Smoke drifted upwards from a burning building nearby with it's flames licking the air and spreading rapidly throughout the city streets of Hyrule's Castle Town, rapid footfalls intermingled with the sporadic shouts and screams resounding from narrow alleyways as the citizenry frantically fled from their homes in desperation to flee their once proud capital as it was crumbling before their very eyes.
Some were luckier than others in escaping the onslaught of the Gerudo King and his forces as they took the gates, yet others were slaughtered by the monsters that marched through the gate towards central square where the last bastion stood to face the enemy. There was an elite guardsman standing before a band of spearman, and he shouted commands from behind the helm that protected his head. The elite was adorned in shining steel armor that bore the mark of the royal insignia upon it's breast and the guards cape of deep red flowed as he marched around his subordinates shouting to close rank and ready spears.
It was his final duty to make certain that Ganondorf's forces would be distracted enough so both the citizenry and their princess could escape unbeknownst to the enemy, so far the guard had succeeded in their commands yet not everyone could be saved and now it was their duty to sacrifice themselves for Hyrule.
"Alright men," the elite shouted over the roar of fire and bloodcurdling screams "We did what our beloved king swore us to do but now isn't the time to rest on our bloody laurels and twiddle our damn thumbs." he looked over his shoulder seeing that the tide was no longer held back "Get your shit together and pray to Hylia our efforts weren't in vain," pulling the sword at his side from it's sheath the guard turned and glared to the gates then glanced to his fellow guardsman looking grim "Today we die for Hyrule!" he drew his sword pointed towards the oncoming opposition and held fast.
"FOR HYRULE!" their voices were like thunder amidst the ruined central square as the band of defenders faced the enemy with courage, yet their death was what saved their kingdom or at least it would prevent hope from dying.
* * *
All is quiet in the village of Kakariko upon a foggy evening and it is as if the world was normal again but not even the cucco's could relax as there was a silent tension in the air. Those standing watch would notice the district figure of someone or something emerging from the thick mist clouding his vision slightly.
@WolfredWolf It might have been whimsy that brought your restless spirit to wander into the quiet village of Kakariko yet through the dense fog you appeared.
As the army of Ganondorf closed in to secure Castle Town, within the Castle itself a grim but necessary task was being carried out. A squad of Stalfos had been smuggled into the castle days prior, hidden in plain sight within the lower dungeons; Few traveled down to those levels to begin with, but those few who did never once stopped to question why Royal Executioner Grindan had allowed bones to linger in the cells instead of claiming them and smashing them to powder like he did with all his victims.
The invasion of the town had resulted in many solders of the crown either being sent in to try and stem the tide or moving to fortify the defenses of Hyrule Castle itself to better defend and attempt to repel the invaders once they started to push towards the castle itself. As such, what few solders and staff that were in the castle proper didn't really look all that closely as Grindan strode through the halls, armored for battle and armed with a heavy looking battle axe and a sword while leading what appeared to be a squad of fully armored lesser knights. The stiffness of their movements was easy to attribute to their bodies being fully encased in metal and besides, they were under attack! There were more important things to be focusing on at the moment.
As was to be expected, the King was not in his throne room. Instead he had moved himself to the war room instead in order take advantage of the maps and advice of some of his remaining senior military advisers in how best to organize themselves to deal with the coming enemy and the siege that would almost certainly follow if Ganondorf's forces failed to breach the castle. There were guards of course because this was clearly a time of war and leaving the King undefended would have been stupid but since the enemy was quite clearly outside of the castle walls and time and manpower was limited, the guard detail had been limited to the bare minimum skeleton crew.
The arrival of a band of seven armed and armored men caused the King and his advisors to look up from their discussion, a small wave of confusion appearing on the royal's face as he recognized the leader of the small band and started "Grindan? What are you-"
"I heard we were under attack my liege, so I rallied what men I could and prepared for battle. What's the situation and how can we serve?" was the response that escaped from under Grindan's helm. While normally interrupting the King while he was speaking would have easily been a social taboo and the minor look of annoyance that appeared on the face of Duke Rivers had nothing to do with the man's distaste for the Executioner normally, it was a testament to the dire nature of the situation that the King himself didn't seem to mind. The expression on his face was that of a man who had just received a puff of fresh air after wading through knee deep dung all day and was fully expecting it to get deeper before it starts to get better.
Gesturing to permit the executioner to come closer to get a better view of the battle map, Grindan went to stand by the King's side as the troops he had brought with him started to fan out around the room. "Ganondorf has betrayed us. He has rallied an army and even now is assaulting the Castle Town. Worse, the Goron and Zora have recently undergone hardships that we are starting to suspect Ganondorf engineered himself that have resulted in them being ill prepared to come to our aid. For the time being, we're on our own."
A gloomy air filled the war room for a moment, before Grindan broke the silence as he asked "The Queen and Princess are safe? They weren't in the town when the invasion started?"
A rare breath of relief escaped the King as he nodded. "My wife was planning to take Zelda into town this afternoon but... small miracles, news of the attack came before they left. They're currently safe in their quarters for the time being. But onto business." The steel of a battle hardened King returned as he leaned forward to point out a position along one of the Castle's outer walls. "Grindan, I need you to take your men and shore up the defenses he-"
The blow of the heavy axe to the King's back silenced him as the impact knocked the air out of his lungs, replacing his words with the shattering of bones, the wooden thud of the impact against the solid oaken table and his attempts to breath with a ruptured lung that was quickly leaking what little air remained and filling with blood. The stunned silence of the betrayal proved fatal to many of the King's defenders as they suddenly found themselves under attack from the sides and behind, wounds that were either outright fatal or were grave enough that any attempt to defend themselves from the follow up attacks were suddenly doomed to fail.
