The Downfall Timeline
Book 1
Chapter 3: Hope Fades
Dawn, July 17, 609 GK, The War of Imprisonment, Day 1
At Hyrule Castle
Throughout the night, the Lord-Marshal and his men ardently searched Hyrule Castle – cornering and eliminating several of Gannondorf's followers. Hopelessly outnumbered, the Gerudo refused to be taken alive and continued to fight on, to the bitter end.
As a heavy rainstorm poured down upon the courtyard, the great commander met with his captains to assess their situation. Reports from some of the wounded, brought in from the Capitol City, confirmed that Gannondorf had fought his way out in the chaos and chased Impa past Lon Lon Ranch. The men believed that she had managed to lose him.
"The castle is now secure." He concluded, "Now we must focus upon helping our princess, however we can!"
After a moment's thought, he commanded, "Assemble the regiment! Call out the militia! The knights will take after Gannondorf, while the foot-men guard the palace. Move!" Trumpets sounded the assembly and men rushed to saddle and outfit the knights' horses.
Within minutes, as the storm cleared overhead and the moon rose high into the night sky, dispatch-riders sped outward to every corner of the kingdom. At every town, village, and hamlet they came to, they would sound their horns and cry out,
"The King is dead! Princess Zelda has fled into hiding! All sons of Hyrule, take up arms and defend your homeland!"
He would then hand a copy of the muster orders to the nearest citizen, and ride on to the next town; until reaching the extreme edges of the kingdom.
By dawn, the Marshall had managed to gather and outfit his entire regiment of knights. Armed with both sword and spear and bearing the finest armor in the kingdom, they were the elite of the King's army.
"We are out of time; we cannot wait any longer! The rest of you, muster the Army and defend the Capitol! We will send further orders when we can." He cried as they mounted their horses and made for the Castle's gates.
When the column rode through and took to the capitol road, a violent earthquake rocked the landscape and an echoing BOOM rolled up from the south.
"Goddess Save Us!" murmured the commander as be spurred his horse to a gallop, and dashed toward the capitol city.
In the Capitol Square
Turning the corner and sprinting into the fountain courtyard of the town, Link passed bewildered townsfolk who now stood frozen in horror at the black fog that flooded outward from the Temple of Time. It quickly swelled and rose higher, enveloping much of the temple structure and the grounds surrounding it.
Harsh cries and strange growls echoed and twisted their way out from the shadow as it washed over the nearest shops and moved to consume the entire town.
The Knights of Hylia quickly rode in from the castle road and smartly wheeled to meet this strange threat.
"All women and children to your homes! All men, take up arms!" Cried the Marshal, drawing his sword.
His eyes quickly scanned the crowd, "That sorcerer is here somewhere", he angrily thought to himself. But as he searched, his gaze caught upon Link - standing behind the city fountain and clutching a brilliant sword. For a moment, he simply saw a lost child, and hoped that his parents would find him and pull him to safety. But once he noticed the sword, a terrible shiver of dread grabbed hold of his heart.
"That sword... I have seen it before! In tapestries within the castle. It cannot be!" he rapidly thought, "if it has been drawn then that means..." In abject horror, the knight looked back up at the menacing cloud and the tall spires of the temple that still stood in the light.
He had heard the tales at court many times of the Golden Power, or the priests' fables of the Sacred Realm - and of the mythical "Master Sword" that guarded its entry. While he was a faithful man, the marshal had always treated these "stories" with a measure of skepticism. Surely, these were embellished tales - told to inspire the people and give some kind of example for his men to live up to.
As the looming, black cloud swept out over the entire town, many townsfolk simply dropped what was in their hands and ran screaming for the city gates. But a small band of brave men lifted up their staves or drew their daggers and fell in behind the knights.
Complete darkness drew over the square and - at once - they began to feel its effect: weapons became heavy and hands shook with sudden weakness.
It was more than a shadow, it brought sickness and fear.
The Lord shook his head, and narrowed his eyes into the blackness.
"Steel yourselves men! Don't let some trickster's magic get the best of you!" he shouted, though it took great effort for him to say it in a firm voice.
Soon, small points of orange light began to appear near the temple pathway and moved quickly down the steps toward the square. The first few quickly multiplied into an ominous orange glow in the darkness.
The rapid tramp of feet on stone and the ring of steel warned of the coming attack. "Stand Ready!" Cried the Marshal, "Here they come!"
