Zelda was frowning with worry as she walked through the halls of Hyrule Castle towards her father's chambers.
She had just ended a meeting with the military leaders of the kingdom and her fellow sages. The news that the forest was under attack and the Kokiri might be being hunted had alarmed them all for various reasons, so they had spent hours trying to determine if there was anything they could do about the situation.
Unfortunately, they couldn't send anybody to reinforce LInk in the forest itself due to the fact that the rightfully feared enchantments of the Lost Woods that didn't seem to be affecting whoever the assailants were would most definitely not spare their forces. At best they could send a force to keep enemy reinforcements from entering the forest, as well as contribute to any firefighting efforts that might be necessary. A force of thirty soldiers led by three knights had been dispatched for exactly that purpose, with five each of zora, goron and gerudo fighters assisting, but they didn't know if they would be able to actually make any difference.
She had also sent Impa off to Kakariko, to have her gather the youths she'd taken to training in the Sheikah arts since their return to the past. They might be of use.
Now Zelda was making her way to inform her father of what was going on. She already intended on having his guard increased even further than it already had been, just in case, but she wanted to see if he had any ideas of his own. While no one would ever accuse Nohansen Daltus Hyrule of being the greatest leader the royal line had ever produced, he did have his moments of brilliance here and there, and Zelda would be quite foolish indeed to neglect to get another point of view.
It was as she was making her way down a currently empty hallway illuminated primarily by the bright glow of the moon through the large windows that she stopped, the light from the lamps along the walls casting flickering shadows on the corners the moonlight couldn't reach. She stood in the middle of the hallway for a moment, staring forward at the far wall, before speaking. "You are certainly not the greatest assassin I could conceive of. I have given you no less than six openings to attempt an attack, yet I find myself unmolested. Do you intend to simply watch me till I expire naturally, or do you have some other purpose?"
A deep chuckle sounded from the second darkest corner of the hallway, a bulky figure seeming to emerge from it. It was a human male, the rounded ears telling, with the darkest skin Zelda had seen on one, quite a bit more so than a gerudo's. He wore a tight bodysuit similar to Impa's, though this one was primarily dark blue, with several strips of cloth that moved fluidly around him when he moved, the bodysuit highlighting his large musculature. His eyes were a surprisingly bright green, and a short, dark beard framed his face, hiding some of the scars that adorned it, the rest of his head bald.
"It seems that your royal highness has some skill." The man said in a deep, rough voice, his accent odd and of a kind that she'd never heard before. "It has been a long time since I was noticed by a target." As he spoke he began to approach her in a leisurely fashion. "I do wonder if your skill in combat is just as good…"
"Perhaps you will find out soon." Zelda said cooly, not seeming concerned and not visibly acting to protect herself. "I don't suppose you will tell me why my kingdom has come under attack?"
"That I do not know." The man admitted. "I have some idea, however, considering the information my people have on hand." He smirked at her as a knife of unknown make appeared in his hand. "Thankfully the current forces we'll have to deal with shouldn't be a problem for me or the rest of my team in the castle."
"There are more of you?" Zelda asked, voice still calm and cold despite the appearance of the blade in this man's hand.
"A team of five, with myself included." The man admitted. "Ah, but where are my manners? I haven't introduced myself." He suddenly threw the knife in her direction in a blur of movement, the princess not flinching or showing a reaction as it flew an inch from her cheek, ruffling her long, golden hair. The sound of the knife impacting with flesh and the wet gurgle of someone trying to breath through a new hole in their throat coming immediately after. "Magelus, Head Sovitian of the Darktide of Atolla."
Zelda tilted her head, her eyes narrowing even as more assassins emerged from hiding. "I recognize the name of that land. Sir Link mentioned it to me. He is a member of its Council of Exarchs."
"Indeed." Magelus said with a smile. "I am one of Exarch Link's servants, and it is for his sake I have come." He glanced around at the assassins, who seemed honestly confused at being ignored for so long by their targets, a look of disdainful pity on his face. "Shall we take out the trash before continuing this conversation?"
Zelda nodded regally as the sounds of combat began to be heard from other areas of the castle. "We shall." With that she turned, blade in hand, and attacked.
Nabooru dodged a strike from a Mekano Drone, which unfortunately put her right in the way of the flamethrower of another. As it began to fire the thief was already in motion, launching a grappling hook at a tree and pulling herself away from the flames, managing to get away with just having the bottoms of her slippers a bit singed. Without hesitation she swung her falchions at another Drone near where she'd landed, managing to destroy the blade it was thrusting at her. Their bladed limbs were sharp and pierced easily, but their spindlyness made them fragile, if you hit them right, and even without taking that into account the individual units were relatively weak.
