A/N: I own nothing except a copy of this great game. Second note: A single singer is demarked in italics "like this", while a crowd singing is demarked "like this."
The morning was quiet, but an air of restlessness hung overhead. All around the camp, soldiers spent their time preparing. Blades were sharpened. Quivers were re-stocked. Armor was repaired, and wounds were patched. General chit-chat and joking was near-nonexistent.
She stood in the center of it all, a few feet from one of the campfires that had been made to prepare food. She glanced out across the expanse of the hills that they controlled, and felt her gaze turn to the north where their enemy lay. The naginata felt heavy in her hand, and she let the bottom of the handle rest in the ground. The blade pointed upwards towards the heavens, and gleamed in the red morning sunlight. She stared towards the far edges of the valley where she knew that their enemy lay, and felt the weight of the world on her shoulders.
"Yeh ok, Sheikah?" She heard Ishaka ask, as he ambled up next to her. Once again, he'd rolled up a new cigarette and was smoking something particularly sweet-smelling. Moreso than usual. She blinked once.
"I'm thinking a lot, these days." Impa said. Ishaka turned to her, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh?" He asked, pursing his lips into an "O" as he blew out a stream of smoke. Impa nodded.
"I'm thinking about what happens when we fight." Impa said. "We've been here for almost a week now, pinned to the edge of the valley. If this is what happens at the onset…what will happen when we meet our enemy on the battlefield? What will the cost be?"
Ishaka was silent. He followed her stare out across the horizon.
"I suppose…I suppose there is a small piece of me that hopes that Cia is willing to listen to reason." Impa said quietly. "I would hate for things to end the way I fear that they will end."
"Yeh feelin' sym'thy fer Cia?" Ishaka asked, more than a little surprised at her words. Impa sighed.
"I don't know what I feel, Ishaka. But it isn't just righteous rage. Not anymore. Not after hearing Lana's talk earlier."
The Ravager commander winced. Earlier that morning, Lana had come into the princess' command tent and had told everyone in it about her failed attempt at reconciling with Cia the previous night. There was a nasty cut across her cheek that was still having trouble healing even with Itami's help. They didn't ask where it had come from. They figured that they could connect the dots.
"I dunno, Sheikah." Ishaka said. "I wanna feel sym'thy fer 'er. I really do."
"But?" Impa asked, clearly sensing that there was something on the Ravager commander's mind. He turned to look at her, and there was a deep sorrow in his eyes. Sorrow and rage.
"E'ry time I try, I end up thinkin' 'bout tha' li'l girl who, aft'r seein' 'er dead parents inna village, tried ta steal m'knives so she could cut 'er wrists an' be wit' 'er dead folks." He shuddered, and looked positively pained. "Wha' kinda person is Cia ta allow that?"
"I don't know, Ishaka." Impa said. "I never said that she was a good person. I just…I pity her. I know what it is like to lose a father without getting a chance to say goodbye." She turned to look Ishaka in the end. Ishaka nodded.
"I know tha', Sheikah." He said. "An' ta be 'onest, I pity 'er too."
He drew one of his knives, and scowled.
"But tha' won't save 'er."
He started to walk away. Impa turned to face him.
"Ishaka." She said.
He stopped, his back to her. Impa cleared her throat.
"Don't do anything foolish." She finally said.
Slowly, he turned to face her. When he did, she didn't see the face of a close friend. She saw thinly-restrained rage.
"Don' ferget, Sheikah. She owes me two knives." He said. "Mebbe I'll make some m'self, usin' 'er 'help. Mebbe I use two a' her ribs."
He walked away.
…
They met in the center of the staging ground in front of the command tent. In front of the tent, Zelda stood facing the commanders of every platoon and division and branch of the coalition. She was dressed in the shiniest and most regal of armor, her tiara shining in the light. The sun was rising off of the horizon now, making her look like she was positively glowing in the light.
"This is where we make our stand." She said, staring at the heroes across the ages and at the men and women in charge of the countless soldiers beneath her. "This is where we fight."
She slowly turned her gaze down the line, making eye contact with everyone in front of her.
"We've rooted out the Manhandla stalks that have kept us pinned here on the edge of the valley. The Gorons blockade the east. The Zoras control the south. The only way for Cia to escape is to go to the south. Through us. This is the end of the line. We are the end of the line."
She seemed to be ten feet tall, radiating in the morning light like the true champion of the Goddess. And when she spoke her words were with conviction and resolution.
"We will not wait for her to make the next move. We bring the fight to her. She will either lay down her sword…or her life…at the footsteps of the temple that she calls home. Not a drop more of innocent blood will be shed because of her machinations. Not another innocent life killed because of her. Because of me." She paused. "She has gone to these great lengths to remove me, in order to get what she wants. I will not stand by and let her do these things to my people and to the people of the world any longer. And on this battlefield, in this valley…I will put an end to it all."
"We will hit her from all sides. Darunia. You will take Ruto and Dorias and command the Goron forces to the left flank. Midna, Fi, Agitha and Itami will command the combined forces of Ravagers and Hyrulians to the east." She paused. "I will lead everyone else through the center. When Cia sees the hurricane approaching, she will see that I am in the center. And that I will be the one whom she must face. She wants me out of the equation? Then she'll have to do it herself. There can be no more running."
She walked forward, pacing back and forth as she relayed her instructions. She turned to face the group.
"This is where we make our stand. This is where we fight. Our men and women have suffered so much, and have given so much in order so that we might be at this point. I am sick of war. I am sick of death. I am sick of Cia. Today and tonight, we end it." She nodded. "Tell your regiments of their assignments, and begin preparations. There is to be no more waiting." She sighed. "I know that I ask so much of you all. I know the sacrifices that will be made. And I know that, despite our best efforts, today and tonight people will die. But we must act now, before things go from bad to worse. So I ask you, my dearest and most faithful companions: will you follow me this one last time?"
She needn't have asked. They all stood firm and resolute, and nodded. She smiled.
"Thank you. You are dismissed to inform your soldiers of what lies ahead."
The commanding officers all nodded, and began to leave. But then Zelda spoke quietly, so that only the person she was talking to could hear.
"Impa."
Within moments, the Sheikah was by her side.
"Yes, Zelda?" Impa asked. The princess sighed, and for the first time since she'd started speaking to everyone a trace of worry crossed her face.
"I need a favor from you." She said.
"Anything." Impa said. Zelda cleared her throat.
