Silent Echoes: Betrayal of Blood: Chapter 1 -- Tournament of Champions

~*~The Legend of Zelda~*~

Silent Echoes: Betrayal of Blood

　

Chapter One -- Tournament of Champions

Zelda, Queen of Hyrule, stared out into the distant horizon to the west where the Lost Woods -- now often called Woodshire Village but it would always be the Lost Woods to her -- sat in the darkness of the night. Only the torchlight illuminated her face, the rest of her body was clothed in the dark night while guards patroled around the grounds below. She could see them looking in every direction from where she stood, they were nervous of what was out there. But they shouldn't be nervous.

They should be afraid.

Shaking her head, the Queen couldn't think like that. She had a kingdom to rule and if she were to ever be as good as a ruler as her father had been prior to being decieved as he had been, then she couldn't let her fear take over her. It happened before, years and years ago when she was still but a child -- a princess -- but she couldn't afford to lose that security she had. Not until she found what was causing the disapearance of half of the Zora race -- why the remaining had feld Hyrule -- and what was happening in the border between the Light World and the Golden Land.

What was going on in the Land of the Shadows that caused even her telepathic abilites to faulter between the Maidens living in there?

"Why indeed," Zelda mumbled to herself, or it would seem. Turning around and leaning on the cold stone of the castle wall, she folded her arms over her chest as she stared at the older man that had come up behind her. He was in his early sixties, black hair not touched by age and green eyes narrowed at her when the Queen had turned around. There were few wrinkles on his face, touched up by Hylian magic that was not supposed to be used in that manor. "I hope that you have word of how many persons from Kakariko are entering the Tournament in a few weeks."

"I was never told I would need to give you the numbers so soon," Lord Don Nakai said, his bow to his Queen just as sour as his words were. "Or the names of anyone who decided to join the Tournament, just as you've wanted to keep the participants a secret."

"So I did." The corner's of Zelda's mouth twitched. "Governor Patil and Governor Talis have already left for their respected villages hours ago, why am I surprised you are still here?"

"There is always things to do around here, your Majesty. Your safety is important." Don feined a look of worry, giving Zelda a half smile before turning on his heels and walked away a few steps before stopping. "There are a few interested persons that I've heard are wishing to enter. You may be surprised at the particpants who will be coming in next few weeks."

"I welcome all who decide to take this challenge up, no matter which side they had once supported." Zelda had to shout the last few words when Lord Nakai had continued to walk away. Supressing the urge to scream, the Queen turned around quickly and gave a pout, something she hadn't done since her early childhood. Father, were all the normal advisors you had always this frustrating?

The last thing she needed to do was give into her frustrations. There were more important things she had to worry about, more things that she couldn't just ignore -- the crystal remains that she still had hidden in dungeons of the palace. They were being broken into small pendents, enough for any remaining participants of the Tournament who the advisors and the Queen herself deemed worthy. And perhaps enough for anyone that joined them on the way.

She could control the Tournament, she could not control what happened after that. And that scared her.

Chapter Objectives

-- Find out about the Tournament of Champions, from either word of mouth, parchment scrolls in shops, or any other manner.

-- Get ready for the Tournament in however mannor you deem fit.

-- Get to the palace within a reasonable amount of time, remember that there's a few weeks to get to the palace.

-- Wait for the Tournament to start, there will be a huge set-up of tents and such on palace grounds. Talk to people, get to know people.

-- Participate in the Tournament in the appropriate challenges for your character: medical, weapon fighting, magic, archery, etc. Any participants left standing or otherwise deemed fit, will go on [as in, the already approved characters or anyone who comes in late].

-- Once selection has been done, there were be some time to do other things before the next chapter begins.

Please Note: These objectives are here just to give a general idea of what to do in this chapter. Things can go off the beaten path as long as the general idea of the objectives are done -- these are more guidelines then anything else. You can be as creative as you wish in introducing your character, interacting with other characters, etc.

And, as always, have fun!

It was a typical evening at Gerald's, the restaurant that Merloth's foster parents owned. It was appropriately named after Gerald, the father. He and his wife, Melissa, had run the restaurant for nearly two decades. Melissa took orders and served drinks while Gerald would move from table to table and chat with the customers. They were friends with most of the regulars who came in for a meal, and they were more than happy to have a conversation while they ate.

Merloth, as usual, was in the kitchen. Among the things he was cooking tonight was one of the most expensive meals on the menu: steamed lobster. The aroma of cooked lobster filled the air and seeped through the restaurant. Even though Merloth was young, he was acknowledged by the patrons as a very skilled chef. His culinary skills left all who entered filled and satisfied.

