The Nine were on the move, working always to further the goals of their lord and master, Zant. Each had his purpose to fulfil, each his own plans and means for achieving his ends, and yet all worked towards the same overarching goal: the conquest and subjugation of Hyrule.
While Castle Town was in Zant's grasp, the rest of the kingdom had not been fully engulfed in the choking fog of Twilight. A power older and deeper, yet so much less potent, held the shadows at bay and prevented the provinces from falling completely. With that said, these tasks would not take long for the Nine to complete. The Spirits of Light held some sacred power left behind by the Goddesses, but theirs was a power meant to protect, heal and purify, not meant to do harm. The Nine and their underlings would prevail in the name of their lord and king, Zant.
Four of the Nine were sent to bring the Spirits of Light to heel, while two more remained near the Mirror of Twilight in the desert to keep the Sages who guarded it from interfering, and the final three remained always by their master's side. Nine they were, and Nine they would only ever be, the greatest and most talented of their order, who had served the Royal Family faithfully for centuries. Still, they knew when the balance of power was shifting, and after seeing the strength of the family they served fail, all Nine had defected. Zant had shown them true strength, shown them the pathetic frailty of their own powers, had shown them what a true god looked like. All of them had bowed to him without question, casting aside any loyalty to the old royals that had remained.
With them by his side, Zant had claimed lordship, kingship over the Twili and assembled them for war. Now, with Hyrule in their grasp, the Nine were prepared to follow Zant anywhere he may lead without any hint of betrayal. Their faith was in him and his god, and little, if anything, could sway them.
Now the First was arriving at the site of their goal, and the cloaked and hooded form assembled itself from the network of portals and wormholes that Zant had threaded throughout all of Hyrule to distribute his troops. These light dwellers had need of steeds, but not they. Magic was their mount and the corridor of shadows would lead anywhere they willed it. From where they stood, the First could see the lake stretching out all around them, a deep blue reflecting the sky. The bright color disoriented the sensitive eyes of the First and they drew their hood closer about their head to shut out that unbearable light. It would be best to dispose of this one quickly.
With a gesture the First summoned to themselves their retinue of Elder Shadow Beasts, the strongest and most elite of their kind, as well as a small contingent of Twili soldiers. These Twili were volunteers, those whose zeal to serve Zant outweighed their real usefulness in battle, but the First reckoned that their pathetic magic would at least eat up some of their enemy's attention while the First did the real work.
Zant's army was organized based entirely on power; strength of sorcery and strength at arms determined where one stood in service to him, and the First answered only to Zant himself. Just below them was the Elder Shadow Beasts, those beasts who were so ancient that they had been transformed to their current state even before the First had been born. They were strong, stronger than any creature here in the realm of light, and faster than the naked eye could track. Experience had grown their minds, to the point where they were almost properly sentient again, and could follow complex orders without difficulty or question. Greater Shadow Beasts stood below these ones, having survived some time, but not long enough to reach proper strength or intelligence, and then came these Twili militiamen. To the First they were only just more useful than nothing at all, but it was a close thing.
Least among the army were Lesser Shadow Beasts, those newborns who had been transformed days, or even mere weeks ago. They were too stupid and weak to be much use, yet Hyrule's most stalwart soldiers had quaked at the sight of them. The sight of their friends and countrymen transforming into them. The First had laughed to see their anguish and terror.
But the First was not laughing now. Arrogance was a luxury that they could not afford, and while they mocked the impotence of the light spirit's power, there was a reason that it was able to stave off the veil of Twilight so easily. This would not be an easy battle.
The Twili turned from the lake to see a cave dug deep into the side of the cliff face. All around the entrance carvings and statues of a great serpent stood, coiling over and around themselves with jaws agape and fangs shown. A warning to trespassers that the lingering power of Hyrule's gods was housed here. This was, to the light dwellers', a holy place. It was not so for the First.
