Erris briskly walked across the Royal Dining Room, toward the balcony that overlooked the courtyard. He had opened it up greatly, torn out the bushes and trees, and demolished the many walls and structures that once ran across it's vast area, all this in order to oversee the vast army he was building. As he grew closer he could easily hear the sounds of thousands of feet of various mass and size marching over the grounds, readying themselves for war. The Prince had donned a newly forged suit of black battle armor, the Ambi family crest remaining in the center of the chest piece, he slowly stopped, looking down at it, Erris Zoreth Ambi, first of his name and rightful ruler of the land of Labrynna...that was all he thought he was for most of his life, but now...now he ruled Holodrum, seeing as his uncle had been captured, and he didn't care too much about retrieving him. He even ruled Gamelon now, with only Termina and Hyrule left standing against him. Erris started forward again, he had made so much of himself, but still couldn't forget what his mother had told him, he had power over the Gate of Souls, whatever that was...but part of him refused to even believe in it, as it was probably part of a ploy she concocted to lull him into a false sense of security and do away with him. The Prince halted again, it just didn't make sense, he remembered so clearly, meeting his Mother in the Great Maku Tree's meadow, and how she attacked him, knocking him unconscious with a powerful blast of energy...yet he had no injuries consistent with an energy attack, not to mention, his mother assaulting him during their second meeting, and not killing him in his bed chamber while he least expected it made even less sense. As he pondered this, a feeling akin to a blade piercing his forehead overtook him. Erris grasped his head tightly, fell to his knees, and grit his teeth, attempting to stave it off, only to have the pain diminish as a hand grasped his shoulder.
"Prince, shall I call for a healer?" Ganon asked in an unusually calm tone.
"No...it was just a passing pain." Erris asked as he rose to his feet, closing the distance between he and the balcony.
"Great, so can we get on with this? The sooner the battle, the better." Shilara remarked from behind them.
"Must you always be so obsessed with bloodshed?" Naora asked, an annoyed tone to her voice.
Erris and Ganon ignored the conversation as they emerged onto the balcony, standing high above the the assembled force below.
"There you are, late as usual! You always fail to give me the respect I deserve!" the Blin Emperor growled upon seeing Erris and Ganon. The Blin Emperor was a terrifying sight to behold, being at least 4 meters tall, with dark purple skin, a boar like face, and a strip of white hair that extended from his head all the way down his back, with his forearms and lower legs also being covered in it.
"Calm yourself, you are aware your still receiving a much better deal than you deserve." Ganon said, looking up at the beast.
The Blin Emperor snorted before turning forward again, his brow furrowed in annoyance.
"Could you please lift that up, your damaging stonework that's worth more than every creature under your command." Erris said, indicating the enormous mace the Blin Emperor dragged behind him.
"I don't take orders from small creatures like you." The Emperor growled at Erris.
Erris openly gritted his teeth, electricity beginning to stir across his body, the pale blue of Mahlik's eyes taking over his, the Blin Emperor immediately complying with Erris' wish.
"Glorious, is it not?" Ganon asked with a grin as they looked over the force assembled below them.
"Indeed." Erris answered, "How many are we?" The Prince asked, turning towards Minister Ryos, having barely noticed the man standing off to side until recently.
"Well." Minister Ryos began as he stepped forward. "We have 1,723 Bulblins, 970 Moblins, 1,500 Garo, 3,000 of our own men, and 1,500 of Holodrum's. But that is not all quite yet, we've come to an agreement with the Lizalfos and Dinolfos tribes, they've sent a force of 1,200 that will be arriving at nightfall." The Minister answered, bowing to Erris before moving back.
The Prince looked down with a broad smile, the Zora numbered little more than 2,000, and he already had nearly 10,000 under his command. Ganon had offered him a force of 400 Black Knights, but Erris rejected this, only allowing 1 Black Knight per unit, as the Black Knights only answered to Ganon, and putting that large a number of those loyal to Ganon in the field could be detrimental if the Gerudo Sorcerer were to terminate their alliance mid-battle.
"By the Goddess of Sand! Those fish don't stand a chance!" Shilara yelled gleefully. "Tell them to leave some for me!" she continued, looking at Erris and her brother with a manic smile.
