The Legend of Zelda: The Three Swords
By: Rémi-Patryk

 

Chapter 5: Faint

GERUDO CANYON

Hyrule Castle's citadel was in a state of confusion. Soldiers and Knights were running left and right, taking swords, spears, and many other pieces of equipment... In other words, they were getting ready for war. Hyrule was very easy to defend from outside attackers since the only two ways in or out were either the Gerudo Desert or the lost woods; two very narrow paths. It did not really help, though, because the opposing force was overwhelmingly strong and outnumbered them five to one...

Hylian Knights were extremely well trained, but they sacrificed quantity over quality. Yes, they could eliminate three or four enemies, but not when they were submerged by ten....

It was not looking good for Hyrule... The King, who was on the other side of the canyon, looked at the desperate situation and whispered an order... The order made its way down the chain of command and the Hylian forces made their way back, retreating from the battlefield.... As one of the last Hylian Knights crossed the bridge, two heavily armored Soldiers carrying axes cut the ropes that held the bridge... It fell to the bottom of the canyon...

"Ha, that might hold them off," one of the generals confidently said. The King looked at him and shook his head. The man lacked experience...

---

STALA CASTLE

Link was pleased Kyul was back on his feet, but his enthusiasm was cut short when King Fior explained that Myrkanian troops were on their way to extinguish all light from Stala and Hyrule...

"How can we stop them?" Link asked, thinking there was always a crooked plan in those damn sages' heads to keep him from doing what he wanted to do... Love Zelda...

"We do not know right now. What we do know though, is that the sacred sword of light must play a part in there somewhere," the king explained.

"My sword, that important?" Kyul giggled, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, it is one of only three weapons that can truly kill a Dark Knight. Others only take them out for a short while."

"What could be the other weapons?" Zelda asked.

"Well, the legendary Light arrow can bring one down, but one of the sacred swords must sever their head to destroy their soul."

"You are confusing me. First you said that only the sword of light could destroy them, now you say that the two other swords can if you shoot them with a light arrow first. Can you explain with a little more detail?" Link said, trying to make sense of the information given to him.

"I really think I am going to have a headache," Kyul said, holding his head in his gloved hands.

"I said all that I know. I am sorry if I confused you Link, but the information given to me is...scarce at the best," the king said with a smile.

"Ahh, and one last thing. One that all three of you should be aware of... When you created the shockwave, you awoke the six angels of evil. They are dark creatures. Three match themselves to be the power symbols' carriers worst fear and the other three are very powerful warriors.. Their only purpose in life is to kill you and strip you of your triforce.."

"Sounds like good friends to invite to a party," Zelda said from under her clothes.

Link laughed but Kyul just nodded and left for his assigned room...

"What's wrong with him, do you know?" Link asked. "I really don't, but lets leave him alone for awhile."

"You should really consult our libraries to better understand what we are facing," the King wisely said... Link grinned and slowly began to walk backwards... "And where the hell do you think you are going, Mr Hero?" Zelda said, her magic red eyes gazing at Link... "Well, since I figured that we could let Kyul alone, we could maybe leave me far from the library. You know libraries and me don't go well together..." Just as he was finishing his sentence, he ran out of the room, bumping in a few guards in the process..

"I guess I could go alone," Zelda muttered.

Kyul was in his room sitting on his bed, his sword on his knees. His eyes were closed. He was having a vision, a vision of the future. Kyul was calm, but uncomfortable. In the Schatten Reiter ways, the future should always remain unseen for it could always change... But this time it was different. While he was meditating, images of a fierce battle poisoned his mind. He knew what it was. It was the battle that was to be fought here in the Stala plains. Kyul let a very slight smile go... If they wanted to see a Schatten Reiter in a vicious mood, they were going to see one. He then lost the smile and plunged his mind in shadows...

