Chapter 1- The Hero Festival[]
Over countless generations, an unending cycle has occurred without the knowing of the world’s population. It is a cycle that began far near the beginning of a great war spanning thousands of years, a war of darkness unknown to even exist. It was a silent war partaken by select few, and spoken of by even fewer. But now the darkness grows to overtake the world, and none may leave this war untouched soon after…
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In a kingdom known as Hyrule, peace has reigned for many generations. This has all been thanks to great heroes, all who have bared the name Link. None have realized the name of these heroes to be the same, though there have been many a times that these great heroes have come to the aid of a princess by the name of Zelda. Each princess has bared this same name, each one that has been rescued by the heroes, but this, as well, has gone unnoticed by the world.
Now, to honor the heroes who have come to the aid of the world in its darkest times, a new festival has begun, the Hero Festival. In this festival has begun a tournament known as the Hero’s Tournament. This tournament was created to test the swordsmanship of those who partake in it. It was created in a hope that a new hero would immerge to protect the princesses of Hyrule should new evils descend upon them.
This tournament is where our journey begins, the final journey of the hero and the princess, Link and Zelda, who will discover who they truly are, and what they were truly brought into this world to do.
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A young woman walked up onto a large stage surrounded by countless crowds of people, all gathering to partake in watching the Hero’s Tournament. This woman’s name was Zelda. She was of no more than 18 years of age, and she was much shorter than you would imagine a girl of this age to be. She stood at no more than five foot four, and was cloaked in royal attire, the same as it has been for countless years. She wore a long white dress with a purple cloak atop the higher half of her body. She donned a golden crown that stretched across her head as if it were a headband with a purple crystal topping the very front of the crown. She wore long white cloves that came close to where he arms attacked to the rest of her body. She possessed blue eyes, and her hair was long and blonde, let down behind her except for two bundles on either side of the front of her head where they came down in front of her.
To her left were four rows of swordsmen. Most were tall, muscular adults, but there was one that was, just like Zelda, no more than 18. He too possessed blue eyes and blonde hair, but his was much shorter, and much of it was tucked under a long green hat. He wore a green shirt that came down nearer to his knees than most shirts ever come. Under it was a long sleeve white undershirt. He wore fingerless brown cloves. His pants were white like his undershirt, and he wore tall, brown boots. The only equipment he carried with him was his father’s sword, which was kept in a basic brown holster attacked to a sash that allowed him to hold it by throwing the sash over his body. This young man was known as Link.
The crowd was too loud to make out what they were saying from the stage. It was all a loud mess of sound. Many were making bets on who would win in hopes of making profit.
“I can guarantee you that Masterson fellow will be the winner. Just look at him. He’s the strongest and most handsome of them all,” one of the betters was stating.
“Well we can know for certain that it won’t be that little kid up there. What’s his name? Link, is it? I’m surprised they would even let him into the tournament. He probably can’t even pick up a sword, let alone wield it like a true master swordsman,” another better stated. Both of these betters had placed hundreds of rupees on Masterson, the man standing directly to Link’s left. He was the tallest, most muscular man on the stage, and he wielded the largest most expensive, fine looking sword of the entire group. He had seemed to be the crowd favorite.
“I wouldn’t be too shore of that,” an elderly man walked up to the two betters who had put hundreds of rupees on Masterson and had been criticizing Link. “Never judge a book by its cover. I’m certain we can expect great things from this boy.” The old man reached in his pocket and handed the bets taker his one and only rupee.
“Are you really going to put the only rupee you own on that scrawny little boy? He doesn’t stand a chance.” The bet taker said in hopes of changing the old man’s decision.
“You’ll see. I trust in my decision.”
One of the betters walked up closer to the old man. “Well then how about we have a little side wager if you’re so sure of yourself? If Masterson wins, we get whatever it is you own since it ain’t but a single rupee or two, obviously.”
“Very well then. But if Link wins, then you will give me the money I need to feed my family.”
“When this is over, you probably won’t even have a family to go back to if they’re anything like you, gramps. It’s a deal then.” The better laughed at the old man and walked off with the other better.
