I

The Calling

It was cool and damp inside the dark cave. The sound of a small stream could be heard trickling down the smooth rock face and further into the cave. Over time, that water would most likely create a whole new area in the cave to explore. But for now, it merely flowed on through and then fell out of sight. This far into the cave, no natural light made it in. There was an ever-present darkness, no matter the time of day, that could suffocate anyone who went in there unprepared. Thankfully, the one person who was in there right now, was prepared.

Securing the satchel on his belt, the robed man stood up in the dark cave. Around him, though, it was no longer so dark. Hovering by his shoulder was a small orb of red light. It pulsated softly, radiating its warm glow across the robed man and the surrounding area. Content with his job being completed, the robed man nodded to himself and turned to head out of the cave, the little orb trailing behind him obediently.

With a wave of his hand and a few choice words murmured under his breath, the light from the orb grew, illuminating the path before him even more. The orb, as one would probably assume from a single glance, was made of magic. The robed man was in fact a mage. Veknor was his name. Red hair fell down about his shoulders, resting on the deep-blue robes that were the signature sign of his craft. All of those that were a part of the Az'Rindai Citadel wore those colored robes to distinguish themselves from the others.

The noise from each step Veknor took echoed off the walls of the cave. He had been sent on a simple enough task: gather some of the cave mold that only grew in this mountain range. Since the cave mold, once processed properly, was quite useful at healing magical wounds, the Az'Rindai Citadel always carried it on hand. Usually, a simple gathering errand like this would be given to a trainee, but Veknor still normally requested to gather the cave mold, given that there were no other pressing matters at hand. Not only was he able to get the task done much faster, but he also enjoyed the time to himself. Being one of the head mages at the Citadel, he rarely got such peaceful times to himself.

Letting out a deep sigh, Veknor raised a hand to his face. On his left side, traveling from his brow line to the bottom of his jaw, were three scars. They had threatened to take out his left eye when he received the wound years ago, and had it been any deeper, he would have no longer been able to see from that eye. It had become a habit of his, a little quirk, to feel the three scars when worried or deep in thought. While he had managed to withhold the habit in front of groups of people, the fiery-haired mage still did it when alone or with only a few other people. This wound would be with him always, for no amount of magic or healing herbs would be able to remove it.

A sudden cry of surprise and pain escaped Veknor as he fell to one knee. A weight like nothing he had ever felt before pressed in on his mind. Such power... It threatened to split open his very head. Though Veknor tried to pull away from it, the power had gotten a hold on him. Now he could tell the power that invaded his mind was only a faction's of its full potential. As he attempted to hold his sanity together, Veknor tried to think of what being could hold such power.

Someone...help! echoed a voice within his mind. The pain receded for a moment, as though the presence was moving on. Please...stop this! Veknor barely caught the rest of the plea before the weight vanished as quickly as it arose.

Finding his footing, the mage stood back up, a hand still on his head. The voice...calling out for help... Slowly, Veknor continued towards the exit. There was time enough to solve the mystery behind the voice.

"Time..." he murmured to no one. His hand slipped down his face, feeling over the claw-like wound as he always did while thinking. That voice, a woman's from what he could tell, had not just echoed within his mind...but across the very fabric of time itself. The orb of light fluctuated as he tried to put together the pieces of the puzzle. "Help...time..." he continued to murmur, cupping his chin in his hand. Veknor then froze in his step as his eyes went wide. There was only being able to send out a plea like that.

Jera, the Goddess of Time.

Something had to be greatly amiss for the Goddess of Time herself to be calling out for help. Panic gripped the mage for a moment before he calmed down. Along with the plea, he had felt an anomaly somewhere in the far east, beyond the borders of Hyrule. For a moment, he wondered how many other people had heard the plea. Not many, he surmised. Quickly, he dashed to the end of the cave, warm sunlight forcing him to quickly adjust his vision. The orb behind him faded in the light until it was no more.

