(ZGen) The Legend of Zelda: Areth's Secret [T]

Notes: Hey fellow writers. This is my first fan-fic, which I started a while ago but decided to go back and edit bits. The story and chapters may be sometimes be on the short side simply because that’s how my stories always turn out.

Oh, and excuse the prologue and first chapter slightly, it does get better as things progress. In addition I edit my stories a lot so some chapters may take a while so bare with. Anyway, any thoughts are welcome and enjoy.

The Legend of Zelda: Areth’s Secret

Prologue

Long ago in the land of Hyrule there lived a brotherhood, a secret clan of magic sorcerers that forged a dark stone. The dark stone held immense un-natural magic, for years they kept it secret and for a while they all basked in the glory of their creation. It gave them everything they desired and more, they each became more powerful and wise than they could ever wish for. Not so long after it was made, the men started to act differently and one by one they all turned against each other. The dark magic corrupted each of them, feeding on them and they helplessly gave in to its strength. The stone was left un-guarded for thousands of years from there on in.

However rumour grew that one man survived the torture but he was longer a man, some say the power of stone transformed his not only his mind but body too. What became of him no one knows.


Chapter One: Areth

Areth slowly walked towards the flowing stream in a small-secluded cove in a woodland area not far from her home. She would often come here to relax. She leant over to gaze at her reflection in the water but it was too bright for her. The sun poured upon the meadow where she was, a warm summers haze filtered through into the air making her feel humble. Her dark brown hair flowed gently as the light breeze came and went, her green orbs squinting as she viewed the area around her. Her simple floral dress swished as she moved around the meadow. The young woman had been taking a break from the running of the farm where she lived in Hyrule, a break away from all the duties that made up her day.

She bent down and picked up a small white feather off the ground and gently threw it into the air; the wind picked it up and carried it towards the stream, it landed upon the water and floated off. She watched as it drifted off down stream, a moment that seemed to take forever. It got stuck on a rocky mound for a bit but soon carried on until it was out of sight. As she sighed to herself she then heard a horse galloping in the distance and it seemed to get closer. She then saw a rider appear from the woods behind her; it was Link, a young farm boy from a neighbouring village. He approached and stopped just in front of her, jumping of his horse and onto the ground.

Link wore his basic ranch clothes, made from a linen like material. A simple flowing shirt matched by khaki shorts and brown worn out sandals. Most of it was spoilt by dirt and what not from working all day. His thin blonde hair fell just below his eyeline.

“You came, I was starting to think otherwise.” Areth said.

Link came closer and placed his hand on her right shoulder. She held his hand as she gazed into his eyes. The wind picked up and whistled past both their ears. She had known Link ever since they were little kids, having both grown up on farms, they had a lot in common and as the years passed by their relationship grew. Hyrule itself is a very rural land in the most recent age; there are in fact several farms located throughout the land. Areth lived with her parents and Link lived with his father, the two families got on well. However having both entered their late teens Areth’s family started looking for a possible partner for her. A young prince seemed interested in her who lived in Hyrule Castle waiting to be king but it somehow never worked out, truth be told she had her sights set elsewhere.

“You come here now because you sense it too.” Said Areth.

Link’s head dipped slightly.

“I can tell you know it too, shadows are creeping back into our world. I feel it every day now.”

Her grip on his hand got firmer.

“From the day I met you Link, I sensed you had courage and above all else the will to do good. You’re not just some ordinary guy Link and you will have your time.”

She gave a warm smile, a reassuring gesture to comfort him.

“Tomorrow is the big festival, I hope you and your workers are ready Link! My father is getting up especially early to make all the necessary arrangements. Were taking some of our live stock too; even the cows, grumpy things that they are.”

Link nodded.

“Your so quiet today, is something wrong?”

“It’s my dad, he’s not been the same recently.” Replied Link.

Areth frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know; he’s been acting differently recently. I just feel like I don’t know him anymore.”

Areth sighed and took both his hands.

“He might just be nervous about tomorrow, you know how important the festival is to him. It’s the biggest thing on any farmer’s calendar and you should be thinking the same.”

