The Downfall Timeline
Book 1
Chapter 12: Lost Friends
January 21, 610 GK, The War of Imprisonment, Day 189
Infirmary, Lake Hylia
The next morning, Link was jolted awake by the voice of a woman shouting close by.
"What do you mean he's alright?! Look at him!" she cried.
He looked over to his right and found Telma and Alfon standing beside his bed - facing one another.
"Now now Telma, keep your voice down!" Alfon tried to soothe, "He just got a little bump on the arm, it's nothing!"
"Nothing? NOTHING!" She shrieked, "You call a shattered arm NOTHING?! YOU DAMNED FOOL! How could you let this happen to him?!"
She was so overcome with rage that she was actually shaking her fist in Alfon's face - her delicate silk handkerchief waving helplessly between her fingers. Fresh tears began running down her cheeks, ruining her makeup, and turning her eyes red.
"He's somebody's child Alfon!"
"I'm ok Telma, you don't need to-" Link began, but the tavern matron - faster than a striking serpent - grabbed him up into a hug and smothered him against her giant bosom.
"Oh my brave little soldier!" she wailed as she squeezed him with crushing force, "What have they done to you?!"
Desperate for air, the boy's arms flailed up and down as he tried to free himself, but she only pulled him in more tightly with her iron grip.
"You're not going!" she continued, kissing the top of his head, "You're not! I'll keep you at the bar... you can keep me safe! But you're not going back out there! Oh my poor little man!"
Lord Alfon now valiantly struggled to free his squire from Telma's maternal-grasp, when Impa came charging into the room.
"What is the meaning of this racket?!" she shouted.
The marshal snapped to attention - his eyes quickly darting from Impa to Telma and back again.
"Lady Impa! We... I... uh..." he stammered, as the enraged minister stomped her way over to the squire's bed.
"Telma! I knew it was you! I should've known if we let you in here that you'd be causing trouble!"
Her sobbing halted and she dropped Link back into his bed - with a desperate gasp for air. Wheeling around on the sheikah, she returned to shouting, "I have as much right to be here for our soldiers as anyone Impa!"
She waved her arm, motioning to the other wounded men in the room and continued, "One might wonder why you aren't here yourself! Tending to those men you send out to die!"
At once, the tension in the room soared as the two imposing women locked eyes and glared furiously at one-another. Telma, though beautiful and affectionate, had a fierce temper and bore a thick and powerful form beneath her jewels and finery.
Impa, however, was a trained and disciplined warrior - to say nothing of the authority she now carried as the Princess' warden and guardian. The lines of her own muscles were plain to see through the sleeves of her minister's war gown.
"One might also wonder..." she began with a very quiet, threatening tone, "how a guest of the kingdom could forget herself in such a disrespectful manner in the presence of the Minister-Regent of Hyrule!"
Telma's glare slowly softened and shifted to a look of confusion and then fear. "I...I..." she stammered, not knowing what to say.
The regent seized her advantage and pressed further, "Remind me, by whose leave were you allowed to settle in Hyrule?! Who allowed you to build your tavern in the Capitol City?!"
The innkeeper's lip quivered as her eyes glistened with new tears, "H-his Majesty said I-"
But Impa cut her off, "His Majesty is dead Telma! By whose leave are you allowed to be here?!" she demanded.
Defeated, the woman stepped back now and wrung her hands nervously in front of her. She had gone too far, let her passions carry her into serious trouble. The minister continued to glare menacingly as she slowly lowered her head.
"By leave of the gracious Regent, I am permitted to stay. At her pleasure." Telma said as she lifted her skirt and curtsied slowly to Impa.
She continued, but did not meet the minister's eye, "Forgive me my lady, I forgot myself. I was... overcome with grief for the fallen and worry for these injured men."
Sheepishly, She darted a glance at Link.
Impa's voice softened, but her scarlet eyes remained locked on her prey, "You are forgiven, of course, Telma. We all share your concern for the brave soldiers of the King's army."
The barmaid began to breathe easier and gave a relieved smile but it quickly faded when Impa continued her glare.
"This is the infirmary... not your bar." she snapped, "I'm sure there are other men you can tend to. Now get out!"
Her mouth dropped open in shock as she began to object, but Alfon wrapped his arm around her shoulders and firmly guided her toward the door. After she had left, the sheikah drew a deep breath and let out a great sigh.
"And you, young man, are you still alive?" She snapped.
"Y-yes" stammered Link.
It was the first time she had spoken directly to him since his outburst at Zelda. When the minister narrowed her eyes down at him he quickly added, "My Lady."
Satisfied now that her work was complete, she sharply replied, "Good! Get back on duty as soon as you are fit!" and, turning briskly, left the infirmary without another word.
"Yes, My Lady." The squire repeated after her.
After a few moments of silence passed, the muffled voice of the injured man across from the boy croaked out, "Don't let her get to you laddie. She's been as sweet as an Akkalan Peach to everyone she meets for as long as I can remember."
The squire, surprised to hear the man speaking, struggled to his feet and made his way over to the man's bed. A sling had been left on the small table beside his bed and he used it to truss-up his broken arm.
"You must see more than I see, sir." replied Link, "I don't see anything 'sweet' in her at all."
The man started to chuckle, but immediately fell into a short coughing fit.
