Chapter 11 - War is on
the Horizon
Link slid across the drenched ground, leaving a trail of
water flying up after him. The droplets fell back into the shallow river, creating
new ripples over its surface. He turned, his wild hair falling down as the wind
blew across it, his face revealing two thin blood streams over his right eye.
In front of him, Maru stood a few feet away, his
sword reflecting the thin light that now shined into the battleground, the rain
fall ceasing. Wielding his blade to his side, Maru
sprung towards where Link stood, his blade swiftly cutting through the light
beams, as he charged. Link growled at him in his anger, and too got up,
charging at Maru at full speed, his sword to the side
as well. A clash echoed throughout the forest as their blades met, metal
against metal, light and shadow shining on the two warriors faces in the green
dappled vegetation. Letting out yet another battle cry, Link pushed his blade
more and more towards Maru’s hand, which held the
long sword in a tight grip. But Maru, being the
former life guard of the princess, knew the tactics of battle well, he slid
away, making Link lose his balance for a brief second as he’d pushed too hard
with his blade, and this made him vulnerable for attack. Maru
slashed.
Zelda barely missed Illia’s arm
with her strike, and she was too late to recoil. Illia
stabbed, striking many times, her eyes giving of a gaze of evil satisfaction as
the dagger got covered by Zelda’s blood. Zelda held her arm, feeling how blood
ran over her fingers, staining her white gloves in a shade of red. She felt
stinging pain over her body, as she was covered in long gashes left by the
dagger in anger. Illia didn’t wait, but charged once
more, screaming in fury as she ran towards Zelda once again. Zelda was quick
though, and slashed back at her, her thin blade gracefully but powerfully
gliding through the shimmering sunlight that encased the empty throne room. Illia, sensing danger, jumped away and thrusted
forward, her dagger taking Zelda’s sword in a tight blow. Now they were both in
the same phase, trying to overpower each other. Zelda had a light sword, but in
it being longer, it was also harder to control its movements rapidly, Illia, having a small but not so powerful dagger, had a
harder time holding against Zelda’s weapon, but on the other hand, was able to maneuver it much quicker and could easily slash multiple
times at once, contrary to Zelda, who had to make long swipes. When Zelda
failed to hold more, she swept away her sword, breaking the clash. In the power
that was released, the two thrust their blades backwards in a fast motion, both
weapons breaking the largest window in the room, shattered glass flying around
them in shining cascades, the sun entering the battle, casting heavy shadows
amongst its rays. They lingered a bit,
tired after the assault, but soon one of them made a move. Illia,
being possessed by Ganondorf, was in reality more
powerful than Zelda, but he wanted to see how she battled against him just in
case she wouldn’t be a threat towards him if he had to face her. That is, if
she survived this. A wind blew over them, their hair flying in it, and neither
freezing of its chilly gust. Zelda stood by her throne, a single large ray of
light shining on her and it, the thin rapier she held in her hand, ready to
defend herself. She charged, her hair flowing behind her back as a mantle of
gold, her dress falling in random folds when she ran. With a single strike, she
thrusted her blade with all her might into Illia’s abdomen, the crimson blood flying on her face and
dress, splashing against her. Illia fell down, the
blade being lost in her, only the handle being left outside, covered in her own
blood. Zelda stood over her, breathing in fast quick flashes, her shoulders
moving up and down as she exhaled, she felt both relived and tense. Her heart
rushed ahead of her, seeming not to slow down, and a spirit of fierceness
roared from within. Was this what it was like to battle? Her eyes shone of
pride, bearing the knowledge that she was able to fend for herself. As Illia slowly returned to her normal self, Ganondorf’s spell drifting away from her, she felt a
massive pain. Her world darkened, and yet the last thing she saw before her was
her enemy, whose blood covered face looked like the face of war. ‘I…hate…you!!’
She managed to utter, her hand grasping the dagger she held up, before it fell
silently to the clean, marble floor. The fight was over.
Feeling how his flesh ripped, blood gushing out from the
wound, Link moaned in pain, holding his hand over the hurt area. His hand
quickly got stained by the red, but he didn’t care, as he grew more and more
impatient and angry at Maru, who was without a
scratch on his armor. He straggled, trying to keep
his balance, growling and gritting his teeth together, long fangs starting to
unveil. He felt how he started transforming, fur hairs coming over his body,
his ears covered in small sharp tufts of fur. ‘What’s this now? Are you so
angry that you start becoming a wolf?’ Maru taunted,
amused by this display of barbarity. Link snarled, fully in his beast form,
running up towards Maru, the light shining across his
strong body. This time, he wouldn’t miss. Not again, like he did before. It was
time for bloodshed. The wolf eyes reflected his determination and feistiness,
the wind flowing past his ears, as the final climax of their battle was near.
Link’s hackles shot out all over him, making him look larger and more dangerous
as he raised it, unleashing a roar, his tail high. His teeth sank into the
metal shine of Maru’s blade, he not expecting so much
force upon collision. Link landed on his paws, kicking up a trail of dust,
biting the blade as hard as he could, his gums soaking of the taste of blood.
Despite that, he kept the sword in his mouth, refusing to let go, his wounds on
both face and body bleeding unstoppably.
‘Wolf warrior, you are a powerful one! But I won’t be defeated by a mutt!!’
In that instant, a large crack was heard, and Maru
felt how his blade weakened by Link’s sheer force. The blade shattered, and its
metal pieces landed on the ground, broken. In their mirror reflection, the eyes
of the wolf glowed with hatred. As Maru looked
upwards, Link had fallen back, his snarl sounding clearly in the quiet
surroundings. He felt how his blood dripped over his fangs, like water.
