Rodan sat with Geral and Pip on the low fence near the southern entrance to Ordon Village. They had been watching the steady arrival of people on their way to the meeting house all morning, and the last few stragglers were now coming in drips and drabs.

Pip had sworn that they would see some great swordsmen, heroes of the war, arriving for the trial of the Hylian invader - but was disappointed when most of the newcomers turned out to be grey-haired farmer's, britches still caked in dirt from the morning chores, riding tired looking nags or in rickety wagons. Still, the usually sleepy village thrummed with activity and anticipation.

"My Da' says he's not seen this many people in town since the war", said Pip excitedly.

"Folks are comin' in from all over. My uncle rode three days just ta' get here", Geral said.

Rodan was only half paying attention. He was watching the crowd that had congregated outside the meeting hall. In particular, he noticed Ruslan, Portcher and a group of serious looking men locked in a deep and occasionally heated conversation. Ruslan and Portcher -he knew from his father- had served as officers during the war. They now each held areas along Ordon's border that were vital to its defence. Rodan guessed from the look of the others that they too were former soldiers. No prizes for guessin' what they're talkin' 'bout.

"You okay Ro? Yer quieter than usual. You still hurtin' from yer fight?", Geral said, looking along the fence at where he sat lost in thought.

"I still can't believe ya actually fought a Hylian", Pip chimed in, a note of jealousy in his voice.

Startled from his thoughts, Rodan looked at his friends. Their faces were a mixture of concern and admiration. He sighed and waved his hand dismissively.

"It was only a little Hylian. Anyway, I'm fine. Cylia patched me up good."

"He really banged ya up for just a little guy. Did he have, like, magic powers or somethin'?"

"Oh oh, my Da' says he had all these super cool weapons, like a gold sword and bombs and stuff", squeaked Pip breathlessly.

"Yeah, well my Da' says your Da' needs to learn to keep his big mouth shut", said Rodan, swinging himself off of the fence to land in the mud with a squelch. "I need to talk to my father, I'll see you guys later."

As he stalked off, he heard Pip muttering, "His mouth ain't that big."

Rodan headed down the muddy road, dodging the pits and troughs left by all the hooves and wagon-wheels that had filled with rain from yesterday's stormy weather.

I shouldn't have snapped at him like that. I just hate having to hide the truth from them.

His father had told him not to talk too much with anyone about his fight with Link, especially to his friends. "You let somethin' slip to Pip, two minutes later his father finds out. Before long, the whole country has heard about it." But he was especially forbidden from mentioning anything about the evil phantom that had attacked him.

I get it, he doesn't want anyone to start panickin'. But Pip and Geral think I'm some sort of hero, when all I did was get tossed about and then go runnin' for my Da'.

Rodan shivered as he again thought of the dark figure with the burning eyes. It wasn't hard for him to recall. Every night since the fight he had awoken in a cold sweat, spiteful laughter still ringing in his head. Last night he must have cried out in his sleep because he had woken to his father sitting at the edge of his bed, a worried expression on his face. Embarrassed, Rodan had assured Boru he was fine, and quickly turned over and pretended to sleep. But his father didn't leave his side all night, pulling up a chair next to his bed and stroking his hair. Why did I have to be such a baby?

As he headed into the village, many of the people he passed nodded in his direction or said a quick word of greeting. This wasn't uncommon, everyone knew everyone else in Ordon village, and he was the chief's son besides. What was new was the people staring, or talking in hushed whispers behind their hands as he passed. Once, he passed two girls of about his age who when they saw him coming, erupted in a fit of giggling and ran off, chatting excitedly and glancing back at him over their shoulders. There was a part of him that, in different circumstances, might have enjoyed the attention, but as it was the scrutiny and the whispers just intensified his brooding mood.

There was a holler from behind him.

"Outta the way kid, comin' through."

Rodan turned to see another covered cart trundling down the road, pulled by an old, weary mule. The driver, a squat little man in a straw hat, was gesturing at him to get off the road to let him pass. Rodan made to step to the side of the road, but the thick mud sucked at his boot, making him slip and slide on the wet surface. He threw his arms out to try and steady himself, but the movement caused a sharp, pulling sensation on his side. With a yell and a squelch he landed in a muddy heap on the ground.

"You okay kid?", said the cart driver, smirking as he pulled alongside Rodan where he lay. "Hey, ain't you Boru's boy?" Rodan saw some villagers pointing at him, and a few laughed, though they at least had the good grace to try and cover it up.

