Authors of Our Own Fates - Prologue

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A Legend of Zelda Fanfiction

Authors of Our Own Fates

Prologue: Whispers in the Dark

By: knowlee
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Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled as the heavens poured rain down onto the land of Hyrule. It was in the middle of the night and most of the citizens of this vast country were fast asleep in their beds. Most were dreaming wonderful dreams while some were having horrible nightmares. To some these nightmares seemed to be a prelude to something catastrophic that was about to take place. With what had been occurring in Hyrule as of late it appeared as if this were the case. The thunderstorms that were covering Hyrule currently also seemed to emphasize this belief.

For one individual though, he wasn’t sure whether the vision he was having in his sleep was that of a dream or…a nightmare. All he knew for certain was that a strange voice suddenly cut through his fitful sleep and began to plead to him.

‘Help me… Please help me…’

Help? Help who?

‘I am a prisoner in the dungeon of the castle. My name is Zelda.’

Zelda? Wait… You mean Princess Zelda? But why would someone put Princess Zelda in the dungeon?

‘The wizard, Agahnim, has done…something to the other missing girls.’

Agahnim? Missing girls? What’s going on here? What does that have to do with Princess Zelda?

‘Now only I remain…’

He was silent as he felt himself grown more confused at each word the voice was saying to him.

‘Agahnim has seized control of the castle and is now trying to open the seven wise men’s seal. … …’

Agahnim has taken over Hyrule? When did that happen? And what is the seven wise men’s seal?

‘I am in the dungeon of the castle.’

He could tell that the owner of the voice who was speaking needed help, but at the same time he felt himself doubting that what he was hearing was even real. It more than likely was just a dream that he was having.

‘Please help me…’

But…what if it was real?

Once the voice drifted away, the young man felt himself rouse out of his sleep. He knew that he was still a little tired, but something told him that he needed to be awake right now. He slowly opened his eyes and used his hands to wipe away the rest of the sleep that was in his eyes.

Suddenly he heard the sound of a match striking against a surface and turned towards the direction the sound came from. He saw his uncle sitting at their table, staring down at something.

Before he could ask him why he was up for his uncle spoke, “Link, I’m going out for a while. I’ll be back by morning. Don’t leave the house.”

With that said, Link’s uncle stood up from the chair he had been sitting in and started walking towards the door. Link was taken aback by the sternness in his voice since it wasn’t a usually tone that he used. Then Link noticed that he was carrying the family sword and shield.

‘Why would he be carrying those for? What’s going on?’ Link desperately wanted to ask him these questions, but his uncle left the house before he had the chance.

Throwing the blankets off of him, he stood up next to his bed. There was no way that he could go back to sleep now. Especially not with the dream he just had as well as knowing that his uncle had left carrying a sword and shield to who knows where. He sighed. He really wanted to know what was going on.

‘Help me… I am in the dungeon of the castle.’

Link’s eyes widened as he quickly searched around for the source of the voice only to find no one there. Okay, now he was worried. He wasn’t going crazy now was he? Then he remembered hearing that voice somewhere before. He gasped as he realized that it was the same voice from his dream. So then it wasn’t a dream, it was real!

Maybe that was the reason why his uncle left. He probably heard the voice too. That would also explain the reason why he had the family’s weapons in his possession. He knew that he would need them if he was going to the castle, especially if what he heard was true that a man called Agahnim was now in charge. Now he was even more worried.

‘I know there is a hidden path from outside of the castle to the garden inside.’

A small part of him was telling him that he should probably let his uncle take care of it, but he had a feeling that he needed to follow after him. Link quickly made his decision.

He walked over to the chest that was sitting near the table and opened it. Inside he saw two things that he needed to take with him if he was about to go to the castle after his uncle: a lantern and a cloak. He took the cloak and wrapped it around him. He grabbed the lantern and walked over to the table. He picked up the candlestick out of its holder, all while being careful to make sure he didn’t burn himself on the hot wax and as well as watching the flame to ensure that it didn’t go out, he placed it inside the lantern. As an afterthought, he grabbed the matches that his uncle had used to light the candle and placed it one of his tunic’s pockets. He had a feeling that he would probably need them again later.

He closed the glass door on the lantern to make sure the candle was protected from the elements and turned towards the door. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he turned it and stepped outside.

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Link could barely see in front of him. The rain was falling so fast and heavy that he knew that it was going to make traveling quite difficult. ‘How the heck is Uncle even going to get to the castle in this rain?’ He put the lantern out in front of him to help light his path as he slowly made his way towards the inclined dirt path that would lead him down onto the main pathway.

