#ch ghirahim

[arecaceae175]

For Want Of Rest: Ch. 2

FAN JOY JULY!!!!!

Fic Summary: Five times Sky falls asleep somewhere that isn’t a bed plus one time they all do. Or, Sky struggles to manage his disabilities, then the chain has a conversation about accessibility and accommodations.

Fan Joy July! Each chapter is inspired a few amazing art pieces of Sleepy Sky <3. There are plenty more chapters and art inspirations to come :D

Chapter Summary: Sky has a nightmare triggered by a storm. Wild and Wolfie help. 1.5k, angst and hurt/comfort.

Inspired by Sky sleeping with his sword by @la-sera and Group Cuddle by @cricketflour. Amazing art pieces by two amazing artists! Go give them some love and appreciation!!!

La-Sera's art is always incredible. I love the colors and the details in the expression. The shading in this piece is particularly cool.

As for cricketflour's piece, BLORBOS!! They look so peaceful and cozy. I love how much detail is shown in the black and white art piece, and I like how this one has the traditional art feel.

Warnings: descriptions of chronic pain and fatigue, nightmare, panic attack, Sky's shit self-esteem, minor Ghirahim creepiness

The stars were hidden behind a thick layer of dark clouds. 

Sky always thought the clouds below Skyloft looked like a thick, fluffy, comfortable blanket. He and Zelda used to daydream about laying on the clouds and feeling all of their aches and pains melt away on the softest bed imaginable. From the surface, clouds never looked quite the same. Sometimes they were fluffy like the ones he knew, but sometimes they were wispy or flat or dark and rumbling and coming for him like the ones in–

Sky shook his head. No. He wasn’t there. Demise was gone, Ghirahim was gone, there was no storm and there was no lightning. Even if there was, it wouldn’t hurt him anymore. He could go under a shelter far away from anything metal. He was safe.

Sky repeated the mantra like the lifeline it was. His grip around Fi’s sheath tightened and he cradled her against his chest. He could never manage to hide her away in a storm. He felt so much safer with the knowledge that he could redirect the lightning blast if it came for him. He would give nearly anything not to do so– his arm cried out in pain, phantom electricity cackling through his veins and the burning of his scars– but Sky knew he would stop at nothing to protect himself or his family. 

Crack. 

Sky flinched, eyes shooting to the clouds. They were the same as before. Sparks floated into his vision, and Sky realized the sound was a log falling in the fire. 

He let out a breath and closed his eyes, letting his aching neck fall backwards onto the tree. He forced his taut muscles to relax and breathed deeply with the wave of pain that coursed through them. 

With great effort, Sky forced his eyes open. His limbs and eyelids were heavy with fatigue. It was too dangerous to keep his eyes closed for more than a second, especially when his family was depending on him to keep them safe. 

Sky frowned and glanced at the clouds again. They obscured the moon, so Sky had no way of knowing how much time had passed. His instincts urged him to stay on watch and let the others sleep, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to stay awake much longer. His thoughts already felt like they were trudging through mud. It was better to wake the next watch than fall asleep on the job and let the other heroes down.

Again.

Just like I did with the curse.

Nope, Sky thought as he rubbed his eyes aggressively. That was enough of that thought spiral for tonight.

He put his sword down, shook out his arms, then scooted over to Wild.

"Wild," Sky whispered. 

He shifted Wild's blanket slightly, just enough to give him some sensation to wake up to. Wild woke with a sharp inhale, hand automatically jerking towards his back. He calmed as soon as he saw Sky, and Sky gave him a soft smile.

"Sorry," Sky muttered. "It's your watch."

"Mm," Wild hummed as he rubbed his eyes. He stayed laying for only a few seconds, then sat up and seemed fully awake. "Got it. You hear anything unusual?"

Sky opened his mouth to reply, but was struck with a large yawn. He settled for shaking his head as he brought up a hand to try to stifle the yawn. He closed his eyes from the force of the yawn. When he opened them, Wild was looking at him with a sympathetic smile.

"Get some sleep, Sky."

Sky smiled as much as his sleepy muscles would allow and scooted back over to the tree he was resting against. The ground was unforgiving against his aching joints, but setting up his bedroll seemed like far too monumental a task. It wouldn't be the first time Sky had slept on nothing but the ground. He curled up beneath the tree and was asleep within minutes.

- - -

Sky's shoes were wet.

He stood in the shallow water, watching the reflection of the clouds roll past. The pounding thunder matched his racing heart. It was too fast to hear the individual beats, the sound meshing into a cacophony of too loud in his mind. Sky tried to cover his ears, but his arms wouldn't move.

His heart raced even faster as he struggled to move his arms, his legs, his head, anything. He managed to curl one arm against his chest, the movement slower than pushing through mud.

"Chosen," a lilting voice sneered, clear above the sounds of thunder. It was a voice Sky knew as intimately as he knew his own.

He needed his sword. Where was his sword?

The world shifted. 

Ghirahim was in front of him. Ghirahim was in front of him holding his sword.

Lightning flashed. Thunder boomed.

A hand grasped his shoulder. Sky panicked.

He thrashed wildly, throwing his hands against his attacker with all the force he could muster. His fist connected with soft flesh and he was freed. He jolted to his feet. Sky managed two steps before he was struck with a wave of dizziness that sent him right back to the ground. Sky desperately heaved in a breath, gasping as he blinked away the black in his vision. Tears trailed down his face and dropped onto the dirt beneath him. 

Dirt. Where was the water?

"Sky!"

The voice was different from his; this one was soft, scratchy, and familiar. It was a sound Sky associated with comfort and warmth and smiles and energy.

The haze over his vision cleared, and Sky focused his eyes on Wild's face.

"You need to breathe with me," Wild said. "Can you do that? In, two three four, hold, two three four, out, two three four."

Sky tried, he really, really tried, but he couldn't stop hyperventilating. His blood was rushing through his ears, drowning out Wild's coaching. Wild's hand reached for him. Panic spiked in his chest and Sky threw himself backwards.

Wild quickly pulled his arm back. Sky curled his arms around his heaving chest, desperate for the comfort he couldn't accept.

A soft growl jolted Sky out of his thoughts. He flinched and whipped around, ignoring the spikes of pain from the quick movement. Wolfie flopped onto the ground, ears pulled back and paws tucked beneath his fur. He wiggled slightly, and that was all the permission Sky needed. Sky launched himself at the wolf, throwing his arms around him and burying his face in soft fur. A sob tore through his chest, and Sky wrapped his arms tighter around Wolfie's neck.

"There we go," Wild said softly. His voice was closer than before and Sky flinched, pushing himself deeper into Wolfie's fur.

"Focus on his breaths."

Sky did. He could feel Wolfie's chest rising and falling with each exaggerated exhale.

"In, two three four, hold, two three four, out, two three four."

Wild spoke softly, his voice a comforting tether that Sky desperately latched onto. By the time Sky's breaths evened out and his racing heart calmed, he was so exhausted it hurt. His head pounded, his joints ached to be straightened from where he was curled into Wolfie's side, and he couldn't latch onto any thoughts for longer than a second.

"Better?" Wild asked.

"Mm," Sky hummed the affirmative.

"Is... do you want to talk about it?" Wild asked hesitantly.

"No." Sky's voice was shaky, but his tone still came out harsher than expected. "Sorry. Bad dream. The storm."

Thunder rolled in the distance. Sky flinched and buried his face back in Wolfie's fur. He couldn't muster any more energy to speak. Wild's soft oh told Sky he understood well enough what the trigger had been.

“Do you– can I do anything to help?” Wild asked.

Sky’s mind stuttered to a halt. He already disturbed Wild’s watch and woke Wolfie up, and he certainly woke the other light sleepers with his panic, even if they were nice enough to pretend to be asleep for his sake. Sky shook his head. He wouldn’t even know what to ask for. 

Camp was silent for a moment, just Wolfie’s breaths meshing with his own and the background of a crackling campfire. Farther in the distance, almost silently, thunder boomed. A pitiful noise escaped Sky’s throat as his hands tightened in Wolfie’s fur. 

"Would it help if I talked?" Wild asked.

"Please." Sky's voice broke as he barely held back another sob. He sucked in a breath and rubbed Wolfie's fur in a soothing motion. 

"Flora really likes frogs,” Wild started immediately. Wild paused and Sky heard fabric rustle as he moved, then Wolfie’s weight shifted as Wild leaned against his other side. 

“She's got this whole breeding program in the pond behind our house. I had a memory once about her trying to get me to eat a live frog. She says I didn't, but I honestly think she might be lying. Either way, I'm curious. Anyway, so she's got three types of frogs..." 

With the soothing tones of Wild's voice and the comforting warmth of Wolfie beneath him, Sky quickly succumbed to the weight of his exhaustion and fell into a deep, blissfully uninterrupted sleep.

[lu-fic-recommendation-of-the-day]

By @needfantasticstories

Summary:

The Chain discovers Ghirahim is continuing the quest to revive Demise. Now, in Wild’s era, he’s found others with the same goal.