Dripping mud, and beet-red with embarrassment, Rodan staggered to his feet. Mumbling an excuse to no one in particular, he hurried off, keeping his head low and watching his step so as to avoid further humiliation. Once he had rounded the corner and was out of sight, he slowed his pace. He attempted to wipe some of the mud of his clothes, but mostly succeeded in just smearing it around. Wincing a little, he lifted his jerkin to examine the side that had hurt as he fell. Some of the stitching on one of his wounds must have torn, because now the bandage was sodden and oozing a steady trickle of blood. Dammit. Talking to Da' will have to wait. I better go see Cylia and get fixed up…again.

He didn't have far to go. Cylia was the town healer, and her house was just down the road from the one Rodan and his father shared. Rodan opened the flimsy gate and walked down the path to her front door. The garden on either side of the path was wild and overgrown, full of all manner of herbs and plants that Cylia used in her remedies. Rodan rapped on the front door with his knuckles, still trying to scoop some of the muck from his trousers.

"Round the back!"

Rodan waded through the tangled garden to the side of the house, from where the call had come. Cylia looked up from the patch of earth she was hunched over, trowel in her hand.

"Ah master Rodan, couldn't stay away, eh? What can I do for you this time? Not got yourself in another scrap I hope?"

Cylia stuck the gardening tool in the soil and stood up, brushing dirt off her apron, and removing her thick leather gloves. Despite her advancing years, she still stood tall, and her posture was poker-straight. Her dark, bushy hair was streaked with grey, and tied in a messy bun behind her head, though she was forever blowing fly-aways from her mouth and eyes. Her face was creased and weathered, but her green eyes twinkled merrily.

Rodan met her gaze, then lowered his eyes sheepishly.

"Sorry Cylia, but I need patchin' up again", he muttered, lifting his shirt to show his leaking wound. Cylia walked over to expect the damage and clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"You're lucky you didn't get some dirt in there with all this muck you're covered in. I'll never understand boys, Gods knows what you were doing…" - Rodan opened his mouth to protest, but Cylia interrupted - "...and I don't want to know neither. Some mischief no doubt. Come on inside then, let's get that cleaned and stitched up."

Her bony hand clamped tightly around his forearm, she shepherded him forcefully through the side door and into her parlour. With practiced hands, she put a pot on to boil and crushed some bitter smelling leaves into the water that made the air heady. She then set about removing his blood-soaked bandages and cutting away the torn stitches. As she worked, she hummed to herself, as if she wasn't doing anything more unpleasant than trimming a rose bush.

"You're lucky you caught me, I was just about to make my way to the meeting hall. Will you be coming along too? Ah but what am I saying, you've got a couple of years to go before you're allowed to attend council meetings, right? Still, I thought they might make an exception, seeing as you're the one who first encountered the boy and all."

Rodan winced as the old woman yanked a broken thread from under his skin.

"Here, hold this," she said, placing a linen that had been soaking in the warm water against his side. At first, the water stung the cut, but quickly the pain subsided and soon it was numbed entirely. Rodan watched as Cylia whizzed around the room, readying bandages, mixing an ugly, yellow paste, and gathering her needle and thread.

"Do you think…what's going to happen to the Hylian?" Rodan asked. Cylia furrowed her brow as she worked.

"Who knows? Lots of superstitious fools in Ordon. Wouldn't be surprised if someone wants to burn him at the stake! That's the problem with settling these things democratic-like, sometimes the loudest voice is the most ignorant. Bite on this." With that, she shoved a strap of thick leather between his teeth and began applying the foul-smelling paste. Rodan screwed up his eyes. The ointment burned horribly.

"Come on now, I've not even started with the needle yet", Cylia said, licking the end of the thread and tying it around the eye of the needle. Rodan's entire body tensed as he felt the prick and pull of the thread knitting the wound shut. "Gods, sit still will you? That little Hylian didn't squirm like this." Still, Cylia chatted away amicably.

"This whole trial is a farce if you ask me. Don't matter where he's come from, he's just a child." Here, her usually cheery tone lapsed.

"Poor dear, any fool with eyes in their head can see he's suffered so much. The boy's full of scars, and I don't just mean the ones on his body. Though he's got more of those than half the soldiers in Ordon."

With a snip, she cut the thread and started applying the linen bandage.

"A boy his age should be home with his family, getting up to mischief with his pals. Not off in a foreign land, fighting someone else's battles." She stood up straight with a sigh.

