Fan Fiction Friday: The Era Without A Hero – Part 64

Part Sixty-Four

A splash of water exploded over Liam’s beaten and bruised face. His eyes were swollen shut and he could barely breathe. He tried to lift his head, but his arms were bound directly above him, and the pain caused by moving proved too much. The little bit of light that shone into the cell provided him with just enough light to see his naked body covered in sweat and blood.

“You’re awake,” a voice said.

His ears felt as if cotton were stuffed inside them.

“I trust you’ve figured it all out by now?”

Liam forced his eyes to focus but the pain and the darkness kept the figure’s face shrouded.

“I’ll kill you,” Liam managed.

He felt an icy touch run down his back.

“Now now, there’s no need to say such lies… you’ll be long dead before that.”

“You’re a monster.”

The figure tilted his head, pondering the idea. “Perhaps I am.”

There was a wet cracking sound as the figure twitched its head and moved back in front of Liam. In the small light that was shining in, Liam could see what appeared to be a pair of black wings sprouting from a human’s back. The feathers were drenched in blood as if they were just being birthed.

“It truly is incredible, the power the Goddesses granted us.”

With that, the winged-figured departed.

Liam screamed with every ounce of strength he had left in him before blacking out.

It was several hours later when the door to his cell burst open. He felt himself being raised up and the shackles broken.

“We have to hurry,” said a soft and loving voice.

“Right,” a grave and deep voice responded.

Liam felt a massive hand clench down on the wrist bindings and they shattered. His arms fell limp at his sides and his body felt like a ragdoll in the massive arms of his rescuer.

“Sheikah scum!” a voice from outside called out.

“Go, now! I’ll catch up!”

There was the sound of metal on metal. Then the sound of rock breaking into a thousand pieces. Roused as he was, Liam couldn’t make sense of who was taking him away, nor could he discern where they were going.

When next he came too, the allies that were his rescuers were kneeling before him. He felt his body’s strength quickly returning and managed to open his eyes and focus for a moment.

“Impa… Huron…”

“Ah-ha! I told you not to worry! If this stuff could bring me back, it would do wonders for him!”

“Liam, do you know where we are?” Impa asked.

Liam looked around as best he could, but his neck was still sore, and his shoulders hurt. As he took in the stone surroundings more memories of what had happened returned. The captain in Kingdom Bay, the torture, the figure.

“We’re in Castletown… I was… being held underneath Hyrule Castle…”

Huron shrugged, “Close enough I suppose.”

“We’re in the Temple of Time now. Underneath the library.”

Liam’s eyes widened suddenly.

“We gave you a blue potion. You should feel your strength returning in mere moments now.”

“Why are we here? Why would you bring me here?” A tremble in Liam’s voice betrayed his fear.

Impa rested a hand on his chest, “Because Hyrule needs you.”

Liam looked down at Impa’s hand. In it, she held his signature weapon. He raised his hand to hers and took it gently. Their eyes met and all the years they had spent together came flooding in. Every painful memory, every joyful moment, every tender embrace, every instance of their time together.

“Impa…”

“I need you.”

Liam clenched his hand down on hers.

The world seemed to stop for a moment.

In that instant, it was just the two of them.

“Okay.”

With a surge of strength, Liam felt his legs propel him upright. He took a few steps forward into a hall he’d not visited in almost twenty years. He pulled a curtain covering an armor rack away and revealed a golden chest plate bearing a Sheikah Eye on one side and the Hyrulean Sigil on the other. A sturdy shield hung from one side and a long-curved horn on the other.

Impa held out a clean shirt and helped him to get dressed.

As he lowered the helmet onto his head, he felt as if the last of his strength had returned in full. The swelling in his eyes was gone and he could see. The ringing in his ears had gone silent. The ache in his bones was non-existent.

“Welcome back, Lord Liam of Lanayru, Knight of Hyrule,” Huron nodded.

Liam let a grin crack on the side of his mouth.

Moments later the trio emerged from the Temple of Time. A pair of moblins were stationed outside the door. Impa slashed her blades through one, while Huron caved in the skull of the other.

The moon was high in the sky and provided enough light to see the entire courtyard. Several camps of bokoblins, moblins, and lizalfos were at that moment made aware of their presence.

“Huron,” Liam began, “you need to get to Death Mountain and stop whatever wickedness your brother may have involved himself in. Impa and I will get as many people out of the city as possible, but on your way out get as many people going as you can. Our first destination will be Kakariko City. Understood?”

Huron cracked his knuckles on one hand and loosened his shoulder, “Get people out, save my brother. Understood, General.”