In the evening when the restaurant closed down, the family made their way home. They lived only a few minutes away in a humble three bedroom house. A room for Gerald and Melissa, a room for Merloth, and a guest bedroom were all accompanied by three bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining area, a study, and a living room. On the way home the trio made idle chit-chat, but soon enough the conversation took an interesting turn.

"I heard something that caught my ear tonight," Gerald began, "apparently, there's a tournament scheduled in a few weeks."

"Oh?" Melissa asked, "what's it for?"

"I'm not too sure. Maybe Princess Zelda wants to foster healthy relations within the kingdom? All they knew was that they would have multiple contests: medicine, swordfighting, archery, magic, jousting, survival. All sorts of things."

"Oh, it sounds wonderful! I can't remember the last time there's been an event so huge."

"It should be grand," Gerald replied. "Perhaps we could go to it."

Merloth spoke up. "I've never been to a tournament..."

"Oh, Merloth!" Melissa exclaimed. "You should enter the magic contest! Why, with your magic I'm sure you'll win it."

"Really? I mean, don't you think there are more powerful sorcerers who would show up?"

"Don't doubt yourself, Merloth," his father reassured. "Magic is your forte."

Merloth chuckled. "True, father. I'll have to give it some thought." The family had arrived at the house and entered. Melissa turned on a lantern and went to lay down on a sofa. "I wonder what the prize would be if I were to win."

Gerald shrugged. "Who knows? I think you should give it a shot though. You've got nothing to lose."

"I'll think about it. I've got awhile to consider it, but at any rate I'm rather tired. Goodnight mom and dad, I'll see you two in the morning." His parents said goodnight to their son. Merloth walked into his room and closed the door behind him. With a yawn he removed his robes and wizard hat and laid down on the bed.

A tournament, huh? If I won, maybe more people will see that us creatures whose ancestors served Ganon aren't all that bad. I could help redeem Wizzrobes everywhere. Not to mention my parents will be proud of me, and maybe I'll win a lot of money! I think I'll give whatever the prize is to them. It's the least I could do... Merloth drifted off into a deep sleep.

Lilja Velyn drew back the arrow on her bow, steadily keeping an eye on the target twenty feet in front of her: a rather crude looking scarecrow. There were other arrows sticking out from various parts of the scarecrow, a few sticking out from a part of the dummy that most people in the village would have gone red in the face and looked away from. She figured it was just a good a place to hit, even if it was not her intention.

Letting the drawstring of her bow go, the arrow flew across the distance between her and the scarecrow and landed on the right shoulder. Sighing, Lilja lowered her bow and began to walk towards the scarecrow to gather her arrows. Night had long since fallen, torches lit up the small grassy area just below Soba Village. If she bothered to look closely, she could possibly see the reamins of the old Eastern Palace.

If she looked closely enough, which she rarely did. She -- like the other archers of the village -- used the small, nearly closed off space beneath the village as target practice. The older archers, the ones that had seen the village spring up from the old ruins, found this place as solice. Lilja found it a place where she could practice, nothing more.

"It's late, Lilja," one of the three older archers comment as the young girl picked up the last of her arrows. "Do you not have chores to do?"

"Chores can wait," Lilja said as the three archers finished packing up their supplies for the night. She stared right back at the three men, two of which were rolling their eyes while the third sighed. "'Besides, it's not too late. We can --"

"Governor Talis is back!" A yell from the entrance to the grassy area. All three turned to find a young lad three years younger than Lilja running towards them, stumbling over rocks in the dark. Lilja's eyes went wide with excitement as she put the arrows she had in her hands into her quiver on her back as the boy stopped at the eldest archer. "He's back from the palace with some more news!"

"I hope he learned a few things to stop those rumors about a tournament," one of the archers said as he grabbed one of the torches, forcably handed it to Lilja, and grabbed another. "There's too many youngings here that have these grand ideas about entering such a thing."

"Why not?" Lilja asked, pushing the boy forwards as they began to head back towards Soba village. "I mean, if there's a tournament to judge abilities, why not enter?"

"I agree with the girl, she's gotten better," another archer said, thumbing back to the scarecrows. As they moved further away from the archery range, Lilja smiled broadly at the thought of leaving the village even for a few days to watch a tournament. Ever since the appointed head of the village by the queen herself -- Governor Samuel Talis -- had hammered parchment posters around the village the week before, the tournment had been one of the main topics at the tavern and outlaying crop patches.

Very few had been immune to the gossip and excitement of the tournament talk, however many of the younger children were already sworn off of going by their mothers. Some of them had begun to speak ill of something happening so suddenly, it wasn't like Governor Talis had not been in contact with the palace for long periods of time.

