Nazrox's Reign
By: Sketzer
(Based on the Legend of Zelda games)
Prologue
Over the course of two months, Nazrox's army had overrun Hyrule. He proved his magical power by destroying houses with a flick of his finger. However, this information was unknown to Link because of the destruction of his intelligence network. The overwhelming numbers of Nazrox's forces devastated Link's army. After conquering every town and village, Nazrox drove Link's army back to Hyrule Field, nearing his goal of world domination. Link awaited the crucial conflict with the remainder of his army hoping to somehow defeat his enemy.
Chapter 1: Ganon's Assassin
Link sat under a waterfall, contemplating the impending battle. I know the makeshift palisade wall won't last very long, but we must hold our ground. I will only retreat to the castle as a last resort. My mage assassins must also be conserved, there are only eight left. This went on for some time until Gravis, General of the Hyrulian Army, came to Link with a few reports. "Your majesty, the Baltrithian Army is in the forest just outside our sight. We are waiting for the ambassador to return with word from the enemy, and the last of our spies have returned to inform us Nazrox may be with his army."
"Hmm, that would be horrible. Any news from the castle?"
"Yes, they managed to construct a small ditch of spikes around the perimeter of the castle."
"Who's idea was that?"
"Mine. I'll be back in three hours with another report, majesty."
"I like it, very good. You are dismissed General Gravis."
Link put on his casual green tunic, and began to practice fencing. After practicing he took out his bow to hunt squirrels and birds to sharpen his senses for the battle to come. Finally, he decided on one last shot. He closed his eyes and listened to the wind and the waterfall. Hearing a rustle of leaves, he loosed a shot into a tree. A masked man dressed in all black fell out of the branches.
Immediately, Link went to the man to check the wounds. The arrow was embedded deeply into the man's chest, but he was still alive. Link peeled off the man's mask to reveal a blonde haired blue-eyed human. Link began to interrogate him. "What were you doing in that tree?"
"I was…trying to ki… kill you."
"Let me guess, orders from Nazrox?"
"No, it was…it was…" The man's eyes began to glaze as though a deep sleep was on its way to rescue him from the world. "Who?" asked Link, "Stay with me. Who ordered you to kill me?"
"Gan…on…" The man fell limp in Link's arms. So, Ganon has returned? We'll see who wins this war, Link thought.
Chapter 2: Battle Preparations
Nazrox stood on a tall tree stump in front of his entire army. This was the first war speech he had ever given. However, with Ganon's help he could easily stir his forces into blood frenzy. He looked over them like a teacher would a class, only Nazrox would teach cruelty and hate. His message began; "What you have been called here to do, is not to take lives. We are gathered here to make sure our homeland is safe from the Elf menace. I have sought you out not for my personal gain, but for you, your families, and for Baltrian. Meltran was nearsighted. He did not understand what a threat the Elves are to us. I understand. I will make sure that we can keep our families safe. All you must do is follow; follow and be led to glory in the eyes of your people. We shall be triumphant, for Baltrian!"
His speech may have been a complete lie, but was followed by a great "Hurrah!" The mass of the army charged out of the forest and into Hyrule Field.
Link's army prepared for the onslaught after the ambassador returned with a time for the battle. To make sure everything was secure Link personally checked every post twice. After he was sure everything was set, Link took up his post to wait for the coming battle.
It was afternoon when Nazrox's forces emerged from the trees. The army was so incredibly large it took them an hour to get their formation right. Link saw that a large part of the cavalry resided on the flanks. He drew a picture in the ground to help with his assessment.
T Trees
I Infantry, by 100's
C Cavalry, by 50's
B Bowmen, by 75's
S Siege Tower, by 1's
N Nazrox
T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T
C C C C B B B B S B B B B B B S B B B B B B B B S B B B B B B S B B B B C C C C
C C C I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I C C C
C C I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I C C
C I I I C C C C C C I I I I C C N C C I I I I C C C C I I I I C C T
T T T T
T T
T T T T
T T T
"Gravis, this is going to be a very tough battle," Link said in a low voice.
"I agree majesty. I suggest that we use the wall only as a fallback point for regrouping."