Impa readied her swords. “You take the right, I’ll take the left.”

Liam nodded. “Just like the good old days. May the Goddesses’ golden favor fall upon us this day.”

*          *          *          *          *

As Osmond pulled the reins up and slowed the horse, Fado leapt off and raced over to a soldier laying against a rock.

“What’s happened?”

The soldier, clutching his gut, forced his words out through the blood pooling in his mouth, “We were caught off guard… The Dragmire Clan… they were embedded in the army.”

Osmond approached with his sword at the ready and scanned the nearby area for any incoming enemies.

“Has this all been done by traitors?”

The soldier shook his head, “They started it from the center of the city… Then the gates were opened to all sorts of monsters. We were overrun in minutes.”

An explosion inside the city drew their attention. They watched in awe as one of the church spires collapsed in a cloud of smoke and debris. Osmond started to move into the city, but Fado grabbed him and restrained him.

“Wait, we can’t just rush in.”

Osmond shook himself free. “I have to. It’s my duty!”

“Your duty isn’t to die for no reason,” Fado shook his head. “Your duty is to defend this land. Rushing in unprepared and alone is foolish.”

Osmond looked to the ground, his nostrils flaring and his jaw clenched. Fado looked back to the soldier on the ground.

“How did you make it out here?”

“I was pulled out by a knight in golden armor,” the knight winced but tried to straighten up. “He was with General Impa. They gave me a sip of potion and went back in.”

The sound of a horn blew from somewhere inside the walls.

“You’ll live then,” Fado said.

The soldier nodded. “I believe so, m’lord.”

Fado turned to Osmond and gave him permission. Osmond waited not a moment and burst into a run. The Sage of Wind left a small bit of bread with the soldier as well as the horse. He advised him to ride north and meet with Sir Ralphine and Fredrick.

“Tell them of what happened here. If you should feel your wounds should take you before you reach there, take another potion. There are a few in the saddlebag.”

“Lord Fado,” the soldier said, “may the Goddesses shine upon you forever. You are a savior.”

“The Lord of Lanayru seems to have been your savior this night.”

Fado helped the soldier to his feet and onto the horse. With a quick whip on the backside, the steed galloped away. Fado lifted the small pack of supplies he kept onto his back, then turned and raced after Osmond into the city.

Osmond, who was several blocks into the city at this point, came to a stop when he came across a group of moblins. They were huddled up in formation near a burned-out house. A soldier wearing Hyrulean armor stood at attention before them.

“You four head east to reinforce the take over at that gate. The Zora are apparently putting up a decent fight. The rest of you six, spread out on your way to the gate. Take out any more resistance fighters you come across, then regroup at the gate and join the battle there. Understood?”

The moblins snapped their heels together with a salute and broke off according to the instructions. The soldier began walking toward the crate Osmond had ducked behind. When the soldier had taken a step past the box, Osmond leapt out behind him and raised is sword to the side of his neck.

“Stop there, traitor.”

“Oh? What’s this?” The soldier turned, the edge of Osmond’s sword still pressed to his neck. “A Knight of Hyrule? My, my… “

“Who is pulling your strings?”

“I have long served His Majesty, King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule. All those loyal to the King were to have reported to the North Castle a week ago. Where were you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“General Adok and His Majesty came to an agreement, you see. Here, would you like to see our orders?” The soldier reached into his pocket and pulled a piece of paper from it.

Osmond, without breaking eye contact or lowering his blade, took the paper and unfolded it.

He read it aloud, “’By order of the King of Hyrule, all military authority is hereby granted to General Adok of the West. In order to preserve a future of peace for both nations, the Gerudo King is granted all governance of Hyrule as well. I, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, do hereby surrender the Kingdom of Hyrule and all its people to the authority of King Adok.’”

The soldier’s lips curled upward as his eyes narrowed. “If you are to resist and not comply, you are an enemy of the State and therefore must be brought in line or removed from the path of progress.”

Osmond crumpled the note in his fist and brought his face up close to the soldier’s face. “I will bring your usurper king to his knees before the end of this. I will leave him broken and begging for mercy. I will be his undoing. I will not comply.”

“Then death it is.”

 

This story is an imagining of the final days in Hyrule prior to the Great Flood talked about in the opening cinematic of The Wind Waker. The story is getting an audio version in podcast form set to begin releasing sometime in 2022 and there’s a complete soundtrack for the first volume here. Head over to erawithoutahero.wordpress.com or follow the story account on Twitter @ZeldaTEWAH where you can keep up on information regarding the future of the podcast, soundtrack, and other TEWAH news that will be coming soon! Every Era Has Heroes…