(Feb 1, 2024: split ch 1 into two, and added chapter 3) (March 21, 2024: Prologue #1 added to beginning)

Tags:

Sky/Sun

Flora/Wild

Malon/Time

Sky-centric

Hyrule Needs a Hug

Sky Has a Bad Time

BAMF Legend

Ghirahim being Ghirahim

Hyrule Has a Bad Time

Hyrule Has a Blood Curse

Good Older Sibling Warriors

Mentioned Cia

Giant Spiders

Wind Swears

Legend Swears

Panic Attacks

Past Sexual Assault

Past Violence

Human Sacrifice

Monsters

Finished: No

Word count: 29,525

[anewcalamity]

<- Previous | Next ->

A New Calamity: Page 464 Chapter 16 Cover

I'm back! (Dec. 6 2023) It's been a VERY rough road since the end of Ch 15. I found out I have two new tumors in my brain. Soon I will have to do precision brain radiation on top of the chemo I've been receiving. I'm not sure what the side effects will be, probably memory loss, pain, shaky hands and confusion (if my experience with brain radiation in 2019 turns out to be similar). I'm just going to take it slow and try to make really good work. Thank you to all my readers and patrons. :) Donations are appreciated. Patreon / Ko-fi / Paypal

ANC Ghirahim @stylincheetah

Leonus @sparksplitter

Va Eheníhv @gerudoshikyapril  

Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 • Chapter 5 • Chapter 6 • Chapter 7 • Chapter 8 • Chapter 9 • Chapter 10 • Chapter 11 • Chapter 12 • Chapter 13 • Chapter 14 • Chapter 15 • Chapter 16

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Elastic Heart Ch 6 (Linked Universe story)

Summary: When Sky goes missing, the Chain scrambles to figure out where he is and what happened before it's too late.

(AO3 link)

First chapter

<<Previous // Next>>

Chapter 6: The Damned

The world was strangely disconnected. Sight, taste, sound, touch, nothing seemed to connect. Nothing quite processed, nothing quite stuck except for the single thought in his mind.

That’s the old man. That’s the Hero of Time.

The Shadow, wearing Time’s face, smirked at him. “Surprised to see me? You have been looking awfully hard. I’m almost flattered, really.”

Link felt like he was back in the Skyview Temple facing Ghirahim for the first time. The otherworldliness of this creature, wearing such a familiar face—

The face of a friend. The face of someone he’d failed. The face of someone who didn’t entirely trust or like him, and for good reason .

Of all the faces to take… 

Would it have been better if it looked like one of the others? Would it have made him feel better or worse? Wouldn’t looking like the Link who disliked him make this easier ?

Because this was a trick. This had to be a trick. Right? There was no way the Shadow was actually Time all along . He’d seen it change shape, it was a freaking lizalfos at one point for heaven’s sake. There was no way this was Time. There was no way it was in league with him.

Right?

Could shapeshifters change to look like people? He supposed it wasn’t impossible. But all he could think was, that’s the old man. That’s the Hero of Time .

The Shadow stepped towards him, his eyes narrowing as his brow deepened. Link felt an innate sense of danger , and his mind snapped back into focus.

He couldn’t be in league with Time. That wasn’t who the old man was at all. Also, the Shadow had attacked Twilight. There was no way Time would hurt his descendant, his most precious member of the group. None of that made sense.

This was Demise, messing with him.

The fear of a child long gone drained out of him, replaced with an anger that slowly filled him from the core outward, distantly familiar like reuniting with an old friend. 

“Your curse won’t save you here,” Link hissed, settling into a ready stance. “I’m ending this.”

His words gave the Shadow pause, which in turn made him wait to see what was happening. Why was the monster suddenly watching him, head tilted to the side? Had…

No. He wasn’t wrong about this. He wasn’t . He knew this had to do with Demise. Perhaps the Shadow was a servant of his. Either way, he’d get to the source. He'd come all this way - he wasn't giving up now.

Time’s dark reflection laughed, harsh and grating, making Link’s skin crawl. “You think I’m Demise ? That’s absolutely charming . I must admit, you’re at least close, but oh Hero - surely you must realize by now.”

Here the Shadow started pacing, his teeth bared in a sadistic smile. “You, Demise, you’re cut from the same cloth. Two spiritual titans battling for the fate of the world. Such a fight isn’t without consequence, as you are well aware.”

Link stiffened. No, no, don’t say it, not while the others were in earshot—

“I don’t suppose the rest of you realize those consequences, do you?” the Shadow questioned the others, looking down at them from the pit where they were stuck.

“Why don’t you just come down here and fight?!” Wind yelled, swaying on unsteady feet. Link’s worry for him bubbled in his chest, and he took a small step forward.

The Shadow snorted. “You think that’s all I want? To fight?”

Link gritted his teeth. “Enough of this. Leave them out of it. This is between you and me.”

“Oh, but is it?” the Shadow questioned, its red eyes glancing down at the other heroes again. “I suppose they don’t recognize that it is very much about you.”

“Quit your damn stalling and let’s get to it!” Legend challenged, sword at the ready. Link knew he was baiting the enemy, trying to draw him down so they could fight as one.

The Shadow knew it too. “Call it what you will, Hero of Legend. But I figure you ought to know the truth. It will give me some satisfaction before your deaths, either way. Perhaps it’ll give you some peace of mind.”

Time finally sighed, taking the bait. “What are you talking about?”

Link lunged forward to attack with a yell. They didn’t have to know, they didn’t need to know—

This was entirely about them and not about them at the same time. Link had a job to do and he wasn’t going to let them get hurt, physically or emotionally.

Is that really why you’re so desperate to keep the secret? Are you protecting them? Or yourself?

The Shadow parried the blow, holding their blades in a lock as it laughed. “You truly don’t get it , do you? You don’t understand how terribly you failed?”

“Shut up!” Link screamed, pushing both blades forward, making the Shadow lose its footing before it leapt around to the side, getting behind Link. The Skyloftian gasped, rolling to avoid a swipe that would have cut him clean in half. The others down below cried out to him.

“Oh, I can only imagine how much that curse weighs on you, you miserable wretch! I am not Demise,” the Shadow yelled in return, almost proudly. “But I bear his power, his signature, his heritage . Don’t you understand, Link? I’m born from his malice, but you are my true progenitor.”

Link froze.

Wh… what?

“You think all that malice that the demon king contained could possibly all be sealed into that sacred blade? You think he could have uttered such a curse, damning every Hero after you due to your own shortcomings, and a simple mortal child could stop him? You may have killed a god, but there are consequences, and the ripple of power that infected every inch of time is one of them!” Shadow said, pointing at Link with his blade. The heroes below had grown still and silent. “Demise’s curse follows you, your successors, and the goddess wherever you go, but I am the physical embodiment of that confrontation, the piece of your soul that was corrupted by malice.”

Link felt his mouth go dry. What—this couldn’t—what—

Shadow stepped forward, his form changing with the same disturbing liquid-like movement before it rearranged itself into a familiar face. Link’s blood ran cold.

Shadow turned into him .

His dark reflection smiled. “You made me, Link.”

Link’s mind went blank with horror before it screamed everything all at once. 

This can't be true! What is he saying?!

This is entirely my fault. This is entirely my fault!

This was the cruelest joke Demise could have pulled, the worst insult, the most horrifying truth to cut him to his very soul.

Because his soul had been cut, apparently, his unbreakable spirit had been broken .

This monstrosity had to be lying ! He was lying! There—there was no way he could be right!

But what if he is? It isn’t impossible - Demise was a god, he imbued his blade with a soul just as Hylia did with Fi. What could stop him from corrupting—

He couldn’t even finish the thought. He felt utterly violated, like he couldn’t even trust himself anymore, like he didn’t even know who he was anymore .

Just let him kill you .

The thought made him stop breathing a moment, a bone sinking exhaustion and despair that he could hardly hold at bay.

But he did hold it at bay - because beyond the horror was something else.

The others were still here. And this thing, whether it was him or not, was going to hurt them. And he wouldn’t allow that .

Besides… if it’s me, then… if I kill it…

He didn’t finish the thought. He glared instead, enraged beyond words, exhausted beyond measure, tears stinging in his eyes but dried with white hot fury.

“I wanted to attract as many heroes as possible,” the Shadow purred with grim satisfaction, basking in Link’s silence. “The more I can feed off the Spirit of the Hero, the more I can escape the confines of just being a shadow relegated to the darkness of the world. I hadn’t dared to hope I’d catch the original in my net.”

Snapping its fingers, the Shadow grinned as monsters appeared down below, distracting the others. Link cried out to them but immediately had to parry an attack from the enemy as the Shadow lunged towards him with ferocious energy, and all out war erupted in the room.

