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Zelda Art The Wanderers

Din Akera

Sniper
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Location
My own little world
Okay so this is something I have been working on, the idea popped into my head several days ago. It is based on the TP map (with specific locations from MM and OoT appearing as well) and several years after Link sealed Ganon in the sacred realm.

Rating PG-13 - violence, and suggestive sexuality
I hope you enjoy! :) And please post feedback!
 
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Din Akera

Sniper
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Location
My own little world
(Sorry for the double post, I did that wrong)

Chapter 1 - "Strangers"

The streets were fairly empty at this time of day. Only a dozen or so more people scurried along on their way home from whatever it was that constituted their day. Dusk was heavily set in over the marketplace and the streets of castle town; the stars were beginning to show themselves in the purple blue sky. A man dressed in the clothing of a warrior was walking through the market enjoying the peaceful scene. The man was broad and somewhat tall in stature, with dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. He wore black pants and well-worn boots. His dark long sleeved shirt hid the thin layer of chain mail, but left the silver-plated arm guards glinting in the yellow glow from the street lantern lights. The warrior appeared to be in his mid 20’s and human enough to walk the streets of Hyrule’s market place. Though, unknown to those walking past him, this man was no human, he was a Dragir in human guise. His race was rare and mostly lived in secret only appearing human. The true form of a Dragir did not provoke kindness as first reaction. This Dragir was used to fear and hatred in reaction to his appearance, and this was for the most part a valid reaction.

The warrior heard a disruption in the quiet streets, a loud shouting and whooping was coming from the voices of many men. Looking ahead and quickening his step he put his hand on his belt where the hilt of his blade hung at his side. Once he was closer, the Dragir could see a large purple, collapsible tent in a grassy area lined with flower boxes. Several men exited the tent and passed by the Dragir laughing and smelling of alcohol. They were jabbering about the excitement of such entertainment having been set up in their town. Curious as to what sort of entertainment had these men so aroused, the Dragir entered the tent to see for himself.

Once through the curtained door the Dragir’s senses were flooded with the new environment. The most obvious were the sounds. He was greeted with the harsh crash of metal shaking followed by loud cheers of the men that had overcrowded the tent. A white haze filled the room from the men’s cigarettes and the smell of alcohol and the smoke was overwhelming. Once his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting and the hazy cloud, the Dragir could see a large cage made of crisscrossed metal situated in the center of the tent. The structure took up quite a large amount of space in the tent and reached all the way to the roof. Two men were inside the cage. One on his hands and knees up against the containing metal, he was bleeding from the nose. The other, walking around the interior holding both fists raised in victory, gaining praise from the crowd. The victor was holding a pair of nun-chucks in his right hand. The Dragir smirked, cage fighting. Now he understood what the hype was all about. Looking around he saw a higher place to stand to get a better view. As he was moving to his new location the cheering died down and voice rose above the rest.

“Alright gentlemen, the time has come to close tonight’s tier, our two winners will now fight each other!” Another round of exclamation rang from the crowd and the announcer, dressed in an odd green outfit, waved them back down. “Betting starts now! Who wants to put money on the one-hit-wonder, the man who puts men on their faces, ten seconds into the round? Or who wants to raise the bar and bet on the underdog?!”

The crowd rang out in applause and catcalls at the mention of the last match of the evening. The fighter holding the nun-chucks seemed unimpressed and cocky about his upcoming fight. The announcer opened a door in the bottom of the cage and much to the Dragir’s surprise a women slipped through into the interior of the arena. She was wearing a black tunic with a red scarf wrapped around her left arm and around the body of the tunic. Knee-high leather hunting boots covered her legs and the hilts of two daggers peaked out the tops of the boots. She had amazingly red hair with a purple tinge to it waving down her shoulders to the middle of her back. The women stood just off center of the ring, eyeing her opponent. The Dragir’s mouth fell open slightly, she was beautiful, but most of all he was amazed at her courage. She must be a good fighter to have made it that far into the tiered battle and he guessed she would be only about nineteen years old. He could not take his eyes off of her.

The man in green’s voice broke through the noise of the crowd again. “Alright! Who will bet on the male fighter who has gone four rounds this evening; none of them lasting more than two minutes in length! This fighter is fresh and ready to go gentlemen! Or, who will bet on the little lady having gone six rounds this evening all lasting more than fifteen minutes, she should be tired boys but she is still standing! And boy does she look ready for anything! Come on folks lets see those rupees!”

As the announcer began to take the money from those that were intoxicated enough to pay up, the Dragir looked the situation over. The male fighter was livening up the crowd. He threw his arms in the air and pounded his fist on his chest, his mind set on the fact that he would win. But the woman was standing watching the man, a look of determination on her face. She was assessing him, watching his movements and shifting her own weight from the ball of one foot to the other, testing her own balance. The Dragir knew from seeing this that she would not be taken easily, this lady was indeed a fighter. Shifting his eyes to the funny shaped hat on the announcer’s head, the Dragir saw an elderly man handing over an entire wallet of rupees as a bet. Shaking his head, the Dragir thought he would never understand the point of throwing away money on an event such as this.

A shrill ding pierced through the air of the tent and all went completely silent. The announcer with the funny green hat entered the cage and stood in the center. The two fighters approached and stood facing each other to either side of him. The announcer did not have to yell anymore because the tent was completely quiet, waiting for the match to begin.

