Hey everyone! Thanks for all the comments, I appreciate them. This chapter is really where the main action starts. Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 3
Ganondorf waited outside the mahogany door, his hand resting softly on the brass knob. He could hear cheerful voices and laughter from inside. Smirking to himself, he adjusted his black cape slightly and made sure that his dagger was concealed before turning the knob and entering the room.
It was a large, lavishly decorated room, with a roaring fire crackling merrily in the fire place and with a large, round table in the middle of the room. At the table sat King Harkanian, and three richly decorated men, whom Ganondorf assumed were the Hylian generals. Generous portions of food were already piled at the table, and Harkanian was laughing merrily with the other men until he noticed Ganondorf standing near the door.
"Lord Dragmire!" Harkanian said happily, standing up from his chair and spreading his arms wide. Ganondorf smiled smoothly and walked forward from the shadows and into the light of the fire. The other men stood up from their chairs, ceasing their conversation to gain a glimpse of the Desert Lord who had won their liege's favor so quickly.
After acknowledging Harkanian and bowing to him, Ganondorf was introduced to the others. Lord Amaury was the castle's garrison commander, a dark haired man with extremely pale skin. The man next to Amaury was a giant bear of a man by the name of Henri, who led Hyrule's infantry divisions in times of war. Both of the men gave Ganondorf small smiles and shook his hand.
The last of the Hylian war leaders, a blonde haired man named Sir Adrian Hylia, led Hyrule's cavalry divisions. Only the elite of Hylian society, the nobles, could become a knight, and they spent long hours training their martial skills in the hopes that one day, they would be addressed as "Sir". As such, the Hylian knights were the best trained in Hyrule's army, and fierce opponents on the battlefield. Unlike Amaury and Henri, Adrian seemed to regard Ganondorf with slight suspicion, although he masked his facial expressions well. After the introductions were over with, the group of men sat down at the table and began their private feast.
As the minutes rolled by, Ganondorf became more and more impatient. He had almost no appetite; he was too excited for the momentous events to take place tonight. Looking out of the room's window, Ganondorf stared at the dark night sky, knowing that his Gerudo army was concealed and awaiting his orders to attack.
Wondering vaguely how much longer he would have to wait until Aveil appeared, Ganondorf's thoughts were interrupted as the door to the room banged open. Expecting to see his Gerudo assassin, Ganondorf was surprised to see that a sweating and bloodied man stood at the doorway, holding a sword.
"What is the meaning of this?" Harkanian said angrily, standing up to glare at the offending Hylian. The young man cast a nervous glance at Ganondorf, and then turned back to his king. Ganondorf noticed that the man wore the uniform of a Hylian scout, soldiers in the Hylian army who were responsible for hunting bandits and brigands in the wilderness.
"My Liege," The man said, breathing heavily. "Whilst my party and I were hunting bandits in an area near Hyrule Castle Town, we- we encountered a large group of Gerudo warriors, fully armed. Out of the twenty people with me, only I survived. They- the Gerudo are marching on Castle Town-
But before he could utter another word, a large blood stain blossomed out of his chest. He looked down, as if surprised, and uttered a cry of pain and horror as he saw two sword blades poking out of his chest. With a terrible cry, the swords were withdrawn from his body and he crumpled to the ground. Neatly twirling her swords in the air, Aveil kicked the dead corpse out of her way and casually glanced up at her audience.
Harkanian was lost for words. "Ganondorf… what… why…" Harkanian turned around to face Ganondorf, and then let out a cry of horror and pain as the Gerudo Lord jammed his dagger into Harkanian's gut. Ganondorf smiled wickedly at Harkanian as he twisted the dagger to create more pain. Harkanian let out a sound that was a mixture between a gasp of pain and a sob of terror. Looking in horror at Ganondorf, Harkanian managed to whisper in a small voice:
"Why?"
Withdrawing his dagger and then plunging it back into Harkanian's chest, Ganondorf made sure that the Hylian King was dead before turning back to the others. Amaury and Henri were staring at Ganondorf with shock and fear. However, Adrian had already drawn his sword. Raising it over his head, he let out a cry of fury as he attempted to cleave Ganondorf in half. Aveil quickly parried the blow intended for Ganondorf and pushed Adrian back. By now, Amaury and Henri had gained their senses and were drawing their weapons. Too late.
