Chapter 1: Life and Death

North castle sat there on the mountain like a sentinel. Tall purple towers and a large drawbridge accented the monolithic structure. It had taken builders twenty years to construct the castle and the building had stood on the hill for centuries. Many righteous kings ruled over the vast island of Hyrule. Some were better than others. Some ruled longer. But each eventually turned power over to the next of kin. Most did it thru a ceremony of ritual. Harkinian, Hyrule's current king, would do it through death....his own death.

Lightning flashed over the castle. Thunder and rain accompanied it. A heavy rain, one that came down in sheets, pounding on trees and roofs alike. The thunder cracked the air like a glass jar shattering on a rock. It had rained for only a few hours, since sundown. Strangely enough, as the rain poured harder, Harkinian grew more and more ill.

His malady had started abruptly. A slight headache that evolved into a fever and dizziness. He refused the doctors suggestion that he should retire. It seemed wrong of him to lie down for a mere fever. But as the hours passed he grew unable to think and found himself sitting in bed.

"Sire", an aid informed, "your breathing is becoming raspy and irregular. How do you feel?" Harkinian felt his forehead with the back of his hand.

"I'm a bit hot and...and...", rasped the king. He tossed his head about, mumbled a few words and motioned for the aid to come closer. "Bring my daughter to me at once."

The aid obeyed and several minutes later he reappeared with a beautiful young lady who was very much pregnant. She walked briskly to the ailing king and took his hand.

"Daddy?", she whispered. Harkinian looked blearily at her.

"Zelda, my daughter. I fear my night is drawing near." his breathing shortened and he coughed several times. "It is imparative that you keep order and safety in the kindom when I pass." Zelda shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes.

"No", she sniffed softly, "no you won't die. I won't let you."

"You have no choice. You must grow up and accept your heritage.", the king rasped painfully. A young man of Zelda's age walked slowly into the room, followed by a small fairy. They stepped up to the king.

"Your majesty.", he nodded. Harkinian managed a grimacing smile.

"Ah Link. You came, good. I am pleased that you married my daughter. Keep her safe, and stay by her side through all things. Do you understand and promise me?" Link nodded in obedience. The fairy flew up to the kings face.

"And me?", she chirped.

"Spryte, you will watch over my grandchildren when I am gone. Their safety is your responsability.", he croaked. The fairy stared back in pure awe, "Yes your majesty."

Several minutes of silence followed. Only the pouring rain made any sound. Then Zelda looked up. Her father had stopped breathing. She took his limp hand in hers, she knew. She was about to weep when a feeling of horror came over her face. It wasn't the horror of knowing that her father was dead. It was a horror of knowing what the ancient scrolls had said would come next.

She began to run clumsily towards the door but collapsed screaming halfway there. Link ran over to her.

"Zelda! Zelda, what is it baby?!"

He found her doubled over on the stone floor clutching at herself as if she had been punched squarely in the stomach. She was crying openly and randomly the cry would elevate into a scream of pain.

"Spryte...", Link barked, "GET IMPA NOW!"

Spryte flew out of the room and down into the courtyard. She knew where Impa's hut was and flew into an open window. To Spryte's surprise, Impa had already gathered her medical bag and was running out the door to the king's bedroom. Spryte followed.

The door to the king's room burst open and Impa ran in, followed by Spryte. Without a word she knelt next to the sobbing princess and placed her knarled hand on the young woman's swollen womb.

"The prophecies are true. The child pleads for freedom from its world into ours. It yearns for order and justice and calls for revenge against its eternal enemy, GANON..." Impa looked into Link's eyes. "Pick up your wife and follow me to your room." Link did as the ancient woman told and gathered his agonizing mate into his arms. They proceeded into he and Zelda's bedroom where he gently layed her down on the bed. Impa approaced the princess.

"The child will be born within the hour. You must now leave.", the old woman commanded.

Link and Spryte slowly backed away and left the room, closing the door behind themselves. With emotions tearing at him like a lion, Link ran out into the courtyard and the storming rain and thunder, which had by now turned into a near hurricane. He clenched is fists and roared up into the thundering sky, venting his anger and fear to the gods. The rain and wind blew harder and he screamed louder, daring it to confront him. The lightning and thunder cracked the heavens. Link didn't care. He yelled and screamed, all the while calling for a challange from the oblivion of existance.

Suddenly, a cry pierced the thunder and wind. Link stopped yelling andlistened. The cry continued, but it wasn't Zelda. In fact, it was a cry which he hadn't heard in years. Not since he was a young boy had Links ears been approached by such a sound. It was the sound...of a newborn child. Link raced back into the castle and up to his room. The door burst open and he rushed over to the bed. To his amazement, he found Impa by the window, washing her hands in a wooden bowl full of water. In bed was Zelda, smiling wearly and cradling a small bundle of linen. He knew what it was. He looked down and saw a tiny newborn baby. Tears began to stream down his cheeks as he realized that he was now a father. Zelda looked up at him, she was exhaused and ached all over. She held up the squirming baby to Link, and he gently took the newborn into his arms, holding it close.

