"The fortress is right over the next dune, lady Impa." The scout reported.
Impa nodded. The march through the desert had not been easy; there were not enough oases to keep the army at full strength. They had been lucky to uncover a well the other day. Otherwise the army would already be broken.
"How many troops are there?" Impa asked.
"We saw less than a hundred my lady, but I believe the enemy as taken up residence in the colossus."
"Very good, you're dismissed." Impa said.
"Yes m'lady." He gave a short bow before heading off.
One of the knights spoke up. "It will be hard to take a fort with the army as it is."
Impa nodded. "We'll have to rely on our artillery. We'll put our artillery on those ridges." She gestured with her hand. "And use a small force to distract the enemy while we put the guns in place."
Another knight nodded. "They will either be forced to come out and fight or be buried inside the fort."
"Yes." Impa said. "And when they come out we can use the same guns to slaughter them. Make sure at least one gun is aimed at every known entrance."
"At once Ma'am."
…
As the sun began to set a small group of Hylians rushed the front gate of the Arbiter's ground. The handful of Bokublin guards panicked, some even fled their posts, but the Hylian advantage didn't last long as the Bokublin in the camp surrounding the fortress raced to replace their comrades. They were soon joined by reinforcements from inside the grounds. The bokublins were eager for battle, and some even lept to the top and over the fortifications to fight the Hylians directly.
From a dune Impa overlooked the battle. All was going according to plan. The vanguard would take heavy casualties against the fortifications, but they would not have to hold for long. Soon the cannons would be in place and would rip the enemy to pieces. They were in check and didn't even know it.
…..
From a small window in the Arbiters grounds Ganon watched the battle unfold with morbid fascination. His ploy of attacking with his phantom had failed, and there were not enough monsters in the grounds to fend off the Hylian canons.
He had few options. He would have to join the battle himself. The Hylian morale was low. If he could take out Impa, they would lose heart and flee. He would have to rebuild his army from scratch, but the desert would give him the time and safety he needed.
"My lord…." One of the few Gerudo warriors who had remained with him approached from behind.
"What is it?"
"We've succeeded in opening the sealed door in the execution chamber."
Ganondorf turned to the woman surprise on his face. "Just now?"
She nodded. "Yes my lord."
Ganondorf quickly turned over the possibilities in his mind. With the sacred mirror on top of the tower he could imprison the Hylians in their own ancient trap…. the irony would be delicious.
"Quickly, engage the enemy general Impa yourself. I will make use of the mirror to vanquish our enemy."
"But my lord…." the woman hesitated.
"Worry not, I only need you to buy me a moment's time. Now go."
She bowed her head low, "Yes my lord." and hurried off.
The poor fool, she wouldn't last more than a few minutes, and even if she survived against Impa she would be caught up in the mirrors power. But she was a necessary sacrifice.
Ganondorf practically ran through the halls and up though the stairs that had been previously sealed. When he emerged into the day light he saw what appeared to be a stadium for executions. At its center was a slab, and off to one side, the mirror of twilight, the relic of Gerudo legend.
Long ago his ancestors had built this infernal monument to the hypocrisy and cruelty of the royal family and with the power sealed in it, he would finally destroy them.
"Well met, king of thieves."
Ganondorf looked in vain for the source of the voice. "Who dares?"
His question was answered by an invisible force that slammed him against the stone of execution
"We are the sages charged by the gods with guarding this mirror."
Several masked figures materialized before Ganon. Clearly long dead, their spirits were still quite active. "Your efforts to steal it have not gone unnoticed..."
Ganondorf struggled to free himself, but the stones chains had come to life and bound him.
"Ganondorf, you are a monster who would challenge the gods themselves," anther of the sages began. "For the good of Hyrule, we shall pass on you the sentence of execution."
The sage summoned an ethereal sword, aiming it at Ganondorf's belly. The dark king struggled against his chains but it was all in vain. The sword flew through the air and impaled him.
"Is it possible?" He asked himself. "The great king Ganondorf killed by a hand full of ghosts?"
The pain in his gut was unbearable. His blood pressure had dropped; his eyes drew dark.
"No."
Ganondorf felt a power… a power he thought had escaped him surging from his right hand into his body.
"Heh heh heh," he laughed as the spirits shirked back in fear. The chains which previously were beyond his strength to remove, he now ripped apart. Faster than they could react he charged the sage in front of him. He instantly shred the ghost with his new power. His wound no longer troubled him. He pulled out the sword meant to kill him so he could have the pleasure of ending the ghosts with their own weapon.
The cowardly sprits did not run, but quivered, extending their hands.
Suddenly Ganondorf was hit by a new power. It dawned on him he was still in front of the mirror, which was shining with an ethereal light. His laughter turned to growls has he fought against the magic, but even with his new power, his body began to break down and he felt himself being thrown somewhere….
"There is no prison that can hold me, not even death. Someday I shall return and then I will make Hyrule suffer for its sins!"
….
"Lady Impa! The enemy is abandoning the fort! They're fleeing into the desert!"