Link dipped his head again. “I guess your right and hey, you’d better keep those cows under control. We know what happened last year.”

Areth gave a brief chuckle. “That’s more like it!”

They then both went for a brief walk around the meadow, chatting about their thoughts and fears. The annual festival is a huge day for the workers throughout Hyrule. The farmers get to bring their animals and food to Hyrule Caslte, showing them off to different crowds who will pay a lot of money if the goods are right. Along with them, music was always played and speeches were given, it was quite an event.

As dusk drew in, Link said farewell to Areth and rode off with Epona. She then slowly walked home, as she liked to walk everywhere and hopefully both of them would get a good night’s sleep before the day ahead.

Notes: This chapter is short I know but it serves as more an intro, the rest will be longer (most of them anyway)

Notes: It's ok to multi-post right if your putting a new chapter up? Anyways, things progress now so here it is.

Chapter Two: A Shattered Morning

Link woke up slowly that morning. He lay in bed topless, staring up at the ceiling. He gave a brief yawn and stretched his arms out as far as he could. His bedroom was tiny and pretty run down, pretty much like the rest of the farm where he lived. He shared his home with his father and two male lodgers called Tilp and Orono. Link didn’t really get on well with those two, there wasn’t any major reason but they just didn’t seem to bond.

Link and his father always struggled since his mother left when he was a young child. His father never explained why she went or where and would always make excuses when Link asked him. Still, they continued to work every hour of they day that they could but soon they needed more rupees to support them and so he put out an ad for lodgers to work for their keep. That’s how Tilp and Orono showed up. Tilp was the tall, skinnier one and Orono was the smaller, hairier one. Both around the same age but they fought like crazy, constantly arguing about petty things, Link’s father would have to break them apart sometimes.

Link’s father was a kind man but bitter. He had gone through too much in his years to always see the good in people. Link noticed it too but there was nothing he could do but carry on as normal. Erid, was his name. He was raised in the grounds of Castle Town, his father used to run a shop selling all sorts of items to folk who were interested. He got into farming simply because of his love for the land and never thought about doing anything else.

Link in recent years had felt something different inside him though, he felt as if farming wasn’t his goal. Truth be known he was more interested in becoming a swordsman, he had been to several sparing matches across Hyrule and it inspired him every time. He secretly kept a small rusted sword he found in the fields underneath his bed. He practiced every day when the rest weren’t around. He used to practice on several targets he had made out of old scarecrows in certain locations around the farm. He has become fairly accomplished but he wouldn’t dare let on to the others, he never carries the sword around with him. He thought many a time of telling his father and Link was almost sure he would understand, however he knew Erid had a hard enough time running the farm as it is and so Link decided to keep it a secret, only telling Areth of his real passion.

Link then got up out of bed and put his normal ranch clothes on and proceeded to find breakfast or what was left due to Tilp and Orono. He went outside to let Epona out of her small stable and to make his way to Castle Town, seeing as Erid and the two workers had already gone. Link thought we would take the scenic route round, perhaps going through the meadow where he met Areth the night before.

The light crept in through the windows of Areth’s bedroom, creating a warm glow everywhere. Her room was small and fairly bare, she didn’t like to clutter or hoard. She had one medium sized window near her bed and a dressing table with chair across the room. There was a flurry of activity that morning as Areth got up to face the new day. Her father, a short tubby bearded man came knocking on her bedroom door.

“Come on Areth, we have got to get moving!” He said.

Her father had been farming since he was a kid too; he came from a long line of them. Well, apart from one. One of his earliest ancestors fled the farm soon after giving birth to his son; he left and was never seen again. Still his son carried on the line of farming. He had seen faces come and go in Hyrule and knew how hard it can be to try and earn a few rupees. There still is a struggle seeing as more and more farms keep popping up all over the land but they make do.

She got dressed as fast as she could but when she went to put on her favourite necklace, she couldn’t find it. It was important to Areth because it was handed down from her mother’s side and she felt it brought her good luck. She had to find it. Her mother was a kind woman, everyone who met her instantly liked her and she was good at keeping the farm going. She shared her daughters brown hair and green eyes; perhaps she shared her wisdom and grace with her too, although she wouldn’t admit it.

