I've hit a slight snag on chapter 10. I'm sure I'll be able to finish it soon, hm..
Upon hearing that Castle Town had been damaged in an attack by a monster Loculi went with the guards to go help. He assisted with carrying people and animals from burning buildings before eventually helping to put out the fire with bouts of water buckets from the sky until someone finally brought a hose over. Once all the fire was put out the departed were tended to and they were taken away to be identified and buried along with informing any living relatives to the events and news of said relative.
Loculi was standing on the ground talking to two guards when noise behind him caused him to turn. He spotted a Goron and a Gerudo girl walking towards him with frowns on their faces. "What happened here?" The Goron asked, concern on his face as the pair walked over to the group.
"An attack by some monster. It caused a lot of damaged, killed a few people. Are you two travelers?" Loculi asked, eyeing each one cautiously.
The young girl nodded and smiled. "Yeah, we're here ta' meet with the Hyrulian King once he returns, something abou-"
Loculi's eyes widened. The one from the desert and the one who knows the mountain! "You're the other two!" He gasped before flapping his arms as he walked over to them quickly.
"Yeah but we have a little.. problem." The Goron said nervously as he scratched his belly, grunting softly.
"A shadowy figure attacked me an' stole my stone. They know about them an' must be hunting them but for what purpose I don't know." The young Gerudo folded her arms with a huff as she was pouting.
"That's not good. We should head to the castle and let Ero know; he's the fourth of us, the Zora. He's really sweet, one of my best friends." Loculi gestured with a turn of his head towards the castle, peering over at the guards. "Hey, we're heading to the castle, will you guys be fine here on your own?" They gave him sharp nods before he turned back to the pair. "Come on. We can tell the princess we found the other two."
So Loculi led them to the castle. However inside the castle was a fuss. People were talking in hushed tones and Loculi caught wind of one such whispering; The princess is missing! Kidnapped, they say!
Loculi's eyes narrowed as he saw Ero coming down a hall and entering as he flagged them over. He turned to the pair and gestured towards the Zora. "We need to talk to him. Something is happening and I'm sure my friend knows more. Come, he's friendly, don't worry." He smiled gently before leading them over to the Zora. The black shark turned and they followed him down the hall to a private room which Loculi knew was Ero's room.
Once they were inside Ero's room the Zora carefully sat down onto his acquired bed, folding his legs as he gestured for them all to sit; the Goron took the floor, Loculi sat beside him and the Gerudo sat on a chair that she pulled over towards the Goron.
"So who are these two? I'd rather get introductions out of the way before we get into the nitty-gritty." Ero said, skeptically looking around the room.
"I'm Dokadama, I prefer Dama and this is Elian, we're travelers and, like you two from what I've seen and been told, we're the other champions." The Goron said, running a hand through his snowy hair as he smiled. "Though I'm nervous about being selected to be a champion to my people, I'm just a humble researcher. We were told by the Zora Prince to come here and that he would inform Hyrule's King about us."
"And I am Loculi, this is Ero." He gestured towards the Zora at his side with a gentle smile. "I'm the Rito Chieftain and he's the personal guard to the Zora King. Though as you know we've all been selected to be champions."
"Yes, yes. It's nice to meet you both; apologies if I seem curt. Loculi, I require your help." Ero said, turning to the Rito at his side with a stern expression. "We need to help the knight that warned us of the attack and about the kidnapping of the princess. The Gerudo King was there and had him thrown in the dungeon as a potential suspect to the attack but I spoke with him and he was honest, I could feel it. Ganondorf took his sword and has the key to his cell. I want to free him. I feel that our destinies are intertwined-"
"Ya need something snatched? What better person than a Gerudo! I gotcha!" Elian piped up and grinned at the group with a mischievous glint in her golden eyes. She got to her feet and held up her fists.
"Elian, you need to rest, you need to properly recover from your prior fight-" The Goron said at her side, looking up at her with concern.
She huffed as she turned to glare at him. "Nonsense! We have a.. what's his name?" She asked, turning her head towards the Zora.
"Gael. The knight's name is Gael." Ero supplied with a chuckle as he watched this amusing banter.
"Right! We have this Gael that needs rescuing! So I'll retrieve his sword an' the key ta' his cell." Elian said with a firmness to her tone, meaning what she said. She was eager to be of use after having been beaten and losing her stone. She was angry and wanted a reason to do something productive.
