Princess Zelda woke with a shriek, her mind still in the clutches of the nightmare.
Impa abandoned her post at the window and rushed into the princess's bedchamber. Her expression softened from alarm to concern when she found the girl sobbing.
"Zelda," she murmured, brushing aside her golden hair. "They have returned?"
Zelda struggled to take a breath through her distress. "I don't understand…I don't understand." Her words were wobbly, muttered.
Holding her palm to the girl's forehead, Impa assured herself she was not feverish. She was also fully awake, but it was clear whatever premonition had assailed her this night hadn't loosened its hold.
A fervent knock sounded at the door of the adjacent chamber. Impa whispered a few encouraging words before walking to answer it. One of the royal guards burst in, out of breath and wild-eyed.
"They're coming for the castle! They've nearly reached the gate."
Impa's fists curled in the man's collar, hauling him up to meet her eyes. "Who is coming?"
"An army." The man swallowed, his heartbeat crashing against her fists. "It was conjured by magic! I've never seen anything like it. The dead—the dead are rising out of the ground and climbing the walls!"
She released him. "Go to your post. Now. I will secure the princess. Where is the king?"
"The council room, my lady."
When the guard left, Impa wasted no time. Her weapons were strapped to her legs, arms, hips and waist in moments. She was gathering clothing from the wardrobe when Zelda appeared in her bedroom door.
"Impa, what is happening?!"
"We must leave. An army is attacking the city."
She thrust the princess's clothes, cloak and shoes at her. Unsteady but quickly, Zelda put them on, blue eyes wide.
"It is Ganondorf," she said with hushed certainty.
"I believe so." Impa's frown deepened. The guard had spoken of the dead rising from the ground, summoned by magic. Few had the power necessary to work such a spell. To do it twice…
"Zelda, follow on my heels and do exactly as I say."
The young girl nodded, drawing up her courage. Impa let words of praise for her young charge go unspoken. There was little time.
~oOo~
Castle Town was in uproar. Whatever was happening outside the gates, no one knew for certain.
Dark was waiting in the entrance of the orphanage like all the rest, their meagre belongings shoved in a sack and clutched to their chests. Sienna stood next to him, face drawn with fear.
He thought of the stolen coins waiting for him under the loose floorboard beneath his bunk upstairs. He hadn't had time to retrieve them before the soldiers had come storming in, ordering immediate evacuation.
The crow, her sharp eyes surveying the children and counting them silently, drew her cloak around her shoulders.
"We must leave," the soldier at the door told her. He glanced out the door he held open, at the mass of people flooding the streets.
"Come, children," the crow ordered, her habitual frown more wobbly than usual.
Obediently, they filed out, younger ones first, after the adults. As they melded into the crowd, it began to rain.
"We have to go back," Dark whispered to Sienna.
"What!? No, Dark! We can't!" She hissed back.
He glanced at their guardian, speaking with the soldier about where to go. It was now or never.
When he turned back towards Palardine, her hand landed on his arm.
"Dark, wait!" Sienna cried.
He shrugged off her hand, running back up the street.
The crow's voice could be heard above the rumblings of the crowd, the farther sounds of metal striking metal and shouts. Sienna's footsteps slapped the stones behind him, right on his tail.
They pushed their way through others, winding back up the street until they reached the deserted orphanage. Dark flew up the stairs two at a time, stopping out of breath at his bedroom door.
A tall, wiry man wearing a violet coat was bent next to his bed, holding something. The mask salesman looked up with a smile.
"Don't mind me," he said cheerily. "Just retrieving my mask. I hope it was of use to you." He waved the stone mask at Dark.
Dark dropped to his knees beside the bed and reached under for the loose floorboard. He pried it up and pulled out the sack of coins he'd stashed there. Tying it to his belt, he covered it with his cloak.
The mask salesman stood up and stowed his precious mask in his pack, which he secured to his back.
"I'd get moving if I were you kids," he advised, smiling at Sienna as he moved towards the door. "Won't be safe here again for a long while."
Sienna moved to Dark's side, both of them glaring at the eerie salesman.
"Where are you going, then?" Dark asked.
The salesman stopped. He twisted his hands together. "Why, Termina, I think. Yes, probably best. Good day!"
When he disappeared, Dark shuddered. "What a weirdo."