Link dodged the attack hastily, his world silencing everything outside of the fight. The Shadow was now his size, leveling the playing field between the two of them, but it didn’t fight like him at all. A small part of his mind tacked that away for later, a piece of hope he desperately latched onto as it whispered if it was you it would fight like you while another argued back but if it’s been around for millennia, it would change and adapt—

His thoughts were interrupted as Shadow shield bashed him in the chest, making him stumble backward. His body screamed, already exhausted from fighting so much. He reached hastily into his adventure pouch and found his last potion bottle, which barely housed a few sips. When he found he couldn’t take a deep breath, he decided it was time to finish it off.

The two gulps revitalized him enough, his determination covering the rest, and he yelled as he parried an attack just in time to send Shadow stumbling backwards.

Link scoffed, “You’re too sloppy to be me.”

The Shadow roared in retaliation, shifting forms once more and turning into Time, towering over him. Link gritted his teeth as he barely dodged a downward strike, giving him an opening to potentially dislocate his enemy’s shoulder as his arm was hovering just in front of him, but the Shadow was too quick, despite his bulkier form. Or, well, he utilized it, shoving his entire body weight into Link shoulder first, and the Hero of the Sky twisted so their backs scraped against each other instead, leaving him dizzy and twirling to the opposite side of the beast. Shadow shifted again, turning into Four, throwing Link off balance and swiping for his waist. Though Sky stepped backwards, the tip of the Shadow’s blade cut into his belt a hair.

The Skylfotian gasped desperately to catch his breath. That potion hadn’t nearly fixed enough, and he couldn’t figure out a good weakness on an opponent who kept changing .

Not to mention he knew he was flinching and stepping away as the Shadow continued to take the forms of his friends. He tried to remind himself that it wasn’t actually Four or Time, but the thought of making anything that looked like them bleed made him physically ill.

Down below, fire burned monsters in large swathes, the heat rising up to their battleground. Link didn’t have time to see Warriors use the fire rod, to hear Hyrule yell as he set half a room ablaze, to notice Wild and Legend freezing enemies with ice magic immediately after they were roasted, making their bodies shrivel in the drastic environmental changes. 

He did hear Twilight’s cry of pain, however, and he turned in horror, the bottom of his stomach dropping out, before his peripheral vision reminded him of an incoming attack. He sidestepped hastily, lost his balance, and summarily twisted his ankle on an uneven stone as he slammed into the ground, pain shooting all the way up to his hip.

Time heard it too. The eldest Link whirled, both eyes opened in fear and protective anger, when he saw his pup fighting a handful of beasts alone while trying to climb the walls to get to Sky. Wild hastily turned his arrows towards the small horde, giving a warning yell before firing this time. Twilight ducked, his shield hovering overhead to protect himself as ice rained from the sky. Time used the hookshot to latch onto a lantern and pull himself to his descendant, cutting the frozen beasts in half.

“Are you alright?” he immediately asked.

“Fine! Fine, I promise ,” Twilight insisted. “Just nabbed me a bit, look.”

The rancher showed him the wound, superficial as it was, but enough to leave him limping. Time immediately reached into the boy’s bag, pulling out the last of the milk he’d had earlier.

Twilight opened his mouth to protest, and Time immediately said, “Don’t you even dare . You haven’t earned the right to downplay your wounds after last time. I’m not saying use your last potion. Just drink this so I know you’re fine.”

Twilight sighed in defeat, downing the liquid.

Despite the small reprieve for the pair, the battle on the ground level had barely let up. Warriors cut through swathes of half burnt enemies, what little magical ability he had mostly depleted, and he choked back a gasp and rolled as a moblin swung for his head. Wind tore past him, stabbing the beast’s knee. When the moblin wailed and its leg gave out, the sailor hastily removed his blade, twirling to give himself moment before his sword cleanly cut through the creature’s neck. The fierceness in the child’s eyes was nearly palpable, and he nodded mutely to the captain before continuing on.

The captain surveyed the battle, eyes analytical. They’d eliminated nearly a third of the horde, but it was slow going. After already partially clearing a dungeon and pushing themselves all day, there were weak points he was beginning to notice. Twilight had been one, but Time was covering him. Wind seemed steadier on his feet, but he’d also just been knocked out a few minutes ago. Hyrule and Four had paired up while Legend and Wild held enemies at bay from a distance.

His brain automatically tried accounting for Sky out of habit, and he felt his heart skip a beat as he glanced upward. He couldn’t see anything from this vantage point. But he couldn’t worry about it right now - they’d be useless to Sky if they couldn't eliminate the immediate threat down here.

Heading for the sailor, he watched the boy’s back while he took on a pair of bokoblins.

Up above, Link found himself wishing he was outside. The stale air and dust was hardly doing him any favors with as much as he was desperately trying to suck in breaths. Nevertheless, he raised his blade with a prayer, feeling power emanating from Fi as she sang in sync with his cry. The Shadow’s eyes widened, his dark blade unable to match such an attack, and he barely dodged the strike. It did manage to create distance between them briefly, allowing Link a moment to recover before raising his blade once more.

The Shadow took the opportunity, rushing ahead in a risk of either getting to his foe in time while he was wide open or being cut cleanly in half. 

The former option won out. 

Link managed to deflect a full-on stab with his shield, but the blade still cut through his side as it slipped out of reach. He hissed, feeling fire erupt in his side as blood immediately began to trickle from the wound. The Shadow smirked, not breaking contact, and Link growled defiantly, slamming his head directly into the other’s. His enemy yelled, stumbling backwards as Link saw stars and attempted to blink them away. He stumbled until he felt a breeze blow by him with a sharp whistle, and he belatedly realized it was an arrow. Had the Shadow changed tactics again?

The arrow arched and landed on the ground on the other side of the platform, freezing the stone around it temporarily. Link whirled, but the Shadow was only glaring at him with sword and shield still in hand. Who had—?

Wild.

At the ground level, the champion pulled out different arrows, glaring fiercely up above as Legend covered him.

“You should probably let our Ordonian figure this out!” Legend again warned him as he cut down some keese. “He knows this place better than any of us!”

“He almost got ambushed,” Wild fired back, shaking his head. “I got this!”

“What the hell have you got?!” Warriors snapped from across the way.

“Focus on your own fight!” Wild fired back, eyes narrowing as he looked for his next target.

He wasn’t going rogue. He wasn’t deviating from the plan. He wasn’t going to abandon the group to solely go after Sky. 

He would bring Sky to them .

He nocked three arrows, looking over their red bulky tips, and yelled as loudly as he could, “Fire in the hole, Sky!”

Up above, the voice rang in the ears of his brother-in-arms, who immediately moved into the center of the platform to avoid another stray attack. Shadow didn’t quite understand what was happening, though he mirrored Link’s steps, making him inaccessible to the others down below. Link didn’t give the monster time to figure out what was happening, closing the space between them with a diagonal slash and forcing him to block. Three arrows flew over them, aimed far, far above where it should have been if Wild had any intention on hitting them.

Realization sank into Link like a stone.

He looked up a moment too late to see the arrows collide with the ceiling. 

Ah, shit.

Link watched massive chunks of stone fall from above, forcing him to run towards the edge of the platform just as the Shadow did. The pair were close enough to exchange blows as they ran, neither hitting with particular strength or accuracy, though enough to divide their foe’s concentration. Link pulled out a clawshot, throwing care to the winds as he slapped his shield on his back. He fired for a few stakes at the top of a broken stairway, and Shadow latched onto him the instant the chain pulled. The monster’s grip sank into his fresh wound, making him scream and nearly let go.

Honestly, he had to let go. If he followed through on this move he was going to just hit the stakes and be stuck hanging with the Shadow holding onto him. He wouldn’t be able to defend himself.

But if he let go the sailcloth might not stop both of them from slamming into the ground.

Link huffed, an insolent smile curling his lips, and he released his grip.

The Shadow snarled at him, panic in its red eyes, a strange look on his own face. But Link’s sense of victory was short lived as the Shadow twisted them so that Link was at the bottom and reached for his sailcloth.

The Skyloftian wrestled ferociously with his dark counterpart, preventing him from latching on to their one saving grace, but it didn’t seem to matter either way - their sideways momentum continued long enough for them to slam into a staircase instead of making it all the way to the floor, and Link couldn’t help the scream of pain that was ripped out of him as he felt a rib snap.

Cries rang out from below.

“Champion what the hell— ”

"I didn't mean for it to grab him!"

“We can get to them now, let’s go !”

Time took off in a heartbeat alongside Twilight and Legend. The falling stones had separated the rest from the stairway, though they also killed the majority of the remaining monsters. The eldest Link could see Sky up ahead, pulling himself to stand just in time to parry an attack from the enemy, who seemed just as shaky on its feet.

Despite the Shadow’s efforts, it couldn’t break through Sky’s defense. The boy was the best swordfighter in the group. Sky found an opening and went for it, and though the Shadow jumped to dodge, the knight still managed to cut through fabric and make the monster bleed, though superficially.

Hissing, the Shadow stepped back further, creating distance between them and shifting into a dark liazalfos. With its increased speed it slithered quickly around Sky, bashing him into a wall with its tail. Sky hit the ground and didn’t move. 