Leaving his axe buried in the King's back, Grindan instead pulled out his sword and lunged at the Duke, impaling the man's chest while his free hand grabbed his sword arm to prevent him from drawing his own weapon... and giving the executioner enough leverage to lift him off his feet, twist his blade to the side and pull the man one direction while he pushed his blade in the other, causing it to leave his side in a spray of blood and gore before he was tossed to the ground an armored boot met the back of his skull with a sickening crack that left him dead or dying in a pool of his own blood.
As his Stalfos followers started to clean up the only solder to have avoided the opening assault via the use of numbers, Grindan turned his attention back to his former King as the man laid on the table, breathlessly whimpering in pain as he was clearly trying to move but his body, like Ganondorf and Grindan before it, had also betrayed him. The Royal Executioner didn't say a word as he grasped the hilt of his sword with both hands and lifted it up in the air to give his downward strike as much power as possible.
Removing a head with a single strike was difficult, even for someone as well practiced and strong and Grindan was. The blow managed to break through the spine and continued to cleave through flesh, muscle and fat, but after getting about two thirds of the way through the momentum was spent. Releasing his left hand from the hilt, he instead grasped the tip of his blade and used his weight to push down and finish the task, removing the head completely. Leaving the head on top of a blood soaked map for collection later and allowing the headless body to slide onto the floor, the executioner turned to his solders and barked orders as he pointed them out.
"You two, stand guard outside of the door. If a messenger or someone of rank shows up, one of you escort them inside and kill them. You, come with me. You three, head for the Princess' quarters. If you can capture her alive do so, but if you can't kill her. Ignore anyone who doesn't actively try and stop you." As the undead solders moved to carry out their orders, Grindan sheathed his sword and pulled the axe out of the corpse before he walked towards the door with his support in tow.
The royal family needed to die and he intended to oversee the Queen's death personally. Sending troops to go after the Princess without his presence was a gamble, but every minute that passed risked her defenders figuring out that there were enemies within the Castle actively hunting her and any royal that escaped would be a problem down the line. Still, offering the former King's head to his friend would make for a lovely coronation gift... but it would be better to offer the complete set.
Still, he couldn't help but chuckle under his horned helm as he remembered the old saying: The King is Dead. Long live the King!
Something had been amiss. Darunia knew as much when the sun had risen that morning. Sure, his people had just been freed from the tyranny of Dodongo, that was why he'd wanted to celebrate, and perhaps that was why he hadn't noticed anything sooner. The tremors in the earth this morning were so strange.
My Brother.
Tensing, Darunia rose to his feet from his meditation. In a moment of worry, he made his way to the top of his mountain, to look out over the land. The mountains of Hyrule, the territory of the Goron, would protect her from the threats that lay beyond.
But they could not protect from the threats already within. Castle Town was burning. And he cound see, there in the distance, the Gerudo mixed in with some lizalfoes. They were coming to fight. It didn't take Darunia long to know what to do. He had to rally any ready to fight, and buy the town any time he could.
My Brother.
The King. Why did he have such a bad feeling about the King...? No matter. They'd roll on Castle Town and put his worries to rest.
~~~
"My Liege! Castle Town burns!"
That wasn't the news he needed to hear today. After they'd only just rescued his daughter from the great Jabu Jabu, too. "We must support the royal family. There has been treachery afoot lately, scout out the situation." This wasn't any good. He'd have to keep his territory closed tight, or invite disaster.
The Zora guard saluted and marched off to relay orders. They would need to get in through the town's water ways, but that wouldn't be a problem.
~~~
She'd barely made it through the doorway to the warroom when she saw it.
The King's... Head.
There was no time to be shaken by disbelief. If this sight were true, then there was no time. Like a shadow, Impa disappeared into the castle. Would that there were two of her!
Four figures riding relatively large horses appeared as mere shadows before the dawn of the upcoming revolutionary day. The central silhouette, the biggest and mightiest of them all, had his cape wave in the air, tranquil and unburdened by anything else but the wills of nature. Two horse riders were each at his side, one older Gerudo wielding the traditional Halberd of her people while the other was a masked, completely armour-clad entity oozing of vile, black smoke. And finally, slightly behind the supposed Gerudo executive was a final horse rider, one taller than each before her with the exception of the mighty King. A young warrior whom the untied hair followed the same fate as her lord's cape. The final figure, lacking a mask, stared at the walls they were to breach, and then turned her head to peer behind her steed.
An army, marched through the fields right to the heart of Hyrule. Gerudo and fiends alike, a sight that would make even the most wicked of occultists at least stagger in surprise. They would not move until their Lord commanded it. It would only be when one of the small, flying beings would land near Ganondorf's horse to whisper something none else could hear that things would commence. The King's black stallion unleashed a mighty neigh as it stood on its hind legs to signal the start of the assault. But before they would all charge in, a second flying entity had landed next to the tall, feminine figure that so anxiously waited for the signal. It was an old hag on a broom, with a blue Gerudo-crystal etched into her forehead. As the twin did with the King, the witch would do the same with Nadalia.
"Prove your worth, and hold the Square. We must not lose our siege. Your King depends on you."
With a vile cackle from the elderly Gerudo, she would ascend to the heavens with her sister, leaving the young and anxious Nadalia to consider the weight of her responsibility. They were now to charge with no time for second thoughts. The entrance was easily breached with the help of the many monstrosities conjured by the Dark King. Nadalia carefully followed her lord and his two senior warriors, as they were behind the first wave of beasts and soldiers that'd clean up the barricades of royal henchmen. They were all ill prepared without the aid of their allies and their infrastructure compromised.