Sienna tugged on his sleeve. "We need to go, Dark. It's not safe."
As if confirming her, fresh shouts erupted in the streets below. Rushing to the window, where the rain was now coming in harder and harder sheets, the pair of them saw a group of soldiers parting the crowd of people.
"Head to the west gate immediately!" the lead soldier shouted. "Do not stop! They have broken through the south gate!"
"Come on," Dark said, grasping Sienna's hand.
Together they emerged back in the street, tossed around by the surge of moving bodies, pelted by the rain. Castle Town's west entrance was soon stuffed full, so Dark and Sienna turned back.
Thunder rolled through the skies, an angry black dragon waiting to strike. Heavy rain made the street slippery and treacherous as the residents of Castle Town fled for their lives.
Taking the lesser used back alleys, the pair quickly made their way back to the town centre. As the central square came into view, the sight made Dark and Sienna sink back into the shadows.
Everywhere there were soldiers fighting against an enemy unlike anything he had seen before. The soldiers of Hyrule gleamed in their armour, their swords flashing as lightning illuminated the battle in bursts of brightness. Their opponents' eyes glowed red with malice, their skeleton bodies dressed in rags and wielding wickedly sharp blades.
With every scream as a Hylian soldier was cut down, with every howl as one of those dark creatures was banished back to the hell it had crawled from, Dark's fear rose.
His eyes darted to an alley across the pavilion. It led to the East Wall—escape. They needed to chance it.
Sienna clung to his side, hiding her eyes from the carnage. Dark wound an arm around her waist and leaned close.
"Stay with me," he said in her ear. "We'll be out of here soon."
She nodded mutely, keeping her eyes shut tight. Dark grit his teeth and sprinted from their hiding place, half-carrying Sienna at his side. If, amid the sounds of ringing metal, screams and bellowing thunder, anyone took notice of them, he wouldn't know.
They were almost there when something threw Dark off his feet. The street unflinchingly welcomed his ribs, winding him.
"Who dares stand in my way!"
A man's voice. Dark climbed to his feet, standing in front of Sienna protectively. Before him was a man on a black horse, larger than any man he'd ever seen.
The giant glared down at him as if he were an annoying pest waiting to be squashed. As they stared each other down, a long-buried memory fought to be seen in Dark's mind.
His father Naron's face blurred and came into focus, etched with pain, his hand reaching out for Dark.
The giant's horse snorted, jolting Dark. The giant's topaz eyes peered at him more closely.
He inhaled sharply. "I know you."
Ganondorf marched into Hyrule's Castle Town, triumphant at last. The intoxicating feeling of victory was sweet.
Alatar and his sorcery had done the trick, and the King of Thieves and his company stepped over the fallen soldiers of Hyrule and onward into the main square. Hyrule Castle loomed ahead on the hill, its white walls looking grey and hopeless, ready for conquer.
The last step of his plan was risky, but as he watched his army of Stalfos advance, Ganondorf knew he would be unstoppable.
His horse reared unexpectedly, startled by something. Ganondorf calmed it, taking notice of the two small figures sprawled in the street before him.
He held up his hand, and his Gerudo soldiers halted behind him. "Who dares stand in my way!?" he bellowed.
The young boy, no longer a child but not yet a man, rose to his feet, protecting the girl from Ganondorf's wrath. As the boy looked up, daring to meet the king's gaze, a flash of lightning brightened the square.
The child's eyes were deep blue. Cold fear spiked Ganondorf's heart. Unsettled, he banished the feeling. It was just a child; how foolish to be afraid.
"I know you."
The would-be king's temper rose. The child dare speak to him?
The boy's face was twisted with anger. He boldly stepped forward, raising an accusing hand. "You murdered him! You're the one who murdered my father!"
A soldier's face flashed in Ganondorf's mind, filled with anger and defiance, just as the boy's was now.
Ganondorf raised his hand. Evil energy swirled in the center of his palm at his command, forming into a magical missile. Bending to his will, the magic shot forward like an arrow, going straight through the boy's body.
The girl shrieked as he fell backwards, stunned but not yet dead.
Ganondorf twisted the reins in his hands and urged his horse into a gallop. The child might live, but he couldn't spare another thought on the soldier's son.
Prophecy or no, he wouldn't allow someone so insignificant to keep him from his destiny.