Aveil let out a terrible cry and dove at Amaury, who was fumbling with his sword sheath. Quickly bringing down her dual scimitars, Aveil cut through the Garrison Commander's silk clothing and tore the flesh underneath. Amaury let out a cry of pain as his right arm was torn away from his body. Aveil quickly plunged her weapons into his chest to make sure that the Hylian was dead. Pulling her scimitars out of the corpse, she barely had enough time to parry the combined blows from Henri and Adrian. Furiously twisting and turning she dodged most of the attacks and deflected any she couldn't.
Drawing herself into a defensive stance, she quickly observed her opponents. She could tell by Adrian's stance that he fought in a more finesse manner. However, the large Hylian named Henri looked and fought like a bear. This brute force technique could be devastating against lesser trained soldiers, but would not work against someone with her skills and experience.
Letting out a loud war cry, Henri launched himself at Aveil, his gigantic broadsword raised high over his head. Taking advantage of this, Aveil quickly rushed forward and jabbed her two scimitars at Henri's stomach. The Hylian, not anticipating such a quick reaction, barely had time to think, let alone move. Aveil's deadly swords cut into Henri's stomach and the Hylian let out a terrible groan of pain, dropping his sword. Withdrawing her blades, she quickly twirled around and decapitated the Hylian infantry commander.
"Two down, one to go," Aveil thought, as she scanned her last opponent. Adrian had a furious expression on his face, but he was, Aveil noted, controlling his rage. This last Hylian would be a tricky opponent.
Circling around the room, glaring at each other, Aveil and Adrian both had their swords drawn into an offensive stance. The tension was tremendous. It was broken suddenly by Adrian, who darted forth in a nimble fashion. Aveil jabbed her swords in front of her, but they hit air- the nimble Hylian had jumped to the side and was now bringing his sword down to cleave open her skull.
Rolling out of the way, Aveil was relieved to hear the sword hit the wooden floor instead of her. Quickly standing up, Aveil parried a flurry of blows, each time backing up a bit further. Suddenly, something solid hit her back. She had run into a wall. Distracted, Aveil barely managed to parry Adrian's next attacks, but she felt a wild stab of panic as his attacks increased in ferocity. Again and again, sweat beading her brow, she blocked his hits, until a well placed blow sent one of her scimitars to go flying out of her hand. Panicked, Aveil tried to jab at him, but it was the wrong move; he quickly sidestepped out of the way and sunk his sword into her exposed back.
Letting out a shrill cry, she slumped over. Withdrawing his weapon, Adrian looked in disgust at his defeated Gerudo adversary. Looking around the room for Ganondorf, Adrian was shocked and angry to find that he was the only one left in the room. The coward had fled!
Rushing out of the room, cursing and sobbing at the deaths of his king and comrades, he ran down a flight of stairs to raise the alarm.
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…
Rushing down the main hall of the castle and toward the stables, Ganondorf knew he didn't have much longer. Aveil was distracting the Hylian leaders, but Ganondorf knew they would kill her. Once she was taken care of, the Hylians would know of his treachery and could make it very difficult for him to escape this accursed castle.
Running into the stable, he quickly jumped up onto his black war horse, Stormcloud. The horse whinnied and pawed the ground as Ganondorf drove his heels into its flanks. Stormcloud reared and took off, over the castle's bridge and into castle town.
Even though it was late at night, there were still a few people out in the darkened market. They gazed in awe as Ganondorf thundered past him, riding his horse furiously. As Ganondorf rode over the last drawbridge, he could hear bewildered guards shouting at him, but they did not yet know his crime, so he was not besieged with masses of arrows.
He had made it into Hyrule field. In the distance he could see a faint green glow, a signal from Koume and Kotake. Grinning savagely, he urged his horse on faster. The attack on Hyrule was about to begin.
