Chapter 3:

The cracks, roars, and crashes of the chaos and destruction in Kakariko Village rent the air in Death Mountain. Villagers huddled in groups and cradled their children, who wept in fear of the monstrous sounds below, but Link and his twenty-four brave soldiers stood firm and steadfast, silently and quickly preparing for battle. Hallus had returned with the bulk of the force and they formed a line of attention before their Lord Commander. Link issued silent commands to them with hand gestures. He stationed five archers at the top of the sheer rock wall near the base of the mountain, which was accessible only by scaling the rope ladder. They would draw the attention of the monsters, and then feather as many as they could while the beasts attempted to climb up the rock wall. When the ranks were thinned, the other twenty warriors would descend on the lower mountain path and fight the remaining beasts directly, driving them back down into the village. The archers were to drop onto the lower rim of the summit, just above the roofs of the houses on the highest hills of the village, and keep shooting from afar.

The orders were given and all were in place. Link instructed Hallus to wait for approximately two minutes, and then sound his war horn to grab the attention of the monsters. Hallus nodded and began the count. Link immediately began sprinting west and dropped down onto the lower summit. From there, he produced his Spinner and threw himself down the sheer rock wall, behind the houses in the village, being careful to remain out of sight of the beasts. He landed safely and quietly, tucked his Spinner away, and began creeping further west towards the Spring of Eldin. He waded through the ankle deep water and paused briefly to grab a fairy to replenish his strength, and then continued moving around the outskirts of the village. The screams and sounds of mayhem from the destruction the monsters wreaked on the village served to hide his progress well.

The darknut marched slowly through the center of the village, pausing every so often to point out a target for one of his minions, or take one giant swipe through a stable or hut with his massive blade. Link silently climbed onto the roof of a small storage shed on the southern edge of the village, crouched in the darkness, and waited. Any hint of his arrival would ruin his plan. He stood still as a statue, waiting patiently. Any second now…

HAAAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUM!

Hallus' war horn blew long and deep, piercing the frigid night air and freezing all the monsters in the midst of their havoc. For a few precious seconds, all was still, silent, and almost peaceful in the village… and then the darknut raised his great blade in the direction of Death Mountain and bellowed a throaty, hoarse war cry in reply. The bokoblins and lizalfos took up the same cry and began rushing the path to the mountain. They funneled into the path, stumbling and rushing over each other in their haste to taste blood. As the last of them scrambled up the path, the darknut began his slow, ominous march in their direction to follow in their wake. He turned his back to Link and began shambling north. Link stood, nocked an arrow into his Hero's Bow, took careful aim, and let fly. The arrow flew straight and true, finding its mark on the helmed head of the darknut. The arrow glanced off his head and fell harmlessly to the ground, as Link expected. The darknut stopped his march and slowly turned back to the direction the arrow had come from. He saw nothing but pitch darkness, but a moment later, a figure fell from the sky and landed gracefully on the ground, outlined by pale moonlight. The darknut knew him as the hated hero of Hyrule. He roared viciously and lifted his giant blade in the air, preparing a charge. The hero drew his Ordon Sword and prepared for battle.

* * *

"Steady now, men!" shouted Hallus as the monsters rushed their location. The Hyrulian archers knelt at the peak of the rock wall with the rope ladder, with columns of arrows stuck to the ground in a line near their feet. "Fire quickly, but true. They have the numbers, but we have the vantage point." Malcior, Fauston and three others nocked an arrow to their bows and waited for the beasts to come within their range. They didn't have long to wait. The short, sharp thwip of five perfect shots was music to the Hyrulian's ears as the arrows took flight and found their mark. Two of the monsters fell to the ground dead, but three of them only staggered and then resumed their mad charge. The archers quickly rearmed their bows and fired once more. Three more enemies fell. Again, the skillful archers grabbed another shot and let fly. More monsters fell, but a wave of them were reaching the rope ladder and scuttling up the rungs. The archers prioritized the nearest enemies and at such close range, were able to land deadly shots. One bokoblin took an arrow through the eye, and fell dead onto a lizalfos below him, spilling them both to the ground. More beasts climbed over them and continued their frenzied climb.

"Archers, fall back! Swordsmen, to the front!" bellowed Hallus as the beasts began to reach the top faster than the archers could pick them off. He kicked one lizalfos down off the ledge as soon as he had gained his footing. The enemy plunged back over the cliff and fell, screaming and thrashing all the way. The swordsmen of the unit joined Hallus at his side and began swiping and cutting, driving back the enemy. Many of the lizalfos at the bottom of the rock wall began removing the small axes from their tails and throwing them up at the Hyrulians. One soldier was struck in the chest, and slowly fell off the cliff. More axes streamed past the soldiers heads as they chopped at the torrent of enemies.