Her father knocked again.

“Areth, I wont tell you again!”

She burst out the door in a hurry, pushing her father out the way and opened the front door.

“Where are you going?” He shouted.

“I have to do something, I’ll meet you there.”

She ran all the way back to the spot in the meadow where she was the previous night with Link. She frantically searched every bush and under every stone, she even got on her knees and checked over different parts of the stream. She was so annoyed with herself that she lost it, she was smart enough to know her mother would understand but still, it meant something.

Suddenly a deep rumble shattered her searching. The ground began to shake and the sky turned grey. Something morphed out of the sky, a huge dragon covered in silver armour charged towards her. She yelled in shock and just at that moment Link came in riding Epona, he was on his way through to Hyrule Castle. However his horse bucked him off onto the ground and ran off back in the direction they came from.

“Link, are you alright?” She called.

Link quickly got up and ran over as fast as he could to Areth.

“Areth!” He shouted.

The dragon itself stood around thirty foot tall and was completely covered in jagged metallic plating like tiling from a roof which covered its whole body apart from it's big shining red orbs. It stood up on two legs, making it seem more like a knight of some kind. They both gasped in shock and Link grabbed her hand in order to run but it was too late.

Out of the woods came several gruesome beasts, they ran over and snatched Areth right before his eyes. They looked like moblins but bigger and more terrifying. They seemed to have markings all over their body, bold circuler symbols on every part but Link didn’t recognise any of them. He watched as the giant beast gathered pace behind them. Another monster stood in Links way, he had no weapon to defend himself and so he stood there, being held back by the monster. It grinned menacingly at Link, drool pouring out of his mouth.

The dragon then stood still, the creatures stopped in their tracks too…as if they were waiting for something. It went eerily quiet for a moment, the sky more black now as the clouds started to revolve around the creature. Things then seemed as if time was going slower, the sheer panic in both Areth's and Link's faces was immense. It suddenly let out a horrific scream that shattered the silence, the noise echoed through out the land creating circuler shockwaves from the area. Link put his hands over his ears but it didn’t help. He started to loose general feeling, things became blurry and he started to feel numb. The sound of Areth's calls seemed duller and more distant. He could no longer think and before long he completely lost himself.

Notes: That was slightly longer, sorry if some of it drags on but it all serves his purpose. Again, any thoughts are welcome. Next chapter will be up at some point soon-ish.

This is a pleasure to read, Glooma, you have a great writing style, and you paint a good image with your words. It seems to have some nice elements from openings from the actual games, parts of it so far are reminding me specifically of Twilight Princess and the Minish Cap, although obviously in a far more descriptive style. I look forward to further chapters following this great introduction.

Thanks for taking the time to comment DK, it's nice to hear y'know. I feel like I could go back and edit both chapters but I'll leave it for now. I will post the next chapter soon. Hope you enjoy the rest if you stick it out.

I also very much liked reading this. I liked your descriptions, really.
I did notice there were problems with commas.
"Link in recent years had felt something different inside him though,..."
Should have been, "Link, in recent years, had felt something different inside him, though,..."
"Erid, was his name."
Should have been, "Erid was his name."
I still loved it, though! I can't wait for the next bit.

Notes: So here is the new chapter three. Things change a bit here but still.

Chapter Three: Waking Up

A deep rumble of thunder greeted Link as he came to. He felt completely dizzy and it took him awhile to focus on his surroundings. He could hear the patter of light rain all around and he could feel it too. He appeared to be lying on the damp ground, made up of leaves and his clothes were completely saturated. He then noticed a dark image appear before his eyes, at first he couldn’t make it out but then the image became clearer; it was the face of a brown bear.

Link flinched and pulled back somewhat.

“Don’t be alarmed.” Said the bear.

Link was speechless.

“Not what your were expecting huh?”

Link shook his head from side to side as he slowly got up to stand.

“The names Beuro, welcome to my home.”

