Ageless Memories

Now, finally, the story I'm actually writing right now. Fierce Deity, Awaken is the first of this series, Ode to the Fallen Hero the second. This one, Ageless Memories, is the third, and last, of the main series. This one happens to take place a great deal of time after the previous two stories, and as such, have new characters.

This style any my previous style are obviously different, I've improved in the year break from this series. Actually, I wasn't going to make a sequel, until someone started to talk about it, and I started to get ideas... thus this. Well, enjoy, I got a prologue and chapter up, chapter two should be up eventually

Edit: I would greatly appreciate any constructive criticism. Saying it sucks doesn't help much, sorry to say



Hyrule's capital, once a small town, now a massive city, metropolis even, several miles spread out from the central fountain, which depicts the Triforce and a single man below it, sword in hand, in a defensive pose, his shield at his feet, cracked down the center, signifying a heroic man fighting to protect the land, rather than take it for his own.

The castle, massive, towering over the highest mountain in Hyrule, its defenses the greatest in the land. Before the castle is the long, five hundred foot yard and road, where several guard towers are stationed, stationary crossbows more than six feet long, firing four foot arrows lie there, ready to defend. Guards always on duty, it's an impossibility to enter unless allowed. The guards themselves are in battle ready armor, which at the same time, promotes free form movement. Made of a light, yet dense, metal, rounded connectors are at each joint, allowing perfect movement. The armor, though not impenetrable, is very durable compared to armor of older times. Simplistic, smooth shafts cover each limb, the torso a mixture of chain mail and this new armor, the Hylian Crest printed upon each guard's chest, showing their affiliation.

Technology has advanced to the point of mechanics, steam is a favored type of power source, able to use the compression for weapons, as well as the gates used to border the city at night. More advanced mechanics is the 'Clock Tower', a gift of Termina's Clock Town, who had several of the best architects build a massive clock on the tallest tower of Hyrule Castle, giving the time for all throughout the land to see at night, when the clock lights up the night, as bright as the moon itself. Hyrule returned this gift with libraries of knowledge, which Termina never used, but rather archived, available for any to read and learn, though with Termina's large amount of technology, they have no need to learn of the 'lost arts' as they are called, magic.

Kokiri Forest is widely remembered as never changing, but they have expanded into the Lost Woods, proving the 'curse of the skullkid' wrong, knowing that it's a separate force that causes this.

Kakariko Village and Death Mountain have a shared community, Hylians and Gorons live among each other peacefully, and Death Mountain itself is known to have settled down to the point of being just that, a mountain, more than a volatile volcano.

Zora's Domain has expanded to Lake Hylia, leaving the sacred Water Temple be, but building some underwater stone buildings around the lake, and more Hylians have settled there as well over the years, a few families who farm and fish to make a living.

The Gerudo, as always, have kept solitary within their desert, not expanding, keeping in their fortress, keeping a steady watch, continuing what they've done for all of what is time.


Termina, much more advanced that when it was so many years ago. Electricity runs through the city, lighting up the streets, paving the way for true 'automatic mobile devices', which use a combination of steam and electricity to propel a wheeled object faster and further than a horse could in a single day, though due to the hazards involved (malfunctions), they are restricted to outside of the city, which leaves less room in the field due to the expansion of Clock Town, now more of a bustling city, businesses, organizations cluttering the buildings, the classic Termina Field has been nearly devoured in the expansion, leaving only a small outer road to circle the city and enter other areas of Termina.

Clock Town still has their system of democracy, and now has an even greater law system, having technological advances. The guards, named 'Clock Hands', wear varying gear, ranging from the classic metal armor, to leather, to normal clothing. This sort of style means that all guards must keep identification on them at all times. Clock Town's law enforcement is critically acclaimed, being one of the greatest the land has ever seen, with their proficient use in ranged weaponry and close quarter combat alike, they're almost an army, yet a simple police force they remain.

