1 Broken Hope

Prologue

    Link, a well renowned knight in the kingdom of Hyrule, has overcome many challenges with courage that not even the best warriors of his time could match. Though he has achieved more than any knight of Hyrule, most still treated him poorly because his father had died in his first battle, leaving his only son to be raised by his mother. This legend tells how he broke a curse made long ago, came to know his ancestors' lives and their hardships, and defended his friends, and the kingdom he called home. This is the final story of the Hero of the Goddess and the final battle between the forces of the Light and the Darkness. Courage and Power face each other for a final battle, that shakes the very fabric of time.

Chapter 1: Broken Hope

    Link~

    I ran with all my might trying to avoid being late for the biggest day of my life, the day I would be assigned to guard the royal family. I dashed over carts and wagons trying to cut down the time it would take me, but the streets were crowded for the upcoming festival. Just as I approached the castle gates, a cry rang out among the crowd. I looked in the direction that it came from and saw that a tall hooded figure was threatening an old woman who had a basket of bread and assorted fruits. I grunted in annoyance and sprinted to the scene as fast as possible. As I approached the hooded figure, I noticed it to be a girl/woman. She turned around and ran straight into me! When she ran into me, she stumbled and fell. When she looked up to see what she had hit, her eyes became wide. As I got a closer look at her she seemed oddly familiar. Before I had a chance to say anything, she got up and made a mad dash for the castle. I made chase to make sure, whoever she was, she wasn't up to anything to harm the royal family.

    She was a lot faster than I had expected, and I lost sight of her in the castle gardens. I searched the garden for any signs of her, but couldn't find anything. I heard what sounded like a foot slipping off of stone. I looked up to see the girl climbing the castle wall to get into a room. I shouted at her, "What do you think you're doing?!" She was startled by my shout and lost her grip. She was already a fair distance up the wall when she fell. I ran to catch her, and made it just in time. Except she more landed on me than me catching her. She quickly got off of me and tried to make a run for it, but I was able to grab her wrist before she got away. She struggled in an attempt get loose from my grip, but I held tightly to her. After a good 10 minutes of struggling she spoke, "Why did you pursue me?" Her voice was soft and sent chills down my spine for some reason.

    "You were trying to rob that lady in town, I pursued and saw you try to climb into the castle. Now tell me why you did these things and who you are."

    "Even if I told you who I was you wouldn't believe me, no one ever does when I'm not accompanied by guards wherever I go."

    "Why would guards always be around you?"

    "Because my name is Zelda, Princess of Hyrule."

    I looked at the girl, dumbfounded, but there was no way this was the princess, "Show me some proof then."

    "And what kind of proof would you believe ?"

    "I'll ask you something that only she would know."

    "Fine, go ahead and ask."

    "What was the name of the young knight in training who used to play with you when you were little?"

    She got a weird look on her face, "How would you know about that, we kept that secret between us How would some random guard know that?!" I removed my helmet and gave a smirk. Her face lit up. "I would know because I am him. Good to see you're still safe princess." She jumped up and hugged me, causing me to almost lose my balance. We sat down on one of the garden benches and talked for a bit about what had happened in the ten years since we last met. I told her about the monsters that I had defeated and the people I had met along my way. She told me about all the Nobles she had met and how some looked like fish and others looked like rocks. I caught myself constantly staring at her, noticing everything about her that I wouldn't have noticed as a young boy. She had a soft gentle face that would make anyone's day better, and a natural grace even when sitting that made you simply want to follow her wherever she went and listen to her every word. She caught me staring and looked away blushing. I tried to break the silence, "Anyway, why were you in town today Princess, and without your guards at that?"

    "I was curious what the festival preparations looked like, so I snuck out to go see them for myself," she got a happy smirk on her face, "I got hungry and asked a lady for some bread, when I insisted she claimed I was robbing her. That's when you showed up, and don't call me 'Princess', we're friends, just call me Zelda when we're alone."

    "I don't think it's my place to call you that, I'm just a knight."

    "I don't care, I'm the Princess and that's an order, got it!"

    "Very well then… Zelda."

    "So why were you in town today, shouldn't you have been guarding something?"

    "I was actually on my way to get my new duty assignment."

    "To where?"