"You'll get what you desire, you can be sure of that." Erris said with a smirk.
Ganon said nothing as he swept his eyes over the legions in front of him, it had been long since he felt like this. It reminded him of all the times the Hero and Princess had thwarted him, all the times his armies had crumbled after his defeat...it would be different this time, in this life there were more to command, and he already had two pieces of the Anteforce, one more and he'd be unstoppable.
oOo
Sir Trystane looked on at Sir Mathias, eagerly awaiting his reply. It was a simple proposition really, all he asked was that he join the Hero's Team, and put the past behind them, but the other Knight was seemingly having trouble doing so.
"Come now, Mathias, this can't be that hard of a decision." Trystane said, a rather upbeat tone to his voice.
"It was three years you know, three years I spent doing my best to earn the Princess's hand, but in one day, he has all of her affection." Mathias replied. He knew exactly why it was she and the Hero became romantically involved so quickly, he knew of the old legends, and he knew there was a possibility that this era's Zelda could be the Zelda, the Princess of Destiny, so to speak, but he always pushed those thoughts aside, believing it to be against chance that she be her. It was always the fear of a Hylian Princess's suitors that she be the Princess legends spoke of, the Hero's Princess, for they knew they stood no chance when he was present.
"Mathias, you are my oldest friend indeed, you have seen me through my childhood, my teenage years, and into my adulthood with I doing the same for you! Thus I think I owe it to you to say this; you are being quite immature about the whole situation, and you should act like the respectable Knight I know you to be." Trystane stated.
Mathias looked taken aback, locking eyes with his old friend. "Immature?! How so!?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.
"I did not mean to sound so harsh, what I meant to say was; the Hero and Princess are reborn repeatedly, with only one another to truly understand the situation they're in, and needing one another to fight whatever threat has arisen. The Hero and the Princess are the celestial priority, a pair the Goddesses themselves chose! This has happened to many a suitor in the years the Princess has been reborn, but those that were rejected moved on with their lives, some even making names for themselves without being the husband of the Princess! You can make a name for yourself! Come! Save Hyrule with us!" Trystane exclaimed, conviction saturating his words.
"As rousing as your speech was, I find myself mostly unmoved." Mathias answered, staring straight ahead.
"Don't sulk around like this, my friend! I seem to recall you laughing at a certain joke of mine about the Hero soon outranking us due to his planned marriage to the Princess, after his statement about being of equal rank! Do you not remember?" Trystane asked.
"On the contrary, I remember all too well, I thought it quite insensitive, but I wished to be polite." Mathias answered, shooting Trystane an unamused glance.
Trystane at once dropped his friendly, joyful demeanor, his friend's morose disposition frustrating him greatly. "Listen, if you want to act like a lovesick child, I'll allow you to do so, but when you find yourself ready to be an adult, I will be waiting. The Hero is a very forgiving and noble man, he will gladly re-extend his invitation if you decide that defending your homeland in a more active capacity is a wise idea. The hour of our departure grows near, I must take my leave, feel better, old friend." Trystane responded before turning, making his way towards the chamber the others would be soon to gather in.
"Good luck." Mathias called after his friend. The Knight dropped his gaze to the ground. He was truly upset about Zelda's attention being taken off of him completely, but mostly he found it hard to face his friend and the Hero because he was ashamed. It was only two days ago he was approached in the market by the traitorous Minister Ryos himself, Mathias had gone to draw his sword, but realized the Minister had picked the location due to the large amount of people, bringing the threat level to a minimum. After asking the disgraced politician what he wanted, Mathias was offered his very own region to govern, and possibly even the Princess if he was able to retrieve the Scepter of Gamelon, and bring it to Prince Erris.
As sinister a proposition as it was, he had accepted, feeling fate had cheated him, but after his talk with his friend, he wasn't so sure he could do what had been asked of him. He wanted to be honorable, he wanted to do what was right, and this wasn't right. Still though, he found himself walking along various hallways, through gardens, and circling the Great Hall, watching Princess Kayala and her Knight, Sir Gabriel constantly, waiting for an opening. He did not wish to kill the Knight, let alone Princess Kayala, but he feared what would happen if he went back on the deal he had made...
oOo
Cia stared up at the ceiling, it was nothing out of the ordinary, for some reason she even expected the ceilings in the Castle to be grandiose examples of royal architecture, but found only the walls, the rugs, and the baseboards to be luxurious looking, which was more than she could say about her Temple in the Valley of Seers.
