A/N: I own nothing except a copy of this great game. Second note: His singing lines are demarked "like this," and her lines are demarked "like this." Them singing together is demarked "like this."
He could hear the birds chirping softly in the distance, and for a moment he imagined that it was like life used to be. It was a bright and shining summer morning, and a gentle wind went through the air. He stood on the battlements that overlooked the town beneath him, and for a moment he imagined that things were the way they had always been before.
But then he heard a sputtering noise, and felt that pit of hate and revulsion growing in his stomach as he came back to reality.
"Bah, this is a dud."
Ganondorf muttered to himself, after his most recent attempt to light his cigar. He'd been trying multiple times to light it with that little pinprick of flame he could conjure up at the end of his thumb, and yet he was still unsatisfied with the amount that he'd lit the cigar. Finally, Elijah Grantham could take it no longer. He had to say something.
"Having trouble?" He managed to grit through his teeth.
"It's the damnedest thing, Elijah." Ganondorf said, the cigar clenched in his teeth as he spoke. "I've never really had a problem with any good Gerudo cigar, and yet try as I might I can't get this one lit the way I normally like it."
"What difference does it make?" Elijah asked. "A lit cigar is a lit cigar."
"Ah." Ganondorf turned his eyes over to the Hyrulian Minister of the Interior, and raised his eyebrow. There was a slightly amused look in his eyes. "Spoken like a man who does not appreciate a good cigar." There was a pause. "Do you smoke, Elijah?"
"No."
"Why, if I might pry?"
"Gross habit." Elijah said, not bothering to make eye contact. "Also, I have a family. I don't want to set a bad example for them."
"How very moral of you." Ganondorf said. The sincerity of his tone made Elijah's skin crawl. There was no reason that this man shouldn't be able to sense the hostility brewing within him. Was he truly that oblivious? Or worse, did he simply not care?
"You haven't heard back from Ghirahim or Zant, I take it?" Elijah said.
"Of course not. They're dead." Ganondorf said, at that moment finally managing to light the cigar the way he had been trying. The casual nature of his tone, coupled with the utter lack of surprise, threw Elijah for a loop.
"Gwuh-what? They're-how do you know?" Elijah asked. Ganondorf rolled his wrist in its socket as if he was stretching the joint out, and just like that the three pieces of the Triforce started to lazily float above his hand. Ganondorf smirked as they did.
"Let's just say that it's my business to know these things." He said. He sighed, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. "I should have known that those two egomaniacs would screw things up in the end. Without someone to guide them, the two are useless and easily discarded. Even Cia was able to keep them on a leash…somewhat."
He chuckled mirthlessly.
"I suppose I should have stayed to make sure that the sorceress had drowned in the mud when I took the Triforce of Power from her. Or stepped on her neck and felt it cave in under my boot. Ah well, I suppose it can't be helped anymore. Not that any of it matters in the end." He turned to Elijah. "Your friends are going to come for the castle soon, I imagine. They've brought everything that they could possibly summon. They're going to hit me with everything that they possibly could throw at me."
"Why do you sound so bored?" Elijah asked.
"Because all the world isn't a threat to me now." Ganondorf said, a terrible smirk forming on his face. The genteel demeanor was giving way to his true nature. "What I hold in my hand is the key to the future. The one thing in the world that could put down every beast in the ground, and make kings and queens kneel. I have the Triforce, Elijah, and with that I cannot be defeated. They may as well attack a hurricane."
"The future is not set in stone." Elijah said, before he could stop himself. Ganondorf turned to look at him, looming high over him. It seemed like Ganondorf was so tall as to blot out the sun. The Gerudo smiled.
"Then I will get my hammer and chisel." He said. He started to walk away towards the castle. But not before he'd spoken over his shoulder.
"I would tell you to hug your family and pray, Elijah, if they were here with you. But instead, I would advise that you pray anyway. The storm of the century is on the horizon. And I shall not weather it. I shall conquer it."
He was gone.
…
Zelda heard a commotion rising from the center of the camp, and emerged from her tent to see that a pair of Loftwings was coming in from the northwest. As the two of them landed, she felt relief to see Captain Dorias gently guiding his mount to roost. But the rider on the other Loftwing-
"Renee!" Zelda shouted, rushing through the crowd. She managed to reach the Lord Spymaster and wrapped her in a hug. "Thank the Goddesses you're alive!"