"He looked worried when he had gone to the palace before." The archers were trying to steer the conversation away from the tournament as they entered Soba. It was small compared to it's sister village, Kakariko, with most of the houses at the northern wall. Two taverns, three community bath houses, and several market stalls situated themselves from where the small group of archers had entered and where the rows of houses stopped.

Almost all parts of the old Eastern Palace had been taken down, all except for one: the old house where the legendary Sahasrahla used to reside in many years ago. It was long since abandoned after his death, the structure had caved in all except for a oddly-shapped door that looked like it had been built very much recently. Lilja paused there only momentarly before running to catch up with the others that were now gathered around a large rock where Samuel Talis was standing upon. Lilja pushed through the crowd to get a better standing place, finding her father -- Jules Velyn -- several people away from the rock.

"Governor Talis just returned from the palace," the elder Velyn mumbled to his daugher as she handed him the torch she had been carrying. Merely nodding, she strained her neck so that she could hear the governor speak.

"Many of you are concerned about the tournament taking place in a few weeks time, the queen has already begun peperations for it. Registery for the tournament will be held three days prior, under an agreement that whatever shall happen to the participants will fall upon the participants themselves." Governor Talis held up a hand to quiet anyone speaking. "It is also with much debate that Her Majest has lowered the age from sixteen to fourteen. Those of whom are of that age may or may not advance in later stages, if deemed so by Her Majesty."

Lilja drowned out the rest of the governers speech, her eyes going unfocused and wide with this new information. Now that the queen herself had offically lowered the age, perhaps she could enter a challenge or two. A hand roughly clampped down on her shoulder, Lilja shaking her head and looked up at the stern gaze of her father. It was then that she took notice that most of the villagers had already gone away, excitedly talking about what else the governer had spoken of.

"Don't even think it," he said with a wave of his finger. "I never did like this sudden proclamation of a tournment, it isn't like Zelda. Why so sudden?"

"Perhaps it's to inspire the younger generation," Samuel Talis said as he jumped down from the rock he had been standing on. Patting Lilja's shoulder, he turned to her father with a weary smile. "We've lost several guards lately, they've disapeared not only from here but also Kakariko and Woodshire."

"Let's not forget about the Domain either," Jules said, giving his leader a look. Talis's smile vanished and in it's place came a hollowed look.

"We do not talk about what happened to the Zora, that was an accident. Do not frighten young Lilja from the tournament." Talis turned to Lilja with a forced smile. "She just may do well with it. Besides, she is part of the reason Zelda lowered the age, it would be a shame if she did not enter."

With that, he waved a hand to dismiss any further conversation. Lilja blinked, a pleased smile appearing across her face -- she had been one of the reasons why the age limit had been lowered! The idea of entering seemed so possible now, as she began to make a mental note of what she had to put together as she and her father began to walk to their home. Jules looked down at his daydreaming daughter, inwardly sighing.

This would not go over well at all.

The tavern was dark, low-ceilinged, and the stink of cigarette smoke and alcohol was so strong you could probably catch it in a lacrosse net.

This was not the kind of tavern where a plump, rosy-cheeked old woman serves your drink, or even where the drink is vaguely palatable. This is the kind of bar you go to because you are a seedy, disreputable kind of person, who either wants to drown their sorrows, or steal from the drowning.

The door creaks open with the sound of a hinge which has never known the loving embrace of oil, and a cloaked figure, easily eight foot tall, squeezes himself in along with a healthy lungful of desert air.

This is unusual. This is, perhaps unsurprisingly, not the kind of bar where strangers are welcome. As such, the conversation immediately fades away, the banjo playing stops with the twang of a broken string, and every man in the room fixes the stranger with an accusatory stare.

The giant ignores all this, and makes hi ay for the bar proper, easing himself down onto a stool he is unsure will take his weight, or even the weight of someone normal.

“Whut can I git yeh, suh?” the barman asks, venom dripping from his tones.

“Whatever you have that comes in a shotglass. A pint of it.”

The barman turns to what is probably the nastiest bottle of Gin there has ever been. As he does so, some deep-down genetic programming that lies within all bartenders forces him to make conversation.

“So, yuh a travellin’ man?”

“Yes.”

“Whur teh?”

“A tournament. Hyrule.”

“Lookin’ tah be testin’ ur skills, eh?”

“Yes.”

“Well, then”. The barman placed the drink on the counter. “Luks like ye’ll be testin’ ‘em a mite sooneh.”

The stranger turned around. Behind him stood a group of men, all carrying weapons of some description.

The leader cleared his throat noisily. “We dun’t much like strangers in these parts.” He said, slapping his palm with the flat of his sword.”

There was a pause.

“Well what do you like?” asked the cloaked man.

This was a subject of much deliberation behind the eyes of the swordsman. “Mostly, we likes sustainet an’ min’less vi’lence.”

