6
The fall of a mighty one.
He came out of the water and took off his mask. The island seemed to be fairly large. There was a tower in what seemed the centre of the island; he could distinguish the different levels that had even without windows. The tower summits on a rocky hill that had watching posts at the four corners of the hill. The improvised docks were quite a simple rack enough for the boarding of equally rustic ships. He hid behind a boulder and saw ranks of creatures and sails set on the ships. They were lined up waiting for the sailing order far off a lonely cave made a lump on the flat sea perhaps that was the physical entrance above surface… maybe that was good enough. "They are ready for cast away." He thought. "That means the evil king must be healed completely". A dreadful thought that passed without leaving prints.
Link saw the ranks were distant; the docks were at an extension from the island. Eight ships he counted with the capacity of perhaps 140 monsters each. He then minded of the monsters that could fly and others. How many there were? Most likely the fleet was to be divided and set a force for another one to join afterwards. Regardless, the portion of the army would be destroyed that very same day, no reinforcement move will ever happen.
From the satchel he picked out ten bombs he brought along. The ships would be destroyed as well as the docks. The bombing targets had to be picked carefully, to inflict as much damage as possible to prevent their departure. He stepped on, looked for flying sentinels or any guards around the docks that could stop him, and then he planned a path around the ranks, a hidden path among the large boulders that created a fractioned stone wall.
Around the centric pinnacle he ran towards the docks leaving a trace in the sand. He jumped over other rocks and threw the bombs to the ships. No monster saw him but all of them saw the explosions. The wood flew burned and sank; Link shot his hookshot to a tower and reeled himself to the top. Many of the man-like monsters shot arrows at him, a few bat-like few towards him. Link slew with his master sword the guard on top and shooting his hookshot again he swung to a rocky formation.
Many of the ranks followed him. Link ran as fast as he could. From the satchel he fetched the last bomb, this he threw at the ones behind him and with a lit arrow he exploded it in their midst.
He continued running and from all over the monsters came out. Any that ventured to attack him lost a limb and its life. Reaching the tower wall he went on looking for the entrance. The gates opened and he went in. many arrows and knives tried to hit him but met the closed gates.
Inside he saw the tower was similar to the one eight years ago in a different future the evil king built. It was roughly made from stone or at least that is what it seemed. The circular room made the cylindrical tower stand out as much more spacious as it seemed from outside. This time there were no ornaments, no paintings, no vases and the staircase from the corner had not carpet. Also he noticed there was no ventilation nor light, and then again the dull light from outside would be ineffective to illuminate indoors. Before he could step up, he saw Ganondorf descending.
"Welcome" he said bowing only his head; his voice did little echo that would freeze someone else's spine. "This is my humble lair."
"Have you been waiting?"
"Certainly, we all have." He grinned lightly as his voice turned even deeper and his speech paused.
"Is this a trap?"
Ganon smiled large and his big brown eyes turned the other way.
"This is no trap. It is a confrontation. You are here because you want to slay me; I've waited here because I believe you cannot win without the sages. On my part there is revenge; you want to save Hyrule."
Link passed by him and went up the stairs. Gannon followed him closely, as though he was the guest.
"You know I am an illusion."
"Aye, I will not waste time with you."
"You know what you have to do, yes?"
"I have to fight some of your minions before."
"That is correct." They reached a steel door. "Beyond this point you shall confront four of my generals. They are skilled warriors who delight in carnage. I suppose you shall kill them but it is I who takes your life."
"Before I begin, will you tell me, what is this new power you hold?"
The illusion turned more serious without dropping the grin. He stared at Link amazed at how cunning he had become.
"It is rather simple. This power I do not hold as mine, rather I wield it in a manner of a weapon. It works in the same way as the triforce. This because it is the opposition of such power."
Link began to fathom the laws that governed this world. As the riddle said, as he learned, opposition in all things. That is the only way things work. Only through the use of different extremities can this world exist or be extinguished.
"I reached this place when in search of assassins for hire. The current swept me and when I woke up, my life was restored. I felt better even if my body was injured. Recently I unburied the treasure. It was a circle, flat and black. It looked like a rock, except it was polished and suddenly it made my wishes come true. Whatever I thought or see in my mind this made it realize. Without the constant use of my magic, I began to heal. Creatures are beaconed to my island or even created with the use of the circle. Anything I can create using this." Ganon's figure raised its arms in solemn triumph. "You shall die today and my will shall come over the whole earth."