~oOo~
"Impa, please slow down! We need to wait for Link to return!"
The Sheikah woman ignored her charge's pleading, one arm wrapped around the child and another holding a lit torch aloft to illuminate the tunnel out. Hyrule Castle had been built centuries ago; her secrets, as well as those of her inhabitants', were well-known to Impa's people.
The attack had happened swiftly, as she had known it would. Hyrule's army was no match for unkillable enemies. Impa knew Hyrule was doomed today. But she also knew her role.
If Hyrule was to be saved, the girl she carried on her back must escape.
"Impa!" Princess Zelda cried. "Please, listen to me!"
Impa did not slow her pace. "I cannot, dearest," she apologized, patting the young girl's hand. "You must live. Trust me."
By the time Impa had ushered Zelda into the secret tunnel underneath the castle, Ganondorf's forces had reached their door. Time was growing short.
She stopped and let Zelda down, reaching into her pocket for two small, round objects. She hurled them at the rock wall before them, the blocked exit. With two sharp pops, the projectiles exploded, blowing the wall outward in a cascade of smoke and gravel.
Impa pulled a coughing Zelda free of the rubble. They'd emerged just outside the stables, as she wanted. Impa's speed in saddling one of the royal horses was impressive, as always.
She knelt to wipe the princess's face of dirt. "Zelda," she said, her face sympathetic. "I am sorry, but we cannot wait for Link. It is best for everyone if we get far from this place. Once you are safe, I will search for him—I promise you."
Fear lurked in the young girl's eyes, but she raised her head and nodded bravely. Impa kissed the top of her head.
"That's my girl."
She hoisted the princess onto the horse's back, then climbed on behind her, snapping the reins sharply. Zelda's breath caught in her throat as the horse leapt forward into a strong gallop.
"Over there!"
Impa cursed, keeping her eyes facing forward. She urged the horse faster towards the town. The thunder of a dozen riders behind them could be heard, but Impa focused on her mission. A volley of arrows rained down, but Impa's armour kept them at bay.
Within minutes they reached the town, and the Sheikah and her passenger lost their pursuers in the maze of back alleys. Emerging later into the main square, Impa used her body to shield the results of the battle from Zelda.
"Lady Impa!"
Another rider, mounted on a grey stallion, crossed their paths. The soldier wore silver armour, stamped with the mark of a captain. Impa recognized the mane of red hair escaping from the underneath the helmet and slowed.
"Lillian," Impa greeted her as she drew up beside them. "I cannot delay."
To punctuate her point, the shouts of their pursuers drew louder, closer. The young woman nodded. "I understand. Allow me to aid you."
Lillian, the youngest of the army captains, was not yet twenty-five years of age. Yet Impa considered her one of the bravest and most loyal soldiers she knew. Lillian's parents had both perished fighting in Hyrule's Civil War, many years ago.
Impa glanced into the woman's blue eyes, steady and strong. She nodded. "May the goddess be at your side."
She snapped the reins and turned her horse towards the south. They were nearly there.
"You will not escape me!" a rough voice bellowed after them. Ganondorf.
Even as the distance between them grew longer, Impa heard it all. The shrick of Lillian drawing her blade. The sounds of horses shrieking, metal striking metal, lightning crackling overhead. Lillian's scream. Ganondorf's cruel laughter.
Impa crushed Zelda close and carried on, feeling the rain wet her face and hair. A tear rolled down her cheek, but it was quickly washed away.
She felt Zelda exhale with relief when they pounded over the drawbridge, but Impa could not let up. Ganondorf was close behind.
Zelda gasped, then shouted. "Link!"
Impa's eyes deviated from their mission to take in the flicker of green. The boy had made it after all. He wore a stunned expression as they stampeded past, dodging out of the way.
Zelda reached under Impa's arm, throwing a small object in her hand with all her might. Impa looped an arm around her and pulled her back so she wouldn't fall off.
As they galloped further into Hyrule Field, the darkness and the fog swallowed them, shielding them from Ganondorf's view. His roar of indignation at being thwarted made Impa smile.
~oOo~
Rain came down on Link's head in heavy sheets as he approached Castle Town's white wall.
It had taken most of the day to reach this point, even with the Zoras' help taking him back down the river. They'd said farewell at the great bridge a few miles east of the town. From there Link had continued on foot.