The wound inflicted on her by Naora had been sealed quite quickly with the Royal Healer's aid, a white scar being left in place of it. She tried to think back to what had happened in the Great Maku Tree's Meadow, but the memories were painful...somehow Ganondorf had turned her own son against her...he had been so close...so close to seeing that what he was doing was wrong, but alas her efforts were foiled by the Demon Lord. Cia shifted, moving the sheets down to her knees as she attempted to swivel her legs out of the bed she lay in. She needed to escape, return to Labrynna and save her son, and she couldn't do so as a prisoner of the Hylians, something she knew herself to be, even if the guards told her she was only being confined to this chamber so she could heal.
"You know, it's bad manners to run away from someone that helped you before thanking them." a soft, yet strong voice said.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Princess, but I really must take my leave." Cia answered, pulling herself to her feet, the white nightgown that had been given to her swishing around her feet.
"You came to us for help, and now you refuse it...Lana?" Zelda asked pointedly.
Cia felt a sharp twinge of pain of pain as the words hit her, she hadn't realized Zelda could recognize her like this, as different as she was. "You have me mistaken for someone else, possibly another of my tribe." " Cia answered, looking away from the Princess.
"Lana, I know it's you, I can sense your energies, they're identical to what I knew to be yours all those centuries ago." Zelda answered, looking to her old ally. It had been the era before the Age of the Twilight Invasion that Lana had appeared as a defender of Faron Woods, quickly aligning herself with Link and Zelda against the usurper Lokai Shalkkon, otherwise known as the "King of Darkness".
"I'm sorry to have troubled you with my presence...I had no where else to go." Cia admitted, lifting her gaze to meet the Princess's, her snow white fringe barely above her eyes.
"When you disappeared, Link and I feared for your life, we had thought Lokai had survived the final battle and claimed you...when we realized that was not the case we searched for you." Zelda said, her eyes set on the Sorceress.
Cia ducked her head again, she had run because the Hero had chosen the Princess without a moment of thought. She thought if she inserted herself into one of his lives, showed him her strength and fought alongside him he may choose her, he may show her the love she desired, but such was not the case, thus she fled, going back to her home in the Valley of Seers. "You know why I ran, I can tell because you came here alone, without the Hero." Cia said quietly.
Zelda tensed slightly, clenching a fist. "True...but even though you fought for Link, I still thought of you as a friend." the Princess responded.
"Tell me, you were afraid, weren't you? You saw that he and I had been fighting together for quite some time and feared we had grown close, did you not? And that is why you did not bring him here today?" Cia asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Link has other important duties, while he's eager to find out what happened to you after the Age of the King of Darkness, he must fulfill them." Zelda answered quietly.
"I didn't think you to be the jealous type." Cia remarked.
"Is this how you treat one who has saved your life?!" Zelda exclaimed, becoming impatient with her guest.
"I...I'm sorry." Cia answered. While she had moved on, some of the envious feelings she held towards Zelda still remained, and manifested themselves in such a way. "I came to you because I need your aid...you and the Hero are the only ones who can help. Years ago I met King Lannis of Labrynna and his brother Lawrence, together they convinced me to help them take Hyrule...at the time I still desired the Hero for myself, and I thought helping them would allow me obtain him..." Cia said, trailing off.
Zelda stepped back, her heart racing, "The war with Labrynna...it was you...you orchestrated it...how could you?" she asked.
"Please, hear me out!" Cia exclaimed, tears coming to her eyes, "When I met Lannis, I saw him as a means to and end, but it wasn't long before I saw him as more, I realized he was a man that made his own fate, and chose his own destiny. I fell in love with him and he with I, it wasn't long before we bore a child..." Cia trailed off, locking eyes with the Princess.
Zelda gasped sharply, holding her hands to her chest, she couldn't believe it, but at the same time it made all the sense in the world...Erris's magical abilities were advanced, even without Mahlik's power, he was a sorcerer of extreme prowess, as was Lana. "You're...Erris's...mother?!" Zelda asked, eyes wide.