“Once again, to clarify the rules. You may use one weapon of your choice. Two daggers qualifies as one weapon due to their size.” He said looking toward the women. “If either of you possess magic abilities, they are not to be used against your opponent in anyway. Do not kill your opponent, a kill shot should simply be indicated by a close hit once your opponent is unable to defend or respond. Good luck.” The man stepped back and out of the cage. A rumble grew in the throats of the observers and the door of the cage clanged shut. Once again the shrill ding shook through the air in the tent and both fighters immediately jumped into a fighting stance. The crowd erupted in shouts, catcalls, and language of ever kind.

The man took the first swing with the nun-chucks, which the woman easily dodged. She hopped out of reach and sunk into her hips. With a flash she launched herself forward with one fist drawn back headed for the man’s nose. This was also dodged through fast movements of his feet. The two fighters danced around the ring for several minutes with no hits, but sweat and effort pouring out of both of them. The woman spared a quick glance at the announcer who gave her a very subtle nod. The Dragir was observant and witness this exchange. The women quickly looked back to the fight, but this moment had left her open to attack. The nun-chuck hit her dead in the chest and swung around smashing into her chin. Both hits landed with a crack as all the force of a one hit fighter made contact with her body. A roar burst from the crowd at the double hit. Falling backward she slumped against the cage but caught herself with her hands behind her back in the metal. She sagged there for a minute, the other fighter basking in his glory from the crowd, not going for a kill shot chance. The Dragir watched closely and witnessed something he did not expect. The elderly man, who had bet all his money, took his hand out of his pocket, reached up and laid his hand on the writs of the young woman through the bars of the cage. Within a second the woman stood up and resumed her fighting stance, completely energized. The fighter with the nun-chucks smirked and lunged at her, his weapon headed in the same path as the first time. The woman bent and pulled both daggers from her boots. The knife in her left hand met the swinging end of the nun-chuck and deflected it. The right-handed knife came upward with amazing speed and hooked a link in the chain that held the two pieces of the man’s weapon together. Caught off guard by this move the man hesitated giving the woman another second to act. Pulling the dagger and now the man’s weapon across her body she drove the blade into the left side of the man’s body armor trapping his weapon. Angered, the man reached over with his free arm and placed it over the back of her neck, head locking the woman. With an instant reaction she hooked her leg behind the man’s knees and pulled them forward, simultaneously pushing the dagger in the side of his armor upward. These two motions used in combination slipped his arm over and off her head and sent his legs out from under him. In the moment of suspension in which the man hovered horizontally, the woman smashed her foot into the center of his chest and brought her entire weight down on him, driving him into the floor of the arena. With a groan of pain the man lay motionless. Squatting on his chest the woman planted the left-handed dagger beside his head, millimeters from his ear.
A moment of silence hung in the air as the woman delivered the simulated kill shot. The Dragir’s first clap broke the silence and the crowd soon followed his lead and gave her the acknowledgement she deserved. The woman pulled her daggers out of their placements and replaced them in the tops of her boots. She stood and looked at the crowd through the cage. She nodded to the bulk of the crowd as a sort of bow and headed for the door of the cage.

After the event was over the men began to file out of the tent slowly, headed home for the evening. The Dragir did not move from where he had watched the match. He was still fascinated with this woman’s performance. He wondered about the two exchanges he saw during the battle. Why did she need confirmation from the announcer and why did the elderly man touch her through the cage? While these questions and the supposed answers ran through his head, the Dragir watched the elderly man approach the announcer and hold out his hand with a smile. The man who had collected the rupees earlier rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. The announcer handed over the man’s winnings after betting on the woman, a rather large sum by the look of it. The elderly man kindly smiled, took his money and headed for the door. The red headed woman also walked up to the announcer, but only once the majority of the spectators had left. He handed her a small purse, which she swiftly stuffed into her boot. She nodded at him politely and went to a corner of the tent where a small bag was laying. She picked up the black bag and removed several items, weapons to be specific. The woman slung a larger quiver and longbow onto her back and tied a two-handed long-sword to her belt. She left the bag where it lay and headed for the exit. The Dragir wanted to know more about this woman. She must come from somewhere special, she was no ordinary girl.

The Dragir followed the young fighter from the tent back into the grassy area of the castle market place. He walked several feet behind her as not to give her notice of his presence. Once outside the Dragir saw the woman talking to the elderly man from inside. Just as before, as with the announcer, the girl took a small purse from the elderly man and stuffed it into her boot. She shook his hand and headed off down the street at a rather swift pace.

Curiosity got the better of the Dragir. He had to talk to her, find out where she came from. He did not know why, but he was drawn to her. Quickening his steps the Dragir followed the young woman down two streets and around several corners. Turing the last corner where she had gone the Dragir found himself on an empty street. She was gone, simply disappeared. Confused for a minute he looked back and forth for any sign of her. Then he heard a small sound from behind him, he knew the sound well, for he had been in many battles, it was an arrow leaving a quiver. The Dragir spun around and drew his blade in preparation for what he might see. He found himself staring into a pair of red-brown eyes glaring at him from behind a strung arrow pointed at his forehead. The Dragir could not believe his eyes. She was even more striking up close. Only slightly shorter than him, he could see the defined muscles of a trained fighter and one or two battle scars on her skin. Her hair flickered under the lantern lights like the flames of a wild fire.