Standing rock solid, his appearance reminded of that of a fearsome beast
mentioned in horrible legends of past ages. ‘You’re without your weapon now, Maru! My fangs will find your throat and I will leave this
battle in victory!!’ Link growled at him. And after having issued those final
words, Link flew at him, showing no mercy. But Maru
wasn’t going to give up without a fight. He raised his arm to protect his face
from the powerful long fangs that griped him, the unprotected gauntlet breaking
into tissue as Link bit, a stream of blood hitting his face. Clenching his
teeth, Maru knew that only one of them would walk out
of this alive. He aimed a strong kick at Link’s shoulder, making him lose his
grip, his head in the air, the jaws shut tight. Link leapt forward again, his
claws slashing at Maru’s rains which held the main
chest piece of armor in place. It fell off with a
bang, leaving Maru exposed, and Link made the final
strike, his mouth opening to reveal his stained fangs ready to finish the fight
once and for all. He bit with all his force into Maru’s
throat, killing him as he had punctured the main artery, the blood going
everywhere over him, his fur in a blaze of it. Maru
had finally fallen after a hard and perilous battle, failing in his goal to
kill Link.
After making sure Maru wasn’t alive, Link fell too into the shimmering water,
which bore a hint of blood among its blue haze. He rested, being weary after
the clash, lying completely still. Water covered his body, making his fur
darken slightly, a wind like that of a summer breeze flowing throughout it,
lifting up a couple of tufts before letting it settle down again. Slowly, the
sounds of the forest returned to his senses, birds started singing calm
soothing melodies, as the light faded for the day, another day survived by both
Link and Zelda, their enemies beaten, having failed in their mission…‘Pathetic
nuisances, how dare they fail?!’ Ganondorf roared out
in his cave, making the place shake by his powerful voice. ‘Very well, I will
have to deal with them myself…’ He returned to his controlled state, calmed. ‘I
will make them pay in a way that they’re never going to forget!’ the yellow
eyes glinted of cunning and skill. Soon, his army of dark minions was ready.
Soon, the battle would begin the final clash in the history of light and dark.
Dark would push over the Light, blotting it out forever, a new ruler mounting
the throne as the leader of Hyrule. A laugh made itself heard in the darkness
of the cave. He went out, calling forth his army using every evil spell he
could, the soldiers covering far beyond the horizon. Mounting his black
fearsome horse, he stormed into the direction of Hyrule Castle,
leading the hoards of minions, beasts and soldiers. The ground was beaten up
and turned to ash, burning under the march of darkness. He smiled.
Link, meeting Zelda, saw the foreboding grey clouds covering
the sky. Their appearances were anything but beautiful. Zelda still retained
the gashes of her show down with Illia, and Link with
his blood stained clothes and scars. Zelda used some of her healing abilities
to close the wounds on both herself and Link, both feeling refreshed and ready
to continue. They rode on their noble steeds, Zelda on Aesir
the Shire and Link on Epona, the strong-spirited
Clydesdale, who had seen many battles together with her master. Their swords
hung on their backs, flowing in the wind behind them. The final battle was
about to commence, as both sides, light and shadow stormed towards the last
great battle over their homeland, Hyrule…
Snow began covering the landscape around them, the forests
and mountains growing cold, dangerous and desolate. It was like the land itself
was preparing for the end of the world. At last, the time had come. The dark
forces stopped on Hyrule field, Link and Zelda stopping as well. To their
surprise, they were joined by an army for themselves, an army of denizens of
the light. Rusl rode to where Link was, Link being
shocked by seeing sword smith again after such a long time. ‘I assembled this
army when you didn’t, for you fail to notice, Link, those other tribes of
Hyrule hears of the deeds of both you and princess Zelda. Since those events of
the mysterious Twilight enshrouding our world for some years ago, the tribes
and people of Hyrule grew closer, and the Resistance, which was split after the
saving of Hyrule, rejoiced once again.
Word reached my ears long ago that you fought a great evil once and that
the fell wind sweeping our kingdom this day, a few years later, is the beast
reawakened. We noticed it when monsters began appearing again, populating the
area of Gerudo Mesa, and filling Faron
Woods. People know when something bad is about to happen, an evil rising again.
Our land has seen this many ages, both past and present. Now, it is time, for
our last great battle…where we’re assembled as one force, of all races! The
people of Hylia watch up to their princess, and will
defend her kingdom till the last one has fallen!’ ‘Take this!!’ A Zora clad in blue shimmering armor
threw a banner towards Link. Catching it, it unfolded against the wind, a wolf
of white color among the red and green ornaments to
the torn edges, the banner of the ancient Hylian tribe!
Seeing this, he also saw how each tribe had brought forth its clan’s banners,
which had been handed down for generations. ‘The princess and you, Link, are
the only survivors of the honorable Hylians to this day.
You are destined to lead Hyrule to victory together, a victory of
light!’
The sky changed. Light sun rays cut through the dark clouds
and shone at the army of the Hyrulean races, like a
token that the Goddesses were on their side. However, dark clouds shrouded the
army of the evil Lord, lightning flashing, lighting up the horizon, the snow
covered ground seeming to wait to be spilled with the blood of warriors. Link and Zelda stood side by side in the
rays, the wind flying by their hair, their eyes bearing a hint of those of king
and queen. The banners flew in the strong wind, both light and shadow preparing
for the largest war in Hyrule’s history…