"Urrggh…" Renee muttered. "I don't feel s'good…"
Zelda swiftly stepped away from the Lord Spymaster as she puked all over the ground. There was an uncomfortable beat of silence, which Captain Dorias broke.
"Don't mind the poor girl. She just doesn't like flying too much." He said.
"I take it you have good news?" Zelda asked hopefully. Renee wped her mouth, and then stood up.
"Yes, your majesty. Petra and his men are already preparing their cannons to fire towards the capital and Ganondorf's forces. They're also preparing to move the mobile cannons towards Hyrule Fields if need be." She said. Zelda smiled.
"Good to hear. I knew that sending Darunia was the right choice."
"You can say that again." Dorias said. "That bloke is gonna drink the entire mountain dry if we wait too long to get back to him."
"Might not be a bad thing, considering Petra's penchant for drinking…" Zelda muttered. "But that's beside the point." She turned to Dorias. "I think I'm going to spare Renee here any more flight, so can you be a dear and tell the Gorons to begin moving towards the Hyrulian fields?" She asked. "We've got a plan that we're about to set in motion. And we're going to need them all to mobilize quickly."
"Certainly, milady." Dorias said.
He got astride his Loftwing, spurred it with his heels, and then took to the air again. Zelda watched after him, as he disappeared into the distance. There was a creeping sense of dread in her mind, as for the first time she thought that she might not ever see the man again. In the heat of battle, anything could happen. And people were going to die.
She turned around, and saw that Link and Impa were busy adjusting each others' armor. The Sheikah had taken the time to polish and clean what she'd been wearing essentially since their retreat from Castle Town, and had taken to going around the camp and ruins looking for anything to attach. She'd currently managed to patch together remnants of Moblin armor to make shoulder pads as well as a fortified pair of gauntlets. She was perhaps the definition of putting things together on a shoestring.
Link, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. The armor that they'd found in the depths of the temple, the stuff from an era long-ago forgotten, gave off an eerie reflection in the moonlight. Even when the sun had been setting earlier in the day, the reflection off of this new set of armor seemed unnatural. It was not made of steel or iron or anything that they recognized. It was…of another origin.
"Link?" She asked. He looked up at her, his deep concentration temporarily broken.
"Yeah, Zelda?" He asked. He looked less like the boy she couldn't bear to see hurt and moreso like a warrior king. Yet he still spoke softly, creating a dissonant effect.
"I…I need a favor." Zelda said, remembering what she was about to ask him.
"What's up?" He asked. Zelda cleared her throat.
"When we reach the castle, the fighting will be fierce. Chaotic, even. But I need you to do something for me. I need you to get me somewhere."
"I'll get you to the ends of the earth if I need to." He said with complete sincerity. "Where to?"
"I need…I need you to get me to the secret garden. Where we…where we shared our first kiss." She said, realizing that she was starting to blush. So was he, so she didn't feel as embarrassed. "There's something there that I think we will absolutely need against Ganondorf."
"What is it?" Link asked. Zelda smiled slightly.
"Let's just say that you have your tools…" She said, while gesturing towards the Master Sword attached to his hip. "…and I have mine." She looked over to Impa. "What about you, Impa?"
"I have my father's naginata." The Sheikah warrior said. "Though…at this point I suppose that it is really my naginata. I think…I think he would be proud of me for wielding it."
"No doubt, Sheikah."
They all turned to see Ishaka approaching them. He had painted his face an ashen grey, with black charcoal rimming his eyes and down the bridge of his nose. A quick glance behind him saw that the rest of the Ravagers were in the midst of applying similar war paint.
"That's very…pronounced, Ishaka." Zelda said. The Ravager captain grinned.
"Figger'd we'd give 'em somethin' ta scream 'bout 'fore we killed 'em!" He said.
"Drama queen." Impa muttered.
"For once, I agree with the boss." Itami said, having quietly sidled up next to the group. He was also wearing the ghostly facepaint, and had recently shaved his Mohawk into a sharper cut. Judging by the way he clinked as he walked, it was obvious that he was carrying more knives than most would ever use in their lives.
"You sound like sleigh bells," Zelda said to Itami. "How many knives are you carrying?"
Wordlessly, Itami unbuttoned his coat, and pulled it open. There were no less than three bandoliers strapped across his chest in criss-crossing patterns, and each of them was stocked to the brim with holstered throwing knives. He quietly closed his coat, and raised an eyebrow as if to dare them to ask another question. No one did.
"What are the plans?" He asked after a pause.
