the blasphemous arrogance of trying to question gods but finding the responses he gets totally overwhelm him (a la the latter bit of Job). After all of this theological nonsense, they tell Link that he can go back to any time he likes, even the days he was a boy, but the prince's destiny is clearly set before him and he will make the same choices. Killing the only heir will plunge the kingdom into an even more bloody civil war that will reach until the tenth generation of the future until it is settled. Link knows that King Regalia isn't the prince's real father, but he doesn't know who the real father is so he can't kill the father and let Zelda marry someone else to take care of things that way either. Link doesn't have the viewpoint of the goddesses but they're giving him the ability to decide the fate of the world. All he knows is that what will come from Zelda will ruin the world. He also knows that King Hyrule was still a virile king until his death and only the death of his queen prevented him from siring more children. So he makes his choice. He returns to a time shortly after he'd saved the three races and goes to see Talon on the Lon Lon Ranch. He retains all of his memories and mental capacities so that when he speaks with Talon, the older man regards the boy as a joke. Then Link reveals to Talon something about Talon's deceased wife that he's never told anyone and won't tell anyone for many more years, this being made clear in a bit of narration. Talon finally listens and Link tells him to tell his daughter that he (Link) loves her more than words can say and he can't thank her for all of the wonderful years and five children she gave him. He wants Talon to tell her that for all of his love, he could never love her with all of his heart and for that, he'll always be sorry. He's sorry that he won't be able to be there for her when she grows into the wonderful woman he knows she'll be, but he knows that another man, a better man, will make her even happier than he ever could. He leaves and as an afterthought, he tells Talon to take good care of Epona as she's a good horse and the best steed of any time.
Link the child makes his journey to Hyrule castle and is greeted by Zelda the child who remembers the non-future of Ganondorf but does not remember the events of the future that would be (I'd explain this as her future self from the prince's timeline died, and with it died all of her memories from that period). They talk and she agrees to meet him in secret. There explains to her everything that's going to happen to him, to her, and because of her. She is appalled and can't believe it but he hushes her and tells her that none of it will come to pass. She asks how this will be and he answers he by drawing his sword and plunging it through her chest. Impa arrives a moment after and throws the boy to the floor but it's too late. Princess Zelda is dying and the distraught Impa demands to know why a boy like him would do such a thing. Link says she wouldn't understand and cuts his own throat.
The six sages live, the triforce dies, and the fourth catastrophe of the races occurs, this one affecting the Hylians, the motives never explained and any rational link between the four never discovered.
And that's the first ending, a downer, granted, but the story is pretty much a series of downers piled on top of one another. A more fan-friendly would go along the lines that Link convinces Zelda to relinquish her throne and marry him. They start their own family, but it's bittersweet because he's still lost Pytor, Arkhander, and Jasha, and the two girls he and Zelda had named Sharon and Lauron can't replaced his two angels. As for Zelda, he's happy with her and he loves her, but it feels like an affair and he can never shake that feeling, no matter what he does. This would be told when Link is in his sunset again, living far away from Hyrule. And this story would end with him out in the field, doing finishing a day of backbreaking work as twilight disappears into night.
Ah, it appears the best I can do is bittersweet, I suppose. Well, I can't even do that since I couldn't finish this. It was too ambitious, too long, and too involved for a person of my work ethic to start, let along finish. I like this story, I love what it might have been, but sadly, it's just a disappointment now. I wanted to do something different, something meaningful, but I couldn't do it. All that's here is a bunch of torture scenes, some meaningless sex and meaningless violence with only a hint of something more. I failed, that's clear enough. The upside is that I only failed the handful of people who actually cared about this story and with luck most of them have forgotten. If I ever get inspired, I'll do my best to finish this story but I'm not getting my hopes up, and no one else should either. So thanks for the support I was given, and I apologize one last time for disappointing.