Link waited for the speech to end. Gannon laid down his arms and said his last remarks. "Behind this door is general Khiloer he is my only beast general. He does not talk much but you shall find him entertaining. He is a dodongo, the last of his kind. Do you remember them?" and the figure vanished.
The dodongo were reptiles that ate anything in its path. They breathed fire and grew much. However they are stupid creatures that cannot lead. How could it have become intelligent? Link wondered. Not caring, he drew his sword, fixed his shield on his arm and went into the chamber to meet his destiny. After the door was shut behind him, he observed the enormous room he had entered. Very damp, hardly lit; his foe used this to hide. Link went to the central part of it. He heard a growl moving back and forth and bouncing against the walls. The beast spat something and it hit the shield, the corrosive slime slipped off the steel leaving a deep stain. Out the shadows was the general; a reptile indeed he resembled a kind of lizard with long arms and legs. It came out to the light walking on four but it stood tall, twice the size of Link.
Both rivals ran against each other, Link extended his sword and the general his claws. A clang was heard and a spark was seen. As they fought a hollow noise was heard from the clash of steel and nail. It penetrated the stone, the steel all the way through to the top. An all-seeing-eye was left for the king to see the confrontation.
"There he is, taunting the beast."
"I see it," said Jarlon. "Do you suppose that Khiloer will fall for it?"
"Yes" Gannon only answered that.
As the fight went on, the beast growled, roared, hid and tried to bite Link. He on the other hand protected himself against the slime, teeth and claws with his worn out shield.
He wielded his sword and scratched the animal without inflicting any real injuries. Skin hard as steel, reflexes as a cat; he let not an opportunity for a proper blow. Link thought of an idea. With his hookshot he swung around shooting it to the ceiling, Khiloer followed snapping his mouth and trying to reach his prey. Link then threw down his sword and it nailed the monster's foot to the ground. The roar was unbearable to hear; still Link pulled out an arrow that he drove down the opened mouth. The spell created a blue glare that went down the wide opened snout, the cracking sound of ice echoed inside as Link maintained his stand on top of the lizard. Then he jumped down, dodged the scratches from the sharp claws, took the master sword and stabbed the beast several times before smiting the head off. Link removed the sweat from his face while he walked away from the carcass
From the other side of the room another iron door slid open. The hero of time once again triumphed over his foe and went up the stairs to the next room. There the image of Gannon was waiting.
"You did well." He leaned towards the wall.
"How did it become that thing" Link inquired for he never saw a dodongo fighting like that.
"That beast came to me. Intelligent he was before meeting me; however he needed to become more skilled. For that I granted him to become bigger, to walk with two feet as well as growing stronger."
"Who is here?" Link pointed to the closed door.
The image vanished leaving the door open for Link to go inside. As he did he saw nothing for inside was pitch black. Little did the outside torches reveal beyond the frame, when the door closed; nothing but the most absolute darkness prevailed.
A deep voice came from across him, perhaps on the opposing wall. Loud and clear he heard it in an imaginary straight line. It was not as Ganon's, this sounded youthful and almost innocent. His speech resembled the one of the captain that brought him.
"Welcome, you are Link, yes?"
"That is a witless question." Link replied with his guard at ready.
" Yes, it is. It was not my intention to appear to you like that, I just was not sure it was your name. I hardly hear it for they call you mainly the Hyrule dog." Link heard a chain being dragged. "My name is General Zun Dialat. I say general though I am not. I am skilled as a warrior however not a leader."
"You fight in darkness." Link observed also he calculated the dimensions by the echo of his voice, strangely enough when Zun Dialat spoke there was no echo. " I have done this before and it will be of no avail." He quickly stringed an arrow and shot it to the ceiling. Strong light shun for a moment all of the room bouncing against the stone and with it going out he saw momentarily his foe, which neither moved nor seemed surprised. Link was not sure but it seemed as his face and eyes were completely covered.
"You fought Argul, in Urikia, yes? It was a formidable adversary, they tell me. He could see in the most absolute darkness. You slew him by blinding it. Well, I shall disappoint you. I am already completely blind.
