~Important: To those of you who find this chapter familiar please be aware that this has been salvaged from my previous account: HyrulianWolfie (please see more post story for this)~
Chapter one: "Open your eyes."
The night air of Hyrule was crisp and serene, occasionally filled with the soft chirps and cries of the nocturnal wildlife that inhabited the lush landscape. A gentle breeze parted the blades of grass and the clusters of Silent Princesses which grew in abundance, causing the field to shimmer in the moonlight like an ocean. Most of the residents of the land had long since retired to the comfort of their homes and were now blissfully asleep.
However, one figure was still awake, keeping a silent watchful eye over the kingdom she was soon to inherit. Her hair flowed in long, bright golden locks and her facial features were delicate and pure. Though, her emerald eyes reflected rare wisdom for someone still quite young. She held a regal yet graceful, calming air about her.
~ Princess Zelda ~
Future heir and divine guardian of Hyrule
Zelda stood pensive on the outside balcony of her bedchamber, overlooking the sprawling town below. Much of it was bathed in a dreary darkness, which was occasionally cleaved by a lake of moonlight unveiled by passing clouds. Raising her gaze further, she looked beyond the outer perimeters of the town to the vast lush fields beyond. Many settlements glowed softly in the distance, like beacons of comfort guiding weary travellers on their arduous journeys. The land looked more alive than it did just a few years prior and yet, symbols of death and destruction still peppered the landscape.
The mangled carcasses of many mechanical warriors lay felled among crumbling ruins, some were overturned in deep craters that pockmarked the land. Numerous ones had been piled high, in a grotesque twined pillar of spider like legs. They were gradually being broken down and taken away but not fast enough for Zelda, who was observing them with sheer despair. For her it was a continuous reopening of past wounds, a daily reminder of past failure and a visual blight that could not be scrubbed clean quickly enough.
Tonight's observation brought with it an air of intense unease compared to other nights. This night Zelda did not focus on the hope of a kingdom rising from the ashes, but the gnawing fear of a slumbering evil laying in wait to tear it all down again. They had called it the Great Calamity, a primal evil that was prophesised to return every 10,000 years. An entity of malice which plagued the world leaching off the very breath, of the wild landscape it touched. Corrupting the essence of man, beast and even machine. For the heiress of Hyrule, it did not sit comfortably with how the scriptures of old continuously foretold of this cataclysmic event, as though it were a perfectly natural endless cycle of destruction and despair. She had seen the intelligently coordinated destruction of that vile entity closer than most, for she herself had played a vital role in containing and vanquishing it.
According to the prophecy they were safe for many lifetimes and yet, Zelda could not shake the feeling that they would be witnessing that same destruction sooner…. far sooner.
No quicker had the thought crossed her mind, a grotesque rending sound pulled her to. Spinning around frantically to locate the source of the sound, she was only met with the eerie stillness of her bedchamber. She tried to steady her breath, but the air suddenly grew thick and closed in. A sinister feeling began to creep its way into Zelda's increasingly anxious resolve. Flecks of luminous red and purple miasma began oozing from the stone floor beneath her feet. "It cannot be!".
Returning her panicked gaze to the field, the pale lake of moonlight bathing the land just moments before was now an ocean of crimson. The moon loomed ominously many times larger in a now blood red night sky. Before Zelda could think another thought, there was a 'woosh!' and she was suddenly elsewhere clutching herself amidst an icy cold wind.
She quickly realised she was now standing in the province known as Tabantha, revealed by the large mechanical eagle-like structure of Vah Medoh dominating the skyline above her. No sooner was she there reeling from what she had just witnessed, another grotesque rending sound echoed cross the deep canyons of Tabantha. To her horror, the giant bird above began to bleed a thick purple substance that rained down on the village below…. "malice!". The creature groaned to life letting out a shrill, horrifying shriek. A loud rapid beeping sound could be heard before the creature shot out a laser far out of sight over the mountains.
'Woosh!' the air grew ever colder still. Zelda was now stood on a cliff overlooking a barren wasteland. Again, knowing where she was, Zelda turned around to be met with the looming image of the large mechanical camel like structure of Vah Naboris perched on the rocks above. The same rending sound echoed out across the cliffs and it too, began to bleed malice before groaning to life, letting out an equally unsettling shriek. The same familiar beeps rang out and a laser fired, disappearing over the cliffs above.
Zelda's growing nausea was made worse by the third 'woosh!' which pulled her at lightning speed to the lakes of Lanayru. No rending sound this time. The lake was already flowing with viscous malice, which was not only bleeding from the body of Vah Ruta but also welling upwards from out of its trunk as a thick column of purple. The same beeping sound rang out and a third laser disappeared over Rutala Dam.
