A link to the heart Chapter 20

The day had come at last and the battle would soon be joined. Across the line thousands of men held their weapons tight and tried to hide their fear, knowing this morning would see the end for many of them. In long lines the soldiers waited, spears and shields held in nervous grips. Behind them were arrayed archers and catapults, while the mounted Knights held the flanks. It was an impressive display of might but all knew this army was fresh and raw, mostly virgins to war. Their courage was brittle and it may not withstand the coming storm.

Link was with the Knights on the left flank, standing among the armoured warriors. They were waiting for the order to mount up, so to save their horses' strength. Around them scurried armourers and servants, busily checking straps and tightening buckles. All of them were tense but they did not show it. These five hundred men were the veterans of the army, all had fought before and knew well the horrors to come. They kept solemn faces and rigid backs, more concerned about shaming themselves before their fellows than dying in the field.

Personally Link was fighting the urge to run to the latrines every five minutes. He was standing by Epona, waiting to mount up. His armour weighed heavily but he had his sword and shield and was comforted by their familiar weight. Either side of him were Tarren and Jortan, the two Knights having sought him out that very morning. Their reunion had been stilted and brief, the knowledge of the looming battle damping any joy or humour. It was hard to make merry, given what they were facing.

Set across a broad sweep of open field was a Gerudo army. Three thousand warriors sitting on horseback, with bows drawn and scimitars razor-sharp. Despite the distance Link could see their weapons glinting, scimitars, glaives and short horse-bows, all held ready. Massed horses pawed the ground and shook their heads as the Gerudo waited for the order to charge. That they hadn't attacked on sight was a testament to their surprise, they had been lining up to attack the walls of Kasuto when the Hylian army had marched over the hills and swarmed to face them. Their overconfidence proving a critical mistake as the Hylians hadn't even seen a scout.

Beyond the walls loomed, not as high or thick as Hyrule Castle's, but stout enough to hold the invaders at bay. The Gerudo were effectively trapped between the Hylian army and the walls, unable to break out without exposing their rear to vengeful Knights. Like it or not the invaders would have to face the battle to come. Probably future minstrels would sing of a swift drive into the waiting foe, but reality was not so neat and tidy. It took time for armies to prepare to fight, as both sides repositioned for advantage, but the preparations were almost ready. The battle was about to begin.

"You're really going into that?" came the voice of Malon from behind.

Link turned to where the ranch girl was standing with his helmet in her hands and said, "Yes, we are."

Malon gulped as she implored, "Just don't die, you hear me."

"I shall do my best," he assured her.

Malon presented his helmet and Link accepted it with both hands. Malon chewed her lip for a moment then suddenly reached up and grabbed his gorget and heaved him forward. Her head came up and Link's eyes widened as she kissed him full on the lips. For an instant he forgot the looming battle, stunned by the warm kiss pressing into him, the sweet smell of her hair buffeting his nose. She pressed firmly into him, making his head swim and his ears buzzed with the sudden pounding of his blood. Then Malon pulled back and grinned as she said, "So you have something to come back for."

She turned and ran off, heading back to where the camp followers were sheltering. Link was left standing dumbfounded, helmet in hands and a startled expression on his face as he watched her depart. He swallowed slowly then realised he was standing with his mouth open and a dumb expression on his face. He closed his mouth and pulled his helmet over his head as he turned to his friends.

Jortan scowled as he muttered, "Wish I had someone to kiss me goodbye."

Tarren sighed, "No such luck, it's time."

All along the line Knights were mounting up, following some order Link was too far away to hear. He stepped onto a wooden box, his armour so heavy he couldn't mount normally, then swung his leg over Epona's back. The horse whinnied as the weight settled but Link affectionately patted her and made a soothing noise. Around him other Knights mounted, then retainers and servants snatched up boxes and bags, clearing the field. Link cast his eye down the line of Knights and beyond to where the serried lines of spearmen waited. He was surprised to see King Delphna riding before the line on a white horse, the old monarch shouting something at the men.

Link strained his ears but couldn't make out a word at this distance and muttered, "What's he saying?"

"I can't hear," Jortan replied candidly, "Some speech to buck up the lads, probably."

Tarren scowled under his own helm, a steel pot with twin horns rising from it, as he explained, "He's reminding them of the plan. We hold this ground and let the archers and catapults hammer the Gerudo. Knights are to secure the flanks, we have to keep them penned in."

Jortan's helm had a metal spike sticking out the top and it bobbed about as he snapped, "Why can't we charge them head on? Break them in one rush."

"No," Tarren rebuked, "Orders were clear, the king wants the Gerudo obliterated. Not scattered across the land. The Knight's job is to keep them from escaping. Any man who loses his head and hares off looking for glory will swing by the neck. The King wants this war over in one day."

Link sighed, "That puts an awful lot on the spearmen. If the centre breaks, the army will be split in two."

Jortan agreed, "An awful lot of war virgins in that line."

Tarren growled, "The King will be with them and the Princess is behind. Every man knows what's at stake. They won't break, not in the sight their King."

Link heard a great cry go up from the Gerudo horde and many weapons were raised in threat. Men sweated and horses whinnied as the foe began to move, cantering forward at a slow clip. Three thousand horses advanced in a wave of hooves and broad chests, manes waving as they picked up speed. Link watched as the Gerudo broke out into a fast trot and then into an outright gallop, racing towards the waiting Hylians. King Delphna made a hasty withdrawal into the ranks, leaving the spearmen to lock shields and form a wall of men, ten deep. The air boomed with the thunder of the enemy's charge, the noise shaking Link's bones under his armour and he watched in disbelief as the Gerudo drove for the centre of the waiting army, racing right up the middle towards the wall of spears.