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…
Adrian was breathless as he raced down another flight of stairs, mulling over everything that had happened. The king was dead, two Hylian commanders killed, and a large Gerudo force approaching Castle Town. Adrian knew that not enough Hylian troops were mobilized for war. He had to do what was most important for his country, even if it cost him his life.
Running down a small corridor, Adrian ran into Impa, the Princess's caretaker. The Shiekan women looked surprised to see Adrian so breathless and covered in blood stains.
"Sir Adrian, what…?" Impa asked, looking at him in a confused manner. Adrian gasped for breath.
"Ganondorf… has betrayed us. King and others are dead… large army coming to attack Castle Town… must raise the alarm…" Adrian managed to gasp.
Impa's eyes widened with fear. "What?" She asked him, gripping his shoulders. "Get a hold of yourself man, what happened?"
Adrian shook his head and freed himself from Impa. "Get the Princess to safety… she's the last of the Royal family still alive. And… and tell my son that… I'm proud of him." Adrian took another gulp of breath and tore down the hall like a mad man.
Impa watched him go with a feeling of apprehension. Adrian had been a trusted member of the King's court for twenty years… he would not betray the king or lie about something this serious. Turning around, Impa ran up a flight of stairs and quickly found the room she was searching for. She opened the door; it was unlocked. Bursting into the room, she found Adrian's son, Sir Link Hylia, reading a book by candlelight.
"Sir Link," Impa simply said, standing at his door. Link quickly looked up at the stranger; he recognized her as Impa, Princess Zelda's caretaker.
"Impa? Why are you here?" He asked uncertainly, standing up and putting down his book.
"The King is dead. Ganondorf has betrayed us," Impa stated. "Your father is the only one of the Hylian generals left alive. He has gone to raise the alarm."
"Dear goddesses," Link murmured, looking shocked at all of the news. Grabbing his sword, he tried to race past Impa, but she held him in place.
"Your father is proud of you, but it is destiny that you shall not see each other again in this world. As a knight of Hyrule, your duty comes first." Impa said gently, holding the young man back.
Link gazed at Impa with his piercing blue eyes. Slowly, he calmed down and sheathed his sword.
"Zelda is the last surviving member of the Royal Family. You must take her to safety, wherever that may be," Impa said softly, letting go of him. "I must help in the defense of Castle Town. You must hurry and leave with Zelda before Ganondorf's army arrives."
Impa produced an ocarina and gave it to Link. "This is the Ocarina of Time, a Royal Family treasure. Zelda might not trust you after…the tournament," Impa said with a small smile, "But she will believe you if she sees the Ocarina."
Link examined the ocarina with a troubled look on his face. "Surely there are more experienced knights than I who could escort the Princess..."
Impa smiled gently. "I am not just any old woman, but a Shiekah, one of the last of my kind. I sense that your destiny will be intertwined with that of the Princess, and you must guard and protect her, lest Ganondorf captures her and all of our hopes are laid in ruin."
Stepping back, Impa threw something on the ground; there was a blinding flash of light and she was gone. For a second, Link stood there not knowing what to do, as his eyes adjusted from the light. Then, the weight of the situation hit him. The King is dead. Ganondorf is invading Hyrule. Slightly awed, but determined, Link quickly ran back into his room, putting on his plate mail armor and grabbing his shield. Taking a small bag of provisions and rupees he raced out of his room to search for the Princess.
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Zelda glanced out of her window. It was a very dark night, and her candle was almost spent. She wouldn't be able to read much longer. With a sigh, she carefully marked the page she was on and closed her book. Getting up from her chair and stretching, there was a soft knock on her door. Thinking it was Impa, she got up and opened the door. Instead, there stood Link, looking slightly distracted.
"You!" Zelda said furiously, before he could open his mouth to speak. Trying to slam her door shut, Zelda was even more infuriated when he grasped her hand to prevent her closing the door. Zelda felt a stab of panic, wondering what he was trying to do.
"Let me go, you brute!" Zelda said angrily, fully expecting for him to just tighten his hold. However, Zelda was surprised when Link let go and bowed to her. "Milady," he said solemnly, "I have been sent by Impa. We must leave Hyrule Castle Town at once."
