Chapter Twenty Six
Scars of Triumph

Elane pressed her thighs into the saddle and ducked her head down such that her nose almost touched her horse's mane. Her grip upon the reins was so tight that her knuckles her were white. Staying on top of the horse at this speed was a struggle for her life. One of the only horses remaining in the city stables transpired to be one of the most wild, for though it was swift, it bore her as recklessly as if she were not.

Her determination and anger and taken her beyond fear. Courage would take her into battle, ready to fight for freedom, and whether she lived or died mattered not. In dying she would be reunited with Tabett, and it was this thought which spurred her on. "Faster!" she shouted, whipping the horses' sides with her boots.

The battlefield was more horrific than Rael could ever have described to her. She was coming closer to the fray with every passing second, and would shortly be inside. Across the desert plains an unfathomable number of men and women, both Karin and Gerudo, were fighting mercilessly against each other. The slain bodies of both men and horses ay everywhere, with weapons littering the ground between them.

Her horse suddenly decided that they had come close enough. It slowed down hastily and sank its hooves into the dirt, then wildly shook and turned around. "No!" shouted Elane. Her grip slipped and she quickly hauled her right leg over the horses' back. She was half way dismounted when the horse ran away in the other direction, dropping her down to the ground mercilessly. The barren ground could not have been harder. "Blood and storms," she spat, wiping blood from her lip. Despite her pain she hauled herself up onto her feet quickly, ignoring the patches of pain along her arms and shins.

Elane looked towards the battle and drew her sword, then picked up a discarded small shield from its deceased owner. It was then that she realised the hopelessness of her desire to find Rael. He was lost inside the battle, if he was still alive… and she on the outside. "Oh, mother of death," she cursed.

A brilliant white light suddenly radiated in the distance beyond the battlefield, a shining beacon atop a large hill. Eyes turned, and many Gerudos and Kairin stopped fighting for a moment as they turned to gaze. The light was like the sun, a beautiful and blinding star for a moment piercing all things. In her heart, Elane knew what was happening. The unpredictable shift from despair to elation was so fast and so strong that tears began to run from her face. "Daran…" she whispered, and then cried out in elation, "Daran!!"

……

A powerful wind blew through Link's black cloak, driving up hard from the east and rushing up the slopes. His hair blew messily as the strong gusts brought a cooling respite from the hot sun. Shaylin city was but a few miles away, and between them and the city an immense battle. Kaira had arrived in the Gerudo lands.

General Dragan topped the peak and drew rein alongside him, and surveyed the sight. "I pray we are not too late, Lord Marshal," he said, tightening the straps of his gauntlets.

"We would ride even should the banner of the Lunar Crown fly from Shaylin's towers," said Link, "consider this an advantage."

Zelda, the Queen of Hyrule, arrived at the summit upon her white horse and stopped at Link's left side. She was dressed fully in her battle armour, a plate mail suit of a hard, light metal crafted by the finest Goron smiths and magically enchanted by herself. The plates shimmered gold and silver, and were engraved with feathers, swords, and ancient Hylian runes. Upon her head rested the royal helmet of Hylian kings, a conical silver headpiece topped with a crown-like ring of Triforce-and-Eagle motifs. The helmet was last worn by her father Rahyl in the Imprisoning War, a war fought against Gerudos; now she would ride to battle to aid the Gerudos from a greater terror. "There are no advantages in war," she said in response to Link, "only lesser and greater tragedies."

"Then let us hope," Link said, "that today is a lesser tragedy, Your Majesty." Zelda looked at Link's face of steadfast determination and allowed a slight smile.

"Hope is what these people need," said Daran, the Illivartan, coming alongside Zelda almost silently. He was riding bareback, with such grace that his horse moved as though its rider were not even there. "So let us grant them some, now." He raised his hands and a beautiful white light shone out towards the battle.

As Daran's light shone, a line of Hylian warhorses and their riders arrived upon the crest of the hill behind the four commanders. They were followed by another, and another, until the entire host of the Hylian cavalry was assembling upon that desert hilltop. In total there were nearly five thousand horses, and five thousand of the finest knights and cavalrymen in the kingdom. Banners bearing the royal family's emblem and banners of the fallen fortress cities flew in colourful streamers over the ranks of silver-armoured soldiers.