The chain Link heard before, he heard again. It swirled around and with the sound he dodged it. It attacked him once and again, cracking with every breath almost as though as the chain was alive. Then it hit him on the chest, he tumbled a few steps back and then it grabbed his feet. An incredible force dragged him and threw him against what seemed a table. The wood broke and a few splinters penetrated his flesh. He could neither feel his sword nor shield in his hands. Suddenly the chain hit his stomach, his face, his chest and grabbed him by the arm. It seemed it was a whip and not a heavy chain.
He was dragged eleven paces before reincorporating and pulling the chain. His adversary threw (perhaps) another chain to his feet and made him fall.
The warriors continued the struggle pulling the chains. Link was stronger; however he could not grip the chain before he was thrown down again or whipped by it.
The chains wrapped Link's neck and Zun Dialat pulled as hard as he could and also dragged him around.
Gripped so hard, without much option, Link attempted to break it but could not even put his fingers around it. Without his weapons, his last resort before strangled to death. "Meriar oek sil" He yelled punching the floor, a dome of fire surrounded him and blazed around, by this burning Zun Dialat. The general ran around in a frenzy trying to put out the fire consuming it. He rolled and yelled for mercy. With the glare, Link could see a shine of his sword and shield. He took them to slay Zun Dialat in the manner of a soldier's death. Link drove clean his blade into the general's back still burning.
The iron door opened and he left the room. Light began to hurt his eyes, after a while he realized he was bleeding from his arm. Not a deep wound, only bigger than he imagined without need to sort it.
Gannon's image waited for Link to reach the next door. He grew impatient for Link's pace was slow, much slower than he expected, nevertheless he never thought his generals would put quite a fight considering the strength of the hero of time.
"I warned him about your spell." Said the illusion. "I gave him clothing similar to your tunic." He said pointing at Link's red fireproof tunic. "He assured me that he would kill you immediately. I believed him."
"Why do you put your general's in such a punishment?" said Link catching his breath and staring daringly. "Why don't you come and fight me at once?" Gannon smiled and chuckled as he lowered his head.
"Patience, I say. You shall get to me in due time. For now, I shall like to reunite you two." He looked to the door. "A confrontation you had a while back made me realize that this man should join my ranks. He has longed for your arrival. You shall be surprised." That is the last thing he said before he vanished.
Link went inside the door; inside the well-lit room he saw the metals hanging, lying on the floor and embedded in the walls. There he was, a familiar figure sitting at a corner, holding a bag of rupees, this judging by the noise of it. He threw and caught it several times before speaking and coughing. Gannon spoke the truth, at this moment Link became surprised.
" Bashmulia…" the bag of rupees went straight to him. Link dodged it and before he knew it, his foe was already before him, erect as a rock and smiling.
"You came!" he yelled and bringing blades to his hands attacked Link. He continued attacking with both blades, he coughed and spat blood to the Hylian.
Link got rid of his non-magical gear and threw it to the ground. Bashmulia gathered all the metals around him and in a rain and frenzy of iron he cast them towards is rival.
The arrows, blades, rods and chains all in a whirlwind chased Link who used the Kokiri and master sword to deflect the attacking objects. Then he felt his hands stopping too. He let loose of the gauntlets and slashed them apart so they couldn't be used. In the middle of the noise and clattering of metal, a voice was heard. "You shall die. I have waited for my revenge too long." He yelled and coughed again.
To the far top corner of the room, the all-seeing-eye kept watch and projected this to a mirror up in the evil king's throne quarters.
" Bashmulia is fighting with all of his might and hate."
"Yes." Said the evil king. " Bashmulia hates him almost as intensely as I do. Nevertheless Bashmulia has lost his mind, he is demented."
" Why do you say that, my lord?" Jarlon inquired for he saw no change in Bashmulia behaviour.
" He has been to death and back, he has known only defeat upon departure. He lived a reclusive life in this world without contact with anyone. When he died his only memories were the steel and shame. Day after day his longer lasting memory was defeat, time and again."
As the two warriors clashed inside that room full of mineral, Link thought of one way to defeat him. Another trick would not be enough, he needed something else, something that Bashmulia could not expect and moreover he could not defend against. He tried the same as he did with the warrior prior to this battle. The dome blazed around and set nothing on fire. Bashmulia had covered himself in chains and a wall of metals that shielded him against the flame. And with a move of his hand the columns shattered and the pieces went straight for Link. His shield hit him and the slime still on it burned his face. A bundle of arrows missed him by just an inch as well as the chain missed his neck.