He stopped abruptly when the big drawbridge came into sight. It was wide open, though it was nighttime. Navi, hiding inside his hat, shivered.
"There's something wrong here," she said in his ear. "I feel some dark energy close by."
Link drew his sword and shield, but a quick glance told him there were no enemies nearby.
The sharp sound of a horse's whinny caught his attention. Far down the street, coming rapidly towards the drawbridge, a speck of white could be seen.
Link wiped rain from his face to see better. It was pouring even heavier now. Lightning cracked the sky open, illuminating a pure white horse running full speed towards him.
A shudder ran up Link's spine.
Hooves pounded over the drawbridge, and Link heard someone scream his name.
The rider did not stop, so he jumped out of the way, his heart in his throat. He stood up, knowing already what he would see.
Zelda's frightened face peered back at him from under Impa's arm. She said something, but the storm snatched her words away.
She reached for something. Clutched something in her small hand. With a cry she hurled it at Link. He watched it fly, a blurry bit of blue, and land near the castle moat.
Impa, the rider, pulled Zelda out of sight.
"Zelda!"
The horse and its passengers grew smaller and smaller until they were gone, vanished into the darkness of the storm.
Link's heart plummeted. Rain pelted his face as he stood there, frozen.
Behind him, a horse snorted, startling him. Link whirled around, his heart pounding in his chest. His nightmares had warned him of what was next.
The black stallion and its rider stood there, as nightmarish and horrifying as he remembered. But the man wasn't who he had expected. His features were shadowed or hidden. And his eyes didn't glow red.
It was the same man Link had glimpsed through the window with Zelda. The man she'd called Ganondorf.
"Damn!" Ganondorf cursed, his eyes on the spot where Zelda had vanished. "I lost her!"
His head turned as he noticed Link, paralyzed with fear a few feet away. "Boy!" he growled. "Did you see where that white horse went?"
Swallowing his fear, Link stood his ground. He would not tell this man anything. He gripped his Kokiri sword tightly in his left hand.
Ganondorf chuckled, his mouth stretched in a grin. "You have guts, kid." Topaz eyes fixed on Link. "Wait, you're that forest kid who's been causing me so much trouble," he mused.
With a wicked grin, the man raised his hand, holding it palm open towards Link. He raised his shield and sword, ready for the hit.
A black orb of energy swirled in the Ganondorf's palm, growing bigger and bigger. With a grunt, he tossed it at Link.
His Kokiri shield shattered into splinters. The sword was knocked from his hand. The dark energy struck him like a bolt of lightning, throwing him off his feet. Link screamed as the energy burned through him; the pain so intense he saw spots darken his vision. It felt like being burned alive and torn apart all at once.
Lying on the cool grass, looking up at the black sky, the rain stung Link's eyes. He heard the man's boots thud on the earth.
"Maybe now you'll stay out of my way."
With blurry vision, Link saw Ganondorf stoop and grab the small porcelain ocarina Saria had given him. He studied it, curious. Link tried to shout, to tell him to leave his ocarina alone, but his voice failed him.
"So, she hid it with you, eh, boy?" He threw another wicked grin at Link. "Thanks for the gift!" He swung back onto his horse and dug in his heels. "Yah!"
The black stallion bolted, soon disappearing as quickly as Zelda had.
His head felt heavy. His eyes stung. Link lay back in the grass and didn't move.
When he awoke a minute later, his limbs were no longer stiff and heavy. Link sat up, rubbing the rain water from his eyes.
Navi floated in front of his face, fluttering her wings anxiously. "I did everything I could," she said, her voice spiked with fear. "Are you alright?"
Link groaned when a headache slammed into his skull. "I've been better. Thanks, Navi."
He managed to stand, stumbling over to the edge of the of the moat before his strength failed him.
"You need to take it easy! You took a direct hit from some really dark magic!" Navi scolded.
Link peered into the water. Several feet down, at the bottom, a curved blue object shone like a seashell.
"Zelda left it for me," Link mumbled, still weak. "I need to get it."
Before Navi could stop him, he plunged into the chilly water, diving until his outstretched fingers closed over a smooth, round surface. Link broke the surface with a gasp, holding his prize aloft.