“Well, then.” The stranger considered coolly finishing his drink, but decided against it after actually tasting it. “You’re going to love me.”

The end bill was three hundred and twelve rupees. Fifty for the stools, twenty for the table, forty for the damages to the fireplace, two for the drink and two hundred for assorted funeral and coronary payments.

Barnabus never paid it, though, except for the two for the drink.

Blaze began to pack the some things into his caravan. It had been a good day for selling. The sun had shone brightly and many people had been travelling the road between Woodshire and Hyrule castle. What the reason was he wasn’t sure but there had been a lot of excited chatter about the place. He picked up a small bag of pellets, a best seller amongst the children; along with the slingshot of course. A small boy of about ten years old ran up excitedly and began tugging at Blaze’s clothes.

“Hey! Can I have those pellets please?”

“Of course you can young sir.” Blaze handed the small lad the pouch. “That will be 5 rupees please.” The boy handed over the money. “Tell me good sir, do you know why so many people have walked this road today?”

“Dad said there was some tournament on at the castle.” The boy replied “I wanted to enter. But the youngest you can be is fourteen.” Blaze saw the boys face drop.

“Don’t worry about that. It shouldn’t be long before you can enter won’t it?” The boys face perked up and he ran back to his father. Blaze shook his head taking the last of his things from the makeshift stall. He stopped as he was about to place it into his caravan. A tournament? He remembered what had happened fifteen years ago, and what with the rumours of what had happened elsewhere. People vanishing without a trace. Things were getting worse again.

Blaze closed up his caravan and climbed into the driving seat and picked up the reigns. He got the horse t move at a trot and steered it in the same direction as the travellers. As much as he was confused about things he wanted to enter the contest. He glanced back at the pair of shining swords propped up against his seat. In his line of work you always had to be prepared to defend yourself.

Blaze had always wanted to see how good he was. Now might be his chance. He looked up at the setting sun, Hyrule castle a dark silhouette on the horizon.

Over the course of the next week, the family talked about the tournament. Merloth expressed his interest in participating in the events and both his parents supported it. They felt that it would be good for him to get out of the village and travel. Perhaps he could meet a few friends - or even a fellow Wizrobe. He had yet to meet one and it would be delightful to find another of his kind. Failing that, there were surely going to be participants with magical ability. On top of it all, Merloth couldn't help but feel that he'd be able to win the magic category. After all, he practically was magic. No Hylian should be able to match his skill with the arcane.

Ultimately the family decided that Merloth would leave at the end of the week. That would give him some time to be on his own and practice magic on the road there. His family would arrive on the days of the tournament (they had a restaurant to run, after all) to support him.

At the end of the week he gathered the necessities. Clothes, staff, money, a small collection of his favorite books, and more than enough food to last him until the tournament. He departed in the morning with a hug to both his parents. With nothing but the unknown in front of him, Merloth began the trek to the palace.

The road was more hard-baked, wheel-rutted mud than anything you would expect to call a road, but it was the only road to Hyrule from the desert villages, and so Barnabus walked it all the same.
He sung as he walked, a song that had been passed down through Darknut families for generations. He did not understand its meaning, and the sound was rendered tinny by his ever-present helmet, but it had always brought him solace, memories of his parents, of times centuries past.
Walk children,
Watch the quiet,
Heed the talking eyes,
Walk children,
Watch the quiet,
See him as he dies.
He was optimistic about the coming tourney. Darknuts were, famously, amongst the greatest warriors in the world- it was hard to imagine a foe who could reliably beat one in one-on-one combat, and harder still to imagine one who would actually try.
But the important thing wasn’t winning. It was trying. Such a competition would doubtless attract warriors from all over the continent, the perfect place to test his mettle as a warrior, something he had been travelling the world to accomplish. Those drunken idiots back in the tavern had been no real trouble- he wouldn’t have even bothered with them if they hadn’t attacked him. The code was very explicit on attacking those weaker than yourself.
Of course once they had started fighting, the Darknut code had demanded he kill them. Better to die than live in shame. Non-Darknuts never seemed to appreciate that rule, though.
It would still be very good to win the contest, though.
Walk, children,
Watch the quiet…

"You are not going to go to that bloody tournament!" Her father snarled as Lilja kneeled down in front of one of the cabinets in their small home. Half of her body was inside that cabinet, rumaging around glass jars filled with perserves and pickled cucumbers. Her father had been ranted for the last twenty minutes about this and that, giving a good part of his day doing just that whenever he had a chance to.