Link remained crouched behind the square's fountain, watching as a swarm of flaming arrows shot out of the darkness and struck the mounted knights. Many lifted their shields and deflected the deadly bolts, but several of the men's horses screamed, reared, and collapsed to the ground.
Then the first wave charged forward and came into view.
They were vicious looking creatures: bearing the forms of men, but their faces were twisted into that of demonic animals – boars, hounds, serpents, and the like. Their bodies were large and muscled, while their hands bore cruelly sharp claws. They carried crude swords, axes, and spears, and were clothed in torn rags and strange hides.
They gave no regard to their own safety as they threw themselves against the Hylian's – blood, and the unquestionable obedience to their god, were the only desires these creatures carried.
Dropping his visor, the Marshal roared, "FOR THE GODDESS!" and charged directly into them, slashing and stabbing as many as he could reach. His faithful brothers charged after him, and rode down the first line.
At first, the battle seemed to go well. The heavy plate armor of the mounted warriors easily turned sword and spear away, and the hideous creatures were either killed or driven to flee back to the temple gates. The men cheered as terror began to subside and a quick victory seemed assured.
But when the vanguard approached the doors to the Temple of Time, a new figure appeared. A tall man, with his face hidden behind an emerald scarf and low hood.
He stepped into the open and casually raised both hands above his head - palms toward the oncoming knights. The Marshal rode right up to him and lifted his sword to strike.
A bright flash stung Link's eyes as great bolts of lightning erupted from the sorcerer's hands and broke through the kingdom's finest men. Many fell dead - including the gallant Marshal.
"Tremble you pathetic fools! And grovel before your god: Ganon!" cried Agahnim, as he lowered his hands and stepped to the side of the temple gate.
The legion of monsters grunted and growled in satisfaction at the fallen soldiers. Several rushed forward to claw and chew at their smoking flesh.
Another furious roar and violent quake ripped through the temple as all, but the sorcerer, were thrown from their feet. Agahnim touched the fingertips of one hand to his temple and closed his eyes.
"As you will my Lord." He muttered softly, a moment later.
"What do I do?! What do I do?!" whimpered Link.
Tears were now streaming from his eyes, his entire body shook with terror, and his throat was choked tight.
He had faced formidable beasts and overcome incredible odds before. But these creatures… they were like men; men who ate the flesh of the fallen!
The image of one of these awful demons bending down and opening its jaws to eat him filled his mind.
Their leader, the sorcerer, too filled the youth with great fear. He had never heard of a Hylian possessing such terrible magic.
That wizard has just cut down so many knights with just a wave of his hand. "How can I fight that?!" the boy's mind cried out.
"The sword," squeaked Navi, pulling him away from his fears, "Use the sword! It is blessed by the goddess to defeat all evil!"
Still crouched behind the stone fountain, he looked at the sword in his arms - watching the battle unfold, he had completely forgotten that he was still holding it.
Even in this dense shadow it seemed to shine dimly… almost… with a light of its own. As he stared at it, his shivering calmed and his terror subsided. A warm bloom of courage began to rise up in its place. The Princess and Impa both had told him of the Master Sword's power and he had drawn it from the stone.
The veiled sorcerer cast the dead aside with a wave of his hand and advanced on the remaining soldiers. Several bravely tried to fight him - charging forward with great warcries - but each blade passed through him without harm; as though he were made from smoke or vapor. Effortlessly, he killed all who challenged him. With the flick of a finger he would burn them with lightning or guide fallen weapons with invisible hands to strike them.
The last few knights backed against a storefront and were rapidly encircled by Ganon's monsters. Agahnim's grin widened and his evil eyes flashed, "My Lord has made this far too easy!" he cried aloud, when a small voice spoke behind them.
"Go back... Go back to where you came from!" shouted Link.
The wizard and his guard turned to find the green-clad boy standing behind them, defiantly brandishing an over-sized sword at their backs. Bravely, he had left the concealment of the fountain behind and was attempting to challenge the sorcerer himself.
"What is this?" Laughed the magician, as he waved his guard aside and approached the child himself.
"... The boy..." the terrible voice growled from the temple, "... kill the boy!"
At once, his servant's laughter died and his voice turned solemn.
He bowed his head, answering: "As you command my lord" and locked his eyes upon Link.