"Keep an eye on Link, will you?" She asked. "I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to him. Cia might…well, she might try to kill him as a sort of spite to me and the rest of us. A kind of 'if I can't have you…' sort of thing." She said. Impa smirked.
"Zelda, you needn't worry about him. Ryu wouldn't shut up about how important he was in the raids last night to destroy the stalks. He's gone from that wide-eyed recruit I saw in the Hyrulian fields to a true leader and hero. He will be okay. I promise you."
"Good." Zelda said with a smile. But then she got serious. "When the time comes, you know that you will see him again."
"I know." Impa replied. There was no mirth in her voice this time.
"Will you be ready?" Zelda asked. "The last time that you fought…"
"…the last time we fought I was about to take the upper hand." Impa said resolutely. "And that was with a dislocated shoulder that I put back into place myself. You need not worry, Zelda. I'm not fighting Volga…" she walked away, but said something over her shoulder loud enough for Zelda to hear.
"He's fighting me."
…
As they made their way through the death forest at the base of the hills, Zelda looked on at the shattered and splintered trees and sighed. The men and women that had been placed down here had suffered so much, and had taken such damage in order for the rest of the army to recover, and re-establish itself. And yet not a single one of them held her in contempt, with the reverent ways that they looked at her as the rest of the army started to flow through. Zelda had ordered the soldiers that had been in the death forest to stay back, and let fresher troops lead the way. These battered folk were more than welcoming the chance at relief.
As the army began to mass at the entrance of the forest, Zelda turned towards Darunia.
"Start breaking off towards the west. I expect the weakest resistence to that side. Move quickly, and move with conviction."
The Goron King grinned, and nodded. He slammed his chest with his fist, and started sprinting off towards the west. There was a clattering ruckus of shuffling as the rest of the army tried to keep up. Zelda winced. There would not be much time before the entire valley erupted in war, especially if it was Darunia that was the first one to strike. She turned towards Midna.
"Take the forces you have to the east. Move swiftly, but make sure not to get ahead of our advance. I don't want there to be a gap."
The transformed Twili princess nodded, and with a whistle led her forces to the foothills that littered the eastern half of the Valley of Seers. Zelda adjusted the helmet on her head, and turned to Link.
"Will you follow me, hero?" She asked quietly, so that none else could hear. He looked back at her. He smiled.
"To the death." He said.
Zelda took a deep breath, and then gestured to the color bearer to her right. The young man put his lips to the battle horn and blew. It was a beautiful, loud and sweet baritone note that echoed through the valley. It had not even begun to echo when the Hyrulian forces were beginning to move.
…
She stood at the top of the ruins, gazing down towards the valley below her. She snarled as she heard the war horn blow, and felt a white-hot rage as the west seemed to erupt in chaos. Standing next to her was Volga, who turned to look at her.
"Orders, Mistress Cia?" He asked.
She'd been up for days summoning monsters, giving them a little extra boost from drawing deep within her essence. It was tiring work, and she wasstarting to feel irritable and stretched out. She needed sleep. She needed quiet. She needed her darling Link.
She turned to Volga, and stared at him with sunken eyes.
"Kill them all."
For the first time in a long time, the Dragon Warrior smiled. He twirled his Dragonborn pike.
"As you wish, Mistress Cia." He was about to disappear, when he felt her hand on his shoulder.
"Volga, baby…I want you to make that whore feel the pain before she dies by my hand. Take everything around her, and make it as awful and depraved as possible." Her expression seemed to darken with every word. "Let her friends die screaming in agony and helplessness, and let her forces scatter like ashes in the wind. Only then do you bring her before me, broken and whimpering, before I end her cursed life. Start with…that shit-skinned Sheikah she calls her friend…I want to savor the look in Zelda's eye…as she watches her closest friend DIE."
Before Volga could move, Cia threw her arms around his neck, and forcibly planted a kiss on his lips. For a moment, she pretended it was her beloved hero, Link. But then, that thought disappeared. This was business, not pleasure.
She shuddered as she felt the dark and violent magic leave her, and enter the already mighty power of the Dragon Warrior before her. Just as soon as she was done, she stepped back, licking her lips. Volga's eyes were glowing red like burning coals, and a dark-red aura surrounded him. He let out a roar, and looked positively draconian. There was a flash of fire and brimstone, and he disappeared. Cia smiled, and closed her eyes.
"That's right, puppet…I've cut your strings. Show me what you can do."
…
They first came into contact with the enemy in a gap between hills, a gently sloping field that might've once been filled with green grass and life. Now it was hard and dead and red, with cracked dirt and parched dust kicked up with every step. It was the advance guard, led by Lizalfos and Moblins, with hordes of Bokoblins in between. Zelda felt the army shifting around her like a well-oiled machine, as Lord Gawain ordered a shield wall to form. It closed in place just as the first wave of Bokoblins hit, and a roar of violence and insanity rose through the air as swords and spears and weapons clashed with armor, shield and bone. She was not about to be an idle participant in this fight. She drew her rapier, and spilled the blood of two Bokoblins that dared to break through the line.
"Keep moving forward!" Zelda ordered. "Take the keeps to the north and the east!" She shouted, her voice carrying over the battlefield. Two earthen keeps, their walls constructed of hastily-thrown sticks and stones, were in front of them now. She felt her force splitting in two, with herself and Link and Lana taking the left half towards the northern keep, and Impa and Lord Gawain leading the second half. Their forces worked like a pitchfork, stabbing at the enemy from several spaces.
She glanced to the west, up into the hills, and saw the forces under the command of Darunia making their way across the cliff face. The Goron king was at the front of the line, smashing enemies with his hammer and bare fists. Beside him, Ruto was darting around with her sharpened Zora scales and cutting out the legs of the enemies that she avoided. There was a man in a particularly glittering set of armor, which Zelda recognized as Captain Dorias, and every enemy felled by the Zora princess he would finish off with a thrust of his broadsword.
To the east, she could see the combined forces of Ravagers and Hyrulians slogging through the lowlands of the valley, with Midna at the center of it all. Agitha was on the shoulder of that Goron, and Itami and Fi were darting in and out of the action, hitting anything that came close. They were moving slowly, not nearly as fast as Zelda's or Darunia's force, but it was clear that they were making progress.