No major wars have taken place, except for the extinction of the Ikana undead, which was caused years after the incident with the evil moon due to a massive riot, and mass bomb keg strikes, causing the magnificent temples and castles to be reduced to rubble, the only one standing is Stone Tower, not able to be reached by mortal hands. Ikana was rebuilt entirely, a massive library built over the ruins that was Ikana Royal Castle, where Clock Town put the vast collection they received as a gift from Hyrule, and proudly put on display.

The Southern Swamp's Dekus have become mainly secluded, becoming strict with passage, placing massive gates in various sections of the swamp, restricting access. Most cannot even see the Royal Palace, due to the guards who seem to be violent at this day and age, one of the few races who have reverted back to a more territorial state.

The vast Oceans and it's dual inhabitants of Gerudo and Zoras have mainly kept away from each other, the Gerudo expanding in off-shore bases they've built using technology they've stolen from Clock Town's prototype labs (which in itself causes many fatalities among Gerudo, being highly experimental and often high failure rates). It's believed that either the Gerudo are more intelligent that the typical pirates they were made out to be, or some brilliant minds decided to join them. The Zoras, on the other hand, are moved more inland, ironically, and have made all parts of this tropical habitat their own in Zora Cape and beyond, and welcome any travelers to stay as long as they wish. The Zora Hall is the location of the generations old Indigo-go's, who still perform shows all over Termina, and are attempting to reach Hyrule to expand their musical talent.

To the north, the Gorons have made use of bomb kegs to the extreme, blasting down whole mountains to create even larger race tracks, for the coveted 'Platinum Sirloin Stone', the shiniest, tastiest rock that's so rare, they only give one away a year during the largest race taken place. Some eccentric inventors all over Termina hope to create a machine fast enough to race, not for the rock, but for the pride.


The last known war in Hyrule was the war of the Dark Sorcerer and the Hero of Time, Termina's last war was so long ago, some believe it to be only legend. Only small fights break out, the last major fight being in Ikana, but not a war, as it was a quick, one night assault and destruction. Hyrule's new leader, Queen Zelda, is confident that she can continue that line of peace, though, already knowing her duty as the leader of the sages, she feels differently from her mother's lineage... as if... a dark memory lingers in her mind...










Chapter 1: Intruder


'This burden thrust upon me, I must realize that I have chosen it as much as I have been destined to it. I could have refused, to have chosen to keep my simple life in my home, but instead, I catered to the request of the queen, and agreed to help in any way I could. I owe her that much, as I would be wandering around aimlessly, not knowing what path I was to follow, if she had not shown me. I cannot help but wonder, though, what this so called task is all about. Yes, yes, I get it, to capture and imprison, but why can't the guards of her city do such a thing? Indeed, I wonder...'

+~+~+

Tension grips him, the panic, the adrenaline... the fear. Running, he cannot get far enough away. Dodging, he cannot escape the demon's claws. Tripping, he is in the mercy of the demon.

Thunder roars through the apartment, waking the owner of the bazaar he owns below his home. Dalan Muno, a burly, tall man of thirty, nearly snaps his neck looking side to side in his bedroom. Nothing... just the window to the left of him, the rain pounding on the glass, lighting seen in the sky. A mighty storm, not to be taken lightly. Early yet, barely midnight, yet even the late night shoppers and socialists were at home, causing Dalan to close up early. A mere hour of sleep he had, according to the clock upon the castle's tower. Such a dream... shaking, he put his hand to his eyes, rubbing them, recalling nothing but a sadistic smile and long claws... and demonic red eyes. In this day and age, such things were mere legend.

Sliding out of bed, he decided it best to remain awake for awhile, just in case his shop flooded again, due to the poor drainage in this portion of the city. Slipping on a pair of torn work pants and a sleeveless tunic, he traveled down the hall to his main room, the largest room in the apartment that held two couches and a table, with an impressive view of the castle from a large window. His bazaar had good business, giving him a good life style, despite only having three rooms in his apartment, he lived alone, and lived accordingly, he had quite a modest personality, his shop was large, yet simple, holding several shelves of different types of merchandise.