"I am." Cia answered, sitting on the bed behind her. "He softened my heart...I wanted to raise him, show him how to be good ruler, and help atone for my hand in the war with Hyrule...but HE forced me away...I had to leave to ensure his survival...and now Erris is in danger..." Cia continued, closing her eyes tightly.
"He?" Zelda asked, a chill traversing her spine.
Cia looked up, her eyes communicating to Zelda exactly what she meant.
The Princess felt her heart speed up, her mind racing, he was back, Ganondorf had truly returned.
"If we help you save Erris from whatever it is you speak of...will you aid us in defeating Ganondorf?" Zelda asked, narrowing her eyes at Cia, her determination obvious.
Cia returned the gesture, meeting Zelda's gaze, "I will, I promise that on my life."
oOo
Link descended the ladder into the wine cellar, looking for something to possibly celebrate with before marching to what may be one of the most dangerous tasks he had ever taken up. Extending his leg, he felt his foot brush the floor, letting go as soon as he was sure he was at the bottom.
Darkness surrounded him, it was black as pitch, and seemingly just as thick. He pulled out a lantern, quickly inhaling through his nose to detect possible alcohol vapor, the last thing he wished to due today was set fire to himself and the Castle. Satisfied with the results of his impromptu inspection, Link lit his lantern, turning around to see what was stocked behind him. As he turned he almost missed it, but soon enough his mind registered another occupant in the room.
"Ah!" Link exclaimed, drawing his sword as he stumbled backwards, lowering it when he realized the individual was none other than Prince Audrik.
"Hero...I have to admit, I sometimes question how you've survived all of your previous lives." the Prince said, an unamused tone marking his voice.
"Shut up." Link said as he took a seat across from Audrik.
"You, I could have you executed for saying that to me." The Prince said with a smirk.
"We both know you wouldn't dare, you'd anger the Goddesses, and even worse, your sister." Link replied.
"True, true, I jest though, I wish not to execute anyone, just to have some time alone." the Prince admitted.
"I'll assume that's why you were sitting down here in the dark." Link replied.
"Indeed, Hero." Audrik answered plainly, looking off at a barrel of wine across from him.
"What's got you this way?" Link inquired, having become concerned over the Prince's unusual disposition.
"Oh, you know...my sister's constant worrying, having to hide my relationship with Lemuria from Oren, my most trusted friend and her father, and the fact that Lemuria believes I harbor lustful feelings towards Princess Kayala, who, while beautiful, still pales in comparison to Lemuria...not to mention the Sheikah's great battle prowess is only matched by their skill in bed." Audrik said with a broad smile.
"I've realized, there was a certain lifetime, in which, if I recall correctly, your sister was a quarter Shiekah." Link said, returning Audrik's now dying smile.
"Mr. Link, I did not need to know this." he said as rolled his eyes back.
"And I did not not need to be informed about your encounters with Impa's daughter." Link said, pointing at Audrik.
"True, my apologies, Great Hero of Legend." Audrik said with a sarcastic bow.
Link furrowed his brow for a moment, before looking around, "In your experiences, what's best for a possible suicide mission?" he asked, scanning the room.
"The King James variety." Audrik answered almost immediately.
"I assume you've tried it before?" Link asked, though the answer was obvious.
"How do you think I face an angry Sheikah woman?" Audrik asked with laugh.
Before Link could reply, the Triforce mark on the back of his hand began to glow brightly, the Triforce of Wisdom emitting a brilliant gold glow alongside it's companion. "I have to go." Link said, a look of urgency on his face.
"What is it?" Audrik asked, watching Link rapidly ascend the ladder.
Making his way to the top, he heard Audrik pull himself out of the cellar, before falling onto his stomach. Paying no mind to this, Link raced forwards, Zelda usually only called him through the Triforce if she was in danger, and if that was the case, he did not wish to have the Prince slowing him down. Quickly he rounded a corner, breaking into a sprint to the furthest room. Throwing the door open, he found Zelda, standing straight, looking at him in a severe manner.
"What is it? What's going on?" Link asked urgently.
"I met with Lana." Zelda said quietly.
"She's awake? I should speak to her!" Link insisted, heading towards the door.
"No!" Zelda exclaimed, quickly placing a hand over her mouth.
