Author's Notes: This story explains Link's past and the huge war between Ganondorf and Hyrule before the events of Ocarina of Time. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Hyrule, if ever you saw it several years ago, would look nothing like now. For instance, the endless labyrinth of olive hills, and lime-scented plains would still be there. The blinding, enigmatic Hylian sun would be a blaze of blinding crimson against a forget-me-not blue sky.

 

The great lake to the North-western boarders of Hyrule would still be shining with fresh, clear, water, the source of Hyrule’s very life. Perhaps a finned, blue speckled Zora child or two, or perhaps some Hylian children, would be happily splashing about in the warm shallows of Lake Hylia’s beaches. Now, instead, replacing the intense lattice-work of grassy hills and plains are dark, ugly, besmirching grounds, barren, craggy, and the color of dust.

 

It was like diseased skin, made worse by the intense pock-marks and holes that littered the evil soil. Bodies, young, old, women, children, and creature would be lying broken over the hills, some decayed, some still freshly bleeding. The sun would be no longer visible because of the heavy, red, poisonous clouds, now encasing the blue sky. The lake, once so clear you could see the very reef and sugary sand at its bottom, was now thick and black from the oil and tar that had been poured into it. The soft torrents of white sand littering the beach had been reduced to oil splattered gravel. In short, Hyrule had been, and still was, being torn apart by a huge, savage war, that would change the course of the future.

 

A battalion of soldiers marched up an ash-blackened hill, all ignoring the sparks of fire as their Iron-clad boots smacked against the cracked ground. Their were fifty soldiers in all, standing in a formation of five, as they continued their hard march in-land past the boarders of the Death Mountain range.

 

These were no ordinary soldiers; they were seasoned, elite Hylian warriors, fresh from their training in The Zora’s Domain.

 

They wore steel-plated armor, with Ox-hide padding on their shoulders, and silver helmets, with vice-grille coverings. On their chest was the engraved emblem of the Hylian Empire, a mysterious and beautiful golden triangle, with another upturned triangle of polished steel in the golden triangle’s flat center. The same design was painted on the crimson banners held on the center-guard’s spear, and on all the soldiers’ long, iron, lavender shields. Almost everyone had a long, viciously sharp spear on their person, with a Hylian Broadsword and a large, curved dagger strapped to their backs.

There were about five soldiers, however, who carried long-bows, their leather quivers laden with crow feather arrows, and steel points at their fronts. Five other men held powerful, long burning torches, and instead of blades and daggers strapped to their backs, carried huge battle axes. The men seemed tense, and stayed packed together, as though afraid of being picked off by a dreadful monster.

About an hour after constant marching, one man, in crimson steel armor held up his Iron-plated fist, and called, "Halt!"

 

Everyone flinched, and, even though you couldn’t see their faces through their helmets and grills, you could tell they were terrified of their general’s harsh voice.

"Everyone, It is a six-mile march to Market Town. If you have no strength to march further, raise your hand, and we will camp here tonight." No one raised their hand. They wanted, even hardened soldiers as they were, to get out of this barren wasteland they once called home.

 

The soldiers marched on, still tense, and ready for battle. What had happened to their Hyrule? They continued over the hills, and passed over the Zora’s river, where they stopped to drink. They fell on the small river with gratitude to the Zoras, who, amidst all this evil, still managed to keep this river clean. It was the first fresh water the soldiers had seen in several long, hot hours, and they gulped it down in great, heaving masses.

 

After their brief stop, the soldiers continued their trek across the evil plains. Soon, Hyrule’s capital, Market Town, came into sharp view.

 

It was a huge cluster of tiny houses and shops crammed together in a once cheerful heap. Only now, it wasn’t so cheerful. The cobbled streets were filled with spear-bearing soldiers, and the whole city was thrown into shadow by a gargantuan wall, built of brick and gray mortar to protect the city, which was heavily guarded, with several guard towers. Each guard tower was filled with archers holding powerful black assassin bows.

 

As soon as the archers saw the fifty troops marching down the plain in front of the walls, they knocked several black arrows on their bows. No one relaxed until they saw a tall man, in sky blue armor with polished steel chains and plates, holding a huge, powerful blade, with a golden grip, and a matching golden helmet encased with red jewels, striding regally across the draw-bridge did they relax. The presence of their magnificent ruler made them feel comforted.

 

"General Ravix!" Cried the King. "Your highness," said the crimson armored man, bowing deeply. "Do the walls of Hyrule still hold fast against Ganondorf’s attack?" Asked General Ravix. "Indeed they do, my friend," said the king. "How goes the training in The Zora City, Ravix?" "Not well. Only four-thousand Hylians, two-thousand Gorons and seven-hundred Zora’s are left of our army there and scattered around Goron City." The king raised his eye-brows. "That seems like quite a bit of soldiers if you ask me," Said The king.

 

"Have you seen Ganondorf’s army? It makes us look like were contemplating suicide. Eighty-thousand soldiers, and I’m not talking about only Gerudo warriors, no, as if they’re not bad enough. Ganondorf had raised Stalfos and Stall children from their tombs, and has called up Moblin tribes from the Western Mountains. He’s even bred sculltula’s to fight in his army. I’ve seen them, serving as an assassin in the western Desert. They are prepping a march for Kakarico as we speak."

 

The king turned pale and gulped in horror. "E-eighty th-thousand?" Ravix nodded. "That is why we must march to Kakarico now. There are at least four-thousand warriors waiting there. If we fuse the two armies, we will have a greater chance of defeating Ganondorf. I’ve brought fifty elite troops to guard you as we journey to Kakarico." The king nodded. "I can bring fifty soldiers myself. If we are defeated in Kakarico, I will call for this town, Tulsa Town, Revanka Town, and all the other forest-bordering towns to make their escape into the forest. May the goddesses be with them. May they be with us also."