The little hero's hands shook but he planted his feet firmly and set his jaw. "I said go back where you came from!" he shouted again.
Agahnim slowly raised his hand, palm upward, toward the sky.
Several fallen swords and spears seemed to lift themselves from the ground and slowly turned to point at the child. Unable to block so many, the little warrior threw himself to the ground behind a pile of the fallen monsters, just as the deadly missiles flew toward him.
The wizard stepped closer, continuing to raise and throw weapons, broken shields, and even the bodies of the dead at the boy – forcing Link to roll from side-to-side and never giving him the opportunity to rise and strike.
When he came close and stood over him, Link blindly thrust the Master Sword out and valiantly tried to stab his attacker. Agahnim easily turned aside, dodging the attack and roughly struck the would-be hero across the face, knocking him back to the ground.
For a moment, the Master Sword slipped from Link's hands and clattered on the hard stones between them.
"What can a man do against the power of my god?!" mused Agahnim triumphantly as he stood over Link. "What can a boy do with just a sword?" he asked as he reached a hand down to take the Hylians' greatest weapon.
The child dove for the hilt, but the wizard's fingers closed around it first.
Another bright flash -much brighter and purer than the first- lit the square. But this time, it was Agahnim who had been struck! His voice raised up into a terrifying scream and a boiling hiss came from his own hand.
Despite his own great power, Ganon's lieutenant could not bear to touch the sword and was forced to drop it at once. Staggering backward, he desperately clutched at his wounded limb - which was suddenly burned and blackened.
"FOOL!" roared Ganon from the temple, "KILL THE BOY NOW!"
As the sorcerer recoiled, Link swiftly crawled after the blade and clapped his hands around its grip once again. But as rolled over and prepared another stab at the wizard; Agahnim unleashed his full power - mercilessly enveloping the boy with his lightning.
The child's mind turned completely blank and his body was filled with agony as he screamed in pain.
With rage-filled eyes and gnashed teeth, the darkened sage poured all of his power into this attack. "Die boy! Die and bother me no more!" he screamed.
But the wizard's anger had left him distracted to those few knights that held out nearby. Ganon's monsters had been blinded by the flash of light from the Master Sword and also staggered backward; leaving an opening for the king's men.
The Marshall's Lieutenant had watched the brave boy fall and now dashed toward Agahnim. With the sorcerer distracted and no longer keeping any magic to protect himself, the charging soldier swung his heavy mace and smashed it into his enemy's side.
The lightning broke and flickered out as the hooded murderer collapsed to the ground - clutching at his crushed ribs and sputtering his own dark blood upon the ground.
With his eyes bulging wide in terror, Agahnim choked out "save me my lord! save me!"
The Lieutenant raised his hammer again and aimed to crush the monster's head, but the wizard swiftly faded from sight and disappeared.
The other knights quickly gathered around their commander, turning their backs to him and the boy, and lifting their shields just as the demon's army regained their senses, and charged forward.
Once his opponent had escaped, the Lieutenant quickly looked down upon the young boy.
He was badly burned, but still breathing. Laying upon the ground beside him, mere inches from his fingertips, lay the magnificent Master Sword.
For a moment, a strange tone or note of music seemed to ring from its blade and come to the man's ears. A new voice, unknown but beautiful, spoke within his mind,
"You must escape with him!"
Without hesitation or second thought, the officer dropped his own weapon, lifted Link onto his shoulder, and - wrapping his other hand in his own cape - lifted the Master Sword by the blade.
After shouting to his comrades to cover their escape, he quickly mounted one of the few horses left alive -laying the boy across its back, just behind the saddle - and fled southward through the city gates.
With great cries of courage and battle fury, what remained of the Knights of Hylia (save the escaping Lieutenant) fought on to a heroic but ultimately fatal end.
As he cleared the city gate and rode out over Hyrule's northern plains, a terrific explosion finally destroyed the magnificent Temple of Time. Its towers and spires collapsed downward into the rising flame and shadow and were lost to sight.
Though none within the light knew it, all that remained standing was the broken arc of stone that once held the Door of Time; now a dark portal connecting Hyrule to the Dark Realm of Ganon.
His menacing evil and wicked servants continued to pour into the world of light, but Ganon himself still could not force his way through. Still the power of Hylia resisted him and would not allow the Demon King to physically enter her world.
He would have to find another way into the world of light.