A deep sigh escaped him as he closed his eyes. As a breeze blew by, Veknor flexed his hands, power surging through him. Beneath his deep-blue robes, his form began to change. Bones cracked slightly at the transformation. His fingers extended and became curved, black talons growing from where his nail beds were. Legs grew longer and the rest of his body began to double in size, continuing to expand further. Features morphed and stretched until his face no longer resembled that of a Hylian. A large maw with razor-sharp white teeth snapped at the air, as if testing it out. His elongated ears, that which distinguished someone as a Hylian, shifted further back and grew into horns. Behind him, two protrusions erupted from his back, breaking through the remnants of the robe. They expanded until the leathery membranes were large enough to lift the massive form they were attached to. A long tail whipped through the air.

Any resemblance to the fiery-haired mage was long gone. In his place sat a massive ruby-red dragon, his scales glistening in the warm sunlight. He was Veknor no more. Valkoraz was his true name. The only similarity between the two different forms were the three scars that had torn through his bright scales on the left side of his face. There were very few who knew his true form, for it was his guarded secret. Leaping into the air with a powerful jump, Valkoraz quickly beat down with his massive wings to pull himself up into the sky.

There were once many dragons in the world, but no more. Thousands of years ago, his proud race had been nearly wiped out. Very few of the great leviathans remained in the world, and the majority of those were now crazed, reduced to nothing more than mindless beasts. It pained the red dragon whenever he remembered this. His kin...those who had shared the skies with him...gone. Now, he aided the mortal races of Hyrule as much as he could, not wanting to see a similar catastrophe befall them.

Once content with his altitude, Valkoraz set off to the west, following the mountain range. While the anomaly he had sensed had indeed been to the east, there was still something he had to do in the west before heading there. Faster than any other living creature, he soared through the skies in the direction of the Az'Rindai Citadel.

:::

Piles and piles of books, notes, and various tomes were stacked around the young woman. Hand resting on her forehead, she read over the scribbled notes, committing the information to memory. Practicing and reading, that is what her training consisted of, mostly, as did the training of the other students at the Az'Rindai Citadel. Closing her eyes, San recited the chant she had just memorized, being careful not to actually cast the spell. Content with that for now, she closed the book and stood up from the chair. She did not worry about all of the books she left at the table; she had been at the Citadel for a good twelve years now, and people had grown accustomed to the areas she had, unintentionally, claimed as her own.

Straightening the collar of her light-blue jacket, the mark of a mage-in-training, she headed off through the great library. Though San had been there for twelve years, she had not been training for all of them. She had first been brought to the Citadel when she was merely eight years old. At that age, none of the other masters had allowed her to train yet. For four years then, she read all the books she could get her hand on, and silently watched other lessons, though, not once did she practice, and thus, kept herself from getting into trouble. When she turned twelve, she was finally allowed to take official lessons.

Various mages and members of the staff nodded to her as she headed through the magical halls. Nearly every inch of the citadel had some hints of magic in it. The halls showed their enchantment by simulating various weather and locations across the stone. Today, the halls showed a light rain shower over a mist-covered mountain range. It was a simple, yet a calming and lovely display of magic. A wry smile crossed her face as she remembered the lesson where the class she was in had to change the display across the magical halls. Eight years of training... While still the youngest mage training in the history of the Citadel, she would have been done by now if not for the events two years ago.

Two years ago...that was when the war happened.

It had changed the lives of everyone who lived in Hyrule. Though reports say the events leading to the war had started three years ago, it had only effected her two years ago. Far in the west, an enemy had risen from the shadows. According to some, the shadow had always been there, waiting for the right moment to rise again. Whatever it may have been, it was two years ago when the forces had broken across the border in the west and began to sweep across the kingdom of Hyrule.

The Demon Horde.

Plague Bringers, the Damned, Death Reapers... Many names had been given to those of the Demon Horde that threatened to destroy all of Hyrule. Worse than a plague, the monsters had devoured everything in their path. Those that had fallen in the blight of the demons had risen up again as their minions, forcing to fight the people that were once their friends. Pausing for a moment in her step, San shuddered and placed a hand on the cool wall to steady herself. The magical image of the misty mountains fluctuated for a moment under her touch. The sights, sounds, and smells from that war would forever be burned into her memories. She still had nightmares from it. Such things were not meant to be in their world.