T Trees
W Palisade Wall
I Infantry, by 10's
B Bowmen, by 10's
C Cavalry, by 3's
L Link
WW W W W W W W W W W W WWWWW
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
TT I B I BBB I BB I BB I BBB I BBB I BBB I BBB I BBB I BBB I BBB I I BBB TT
TTT I I C C C I I I I I C C I I I I C C C L C C C I I I I C C B B B B B B I I C C I TT
TT C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C TTT
"No, we should use the wall to its fullest. We cannot afford to retreat in the middle of battle."
"Hmm, I agree. We don't want to leave our forces unprotected. If that is the strategy, then we must use our superior bow range. If we can damage most of their cavalry, we could offset them. The question is which flank do we take out?"
"Which of our flanks is weaker?"
"The left."
"Then we destroy their right flank. That is my order."
"It will be conveyed, majesty."
"Dismissed, and good luck."
"To you also, majesty."
Link knew that if they could hold somehow, Hyrule would be safe from then on. In one hour the battle would begin, and the fate of Hyrule would be decided.
After one hour both armies were ready to fight. Link rode out to meet Nazrox again to personally negotiate the conditions of battle. They stopped at the halfway point between their armies. Nazrox spoke first, "Well it seems we are once again negotiating, Link. What are your terms?"
"My terms are that we use only the strength of our armies, no magic."
"Very well, but I can't stop him from using them."
"Who? Tell me! Who, Nazrox, who?" Link then thought for a moment and added, "An old friend of mine?"
"Hmm, you could say that. See you on the battlefield, Link." Nazrox let out a long laugh as he rode back toward his army. Link stayed for a moment and thought, He set Ganon free, but where he is, I have not a clue. He then turned and joined his army.
Link's orders to the officers were to wait for Link to fire the first arrow. As the Baltrithian Army marched closer, Link took out his bow. He looked at Selestie, who had been gone under orders from Link, and said, "Are they ready Seles?" She looked at him gravely and replied, "Yes, they are always ready to help Hyrule."
"Good, we will need all the help that we can get. How did you wake them?"
"I am a fairy, Link. You know that I have many talents dealing in the art of magi. However, right now it is very hard to concentrate. There is a huge evil nearby, but I cannot tell where."
"I bet it is Ganon. Nazrox set him free. An assassin of his tried to kill me."
"Hmm, he must have new powers from losing his body. Perhaps he has possessed someone. If so, we may be able to be rid of him forever."
"How? Every time I thought he was "gone" he always came back somehow."
"When a person is possessed by a spirit, the only thing the spirit can hold onto is that person's soul. When that person dies, the spirit holding onto the soul cannot let go as he is bound to them by magic. That person's soul then moves on, along with the spirit possessing them."
"So all I have to do is kill whoever Ganon is possessing."
"Yes. The only trick is discovering who he possesses?"
"Hmm, I cannot be sure. Nazrox's army destroyed my intelligence network. So I have no way of knowing who is possessed. I suppose if they use their powers today then we shall know."
"I agree, Link."
Link looked back to Nazrox's forces. The time had come. He strung the bow, and then drew an arrow. He loaded his bow, pulled, aimed, and fired.
Chapter 3: The Battle on Hyrule Field
A rain of arrows followed Link's, which had firmly embedded itself into an enemy horseman. The arrowheads shimmered as they flew across the sky and into the enemy ranks, where they would be forever doused in blood. More and more of the cavalry fell, until only a scattered few of them remained. Link ordered the bowmen to fire-at-will, and the result came as an endless flurry of shots. Very few arrows missed their targets, though the enemy never seemed to become smaller in size.
When Nazrox's army had nearly reached Link's wall, Link turned to Selestie and said plainly, "It is time, contact them." Selestie took on a look of absolute concentration then stopped and said, "It is done." Immediately hordes of monstrous and wild animals poured out from the trees. Link saw bears, wolves, crows, and even deer hit the sides of the enemy. Link knew that they had been taken by surprise because some of the men turned and fled. Those who did quickly met their demise as the animals made quick work of them. Soon, however, the enemy regained its composure and began to fend off the animals. Selestie contacted them again to have them retreat.