Twilight yelled the same time as Warriors, but the captain was being held back by multiple monsters while the rancher had to focus on enemies encroaching on him and Time. Wind, Hyrule, and Four had their hands full as well, and Wild was too far away to be of any use. Legend pulled out a boomerang, charging ahead as the Shadow shifted back into Time’s darker half.

Smirking, the demonic visage of their leader said, “And now you get what you deserve, Chosen Hero .”

Raising its sword, the Shadow thrust it down to pierce Sky through the heart when its motion was stopped. The Shadow jerked with a jolt, blinking rapidly and looking down to see an arrow wedged between its ribs. Snarling, it turned its head to glare at its heroic reflection, who was fixing it with a withering, seething glare as he lowered his bow.

“Get away from him you bastard!” Legend screamed, getting within throwing distance. The Shadow raised its shield to deflect the boomerang and then turned to flee, too wounded to continue the fight. Legend pursued it as Time ran to Sky, who was still motionless on the stairs.

The sounds of battle seemed to quiet down in Time’s mind as he finally took the last three steps in one long stretch and knelt down by the teenager who they’d been chasing for days.  

“S-shadow…” Sky said with a trembling voice.

“He’s gone,” Time soothed the boy gently. “He’s gone.”

The Skyloftian watched him, eyes watering and filled with desperate hope, and he let out a tired, barely audible laugh of relief.

“What were you thinking?” Time whispered, his voice quivering as he held pressure on one of Sky’s many, many wounds. There were far too many , and they were all in various stages of bruising and bleeding. He’d been accumulating them all day from multiple battles.

Sky’s trembling breath halted for a heart stopping moment before he continued to try and suck air in. A gurgling, bubbling sound accompanied it, and Sky coughed harshly. Time flinched, drawing the boy into a seated position as blood flew out of his mouth in little bursts of specks. When his fit had settled, he smiled at Time weakly, who was held captive in terror and horror as blood started trickling freely out of the corner of his mouth and nose. “M-making… amends…”

“Sky!” Legend slid onto his knees, careless of the layers of skin he no doubt just scraped off in the action. His hands shot to Sky’s shoulders, shaking him. “Sky, you blasted idiot , what were you thinking —”

Time steadied the veteran with his available arm, pulling his hands off the Skyloftian knight as shaking him was absolutely not helping. “Vet, get a potion.” 

“I don’t have any!” Legend yelled in a panic without a second thought. “I used my last one on the captain earlier in the dungeon, remember?! Where the hell are your fairies?!” 

Time shook his head, feeling dread fill him. “There are none left.” 

Trembling fingers brushed against Time’s face, barely tracing one of his markings. He immediately returned his attention to Sky just as Twilight came running over. “I’m… I’m…” 

“Save your strength, young one,” Time said softly, taking Sky’s hand in his own. “It’s going to be okay.” 

Sky swallowed, determined. “I’m… sorry. I’m s-sorry. I’m sorry .” 

“What�� what is he… why is he saying that?” Legend asked, eyes wide. “Sky, what are you talking about? Listen, if you believed that shithead’s story for one second I swear to the goddesses I will smack some sense into you.”

Twilight was searching madly through his pouch, movements frantic and uncoordinated. Legend reached for Sky again, and the boy went limp, his eyes closing with a shuddering breath.

“Sky. Link. Link , stay with us .” Time pulled Sky to him, cradling the young knight in his lap, supporting his head with his right hand. His other hand slid down the boy’s arm, curling around his wrist in a desperate attempt to find a pulse.

It was there. Thready and steadily slowing. Time’s heart sank with a chilling realization, one that was all-too-familiar.

Twilight’s breath quickened as Legend started to shout the knight’s name. The rancher pulled out a bottle filled with red liquid. “I’ve got a potion, I’ve got one!”

Legend snatched it from Twilight without a word, tearing the cork off the bottle and shoving it in Sky’s face, when Time pushed him away.

“He can’t drink it when he’s unconscious,” Time said, not even bothering to hide the utter defeat in his voice.

Wild and Warriors were by his side next. Warriors stood over the group so as not to crowd Sky, but Wild had no such qualms and squatted directly across from Time.

“Is he okay? What’s happening?!” Wild asked, terrified.

The air grew colder and quiet. Three more pairs of footsteps hurried over, and Time couldn’t find his voice to explain what was happening.

He gave the boy a strong shake. Sky didn’t flinch. His skin was almost as white as his sailcloth. 

He heard Warriors first. The captain sucked a shuddering breath in through his nose, taking a step back; he’d seen enough comrades die in battle, he knew the signs. 

He was already mourning. 

Legend sank into the ground on his hands and knees, his fists slamming the stone. “ Fuck. No, no , nonononono …”

His pleas devolved into sobs, wracking his entire body. Wind was asking what was happening, his voice trembling, his face already implying he knew exactly what was happening, even if he didn’t want to accept it. Four was still as a statue, his expression drawn in horror and devastation. Twilight’s hand slid to Wild’s shoulder, gripping it harshly as the rancher squeezed his eyes shut and looked at the ground, tears freely falling down his cheeks.

“Does anybody have a fairy?!” Wild yelled desperately, his head and hair whirling around as he looked from member to member.

He knew they didn’t. They all knew they didn’t. Between the previous world and this dungeon, they’d exhausted many of their supplies.

Pop.

Time glanced to his left to see Hyrule knocking back a green liquid, chugging it like his life depended on it. The boy almost choked at one point before continuing. 

Elixir.

Dropping the bottle carelessly, Hyrule shoved Wild aside and took a deep breath, reaching his hands over Sky. Time watched him tiredly, his heart a pile of ash, his mind settling on the inevitability of the situation.

These wounds were from the Shadow. One wound from the Shadow nearly killed Twilight. One wound took Hyrule all night to barely��scrape by with enough healing magic to make sure Twilight survived the night. Sky had too many. Although none were individually as severe as the one the ranch hand had sustained several weeks ago, together they were enough. Together all of it was enough. Sky had been fighting armies by himself this entire time.

Why? Why?!

Why did Sky do this?! Why did this happen?!

Time couldn’t watch this. He couldn’t watch Hyrule wear himself to the bone on something so utterly beyond his ability to save.

“Traveler,” he said softly, barely mustering the strength to speak.

“Don’t—you— fucking— dare.” Hyrule hissed between gritted teeth.

Wild shifted from where he lay splayed on the ground from being pushed. Twilight hadn’t bothered to help him up, too transfixed in hope and horror at the sight in front of him. The champion then glanced around between the heroes before locking eyes with Four. The two nodded firmly to each other.

Standing, the champion grabbed Wind and guided him away. “Come on. Give him some space.”

Four also stood and gently went to Legend, whose cries hadn’t stopped since they’d started. The veteran didn’t seem to notice him, but Twilight also rose and helped the smithy pull Legend to his feet. The veteran shuddered, trying to get a hold of himself as he caught sight of the glow of Hyrule’s life spell. Time heard Warriors shuffle behind him, drawing closer rather than farther.

Sky remained limp in Time’s arms. The blue glow cast by Hyrule’s magic made him look ghostly, as if heralding what was to come. Time swallowed thickly. He wanted to smack the traveler for putting himself through this, for wearing himself thin over such a futile effort.

Sky wasn’t coming back from this.

Time started to shake. Warriors’ hand was warm on his shoulder.

Hyrule started to gasp for air, sinking to the floor as his magic faded from his hands. Sky didn’t move. His pulse slowed even more. Time could barely feel it now. Wind and Legend could both be heard crying in the background as the group had been watching in the distance.

Warriors shuffled to the other side to stand behind Hyrule, ready to pull the weary traveler from the attempt, ready to help the group accept the reality of the situation while Time was still drowning in it.

He’d failed him. He’d failed one of his boys. He’d failed as a hero, as a protector, as a leader.

Sky’s gone .

A million thoughts whirled in his mind. What were they going to do? How would they tell the boy’s family and friends? What would they do with the body?

How could he keep moving forward after losing someone else?

Time bit his tongue until he tasted blood. He knew he could keep moving forward. He’d lost many friends. But this…

This was somehow so much worse .

Warmth engulfed him all of a sudden. Acutely aware of the change, Time was ripped out of his grief and looked around, wondering if perhaps a portal had opened or enemies had arrived or—

Hyrule was glowing .

“You—” Warriors muttered, awestruck, staring at Hyrule’s hand. Time followed his gaze, squinting through the blinding light, and he saw it.

The Triforce.

“I told you,” Hyrule said softly, clutching his left hand with his right as the Triforce burned through the skin. “I don’t know the meaning of giving up.”

[ageless-soul-au]

The Stolen Altars - Ch 17: The First and the Sword

Rating: Mature Category: M/M, Multi Words: 8920/169,007 Chapter Summary: The advance party makes a run to the sky island and learn they need to wake up Fi. The First Hero sticks his nose in their business when they get back. Also, Ghirahim is there.

