I understand that the battle scene is tragically short… and it pains me to leave it so, but I have not the patience or ability to make it better than I have tried to make it. It gets a little boring at one part but… Oh, I guess I don't want to reveal too much!
Chapter 5: Heat of Battle
I hope I know what I'm doing… It feels right, though. Lielu… Where are you? I want to help you fight this battle. I want to help defend Seabound!
"Ugh… Miss Maris? Is that you?"
Huh…? Li…Lielu?
"Maris! The cove! Come to the cove! Hurry!"
Lielu? You sound weak! What's wrong? Are you injured?
"Maris… Hurry..! I don't know how much longer I'll be able to fight!"
Hang in there, Lielu! I'm on my way!
Maris regained her footing as quickly as possible as another tremor rocked the foundation of the castle. The cove…? I wish we had explored more, she mused remorsefully. However, she seemed to know exactly where she was headed. She decided that Lielu was drawing Maris towards her. Regardless of the cause, the young girl found herself standing on a curved beach encased by a large cavern of rock. Zora warriors swam nimbly through the water, utilizing strange skills to attack with lightning. The sea dragons, being immersed, were being felled in droves.
It appeared, though, that there were far more of the attackers left than the Zoras could handle. Their numbers began to deplete exponentially. Maris bit her lip and ran to the water's edge. "Lielu!" she called. There was a loud, wailing, song-like sound to her right. She ran to the other end of the shore and found the young sea dragon lying deathly still.
"Are you all right?" Maris asked as she placed her palm on the bleeding wound on Lielu's left flank. The staff began to glow and the injury healed. To Maris' shock, the serpent lifted her head and shook it vigorously. "Miss Maris! Climb onto my back!" she commanded telepathically. The girl nodded and did as she was instructed. Lielu raced forward to the head of the attack. Maris raised her staff above her head.
"Everyone! Listen to me! Follow my lead!" the Hylian girl instructed. No one paid her any heed whatsoever. Who could blame them, though? After all, she was only nine years old. To aid her rider, Lielu gave a trumpeting cry. The Zoras all lowered their weapons and stared in wonder.
"My name is Maris, ice mage of Snowbound and Chosen of Water! Please, for the sake of this city's safety, do as I tell you!" she shouted. None of the warriors responded. Maris growled in frustration and turned around, motioning Lielu forward. There was another fleet of Death Serpents approaching, and she had to cut them off before they reached the area.
Maris twirled her staff called forth a wall of ice. The pointed pillars speared many of the attackers as they rose up. They immediately began to ram the impediment. Several of the pillars were felled. Maris crossed her hands, palms outwards, and focused on the water. A massive wave rose from the previously still surface and pushed back the enemy forces.
"Are you with me or not!" she cried over her shoulder. An eruption of battle cries sounded as the army charged forward. Maris began shouting commands to guide the troops. "Right flank! Move left! Left flank! Advance steadily! Center row! Cross right! Confuse them! Loop around the ice! Come on!" she called. As they did so, she lifted large amounts of water and released them upon the Dread Serpents. Many were pulverized in this manner.
"Well done, Miss Maris!" Lielu complimented. "We're not through yet," the girl replied with a smirk. She guided her steed forward into the midst of battle. Valiantly she began to bash the dragons and impale them with powerful jets of water. She knew she would be sickened with herself later, but for now all she was concerned with was the safety of Seabound.
Maris cried out in agony as she was struck by powerful fangs. The injured girl plummeted from Lielu's back and into the waters, now freezing from her ice magic. "Maris!" came the dragon's concerned shout. The young Chosen struggled beneath the bloody sea to escape its prison. Her head broke the surface and she gasped for breath, but her shoulder was still bleeding badly. Maris clutched at her flesh and tried to heal herself. The job was inadequate, however, since she had already used so much of her power.
A terrifyingly powerful gale ravaged the water. Maris floundered around for Lielu, though the salty water whipping at her face wasn't helping at all.