"Anyways, that should do you. Now, not that I don't enjoy your company, master Rodan, but I hope I won't be seeing you round here anytime soon. Least, not until those stitches need removing. You can see yourself out, I presume? I need to get ready for this travesty."

Rodan thanked Cylia and took his leave, heading out the front door and back onto the soggy road. A pleasant breeze stirred the balmy, summer air. The sun had almost reached its zenith. Almost midday. Better get to the meetin' hall if I want to see my father before the trial. He took off, as quickly as he dared without irritating his freshly dressed injury.

When he reached the hall he saw most of the crowd from earlier had already filtered in. Those who were just heading inside now were chatting excitedly amongst themselves, and there was an air of great anticipation. At the entrance, ushering the latecomers in, was Chief Boru, flanked by two of his guards. When he saw Rodan he smiled warmly and waved him over.

"What are you doin' here, lad? I thought you'd be off somewhere with Pip and Geral."

"Da', I want to be here for the council meeting."

Boru frowned and stroked his bushy beard.

"You know, these are not matters for children. We don't like to burden our young folk with such weighty decisions, especially a trial such as this."

"I know, I know. Children aren't allowed in the council meetings, but…if that kid is old enough to stand trial, then surely I'm old enough to be there too?"

Boru chuckled. "Well put, I doubt the council could argue that. Especially seeing' as we wouldn't have captured the boy if it weren't for you. Very well, take a seat. I suppose it's about time you learned how we handle matters in Ordon."

Rodan followed his father's outstretched arm towards the entrance, but then paused, a pensive look on his face.

"Father, you're…not going to let them do anything to the Hylian, are you?"

Boru's brown furrowed as he studied his son intensely, though his expression was not unkind. When he spoke, his voice was gentle.

"Rodan, you know I cannot change a decision made in the council. It's like I always tell you, I only lead Ordon. I do not rule it. This is somethin' you will deal with in your own way, when you are chief." A smile peeked through his tangled beard.

"Still, it gladdens me to know that Link will have another person fightin' his corner in there. Go on now, we'll be startin' soon."

Rodan hurried inside and took the vacant seat closest to the front of the room, though this was still several rows back. It seemed like half the country was packed into the old hall. Everyone was talking at once, their voices mingling and bouncing off the high ceiling in a cacophony of noise.

What did Da' mean? Does he want to help Link too? What is it even that I want to do? I only found out the kid's name just this second for cryin' out loud.

Rodan looked at the sea of faces around him. He was the youngest person in the room by a distance. Sitting right at the very front, blocking the view of the disgruntled people behind them, sat the group of soldiers he had seen earlier. Rodan spied the blonde coif of Ruslan, and the scarred, stubbly head of Portcher. They sat, arms crossed, intently watching the door to the side room off the dias, where Odo stood sentry. Odo caught Rodan's gaze, and gave him a jocular grin and a wink. Looking behind him, Rodan saw Cylia enter, and take a seat at the back of the hall. After Cylia came his father, who looked around the room. His lips moved wordlessly as he surveyed the crowd, which they always did when he had to count in his head. Appearing satisfied, he turned, and closed the heavy oak doors behind him.

Chief Boru strode purposefully to the front of the hall. Some of the audience stood as he passed - a few even bowed, though he graciously gestured them back into their seats. Boru climbed the short flight of steps up to the dias and addressed the crowd.

"Friends, I want to thank you for comin'. Some of you have travelled far to be with us today. As Chief, I know all of Ordon appreciates your efforts, in helpin' me run our proud country, fairly and equitably." A smattering of cheers, and the stamping of boots on the plank floor went up around the hall. Boru waited for the noise to die down before continuing.

"And in the interest of fairness…if I could ask one thing of you today, it is to extend that spirit of equity to all, and to judge this case by the facts. As in any other trial, we must not allow our integrity to be tainted by fear-mongerin' or resentment." Fervent whispers surged through the hall like an ocean wave, breaking on the front bench, many of whom got to their feet, shaking their fists and hurling dissent at the chief.

"Peace, peace!" said Boru, raising his arms to pacify the crowd. "All of you will be given a chance to speak your case, but not before the boy has had a chance to speak his". With that, Boru nodded at Odo, who snapped to attention, then disappeared briefly into the side room. He re-emerged, leading Link behind him. There were some hisses from the congregation, but it was silenced by a steely look from the chief. The boy climbed the steps to stand by Boru's side, front and centre on the raised platform. Though his head was held high, Rodan noticed an expression he had not seen on the boy's face before, not even when staring down the horrifying phantom. Is he…afraid? Boru raised his arms to quieten the murmuring crowd, and addressed them once more.