A fourth 'woosh!' swept Zelda off her feet and she was now choking on burning air, high in the peaks of the Eldin volcano…. Death Mountain. The large mechanical lizard that was Vah Rudania clung to the rocks and with the same grotesque sound, it began to bleed malice; a steady stream meandering its way down the volcano like lava. The same beeping of the last three times rang out but this time, Zelda had a clear view of the laser. Though she already knew the intended target, she could now see Hyrule Castle firmly in the sights of all four Divine Beasts.
Yet another 'woosh!' and Zelda was now stood back on the balcony of the castle gazing out in horror at the now unfolding nightmare in the land below. Slowly out of the darkness crawled one at first, then two, then four, doubling faster and faster. A steady trickle became a torrent of mechanical spider like creatures, clawing their way towards Hyrule Castle Town. A sea of red lit up across the field and a cacophony of beeps rang out and suddenly, Zelda was awash in the light of countless laser beams.
Screaming out in fear Zelda spun around, to be met with a single portly figure with a mane of white hair. "Father!" she cried out and attempted to stagger towards her father's outstretched hand. Her awaiting father suddenly twisted his open hand into an accusatory point and his solemn face twisted with pure contempt. "You have failed Zelda!" he hissed. "F-father?" Zelda stammered. "You have failed both as my daughter and as future ruler of Hyrule and now you shall inherit a kingdom of nothing, exactly as foretold!" her father seethed back. Tears poured down Zelda's face as she let out an anguished cry. "F-father, I-I-I tried my best!" she sobbed falling to her knees…. 'woosh!'.
Zelda rose slowly to her feet in a now unfamiliar place. The air was dank and musty. Barely seeing in front of herself, Zelda staggered forwards in the unknown darkness. The air was eerily calm and yet, Zelda's ears were reverberating with the thunderous sounds of her own frightened heartbeat. All else that could be heard were the occasional droplets of water, leading Zelda to believe that she was now deep underground in what felt like a cave or mine.
Zelda had stumbled awkwardly about for what seemed like an eternity, being guided only by the faint glow of the mysterious luminous stones that lined the wall. The suspense filled journey ended abruptly when she fell painfully on crags of rock. Pulling herself awkwardly to her feet she suddenly found herself inches away from a skeletal face, thinly covered with dried taut sinews of decayed flesh. She tried to scream but it felt as though her breath had been sucked out of her lungs and into the agape mouth of the lifeless body in front of her. A demonic voice echoed across the chamber, "open your eyes!" and the head of the decayed body snapped grotesquely in Zelda's direction. The dark empty sockets were now incandescent with crimson red eyes, which appeared to burn into Zelda's very soul.
Finally issuing a panicked scream, Zelda came to as a crumpled heap on the cold stone floor of her brightly lit bed chamber; now filled with brilliant sunlight. Pulling her aching body up from the floor she stumbled sleepily towards a dresser, taking a seat in front of a large mirror.
She observed her delicate features in the mirror, her anguish filled emerald green eyes gazing softly back at her. Her facial expression was weary, troubled; still defined by the nightmare she had endured last night. "What if it wasn't just a dream?" she murmured softly to herself. "What if the worst is yet to come?". Unable to shake what her father said to her in her dream, Zelda felt more powerless than ever before. Sure, she had the power to seal the calamity at the last moment…. with the help of the Divine Beasts and Chosen Knight wielding the blade that seals the darkness. This however, this was now on her… alone. To lead and heal a kingdom heavily maimed by the calamity. There would be no help this time and so she needed to change; the old Zelda needed to go. Opening a drawer of her dresser, Zelda reached for a small dagger and pulled her flowing golden river of hair over her shoulder. Observing in her mirror, she took a deep breath, put the dagger to her hair and began to cut.
~Thank you for reading chapter one of my FanFiction, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! :) Despite some initial hiccups (more below), I remain committed to going on this journey with you which will bridge the gap from BOTW to my own interpretation of how BOTW2 will play out. I hope you stick around and will be very interested to hear your reactions below! As always, this wouldn't be possible without the amazing characters and world Nintendo gave us so all credit rests with them. ~
Important: If you remember reading this chapter before, I owe you an apology. This project was meant to start on my old (now abandoned) account 'HyrulianWolfie' in January. Shortly after posting my first chapter, I started a new job which involved remembering a LOT of passwords. Consequently, the passwords for both this and my new outlook account dedicated to my writing slipped out of my brain.
When it came to updating my story a month later, I suddenly realised I couldn't remember my passwords and ended up getting locked out of my outlook account trying to reset it. I was thankfully still logged into my FanFic account but did not want to risk adding to my story and growing the viewer base and then end up losing it all should I get kicked out of my FanFic account. I therefore decided to cut my losses and removed the story/chapter from that account, reuploading it here. I should have posted an update but initially, I took this as a sign that maybe I wasn't ready to write a FanFiction due to this being a little daunting for me. I have however, written more and have now gained a clearer sense of how I want the story to play out now and have no intention of pulling the story again. You can therefore expect this story to remain up on this account and will be pleased to know I have now noted my passwords down! And to truly say sorry...I have added another chapter for you all! Enjoy!