Basically every defence they had put up against the Demon Horde had been decimated, warriors and mages alike. In fact, the mages had been hit worse, due to the monsters that thrived off of devouring the magical abilities. With so many killed in the front, the Citadel had been forced to even send those in training to the battle. In that time, she learned more about magic than any number of years reading and practicing would have provided. San had been one of those who was lucky enough to still be alive. She wished she could say the same for everyone else.

After a year of battles, the Demon Horde had finally been defeated. No one really knew how, though. Rumors were that it was the power of the Triforce that had been used to finally turn back the massing enemy in their hour of need. San only wished that whatever had saved them had been used earlier so that this feeling of loss had not been felt across all of Hyrule.

A year had gone by now since the victory against the Demon Horde. A full year...and Hyrule still had a long ways to go before it would be fully recovered.

"Are you busy?" asked a sudden voice from behind.

San nearly jumped in surprise. So lost in thought, she had not noticed the presence near her. Sapphire hair whipping around, she turned to face who belonged to the voice. Her azure eyes locked with cold gray ones.

"M-master Veknor!" she blurted out in surprise, fumbling for a moment as she gathered her composure.

The sombre mage rose an eyebrow slightly at her reaction. Twelve years...that was also how long the master and protégé had known each other. It had been Veknor who first found San and brought her to the Citadel for proper training. Though he had tried to get her to start her lessons back when she was eight, the other masters would not be swayed on the matter. Still, had it not been for Veknor, San would not be there now.

"No, not at the moment, Master." San quickly regained herself, holding her hands behind her back. Her brow furrowed for a moment as she saw Veknor run a hand down his wound. She knew what that habit meant. Since the end of the war, that little quirk of his had only risen up at the rarest of times. So, with seeing it now, San grew concerned as to what was on his mind.

"Good." Veknor nodded briskly. "Then you are to come with me." Without giving the young mage a chance to protest or to even question what was going on, the dragon-mage reached out and grabbed San's shoulder. As soon as he closed his eyes, San felt the lurching sensation of a teleportation spell. She grew even more worried for he had performed the magic without saying the incantation. Something had to indeed be wrong for him to preform a spell like that.

When her surroundings finally stopped swimming, she tried to place where they now were. A clearing in a forest, but beyond that, she could not say. San knew they could not be far from the Citadel, at least. Though Veknor was a powerful mage indeed, one could still only travel so far without giving the incantation to that spell.

"Master Veknor, where are we―"

"I shall explain along the way," interrupted the mage. With a swish of the travelling cloak he had donned, Veknor moved towards the center of the clearing. San began to follow, but quickly stopped and backed up when she saw what he intended to do. She watched in awe as his form grew and morphed. After a moment, Valkoraz towered above her. Gold reptilian eyes peered down at her as he lowered himself. His deep voice rumbled up from within his chest as he ordered, "Get on."

Nodding, San quickly dashed over and scrambled up to sit on the back of the great dragon. Though she had not seen his true form many times, San was one of the few people in Hyrule to know of it. She had known since she first met him, actually, before he even revealed to her what he truly was. Once she was settled on the great scales, she held on tight as Valkoraz once more leapt into the air and soared off to the east. With them heading in that direction, San could only hope whatever it was did not deal with the Demon Horde, for they had been far to the west.

Master, where is it we are going? she questioned, reaching her mind out to touch his. The young mage never liked this way of communication, finding it tore through one's personal boundaries. But, any other way of speaking would have resulted in her voice being torn away by the winds before Valkoraz could hear it.

To investigate an anomaly in the east, he answered back with his mind. Perhaps it was the near-ageless wisdom he seemed to hold, but there was something about Valkoraz's presence that always calmed San. You can sense it, can't you. Something is amiss. Emotions of concern spread from the great dragon to the young mage.