A rod from behind him hit his head and immediately a blade wounded his leg. He knelt with pain and dodged the rest as he stood.
Bashmulia stared from afar laughing at the spectacle. He enjoyed it very much, however he became unsatisfied. It was not good enough, seeing it from a distance he had endured pain and suffering just to go back to the world. The prize was far too high for merely watching.
The metals halted its flight, they were suspended in the air as Link shielded behind his unspoiled blades crossed against him.
All of the metal turned to its master and covered him completely with it. The armour was not heavy for he commanded the materials and lightened the burden. The spare weapons were set aside for he needed them not.
They both stared, the piercing eye through a mail helm against the cold stare. One against the other, they ran with swords up high, lusting the blood of the enemy. Each other's arms clashed, they were wielded with top skills. Then Link's arm was wrapped around chains and twisted. Bashmulia hit his opponent in the head and then turned to hit him several times in the face before letting it go and kicking him away.
Link hit the wall and his blades fell from his hands. He almost went into slumber from the bang to his head. Bashmulia laughed hard and hacked blood.
" Last time I fought you I was defeated for you learned my weakness." With his chains he snatched the bag of rupees and opened it. He pulled a blue one and stared at it. "These are the rupees that you used to kill me. This is the prize of my life. I have always been fond of rupees; perhaps they are my favourite gems. Now you have nothing to defeat me and yes, you are helpless without your weapons."
Having heard that Link leaped to his feet and strode towards his enemy yelling "No!" Bashmulia brought up the Hylian shield in front of him. Link cut right through the shield and his foe. The shards of the armour and shield dropped and Bashmulia laid dead once more.
The evil king chuckled; Jarlon could not believe his eyes.
" Did you see that, my lord? He parted his own shield and the mail! He didn't even have the gauntlets on."
"Is it a surprise? Coming from the lad that defeated me?" Jarlon bowed even more as he realized how improper his remarks were.
"Link has absorbed some of the power from the gauntlets. Also he holds great strength. When weakest, Link might find his greatest strength. Remember that as you fight him." Jarlon stood high and before he left the evil king reminded him. "Do not let him any advantage. Beware of his every move. He will not have magic enough for the spells still watch his words. If you wish to live past today you shall kill him the moment you see past his guard."
As the evil king commanded from his throne, he watched at Link struggling to reach a vial, its content was some of the red potion. The glass was broken and most of it leaked during the battle still it was enough to stop his bleeding and recover his health.
Link now wore no gauntlets, bore no shield and his clothes were torn apart. He gathered as many arrows as there were unbroken and returned them to the quiver. His bow had been almost useless during battle; still he carried it to fight. As he continued onward to the last general's quarters, he thought about his situation.
Last time he fought the evil king, they held such quarrel in Hyrule; the tower was full of materials for his aid. Link could use them to make potion or even arrows. But only stone and dirt dwelt there. He had found water and salt as the only elements from his world. None of that would be helpful.
Finally he reached the final room before his confrontation with the evil king. He had fought little time considering his foe. He had been victorious in spite of the warriors so brave and skilled he fought. Yet he stood alone; vulnerable to the twist of fate.
The door sled sideways and standing in front of him was Jarlon. He took off his cape and revealed the contracted spear, his breastplate shined with the brightness of his crystal torches.
"So you are Link. I have heard so much about you however never seen you before me."
"Who are you?" Link inquired with his sword at ready.
"My name is Jarlon." gave a small bow. "I am the first general for Ganondorf King. I am originally from the border line of Quiavaughn in the late empire of Xilias."
"Yes, the rue people. You must delight in battle. Surely you have done this since merely a lad.
"You are correct." He said without drawing any weapons. "I am to carry out the will of my master, to kill you that is."
