Chapter Thirty-One: The Battle Begins

After seeing Ganondorf and Astralose's army approaching, Link immediately ran to the front of Hyrule's force. He wanted to see if he could spot Ganondorf. The sooner he could help in transporting the King of Evil thirty years into the future the better. As the battle drew nearer, Link was surprised to find Kaepora Gaebora fluttering alongside of him. "I found your steed in the Forest of Gormoth and told her of your needs. She's on her way here as we speak, but it will take her until after nightfall to get here."

"By then the battle will be done. But thank you anyway Kaepora Gaebora. I was dreading having to go all the way back to get her after the battle; that's one burden taken off of my shoulders. Are you going to stay here and help?"

"Unfortunately no. Hectic moments such as these are when I'm most busy regrettably. The gods have called me to many errands that I must tend to. I may drop in later though and see how things are going. Either way, I must leave now. Good luck Link."

"Thank you. And good luck with your errands." The massive owl nodded and flew off towards the western horizon. After that brief conversation, the enemies' army was already only a thousand feet away. The Hylian knights sat silent until their adversaries were only a hundred feet away. Then their commander shouted, " Nock your arrows!" The men readied their bows and waited for the order to fire. It came only a moment later.

A wave of lightweight yew arrows flitted into the air towards the enemy. The Hero of Time drew the Master Sword as he watched the arrows strike mostly the Moblins. Many collapsed dead, but not enough to make their army seem any less massive. Link had just enough time to see Ganondorf and Astralose leave their army and head off in the direction of the castle before he was forced to deflect a Bokoblin's scimitar before he was decapitated. The battle for Hyrule had begun at last.

After blocking the Bokoblin's attack, Link swung his sword back around into his enemy's unprotected ribcage. The hideous creature immediately fell dead. Link looked up and saw two Moblins bearing down on him, one wielding a gigantic wooden club and the other two frighteningly sharp daggers. The one with the club attacked first. Link was forced to duck under the weapon in order to keep from being struck. He then rushed forward with his sword and thrust it into the Moblin's throat.

Before any feeling of victory could come though, he sensed the other Moblin about to attack. He ripped his weapon out of his foe's jugular—releasing a jet of dark green blood—and swung it around into the dagger-wielding Moblin. This Moblin was quicker than the first one he had slain though. It brought its daggers up and deflected the Hero of Time's attack. It spun its daggers around and attempted to strike Link from two sides. The young Hylian backflipped out of the way of the attack and watched as a stray arrow slew his enemy for him, the arrowhead protruding from the Moblin's now punctured eye.

Link turned around and saw Darunia wrestling a hideous Moligange. All three of the revolting beast's arms were attempting to gouge out the Goron's eyes and its tongue was hanging in the air limply, leaving a puddle of sultry spit on the grass below. The Hero of Time ran up behind the monster and thrust the Master Sword into the back of its head without hesitation. The creature convulsed violently before falling to the ground dead, nearly pulling Link's blade out of his own hands. "Thank you," panted Darunia.

"Don't even-."

"Look out!" shouted the Goron chieftain. Link ducked and watched as the Goron's colossal fist flew over his head and into an unseen enemy. He turned around and saw a Garo ninja flying twenty feet into the air, its cloak billowing out behind it. The enemy fell into a cluster of Hylian knights and was quickly subdued. Link and Darunia nodded at each other and then split up, ready for the next wave of attackers.

Link watched as a pair of Zoras unleashed their fins as if they were boomerangs. The razor-sharp weapons flew into a wave of enemies and sliced through them as if they were made of nothing more than butter. Leaving behind a pile of gore, the fins flew back onto their owners' arms. The Hero of Time quietly reflected on how he used to be able to perform the same attack with the aid of the Zora's Mask. Because of his carelessness, his brief thoughts were interrupted by a blast of energy from a nearby Wizrobe. He was struck by the powerful energy burst and quickly found himself twenty feet from where he had started, now in a daze.

He was preparing to charge the Wizrobe when the Zoras he had been watching earlier destroyed it with their boomerang fins. The Wizrobe howled deafeningly before fizzling away into nothingness. Link was about to run up to his saviors to thank them when a Dodongo unleashed a torrent of blistering flame that consumed the Zoras entirely. A moment later all that remained was a pile of light blue ash. Now furious, Link was ready to kill the Dodongo, but he never got the chance. Darunia—in an utter rage—grabbed the beast by the tail, picked it up, and slammed it head first into a nearby boulder. With the crunching of bone and the splattering of blood, the Dodongo was no more.

Despite the fact that it seemed they were winning, Link could tell that the enemy was starting to overwhelm them. Since their forces had started out at only half of their enemies', it would be very difficult to win the battle. He noticed as the confrontation went on that he was running into allies far less frequently than he was enemies. Now he found himself surrounded by Moblins without any friendly face in sight. He was being hit from all sides and was finding it nearly impossible to protect himself from his foes' clubs. He then realized that they were merely toying with him.

This only served to anger the Hero of Time, which led him to swipe his blade harshly at the nearest assailant. Because of his fury, he swung so hard that he actually lost his grip on the Master Sword. The mystical blade flew over the heads of the Moblins that had now enclosed him in a ring and landed with a dull thud ten feet away. The nearest pig-like monster pushed Link down to the ground with a brutal snort. It raised its club, ready to kill him at last. Link raised his arm in a feeble attempt to protect himself. His end seemed imminent when there was a sudden beam of light that hit the area.

The Hero of Time watched as the beam of light hit each Moblin one at a time. Every Moblin that it struck immediately burst into a dazzling array of colors, lights, and sparkles. A moment later, the ten Moblins that had surrounded him were all gone. Link looked up, half expecting to see that the hands of the gods had saved him. He was surprised to see Kaepora Gaebora gliding in the air above. The owl closed his beak and the light immediately disappeared from the vicinity.

"I never realized you could do that!" shouted Link at the incredible owl, who was now hovering down to grown level.

"The gods entrusted to me the power of light centuries ago, when I was once a Sage."

"A Sage?!"

"Yes, but that is too long of a story. Maybe one day I'll be able to share it with you, or maybe not. The important thing is that I have finished the errands that the gods assigned me to. It is now time to put an end to this battle."

"Yes it is!"

"But not for you. You must hurry to the castle Link. Ganondorf is there. You are needed more there than here. I will take care of the battlefield."

"All right. I'll go immediately."

"Good. And Link." The owl paused thoughtfully. "Be careful."

The Hero of Time nodded and raced across the field towards the castle. He turned around just long enough to see the reincarnated Sage Kaepora Gaebora sail back into the air and unleash his overwhelming light force upon the enemy. Knowing that the battle would now be turning to Hyrule's favor, Link was free to worry about one thing: Ganondorf. Facing the castle once more, all Link could do was hope that no damage had yet been done by Ganondorf and his wicked father Astralose.