The Legend of Zelda
The Hero's Legacy
Chapter 1: Nothing
Courage
Labrynna
A small family screamed and tried to get away as a group of moblins surrounded them. They had almost made it to Lynna City when they were ambushed.
"Stay behind me…" The father said to his wife and children, holding a pitchfork, the only weapon he had available. One that he knew was horribly outmatched to the moblins' swords and pitchforks.
The father clinched his eyes shut as a moblin dove toward him, sword slashing downward toward him, but only heard the sound of metal hitting metal and a body hitting the dirt. He opened his eyes to see a swordsman in a green cloak standing between the family and the monsters with his sword drawn and at the ready and the lead moblin on the ground clutching a slash across his chest.
The family watched in awe as the swordsman made short work of the monsters, not even one escaping his slashes and movements. As the last moblin fell the swordsman sheathed his blade and turned toward the family. He pulled back the hood of his cloak revealing shaggy blond hair slightly hiding his pointed ears and a barely kept beard. His piercing blue eyes looked over each to make sure they were ok, lingering on his blond-headed wife a moment. In his mind he saw another from his past but quickly shook his head, leaving it there.
"You're a long way from home, Hylian," The father said, extending a hand, "But I'm happy you are. Thank you for saving us."
The Hylian took the man's hand and nodded, "I'm glad you're all safe." He said, "You have to be careful; these roads are dangerous on days after a Blood Moon."
While after the calamity, the Blood Moon lost the ability to revive Calamity Ganon's forces, it did still could enrage and encourage the survivors out in the lands.
"Headed toward Lynna City?" the swordsman asked, and the family nodded, "load up and I'll escort you."
"Would you like to ride with us in our wagon, stranger?" the father asked as he helped his wife up into the wagon behind the children.
"Thank you, I have my own ride," he said, lifting his wrist to show a small tablet like object attached to a strap on his wrist. He pressed it making a Sheikah symbol appear on it. A moment later, a two wheeled vehicle in the shape of a horse appeared at his side.
He mounted it and nodded to the family and on they went toward city.
Once they arrived and were safe within the walls, the swordsman in his cycle split away from the family and made his way toward the pub to rest.
Once outside the pub, he recalled the cycle to his wrist mounted Sheikah Slate, and entered the establishment.
"Link! Welcome back!" Talon, the red and blue clad, mustachioed bar owner smiled from the bar. "Come, sit!"
"Hi Link," Malon, Talon's pretty, redheaded daughter smiled from the other side of the bar, and began preparing Link a potion mixed drink. "Glad you made it back safe."
"Business getting any better?" Link asked, taking the drink from his friend, and taking a swig.
"Spurts," Talon said, "Mal and I have been talking about moving back and opening up in New Castle Town."
"They finish construction?" Link asked, glancing away.
"Yeah, had to have been insanely difficult, building on the Great Plateau," Malon replied, "But with the Gorons, Sheikah, and Gerudo, they pulled it off."
"The Rito and Zora didn't help?" Link asked, trying to act like he wasn't interested.
"Word is Queen Zelda hasn't been able to fully build a bridge between New Hyrule and those two," Malone informed, "Not for a lack of trying. That husband of hers, the King, apparently, he's suspicious of them and ends up undoing everything she accomplishes. Goddesses knows why. But word is it's caused some tension between the Queen and the King."
Link tensed at the mention of the King and Queen of New Hyrule but said nothing.
"Is anything wrong, Link?" Malon asked in concern.
"No…" Link took another long, hard drink. "Nothing."
-LOZ-
WISDOM
Hyrule
The Great Plateau
The sound of heeled shoes echoed in the hallway of Hyrule Castle. The layout of the new Castle wasn't quite as big as the original, as the new Castle Town was decided to be built upon the ruins of the ancient one on the Great Plateau. There was consideration to simply rebuild the Castle and Castle Town that was laid to ruin during the beginning of the Great Calamity. But it was simply too damaged and was left as a memorial to those who had died at the hands of Calamity Ganon and his malice and forces. Queen Zelda and her husband, King Harkinian as well as the Queen's council decided to move the project and start anew upon the Plateau.
They had finished construction as well as repairs to the Temple of Time in record time and they had moved into the Castle just before the Queen gave birth to her first born, Princess Zelda, or as many called her, Zee. A few years later Prince Rhoam, or Rho for short, joined the Royal Family.
And now the Queen made her way to make sure her two children were at work in their studies, particularly Zee in her studies of the great power.
Her smile fell slightly when she entered the study and only found nine year old Rho at the desks, with his nose in the books. He always was more interested in it than Zee. "Rho, where is your sister?"
"My Who?" Rho avoided eye contact by shoving his face further into his books.
"Rhoam…" Zelda said warningly, "Where is your sister?"
"Uh…" He gulped and continued to avoid eye contact. She finally pushed the book away, and green eyes met green eyes, one pair fearful, the other pair angry. "She just said she had something she had to do, that's all I know, I promise…"
"Thank you, Rhoam," She said, turning so quickly her long blond hair slapped against the boy as she stomped away.
"Uh oh…" Rho gulped.
-LOZ-
On the tower wall a young teenaged girl with braided golden blond hair stood overlooking the guard enlistees training under one of the kingdom's knights. Her green eyes watched the instructions before she moved to the middle of the walkway and followed the moments with her practice sword.
She smiled when she realized it was the closest to perfect technique she's done yet. If she keep it she might just be like him… her hero. The great knight who saved Hyrule and her mother from the Calamity. The unstoppable force and kind warrior she treasured hearing about in her mother's bedtime stories.