"Sister!" Zephyr called from the beach. Maris felt herself being pushed and soon found that she was resting against Lielu's side. "Brother! Oh, Zephyr! What are you doing out here?" the younger sibling shouted. She found in dismay that many of the Dread Serpents had reached the land and were now facing off against her brother for admittance to Seabound.
"I could ask you the same thing!" the boy grinned as he fought the monsters back with his rapier. And Aine said learning to fight with a rapier was a waste of time and energy, he thought with a chuckle. Maris climbed out of the sea and clung to Lielu's neck. "I'm fighting off the Dread Serpent assault!" she informed somewhat cockily. "And you?"
"Watch out!" Zephyr warned suddenly. Maris whipped around and screamed into the gaping jaws of a Dread Serpent. The land shifted and contorted, toppling the surprised attacker. Maris turned her head and saw River standing half-submerged, arms outstretched and a confident smirk on his lips. "Need some help, my lady?" he laughed. Maris raised an eyebrow. Wasn't he the royalty? Either way, she was grateful for his assistance.
Maris concentrated on her wound and healed it just enough to get by. The Water element sure is a handy one, she mused to herself as she lifted spheres of water into the air and rained down shards of ice upon the Dread Serpents. Zephyr ran into the water as far as he could and raised his rapier up as though it was an extension of his arm. He closed his eyes and a faint breeze stirred. The ferocious sounds of battle seemed distant and quiet as the surface of the sea churned and spun. Eventually a whirlpool formed, and from that came a large cyclone.
River watched in awe. He had been practicing with his Earth powers for years, and he was nowhere near that good. Maris made a rising circular gesture with her hand and the water within the cyclone froze. The immense force of the wind tore horns of ice loose and flung them every which way. The Hylian girl thrust both arms upwards and a wall of water came up to protect all the Zora fighters, River, her brother, and herself.
Shrill, stomach-turning cries of agony filled the cove as the last of the Dread Serpents were destroyed. "Miss Maris… You and your fellow Chosens did a wonderful job," Lielu congratulated. The addressed opened her eyes cautiously and gasped at the scene. Corpses of deceased sea dragons littered the area. The water was warm and crimson from bloodshed. It looked horrid and dismal, yet Maris knew that this massacre would bring about happier days for Seabound and all within it.
Lielu swam forward slowly as her rider continued to stare in shock. "You need not worry, young Chosen," the sea guardian assured silently, "for your actions were made with naught but the good of this fair city in mind. You've most certainly earned the respect and gratitude of Seabound."
Maris climbed onto land unsteadily and hurried to her brother, who was also gazing at the stinking cove. "Zephyr… W-We did a good thing… right?" she whispered hesitantly. Zephyr looked down at his little sister affectionately. "Of course we did, Sister," he smiled, though his weariness showed clearly in his eyes. "This whole city would have been destroyed if we hadn't helped out. We did a very good thing."
"Let's hear it for Zephyr and Miss Maris!" River shouted from behind the two. All the Zora troops cheered and hollered and whistled as they came to shore. The siblings turned and grinned sheepishly at the crowed. Lielu tossed her head and splashed joyously. Many of the Zoras clapped, while some saluted or raised their weapons to the sky in victory.
"Let's go, you two," River smirked as he placed one hand on Zephyr's shoulder and his other on Maris'. "My mom's gonna want to speak with you."
---
"You have gone up and beyond the call of two foreigners, Chosens or not," Queen Ruto said in her most formal tone. "For this, we of the lush and prosperous city of Seabound are eternally grateful. It pains me to admit that we have mistakenly shunned the rest of the world from our doorstep. We have long been engaged in a war with the Dread Serpents, and a long and terrible war it has been. I realize now that we should have called out neighbors for help long ago, but we were proud. Seabound has stood alone for decades, ever since the page of the Royal Family stopped visiting the kingdom some years before the Changing. I see now that independence will beget naught but strife.