"We ride out tonight." Zelda said. "Anyone that is physically capable of fighting is going to ride with us. The rest will stay here. That way, if the worst should come to pass…" She nearly bit her lip, but spoke again. "…Hyrule shall endure."
"A fair choice." Itami said. "And what happens if we break through their defenses, if we manage to buckle the front line, and if we manage to get the fighting into the streets of Castle Town? What happens if we manage to push them up to the drawbridge of your castle, and tall dark and scary himself comes out to face us? What then?"
"We kill him." Zelda said.
For once, Itami was not about to make a biting or a sarcastic remark. Instead, he grinned.
"Wise policy." He turned towards Ishaka. "I'll start rounding everyone up. I know that the Bulblins are itching for a fight. They're waiting for their emissary and Ruto and that boy Grantham to get back. Probably won't be long."
"The plan is, if all goes as it should, for the Zora guard to link up with us on the way to the castle as the land gets more fertile and the rivers grow wider." Zelda said. "The Gorons will come in from behind and cover the western flank, directly from the foothills of their kingdom. The Zora take the southern and eastern flanks. That leaves the Bulblins, us, and every last capable soldier pushing towards the capital." She paused. "This is it. All or nothing."
"Wouldn't 'ave it any other way." Ishaka said. "Jus' know this, princess: We be willin' ta die fer ya…jes' lemme 'ave one shot at that bastard first." He scowled. "He owes me a coup'la teeth."
Impa winced at the sight of the gap on the right side of his mouth where some of those teeth in question were supposed to be. Ishaka looked at her and smirked.
"An' I figger I give 'im a red smile unner 'is chin, eh?" He asked, drawing one of his black knives.
"I sincerely doubt that that alone is going to kill the Demon King of Destruction…or whatever the hell he calls himself." Itami said.
"Won't know till we've tried, eh 'tami?" Ishaka grinned. Coupled with the face paint coating his head, it was not a pleasant sight: his teeth seemed to glow.
"That's enough chit-chat." Zelda said. "Let's make our final preparations. I want to leave within the hour."
…
It had taken some time, but the last of the capable fighters were finally ready for the marching to begin ahead. Zelda was on a rock that gave her some elevation above the rest of the army. Compared to the terrible condition of the Hyrulian army when they had first left the castle in disarray, this was a welcome sight. It might have been cobbled together from numerous kingdoms and even across dimensions, but it was an army nonetheless.
She heard someone ride up next to her, and saw that it was Link. He had picked a chestnut-brown colored horse, a both beautiful and powerful-looking creature, and his armor was still gleaming in that slightly eldritch way. He also had had some stitching done to the headwear he normally had, having it turned into a sort of hooded covering. That allowed him to rest something on the top of his head the way a knight might have his face guard pulled up.
Zelda wrinkled her nose.
"I don't like that thing. It's creepy."
Link smirked, and pulled the mask down over his face. It was an uncanny closeness to his face itself, albeit marked up with the face paint colorings and what looked like silver "hair" that was identical to its inspiration. The eye holes of the mask allowed Link to peer out, but there was only a small hole for the mouth. It was not a pretty-looking set up.
"There was a small part of me that hoped that there was something magical about this mask*, princess." Link said. "But I think that there's something about this armor. Maybe I'm just crazy. Maybe there's something true to it? Either way, I feel like a, uh, Fierce Deity!" He said. Zelda rolled her eyes.
"Goddesses, it's a good thing that the world doesn't see what a colossal dork you are. Your mystique as the Hero of the age would evaporate in an instant."
"Well it's a good thing that I can back up my words with my action then, hm?" Link asked. He pulled the mask back up, resting it on top of his head. "Anything to get in the head of those freaks, I'm gonna take."
"Ishaka is rubbing off on you." Zelda said. "But whatever works, I suppose."
Zelda turned towards the army before her. She scanned it, and saw Impa down at the front line of it, in the center of everything. They met eyes, and exchanged a steely gaze and a nod. There would be no turning back.
Zelda drew her rapier from her hip, and held it high above her head. A roar went up from the crowd, as horses whinnied, warbeasts howled, and Loftwings squawked. Men and women alike, of human origin and otherwise, raised their voices to the heavens. It was a sound unlike any heard before on this land and unlikely to be repeated. Zelda felt the adrenaline pumping through her, and then lowered her rapier, pointing it in the direction of Castle Town.
Of her home.
