Here's chapter two. I have up to chapter ten done but I won't post them all right away, of course. If I did that, where would the suspense be? Be warned that I did make my own characters. Without them, the story would go nowhere and I wouldn't be an author. I did take the time to give them personalities, flesh them out...and hopefully give them that Zelda feel.
2
The Amalgam. Meetings. Rest for Tomorrow.
Link followed Risbon to a somewhat poorer part of the city. They weaved through different streets and alleys until they came to a large building that looked rather unstable. It was made out of different materials: brick, stone, wood... It looked amazing but strange.
Risbon spread his arms out wide and declared, ''This is our headquarters. Anyone is welcome here.''
''Do all the members stay here?'' Link asked.
''No, we have safe houses all over the city. All of us wouldn't fit here. Come on in.''
''What about my horse?'' Link asked, still holding his mare's reins.
''We have a place for horses. Here, I'll take her.'' Risbon took the reins from Link and led the mare behind the building. He was gone for a few minutes and then came back. ''Well, then let's go inside. I want you to meet some of the others!''
Risbon opened the door and they stepped into a maze of clutter. Furniture was strewn about haphazardly. Doorways led into other rooms of varying sizes. The walls separating rooms were all made of different, random materials like the outside of the building.
''Heh, it's a mess, I know. We call headquarters the Amalgam for a reason,'' Risbon said with a laugh.
''Did you build this?'' Link asked.
''Yes, we did. We had to use all sorts of random stuff. I honestly don't know where we got the stone from. I think it was stolen.'' Risbon glanced around the main room and stepped away from the door, letting it shut. The sound reverberated through the building.
Hearing the door shut, a voice yelled, ''The boss is back!''
A moment later, a girl perhaps a year or two older than Link entered. She had hair of a metallic gray, the color of a sword's blade. It fell a bit past her shoulders; her bangs on the right were a bit jagged and two strands hung in front of her Hylian ears. Her eyes were also gray. She was wearing a burgundy tunic with a tan undershirt, tan leggings and a pair of worn, dark brown boots.
''Hey, Risbon, who's that?'' she asked.
''This is Link, our newest member,'' Risbon explained. He turned to Link, ''This is Ashlyn, who has been in the Resistance since it started.''
''Well, it's good to meet you. Hope you know what you've gotten into,'' she said bluntly.
''Oh, I think he can handle it,'' Risbon said.
Ashlyn shrugged. ''Hey, boss, do you want me to show him around?''
''Sure. I was going to do it, but if you want to, go ahead,'' Risbon replied with a laugh.
''Come on. I'll show you around the Amalgam of Clutter,'' Ashlyn said to Link.
He followed the girl through the chaos until they came to a doorway. Inside, the room was medium sized. Weapons were hanging on walls, stacked on the floor and in crates. There were spears, axes, halberds, bows, maces, pikes, hammers... And swords of all kinds, boxes of arrows and crossbow quarrels...a large collection of everything.
Ashlyn grinned. ''This is the armory. We steal stuff from the soldiers and wherever else.''
''This is quite the collection,'' Link said, awed.
She gave a dismissive headshake. ''No, the castle has a lot more than this.'' She led him out and to another door.
The next room was oddly shaped. Bookshelves lined the walls. There were tables with potions on them. Link noticed a spellbook on a table near him. A young man with light orange-ish blond hair and wearing ornate yellow and orange robes was sitting at one of the tables. He looked up when they entered, revealing hazel eyes. He was not a Hylian and so did not have long, pointed ears.
''This room is where the magical stuff goes,'' Ashlyn said. She turned to the young man. ''Oh, this is Lux. He uses magic and he's a bookworm.''
''Hello. I take it he is new?'' Lux said.
Ashlyn nodded. ''His name is Link.''
Lux stood up from the table, the robes he was wearing swishing on the floor as he walked over. ''Nice to meet you. And yes, as Ashlyn said, I prefer to use magic instead of weapons.''
''Pleased to meet you as well,'' Link said.
''Oh, Lux, where are the others? Aren't they usually here?'' Ashlyn asked.
Lux thought about it. ''I do believe they are still in the headquarters, although where, I do not know.''
''I see. You probably were studying too hard to notice them leave the room, eh?'' she commented. Lux flushed in indignation and she laughed before turning to Link. ''Well, let's go find the other magic practitioners.''