Thank you for your patience, here's the next chapter!!!!

reblog/comment/kudos etc etc :3

[themask-maker]

Lore: The Judgement of the Goddess (Ch 06, 19)

This track was created using NES 8-bit soundfonts. The instruments are not accurate to the music heard in-universe - this is merely a game-esque track with ambience to represent its sound. Its melody is based on Ni by Wardruna, which is an unrelated song. The lyrics are original to TMM. The full translated lyrics have not been learned in the context of the story as of this posting, and thus are minor spoilers if you did not translate the page shown in Ch06. Both those lyrics and IDs can be found under the cut.

[ID 1: A screencapped excerpt from The Mask-Maker. It reads as follows:]

Link is resting his head against the wall and nursing his dull headache when he hears a rhythmic thumping coming from above. Confused, he glances at Ghirahim. When the other doesn’t respond, Link strains to listen for anything else coming from the deck. Soon, a droning sound accompanies the thumping. Is that…music? His question is answered a moment later when a gravelly voice joins the sounds, harsh yet melancholy. The voice sways and swells through notes, mimicking the way the waves rock the ship, and a chorus of others respond in kind. Link is entranced by the song’s back and forth motion. It’s the first nice thing he’s felt in… however long it’s been since he got here. “What is going on up there?” he finally asks Ghirahim. “You bore me with your stupid questions," Ghirahim responds snidely.

[ID 2: An image of a page stylized to look like worn parchment. Its contents read as follows:]

O Goddess of light, who walled off the sea, gaze down upon us, let us sail free. Come now and look, see us anew. Though we have sinned, our souls guide us through. Open your heart, and we vow you'll see, many voices as one, all spirits will sing. Within our souls, bared in trust, hear what worth we bring you to judge. O Goddess of Light, who walled off the sea? 'Twas us, oh lord Us, oh lord Once blind, now we see! Gaze down upon us, why aren't we free? Our greed, oh lord Greed, oh lord We were envied by thee! Come now and look, what's made us new? We love, oh lord Love, oh lord We are humbled by you! Though we have sinned, what guides us true? Our hope, oh lord Hope, oh lord For a future we'll view! They open their hearts, and who will they see? See us, oh lords See us, oh lords Many voices as one, all spirits will sing! Within our souls, bared in trust, hear what worth we bring you to judge!

[zeldaelmo]

WIP Wednesday

Excerpt from 'The Promise', ch. 3

"You're not lying your way into a marriage with her," Ghirahim shouted now, his eyes darting behind Link. "You're nothing but a conman trying to steal the hard-earned fortune of the Hyrule family!" 

Hah, the irony!

Someone whistled. Wait, what? Link twisted his neck, getting a glimpse at the scene behind him. 

Oh, perfect, now they had onlookers. Stable hands pumped their fists into the air, a few clerks from inside shouted with their hands cupped around their mouths, and even some gentlemen from the cardroom had been drawn outside from the commotion.

Bam! Holy smokes, turning away had been a big mistake. Link's cheek bone cracked from the impact and he flew backwards, right into the dirt— no, strong arms caught him, putting him back onto his wobbling knees.

"Revali?" Link muttered, rubbing his jaw and face.

"It's Mr. Tabantha to you, Forester," Revali hissed back. "If you don't start fighting back you'll be a puddle on the floor soon. We've all seen how noble you are, give him what he deserves. And don't count on me to get my hands dirty."

[greatfairymia]

"think"

@basilica-gel

Ghirahim appears beside him on the rocks at the base of the tower, looming over him with a frown. “I suppose you think yourself humorous,” he says.

>send me a word and I'll share a sentence from the next ch

[socially-awkward-chocobo]

This was supposed to be a one page comic Obviously it did not stay that way

The first part is during the backstory plot, after Link, Zelda, and Ganon go to the Twilight Realm. The second part is during the present day, probably a few years before the story “properly” starts

In case it’s hard to read, I’ll be putting what the panels say under the cut

Page 1

Vaati: *Phew*

Vaati and Ghirahim: *Awkward silence*

Vaati: They will probably take a while.

Ghirahim: Of course. It takes time to forge alliances.

Vaati: ...  Vaati: Would you like to play some card games? Just to pass time!

Ghirahim: What are card games?

Vaati: What?

Ghirahim: It is a rather simple question, Vaati. What. Are. Card games?

Vaati: There are a few different card games. I’m thinking we can start off with Go Fish.

Ghirahim: Very well. Ghirahim: How do you play?

Page 2

Ezeri (The one with blue dyed hair): Don’t worry, kiddo! I’ll be back before you know it!

Ezeri: Ghirahim will watch you while I’m away Vaz: Okay. Ezeri, whispering: I’m trusting you to keep him safe. Ghirahim, also whispering: I know.

Ghirahim and Vaati: *Awkward silence*

Ghirahim (internally): Great... just great. Why couldn’t Ezeri find someone better? Ghirahim (internally): I know Sooga would have loved to babysit his nephew! I have made children cry on my best of days.

Ghirahim (internally): What should I- Vaati (memory): There are a few different card games.

Ghirahim (internally): Oh! Vaz: Uhm...

Vaz: Mr. Ghirahim?

Ghirahim: Yes, Vaz? Do you need something? Vaz: N-no, I was just uhm, curious. Ghirahim: About what? Vaz: What were you thinking about?

Ghirahim: About what we could do. Ghirahim: Has anyone taught you any card games?

Vaz: No...  Vaz: Is... is that a problem?

Ghirahim: Of course not. Ghirahim: We should move to a table.

Ghirahim: Let’s start with Go Fish.

[skyview-temple-spring]

Thinking about Hyrule Warriors siblings headcanons for a modern 'the game is just dnd oneshots' au (specifically that Cia and Lana are sisters, Link and Linkle are twins, and Ghirahim and Fi are siblings)

Link and Linkle's vibe is mom said it's my turn on the xbox (or the siblings song)

Cia and Lana's vibe is THIS is why mom doesn't FUCKING LOVE YOU

And Ghirahim and Fi's vibe is the Cain instinct. T-pose to assert dominance and I promise not to throw things at you if you stop kicking me

[unironicallycringe]

CH 06 of The Mask-Maker is up

I'm early again, for I have broken the chains of my self-imposed schedule and I instead embrace chaos.

In this chapter, Link and Ghirahim learn the value of teamwork...or something? You know, I'm not sure if they've learned anything.

The song lyrics in this chapter have a real translation and were created by me. The melody, however, is borrowed from an existing song by Wardruna called Ni.

If you decide to translate my lyrics, please feel free to share. It is a canon dialect of Hylian.

[anewcalamity]

<– Previous Page || Next Page (alt cover art) –> A New Calamity - Page 171 Ch-ch-ch-changes

Patreon | <3 | Ko-fi My main site Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 • Chapter 5 • Chapter 6 • Chapter 7 • Chapter 8 • Chapter 9 The artist’s blog Asks for ANC Ghirahim’s writer & designer: @stylincheetah​

[mrneighbourlove]

The War of Fire: Ch 4. Bloody Rescue

Ganondorf felt incredibly weak. It was like he had beem floating in a wave of nothingness for over a year, trapped in the limbo numbness. As his body bobbed up and down the river, he barely felt something dragging him out. His eyes started to get the colour back into them as he was pulled onto shore.

“W-what?”

“Relax. I think you might have a concussion.”

The King coughed up water, getting more of his senses back. Above him was a teenage girl with pale skin and long black hair. He then recognized her after registering her red piercing eyes. “L-Leere?”

She gave a light hearted smile. “Hey dad. You look like shit. Let me help you get inside.”

Ganondorf felt his head throbbing from pain. His vision was blurry, but even he could see flames rise above the hill in the distance.

~

“Their king is dead! Slay the Hylians!” Hasai warriors of the Skurge tribe surged across the fields of Hyrule at the remaining Hylian forces. Raising their hands, flames shot forward and burned away the battalions, scattering them. Zelda and Klinge had retried back to the castle, and moral was crippled for the defenders.

The Kikai Empire was full of warriors. This was glory. The smell of burning flesh of their enemies was ecstasy. One warrior laughed as he cut through soldiers screaming from the flames that they had been caught up in. The fires rose and shot forth, and the Hasai took more ground.

Ghirahim had lost sight of his master, fearing the worst. Looking down from the cliff side, he watched the Hasai overtake his battalion he had left behind. The bokoblins stood no chance as the Hasai scared them all into a corner. Once they had the monsters trapped, they slowly burned them to death. The magic of these invaders was dangerous indeed. The demon decided that retreating back to the castle would be the best course of action. Taking a horn, he blew it into the air.

Soldiers of Hyrule heard the sound and took notice. This battle was lost. “Retreat! Retreat back to the castle!”

Survivors scrambled to safety, catapult fire raining down on them. The Hasai wouldn’t advance past a certain point, but that didn’t mean they’d allow the forces of Hyrule a clean get away. Men, monsters, and horses flew into the air, fire frying the land. The Hasai shot fire into the air and raised their weapons into the air, giving a roar of victory into the air. They had won this battle.