Whispering words of challenge in a mantra, the |First wrapped their cloak more tightly around their frame and strode into the relieving dark of the cave with confidence. It was a precarious balance between cowardice and arrogance that one on their position must maintain before their underlings, lest they be seen as anything besides unstoppable. Now, as the cave opened up into a larger cavern lit with a soft bioluminescence, the First raised their voice to shout aloud.
The words of their chant echoed off the cave walls, and as they spoke the First could feel the fog of Twilight emanating from themself. They would infect this "holy" place and fill it with the choking dark of the Twilight. The Twili had lived under its oppression for generations; these light dwellers would learn to suffer as they had made others suffer.
Still the First chanted, louder and louder, and deeper the shadows gathered, while the serfs added their voices to the First's. All as one they bellowed words of blasphemy and rebellion at this site of the gods' grace, and nothing arose to stop them. Not yet, in any case.
The spell was nearing its completion when Lanayru finally spoke, though the First could see nothing change within the cavern.
"Your insolence is without limit, child of the dark tribe," a gentle voice echoed from all around them, and the First's eyes darted around this way and that to try and locate who spoke.
"We will have justice for the crimes of Hyrule," the First hissed out in reply, and waited for a response. Lanayru seemed to hesitate.
"Poor, deceived child. I would ask you, one time, to depart this course. Recant your blasphemies and go in peace."
"I will not," the First raised their chin in defiance.
Lanayru seemed to sigh. "Very well," its voice reverberated throughout the cavern, "you were warned."
Light exploded into the chamber, so sudden and bright that several Twili were burned to ash on the spot, unable to summon the resolve to shield themselves with magic.
"Kill it!" the First snarled, and its troops rushed towards the pool in the center of the cave to attack the source of this light. The First felt their own skin boiling even beneath their thick robes and magic wards, but the spirit of light could not penetrate their defenses, not yet.
The First raised their hands and let the sleeves fall away, wincing as their bare hands began to burn and shrivel in the light. With some difficulty, they found the strength to continue their chant, summoning deeper dark and more insidious shadows to combat this brightness that shone like a hundred suns.
All around them the light was beaming, and somehow it appeared to have no clear source, and the Twili forces were suddenly in disarray. The First could feel themselves needing to exert more and more energy to maintain their wards as the light threatened to sear the flesh from their bones.
"You have no idea the forces you meddle with!" Lanayru's voice boomed inside the First's head, and they saw around them more and more of their fellow Twili beginning to burn as their protective wards were broiled away and the hated light grew more and more unbearable. Only now did the First understand the gravity of their assault on these spirits, and how potent the wrath of the gods could be, even if only a remnant of said wrath.
But despite their trepidation, the First steeled themselves. Zant, their king and prophet, had appointed this task to them. They would not… COULD NOT fail! The First heard their own voice as if from far away continuing to chant in a shriek that rivalled the bellowing of Lanayru. Zant's god was mightier than this spirit. Zant's god had granted gifts to its followers, and righteous justice had come unto these light dwellers and their realm. This was the time for triumph, not for failure!
The First felt their knees begin to shake, their body failing even as their spirit remained focused.
"NO!" they screamed, and in desperation a thought came to mind. Some of their troops remained alive. Separately they would be overcome, but as one… as one this spirit would not stop them! The First reached out, snaring each soul even as they wilted before the fury of Lanayru. The First drew deep of them, tasting their fear and anger and impending doom. Strength surged, the First felt their body grow hale and strong again, and their reserves of inner strength replenished.
Lanayru's assault seemed to lessen in horror as it realized what the First had just done. The corpses of the fallen Twili and shadow beasts crumbled into naught but ashes even as the First felt their might swell.
"What have you done?!" Lanayru's voice was a whisper in the back of the First's mind, and now it manifested to face them properly, one being to another.
"A new god has come," the First hissed out, "And we are his disciples."