    "To the royal family actually."

    I stood suddenly, realizing that I was definitely late by now and would get an earful from the captain for this. "Sorry, but I gotta go!!" I sprinted as fast as I could to get to the front of the castle and convince the guards to let me in, thankfully they didn't argue because of my uniform. I reached the throne room and knelt before the King. The captain was obviously furious with me for keeping the King waiting, but was keeping his composure in front of the nobles. I heard the King tell the captain that we would start as soon as the Princess showed up, at least that is what I assumed because he whispered it. The door to the right opened with a loud wooden creek, and the Princess in her usual pink dress and white gloves walked in with much more grace than she had had when she ran into me. With the princess now present, the royal family's test of courage could begin.

    They armed me with a sword and shield, and outfitted me with new chainmail and a green hat and tunic. I decided to ask the captain why the outfit wasn't basic guard armor, "I beg your pardon Sir, but why have I been gifted a new outfit? Wasn't I supposed to be assigned to the royal family, the green represents the private guard?"

    "You're being assigned to the Princess, whether or not you deserve the honor of doing so is another story."

    "This ceremony is different than the one I expected, what will I be doing?"

    "A simple test really, one part is simply attempting to draw a sword from a pedestal. The other, should you fail the first, is to slay the beast they release on you. If you complete even one of these, you shall join the royal family's private guard."

    "Why would I fail to draw the sword from the pedestal? Isn't it just an ordinary sword stuck into a pedestal?"

    "It appears that way, but not even the strongest warriors could pull that sword from its place. It's as if there is a something within the blade awaiting the proper master to wield it."

    He remained silent to let that sink in a bit, but I had already made up my mind. I would pull that sword from where it waits, and make a name for myself. I will go down in legend as a hero. I stood and adjusted the gear to sit comfortably on me, and made my way towards the royal guard. They led me down beneath the castle, the air growing more stale and damp as we descended deeper into the darkness of the catacombs. We reached a door at the bottom that was locked with about seven to eight different types of locks, some I had never seen before. The guards took turns pulling out keys and unlocking each of the locks, there seemed to be an order to how they would be unlocked, as if to make sure that the other wasn't an imposter. The final lock clicked open and the door made a loud creak and a cold breeze of fresh air drifted from the room we were about to enter, sending a calming chill down my spine. The guards stood on either side of the door and gestured for me to enter. I walked cautiously into the room, alone, looking around as I did. I walked slowly to other side of the room and found another locked door . As I turned around to ask the guards if they had a key to it, bars dropped down in front of both doors and the lanterns around the room grew dim.

    I drew my sword and readied my shield just as a roar cut through the air. A moderately large Dinolfos dropped from a hole in the ceiling and charged at me at full speed. I dodged to one side and regained my footing, facing my new enemy with excitement. A Dinolfos was a rare enemy to fight, let alone see just roaming around anywhere in Hyrule. The fact that the test included beating one excited me. It had a shortsword and small buckler for this fight, typical weaponry for this creature. It readied to charge again, and I made my move. I ran towards it, rolling between its legs as it came for me. I caught it's left leg with my blade and sent it sprawling. I had hit a tendon, making the leg unusable. It glared at me with a fiery hatred, and let out a roar that pounded against my eardrums. It stood weak and off balanced where it was, not wanting to compromise its defense since it was already injured. I approached slowly with my shield guarding my body, waiting to see how it would react to me. It didn't like the fact that a mere human was approaching it so carelessly, and prepared to breath fire at me, I took my chance and hoped for the best. I smashed my shield into its snout and thrust my sword into it's heart.

    The Dinolfos fell dead with a resounding thud. Strapped on its belt was a key; I took the key and the bars rose from the doors. I unlocked the second door and continued through. I was now in a corridor that seemed to go on forever. I grabbed a torch from the wall and ventured forth into the bleak darkness. At the end of it was a door that seemed to have a bright light pouring out from behind. I opened the door to find a garden that was lit up as brightly as if the sun itself was living herein. It was more beautiful than anything I had ever seen. Standing in the center was the Captain and the King with Zelda close by his side, who had obviously taken an easier route to get here. I approached them calmly and confidently admiring the beauty of the garden as I did. I knelt before the King when I was close enough, looking at the grass at King's feet. The King spoke, "Stand and follow, young knight." I did as told and followed the noble three into the garden. We came upon a statue of what I could only assume was the Goddess Hylia. She had a mysteriously strong resemblance to Zelda. The next to speak was the captain, "In there lies the blade of evil's bane: The Master Sword. Take it and earn your place among the heroes of this land." I looked closer and noticed a door at the base of the statue.

