The Legend of Zelda: The Shattered Triforce

Prologue

The Legend of Zelda: The Shattered Triforce

By: Caleb Buell

Co-Author and Editor: Sam Reynolds

Prologue

It was an ordinary afternoon in the village. Children ran around outside, playing games like tag with their friends. The women worked in their households. They swept, dusted, washed clothing, and prepared the evening meal. The men went about their jobs, doing whatever was necessary to earn enough money to support their families. Merchants waited patiently for customers to come by and purchase their goods. Blacksmiths pounded and shaped red hot iron with hammers on their anvils. Carpenters cut wood and used it to build houses and shops. Nothing was unusual. It was an ordinary afternoon in the village... until it wasn't.

The villagers did not foresee the destruction that would soon be upon them. The only warning they received was the cloud of dust and dirt rising into the air on the hilltop. As some of the villagers began to notice the strange occurrence, they gathered outside of the village, wondering what was happening. Then they saw it; a group of people on horseback came into view on the horizon. They were getting closer by the minute, and the villagers did not know what to do. "Are they friends, or are they foes?" someone in the crowd asked. No one replied, for no one knew the answer. Soon, murmurs began to push away the silence of the crowd as they debated what actions to take. But then, a voice rose above all of the others. "LOOK!" it screamed, and a hush fell over the crowd.

The villagers all turned their heads towards the people on the hill simultaneously. There was no mistaking what the people on horseback were holding; they were holding swords.

Screams and cries filled the air as people rushed back to the village. Many ran to their houses and hid, while others grabbed their weapons and headed back to where the threat was spotted. Some grabbed their valuables and fled the village. Those with bows climbed on top of houses to get a better shot at the oncoming riders, while those with swords began to form lines of defense. As the group got closer to the village, the villagers readied their weapons. The riders came to a halt about one hundred feet away from the village, and the villagers went silent. They could finally make out who those people were. They were bronze skinned women, with narrow, oblong faces. Trimmed eyebrows rested above golden eyeshadow and fierce, hazel eyes. Their crimson hair was pulled up with an amber hairpiece. They were dressed in purple clothing, including violet pants and top, lavender gloves, and lilac shoes. A purple cloth was draped on their faces, covering their nose and mouth.

They were the Gerudo, and there were many of them.

Many had heard about the Gerudo, but very few had come face to face with them. There had been many tales about their kind, but one could not be sure which tales were true. Some said they were ruthless people, killing and destroying everything in their path. Others only described them as raiders, coming through villages and stealing anything that seemed of worth. Some wrote that they isolated themselves in the desert, plotting ways to take over the kingdom of Hyrule. The villagers knew not of their true nature, but they were not going to take any chances.

"Stop right there!" a man shouted, his voice sweeping away the silence that had fallen over the villagers. "Do not come any further! Take one more step towards this village, and we will attack!" The Gerudo remained where they were, but they did not seem intimidated by the man's threat. "What is your business here," the same person shouted, but the bronze skinned women remained hushed. "Answer me!" he demanded forcefully.

One of the Gerudo, the one at the front of the assembly, shuffled on top of her horse. She slid off the steed, scimitar in hand, and made her way towards the villagers. She stopped in front of the man barking orders at the women. "Do you think you can control what actions we take, and demand that we comply with your orders?" she asked, her honeyed voice calm and unwavering. "How pathetic."