Link was sitting on the castle's bulwarks, playing his familiar blue ocarina as he was looking at the horizon... The sun was setting and orange light was flooding the flat plains and illuminating the castle... Link was trying to remember a few of the songs he learned when he was a kid. If the magic was still working, it would come in handy... He was midway through the song of storms when he felt a presence coming his way. Link wasted no time. He jumped to his feet, jumped again, pushed himself off a wall, and landed behind the incoming person... It was Zelda...

"Well, someone is on his toes," she said.

"You know that you're not supposed to sneak up on me like that. And yes, when someone declares that you have the forces of evil after you, you are supposed to be on your toes."

"Ok, don't freak... I guess I just don't have the experience Kyul and you have."

"That might be a factor... So why did you come?"

"Well I can't find Kyul, or I think he's locked up in his room, but anyways, I found interesting stuff in that library..."

"Did you now?"

"Yes, it cleared up some of the King's information."

"Like what?"

"Ok, this is long and complicated... There are three Knights, servants of darkness. They can only be slain by one of our swords. But they can be taken down by a light arrow. It will only knock them cold for a little while... Now concerning the things that are after us, they work alone or in groups of two... So we probably won't have to worry too much about them right now.."

"Sounds like real fun."

"I doubt that it's going to be easy. We must work as a group."

"Yeah, I guess the Triforce is stronger together than spread out around a battle field."

Link turned his head when he heard a sound coming from his left.... His heartbeat accelerated as he was trying to make out what was in the shadows... It was only Kyul, but he was.... Different... His clothes were black and gray, his shield was now polished and was bearing the Schatten-Reiter Crest, but the most significant change was his face... He had war paint on it; colored lines on his cheeks and forehead. His golden hair was dyed silver... It didn't strike Link on the spot, but Kyul's face seemed more familiar than before...

"What's going on, Kyul?" Link asked.

"I felt them... Get ready," he simply answered.

"You felt what?" Zelda asked.

"Them..." Kyul pointed to the east of the castle with the tip of his sword.

"Oh my goddesses," Zelda said as she gazed at the wave of troops advancing on the castle.. Link did not answer and began walking towards his room. Zelda quickly followed him.

"Il be waiting for you," Kyul said, and walked away... The Castle horns began to let out deep powerful sounds to announce the sighting of the enemy.

As Link was getting his equipment from his bag, he noticed something he forgot he had for a long time... He stared at it and it stared right back... Then it struck him... The resemblance was too close to be a coincidence. Same hair, same war paint, almost the same clothing...

"You coming, Link? There's no time to waste!" Zelda urged.

"On my way!" he replied as he grabbed the Fierce Deity mask from his pack and put it in a pouch strapped to his belt...

"You're back," Kyul said with a smile.

"I guess... So what's the plan?" Link asked.

"I never use a plan. I go with the flow, but I think we should stay together," Kyul replied.

"I agree. We should stay together and then we will go for the Knights," Zelda completed.

Kyul nodded and looked around him. He, Link, and Zelda were surrounded by almost half of the Stalan army, well-trained and effective warriors who were ready to die for their King... "Maybe a little too ready," Kyul whispered. The other half of the troops were on the walls of the castle to defend it...

Link was wondering how it would be to fight side to side with other people. He had always fought alone... He looked around. Zelda was on her snow white horse, obviously not quite ready to face what was to come... Kyul was sitting calmly on his horse... Link looked closer ... No doubt Kyul was wearing the same war paint as the Fierce Deity... There was a connection... He would ask, later... Kyul unsheathed his long broad sword and said, "Time to go."

As the troops were beginning to advance, Zelda was sure she was able to hear the bells of the temple, it gave her chills... She had to remain calm...

Kyul stopped right before the draw bridge and asked the nearby guard something... He then came to Link and said, "They are getting closer, but it's still too clear outside to attack." Link immediately replied, taking his ocarina out, "I can fix that." A soft melody escaped the blue ceramic of the ocarina and escaped the rumble of the impatient troops, taking the notes deep into the sky and dispersing them into the cool air... Suddenly, lightning pierced the horizon and a strong rain soaked the ground... Visibility...zero.