~

Seras was practically giggling to himself as went back to the main camp. Bellum had Romtan engineers building a heavily fortified base on the valley top near the Gerudo Desert. The Prince was in such a good mood from his victory over Ganondorf that he even greeted the engineers as he passed by. “Good afternoon.”

The Romtan were heavily disturbed by the Prince being so courteous to them, but continued along their work. Seras was even impressed Bellum had quickly upgraded from a simple tent to a fortified cabin of sorts. Entering, the Prince gave a wink to one of the guards. “You’ll want to wait at my bedside after you hear what I have to say.”

Grand Admiral Bellum was calculating his next strike when Seras took the attention of the room. “Prince Seras. I take it your mission was a success?”

“Yes. I, Prince Seras of the Kikai Empire, have successfully killed Ganondorf Dragmire, King of Hyrule!”

Bellum gave a smile, placing his hand firmly on the Prince’s shoulder. He so wanted to Seras to grow out of his immaturity and prejudices he had learned from being a small child. Encouragement was key to change, and this was worth celebrating. “Well done Prince Seras. I am proud of your accomplishment.”

“I live to serve the spirit of the Empire. Our fire will control the world after all.”

“I-I want my mommy.” The sounds of a little girl broke the triumph of the room as T0-D entered with his prize. “Let me go!”

“Statement: Be silent, tiny meatbag.”

Seras grinned, his victory putting him into a twisted sense of happiness. But even he would not tolerate a brat ruining his fun mood. Turning to the little girl, he gave her slap across the face. Before anyone could interject, he launched a small blast of fire on her back. Kanisa gave a loud scream and started to cry from the pain of the tiny burn, until Seras held her mouth close. “Be. Quiet. Or I’ll burn all your hair off. Nod if you understand you little snot.”

Kanisa gave a teary nod. She was completely terrified by the ordeal. If she stayed quiet, she hoped she would see her parents and siblings again.

Grand Admiral Bellum held a light glare at the Prince. “That’s our hostage Prince Seras. Please do well to not harm her anymore. Commander Ordo.”

A Hasai stepped forward, giving a bow. “Yes Grand Admiral?”

“Go take the little Princess to the bunker at Beta-04 as planned. Hold a unit there until further orders. I will send Queen Zelda an order of surrender. If she doesn’t comply, you will execute the child.”

“Yes sir.” The soldier took the little princess and dragged her away to be transported. Kanisa prayed for someone to save her.

Seras was looking around outside for his sister, ecstatic to trade war stories. “Hey, gearhead. Where’s my sister?”

Bellum noticed that his personal Android was awfully quiet. It wasn’t like him. “T0-D. Report.”

“Statement: Princess Zannah was captured by the forces of Hyrule so that I could make my escape with the target.”

Seras’ mouth dropped low, instant disbelief taking over. Bellum’s eyes widened with shock, and even anger. “How can this be?”

“Confirmation: She engaged the Hero of Courage, Link, in one on one combat. The blonde meatbag played unfairly, launching a boomerang from behind as Zannah jumped for her mount. Honestly, it was very much a fluke that she was captured in the first place.”

Seras shook his head in denial. “No. She couldn’t have. She’s perfect.”

Bellum felt the silent fury build up in his heart. This complicated things. “Zannah must not be allowed to be used as a chip against us. I will send someone to deal with her at once.”

The Prince was taken aback by Bellum’s wording. “Deal with? You mean a rescue, correct? Not an assassination?”

“I will do what I must.”

“But-“

“Our duty comes first Prince Seras. Now go rest. You will have a town that needs to be decimated for our next strike in crippling Hyrule.”

Seras left the room, pulling at T0-D’s arm. “You need to go save my sister!”

“Negative: I cannot. Hyrule would be expecting me. I cannot assist.”

“You piece of scrap metal! You left her to die!”

“Correction: She told me to leave. I did not wish to do so, but we had lost our window of opportunity.”

Seras growled louder and louder until he launched a fire bolt into the air. “DAMN IT! I need to do SOMETHING to help her!”

“Observation: You appear to be very angry Seras. If you need assistance, perhaps you should ask your brother?”

The prince visibly turned pale from just the mention of that. “N-no. I won’t. Doing so will completely discredit Zannah and I.”

“Query: Than what will you do?”

“I�� I don’t know.”

“Observation: I feel that given your current level of stress, you should relieve your body with one of the females in the camp. Or go on Bellum’s mission. Perhaps killing will help satisfy you. I’m sure Zannah will be able to free herself. She is very skilled.”

“She’s loyal to the kingdom. Which doesn’t mean she’ll want to escape…”

~

Rinku made her way down to the dungeon to see her captive. Having carried a bucket of ice cold water, she threw it on the princess to wake her up. “Hey! Rise and shine!”

Zannah gasped as she was shaken awake by the ice cold water. Moving her limbs, she found herself locked in a cell with some sort of silver gauntlets over her arms, keeping them tight together.

Her instinct were to use fire, however, she found herself unable to. The bonds made it hard to cast.  “Clever girl….”

Rinku was in no mood for small talk or pleasantries. “I want to know where my sister is.”

“Who?”

“The little girl you kidnapped!” The Hylian Hero gripped the bars in fury.

Zannah wasn’t impressed. One with Rinku’s lack of control, but mostly with herself. She had been captured, bringing shame to her family, but more importantly, jeopardizing the success of the war. A dark thought came to her mind, one she held before. In order to save her honour, she’d have to die.

With a cruel smile, Zannah shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t really care. And at this point, she’s most likely dead by now.”

Rinku lost it. Opening the cell door, she walked right in and pushed Zannah against the wall, her hands squeezing around the fiery princess’ neck. “Go to hell!”

As Zannah started to feel her life be squeezed out second by second, Zelda entered the dungeon. “RINKU! STOP!”

Her mother’s voice snapped Rinku out of her wrath, dropping Zannah to the ground. “What?! She may have well got my little sister killed!”

“We can’t kill her. Not now.”

Rinku gripped Zannah by the collar. The Hasai Princess glared at Zelda. Damnit. She really did screw things up. And she was so close to dying too. Gasping for air, she gave a light laugh before speaking. “Nice to see mommy pull your collar. Not that you could kill me so easily.”

Rinku was about the yell back, when Zelda stopped her. “Tell me dear, what is your name?”

“I am Princess Zannah of the Kikai Empire. And I know you well, Queen Zelda of Hyrule.”

The Queen quirked an eyebrow in interest. “I see. Do you have other family here in Hyrule?”

Zannah growled. “Not something I’d tell you.”

“Yeah. She has this real stuck up brother.” Rinku added in. “You and your brother are real pieces of work.”

“You and your entire country can burn.”

“You first.” Both girls locked their menacing glares at each other. “Where’s my sister you bi-“

“Rinku! That’s enough!” Zelda commanded the attention of the room with her authoritative tone. “Now young lady, I’d like to know where you have taken my daughter.”

Zannah shook her head. “That’s a secret I will take to the grave.”

Rinku was about to snap Zannah’s neck. “That can be arranged.”

Klinge entered the dungeon, heavy with news Ghirahim provided him. “Zelda. Ganondorf has been defeated.”

All three woman turned to him, surprise quickly taking over. “Commander. Explain.”

“According to Ghirahim he was overwhelmed by firepower, and he fell into the river. We haven’t found a body. And the Hasai have taken the Hylian Ridge. There forces gather, for what I can only assume is an attack on Hyrule Castle’s west side.”

Zannah gave a grin. Her brother had succeeded in his mission. “So the King of Hyrule is dead…”

Rinku turned back to her. “You’ll find my dad is not so easily killed. Without a body you have no victory yet.”

“We’ll see.”

Klinge turned his attention to the captive in the cell. “So, this is one of the Hasai royals I presume?”

“You presume correct.”

“Where have you taken Princess Kanisa?”

“I won’t speak a word to you.”

“We shall see about that.” Klinge moved past Zelda and Rinku, entering the cell. “I’m sure that you are aware of key staging grounds. And I’d assume that since you attempted to kidnap Princess Kanisa, you would be aware of where you needed to take her.”

Zannah was uncompromising in her silence. “Death before dishonour.”

“There are fates far worse than death my dear.”

Before Zelda or Rinku could stop him, Klinge took his gauntlets, and pressed deep into Zannah’s skull. “Where is her location?”

Zannah screamed aloud, blood quickly draining down her face. “S-STOP!”

Zelda would not stand for this act of barbarism. “Klinge! Stop this at once! Release her!”

“I owe you nothing Zelda.” Klinge plunged a little deeper, twisting his fingers around. “The location!”

Rinku was already grabbing the Master Sword if she needed to use it. “KLINGE! You’re killing her!”

Zelda was ready to cast her magic if she needed to, but she wanted to be diplomatic. “If you respect Ganondorf, you WILL listen to my order! Release her!!!”