"Of what crime do we accuse this boy, Link? He is a Hylian, true, but that is not a sin in of itself. If we are to pass judgment we must first determine what wrongdoin' we believe him to be guilty of."

At least ten people stood and shouted all at once.

"He's a spy!"

"He's trespassin' on our land."

"Him and his horse damn near gave me a heart attack!"

"He desecrated our sacred pool."

"He attacked the next chief of Ordon!"

"What if he's an assassin?"

From the front row, Ruslan stepped forward and faced the crowd.

"The chief has asked us to look at jus' the facts. So here they are: this Hylian, armed with every kinda weapon you can think of, sneaks past our guards in the dead of night, usin' some sorta explosive. Then, he assaults the heir to Ordon, and busts down the gate to a holy site. After he gets captured, our men see the remnants of his evil magic surroundin' the fairy pool. These facts only point in one direction." Here, Ruslan turned and pointed his finger at Link. "That this boy is a sorcerer, sent here by the traitorous King of Hyrule, to carry out some foul deed no doubt. This is nothin' less than an act of war!"

Cheers of assent went up around the room, especially the front bench, and more stomping of feet on the floor. Ruslan sat back down, a smug look of satisfaction on his face. Portcher and the other soldiers slapped him in the back.

Rodan chewed his lip. Idiot. He wants to go to war but he doesn't even know half of what happened that night. Cylia was right, Link could be in trouble here. His father's voice cut through the noise once more.

"We have heard the charges. Now Link has the right to explain himself. I ask that you remain quiet until he has had the chance to speak. Link, please tell us of yourself and your journey" Boru touched Link's shoulder, then stepped back.

"Umm…"

Link's voice quavered. Rodan saw Link, exposed and alone on the dias, and for the first time since he had met him, the illusion was shattered. He wasn't the warrior in a boy's body anymore. He was a child, and obviously out of his element.

"Uh, I'm Link. I was raised by the Kokiri. I didn't find out I was Hylian until…um…about a year ago. " it only took those three sentences for the angry muttering to return.

"A Kokiri? Don't make me laugh."

"We're bein' fed some Hylian fairytale."

Link frowned.

"Fairytale? There are fairies in Kokiri Forest, if that's what you mean. In fact, it is one of them that brought me to your land. A friend of mine. She…left sometime ago. I was told I might find word of her whereabouts, from the Fairy Queen, here in Ordon."

Portcher leapt to his feet excitedly.

"Chief Boru, you of all people gotta know, if he was tryin' to deal with that…creature, then he must be up to somethin'."

"What happened then has nothing to do with what's happening now", said Boru pointedly, a strained note in his voice.

Is he talking about…?

"I've met plenty of fairies in my life, but never a bad one. Plus, she helped me in the battle against…", Link started but instead Ruslan seized his moment.

"Ah yes, your battle. For bein' a simple traveller, you sure carry a lot of weapons, eh?". He motioned to one of the soldiers a few seats down from him, who nodded and took a bulging burlap sack from under his seat. He heaved it up onto the dias, clearly struggling with the unwieldy mass. He opened the string tying the bag closed, and dumped the contents onto the stage. Some in the room gasped, and everyone craned their necks to get a better look. The man in the seat next to Rodan turned to his wife and whispered "how does he even carry all that junk?"

"Now why would a traveller be runnin' around with half the contents of Hyrule castle's armoury?" Ruslan continued, a nasty smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

Even Rodan was taken aback by the size of the arsenal. The sword, shattered shield and bow he had all seen Link use, but there was also a collection of bombs and different types of arrows, a much larger sword of strange colours, and even a bundle of sturdy, heavy looking sticks. Even stranger were the other items: a variety of colourful liquids in glass bottles, some sort of magnifying lense in the shape of an eye and a wooden box of an odd design. Weirdest of all, was what appeared to be a mask, of a face that looked eerily similar to Link himself. The empty eye sockets only added to the unsettling grimace the mask wore.