"Nice little trick you got there," Kyul said, moving his horse back to the front of the pack.

"I have more tricks in my green hat than you have hair on your head," Link replied quickly.

Kyul seemed to have everything in control, so Link let him do his thing. He grabbed the master sword and his shield and looked up to the clouds...

Kyul acknowledged to the gate guard, the draw bridge fell open. The army slowly exited the great Stala castle and placed themselves in a defensive position with Link, Kyul, and Zelda in the front of the pack...

Kyul was so concentrated, he was looking straight at the horizon in the direction where the enemy slowly advanced. It was almost meditation. Zelda did not dare bother him, so she turned towards Link. He was looking at Kyul.

"Why are you staring at Kyul?" Zelda asked.

"Look at him very well, especially his face."

"Yeah, he changed a bit, but maybe it's a Schatten Reiter tradition to put war paint on before a battle."

"It could be, but now look at this mask." Link took the Fierce Deity mask out of a pouch. Zelda's eyes widened. Link went on. "I found this mask in Termina, a parallel world. I was told that it contained the spirit of an evil god, and when I put it on, I could not even control myself. I fought and destroyed everything... It was scary."

"They look almost exactly the same."

"Maybe they are related in some way."

"I don't know. I will have to ask him some...."

Kyul had snapped out of his trance, turned around and interrupted Link. "Here they come."

The ground around them began to shake slightly, but it was getting stronger... Then they all finally saw them... Faceless warriors clad all in black holding swords with black blades charging towards them...

Kyul turned towards the troops and yelled, "ALL OF YOU HOLD THE LINE AS IF IT'S THE LAST THING YOU DO!"

Link took his bow and armed a light arrow. Kyul and Zelda did the same. Over them, all the archers of the castle armed flaming arrows to their bows...

Getadelt wird wer Schmerzen kennt
vom Feuer das die Haut verbrennt
Ich werf ein Licht
in mein Gesicht
Ein heißer Schrei
Feuer frei!
Bäng bang

The three triforce bearers fired first. The arrows of light and freedom whistled across the open plains and hit their respective targets... Light hit darkness and the evil warriors impaled by the power of Din, Naryu, and Farore were thrown back, the radiance consuming their bodies from the inside and only leaving a small pile of black ashes as the only remnant of the servants of darkness's existence...

Geadelt ist wer Schmerzen kennt
vom Feuer das in Lust verbrennt
Ein Funkenstoß
in ihren Schoß
Ein heißer Schrei
Feuer frei!
Bäng bäng
Feuer frei!

The castle's defenses fired right after, thousands of flaming arrows at the incoming servants of evil. The rain of fire stopped as the enemy was getting closer. The last thing they needed with their limited number was friendly fire...

Kyul slung his bow on his shoulder and drew his long broadsword, the triforce symbol burning on the back of his hand. Link and Zelda did the same...

As the first line of warriors came upon the defenders, Kyul swung his large blade with two hands, taking out at least five opponents who dissolved into black sand as soon as they were mortally hit... Kyul was so surprised at how easy it was to get rid of the soldier of darkness that he almost didn't see the large axe coming his way... When he tried to dodge it, he fell off Shatten Jager, but jumped back to his feet before anyone could do anything... A large Iron Knuckle look-alike was charging his way, wielding its classic axe... Kyul did not leave the knuckle time to do anything. He threw his sword at him.. The typical gray Schatten Reiter broadsword bit through the knuckle's chest plate just as he was preparing his final blow...

Link literally had a sandstorm around him as he was eliminating the Knights of darkness's minions one by one, feeding off the power of the triforce he had within him to control his movements and give him strength... The troops of Stala were fighting well, but they were outnumbered four to one... They were losing ground quickly.