“Why are you following me?” Her melodic voice did not match her current stance, yet it was harsh and accusatory. The Dargir shifted his own stance from an aggressive one to a more defensive position. The woman pulled the string of the bow back father at his movement. Stopping short as not to provoke her, the Dragir spoke.
“I mean you no harm.” He loosened his grip on the hilt of his blade and let it swing to point at the ground. He raised both hands in front of him. The woman’s expression softened slightly, but she did not lower her weapon. The Dragir continued, trying to calm her nerves. “You fight very well and I was curious as to where you trained.” The woman lowered her bow and relaxed the tension on the string. A mixture of relief and frustration swept onto her face.
“That’s the question I always receive.” She said, still rather coldly. The Dragir looked at her waiting for further reaction.
“I…I’m sorry if that upsets you… I…” The Dragir searched for the right words. “I wished to speak with you. I wanted to introduce myself.” At these words the woman’s expression softened and her stance relaxed. She dropped her arm holding the bow, pointed it at the ground and replaced the arrow in its quiver.
“My name is Rad.” The Dragir held out his hand in offering. After a moment of hesitation the woman extended her free arm and took his hand.
“They call me Din.” A quick flash of a smile appeared on her lips. Unsure of how to continue Rad simply smiled back at her.
“Were you headed somewhere? I’m sorry if I am keeping you.” Rad let go of her strong hand and motioned to the street where she had been heading.
Din hesitated, “No…not really.”
“Would you like to join me at 'The Milk Bar,' it's the lounge in town? I was going to have a drink.” A joking smile crossed Rad’s face. “Celebrate your win?”
A single giggle escaped Din’s throat and a smile appeared in full on her face. She thought about the offer for a minute, looking at this friendly stranger with curious eyes. She was unsure why, but she felt as though this man was different from the others that had approached her after seeing her fight. “Okay. Sure.” She said with a small smile.

(end chapter one)
 

Din Akera

Sniper
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Location
My own little world
Would love some feedback. But with 24 views, I'll keep posting.

Chapter 2 – “Friends”

Loud laughter filled ‘The Milk Bar.’ Several people were enjoying themselves with friendly conversation and banter late into the night. Rad and Din sat at one of the tables exchanging stories that were rather humorous. The two had been talking for a couple hours by this point and were past their first few rounds of drinks.
“So the pike is sticking out of the guy’s helmet! And I’m thinking to myself, ‘oh great, this is only training and one of us is dead already.’ But the lad stood back up, and removed the piece of armor. The thing got wedged in his bloody erring! So of course we never could get him to take it off after that, he believed it saved his life!” Rad was enjoying making the beautiful girl laugh. She had loosened up considerably once they had begun talking about other things than her fighting. After her laughter calmed Rad looked at her with more serious eyes. He was still curious about what he had witnessed that evening.
“So, tell me something Din…”
“What would you like to know?” She snickered.
“What was all that about tonight? I saw you look at the fight announcer partway through the match. And why did the elderly man touch you through the bars?”

Din’s expression changed from the laughter to seriousness. This vanished quickly and was then replaced by defeat. “You really want to know?” She stared him straight in the eyes. “I’m a woman of great morals, Rad, but sometimes you have to cheat a bit to make it anywhere in life. I have a hard time holding a steady job. But that’s mostly because I can’t stay in one place to long without becoming restless. So I make a living by moving around Hyrule and ‘performing,’ so to speak, for money. Cage matches, archery, unarmed combat and even a little magic competition.”
“Magic?” Rad was surprised to hear the word come out of her mouth.
“Yes, magic.” She stuttered a little bit. “I don’t know why I am telling you this. Probably because I am a little drunk.” She laughed and smiled at him.
“What kind of magic, Din?” The man seemed fascinated with her and the mention of her abilities, though she didn’t understand why.

Din looked at him for a minute. She rarely told anyone about what she could do let alone show someone when it wasn’t necessary, but what the heck one won’t hurt, she thought. Din reached over and picked up a lonely napkin. Glancing over both shoulders to make sure no one was watching Din held the napkin up in between them in her right hand. Suddenly the napkin went up in a burst of flame, burning it. The flames went out almost instantly. If Rad had blinked, he would have missed it. Shock rocked through his mind, he had not expected that. She looked at him and grinned. “That isn’t it though.” she added. “Give me your hands.” Din held out both hands, palms up toward him across the table. He looked at them for a minute and then decided to trust her. He placed his hands in hers. Quite quickly Rad’s hands became extremely cold, as if they had been on ice for a period of time. Shocked he jerked his hands away from Din’s. She giggled a little at his reaction. “Hey, you asked” She shrugged.
A little confused Rad wanted an explination. “So fire… and heat?” he asked while rubbing his hands together.
“Sort of. I can create and manipulate fire to some extent. Heat, on the other hand, is more of an energy source rather than ability. I can pull it out of anything that is hot or warm or push it out of me into an object or person.” She explained.