An hour. Two hours. Maybe three. The sack of Castle Town was no real struggle, as the forces were mostly concentrated toward the Castle itself. The whole experience was mesmerizing. The endless uproar, ceaseless destruction and the bright flames consuming all around her. The screams in particular, with the bright sky shrouded in darkness by the continuous smoke. So much so that her precious, black and white spotted stallion had grown frightened of the ordeal, prompting the youthful Gerudo to dismount and park the critter at the centre plaza they had since cleared. Careful pats were applied to its neck, her hand dragging itself down to its snout, giving the animal a scent he was familiar with as to ease his stress.
Nadalia's moment of peaceful bonding with her steed was quickly interrupted by one of her Gerudo sisters. It was strange, to have a woman older than her reach out for a report. Kotake had conferred to her a role of responsibility, and being naturally tall had the benefit of being seen as an authority figure. But she was still young and naïve, making this quite the intimidating experience for her. Still, she was fully aware of her duty and the importance of a display of strength. Her nervous expression was always one to betray her resolve. And as such, the moment she'd turn to acknowledge her subordinate's request, bright blue whips manifested themselves over her visage, conjuring her featureless, metal helm. No one could see her eyes, her lips, her nose nor her cheeks. No one could read her. No one could see Nadalia for what she was. There was just the dancer, devoid of trivial fears and worries.
"Sister Nadalia ... The Eastern Barracks have been secured, General Hornfield has been captured. What shall we do?"
The featureless visage kept a focused 'gaze' upon the reporting Gerudo, before peering to the side and recognizing the rows of bound men and women that had either surrendered or been beaten by the forces of the Desert. The Square was now fully occupied, with flames tearing down the nearby shops and fuming bodies littering the edges of the open space- some were even left on the now shattered fountain in the centre. Beyond blood, minor debris and ash, the plaza was quickly cleared by the forces that occupied it.
Without a word, the towering, feminine figure marched to the lines of captured warriors, the shadow of her lithe figure easily covering a few of these seated individuals. She almost didn't look human with how her visage was absent and unusually big she was. Many of the men would think she was some sort of conjured creature or some ancient sentry of the desert. Her head craned itself just a tad to the defeated General, making her unseen gaze clear as to whom it was dedicated to.
"General. I will give you but one chance on this divine day, as proof of King Ganondorf's unending mercy." a metallic, slightly muffled voice escaped the pitch black mask worn by Nadalia. It kept her naturally girlish voice, one that wasn't too deep, not quite womanly yet. "Offer your sword to King Ganondorf. Reject your failing King. Accept our mercy."
Stoic, unmoving and arms now crossed, she awaited the General's answer. An answer that would be quite obvious. The man was always proud of his achievement, and even more so of his men. Submission was never an option to these men.
"How about I fuck your big bitch arse instead? It'd be a mercy for a beast such as yourself to know a man's touch." he answered crudely before spitting right before her boots.
Nadalia was unimpressed. Raising her head back to normal levels, she'd address the flock of prisoners. "Mighty soldiers, willing to die for one man's convictions. I will honour that. Until you decide otherwise of course. Should any of you decide this is not your fate, there is but one man standing between you and life." she said solemnly before peering over to her associate. "Burn them one by one until one wakes up from this zealous daze."
Human resource management aside, Nadalia had multiple fronts to control in order to keep the centre of Castle Town. But just as she sought to organize the ravenous fiends that sought to clear the streets through bloodshed, panicked calls from her fellow Gerudo got her undivided attention.
"A RUMBLING! A SANDSTORM! SOMETHING IS COMING!"
The swift and agile Nadalia leaped from building to building, avoiding the debris and fire filled streets, to reach the entrance walls. The only entrance that did not rely on the convoluted waterways anyway. With a set of Binoculars, she would get a glimpse of what was really happening. Literal BOULDERS rolling at their direction. Having almost never seen a Goron before, Nadalia was left somewhat flabbergasted, though her mask concealed any of that. Still, Twinrova hadn't put their hopes on an in-cult as they had at least educated the tall Gerudo on the allied races in case something like this would occur.
"Tch. Gorons. Raise the bridge or destroy it, ready the cannons and arrows. We're going to have a problem if they breach." she ordered, knowing full well this would be a temporary solution. With a simple gesture, a small platoon of Gerudo halberd wielders descended down with their officer near the entry gate. The rock folk would be in for the expected greeting from the invading forces' defences, while Nadalia was keen on taking the mightier beasts head on.
"Spare none of these mountain creatures. They decided their fate long ago. None shall stand against our King unpunished." she called out with a controlled and tempered tone, her posture stiff and adamant with only one hand reaching for a sheathed scimitar on her lower back.
Nabooru's face, even if she could be seen underneath the armor, wouldn't have betrayed much of anything. There was no expression. She could only do as commanded, and she resisted too much to be given room to think on her own. No, best to keep a tight leash until later, when more work can be done. The spirited woman would use any leeway she could.
The sight of a once prosperous town in flames hurt. She would have cried, had she the freedom. Why this destruction? There was no gain in this, not even a thief would be happy. But her orders were not to be disobeyed, she charged with her sisters into the town, cutting down the men that were only trying to protect something.
Her heart ached. She tried her best not to think about what her body was doing without her.
~~~
"My Liege! Fighting in the streets! Monsters and Gerudo march on the castle! The Gorons drum for war!"
"No... Evacuate the citizens! We must save as many lives as we can!" He felt so helpless, but it wasn't like he could do much, himself, anyway. Much too fat. Though, he could at least move closer...
Sploooooosh
The Zora King sloshed into the pool below him, making his way to the nearest cove, so he could see things himself. His messengers would not have to travel so far, either.
"It is true..."
~~~
Darunia had retrieved his drums and his hammer. Not the megaton, oh no. That was kept in the temple. This one was good, too, however. He didn't wait for his brothers as he drummed out an aggressive march. As he descended the mountain, more drums joined him, echoing out to their brothers down range. The first horn sounded. Some of his brothers rolled past him as he descended. And so the Goron came.
When he could feel the drums beneath his feet, he began to roll himself.