"You are a fool!" Lanayru rose from the water of the spring, a serpent of inordinate size, coiled round and round the chamber. From its titanic jaws beamed that unbearable, insufferable light. The First channelled all the stolen souls inside them at their foe, feeling the great and terrible magic, the black sorcery that had seen their tribe banished from Hyrule, surge through their fingertips.
"Submit to us!" the First commanded, and the light of the chamber was diminished. Darkness, so deep and consuming that sound, hope, distinction, all of it seemed to fade away. Color and definition drained, and now it was Lanayru who was on the defensive, struggling to shine its light out and keep the First at bay. Now the First felt calm again. The light show had been all an act, a front to convince them that it was stronger than it truly was. The First, fuelled by their new god and king, was ascendant.
"You serve a false king and a false god," Lanayru protested weakly, and now the First readied themselves for the killing blow. "You will never prevail."
"Our king knows of your precious legends," the First could not resist taking the time to crush any hope this pathetic serpent still held for its realm. "Our agents go now to end the line of heroes, and to destroy the Blade that Seals the Darkness. You have failed!"
Lanayru was silent, its head bowed, and the First struck now. Black magic sliced deep, sliced to the core of the spirit's being, and Lanayru's very form split and burst apart in a shower of tiny sparks as the First crushed it. Its corporeal form was gone, and now only a few last wisps of essence remained of it. Despite all odds, the spirit remained alive, clinging to existence despite how hopeless its struggle was. Beneath their hood, the First sneered derisively; such a petty and meaningless existence.
"Die now," the First smirked, and prepared to strike again, but before the blow could land something happened that the First had not expected. Even as the veil of Twilight settled over the province, and the spirit of light's power faded away into nothing, there was one final defiance that Lanayru had to offer.
"You will fail," the voice of the spirit rasped in the First's mind, "the balance will be restored…"
"You have no hope. It is our time now," the First replied firmly, and the final spell that would end this miserable being.
"You serve… a fraud!" Lanayru finished with a roar, and without warning a burst of brilliant light, a supernova of rage and pain shook the entire chamber with its might. The First was caught off-guard, with no time to protect themselves. There was a sudden fear as the last light of Lanayru sparkled around them, a fear of death even in victory, and the First took the opportunity to flee the cave in a blind panic. Twenty Twili had entered, only one returned.
Outside, the First took a minute to regain themselves. It had been a trick, a last gasp before death, nothing more. The superior magic of their god had protected them, the First reasoned, and yet in spite of that they decided against returning to the cave. Their skin still stung and ached from where they had been burned through their robes, and now that they were back outside they could see that the veil of Twilight had settled properly over this place. Lanayru Province belonged to the Twili now, and if the spirit of light was not truly dead yet, it soon would be. The blow that the First had dealt would prove fatal, even if it did not kill immediately. The spirit would die either way, the First made up their mind. There was no reason to return to the cavern and the spring. Their task was complete.
Zant, their king, would be at Hyrule Castle again, from where he would issue his next commands. The First wished to return to their liege before their kinsmen did, and share news of the victory against Lanayru. Success was often rewarded, while failure was punished, and the First would appreciate the chance to recover from their injuries. Zant would perhaps not be pleased that so many shadow beasts and Twili had perished for the cause, but it remained a worthy sacrifice.
The First activated the portal and focused their intentions back on Hyrule Castle Town. The Fifth, the Eighth and the Second had been chosen to remain by Zant's, and the fact that the First had not been chosen to do so rankled. It would feel good to report news of their success, and to reveal that they had done what the first wave of shadow beasts and magicians could not. The First was confident that their brothers would be successful in their tasks as well; the Sages would not interfere for fear of being destroyed, and the other light spirits would be killed as well. Twilight had taken Hyrule, and the light was blotted out forevermore.
"To end the line of heroes…" the First repeated to themselves as their body was broken apart and the pieces fed through the portal. They could only hope that the servant Zant had chosen would be up to the task…