Link squeezed the hilt of the Master Sword tightly until he could no longer feel his hand. He watched impatiently as the soldiers finished gathering in marching formation. Finally, Commander Soren approached Link, stopping in attention stance and saluting.

"My men are ready at your command, Master Link!"

Link still felt uneasy being a leader. He was surprised that these soldiers were actually looking to him for orders, given that he still had no official title to speak of. Of course, it was well-known throughout Hyrule by now that he was very important to the Queen, so Zelda's subjects naturally saw him as the closest stand-in for their beloved Queen.

"We leave immediately and without delay!" shouted Link to the assembled soldiers. "I intend to move at a very rapid pace. I apologize in advance for putting you all through such a grueling march, but with the Queen in enemy hands, we have no time to waste. Your job has always been to keep the peace, but this is war. You will be facing hordes of moblins who have terrorized innocent people for decades. I expect you to exterminate any moblins we come across with the most extreme ferocity you can muster. These beasts know no fear, but we will make them fear us. Now let's move!"

Link marched quickly. The soldiers behind him struggled to keep up with his pace. He gripped the hilt of the Master Sword as he walked. He fantasized about plunging the blade into this Lord Ghirahim character. If his intent had been to make Link angry, he had succeeded. Link intended to unleash his wrath in such a magnitude that nobody would ever again even think about harming Zelda.

When they finally arrived at the cave that was linked to Mormaht Castle, he carefully inspected the air in the cave until he found the faint glow of the ring he was looking for. He held up his hand and thrust it out towards the ring. The Triforce of Courage on his hand glowed brightly. The ring of light flashed briefly in resonance with the Triforce. A large mirror appeared within the ring. Without waiting to explain the concept to his men, he motioned for them to follow as he stepped through the mirror and emerged in Mormaht Castle. The soldiers soon got the idea and went through the mirror as well.

Link marched his army through the desolate lower floors of the castle until he found a staircase leading up to the inhabited floors. They were immediately spotted by several castle guards upon emerging into a large corridor. The first guard who spotted them shouted in alarm to the others. They quickly blockaded the corridor with weapons drawn and ready to defend. Link's men formed up behind him. Their weapons were also at the ready. Link stepped foward, his Master Sword still sheathed.

"Clearly, my men greatly outnumber you. It would be a futile waste of life for you to resist. I already eliminated your Count myself. We have no wish to conquer your city. We are just passing through. Let us speak with the person in charge and we can explain the situation to him."

The commanding officer whispered orders to one of the guards, who then turned around and walked away. The officer then addressed Link.

"I have sent a messenger to notify our new Count of your presence. What happens next will be his decision."

"We will wait" said Link, but then thoughts of Zelda's captivity seeped into his mind. "But not too long" he added.

"That sounds agreeable enough to me" said the officer. "What business do you have that requires you to be in our castle?"

"I'm hunting Lord Ghirahim" replied Link. "My men are with me to kill moblins."

The ranking officer burst out laughing. "Well there's one reason I hope the Count can resolve this standoff peacefully. You clearly have a death wish. I generally prefer not to fight men who have a death wish if it can be avoided. In all seriousness though, you don't know what you are getting into. Lord Ghirahim himself can destroy your entire army singlehandedly if he chooses to do so."

"I've dealt with powerful foes just like him before" replied Link.

The officer chuckled some more, shaking his head. "No, you haven't. Not like this. Lord Ghirahim is practically a deity. He is power in its purest form."

The words "power in its purest form" resonated with Link. It reminded him of Zelda's theory about the Master Sword. Link wondered whether Ghirahim really could have imprinted a key of some sort on his Master Sword. He didn't have long to ponder this. He saw Sir Gamelon walking rapidly in their direction. The crown he was wearing made it clear that he must be the new Count. He held up a hand and motioned for the guards to stand down.

"Link!" he exclaimed. "So good of you to return! I apologize for my men. I forgot to warn them about your arrival. The power transition has kept me rather busy, as I'm sure you understand. Now, where is your lovely Queen?"

"She was kidnapped by Lord Ghirahim" replied Link. "I am headed towards the Forsaken Lands to get her back. I have no desire to interfere with your city. We are just passing through. We will also need to pass through your castle again on our way back to Hyrule but we won't bother you and we will try to minimize the disturbance we cause."

Count Gamelon nodded. "I appreciate that very much. You and the Queen seemed like ernest people when we spoke last. I'm the conniving power-hungry person here, and I recognize which people are threats to my ambitions. You are not one of those people, so I don't anticipate a problem with your army. Just make your travel out of Mormaht quick. Having a foreign army linger too long makes the population restless. And to be honest, if you go looking for a fight with Lord Ghirahim, I don't expect you to be making a return trip."

Link thanked the Count for his courtesy, and then he led his men out of the castle and out of Mormaht entirely. As he had predicted, the men from Fire Valley had already abandoned their camp and left. Link didn't blame them. This wasn't their fight. He still would have appreciated their help, but with all the moblin trouble plaguing their land, he didn't want to keep them from their homes.

Link and his men soon arrived in an area where the forest came to an end and a sandy desert began. There was only rock and sand as far as the eye could see. Link turned towards his men to address them.

"Be on your guard from this point forward!" he shouted. "We have arrived in the Forsaken Lands!"