Understanding grew in Rad’s mind. “So, when you were tired in between matches you could pull heat, or I guess energy out of the people in the room?” Din nodded at him once. “And when you were injured tonight and that man touched you threw the cage… He gave you heat as energy?”
Once again the woman smiled and nodded. “He and I have a bit of a deal. You see, he can’t work anymore but he is trying to support himself, his wife, and his son. So he bets on me and gives me energy if I need him, I win, he gets a killing of money, and he shares part of it with me.”
Rad stared at her as he processed what she was telling him. “And the announcer?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s a similar situation. Having a woman beat the guys in an unbelievable turn of events is really good for business. So I play weak until he gives me the signal. Then I go for it. The announcer and the old man don’t know about each other though.” She giggled on her last sentence.
“Well you certainly have things figured out for yourself here don’t you, Din.”
She shrugged. “I guess, but like I said, I don’t stay in one place to long.”
Rad looked at this beautiful woman with disbelief. She was so cunning and such a well-trained fighter. This was something he had never seen in such quantity in a woman before.
“I hope you don’t think poorly of me Rad, just because I swindle men out of their money to survive.” She poked at him playfully.
He laughed at this. “No. No. Not at…” Rad trailed off as loud yells were heard from outside the door of The Milk Bar. Both warriors stopped and looked toward the door at the source of the disturbance.

There was stillness in the space for a moment. Rad and Din looked at each other and back at the door. Rad’s hand found it’s way to the hilt of his sword. Suddenly the door burst open, swinging all the way around and smashing into the wall, the cold night air filing into the bar. The man who Din had defeated in the cage marched through the door with three other men following close behind. All of them were obviously aggravated.

Din and Rad quickly looked at each other across the table, then back at the angered men. Din slipped out of her chair to the back corner of the bar. She hoped they hadn’t seen her. She knew why his man was here, and why he had brought his friends; she had been in this situation before. She looked around for a way out. The bar was set low into the ground. They had come down a full flight of stairs to sit at one of the tables across from the counter. This left little options for escape. There were no windows and only the one visible door, currently blocked by her former opponent and his friends. How was she going to get out of here? She’d rather disappear than start a fight in a bar… Rad straightened in his seat. His eyes swept over the four men, also understanding their motivation. Rad began assessing each of them. Only the man Din had defeated held a sword. The other three had various forms of street weapons. One held a wooden bat, another a heavy metal chain, and the last a piece of pipe. Their leader’s eyes swept the bar looking for the redhead who had humiliated him. Rad stood and turned his back to them hiding Din from their sight.
“Okay, we can make it out of this easy” Rad looked over his shoulder at them.
She looked up at him, staying as hidden as she could behind him. “I don’t like public fights, then tend to end badly. I’m usually asked to leave town.”
Rad snickered. “I know what you mean there. Use the counter to get to the stairs.” Rad turned around and began to walk away from Din. She quickly did as she was told and jumped behind the counter. She started to inch toward the stairs squatting and holding the counter for balance.
“Gentlemen.” Rad’s voice rung out through the bar “We don’t want any trouble here. We are all trying to enjoy a nice social gathering--”
“I don’t care!” The fighter cut Rad off. “I know she is here, she isn’t anywhere else in the town! That redhead is not the best fighter around, and she needs to know it!”
“Well, obviously she isn’t here” Rad gestured around the bar. “So why don’t you all sit down and have a drink and calm down, or be on your way.” The man eyed Rad.
“I think we will.” The man said with a cold tone. He gestured for his buddies to sit at the counter. “Maybe we will have a drink or two.” The man walked over to the counter and leaned on it hard, his expression sour. The man knew this game; it was too easy. He leaned over and saw Din hiding underneath the counter. Within seconds his face turned to pure rage. A holler rang from his mouth as he threw everything on the counter to the ground with one sweep of his arm. Placing both hands on the counter he jumped on top of it, headed for Din.

Before he could make it any farther a set of unusually strong hands grabbed him by the back of his shirt, pulling him off the counter to the floor. Rad threw the man down and drew his weapon, pointing it at the man’s neck. Jumping from her hiding spot, Din ran to the other end of the bar to the stairs leading to the exit. Looking back she saw the other three men descending on Rad. Without hesitation she drew her daggers and raced back. Upon reaching them she leaped onto the back of the man with the pipe. Holding the dagger to his throat and restraining both his arms with hers in a headlock, she threatened them all.
“Move and I’ll kill him or he will kill your leader.” She growled nodding to Rad. The other two men froze, looking completely shocked. The leader lay on the floor, both hands up in a surrender position, with a look of complete hatred on his face. His sword having slid out of reach in the fall was useless to him with Rad’s sword in his face.
“I WILL kill you! And your little friend here too!” The man’s rage was coming out of him in heaps as he yelled at Din.