Zelda looked suspiciously at Link. He could be lying to her.
"What if I told you I don't trust you?" Zelda spat, wondering why she hadn't just slammed the door on him already. Link sighed and fumbled for something; he found it and produced an ocarina. Zelda let out a gasp and took it from Link's outstretched hand.
"The Ocarina of Time!" She exclaimed, examining it closely. "How did you get this?"
Link let out a groan. "Milady, please hurry. Impa gave that to me so that you would trust me. Ganondorf has betrayed us. Your…" Here, Link faltered. He couldn't find it in himself to tell Zelda that her father was dead. However, Zelda seemed to have read his mind. With a dazed and fearful look, she gazed from the ocarina to Link, as if closely scrutinizing him. Then she shook her head.
"Right," she muttered, fumbling with the Ocarina. "Give me five minutes and I'll be ready." Closing the door, Zelda instantly felt a wave of horror overwhelm her. Ganondorf had finally made his move. Her father was dead, and he was poised to strike at Castle Town. Fighting off a wave of tears, Zelda stumbled through her room. Finding a small bag, she found some food and rupees and crammed them in.
Wondering what else she should bring, her eyes fell on a longbow that was pinned to the wall. She remembered, long ago, that Impa had taught her to use the longbow as a means to defend herself. She hadn't practiced with it recently, but she had been a fairly good shot with it. Picking up the bow, she found a small quiver that held a few arrows in it.
Exchanging her dress for dark clothing and a green cloak complete with a hood, Zelda looked at herself. Not bad. If her clothing was a bit more ragged and dirty, she could have passed for a Hylian Ranger who had been out in the wilderness for weeks on end hunting evil creatures.
Picking up her items, she let out a sigh. Father is dead. He can't come back. Zelda felt tears trailing down her cheeks. Wiping them with her hands, she slowly picked up the Ocarina of Time and put it in her traveling bag. Ever since she had those dreams, she knew and dreaded that this moment would come. But now that it was here, everything seemed surreal to her. Father is dead. Shaking her head sadly, she opened the door, finding Link with his sword drawn and looking tense. She knew he could see the tears in her eyes, but he said nothing about it. Softlysqueezing her hand and giving her a reasuring smile, he led the way down the corridor with her trailing him.
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…
"Lord Ganondorf!" Koume cackled happily. "Glad to see you made it out of Hyrule Castle in one piece." Ganondorf ignored her and leapt off of his horse. Legions of Gerudo soldiers stood at attention, not speaking or moving. Koume trailed behind Ganondorf, constantly jabbering away.
"On our way here, we encountered a small village. We took many people alive, as per your instructions." Here, Koume gave Ganondorf an odd look. "Lord Dragmire, what do you intend to do with them anyways?" Ganondorf gave her a chilling smile.
"You shall see, my dear Koume, you shall see," He said imperiously, striding past the ranks of warriors to find Kotake.
Behind a small hill, Kotake was overseeing that the prisoners were held in place. Gerudo warriors had tied them to stakes tightly so they couldn't move. A little girl began to cry.
"Quiet, you little brat!" Kotake hissed, slapping the girl, only making her cry harder. Kotake groaned and prepared to slap her again when a hand held her back.
Turning around, Kotake found Ganondorf smiling evilly at her, with a fearful looking Koume hiding behind him. Looking approvingly at all of the captive Hylians, Ganondorf smiled.
"You have done well, my witches. Once you have killed them all, come and find me. Leave their bodies."
"Kill- kill them?" Kotake squawked, unable to control her curiosity. "Lord, if I recall, you wanted LIVE prisoners…" Ganondorf shushed her with an angry glare and walked off. Koume shrugged at her sister and summoned more Gerudo warriors to help with the task. An odd chill of pleasure ran down Ganondorf's spine as he heard multiple screams break the silent night.
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…
As Link and Zelda found their horses in the stables, they could see many more guards rushing around the area, looking harried and afraid. Evidently, news of Ganondorf's treachery was just made public. Link mounted his faithful warhorse, Epona, and made sure his travel bags were securely strapped to her flanks. He had no idea where he and the Princess would go to hide from Ganondorf, but they had to leave quickly before Castle Town came under attack. Zelda had already found her horse and was waiting for Link to lead the way.
