It has been the pain and the ultimate downfall of many potential heroes.
Those who stand against the power either perish, or spend the rest of their lives in fear. Believe it or not, a leader with one of the most ruthless minds in history runs this band of terrible creatures.
The Death Knights kill and maim under the strict hand of General Trebla', a defector from the ranks of Hyrule's army. They track down their targets with a hitherto unknown single-mindedness, never relenting until their prey is cold and dead.
A squadron of these elite killing machines have been sent by Lorkhan to seek out the Hero of Time and destroy him...
-The Desert Colossus-
"Sire, my Death Knights are in place to rid you of that pathetic rebellion," Trebla’ boomed in his deep and dark voice.
His king turned to him, the scarce light of the chamber accentuating the menacing scowl on his sunken face, sending a chilling feeling down the General's spine.
"They had better be! I am sick and tired of your constant foul-ups! If you do not finish this scum that has befouled my plans, you shall be the one to pay!" the evil Lorkhan threatened while scowling down upon his general.
"My Liege, we shall not fail!" the Hylian replied immediately.
"See to it that you don’t. And Trebla’, make sure that you bring me the 'hero' alive. I want to ask him myself where his precious Triforce is."
"Yes, My Liege!"
Trebla’ quickly exited as Lorkhan sat, bemused with himself and lost in his own plans. He pondered the thought of controlling the full Triforce. He would only need to capture this little pest and from there, he would only need the princess. Lorkhan thought of the last time that he had seen Princess Zelda, years ago when she was still a puny little girl.
The Gerudo King laughed as he thought of how easily she would fall under his power.
-Lon Lon Ranch-
"Yeehaw! Lon Lon Ranch!" Dreck exclaimed as he viewed the enormous sign above him from on top of the huge Goron’s shoulder.
"Don’t get your tunic in a bunch. It’s just a smelly old horse farm," Zetalyn said, not sure why this sudden outburst from the little Deku had been over something so insignificant.
Indeed, the horse ranch was certainly not the largest in the kingdom, but it was sizeable enough to make a profit. Link stepped into the ranch’s wide pasture as he breathed in the aroma of the all too familiar scenery.
Dozens of cuccos were running about, occasionally darting underneath the hero's legs. Similar to chickens in other parts of the world, the Hylian cucco is known for its beautiful white feathers and it's independent spirit. Putting them in a pen is usually not a good idea, as they can fly for short distances. Their meat is always quite tender, and the eggs they produce are considered delicacies in all parts of Hyrule.
In the distance, several cows were grazing. Milk from these cows is often considered to be the best in the world, and can fetch quite a high price. A full-grown bull from Lon Lon Ranch is worth ten times that of the best of horses raised there. This of course, made the ranch a piece of prime real estate.
The owners' farmhouse stood in the foreground, looking for all the world like it needed a few more coats of paint. Although the ranch did look a little run down at times, a trained eye could tell that the love and the caring were still there
Link could that not a thing had changed.
A loud noise startled him from his daydream as he saw a horse galloping towards him from across the field. The brown hair and the friendly eyes of the animal had been a sight for sore eyes. Epona ran towards him bounding over the obstacles that had taken Link so long to coax the horse into jumping.
Link bolted away from the group and ran towards his faithful old friend who had been there for him during all those times he had saved the world. He had found a true companion years before, only to lose her again when it came time to give her back to her rightful owners. The Hero of Time started to laugh aloud when he ran towards his old mount, nearly jumping with joy.
Returning Epona to the ranch had been one of the hardest things he ever had to do. Link began to chuckle as Epona galloped toward him, thinking this was the greatest thing ever.
Then, he tripped over a rock and smacked into the ground face first.
Rubbing his head, he looked back to find another familiar personage. Talon, the owner of the ranch and father of his friend Malon, was standing directly over him. The rather portly man, who had a strange way of falling asleep at the most annoying times, stuck his nose into Link's face and hollered as loud as he could.
"Howdy stranger!" said Talon. "Whoa! Looks like you done took a spill."
"It appears I have," replied the hero, holding his head.
From behind him, Link could hear his friends laughing almost hysterically.
He climbed to his feet and looked up to see Epona standing next to him. Talon scratched the mare behind the ear and, without saying another word, walked off, as he needed to catch up on his sleeping.