There was a roar to her right, and Zelda looked in time to see Ishaka and Link double-team a Lizalfos captain. Link swung low, causing the beast to leap up into the air. Before it had even come down, Ishaka swung his black knives like he was trying to cut down a tree. Zelda tried not to wince as the severed head of the beast went skittering through the air. The two men were staying back-to-back, combining their efforts on anything and everything that came close. And anyone that tried to touch Link…Ishaka would leap in to stop them. He wasn't about to let anyone hit the Hero of the Era, and certainly not something as lowly as the creatures of darkness.
The forces of darkness were ceding the battlefield, and were beginning to retreat deeper into the valley. Judging by the craggy rock faces and formations ahead, it was clear that they were hoping to lead the forces of light into an ambush. Taking a break from the action, Zelda stepped back and regrouped with Lord Gawain. The Lord of War had slammed his oversized bronze shield into the chest of a Bokoblin, creating an impressive GONG sound, before thrusting his sword downward into the creature's throat. He pulled the blade back up and looked at the princess.
"We make good progress, your highness!" Gawain said. "Look!" He pointed ahead of them. "We've got them so hassled they're firing on their own men!"
Zelda turned back towards the action. Sure enough, the frantic pace with which the forces of darkness were retreating was so spooking their archer defenders in the rock faces that they were already launching arrows, both giving away their position and striking friendly forces at the same time. Zelda smirked.
"Tell our forces to slow down, and have the archers move up and begin suppressing their forces in the rock face. In the meantime, I want two clearly-defended phalanxes going around the two sides of those rock formations." She pointed to the left and to the right. "With any luck, we'll be able to bypass the majority of their archers and get deeper into the Valley before Cia can send in reinforcements!" She finished her command. The Lord of War nodded, and then shouted over for the nearby horn-bearer. As he was relaying the same instructions for the horn-bearer to pronounce* across the battlefield, Zelda stepped forward to rejoin the action. She saw Link and Ishaka in front of her, and for a moment marveled at the tandem. They came from different backgrounds and had very different personalities, but on the field together they complimented each other perfectly. Link's precise and cerebral strikes mixed with Ishaka's raw fury was an unstoppable combo.
Zelda smirked, and drew her rapier. She wasn't about to let the boys have all of the fun defending her kingdom.
She raced forward, bellowing a war cry of her own.
…
"King Darunia!"
The Goron captain finished crushing a Lizalfos' head against the ground with his hammer, and turned around. A young and very out-of-breath man had run up to meet him at the front of the line, and was panting heavily.
"Spit it out, son!" Darunia shouted. "A war zone is no place for rest!"
"Or…orders from the princess, sir!" The young Hyrulian said. "You need to take these hill summits! There's a chance that they might be growing Manhandla stalks up there!"
Darunia looked up ahead of him. His forces were easily clearing the pathway that cut a little bit below the summit of the hills, and had a nice overlook of the main battlefield below. And yet, even they weren't at the highest point of the battle. That would have to go to the hilltops above him, protected by a steep incline and many craggy rocks that made climbing difficult.
For amateurs.
He smiled, and let out a roar.
"YOOOOOOOOOOO!" He bellowed. "Archers, pull back! Start firing up into the summit! If you can climb, come with me and let's take this summit!" He raced forward, grasping the middle of his hammer's handle with his teeth, and began scaling the rock wall. He sensed the rest of the Gorons that were nearby begin to ascend with him, and even a few enterprising Hyrulians. Some of the less-able soldiers were taking the much slower route of traversing the rocky pathway leading up to the summit.
He felt something nick his back, and knew that it was an arrow. A poorly made thing, created by those pathetic Bokoblins. Still, he had no intention of being killed by one of those flimsy things. There were some archers at the top of the hill, desperately firing downwards to protect their high point. Darunia heard the screams of men caught by an arrow and sent falling to their doom around him. He still kept pushing forward.
"FRRRWRRDD!" He grunted through gritted teeth, reaching a point on the Cliffside where he could stand. He ducked underneath a suicidal Bokoblin diving to tackle him off of the hillside, and watched the little beast tumble to its certain death. A more nimble Lizalfos landed right next to him on the narrow strip of rock they stood on, and with a hiss swung its sword. Darunia ducked, and the scimitar clanged harmlessly off of the rock. The creature was jarred, and staggered backwards. Eschewing complexity, Darunia just shoved the beast off of the rocks and down towards the drop below. He started to inch upwards, as other soldiers joined him as well. One Bokoblin hissed as it raised its sword to stab him unaware from above, only for an arrow to embed itself in its gullet. Darunia watched the dead creature fall off of the cliff with a thud, and looked with bewilderment towards the source of the arrow.
There was little sister Ruto, holding the bow and arrow of yet another rather good-looking soldier. She made eye contact with him, and waved and winked. Darunia let out a bellow of approval, and continued to scale the hillside.
Eventually, he reached the summit. Somehow, Ruto had made it to the top of the summit, along with a few brave souls, and they were doing battle with a squadron of elite Moblins and a single Darknut. The Hyrulians were brave, but they were being pushed to their limit trying to keep pace. Darunia wasn't about to let that fly.
"YOOOOOO!" He roared, barreling forward with his hamer raised. The first Moblin turned around just in time to have its head smashed into its neck, and with another swing Darunia sent the second one flying into the rocks. There was a disturbing crunching noise as the creature's back and neck hit the stone, and it hit the ground and went still. With the Moblins shrinking in number, Ruto went to work on the remaining ones while Darunia turned his attention to the Darknut. The black-armored beast snarled, and lunged. Darunia parried the blow, and thrust his forearm forward. His rock-hard arm crashed into the beast's head so hard that it loosened its helmet. Darunia took advantage to grab the creature by the neck, hoisting it up into the air so that its feet were dangling off of the ground. The helmet fell off, revealing a terribly ugly and canine-looking creature. It bayed and howled, frothing at the mouth as Darunia squeezed the air out of its lungs. He kept squeezing until he felt the creature's windpipe collapse.
Something told him to stop with the neck.
He didn't listen.
Fi finished off the last of the Moblins, as the rest of the provisional force made their way to the summit. Captain Dorias blinked once in shock at the sight of Darunia sitting atop the corpse of the de-helmeted Darknut, a self-satisfied look on the Goron's face. He lifted his hand, coated in the Darknut's blood, and let out a prideful roar.
"I AM DARUNIA, KING UNDER AND OVER THE MOUNTAIN!"
Everyone, even Ruto, had no choice but to join in on the war yell.