The enemy had now reached Link's wall, and the army parted for the siege towers to commence moving forward. To Link's dismay he saw that Minotaurs were pushing the towers. How in the world did Nazrox find them? I thought they were a thing of legend. I had heard stories of them from older magicians when I was a child, but I never thought they would actually exist. This may turn out to be worse than I had imagined. Link ordered the bowmen to attack the minotaurs, but they were so heavily armored that all the arrows fired at them merely ricocheted off. He canceled the order and set them back to firing at the troops. He then went to the tent that housed the mage assassins. "You are needed, Minotaurs are pushing four siege towers toward the wall, and you need to either kill the Minotaurs or destroy the siege towers." The group of mages looked at each other then said, "Yes, your majesty."
Clire was now the leader of the mage assassins, and gave them their orders and strategy for battle. He set them in groups of two, and assigned Theldin and himself the far left tower.
When they all reached their destinations they began pick off the Minotaurs one by one. After three were killed, archers in the siege towers began firing at the mages. Most of the arrows were deflected, but a very well placed shot found its way into the leg of Theldin. Clire saw this, and quickly came to his aid. "Looks like it was a good thing we paired up, eh Theldin?" Theldin looked up at his best friend and smiled then said, "Just get me off this wall." Not wanting to waste time healing Theldin, Clire picked him up. He then proceeded to take Theldin down to the hospital tent. There were wounded men everywhere. A pile of dead bodies lay next to a large fire, where men would strip them of useful items, and then were traditionally cremated.
Clire laid Theldin on one of the beds, and then rushed back to his post where he found a caldron of molten rock. With magic he lifted the caldron over the tower, then poured. As the very hot rock ate its way through the wood, men in the siege tower began to jump off. In two minutes the siege tower was no more. Clire went to see how the others were doing. Every siege tower had either been stopped or destroyed, except for one. That one carried five mages who deflected everything that the Hyrulian mages attacked them with. Clire regrouped the seven remaining mage assassins, and gave a very specific order: "Hit them with everything you've got." This led to a barrage of magical attacks, which was designed to weaken the enemy mages enough for the archers to finish them off. Clire then pulled as much energy as he could from the surrounding area, and sent a massive fireball directly into the center of the siege tower. It was completely obliterated.
Nazrox could not believe that Ganon's plans were failing left and right. "Ganon, I thought you were good at making plans."
I am, that twerp Link always ruins them. He finds some item or person that stops my plan, so I make another. And another. And another, yet he always defeats me. He's very resourceful.
"I can tell, which spell do you think will be the best in knocking this puny wall over?"
The Halten Neroth spell.
"The rock golem spell? Why that?"
I have never used it on Link before. He won't know what hit him.
"Very well."
To be safe, Nazrox made ten rock golems. They were the size of an ogre, and looked as though they had walked straight out the side of a mountain. Nazrox set them loose upon the wall. They began tearing at the bottom of the wooden logs as though it was made of paper. Every time they hit, their eyes glowed a mysterious red. It took no more than ten minutes for a section of the wall to come down. Nazrox's men poured into the chasm. There to meet them however was the entire Hyrulian Cavalry, directed personally by Link.
The horses charged into the enemy infantry. Clire, who was on the horse next to Link, knocked all the spears out of the way with a single spell. The cavalry pressed on until they came face to face with Nazrox.
Chapter 4: A Lucky Strike and Unfortunate Retreat
"Link, how nice of you to come visit me. Don't worry about being attacked right now, you have more important matters to attend to." Link looked around and saw that the fighting around where they were had diminished. He looked back at Nazrox and said, "Yeah, which spear I'm going to put your severed head on."
"You should know better than to rouse anger in your enemies, especially when they are stronger than you." Nazrox began to glow a tainted red, then slowly lifted into the air, and hovered above the battlefield. "I am more powerful than any man! I have Ganon!" Link looked on in despair. I should've realized that Ganon would possess Nazrox. It makes more sense than cooking meat with a fire. This is horrible. Two of my enemies packed into one body.
"I shall rip your pathetic wall down with my shear power!"
"Nazrox! It's time you and I had a fight, one against one. Come down and fight me," commanded Link.