It had been a strange encounter indeed, but unimportant in the long run.
Link rubbed Epona's mane and gently patted her on her back, making her nuzzle up against his hand. The hero was in a state of pure bliss, one that could be hard to get him out of.
"Why is he so happy to see a dumb horse?" Zetalyn asked as they all watched the Hero of Time become simply ecstatic over an animal.
"Link and Epona have been through much. They have endured difficult trials together and have saved the lives of many. This excellent creature is one of the most highly held friends of the Hero of Time," Zelda explained in her most annoying tone.
The archer scoffed under her breath as the Princess drolled on for several more minutes about the marvelous beast that had aided Link many times.
Zetalyn watched as the Hylian patted the horse and laughed heartily. She had never seen the Hero of Time smiling so broadly before. She was amazed at how he showed so much joy over a simple beast of burden. And in her heart, she wished that perhaps someday she might be able to experience that kind of feeling.
In order to keep up her callous facade though, she rolled her eyes.
Link mounted his beloved horse and scratched the back of the mare's rough neck. He remembered much of his old travels with Epona. Just being on her back again, in his own saddle, made the feeling of the wind rushing through his hair return. Link had dreaded giving her back to the ranch time and time again, but no matter how much time he spent with Epona, the truth was she didn't really belong to him.
He gazed dreamily into the sky as a voice snapped him out of his trance.
Standing in front of his horse was a beautiful young lady, presumably one of the hired hands.
"Excuse me, do you have some business here?" the dazzling woman said as she gazed directly into the Hero of Time’s eyes.
The lady gripping Epona's reins had the very brightest of red hair. It was fiery in color, and flowed down her back in a single sweep. Though her dress was quite plain, and rather dirty, it showed off her luscious form underneath.
It was Malon, the woman in charge of the ranch.
She had to take a long hard look at the man on top of her prize winning horse before recognition hit her like lightning.
"Wait a minute! LINK! By the will of the fairies, I never thought I'd see you again!" Malon cried out as she dove at Link.
Link, taken aback by this sudden outburst of emotion, grasped her tightly as she slammed into him. The laws of physics stated that he should be knocked from his mount, and that is exactly what happened. He toppled off Epona and hit the ground as Malon fell on top of him.
Suddenly, he found himself in a very compromising situation.
Of course he felt something, but Link had no idea how to deal with this new sensation. As a celebrity, he'd grown used to women diving at him, and had learned to dodge them quite effectively. However, this time, with one of the girls finally pinning him down, he felt totally helpless and confused.
The young Hylian just didn't know how to deal with this. He was confused, but at the same time, he liked it quite a bit.
The Princess, momentarily startled by Link’s name being yelled behind her, turned to see the Hero of Time lying under a peasant girl who seemed to be grasping him tightly.
What made Zelda furious was that Link showed no effort to remove her from his body.
Something was burning now in the back of her mind. The flames grew and grew, pushing forward and taking over her body. Zelda's face grew hot, and she was turning colors. The heat began to spread all over, and when it reached her stomach, it began to turn it foul.
Never before in her life did Zelda have such negative feelings towards another person. Years of attending banquets, conversing with nobles, and being catered to had instilled in her a sense that she should always be regal and proper. That went flying out the window when she laid eyes on Link being smothered by a common girl, who she deemed not worthy of his attention.
A very angry Princess Zelda stormed over to where Link was lying.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Her Majesty yelled.
Zelda’s voice shook the young proprietress as she suddenly appeared behind her.
Malon climbed off of Link, pulling him up as she laughed aloud.
"Please, Zelda it’s not what you thi..." was all he managed to get out before it all broke loose.
The redhead held up her hand to silence him, letting him know that she was perfectly capable of defending her own honor.. Never being one to back down, Malon accepted the challenge present in Zelda's tone of voice. She couldn't care in the least how royal her adversary was, or what the consequences might be for what might happen in the next few moments.
"Where do you get off yelling at me?" Malon countered with her hands positioned hard on her slender hips.
"Do you know who you are talking to, peasant?!" the Princess roared.
"I really don’t care who you are! I'm allowed to hug an age old friend if I feel like it!"
"I doubt the Hero of Time would want such a lowly, pathetic tramp hanging all over him like some love-sick puppy!"
"Well at least he’s better off with me then with some stuck-up, high-class, brown-nosed snob!"