My Brother!
He would charge the gate himself! His blood told him to see his sworn brother! As he made his way to the head of the pack, he saw them begin to raise the drawbridge. That wouldn't stop him! He barreled through their front lines, stopping for nothing, as he launched himself off of the bridge guide, on the side. He spun his spikes through the chain and shattered it, causing the other chain on the bridge to overload and break, as well. With the bridge lowered permanently, he continued to charge toward the castle. He could hear the drums, even now. Why did they sound so forboding to him?
As he approached the castle, he saw something that shook him. He unfurled for a moment and turned to see... Impa, and little Zelda? Fleeing the castle? He went right back to rolling, ever more urgency behind him.
My Dear Brother!
~~~
Hilda lifted her head from her work. She heard something in the distance... Some kind of beat. Drums? The Goron's drums? She'd only heard them as a child, near the end of the last war... They didn't sound like this, then. All able hands were supposed to report to the checkpoint, so she left her work and went to report. She'd hitch a ride on somebody's wagon, on the way.
When she got there, things were chaos. She caught words like Gerudo, and Castle Town, and fire. None of that sat well, and nobody really seemed to know what to do. She could see the smoke from where she stood. After some hesitation, the young lady armed herself with a spear before leaving. The militia office had more of them, and they were cheaper to make, anyway. She kept the wrapping in the point, telling herself it was just a walking stick as she left. It'd be something she'd want anyway, for the mountain road to Castle Town.
Lyle had been having a lazy morning. He sometimes considered himself a lazy fellow, but he knew that was more so his attitude than his work ethic. He was rarely one to sit idly and waste daylight, but he also valued taking it slow once in a while. He was rarely in a hurry. Besides, his current project was trying his hand at cartography, and Hyrule wasn't going anywhere.
Today (he'd already determined the day before) was going to be a lazy day. Poor Blue, his sweet sweet mare, had gotten all tangled up in a hidden patch of thorny vines the previous evening on their way through the woods. The damage wasn't too bad, plenty of scrapes and cuts to the both of them, due to Lyle hopping down into it as well to cut her tangled leg free, but it was all rather shallow. Still, Lyle would rather let Blue take it easy today. They were in no rush, and it wouldn't do to stress her out. He was often told he doted far too much on his horse and she wouldn't listen to him because of it, but he found that his steed had so much trust in him that she'd do anything for him… though sometimes with a bit of reluctance. He didn't see her as a tool, but as a friend, a partner. And he took care of his friends (the few he had).
So today, he was camping on the edge of the woods, a rabbit cooking over the fire while he worked on its hide with his trusty knife. He would normally be excited about meat. He didn't often take the time to hunt while he and blue travelled, but he couldn't ignore the sense of unease in his gut. He couldn't quite remember it, but he knew he'd had a bad dream last night. He'd been having them often lately, but last night's left him feeling particularly shaken.
Even Blue seemed uneasy, though she may have been picking it up from him second hand. She was lying down, as he insisted, but her ears were on high alert and she refused to go to sleep. He was leaning against her side, rubbing her neck soothingly every so often while he carefully cleaned the rabbit skin. He'd used the last of his bandages and some of his healing salve on her legs. It was really nothing serious, but he knew walking around with her scrapes uncovered could result in serious irritation and discomfort from the grass rubbing against them. He used a little salve himself, but no bandages. He had the convenience of clothes to protect from such irritations.
He kept close to Blue all day, keeping her safe and comforted. He was so worried that something was going to happen to her, that that was what his dream had been about after yesterday's incident.
The sky was steadily turning overcast and there was a pressure in the air. Was there going to be a storm? It certainly looked and felt like it. Maybe they should seek shelter soon. He usually made sure to find Shelter for Blue during storms. He was usually willing to take a night of bad weather, but as she couldn't voice her opinion, he'd never assume that was what she would want. He didn't think it was going to hit until late evening. They had plenty of time to get to the nearest town from here before then. In fact, the very ranch he'd bought Blue from was close by, only a few miles to the north west. She always seemed happy to visit her mother and the little ranch girl who worked there. He could make a few rupees lending a hand, or at least do enough to earn a night in the stables for the both of them. There was usually plenty of work to be done there, though he knew they weren't looking to hire any actual employees.
As soon as his rabbit was done cooking, he'd eat, pack up, and they'd go. He didn't want to make Blue go far with her legs, but he knew she'd prefer it to being outside during any close thunder. She hated thunder.
~~~~
It was early afternoon when they were walking side by side up the dirt road. He didn't tend to actually ride Blue very often, only for a short while every day so they both had practice at it. He kept his supplies and art equipment split fairly between them. She carried more, but only because she was bigger and stronger. He saw no need to make her carry him as well when he was perfectly capable and happy to carry his own weight. He'd gotten her to help him, not to make her do everything for him.
It was when they reached the peak of a hill that he stopped. She continued for a few steps, but quickly realized he wasn't with her. She turned back to look at him to see him standing there frozen, staring to the north with a stunned look on his face.
"Oh, Hylia…" he whispered at the thick plume of smoke rising over the distinct shape of Castle Town in the distance.
The sound of drums that had been silent for years roared loudly enough that even as he stalked to hallways of the palace with his false knight following him, Grindan could hear them. As they passed by a window pointing towards Castle Town, Grindan turned his head and paused long enough to look over the smoke and carnage to see what the drums had already told him; A large cloud of dust was being kicked up outside of the walls. The goron had arrived and they had arrived in numbers.
The former King likely would have been greatly relieved to discover that his information on the current status of the goron had been incorrect, but Grindan couldn't make a judgement call on the state of the goron forces about to join the fight solely from the dust cloud they had kicked up. Ganondorf had informed him that the Goron had been cut off from their food supplies and had been forced into a state of famine. They might have overcome the dangers that had blocked them off from their food in a timely manner and be in the process of recovery, but this also could be the final charge by a doomed people seeking a quick death on the battlefield rather then to slowly waste and rot away to starvation and plague.