"You think that you can stand up to me? You will be destroyed by the force of my power!" Nazrox lowered himself back to ground level, but he hovered a few inches above it. Link demounted his horse, and unsheathed his sword. Nazrox began the battle by using the same attack that had almost killed him a few years ago. Link swung Arget Brisingr into the fireball, which exploded into a thousand smaller flames. He then moved toward Nazrox, and began to slice at the Emperor. Nazrox easily dodged each attack as he moved with purpose. Link found himself between Nazrox and a Minotaur. Great, I became blinded with tunnel vision. The Minotaur lifted a giant club, and swung at the small Hyrulian king. Link dodged the deadly blow, and plunged his sword into the ox-man's side. The Minotaur let out an excruciatingly loud roar, and fell to one knee. He was wheezing. How lucky! I punctured his lung, now to finish him off. Link took his sword and held it with both hands. He swung, but the brute stopped the blow with its bracer.
The duel that ensued was very intense. When Link dodged an attack, the Minotaur's club sent men from both armies flying in every direction. At one point the Minotaur took Link by the cape, and brought him close to its face. The eyes were full of hatred, and the breath smelled of blood. Its horns were red with blood, and its fur soaked with sweat. Link dropped his sword, unable to use it in such close proximity, and pulled out a dagger. He inversed the dagger and buried it in the brute's stomach. It let out another roar and fell to its knees. It coughed up a mixture of blood and bile. Link wiped off his dagger and took his sword again. He beheaded the monster with one stroke.
When Link looked around, Nazrox was no longer in the vicinity. I lost him. He will destroy the wall. Link made his was back to Clire and told him to fire the signal for retreat. After Clire fired, the Baltrithians overran the wall. Unfortunately, General Gravis and a small company of soldiers became trapped and killed. Almost the rest of the army returned to the castle.
Chapter 5: The Passage
Link knew that everything he said would have impact on the overall morale, so he decided on a speech. This speech would the people that the king would do everything in his power to stop the madman Nazrox. Link stood on the front balcony and looked over the rest of his kingdom. It had been reduced to inside the walls of the castle. Things were not good at all. The barracks was overcrowded, every room in the castle held the people who had lost their homes, and worst of all there was not enough food for everyone.
Sometimes small groups of Nazrox's army would survey the area, only to find the walls shut tight and arrows flying past their ears. Link was still amazed that Nazrox had let Ganon possess him. Ganon never takes orders; Nazrox is only his pawn now. So Ganon learned a few tricks from the humans, but he is the same as he always was. Pathetic.
Link had everyone in the kingdom gathered in front of the high balcony, where the Kings or Queens of Hyrule gave their speeches. He looked over his people as though a child looked at a puppy. He cared for them with all his heart. Then his mind was filled with the face of his wife. He loved her even more than he loved his kingdom. I will bring peace to this land again.
He went back into his room for ten minutes to read out of the "kings' diary" as he thought of it. Link had no time to read until now because he was constantly bombarded with thing needing to be finished or started. That happens during war I suppose. He took up the book and opened it.
King Mortin I:
A ship arrived early this morning. It was filled with humans. I have always thought the humans were evil, ever since they assassinated poor Lithidor. Fortunately, Glestyin made sure that the humans would not be able to return for a very long time. However, these humans managed to reach Hyrule, the name Glestyin now calls this land. Evidently, the Helstram named his Baltrian. Glestyin soon said, "My work here is finished. When I die, my body will turn into pure energy. That energy will then create seven statues. The statues are to be placed around Hyrule so that it may retain its glory. If they are moved, that area of Hyrule will be turned into wasteland until the statue is returned." When she died, we did as she asked. Each statue was of an animal unique to that region. Each animal was given only extended life and they all died within seven days of each other. We buried each at the location of the statues that represented them so. Somehow it seems that the statues grew more powerful since then.
When Link finished the passage he noticed the rumble that the people were making. They wanted their king. He obliged them.
The Final Chapter: The War's Next Chapter
Link knew full well that Ganon would do anything to get into the castle, even if it meant sieging the castle for a hundred years. I can wait any amount of time, Ganon. I am pure elf. You cannot, you're only human. The castle's wall is protected from all evil, so he cannot get in. I'm safe.