"It's time, Hallus!" yelled Kingsley as he lopped the head off a bokoblin and only narrowly dodged an axe. "Let us descend and fight them!" Hallus agreed, and shouted the command. Ten of the brave soldiers leapt off the top of the cliff wall and landed at the bottom behind the mob, heads tucked as they rolled away from the landing. They engaged the enemies that had lingered further down the path as the other beasts debated which group to try for. The Hyrulians never gave them a chance as they continued their assault at the top of the cliff. The monsters at the top were knocked down, and five more soldiers leapt down to join the fray. The archers advanced back and made their way down the crumbly rock path to the lower summit where they could get clear shots at the enemy. All told, the Hyrulians were fighting well and seemed to have the upper hand. Their battle cries and shouts drowned out the angry wails of the foul monsters, and as Renado and the townspeople watched from the top of the mountain, they dared to hope that they could all escape the assault with their lives intact.

* * *

Link panted and leapt back a few steps to give himself a moments respite. The darknut growled and leapt forward with a vertical slice, not wanting to give Link any opportunity. Link deftly rolled around the monster and leapt up in a twirl, bringing his blade up along the monster's backside and severing a chunk of armor with a perfect Back Slice. The darknut roared and slashed behind him with a vicious backhand swing, but Link ducked and then stabbed him in the opening between his breastplate and shoulder pad, dropping the armor from his chest. This only infuriated the creature more, and he went on a frenzied offensive, keeping Link on the move for many steps. Link occasionally landed blows, but they mostly fell on armored areas and glanced harmlessly away. Finally, the darknut grabbed Link's sword in his bare hand and swung down with all his might. Link barely managed to block the blow with his Hylian Shield, and then darted back away from the monster.

The darknut grinned through his helm, and his eyes glowed an evil shade of red as he took the Ordon Sword by the grip and dual wielded with his giant blade. Link paused only for a brief second, and then produced his Hero's Bow and quickly armed it with a bomb arrow. He fired a perfect shot right at the exposed chest of the monster, but the darknut crossed his blades and blocked the blast from directly hitting him. Link quickly pulled another bomb arrow and loosed it just below the protection of the blades, and then again, and again, and again, until the darknut staggered and dropped his weapons as smoke and soot enveloped him. Link seized the moment to bravely run forward and grab his blade from the ground. The darknut swung wildly through the smoke, but Link was ready and valiantly flipped over the blade and the creature itself, landing directly behind him with weapon in hand. Link swung once to remove his helm, twice to block his blind overhead attack, and a third time to drive the Ordon Sword into the creature's skull. The darknut gave a weak moan, dropped his giant blade to the ground, and fell over dead.

Link gave a great sigh, and knelt to allow himself only the briefest of rests, until he turned his eyes toward Death Mountain. He was about to begin his sprint back up the mountain path when a terrible sight befell him; a large flock of kargaroks, at least twenty strong, flew directly over him and made straight for the peak of Death Mountain, squawking and screaming all the way.

* * *

Hallus and Kingsley spun and swung their blades in tandem, overpowering one of the few remaining lizalfos with relative ease. A small group of soldiers were mopping up the last of the bokoblins at the base of the rock wall with the rope ladder, and Hyrule had suffered only three casualties in the battle. Kingsley looked to Hallus with a grin on his face, and they allowed themselves a moment of joy and exhilaration at their successful routing of the dark beasts. Their work had been finished for but a moment when a shadow fell over Kingsley, blotting out the moonlight and wiping the grin from his face. They looked up and saw the kargaroks flying over them towards the townsfolk at the top of the mountain. A few of the beasts broke off from the pack and dove toward the soldiers, but the majority stayed their course.

"ARCHERS!" bellowed Hallus at the soldiers on the lower summit. They looked up and saw to their horror what he was shouting about. "BRING THEM DOWN! KILL THEM ALL NOW!" The archers scrambled to obey, but they were unprepared and the Kargaroks were already too far gone. The soldiers could but watch in horror as the kargaroks came in for a landing on Death Mountain, and the screams of pain and terror from the townsfolk rose into the black night.

"Soldiers of Hyrule!" Hallus yelled as the soldiers began to regroup with him. "Get to the top of the mountain! Defend the townsfolk! We must slay the beasts and end this as quickly as possible! MOVE OUT, NOW!" he thundered. The soldiers were already on the move.