Sitting back with a book on legends, he flipped a small switch next to the arm rest, turning on a small light in the center of the room. Electricity was found in simple ways around the capital of Hyrule, as well as some of the more expensive homes of Kakariko. Sighting with some relief, he enjoyed the fables and tales of ancient heroes vanquishing even more ancient evils, his current one of the Keaton Warrior and the Black Demon, a vague, thrilling tail of heroism and sacrifice. The man, a supposed reincarnation of a Keaton deity, stops the threat of a terrible demon from ravaging the land, giving his own life in the process.

Listening to the rain slap against the windows, the thunder crash above, and seeing the nearly constantly lit up sky, Dalan couldn't help but reminisce about legend's he's heard of, namely the Legends of the Shattered Triforce and the Dark Demon, telling of a hero who traveled the lands and time to save a women he barely knew, an ancestor of the Queen Zelda herself, from the clutches of a dark sorcerer who had betrayed his loyalty with the Royal Family, causing panic and fear throughout Hyrule. Such a tale, woven in with history, it was almost like the legend itself was history! Sages, archaic objects, demonic creatures, even gods! Nothing left out in that legend!

Reading from the legend, he came across one of his favorite parts. 'And so the young hero places the three stones of the elements and bravely walks through the timeless doors, gripping the hilt of the sword of evil's bane, not knowing the dangers he had unleashed upon the gentle land of Hyrule, for this, is the time of the sorcerer demon's reign...'

The Temple of Time, a sacred shrine to the sages of legend as well as the Goddesses of Hyrule, at this day it is still such, yet it remains painfully empty, only a few priests and priestesses tending to the temple's few visitors. The Temple of Time remains untouched, just as majestic and ancient as the last generation, and generations before that. Dalan always wondered, what truly was behind the Doors of Time... he was a constant visitor there, and always felt as ease there, as if a calm had spread over his very soul. His only wish for the moment before he died, was to see the inner sanctum of the temple, where the rumored gate to the Sacred Realm lie, where the cherished symbol of Hyrule, the Triforce, was an actual object, to be seen, adored... and to grant the one wish the user had, deep within their hearts, able to change the world.

To be able to change the world, in whatever aspect there was... to be able to learn the lost arts... that would be Dalan's only wish. 'These days, the only ones who can learn magic are those who start off as a child learning, who have access to the books needed to study...' Dalan has wished this often, and many times day dreamed about using magic, from summoning towers of flames, to freezing rivers, to levitating off the ground and flying, a dream for many people. And most of all, the powers of the goddesses from his favorite legend, of Din, Farore, and Nayru. The brute strength of Din's Fire, the finesse of Farore's Wind, and the protection of Nayru's Love. Such powerful magic, from the goddesses themselves, if only such things existed, he would love to obtain them, if only for the pleasure of being graced by the goddesses, not even to use them.

Beginning to feel himself doze off, he glanced at the clock tower, and saw that it was nearly two in the morning, a few hours until dawn, which he usually woke up to so he could tend to his shop early. Rather than going down the hall, he lifted his legs onto the couch, and simply closed his eyes where he was as he flipped the light switch off. Sliding his tunic off, he merely tossed it to the side of the couch. Placing his book on the table next to the couch, his last sight was that of the clock on Hyrule Castle, ticking away slowly, minute by minute, the rounded edges spinning, sixty clicks per minute, one rotation completing the minute...

Moments before drifting off to sleep, Dalan heard a clanging of metal on metal, then a dull thud, as if multiple objects fell to the ground. Slowly rising from the couch to once again wake up, he quickly shuffled to the staircase at the side of the room, peering down the straight slant, the door was still closed, nobody was trying to intrude in the apartment, but quite obviously, more wealth was to be found in the shop below, simply by stealing a small amount of items and selling them, a man could make a decent living for about a month, especially with the high quality steel Dalan uses for his weapons and armor.

Not a very aggressive man by nature, he only grew into his muscles by working in a shop like the one he owned since he was a young teenager. But this didn't stop him from intensionally being intimidating, often using his brutish size from keeping thieves away... which didn't seem to stop this one, ether a bold or foolish man this one was.