Din and Rad’s eyes met. ‘Okay, now what?’ Din’s thoughts were racing as she tried to figure out the next best course of action. Planning had never been her strong suit, just winning the fight. Rad’s eyes flickered to the man holding the bat and then back to Din. Very slightly he jerked his head in the direction of the bat. After a moment of thought Din understood. Holding her hostage tight see looked at the man with the bat.
“You should probably get some ice for that.” The man’s confused expression matched the noise that came from his throat. Just then the bat went up in a huge flare of red and orange flame.
“HAAAA!!” The man holding it let go and dropped his burning weapon to the floor. At this same instance Rad swung his sword and shattered the chain in the hands of the third intruder.
“GO!” Rad’s order filled the room and Din responded immediately. She threw the man she was holding forward and took off for the stairs. The man with the pipe stumbled a little but regained his balance quickly. Before Rad was able to get past him, the man swung the hunk of metal. With an easy dodge Rad turned and smashed the side of his blade into the man’s weapon. Rad hit with such force that the pipe left the other man’s hand and flew across the bar. Leaving him holding his wrist in pain, Din and Rad took off for the door at a full run. They broke out into the street and took off down the road knowing that they would be followed. Hurtling around a couple corners and running as fast as they could down the streets of Castle Town they began to laugh. Rad’s words broke through their giggles. “To the field! They’ll never follow us that far.” Din flowed him easily, her legs not much shorter than his. They reached the tall eastern gates and slipped through without a word from the guard standing watch. Once they hit the grass the two runaways slowed to a walk. They were both breathing a bit faster from the adrenalin.
“Well that was fun!” Din laughed.
“Yes it was.” Rad smiled at her as they set into a walking pace. They kept moving until they were well away from the town walls and partway to the Eldin province. After a few moments to catch their breath Din broke the silence.
“Alright, Rad of Manthys, so now you know all about me. How about yourself?” Din asked dancing playfully away from him and looking at the stars. She was in such a good mood, she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this way. Rad walked over to where she had stopped and looked up as well. The stars were something Rad treasured. No matter where he went, or what he did, they were always there. The same stars, watching over him forever.
“My story is a pretty long one.” He said matter of factly while lowering himself to the ground. He pondered as he looked up at the sky; he didn’t know what to tell her.
“That’s alright,” she joined him on the soft grass of the ground. “Then just tell me what you think is most important, friend.” Rad turned his head fast and looked at her when he heard the last word. That was something he was not used to hearing, he didn’t know how to respond. Din was taken aback at his reaction. “I…I’m sorry. I just wanted to try it out. It’s not something I get to say to often. But that guy said it back in the bar, and I thought ‘well, just maybe.’” She looked down at her hands in her lap, a little embarrassed.
Rad shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. I’m just not used to hearing it.” He smiled at her. ‘Friend.’ It had a nice ring to it. They sat for a moment in silence looking up at the night sky, now beginning to lighten behind the mountains to the east.
“I have lived a very full life. I don’t know where I should start.” Rad’s tone had grown much more serious, but he tried to give a woof of a laugh on the last word. Rad knew exactly what he should tell her, especially after she opened up to him. She had come to his aid too. She could have just left him once she got a break for the door in the bar, but she came back to fight alongside him. What’s more, she wanted to be his friend, which was something that Rad could not take lightly. But if he told her he wasn’t human she might abandon that notion. Yet, he couldn’t lie to her. Din looked at him, her eyes curious.
“Din… I’m--”
“Ms. DIIIIIINNN!!” A nasally male voice rang out and cut Rad’s sentence short. Looking up they saw a man running toward them from the northwest. He wore a white shorts suit, a red hat, and carried a backpack with a large sign on his back. The postman jogged up to where Din and Rad sat. “I have an urgent letter for you from the Desert province.” The man pulled out an envelope from his backpack and held it out to Din.
“Thank-you.” Din reached up and took the piece of paper from him. Before she looked up from it the delivery the man was already jogging off toward the Eldin province. The morning sun, now peaking over the top of Death Mountain, made Din shield her eyes with her arm to see the man go.

Glancing at Rad Din didn’t think see would have any need to save it for later. Looking at the envelope Din tore one end open and pulled out the letter inside, upon doing so a flurry of sand fell out and caught the wind. Rad watched as she unfolded the piece of paper and began to read. Her body stiffened after only the first couple sentences and her eyes grew wide with horror. Jumping to her feet Din franticly began to read faster.
Rad’s concern brought him to a standing position beside her and he laid his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. “What? What is it?”

(End chapter 2)
 

*M i d n a*

Æsir Scribe
Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Location
*Midgard*
Gender
Entity
I have read both parts now. The first part was very good, I rarely saw any mistakes there. The second part was also very good, but I did find like five or six typos there, or mistakes if you will. Those do not take anything from this great story, though, and I am not saying that just because Rad, my character, has appeared on both ocassions. No, it's a neat little story you have going here, LinkAndI, keep it up. I do appreciate a good read. :D

I am already looking forward for part three.
 

Din Akera

Sniper
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Location
My own little world
Thank-you, I appreciate the feedback. If i could get where those mistakes are form you at some point that would be awesome :)

Chapter 3 – “Companions”

Din’s face flashed between many emotions but finally settled somewhere between fear and anger once she finished the letter she had received. She shook her head from side to side as she processed the information. Feeling Rad’s hand on her shoulder she looked at him, disbelief in her eyes.
“My… my home has been attacked.” Her words stumbled out and her eyes glazed over as she attempted to process the news.
“By what?” Rad’s voice was empathetic but serious. There had been little evil in the world since the hero of time banished the evil king to the sacred realm. Rad had witnessed the event.
“The prisoner.” Din whispered looking downward. “The prisoner of Arbiter’s Grounds.”
Rad looked at her for a minute trying to understand. He had never been to the desert province of Hyrule, and he had heard very little about it, other than it was hard to get there. Rad ran through all that he knew about the harsh Desert province. He had heard that even if you did make it there, the desert was a dangerous place where only a handful of creatures could survive. He knew that the desert was the dwelling of the Gerudo and that they allowed no outsiders near their land. He also knew of the fortress that stood in the name of their race and the prison, build hundred of years ago to hold the unbanishable evils of the world.
“Gerudo desert is your home?” Rad’s thoughts were running around in circles. “but, I thought you were--”
“I don’t know what I am.” She cut him off before he could finish, her tone cold. “And it really doesn’t matter. I have to do something.” Din began to pace back and forth thinking hard. “I have to go back, I have to help them. She says the prisoner left the province, but Arbiter’s Grounds and the fortress are severely damaged.” She looked over to him.
Rad looked back at her. “Well, I guess we will need some supplies then, and some transportation. We need to get some stock of food and water, maybe a potion or two, to make it through the desert alive.” Rad began plotting in his head everything that would be required for this type of adventure.
“You… you want to come?” Disbelief broke from Din’s lips as she starred at him.
Rad stopped and looked up at her. “Yes…I’ll help you. That is… if you want me.”
The two looked at each other for a minute. Emotion began to form in Din’s eyes, and she smiled weakly at him. Quickly clamping her eyes shut she forced back everything that was coming out. With a deep breath she spoke.
“Thank-you.”
Rad threw her a smile and lightly set his hand in the center of her back, leading her forward. His mind then went back to business. “Like I said we will need to stock up, and it might be of use to get some more weapons.” Rad began to lead her east, to the Eldin province boarder just up ahead. They had moved just over half way across the field during the night.
“Where are we going? The desert is to the west.” She pointed out.
“Yes, but Kakariko is just in the valley. They have plenty of stock, and I have some friends there.”
Din nodded with understanding. She had never been to Kakariko Village. She knew it was at the base of Death Mountain, but she had never made it that far in her travels.