Chapter 2

Alina waited, like so many other wives in Kakarico village, for her husband to return. Kakarico wasn’t very large, but it soon became apparent just how many Hylians could fit in it. Especially soldiers. Soldiers were everywhere, posted at almost every corner of the village. There were wide arrays of patrol camps everywhere, and the soldiers were constantly marching, and relaying, and training. Alina looked dismally at the red sky, and thought about how many people had emigrated from all over Hyrule. The Inns were working overtime to accommodate all those who had come to Kakarico to be safe from the Gerudo army. She’d heard that many troops were still training in the neighboring Goron City. That gave her a smidgen of hope, and the tight knot of fear in her stomach broke slightly.

 

BARUUUM, BARUUUM

The sound of the horn startled her, and she was about to re-enter her house, when she remembered that the horn had blown twice, meaning that friends were entering the city. She heard the clat, clat, clat, of marching feet.

 

The sight of the immense wave of one-hundred elite soldiers impressed her greatly, and Alina was not easily impressed. "The king!" Cried a civilian in the road. "Hail! Daphneas! King of Hyrule!" Everyone bowed low, and the king smiled slightly, though his eyes were wide and fearful, and his skin was frightfully pale.

"My people!" He said, "I have come bearing terrible news. Ganondorf is making his march to Kakarico, with Eighty-thousand monsters at his hands." This sentence was greeted with immediate upheaval. "NO!" "Eighty-thousand? There is no such number of soldiers, anywhere!" "We’ll be shredded to pieces!" The people were shocked, angry, but most of all, afraid. Nevertheless, the people quieted down when the king raised his arm. "This is why we must unite! Work hard to thwart him! Remember, we are Hylians! My land has been threatened, attacked, disturbed, burned, starved, fought over and blood muddied many times. Many evil war-lords have tried to claim these lands with great armies before, and none have ever succeeded! I do not plan to let Ganondorf take Hyrule now, not if I still draw breath!"

 

Almost everyone was still frightened, but they, at least, found a bit of comfort in the words of their king.

"Now, I have brought one-hundred elite soldiers to join our army. We have, adding to our soldiers here, almost ten-thousand soldiers to fight Ganondorf’s armies. If there is a battle, all civilians must flee to Death Mountain. If we are defeated here, Market Town will send a squad of elite soldiers to save those who live, and bring them to Tulsa, where another two-thousand soldiers will escort you into the Lost Woods."

Alina’s eyes scanned the sea of pointed spears, looking for a soldier. This soldier, however, was easy to spot, while every other soldier wore gleaming steel armor, this one wore a blood-red plated armor, and a black cape. His face was hidden by a red helmet and grille, but she knew his impassive blue eyes well, and the small, golden lock of hair, sticking out of his cranium guard. His fingers were twitching with agitation, and sometimes he outlined the Golden Tri-force insignia on his chest plate. "We must now make preparations for civilian departure, in case Ganondorf’s army is moving with all speed." And with that, the king waved his hand, and the one-hundred soldiers marched into a large picketed soldier campsite. "Soldiers!" Screamed a loud, powerful voice from the Crimson armored soldier. "Make your rest now! We begin the escape preparations tomorrow!" Alina knew that voice well. "Ravix," she whispered, and clenched her hand over her heart.

General Ravix made several orders in Kakarico. He gave instruction for the troops to sleep while they could. He had to wait while one-hundred men undressed, washed in the river, and packed in all of their armor. He ordered cooking fires to be built along the picketed white tents the soldiers slept in, and sort out rations. After mixing together some turnips, onions, and chunks of meat into the cauldrons for stew, the soldiers took turns ladling bowls for each other. Ravix was starving, but he let his soldiers eat their fill first, and then took what was left at the bottom of the bowl. The soup was delicious after hours of walking in the heat. The soldiers hadn’t eaten anything for hours, which was obvious since they were still shovelling down thirds and fourths of soup.

 

Ravix felt exited and nervous, and ran his hand through his hair to distract his thoughts. When most of the soldiers had fallen asleep in their tents, he walked out of the camp, and up the road he knew so well. He stopped short at a pattern of houses built on a small hill overlooking the village. There he could see his favorite sights. The volcano was spewing out ash and dust, and Ravix sighed. Was he really surprised at size of Ganondorf's army? Hyrule's army had been the largest and most magnificent of all. Thirty-thousand warriors, undefeated in all the battles Ravix had fought. Now, due to Ganondorf's reign of terror, almost all of Hyrule was destroyed. Every day, the death toll was mounting, and soldiers were dying.

 

Ravix reached his old home, and found the person he'd most wanted to see. "Alina!" he cried. She was standing at the door of his house like a sentinel. She was beautiful, with cherry blonde streaked hair, pale skin, and wide, grey eyes. They embraced, and were weighed down by her very late of pregnancy, and he kissed her, savouring the smell of home from her. "I'd thought you had died at the dunes. They said that almost two-hundred soldiers died there and I thought you had as well." "Remember, I spent almost a year in the Gerudo desert with only a bow. I'm hard to kill." The two still embraced as he kissed Alina again, and sank to the ground, sitting upon the cool grass. Alina told him everything that had happened, about their coming baby, about how the war was affecting her life. Ravix also filled her in on his life, battling for Hyrule. Then, their promises for each other. They would live together on the Lake's beaches, by the cool water, and raise their child in peace...After two hours of sitting there with his wife, Ravix rose to his feet. "It's good to be home. I must go back to my soldiers," he said, walking away. "I love you, Ravix!" she called as he jogged down the hill.

 

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