Like a slow-moving earthquake, the massive force began its procession towards the enemy.
"Is everything ok, Zelda?" Link asked. Zelda sighed.
"I just…I'm worried about the innocent people back home at Castle Town and across the land as we come towards it." Zelda said. "They're in serious danger."
"From us?" Link asked. "No more than necessary. We are deliberately going through the least-populated areas until we get to the castle itself. The Gorons will be covering our advance throughout the countryside with their cannons."
"…That's what I fear the most." Zelda said. "Those will cause the most damage to the people."
"Did we not give them fair warning?" Link asked.
"No." Zelda said, causing Link to raise an eyebrow. "I sent an emissary to Castle Town. Parley from a distance."
"Well, I suppose that's one way to do it." Link said. He looked towards the army in front of them, which was slowly putting distance between them. "We should probably get going, and catch up with the rest of the army." He was about to jostle the reins of his horse, but then a thought struck him. "Out of curiosity, who did you send?"
It was when Zelda didn't immediately answer that he started to worry.
…
The Bokoblin was bored, wishing greatly that it was not manning the outside walls of this filthy human castle and city and instead was amongst its lucky brethren guarding the dungeons in the castle. The Great Deity of Darkness had refused any soldier that was charged with guarding down there from carrying a weapon, and had a contingent of Darknuts down there to enforce his decree…but he had been somewhat fuzzier on physical treatment of the prisoners. So long as they weren't dead or dying, the Demon Lord seemed to turn a blind eye.
The Bokoblin let out a belch, and then leaned over the ramparts, and spit a globule of saliva and other unsavory things towards the ground far below. It looked up into the sky.
At first, it thought that it was seeing things, brought on by the excess heat. But as its eyes adjusted, there was no doubt about it: there was something flying towards the castle. It looked like a massive bird, much bigger than any of the birds that the Bokoblin had ever caught and eaten.
So it did the only thing that it thought reasonable for the situation.
It turned tail towards the castle, and ran for the gates squealing for its master.
…
The garrison at Castle Town was understandably on edge. They were not afraid, no, but they were admittedly surprised by this development. They had been led to believe that they controlled all movement within and without the kingdom, and that there was nothing that their pitiful enemies could do to them at this juncture. But…it wasn't every day that there was a massive, silly-looking bird roosted just outside the gate of the castle, with a hooded rider astride it.
Some of the Bokoblins nervously peered at the creature, their bows and arrows tentatively trained towards it. The rider, his or her face obscured by a hood, seemed unperturbed by the sight of a massive volley of arrows pointed in his direction. If anything, he or she seemed completely bored by it all.
Finally, a massive Moblin captain sauntered to the middle of the battlements, and shouted towards the rider.
"Enter, hooman! And make your descent in the center of the town! Nothin' funny now! You'll be surrounded."
The rider spurred his flying steed, and the creature smoothly and lazily cleared the battlements and began a descent towards Castle Town.
It seemed that every soldier in the entire army of darkness was there waiting, either hiding in the houses and trees and shops, their weapons trained towards the descending unknown. Finally, the bird creature landed on the stony ground in the center of the town, and took a few steps to get re-acclimated to the ground. Those that were brave enough of the humans in Castle Town were cautiously leaning out of their shops and homes to watch the strange sight unfolding before them.
The division that blocked the road to the castle parted, and a hush fell over the crowd as Ganondorf made his way to the town square. He was dressed in his finest Gerudo armor, and it seemed to gleam in the summer light. To his side was Lord Elijah Grantham, who looked like he had not gotten much sleep lately.
Finally, Ganondorf and his unwilling assistant reached the center of the town. They were roughly twenty yards from the rider upon his or her airborne steed. Ganondorf smiled, and extended his arms outward as if inviting for a hug. When he spoke, the whole town square could hear him.
"Greetings, weary traveller!" Ganondorf said. Lord Grantham fought the urge to roll his eyes at the Gerudo's disingenuous nature. Or was it sincerity? It was that ambiguity that was the worst part of it all. "Welcome to the kingdom of Hyrule. I must confess that my army and I were not expecting an arrival at this time of the year. If you would permit me, may I inquire as to why you are here?"
Silence. The hooded figure was clearly staring at Ganondorf, and yet did not make a sound. The Gerudo wrinkled his nose, but still kept up the smile.
"It is alright to be shy, friend." He said. "My forces are a bit…rough. But I promise you that they will not lift a finger if I command it. You are safe."