The problem was the sheer amount of them.
She'd already incapacitated a dozen of the things, mainly by aiming at weak points such as the grills and lenses, but there were still far too many of them for comfort. She was having to constantly move to avoid their attacks, as they were coordinated to an inhuman degree, and the amount of near misses she'd had while trying to counterattack were immense.
Link was also fighting hard, though in his case he was primarily focused on Sherka, fighting the beastman tooth and claw. The feline warrior attacked savagely and with abandon, his great strength displayed by the ease with which he smashed any Mekano Drones unfortunate enough to get in the way while trying to assist in bringing Link down. The area around them was littered with machine parts, yet still more of the metal monstrosities joined the fray.
Link blocked a strike of Sherka's claws with his shield before kicking out, making his opponent leap back. The flames that surrounded them illuminated the scene eerily, but Link was taking advantage of them by trying to herd Sherka towards them, the catman drawn several times from his almost berserker state by the flames' proximity, showing an intense aversion to fire.
The fires themselves were thankfully still under control, not having spread much, so the forest's defenses, which were generally directed by the Great Deku Tree and were now reinforced by Saria, should be able to deal with them before they become too big a problem, assuming the source could be dealt with in a timely fashion.
Sherka leapt upwards at a tree branch before springing off to pounce at Link, who ducked to let his opponent sail overhead, quickly cutting down a couple of advancing Mekano Drones with quick strikes that showed his experience against such opponents. He then turned in time to catch Sherka with the edge of his shield, throwing off a strike that would have caused him quite a bit of damage.
The beastman once again leapt to the branches, launching himself at Link from directly above this time, his large claws aiming to either disarm or damage his shield arm. Link responded by having his scarf unfold into its true form, the blue cloth 'wings' flapping and aiding the leap that got him away from the danger. He then took a page from his opponent's book, his feet landing against a tree trunk before he propelled himself back towards Sherka with further aid from his cloak, his blade coming around to remove his enemy's head.
The fight might have ended right then and there if not for a Mekano Drone leaping in to take the blow in Sherka's place, the cat man leaping back to put some distance from any further attempts to behead him.
Nabooru found herself becoming overwhelmed. She had been herded towards one of the biggest concentrations of flames, which had limited her available room to maneuver. The fact that the Mekano Drones were able to pass through the flames without incident to get at her, which afforded them more avenues of attack, just made things more difficult for her. Not to mention the way the heat sapped her strength. Yes, she was used to living and fighting in a desert, but that was different from the constant heat of a flame inches from your skin while you're exerting yourself heavily.
The gerudo gripped her falchions tighter as the small swarm of Mekano Drones drew closer. Now that she was in a slightly more open area of the forest, near its borders, she could see that the remaining amount of drones wasn't that large, comparably. At least half of the Mekano Drones' numbers had been eliminated between her and Link, with her contributing to most of those eliminations while Link had kept Sherka occupied.
Still, unless she thought of something quickly, she was about to die a not very pleasant death. Her eyes darted around, taking in all the openings the Drones had left in their formation, which were unfortunately dwindling and shrinking. Her best option was to hold the enemy off and hope that Link would be able to get to her and help with dealing with the enemies before they overwhelmed her. The only reason they hadn't already pounced was that they were likely getting into a formation that would keep her from finding an opening to escape through.
She spotted several of the Drones get into a pouncing position and prepared to try to hold them back. As the first jumped at her with several of its compatriots following along on the ground, an arrow came from the canopy, impaling it in one of its lenses, making it fall limply to the forest floor in a shower of sparks.
Nabooru didn't hesitate to take advantage of the sudden turn in her fortunes, taking out two of the currently attacking Drones as more arrows shot down from among the branches, each one either disabling or otherwise incapacitating its target. The Drones were circling about in apparent confusion, trying to find where these new assailants were.
With an earth shaking roar a huge form charged in from among the trees to reveal another beastman. This one looked like a black bear, its armored clothing consisting of fabrics and leathers in muted greens and browns, all the better to blend in with a forest. An enormous combination of a club and staff was in its hands, and it swung the weapon with an ease that Darunia would have been envious of, bashing Mekano Drones away with each strike.
Whatever intelligence was behind the Drones was rallying quickly from the unexpected interference, but the remaining numbers had been decimated by the surprise attack, and Nabooru was no longer boxed in and about to be overwhelmed. The gerudo was dancing among the continuing attacks of the Drones, covering her new ally's back as they continued thrashing through the enemy numbers.