Then Jarlon pulled his spear and from his back he drew the shield. Link circled around him, he sensed there was something more to that pale warrior than met the eye. He examined his guard which seemed common enough, his weapons seemed to have nothing special and nothing of the room could be used for attacking. What, he wondered could Jarlon use in his favour? Link brandished his sword vertically and Jarlon evaded it moving sideways without problem. Quickly Link slashed horizontally but his opponent moved his arm out of the way with the rest of his body already safe. He attacked once and again yet without coming close to his target. Even when his foe clearly feared the master blade, he could easily avoid it, he even took precaution as to not repel the attacks. Link made a series of attacks first he tried a kick, repelled by a shield. Quickly ramming with his shield, but counter-rammed. A piercing blow to the face, Jarlon moved it and pushed Link away.
"He dodges my blade." Link thought. "How can he do so without blocking?"
Link tried to jump to enhance his blows twice yet this proved Link's attacks being slower. Jarlon avoided the stabs and Link chased him closely being body close to body. A vertical slash, quick horizontal, stab, hilt-hit, low kick, shield-swing. Jarlon evaded these attacks easily enough as though he knew they were coming. His small spear was not put to use. This until after one slash, Jarlon jumped out of the way and in mid-air he expanded his weapon as to be shooting it, the tip tore Link's shoulder. The metal slit the flesh enough to bleed abundantly. He put his hand to the wound and still wondered about Jarlon's fighting skills as he gazed at him, and there he was standing proud with his spear to full length, admiring the little blood splatter on the rod. Link then shot his hookshot. The tip went straight to Jarlon's face but he dodged it, quickly turned around and dodged the piece of rock the tip reeled. Quickly he took his spear and swung the head to Link's side that he blocked with his sword dropping his other weapon. Jarlon then spun around turning his back to Link, shortened his spear having it fall to the thigh. The Kokiri moved away from harm but the spearhead scratched his leg. It was a costly move but worth the pain. It was not speed but a spell in those cold blue eyes, something that allowed that pale man to see the moves notwithstanding the swiftness of them. He stood up, hoping to be able to attack him from behind or paralysing his eyes or even his legs. He had not enough magic for any spell, even if he did there was no sureness that Jarlon was prepared to shield from it.
They fought again, with their own choice of attacks, Link tried different techniques he learned over the years, and however they could not lay a finger on Jarlon.
Meanwhile the man of Quiavaughn remembered the day his father died. He was twelve years old; they were attacking a company on patrol. His father took several weapons but his choice was always the spear. "Listen son, the spear is the perfect weapon. You can throw it, you can attack and defend with it. So many uses in the right hands, it has. Regrettably there is one inconvenient; it is bound to break for no kind of wood could resist the clash of bare steel." Then he took a spear and threw it against the company. The projectile went straight for the last horseman and it swept him off his horse. The leader halted the line and ordered half of the men to go find the culprit. The imperial guards rode to the distant iced hills where Jarlon and his father hid. "Leave Jarlon, and watch how to kill." He obeyed and went into hiding among the snow, covering himself with a white blanket. The soldiers rode hard against him. The rue man took two spears and threw them into the fogged air striking true against the first two. The others opened way riding faster after spotting him, they flanked him and brandished their swords without touching him. He jumped on one of the horses and kicked the rider off the animal. Then rode against the remaining two and pulling a knife from his belt and an extra sword from the riding chair, he plunged the knife on one and decapitated the other one with the sword. At the same time, with perfect aim he completed his work. He went down from the horse and admired the bloodshed. "This is the art of killing, son." He said in a loud voice. As soon as he said it an arrow pierced his shoulder and threw him to the ice. As he turned around he could hear the rest of the company riding hard against him. Before he could reach a weapon, one of the soldiers jumped on him and held him down. He tried to ward him off but the soldier grabbed the arrow and twisted it to produce pain. The rest of the soldiers got off the horses and started kicking him and hitting him with the rods or the hilts of their swords. One of them roped his throat and tied the other end to the horse. He rode the horse hard and dragged the already beaten man around the rough ice. He halted and the beast stepped on his victim already unconscious; the captain took his sword and beheaded the inferior man.
Jarlon saw everything amazed in the intensity of his father's death. He never imagined that the soldiers could make such a stand. For that he respected them more and swore to kill that captain one day.
Not long after that he infiltrated their post and beheaded that very same captain. Years later after discovering the warring state of the empire, he went to seek the other kingdoms and showed them a passage through the wastelands. Five years later the emperor was dead and the rue people left the boarder line of Quiavaughn.
Now, at the present day he could do it again. Bring destruction to another kingdom and gaining the respect of his Lord.