Regardless, the goron were not currently his problem. Turning away from the window, he increased his pace to make up for lost time and locate the Queen as soon as possible. A small part of him couldn't help but take a dark sense of amusement from the fact that as he passed by the odd person in the halls, the fact that his armor was splattered with fresh blood while the axe he carried was still dripping with the stuff wasn't a cause of alarm once they recognized who he was. It wasn't like this was the first time he had been seen in such a manner after all. Even if his own dark reputation hadn't proceeded him there were a few additional facts in his favor. There was a battle actively being fought for starters and he was dressed for battle in kind. The fact that he was traveling with an armored knight (all be it a lesser one without heraldry on his shield) who was also splattered in blood suggested that they had seen combat which... to be fair was true.
The lack of foot traffic in this part of the castle did help him avoid having to answer the awkward question of why two warriors who had clearly seen combat already was heading towards the royal living area. Sure there were plenty of lies he could offer that would sound convincing and send them on their way if he didn't just decide to cut them down where they stood, but the interruption would still have been a hassle.
He needed to find the Queen and fast... if for no other reason then so he could hunt down Princess Zelda and find some relief from the his concerns that the Stalfos he had sent to do the task of either bringing her to heel or killing her had not been up to the task. Yes, Impa was a formidable foe and fiercely protective of the young Princess, but they should have had the element of surprise and as he had proven earlier, the traitor's hand struck with the might of a legion.
It was a problem to be concerned with later. Right now he had a Queen to find.
Nothing pervaded the dimly lit corridors deep beneath Hyrule Castle but the mournful lamentation of prisoners and the jangling of chains within the veritable labyrinth that was the palace dungeon. It was all but unknown to most of the imprisoned that there was a battle raging above them but to the most perceptive of the criminals the lack of patrolling guardsman seemed to suggest something was going on.
But something was about to happen that would change the land forever as the moon crested the distant hills of Hyrule's verdant fields as a lone rider could be seen...
Haiko Location: Castle Town Mentions: None Interactions: Open
Haiko had been stealing from the market when the invasion began. The boy, who was dressed in a few ragged clothes, was awkwardly rifling through a few crates of fresh produce. The fighting started in an instant. Shrill screams rang through the air and guards scattered. The urchin dropped the fruit he’d snatched and watched in awe. An apple rolled into a ditch that acted as a storm drain. He heard it splash into the shallow water. Not a split second later, the real battle started. The sudden jolt of fear kept him rooted in place. His legs grew weak and he felt like he was going to vomit. Haiko wanted to run, but he couldn’t.
Haiko watched guards fling themselves into battle with...Gerudo- and Stalfos? He hadn't seen a Gerudo in years. The intruders were rounding up fleeing townsfolk. Being in an unseen alleyway, this was his only chance. He shook off his panic and jumped into the ditch. He knew it’d lead to the moat surrounding Castle Town. The water barely reached above his ankles unless it was raining. He crept down on all fours to avoid being spotted, following the stale water all the way to the outer wall. Multiple times did he have to drop and pretend to be dead. He was drenched with foul water.
Once Haiko made it to the wall, another problem arose. The drainage system to the moat was blocked by a metal grate. The boy wrapped his hands around the bars and shook it desperately, but to no avail... He pressed himself up against the grate, shrinking in the shadows in the alcove of the wall. He was cold, and violently trembling from it... or was that fear? Probably both. He sniffled, only then realizing that tears were rolling down his cheeks. He wasn’t sure if it was the sting of the smoke or his tears that made him shut his eyes.
Interactions: @Crystal Amalgam - In Passing... Crouched between the crenel of a watchtower overlooking Castle Town, the young shadow watched. He had just arrived from the secret overpass between Kakariko and the castle fortress. He hadn't expected to come back to this big of an attack. Studying the attacking troops, it appeared to be monstrous forces but mixed within, gerudo. His sneaking suspicion of the Desert king's ulterior motives clearly had some basis after all.
The fact that the wall had not been destroyed as a means of getting in, meant that the gate had to be opened from the inside. Meaning, the invaders had someone on the inside...However, there was no time for inward banter attacking himself for not being back sooner. In the moment, the royal family was in grave danger by the looks of this. Making out the ideal pathway via the Castle Town building structures, Sheik jumped down.
It was when he made his way near the ground, he heard the rattle of metal and he turned his head. Scarlet sight spotted someone shying in the shadow of the wall. A child, it looked like, trying to escape through the drain grates. If only for a moment, he felt a glimmer of his past. A child borne of war, when it came time to actually go to the field. The pandemonium, the confusion, the helplessness, fear; traits he could see in the lad huddled up against the grates to freedom. Although a fighter, Sheik could easily understand ones who weren't. That was why he'd put the boy out of his misery, if only briefly.
A throwing star was pulled from its place tucked beneath one of his wrappings. For a brief moment did his revealed eye glow, finding his mark. Soon afterwards, the star zipped through the air with enough precision to find the small gap the lad hadn’t covered. Stuck between two bars, sizzling was audible as they began melting away.
Not giving the gesture any time for acknowledgement though, the shadow climbed atop a house in a few bounds. Using the shadows to his advantage, he made the journey to the castle itself via parkour. While he’d help people where he could, Sheik realized that he couldn’t help everyone and his priority was clear. Inferring that the front gates leading into the castle’s main hall had already been taken, the next place to go would be the stables. Securing an escape for the royal family would be the second priority if the fight had gotten too dangerous inside.
