I

364 15 49
                                    

"Two types of people are staying in Castle Town, the dead and those that are going to die. Now let's get the hell out of here. Sir." -Sebastian Sarap, private of the Royal Guard to the king during the siege of Castle Town


Hyrule Castle - 04:36:06

It was quiet, but this early in the morning, what did you expect? He was having trouble sleeping; the next time the sun rose to bless its light over the land of Hyrule, he was to see the King himself for what could potentially be a mission of vital importance. "This mission," the princess had said, "could possibly be the turning point of our preparations against the Calamity. May Hylia have faith in you."

But when she said those words to him, lo only two days ago, her voice had been taut, strained. From an outsider's perspective, you could say that she was stressed with all the responsibility placed upon her - not just trying to awaken her power, but the more common work a princess usually did, which included but was not limited to paperwork, hearing her citizen's complaints, resolving disputes, more paperwork, and spending time with the children of Castle Town. That last one was not truly a responsibility, but it did take away her energy. How could a 15-year-old princess act like the caretaker of six and seven year old boys and girls when she is only nine years their elder? But I digress.

But Link knew more than that. After all, the two had long been friends since they had taken their first wee steps. They had played together, eaten together, got in trouble together, told stories, shared secrets, and grieved together. For the two of them, such a time, especially before the Queen's death, had been one of carefree childhood. And even after the funeral at which the powerful and almighty King let shed his tears and his young daughter wept, the two were together as the two ends of a magnet. And so it continued for six more years.

The King knew of their relationship but did not look down upon it. Nay, he encouraged it, as Link's father was his strong right hand, the top general of the mightiest army the world had ever known. He had once been nothing more than a lowly peasant working the land, tending to his family's goats and cuckoos, when the Red War spread its blight over Hyrule.

Murderous, bloodthirsty Yiga Clan members, already a threat to all who existed in this material plane, formed an even more dangerous faction they dubbed the Cabal, in which any and all must be exterminated. This differed from the more moderate branch (if you could call such fanaticism moderate), which only focused on the Royal Family and the Hero Chosen By The Sword. No, the Cabal believed that in order for the Calamity to reign supreme, a total apocalypse must first ensue, where only the worthy survived, and the weak were left to rot, forgotten and uncared for. Vladimir Makarov, a man with no ideals and no loyalty, proclaimed this the "Sword Logic," speaking of the "Final Shape" in which only pure strength existed.

Despite being a madman, Makarov garnered much support from the Yiga, and even among Hylians, Sheikah, and the Gerudo. Not so much out of devotion but out of fear, they prostrated themselves before the Darkblade, and joined his crusade to exterminate all life.

At the height of his power, he had over 500,000 soldiers under his command. And yet somehow, the kingdom's Central Intelligence Agency, which was responsible for keeping tabs on the various realms, never heard a whisper of this new army, powerful enough to rival the Royal Army. And when Makarov's insanity reached its height, he launched a powerful assault on the castle itself, starting with Castle Town.

It was chaos incarnate. Everywhere there was red: blood on the ground, fires in the sky, and the dreaded red suit of death moving on to its next victim. Castle Town was burned to the ground, looted, utterly desecrated. Corpses filled the street, and it is said that the Cabal took bets on how many Hylian women they could rape and kill in a certain amount of time. Certainly this was the closest to hell the world had seen before the Calamity's slumber ended.

The king at the time was forced to watch from his castle as his own people were slaughtered as he ran toward safety. His queen had been killed, and most of his personal guard had sacrificed themselves to ensure his escape, as well as Prince Rhoam's escape. And yet, despite the jewel of Hyrule cracking and splintering, he chose not to do so himself. Instead, he put out a call for help, going from town to town to enlist a new army.

It was at this particular point in time that Link's father joined the reformed Hylian Army. Despite having no formal training, he excelled at fighting, mostly thanks to having to fend off wolves and monsters from his animals with nothing but a pitchfork, or maybe even a broom if he had to. The king was duly impressed, and appointed him a captain among his soldiers. As time went on and the more experienced soldiers returned to Hylia's embrace, the captain of field soldiers became a captain of the Royal Guard.

This young man, not yet 19 years old, lead the charge to retake Castle Town, planning out Operation Champion with such fine detail as to include over three contingency plans, seven escape routes, and the estimated cost of the battle. He was so obsessed with his plan that he personally decided to lead the ragtag army of 20,000 against a force 25 times the size of his own. Some called it madness; others, in hindsight, called it destiny. For as long as he stood, his sword arm was constantly swinging, never tiring, never faltering, always drawing blood. At the end of it all, he personally chose to engage in single combat with the Darkblade.

How the blades clashed! How the men grunted and took their blows! How each absolutely refused to give up! It was a spectacle to watch, to be sure. From my spot on the cosmic edge, it was surely something I had never before witnessed. And it ended the only way it could, with Vladimir Makarov meeting his end by a sword to the head, else you would not be here, nor would anybody else.

With the Cabal removed of their leadership, they scattered, and no one heard from them again. And with the traitors removed, Castle Town once again became a thriving city. Link's father was placed in charge of the city, and as a reward for his service, the old king gave him the title of Royal General, a post which he held to his death.

Fast forward two years, and the now King Rhoam had a daughter, named Zelda. The same could be said for the Royal General, who he named Link.

And so starts the beginning of a tale spanning 100 years.

Endless WarWhere stories live. Discover now