Summary: Link, the Hero of Time, has been given the chance to protect Earth and it's one he will not pass up. And so, he will travel through time and blood to keep the darkness at bay and protect the children of the goddesses from annihilation. But this comes at a price. Three times the Hero was called to action.

Previously in Golden Valor: Young Harry Potter has entered a whole new world filled with magic and quite possibly dragons. But he doesn't know very much about it so he decides to fill in the missing knowledge.

+++++++Golden Valor+++++++

"For all your days be prepared, and meet them ever alike. When you are the anvil, bear – when you are the hammer, strike." – Edwin Markham

Chapter 2

In the midst of a sprawling moor stood a small village. From the woods in which a black haired child hid, it looked like a dark smudge against the horizon. Pale blue eyes peeked out from the bush he'd taken refuge in and glanced around. No footsteps sounded and birds sung to each other as they flitted in the thick canopy. Satisfied that he was no longer being chased, the boy stood up and picked his way across the moor, dodging streams and pools of water. He reached the town soon enough and skirted around the edges towards a cottage on the opposite side. No one approached him even though a couple of the kids waved at him hesitantly. He gave them a small smile as he waved back.

He reached the simple wood door, gripped the iron handle, and took a deep breath before pushing it open. Sunlight fought through the gaps in the shutters and sent rays of light across the dirt floor. His shadow stretched across the floor in front of him and he glanced around the single room. It had served as the drawing room, kitchen, and bedroom chamber for its two occupants for the past eleven years…until recently that is. Now, it's only purpose was to shelter him from the elements.

Winters were always difficult for the townspeople. Food was scarce on the moors as the land wasn't arable. The main sources of nourishment came from goats, sheep, cattle, chickens, and pigs the townspeople raised. Usually, this was enough and the town survived none worse for wear. This past winter however, was especially trying. A mysterious plague had spread quickly through the village, claiming many of its victims. It started innocently enough; chill, weakness, heaviness. After the normal recovery period however, the disease would instead progress to anguish, fever, and, if unlucky, death. Many were unlucky. The town lost a quarter of its inhabitants; among them the boy's mother, Seren.

The boy made his way to the sturdy wood table, pulled out the chair, and sat. He still had a couple more hours of daylight; so, despite the chilly air, he would hold off on lighting the hearth. He placed his head on his arms and hid inside the artificial darkness. The weeks since his mother's death had been hard on the young boy. The residents of Caersws had always been wary of him and perhaps for good reason. Strange things always happened around the fatherless child. Birds came to him when he called, horses calmed at the sight of him, small orbs of light sometimes drifted around him before scattering when they or he noticed them watching. All these things scared them although it was normal for the boy. He knew what they whispered, though; he was rumored to be the son of a demon.

Sometimes he wondered if it was true. After all, Seren had never mentioned his father. Now she was gone and the people's respect for Seren would not protect him from the villagers of Caersws much longer. Already those boys, not quite young men but not considered children, had given him chase while he sought dittany and nettles in the underbrush. Seren had taught him the value of different herbs and tinctures, so he would keep her instruction close to heart. Besides, both were very useful for any injuries he might get attain. Anyway, the other boys…they would return soon enough. His home was no secret.

A clear, high-pitched voice interrupted his thoughts. "Hey, Myrddin, are you sleeping? Why are you always sleeping? You're so lazy!"

The boy, Myrddin, lifted his head off the table and smiled at the source of the voice. A small orb of light. That's all most people would be able to make of it, but Myrddin could see beyond the light itself and into its source. Inside the halo of light was a small person, girl in this case, with fluttering translucent wings and teal hair. "Hello, Nynn. I'm not sleeping."

"Well, it looked like you were. Come on, let's play!" Nynn demanded, as she softly landed on Myrddin's outstretched palm.

"I'm afraid I can't," he told the fairy.

"Why ever not?" Nynn asked already pouting.

"Some of the older boys are chasing me and the elders aren't stopping them," Myrddin answered. "I think it might be best if I lay low for a while."

Nynn beat her wings and lifted off his hand to land on the table instead. "That's not fair, Myrddin. Humans are no fun at all and they're so mean!" Nynn flopped onto the table top and gazed up at him, blinking her silver eyes. "Now we're stuck here."