Grabbing hold of the door knob, he nearly ripped it from the hinges as he slammed it open, walking into his decent sized shop, looking past the shelves, the various weapons and armored items. The entrance to his shop next to the stairway to his apartment was slightly open, with the wood slightly splintered; someone had forced the door open. Peering around the shop, he let his eyes adjust for a moment, before pinning his eyes on the only thing that didn't belong, a small, brittle sword cracked, upon the floor near the door, the hilt bent... the tool used to enter. Pathetic craftsmanship, Dalan could see the flaws throughout the blade, even in near darkness.

Feeling the wall for a switch, he found it, and flicked it upwards, filling the entire shop with dim light, usually the switch was only used for early morning deliveries and rainy days, the windows more than capable of filling the shop with day light. Peering across his shop once more, the moonlight was drowned out from the outside by the light inside, giving the outside an eerie, dark feeling, rather than a dimly lit street. About to take a step, he stopped as he saw a figure, a man, dart from near the entrance to the other end of the room, away from Dalan.

Grabbing the nearest item near him, Dalan strapped a shield onto his forearm, gripping the metal bar used to keep it in place during battle with such force, it felt as though it were warping its shape. “Show yourself, pay for the door, and I won't get the guards involved. Run, I will. Fight, guards won't have to know about another missing man.” Hearing himself say this gave Dalan chills, he didn't like to be such a brute, but he had to use his size to his advantage, showing any signs of weakness would only let a thief escape, or a fight erupt within his shop.

From beyond a shelf near the outer wall of the end of the shop, a man rose from the ground, a wicked blade in his hands, a rare 'Select Deal' item that Dalan lays out for collectors of swords. Only these weren't just for display. A curved, serpent like blade fell from the hilt made from silver, the blade made from the same metal, a rope attached to it due to having no sheathe made for it. A heavy sword, the fairly average sized man rose it to his side with relative ease. Some of these swords Dalan crafted by hand himself in his spare time, this one, however, he had obtained from a deal with some Gerudo.

Before speaking out, Dalan tapped his metal Hyrulian Shield with his hand, making the man turn his head slightly, showing greying hair from under his brown hood... the man looked filthy, a homeless beggar of the streets. His face was hidden, either by the hood, or his descending, mangled hair. Rising fully and walking out from behind the cases and shelves, he showed a torn, dirty cloak for rain and wind, obviously pointless now with all the tears in it. Rather than answering, the man simply brandished his sword, grabbing the rope attached to the hilt and tying it into a circle, tossing it behind his back, putting it around his neck and under his arm.

Walking to the entrance again, Dalan only watched until he reached for the door knob, which is when Dalan made a move, and grabbed the man's shoulder. Comparative, the man was about a foot shorter than Dalan, meaning he was much larger than any normal man. “Where do you think you're going, you thief?” he asked, going for the rope around the man's neck and arm. Without a moment of hesitation, the man plunged his elbow into Dalan's stomach, nearly dropping him, mainly due to surprise. Taking the rope at this point and ripping it off of the man, Dalan couldn't move fast enough to stop as the robed man twisted around in place, swiping the sword as it fell as the rope was torn, swinging it up, grazing Dalan's bare chest, not enough to draw blood, but enough to sting.

Leaving Dalan in shock, the man turned his back on him. “Don't even bother. You'd best leave now and call the guards, other than die. I have no quarrel with you.” Beginning to walk, he was stopped with a crushing bear hug from Dalan.

“Really now, boy? How about we both see them?” he asked, walking out a few steps into the rain. Motionless for a moment, the man suddenly showed almost inhuman skill as he kicked upwards over his head, into Dalan's own, right above the left eye, cutting it slightly from the ragged brown boots. Dropping the thief to the ground, Dalan could only stagger for a moment, before seeing the man look back at him, then running off into the rain and darkness.