…
Midna snarled in disgust as she stepped over the fallen body of a Moblin. It was floating slightly in the muddy, waterlogged lowlands of the Valley, face-down and clearly gone.
"Why do they have to be so disgusting?" The Twili hissed, ducking an enemy attack and slamming the offender in the face with her prehensile hair. It seemed like every step and every action caused flecks of mud and water to get kicked up, slowly dirtying the armor and faces and bodies of everyone that was still fighting. By virtue of her magic, Midna was able to stay above the water and minimize the amount of gunk covering her…but not by much.
On the other hand, the Ravagers amongst them seemed to love it.
"GET FUCKED!" Ryu roared, kicking a Bokoblin in the gut, and then reaching forward and shoving the creature face-first into the muddy water. It thrashed frantically, kicking up mud and water and knocking against the reedy grass that was growing in this wet and hellish environment. She took advantage of the creature's incapacitation to stab it repeatedly in the back of the head with a small knife.
She was not alone. Most of the Ravagers had eschewed their heavier weapons, instead deciding to drive their enemies into the water and doing battle in close quarters. Most of the creatures of darkness, used to being the ones that dictating the frantic pace of battle, were completely unprepared for a near-suicidal group that gave zero concern towards the "rules" and "methods" of warfare. It was the sort of thing that they wished that they had thought of.
That was usually the last thought some of them had before getting drowned in the muck and grime.
Midna fought her way through the muddy massacre to the center, where Fi was floating above the fray and kicking anything that rose above the fray. Midna let out a chuckle.
"Kicking them while they are down, swordy? Not very sporting of you, is that?" She teased. The sword-figure was expressionless, but Midna detected the faintest trace of exasperation in Fi's voice.
"I calculate that this method gives me a 98% chance of survival. I do not understand the need for 'sporting.'"
"NOW you're learning!" Midna shouted, thrusting her hair forward to snap a few of the Bokoblins back into the glurge. This was rather enjoyable.
She felt an exploding pain in her back, and before she knew it she was being driven into the muck. Some enterprising Bokoblin had tackled her into the water, and intended to drown her in it. She thrashed and fought, her eyes tightly shut in the muddy mixture of water and scum and blood, trying not to notice the fact that her head was throbbing from the lack of oxygen. The beast was holding onto her tightly, and was about to grab her throat and squeeze.
But in that moment, it was gone. Midna took advantage of this reprieve to immediately surface, gasping as she broke the surface of the water and mud. She looked up and saw her savior. Itami had yanked the creature off of her from behind, clinging to its back like a backpack, and was currently stabbing it in the neck over and over again with one of his wrist-mounted knives. He was positively soaking from mud and water, and now there were dashes of blood getting mixed into it. The creature fell lifelessly back into the brink, and Itami turned to look at her. He was panting heavily, his mohawked hair matted against his forehead. He looked at her, and gave a small sort of thumbs up. But then he looked at her, cocked his head to the side, and it looked like he was rather amused.
MIdna was about to ask him what the hell he was looking at, when she finally registered how cold she felt. But then a chill ran through her when she realized…the mud and water had matted her fur down. She didn't even want to know what she looked like, and thanked the Goddesses that she didn't have a mirror to check. She was cold and miserable and probably looked pathetic. Please, if there is any justice in the world…
"Ooh, look Mr. Meathook! I think Miss Kitty Midna needs a bath!"
Justice. Was. Dead.
…
She heard the roar long before the others. There was a flash of red, and then the air seemed to be overheated, to the point where she broke into a sweat. A crash of thunder. A draconic roar, and the screams of dying soldiers. The sound and feeling of burning flesh and hair, and fire.
Volga stood in the center of the clearing, no less than twenty dead Hyrulian soldiers around him. Those were the ones that hadn't been incinerated. The Dragon Warrior looked as though he was possessed: his eyes glowed like red coals, and his hands seemed to be like Dragon's claws and his teeth were pointed like fangs. He seemed to have grown an extra few inches, close to seven feet tall. And the way he twirled his pike was like that of the reaper's scythe.
"It's over. You will all perish to my blade!" He roared, embers and flame emitting from his mouth. He lunged forward. It was only by the grace of the Goddesses that Ishaka and Link were able to roll away from his strikes. A few brave soldiers tried to get close with their swords, but the sheer heat from the Dragon Warrior caused them to recoil in pain…right before he stabbed them repeatedly.
Zelda felt helpless. This man was going to single-handedly turn the tide of battle. She could hear Cia laughing in the air, as if she was watching and taking special and sadistic delight in the implied carnage that was about to begin. Volga turned to Zelda, and smirked.
"You will watch…as all burn." He growled.
There was a battle cry, and suddenly Volga was sent toppling backwards. Impa stood in his place, having finished the kick and getting ready into a battle stance. Volga picked himself back up, and stared at her in confusion. But then he smirked in contempt.
"You again." He muttered. He twirled his Dragonborn pike. "I see you have changed weapons." He noted the naginata in Impa's hand. "Do you really think that a mere change of scenery and pace will save you from your doom?"
Though the general battle continued, Zelda sensed a sort of circle forming around her trusted friend and the Dragon Warrior. In retaliation, the Hyrulian forces and Lord Gawain close by formed a sort of shield wall. Two boxes of armies, with two warriors inside one of them. An uneasy stalemate between the two armies in this small space. Zelda turned to Link and Ishaka.
"While he's distracted, I want you two to continue pushing to the ruins." She said. "Find and stop Cia if you can." She said. Link turned to Ishaka, and nodded. They raced away, breaking from the pack and running to the north.
Volga watched them go. He smirked derisively.
"Fitting. The hero delivers himself to Mistress Cia, and the man in rags is finished off for real this time. You Hyrulians are true experts in strategy." He said, the contempt dripping off of each word.
"Better than you." Impa said. "You have surrounded yourself with enemies." Volga laughed.
"That I can rip through like tissue paper, Sheikah." He smirked, and then raised an eyebrow. Considering his glowing eyes, it was an intimidating sight. "You really are a glutton for punishment, you know. The last time we fought you were barely able to stand. What makes you think that this time will be any different, with my power so greater than before?"
Impa's gaze was stone-cold.
"Because this time I won't stop until you're nothing but a bloody smear at the end of my father's naginata." She said. "Let's go."