"I don't know who you are, but thanks!" She called as she swept aside a spindly limb stabbing at the bear's heel.
"No thanks needed!" The bear called back, its voice surprisingly feminine as it slammed its weapon down on a Drone, crushing it to scrap. Another Drone that was about to leap at Nabooru's back was suddenly taken out by another arrow. "Anybody willing to fight the Tigreta is a friend of mine!"
Over with Link and Sherka, the beastman snarled when he noticed the bear, backing away from Link, Mekano Drones moving into position to cover his retreat. "Once again you have your lackeys to aid you, whelp."
"It's called friendship." Link said simply, eyes calculating, studying the remaining enemy forces to figure out if he could afford to try to press the advantage. He felt someone land next to him, the figure aiming a drawn bow at Sherka, but didn't bother looking to see who it was.
Sherka's snarl grew as he glared at the figure that had joined Link before he started slinking away, not turning his back on his enemies. "This isn't over, whelp…"
"It would be if you weren't fleeing with your tail between your legs." Link's new companion said mockingly, the voice male and a bit high pitched, sounding on the edge of laughter.
Sherka let out an angered roar and looked to be about to charge at them before he got control of himself, stalking away as the Drones followed, covering his retreat.
When Nabooru and her new ursine friend approached them the gerudo studied the archer that had been supporting Link. It was another beastman, this one a tall, slim monkey, its face sporting a mocking grin and its fur gray and white under the similar clothing to the bear. In its hands was a large recurve bow, a quiver of arrows on its back.
"Baleera, Lawie, it is good to see you." Link said with a small smile on his face. "I would expect Veelana to be with you and leading this mission."
"I am." A smooth, female voice said as another figure appeared from the underbrush, a bow similar to the one the monkey, Lawie, carried in its hands. This one was a humanoid gray rabbit, standing tall with their long ears hanging down out of holes in the green hooded cape they were wearing, the rest of their clothing similar to their companions with adjustments for the sake of agility and maneuverability just as the bear's clothing was sturdier and the monkey's looser. They turned large, intelligent blue eyes to Link. "It is good to see you, my friend." She(?) said.
"Indeed!" The bear said boisterously, voice definitely female now that Nabooru could hear it better. "It has been far too long since we hunted together!" She said with what Nabooru assumed was a grin on her face.
"As soon as the Vulpertu got the information on Sherka's movements and probable location we knew we had to volunteer for the mission." The monkey said, a grin still on his face. "After all, how could we pass up the chance to possibly see the last member of our troup again?"
Link's smile widened. "I appreciate it." He glanced around at the devastated section of forest. "Help me get these fires under control, then we can head back to Kokiri Village and have a proper talk."
Nabooru and the beastmen all nodded in agreement before getting to work.
Navi flew back to Castle Town as quickly as she possibly could, but even so it took her at least an hour and half at full speed, only allowing herself a few minutes here and there to rest and grab some water. The moon was still high in the sky when she made her approach to the castle, and she was heartened that nothing was immediately wrong. The guards were at their posts, more vigilant than ever, and a few gerudo were keeping watch as well, one glancing up and noticing her, briefly reaching for her weapon before realizing who it was. She motioned for Navi to approach, the fairy doing so. "You need to make your way to the war room. As far as I'm aware they're discussing the latest assassination attempt." She said in a businesslike manner.
"There was another?" Navi asked, astonished. "Any casualties?"
"One of the advisors is dead, an economic one, I think, and several others were injured, along with two of the ranking knights. Beyond that, the princess' security measures seem to have worked due to some unexpected help." The woman said from behind her veil.
Navi blinked. "Unexpected help?" Then, before the gerudo could respond she shook her head. "Nevermind, I'll find out once I talk to Zelda. Thank you for the information." Without any further words she darted off towards the castle proper, heading to where she thought the war room was. It was a place that hadn't seen much use during her time waiting for Link to show up, but she had explored the castle extensively, both to alleviate her boredom and familiarize herself with it so she'd know where to go if needed.
When she arrived at the war room she found all the military leaders and royal advisors there, along with the King, Zelda and the sages. What drew Navi's eyes most, however, were the five humans dressed in blacks and dark blues, three men and two women, most of them with dark skin but for one of the women, who had a complexion closer to Malon's, that of someone fair of skin but that worked in the sun a lot, her brown hair streaked with golden streaks.