Silence.
Finally, Ganondorf's smile faded.
"Listen here, *friend*. You are, at this stage, trespassing on my grounds. If you do not answer me this time, I will not be happy. And if there is one thing to know about me-"
The hooded figure removed his coverings.
"I know who you are, jackass." Itami said.
For a brief moment, Ganondorf looked shocked. But then he recovered his genteel façade.
"And to whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?" He asked. Itami stared at him with steely eyes.
"Itami, son of Hideo. Chief lieutenant to the Commander of the Ravagers, Ishaka son of none. A guy that you couldn't kill, for the record." He glared at the Gerudo. "And a guy who very much looks forward to knocking out your teeth the way you did his."
"Indeed…" Ganondorf said, rubbing his chin in thought. He cocked his head in amusement. "Tell me, son of Hideo, what brings you here to my kingdom?"
"It isn't yours, no matter how much you wanna pretend otherwise." Itami said. "Because contrary to popular opinion, Princess Zelda is alive. You took her throne. She'd like it back."
"I see." Ganondorf said quietly. "Tell me, Mr. Itami, are you a man of the classics?"
Itami was silent, so Ganondorf continued.
"There's an old saying that might makes right. I humbly submit that that isn't quite the correct translation: I think the correct way to look at it is power makes right: And as it stands…I have the power, therefore I'm right." He looked quite smug. "So when I say that I am the king of Hyrule…I am right, by the grace of the Goddesses."
There was a pause. And then Itami spoke.
"I don't believe in the grace of the Goddesses." He said quietly. Ganondorf raised an eyebrow.
"You deny their divinity?" He asked. He smirked. "Their existence?"
"That's not what I said." Itami said. "I said I don't believe in their grace. There's a difference. What I do believe in is that they love their power…and they aren't a fan of anyone that tries to match them." He narrowed his eyes. "But then again, I'm sure you'll find that out soon enough."
"I'm getting bored of this." Ganondorf said, yawning dramatically to accentuate his point. "Mr. Itami, do you have a point? Or are you just wasting my time?"
"This is a warning for everyone that isn't a fighter to take cover. Hide, or flee somewhere that is away from here." Itami said. "Because the dawn is coming, and we will burn down everything that we have ever built here down to the last brick if we have to…because we'll catch you in the flames."
Ganondorf gave a wolf-like grin.
"I invite you to try." He paused. "I'm going to give you fifteen minutes to vacate my kingdom and return to whatever backwater scum of the earth place you came from, boy. My archers are getting impatient…"
Itami put his hood back on, spurred the Loftwing in the side, and soon was in the air. Lord Grantham turned towards Ganondorf.
"15 minutes?"
Ganondorf turned and looked at him, and shrugged.
"Minutes…seconds…I never was the best at math." He roared at the top of his lungs. "FIRE!"
Itami cursed darkly to himself as the arrows and bolts whistled through the air around him, and forced the Loftwing to fly as high as it could into the air. He hated flying. He was going to remember this.
…
They had been marching for several hours now. Zelda had ordered the pace to be steady yet deliberate, as there was no point making a grand charge if the army was too exhausted to make the final effort. The sun was no longer in the middle of the sky, and was beginning its descent. Zelda figured that the army would reach the castle as the sun began to set across the land. She felt that there was something kind of poetic about that atmosphere, but was not sure what it was.
There was a screech in the distance, and a sole Loftwing came flying in from the horizon. The army slowed its pace to a crawl, as Itami pulled down his hood.
"Send word to the Gorons to light them the hell up!" He shouted. He seemed quite annoyed. "That bastard isn't budging."
Zelda sighed deeply, and closed her eyes. She did not want to have to destroy her kingdom in order to save it. And yet…there was no choice. This had to be done.
"Captain Dorias!" She shouted. There was a screeching noise, and the Skyloftian captain dropped his Loftwing from its heights above the ground force (and from the rest of the flying Loftwings) to lazily flap about Zelda and her horse.
"Yes, ma'am?" He asked.
"Send a cadre of your fastest to Petra. Begin the bombing." She said. There was a finality in her words that made her skin crawl. But the die had been cast. Captain Dorias silently nodded, and spurred his Loftwing back up into the air. Within moments, there was a group of them flapping as fast as their wings could carry them towards the Goron mountains, where the long-range artillery lay waiting for orders.
Itami watched them go, having swapped out his own Loftwing for a horse. Rather, to share a warbeast. Lana was clinging to his back, having offered him a spot on her warbeast.