Link went to find the mage assassins. He found them in their usual study spot just on the other side of the well. "Clire," said Link, "I want you and Theldin to come with me." The two looked at each other, stood, and said, "Yes, your majesty?"
"Walk with me." Link turned toward the garden and the two followed. "I am going to give you orders and you will tell me if they make sense or not."
"Yes, sir?"
"I want you to watch the walls alongside the archers. Be sure to take shifts. I don't want you becoming too tired."
"This makes little sense, sir," said Theldin.
"It makes perfect sense, Theldin," corrected Clire, "you forgot the reason why we retreated didn't you. The golems broke through the wall. His majesty wants us to make sure that doesn't happen again. Right, your majesty?"
"You are correct, Clire. Also, if Nazrox figures out how to surpass the magic in the walls we'll need you there. Understand?"
"Yes, your majesty," they said simultaneously.
"Good tell the others, and don't forget to take shifts."
Nazrox, we are doing very well.
"I know that Ganon, but how do we get inside the castle?"
Simple, control someone's mind.
Over the next few weeks, nothing but tragedy struck the castle. A child fell down the well and died. The food storage caught fire. Then the worst happened, a mage assassin committed suicide. Link began to have suspicions. Why are these things happening? Could it somehow be connected to Ganon? He found the Head Wizard, Zintril, and asked for help.
"Zintril, is there any way, physical or otherwise, that Ganon could enter this castle?"
"I'm not sure. The castle has never been tested under real war conditions. It is possible that Ganon could set spells on the inhabitants of the castle."
"What kind of spells could be used against us?"
"There are many kinds of spells, I will need to research first."
"Ok, do that for me please."
"Yes, your majesty."
"It's working, they don't suspect a thing."
Don't be so naïve, Nazrox. Link will have suspicions by now. We must wait for a time, and then strike again.
"Very well."
After one week, events turned better for the Hyrulians. Bad things stopped occurring, and Zintril narrowed down the type of spell being used on Hyrule. Zintril found Link in the King's Room. "Your majesty, I have narrowed down the list of spells."
"Yes, and what have you come to?"
"The spells include all jinxes and curses. One, however, has been nagging my mind." He opened a book and placed it upon Link's table. "Crenda Protia the mind control spell."
"This must be it. Is there anything we can do?"
"I'm afraid not. Crenda Protia is a forbidden spell among the Hyrulian wizards. To use it would mean the forfeit of rank and power. It is also unblockable. There is no known counter-curse for this spell."
"Then I want you and your people to devise one."
"Your majesty! Do you understand what you are asking? It takes years of tests and calculation to perfect a spell. Not only that, but we are dealing with a very powerful sorcerer. Even more so than myself."
"At least try. I will not have Ganon undermining my kingdom at his leisure. We must put up some sort of fight. Do it."
"Yes, your majesty."
Link closed the door behind Zintril and went to contemplating other ways of damaging Ganon and Nazrox's forces. With conventional means I could send out a group of men at nightfall to burn the enemy camps. But that would also permanently damage the forest. Poison? No, too tricky. What about magic? Then an idea struck his mind. He retrieved Zintril and told him to find the mage assassins. The mage assassins joined Link in the armory. "My loyal bodyguards. It is time to send you off for a very important mission. There are seven Sacred Statues deep in the wilderness, protected only by the forces of nature. I need you to retrieve six of them. Each one holds the essence of the land in which it resides. If you take it from its pedestal, the land loses all of its properties. The air becomes thick, water dries up, and the magic disappears. If you take six of the statues, we can bring the enemy down to our level. Obviously, the one that must stay is the statue for the land we are in. I had a run in with it once; it is called the Statue of Kokiri."
"Your majesty?" interrupted Clire, "This is a lot to handle, but the wall will still need guarding."
"I understand. One of you should stay, but only one."
Clire spoke again, "It should be Theldin. Even though we healed his leg it still isn't working right. I want Zintril to have a look at it."
"Very well, Theldin stays. As for the rest of you, all of Hyrule is counting on you." Link bowed to his men, and they bowed in return.
"Dismissed."
Author's Notes:
Thanks to Nintendo for making such great games and stories.
Thanks to my dad for editing.
Thanks to my friends who are always asking for more.
I do not own any characters of The Legend of Zelda.