She lunged forward, brandishing her blade. Volga blocked the first strike, and with a roar launched a counterattack of his own. Impa parried, and rolled under another swipe from the Dragon Warrior. Steel sparked as their blades met, the added fire from Volga's weapon created a volcanic feel to the fight. Impa thrust her naginata forward, pricking at the side of Volga's armor. It did little if any damage. Every time that Volga thrust, Impa would counter and parry and thrust little innocuous blows to the side. Zelda and Lord Gawain were stuck on the sidelines, helpless to help their friend.
Volga ducked under a swing, feinted to the left, and slashed to the right. Impa dodged, but not entirely, and cried in pain as the blade slashed across her back. She rolled out of the way, and Zelda winced. Just being in that close of proximity to the Dragon Warrior in his super-powered state was causing Impa's skin to burn, and now there was a long (though thankfully not deep) gash running from the back of her right shoulder diagonally to her left hip. Volga smirked.
"I can feel you starting to fall to pieces, Sheikah. Why not give in now? I will make your death quick." He taunted. Impa ignored him, continuing to fight. She was gritting her teeth with every slash and parry and strike, and it seemed like it was taking more effort than before for her to strike.
They fought for what seemed like an eternity. By now, the majority of the fighting in the clearing had died down. Hundreds of soldiers, on both sides, were watching these two warriors do battle. Impa had avoided any more major injuries, but her skin was noticeably starting to redden. From Zelda's position, it felt like sticking one's hands in front of a campfire. She couldn't imagine how hot it was up close.
"You are finished, Sheikah!" Volga roared, after knocking Impa to the side. The Sheikah warrior rolled away, and ended up on her knee. She had one eye closed, and was clutching her naginata so tightly that her knuckles were white as snow. "With Mistress Cia's power, I am like that of my ancestor Volvagia: UNSTOPPABLE!"
"Then…why am I…still alive?" Impa managed to ask. This seemed to catch Volga for a loop, so much so that the fiery aura around him seemed to dissipate.
"What are you saying?" He said, his burning eyes narrowing. Impa was gritting her teeth and had one eye closed in pain, but it was clear that she was smiling.
"You might be…stronger…but are you…you?" She asked. Now Volga was truly confused.
"You speak in circles. If I am stronger, than what could I be if not stronger?" He demanded. Embers flew from his lips. Impa managed to shrug.
"Only you know you. And…you and I are warriors. We know the difference between when we are free…and when we are held back, like a dog on a chain."
…
"DON'T LISTEN TO HER, YOU IDIOT!" Cia screeched from her perch in the ruins, watching with sheer disbelief as Volga stopped killing in favor of just standing there like a complete moron.
…
"Think about it…" Impa said, managing to get back up to her feet. "I know the stories. I know who you are. You are Volga, the great Dragon Warrior. The stories say…you are descended from Volvagia*, is this true?"
"Is this true?" Volga barked, as if offended that it was even a question. "Of course it is true! I am the last firedrake of Hyrule, the great Flame of Eldin! I have Volvagia's blood in my veins, and I am king under the world! I am a mighty force, the hurricane of fire and death to all that oppose me. And who are you to dare suggest that I am not mighty?"
"I do not suggest such a thing." Impa said. "I only suggest…that she holds you back."
"Mistress…Cia?" Volga asked, as if completely confused. Impa nodded.
"Her magic is but an illusion, that makes you think that you are stronger, when in fact you are only more in service to her. Did she not try to bind you to her with your new power?"
"She…she promised me such great things…" Volga said, as if conceding a point. "She only asked that I-"
"Exactly." Impa said, cutting him off. "She only asked that you give her a little piece of you, right? That was your payment for your services. That was your agreement. But every time that she gave you something more…she asked for something more, didn't she? She asked for a little bit more, always in a way that you wouldn't notice. Right?"
"What the hell is she doing?" Gawain whispered to Zelda.
"Shh…" Zelda replied.
Impa was getting herself into a ready stance now.
"Tell me, firedrake. Is a dragon truly meant to be chained? Is a dragon truly meant to be subservient to another power, one that doesn't even understand its majesty? Or is it meant to be free, and do everything under its own volition?"
There was a pause. Volga seemed deep in thought. But then he let out a roar, one that nearly knocked everyone off of their feet.
"NO!" He bellowed. "I am not a puppet to be played on a string! I am Volga, the descendant of Volvagia! And all that I accomplish in this life, I shall do it on my own!" He lifted his head to the heavens and bellowed. "GOD OF FIRE,* hear my cry! I reject the machinations of the sorceress that tempted me! I reject her false power! Grant me release from her bonds, so that I may end this shit-skinned Sheikah myself!"
There was a darkening in the skies, and then a thunderclap. A flash of lightning struck Volga head-on, creating a flash that was so bright that onlookers had to turn away. When it settled, there stood Volga. His draconic tendencies were now reduced, his height shrunken, his eyes their regular pitch-black. Volga scowled, and faced Impa.
"The time has come, Sheikah. DIE!"
He lunged towards her, brandishing his pike.
Impa countered his thrust, parried, and then threw a kick so hard it looked like it had lit on fire. It slammed into Volga's lower torso, in the slightly loosened armor that Impa had been subtly working the entire fight. Volga took a step back, growled, and prepared to strike again-
-Only to drop his weapon, his eyes bulging, and grasp his torso as he doubled over in pain.
"GrrraaaaggggghhhhH!" He managed to growl, howling on the ground. He was wheezing with pain. "Wh-what did you-"
"Exposed an opening in your armor, and then hit you right in the liver." Impa said. "It hurts, doesn't it? Feels like you're going to die?" She walked towards the wheezing Dragon Warrior. "See, that's the thing when you accept the artificial help of a mage. You get soft. You get sloppy. You forget the minute details of your own strength, of your own weaknesses…you give that away for a fleeting extra bit of power. You forget the fact that fighting is not just brawn, but brains."
Volga struggled back to his knees, still clutching his torso.
"You…you are still…subservient…how?" He managed to grit through his teeth. Impa shook her head.
"That's where you are wrong, Dragon. I may be the protector of the princess of Hyrule, but I am not nor have I ever been subservient to her. Because I am not her servant. And she is not my master. She is my family."
Impa stood resolute over him. She seemed to be ten feet tall.
"And no one threatens my family."
She gave a battle cry, and swung her naginata.
The battlefield was eerily silent. Impa stood over the headless body of the Dragon Warrior Volga, a victim of his own hubris, panting heavily. She turned to look towards the hordes of darkness in front of her. They were staring at her with a mix of horror, awe, and abject terror. She made eye contact with a Moblin captain, who promptly wet himself in terror. He took a step back.