"The Princess and I shall accompany you inside, where you will attempt to pull the sword from its place." I nodded in agreement and made my way towards the statue. As I approached the statue, my left hand seemed to start throbbing in pain, as if it were warning me of something. Finally, I reached the foot of the statue where the door was. "Now what boy, how will you get in? There's no door." I looked to see if the captain was just teasing me, but he was looking around for an entrance, as if he couldn't see the door in front of us. Zelda looked more confused than I was at his words, regardless of the confusion she told the legend behind the statue, "Only one bearing the mark of power, wisdom, or courage on their left hand may open the door and enter the chamber within where the sword dwells." I looked at her and remembered the pain in my left hand. I pulled off the leather armor covering my hand to reveal a mark that hadn't been there this morning or ever before. When the captain noticed, his eyes got wide and his jaw dropped. He stood there, speechless, in awe of what he was seeing. Zelda grinned, "Now present the mark to the statue, and the path shall be revealed to you."

I did as she said and the door seemed to materialize before us. I flashed Zelda a grin, and she held one back, though she wasn't doing a great job of it. The three of us walked up to the statue and into the chamber within. I looked around the room and saw designs of the goddess all around the walls and ceiling. In front of us stood a pedestal with a blade in it, the Master Sword. Behind that was the crest of the Goddess Hylia. I approached the foot of the pedestal and stood there, admiring the blade before me. I reached out to grab the hilt of the blade and as I did, I heard a faint voice. "...Link..." I looked around suddenly, wondering where the voice had come from. Zelda snapped me back to reality, "Now reach out and attempt to draw the blade young knight." I looked at her and nodded. I reached out yet again, preparing myself for the voice to speak again. It did, just as I expected. "Master…. Draw the blade…. Defend The Goddess's incarnation…." Ignoring the voice I easily drew the blade from the pedestal in one pull and pointed it skyward in my triumph. At that very moment an evil laugh broke through the air and brought a freezing cold feeling into the chamber.

"How nice of you to get me what I wanted. I had tried possessing people to get it for me, but the spirit of that blade is a stingy one." I looked behind me where I heard the voice and noticed that the captain was the source of the laughter and the voice. His eyes glazed over and an insane look peeled across his face. "Though it seems this body has reached its limit. Guess I should abandon it now." Dark mist poured from the captain's body, which dropped to the floor motionless. The mist formed a slender male figure with pale skin and white hair. "It feels great to be out of that meat sack and back to my usual self. Now, how's about you bring the spirit out of your blade so that she and I may have a little chat?" I looked at him with confusion on my face and it obviously angered him.

"Are you kidding me?!?! I put all this time and effort into a plan and you don't even know how to bring out that blasted spirit!?! Well then, since you've made me break my charming demeanor, I'll just force you into submission and drag the spirit out that way!" He lunged toward me, and at that moment a light shot from the blade and slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. The light faded revealing a female figure clad in a tattered purple and blue cloak, with blue hair and skin to match. She floated only feet above the floor. The man before us stood and laughed, "So all I had to do was threaten your master to bring you out? Wish I had known it would be that easy." A blade magically appeared in his hands and he approached slowly, menacingly. The one in blue readied herself, " If you wish to hurt my master, you'll have to face me."

"Oh? What's this? Have we got more fight in us than the last time we met? Well it will definitely make this more interesting. Now, shall we?"

"You won't be facing me alone, my power comes from my master, and he shall win. I predict a 75% chance of this"

"You and your predictions. That still leaves me with 25% chance of defeating you and your precious master."