“Attention please,” Zelda had begun talking as was trying to quiet the crowd. “If everyone could please stop talking for a few minutes and direct your attention towards me.” She waited a few moments while the crowd hushed and looked over to her on the stage. “We are now ready to begin the Hero’s Tournament. We have 16 brave swordsmen here ready to fight for victory, but only one can emerge the victor.” Two guards carried a large sign and placed on the right side of Zelda. “This is the tournament grid that states who will be going against who in the first round. It appears we first have Sean Masterson against Harold Crimbly.”
The two fighters walked into the ring located left of the stage.
“Good luck,” Crimbly stating while greeting his opponent.
“I don’t need luck, pipsqueak,” Masterson grasped and squeezed Crimbly’s extended hand, crushing it and causing Crimbly a good deal of pain.
“Well that wasn’t very nice.”
“I don’t do nice. Now shut up and draw your sword so I can go ahead and end this quickly.”
“Swordsmen, at the ready.” The referee had walked up to them. Both of the competent drew their blades. “Swordsmen, begin.” The referee quickly backed up so as to get out of their way.
Masterson ended the fight with a single swipe of his sword. He knocked Crimbly’s blade out of his hand that had been crimpled when Masterson crushed it.
“You didn’t stand a chance. Now get out of my sight.”
The two exited the arena. However, while Masterson went back up to the stage, Crimbly walked into the crowd and disappeared in all of its commotion.
“What a quick and exciting first fight. So let’s get on with the second fight. We have Damon against Sirius.”
The second and third fights consisted of talented swordsmen, and it came down to three very talented men for the semi-finals. The only question that remained was who would win the fourth fight.
“The first round is turning out great, so let’s bring it to a close with our last two competitors, Link and Destin.”
The two walked into the ring, both focused on winning. The referee walked up to the two of them. “Swordsmen ready, and begin.”
At that exact moment, Link lunged forward at his opponent and clashed blades with him. Link then gave his sword a spin, then a quick slash to the upper right, and Destin’s sword went flying to the edge of the arena. Very few people could even see it as it happened. Deep in the crowd, the old man that had bet on Link simply smiled as if he knew it would have ended like this but was impressed anyway.
The referee looked at Destin and noticed he was no longer holding his sword. He scurried around trying to find where it had gone until he noticed it in one of the arena’s corners. “We…well it looks like L…Link is our victor for this fight. C…congratulations,” The referee couldn’t help but stammer because of the shock from the outcome of the fight and how quickly it had ended.
Zelda watched Link as he came back up to the stage. He had said nothing at all. He had simply walked to the arena, unarmed Destin as fast as lightning, and then returned to the stage.
Zelda looked back to the crowd. “Um… we’re going to take a brief intermission between these rounds, so come back in about an hour for the next round. That should give our competitors some time to rest, relax, and enjoy the festival some before the next round.” Zelda walked down the back of the stage and waited there, greeting the remaining competitors as they came down and congratulating them for their first round victories.
“Hey there Zelda. I’m sure you quite enjoyed my performance, wouldn’t you say so, sweetie,” Masterson had walked up next to Zelda and had gotten much closer to Zelda than she had wanted him to, and she showed it quite well.
“I would appreciate if you would please provide me a bit more personal space, please,” Zelda backed away from him a bit.
“Of course Zelda baby. We can get as personal as you would like.”
“Um. No thank you. Please go enjoy the rest of the festival. I’ve got, um, other things I have to attend to right now.”
“And wouldn’t you like some special company for that, sweetie.”
“No. Please, just leave me alone.”
“Sure. We can go some place alone in private if that’s what you want baby.”
At that point, Link walked by and noticed Zelda not appreciating Masterson’s flirting in any way whatsoever.
“Please. Just leave me be. I have other things I need to do.” Zelda attempted to walk away, but Masterson grabbed her arm.
“I do believe it’s time for us to have some time together in this festival, wouldn’t you say Zelda baby.”