"No…" Impa hissed. "There is no escape."
It was like waking from a dream. The Hyrulian forces gave a roar, and raced towards the terrified armies of darkness like a crazed tidal wave.
…
They were far away from this by now, though by the end of the lull they saw that the fighting was beginning. The Ravager commander finished off the last of his cigarette, and tossed the butt down the hillside. He turned to Link.
"Break's over, 'ero. Le's move." He said.
They had been climbing up the back end of the ruins, taking great care to avoid enemy engagement. They could hear the frantic movements of Bokoblin reinforcements, racing down the pathways and stairs of the ruins in order to get to the main battlefield. Snarling Lizalfos and Aeralfos were at the head of the columns, and a couple of times they saw a Darknut or two in charge of an advancing unit. Wisely, Ishaka and Link clung to the shadows.
"What's the plan, exactly?" Link asked. Ishaka looked around, and then glanced upwards. He pointed a little bit higher up the ruins, towards the staging ground that was right before where Cia's throne room.
"Le's stir some shit up. Make 'em think they're getting' hit in more than place." He said. "Le's take tha' stagin' ground."
"By ourselves?" Link asked, eyes widening slightly. Ishaka looked at him and grinned wickedly.
"Wha'? Yeh think we can' do it?" He asked teasingly. Link glanced down towards the battlefield below. Zelda and her forces were starting to get bogged back down thanks to this sudden influx of reinforcements. If they didn't do something to shake things up, then eventually the forces of light would simply run out of soldiers. Because it seemed like Cia's reserves were infinite.
"Let's do it." He said, unsheathing the Master Sword. Ishaka grinned, and drew his black knives.
"Music ta me ears, 'ero." He said.
…
The Moblin captain heard a howl, and turned around just in time to have his head taken off by a green-clad boy's sword. Link and Ishaka howled like madmen, moving as fast as they possibly could to hit as many foes as they could. Link found himself settling into the rarified place that he'd only felt one time prior: in the moments after Big Finn's death. With shouts and cries of rage, he hacked and slashed through the confused and terrified forces in front of him. Ishaka was close behind, but even the mighty Ravager commander was paling to the damage that the Hero caused.
Down far below, in the plains and foothills at the base of the ruins, Gawain smacked Zelda in the shoulder and pointed upwards.
"Look!" He shouted. "Something's going on up there!" He gestured to the sounds of battle somewhere up towards the summit of the ruins, and the fact that a good chunk of the enemies that they were fighting was retreating in order to deal with this new development. "Whatever it is, it's getting the enemies to fall back! We're bottling them up!" He said, a child-like glee on his face at this development.
Zelda said nothing. She had thought of something that her young Lord of War had not, and she paled. Without a word, she drew her rapier and ran as fast as she could towards the ruins. She broke through the Hyrulian line, and ran as fast as she could past the forces of darkness, who were too busy falling back to notice her.
"Princess!" Gawain shouted. "Where are you going?"
…
Link ducked as the Darknut's sword swung through the air, nearly taking his head off. He rolled between the creature's legs, and with a yell kicked the Darknut in the back of the knee as hard as he could. As the creature stumbled forward, the hero raced forward and put the Master Sword right through the small of the creature's neck, where it's shoulder blades connected. He pushed his left foot against the back of the deceased creature for leverage, and with a yell yanked the blade out. It was coated with enemy blood, yet still seemed to glow in the chaos around it.
"That's the way, Link!" Proxi shouted in his ear. "Keep fighting, we can get to Cia with no problem!"
There was pandemonium behind them, as the first of the Hyrulian and Ravager forces entered the ruins and began to engage the armies of darkness. The heightened frenzy of the battle told Link one thing: this was the battle's final hour.
At that moment, there was an explosion. A flash of black, yet so hot that Link and Ishaka were forced to shield their eyes. Standing in the center of the staging ground, wreathed in an aura of black and purple flame, her eyes widened with rage and her pupils dilated from magical strain, stood the disgraced Sorceress of Time. She was panting heavily, as if it was the last thread holding her sanity together.
"Volga failed me…" Cia muttered in an emotionless monotone. "Of course…he did…" She straightened her back, and turned to face the awed forces of light in front of her. For most of them, this was the first time that they had laid eyes upon the lady who had torn their country asunder with war. "I'm…surrounded by…FAILURES!" She suddenly shrieked, the aura around her exploding outwards. The clouds started to rumble and crackle. She looked at the forces of light with a crazed grin. "I…will no longer bear witness." She thrust her scepter of time, creating a shockwave that sent a half dozen soldiers flying into the air. With another flick of her wrist, she did it again to a dozen. Emboldened by the appearance of their matron, the forces of dark began to push back against the advancing enemy.
One suicidally brave Ravager charged forward, brandishing his spear and shouting. He reached Cia, and stabbed her as hard as he could. The minute the tip of his spear touched her body, there was a flash of black and he was turned to ash. Cia smirked. Then came the roar.
"EEEYYYAAAAAAHHHH!" Ishaka rushed forward, and began to thrust and swing his knives at Cia with a berserker rage. Cia made a disgusted face, blocking his wild strike left and right, as if the mere presence of him was to be abhorred. She blocked an attack, and then smirked.
"Do you like lightning, rat?" She asked. Swiftly, she jabbed her index and middle finger right in the side of Ishaka's ribs. He screamed in pain as a burst of black lightning coursed through his body and through his bones, and he fell twitching and moaning in pain to the ground.
"Do us all a favor, Ravager," Cia hissed, raising her scepter high. "And die."
She thrust downward.
CLANG.
Cia blinked in shock. There in front of her, his weapon perfectly catching the sharpened tip of her scepter and holding it above the chest of the fallen Ravager, was Link. The look on his face was murderous.
"B-baby?" Cia asked, completely confused. "Why did you do that?"
Link snarled, and with a shout thrust his sword upwards, overpowering the deadlock and throwing Cia back. She gathered herself, and saw that Link was standing protectively over the groaning Ishaka. Cia's confusion turned to annoyance.
"Why do you do this, baby?" She said, as the carnage of war raged around them. The three of them were like a rock in a flowing stream, chaos around and yet undisturbed within their space. "Haven't I told you that you mean nothing to them? They'll leave you! They're beneath you! But I can always-"
"SHUT UP." Link bellowed, rushing forward and thrusting his sword towards her. Cia blocked instinctively, confusion on her face as she registered what he had just done. She looked at him in complete confusion.