The bear then raised its arm, which was covered by a long dark cloak he wore. As it stretched out, a furry paw was revealed. Link took a few seconds before slowly reaching out to shake the bear’s paw. The creature was some kind of half bear half human hybrid; Link had never seen such a thing before. One couldn’t see much of what the bear was wearing, only the black cloak which covered its whole body. There were white markings on both of its sleeves though; oddly enough they looked familiar to Link. He tried to think of where he had seen them before. They looked liked letters close up, like some kind of language. He was also carrying a long wooden staff, a simple design with two sharp rocks, carved into daggers at either end.

“I suppose your head is a bit all over the place right now, I bet.” Said Beuro.

“You could say that.” Said Link in a dull tone.

Beuro instructed Link to take a seat on one of the large logs by his campfire. Link decided not too, he’d rather have some answers.

Link could hear screeches from somewhere deep within the wood. They appeared to be in some kind of opening surround by woodland. It seemed the only two colours one could make out were the black of the wood and the Oryx of the sky above. Link could see that in the opening there was a tiny wooden shack at one end, a burnt out fire in the middle and few other strange looking objects scattered everywhere.

The woods looked dark and dreary. There was nothing appealing to them, nothing like the epic greenery back home, these woods didn’t look like a place you’d want to spend too long in. Some of the trees didn’t even have leaves on; they looked as if they had been singed with fiery ember. There was a strange fog that surrounded the woods too, mainly hugging the floor as it slowly crawled through the gaps in the trees. Her heard the lone raspy call of a crow echo from the mist; the wood itself seemed to crack every now and again too

Beuro went and opened his small wooden shack; he seemed to be rummaging about, trying to look for something. Link heard things falling and braking whilst he was in there.

“Want something to eat?” He yelled from inside.

“Err, no thanks.” Replied Link.

“Your going to get hungry trust me, food aint easy out here. Plus, you’ll need your strength. You look like you could so with something.”

“Ok, maybe just something little. I’m not fussy.” Link said. He couldn’t deny the creature again, if indeed he was going to help him.

“You’d better not be fussy, I’m only offering last night’s ham.” Beuro pulled out a haggard looking chunk of pink meat and threw it over, landing just by Link’s feet.

“Eat it quick, we don’t want others getting a whiff of that.” He yelled again. So Link ate as fast he could. He was actually very hungry, he felt like he hadn’t eaten for days. He couldn’t even remember his last meal.

Beuro came back out scratching his head and proceeded to sit down on one of the opposite logs, chewing on some other kind of meat substance. As soon as Link got his last bite down he turned to face Beuro.

“Where am I? How do you know my name too?

The bear took a hefty bite and chewed it for a bit before swallowing, the juices stuck to the fur by his mouth. He wasn’t looking directly at Link and seemed more interested in his food but he started to talk.

“Your are in the woods and your I know your name because I know most things you see.”

Link frowned. “That doesn’t make things any clearer.”

“Steady on young lad, I’m eating you know.

The bear finished his food and let out a large belch.

“You have obviously lived a very sheltered life so far Link. You are in a woodland area known as 'Mistwood' which lies to the south. I also assume you came into contact with a large dragon? That may explain why you ended up here, once he gets hold of you, there’s no telling where you’ll end up. Your just lucky you didn’t brake any bones!”

Link started to have small vivid flash backs, he vaguely remembered a dragon of some kind, in heavy silver armour but not much else.

“You still know my name though?” Said Link.

“Yes, I do. I have a great friend called Ralvia who lives a few miles away from here, up in the Mountains. He told me a young man named Link would show up and help rid this land of such an evil.”

Just then another huge thunderclap cracked all around. Beuro raised his nose to the sky.

“It would seem that the hour of darkness draws near. We should get moving, I’ll explain more as we go. We will head to the village of Telaon. We should be able to make more sense of what has happened then. It will take us a good day if we walk fast and we will have to take the route through these woods. As un-safe as they are, I know them better than anyone else on these lands.”

Could Link trust this creature? He looked like he had no choice. Everything was a mess, he hardly remembered how he got here, let alone anything else and it seemed as though this Beuro was the only one who had some answers.

Notes: I'll be posting chapter four soon and look forward to getting any feedback.

It's actually fun to read, and it's not boring to me.

I did notice a few commacal <(HaHa, I made that word up) errors.