The severance of the bridge had given even more weight to the lieutenant Gerudo's orders. If the bridge couldn't be risen, then only one option remained. As Darunia and his platoon poured in, the infantry up above would retaliate accordingly. Arrows coated in flames combined with explosive barrels hurled down onto the wooden passage. With enough flame and explosive material, it'd come to no surprise that the bridge would collapse. Still, better horses and perhaps some more elite Gorons could make a potential leap, but those that failed? Well, we all know what happens to a Goron in water. Needless to say, the explosion was massive, causing nearby waterways to crumble from the seismic shock, increasing the amount of rockfall! @Crystal Amalgam
With this contingency enacted, the numbers left for Nadalia to do with were much more manageable. The Gerudo troops at her side, snipers stationed above and fiendish troops just around the corner. The only real issue was the Goron Patriarch that was quite clearly tunnel-visioned in his endeavour to reach the castle. Unfortunately for him, one had to pass through Nadalia's barricade first. As punishment for Darunia's emotional charge, Nadalia so swiftly shifted her rather thin figure enough to let him pass, only for her to pivot her body for adequate momentum and deliver a pinpointed kick to the ball's flank. By no means was she a physical powerhouse, but she was precise, and all she needed was to disrupt the Goron's roll.
There was no way the Gorons were going to interfere with Ganondorf without first handling the ground troops. It was their only option, given the more watery option was out of the question.
"Zora strays. Hylian vagabonds. Sheikah spies. Unwanted Undead. Even greedy scrubs. But I've yet to confront a beast such as yourself."
Her words were articulate and precise, but even through the metallic muffle of her helmet, one could hear the light rasp in her throat. The slightest hint of a growing anxiety in her. It did not translate to her body language. Oh no. It was her speciality to have complete control of that after all. With the expected elegance of a desert dancer, she carefully drew her first Scimitar. One coated in a blue-ish aura that even with the distance made between her and Darunia, the Goron could feel the chill air oozing out of this enchanted weapon. Her posture shifted from a perfectly straight one that fully displayed her size- a size that likely matched the head Goron's- into one with her legs flexed, blade risen over her head and pointed barely downward to the front while her vacant hand extended itself, index and major fingers pointed at her chosen opponent.
The troops readied themselves as well. Nadalia's sisters were entering their own stances to take on Darunia's brothers. Archers were prepped, but they were focused on the more generic Gorons, knowing full-well that interrupting their dancing lieutenant would likely do more harm than good.
"Now then, Patriarch of the Goron. Grace me with your fabled dance of fiery passions."
In between the lull of battle, the bray of a horse echoed between the hills and carried across the verdant fields to the burning city. From atop a northern hill the silhouette of a mounted figure could be seen upon a black stallion with eyes that burnt like fire. Rearing the stallion brayed again and set off down the hill towards the fighting with it's rider whipping at his steeds reigns.
Fire soon followed behind the rider from behind his steed, and the darkness of the night suddenly became lit by the bright red fires that danced across the open field. Upon that nightmarish stallion was none other than Ganondorf himself, and he enjoyed the fear that became apparent as he charged towards the bridge on his horse as fire followed him like he was the devil himself.
As the vile sorcerer-king whipped his steed forward he lifted an arm towards the mountain-dwellers and gestated his hand causing an explosion of flames to engulf the skirmish by the bridge, and incinerated both sides of each force yet it didn't matter to him as in his mind they were all disposable pawns in his game. Ganondorf had one thing he currently needed to do and that was find that cursed child Zelda.
The marble floor of the castle's royal quarters caused the echo of heavy, metal clad feet to echo through the halls. The odd piece of rug or carpeting served to muffle the echo as Grindan and his silent companion strolled over them, but alongside the desire to give a pleasing appearance, the choice of flooring had been selected with a very clear intention in mind; To make stealth as difficult as possible. Since they had no intention of being stealthy, this was not the obstruction that it might have been under other circumstances.
When he finally turned the corner of a hallway and found himself looking at the royal quarters/bedchamber, the noise had been enough to alert the two solders on guard duty of said part of the castle that someone or something was coming and that they needed to look alert and act like they had been doing their job the whole time. Guard duty was might have been important, but it was also the most boring damn job anyone could be given. Even more so when you were tasked with guarding a room inside of a castle that was well defended and manned by other solders further out. This was not the kind of job that was given to the elite or veteran solders because they could be more useful elsewhere. Thus, the actual duty tended to be given two one of two types of people.
As the two men stood at attention, the one on the left side of the doors started to pale as he looked over the executioner's blood splattered form, betraying his youth and inexperience. The other wasn't phased in the slightest. A rookie and an idiot... not the best combination to have gotten.
"Rebels loyal to the enemy attempted an assault on the war room. The King is fine, but more guards are needed to man the war room. We've been ordered to take your place for the time being." Grindan explained quickly, cutting off such questions as 'Why are you here?' and 'Why are you covered in blood?'. The rookie offered a quick salute towards him as he turned to start walking towards the war room because the first thing that the rookies were taught was that they were at the bottom of the ladder and thus everyone outranked them, but the idiot remained exactly where was he was... which caused the rookie to look back and pause in confusion.
"May I see the order?"
"...Really? You want me to trudge all the way back to the war room and ask the King, who's already busy dealing with a revolt at this moment I must remind you, ask him for a moment of his valuable time to write down an order on a piece of paper, telling you exactly what I just told you ten seconds ago?"
"...It's procedure."
This was why idiots tended to end up on guard duty; Most minds would struggle when it comes to staying aware and alert for long periods of time in an environment where for something interesting or dangerous to happen a lot of things would have to have gone wrong elsewhere, but idiots tended to be so small minded that things boredom and imagination never entered their heads. What made idiots great at being guards was the fact that while they were small minded, the things they could understand they took deathly seriously. For them, there were two lists of people: Those with permission to enter the area they were guarding on one list and those with the authority to give them orders on the other. If your name wasn't on either list, talking to a wall would be more productive.