Almost furious at this point, Dalan walked back into his shop. It was early in the morning, he was tired, frustrated, he would contact guards in the morning. Dropping his shield, it clanged onto the floor. Raising his hand to his head, he drew it back, some blood smeared on his palm. After a brief inspection, he saw that only one of his more valuable swords was taken, nothing more. Not a bad choice, in all of Hyrule, his weapon and armor shop was rated as high as they come. Looking back to the now closed door, more frustration build within him, no thief has ever gotten away before. Few have tried, none have succeeded. Until tonight.

Grey hair... torn traveler's robes... ragged brown boots... a hand made serpent blade sword... remembering that brief moment when the man turned around, he remembered one more detail... half of his face had markings on them... not from battle... it looked like paint marks.

I finally got the will to write the rest of this, ended up writing two pages just tonight in about an hour


Chapter 2: Night Shift

'The castle is in the distance, I can the symbolic trust between our lands upon the tower that dares to pierce the heavens. By the look of dawn's sun, I would assume I will arrive before the sun sets. This item the message speaks of... this symbol of the hero of legend... I wonder what it is... but more than that, I wonder what this task she wishes me to assist with is all about. If none of her army can accomplish it, what can a man from a different, smaller guard force accomplish...?

And now, I see something in the distance...? A... carriage?'

+~+~+~+

The morning of Dalan's Bazaar's robbery, Dalan reported the crime to the guards, which was met with initial confusion; nobody ever stole from Dalan before, only the brave or foolhardy tried. He was known throughout the city and a few other areas for being the only shop with a record of no successful robberies.

Three guards accompanied Dalan back to his shop, using a cart over the cobble stone streets, a bumpy, uncomfortable, but fast, ride. Initially, Dalan had a sense of frustration about the situation, only to turn to slight incredulous; the first burglary someone ever attempted on his store was a group of six unruly teenage Hylians, all of which were promptly thrown out of the shop in groups of three, not being seen again. But this one man... this one man stole from him so easily, seeming to hold back. Dalan felt his chest, the sting of the blade still itching at his skin beneath his greyish sleeveless tunic.

In the shop, the guards couldn't tell anything Dalan didn't already know. The door was broken in with a cheaply made sword, nothing else tampered with, nothing else stolen.

'Average height, looked like greyish long hair in the moonlight, a bit brighter in the street lamp light. I don't mean down to his back long, maybe to his neck, longest. Wearing a ragged traveler style garb, not sure what he may have been hiding beneath it all. I think he had gauntlets on too, from what I could see, probably old and better off without. Strangest thing is his face, he had some paint or something on it, looked a bit like black with red or something, maybe blue or purple, too dark to make out really.'

Dalan's description of the robber gave enough information to be able to check other stores around the area for stolen gear, if it's shown that there is indeed gear missing, then they have more to go off of... if not, then this might just be another robbery with no justice. The only true proof would be if any man caught had possession of the stolen sword, the continuously curving blade of a snake's movement.

Leaving the sulking owner to his wares and business for the day, the guards filed a report of the case, sure to be lost in the piles of unsolved cases of robbery, assault, murder. The system wasn't perfect for Hyrule, any man with common sense could get around it, leaving no traces of their being, all that they would need to do is move into the slums of Hyrule Castle City or Kakariko's small branches of towns around Death Mountain, where the system is lax, even nonexistent. Trading comfortable living conditions for anonymous persona. A simple trade, which anyone could make the best out of. This man was another one of these men, taking advantage of the guards overlooking the decrepit areas of the large city... after all, why watch over those who barley care to watch out for themselves, landing them in such a position?

+~+~+~+

Nightfall approaching, a pair of guards at the gates wait to raise the draw bridge as they see a cart in the distance, pulled by two brown stallions, the cart small, yet strangely elegant with perfect symmetry and bearing the Royal Crest of Hyrule on either side of the cart's sides. Approaching, two more Hyrule guards could be seen, another man in the back within the small cabin, holding a book before his face, lost in the words. Letting the cart pass, the guards quickly raised the gates by forcefully spinning a wheel with two handle grips on it near the gate, as the last remnants of the sun set behind the horizon.