"Fine. I shall entrust you with the task of retrieving both items. The dungeon is to the east side of the castle. Make sure to free him once you've retrieved the key and deliver him his blade. Help him get out."
Elian nodded before smiling. "I like you guys. I'll atone for losin' my stone, don't worry, I'll find out who stole it an' get it back."
Loculi and Ero exchanged smiles at her enthusiasm. He then looked at the Goron. "King Aba Vin will be returning soon according to you guys and what you mentioned about Prince Meki. We will inform him in regards to what happened once he returns."
What none of them knew was this was just the start of it all. As the four went their separate ways for the moment things were beginning to come to play that had been kept in the shadows for so long. Elian the Gerudo went to steal back the knight's sword and get the key to his cell to free him. Loculi and Ero went to help with the town until the return of the king.. but Dokadama?
Dokadama went for a walk to explore the castle garden he had seen from a distance. The others had gone on their little quests but he wanted to relax and take in the castle. He had a sinking feeling things would change for the worse soon and he wanted to take a moment to appreciate the beauty around him. He roamed through the flowers, the bushes, the trees.
As he was studying a Blue Nightshade he had a feeling he was being watched. He turned his head, noticing a shadowed figure standing several feet away. He recognized them instantly from when they had attacked Elian. "You!" He turned instantly, drawing out his drillshaft and holding it up like a staff.
The figure chuckled a deep laugh and flexed their hands before pulling out the broadsword they had wielded last time, cleaned and polished. "Hello, little Goron. I don't have the time to play with you sadly so I'll make this brief." They lifted the sword as Dama tensed, ready for an intense fight. However when he felt pain unlike any he had ever felt blossom on his back he grunted, falling to his knees.
They lowered their broadsword and laughed as they walked over. "How pitiful." They clicked their tongue as they reached towards Dama's neck, revealing the necklace as they yanked off the sphere and held it up. "Just what I wanted. Thank you so kindly." They turned and walked off as Dama collapsed onto the ground, unconsciousness hitting him full force. He woke up a few hours later to see Elian shaking him awake with a worried tone.
"Ugh.. Elian.. I messed up." He groaned as he got up, rubbing his head while his other hand scratched at his back. He had been struck with an intense pain from his back though he didn't know how. Currently he just felt sore.
"What happened?" She asked, worried as she examined him. He had a nasty burn on his back but from the indications along the edges it wasn't from fire; it was from lightning. "Friend you were hit with some nasty lightnin', how are ya feeling?"
"Sore. I'm not all that knowledgeable about combat I'm afraid." He grunted as he rubbed his head. "That figure that attacked you returned and stole my stone as well. Our new friends need to be careful, they'll be next."
She cursed softly. "That's bad! But in other news I got the key an' sword from the Gerudo King while you were unconscious. I freed the little knight an' sent him off ta' do what he needs ta' do without gettin' caught. Proud of me? I am!" She flashed him a grin and he rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's get ya back inside. We'll catch ya up on what ya missed." She walked with him back inside to meet with the others.
Elian, however.. well. She had accomplished what she had been supposed to. She said that she would free the knight and she did. Splendidly. She had a crafty little ability of sticky fingers well beyond the expectations of her people and had 'bumped into' Ganondorf during one of her walks, retrieving the key with the practiced ease of a professional thief. And so with the key in tow she went snooping for his room. She found it locked and, of course, got into that just as easily. No locked door with a simple key was safe from her! She found the sword laid on his bed and so she went to the eastern dungeons and opened the cell. He was grateful, obviously, and she flashed him her winning smile with a no need to thank me eloquently quipped before he was off to do whatever he had come here to do.
Man he was cute. Shame she had other stuff to do, perhaps she'd meet him again in the future.. This led her to returning to search for Dama and finding him passed out in the gardens from an attack.
They conveyed this to the Rito, the Zora and the Hylian King, who had returned from Death Mountain after having been contacted by the Zora Prince that the Gerudo and Goron champions had been located and sent to the castle.
"This is troubling. My daughter is missing and King Ganondorf had this.. knight you say is named Gael locked in the dungeons and that you freed him." The Hyrulian King summarized as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Loculi nodded. "Yeah, Ero says he was genuine about his intentions."
"Was there anything.. unusual about this knight?" The King asked, trying to understand something.