Link stood a guard, swung his sword three times in preparation for an attack and charged for proximity. Slashed the air horizontally Jarlon moved sideways to the right and Link quickly drew his Kokiri knife and threw it against his foe. The knife penetrated Jarlon's shield but missed his flesh. Then he quickly threw it to Link with him tilting backwards dodging the projectile and running against the culprit in a slashing spree. The blows reached no flesh, instead three consecutive cuts made a hole in the wall that crumbled outward into the shore. One horizontal blow Jarlon stopped with his full spear, however before his foe could press on, he moved out of the way and contracting his spear he drove it through Links side. Cold, he felt. Abruptly and unexpectedly. Before he could react the tip was then driven to his stomach. The pain was unbearable. Then smiling Jarlon kneed Link's already bleeding stomach kicked his face with the same leg deployed his spear and hit him with the rod. Link was thrown against a wall and there he splattered blood.
Jarlon was about to slash his throat but Link ducked and only the tip of his hat that went flying to the far corner of the room. Link's wet hair fell, with the braid cut undone now covering his face. The walls became inexistent, the sound of the sea now distorted. His foe was not clear anymore and everything except his bright light clothes and the torches were a spot in the growing darkness. His blood-lost drained out his energy quickly. Jarlon held his spear against Link's throat.
He admired all of the blood and the torn apart clothes, this to turn towards the all-seeing-eye. "Is this the man you feared, my lord? Where is the grand warrior? All I see here is a defeated mortal. He is no different from other soldiers I killed before!" He turned to Link to spit to his face, and then he drew closer without taking the blade from position and whispered to his ear. "I do not respect you at all. You shall die at the hands of someone who doesn't even hate you. Yes, you are that meaningless to me." Suddenly Link grabbed an arrow from his quiver and drove it to Jarlon's chest. Not noticing the move surprised him however he only laughed to see that the blow did not pierce his armour.
"You did not have the strength to drive it through the breast plate!" he almost lost posture laughing. "I dare you. Go ahead and inflict me a wound." He placed his chest still covered in front of Link and watched him struggle with the weigh of his own arm. Then he saw something as the arrow hit his breastplate. He saw the brightest light in the world. That blinded him, holding his hands against his eyes he stepped back thus Link shot his hookshot admirably fortunate to have it close to him right through Jarlon's heart. Jarlon immediately became shocked, cold; light weighted and fell to the ground. His last words "I have failed." Were only a whisper and incomplete.
Link lay on his back exhausted as he dropped the handle to the ground. The door opened and the evil king appeared looking almost exactly as his illusion only that he had long hair and different armour, still completely black but the breastplate consisted of different pieces and had a cloak. He walked towards Jarlon's corpse staring at the work of art.
"If he were alive, I am sure he would have liked this." He turned to Link. "I told him to finish you quickly, to never underestimate you under any circumstances. Still he finished the job." He exhaled.
Link made not an attempt to grab a weapon; he could feel the life leaving him. Before that he also remembered his last night with Zelda and became glad.
The evil king gazed at the master sword as he levitated it. "This is the sword I feared for years. This figure haunted me for near a decade in the middle of my nightmare. Now you shall not need it." And he threw it out a hole made from the battle. "If I leave you here, you will surely die. Then again, I would not have my revenge." He picked Link from the clothes and checked him for more weapons. When he found none he then saw the necklace hanging on his bare chest, it attracted his gaze. "Where did you find that piece? I shall have it for you need it not for the next world." He snapped the chain from his neck and threw him to a wall. Link hoped he could end his state at once.
"Before I kill you Link, you should know this." He pulled a blade that glowed as though it was scorching. "It was not wise to come here alone, as you can see. You should not have done that. Now I am going to take the rest of my army which is far greater than the force you killed and will kill princess Zelda. Your stubbornness was of no avail." He was about to lay down the finishing blow when he heard Link whispering something. "What?" he heard him speak again but did not understand the words. He came closer and clearly he heard it. " I am not stubborn." Rather than uttering, Link exhaled his words. Immediately he heard two different horns blowing. One of his army, the other one the Hylian brass horns. He looked out the window and saw an enormous fleet coming to the island. He saw large boulders thrown into the shores as well as fire pots. He turned to Link and he was smiling, then he understood his words.