San slowly nodded before giving an answer of confirmation to her master. For a while now, she had felt a suffocating-like presence in the back of her mind. It was a partial reason as to why she had stopped studying earlier than normal that day. At first, she tried to pass it off as stress, but it had only grown worse. Would it not have been faster to teleport directly there or at least closer to it? she wondered to him.

The great dragon shook his head. I did not want to perform any spells near it without being certain first that it would be safe. As such, we are flying. Rest easy while you can, little one. There is no telling what may be in store for us.

While his words were aimed at making San calm, they had done just the opposite.

:::

The cup was placed on the counter harder than the young man had intended. A few eyes darted over to him before the people passed it off as nothing. Sighing, the young man ran a gauntlet-covered hand down his face.

"Need another?" asked the local innkeeper, Zeek, to the young man. The one who had been drinking waved the innkeeper off, passing up the offer. "Any luck yet on finding the one that wanted to hire you, Link?"

The young man named Link slouched some more and shook his head. "Not yet." Another sigh escaped him as he rested his head on the back of his hand. "I'm about ready to pass up on this offer and search for another job."

"Wait a bit longer. Not every day you get a personal request to be hired for a job," shrugged Zeek before heading off to attend to some of the other customers.

Link, though a young man, was a mercenary. The recent war had produced many in this line of work, but few were still around. The young man did not see himself getting out of being a mercenary any time soon. For one, the pay was decent, and second, he liked to be able to be on the move a lot and that he was not required to become friendly with his clients. Years ago, he would never have pictured himself like this, but all that had to change.

His home had been one of the first to be hit by the Demon Horde, three years ago, before the people of Hyrule even knew of them. Though, at first glance, he appeared Hylian, what with the pointed ears, and having been born in Hyrule, Link had not grown up in the kingdom. Far to the west, beyond the borders of Hyrule, in a town known as Dalin, had been where he was raised. But then, when he was eighteen, he had barely managed to escape the Demon Horde.

Memories of it played again and again in his head as though it had occurred only yesterday. Screams pierced the air. Scenes that left him scarred played before his eyes to those that were tortured and tormented by the Demon Horde. The very ground beneath his feet as he had run was dyed from the taint of the Demon Horde. He had not wanted to flee then, but, as the dying wish from his parents, he had fled. Death then, it seemed, would have been a welcoming release from the torment. But, when he saw his parents rise again as the minions for the Demon Horde, he realized not even death would stop this.

Still not entirely sure how, he had escaped the initial attack from the Demon Horde. Very few others had survived that initial attack, as well. The survivors had theories that it was a group of sorcerers that had brought the Demon Horde to this world. Theories as to why, though, had not been created, nor did Link care. Since then, he had had a biased against sorcerers and anyone else that could use magic. Saving all that power only for themselves... Nothing good came from it.

During the war, when it had finally reached Hyrule, he had become a mercenary, helping to destroy the Demon Horde for a price. And now, with the war over, he did various jobs, given that the pay was good enough.

"So what is this person meant to look like?" asked Zeek, coming back over to Link for a moment. Though the mercenary liked to be on the move most of the time, this town, Ackrynn, had essentially become a home for him of sorts, a base from which he would search for jobs. As such, Zeek had become a friend of sorts to Link.

"All he mentioned in the letter was that he would be wearing a dark cloak and hood."

Zeek gave a light snort. "Guess he didn't think through and realize that that describes at least a quarter of the people we get in here." Link barked out a dry laugh and nodded. "Though...have you tried that man, yet?" The innkeeper tossed his head towards a place behind Link.

Looking over his shoulder, Link spotted the one Zeek must have been motioning to. Shrouded in a dark cloak and hood, the man stood out more in this place than the mercenary would have first suspected. Shrugging, Link rose and headed over to the table where the man waited, a large and old-looking book open before him.

"Were you the one looking to hire a mercenary?" questioned Link once he neared the table.