The Royal Executioner was on neither list.
Grindan turned his head to look at his companion for a moment... before he sighed and turned back to the idiot of a guard standing in his way. Without warning, he lashed out with an armored fist, backhanding the fool in the side of the head with enough force and the element of surprise to knock the man prone in a crash of metal on marble. His axe quickly being found by his hands, the irritation that had been building up blinded him to the sounds of swords being drawn and the horrified rookie finding himself faced with his first and last real fight as the axe was brought down again and again and again. At one point he had to plant a foot on the body... corpse?... in order to give himself enough leverage to yank the axe blade out of the chest plate it had gotten stuck in, but another swing soon followed just to make sure.
His temper satisfied as his weapon and armor was now coated in blood rather then just splattered with droplets, Grindan turned to his undead follower and ordered "Guard the door." before planting his shoulder against the door of the royal quarters and forcing it open to the sound of the screams of panic and fear of the Queen, some of her servants and at least one of her handmaidens.
As the red rage of years of a variety of insults and jokes at his expense started to descend, Grindan shifted his grasp on his axe as he stood forward with the certainty and purpose of death itself.
Haiko Location: Castle Town Mentions: Like fucking everybody, but only in passing Interactions: Open
Haiko had his knees drawn up to his chest. His entire body shuddered as he tried to hold in any sobs. He was terrified beyond belief, and his head pounded as his thoughts raced through it. The boy’s grip on his arms tightened as he tried to keep himself grounded. He felt so scared, but also furious. He was enraged at himself.
Look at yourself, you’re going to die here all alone without ever doing anything with your life.
Haiko continued to seethe while thinking to himself. The thing that upset him the most was that he was alone. He continued to get angry- his clothes were damp and he could feel himself violently shaking from the cold. He was going to die alone, cold, wet, and in a sewer. Haiko sniffed loudly, furrowing his brow. What a pathetic way to go out.
He felt cramped in the cobblestone alcove, it was so small he had to stay hunched over. His eyes flicked from figure to figure who passed him by. He tensed each time, waiting for one of them to notice him, but none did...yet- He only wished he had his dagger… The staff he carried on his back wasn’t nearly as intimidating, or good at inflicting damage. Regardless, he wasn’t sure what’d happen if he was confronted. Haiko thought about surrendering. He always was a coward, anyway...
A whizzing sound made him look up from his hiding spot. Lodged in one of the metal bars, barely an inch from his nose, was a shuriken. Haiko recoiled, stuffing his neck into his body like an awkward turtle. He watched in surprise as the bars that once blocked his path drooped and fell apart. Incredible! If that hit him, he was sure his flesh would’ve melted off his body. Regardless, he saw his opportunity to skedaddle, and by god was he going to take it. Not even bothering to see where the throwing came from, he slipped through the now broken bars and into the moat.
The water was cold- colder than the water in the alley. His waterlogged clothes made him feel heavy and sluggish, but he pushed onward to swim to the other side. The water was black, but it reflected the light of a few fires that danced in the town. It was like a sparkling portal into hell. The was behind him began to crumble with a sickening crash. He didn’t see what caused the explosion, but the sound made his ears ring. Chunks of rock and debris flew in all directions. Haiko plunged his head into the water as rubble rained down from above.
When he resurfaced, he watched a giant horse streak across Hyrule Field, and from behind it, a raging fire. What a terrifying sight! He clawed at the moat’s bank, trying to heave himself up. Slippery from the water, he lost his grip. Rocks tore at his fingertips and knees as he slid back down into the water. By now Haiko was exhausted from swimming, and he wasn’t sure if he had the strength to climb out. Water found its way up his nose and he began coughing. He wasn’t sure what was worse, death by drowning or burning alive.
Somewhere in his instincts, Lyle knew he should be staying far away from Castle Town. It didn't take a genius to know that something terrible was happening, something that had gotten out of control fast, and it was more than just a fire. If the royal guards couldn't handle it, how could he hope to? He could defend himself, but he'd never been much of a fighter.
He wasn't quite using his head, as he felt it going numb, refusing to think or comprehend, when he climbed up into Blue's saddle and urged her into a canter- then a full gallop. They were racing across the miles of field toward the smoke.
Halfway there, the clouds gave in and it started to rain. He didn't notice the cold soaking into his clothes, only feeling the tiniest, barely existent sense of relief, knowing that at least the fires were unlikely to make it through the heavier rains to come.
Blue, a somewhat lazy and sometimes stubborn horse by nature, made no complaint, sensing the unusual state of urgency from her trusted rider. However, she was nervous and growing more so the closer they got to the source of chaos.
It was far off, but when Lyle saw the huge dark horse and its rider make their egress from the distant front gates and gallop off, he was finally brought back to his senses enough to realize he had no idea what he planned to do. Drawing closer still, he saw the state of the draw bridge. He couldn't really see the street level of the town behind the wall, but the pressure in his chest he felt increasing with every thundering beat of hooves was telling him he didn't want to.
Nearly there, a crack of lightning broke directly overhead, the thunder rumbling down, and Blue came to an immediate halt with a sound like a scream, launching Lyle forward with the momentum, sending him crashing hard to the ground and sliding through the mud. He felt the shock of pain from the impact shoot through his entire body, knocking the wind out of him. All he could do was lie there and try to force his chest to let him breathe again. It took several long moments before he could manage to inhale and push himself upright. He gasped, taking a moment to let himself breathe before he forced himself to his feet, the shoulder he'd landed on screeching with pain in protest.
"Blue!" he coughed, calling for the horse that was now sprinting in blind fear towards the wall, perhaps not aware of the moat. "Blue!" He whistled loudly. Either she heard him, or she saw the moat, because she reared up on her hind legs, whinnying loudly before stamping back down and beginning to pace quickly and anxiously at the edge, as if in too much of a panic to know where to go to get away from the open field and lightning.