"This is our son.", the princess whispered. He couldn't believe it. He was holding Hyrule's future in his arms.

"Hello there, little one.", he cooed.

***

The sun shone out onto the castle. It was quite a beautiful day. People in the market were selling their wares. Members of the castle cleaned and tidied up the rooms. Out in the stables, the horses were being groomed and shod. And everyone was anxious to see the new addition to the royal family.

Up in a tower of the castle, the queen of Hyrule, Zelda, was slowly rocking her newborn son back and forth in the rocking chair which had been in the family for generations. The rocking seemed to sooth the child who laid there in her arms sleeping. On the back of his right hand was a birthmark in the shape of the Triforce. At first Zelda thought that the birthmark meant something, but then she decided that it was only a coincindence. For some reason she was troubled. She still did not know what to call the child. It had been only a week since the baby's birth and yet Zelda and Link had not thought of a name. Not one seemed to suit him. There was some thing different about the baby. She couldn't put her finger on it but it was something. Still she was thankful for the baby.

All of her life Zelda had dreamed of having children. But she had never found a propor suiter to whom she could marry. Princes came and went but none seemed appropriate. Oddly enough she always thought that she WOULD marry a handsome prince and he would become the king. Never did it cross her mind to marry a farmboy/adventurer, but several years ago she was rescued by such a young man named Link. He saved her from the clutches of the evil wizard known as Ganon, and for that she allowed him to become the protector of the royal treasure known as the Triforce. Over time, they eventually became friends and the friendship soon blossomed into love. In a grand ceremony they were married and now....now their son was born.

Zelda walked over to the shimmering crystal pyramid which hovered above its marble pedestal. She took her baby's hand and touched it to the surface of the object. The gold crystal glowed brighter and the hum eminating from it raised in volume. Then the crystal spoke. The voice was soothing and feminine.

    'I am the Triforce, Hear my voice throughout the kingdom. I give the words of courage, power and wisdom. Your child will rule this land someday, But only after being raised by others far away.'

Zelda was about to respond when the door opened. In stepped Link. He was dressed in his usual green and yellow garb. At the sight of his son, a large grin grew accross his face. He walked over to the new mother and smiled down at the baby.

"How's my little boy huh?"

The baby woke up and stared back at the young man with a kind of indifference. Link's grin melted into a look of utter perplexity. The baby's stare was humbling.

"Well," Link began, "Have you picked out a name for our...uh...little bundle of joy?" Zelda turned away and walked towards the child's cradle.

"No, and that's what worries me.", she moaned, easing the baby down into the bed. He flailed his arms the way babies do, "For some reason I can't think of one. It's like we're not allowed to name him."

"Yeah, I cant think of a suitable name either. I wonder why that is?", Link replied.

"I dunno...this has never happened before. Usually a baby is named within days of his or her birth. There must be something different about our son." Zelda walked back to Link and put her arms around him. "And the Triforce said that our baby will be taken from us......that someone else is going to raise him. Oh Link, what ARE we going to do?" The young adventurer hugged his wife.

"Whatever happens, Zel, thngs will work out for the best. You'll see.", he consoled. They walked out of the nursery and down the stairs. Little did either of them know what was about to happen next.

***

    Down in the knights' mess hall, several of the castle guard were taking their morning breakfast. Laughter and drink went all around. Milk and bread and cheese and fruit were served by the maids, who refilled the goblets of the rowdy bunch.

"Here", barked one of the guards, "fill this, GIRLl." The maid filled the cup to the brim, then watched as the man sloshed it down. The others were partaking of the food and heartily enjoying themselves. One of them told a crude joke (The joke is obscene enough that I wont repeat it here), and everyone laughed. Everyone that is, except Farbin.

"Farbin!", muffled one of the guards thru a mouthfull of cheese and bread, " A rabbit....screaming girls? Get it? Hahahahahahaha!" Farbin didn't laugh. He didnt move a muscle.

"You idiot! Youve been staring at your food for several minutes, moron! What's wrong with you?", another chided. The laughter stopped as everyones' attention turned to the catatonic guard. Finally, Farbin spoke.

"I must save the kingdom.", he replied in a monotone voice. The others turned to eachother quizzically. Farbin stood up and walked briskly out the door, slamming it shut behind him. He walked accross the courtyard and up the stairs to the newborn princes room. Halfway up the stairs, he stopped suddenly. The voice in his mind spoke....it was the Triforce.

    "Go Farbin, get the prince. Take him to the fisherman Rintz. Out of the castle you must be, The baby's destiny is off to sea."

The soldier ran up the remainder of the stairs and entered the prince's room.

***

Zelda sat on the large canopied bed in the royal bedroom, brushing her hair. It was a bed of purple, with dark red wooden frame. The pillows were large and soft and fluffy. On the comforter was the embroidered gold symbol of the Triforce, as it was carved on the headboard of the bed.