They clashed, the man using his sword to attack, and the woman using an elegant form of hand to hand combat. I could only look on in amazement, while I protected Zelda from anything that the man might try to throw our way. The fight continued until the girl made a slight misstep and suffered a direct hit from the man's blade. She fell in pain, and laid there, motionless before me. The man approached her and prepared to deal a fatal blow to her. He was savoring this moment, which gave me a chance to jump in and protect her. I made my move, diving in front of him with my shield raised. He stopped advancing and glared down at me. "You dare interrupt me, the Demon Lord Ghirahim?! For that you shall pay with your life maggot!" He raised his sword, preparing to swing, charging his strike with dark magic. As he attacked, I swung upward with the Master Sword. Then the unexpected happened; the sword that was meant to prove one's right to be in the private guard, had shattered under the power of his attack.

Ghirahim looked just as shocked as I did, then spoke, "Well then, if a blades spirit is weakened, the blade itself is also weakened. Good to know. Now it's time for the finale of this battle." A crooked grin shot across his face as dark smoke billowed from the blade, forming a pool of fog in the center of the floor. I figure rose from the smoke. He stood tall with skin as dark as the night sky, and eyes that blazed with hatred. His hair was pure flame, and flowed behind him as if afraid to get in front of him. Ghirahim knelt before him and spoke, "My lord, I have finally freed you from that prison." the dark figure looked down at Ghirahim and lifted him by the throat as if he were no more than a doll. When he spoke, it was as if the worst nightmare imaginable was crawling into your ears, "I was trapped in there for thousands of years, and you only just now release me from it? Did you think I would praise you for this? All you are is a weapon to be used for my gain."

"Of course master." Ghirahim looked pleased to be scolded by his master. He then transformed into a blade resembling the master sword, but more dark and corrupted. I looked on, frozen where I stood, not knowing the evil standing before me. The dark figure locked his gaze on me and the broken blade I held in my hands. "This is the best the Goddess's Hero has to offer? How disappointing, I guess I shall have to dispose of you and wait for the next incarnation to give me a real challenge. After all, your courage was feeble enough to be broken by a mere servant of mine, and now you sit there, motionless before me, with fear clouding your mind. This was too easy. AT LEAST GIVE ME CHALLENGE!!!!!" He raised his sword and swung toward me, as he did, a barrier of light appeared between me and the blade, only inches away from my head. I looked over to see that Zelda was the one creating this blinding barrier. "You won't hurt him while I'm here."

The dark figure faced her and smiled, "I had honestly forgotten you were here Princess Zelda. Or should I call you by your immortal name?"

"I don't know what you mean by that demon!" Zelda looked extremely confused by the man's words.

"So you haven't regained your memories either then? Well this fight will be over quickly, and soon I will conquer this world."

This creature before me wasn't a demon, or a man, or like anything I had ever seen before. He was altogether otherworldly. Every bone in my body screamed to get away, but I couldn't move no matter what I tried. I prayed for someone to save us, to give me the strength to stand up to him. I looked at the broken blade and the figure of the girl lying motionless a few feet away. The mark on my hand grew brighter until it was completely blinding. The light filled the room, disorienting the dark figure momentarily. I took the opportunity to grab Zelda's hand and make a run for it. On the way out, the spirit from the sword was sucked back into the blade, the wings of the blade's hilt retracted and the gem in the center dimmed. I disregarded it for the time being and continued to run; our lives depended on it. We had made it to the castle courtyards when we finally stopped to catch our breath. Zelda's dress looked worse for wear with tears across the bottom and dirt staining the once beautiful lace. Then she said the words I had dreaded to hear, "Go on without me Link, He can't be allowed to catch us both, he will gain unimaginable power."

"I won't leave you Zelda, not like this!"

"You have to, it's the only way we'll survive this."

She pushed me away and ran towards the castle. I tried to run after her, but she was faster than I was and got inside before I could catch her and put the door's barricade lock in place to keep me out. I pounded on the door yelling for her to let me in. She never responded, not even once to my desperate cries. I crumbled to my knees, shaking from either fear, or weakness, I couldn't tell which. I got up shakily and looked at the castle and promised to Zelda, "I will come back for you, no matter the cost! I promise!" With that said I turned and ran from the castle toward the Faron woods, where the Goddess Farore was said to reside. I got as far into the massive forest as I could without treading into the Lost Woods. I reached a large grove that had a massive yet welcoming tree in the center. I wearily approached the base of it and laid down to rest a while. It did not take long until I had drifted into sleep.