"I mean he had the Hylian crest on his shoulders an' the sword he carried was the most unusual sword I've ever seen, not Hylian designed or from any notable weaponsmith that I can recall. It seems old, ancient even.. like otherworldly." Elian murmured as she crossed her legs beneath her as she sat on the floor. They were currently in the King's Study, gathered around his desk.
Loculi was leaning against the wall, Ero was standing beside him awkwardly while Dama was resting on the floor with his back against the wall just opposite of the Rito. Elian herself was standing across from the king.
"Describe this sword to me." The king asked, his blue eyes narrowing. So Elian did. She had pulled the sword out and looked at it and so she knew what it looked like. The king looked progressively more hopeful as she described it before he smiled widely. He turned and reached for his bookshelf to pull down a tome, opening it to find a page. He gestured to the sword depicted on the page. "The sword you described fits the description of the ancient heroic blade called the Light's Reach, once wielded by one of our ancestors against an evil that arose during their era. It returning means that the knight is Hyrule's Hero, one destined to return to fight the evil that would rise when the stones appeared."
"So wait. That knight is supposed to be a hero of legend?" Elian cupped her chin as she had a deep look of concentration as she was processing this information.
The king nodded to her, adjusting his graying blonde hair. "Indeed. He just needs to enter the Light Realm to train.. and when he returns he will save us all from whatever will happen." He sighed, crossing his arms. "I do not know how long that will take. We will need to do our best to defeat whatever is thrown at us. And to protect the last two stones." He knew about the attack on Elian and then Dama and knew that two stones had been stolen. That left the Rito and Zora stones to guard.
"S-SIR!" A pounding fist and a shriek of a voice on the other side of the door alarmed the room to the terror in the guard's voice. "Something is attacking the castle!"
They all rushed out into the hallway to hear shrieks down the hall towards the throne room's direction. They entered the throne room, all in tow, to see the same creature that had attacked Castle Town and Amorath (and unknowingly Kakariko Village) slashing at several nobles who were trying to flee.
The creature turned and shrieked at them. "Hey you! Pick on someone your own size!" Elian jabbed her finger at the creature with a growl.
It gave an unearthly rumble of a chuckle as it turned its head to peer down at her from where it stood. "YOU ARE NOT.. MY SIZE.. LITTLE GERUDO CHILD." It said with a wheezy deep voice as it held up its ghostly sword and pointed it at the group. "A MEASLY CHILD.. THE USELESS ROCK.. A PATHETIC BIRD.. AND A DEFENSIVE FISH.. WITH A WEAK MINDED KING.. YOU ARE NO MATCH.. FOR ME."
The Rito growled as he drew out his bow and notched an arrow, aiming it carefully at the shadowy figure. "This Rito isn't pathetic. I'll show you the skills I've honed since being a hatchling."
The Zora at his side drew out his trident and carefully held it up. "Stand back, Loc and I shall deal with this phantom menace."
The Goron and King stood back as Elian gauged the room. Something about this creature unnerved her. Like a cold chill forever stuck to her back like a spot she could never scratch. "Be careful guys. This thing seems very dangerous." She growled out. The Rito and the Zora both nodded, neither looking back as they prepared for the fight that was ahead of them.
The phantom turned to fully face the group, its golden burning eyes narrowing as it flexed its arms, glaring down at the Rito and Zora. It seemed entertained by its challengers. Ero dashed across the room, swiping his trident down in an arc as the blade of his opponent lifted to parry the blow, knocking it away in an elegant swing. It twisted its blade, angling it behind the trident in a fluid strike before yanking forward, pulling the Zora to him.
Loculi took that moment to fire an arrow, hoping to cause it to shift its focus to him so Ero could slip free. However the creature caught the arrow with its hand and with sharp accuracy jammed it down into the shoulder of the Zora, causing him to yell out in shock and pain.
He then swept the Zora's legs out from under him, pinning him under his shadowy boot. He shifted the blade, flicking the trident from the startled Zora to hear it clatter away. He aimed his sword down at the throat of the Zora.
"YOU ARE.. VASTLY OUTCLASSED.." It said with a taunting laugh as it pressed the blade, forcing the Zora to tip his head up to prevent himself from having his throat cut. The creature lowered his arm and yanked off the stone that the Zora had been given before he held out his hand to the Rito. "GIVE ME.. THE ONE YOU POSSESS.. OR I WILL.. FLAY THE SCALES OF.. THIS FISH YOU CALL FRIEND.."