Yes, I'll be waiting for the next chapter, then.

Notes: Thanks for the comment Ivysaur and now we will continue will the next chapter. This is slightly longer than the last couple of chapters (I do mean slightly) I took more time over this one as it happens. Anyway, here it is.

Chapter Four: Mistwood

The smell of damp wood drifted up Link’s nose as he made his way further in, keeping a close eye upon Beuro who was leading him. The mist was playing tricks with Link’s mind too; he could see odd shapes and patterns forming everywhere, almost prodding him as he walked. Everything around them was wet and droplets of water brushed past Link’s face.

Link suddenly tripped and stumbled slightly over an up-rooted branch.

Beuro turned to face Link.

“Come along, we must move quickly. We are being watched.”

So the two of them quickened their pace.

“So what’s with these woods anyway?” Said Link.

“These are indeed the murky woods of the south, although it would seem darkness has made it’s home here too. This part of Hyrule remains largely un-charted, that’s perhaps why you have never heard of this place before. The land surrounding these woods will most likely be unknown to you. They say an ancient warrior used to roam these woods in search of a battle, a dark knight that once was a soldier who protected Hyrule Castle. They say he went walking in the woods one day and something corrupted him, turning him to the side of evil. I myself have never seen such a thing though.”

“Have you always lived here?”

Buero’s mouth opened slightly but the words failed to come out. He instead chose to ignore the question. Link sensed the bear was uncomfortable with it too.

“Sorry.”

“You ask too many questions lad and please, keep your voice down. I don’t want any trouble whilst we move through here. There are creatures who lurk here that never sleep and I don’t want no bother!”

Link felt there was something wrong and not just with the situation he was in. Why would Beuro be offended by such a question? He must have had some kind of history he wanted not to share. Links own history was already a blur, he started to have another flashback; he pictured some creatures attacking him. Horrible beasts they were but he couldn’t think of anything else.

The path was narrow and the visibility was poor, the mist was getting thicker around them. The heavy rumble of thunder loomed overhead, as the two of them got deeper into the murky woodland. Soon enough Link spotted a clearing up ahead, perhaps this was the exit to the outside he thought. They then came to the clearing but it was not an exit, more like the place they were in back at the shack. This one was slightly bigger; it looked like more of a glade of some kind. Link spotted three large black stones stood at each corner, all in perfect alignment with each other.

Beuro swiftly held out his left hand as if for Link to stop.

“I think we have taken the wrong turning.” Beuro said.

“I thought you knew this place better than anyone?” Replied Link.

“Aye, It would seem I’m not as sharp as I once was.”

Just then the ground started to shake violently. The three black stones started to light up, fine lines that made there way around the stones became a bright green colour.

“This doesn’t look good.” Said Link nervously.

“We need to get out of here and fast.” Said Beuro.

They went to face the opening they just came through but it was gone. In it’s place stood thick trees and shrubbery that blocked their path. All of sudden something appeared in front of them, it slowly made it’s way out of the woods.

“It can’t be…” Muttered Beuro.

Indeed it was the dark warrior he talked about.

The warrior was covered in thick black armour. Thin green markings ran all over the armour, they were exactly the same to those of the stones that had lit up. Its helmet was simple, with a blacked out horizontal slot towards the top. It had three small prongs coming out the top of its helmet; they looked like forks as it were. It stood about 8ft from the ground and carried an astonishing blade. Its sword was thick and rusty; it looked well used and was around the same length was Link himself!

The warrior walked steadily forward and once it had reached the centre, it raised its blade high up into the air and gave out a large deep roar that echoed through out the rest of the woods.

“Link, stay to the sides, I’ll handle this.”

So Beuro drew his wooden staff and raised it into the air with his left hand and lowered his front right leg, appearing to form some kind of fighting stance. The dark warrior let out a brief low frequency laugh and then darted straight for the bear. It swung its blade at lighting speed but Beuro was quick and dodged the first swipe. The bear was circling the warrior, watching its every move. Link intensely watched on, gritting his teeth in suspense. He wanted to fight; he had too, at least for Beuro’s sake. Suddenly the foe attacked again, only this time Beuro fell as he tried to escape the approaching blade.