Both clad in silver metal armor, helmets bound to their head, spears with wooden shafts and bronzed spear heads strapped to their backs, leather belts and pouches around their waist for item placement, most guards looked identical to one another. The Hylian Royal Crest melded to each man's chest plate, some to their backs, it showed affiliation in a moment's notice.

With the day job of monitoring all entering travelers and traffic, one guard remained to secure the gate over half the night, as the second guard left to patrol the streets for half the night. Neither were happy with their jobs, guards often had a tedious life, boring, many days full of nothing but footwork, each one hoping to have a shot at becoming a Knight of Hyrule, who lived in the castle grounds, who were called when wars or battles were upon the land, but other than that, they simply did physical exercise during the day, and slept at night, with little else to do. Typical guards only visited the castle during the day, but spent the nights at their homes. Many guards in this day and age were single young men, unable to hold down a real job, instead doing manual labor to help keep the city running.

The guard on patrol of the city tonight made a dramatic decision, one of the few not doing what he does because that was all he could do He forfeit his hope to enter Termina to become an engineer so that the love he had could become a success in Hyrule. He knew of her dream of scholarship, she knew nothing of his own dream. And he wanted to keep it that way. If she knew he gave up his own hopes to help her, becoming a simple guard for a moderately payed job, rather than go to school himself, just so he could help pay for the cost of her studies, she would give it up in a moment's notice to let him do what he wanted. The only way to have a selfless person do what they wished over your own, was to make them believe you had no wish.

The ever increasingly empty slums of the city are home to many people who are officially homeless, but yet the numbers dwindled lately from an outbreak of a moderate disease, which since passed. But without money and medicines, a possible majority of homeless perished from it. The guard hated coming to his area, each person seemed to either look at him with scorn, or depression. Many people chose to live this way, rather than simply adapting to rules, they turned to the darker sides of life. Some, however, had little choice. Bad choices and unfortunate accidents can lead to the same outcome.

Little light could be seen from the main streets, only the top portion of the castle's Clock Tower could be seen over the poorly maintained buildings. The roads in this area were often cracked, contained pits, some were bare of any solid ground, rather just mud. Another reason to dislike being on patrol in the slums. A mixture of gratitude for not living in such a place, and guilt over being somehow better, something no man can deny. A man in such living conditions looks at you with the look of poverty and depression, a wave of guilt floods over you until you manage to block it from your mind. It was impossible to block. If you did, you simply didn't care, a soulless person with only personal gain in mind.

Hearing the distant chat of people who've nowhere to go, nothing to do, the guard continued on his way down the seemingly endless alleys, seeing a man sprawled on the side of the alleyway, slumped against a broken down wooden door, the building behind him worn down and surely dangerous to enter from the structural damage. Walking by the stranger, the guard could see the man slowly stir, placing his hands to the ground and lifting himself up slightly, enough to look up at the guard. A pale complexion and blue eyes met his gaze beneath the hood, which the man lowered, showing mangled, filthy long hair... possibly white, grey, black, any color, it can barely be known with all the dirt and mud in it. He seemed slightly malnourished, his torn cloak clinging to his body from the previous day's rain, surely not warm enough during the day to dry.

As if drawn to the man, the guard stayed, awaiting something to happen as the ragged man before him moved to his feet, walking forward slightly, before falling against the side of the building, loud creaks almost shouting from the building, showing it's poor state of being. Dropping his hands to his sides, the stranger glanced at the guard once more, with a look of self pity and confusion. “Tell me, Hyrule Guard... do you have any water on you?” he questioned slowly, seeming to be ashamed of asking. Almost without hesitation, the guard grabbed at his sash around his waist, grabbing at a small canteen, tossing it to the man, who rose his hand to catch it. “Thank you...” he quietly rasped out, uncapping it and gulping down all the canteen had to offer. Tossing it back, the man rose his head to the guard once more, his eyes scanning around every part of the guard before speaking once more. “... care to answer some questions, kind sir?”

Typically in a patrol around the city, even the common citizen ignored the guards, so this was indeed a strange occurrence. “And what would that question be, stranger?” he answered the question with another, staring on at the man before him, who stepped forward, a slight clank to his step, each step seeming to be more precise than the last, less staggering, more direct.