Zelda turned her horse around and looked into the eyes of the soldiers. They were men of different ages, some young, some old. Some had war scars, bearded and rough-looking, eager to charge into battle, whilst others were clean faced, unwounded and unfamiliar with the world of battle. It was to both the courageous and the wary she had to now speak.

"Rare are the days when our kingdom is threatened from shore to shore," she said, projecting her voice as well as she could with her limited magic, "and rarer still are the days in which a queen shall ride to war with her own people. Indeed, drastic days call for drastic actions and we live in a frightening, perilous, uncertain time. It is no secret that day by day we have lost ground to darkness, retreating into our strongholds and deep places of safety, covering our heads with our hands and praying for salvation." The eyes of many followed her as she allowed her horse to trot along the front line of her troops. "Yet today we rise up and shout! We will shout into the darkness and proclaim that we will not be held captive nor be put in chains. Today we say that this is Hyrule, and we are Hylian, and we will not surrender!"

The Hylian men watched her with inspired eyes. "Salvation will not be sent from on high. Nor will deliverance be sent from the heavens. No, our liberation will not be won without pain and blood and sacrifice, yet win it we shall!" Cheers of agreement and cries of admiration for Zelda arose from the ranks of soldiers. "We will endure," she said strongly. As she spoke, she remembered her father. She had witnessed him speak with conviction and determination even in the face of death, and she tried to carry the same authority in her own voice. "As our fathers fought for our freedom, so shall we lay down our lives, as an offering for our children and our children's children and the future of all free men."

Daran's light diminished as he finished sending his beacon. He began preparing himself to ride, and Link and Dragan took this as a sign that they too should be ready for battle. Zelda saw this and drew her rallying call to a close. "I am your Queen," she said, "and him sheds blood with me today shall be always known as lord in my house and his star shall burn brightly as the Firmament of Kings. Years from now, any man now home in Hylia shall count himself the lesser when a hero of Shaylin speaks and shows his scars of triumph."

Zelda reached her right arm across her waist, and grasped her sword hilt in her right hand. She pulled out a long slender silver blade and held it ready at her side. The sound of steel scraping on steel was raw and satisfying, and was followed by the unsheathing of many more blades across the army. "The earth will tremble, and the Kairin will fear the spears of Hylia. Feel the charge, breathe battle and you shall be victorious this day."

Men cried Zelda's name, and many banged swords on shields. The horses began to step nervously, as though they too knew what awaited them. Zelda moved aside and General Dragan took her place, barking attack pattern commands to individual officers. Link spoke to Zelda quietly as she steered her horse around to wait beside his. "An excellent speech," he said, turning to face her for a moment. Link's presence was so powerful that he appeared in every way to be the embodiment of the hero of legend. He was dressed from head to toe in full plate armour that looked remarkably heavy. His helmet was distinctive, ornamented with lines of green metal which ran along the tops of his ears, yet remained somewhat plain nonetheless. His whole armour suit was rather rough and occasionally misshapen and despite this, he looked somehow grander than Dragan in his new sheets of shining mail, or even herself in her own elegant battle armour. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Zelda noticed that Link had fastened an additional sword to his waist alongside his own blade. The scabbard was black, and the hilt was patterned with gold. "I have been ready ever since first seeing that sword upon the belt of the storm lord," she said.

When Dragan had given his final commands, he indicated to Link that the time had come. Link drew out his sword and pointed it down the slope towards the battle. "Hylia!" he bellowed, "charge!!"

He spurred the flanks of his horse and gripped the reins and saddle tightly as it raced down the hill. Behind him, the noise of gradually accelerating hooves rose like a thunder. The ground shook as the host of Hylia bore down the sandy slopes towards Shaylin, five thousands sets of hooves driving hard across the barren ground. Beside him rode Zelda, Daran and Dragan, all four of them keen upon their destination as though in competition to be the first to engage their foe. As they rode towards triumph and doom, Link felt himself reawaken further than ever before. His soul yearned for battle, and would now be satisfied. Now was for vengeance, now was for retribution, and now was for war.