Evil's Bane Anniversary Edition: Children of the Red Dawn

Evil’s Bane: A Look in Retrospect
　

June 28th, 2008. A date that I will always remember. As a writer, that first love, that first piece of work that defines you, chisels you out of the mire, becomes so much more than the sum of it’s given parts. 121 pages, 1831 paragraphs, 4790 sentences, 64171 words, and 292800 keystrokes later, Evil’s Bane was indeed the first piece of art that I was to complete...well, at least to rough draft format.

A tale of redemption, sly villainy, and the ties that bind throughout space and time, Evil’s Bane eclipsed anything that I had since attempted. Not only in length, but also in power, technical skill, intrigue, and style. Even now I ponder those long hours, the aching wrists, the tired eyes, wondering what drove me, what inspired me, for so much of that memory is now lost.

But one thing remains: the readers. I had so much support from the ZU; my peers, my friends; that really invigorated the process, challenged me to do bigger, faster, and intricate weaves of story to both entertain and rekindle interest in the Zelda world of fantasy.

Many have asked me why I have not done an edit, turned the rough draft into a polished masterpiece. The answer is quite simple: pride. I love Evil’s Bane for what it is, for what it has taught me, and will forever respect it as such. I look upon it now and see those painful flaws, those unintended missteps, and am reminded of where I have come from, where I am going, and what makes or breaks a story. That considered, I don’t think I will ever edit Evil’s Bane – it is too precious to me to go back and ruin it for the sake of grammar and prose.

But Evil’s Bane has not only contributed to my writing skill. No, my digital art has also taken great strides since I made that first banner, oh so long ago. If it weren’t for that, I am sure I would have never truly dug deep into that artistry and so many beautiful things would have never come to bear. So twofold I am blessed.

Which brings me to one moot point: Curse of the Zora. Of course, the only way to properly send off a good read is to continue it, right? CotZ has so much promise, so many byways that can be taken with Link, Mara, and Cale in the oceanic world of the orange Zoras, though I fear it was a pipe dream. Indefinitely postponed, CotZ may indeed make a return in the future, but for now it lay resting until I can finish my novel.

The bitter constraints of time aside, for this glorious anniversary, the novella having it’s first birthday as well as reaching 2000 reads, I have prepared a special little supplement for all of you who have read, critiqued, and given your support throughout my training as a writer. And who knows? Maybe I’ll be able to come back here someday and look upon this as the final step, the one great achievement that gave me the will, the ability, and the desire to keep on writing, to keep on reaching out for the unimaginable, and, above all, to have that reason to keep on dreaming of distant worlds that we may never truly see, but can visit from time to time.

Thank you, and Goddesses bless,

- JM, DB, MF

P.S. If you haven't read Evil's Bane, or wish to revisit, here are the links for the works within my forays into Zelda completed so far:

Evil's Bane -- http://www.zeldauniverse.net/forums/...-s-bane-t.html
Evil's Bane II: Curse of the Zora -- http://www.zeldauniverse.net/forums/...he-zora-t.html
Origins of Evil -- http://www.zeldauniverse.net/forums/...s-of-evil.html

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"Children of the Red Dawn"
　

Fires erupted from the newly-named Mount of Death, a hot wind billowing through the armies below, raining down ash and molten rock upon the western slopes. For six days the legions had battled, waded knee-deep in the swarthy blood of both their friend and foe, as the tides of darkness swept over the lands of Hyrule.

Three clans, each aligned with one of the three Goddesses; The Gorons of Din, The Zoras of Nayru, and the Hylians of Farore; set out to claim that which was most sacred, most prized of all possessions: the legendary Triforce. A relic left in the hands of man to grant them enlightenment and prosperity, it had now driven the Hyruleans to the very brink of madness.

Green arrows rained down from the heavens like a dark blanket of mossy spines. Blue orbs of watery transience mingled in the hordes, drowning Hyruleans where they stood. And the red flame of hatred burned most brightly upon the weapons of Din’s host, for it was upon her mountain that this transgression against the Goddesses was to take place.

Brother fell his brother, father clove his son, and fire, water, and earth all mingled indiscriminately. No longer concerned for the land that their patronesses cultivated just for them, there was no end that these creatures would lower themselves to, no boundary they were afraid to cross.

