The Legend of the Grim Dawn

Act 1- The Aetherial Threat

Chapter 2- Battle of Burial Hill

(For this novel, ALL chapters titles shall be in bold, regardless of content.)

Lower Crossing

1 year after the Grim Dawn-9-08-14

0001

Link had already dispatched more monstrosities than he could count. There had been many kinds-Walking Dead, Wretchers, and Corpsefiends. And those were just the beginning. He had happened to find a broadsword under a rotting corpse, one that had died from what he hoped was natural causes, but the truth was that he had died horribly-the man's lower body was missing.

He was taking shelter in a run-down house at the moment. It wasn't much to look at either- some of the windows were missing, what was left of the wallpaper was peeling, some of the roof was gone, some of the floorboards were missing, and Link had had to move some broken and infested furniture against the door to barricade it. Oh, and there was dried blood everywhere.

"...I don't know how much more of this I can take..." His weary voice was almost drowned out by the sudden crack of thunder. Seconds later, the rain began coming down in earnest. Shivering, Link moved to a drier part of the house and began cleaning his weapon.

It wasn't pretty to look at-it was chipped and dented in a few places, and it had obviously been home-made. But it killed things, and that was all he needed in this world. He had decided to call it 'Bloodletter'.

A few hours later, the rain cleared out enough that Link could move out of the house. Once outside, he noted a few monsters coming up the east-ward path. Great. Just what I needed. Gritting his teeth, the teenager began to move towards the dead, who had seen him and were now moving at a quicker rate.

The boy reached the dead first. Link swung Bloodletter at the nearest Corpsefiend and sprayed blood everywhere. Then he felt as if something had burned him and he turned to intercept a Wretcher that had attacked him. The thing died instantly. As he continued to swing the blade, the world began to feel distant. As he later found out, that was just the beginning of his troubles.

What felt like hours later, Link was standing in the middle of the field, surrounded by corpses. Wary, his cerulean gaze swept the area. Seeing nothing moving, the teenager made his way over to a tree and lowered himself onto its roots. I have to be near Burial Hill by now, but I should rest before moving on.

Then he heard something. It sounded like skittering. ...Rift Scourges. They were things from the void-some said that they were mutant cockroaches. Link didn't care what they were-they bled and that was all that mattered.

After dealing with the beasts, Link went up to the house that was nearby and kicked the door down. To his shock, a man was cowering in the far corner.

"...Sir? Are you alright?"

The man slowly uncurled and looked towards the door. The two locked gazes.

"...Who are you? What are you doing here? Did you kill those things outside? Are the others safe?"

Link took a cautious step forwards and glanced in the man's direction. The man nodded and he crossed the room and sat down across from him.

"To answer your questions, sir, I go by Link Forester, I was sent by Mr. Bourbon to Burial Hill-yes, and everyone is alright. And yes, I did kill the Rift Scourges. You're free to go."

The man sat up and nodded. "But how am I to get back?"

"Riftgate."

The man gawked at him. "E-Excuse me?"

Link took a deep breath and continued. "I can use Riftgates."

"The ones I saw were active...and it wasn't good things that were coming out of them...still...you say that you know the folks at the camp...I guess I can trust you...okay."

The man slowly got to his feet and held out a hand. Link shook it.

"Names' John Davis, it's nice to see someone else. I'm ready."

Link opened the purple gate and sent John Davis back to Devil's Crossing.

"May Hylia look after you, 'cause after this, I can't."

Several minutes later, Link exited the house and continued north, stopping along the way for basic necessities every now and then.

After fighting his way through a mob of monsters, Link came upon a Riftgate. He activated it and the gate flicked into existence. Good. Now I can fast travel here without having to walk all this way. The boy heard noises up on the hill above him and being the curious sort, set off to investigate.

After killing a few monsters that were infected by Aether Crystals, Link made his way into the Burial Cave, but not before pocketing quite a few of the small glowing crystals for himself.

Inside the Burial Cave

9-10-14

0007

It was nearly pitch black inside the cavern. Nothing seemed to be near him for the moment, so Link waited for his eyes to adjust and checked his gear.

After his vision grew accustomed to the darkness, the teenager set out.

After killing a lone Walking Dead, he crossed a stone bridge and killed two more. He then moved down a natural ramp, killing off three more of the monsters.

At the bottom of the ramp was his goal- the Reanimator that was reanimating corpses for his own hellish purposes. Link swiftly drew Bloodletter from its make-shift sheath at his side and stepped forwards. "Tonight, you'll dine in Hell." Then he charged.

The monster swung his weapon at the boy and the sound of metal striking metal resounded throughout the cavern. The monster leaned close. "You think you can kill me? It's only the beginning, human*. We are many, we are strong...even now our master works tirelessly to strengthen our already massive army...your kind shall fall." Link bent down and backflipped away from the Reanimator and killed a few Walking Deads. He then swung his weapon at the monster and it cut into the decaying flesh. As the monster suffered, Link began walking towards it. "Not while I'm still alive." The boy took a step forwards, and raised his weapon to end the fight. Then the monster happened to look at him.

He was mesmerized. He couldn't look away, no matter how hard he tried. He's going to kill you! Snap out of it! But he couldn't. The Reanimator's eyes shone with glee as the weapons slashed downwards.

Then the thing screamed. Clutched at its face. Something had happened, but what? Link found that he was able to move again, and he took the chance.

The boy sprang forwards and ended the monsters' life by stabbing it in the chest. When he calmed down enough, he happened to look down. Something was pressing against his left leg. At first glance, it appeared to be a living bush.

Link swung his sword a few times to rid it of blood then sheathed the weapon and bent down to look at the creature. "What are you?" The creature rumbled in reply. It...no...he was speaking to him. "A Briarthorn? And you're my companion now?" Link slowly reached out and the creature pressed his face into the boy's outstretched palm. The branches and leaves do not seem to affect me... Smiling a bit, the teenager moved to a nearby rock and the beast leaned against him, seeking affection. Since no one else was around, Link didn't mind.

After a few minutes of bonding, the two set off to dispatch the other monsters in the cave, then the Briarthorn directed Link to a strange object in an offshoot. As the boy and the beast neared the object, it flickered briefly, then died. "What is it?"

The beast rumbled in reply.

"A Shrine? What do they do?"

The beast rumbled again.

"Make you more powerful? And they require offerings?"

Link turned to the Shrine and bent down in front of it. He could faintly make out what appeared to be the symbol for Aether Crystals. The teen dug into his pouch and took one out and set it in the alcove.

It didn't take long.

The Shrine flashed and then came alive. Link felt the effects shortly after. He did feel a tad bit stronger than before.

Seeing that there really was nothing left to do, Link called up a Riftgate and headed back to Devil's Crossing with his new companion to tell John Bourbon what had transpired.

*The enemies don't know the difference between Hylians and Humans. They're just hosts to them.