* * *

The people of Kakariko were in calamity as the monsters descended on them and began tearing flesh from bone wherever they could. The defenseless people were easy prey for the flying beasts, but the people were not alone. From the caves and rock dwellings that littered the mountain emerged a dozen Gorons, led by their Patriarch, Darbus. They curled up and rolled onto the scene in defense of the people and their homeland. They fought valiantly, but they were ill suited to fight opponents in the sky. Some hunched down and launched their brothers into the sky to grab the monsters and tear them apart in mid flight, and some threw rocks with deadly force and accuracy, but the kargaroks were fast and agile, and avoided most of their attackers. They homed in on the peasants and farmers, killing where they could and taking flight when the mighty Gorons came for them.

Eventually, Hallus and the remaining Hyrulian soldiers emerged at the peak of the mountain path and joined the fray.

"Men! Help the Gorons! Slaughter all the beasts!" commanded Hallus.

"Welcome, friends!" called Darbus as he ripped the wings off one kargarok. The archers arrived shortly thereafter and began picking off the foul birds as fast as they could. Men, women, and children ran for the safety of caves and caverns. Some made it, but some were caught in the jaws of the kargaroks, and silenced forever. They largely ignored the soldiers and the Gorons, choosing instead to attack the civilians whenever possible.

As the moon faded and the dim morning sun began to creep onto the horizon, the kargaroks began to thin in number. Some flew away and some were slain by the warriors. Link emerged on the battlefield, exhausted from his hurried climb up the steep, treacherous mountain, to find most of the fighting done. Malcior feathered one last fiend before the rest of the kargaroks rose into the sky and flew away with their wretched lives as Link watched bitterly. Malcior panted and flung his bow to the ground, angry and frustrated. He surveyed the scene around him and found many dead, mostly townsfolk but some of his comrades as well. He inspected one armored body near the hot springs and found Fauston with his throat torn out. Next to him was Hallus, with many deep wounds in his chest and arms from the sharp beaks of the kargaroks. He was alive, but his breathing was faint. He and Fauston had heroically defended a group of children nestled behind some bushes at the rim of the hot springs, who had all survived due to their efforts.

As the townsfolk emerged and began to grieve and count their dead, Link took a tally of his soldiers. Six were missing, presumed killed in battle, and three were injured. They quickly tried to gather all the wounded together with the injured townsfolk and prioritize the severity of their wounds. Renado and the healers of Kakariko Village began their work, trying to save lives.

"Brother Link!" boomed Darbus as he came to Link's side while Link watched the healers work. "What is going on, Brother? We have not seen monsters such as these since the dark times!"

"I know, Darbus," said Link. "Something is amiss in Hyrule again. I fear this is only the beginning of something much worse." He watched as one man on the ground near Renado coughed violently and spat up blood. He began to grow angry.

"This is bad news, Brother," said Darbus. "Perhaps the Gorons should meet with Princess Zelda and discuss things. Maybe can help this time," he added.

"You have already helped, greatly," Link said. "But I believe a meeting of all the rulers in Hyrule may be in order. I will talk to her." He shook Darbus's great big hand and then trudged back down to where his soldiers stood at attention. "You, you, and you," he pointed at three of the soldiers. "Come with me down to the Spring of Eldin. Some fairies will aid greatly in the healing of these people. As for the rest of you, help the townsfolk any way you can. Kingsley, you're my second in command until Hallus is able to return to duty. I leave you in charge until I return."

"Yes, Lord Commander!" Kingsley said. He quickly turned away and began his duties with the remaining soldiers.

No one took notice, but on the far west side of the mountain, in a dark corner where few people were resting or working, two men stood whispering to each other. The tall, greasy, black haired man pointed around to all the death and destruction and whispered urgently to the other man. The small, stout man with tousled red hair listened with a look of mixed disgust and anger in his eyes. The tall man continued, and eventually the short man slowly nodded, gravely and resignedly. The tall man smiled.

As Link and the soldiers passed through the lower mountain path where the bokoblins and lizalfos lay bloody and dead, something caught his eye. He stopped to investigate. He knelt down and picked up a blade carried by one of the monsters. The men stopped and watched him. Link carefully studied the blade, and then inspected the hilt. On it, he found a crest. It was a decagonal pattern, with six inlaid designs on the outer rim of the inside area, forming a circle. There were two separate shapes, three of each total, alternating around the entirety of the crest. One shape was a triangle, with three separately lighted areas in it. The other was a small circle, with three more triangles inside each, all meeting at the center of the circle. It was a very unique and divine crest, and one that Link was vaguely familiar with.

"My lord?" asked one of the soldiers. "Is something amiss?"

"It's this crest," explained Link. "I've seen it before. I believe… I believe it to be the design of a smith I once knew."

"Where, my lord?" asked the knight.

"My home," he said softly. "Ordon Village."