Klinge wanted to continue. He wanted to make this girl suffer. His squad was butchered in her mission. She wanted to avenge Samson. But Zelda’s words held onto him more than he expected. Letting go of Zannah, he stepped away. “As you wish…”

Rinku was mad at Zannah for pulling the wool over her eyes, and for taunting her at her failure, but she never wanted this for the Hasai. “Zannah! Just breathe. Don’t fall asleep!”

Zelda and Klinge meet eye to eye, furious at each other. “Commander. We don’t torture our enemies.”

“This is war Zelda. Do you wish to see Kanisa again?”

“Not at the cost of becoming MONSTERS Klinge!”

“I am a monster Zelda. One you made me into.”

Zelda was getting sick of his attitude towards her. He always held this animosity towards her at best, hatred at worst and most felt. “I was not the one who killed you. Leave Commander.”

Klinge walked away, not caring to engage her any further. Once he was gone, Zelda quickly rushed forward to the cell. Raising her hand to Zannah’s head, she focused a spell from her hand, and healed her wounds. “Rinku. Get her some water and a cloth.”

As her daughter went to the next room, Zelda finished up the final touches. “I can’t heal the scars. But no one should see them if you keep growing your beautiful hair.”

Rinku rushed back, quickly using the damp cloth to clean the blood off Zannah’s face. “Don’t lose conscious. Mom is more of a medic than a doctor. She can’t take the pain away, but she’ll stop the damage.”  

Zannah was still in a daze, but the cool water felt good on her face. Confusion filled her mind, however. “Why… why are you being…. so nice to me?”

“We treat others with humility.” Zelda answered softly.

Zannah shook her head. “Go…. We are at war. I’m sorry… but one of us dying is inevitable.”

“I believe otherwise.”

“You hope otherwise.”

“One can have hope in their beliefs, Princess Zannah…”

Rinku was unsure how to cope with this interaction. War was terrible. She tried to reach back into her memories of any lives that took part in open warfare. They were hard to find, and it was painful to look for negative memories. Her thoughts were shaken when a spy waved her over. “I’ll be back in a bit mom. I can’t stay down here.”

“I understand. Get some air out from this awful place.”

Rinku walked away with the spy. “What is it?”

“We think we might have a lead on Princess Kanisa’s whereabouts.”

Rinku nearly screamed out in shock. “Really?!”

“Yes. A Rito spotted Hasai shuffling towards a hidden cave at the Faron Grasslands.”

Rinku nodded, checking her equipment. “I’ll go immediately.”

“Commander Klinge has already headed out.”

“He has? I better hurry to assist him than.” Grabbing her equipment, Rinku could only hope she wouldn’t be too late to save her sister.

~

Klinge had left his horse behind 100 meters back. He moved stealthily through the under growth, making sure the tree line left no room for the sun to reflect off his armour. Stalking through, he finally laid eyes on a Hasai soldier crouched behind a tree. It seemed that they were having the entrance covered. Looking around, the Commander deduced three more soldiers around the perimeter of the entrance. Crawling around, Klinge made his move.

The first guard had no idea Klinge was behind him. The undead gerudo snatched him up and swiftly snapped his neck, turning the head 180 degrees backwards. With his first victim dead, the commander continued sneaking to his next target. Using his knife, the next Hasai felt a hand going over her mouth, than a felt the blade pierce her throat from behind. Her eyes looked down to see the steel poke out her throat, and it was the last sight she ever saw as her head fell to the ground shortly after.

Klinge tossed his body aside and threw the knife into the head of the third one. As the fourth heard some commotion, he turned from his tree to fire an arrow at a target. When he saw no one was there, he went back behind the tree to check his flank. This action was rewarded with a strap of leather going around the tree and the Hasai’s head. Being pulled against the tree, the Hasai screamed and kicked, even launching fire from his hands, but Klinge did not care. The Hasai’s screams grew more grotesque as his skull popped and cracked. Klinge kept pulling, until all he heard was the sickening wet sounds against the tree and felt his target go still.

Inside the cave, Kanisa was crying to herself. The Hasai barely feed her, and they didn’t give her any warmth. The torch light to illuminate the cave was no sun. Commander Ordo was sharpening his weapons and marking his map for invasion points of interest, when a heavy knock came at the door at the end of the hall. All the soldiers turned to the disturbance, not expecting anyone to enter. Ordo rose, pointing to Kanisa. “Get against the wall.”

Turning back to the door, the Hasai summoned flames in their hands and drew weapons. The knocking stopped, and the door creaked open to reveal darkness. In the middle of the darkness, a glowing sword of fire shined from the darkness, illuminating Klinge. He wanted to give these Hasai a taste of their own death that they had come boldly into Hyrule with.

The Hasai were momentarily alarmed by the giant man in black armour. Commander Ordo threw his hand down to give the order of attack. Klinge raised his shield to block the stream of combined fire bolts sent his way. With a swift horizontal swing, he cut the first Hasai in half. Moving to his left, he smashed another soldier into the wall with his shield. The soldier crumpled to the floor, and Klinge lifted his foot to bring it down and crush the skull of his enemy, helmet and all. Running behind a pillar, he threw his shield like a frisbee against the wall.  It bounced off, and the sharp edges flew into the neck of another soldier. With poor luck though, the Hasai didn’t die, garbling blood as he fell to the floor.

Another soldier clashed blades with Klinge. The flames off Klinge’s magic fire sword shimmered. He strong enough to support the blade against another with one hand, and reaching out, he grabbed the enemy by the head, and slammed them against the wall. He continued to do this, before turning them around to take the full brunt of some flames as a human shield. The undead commander kicked the body towards the group using their magic against him. Lifting his blade, Klinge showed no mercy towards the Hasai, hacking them to pieces with his sword. Their screams filled the room, one even catching fire. The undead commander dodged and parried around strikes and bolts, cutting down man after man. One woman screamed as her hand was split in half from her raising a shot of fire, before quickly being silenced.

Commander Ordo couldn’t believe his men were being torn apart. Focusing his energy, he trained his eyes on Klinge’s sword. He was an elite commander of the Skurge tribe. Fire was his element. With the sword being the perfect target, the commander amplified the flames within. Klinge was about to hack into another soldier, when he noticed his blade vibrating. Before he could react, the sword detonated in his face. Flames swarmed over Klinge, and the Hasai Commander cheered. “Got you, you menace!”

As other Hasai approached the burning mass, Klinge jumped from the flames, summoning his great sword. With one swing, he cut through the halves of two soldiers. Without flames on his blade, blood sprayed out from the corpses. Klinge would punish all those who kidnapped Kanisa. With not even a growl, Klinge ran forward, clashing against the Hasai that remained. He took a fire bolt to the side of his chest, but he ignored the pain to push forward. The Hasai could probably manage to burn him away with time, but they had ran out of that the moment he entered the room.

With flick of his finger, an energy spear pierced the head of the soldier that shot him, his body falling towards Kanisa. Soon all that was left to give Klinge a threat was the Hasai Commander. Charging both his hands together, he launched a large steady stream of fire at Klinge. The undead Gerudo threw his great sword, the blade spinning horizontally through the fire and straight into the torso of the Skurge. His red eyes widened as he looked down to see the flames flutter from his hands and the blood leak from his torso. “B-but my conquest.”

Klinge walked forward and raised the man into the air by the blade. “Perhaps you can conquer your personal demons in hell.” With a twist of the blade, the Hasai fell to the ground in half. Klinge turned to find Kanisa, only to discover her hiding in the corner. When he stepped forward, she screamed. “NOOOOOO!!! GO AWAY!!!”

“Kanisa. It’s me, Commander Klinge.”

The young girl didn’t care. To her, this entire experience had been the same. Horrible violence. One incident after the other. This slaughter was no different than the one she witnessed by that awful, awful machine by looking through the key hole. Klinge looked down to see himself covered in blood. He didn’t even notice the arrow that hit his side until it was too late. Groaning, he pulled it out to find Rinku aiming the bow at him. She was shocked to see him, but Kanisa’s screams made her on full alert with shoot first, ask questions later on the mind.

All the bodies were a terrible sight. She knew Klinge was destructive, but this was the first time she ever saw his handy work. There had to be over two dozen bodies in this hall and the last one she passed. Putting her bow away she ran past the Darknut to pick her little sister up. She was quick to shush her and rock her. “It’s me Kanisa. It’s big sis Rinku. I got you. You’re going to safe now. You’re going to see mommy.”

Rinku made sure to hide Kanisa’s eyes from the bodies. As the three of them made it to the outdoors, Rinku took a hard look at Klinge. “You do what you do best. Stay away from Kanisa for now, and you cover my flank.”

Klinge was shocked by the way Kanisa had looked at him. Screamed at him in terror. At Rinku’s command, he could only nod. “Of course…”

Without any delay, the three rode as fast as they could back to Hryule castle.