As he lay on the ground, the warrior held its sword up high, ready to finish him off but Beuro then quickly withdrew a small sword from underneath his cloak and threw it in the direction of Link. Link caught it with both hands and without a seconds thought he ran over to the enemy and slashed it across its back. The warrior bellowed and appeared stunned and so Link took it upon himself to deliver the final blow to the dark knight. It turned around suddenly to face Link but as if to only glance at whom had dealt the wound. The knight then raised his right fist in front of its helmet, clenching it tight but it began to crumble into ash and soon the enemy was no more.

“Your skills with a sword are not of a amateur, I thank you.” Said Beuro as he dusted himself off.

“I take it that was the warrior you were talking about?” Asked Link.

“Hmm and there I was thinking it was just some myth. It was a trap.” Said Beuro.

“A trap?”

“Yes, purposefully planned in order to stop us. This is most un-pleasing. Luckily the dark knight didn’t count on you being so well trained with a blade!”

The black stones that had lit up were now fading and the trees around them started to spread out once more. Beuro went to investigate one of the stones, he seemed to recognise the patterns from somewhere else. However they both heard some more noises from the woods.

“We really can’t stop, we must keep moving.”

So the two pressed on, following the only other trail out of the clearing. The mist was starting to clear and Beuro told Link they should be out in the open soon enough. Link wasn’t even sure what time of day it was; the bear pointed out it was late afternoon. Link asked why but naturally Beuro knew everything.

“This isn’t the only woodland we’ll be visiting you know, there’s still the Great Woods a few miles north of here, near the mountains. Although hopefully they won’t be a plagued with the same darkness as this one.”

Link had a slight better sense of direction now, he had just helped the bear out and it would seem it wouldn’t be long before they were out of this horrid woodland. Even though this was Beuro’s home, which still puzzled Link. He then noticed a shining light in the corner of his eye; it was shimmering to the left of him, beyond some branches. A faint whisper whistled past his ears, a soft female voice crept upon him.

“Come closer, Link. Let me heal your doubt.” Said the voice.

It was as if Link was in some kind of trance, he started to feel like he did back when he was with the dragon. He edged towards the braches, pulling the softer ones out the way. He poked his head through the denseness, following the soft voice. The mist started to form a shape around him, like a cluster of hands wrapping themselves around his body.

“Link! No!” Shouted Beuro.

The bear rushed back towards Link and jumped in amongst the thick trees, trying to reach him. The wood seemed to bend and morph, blocking Beuro from access. He pulled out a small dagger and started to cut the wood as fast as he could, the ones he got to retreated back somewhat. Eventually he saw the back of Link, who didn’t pay any attention and the bear pulled hard on the back of his upper tunic. He dragged Link back towards the path but the mist was holding on to Link’s legs, the hushed voice still whispering to him.

“Link, come with us. We can help you, do not fear us.”

Beuro was pulling as hard as he could but it wasn’t working and so he tried another tactic. He quickly spun around and instead grabbed Link’s clothing with his teeth, working his way backwards. His teeth were strong but the soft material was starting to fray, he knew it wouldn’t be long before it ripped and so he didn’t make any fast movements. Link was in a haze; the voice he heard soon appeared in a physical form out of the mist. She was a woman bathed in bright white, her huge straggly hair flowing against the wind and her piercing eyes staring deep within Link.

“I can show you the path Link, follow me now.” She spoke again.

However slowly but surely Beuro managed to pull Link to safety and out of the woman’s reach. They both fell onto the muddy ground and the figure faded back into the trees. The bear helped Link up and lightly shook him around, as he came back round.

“Link, can you hear me? Are you ok?” Said an urgent Beuro.

He didn’t reply for a few seconds but eventually he spoke very quietly.

“Yeah, I think so. I feel a little weird but otherwise ok. What just happened?”

“That was the white lady of the mist. I have met her before but she does not bother me, it would seem she was after you for some reason. Goes to show that one does not stray from ones path, I hope that’s clear?”

Link slowly nodded.

Once again they continued down their path, taking the up most caution and treading very carefully. They walked for several more hours without interruption and soon enough they both spotted some light up ahead; as last they had come to the exit.