"You are nothing more than a dirty, common whore!"
"Oh yeah, well you're just an ugly, big-headed trollop!"
The Princess had never struck one of her subjects before, but at the end of that sentence Zelda lost all of her self-control. She swung her arm out and slapped the beautiful girl square in the face.
Malon, violent with rage, swung back and left a scarlet handprint on Zelda’s cheek.
No one had ever in history dared to strike a member of the Royal Family. Malon had crossed the line, and the Princess would make her pay. Before the farm girl could apologize, an outraged Zelda charged her, bringing her swiftly to the ground.
Behind the two fighting young women, the group didn't seem to know what to do. As a matter of fact, they found that it would be necessary to discuss it in a committee.
"I say we let them fight it out," Zetalyn said offhandedly. "Hylians are normally very level-headed, but if one feels his or her honor has been violated, then that one is, of course, entitled to a duel."
"You call this a duel?" Gonga replied. "If I didn't know any better I'd say it were a cat-fight. Emotions are obviously involved."
The Deku Scrub had been listening intently, and threw in his opinion.
"It's an understatement to say that emotions are involved," said Dreck. "I don't know who the Princess thinks she's fooling, but it's obvious she has a vested interest in Master Link. Now, this new woman has come along and has challenged Lady Zelda's claim. I can't say I condone it, but I do see the reasons."
The debate continued into a lively discussion of Hylian society, even though just five yards away two people were trying their best to inflict bodily harm on one another. In reality it was rather informative, as Hyrule's civilization had progressed much since ancient times. However, the one person who was supposed to represent that civilization was currently trying to beat the living daylights out of someone she didn't even know.
Talking wasn't going to do anything, and desperate action was needed.
Knowing full well what he was getting into, Link dove between them with his arms held out to try and calm down the vicious squall that had been going on over him.
Two balled fists came rushing towards him, one from the left and one from the right. They simulatneously hit him with a force and a rage he had never known. Link could feel the jealousy present in the blows just as much as he could the intense pain.
His courage held up, but his body didn't. A dizzying pain came to his jaw as stars whirled round his head. In a few seconds was Link stumbling around, rubbing the red marks where Zelda and Malon had both punched him.
"LINK!" the two girls simultaneously yelled as they realized what had just happened.
Instead of ending the turmoil, it only fueled the fires.
"See what you did you scum!" Zelda hollered into Malon’s ear.
"Me?! It was you who hit him!" the redhead screamed back.
Zelda and Malon continued to bicker and fight as Link stood up and dusted himself off. He'd been punched by hulking creatures three times his size before, but something this time happened that had never once occured.
The power of their blows had knocked his green hat clean off. It lay unassumingly on the ground about five feet from where he stood.
For the time being, Link ignored the pain in his jaw and glanced back at the two rivals. Jaden and Gonga had already separated and restrained them, so he bent over and scooped up his fallen hat.
He placed it back on his head just before an arrow pierced the ground where the hat had been.
Then another arrow hit the same spot, followed by another, and another, and then yet another.
"HIDE!" Link bellowed as loud as he possibly could.
He scooped Malon up under one arm and Zelda under the other. Despite their protests, Link ran for the stables as the Renegades drew their weapons and waited for the attack to fully commence.
-In the darkness...-
It is said that in the deepest regions of the Gerudo Fortress there is a sacred training center for the most elite fighting forces. In his long travels, the Hero of Time had encountered only the most lowly of the assassins taught there.
Now, he would have to face two fully trained and extremely deadly young women.
Out of the four deadliest Gerudo in the world, these two were sent to destroy the faction of resistance against Lorkhan. The decree was written in an ancient language that had long since been forgotten. Upon this dirty piece of parchment was the order from Lorkhan to the two assassins.
So’Prano and A'lto were the ones that had been chosen to carry out the assassination. So’Prano was hired to take care of the Hero of Time, and A'lto was to destroy the Renegades. It made a person wonder how two ordinary human females were supposed to stop a band of fighters who could easily hold their own against the Death Knights.
Obviously, these girls were out of the ordinary.
So'Prano, an elite soldier of the Gerudo, was strong, beautiful, and if her hair had been placed in a different style and her skin tone changed, one would swear she was a clone of Impa. She carried a sword of blood red and a dagger of pure darkness. The sword had seen many a battle and had felled numerous soldiers and warriors.