"That's an odd move…." Impa said. Looking onto the colossus she saw the Bokublin were rapidly abandoning their posts and pouring out of openings in the structure. They fled towards the desert, whether they knew where they were going she didn't know. For their parts the Hylian army was cheering. Morale had been low and the army had expected a vicious fight. The enemy's sudden retreat left the army in high spirits
"Keep the cannons in place and fall into a defensive formation! We'll see if this isn't a trap." Impa commanded.
….
It was night when and exhausted Link and Epona reached the Arbiters ground. He was surprised when rather than a battle or a standoff he encountered the Hylians camping directly around the colossus.
Heading into the camp he finally got a chance to water Epona and eventually found his way to Impa.
"We don't know exactly what happened, But from the Gerudo prisoners we took Ganon seems to have climbed the top of the tower and just disappeared. Once he was gone the monsters in the citadel went wild and the bokublin panicked," Impa explained to him in the privacy of her tent.
"That makes no sense," Link objected.
"There is a door in the citadel the prisoners say Ganon went through which we have been unable to open. Perhaps something happened to him."
"or he's still waiting there," Link said as he got up. "Where can I find this door?"
"I will take you there," Impa said, getting up and gathering her weapons.
…
Despite being cleared of Ganon's minions the Arbiter's grounds still had several ghosts and monsters lurking through its halls. Whether they were remnants of some past evil or just beasts taking shelter from the desert's harsh rays Link did not know.
After a few hours of working their way through the colossus the finally came upon a large gated door.
"This is it," Impa said, gesturing to the door. "I tried to open it myself but it would not open.
Link gave the door a quizzical look. He doubted whatever kept the door closed was purely mechanical. Nor did the door feel ominous in the same way Ganondorf's barriers did. It was a shot in the dark but if this place was constructed for the royal family it might respond to the Triforce.
Link extended his left hand and he walked towards the door. The Triforce mark on his wrist faintly glowed and as he approached the door slowly opened.
Impa watched in stunned amazement before she regained her senses. "That solves that, but do you think it's a trap?"
Link shook his head. "This isn't Ganondorf's work."
The two entered the door and climbed the stair case to the area. If the door felt sacred the space before them did not. To anyone attuned it felt like the Shadow temple, except….
"Oh hero chosen by the gods: please forgive us."
Link looked up to see five ghostly figures looking down on him.
"Identify yourselves!" Impa called out.
The figured descended from their icons Link's level. "We are the sages charged by the gods with watching over the mirror of twilight."
"The mirror of twilight?" he asked quizzically
"An ancient artifact used to banish the enemies of the gods." One of them supplied.
"The King of thieves sought to steal it and turn it against he Hylian royal family. Long have we watched his quest for power as he first conquered the desert, then set his sights on Hyrule," another spoke.
"However the evil king fell for our trap, we bound him and carried out his execution, but it was for naught. For some unfathomable reason, he too was given the power of the gods. He over welcomed us and we were forced to use the mirror to throw him into another world."
"You…did what?" Link stuttered.
"Will this other world hold him?" Impa asked.
The sages looked down and one shook his head. "With the power of the gods at his disposal there is no telling how long the seal will hold."
"You…fools." Link cursed. "You've done nothing but given him time… he…"
The memory rose to Link's mind unbidden.
"Foolish boy, did you think you could escape fate by meddling with time!? The power of the Gods cannot be circumvented so easily! There will come a day when you and Zelda will pay for your arrogance!"
Links anger faded. "There is no helping it, what's done is done," he finished.
"Link? are you Ok?" Impa asked; concerned.
"I'm fine, " Link replied before turning back to the sages." If anything changes, contact the royal family, and if they cannot be reached… contact my successor." he flashed the Triforce on his wrist.
The sages nodded their heads. "It will be done oh hero. Until then we will watch over this mirror as we were charged to long ago." They bowed their heads. "May the path of the hero open the way to the Triforce," they prayed before fading away.
Link stood there for a moment as the desert wind hit his face. It was a harsh wind.
"Let's go Impa"
Link?" She asked quizzically.
"We should leave for Hyrule as soon as possible. If we linger to long the aura of this place might corrupt the troops."
Impa nodded, but stopped Link as he walked away. "Wait Link, are you going to be alright?"
Link took a deep breath. "I'll be fine, and I'll make sure Hyrule will be fine too."
….
Authors notes:
Ok the end of the chapter 9 and the end of that arc. If any felt it was anticlimactic I am sorry, but I thought that if Ganondorf were to directly battle, and Ganondorf lost, he would die. So it might not be totally cannon (which is a secondary consideration in a fan fic anyway) in this he was tricked.
There is however a partially finished fight scene between Impa and Ganon that I plan to post on my twitter. It is not an official part of this story, but a discarded scene I realized did not fit into the narrative. Still, I liked it enough to clean up what I had.
The next arc, and possibly the last will involve a good deal of time skipping as Link prepares for when Ganon eventually returns. For those who know the plot of Twilight princess you should know what some of that entails…
Though I've finally started my web novel, which is on my blog if anyone is interested, I still want to complete this. I still haven't decided if I will take things the way I originally intended, but it won't take me long to decide. In the meantime please leave me a review and your thoughts on the direction I should head. I won't promise I will listen but it may give me a better understanding of things to get other perspectives.
Thanks,
-Gedaemon