"Are you okay?" Link asked, slowly making his way to Zelda.
"Yes...it's just...Lana's not at all who we thought she was." Zelda said, casting her gaze downwards.
"...How so?" Link said.
"Her name is actually Cia, she's a 1,200 year old sorceress who's been watching us throughout our lifetimes...she posed as Lana in order to be with you...fleeing when you chose me." Zelda explained.
Link couldn't believe it, it was a rare moment that he was fooled like this. "So why is she here?" he asked, confusion growing inside of him.
"She needs our help." Zelda stated.
"With what?" Link inquired, growing exasperated.
"Saving her son...Prince Erris." Zelda replied, her gaze locking with Link's.
The Hero felt paralyzed for a moment, his mouth agape. "Erris is Lana's son?! That's impossible!" Link exclaimed.
"Link, think about his magical abilities, you've seen him fight without Mahlik's aid, he's far beyond even some of our greatest sorcerers, the only other person we've met with power like his is Lana." Zelda responded, walking towards Link.
"So...is it she who has been behind all of these attacks on our land? And now for some reason she thinks she and her son have gone too far and wants to stop him?" Link inquired, an aggressive tone marking his voice.
"No..." Zelda answered quietly. "According to her, she was forced away during Erris's childhood by Erris's father's advisor and councilman...Ganondorf..."
Link tensed as he heard the name, feeling adrenaline beginning to fill his veins. It had been long since his last clash with Ganon in this reality, but only a short while since his ill fated confrontation with the Ganondorf native to the strange dimension he was forced to visit by the Hero's Shade. "It would seem retrieving the Master Sword is no longer an optional endeavor." Link stated.
Zelda bridged the gap between them quickly, wrapping her arms around the Hero's shoulders. "Come back safely." she said, a smile remaining on her face even as the thoughts of what could happen entered her mind.
"In all of our lives, we always came back to one another...and I don't plan to change that any time soon." Link assured Zelda as he held her closer.
Zelda flinched as she recalled Ganon's cowardly assault on Link during the era of King Mikael, but chose not to mention it, she had to be strong, and he needed to know she believed in him, for this was when it all starts, the moment the Princess and the Hero must temporarily go separate ways in order to fulfill the purposes they were born for, to end the threat to Hyrule. "You are the sword and I am the shield." Zelda said.
"I keep evil outside while you keep the peace within." Link answered. It was an old colloquialism that had popped up long ago, Link couldn't remember when he first heard it, but knew that it was used by the people of Hyrule to reassure themselves in times of turmoil..."The Hero is the sword and the Princess if the shield, he keeps evil outside while she keeps the peace within." Link recited in his head.
"Is it time?" Zelda asked, looking at Link worriedly.
"I fear we must act quickly." Link answered reluctantly.
The Hero and the Princess drew closer to each other, sharing a kiss before leaving the room, heading for the Great Hall.
oOo
"Seriously, does he ever show up on time?" Thrakon asked, shooting a frustrated gaze towards one of the many entrances into the massive room.
"The Hero is a man of honor, he'll be here, probably just paying the Princess one last visit before our grand adventure, he is." Sir Trystane said confidently, looking up to the enormous, Triforce emblazoned tapestry hanging over the main entrance.
"You've always believed in this stuff, haven't you?" Thrakon asked, locking eyes with Trystane.
"My parents always told me the stories of the Golden Goddesses, the Hero, the Princess, and the Sages. Belief in the legends is deeply ingrained into me, you can imagine how I felt when the Hero emerged, and the Princess Zelda I'd been serving turned out to be the Princess Zelda." Trystane said with a grin.
"I wish I could be as certain as you." Thrakon replied.
"You're still skeptical, even after all we've seen?" Trystane responded.
"It's hard to deny, but those doubts pull at me, I sometimes wonder if that Triforce mark on his hand was just a magic trick." Thrakon said, furrowing his brow.
"And if it's not? Trystane inquired.
"Then I really should start praying." Thrakon said with a smirk.
Kallil moved away from his two teammates, he never said it, but he felt like the odd man out, the team was comprised of a knight, a skilled mercenary, a former "King's Guard", and a Sheikah Guardian, but he, he was just a guardsmen who was lucky enough to know the Hero and knew how to use a bow. As he walked away his worries grew, aside from his teammates not really feeling too much like...well...teammates, Oreck was still out there somewhere, hiding away for the Goddesses know why.