It was an ocarina. It was similar to the one Ganondorf had stolen, but shiny and blue, made of some sort of metal substance. On the mouthpiece was a tiny golden Triforce.
"Link, can you hear me?"
"Yeah. What is it, Navi?"
Navi frowned. "I didn't say anything."
"Link...Link, can you hear me?"
Link's head snapped up. Navi gave him a skeptical look. It was Zelda's voice. Only, how could that possibly be?
"Navi," he asked nervously. "How can you tell when you've gone insane?"
The fairy hovered in front of his nose. "Link, what are you talking about?"
"Zelda's voice...I can hear her talking to me, in my head."
She stifled a laugh. "You're not losing your mind. Zelda told us she knows how to use magic, right? She's reaching out to you telepathically; speaking to you in your mind."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Link followed Navi's instructions and concentrated on the sound of his friend's voice. He latched onto the echo of his name floating around in the mental ether and felt an answering connection.
"Link, are you there?"
"Zelda, where are you? What happened?"
"I'm sorry, but we may not be able to see each other again for some time. Hyrule isn't safe anymore."
Link's head throbbed from concentrating so hard. Her voice flowed through the connection so easily. Responding was trickier.
"Do you have the ocarina? It's very important. It's called the Ocarina of Time, a relic passed down through generations of the Royal Family."
"I have it. Why did you leave it with me?"
"Ganondorf's army has taken over Hyrule. He came for the Ocarina of Time because it is the final key to the Sacred Realm. If you have the three Spiritual Stones, Link, take them to the Temple of Time with the ocarina. When you get there, I'll show you what to do."
With that, the mental link was severed. Link opened his eyes, not realizing he'd closed them. He tried to reach out again, to hear Zelda's voice, but there was nothing. Navi huddled on his shoulder, keeping out of the rain.
Link sighed, stowing the ocarina in a free pouch to keep it dry. "We need to go to the Temple of Time."
Navi hid inside his hat when he pulled it off, shivering from the cold. "How are we going to get inside?"
"I don't know, yet."
"Link, be careful in Castle Town. I'm still feeling some bad things from in there..."
When he crossed the drawbridge, it was a strange feeling not to pass by the guard, idling in the gatehouse. The cross streets which branched off and curved along the town's walls were deserted. When he reached the main square, he halted mid-step in shock.
Rain stained with blood ran through each crevice in the cobblestones. The bodies of dozens and dozens of slain soldiers littered the square. Otherwise, the town was empty.
"You there! Boy!" A weak voice called from his left.
Link turned to see a soldier leaning against a wall at one of the back alleys. He rushed over to her as she sank down, breathing heavily.
The woman closed her eyes as Link approached, her red hair soaked and plastered to her face. "You're the boy...from the forest," she wheezed. "Aren't you? Princess Zelda's friend."
"Yes," Link said, kneeling in front of the soldier. The chestplate of her armour bore a black scar, like a burn.
She opened her eyes. "I'm Lillian." She paused to cough, holding her hand over her chest. "Zelda and Impa...are they-"
"They got away," Link replied.
Lillian exhaled with relief. "That is good."
Her eyes drifted close again, and she lay a while, face pinched in pain. Link gently shook her shoulder.
"I need to get into the Temple of Time," he explained. "Zelda told me it was important."
Lillian gazed at him. "Yes, of course." She tried to sit up and gasped sharply. "I'm sorry I won't be able to go with you...I don't think I can make it."
Link frowned. "Is there anything I can do?"
She glanced at his earnest expression and chuckled, then coughed. "You're a brave kid," she said. "But, no, there's nothing you can do. This," she gestured to the black wound on her torso, "was inflicted by Ganondorf's dark magic. It can't be healed."
Link's eyes swept over the fallen soldiers, the pain gleaming on their silver armour. Lillian traced his gaze with sadness in her own eyes.
"I know you and Zelda were trying to prevent this," she murmured. "But don't blame yourself. This was Ganondorf's doing."
As if edged on by the sound of his name, the black scar suddenly spread, enveloping Lillian's entire torso. It spread over her shoulders and neck, traveled down her belly and across her legs. Her eyes were wide in her frozen face, her limbs rigid.
The blackness crawled up to Lillian's face in eerie arterial lines, reaching up to her eyes.
