Destiny of the Kingdom

Chapter 2: Shadows of the Past

The bright, yellow sun appeared overhead after the once fluffy mass of white clouds began to dissipate over the rolling fields of forest green grass. The once heavy blowing wind that knocked the blades of grass over from side to side slowed. Bushy tail squirrels who were hiding in tree alcoves emerged and went hunting for Hylian acorns. The deer once again emerged from their hiding places to feast on green foliage of the sparse woods in various pockets of the vast field. The grand field, known as Hyrule Field, resides in the center of what used to be the Kingdom of Hyrule.

During the age before the Calamity, on the outskirts and upper areas of Hyrule Field, there existed small towns, villages, barracks, and ranches. These places served as thoroughfares for travelers and merchants making their way through the center of the kingdom. All these places were wiped out during the Calamity and now lie in ruins.

Following the Calamity, during the Upheaval, created by the Demon King, Ganondorf, large, black land masses fell from the sky and littered Hyrule Field. These land masses were what remained of the ancient Zonai kingdom, which resided in the skies above Hyrule. This kingdom pre-dated Hyrule and was governed by a race of goat-like beings who existed before the Hylian race. While their kingdom was the oldest known, their advanced technology was second to none. The now dead kingdom's remains cluttered the center of Hyrule with more debris and ruins, further adding to the decay from the Calamity. Furthermore, large fissures in the ground appeared, eventually widening to the size of small craters, and dropping down into an endless abyss of darkness. These appeared all over Hyrule. Oozing out of these holes came a deadly, red and black substance, known as Gloom. Anyone coming into contact with Gloom would immediately fall ill for days, bedridden and unable to move, until one's strength returned. These holes would become known as Chasms; leading to the dark underworld of Hyrule, known as The Depths. Those brave enough to explore it would find an endless sea of murky red and black Gloom, along with Gloom infected monsters, who would sap the energy from those exposed to their touch.

Was it the fate of this once infamous kingdom of Hyrule to fall hard and fast into decay and ruin in just 100 years time, when it endured tens of thousands of years of existence? A legend was passed down over the ages, by Hyrule's royal family, that a cycle of evil would always prey on the land of Hyrule and its people, seeking dominion over the power the kingdom wields. Over time, the identity and whereabouts of this great power, sought by evil, faded into legend, and eventually became myth, where not even Hyrule's royal family knew of it. Yet, the evil remained, appearing over the ages, trying to conquer the kingdom and enslave its people, but the kingdom always triumphed over the evil, able to seal it away for a time. While lives and structures were lost, never had the kingdom experienced near total annihilation of its own existence. Had the kingdom become complacent in its ability to defeat the evil as ages progressed?

For 10,000 years, Hyrule remained peaceful and prosperous, with most stories and literature of the 1st Calamity and the Demon King's imprisonment passing into legend. Then, at the dawn of the 2nd Calamity, a series of unfortunate events transpired and befell the kingdom and its protectors, allowing evil to gain a foothold without much resistance.

The ancient machines called Divine Beasts and Guardians, created by the shadow folk, and sworn protectors of Hyrule's royal family, the Sheikah, were infected with Malice, an evil substance created by Calamity Ganon, and took over the machines and turned them against Hyrule. The fabled princess of Hyrule, with the bloodline of the Goddess Hylia, destined to awaken her Sealing Powers and seal away Calamity Ganon, was unable to summon her powers before the Calamity struck. The infamous Hero, chosen by the Goddess, wielding a magical sword which Seals the Darkness, was unable to confront Calamity Ganon and help the princess seal it away. With the hero near death, from mortal wounds battling a swarm of Guardians, the princess finally woken her powers, protecting the hero from the onslaught of a blood red laser beam fired at the hero by a Guardian. She sent him to a shrine to heal for 100 years while she went to Hyrule Castle alone to confront Calamity Ganon. Without the power of the hero, she could not fully seal away Calamity Ganon, and held it a bay until the hero could return. She prevented complete destruction of the kingdom but the damage was already done. Most of the kingdom had been destroyed and its population almost completely wiped out. 100 years later, the hero awoke, and ultimately defeated Calamity Ganon, and helped the princess seal it away. While ultimately triumphant, the once proud kingdom was no more. From its remaining debris, was a land of ruins with isolated towns and villages in what now was a fractured kingdom of people living their mostly isolated lives, post-Calamity.