"Bu-but baby-" She began. She gazed at him in confusion, and then her eyes widened in realization. "No…no it can't be…" A single tear fell down her cheek. "She's turned you, hasn't she?" She closed her eyes mournfully. "I wish it didn't have to come to this…" She thrust her scepter forward, hitting Link with a jet black beam of magic. The Hero fell, roaring in pain. Cia stepped forward, so that she was standing over him. "I wish I didn't have to do this, baby. I really, really do. I promise that, when I bring you back, I will give you anything and everything that you could ever desire. I just…" She sniffled. "I just have to…put you back together first."
She raised her scepter up high, just as an arrow embedded itself in the back of her hand. Cia screeched in pain, doubling over. She turned in the direction of the offending projectile. Though he was in excruciating pain, Link managed to look over.
Zelda stood there, her bow in hand. Gone was the look of the kindly and loving girl that he had grown to know and care for. The look on her face was truly terrible to behold.
"You…" Cia hissed. She pulled the arrow out of her hand, and then waved her scepter over it to start healing. "I should have known…"
"It's over, Cia." Zelda said. "Your armies are breaking around you. The Gorons control the west. The Zoras have blockaded the south. And you have stretched her magical power to the limit by summoning these endless hordes of monsters. You're feeling the strain, are you not?" She asked, her expression ice-cold. "You don't have the strength to escape away anymore. This is the end of the road, Cia."
"End of the road?" Cia hissed, turning to face the princess. "You are talking to someone for whom time is an abyss, bitch. Your words mean nothing to me!"
"You can lie to yourself as much as you wish, Cia." Zelda said. "But even you are bound by the laws set forth by the Goddesses. Even the Sorceress of Time can face the concept of mortality."
"This is all your fault…" Cia hissed. "If you weren't here, then none of this would have happened! Think of it!" Her smile was wide and crazed. "All of those people that have died, all of those people whose homes have been destroyed, whose lives have been ruined…all of it…ALL OF IT! It is because you got in the way of what was meant to be, culeeto."
"What was meant to be?" Zelda asked. They were circling each other now, like prizefighters sizing up their opponent. "You act as though time is written in stone, simply because you are the one that gets to read the tablets. But you've forgotten the fluidity of it all; the Goddesses gave us the freedom to choose our fate. You've confused how you see time with what it actually is: that all possible futures are true, instead of the ongoing storybook that it is and always shall be."
"GODDESS, this is adorable!" Cia shrieked, the condescension dripping from each syllable. "Are…are you lecturing me on the concept of time? Do you even hear yourself? Not a single word of what you said makes any sense!"
"Of course not. Some things never do. You simply have faith in them, and that is the best that you can do." Zelda replied. Cia shrieked with laughter. It was not a pleasant sound.
"Oh stop it, please, I think I'm going to bust a gut!" She spat. "This is truly glorious. The bond between me and my beloved hero, the most beautiful and wonderful Link…all severed because of some air-headed, faux-philosophical, navel-gazing, mewling WHORE!"
"I have a name." Zelda said with cool fury, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.
"So does the ant beneath your boot! So does the man who shouts to the universe, 'Sir, I exist!' only to receive the universe's reply 'the fact has not created in me a sense of obligation!' I don't care what your name is, and I spite it by refusing to remember it! And when you're gone, I will make sure that no one remembers it!" Cia screeched, and charged forward. Zelda side-stepped the charge, and raised her rapier in self-defense. The scepter's gold-plated handle clashed with the solid steel blade, and sparks flew from each strike.
Zelda blocked a strike, and ducked underneath the blades. It was a risky maneuver, one that Impa had taught her after many hours of practice (and many a bloody nose for an incorrect move), but here it worked to perfection. She was standing right next to Cia, and before the Sorceress of Time could react Zelda had lashed her arm upwards, backhanding Cia across the nose.
"GAH! You bitch!" Cia shrieked, stumbling backwards. A small trickle of blood fell down her nose. She lunged with a furious sequence of strikes, howling in rage. "How. Dare. You. Take. Him. From. ME! HE'S MINE!" She finished the sequence with an upwards slash, Zelda got out of the way for the most part. But the very end of the sharpened scepter nicked her cheek, and she winced as she felt blood start leaking from the wound. Gritting her teeth, she turned the other cheek to face Cia head-on.
"He is not property!" Zelda fired back.
She side-stepped another lunge, and this time opted to pay Cia back with an expert nicking of the Sorceress across the opposite cheek. Cia howled in pain, and then stepped back and away from the princess.
"You won't let him go?" Cia asked, as if dumbfounded that the princess could not let her have what was hers. Zelda shook her head.
"That's what you keep getting wrong, Cia. I never held him in the first place. I treated him like a human being, and not a prize to be won. The rest…the rest I cannot explain."She frowned. "But it is realer than any shadow that you conjure."
Somewhere deep within Cia's mind, the last thread snapped.
She stared at the princess, oddly serene. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"I…I suppose you are right." She said. "I…I never even had a chance to truly talk to him. I never got to know him. I…I don't even know what his favorite color is! Is…is it green or…" She trailed off, gazing at the badly wounded hero lying on the ground. He was struggling to get up to a sitting position. "I don't even know…" She admitted. The defeat was clear in her voice. Zelda stared at her hesitantly, not buying this sudden capitulation one bit.
When Cia turned to look at her again, Zelda saw to her horror that she was right to do so. There was a haunting look in Cia's face: it was the look of one with nothing more to lose.
"I do know this, though…" Cia whispered. "If I can't have him…" her magic aura began to build with intensity. "THEN NEITHER CAN YOU!" She whipped her finger towards Link, as it crackled with black-red lightning. Zelda screamed his name in horror.
…
…
…
There was a flash of white, so brilliant that it was near-blinding even when Zelda shut her eyes. There was a clap of thunder. And then, the light faded away. Zelda opened her eyes and looked in front of her. Link was still there, gazing with bewilderment as well. Then Zelda saw Cia.
The Sorceress of Time seemed to be falling backwards in slow motion, crumpling to the ground silently. Her eyes were bulging, and the look on her face was that of complete confusion, as if she couldn't quite figure what had hit her. She was clutching her chest, where a glowing red contact burn from a mighty magic blast now stood. Cia hit the ground as quiet as a whisper, and lay still. Zelda swiftly did some mental math, and turned towards the source of the blast.