"I don't know if we'll even recognize the place by the time we get there." Lana said quietly. "The Gorons have some massive cannons."
"It's war, Lana." Itami said. "It's not pretty. I just hope that the civilians are able to take some degree of shelter."
"Did they seem okay?" She asked.
"As much as they could be." Itami said. "Ganondorf might be a twisted shitbird, but there's a sense of…honor in him. I doubt he's going to let the innocent people get thrown into the open. He'll let them hide."
"Honorable, huh?" Lana said. "Yeah, that sounds about right." She said drily. She extended her splinted hand, and waved it in Itami's face. He felt his face grow somewhat hot with embarrassment.
"…Good point. The sooner he's dead, the better." He said.
"I can agree with that." Lana said. "What is this thing that Zelda is so adamant about getting to the castle for? I figure the only thing we need to do is destroy Ganondorf and take the Triforce from him."
"I don't know." Itami admitted. "But whatever it is, it has to be important to her. And in the end, that's good enough for me." He said. "I'm getting tired of all of this."
"Well, whether the best or the worst comes to pass…this is going to be it." Lana said.
"Yeah…" Itami said. He paused. When he spoke, he seemed somewhat unsure of himself. "Whatever happens, stay with me Lana. I'll make sure you're alright. I promise."
"And what is the worth of a Ravager's promise?" Lana asked, somewhat teasingly.
"It's not a Ravager promise." Itami said. "It's my promise. There's a difference."
"…I like the sound of that." Lana said with a smile.
…
Some time later, as the sun was barely peeking out over the horizon, they could hear something like thunder in the distance. As they grew closer to their destination, the thunder grew louder and in the distance they could see fiery blasts from the mountains that the Gorons called home. A rain of earth and fire was descending upon Hyrule.
"An' so it b'gins." Ishaka said quietly. He was riding alongside Impa, in the center of the line. To their left was Zelda and Link, with Lord Gawain to the far end of the "spear point" that the command had taken. Some rows behind them, Fi and Midna and Agitha (astride Meathook's shoulder) and Darunia and Ruto (clinging to the back of Matthew Grantham) were following them. There was a veritable legion of soldiers around them. And there was no telling how large the enemy was that awaited them. Aside from the sound of horses and warbeasts and Loftwings methodically plodding towards the castle, there was silence.
"I have a rendezvous with Death."
Ishaka and everyone else in earshot turned to the source. She was staring with steely determination towards their destination, but Impa was clearly reciting something to herself. Something to herself that was loud enough for the others to hear.
"I have a rendezvous with Death, at some disputed barricade. When spring comes back with rustling shade, and apple blossoms fill the air. I have a rendezvous with Death, when spring brings back blue days and fair."
Her words were bringing a sort of peace, as all other thoughts faded from their mind as they drew ever closer to their destination.
"It may be he shall take my hand, and lead me into his dark land. And close my eyes and quench my breath…it may be I shall pass him still. I have a rendezvous with Death, on some scarred slope of battered hill…"
There was an explosion, a particularly loud one that seemed to jar her. Everyone winced, some recoiled at the might of whatever that artillery shell had been and what it had hit. But Impa kept going.
"But I've a rendezvous with Death…"
The explosions were growing louder, and getting closer. They were getting closer.
"…at midnight in some flaming town…"
The air was growing thick with the smog of fire burning and smoke from the craters tossed up from each strike. It was getting difficult to breathe.
"…When spring trips north again this year…"
Through the smog and the encroaching gloaming of the setting sun, they could make out the silhouette of their home. Link felt a shiver deep within him, and pulled the mask down over his face.
"…and I, to my pledged word, am true…"
A bugle sounded somewhere. The army came to a halt.
"…I shall not fail that rendezvous."
They had arrived.
A/N: Whew! Sorry about the delay, folks. Life comes at you fast, what with school and university exams and all that fun stuff. But updates should return to their more consistent schedule from hereon out.
HYRULIAN CODEX
"Magic" Masks – There is a persistant rumour out there that there exist masks that are not just interesting facial wear; they are also artifacts that are inhabited by the souls of their former selves, and as a result can give the wearer a massive boost in ability at the cost of being transformed into a warped version of themselves and whomever the mask is based on. Those that say the masks exist also not that the transformation process is apparently extremely painful. However, no one is sure that these masks even exist, and if they did, no one is sure where to look.