Fan Fiction Friday: The Era Without A Hero – Part 66

Part Sixty-Six

Huron grabbed a moblin by its collar and hurled him through a house. Then, with tremendous speed, he charged in and slammed his shoulder into the monster before it could fully recover.

As Huron stepped back out into the street, the house shook as the sound of a bomb erupted over the other noise.

A sense of worry came over the Sage of Fire. Was that Liam? What if it was civilians? When the next explosion rang out, Huron gained a better sense of direction and charged after it.

Dashing down the main street towards the East Gate, Huron watched as one of the buildings began to collapse. Then he saw Osmond and Fado laying against the outer wall, maybe a dozen feet from the gatehouse.

A dazed lizalfos started to get up, pushing its way through the rubble. Huron smiled and slammed his fist down on its head. He was about to call out to his fellow sage and the young knight, when he heard the deafening and mortifying roar of a Lynel.

Time seemed to slow as Huron saw the beast pull the bomb arrow from its quiver. The Goron found his feet moving faster than his mind could comprehend. The arrow was let loose, and Huron was just a few seconds ahead of it. He leapt forward and threw out his arms.

The explosion of pain on his stony back reminded him just how mortal he truly was. He turned around, smoke rising from the burning stones of his back, and hoisted a heavy bit of debris over his head. With a grunt, he hurled the stone at the monster.

The rock exploded as it slammed down on top of the muscular creature. It wobbled on its feet a moment then shook its head. It began to reach for another arrow but quickly realized the mistake it had made as Huron’s hammer cut the wind on its way to its target.

The Lynel’s skull crunched, its neck snapped, and the last thing it saw was whatever had been behind it.

Huron hurried back to Osmond and Fado, scooped them up, and made for the gate.

*          *          *          *          *

Osmond awoke with a bit of a start. The crackling of fire and smell of burning wood was what he’d passed out in. Waking up to the same sound was alarming.

“Easy, little knight!” Huron said, raising his hand in a gentle manner.

Osmond blinked and looked around.

Fado was laying under a blanket against a stone wall. Osmond’s eyes followed the stone upward and realized they were underneath a bridge. The nearby river rushed northward, carrying with it the fresh fish that swam downstream from Zora’s Fountain. Huron sat with a dark blanket covering his back, while he held a stick with some fish on it over the fire. The stick was merely a twig in his hand, and as he offered it to Osmond, it seemed as big as the world.

“Returning from Kingdom Bay?”

Osmond nodded, cutting a chunk of the fish off with a small knife.

“You found Rutela, I assume?”

Again, a silent affirming nod was all Osmond gave.

Huron winced as he adjusted the blanket. “Shame it had to go down like that.”

“She was… sorry.”

Huron grunted.

“Where are we?” Osmond asked, though he was sure he knew the answer.

“We’re under the Bridge of Eldin, of course. Gotta get to the King and let him know that Castletown’s been totally sacked.”

The horrid scenes reappeared in Osmond’s mind. A cold chill ran down his back.

“Lucky I came across you when I did,” Huron nodded. He broke a bit of a large stone off into his hands and then tossed them into his mouth.

“I might have believed that once,” Osmond trailed off as he continued eating his fish. “Now I suspect… Divine intervention?”

An affirming grunt came from the Sage of Fire.

About an hour later, Fado awoke and Huron filled him in on the narrow escape in the city. Followed by the remarkable trek across the field to the bridge they now assumed camp under. If there had been more time or time enough for a warning, the bridge would have been filled with refugees at this point. As it was now, the bridge was empty.

“There was a group of survivors,” Huron began, “but I’m not sure if Liam and Impa got them out.”

“At any rate, we have to get to Goron City. It’s fortunate that we’ve reunited my old friend,” Fado smiled, finding that positivity that only he seemed to ever be able to locate.

“What’s in Goron City? Has my brother done something again?”

“No, not that we’re aware. Simply that these are Kalia’s orders.”

“And you trust Kalia?” Huron asked, suspicion hanging from his words.

Fado paused, thinking carefully on the words he wanted to say. Finally, he nodded and said, “Yes. I do. Lord Kalia has never wavered in his loyalty, he has helped defend not just Hyrule, but the Faron and Eldin regions in the past also. Though I do suspect that our days of treachery and betrayal are not past, he is one that I will trust to the end.”

Huron nodded, then asked, “What of Lord Sagesse?”

“The same,” Osmond said. “Lord Sagesse, though secretive and sometimes unnerving, has been loyal as long as I’ve seen him. His generosity is practically unmatched in all the kingdom, and he is incredibly wise.”

“Why do you insist on traveling to the North Castle instead?”

“The King has not been heard from since before you left. There was an attack on my life in the Lanayru Mountains. My men turned on me, claiming it to be the order of the King.”

Osmond recalled the similar event in the streets of Kingdom Bay.

“While it’s true that my brother is a known thorn in the side of the kingdom, I suspect the worst he would be up to is sealing off the city… again. Between knowing my brother and not knowing what the King is up to, I am headed to the North Castle.”

Fado and Osmond glanced at one another, carrying on a conversation in silence.

“We’ll go with you,” Osmond said.

“After we assure the King’s well-being, we’ll cut across the mountains and come up the backside of Goron City,” Fado continued.

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…