"This is where Link and I lost our innocence.", she thought warmly, "What a night to remember! Boy, was daddy suprized when he found us the next morning!" She looked over to her husband sitting on the other side of the room, polishing his shield. Zelda laid the hair brush on the nightstand next to their bed and walked over to the wardrobe. Opening the doors, she began to choose what she would wear for the day.

From nowhere, smoke filled the room. A loud chuckling pierced the air. Niether Zelda or Link knew who it was. It wasn't Ganon, it couldn't have been. Ganon had been gone for years. It couldn't be Ganon, IT had to be someone else.

It stood eight feet tall and wore a dark red robe over his body. Only It's feet and hands could be seen. From beneath the hood of It's cloak, glowing red eyes shone like death itself. It's stench was worse than anything you could ever smell. Zelda turned away from It and grew nausiatingly sick. Link lunged for his sword, but with the flick of a wrist, the robed thing knocked him across the room. Link fell, the wind knocked out of him. It then turned It's sights on the Queen. She ducked out of the way of a jar It had thrown. The jar smashed into a million pieces. Zelda ran for her bow but It caught her in an energy beam which threw her against the wall, and began to suck the life from her body.

Link regained his composure, grabbed his sword, and hacked away at It, but to no affect. It quickly stabbed the young man in the side and kicked him back accross the room, all the while continuing to slowly kill Zelda. Link pulled the dagger from his side, blood drooling copiously from his wound. He still couldn't understand what this thing was and why it wanted he and Zelda dead. All he knew was that it had to be stopped.

It released the half-dead queen and turned It's full attention on her raging husband. Link plowed into It with his full weight.

***

A horse galloped out of the castle at a full run. Farbin was at the reins. In his arms was a screaming bundle of baby. His eyes were bloodshot with fright, and his heart pounded like it never had before. He was thinking only one thing. 'Get the baby out of here....Get the baby out of here...' The horse ran down the trail at lightning speed. It jumped over fallen limbs and sloshed thru rivers. Hiding in the bundle with the baby was Spryte. She had been there since Farbin took the child. She swore to the king that she would protect the child, and she would honor that pact.

Farbin detoured thru Alanar Woods to ensure that no one who was following him could continue. After several days he arrived in the northern sea town of Taricha. The ocean was calm and there was a large mass of people buying, selling and trading along the coast line. Ships and boats alike bobbed up and down to the waves of the sea. Overhead, seagulls called to one another. Farbin dismounted his horse and trudged into the crowd. People pushed, shoved and edged their way like a moving mass of floating objects. Farbin had no idea where to start looking for Rintz, the fisherman quoted to him by the Triforce. Amazingly, the Triforce spoke again. And the voice seemed to eminate from the child in Farbin's arms.

'On a ship with sails of gold, Meet a man whos big and old. To him give the precious newborne babe, A kindom great, you will then save.'

The soldier looked around and saw a ship with flatly colored gold sails. He made his way thru the crowd and up to the plank which led to the ship. Bumbling down the plank was an older man of short stature and a sour face. He had dark hair and a mustache. He wore a blue shirt, black vest, and black baggy pants. A largely buckled belt held the pants up. Big leather boots rounded off his atire.

"Sir, ", inquired Farbin, "Are you Rintz?" The man stopped and gave the knight a look of suspicion.

"What's it to you, bub?!", the man retorted. His breath was that of dead animals. Farbin shuddered.

"I have been instructed to give you this. Take it.", Farbin ordered, shoving the baby into Rintz's hands. The lumbering man looked down at the crying child with a certain distaste.

"What the?...I'm not even from around here and I dont want your......kid?" He looked up and noticed that the man was gone. Farbin had disappeared into the crowd. Glancing down at the baby, he saw the mark of the Triforce.

"A royal child of Hyrule!", he gasped. He reswadled the child took it into his ship, making sure that no one saw it. The helmsman, Rintz's youngest son Adoren, unroped the ship from the dock and the vessle began to lurch away from Hyrule. Rintz's eldest son Koreb called out a traditional saying as the ship left the port,

"Home, home to Dubatio....and the world of the people of the sea! Onward back to Dubatio, the only home for me!" Spryte peered out from the baby's blanket and said her goodbyes. If only she knew how final those goodbyes were.

***

Farbin ran. He ran and ran into the woods. He knew that if he stopped, he would die. But after about an hour of running he had no chioce and sat down against a tree. From somewhere around him he could hear growling. The growling of hungry, angry dogs. He picked himself up and began to run again. A hissing sound flew thru the air and an arrow hit Farbin squarely in the kneecap. He dropped to the ground in agony. Then he saw IT, the thing in the cloak. It had a bow in Its hand and it was quietly laughing. Next to It were two dogs, foaming at the mouth, ready to kill. It let go of the leashes and the dogs lunged at Farbin. A cry of terror and pain rang out into the forest.

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