Myrddin blinked down at his winged friend and gave her a soft smile. "Why don't you play with Galan? Or Ryul? You have fun with them, don't you?"

"Yep!" Nynn nodded, and her long hair floated around her. "But I have more fun with you. Besides, it's so lonely here. So I'll stay, OK?"

"Thank you, Nynn." Myrddin stood up from his seat and glanced out the window. He still had time before sundown, but now with the fairy here, he would need to keep the cottage warm. He hurried to the front door and peeked outside. No one was out there so he stepped out, dashed to the side of the cottage, and began piling an armful of firewood into his arm. Nynn landed on his shoulder as he gathered the last one and made his way back to the relative safety of his home.

The whole process took only five minutes but when he got back inside and latched the door, he felt drained. Nynn left his shoulder and settled on the mantle above the fireplace. He made his way over as well and threw a handful of dried twigs in the hearth to ignite with the flint he kept in his pocket. After a couple of tries, he had a steady blaze growing and a couple minutes later it was large enough to add the firewood. Nynn watched silently as Myrddin prepared a small stew for himself in the cauldron.

When it was finished he set aside a bowl for himself and filled a small thimble for the little fairy. When he set the thimble across the table for her, her wings spread wide and fluttered. "You're so nice, Myrddin!" she chimed and hopped from the mantle back to the table.

Myrddin blushed before shrugging. "You're my friend and my guest. So of course I have to feed you, too."

She took a sip and wings fluttered again. "Sooo yummy!"

"Glad you like it. I never thought to ask, but what do you usually eat, Nynn?"

"Berries mostly, but sometimes we'll catch a really yummy looking beetle and have a feast!" she exclaimed throwing her empty hands into the air before giggling. "There's music and dancing, and sometimes our Elder joins in. I wish you could be there; it's a lot of fun."

"Sounds like it," Myrddin agreed as he finished off his stew. "I'd sing for you."

Nynn squealed and Myrddin laughed at her excitement, at least for the moment, he could forget his problems and share in laughter with his most constant friend.

Myrddin had a bag filled with medicinal herbs, unleavened bread, a short knife, dried fruit, spare clothes, and a wool blanket next to his bed. Normally Myrddin only slept on the bed when it was too cold to stay on his own, but now with his mother gone, he used it frequently. The linen still smelt of her. Beside that stood a short sword. His mother had stressed the importance of being prepared for anything and in this area, anything could very well mean the destruction of their home and all their property. Caersws was prone to flooding and bandit attacks in the warm months.

The young boy had drifted off into sleep shortly after dinner and Nynn curled into the bed with him, shielded from the cool night air by his body and his arms. Sleep didn't take hold of her right away, or even much later, instead she stayed on the brink of sleep thinking about her friend's situation. She was sad for him and also very concerned. But humans were resilient and her friend, while unerringly sweet, would survive. He would just have to toughen up some; maybe some sword training wouldn't go amiss. He should have learned to defend himself already but sometimes Seren had been a tad overprotective. But Myrddin was special, so Nynn didn't blame her. No matter, she would protect him.

It was as this last thought echoed in her tiny head and her eyes drifted shut that the first sound of trouble disturbed her. She jolted from her sleep and rose to her knees, silver eyes scanning the dark room. The fire had already faded to glowing embers so there was very little light in the single room cottage. But whatever the sound was – stealthy footsteps…more than one set – came from outside the cottage. Myrddin continued to sleep, his soft breathing pushed past her in soft gusts of air, partially masking the sound of the footsteps. Her eyes settled on the opposite window where a shadow had stopped, blocking the moonlight.

Another shadow joined the first and harsh whispering came from them. The little fairy fluttered her wings in alarm. She couldn't hear what they were saying but the tone said enough. They were not friends. "Myrddin, Myrddin wake up!" she chimed. "Myrddin!"

A sudden flare of light brought her attention back to window which had opened outwards ever so slightly. The light – a fire – was pushed into the room and dropped onto the straw strewn across the dirt floor. Almost immediately, the fire caught and began to grow. The fire lit the faces of the arsonists with a hellish orange glow, casting stark shadows over the curves of their faces and in the hollows of their eyes before they disappeared altogether.