"Now what's a young boy like yerself needin' with a collection of weapons like this, eh?" Portcher growled, planting both his hands on the stage and leaning in close to Link's face. Ruslan slouched next to him, resting casually against the dias, and said slyly, "And it's not like you keep 'em for fun now is it? Rodan Chiefson's account was very clear on how well you handled these weapons. Why if that heroic boy hadn't managed to subdue you…"

"Enough!". The volume of his voice caught even Rodan by surprise. He had stood up, though he didn't know when, and now the whole hall had turned towards him. You could hear a sheaf of straw hit the floor in here. Welp, no turnin' back now.

"Ah there's our hero now, I didn't know you were joining us master Rodan" said Ruslan, giving him the slightest of bows. "I was just saying how it was your brave actions…"

"Maybe if you cleaned the pig crap out of your ears, you would have listened to my account more closely, Ruslan," said Rodan.

There was some puffing and "well I never"s from the elderly members of the crowd. Odo, from his post by the door, was doubled over holding his stomach, trying, unsuccessfully, to stifle his laughter. He straightened up after a look from the chief, but Rodan was happy to note a smirk at his father's lips, hiding beneath the beard. His confidence buoyed, Rodan continued.

"It's true that we tussled some, though I wouldn't say I was assaulted or anythin' like that. And maybe, I managed to knock the wind out him a bit, but I'm not the hero. Link is. There was…" Rodan paused as he remembered again the phantom swooping for him. "I think Link should finish telling what happened that night," He finished, a little sheepishly.

Link seemed surprised to have the chance to speak again. He glanced at the chief, who inclined his head, though his face was grim.

"Well," Link said "after Rodan and I had fought at the fairy pool, we were confronted by a tall rider on a dark horse. He attacked us both with dark magic. Unfortunately, I know this creature. I have battled it before." He glanced at the chief again before continuing. "It was a phantom, an evil spirit created by Ganondorf, the King of the Gerudo."

For a moment there was stunned silence. Then, another outbreak of muttering and cries of disbelief.

"Yes, we have heard this lie already," said Ruslan, coolly.

"It's the truth, I saw it all myself! If Link hadn't saved me…" shouted Rodan, before he was interrupted.

"I think," Portcher said, "the little chiefling might've taken a bump on the head durin' the fight. Or else the Hylian used some sorta trickery to confuse him."

A voice from behind Rodan called out.

"Someone should give you a bump on the head for talking such nonsense. I tended to the boy myself. He took a beating that's for sure, but his head is fine." Rodan turned to see Cylia standing above the crowd.

"As a matter of fact I tended to them both. Now I've cleaned up after plenty of wrestling bouts in my time. In fact I recognise quite a few faces here from my treatment room." She looked pointedly at some of the members of the audience, lingering on the soldiers on the front row. A few tried to duck down in their seats, out of her line of sight. "Anyway, in my professional opinion, most of those injuries could not have come from a couple of kids scuffling. The Hylian had burns on him for crying out loud! Any fool can see, these boys were attacked by something else."

Ruslan and Portcher were doing nothing to hide their anger now.

"Enough of this. That boy is clearly a spy! Maybe Hyrule has allied with the Gerudo again. Maybe the Hylian and that phantom are workin' together to overthrow us! Either way, King Valderich has threatened Ordon with a show of violence and Ordon must respond in kind. I motion that the council vote on executing the invader called Link."

"That's ridiculous, you can't execute him, he's just a wee lad!" yelled Odo, shaking his fists at Ruslan and Portcher.

"I must agree with Odo" said Chief Boru, placing himself between Link and the baying soldiers. "Even if the boy were a spy, Ordon is not - and shall never be, while I yet lead - in the habit of executing children."

A portion of the crowd was incensed.

"So you're just going to let him go?"

"I thought we're supposed to be like, a dem..demock…I thought we was supposed to vote on things?"

Boru had to shout to be heard over the noise.

"All right all right, settle down, we are still going to have a vote. Instead of voting on the boy's life however, I instead ask you this; having heard Link's story, should we continue to detain him here in Ordon, or should he be allowed to go free to do as he wishes? Please stand on this side of the room if you think he should be detained, and this side if you think he should be free."

After all the scraping of benches and clumping of feet had died down, Rodan, Odo, Cylia and a large group of people found themselves on one side of the room. They were stared down by Ruslan, Portcher, their soldier companions and a seemingly equally large group from the other side of the room. Rodan anxiously watched his father as his mouth moved silently. After he had finished counting both sides of the hall, he counted again. There was a tense silence. Finally, he cleared his throat.

"By thirty-one votes to twenty-seven, the Council of Ordon has decided that Link shall remain a prisoner. We will reconvene at another time to review the situation. I hereby call this council session to a close."