It was said that this instrument of mass destruction was bathed in the blood of one of the Great Fairies, increasing its striking power tenfold.
A'lto was a younger more inexperienced fighter, but possessed the eyesight of a hawk. A warrior who had seen much bloodshed but never combat. An unwilling witness to the horrors of the Fierce War, she was truly a sight to see. Her reddish brown hair appeared to sparkle, a distraction that could lead many to their deaths. She was armed with a bow and a quiver of black arrows that, when fired, seemed to darken the surrounding sky.
Lorkhan had trusted So’Prano with the utmost responsibility of the task, to eliminate the Legendary Hero, and to guide and watch if her sisters failed.
She clearly remembered the conversation with her king, almost as if it were yesterday.
-A month earlier: at the Gerudo Fortress-
"Well, my servant, have you chosen to accept my offer?" Lorkhan asked into the shadows.
She walked from the dank corner of the dreadful palace. Her long hair tied tightly in a bun and her sword unsheathed in her hand, ready in case a few Death Knights might be waiting to ambush her.
"My sisters and I will take the job, but I will take care of the Hero of Time," she answered with a great measure of confidence.
"I have the utmost faith in you So’Prano," said the King. "And in case your sisters fail...you must uphold your end of the contract."
"We shall not fail my lord. We are Gerudo. Never have we failed a mission!"
"See to it that you don’t!" Lorkhan sternly said. "And...I expect you to bring me the Hero of Time alive."
So’Prano was taken aback by this sudden request, as she had never been asked to bring back a target alive. Every person she had been set to assassinate ended up dead, and those who needed to be taught a lesson were always severely wounded at the very least. This new job disgusted her, and she showed it freely.
"Sire, I am not one to do a job half-assed. I finish off my target and that is that. And to ask me to bring him back alive is to ask me to go against my code of honor!"
Lorkhan's eye visibly twitched at her last statement. Hatred seemed to flow forth from him, and the King was prepared to instil obedience in his subject.
"And to disobey me is to FEEL MY WRATH!" he bellowed as black fire shot from his hands and enveloped her.
So'Prano screamed in agony as the dark fire burned around her. The sensation was absolutely debilitating, and her knees began to buckle from underneath her.
"This is pain, my dear So'Prano!" Lorkhan cruelly sneered. "You shall feel ten thousand times worse should I not hear what I want!"
The flames stung all over her body, charring her flesh. The Gerudo woman dropped to the ground and curled up into a ball, trying to make the pain stop. Of course, due to Lorkhan's cruelty, it did not.
It kept coming, and bit by bit it got stronger, overpowering her will so that she could do nothing but submit to her master's strength.
"STOP! Please stop! I’ll do it!" she shrieked with all the air left in her lungs.
Lorkhan waved his hand through the air once and the black flames vanished into the nothingness from which they came.
Dazed, So'Prano slowly got to her feet. When she looked herself over, she found to her amazement, that there were no burn marks. The suffering her king had put her through had no meaning other than to gain her submission.
Seeing that there was no real damage except to her pride, she quietly and humbly accepted the assignment.
As she headed for the door, So'Prano heard Lorkhan mutter one last thing.
"Women...they always want to do things the hard way. I must make sure that she doesn’t ruin my plans…"
-Back at Lon Lon Ranch-
So’Prano snapped back to reality as her sister shot a black as night arrow into the open air towards her target. From their perch atop the storehouse on the other side of the ranch, they had a perfect view of their surroundings. The younger sibling drew back on her bow and unleashed another black arrow of death
A'lto was known for her excellent trademark shot and for never missing her targets.
However, this time she seemed to have been less than accurate.
"You fool! You've had your chances and you've missed!" the elder shrieked as the younger recoiled in fear of a swift blow from her sister.
"It wasn't my fault sister. The Death Knights have been distracting me!" said the archer.
"No excuses!" her sister replied. "Death Knights! Charge!"
At her command, twenty-five Death Knights rose up from underneath the ground. They split the earth and climbed out, bringing with them their giant swords. Ganondorf himself had forged these armored Moblins out of his pure evil and hatred of Hyrule. Each one a ton of sinewy muscle, these dark and desolate fighters attack without mercy, and live only to kill.
