Welcome back everyone.
I have my normal author's notes at the end of this chapter, so I'm gonna be responding to the last chapter's reviews. :)
Professor Daniels: I think Link looks his best as an older, grizzled fighter. I'm glad you think so too. Thank you for the kind words!
Xver1: As always.
RobO'FanGirl: Thank you! Your words literally warm my heart. I'm so glad I can touch people with my work, and I'm glad others can relate to these characters. I spend so much time crafting who they are, and treat them not as characters, but as real people. Thank you so much!
FadingReach: I hope I won't let you down!
zelda787: Oh my god, thank you so much! To be considered the best out of anything is super amazing, it's humbling to hear things like that!
Now, onto the main event...please enjoy!
"When you look within yourself, what prevents you from obtaining peace?"
Link did nothing in response, staring down silently at his plate of food, sliding his roasted potatoes around aimlessly with his fork. He was slumped over, dejected by his own internal conflict. He listened closely to the din of the deluge pattering against the cracked glass panes of Dorian's humble hut, hoping to find a calming peace in the noises.
"It's complicated." He answered dully, not looking up to meet Dorian's bright eyes. The Sheikah sighed, sliding his calloused hands through his dark hair.
"I know you've been through unspeakable tragedy. But the only way for you to heal is to let go. Find peace with your-"
"I can't."
"Why not?" Dorian asked quickly, staring intensely at Link, who still looked away, hiding his conflicted nature.
"I just can't."
"If that's true, then you should stop your training now."
"...No. I need to learn more. That's the only way I'll find my mother."
"Then tomorrow, we'll try again. At dawn, I want you to meet me at the meditation stone. There's a lot on your mind, I can tell. Hopefully, you can be helped with that."
"I know he's going through a lot, but I can't keep dealing with how he's asking." Zelda spoke softly to Abigail, her hand maiden and best friend, as she ran a wooden brush through her soft blonde hair. She looked back at the young woman, whose dark hair contrasted her bright green eyes and delicate features. "What should I do?"
"I watched my Grandfather slowly fall into insanity from trauma due to the war," Abigail remarked, sadness written in her eyes. "He witnessed unspeakable horrors in his time. He watched his friend be pulled apart by a pack of wolves, his farm burned down, a whole assortment of tragedies. As he got older, he could no longer fight back the pain that eventually consumed him."
"I don't want to see Link fall down that hole," Zelda responded, letting out a soft sigh. She stood slowly, placing her hand carefully on her swollen belly, as she moved across the room to her ornate desk, which was stacked high with political papers. "But I need him here, to help with the merge and the baby."
"I don't think he can help, Milady," Abigail answered thoughtfully, her thin lips frowning slightly. "He's in a place that few ever enter, and he needs time to heal." Zelda nodded her tired head, sitting down at her desk and sighing as she glanced around at the documents that surrounded her.
"This is getting to be too much," Zelda began, picking up a stack of papers several inches thick. "Hyrule is doing better than ever, but with that comes even further issues. Requests for education reform, monument erections, housing..." Her voice trailed off as she glanced out the window beside her, where she could spot the tip of Link's head at the stables, tending to his beloved Mearas.
"Is his magic training helping?" Abigail asked, breaking the silence that had begun.
"He believes so," Zelda responded, looking back at her handmaiden with a questioning look on her face. "But he's only obsessing over it more and more. He believes he'll find his mother if he becomes powerful enough...it's taking up his entire life. It's like he's another person when he's studying. I fear the disappointment will be too much for him to-" She stopped suddenly, her eyes looking up blankly. Abigail's face turned quickly, worried for her princess.
"What is it milady?" Abigail asked her princess, worry flickering in her green eyes.
"I feel..something." She muttered, sighing deeply. She began to sweat, stumbling back onto her bed, placing her hand over her belly. Abigail rushed to her, looking over her carefully.
"Goddesses, are you alright?"
"There's something going on..I feel it." Zelda mumbled, her left hand beginning to brightly glow. "Death Mountain...I feel a presence.."