"Need some help with the sigils?" Elgon called to the nearby Minister Tonbridge.
The Minister of Sorcery and many of those that worked under his authority had been set on the task of creating a powerful trans-location circle, a 12 pointed star sitting in the middle.
"Bite your tongue, Elgon, you're a Knight, not a sorcerer." Minister Tonbridge shot.
Kallil walked over to his former instructor, as he was the most familiar face currently in the room.
"Former Knight." Elgon corrected as he strode towards the other man.
Kallil continued forward, only to have his shoulder grabbed from behind, whirling around, he found himself face to face with none other than the Prince.
"Kallil Trevin, correct?" Audrik asked as he extended a hand.
"Um, yes, that'd be me." Kallil said taking the Prince's hand.
"It's an honor, any friend of the Hero is indeed a friend of mine, in fact, I believe we fought together in Kokiri Forest, did we not?" the Prince asked with a wide grin.
"I believe we did...my Lord." Kallil said with a bow.
"Oh, you don't have to do that, we are friends here, not a ruler and his subject." Audrik said as he turned towards his Sheikah guardian. "I would very much like to take part in this mission, but I fear my sister would have the head of anyone that would allow me to do so." Audrik said with a laugh.
Kallil laughed in response, attempting not to reveal his nervousness.
"What do you say Oren? Fancy an evening jaunt to Labrynna to convince 2,000 battle ready Zora to turn around and go home by any means necessary?" Audrik asked with another laugh.
Oren glanced down at his ward, providing only an unamused look.
"I swear he's usually more talkative." Audrik remarked.
"Here to see us off on our mission to convince 2,000 Zora to go back home?" Kallil asked, nervousness slowly creeping over him...it wasn't every day one went up against an army of angry Zora.
"Partially, I'm mostly here to lend magical aid, we of the Hyrule family are quite magically gifted if I do say so myself!" The Prince declared proudly, Oren narrowing his eyes behind him.
"Prince." Oren said, indicating the entryway to their right, through which Zelda, Link, and Impa walked.
"Good day, Hero!" Trystane called in his usually cheerful manner.
"Good day Trystane." Link replied, looking slightly taken off guard.
"How goes the Trans-location circle?" Zelda asked.
"We'll be finished shortly, your Highness." Minister Tonbridge replied, bowing before continuing to direct the other sorcerers.
Link continued towards his team, Thrakon and Trystane coming to meet him. The Hero scanned the room, and to his surprise, found Kallil engaged in a conversation with the Prince, and to a much lesser degree of surprise, found Aren conversing with his twin.
"Hero! Any advice you can lend us on this oh so perilous adventure we're setting out on?" Trystane asked.
The Hero looked at the two men in front of him, nodding to both. "This isn't the first civil war I've fought in." Link remarked.
"That's what they're calling this now?" Thrakon asked, a disbelieving tone to his voice.
"That's what Minsiter Hawkwood is claiming it to be, and as you know, he does have a flare for the dramatic." Link said, looking off towards the second floor balcony on which many courtiers, guards and servants had gathered, picking out Minister Hawkwood standing to the left of Sir Ginthorne.
"Tell us, Hero, what of this other Civil War?" Trystane asked curiously.
"You probably won't find it in any history books, due to how long ago it occurred, but if I remember correctly House Harkinian declared the region they governed their own kingdom, and broke off from Hyrule. When our Monarch at the time, Queen Oraiya declared war on them, I found myself fighting for House Harkinian, it wasn't long though of course, before Zelda and I met, even before I reclaimed my memories, Zelda always sought me out. After she found me, peace came to the land through the marriage of the Harkinian's patriarch to Queen Oraiya, and my marriage to Zelda." Link explained.
"Excuse me for saying so, but I don't think marrying King Laorik to Zelda is going to solve this one." Thrakon remarked.
Link shot a glare at Thrakon, mentally flinching at the notion. Zelda had been promised to others before, but in the end she always chose him.
"Link, my boy!" Elgon called as he made his way over. "Ready to depart are we?" he asked, his demeanor suddenly turning serious.
"It's finished?" Aren asked as he joined them.