In the last week and a half Lilja had spent several hours quietly packing for her journey to the palace grounds without giving much thought as to what Jules would do when he found out that his only daughter had gone missing. She knew that the three governors of Hyrule -- Governor Samuel Talis of Soba, Governor Lucas Patil of Woodshire, and Lord Don Nakai of Kakariko -- would be the three judges for this competition. So it would be like she wouldn't be seen, Governor Talis knew who she was upon sight. But would he haul her back to Soba when he saw her?

"Lilja, what in the Maiden's names are you doing?" He demanded as Lilja pulled herself out of the cabinet with two jars of peanut brittle in hand. Standing up and kicking the cabinet door closed, she turned to him with a smile and raised the jars up.

"Sweet tooth," she answered, leaning forwards as high as she could reach and giving her father a kiss on the cheek. Laughing, she darted towards her room on the other side of the house and closed the willow door behind her. The room wasn't big, enough for a twin sized bed, a four drawer dressor, a chair, wash basin, and a place to put her bow and arrows. There was a window just above her bed, already opened for the early summer months -- this side of the house was cooler than the kitchen side.

Unforunately, said window faced the tall cliffs that seperated Soba from Zora's Domain. The same cliffs that held the village's cell block, six rooms that had been blasted through to make room for thieves and known liars. If her father knew that the jars of brittle were not used to satisfy her sweet tooth but as a snack to hold herself until she got to the outskirts of the village. She had already stashed a few things from the crops in a tree hollow that she and childhood friends used to trade goods for knick knacks.

Pulling her green bag out from underneath her bed, Lilja put the jars between two pairs of pants, a pair of socks, some undergarments, and the jar of water she had already stored there. Her hunting knife was jammed into a pocket on the side, as well as extra bow strings and an arrow repair kit. Looking around her room, she had half of a mind to leave right then and there and thought it couldn't hurt to leave a few hours early. Night would be falling soon, but it was best for her to go under the cover of night to avoid anyone seeing her.

And the cover of night she did go by. It was almost midnight when Lilja snuck out of her room and headed quietly towards the room where her father slept. Listening to the sounds of her father turning over in her bed, she waited a few minutes before heading to the kitchen to take the last half of bread with her. Placing a hastily written note where the bread once laid, Lilja quickly made her way back to her room and stuffed the bread into her sack.

Zipping the bag up and putting it upon her back, she grabbed her quiver, slung it over her shoulder and took her bow from where it hung on the wall. Casting a look around the room, she moved over to her bed and stood on it, getting her balance enough to be able to open the window enough to get through. It took her ten minutes to climb through and down onto the ground, where she had thrown her bow. Muttering her goodbyes to whomever would listen, Lilja moved away from her home and began to move along the edges of the village so that few people would see her.

She felt confident that she had made it in the clear as soon as she had seen the entrance to the village. Breaking into a jog, Lilja smiled to herself and mentally patted herself on the back for being able to get this far. Just as soon as she had gotten a foot out of the village, a hand clamped down onto her shoulder. Gasping, she turned around only to find the face of Governor Talis staring down at her.

"I don't need to ask where you think you're going," he said, frowning down at the now frightened girl. "Your father won't like you running away like this."

"I'm not running away," Lilja said defensively, but she knew she was caught in that lie. The governor looked down at her, then sighed and gestured to the land beyond Soba's gate.

"You are still young for this, I told the queen that myself. But yet, there is always wisdom in a younglings eyes. Be careful, Lilja Velyn, and I will see you at the palace soon." He waved a hand at her startled look. "Your father won't follow you, I'll see to that. Soba needs a representive, but be careful for what you may not understand yet."

Lilja stood there in shock, she had fully expected Samuel Talis to drag her back home. In the tourchlight he looked tired and old, but he dismissed her again with a wave and she bobbed her head in thanks, turning around and running out of the village before the governor made up her mind. She would stop at the tree hollow to gather her extra belongings, which she would find a few more provisions added to the meager items she had placed there. Then she would make her way north, to the palace.

It would be daylight before she saw any signs of life.

One week after the tournament notices went up around Kakariko Village, Cantos Aurusson finished preparing the armor he had not worn for more than a year, the last time he had been called on as a soldier. Packing the chain mail, grieves, and chest plate in his pack, strapping the sheathed Shadowbreaker to his back with the hilt to the left, and holding Kingsguard in his right hand, he departed for Gerald's restaurant.

"Evening, Cantos," Gerald welcomed. "Are you heading to the tournament at the palace, too?"

"Yeah," responded Cantos. "Just came in for a week's worth of food. How's Merloth doing?"

"He just left for the tournament two days ago. He was very excited at the prospect of entering, and I believe that he's planning on winning the magic competition." Gerald moved into the back to gather the food for Cantos. He returned with dried meats, fruits, bread, and a rather large chunck of cheese. "Merloth hopes that by winning the tournament, he will help ease the relations between Hylians and Wizrobes."