“Masterson,” Link walked up to him. “I do believe she said she has other things she needs to do right now without you. Just leave her be. Can’t you see she’s not interested?”
Masterson shoved away Zelda, and she fell to the ground, just managing to catch herself at the last second. He then came up to Link and shoved him backwards, causing Link to almost trip on the bottom to the stage.
“Now you listen here, shrimp. If you don’t just get lost and leave us be, it may just have to get a little messy, you here,” He turned around and walked back towards Zelda.
“Masterson.”
“What the hell could you possibly want? This better be good,” Masterson turned around.
“I said to leave her alone.”
“Oh you’re really askin for a beatin now, aren’t you,” He walked up closer to Link. “I can just smell your fear. It reeks of looser and failure. Now get lost before I have to beat you in front of the entire kingdom. Kids these days, they’re all dumbasses.”
“I said, leave her alone.”
“Oh. We got a real dumbass here, now don’t we? You know, someone should teach you some manners. I guess it’s just gonna have to be me, now, isn’t it.”
“We’ll see about that in the finals. Until then, leave her alone.”
“Fine then. We’ll play it by your rules this time. But when I mop the floor with you in the finals, that is, if you can even manage to make it that far, I’ll be ready to put you back in your proper place,” Masterson walked off feeling sure of himself.
Zelda walked over to Link, who was still watching as Masterson walked off. “Thanks for helping me there. I really appreciate it. Is there anything I could do or give you to say thanks?”
“No. I appreciate the offer, but I’m not here for rewards.”
“Then why are you competing in a tournament with one of the biggest rewards someone could ask for?”
“To uphold a promise I made to my father. You see, my father was a great blacksmith. This was the most perfect sword he ever crafted. It was one of the few things my family owned that was worth much of anything. When he passed away, he left it to me in his will. It’s the only thing I have left to remember him by. He told me to use it wisely, and to use it to find a life much greater than he ever had. I promised to him, in my heart, that I would uphold this request, and I would set out to become a great swordsman like he always dreamed I could one day be.”
“I’m sorry that he’s not with you anymore. That must have been devastating. I can tell by his work here that he must have been a great man indeed, just like you said.”
“Thank you. That’s very kind of you your highness.”
“You can just call me Zelda, please. I don’t need any of that praise.”
“Of course. Well I guess I should be going then. Like you said, you have a lot to do,” Link began to walk away towards the crowd, but Zelda quickly dashed after him.
“Wait, Link,” Link turned around to find Zelda running after him.
“What? I thought you were busy. Besides. I’m just a commoner. You shouldn’t have to waste time on me for a small favor I did for you.”
“Actually, I just lied about that to try and get him to go away.”
“Oh. I see then. But still, why spend time with me when you could be doing something like… um… whatever it is princesses do…”
“I just feel like I want to spend more time with you. After all, that was very kind of you to help me. I just feel I must do SOMETHING to repay you.”
“That thank you was all I really needed, but thank you anyway,” Link turned around and began to walk off again.
“Wait,” Zelda stopped him again. “Link, um… I just really… um… think… that maybe… I… might need someone to protection if… perhaps… that Masterson character comes back for me.”
“Okay fine. If you’re that desperate, to thank me then spending some time with you is all I would request then. Is that good?”
“That would be great. Yes.”
Link held out his arm, and Zelda wrapped her arm around it. The two then walked on to enjoy the rest of the festival.
“So where are you from, anyway?” Zelda asked.
“My father was the blacksmith at Maxwell Blacksmiths. We didn’t get much business because everyone believed that it was better to get weapons from a rich man who could make weapons fast and cheaply than a man who may take longer to make weapons, but put his heart into them.”
“You mean Masterson Blacksmiths. That’s where my father bought the weapons for our soldiers.”
“Yeah. We never got much business. There were still a few people that came to my father for weapons. One of them was an old warrior who was in the Battle of the Sands in the Great Plain. I believe his name was Oshford.”
“Really? Oshford. That does sound familiar. Where have I heard that name before?”
“Maybe it’s in a history book. Hyrule Historia probably has a list of names of people who fought in different battles and wars.”
