The Siege/FONT>

By Alan Fleming


Chapter 1: The Eve of Demise

     Link ran the tip of his legendary sword through the icy cold waters of the fairy pond, blood flowed off the sword, mixed with the water to create a crimson mist below the surface. Each ripple created by the blade reminded Link of another man lost on that fateful evening. The day had been long as the first wave of attacks against Hyrule hit the castle. The day's dead lay in mass graves, no time was allowed to morn with another army approaching the battlements. The sky was now ebony mass of smoke lit by the eternal fires raging at the castle walls. The castle was safe, for now at least.

     "Sir Link!" The commander of the army shouted, "Ganon's forces are at the bridge and are mounting an attack".

     "About how many soldiers do you think there are," Link inquired.

     "There are over four score of pikemen and at least a hundred Armos Nights," The commander responded.

     "Damn!" Link swore, "We are out-numbered at least three-to-one. How long till they reach the outer gate?"

     "They should reach the outer gate in about an hour. Should we retreat the troops back to the inner gate?" He asked.

     "No, if the see us retreat they'll know we are beaten." Link sighed dreaming of the days of peace which now seemed so long ago. "Scour for any arrows you can get and station the archers at the gates immediately. Go from house to house and collect any heating oil the families can spare. Fill and heat as many vats of oil as you can and readyt hem above the gates. Have the ground troops firing catapults, placing trenches, and preparing for the time the enemy break through."

     "You are foolish if you think we can hold them off for a couple of minutes and there is no way to hold off an entire attack." The officer protested.

     "Do what I said." Link retorted.

     At the battle front, soldiers acted as if it was the last day of their life, for many it was going to be and Link knew it. The battle drums were droning his ears, each beat representing another enemy and another chance for death. A party of scouts had left but will never return, their heads, now war trophies of Ganon himself, sit atop pikes in morbid glory.

     Ganon's soldiers were now spread along the wall each mining away the wall with their pikes. The archers were now out of arrows and were left equipped only with short swords or daggers. A great section of the wall tumbles to the ground taking with it the vats of boiling oil giving a grim surprise to the enemies. As quickly as the oil soaked the pikemen's clothes the black liquid was lit and almost half of Ganon's army of troops were dead, burned alive.

     Link rejoiced as Ganon's troops retreated. They had won this battle but were left weak and vulnerable and the next attack was soon to arrive.

Chapter 2: The Eve of Demise

    "Goodbye Zelda." Link could barely managed to speak, believing he would never see her again.  Zelda and the King of Hyrule were about to set forth, under the cloak of the night, to search for refuge from the terror Ganon's forces would soon bring. The departed, along with a few guards and servants, off to hide in a northern cavern unknown, as far as they knew, to Ganon.  Their carriage slowly pulled away, sending the princess off to where he could not protect her.  Link sighed dreaming of the days when life was simple without thoughts of war and without nightmares of chaos and death.

     The new morning had arrived without another invasion by Ganon's forces.

     The troops were now stationed at the inner gate impatient for the next attack and impatient for death. Link was wary of the approaching skirmish and hoped he would never have to fight another battle again, whether this meant death or not he didn't care.

     "The two bands of warriors have merged and are approaching the castle." A young soldier reported, "What are we to do?"

     "Nothing, we should just wait for now," Link responded. He already knew what course of action Ganon's army would take, but he could not desert the castle, even if it would spare his own life.

     "But sir!" The officer exclaimed, "Are we to wait here to be butchered?"

     "You may leave if you like, but the rest of us shall stay and die with dignity."  Link smiled grimly at his offer which he knew the officer could not accept or refuse.

     Slowly the attackers approached, this evening they did not taunt the hyrulian armies with the beat of their drums or their echoing war cries. They spared Link this warning because they knew Link and his forces were aware of their presence and their inevitable victory. The evening raged on as Ganon's regiment lit torches as the army sped up its pace in anticipation of the upcoming assault.

     Soon the enemy slowed to a halt before making a sudden charge at the castle, battle had now begun. Every soldier, mother and child rushed forth with the power of a hurricane and into battle. Each warrior fought with all of their glory and all of their might but nothing would come of their attempts except the peace which came with death.

     As the confusion settled Link realized that he was the only Hyrulian combatant left alive, yet the attackers did not proceed. Link looked up to see two glowing orbs floating several feet in front of his own face. These were the eyes of Ganon himself and the time had come for a showdown between himself and this immortal beast. Link now knew what he has to do and what he should have done long ago.

Chapter 3: The Dead Survivor

    The world seemed to spin beneath Link as he realized this whole conflict had only been a prelude to the confrontation between himself and Ganon. Link also discovered all of this death and destruction could have been avoided had he went after Ganon personally instead of cowering behind the castle walls. Rage and enlightenment flowed through every limb on his body as he readied for battle. The sword, which seemed to have been empowered be his emotional release, now glowed a white hot.

     At first Link was clumsy as he swung with no thought for his own safety, but soon he realized he was not immortal and Ganon was. Ganon collected himself and began to release balls of pure potent energy from his hands. Link dodged these easily but knew that this was just a hint at his real power. Link stabbed his sword at Ganon at which time a sphere of light blue light emerged from the ball and slammed into Ganon who vaporized into nothingness. The army was stunned to see the man they worshipped for so many years fall at the hands of mortal. Link, also, was in awe that the fight was over so quickly and that he was the victor.

     Suddenly Ganon's body seemed to reform in the air directly in front of Link, and the battle continued. Bolts of lightning began to slam against the ground encircling Link and then the ground began to shake and crack as Ganon begins to tear the earth apart. In the midst of the chaos of battle link managed to find hiding between three large pieces of rock jutting up from the ground.

    All at once the confusion ceased as Ganon, confident of victory, turned and summoned his troops to return to their castle. The soldiers, still in disbelief, began to return to their homeland, victorious. Ganon remained, standing within several yards of Link, staring off into the black veil of the night. Ganon knew something was wrong and it scared him that he didn't know what it was.

     Without any notice in the black abyss of the night Link leaped out from behind his stone shelter. He walked slowly up behind Ganon's turned back and drew his sword. Ganon spun around after feeling the heat of the sword on his back but it was too late. Link had pierced the sword deep into Ganon's side. Ganon let out a shriek which carried throughout the world and the glow in his eyes winked out. Ganan's body fell limp to the ravaged ground as his spirit shot through the air, disintegrating into nothingness never to harm another soul again.

     Link stared off into the sky and turned to go off and reassure Zelda of his survival, but decided he would rather be remembered as a hero, in death, than a man who led troops to demise, in life. Link took a deep breath, collected his nerves, and began a journey to an unknown place where his name was not known and his legacy not known.



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