They have never failed a task, at least until they met up with the legendary Hero of Time.
Now the fellowship had to fight off a small army of these broadsword wielding killing machines.
And to think that only three of these creatures captured the young Hylian. Now they had at least twenty or thirty to fend off.
They rushed forward, their blood-curling scream piercing the air as the two assassins disappeared into the shadows.
-The Farmhouse-
"Oh, shit! Here they come!" Dreck yelled from on top of his perch.
He had rappelled up onto the roof of the farmhouse, and stood now with his hookshot at the ready.
The Deku took careful aim as he watched the charging Knights scare the cows and horses into a stampede. Lucky for his friends they were stampeding in the opposite direction.
At the front line stood Gonga and Zetalyn, silently waiting for the battle to commence. The first of the evil Moblins made a beeline towards the Goron, raising its gigantic blade above its head to strike a fatal blow.
Gonga reacted quickly, and rolled up into a tight ball. The Knight's sword clanged hard, but uselessly, against the rock man's mineral encrusted backside. Standing, the Goron prepared to strike back.
"By Farore’s Wind you shall not have us this day!" Gonga yelled as he drew up his warhammer and brought it down hard on the head of the Death Knight.
Stunned for a slight second by the truly noble exclamation from the large Goron, Zetalyn snapped back into position as she heard the unmistakable sound of an arrow whizzing past. A solid black arrow buried itself into the ground at her feet. The dark tip sizzled and scorched the earth as it burned away the soil and grass.
"Son of a...they have poisoned tipped arrows!" the Zora yelled to the others.
In revenge, she unleashed a flurry of her own arrows back into the evil mass swarming towards the barn.
Swords, arrows, hammer thwacks, and hookshot blasts flew everywhere as the two sides collided with each other. The opposing forces were totally lopsided, and it seemed the immense force Lorkhan had sent after the group would overwhelm the Renegades.
Then, from seemingly out of nowhere, the sides were evened.
Bursting from the barn, Link cut through the Moblin ranks just in time as Dreck was knocked from the roof of the house. The Hero of Time dove out and caught his little Deku friend. He placed him on his feet as he brought his shield up to block a crushing blow from a Death Knight.
The Hylian and the Moblin were now locked in mortal combat.
Sparks flew as the hero's sword hit the Moblin's. The Master Sword glowed brightly as it shattered the evil blade into pieces. Link then swung the sacred sword in a sideways arc, cutting through the Death Knight in one swift motion.
As the Knight separated into two equal halves, Link rebounded and faced another group of hellions.
It makes one wonder as to how he got caught in the first place if he could cut through them like a knife through Lon Lon butter.
"Zetalyn, there are three behind you! Dreck you have two above you! Gonga keep up the attack! We’ve got them on the run!" the hero shouted triumphantly.
The only one who had yet to do anything was Jaden. His eyes were closed, and he was quietly listening to the sounds of the raging battle. With his large pointed ears, he could determine everyone's exact position just by the sound of his or her footfalls. The Sheikah boy inhaled slowly, waiting patiently for his enemies to reveal themselves.
He could hear light footsteps very close to him, and he could tell they were coming from someone other than his friends. Jaden opened his eyes, catching a glimpse of two figures darting past him. They moved speedily behind the action, ready to spring an ambush on the Hero of Time.
Jaden bounded to where he saw the two shadows grouping. He drew his dagger and called out to the figures.
"Come out and fight, cowards!" he demanded.
His voice seemed to startle them, as they both jumped up. One ran away in fear, while the other stood defiant and stepped forward.
From the darkness emerged a young woman. Slender and dark skinned, she was very alluring. In her hands she held a long curved sword, the steel of the blade a deep crimson red.
A look of contempt spread across her face as she stared at her opponent.
"Pathetic fool! Do you really believe you can stop me?!" yelled So'Prano. "You'll feed my sword another coat of blood!"
With that, she attacked. Her speed was blinding, and she closed the distance between them in an instant. A slash of So'Prano's blade nearly caught the Sheikah, but he too was fast. He dodged her thrust, then parried with his dagger, frustrating the Gerudo assassin to no end.
She was quick, but so was Jaden. If he had been born anyone else he'd be dead and in several pieces by now.
However, Jaden was not an ordinary boy.