They left the room and navigated the maze of furniture to get to another doorway. This room had boxes of bandages and other first-aid supplies. There were some tables and a few small beds.
''This is obviously the room where we keep medicine,'' Ashlyn said. She looked around the room before calling, ''I know you're in here. We have a new member.''
A Hylian male about Link's age with pure inky black hair came out from behind a white cloth screen. He was wearing ornate gray and white robes with hints of black. His hair was nicely done and he certainly looked like a nobleman. He looked sullen and depressed, his strange orange-ish gold eyes held hints of tiredness and irritation.
''Link, this is Glurak. He serves as a healer here when he's not with the other magic practitioners. He's always got a sullen look on his face though, why, I'll never know. He comes from a noble family but hates the way things are going and was one of the first to join the Resistance,'' Ashlyn explained.
''Hello, I suppose,'' Glurak said. He walked up to Link, his robes swishing with his movements. ''Hmm. You have a lot of magic within you. Even though all Hylians are born with the ability to wield magic, you appear to be gifted.''
''It runs in the family,'' Link said.
''Ah.''
''Well, we'll leave you to your moping about,'' Ashlyn said. Glurak frowned at her in annoyance. ''Come on, Link,'' she said, starting to head for the door.
They went back into the main room. Risbon was sitting on one of the couches.
''Link! Ashlyn!'' Risbon called, noticing them.
Link and Ashlyn went over to him. There was another man near Risbon. This man had his light brown hair tied back in a ponytail. His eyes were a darker green than Risbon's. He was wearing a plain colored tunic with some armor strapped to it.
''Yeah, boss?'' Ashlyn asked.
''Link, this man is our arms master, Yost,'' Risbon said, gesturing to the other man.
''Hello,'' Link said politely.
Yost grinned and said, ''Hello yourself. And welcome to the Resistance. We need young people your age to fight for a just cause. There seems to be a shortage, what with the soldiers prowling around and striking fear in Castle Town.''
''That's for sure,'' Ashlyn said dryly. She turned to Risbon. ''Is there anything else to do today?''
''No,'' Risbon replied.
''Well, all we have to do is wait for suppertime. Who wants to spar?'' Yost asked.
''I'll go!'' Ashlyn said eagerly. The two of them went into another room.
Link sat down on one of the couches in the mazelike main room. As if on some cue, Lux came out of the magic room and Glurak came out of the medical room.
''Well! I have had enough reading for a while,'' Lux announced. He sat down next to Risbon.
''If Ashlyn was in here, she'd make a comment about that,'' said Risbon with a smile.
Lux nodded. ''Oh, I have no doubt she would.'' He started fiddling with his robes.
Glurak walked over and sat down next to Link, still looking sullen. They waited for the evening to come so everyone could eat.
Dinner had been announced at around five o'clock. Everyone went into a room with a long table. Risbon sat at the head of the table. Yost sat on Risbon's right with Ashlyn next to him. Risbon invited Link to sit at his left. Glurak sat next to Link, with Lux sitting next to him. Immediately after everyone grabbed their food, they started conversing with each other.
''What are you studying now?'' Glurak asked Lux, seeming more animated now.
''Well... I am trying out water spells now. I thought I would branch out from fire and lightning.''
''Ah. And how is it coming?'' Glurak looked eagerly at his fellow mage. Link noticed that as soon as they had started talking about magic, Glurak had lost his sullen look.
''Excellent,'' Lux replied with a large smile.
''Very good. Simply amazing!''
''So, how did you get into magic?'' Link asked Lux.
''Well, I wanted to study it. Very badly, actually. I was not born with the natural ability, so I taught myself,'' Lux replied.
Any human being could use magic, but all Hylians were born with the ability already. Now, humans who were not Hylian could also be born with the ability, it wasn't rare or anything. But even so, there were Hylians who were bad at magic, while there were self taught non-Hylians who were very good. Every human is different. Link knew this. But he was born with it, though he never bothered to use it.
''And you are good at lightning?'' Link asked. Magic came in different elemental varieties. There was also non-elemental magic. Electricity was a harder element to handle than most, which was why Link was amazed.
Lux flushed a bit. ''Well... I have not completely mastered it... I doubt anyone can truly master any specific form of magic...'' He took a bite out of an apple.
''You're good enough at it. Don't discredit yourself,'' Glurak said. He turned to Link. ''He started with fire magic, then he learned electricity.''