"Indeed, our mission begins now." Elgon replied as the group made their way to the center of the circle.
"Where are we going exactly?" Aren asked, setting his eyes on Link.
"The Sacred Grove, I must take up the Master Sword before we make our move, not to mention the Faron Woods aren't far from the Labrynnian border, this will save us two days time, which is time we don't have, the Zora have already begun to march." Link explained.
Kallil joined the group as they assembled in the center of the glowing blue star on the floor.
"Hero, I regret to inform you that do to the amount of magical energy within the Scared Grove, we cannot teleport you directly there, but we can get you close." Minister Tonbridge said, tensing as he looked to Link.
"We'll make do." Link said, a frustrated tone to his voice. He turned to his teammates, Elgon, Trystane, and Aren seemed confident, but Thrakon was twitching every now and then, and Kallil was visibly nervous. "Worried?" Link asked with a smirk.
"About what? Oh you mean the thing where we're going to get turned into energy and shot across the country?" What's there to be worried about?" Kallil answered sarcastically, Thrakon looking slightly disturbed behind him.
Link's smile faded as he turned forward, the worried look on Zelda's face was easy to see, Link knew there was a rather large chance Erris...or Ganondorf would move a large force to intercept the Zora, leaving he and his team in the middle.
"Ready! Initiate the circle!" Minister Tonbridge called, the assembled sorcerers each channeling energy into the circle.
Link kept his eyes locked with Zelda's, his gaze remaining forward even as the energy rushed upwards, his vision being filled with bright blue light.
oOo
Link tensed his knees as they arrived in the dense forest, it was just as he remembered it. Link looked back to find Thrakon on one knee, holding his head in hand, while Kallil voided his stomach into the underbrush. Elgon was the only member of the team that was as unfazed as Link, the two watching in mild amusement as even Trystane and Aren stumbled while they walked, still trying to regain their composure.
"Well, that was certainly something." Trystane said, placing his hand in his forehead.
"Indeed." Link began as he turned to face his comrade. "Watch out!"Link yelled at Kallil, the boy turning to find a large arachnid charging him. Without wasting any time, Link drew his bow, sinking an arrow directly into the creature's eye. "Well, that's that." Link said, eyeing the corpse.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Elgon responded, looking upwards.
Link and his teammates turned their gazes to the tree tops, dozens of enormous arachnids the size of horses descending on silken webbing.
"Gohmas." Link said, drawing his blade.
oOo
Sorry for the cliffhanger, hope you're not arachnophobes! I also hope you enjoyed this chapter, there's more action guaranteed in the future!
Gerudospirit: I'm glad you enjoyed the romance, it's not my strong suit, so it's good to know I'm doing alright at it! I'm also glad you liked that they found CIa, I was wondering how that'd go over, seeing as in HW Cia would probably keep away from Hryule Castle, but I wanted to write a more sane version of her! Thanks for the compliment when it comes to the way I work canon and fiction together, I was worried I'd make people mad haha! I hope this chapter was to your liking! Thanks for the review! =D
GlamAngel3766: That idea sounds intriguing! Definitely keep me updated with it! As of now, I don't know if I have enough time to manage that and this story, but the idea definitely appeals to me! If I can find someone who's willing to help out, I'll look into it and get back to you! Thanks for the offer, it means a lot! Thank you for reviewing!
Lady Kiridia: I hoped you'd like the inclusion of Sheik and Lana! I always like how Zelda showed off her warrior side, too! I actually had no idea that "The Beginning of the End" was a Hyrule Warriors song! Pure coincidence, and an amusing one at that! When it comes to Zelink moments, there's really no need to thank me, those are essentially what this fic was founded on, so I'm always more than happy to write them up, even if I'm not that good at it yet! I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations, and I hope you like the way I carry out Ganon's inevitable reveal! Thanks for your review!
Shout out to Shadow of Skyloft and Kaori Takaguchi for favoriting and following! You're awesome!
Lastly, as of today my story has surpassed 10,500 reads and I could not be more honored! Thank you for reading and devoting your time to my story! I'm grateful to all of you for your ongoing support and can only hope you can keep on enjoying my story as it progresses! Thank you so much!
As always, if you spot a mistake, point it out, and best of luck to you all!
-Prometheus17