Late Evening, June 16, Year of the Great Kingdom 597
The plates and cutlery on the table jumped suddenly and Gormnd's bottle tipped over as the two felt the quake tear through their house. "What the hell was that?!" cried the father, as their joyous mood quickly snapped into a shivering fear. Just after, the horrifying "BOOM" – like a great crash of thunder, far away, slammed into the wall of their little house – causing the other plates and bottles in the kitchen to rattle dangerously.
"Papa?" Telma cried, "What's happening?" "Stay here!" he shouted back, quickly sobering and dashing out of the door to the edge of the road. The whole world seemed to be consumed in a terrible black fog of smoke and ash, blowing up from the south. It curled and churned as it slowly invaded their home through the door he had left hanging open. Terrified for his safety, Telma quickly lifted the skirt of her dress, and chased after him into the darkness.
Their throats burned and their eyes stung from the foul cloud, but once Telma found him beside the road, he lifted an arm and pointed southward. Through the gloom, an eerie, menacing orange glow shown out against the edge of the mountains and the low hanging clouds. "What is that?!" she whispered in a terrified voice. "I… I… I don't know." Her father answered, his own heart thundering away inside of his chest.
But, within seconds, the rapid gallop of hooves thundered their way down the road, as a rider raced northward past them. Turning in his saddle, he screamed at the pair through the darkness, "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! THE TOWER HAS FALLEN!" Just as he said this, another terrible tremor rocked the earth beneath their feet and a massive, rising explosion of orange and purple flames rose up in the distance.
"G-get… in the house!" Gormund muttered, teetering on the edge of panic, while Telma shook in terror. There could only be one meaning for "the tower has fallen" and she knew that they would not stop there. Stumbling through the darkness, the pair quickly dashed inside and shut the door. "Gather your things quickly!" her father shouted, "We have to leave now!" Telma did as she was told, and rapidly began to throw her spare clothing and few possessions into an old potato bag – tears pouring down her face. After tying it shut, she turned to find her father frozen beside his own bed – his bag only half filled.
"Papa! Papa come on! MOVE!" she cried, fearing that he had frozen in panic. But Gormund was not frozen in fear, he was frozen in thought. "We… cannot… go." He whimpered softly, with his eyes unfocused toward the wall. "What? What are you saying?" she shouted, "Of course we have to go! Come on! Let's get the mule!" "No… honey. We can't." he repeated, slowly turning and dropping onto his bed. "They'll kill you."
Telma's mind began to fracture. The terror of the approaching enemy now mixed with the horror of seeing her father panic and shutdown. She fiercely grabbed his arm and jerked him back to his feet, "They are going to kill us the moment they get here!" she screamed into his face. "No love… the Hylians would kill you." He croaked up at her. She blinked for a moment in confusion, "What do you mean?" she asked – an icy fear creeping up from her stomach and grabbing at her heart.
"If the Gerudo have sacked the tower," he began, "then word will have spread of war. Where could I take you that… that they wouldn't see you as a spy… or invader?" he finished, as pitiful tears streaked down his face. "We… will just have to hide." He added after a moment.
It was impossible. It was too cruel. There was no way that the Goddess would allow them to be trapped like this! Caught between two armies that would see them as "the enemy." "T-t-that cannot be!" she shrieked, "You c-can tell them that I am your daughter!" But Gormund just reached up and grasped her trembling hands. "If we had left days ago, maybe." He answered, "But leaving just ahead of their army… we would look like scouts or spies. We have to hide here! And wait for them to pass."