''I see.'' Link cut into his meat and then took a bite of it.
''Have you done anything with magic?'' Glurak asked.
''No. My father taught me how to use a sword, shoot a bow, ride a horse... Our family is mostly swordsmen... I never really bothered to use magic,'' Link replied.
''You should. I have a feeling you would be good at it,'' Glurak stated.
''Indeed. And Glurak here does not often say that to people,'' said Lux.
''Hmm. I might do a bit, I suppose. I am actually reluctant to use my sword unless it is necessary,'' Link said.
''Well, I don't use magic either. You're not the only one,'' Ashlyn cut in. During most of their conversation, she had been wolfing down her food and talking with Yost.
''Yes, but you just do not want to. A swordswoman at heart, that is what you are. And that is fine. I just do not care for weaponry myself,'' Lux said. He finished up his food.
''And there's nothing wrong with that. You're a damn good mage!'' Ashlyn said.
Lux looked surprised. ''Did you just compliment me?'' He turned to Glurak. ''She just gave me a compliment.''
Ashlyn rolled her eyes. ''Yeah, I did. But it's a fact. You are a damn good mage. I find it impressive that you taught yourself that difficult stuff.''
Lux stammered out, ''W-well, not all magic is hard to wield... Forest magic is considered an easy element... A-and fire was easy for me...''
''The point is, to each his own,'' Glurak said. He paused a minute before adding, ''And there are people who are warriors and mages. There is no rule saying you can not do both, either.''
''True,'' everyone at the table agreed. After that, everyone started getting up from the table.
After dinner, Ashlyn walked up to Link. ''Come on. I'll show you where everyone sleeps.''
''All right.'' He followed her to an entranceway without a door. A long hallway stretched out in front of them. The hallway was not perfectly straight, it curved. Doors were spaced at seemingly random intervals.
''This one is Risbon's,'' she said, pointing at the first door on the right. ''He insists on having the first room so if anything bad happens, they'll find him first so we can hopefully get away.''
''That's commendable,'' Link commented.
''Yes.'' She nodded. ''And the first door on the left is Yost's room,'' she said.
''Are they brothers? Risbon and Yost?'' Link asked.
''Yeah. They are.'' Ashlyn pointed to the second rightside door, further down the hall. ''That's Lux's room.''
''Is the second left Glurak's room?'' Link guessed.
''No, that's Tancred's. He's not here right now,'' she said. She turned and pointed to the third door on the right. ''That's an empty room. So is the third left. The people who had those moved to a safe house. The spare guest rooms are in another hall.''
They went further down the hall. ''That's Glurak's,'' she said, pointing to the fourth left door. ''That's mine,'' she added, gesturing to the fourth right door. There was another door, near the end of the hall.
''And this is your room.'' Ashlyn walked to that door and opened it, leading him into a small, quiet room. There was a table, some chairs, a chest of drawers and a single bed. Link set his things down on the table.
''You could have one of the empty ones. But I think you'd want this one. You seem like a boy who likes quiet,'' she said.
''Well... Not really. It's just what I am used to. I come from a small village,'' Link explained.
''I was born and raised here. So... I want to see other places someday,'' she said.
''Same here. This is the first time I have been out of the village. My father sent me off today, for a trip around the country.''
''Oh. Is that a tradition in your family? I know several families do that.''
''Yes. Something like that. It has more symbolism in my family...'' Link said, a bit grimly.
She didn't respond to that. ''Well, I'm off to bed. See you tomorrow,'' she said. She left the room, closing the door. Link heard her enter her room and shut the door.
Link began undressing for the night. He unbuckled the sword belt, placing it on the dresser. He then unbuckled the belt around his midsection, lifting his tunic up and over his head. He sat down, removed his boots then stood again in a fluid motion. He took off his white undershirt and then the leggings. Now he stood alone in his new room in just his undergarments. Link put on a white linen nightgown that went to just below his knees.
He got into bed and reached out a hand, grabbing the nearby candle and blowing it out. The day certainly had not gone as he had expected. But perhaps that was a good thing.
Since The Legend of Zelda takes place in the middles ages, I'm trying to keep things somewhat historically accurate, with exceptions, of course. Everyone usually wore nightgowns back then, hence Link's. Now, I also believe that Hyrule is a little more sophisticated: politically, socially etc, so women are equal to men and all that good stuff. God forbid I be sexist, since I am female.