“Perhaps. That sounds like it could be true.”
“So tell me why a princess like you wants to talk to a poor commoner as myself?”
“Well you helped me out, and I just feel like… um… I don’t know. I just feel… like you… you just seem so much less obnoxious than anyone I’ve ever met. You don’t care about what others think. You’re not afraid to be yourself. You don’t let people bully you around, and you don’t let people bully others around. You care about other people, and you’re an amazing swordsman. I don’t know. It’s just, you seem like. I feel like you… just… you’re so…”
“So what?”
“So… perfect.”
Link and Zelda looked into each other’s eyes for a while and said nothing. Zelda leaned in towards Link as if she wanted to kiss him, as she did. However, as they came closer, Link pulled back suddenly.
“No. This isn’t right. We… we’re not right doing this. I… I just don’t know,” Link ran off, leaving Zelda alone.
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After the hour had passed, Zelda, Link, Masterson, and the other competitors were returning to the stage. As Zelda came up, she looked over at Link, and he looked over to her. Link simply closed his eyes and looked away with a sorrowed look on his face. Masterson had noticed this, and he simply smiled thinking that Link’s head would no longer be focused, making it to where he would have no competition left in the tournament.
“Well. Now that we have finished the exciting first around and returned from our break, let’s go ahead and begin with round two.”
The second and third rounds went on almost just like the first. Link and Masterson both proving to be skilled swordsmen by quickly and easily defeating their opponents until it came down to just the two of them left for the finals.
“Well, now that it’s down to the final battle, let’s give our finalists a quick hour break so they’re both at 100 percent for the final round.”
Zelda walked off the stage first and began walking towards the castle, but Masterson began walking after her. He managed to catch up to her and grab her arm, but she broke free and turned around.
“Hey baby. Did you miss me?”
“Just leave me alone. Why won’t you just leave me be? Go away.”
“Come on sweetie. Don’t be that way.”
“Just go away.” Zelda turned around and began to walk off towards the castle, but Masterson grabbed her by the shoulder before she could take more than a step or two.
“Come on now. Let’s not be like that.”
Zelda thrust her shoulder away and continued walking.
Masterson grabbed her shoulder again. “That wasn’t a suggestion.” Masterson grabbed her by the waste and began to carry her off into the crowd, running as fast as he could, Zelda screaming for help.
After a couple seconds of running, Masterson ran passed Link, knocking him out of the way as he went. “Link! Help!”
Some guards chased after Masterson and Zelda, and Link, after pausing to think for a minute, decided to join in. Once Masterson reached the entrance to the castle grounds where the festival was taking place, they reached a big courtyard. It was a large, open area. The few people that had been there ran off to avoid any possible violence. Masterson stopped and threw Zelda down, causing her great pain, temporarily paralyzing her in pain. The guards caught up to him and drew their swords. Masterson drew his, and he swiftly eliminated all four guards that had chased him.
When Link showed up, he was too late to save them. All but one of them was already dead. “Come here boy,” the last remaining guard stated as he noticed Link. With any strength he had left, he reached for a grabbed a basic wooden shield and held it up to Link. “You may need this.” Link grabbed the shield just as the guard fell limp and died.
“Hey there pipsqueak. Now you aren’t actually thinking of trying to attack me now are you. You don’t think you really stand a chance now, do you?”
“Release Zelda. Now.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. Now let me introduce you to my big friend here,” Masterson pointed his sword at Link. “Now then, any last words?”
“How about, goodbye,” Link jumped forward and locked blades with Masterson, neither one giving an inch. Link managed to pull a trick and twist his sword, then perform a backflip, knocking Masterson’s sword out of his hand. Link also managed to nail a kick to Masterson’s face during the backflip, sending him flying backwards. When he landed, the force of impact to his skull caused him to fall unconscious. Link put away his sword back in his holster and ran over to where Zelda was laying.
“Zelda. Are you okay?” Link bent down and picked up Zelda, who was still weak from the pain.
“I am now. Thank you.” Zelda fell unconscious.