[EDITING] The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Flight to the Fort

...until sunset hung before them. Link had remained at his posted watch, though he'd dismounted after the first hour. As time crept on, he elected to run through training drills to keep his limbs from growing stiff, Epona grazing idly by the hill where they were posted.

It was a short reprieve before trumpets began to sound through the Hyrulean ranks. Link returned his sword to its sheath as he turned to see Zelda and Endeavor returning to greet him.

Zelda looked tired in her eyes. Physically, the glow that had washed over them hadn't faded and it allowed Link to still locate the Sages through their forces. But this was a different kind of weariness, of the mind, and Link wished he'd joined her instead to face the injured together.

"Where's Daniel?" Link asked, expecting the commander to be joining them.

"He is finalizing coordination with our siege engines," Endeavor replied, before motioning back to the row of catapults at the rear of their forces. "He is remaining at the rear of the forces for now with First Company to ensure we arrive with them all at the fort."

"Are we expecting to be attacked on the way?" Link asked.

"We should prepare for anything. But we anticipate raids. Many of the companies will wait for our artillery to move first so we can protect them as we proceed," Endeavor explained, pointing out several company banners. Link noticed that Yore was no longer flying with her. He spied the hawk in the distance, circling between the banners.

Below them, ranks reformed. Link watched as units gathered themselves to the ready once again, the great assembly of the army shaking through the fields. Distantly, he saw a row of graves quickly dug on the edges of their forces as the army pulled away.

Link lingered a little longer on the sight before he mounted and asked Epona on to join Endeavor and Zelda at the front. For how well the battle had gone, he knew their causality count would be considered a success.

It was still too high.

Gerudo Desert didn't allow for the thoughts to remain. Even as night began to fall, heat still clung to the line as they marched on. The same sands that had turned on Ganondorf's forces turned beneath their own feet. The shifting earth continued to drive them forward, but it was still a hard march.

They were hit by raids twice through the night, both leaving more behind, before the line in the sand was broken. They crossed into hallowed out roads of Sandsought weary from the trek, moods only soured by the hollowing through the empty buildings.

Dabir's units were most affected. There were Gerudo from Sandsought, and even the nomadic members of his troops were aghast at the destruction Ganondorf had allowed against their own people. Perhaps some of them had believed they would be spared for their kinship. There was no more illusion of that.

Watches were set for the night. Sandsought was at least fortifiable, though that did little for the nerves after the attacks on the way.

As camp was established near midnight, Link found himself on a tower over looking the desert with Endeavor, Zelda, and Daniel. Their command unit had spent a half hour on the lookout at this point. Music drifted up to them, many songs fighting each other to keep spirits from dropping too low. For all the clashing, it did soothe the soul a fraction.

"I don't like this," Daniel growled, lowering his telescope. "Only two raids? We can't possibly have driven that much of his forces back."

"We are still receiving some blessing from the earth," Endeavor responded. "We have made far more progress with our column than to be expected for an army our size. Our enemy should not be prepared for us moving so quickly. There will be some scramble in recovering for our advance."