Lana stood there off to the side, some twenty yards away. Her spell tome held in the crook of her left arm, with her right arm extended forward. Her index and middle fingers were pointed outwards towards their direction. They were still crackling with pure white lightning. The look on her face was a haunting combination of sorrow and remorse, and resolution at the same time. She briefly made eye contact with Zelda, but then looked at the ground.
It had gone oddly silent. Zelda turned around to see that the fighting had, for the most part, stopped. The forces of darkness, what was left of them anyway, were on their knees, hands held on their heads and weapons splayed on the ground. The only real sound of the slow shuffling of Hyrulian and Ravager forces as they moved around to secure the battlefield.
It was over.
They had won.
There was a groaning noise. Zelda whipped around to see that Link had managed to get back up to his feet, and was helping the half-unconscious Ishaka to his feet as well. Zelda sprinted over, and wrapped Link up in a crushing bear hug. His eyes widened in shock at the suddenness of the gesture, but soon he returned it as well. Ishaka had a dazed look on his face, but he smiled softly at the sight in front of him.
He felt a clap on his shoulder. Impa was in so much pain that she was walking hunched over almost to the point of being doubled over, but she had made it up there all the same. He took a look at her. She was cut and bruised and battered and bleeding. Her skin was also covered with what looked like many painful burns. He knew he was cut and battered and bleeding and now somewhat charred from lightning, but he was standing too. He looked at her, and she looked at him. They winked. No words needed to be said. A clap on the shoulder would probably be mean considering the state of Impa's body, so Ishaka went for the next best thing.
They silently bumped fists.
It seemed that a catharsis was wiping over the battlefield. Men and women alike started to exhale for the first time in what seemed to be ages, as the reality of the situation finally started to sink in. Family members, friends and the like started calling out each others' names, and hushed conversation began to grow in volume as more started to talk. Ishaka gave a quick glance to Lord Gawain, who nodded.
"C'mon, everyone! Let's secure the ruins, and get these prisoners taken care of!" He barked, his voice cutting through the air. "I want the Valley locked down by nightfall!" He started to walk away, issuing orders left and right.
Zelda and Link were still holding each other in their arms, foreheads touching. Zelda's hair had come undone and had fallen over her face, to the point where you couldn't really tell where Link's or her face was in that mess of golden hair. They were talking quietly, whispering something in each others' ears. Ishaka smirked, and wisely stepped aside to let them have their moment. Impa looked at him, and rolled her eyes with a smile.
She reached into her pocket, teeth gritted in pain, and gently placed a small bag of rupees in Ishaka's coat pocket.
…
"L….Lana…"
The voice was strained, barely above a whisper. Lana looked up from the ground, and saw that the Sorceress of Time was stirring slightly.
"Cia!" She cried out, racing over to her other half. She knelt down beside her, and prepared to administer care.
She slowly lowered her hand. There was no point. Cia made a pleading sort of noise from deep within her throat, and Lana leaned in to hear. Cia whispered in her ear.
"We…we both know…how th…this will…play out…" Cia seemed to be fighting with each breath to speak. "But in…in the end…you…you were right. He doesn't choose…you…How can you live…knowing that?" Lana sat upright so that she could look her other half in the eye. There was genuine confusion in Cia's eyes, as if she simply could not comprehend what was going on. Lana wasn't sure how to take this, but then it hit her.
Yes, Cia had been doing this all for herself. She had started a war for the man she thought she loved. She had gone beyond reason in the pursuit of what she believed would make her happy. That was reality.
But in a way, she had also done all of this for Lana as well.
Lana bit her lower lip, and looked off to the side. She felt tears starting to well up in her eyes, but fought them off. She would be strong for her other half here and now. She would not abandon her.
The words escaped her for a moment. But then she closed her eyes. Her shoulders drooped in exhaustion, and she sighed. She leaned in close to Cia's ear, and whispered words that would only be shared between them and them alone.
"You don't always get the person you think that you deserve…" Lana said quietly. She held Cia's head in her hands, and bravely offered a comforting smile. "And…and I can live with that."
She looked Lana in the eye. Though blood was trickling out of the corner of her mouth and she was growing paler by the second, she seemed serene. She chuckled slightly. The look in her eyes was that of one who had finally learned the answer to a question on which a lifetime was spent searching for.
"You…always were…my better half…" Cia whispered.
She closed her eyes.
And as she felt herself fading away into the void, Cia smiled.
She was finally at peace.
Et sic concludit hunc actum
HYRULIAN CODEX
War horn arrangments – While shouting across a battlefield might be a very obvious way of displaying one's military acumen (as well as one's lung capacity), the reality is that sometimes the chaos of war is simply too loud for vocal chords alone to cut it. Thus, most established armies have war horns with which they can use to direct and issue orders to their armies. The hornbearer is in a dangerous position, as they are usually at the front line and do not carry a weapon. But it is a sacrifice that the men and women that bear it are willing to make, and in the end those that have this job receive high respect from soldiers.
Volvagia – The most famous of mythical dragons. Said to be from the Era of Time, Volvagia was the undisputed Lord Under Death Mountain. The Gorons might think that they were the ones in charge of the vast mountainous terrain, and the Dodongos might think that they were the ones that were the most dominant beasts in the land…but all of them were unknowingly allowed to exist by Volvagia. Volvagia was a blood-red dragon, one of the last true "fire-drakes," or Dragons that were gifted with the power of mortal speech in addition to Draconic abilities. He was mighty and powerful, and incredibly prideful. He was also a servant to the Dark Lord, and was slain by the Hero of Time in an epic battle that remains one of the most popular stories of the Hero of Time to this day.
In a heartbreaking twist, recent evidence has unearthed journals that allegedly (yet-to-be confirmed) detail a childhood friendship between the Hero and a young Volvagia, when the latter was no bigger than the size of a house cat. Thus, when the Hero of Time went to fight Volvagia, he was doing so with a heavy heart, for the Dark Lord had cursed an old friend of his to mindlessly follow his beck and call.
Parents usually tend to omit this last bit from the story when they tell their children, as they do not yet wish to break their kids' hearts.
"God" of Fire – Anyone that claims to be of Draconic descent, whether truthfully or deceitfully, will directly defy the Goddesses and proclaim Volvagia as their supreme Deity, their "God of Fire." Volvagia would most likely not approve, as his powers were directly granted unto him by Din, Goddess of Fire, just like any Dragon.