As the two Hylians rode through castle town, masses of nervous and frightened civilians were even more bewildered to see a Hylian knight and ranger leaving the town on horseback. Link felt a wave of sadness overwhelm him. He knew that most of these people would not survive Ganondorf's attack on Castle Town. Soldiers were already among the citizens of Castle Town, arming them with makeshift weapons and armor for the coming storm.
Riding through the outer gates and into Hyrule field, Link and Zelda stopped their horses and stared in horror at the masses of small torch lights flickering in the distance.
Ganondorf's army was marching to war.
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Sir Adrian Hylia, now the general in charge of Castle Town's defense, watched from the outer walls as his son and the Princess rode out of Castle Town and traveled southeast, whilst Ganondorf's army approached from the west. Adrian wished he could have had a more time to spend with his son, but as cruel as it sounded, his position as general meant that his duty to Hyrule came before anything else.
"Sir!" A Hylian guard stepped up to Adrian, smartly saluting before beginning his briefing. "Some of our scouts have reported that Ganondorf's Gerudo army numbers only in the hundreds."
"Only in the hundreds?" Adrian mused quietly, wondering how insane Ganondorf was to try and take Castle Town with that few troops. "And how many soldiers do we have?"
"About the same number sir, but we are arming the peasants with anything we have from the Castle armories. We have archers in positions on the walls and in towers, and even if they breach the outer walls, we can always retreat to Hyrule Castle."
Adrian nodded slowly. He felt his hopes rising slightly as he realized they might have a chance to win. Dismissing the soldier, Adrian walked further along the battlements, observing the approaching enemy force. They were getting close to Castle Town now, almost within the range of the Hylian archers. Just a little closer…
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…
Ganondorf sneered to himself as he observed the pitiful Hylian defenders manning the walls. He could see that many archers were on the battlements, and he knew that his Gerudo forces would take heavy casualties. But it didn't matter; he had a trick that the Hylians had no idea of.
After observing his army march relentlessly toward Castle Town for a few more minutes, Koume appeared, flying on her broom.
"Lord Ganondorf, all of the captured Hylian civilians have been slain," Koume said uncertainly, not sure what Ganondorf planned to do with the bodies.
"Excellent," Ganondorf said, grinning evilly. Koume trailed behind him, and Ganondorf knew she was afraid. Neither Koume nor Kotake knew the full extent of his powers.
As Ganondorf crested the top of a hill, a horrific site greeted his eyes; the ground was soaked in blood and the bodies of many Hylians littered the floor. Ganondorf walked down into the slaughter zone, his feetsinking slightlyinto the groundas he walked through the blood soaked field.
"Koume, Kotake, you may leave here or stay, depending on how curious you are to find out what I will do with these bodies," Ganondorf said, his eyes glowing a deep red. Koume and Kotake looked nervously at each other, and then Koume suddenly took off on her broom, heading away toward the advancing Gerudo warriors. Kotake, however, stayed where she was, her curiosity overcoming any fear she had. Laughing, Ganondorf began chanting arcane words and dark spells that had been invented by the most evil of wizards…
After the ritual had gone on for ten minutes, Ganondorf was still chanting, but his voice was deeper, his eyes glowing. An eerie white mist crept through the area, and there was unnatural darkness that blanketed the place. Kotake felt a chill run down her spine; she knew Ganondorf was a powerful mage, but this… was something new.
Ganondorf's chanting suddenly grew louder, and his voice rose erratically. He let out a high pitched yell and raised his hands to the sky, and lightning flashed down from the heavens. Suddenly, Kotake realized that the bodies of the dead Hylians were moving…
"What are your orders, my liege?" rasped a dry voice from somewhere within the unnatural darkness. Ganondorf grinned evilly, and Kotake suddenly wished that she had not stayed to watch…
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…
"Archers, fire!" yelled Adrian, pointing his sword at the enemy down below. The whistle of arrows filled the air as the Hylian archers loosed their arrows with deadly accuracy; many Gerudo warriors stumbled and fell, but they kept advancing under the withering hail of archer fire. After two more volleys, the Gerudo were noticeably thinned, but were at the walls. Instead of trying to bash open the gate, they were using ladders to climb up onto the battlements.