East Hyrule took an hour or two to cross to the Eldin province on foot, but Din was well aware of when they reach the new area. The ground turned from grass and earth to stone and dust. The mountains rose around them and the valley fell beside them. They continued walking in silence until Din’s senses became aware that the landscape was changing again. The walls of rock on either side of them began to widen and the ground underneath their feet became much more flat. But what she was most aware of was the sound and smell of fresh water. Sure enough, as they rounded a corner in the rocks, buildings appeared as well as people and animals. A small group of children were playing in the center of the well-beaten pathway through the village. Chickens pecked away at the ground around the feet of a donkey and a few horses, and people moved in and out of the houses and shops that were built into the sides of the rock faces.
“Welcome to Kakariko.” Rad smirked at her and headed for a dome shaped building that was the closest building to them. Hurrying behind him Din followed him through the door into a dimly lit one-room building that appeared to be some kind of sanctuary or church.
“Renado?” Rad called into the open space.
After a moments pause a Man dressed in robes appeared through a door in the back wall that Din had not noticed before. The man looked at the two of them and a huge smile spread across his face and he approached quite quickly.
“Rad! Oh it is good to see you again!” The two men shook hands. Renado straightened and looked toward the lady Rad had brought with him. “and who might this be? A special friend Rad?”
Rad glanced at Din. “This is Din. She’s…” He let the thought go. “We need some supplies Ren, we have a quest ahead of us.”
“Ah! So companions then.” Renado closed the thought, sensing the hesitation. “Well, we have plenty to choose from. Though I have something just for you. It seems like something you could use.” Renado walked to the wall and removed a battleaxe from a hanger. “This, will do you well battle.” Renado handed it to Rad and began patting a small leather bag that hung around his neck with the tips of his fingers. “If you know what I mean.”
Rad nodded, “Thank-you.”
“You should stop by Barnes on your way out too. He has some new toys since you last came to town. And of course Malo will have everything you need for a trip.” Renado smiled at both of them. “It was very nice to meet you Din.” The man approached her and held out his hand. She shook it and smiled back.
“Yes, you too sir.”

Rad took Din to the two other places Renado had mentioned. The Malo Mart had stock on food, bottles of water, and potions as well as arrows, slate for sword and knife sharpening, and a variety of other necessities for travel. Barnes, she had learned, was a bomb shop. The man in the wielding mask behind the counter had given her a free sample of his new invention, bomb arrows. Din was very excited for the new weapon, especially because she new she would have no problem lighting them at any given moment. Din had to remind Rad that he didn’t need to purchase matches or lantern oil at the Malo Mart with her around. When the two of them had left the store Renado was standing at the exit to the town with two massive warhorses.
“I was guessing you might be in need of some transportation?” Renado smiled at he two of them and handed the bridles over. Din was stunned at this gesture, two war horses…Rad must have a really good reputation with this guy.
“Well, thank-you Ren.” Rad took grey-black colored horse and mounted up immediately. Din took the reins of the brown horse who had a beautiful black mane and tail. She mounted easily as well.
Rad looked down at the man, “We’ll be seeing you around then Ren, thank-you for all this. It is all very well and very pleasing.” Rad smiled at him.
“I’m glad my friend. Happy traveling.” Renado turned and went back into the building from which he came without another word. Din noticed a different tone in the last sentences the two men had exchanged, but she could not understand it’s purpose or place what the hidden meaning was.
(Chapter continues)
 