"I am Sheikah! I was trained by the great Impa, and I will fall to no one!" he stated dramatically.
His taunt made her step back a bit, giving him the chance he needed. Jaden jumped forward, spearing the Gerudo in the stomach and bringing her to the ground.
Her sword went flying out of her hands, landing some distance away near the farmhouse. The second she was unarmed, the boy turned on his heel and ran for the sword. He grabbed it just as a dagger flew into his tunic, pinning him to the wall.
Jaden tried to pull it out, but it had lodged itself firmly in the wood. So'Prano was much faster than he expected, especially if she were to have caught him unawares like that. Without a way to draw his own weapon, he was stuck there, entirely at the mercy of his opponent.
Thankfully, he did have one slight bit of luck. He still had her bloody sword. Since the dagger was in his tunic, So'Prano had to be defenseless as well. If he could hold her back enough, then maybe he could wriggle free.
Jaden never got to finish his frantic thoughts as suddenly she bounded towards him grabbing her sword from his hand and flipping backwards.
He suddenly noticed that he was now pinned to the wall not by one, but by five daggers. Hesitation had been his downfall, allowing her speed to overcome his indecisiveness.
"How did she hide those from me?" he solemnly said to himself as So'Prano drew closer.
The young Sheikah consigned himself to fate, and stared helplessly at his attacker.
Today was his day to meet the Goddesses.
She held the blade a foot from his chest as an evil smile crept across her lips.
"Ha Ha Ha! The blood of many shall be joined by the blood of one more! Destroy this child, and send him down to the netherworld!" she screamed as she dove forward.
Her blade dug deep and pierced hard into the surface. Fragments of wood shattered around as she pulled it out of her target.
She was absolutely dumbfounded when she realized that the boy had vanished without a trace. At first, she thought that maybe he was some kind of a ghost or an angry spirit, as the assassin hasd heard many stories about the Sheikah during her childhood suggesting they were as such. However, defeat washed over her quickly as here eyes caught sight of the boy moving away from her at high speed.
A string of harsh profanities spewed forth from So'Prano as she witnessed Jaden bounding across the roof.
He was followed closely by a small little plant holding a hookshot.
-Inside the Barn-
"If he thinks I am going to sit here and wait for him, he's sadly mistaken," Zelda grumbled as she lifted her staff, readying for battle.
Sitting cross legged on the floor about ten feet away from her was the farm girl whose name she hadn't even bothered to learn. For a reason the Princess didn't understand, the young woman seemed lost in her own little world, and was staring out into space while mindlessly grinning.
Zelda was about to find out just what the reason was.
"Oh, Link saved me! I hope he comes out okay. I just need to thank him oh-so-dearly," Malon cooed as she dreamed of the silky blonde hero touching her skin gently.
The Princess literally gagged at the mere thought of it.
"Muzzle it! As if he would give you the time of day!" Zelda mumbled under her breath as she slid out the back of the barn.
The Princess wasn't afraid of anything, not even the Death Knights. Underneath the surface image of a stuck up, regal princess was the heart of a warrior. However, what she was about to see would scar her emotionally and give her nightmares for the rest of her life.
While running over to join the battle, she saw a shadow bound up into the only tree on the entire estate. Wondering what it was, she moved closer to investigate.
Her answer was not one of delight but of horror. She glimpsed a bowstring being drawn back and an arrow fly from this unknown attacker. Zelda turned her head to see the arrow pierce into the skin of its target.
The black as night arrow ripped through the silky cloth as the target fell to his knees.
Zelda shrieked in terror as she watched the wounded warrior drop the brightly gleaming sword.
The Hero of Time had been hit, and the wound was likely mortal.
The mysterious attacker jumped down revealing her true face.
A'lto had finally hit her mark. Her arrow struck Link in the small of his back, and the assassin watched with pleasure as he began to slump over.
Zelda, crying freely, held her hand out to the fallen hero, unable to move. The sheer horror of the moment made her knees buckle, and she too dropped to her knees. Her blood burned, and her heart bled as if it too had been pierced by the arrow.
Link gasped, trying to grab at the arrow lodged in his back. Searching for his assailant, his eyes fell upon Zelda, and the Gerudo woman holding the bow.
Before losing consciousness, he used his last bit of strength to reach a hand out to Princess Zelda.
Then, the hero collapsed.