“... where would I be right now? It seems to be the town of the castle, but... I don't know... it seems to have been longer than I thought...”

Thrown off by such a strange question, the guard could only stutter slightly before speaking. “Well, this is Hyrule Castle City, the capital of Hyrule. It's expanded beyond it's ancient borders, and has been for ages. How could you not know such a thing, you seem to be younger than I am... other than that, how did you end up in such a position?”

“I... can't say.” the stranger replied vaguely, putting his right hand to the side of his head, rubbing it slightly. “Not because I don't want to tell... I just can't... I last remember this being such a simple little place... I enjoyed it here... such a peaceful little capital it used to be...” Waiting for a moment, he realized he missed the second portion of the guard's personal question. “I have to say, I made poor decisions... too many. But as anyone can say, anyone's made wrong decisions before.”

Stepping forward a bit more, the guard noticed a the familiar clank to his step becoming quieter, despite his steps being normal... as if his movement itself differentiated it. As the stranger stepped next to a dimly lit street lamp, a glint of metal was seen between the cloak's opening, just past the sash. Grabbing at his spear almost instinctively, the guard lifted it from its place and clashed it against the ground, hilt first, pointing it upwards. “I have reason to believe that you're carrying a concealed weapon. Reveal it, or I will be forced to confiscate it from you.” he strictly told the man, his tone changing. Weapons themselves were not illegal, but if one was concealed and discovered, it was reason to believe the person hiding it had reason to. Not complying, the guard shifted the spear's head to stare straight at the man's chest. “Going to accept the terms?” he asked, taking a stance to strike, intending to go for the arm if he indeed had to take the man down.

Stopping in his tracks, the man simply ripped open his cloak, revealing a tattered black tunic covering his scarred chest, the white shirt beneath it greyed from use without wash, his pants torn and filthy. Wearing two ragged gauntlets, his left hand was over the hilt of a sword with a curved blade, a rope attached to the hilt looped around his left gauntlet's ragged holes, pushing against his wrist and hand. Looking up at the man from his sword, he lifted it, pointing it at the guard's throat. “You'd best not bother. You start with me, I finish with your blood on my hands. You can just walk away now, and not be injured.”

'This man... the thief!'

The guard recognized the man from the description given and the evident blade in his possession, but... there were no marks on his face as Dalan described. Tossing his spear upwards and catching up with his palm up, the guard prepared to throw it with deadly accuracy, knowing the man was no pushover, from what he did to Dalan, an act of humiliation with no challenge. Leaning back to take the shot, the guard steadied his balance, each breath seeming to take him off balance... he had never acted so rashly, nor had he ever taken a man's life, like he was prepared to. Something about this man...

Throwing forward with all the force he could muster, the guard watched onward in near shock as the stranger slapped the spear to the side with the broad side of his sword, putting it's trajectory into the building's door behind him, forcing it open from the force of the throw alone. With almost inhuman speed, or rather the guard's shock and impaired judgment, the stranger rushed to the guard's side, locking his right arm around the guard's own right arm, twisting in place, sending the guard to the ground.

“I gave you a chance... you should take freedom when it's offered, you never know when your greatest freedom, life, will be taken.”

Twirling his sword in his left hand, the stranger poised it downward the strike, and impaled the man before him, digging the blade into the man's chest, then smoothly drawing it out, wiping the blood from it on his own cloak, before putting it back on. Leaving the man before him on the ground, the stranger simply turned and walked away, as the guard's vision went blurry, his last sight that of the thief walking away in casual stride...

I'd like to apologize beforehand if this counts as gravedigging.
I've read the first and second of the main series and loved them both. I'm currently reading the prequel that WillowtheWhisp posted and love it as well. I noticed that this hasn't been continued for a couple of months, I certainly hope you weren't discouraged from writing it as it is really good. Despite only two chapters being posted so far, I'm already hooked. Like I said before, I apologize if this is gravedigging. Best of luck.