Taking a second look at the room she could see that most of the advisors and military men were bandaged or otherwise dealing with injuries in some way, the former more than the latter. The others appeared to be fine.
The fairy approached Zelda at speed. "Zelda, are you alright!?"
Zelda turned from where she'd been speaking to one of the knights in charge of the guard, likely giving new orders, surprised at Navi's appearance. "I'm fine. The extra guards were effective. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Link? Are the Kokiri alright? Did you find whoever was attacking?"
Navi's form dropped a couple of inches as she sagged with relief. "Thank the goddesses." She then gathered herself and began answering the princess's questions. "We found the ones attacking the forest, and when one of them mentioned that the attack on the forest was partly to draw him away from another attack on the castle, Link sent me to warn you." She glanced around the room. "I guess it was too late. They must have initiated the attack as soon as they confirmed Link was in the forest. At least it looks like they didn't succeed."
"Partly due to our enhanced security measures, but mostly due to our new friends." Zelda said while motioning to the darkly dressed humans. "The increased number of bodyguards for the various potential targets were useful, but these men and women helped deal with the most dangerous threats before they could cause too much damage."
"And who are they?" Navi asked, eyeing the newcomers warily.
What was obviously the group's leader stepped forward, performing an odd salute with his fingers parted in a V and placed against his forehead as he bowed his head. "Lady Navi, it is an honor. Exarch Link has spoken much about you. We are members of the Darktide, Atolla's institution in charge of espionage and intelligence gathering, answering directly to the Council of Exarchs. From what Exarch Link has mentioned of Hyrule, I believe an equivalent for you would be the Sheikah clan that serves the Hylian royal family. I am this cell's leader and overall head of all field operations, Magelus."
"...Oh." Was all Navi could really say, her voice a bit faint with surprise. "I see. I'm glad to meet more friends of Link's. Though I'm wondering why you're here."
"If I may, Lady Navi, might I first ask who you found to be the ones attacking the forest?" Magelus asked.
"Indeed, I'd like to know that as well." The King said from where he sat watching everything intently, two guards next to him at all times.
Navi paused before nodding and beginning to explain getting to the forest, briefly skimming over the conversation with the Kokiri before focusing on the metal things and the ones leading them. "One of them was like a feline version of a lizalfos or wolfos, but as smart as you or me, and he knew Link, who called him Sherka. Someone else, it sounded like a young boy, spoke through one of the things Link called Mekano Drones. I think Link called him Dirolo."
Magelus frowned even as a couple of his subordinates scowled or otherwise showed their displeasure at the news. "Then it's as my people feared. Perseus Dirolo was not eliminated during the events that led to Exarch Link's elevation to his position. We had hoped he had been destroyed by the Exarch, never to trouble us again, but unfortunately it seems he managed to somehow escape and rebuild his army. Though why exactly he brought it to Hyrule rather than try to attack Atolla again is something we have not determined yet."
"Who is this 'Dirolo'?" Ruto asked from where she stood near a small group of fellow zora, a glass of water in her hand to help her keep hydrated. "Navi said he sounded like a child."
Magelus shook his head. "I'm afraid that his voice is deceiving. Perseus Dirolo is over half a century old, though nearly forty of those years have been without a physical body. Even as a child he was the foremost expert of the ancient magicks and technologies that power our nation, magicks and technologies that have long been lost to time and which we have been attempting to rediscover for over a century. Then one day he disappeared near one of the forbidden areas of our city's substructure, presumably having made some sort of breakthrough. He was presumed dead, as all that was found was a shadow imprinted against a wall."
"Exarch Link was visiting our city two years ago on his travels, happening to be in the right place at the right time to aid us in a crisis engineered by Dirolo in a bid to access… certain secrets of my land I trust you'll understand me not explaining." He said after a moment of hesitation, relaxing when the King and Princess nodded in understanding. They could respect state secrets. Magelus then scowled as he continued. "Unfortunately the crisis we are speaking of lasted months, and took a heavy toll. A full seventh of our arable land was heavily damaged and is still recovering, unable to bear crops yet, and over three thousand Atollan citizens were killed."
There were various murmurs of shock at that among the advisors and knights, the number being in no way small.
Zelda glanced from her father to her fellow sages before turning her attention back to Magelus. "You have our thanks for the information on who one of our newly revealed enemies appears to be, along with your assistance against our assailants. We would appreciate any further assistance you'd be willing to give, and in return we will endeavor to help you achieve your own goals as long as they don't conflict with the safety and security of Hyrule."