No dark art they were afraid to harness.

Then, upon the seventh day, when it looked as if all of the once-proud Hyrulean races would fall, evil entered the field. Draped in a cloak of crimson and ebony, a man from a distant race set himself upon the Hyruleans, unconcerned for their petty squabble upon the mountain. With a mighty army, fresh to the fight, he set his yellow eyes upon them and sneered, for the Triforce was to be his.

Sly villainy had taken it’s toll, the Hyruleans all deceived into war only to fall to their own wicked council.

A dark shadow loomed over the mountain, the bursting magma framed by the blackness. The sun itself hiding from the power of this strange outlander, the slaughter, and the conquering of all the free peoples of Hyrule, was to begin.

But then, at a last alliance forged by desperation, the few remaining Knights of Hyrule banded together to commit one last heinous act against the Goddesses: the forging of a weapon so great and terrible that it could destroy not only the body, but the soul as well.

Taking a fortnight to complete, the battle and the Hyrulean spirit waning, the Dwarven Swordsmiths of the south produced a mighty blade, one unlike any other. Fused with the power of all three Goddesses, taken from the very being of the Sages from each clan, it held the ability to breath white fire, to cleave through stone and mortar, and to dispel those dark arts that the Hyruleans had for so long clung to.

It was to be the blade of evil’s bane, and no darkness could ever touch it.

Despair then crept into the hearts of the Hyruleans: there was no Knight of their blood pure enough to wield the blade, for their darkness was inherent. Many men tried, brave souls and warriors, ready to give their lives in service to the Kings of Hyrule, and give they did. Their proud, strong bodies not without flaw or fault, they fell to the mighty sway of the sword when they tried to wield it, disappearing into the mists left behind, never again to be seen.

But then, as the Hyrulean people were about to come to their destined ruin, a boy, dressed in the greens of the Farore clan, stepped forward. Not a Knight, he still found the courage to take up the blade of evil’s bane, his soul untarnished by war, warring, or want. The power of the Goddesses flowing through him like a sieve, purging all the darkness within him, making him pure and unspoiled, he set his eyes upon the mountain.

Like reeds in the wind, the dark host bowed in submission as the blade passed through them, cleaving both steel and spirit, driving the invading horde back into the deserts. Becoming a tale of legend, the Desert King himself is said to have fallen, though some say he retreated to the sands, burrowing beneath his Goddess’s temple in fear for his life.

Then, when enough men had died, the boy wielding the blade was struck, having been mortally wounded by a ferocious igniter, though the beast indeed was destroyed in turn. Tears of the Goddesses fell from the skies, hushing the belly of the Mount of Death and bringing a reverent quiet back to the war-torn lands. A red sun rose above the southern lake, bathing the sky in it’s slowly-returning warmth. In somber relief, the Hyruleans declared their victory, burning the bridge into the badlands, forever intent on keeping their enemy from their borders forever.

Deciding to seal the gate to the realm in which the Triforce lay, to protect it from the hearts of man and beast, a shrine to the young hero was constructed over the place where he valiantly fought his last battle. The wise Sages of the three clans came together and blanketed the new temple in white magic, the same magic of the great blade, and created three keys, powerful runes of the Goddesses, and bound them with the sword. This created an impenetrable barrier to the sacred lands of the Triforce, a seal that was to remain for all time.

But one last Sage, in secret, did not participate in the ritual. A young Sage selected to guard the newly built temple, he had a growing fearfulness within him. For in his mind’s eye he held a vision, a murky portrait of days to come, of resurgent darkness, and of the need for the blade once more. Rather than forever entomb the sword, he gave in to his fear and left a sliver of hope, allowing the blade to be taken up once more by a hero in an hour of need. Little did he know he was paving the way for evil’s return.

And unbeknownst to the other Sages, the deed had been done.

Each clan going their separate ways to rebuild, the three keys were taken by the respective Sages as a reminder of what their pride and vanity had wrought. One returned to the forests with the Hylian folk, one to the southern lakes with the Zora, and another up to the highest peak of the Mount of Death to be a token of the Gorons. As for the blade of evil’s bane, it was to remain in the fallen Knight’s temple as a monument, a pledge to the Goddesses that Hyruleans would never again have the need for a weapon of such vehemence.

And such was the birth of the Master Sword.