~ Zannah slept against the wall, when she suddenly heard shifting outside her cell door. A guard fell to the ground, a black eye on his face. Stepping from the shadows, her bodyguard gave a bow. “Princess Zannah. We must hurry.”

“Fisk?”

“Yes Princess Zannah. Are you alright?”

“I think I’ll be.”

Fisk opened her cell door and quickly went to work on her lock. “One moment Princess Zannah.”

“Fisk, how did you get here?”

“Grand Admiral Bellum put in the order for a select group to either rescue or assassinate you. I couldn’t allow the latter to happen, so I decided to act on my own accord.” He finished the last of her locks, setting her down. “I came through the underground and up the sewage under the castle. Had to hurry through. Sensed monsters, but it was much safer than storming the castle.”

Zannah gripped her wrists as she was finally set free. “Thank you Fisk. Your assistance is most appreciated.”

Her bodyguard looked down at the guards that he put unconscious. “Shall we leave no witnesses?”

The Hasai Princess looked down the Hylians, thinking over the kindness Zelda showed her. Shaking her head, she simply walked away. “No. They aren’t worth our time or energy. Take me back to homebase Fisk.”

“Yes Princess Zannah, as you command.”

Princess Zannah gave a silent hope that she wouldn’t have to be the one to kill Zelda. In fact, for a brief moment, she wondered if the fighting was worth it. Her mind tossed those thoughts aside. Must have been the trauma to her head. Her people needed a new home. And they’d use their power to take it. No matter the cost.

Previous Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/183221881656/the-war-of-fire-ch-3-the-kidnapping

Next Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/185219415216/the-war-of-fire-ch-5-tales-of-the-flame

[almost-fun-doodles]

Unlike J*mes Ch*rles, Ghirahim would never sexually peer pressure straight men to sleep with him.

You’ve heard of Ganondorf running for president, now get ready for Ghirahim being the gnc dude makeup guru we need

[socially-awkward-chocobo]

Ok, so, the Corrupt Hylia au

Okay, so, out of the four art posts I've made, two of them have been tagged with "Corrupt Hylia au." An au I haven't really talked about that much. I should probably fix that. (Definitely. I mean definitely) Prepare for an info-dump

The Corrupt Hylia au was created when I was reading a fanfic at the same time I saw a post about how Hylia's existence made everything black and white. Some details of it were on my mind and I thought, 'hmmm, the story is too black and white,' and thus an au where Hylia is a manipulative b-tch controlling everything for her perfect hero villain story was born. Fabricating a curse, creating villains, capturing a certain someone to be the hero's "test," all with the Sheikah (but not the Yiga. They defected for a reason and Hylia is half of it.) I'll explain the 5,000 yrs ago plot, since I have that figured out but not the actual plot. It’s gonna be long and under the cut for those interested.

During one of the loops, one where she's there physically to make sure everything stays on track, a Shadow escapes and finds the hero. Lies are revealed, and all goes well until a Sheikah goes there "searching" for the hero and they have to interact with Hylia. Anyways, anyone can tell there's something wrong with Hylia, including the princess. The (corrupt) goddess just has that offsetting aura around her. Link meets here and they formulate a plan when they know they aren't being listened to. Anyways, it takes two years but they get a lot of people on their side. (Ganon, Vaati, Ghirahim, the Twili, Rito, Zora, Goron, and Gerudo) Vaati and Zelda (who have become research buddies) devise a spell to remember past lives - and that's how they learned the curse was fake, because Hylia f-cked around with the first hero's memories a lot, and the spell undid it while keeping those fabricated memories. You may have noticed, but things are going too well.

Anyways, at a parade or festival for who knows what (certainly not me) the Sheikah - who were sharing "experimental" (read: tech they've been hogging) so even people who aren't there can watch it happening. This was all part of a plan made by the Sheikah because (somehow) replaced Ghirahim's earing with one that would mind control him. (think what happened to Ingo in OoT manga.) The plan was to control him and make him wreak havoc, make people not trust him, and by extension, Ganon. That doesn't work, because Link (and Shadow) manage to break the jewel. Hylia tries to do some sort of "what an evil barbaric individual" speech, but Link cuts her off and calls her out on her bullsh-t. Not just about the parade, but about everything - the fake curse, messing around with the first hero’s memories, creating villains for the hero and princess to defeat, having the Sheikah do dirty work in the shadows, manipulating a darkling for the sake of “testing” the hero, controlling the king’s free will - EVERYTHING. And remember those speakers and cameras the Sheikah were sharing? They broadcasted all of it to Hyrule. And because Link had always been a good person, helping people out of the kindness of his heart, a lot of people believed he was telling the truth. This is the start of the war.

The ruined parade is the battlefield, they win and push back Hylia this time because she was caught off guard. But now she knows what's happening, and she is p-ssed. After the start of the rebellion, it is the first time she infuses her magic with malice. A few more battles later, a major one at Korok Forest that gets the forest children involved, and the crew makes the decision to split the Triforce into eight pieces. Ganon, Zant, and Ghirahim each have 1/3 power, Zelda, Midna, and Vaati all have 1/3 wisdom, and Link and Shadow each have 1/2 courage. If Hylia wants the entire Triforce,  they're gonna make her chances of getting it as slim as possible.

One year into the war, and the scales haven't really tipped to either side. But Shadow (who was incapacitated and couldn't come out), Ganon, and Link were up against Hylia. Hylia uses an illusion on Link to make herself look like either a Marin or a past Zelda, and it makes Link freeze up and give Hylia a chance to attack and try to kill Link. Except that Ganon took the hit instead. Link snaps out of it, stuns Hylia, and tries retreating with Ganon. He doesn't get to Ghirahim in time, and so by the time Zelda can heal him, it's too late. With the demoralizing death of Ganon, things start to spiral downhill. Over the next three years they lost Vaati, Zant, and almost Midna. The only small victory that happened was Shadow breaking the mirror the Sheikah had forced bonded them to, and would mean that the Sheikah wouldn't be able to just count on Shadow stumbling out of there when he died anymore. (Shadow thought this meant his next death would be his last.)

Four more years after that, there are more fights and they get pushed back more and more. Somehow (haven't figured out how yet) they get in contact with the main three goddesses (Din, Nayru, Farore) and Hyrule will be sealed underground by them, Hylia with it. They know this won't be permanent, and hope it buys them enough time for the next reincarnation cycle to happen. As they leave, they're being followed by Hylia and the Sheikah. Link and Shadow make a decision to stay behind and make sure Hylia stays underground until the sealing. They know they're going to die doing this, but the worse they hurt Hylia, the longer it will take for her to break the seal.

The other leaders try to argue to let somebody else do it (mainly Zelda and Midna), but Link argues back that Hyrule needs their leaders, and Ghirahim made a promise to Ganon, one he can't keep if he's trapped or dead. So Zelda caves and creates a bow of light with enough charge for five arrows. The other leaders (and Ghira) all add some of their own magic to it, and Link and Shadow head off. The next part is going to be ripped directly from my notes because I'm lazy I don't know how else to phrase it.

Once they get to where the Sheikah are, Shadow immediately starts using the shadows to teleport and starts killing large amounts of them. Link kills whoever is foolish enough to attack him head-on swiftly with the Master Sword. They carve a path to Hylia.

The fight with Hylia is long and brutal. It is clear now that Hylia is using malice and is clearly affected by it. Malice-like pink is spreading on her along with one of her eyes becoming a malice eye. And it has not done anything for her sanity.

Hylia sends a lethal blast of light magic into Shadow and Link is covered in Malice injuries

Link gets separated from the Master Sword. Hylia is about to land the finishing blow on him when Shadow - who is currently dying btw - picks up the Master Sword (which is actively burning his hands and speeding up his death) and stabs her from behind. Shadow says something and Link uses the Light Bow. One shot in the head, one shot in the throat, one shot in the heart, one shot in the stomach, and one shot right on the master sword - which causes a beam affect that they learned about in one of the war’s earlier battles. Hylia isn’t dead, but she won’t be recovering for a while.

Link and Shadow share some final words before dying.

I still need to figure out the actual plot and stuff, but uh, if you read to the end, I hope you enjoyed! ^_^ 

(Ps: if there’s anything triggering or stuff, ask for me to tag and I will)

[socially-awkward-chocobo]

So sorry if you had to scroll past three big photos, but considering these were a set I didn’t want to post them all separately. This is just a thing I made based on who holds the parts of which triforce. 

The first one is Ebony and Lyn, they both have one half of Courage, and the ancient hylian reads as “Courage.” Honestly my favorite of the three.

The second one is Midiya, Vaz, and Zael, they each have a third of Wisdom, and the ancient hylian reads as “Wisdom.” Yes, Terrako is there and after my recent reference attempt for him I have made the decision to never draw him again.

The third one is Ahdvant, Ghirahim, and Gandin, they each have one third of Power, and the ancient hylian reads as “Power.” Please ignore the f-cked up parts of Ghirahim’s sword and instead focus on the vines meant to hide said sword.