Kyul was trying to get his sword out of the Iron Knuckle. "What is this thing made of anyways, solid rock?" The inert mass of metal's eyes suddenly came to life, burning red like fire. Kyul was too busy pulling on his broad sword to notice that life was flowing in the Knuckle. The huge armored arm came up grabbing Kyul's throat. Surprised by this unexpected attack, Kyul dropped his sword and grabbed the knuckle's arm, desperately gasping for air. As his eyes were slightly closing, his misty mind had a sudden moment of lucidity. He let go of his grip and grabbed a dagger on his belt and with a swift quick movement, he passed it through the armored arm of the iron knuckle, causing him to release his grip.

Wer zu Lebzeit gut auf Erden
wird nach dem Tod ein Engel werden
den Blick gen Himmel fragst du dann
warum man sie nicht sehen kann
Erst wenn die Wolken schlafengehn
kann man uns am Himmel sehn
wir haben Angst und sind allein
Gott weiß ich will kein Engel sein

Kyul's universe suddenly accelerated again. He fell in the black mud, caused by an ugly mix between Link's ocarina spell and the destruction of the dark warriors. Kyul did not have enough strength to get back on his feet, not right now, anyways. His war paint was slowly dripping off his face with the small drops of water. Then a friendly face came into his vision. It was Link offering a helping hand. Kyul respectfully refused and jumped to his feet in a quick movement.

"I thought we lost you... Again," Link said giggling. "Yeah, I have a bad habit of getting in those situations," Kyul replied, thinking about Link's last phrase. "We? Who's we?"

"Come on, Kyul," Link said, annoyed. "We don't have time for this." Kyul nodded, took one last look at his family sword, and followed, unsheathing the sword of light.

Link, Kyul, and Zelda were now reunited and fought their way fiercely through the black troops, slowly making their way to the three dark knights. But then all of the chaotic fighting abruptly stopped and the black forces of Myrkana surrounded the three holders of the sacred triangles in a way that the Stalan troops would not be able to get to them. For the three swords of good were facing their nemesis, the three knights protectors of evil. All six warriors representing their respective sides grasped their weapons and eyed each other down until the first Knight spoke... "I will crush you Kyul. I will be the last and only... Das schatten reiter stirbt um flammen." The last words pierced through Kyul's mind and ripped open an ancient wound, a memory of an old tale, the fate of the Reiters. Under the mask of paint, pain and desolation. Kyul whispered, "You... You, the traitor of all traitors, you, the god in whom we trusted... You, the keeper of our secret. I am finally in front of you, but what can I do but kill you? You don't deserve to die." The black knight croaked a scary laugh and without warning attacked Kyul. Link and Zelda, confused by the situation, immediately engaged combat with the two others. Ishkael, the black knight, was arguably one of the most skilled fighters in the world, but no one - nothing - could be ready to fight someone as enraged as Kyul was.

As the darkest one closed in on him, Kyul simply dodged sideways and swung his sword at his opponent's legs. The staggered knight only had time to dive in the air to avoid losing his legs. As Ishkael regained his footing, Kyul placed himself in a defensive stance and waited.

"I thought you were a man, Kyul... But from the way you are fighting, I guess you are still a child," Ishkael said, standing up.

A fire burned in Kyul's eyes. He put his shield away and held up his right hand. "This is going to burn." As he finished his sentence, a blinding shockwave came from Kyul's smoldering triforce symbol. Ishkael's closed eyes opened only to see Kyul in the air ready to strike...

The Dark Knight was able to deflect most of Link's attacks, but who can defeat the slayer of the Dark King? His silver sword shining in the now flamboyant sun, Link was attacking fast and precisely so that the knight could barely keep up. The knight tried one last perilous assault that Link easily parried with the Master Sword. In the same movement, Link transferred the Knight's weight over him, causing him to fall forward. Without any delay, Link put all his remaining energy into a compact, but exceedingly powerful, spin attack... Nothing happened at first. The knight remained on his knees... Then his head fell off revealing a black shadow that was quickly sucked in a vortex created by Zelda.

"I sent him right back where he came from."

Link nodded and looked as the body of the once knight of darkness dissolved into black ashes...