He walked past the small bushes that sat in front of his house and turned to the left. After taking a few more steps, he could see with the little bit of light that he had to see that he had finally reached the small incline. Taking his left hand he placed it on the dirt wall and used it to find his way down to the lower ground.

Once he reached the lower ground he continued to use the dirt wall as an indicator to help him figure out where he was going. He knew that once the dirt wall took a turn to the left that he was to continue following it until he saw the trees. Then he would walk by the trees until he could see the castle’s bridge to the north.

As Link continued to use his left hand to guide him and the other to hold the lantern in front of him, he noticed some soldiers that were standing guard. Each of them was guarding pathways that lead to other locations in Hyrule. He found himself thinking that it was kind of odd that they were guarding those places. He couldn’t think of there being any reason for them to do so. Then Link remembered what Princess Zelda told him about Agahnim.

Link took another quick glance over at the guards and surmised that they were probably doing that on his orders. This made him curious as to what the man was planning. He only knew so little from what the princess told him. He knew that she’d more than likely explain it more in detail once he found his uncle and after they both helped her get to safety.

A streak of lightning lit up the sky and allowed him to see where he was. He had finally reached the part of the dirt wall that turned left. He continued to follow it in that direction. The thunder rumbled above him and the lightning continued to flicker. Finally he reached the end of the dirt wall and when the lightning flashed again it allowed him to see the trees up ahead to the left. He ran towards them.

As he neared the end of the small forest of trees, Link saw a small sign sticking into the ground in front of him. Once he got near it he placed the lantern up close to it and could see that it was a sign that had been signed by the king. It read, ‘I will give 100 Rupees to the man who finds the descendants of the wise men.’

The princess’ words ran through Link’s mind as he read the words ‘wise men’. He surmised that the man who found them was more than likely Agahnim himself. That would explain how he could have taken over the castle. It would have given him a perfect chance to usurp the throne. At the thought of this, it made Link more determined to find his uncle and save Princess Zelda.

Determined, Link pressed on towards the castle. Soon he came to the bridge that led to the castle gates. He had the feeling that the soldiers weren’t just going to let him through the castle that way. He remembered another part of the princess’ words. ‘I know there is a hidden path from outside of the castle to the garden inside.’ So there was a path somewhere.

He took the lantern he held and decided to blow out the flame in order to increase his chances of being able to sneak past the guards without getting caught. He attached the lantern’s hook onto one of his belt loops and started to slowly inch his way across the bridge.

Using the heavy rain as an extra cloak, he prayed to the deities above to hold off on the lightning for a bit that way he could pass by. As he got closer to the gates he noticed that there was a path leading to the left and to the right once the bridge ended. He felt frustrated as he realized that the princess didn’t really specify which path he should take. He pushed back that frustration and decided that he would pick a path and hope that it was the right one.

He debated with himself for a few seconds before ultimately deciding on to go down the right path. He started to make his way to his chosen pathway all while praying that he’d make it. He couldn’t think of another time where his nerves never felt more ragged. He kept his eyes on the guard that was standing in front of the gates to ensure that he hadn’t been spotted.

There was only a last little stretch of distance left before he made it to the path. He realized that he would have to take a chance and run for it when he saw an opening. Link knew that if he continued to slowly move forward that he would only allow himself to get caught. He continued to pray, hoping that something would happen to distract the guard.

His prayers were answered. A small noise from the left path caught the attention of the guard. The guard turned his head towards the sound and moved from his position to walk over to the left path to see what it was. Link took his chance.

He quickly sprinted around the end of the bridge and down the right pathway. He continued to run until he rounded the corner of the castle’s outer wall. He stopped for a few minutes to catch his breath and to listen and make sure that no one was following him.

After not hearing anything for about 30 seconds, he decided that he was in the clear. He looked around to see if there were any clues that would help him see if he had indeed chosen the right path. The lightning flashed again and directly in front of him, on the ground, he saw a stone pathway. Link turned his head to the right to see that it rounded the corner back to where the guard was posted at. He turned his head to the left to see that it continued on. Something told him that this was the path that the princess had been hinting at.

Link stepped on the stone pathway and continued following it all while looking around him to make sure that there were no guards nearby to see him. The path continued on for a little while longer until finally it came to a stop at a small bush that was sitting a few feet away from a tree. The bush had stone decorations surrounding it which gave Link an indication that it was something important.

He pushed the limbs of the bush aside to see that there was a hole underneath it. Once more the princess’ words ran through his head again. He felt his nerves start to get the best of him again, but he knew that this hole was the secret entrance that would guide him inside the castle and to his uncle and the princess. He had to do it. Link took a deep breath to steel his nerves and slipped down into the hole, plunging himself into darkness.