"That depends," remarked the cloaked man. Link had to withhold a groan. Already, he was getting a bad first impression of the man just from the tone of his voice. "Who are you?"

"Name's Link," sighed the mercenary. It was only then did the cloaked man look up form his tome. Cold-violet eyes studied Link for a moment before they fell back onto the old pages. That made Link like the man even less.

"Yes, you'll do." Lazily, the man raised a hand and motioned for Link to sit down. Doing his very best to keep himself from muttering something under his breath, Link clenched his jaw and sat down. Silence hung between them as the man continued to read from the tome, as though Link was not even there. He was was about to make a comment on this when the man then said, "What I ask is a simple enough task. I'll need you to come with me on an...errand I must do." Link rolled his eyes slightly for the man still did not look up at him. Babysitting jobs were his least favourite of all.

"And what is the errand?"

"That is not something I'm paying for you to know." Link wanted to stand up and punch the conceited man across his face. "I'll merely need you if my abilities prove ineffective."

Unamused, Link rose an eyebrow. "And what abilities are those?"

"Surely you're smart enough to know that magic cannot work everywhere in this world. Countermeasures can be made."

Link wanted to get up and leave right then, but he stayed for it had been a slow month for jobs and pay. Great, he thought bitterly, a sorcerer.

"So I'll basically be a back-up plan," sighed Link, rolling his shoulder.

"Now you're getting it," grinned the sorcerer. "But don't worry, I'm willing to pay more than it's actually worth."

"Fine, whatever." Link waved his hands to dismiss that matter. "When do we leave, sorcerer?"

The sorcerer's expression fell. "If you are to address me by art, at least call me a mage, mercenary," he retorted back sourly.

"Is there really a difference?" Link would not allow the magic-wielder to have the satisfaction in this. This sorcerer was certainly not helping how Link felt about them.

Letting the question slide, the sorcerer answered, "We may leave when you are ready."

After quickly checking to make sure Link had all his gear with him, he then rose. "Then let's go."

Since he had not bought anything at the inn, the sorcerer proceeded outside while Link went to tell Zeek what was going on before he headed out into the sun.

"So where are we headed, sorcerer?" He made a mental note to call the cloaked man that as much as possible without seeming to over do it. He felt a little glee when he saw the annoyed expression flash across the man's face.

"Far, far to the east," sighed the sorcerer. Reaching out, he placed a hand on Link's shoulder. The mercenary protested, but was unable to shake off his grip. Closing his eyes, the sorcerer chanted some sort of spell under his breath. Link was silently cursing to himself. He liked being in a spell even less than he liked magic-wielders. When the sorcerer finished, Link felt a lurching sensation and everything around him began to spin. Quickly, he closed his eyes before he lost his meal.

As soon as it began, it ended. Though the ground still felt like it was shaking to Link, he wondered for a moment if it was just his legs, the young mercenary opened a single eye slowly. Once he gathered that his surroundings were no longer spinning, he warily opened both of them all the way. Gone was the town of Ackrynn, and instead they were now in some sort of mountain range. Craning his head back, Link took a good look at them. They were not the mountains that the secluded Gorons called home, nor were they the mountains that the Az'Rindai Citadel rested near.

"Where...where the heck are we?" Link blurted out.

A cold laugh escaped the sorcerer. "I told you: far, far to the east, past the borders of Hyrule." Link shuddered a moment, not liking the thought he had travelled so far due to magic. "Come, not far to go from here." His cloak swishing against the ground, the sorcerer headed for a cave near them in the face of the mountain.

Link studied it for a moment. It looked more like a newly-formed fissure than an old cave. Reaching back to draw his sword, the mercenary followed warily in after. "You had better be able to get us back, sorcerer."

As if bristling from his words, the cloaked man stopped and turned around. "That will be the easy part of this task. And you will address me by my name now, not my art."

Slightly amused that the sorcerer had already cracked this soon, Link retorted: "And what is that, then? You sorcerers all look alike to me."

A smug look crossed the man's face before he headed into the cave and answered, "I am Vaati."