Magelus performed his odd salute again. "The orders of the Council were to investigate Dirolo's possible return and either eliminate him for good or return with the information needed to properly pursue that goal. A secondary objective was to assist you and Exarch Link, if possible, as he would likely wish to protect his homeland. So I do not believe we will have any issues with assisting you as long as Exarch Link does not order otherwise."
Zelda smiled and nodded back. "Excellent." Then her face turned serious again. "Now, please tell us about what forces Dirolo is likely to have at his disposal aside from these 'Mekano Drones'."
As the serious discussions began Navi settled down to rest and listen, wanting to be able to give Link a full report. As things progressed she couldn't help but wonder if life with Link would always be this crazy.
You know, I promised myself I'd get more writing done this month.
I wanted to do this, another chapter of Brightest, and finally get new chapters of On Swirling Ashes and Timeless Journey out this month.
Then… I dunno, man. I just got hit real hard with lethargy and exhaustion. Having constantly talking 9 and 12 year olds around for a not insignificant amount of the month didn't help in any way, shape or form (my aunt's partner's grandkids . ).
I need to do something to punish or motivate myself to meet my goals. Say 'no FFXIV till I've written at least 500 words today' or something. And, perhaps more importantly, mean it. Because I've told myself that too many times and not followed through as is.
In any case, chapter's out, so let's talk about it.
I had been intending on bringing in other characters from the other lands Link visited from the moment I started writing this fic, since I have a pretty good idea in my head about what the inhabitants of the various lands are like, at least for most of them. One or two are still kinda nebulous. Atolla and Paracemia were the first two to properly crystalize in my head, which is part of why they were the first to show up. We will see other friends and allies of Link's begin to show up as things go forward, so please look forward to them.
Also, sorry we didn't get to see much of the fight at the castle, but honestly? With the Darktide operatives there to help out, combined with the security details all the targets had, and the individual skills of most of them, it was going to be a curbstomp. The only ones that actually had trouble were the lower priority targets, like the nobles.
Also, almost every character I've named so far, hero or villain, have had names inspired by others. I wonder if any of you can figure out what they are.
I think that's all to discuss, so let's get on with my usual reminders:
As I've stated previously in some of my other fics, my best friend and their roommate have begun a podcast. Yes, I know, everybody and their mother has a podcast these days, but I beg you to hear me out. It's called 'Two Idiots and a Dog', and they talk about pop culture in general with different shows for different topics. So far they've primarily done 'Idiots on Film', talking about classic or important movies, but they recently started another one called 'Idiots Unleashed', where they just take a topic their Discord members vote on and talk/argue/rant about it without a filter. The latest episode of 'Idiots on Film' was on that crazy shark movie, The Meg, and their latest 'Idiots Unleashed' was a Pride Month episode where they discuss Queer Representation In Media. It was quite interesting, especially as a straight ally. So if you're interested, that's 'Two Idiots and a Dog' on most podcasting apps. Please check it out. For me? *puppy dog eyes*
Secondly, I am, as always, truly grateful for those of you who are willing to send a buck or two my way out of the kindness of your heart. It really helped my transition till I started working. I've got a steady income now, and am getting my feet underneath myself, but that doesn't mean your support isn't appreciated. Thanks to you I have more of a cushion to get things I still need or pay essential bills. Like Final Fantasy XIV. (Speaking of, Ryuma Hyurinmaru on the Coeurl Server, Crystal Datacenter, North America)
Of course, let us not forget that you do get something out of it. For each dollar that you donate to my Pat A Ron, you get a vote in my monthly update poll stating what you want to see updated next month. And if what you vote for doesn't win immediately, no worries! Non-winning votes roll over to the next poll, so a fic that only gets a vote a month will eventually win (though it might take a bit, to be brutally honest). This fic is finally being updated due to turtling the others, after all.
That said, if a fic hasn't won in a long time, I will take it off the poll and update it anyway, like I am in the process of doing for On Swirling Ashes, which, as stated before, is taking me longer than expected but is making progress.
So yes, donate to my Pat A Ron, you get a say in what I update. Everybody wins! So that's Pat A Ron dotcom /athanmortis. The current poll ends on July 4th.
However, as something new, I have set up a Ko-Fi for those of you who don't want to use Pat A Ron to support me. The only caveat is that it won't count towards any voting, so I honestly don't see it getting much use. That said, it's there for those of you that prefer it. Seeing as I only created it a few weeks ago, please give me any feedback on it so I can make improvements. That's ko-fi dotcom /athanmortis78653 .
I believe that's it. Thank you all again for reading and reviewing. Hope you have a good one. Till next time!