Loculi was snarling as he had his bow aimed, another arrow notched, his hands quivering.
"L-Loc.." Ero said in a warning tone, not wanting to be the reason they lost the last two stones.
"I.. I can't allow you to be killed, Ero, I'm sorry.." Loc said with a grunt before lowering his bow. He swung it over his shoulder and put away his arrow before reaching for his necklace, breaking off the triangle before tossing it over. "Now free him."
"WITH.. PLEASURE." The shadowy figure caught the triangle, now having both pieces before it pulled away the sword and melted into the shadows, leaving the group alone.
"We've lost all four!" Elian was seething from where she stood, hands clenched into tight fists that her knuckles were whitening and she had drawn blood from crescent cuts against her palms.
"There is hope." The King of Hyrule said softly though his expression was deeply troubled. "The hero is out there, alive, thanks to your efforts."
A deep chuckle echoed from behind. "A hope I will destroy once I find your little hero." They all turned to see none other than the Gerudo King standing there with a smile on his face. His hands were clenched however he was relaxed. "I will show you the very thing I have endured all my life; the bare minimum of hope, forever grasping at it while it remains just outside of your reach." He lifted his hands, opening them as several of those phantom creatures appeared, five in total. The shadows melted away, revealing them to be phantom versions of Ganondorf.
They all gasped or growled as they drew their weapons, turning to aim them at the Gerudo King.
"It is time to end this farce, to draw the curtains to the prosperity of Hyrule which has thrived off the efforts of the less fortunate. This cursed land will be mine to rule."
"You heartless fiend!" Aba Vin said, gritting his teeth as he was realizing just what was happening. Ganondorf had attacked his home and kidnapped his daughter while also stealing the stones in the process. All of this had been orchestrated by the man across from them.
"Come now, Aba Vin." Ganondorf clicked his tongue, tilting his head a bit to the side as he smirked at those he viewed beneath him. "As my new friend and ally you should be happy! I will right the wrongs of this world and restore those who have been neglected while punishing those who profited from that misery. You should be happy. We're correcting the mistakes of those such as your Hylian ancestors."
"But at what price, Ganondorf?! We could do this the RIGHT way!" Aba Vin tried to reason but Ganondorf didn't seem to care.
"The first mistake I'll correct, however.. is taking your life, just as you took the lives of numerous Gerudo warriors during your youth." Ganondorf summoned a wicked sword from the shadows above him with his lifted hand, catching it as he swung it.
He vanished, appearing behind the King of Hyrule, who grunted as the sword was thrust into his back and out his chest. He clutched feebly at the bloody blade jutting from his chest before Ganondorf planted his boot on the man's back, pushing him off his blade where he collapsed into a pool of blood on the floor.
He then gestured towards the others and ordered his phantoms to do his bidding; "Restrain these supposed champions. I have plans for them."
"N-no!" Elian hissed as all four of them were grabbed by the phantoms. She struggled the hardest, writhing in its repulsive dark grasp with a scream.
Just then the Gerudo right hand to him came in and she smiled as she walked across the room to stand beside her king. "Ah, Zai, perfect timing. Do you have the last piece?"
"Yes, my king." She held out the fourth stone, the one she had taken from the Goron as they recognized his sphere.
He accepted the stone before holding up all four pieces to inspect them. "Now.. to find the Sage of Time.. but I have a suspicion we already have them in our hold. Zai, bring her to the Temple of Time. We shall get started."
"My king." She bowed her head before running out of the room to fetch their guest.
He turned to face his restrained captives and the phantoms holding them. "Take them to the Temple of Time as well. Do not let them free, my minions. They shall watch as I unlock the door."
"Ganondorf ya monster!" Elian growled, anger burning in her golden eyes. He spared her a glance and smiled softly as he studied her expression. "Ya killed his majesty! That is the highest treason! You've doomed our people to a life of exile by doin' that!"
"Oh, no, sister. I haven't. In fact. What I'm about to do will ensure us prosperity and an elevated life than what we have had to scavenge to have for so long." He walked over and cupped her chin, lifting it to peer into her eyes. "You will all witness the power I will hold."
He let go and turned, nodding his head to his puppets. The phantoms pulled their captives to their feet and dragged them out of the castle and towards the Temple of Time with Ganondorf trailing behind them. Elian put up the hardest struggle all in vain.