"They're mad," Jortan breathed in shock, "They'll be slaughtered."

Link however growled, "No, Gerudo aren't stupid. They're up to something."

"Doesn't matter either way," Tarren scoffed, "Here come the catapults."

From the rear of the army large wooden constructions sprung to life, long arms heaving upwards while doughty counterweights dropped. Held in the baskets were the finest of the Goron crop: Bomb flowers, the deadly harvest of Death Mountain. Black spheres were actually dangerous explosives, handled with the greatest care at all times, but Link knew well what devastation they could unleash. A dozen war machines went into action; lobbing burning bombs high. They arched gracefully into the air, curving towards the onrushing Gerudo in a course that would see them land in the heart of the incoming horde and Jortan muttered, "Goodbye…"

Link watched in rapt silence as the bombs began to tumble downwards, but then something unexpected happened. From the heart of the horde arose a bolt of lightning, stabbing upwards in a cracking blaze of electric brilliance. It struck the nearest bomb and instantly caused it to detonate, exploding harmlessly above the horde. Thunder rolled and light seared the eye but no harm was done to the riders below and the lightning was far from over. The bolt arced out from the impact and struck another bomb and another, forming a chain of explosions through the sky. Booms and flashes tore across the blue expanse, violent as the most ferocious storm. A terrible wind blew up as the air was disturbed, lashing the ground with fierce gales but not the fire the Hylians had expected.

"Magic," Jortan gasped, "Nobody said they had magic like that!" Indeed the display wowed the Hylian spearmen, they quailed in their ranks, looking to bolt away if only they could. The line shivered, the front rank held from running only by the mass of men behind, while the catapults reloaded painfully slowly. Then the Gerudo came.

From the thunder and the lightning rode waves of warrior women, their hearts undaunted by the noise and light. Their steeds were trained for battle and galloped swiftly at the spearmen, heedless of danger. They wailed with fierce joy as they charged, hurtling across the distance in a rolling drumbeat of pounding hooves. Link thought for a heart-stopping minute that they would crash headlong into the waiting mass of soldiers, but that was not the Gerudo way. At the last possible moment the charging riders broke formation, wheeling left and right like flock of evening birds parting. They galloped in either direction, their skill so masterful that none crashed into each other and as they rode horse-bows sang.

Wave after wave of arrows flew into the packed ranks of spearmen. Shafts punched into vulnerable heads and necks, sending men tumbling to the ground. Helms were sundered, chainmail failed and exposed flesh was torn as the shower hit hard. Hylians were falling by the score and they had barely made a dent in the invader's ranks. On and on the Gerudo came, dashing across the front of the army and away. A handful of Hylian arrows chased them, the panicked archers behind firing wildly but their volleys were feeble and barely two dozen Gerudo fell as they escaped out of range.

It was as consummate a display of horse riding as Link had ever seen, effected on a mass scale and he realised the Gerudo weren't going to be defeated so easily as he had supposed. Then he saw it, the sky was darkening unnaturally, purple spreading like a livid bruise, but only over the army. His hair bristled under his helm and the air grew tangy as eldritch forces grew. He cried, "The lightning, they will summon it again and blast the heart of the army!"

Jortan gasped, "They will blow a hole in the centre and punch straight through!"

But it was Tarren who shouted, "No, Look!"

Link squinted and saw a golden dome appearing over the spearmen, a soft radiance encompassing the vulnerable Hylians. He recognised that glow, the illumination of pure magic, born of ancient wisdom. It was the same energy as his Light arrows contained but on a vast scale. Link breathed "Zelda, is this you?" Then the lightning struck.

From the purple sky a jagged bolt of lightning plunged, aiming to carve out the heart of the army, but the golden dome stood in its way. The lightning blazed across that protection like oil on water, spilling out in all directions in chains of energy. It tore across the sky in crackling webs of energy, causing thunder to roll loudly, but not one man fell to its power. Safe under the dome the spearmen stood inviolate and a great cry went up as the soldiers beheld their arcane defence rebuff the lightning. Spears punched the air in elation, fists hammered on breastplates and at long last the catapults spoke again.

From the rear of the army arose a dozen spinning bombs, sailing untroubled through the air. This time the lightning opposed them not, locked as it was in a struggle for dominance with the golden aura. The fleeing Gerudo were caught completely off-guard as the bombs fell among them, randomly impacting across their galloping mass. Fire and thunder spread everywhere, explosions throwing broken bodies in all directions. Women were consumed by searing fire, their hearts stopped and lifeblood spilt freely. Wicked shrapnel accounted for many more, sending red hot shards lashing out. Even those further away were blown off their steeds, shockwaves tearing them from saddles and breaking horses' legs.

A great cry of elation swept over the Hylians as they saw hundreds of Gerudo cut apart, unable to resist the force of the bombs. Massive holes were torn in the horde and the rest turned to flee. Without orders, without needing a word, the horde wheeled left, following the instinct to flee before such devastating might. The Gerudo were not pugilists, to stand and trade blows until one fighter fell over. They were confronted by a force they could not withstand and so chose to flee. Unfortunately in doing so they steered directly towards the left flank, where Link and five hundred Knights were waiting.

Link swallowed as he saw thousands of Gerudo galloping towards him and he drew his sword as the cry swept the Knight's position, "Make ready. For Hyrule: Charge!"