Warmer Körper
heißes Kreuz
falsches Urteil
kaltes Grab

Ishkael barely saved himself from Kyul's strike by quickly placing his dark sword in the path of the light one ... Bad idea. Kyul's energy-charged sword bit right through the forged evil of the dark one, leaving it with a large chisel at the top of the black blade.

Auf dem Kreuze lieg ich jetzt
sie schlagen mir die Nägel ein
das Feuer wäscht die Seele rein
und übrig bleibt ein Mundvoll
Asche

Almost instantly after his first strike, Kyul directed another right at Ishkael's gut, who parried it with great difficulty. Kyul's attacks were coming faster, stronger, and swifter every time. Ishkael, with his crippled sword, had trouble keeping up... But then, abruptly, Ishkael sent a quick discharge of black energy towards Kyul...He warded it off easily enough with his shield, which had almost instantly reappeared in his hand, but it disturbed him enough that Ishkael had time to retrieve his breath and stand up.

"You fight well, Schatten Reiter, but none of your soiled race can take down one of us... Especially not a child."

"A child? Wouldn't it be worse for you, though...if you lost to a child? Your Dark Lord would not be happy." The words came mockingly out of Kyul's mouth as he threw his shield to the ground and unsheathed a small golden dagger from his belt. Carved in the golden metal one could read 'Schattenfeilds'.

"Ishkael laughed loudly. "So it's like that, eh?" He then, in reply to Kyul's dagger, took a mid-sized (and very vicious looking) axe and said, "I promised myself I would eliminate the Schatten Reiters with it. The Dark King gave it to me."

Kyul simply smiled and replied, "Good luck," and blitzed towards Ishkael. But then instead of jumping and stabbing (the classic Kyul attack), he dove and rolled down close to Ishkael's knees, attempting to take out one of his legs... Ishkael dodged the sword, but not the dagger. Ishkael shrieked in pain when the small blade slashed his flesh. The cut wasn't too deep or dangerous, but still Ishkael was now a lot less mobile and limped as his black filthy blood soiled the ground.

Ich komm wieder
in zehn Tagen
als dein Schatten
und werd dich jagen

"So I guess you're not as invincible as you like to say you are, eh?" Kyul said mockingly.

As his eyes turned wild, Ishkael replied, "COME HERE, REITER AND DIE!"

Satisfied with the effect he created, Kyul circled around Ishkael, knowing full well he had the advantage... And then, as swift as the wind, Kyul attacked, blows after blows, hit after hit. Ishkael eventually stumbled on his injured foot and fell backwards. Kyul took advantage, spun around, and slashed... The black knight's sword was now shattered and all that was left was a small piece of metal and the guard... Ishkael wasn't going to give up that easily, though. He rolled backwards and stood up, his axe and broken sword in hand. Kyul simply smiled and went on charging, eventually swinging upwards, causing the Dark Knight to lose grip on his broken sword. Ishkael, surprised, hacked at Kyul's head, but Kyul had anticipated the shot and blocked it with his sword. He continued the movement and his golden family dagger found its way to Ishkael's right collarbone... He stumbled backwards and fell to his knees, trying to get rid of the immense burning pain caused by the magic Schatten Reiter blade... Kyul seized the occasion and stabbed the Dark Knight Ishkael right through his black and evil heart... The Dark Knight croaked and spat blood. He then tried to get up and slice Kyul's head off, but the Hero of Light didn't leave him time... He powered a spin attack, his sword still inside Ishkael's body; the power melting his organs from the inside out. Kyul then ripped his sword from the knight, unleashed his attack, and severed his head...

Heimlich werd ich auferstehen
und du wirst um Gnade flehen
dann knie ich mich in dein Gesicht
und steck den Finger in die Asche

The mystic vortex activated by Zelda swallowed Ishkael's evil soul and his body turned to ashes - same with all the black warriors. All stripped of a leader, they collapsed in defeat and broke up into black sand.

Asche zu Asche
und Staub zu Staub!

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