"What are you doing out here, Zelda?" Zee froze at the sound of her mother's voice.
"Mother… I…" the 13-year-old shrunk back, before standing as straight as she could. "I was observing the guard training, and practicing my own swordsmanship … to better protect myself and Rho should the need arise…"
"I know you enjoy using the practice blade your father got you," The Queen's voice was tight and hard, not like the voice she remembered the fairy tells of the Hero. "And I know you are interested in the Royal Guard training regime, however, as the Princess, you have a critical unfulfilled responsibility to your Kingdom. Let me ask you one more time," The Queen moved closer to her daughter, "When will you stop treating this like a childish game?"
"I'm doing everything I can…" Zee replied, clinching her free fist, "I've prayed to the Goddess and studied all the sacred texts…"
"And now you are here wasting your time," Queen Zelda frowned, "you need to be dedicating every moment you have to your training. You must be single minded to the power to seal Calamity Ganon away should it return."
"I already am…" Zee tried to keep her voice steady. "My hope … my hope is… is you'll allow me to use my talent to allow me to be prepared to fight physically as well as…"
"NO MORE EXCUSES, ZELDA!" the Queen shouted, causing Zee to snap her mouth shut. "Stop running away from your duty. As the Queen, I forbid you from having anything to do with the sword until you complete your training. So, that should Ganon return…"
"Hypocrite…" Zee mumbled.
"Excuse me?" Zelda narrowed her eyes.
"I said hypocrite. Just because you screwed up and got Grandfather and everyone killed during the Calamity, doesn't mean I will, too!" Zee shot back as her green eyes began to fill with tears, "And if you hadn't had the Shrine of Resurrection you would have got the Hero killed, too. I'll be ready, if and when it comes, and I'll fight like the Hero, not like a cowardly princess hiding in a tower like YOU!" She shot, before running past her.
"ZELDA!" The Queen shouted, "Zee…" she sighed, placing a hand on her forehead.
"That sounded awfully familiar…" Zelda glanced up to see Harkinian standing in the doorway, his blue eyes showing concern mixed in his usual humor.
"I should have never shared that story with you…" Zelda sighed looking down as the guard moved through another set of techniques … techniques He had came up before he left. "Any more than I should have flooded her with His stories when she was young… I created a monster."
"You gave her a hero, and you gave her hope, nothing wrong with that," The King said, leaning against the stone railing. "What hurts is she's stubborn like her mother. Rho at least got my laid-backness."
"'Backness' isn't a word…" Zelda grumbled.
"Vocabulary correction isn't going to help your issues with your daughter, Love."
-LOZ—
Zee ran from the castle towards the Temple of Time, and moved quickly to the stone base of the statue of The Hero and her mother, and the shimmering sword embedded in it. The Master Sword, the Sword that Seals the Darkness sat awaiting the return of her master or the coming of the next. Only the Hero and Zee's mother had ever been able to lift it, let alone draw it from the stone. She sat down and kicked at dirt on the stones at her feet.
"Why can't things be like it used to be?" Zee sighed, she and her mother used to get along perfectly. But tensions began to rise when she started training to use the Great Power. Zee has yet to even see a spark of power. Not like her mother, who seems to have the ability to wield it with ease. On top of that a bit of jealousy began to build in Zee's heart from the many stories her mother would tell of The Hero. The Hero was her mother's chosen knight, her guardian, her savior, her hero, and her best friend. Zee had nothing like that. Her best friend was the wooden sword her father had gifted her on her birthday many years ago. It had been worn down and cracked and repaired, but she never left without it. Some children had safety blankets, Zee had her sword.
Her green eyes turned to the sword beside her, and she looked sadly through her dirty blond bangs, "I wish I could meet your master, just once. Even just to watch him fight. Just once."
Not far away, the King and Queen stood and watched the princess staring longingly at the Master Sword, and Queen Zelda's heart broke at the sight, not just for her daughter's hurt, not just for the breakdown of their relationship, but also missing the master of the shimmering blade before them.
If only he was here, he could find a way to fix this… Zelda sighed, "like he always did…"
"What, love?" Harkinian asked, glancing to his queen.
"Nothing…" Zelda whispered, glancing to him, then back to the Master Sword, "Nothing."
-LOZ-
Power
Gerudo Desert
Karusa Valley
A robed and armored man moved quickly through his katas, his powerful muscles flexed under the robes and pads as he powered through and sliced through his obstacles.
"I see you are more prepared than your predecessors, Master Kohga," a voice spoke from the darkness.
Master Kohga, the latest Yiga to take the name and title turned to see the four figures in the shadows. "I see my Lord has chosen to bless me with his messengers," he said to the four figures, "I am honored."
"What is my Lord's bidding?" he said bowing to the four.
"The time of his true return draws near," one of the four stepped near, but still in the shadows, but close enough to show that she was a Zora, "And the power has began to pass from the Princess of Destiny unto her child. She is weak. And the hero is gone. The time to strike has come."
"Is it my Lord's desire to strike them down?" Kohga asked.
"No," another of the four stepped up, a male Rito, "He desires to take that power for himself, then strike her down with his own hands."
"Then I will take the queen and her offspring and deliver them to my Lord personally," Kohga replied, slapping a fist to his chest in salute, "And nothing will get in the way of His rightful place as Lord of all not only Hyrule, but the world," Kohga grinned behind his mask, "Nothing!"
To Be Continued…