"Link," she gasped, her teeth set against whatever pain the dark magic was causing, "Go to the Temple. Stop him."
A shaky breath escaped her, then the blackness covered her completely. Link leapt back in alarm as her form folded and dissolved before his eyes, becoming no more than a handful of grey ash.
Shuddering in fear and panic, Link stood up and ran. The Temple of Time was on the other side of the square, but he kept going. He followed the same path he remembered from his first day in Castle Town.
On the way he passed by more signs of a battle. Scorched stone, spilled blood, discarded metal. Among them other items people had left behind—a torn cloak, a carved flute, a child's doll.
When he at last saw the temple's great spires and sky-high windows, Link felt he'd entered another world. The building was untouched, as stately and serene as it had always been. As if it had been awaiting his arrival.
In the heavy rain, he climbed the steps and stood at the tall doors. They arched high above, imposing and unmoving.
"Well, open them!" Navi urged.
Link pushed against the heavy door, surprised when it creaked open. Had someone unsealed the doors? He stepped into the chilly antechamber, blinking in the change of light.
The inside of the temple was one of the biggest he'd ever seen. It reminded him of the indoor courtyard where he and Zelda had spied on the King's meeting, seemingly an age ago.
The ceiling stretched towards the sky in a point, white stone beams criss-crossing at its peak. His foosteps echoed on the intricately patterned tiled floor, a dizzying swirl of black and white. To the left and right gigantic, rain-splashed windows stared down at him, illuminating the hall in dull, grey light.
For all its grandeur, it was completely empty. The only thing in the whole place was a raised platform with a peculiar symbol emblazoned on the stone, and a small monument at the far end, at the base of some steps.
Navi floated over to examine the monument while Link looked up at the enormous stone door behind it. The Triforce had been expertly carved into its face.
"There's an inscription here," Navi announced. "It's in ancient Hylian, but it says 'whoever holds the three Spiritual Stones, stand here with the Ocarina of Time and play the ancient song.'" Navi grumbled. "What ancient song? That's not helpful at all."
Link wasn't listening. He'd placed the three stones in the grooves dug into the monument's top and retrieved the ocarina. He rubbed the smooth surface of the instrument, trying to reach out to Zelda again through the telepathic connection.
After a few frustrating minutes, the back of his neck tingled and he felt the mental barrier give way as if he'd cut through a spiderweb.
"Link? Link, are you there?"
"Zelda, I made it to the Temple of Time. I placed the stones on the altar, and I have the Ocarina of Time."
"Link, if you play the Song of Time with the ocarina, it will open the door. I believe once the door is open, you'll be able to enter the Sacred Realm and keep the Triforce away from Ganondorf."
Before he could admit that Ganondorf had already defeated him and ask how he was supposed to stop him, a melody drifted into his mind, deep and resonating.
Without direction, his hands raised the Ocarina of Time, and he began to play, following along with the song.
As the final notes echoed in the temple, the Spiritual Stones began to glow faintly from within, matching the shimmer of the ocarina in Link's hands.
The Triforce symbol on the door above him suddenly blazed with golden light, blinding him. A faint rumble grew in force and volume, and Link realized the great stone door was opening, just as Zelda had said.
With a low boom, the door lay open. Link stared in awe at the small chamber beyond. Unlike the temple hall, it was circular, with stained glass windows that made the room darker.
Link stepped past the stone doors warily, looking back over his shoulder in case they decided to close again and trap him.
Navi gasped. "Is that...?"
Link looked around. On yet another platform with more strange symbols arranged in a circle, a set of steps led up to a pedestal. Struck in the pedestal was a gleaming sword, glowing faintly blue in the dim light.
"Link, that's the Master Sword!"
He blinked and bent to take a closer look. The weapon was magnificent; it showed no signs of wear or age. The crossguard resembled the spread wings of a bird, the hilt set with a small yellow stone.
"It's a fabled sword of legend," Navi told him. "The Sword of Evil's Bane. Zelda must think this can stop Ganondorf!"
Link stared at the mysterious sword. "This can stop Ganondorf?"
Link stepped up to the pedestal. He wrapped his hands around the hilt of the sword, too big for a child. If this sword would give him the power to stop Ganondorf from turning all of Hyrule into ash, he knew what he needed to do.
Link seized the Master Sword's hilt and pulled it free.