He hurried towards her with a limp, hating to see her suffer such fear. Why did he even come here? His instincts screamed at him not to try to enter the town, however much he wanted to help. The broken bridge and the spine chilling sounds of screams and shouts and unmistakably monsters were discouraging enough.
He finally reached her. She was pacing and panicking, looking like she was seriously considering jumping down into the water.
"Blue!" he called again, making sure she was aware of his presence before he tried to get too close. Approaching the edge of the moat himself, he finally saw what she saw: a boy, weakly clinging to the steep rocky side and beginning to slip under the surface of the dark water.
He acted quickly, but not without thinking. Blue was cooperative enough to allow him to grab the rope kept handy in her saddle bag. It already had a loop on one end. He hurriedly got it around Blue's neck and tossed the rest into the water before jumping in after it himself, ignoring just how much colder the moat was than the rain. He surfaced and managed to get the boy's arms around his neck. He was weak, but still conscious. "Hold on! You're gonna be okay! I've got you!" Lyle said, making sure the lad was secure enough on his back before taking the rope. He called up to his still panicking horse. "Blue! Back! Back, Blue!"
She looked confused, and almost didn't seem to want to leave him down there, but she did heed him and begin to back up. When the rope pulled tight, she seemed to suddenly understand, because she grabbed it in her teeth and began to pull on it hard as she continued to back up. Lyle held on tightly to both the rope and the boy, and soon they were pulled up over the ledge and onto the grass.
With the King and Queen dispatched only one direct, clear member of the royal family remained.
This deep into the castle and considering the length of the trial of blood that was noticeably being left behind as it dripped off his body being beyond what would normally be expected from the Royal Executioner, Grindan had made the tactical decision to abandon the concept of trying to pretend that he was still loyal to the now empty crown of Hyrule. While he had yet to encounter anyone as he made a quick pace towards the chambers of the Princess, he was fully prepared to cut them down as he went.
Tied to his belt to serve as both a grim trinket to demoralize any solders encountered as well as save himself the trip of having to return to the Royal bedchamber to claim the trophy was the severed head of the former Queen of Hyrule, her face frozen in an expression of pure horror as her mouth hung open in an endless scream that would never be heard. Surprising to some, despite the jagged nature of the cut that disconnected her head from her body, the face was remarkably untouched; No brushing, cuts, blood stains or damage to speak of, allowing for easy recognition even as the severed head swung from his belt by her beautiful, long hair.
It was as the pair of them neared the Princess' chambers that the signs of struggle and corpses started to appear. Servants mostly but with the odd solder, normally found in pairs. Those Grindan had sent in advance had taken his words to heart... or what counted as such in the undead skeleton warriors. Arriving at the Princess' door, it was wide open and the room within clearly displayed signs of battle... but there was no blood or fleshy corpse to be found. All three of the 'knights' lay broke on the floor, their bones largely kept together solely by the armor they wore.
The armor itself intact for the most part, but looking them over it was easy to see where singular, powerful strikes had landed that bypassed the armor and resulted in the doom of the undead warriors within. The professional handy work of the Sheikah, likely Impa herself if he was any judge. After all, Princess Zelda was long gone without a trace.
A frustrating situation but... not completely unexpected. Of all the Sheikah Grindan had met over the years, Impa was among the most forward thinking of her peers; It would not have surprised him in the slightest that once the attack of the town had started or possibly even at the first report of an army moving in the field that Impa had disappeared the young princess out of the castle and away from the future battle to safety. An overreaction fueled by paranoia some might say but... well, the King and Queen were dead and the Princess safely out of his reach. If she escaped castle town and Ganondorf's forces remained to be seen, but there was likely little he could do about it now.
With a sigh he turned, not addressing the companion as they started the trek back towards the war room. He had a head that he needed to collect... and then a defending garrison force that needed to be informed that the war was already over and there was little point in them continuing to fight.
Haiko Location: Edge of Castle Town Mentions:@WolfredWolf Interactions: Busy
Haiko sputtered as more water forced itself up his nose and mouth. It stung. He had slipped under the water’s surface for only a moment, and now he was drowning. The sky was dark, the water was dark- everything was dark. He felt disoriented when he resurfaced. As battered as he felt, Haiko knew he had to find a way out or he’d die here. The primal instinct to stay alive was keeping him going. The boy clung to the moat’s rocky edge like soaked clothes that clung to his body. He decided to sit there until he stopped coughing. He knew couldn’t climb like this. He needed a break
After a few moments, he’d spat out most of the water and could mostly breathe uninterrupted. Haiko started climbing up the rocky edge- and to his delight, he was actually making progress. He was going to get out of here. Then his feelings dropped- like the large chunk of rock that was supporting his weight. It fell out of the muddy bank and slashed in the water below, followed with him. Thankfully, he only slid down the side instead of falling dramatically. Asides from getting grit into his fingernails and now raw hands and knees, he was fine. He was, however, getting increasingly frustrated and discouraged. He was back at square one, in the frigid water trying not to get swept away. Exhaustion nagged at every bone in his body now.
Haiko shivered as he held onto the side. He was too tired to try again just yet...he needed to rest. Pressed against the muddy bank, he looked fragile and small. The rain made the moat swell up and caused the climb to become even more slippery. He was beginning to lose hope. Somewhere from the darkness, a hand grabbed his arm. He flinched but didn’t fight back. A stranger from the shore and grabbed him and was heaving him out of the water.
As soon as the boy realized he was being rescued, he clung to the person like a tick. What ever strength he had left was being used to hold on for dear life. The fires turned to smolders from the rain, so he had trouble making out exactly who had saved him. All he knew is that they were Hylian. The pointed ears gave it away. Haiko, also being 95% sure he was Hylian, shared the trait of pointed ears.