"I feel as though we are so deeply indebted to you that we may never repay you. And considering the task you, as Chosens, are charged with, our debt will only increase by tenfold in the future. I ask of you now that… Oh, I feel so silly. Asking the heroes who just saved my city for a favor… Still, I implore that you allow my son River to accompany you on your quest. As you are already aware of, he is Chosen of Earth and will fight along with you to restore peace to Hyrule.
"Now, don't tell anyone I've told you this but… I'm actually a diehard Tri'dist. I have been since long before the Changing, when I was still but a girl. Keep this particularly quiet, all right? I think that Unra is the evil god from the prophecy. Now, don't ever speak of this ever again. I don't want all of my city to be executed as heretics. Before you go, I have one last tiny little favor to ask of you. If you ever meet a soldier named Link, tell him that his fiancée is still waiting for him and always will be. Now, is there anything you need to ask of me?"
Zephyr cleared his throat, hesitant to speak after being given such a long speech. "Yes, your majesty. There is one thing," he began humbly. "Could we borrow a boat from your Navy with which to travel in?"
Ruto groaned and hid her face behind her hand. "Such a simple request, such a very simple request, yet it is one that I cannot comply with. The Dread Serpents have eliminated the last of our ships; they are all either in disrepair or resting at the bottom of the Great Sea. I am so very sorry, but you will not be able to leave until we can mend at least one suitable craft," she explained morosely.
"What about Lielu?" Maris asked. "I can communicate with her, and she's more than large enough for all three of us to ride. I promise that she won't be hurt."
The queen pressed her lips together and paced back and forth. "I… suppose you've proven yourselves more than capable of looking after her well-being… I don't see what harm it will bring… Very well. I hereby grant the Chosens use of Lielu during their travels."
"If you're through, we'll be on our way," River yawned. "See ya 'round, Mom." The young prince headed for the door without waiting for a reply.
"Wait!" Ruto called. "…Go east. To the Eastern Clan. You know what to do. Tell him that the Chosen of Water is among you."
River nodded over his shoulder. "Will do. Let's go, guys."
---
"Mom said to go east," River complained as he trailed his hand in the water. "We heard her, River," Zephyr growled. "But Maris and I need to visit Aine and tell her what we're getting ourselves into, since we sneaked out without her permission."
"What's an 'aine'?" the young prince sighed. "Is it something to eat?"
Maris giggled. "Why would we need permission from a food to leave the village? Of course Aine isn't food, silly! She's our Shiekah caretaker."
"Is this it?" Lielu interrupted. The blonde girl gazed into the distance. They had reached the shore and could go no further into the Northern Reaches. "Yeah, it's just over that snow bank. Thanks, Lielu. We'll be right back," she smiled as she hopped off the young dragon. Zephyr and River eagerly followed, Zephyr more so than his companion.
"Wait, what's that?" the young Chosen of Earth whispered as he pointed at a red glow in the distance. It looked like fire. Zephyr and Maris ran headlong across the snow until they found a large steel ship rammed upon the coast. The light was coming from a billowing smokestack at the boat's height. On the side was a plate of scarlet glass set into a pair of silver wings. "It looks like Mom's crown," River muttered.
"Brother… Isn't that the emblem of the Monastery?" Maris inquired, trying her best to mask the tension from her voice and failing. Zephyr shook his head unbelievingly and took off towards Snowbound. Maris and River raced after his, though his speed was unmatched at the time being.
"No!" came his dismayed cry when he reached the peak of the snow-covered hill. He held himself rigid for a moment, shaking his head, then descended. "Leave her alone!" he demanded as the sound of his rapier being drawn came to his pursuers' ears.
Ending the chapter in a cliffhanger makes me want to write more, so it's a good thing for me to do. This was one of my longest chapters yet, and I understand that reading them takes little to no time. However, I try to keep them under six pages (I write on 11.5 font, just so ya know. Even though it doesn't really matter…) whereas I used to keep them down to three! It must be bliss for newcomers to "For the Sake of the World" to not have to wait so long for such short updates. Actually, in those days I updated daily… I wonder what happened to that?
Contest is still canceled, though it would have been over by now anyway. I sense that I am boring you, so go ahead and review now (hint, hint)!