Abigail began to panic, looking around the room for Zelda's water. She stood up to grab it, but Zelda grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
"Get Link." She pleaded, looking up at her friend with desperation.
Things are getting more complicated every day.
Zelda had a panic attack yesterday morning. While that is reason enough to worry, her Triforce began to burn in her hand, which brought both of us to believe there's something of incredible significance going on somewhere in Hyrule. We cannot under any circumstances risk to leave this stone without upturning it.
Link and Dorian sat calmly atop the highest point of Eldin Canyon, smoking from Link's favorite wooden pipe, blowing smoke rings into the dark skies. Link felt at peace for a moment, seeing the beautiful world through his once vivid eyes again, enhanced by the herb he smoked. He and Dorian chuckled as they took in the incredible sight of the ancient rocky mountains spanning for miles, the blinding bright glow of the volcanic terror that was Death Mountain ever present within their view.
"I find myself falling into a black hole of hopelessness every few months now," Link mumbled slowly, able to speak on the topic without care for once. "but Hyrule always snaps me back out of it with her beauty." Dorian nodded, taking the pipe from Link to gaze with Link.
"Zelda felt the presence in this corner of Hyrule." He spoke slowly, focused on the task at hand, lighting the pipe and inhaling deeply.
"Which means we have work to do." Link said, taking the pipe from his friend and standing up. He sighed, exhaling the last bit of smoke in his lungs, before gazing out towards the scalding land below him.
"I suggest we talk to the Bludo of the Gorons." Link continued, as he slowly shifted towards the edge of the mountain peak, gazing far down at the small town bustled safely away on the volcano's edge. Dorian sighed aloud, looking in the direction of the village.
"I suppose you're right," he began, running his hands through his hair. "I only worry for what we'll find there."
"Me too," Link muttered back, looking down at his hand which had a slight tremor. "I'm not...ready yet."
Zelda breathed slowly as Abigail reached forward, opening the large door to the grand ballroom, the beautiful glass statuettes and stained glass beaming down on her as soon as the door swung open. She rarely got to visit this marvel of structural design, her many duties preventing her from many pleasures of life. She leaned down on the railing of the balcony that circled the room, gazing down to the ball itself, where many of her political allies were dressed in their most exquisite clothes for the event, cheerfully drinking from their expensive wine glasses.
"There he is." Abigail remarked, pointing across from Zelda, to the balcony on the opposite end. Standing, surrounded by serious-looking men dressed in military attire, was a monster of a man. He stood over a foot taller than most Hylians, towering over all in the room with him. His shoulders were as broad as a bear, and his beard as dark as one. He was dressed in a flat black suit of ceremonial armor, adorned with a brilliant red cape.
"That's Ranoke?" Zelda said, almost choking on her words. She was immediately intimidated by him, having never seen a man as physically imposing as him. He turned and caught Zelda in his gaze, his sparkling green eyes glittering as he flashed a charming smile to her.
"Yeah." Abigail answered back quietly, staring at the general. "Good luck."
Zelda took a deep breath, as she began walking around the balcony to meet with the general. As she did, her advisers began to form a line behind her, holding cases of documents and notes as they prepared for the meeting.
"Queen Zelda," Ranoke's deep booming voice called as she neared him. He took a slow bow, before rising up to tower above the young queen, who kept a calm demeanor. "Thank you for welcoming us to your kingdom, and accepting our offer to talk on the matters of merging."
"Of course, general." Zelda responded, smiling slightly. "My advisers and I are very interested in this prospect. As you know our country just returned from collapse."
"Word spread quickly. I remember my grandfather telling me of the day he heard Hyrule had fallen. We hold a day of silence every year, and were ecstatic when we heard that a hero had conquered the darkness. You have my condolences in the losses during that war." Ranoke spoke sincerely, surprising Zelda with his knowledge of events.
"Thank you," She began, raising an eyebrow at the general. "How did you learn so much about Hyrule from Gearnat?"
"Well, I'm a Hyrule Historian myself. My people frequently interact with those from your own village of Lurelin while fishing on the open waters. We learn much from them."