Cantos placed the assorted foodstuffs in his pack, most of it inside the chest plate. "He may not be a Hylian in blood, but he is in heart. I hope he does well in the magic competition."

"If you meet him on the road to the palace, please help keep him safe. He is still young."

"I will, on my honor."

With these last words of parting, Cantos shouldered his pack, mounted his horse, and left for Hyrule Palace. On horseback, he expects to arive at the palace in under a day.

It was three days before Blaze made it to the castle. Everywhere he looked there was a poster about the upcoming tournament. His horse trotted quickly across the ground towards the stable where the young traveller had often left his horse and caravan while he was here. He dismounted and walked through the door. The man sat at the desk looked up and smiled at him.

“Blaze!” He exclaimed “What a pleasure it is too see you.”

“Hey Brent.” Blaze replied waving “I need to leave Illiana here for a few days.”

“Entering the tournament are you?” Blaze nodded “Well it’s about time you showed people just what you can do in a fight. Maybe the thieves that watch this will think twice about stopping you then.”

“Maybe I’ll be able to stop this trading business.” Blaze said brightly.

“Sign up is just around the corner if you want to go.” The young man hurried out the door and eagerly went to sign up.

It took her a while to travel to the palace by foot, considering the distance between Soba village and the palace itself. Governor Talis had his ways of traveling to and from the palace with little trouble considering his role as one of the three advisors to Zelda and governor to Soba. With magical properties made into certain walls of the palace and along Hyrule for the governors, what would normally take anywhere from half of a day to two or three days, took only a few minutes to a couple of hours.

Lilja had been to the palace once before -- or at least had passed within a mile of it -- when she had first gotten her bow several years before. The palace had been guarded rather thickly then, guards had been stationed in all directions and from what she had heard from Governor Talis, few dared to get any closer then half a mile to it. She didn't undrestand the why behind it, not fully anyways.

Oh she had heard the stories of what had happened well over a decade and a half ago, who didn't know of it in some form? But she had not and still did not believe some of the stories told, especally ones of the different creatures and persons that had once supported Ganon. Not that she didn't believe people could be redeemed or that any person of any background were not like everyone of their history, it was just that she not seen them before.

She had grown up in Soba and did not often visit Woodshire or Kakariko, especally Kakariko. In fact, Lilja was so fasinated by the looming palace in front of her that she had nearly run into someone. She was taken aback when what appeared to a middle aged guard was staring at her from underneath his helmet, looking over her pack and her bow and arrows.

"Another entry for the tournament? Nevermind, the queen opened the sign ups a bit early to Lord Nakai's insistance," he said, then jerked his spear towards the left side of the palace grounds where large tents were being set up. "What village?"

"Soba," Lilja said, watching the guard with awe. There was a flurry of mumbling, then the guard jerked his spear even further west.

"Seems like you're the only one, Governor Talis already sent word that you were the only one from Soba that would be entering. Or so he claimed." The guard mumbled a few words under his breath before speaking up again. "You'll find the sign-ups there, get yourself registered and then find yourself a tent. You'll room with someone, it won't nessearily be female."

Lilja sworn she saw the guard leer at her as she walked away from him, she looked over her shoulder several times before she made it to the area where the tents were being set up. Already there were a number of people who were there, most of the tents were already occuppied and she saw that she was one of a small handful of females to have come to the tournament. So far it appeared as though she was the youngest, although there were a few people that she could have sworn were not much older than she.

"These two badges represent the two competitions you'll be doing, keep them with you at all times," the scribe behind one of the long tables in the sign-up tent said, as she handed Lilja a red badge [for archery] and a yellow badge [for hunting] after a ten minute sign-up. "The colors of your badges do matter, as you'll be in one of the earlier groups to go first since you were here earlier. There's still a lot of time before the tournament, so not only did you get a decent spot in the tournament itself but also one of the better tents. Good luck."

Lilja thanked the scribe, took her badges, and headed out of the sign-up tent to get one of these so-called 'better tents'.

Cantos arrived at the palace at dawn of the second day out from Kakariko and dismounted by the palace's stable. He led his horse in by the reins and paid the stableboy 50 rupees for a week's stay before heading to the tournament sign-ups. The palace guard recognized Cantos from the spear he held.

"You here for the tournament, Cantos?" the guard asked.

"Yes," Cantos replied. "Anything I need to know?"

"Sign-ups are over there, and you'll be staying in a tent with someone."

"All right. Where is the tent I will be staying in?"

"I cannont tell you, Cantos. I only direct you to the sign-ups."

Cantos walked toward the sign-up area and, after the registration process, recieved a green badge for the swordsmanship competition and a black badge for the survival competition, and was told to find one of the better tents. He found one after a few minutes. When he entered, he found that it wasn't empty. A young girl was within, and she seemed surprised to see Cantos.