“This is it, the opening we have been longing for.” Said the bear.

As they got closer, the light brightened and one could start to make out greenery. They both came to the exit, which looked like some kind of arc and could see that they were on the verge of a large grassy field. It was indeed mid-afternoon and the orange glow covered the green hills, highlighting the distant pine trees that surrounded them. Further on one could just make an out a small village, with chimney’s smoking.

“That is our destination Link, the village of Telaon. We shall rest there and hopefully make sense of the events. After all, I’m sure your wondering what’s happening, yes?” Said Beuro.

Link was already walking towards the village, across the big open field.

Notes: Ok, so now that's done with I'll be posting chapter four within the next few days.

I'm enjoying this so far, I have only just got around to reading these two chapters, with the fourth being the strongest so far. Some great character introduction, with Beuro having much potential, possibly with a slow uncovering of his secretive and mysterious backstory? Perhaps a little more on the White Lady of the Mist, unless of course she is to appear again at a later time. I look forward to seeing how this continues to develop.

Thanks for the comment DK and thanks for reading it. I've got some writers block at the moment and I decided to edit some of the chapters so its going to be a little while longer before some more surfaces but still, its all good.

The Mist Lady might come back, that's all I'll say.

Notes: So finally I got my act together and can now post chapter five. Its not my best and is pretty rushed. The next chapter will be better and longer though. Anyway, here it is.

Chapter Five: Telaon Village

As the two of them came up to the new village, they spotted a thick wooden gate as the entrance.

“Hold up Link, let me handle this.” Said Beuro.

Beuro walked over to the gates and knocked loudly on one side. Nothing. So the bear knocked again but this time a small flap, in line with Beuro’s head opened up; revealing a pair of grey orbs.

“Who goes there?” Said a withering man’s voice.

“It is me, Buero and I have brought a friend.”

His eyes squinted somewhat but then he spoke again.

“Oh, very well then. Hold on.”

The gates then creaked open so Link and the bear could enter the village. The person behind the gate was an old man, not very tall and very haggard looking.

“Sorry but we heard rumours of bad things happening around here lately and so we have to keep a close eye on things you see.” Said the old man.

“We understand, we just came here to work a few things out. We won’t stay long.” Said Beuro.

The village was a small one and the houses looked very old, nearly all of them were thatched and most were made out of a mixture of different rock types. The ground beneath them was muddy, wet and chickens ran amongst the villager’s legs. The people were a mixture of old and young, going about they’re daily routines. Link felt anxious though, he wanted to find out about what was going on. Nothing made any sense and the sooner he knew some information, the better.

The sun set created a shimmering outline over the clouds, as the bustling village got ready for nightfall. Beuro told Link to follow him to an Inn at the north end of the village. It was a small building but bigger than the other structures around and looked just like any of the other houses but this one seemed longer in length. It stretched out further than most, presumably for the resting rooms. It was fairly surprising that such a place would be found in a place like Telaon. Still, the two of them made their way to the Inn and the bear asked Link to wait outside for a moment, for he had to had to take care of a few things inside.

Link stood around for a few minutes, with his back against the Inn’s wall, waiting for Beuro to sort things out. Link noticed a lot of the folk were already inside their houses, doors were starting to shut and he hear could locks being bolted across all around. It went eerily quiet. A few stray dogs roamed around looking for any food leftover and the wind grew stronger. Suddenly Link heard a deep roar somewhere behind him but it seemed to be very distant, he could hear whispers upon the howling wind too. The old sign hanging from the Inn started to swing quite violently.

A fog started to creep in over the walls of the village and spread itself out, engulfing some of the houses near the entrance. As it came nearer, Link felt a hand crab his right shoulder. It was Beuro. He pulled Link inside the building and firmly shut the door.

“What’s going on?” Said Link nervously.

“Don’t worry, I have arranged for us to stay here for the night. We have two separate rooms but we can talk in the lounge. We have got a fire going.” Replied Beuro.

The room Link had entered must have been some kind of lobby, small candles were placed in different positions, giving a very a cosy feeling. Not much decoration though, only a handful of withering plants in certain spots and the faint smell of burning wood lingered in the air.