"I see." Zelda answered respectfully. "Now, onto the idea of a merger." Ranoke smiled broadly at this, glancing back at his advisers.
"We have 3 ships on your shores right now, filled with our finest soldiers and weapons. Canons, swords, bows and arrows. Anything you need. We also have brought you herbs and spices from our lands, that you can use for you and your people. We hope you'll enjoy them."
"And where are you planning on having your people arrive at? We have decided to offer you our team of architects to work with your and your builders to create low cost homes for your people to live in. I suggest you take a section of eastern Lanayru, which is mostly uninhabited save for wildlife." She motioned to one of her advisers, who produced a small map from his case of notes, which he handed to Ranoke. He and his men glanced over the piece of cloth, which showed a section of the lower lands of Hyrule bordered off, with the large words "NEW GEARNAT" sewn carefully above it. Ranoke grinned wildly as his advisers nodded in agreement.
"You know," Ranoke remarked thoughtfully as he gazed down at the people below him. "As a child, I always wished to see peace for my people. I think it might finally be here."
"That's the goal," Zelda chimed in, smiling warmly at the general.
"Before you arrived, I took the initiative to meet with everyone in this room. Your people are lovely, your highness." Ranoke remarked. "They're bright, and empathetic. They seem immune to the coldness of pain."
"They're a strong people," Zelda answered. "They found solace in themselves during the Dark Time, and hold such a respect for each other. They value friendships." She looked over at Ranoke, who stared concerned below.
"What is it?" She asked him. Ranoke's face had changed from one of happiness, to one of intense focus.
"I told you I had met every person here, personally. I got to know the needs and opinions of everyone in this room," He claimed, staring down hard. "I didn't meet him." He motioned towards a corner of the room, where there stood, covered by a brown cloak, tucked away from the party, a strange figure hiding in the shadows. Zelda realized she too didn't recognize him, and he wasn't on the guest list. The man glanced up at them, and Zelda's keen eyes spotted an insignia on his ring that flashed in the ball's lights.
He was part of an assassin's guild.
In a flash, she saw him reach under his dark cloak and produce a sharp steel dagger that soared towards her at breakneck speed. She threw her hands up to cast a spell, but was astonished when the dagger never reached her. Ranoke stood, his broad arm outstretched in front of Zelda, the knife sitting comfortably in his hand.
He caught it.
The general leaped ferociously over the banister, as shouts of terror filled the room, the guests quickly realizing they were with a terrorist. The cloaked assailant attempted to flee, but found the nimble general hot in pursuit, tackling the man with his immense weight. Ranoke rose his giant fist in the air, bringing it down repeatedly on the head of the assassin, until his foe fell unconscious. As the guests attempted to leave the room, countless guards poured in, Zelda now quickly surrounded by her dark-clad personal guards, all standing around her with their black weapons drawn. Ranoke rose triumphantly, dragging the unconscious body of the assailant back towards the angry guards, who took the assassin and removed him from the room. Through the intense commotion, he made his way to Zelda, who he smiled widely at.
"We from Gearnat protect our allies, no matter what."
OKAY I'M SORRY.
It's been exactly 67,009,032,878,088 years since I last uploaded and I'm sorry. :/ Life got the best of me. But *hopefully* you guys will be seeing more content in the coming future, maybe even monthly (or weekly if ya'll will review this story en mass) uploads. It really depends on how well this chapter is received. :)
I honestly have so much planned for this story, but this last year has just..ruined me. I was homeless, depressed, and just down in life generally, and I've lost most of my motivation to continue this story - but I will finish it. This story has so SO much planned for it, and if you thought New Memories was good..just wait for this story. The characters you know and love will be put through things they've never encountered before, and will never be the same after.
If you enjoyed this story, PLEASE leave a review! They keep me going, and they inspire me to write more. It's free to review, you don't even have to sign up. ^~^
Please, review, and stay tuned for the next chapter of The Legend of Zelda: New Failures!
-Darth Ganon