"Oh, no. Oh, no! Myrddin, wake up!" the little fairy exclaimed. The child mumbled in the sleep and pushed the blankets off of himself before settling once more. "Myrddin! No, don't go back to sleep! You can't. WAKE UP!" Nynn shouted, allowing a shock of magic to hit her friend.

"What did you do that for?" Myrddin murmured, rubbing at his exposed cheek where Nynn's magic had struck.

"We're in danger! We need to get out of here!" Nynn looked frantically over her shoulder at the quickly approaching flames and the climbing wall of fire beginning to send tongues towards the door and at the rafters. Myrddin coughed suddenly and his sleep-fogged mind seemed to wake up as he rolled onto his other side and found the source of light and warmth. For a moment, the severity of the situation didn't seem to register. "Myrddin! Let's go!" Another shock from Nynn and Myrddin was on his feet, tugging on his leather boots and opening the window cautiously. Nynn flew out ahead of him just as the roof caught fire.

She looked back towards her friend only to find that he wasn't outside yet. Behind her, a villager, disappointed that the devil child's home wasn't burning as quickly as it should, lit another oil drenched torch and tossed it through the open window. Several more villagers followed suit and the exit was blocked by a wall of flames. Nynn's eyes widened at the sight and her mouth opened. "Myrddin!"

The young boy grabbed his bag and the short sword before turning to follow Nynn through the window. He clambered back onto the straw bed and hoisted himself onto the sill only to see a flaming torch hurled to the window. With a cry he threw himself out of the way and the torch sailed through the window before landing directly in the middle of the room. That would have been fine, he could have made it out had the flames from the torch not licked the window frames and the window hangings. They both burst into flames and Myrddin crawled into the corner of the bed terrified. Thick smoke made the air heavy and the boy coughed harshly.

He clutched his belongings to him and, remembering what his mother had said about smoke, crawled from the bed and onto the floor. He pushed away as much of the straw as he could and continued to make his way to the door against the cottage walls. There were enough gaps that he could take in air despite the inferno that his home had become. Embers and debris rained down on him but he did his best to push on in spite of the fear threatening to overwhelm him. It was only when he reached the door that he realized exactly how futile his escape attempt was. The door was still bolted shut and the metal on the latch was glowing red.

A roar interrupted his progress and he curled into a ball once more as the cottage trembled and a rafter broke in half allowing the roof collapsed. He cried out as he was hit by a falling piece of wood and then he knew no more.

Fairies fluttered over the ruins of Myrddin and Seren's home doing their best to find the child trapped underneath. Nynn flitted about frantically digging in one place then another, not really seeing through her thick tears. "Oooh, I promised! I promised I would protect him," she wailed. "I should've known something like this would happen. I should've done something sooner! I promised!"

She continued to dig through the ashes until she hit something...strange. Whatever it was, was soft and she was able to push down on it but it snapped back into place when she moved her hand away. It was springy. Nynn hopped onto it and it sent her back up into the air, she fluttered her wings to catch herself and hovered over the spot. She rubbed her eyes and looked closely. The surface was translucent but when light hit it, a myriad of colors shimmered on the surface.

"It's…a bubble?" she asked. Her head tilted to the side and then her eyes grew round. "It's a bubble." She lifted her head and fluttered her wings to gain the attention of her friends. "He's here! Myrddin's here!"

It took the much longer than it would have taken a group of people, but finally, the combined efforts of the little fairies revealed the boy cocooned in a bubble. The fairies then secured the area around him, creating a web of glittering green to keep the debris back before Nynn pierced the bubble. She couldn't of course, so instead she dived at the bubble repeatedly yelling at the boy inside.

"Myrddin! How can you be so lazy?! Wake up! You have things to do!"

Galan sighed as Myrddin finally stirred and looked to Ryul. "How can the future of magic depend on such a lazy boy?"

Ryul grinned, baring a mouth full of wickedly sharp teeth, as Myrddin opened his eyes and grumbled a response to Nynn who was now reprimanding him for scaring her. "I guess we'll find out, won't we?"