Din Akera

Sniper
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Location
My own little world
Rad kicked his horse into motion and the two set out westward from the village. For the next couple minutes Din explained how to get from Lanayru province into the desert province.
“The path isn’t through Lake Hylia as most people think. They try to go through there with little success. There is a passage that runs right along the boarder of Peak province. It is mountain cliff and desert sand, and by no means easy to navigate, but it is the best way to make the transition.”
The travelers fell into an easy pace; the horses moving quickly across the rocky passage from Hyrule field to where Lanayru and Peak met in the middle. They rode together in silence. Rad, deep in thought about what was to come, and how he could help this girl who he’d just met. He still didn’t understand why he was so drawn to her. All he knew was that he felt he should stay with her. Din was also lost in her own mind, thinking about where she had been, and this man that had become the closest thing to a real friend she had ever had, and in such a short time. She did not understand how she could trust him so fast, but she knew she did.
Nightfall landed almost at the same time that they reached the pass. The two decided not to try and navigate the rock cliff in the dark. They tied the horses and settled down for the night. Both of them lay beside each other on their backs looking at the sky.
“This is becoming our pastime, Rad.” Din giggled as she traced shapes in the sky with her eyes.
“Yeah, sure is…”
Din though about how to approach all the questions she had for him. She didn’t want to upset him. “So…How do you know Renado?”
Rad’s expression did not change, but his thoughts began running at the speed of light. What could he tell her?
“We met several years ago in Kakariko.” He said.
Din was confused with the half-hearted response. “And you became good friends?”
“You could say that.”
Din sat upright and folded her legs under her. She was frustrated with the lack of answers he had been giving her. Not just now, but since they met. He seemed so interested in her. Yet, he rarely answered her questions. Maybe she wasn’t right to have trusted him so quickly. Rad saw the flash of frustration on her face as she moved away from him. A wave of guilt moved through his stomach as her face disappeared from his view behind her hair. He knew exactly why she was upset.
“Din…I…I can’t…” Rad trailed off.
“No, I get it.” She said looking at her hands in her lap.
Rad sat up and looked at the back of her hair as she was slightly in front of him. He struggled with himself for a minute, could he really tell her of all he’d done.
“No. I would like to answer you, I just don’t know how.”
Din looked back at him over her shoulder, waiting.
With a moment of hesitation Rad shifted to one hip to sit beside her, trying to look her in the eyes. Din rotated herself as well so that she was facing him, giving him what he was looking for.
“Din…” He began again. “I haven’t always been a good creat--person.” He cut himself off as the word started to come out. He was too comfortable with her, and he was upset with himself for it in that moment. But he knew that he needed to be on some level, otherwise their friendship would end. “I have done some horrible things, none of which I am particularly proud of. I have been trying to clean up my life and do good.” Rad looked off into the desert for a minute as the thoughts and emotions of the past began coming back to him. Din tilted her head and caught his eye with hers. Slowly she reached out and very gently placed two fingers on his chin. She turned his face back to hers.
“Rad, you are a good creature and person. I have seen it.” She dropped her hand back to her lap. She had caught the word before Rad had been able to hold it back. “So maybe you have some bones in your closet, but… you have shown me good, and only good.”
“I have killed. Killed people, people who did not deserve to die. Din, I am not…good” Anger was mounting in his voice. A deep breath escaped him. “I try to be.”
Din looked him deep in the eyes. “That’s all anyone could ask.”
Rad looked at her with disbelief. Did she hear him? He wasn’t sure. How could she accept that so easily?
“I can’t tell you why” Din began, “but for some reason I feel that I can trust you. Which is something I have rarely found, so as long as you will trust me, I will trust you.” She turned her head to the side and looked up at him.
“I don’t understand it either. But I feel like we…were meant to meet.” Rad looked at her and struggled for the right words. Din smiled, she was satisfied that he had opened up to her, even just a little bit. She valued him on a level she had never understood before. The two went back to watching the stars and eventually drifted off to sleep.