Link then noticed a middle aged man sitting on a stool in the corner of the room, reading a book and smoking a pipe. The man had shoulder length black hair and wore a long brown cloak, similar to that of Beuro’s clothing. His eyes could barely be seen but he was staring directly at Link and the man proceeded to give him a brief smile, revealing a set of crooked yellow teeth.

“Link, this is Horus. He is the current Inn keeper here, looking after it whilst his fathers away you see.” Said Beuro.

“Pleased to you.” Link said as he went to shake his hand.

It took a few seconds before Horus put out his hand. The keeper’s raspy voice then spoke.

“Good evening. Make yourself at home; I hope you enjoy your stay. Oh and if you hear any sounds outside, best ignore them eh? Said Horus.

Link nodded.

The man seemed happy enough but there was something odd about him, the fact that one couldn’t really make out his face did not help.

“Come Link, we will head next door.” Said Beuro.

They both made their way into the small lounge area, with wooden chairs surrounding a large coal fire. They then sat down to reflect on the events that had taken place.
Beuro pulled out his own wooden smoking pipe and proceeded to light it. The room had no lighting at all, except for the fire in front of them and Link could just make out the bears snout from underneath his black hood. As the thick smoke trickled out of Beuro’s mouth, he began to talk.

“So, you want answers I presume?”

“What’s happening?” Asked Link.

“An evil creature has made its way back into the land of Hyrule. You witnessed it just before you met me; his name is Meta Dragon. He holds an incredible power over us all, the power of the Dark Stone.”

“The Dark Stone?” Said Link.

“Yes. It’s an ancient magic created by a group of men long ago and the power of the stone corrupted each of them until none were left, or so it seemed. One of them survived and kept hold of the stone but he soon fell into shadow, transforming into a hideous dragon. He suffered as the beast for a long time before he managed to retreat to a far off location and built himself a suit of armour. With his new found power, he started to breed a dark army, in order to take over the lands of Hyrule.”

Link just sat there in shock, he couldn’t believe what he was being told. Beuro then spoke again.

“There is indeed more to it than that though Link. Not long after his transformation was complete, the gods created three guardians to watch over the land and surely enough, Meta Dragon did not attack. The three guardians took on the form of three sacred animals. They were the deer, the fox and the eagle. However I have learnt that these protecting animals have been corrupted by Meta Dragon’s power. They are now trapped in their own temples, which used to serve as their own homes. It would seem these temples have become more like large prisons, whilst the evil power of the dark stone feeds on them. We must help these creatures get back to their normal state, Meta Dragon’s minions have already begun to take root in Hyrule.”

Link just about understood what they had to do but couldn’t quite grasp on how he ended up where he did.

“Can you remember anything at all Link? You must have some imagery you can think of?”

Link gave it some serious thought before he started to have another flash back. Only this time he saw a young, dark haired woman, calling out to him.

“Areth!” Link shouted.

“Hmm?” Said Beuro.

“Areth, they took her! Meta Dragon took her away.”

“Say, who is this girl?” Replied Beuro.

“She is a close friend, we were supposed to be going to a festival in Castle Town and then suddenly we were attacked by the dragon and some other creatures.”

“I’m afraid I cannot fathom why he would take your friend. Either way, he must be up to something.”

“Then we should get going, free those creatures and save Areth!” Said Link hastily.

“Not now. You need rest, as do I. We shall leave early in the morning and head towards the mountains. On our way we should come across the first temple, the home of the deer.”

“But Beuro, we need to act now!”

Beuro didn’t speak, instead he put out his smoke and walked off into the next room and shut his bedroom door. Link then decided to go to his own bedroom. Perhaps Beuro was right but Link was worried about Areth. What did the dragon taker her for? He entered the small bedroom. There was a candle in the corner, providing him with minimal lighting. A musty smell hang around the room and the bed felt damp. As he lay in the bed, his mind turned to the journey ahead. This was something Link had never done before and it was a daunting thought.

Notes: So now we know much more on what has happened. I will be posting the next chapter in the next few days hopefully.