Drawing his sword, Adrian yelled to his troops. "Prepare for hand to hand combat!" His troops hastened to obey, dropping their bows and taking out swords. Adrian knew that in close combat, a Gerudo warrior was superior to a Hylian one, but the Gerudo had half their numbers left. As the first of the Gerudo clambered up onto the wall, screams filled the air as both Hylian and Gerudo threw themselves into the battle with reckless abandon.
Skewering a Gerudo warrior with his blade, Adrian ducked underneath another's blow and then stabbed her. Blood stained his armor, but he kept it up, parrying enemy attacks and commanding his men to hold the battlements at all costs.
As Adrian killed another Gerudo, he was filled with anger as he saw Ganondorf kill several Hylians with one sweep ofhis sword. "So the coward has decided to show himself," thought Adrian. Letting out a war cry, Adrian charged at Ganondorf, sword drawn. Ganondorf looked fairly surprised that Adrian was here, but he easily parried the attack and swung his crimson blade at Adrian. Blocking it with his shield, the Hylian commander was stunned at how strong Ganondorf's attack was. Dodging another attack, Adrian swung wildly at Ganondorf; he missed and the Desert Lord laughed cruelly as he smashed Adrian's sword with his own magical blade.
Adrian drew his dagger, prepared to fight to the death. "Even if I die, your soldiers will be overwhelmed. You can't win, Ganondorf," Adrian said, as the Desert King advanced upon him.
Ganondorf sneered, and suddenly, the screaming increased ten fold. Looking around, Adrian felt a wave of fear attack him as he saw that his soldiers were fighting not just Gerudo, butanother enemy… more terrible than any living being…
Hundreds of undead skeletons were assaulting the walls with unreal ferocity. The Hylian troops, fearful of their supernatural enemy, broke and fled before the onslaught. Desperate to rally his troops and hold the battlements, Adrian yelled at the top of his voice:
"Rally! To me, Hylians! Do not fear your enemy!-
But then Adrian felt a stab of pain as Ganondorf's blade chopped through his armor and into his back. Adrian felt as if he was falling, falling into a hole that would never end…
"You foolish Hylian," Ganondorf whispered into Adrian's ear. "I am not an insane warlord, like you make me out to be. I am the greatest necromancer to walk this world since the days of Agahnim the Terrible!" Twisting his blade into Adrian's body, Ganondorf was pleased to hear a pain choked cry from his opponent.
"And rule of Hyrule will be mine."
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…
Hours later, the bloody battle for Hyrule Castle Town was over. The sudden arrival of Ganondorf's undead troops, the Stalfos, caused disarray among the ranks of the Hylians as they fled from their new enemy. As for the Gerudo who died, well, their bodies were reusable…
Sitting on the golden throne of the late King Harkanian, Ganondorf was surprised that he had achieved victory so easily. The Sages had all been dealt with and were imprisoned in the six Hylian Temples. Kakariko Village and the Zoras and Gorons would quickly be defeated and subdued. The only factor that threatened his rule was the fact that Princess Zelda had somehow escaped the onslaught.
As Ganondorf mused over these thoughts, a group of black robed Gerudo entered his throne room. There were five total; five deadly warriors, willing to do anything for their lord, five of his best. They bowed before Ganondorf, their dark robes sweeping the floor.
"What are your orders, my liege?" one of them asked.
Ganondorf stood up from his throne. "Track down Princess Zelda using any means necessary. Kill anyone who resists, but bring her back alive."
"It shall be done," the five Gerudo intoned simultaneously.
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So, how'd you like that chapter? It's a bit lengthier than the other ones. Anyways, chapter four will be up soon. Four is really where Link and Zelda's quest will begin; they will attempt to free their first Sage and also encounter aannoying, glowing ball of light during their adventure in the Forest Temple…