Rad woke with the first peak of the morning sun over horizon. Rad looked at the woman asleep only a couple feet away from him. She lay there sleeping soundly, her hair covering part of her face. Rad reached over and slid his finger under the piece of hair in her face; gently he pushed it back behind her ear. Rolling to his side and sitting up he looked toward the desert pass with determination. He was going to do and be good. He was going to do everything he could to help her. Rad reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Din. Wake up.” He shook her gently. Din stirred and opened her eyes. She looked up at him, smiled and stretched.
“You want to go home now?” he said quietly.
Din’s expression fell and she sat up. She nodded slowly. “Yes, let’s go.”
The two packed up, mounted their horses and began to pick their way across the uneven and rock thrown path. It took from dawn until just before noon until they hit the soft sand of the desert province. Both dismounted and lead the horses, as it was difficult for them to maneuver on the uneven and shifting ground.
“There is a stable in that rock. An…owl of sorts lives there and takes care of the Gerudo horses because they don’t do very well in the sand.” Din and Rad felt their horses with the owl as she had said and walked the rest of the way to Gerudo fortress. When they reached a low path through two high reaching cliffs on either side of them and the ground turned from sand to rock Din grabbed Rad’s arm and stopped him. “Okay. How do I say this… the Gerudo don’t take too kindly to men. Only one man is born every hundred years and the last one didn’t go over very well, but I think you know that story. If you are attacked, do not engage. They won’t hurt you only restrain you. I will need to explain your presence.” Without further word Din marched down the path between the rocky cliffs and Rad followed her cautiously.
As they got closer Rad could see stonewalls rising above the cliff on the right; large clouds of black smoke billowing out from portions of them. Din began to walk faster as she saw the smoke coming from the place she used to call home. Just then, the sound of rushing air broke the silence. Rad looked up to see two women jumping of the cliff from above him. The first hit him in the center of the chest and used her weight to throw him to the ground. Reacting out of instinct Rad reached up and grabbed her preparing to throw her off of her superior battle position. The second reacted to Rad’s movement and thrust a pike in his face.
“Rad, NO!” Din’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Don’t fight!” Rad remembering only then what she had told him. Raising his hands to a surrender position Rad did not struggle against the attackers. Din was right beside the woman who landed on him and she placed her hand on her shoulder. “Ella, it’s me, Din.” The woman turned and looked at Din, relaxing her stance. Din breathed easy. “He is with me. He is my…partner.” Din was not sure how to refer to him.
This seemed to satisfy Ella and she stepped back from him. “Avail has been waiting for you.” The woman threw a glance at the man on the ground. Din reached down and offered a hand to Rad. He took it and stood. Ella turned on her heels and began to walk toward the fortress.
“Hard part is over.” Din whispered into Rad’s ear. The two of them followed Ella into the fortress. She led them down several different passages and through many doors. Rad felt like he was in a maze that he could never get out of after all the twists and turns. But Din seemed at ease, so he trusted her. As he said he would.
They reached a high ceilinged room that had a large dirt floored open ring in the center, appearing to resemble a training center, complete with seating on both sides of the room. But the ring had bedrolls and assorted forms of living necessities laying in rows within it rather than being cleared for battle. Two guards stood on either side of the seating on the right side of the ring holding pikes with sharp blades on the end. They wore purple Gerudo attire and looked at the group as they entered the room. Sitting in between the guards was a woman dressed in red clothing, creating a huge contrast between herself and all the other Gerudo women. She sat on the lowest seat of the benches with her head in her hands.
“Avail?” Din’s question made the woman look up and toward the source of the voice. Din hurried over and fell to her knees on the dirt floor in front of the leader of the gerudo. They took each other’s hands and looked at each other for a long moment with no words. Rad noted the connection between the two women. They looked completely different from each other, obviously of different races, but their actions showed the relationship of mother and child.
“He grew to strong Din.” Avail’s voice was shaky with emotion. “He broke loose of the chains and brought down the walls of the grounds. He came directly here and destroyed as much as he could as fast as he could. We are sleeping in the training ring for goddesses sake!” She gestured to the bedrolls and tears welled up in her eyes. “Din. He has threatened to release the others…”
Worry creased Din’s forehead at this news. She looked downward for a moment. Looking back up at Avail, she spoke. “Mother, I won’t let it happen.”
Avail looked at her and then over at Rad. “Who is this?”
“This is my friend, Rad. He is a very skilled fighter as well.”
Avail looked at Rad with a serious expression and tears in her eyes. “Ark Mantrios, the great demon, has escaped from Arbiter’s Grounds. He plans to release the other three unbanishable demons from their dwelings…” THe leader of the Gerudo stood and walked to stand in front of Rad. She looked him drectly in the eyes. “Rad, will you help her?”
Rad was taken aback at first. If all three unbanishable demons walked the lands of Hyrule, it would surely become a world of chaos. This was indeed his chance to turn his reputation around. The goddesses had sent him a piece of fate.
“Of course ma’am.” Rad nodded in a bit of a bow. He was not sure how to address the leader of the Gerudo race. Din looked at him with happiness in her eyes and worry on her mouth. “We can do this together Din.” He assured her.
Her warm smile spread across her face. They were certainly going to have an adventure. Four unbanishable demons to deal with…
(End chapter)
 
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*M i d n a*

Æsir Scribe
Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Location
*Midgard*
Gender
Entity
I just finished reading chapter 3. Again, a few typos here and there but don't worry about it, I enjoyed reading it. I know I've said this like twice already, I will pm you the mistakes in red soon. You can either choose to edit them or leave them as they are, up to you. Can't wait for chapter 4. XD

So Rad, Din and the clique have three demons to dispose of, eh? lol. Cool. I wish I knew more about Gerudo and the game you are basing this on, I really have a hard time imagining a Gerudo and the places and such. Also, I had a hard time reading the story...it's all crowded. Maybe if you separated the paragraphs apart like I do, that would help out. It will make the story look longer but it will be a better read and neat looking, trust me. *Winks*
 

Din Akera

Sniper
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Location
My own little world
Okay, thank-you very much for the feedback. I will space it out more. You see when I type it out in Word there are tabs, but the type boxes here don't take tabs, so it comes out looking different.
Thank-you! :)
 

*M i d n a*

Æsir Scribe
Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Location
*Midgard*
Gender
Entity
Okay, thank-you very much for the feedback. I will space it out more. You see when I type it out in Word there are tabs, but the type boxes here don't take tabs, so it comes out looking different.
Thank-you! :)

I know what you mean. It happened to me too but now when I paste it here it comes out already separated so I don't have to do anything. XD It took me some time to do the separating but it's worth it. Also, just so you can know, the feedback I give is intended to help you, not to hurt you or anything. I make mistakes too, and so any feedback I get really helps me out. So I am not here to criticize your writing, rather help you with it. ^^
 

Din Akera

Sniper
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Location
My own little world
Nice writing. So Ark's coming back. But isn't he in the adult timeline?

This story is a break off story. I'm not concerning myself much with timelines. The only thing that I'm dealing with is that this is after Acendency of the Last to accomidate Rad. But yes, I had to bend the death of Ark into him being confined rather than killed so that it can be after Ganondorf has been banished. This was explained at the beginning of the thread.

Does that clear it up?
 

Din Akera

Sniper
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Location
My own little world
It's brilliant. I can't wait to see the rest. Please let me know where and when you post it!!!

Thank-you Hazel. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)
So anyone who is following it know, I have jumped around in my writing a bit, so there are pieces written that do not follow in order yet. Chapter 4 is in progress. I am sorry for the delay, but school and life are busy, as a result, it is difficult to work on it all the time.

I appreciate all the feedback! Thank-you everyone!
 

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