“Human, humanoid or monstrous?”

Barnabus was taken aback. “What?”

“Human, humanoid or monstrous? Non-humans and monstrous combatants get stationed in a separate set of tents, and set against other members of their category in the first stages of the tourney if there are enough of them. We already have quite a few humanoid and monstrous contestants in combat, some in archery, but so far none in magic, and don’t get me started on survival. Human, humanoid or monstrous?”

“I understood the question, man, I just can’t understand why you would be asking it.”

There was a pause, during which the tournament official quietly chewed his piece of grass.

“Human, humanoid or monstrous?”

“MONSTROUS!”

“Class of entry?”

“What?”

“Class of entry? Magic, archery, combat…”

“I think the sword on my back and my plate armour and the fact that I’m a freaking Darknut suggests that I am here for the magic trials, doesn’t it?”

He was given a blue token with the letters for ‘magic’ engraved on it in Hylian, human, Goron, Zora and Gerudo.

“Boy?”

“Yes?”

“Just give me a damn green token.”

Blaze entered the building, the walls adorned with ribbons of all colours, and the man behind the desk looked up.

“You here to sign up for the tournament?” He asked

“Yes.” Blaze replied looking at the different categories. “I think I’ll do non-human sword play.” The scribe handed him a green token.

“You must take part in two events.” He said. Blaze scoured the remaining events to see what he was capable of doing. He had a small grasp of magic, but not enough to compete. He had no archery skills, or hunting for that matter. Finally one came up that piqued his interest.

“What about that one?” He asked pointing to it. The man on the other side of the desk laughed.

“Hand to hand combat? Not meaning to be rude,” That normally meant someone was about to be “but you don’t look like you would last five minutes doing that.”

“Just sign me up.” Blaze was annoyed. He may not look very strong, but he could face up to almost anyone and come out on top. Barley sometimes, but he hadn’t lost a fight that meant something yet. He was handed a purple token before spinning on his heels and walking out of the door. The scribe called something about finding himself a tent so he made his way to the triangular forms that dotted the landscape. Soon he found himself a nice quiet place to sit and think. The only problem was, it didn’t stay quiet for long.

Barnabus shouted at the Moblin, his hand tightening on his hilt.

"Oh yeah? Well you can take your iron ball on a stick and shove it up your-"

"Excuse me?"

Barnabus and the Moblin both turned to where a young Hylian with bright red hair was standing with a disappointed look on his face.

" What do you want, pointer?" slurred the Moblin.

Blaze was hurt by the racial comment, but suppressed his feelings well." I’m sure there's no need for violence. A tournament is no place for fighting amongst ourselves." Blaze considered what he had just said. " Well, actually, that's not true, but you-"

" You can keep your pointer nose out of this. Me and the scrapheap are going to settle this like men, and that's the end of it." He turned back to Barnabus. " Now, where were-"

Barnabus punched him in the face, breaking his piggy nose, and he fell like a tree.

" You didn't have to- What are you doing?"

Barnabus paused halfway through drawing his sword. " I was going to kill him." He said simply, as if explaining to a child. "He lost. I suppose I should be saying thank you anyway."

" Why?"

" You distracted him for me. All that about not fighting.”

“ I was being sincere! Anyway, you don’t want to kill him. He hasn’t really done anything wrong, has he?”

“ He tried to steal my rapier.”

“ Does that mean you should kill him?”

“ Is that a trick question?”

Blaze sighed. “ I need a drink.”

“ I’ll pay. It’s the least I can do.”

“ I was being… Never mind.”

"Merloth, of Kakariko village, sir."

The guard looked up and studied the person standing in front of him. "Anything else I should know?"

"I'm signing up for the magic and culinary tournaments."

The guard stared harder at Merloth, taking in his appearance. "Alright, sorcerer, here are your two badges. Keep them with you as they represent which ones you're entering." Merloth took the two badges. A blue badge for magic, and a brown one culinary. "Humanoid tents are set up on the west side," he handed Merloth a tablet with information on it. "You'll have one other person in your tent. Luckily you arrived early and so you'll have a larger one."

"Thank you," and he walked to his tent.

It hadn't taken Lilja long to find a decent tent that hadn't three or four people in it already. It was a nice purple and green one and while she didn't perticularly care for the color scheme and was dirty on the outside, the inside was decietful to the outside. The inside was sparse and clean, with three small and two large washbasins, two full length mirrors, several tables and chairs with oil lamps, candles, wooden plates and silverware, and six cot-beds with blankets and pillows of different shapes and sizes.

