Disclaimer!

This fanfiction is based off of "The Silent Kingdom" by Freedan the Eternal. I am not him. If you haven't read that story, I suggest you do so before reading this one, as there are MANY new pieces of lore in his version of Hyrule. If you are not comfortable with the idea of me taking someone's fanfic and making a fanfic of it, I suggest you stop reading this and find something else to do with your time.

If you personally are fan of his work(s), are wanting more of his content after he mysteriously vanished, and/or are interested in what I'm doing, I hope that I do a good enough job at replicating his style of writing. I am still a very new author and haven't had much experience with writing multiple stories at once. Any constructive criticism regarding this story would be greatly appreciated.

With that out of the way, I hope you all enjoy!

It had been a day like any other. The inhabitants of Castle Town had gone about their day blissfully unaware of the dark powers threatening to take them over. The particularly astute among them would find themselves looking at the pyramid that surrounded the castle and feel their stomachs go queasy. 'Why is that here? How is it there at all? Who is doing this?' Their thoughts would always be along those lines. Always curious; never satisfied. Even when the answer lay in front of them, they would never reach out and take it.

They feared that knowing the truth would cause them to help and that they would throw their lives away. Whether it be by enlisting in the guard or by simply trying to study magic, it mattered not to them. They didn't want to fail and make their loved ones have to live with one less person in their life.

This didn't change when the monster appeared. To the few that saw it, it looked like an octopus made of both darkness and light, made of magic itself. That would be half-right. If experienced mages looked upon the creature, many would say that it was an avatar of something greater using the body of a mortal to give itself form. The greatest mages would recognize that it was in fact a demon, the shadow of a being that should never have existed. An abomination that went against the will of the goddesses themselves.

But to the retired mage that lived before the kingdom of Hyrule was born, it was an omen. Whether it be of ill or good tidings, he wasn't sure.

And honestly? He didn't care. He had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment. Namely, taking care of the plants outside of his store. He had given up magic, fighting, power, all of it. He simply wished to live a calm and peaceful life, one without strife, where the only thing he had to worry about was the quality of his goods: the potted plants he grew and sold.

Some might consider him a fool for turning away from what he had once been great at; others, a coward for attempting to live like the past didn't happen. He knew these thoughts well. After all, of all the people he'd heard these remarks from, they came from his voice most often.

His interest hadn't increased when he saw and heard the castle crumble, either. In only a few short moments, Hyrule Castle, once proud and tall, had turned into a mountain of debris, leaving only a memory of what it was mere minutes ago.

The only thing that managed to attract the curiosity of the old magician was the message given by the winds. They carried the very mana emanating from the field, about a day's journey away. They spoke of battle, a confrontation between opponents: one ancient, powerful, and intelligent; and the other lithe, courageous, and with the power of the goddess of light on his side. Both having been blessed with the power of the gods.

This battle would not be one between a hero and villain, nor one of petty grudges, no. This battle was one of hatred, anger, and of pure rage. The kind of rage that comes from loss, from grief. From losing a friend, a family member.

A lover.

The adversaries were talking, but the winds couldn't carry the words. All the winds were able to hold were the emotions of the two opponents, but that was enough. One spoke of their past, of how they had lost what they had sought for so long. They then spoke of the future. Of destiny and fate. They attempted to bargain for that which they longed for all those years ago.

The other wouldn't have any of it. They denied the offer, desired to take destiny into their own hands, and wanted to avenge the grief they felt.

Then they fought.

Their blades clashed, and the collisions could be felt even as far away as they were, even without the winds. The very mana given off by the weapons saturated the air, being felt by everyone across the continent that was even slightly sensitive to it.

For every strike one made, the other responded, more ferocious than before. An end would occur, but how long would that take? A few minutes? Several hours? Days? Years? The way both refused to give in, the way they both grew with each moment, made it seem like it was to last forever.

And then it was over. The courageous one had been victorious.

The winds had stopped, for they had accomplished what they had set out to do: relay a message. They'd explained a battle that would have echoes throughout the rest of history.

They'd given an old friend context for the coming trials.

Vaati went back to watering his plants. After all, the winds couldn't know how he felt. He just wanted to live peacefully.

He would soon discover that what he thinks he wants and what he needs can't coexist.

AN

So yeah. I'm doing this. I've been a fan of this story-line for as long as I've been on Fanfiction . net. When I realized that Freedan wasn't updating the sequel to "The Silent Kingdom" anymore, I was very disappointed. Which is partially why I'm writing this fanfic, as a way to further explore the world he crafted.

Another reason is simply because I like Vaati. Specifically the Minish Cap version. You only see that version in one game, but it left such an impression on me that I've liked him as a villain for a while (he's definitely my favorite, but only the MC version. the four swords versions I didn't like much). He made an appearance in the sequel story, "The White Mask", but as it was left alone by Freedan for as long as it has, it left a sour taste in my mouth. Then I had a thought: "What if Vaati was in the original 'Silent Kingdom?'" And from there this fic was born. If Vaati had existed in this universe since before the main antagonist did, then he should have and would have interacted with it more than he did, and while I understand that he wasn't intended to be part of this universe at this point, he still ended up being part of it. While this fic solves that problem specifically, it does bring a couple other ones that I plan to explain and turn to into at least semi-important plot points.

I want to say that this is purely a passion project. I'm not trying to steal Freedan's fame in any way, I'm simply wanting to interact with and expand on a universe that I love. I said this before during the disclaimer, but if you aren't comfortable with the idea of me taking someone else's fanfic and making one about it, then I feel like you wouldn't enjoy this story. I'm sorry, but you're better off trying to find a more enjoyable fanfic.

For those of you who don't mind that I'm doing this, welcome aboard! I'm still relatively new to writing, so any constructive advice and criticism would be appreciated! Hope that I do a good enough job!

See you all later! Hope you have a great day!