"No lad, they don't grow peaches in Akkala." He replied, "An 'Akkalan Peach' means the same as a 'Road Apple'."
The boy, now standing beside the man's bed, grimaced at the sight of his grievous condition. He was heavy bandaged over most of his body with only a small gap was left for his eyes and mouth.
"I don't get it." he answered, "Apples grow on trees in the forest."
The patient turned his head slightly to look at him.
"No lad, it means... Oh never mind!" he finished with a frustrated growl and closed his eyes.
The young hero desperately wanted to question the man about his injuries and to ask where he had come from, but he remembered Alfon's warning.
"Where is Akkala?" he tried instead, "I've never heard of it."
The injured man gave him a disbelieving look, "Were you raised under a rock lad? How've you not heard of Akkala?"
Link shrugged, "We never spoke of anything outside the for- outside of Hyrule." he answered - avoiding the long explanation that he was a Kokiri.
The man let out a deep sigh. He wasn't going to be moving any time soon and talking with the boy would help to pass the time.
"Akkala is the name of the lands North-East of Hyrule, son. East of Death Mountain and North of the Zora Kingdom. It stretches from the Eldin and Lanayru Mountains all the way to the great sea."
The boy was more confused than ever. "Eldin and Lanayru?" he echoed.
" 'Eldin' is the ancient name for Death Mountain and its surrounding range." The man answered, "The Zora kingdom sits in the heart of the Lanayru Mountains in the East."
The squire thought back over his travels to the Goron and Zora kingdoms. He did remember seeing tall mountains and jagged rocks, but it never occurred to him that there might be more land beyond them.
For several minutes, the bed-ridden man detailed the landscape of Greater Hyrule to the boy. After Akkala came Necluda in the East, then Faron in the South, the Gerudo Desert (which the man knew very little about) in the Southwest, and finally the Tabantha Highlands and icy Hebra Mountains in the Northwest.
Akkala and Necluda were very similar to Central Hyrule - only with more hills. The Hylians who lived there were skilled farmers and tailors whose goods had helped the kingdom prosper after the civil war. Faron was a lush jungle region to the south.
"So far south that the Hylians there are burned by the sun." the man chuckled.
Indeed, the inhabitants of the Faron region had much darker skin than their northern brethren. Even darker than most of the Gerudo. Along the southern coasts, they were excellent fishermen & sailors. Further inland, they were formidable warriors - especially within their own jungles. The region held many of the necessary reagents for Hylian medicines as well as several rare delicacies that the noblemen sought for their tables.
Hebra was mostly uninhabited. A few tiny villages or trading posts had been built in the Tabantha Highlands -the Eastern-most portion of the region-, but the mountains themselves were far too cold for permanent settlement.
"Just as hot as Death Mountain is, Hebra is as cold." the man warned, "Men have been found frozen on their feet. The cold took them that quickly as they walked through the snow"
Each of the three "lesser" kingdoms: Akkala, Necluda, and Faron, had been gathered together by the royal family many decades ago. Their native leaders were allowed to remain as "regional governors" but all were commanded to submit to the Hylian crown.
Akkala was governed by the house "Cado", Necluda by house "Endai", and Faron by house "Guru." Each had rebelled against the crown during the war against the Gerudo and had nearly succeeded in breaking away and forming their own kingdoms once more. But the Hylians managed to overwhelm them and imprisoned the fathers of each house.
"The sons were taken as wards by the King's most trusted advisors and not permitted to return home until they had come of age. Then, they were allowed to resume their governorship." He explained. "A foolish decision on his majesty's part," he whispered, "They are not to be trusted! They betrayed us once, they will do it again!"
Link let a few minutes pass before he spoke again. He wasn't sure if the man was strong enough for more questions, but he was eager to know where he had come from and why the moblins had been chasing him.
"H-how do you know Malon?" the boy asked softly.
He shuddered at the mention of her name and slammed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, the squire could see tears beginning to form.
"You really don't remember me. Do you lad?" He asked, "You were the good lad that made sure my milk delivery made it to the castle on time."
Link gasped with shock at the sudden recognition, "You're Malon's father! You're Talon!"
They talked for nearly another hour. Talon told Link of how he and his daughter had sheltered beside the horses and cows in the barn when Ganon's evil cloud swept out over the countryside. How the ranch had nearly been overrun by the monsters, when a company of the King's men arrived and drove them back to the capitol.
The farmer wanted to evacuate with his daughter, but the soldiers insisted that they needed the ranch to house and feed their horses, so they reluctantly stayed. One morning, several weeks ago, Talon's farmhand Ingo had disappeared without a word. Talon searched for him and begged the nearby soldiers to do the same, but men could not be spared for the search as Agahnim's army seemed to be gathering for a new attack.
Finally, only six days before the fight at the lake-gate, Ingo had returned in the night with several of Ganon's minions.
"He was different," the man explained, "Confident, even arrogant, and there was something... evil in his eyes."
The corrupted farmhand quickly seized control of the ranch and chained its residents within the barn. The next day, Agahnim's forces assaulted the Hylian front line and pushed them back - beyond the ranch. Talon's horses and cattle were now in the enemy's territory.
"I wasn't strong enough..." he sobbed, "I couldn't even save my own daughter."
His grief was unbearable and Link could get little more out of him.
"What happened to Malon?!" he pressed, "Where is she?!"
"...With... HIM..." Talon choked out.