The only thing she hadn't seen was the area where the occupients would use to relieve themselves. In Soba there had been a small stone room with a door and latch that was attached to each room, where one could do their duties. Lilja shuddered at the thought of having to do that outside any more then she had already, especally with people she had no knowledge of and were complete strangers. Especally if the guard was right and she would be one of the few females competing in this tournament.

Taking the furthest and smallest bed to the left of the tent flap, she put her stuff down onto and took a good look around. Before she even had the chance to put down her bow and arrow, someone else came into the tent. She turned around quickly to find a oldish Hylian standing there, looking just as surprised to see that the tent wasn't occupied.

"So sorry," he said, as Lilja stared at him. "Didn't realize."

"No, no. It's okay," she said quickly, gesturing to the inside of the tent. "Enough room for the both of us. I don't take up a lot of room."

He watched her put her bow and arrows down, but did not make much movement to do the same. It was an awkward moment, she hadn't expected to be sharing the tent so soon after she had arrived to the palace but she would make do. She cursed herself for not getting a large piece of fabric to run around her section of the tent so that she could change in private.

"Um, I'm Lilja. Lilja Velyn." She hesitantly took a few steps towards the stranger. "From Soba Village."

"My name's Cantos Aurusson, from Kakariko Village. If you need any privacy, I can step outside for a moment."

"Well, um, thanks, I guess."

Cantos stepped outside, and he soon heard the rustle of a large piece of fabric. He could only assume that Lilja was partitioning the tent. After a few minutes, Lilja allowed him back into the tent. Cantos quickly found a suitable bed and set his pack on the ground beside it, unstrapped Shadowbreaker from his back, and set both the sword and Kingsguard leaning against the wall of the tent, being careful by placing the spear's head on the ground. He then pulled out some of the food he bought at Gerald's retaurant the previous evening and stepped outside to prepare the meal. Using some deadwood he found near the back of the tent and a piece of flint, his cookfire soon was burning.

Lilja walked out of the tent as Cantos finished cooking several pieces of the dried meat.

"So, what competitions are you in, Cantos?" she asked, sitting down in front of him.

"Swordsmanship and survival," Cantos replied evenly. "Which ones have you entered, Miss Velyn?"

"Please, call me Lilja. And I'm in archery and hunting. Why do you seem so, um, distant?"

"If you really want to know, I'm a soldier, not currently active. Blacksmith by trade. I was an apprentice to my father, Auru, at twelve. Six years later, I became a soldier, and two years after that was Ganon's attempted takeover of Hyrule. During that time, I was stationed in Kakariko, and I was sent to try and capture the Hero, who I knew was framed when I first saw the signs posted around the village, whenever a citizen called for help. I could never find him, fortunately, and we all know what happened many weeks later. However, during those dark weeks, my father was killed by a monster out in the countryside. I still feel responsible for the role I was forced to play in continuing the lie, leaving Kakariko virtually unsafe from the chaos Ganon and Aganhim caused."

The hylian sat, drink in hand, watching the other closely. The darknut paid him no heed. He was probably used to this sort of thing. Blaze remembered fifteen years ago when Ganon had tried to take over. The darknut’s had worked with the evil man and many people still hadn’t forgotten that. As much as Blaze tried to take each person as they came he found it very hard not to be judgemental about the other man.

Blaze raised the cup to his lips, the drink slipping down his throat. Placing it down on the table he finally broke the uneasy silence that had fallen when they entered the bar.

“So you’re here to enter the tournament too?”

“Yes.” The man said gruffly. Silence reigned once more.

“What contests are you in then?” Blaze took another sip.

“Magic and sword skill.” The darknut didn’t like talking much.

“I’m doing sword skill.” Blaze tried to make conversation. “I’m also entering the hand to hand combat. How do you think you might do?” There was no reply and Blaze finally gave up trying to talk. Instead he just drained his cup of liquid, left the money on the counter and went for a walk around the grounds.

He still didn’t even know the name of the man he had just had a drink with, and furthermore he seemed to be one of the most anti-social people he had ever met. Still, no use thinking like that all the time. The sun was shining and there were many people to meet. Many people to talk to.

As he walked there seemed to be another disturbance occurring on his right. Despite his better judgement not to get involved with such things Blaze made his way over to get a closer look.

Barnabus drank. He needed to. For the first time in a very log while, he felt annoyed with himself.

That little hylian had been nothing kind and helpful, and certainly hadn't deserved the attitude he'd shown towards him, especially the sarcasm about magic. The hylian had even ended up paying, something he was personally very annoyed with himself for allowing to happen.

He idly turned his two tokens over in his hand- green for swordsmanship, red for the strength contest- and resolved that he owed the small man. At some point, he would make it back up to him.

And now he was going to have to sleep in the same tent as a Moblin whose nose he had just broken.

Joy.