Zelda Art Zelda: Twin Chronicles

[Majora's Cat]

I'll be drawing scenes more than anything else, but the background will be white. Too lazy to color it in, I guess. I'm not like a professional artist, so from a high-standard view, I won't be completely amazing.

 

[Majora's Cat]

Chapter 7
Living with the Past​

Link continued limping towards Southern Hyrule, hoping he would find refuge in the safe confines of his village. Evening fell as he walked across the vast, empty Hyrule Field. He tried to remind himself that it was only a little further, but with an injured woman on his back, it seemed nearly impossible to travel all the way across the land. Link's legs began to ache. Little by little he was losing his strength. His body complained, it longed to stop moving, but his heart told him to go on. Traveling through the field at night was a haunting feeling. Wolfos howled in the night, lurking in the shadows. Link could feel their presence as he walked towards the South Entrance. Something smelled strange. He looked around and sniffed his clothes. Minty fresh. He sniffed Tsukino, and as always, she smelled of peaches. It was the scent of blood, but he did not know where in the world it was coming from. He looked about, then continued walking. After a little while, the pungent odor of blood became stronger. Wait - it was not just the smell of blood. It was the repulsive smell of death. Death was definitely lingering in the air. Link's stomach lurched with fear, but he pushed himself onward. The forest was suspiciously quiet - the feint chatter of laughing children could usually be heard. As Link rounded the final bend, an overwhelming smell filled his nostrils. He covered his nose and walked into the village. Link gaped at the horror, wide-eyed.
"NO!!!" he screamed and screamed, hoping that his voice could be heard by the goddesses above.
Dozens of bodies littered the ground, blood splattered everywhere. The ground seemed completely soaked in red, and Link feel to the ground, sobbing. Tsukino slid off of his shoulders, but he didn't care.
"Mmm? Who's... there..." Tsukino seemed to be awakening. "What? Master!"
Link sat on his knees, hands covering his face. He pounded the ground with his fists for what seemed like an eternity. Tsukino watched this pitiful display and tried to walk away, but remembered her grave injuries. Dried blood was splattered all over her robe.
"Taking out your anger on the ground won't bring the villagers back, you know," Tsukino tried to speak softly.
Link glared at her and grabbed her by the neck. "You did this! Your whole bloody cult did this! I can't ever forgive my brother now, knowing that he slaughtered our entire village!"
Tsukino noticed their father's corpse lying on the ground, but didn't mention it. Link was in enough pain as it was.
"Father?!" Link seemed to have noticed Corei, lying of the ground with a hole in his chest. "No, no, no, no, NO!"
Tsukino backed away from Link, but he drew his sword and slowly advanced, tears in his eyes. She began to crawl away in fear for her own life.
"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now," said Link, anger and despair in his lonely eyes. "Tell me why I shouldn't march over to Castle Town and kill everyone there! That would serve you filthy fleabags right!"
The pathetic woman before him tried to flee, but was stopped dead in her tracks by her injuries. Link suddenly remembered how much he had hurt her, and crouched down next to her. There was an emptiness in her beautiful eyes. Who would've thought that she had once been such a good person. Nonetheless, Link was bound by his honor to save her life, so he retreated to a small cave where he, Poder and Tsukino used to hide out in.
"This is..." Tsukino began to speak.
"I know." Link dropped her onto the ground and sat down next to her. The cave was much smaller than Link had remembered - he had not gone inside of it in years. It looked as if Tsukino looked at Link passionately for just a moment, then quickly turned away.
"Let's get some sleep," Link said as he lay down on the ground. A cold wind blew outside, but the cave was warm. He slowly began to drift into blissful sleep...​

 

[Diablo]

Once again good as always, very descriptive.

 

[Majora's Cat]

Chapter 7
Poder in Captivity​

Poder laid silently on the cold, stone floor silently. Quite a bit of time had passed - he had assumed it had been hours already. Over the past few hours, he was in total darkness. He could hear the sages' talking on the upper level, but could not quite figure out what exactly they were saying. Finally, the younger sage walked down the stairs, muscles bulging. He carried his large blade on his shoulder.
"We've decided on what to do with you. Since we have you in captivity, there is no way you will escape. The binding spell Nayu the Fire Sage used on you is the most powerful in the kingdom - do not expect to break free from it," the large man paused for a second, then continued. "I almost forgot - we have reached a verdict: you will be executed here, by our hands. Do not try to resist in any way."
Poder glared at the sage and strained himself trying to open his mouth. He fought against the spell, and was finally able to make out some words, though they were unintelligible.
"What was that, maggot?" the sage said mockingly.
"What... i-is your... n-name..." Poder stuttered.
"Oh, of course. How rude I am. My name is Destrez. I am the Sage of Shadow. We sages are all very powerful, but you'll never faceone as strong as I. I am the best of the best, little man. Why did you want to know, anyway?"
"I... w-was just c-curious... to find out your n-name... before I k-killed you... I w-wouldn't have had... an opportunity to do so... if I k-killed you without a-asking your name first... right?"
Destrez's faced grew red with fury and he heaved his blade from over his shoulder and slammed it into the ground. Nayu seemed to have heard the sound from upstairs and came down to find out what was happening.
"Have you drawn your blade already, Destrez?" the frail old man asked.
"Quiet, pops. I'm dealing with this vermin! Let's make the execution a bit sooner!" Destrez was boiling with fury.
"I agree. The sooner this miscreant is taken care of, the sooner the kingdom can be restored to its normal state."
The Fire Sage lifted his staff and stabbed it into the ground. A triforce symbol appeared on the ground Poder was lying on top of. The symbol began to shine brightly, and Nayu recited an enchantment. Right as Nayu finished reciting, Poder rolled out of the way. A blinding light flashed from the symbol and Nayu cursed under his breath.
"How did he do that, pops?" Destrez asked the old man.
"I don't know! No one has ever fought against the binding spell like that before!" Nayu suddenly felt a surge of unease.
"I t-told you... YOU COULDN'T HOLD ME DOWN!" Poder began to break free of the spell, a wave of power enamating from him as he freed himself. Poder ran towards his sword which the sages had hung on the wall after binding him.
"Argh!" Destrez charged at poder, his massive weapon held high. Poder dodged his monsterous attack and tornado kicked Destrez before he could retaliate, knocking the sage over.
"You will not escape!" Nayu yelled as bolts of lightning shot out from the tip of his staff. Poder formed a magical shield around him to protect him from the electricity, but it wouldn't hold for long. Nayu came closer to Poder, the electricity strengthening as he walked. Eventually the shield shattered and the charges of lightning blew Poder back. The wall caved in as Poder made contact with it. There were cracks in the solid stone wall, and worse - Destrez had already gotten on his feet.
"You'll never take me!" Poder jumped up and ran towards Nayu. The sage prepared to attack, but he simply jumped over the old man's head and attacked Destrez from above. The young man stood strong, and several swings of his massive sword sent Poder flying right into Nayu.
"Oof!" Poder was knocked right into the old sage.
Destrez advanced and stabbed his sword at Poder's head. He blocked Destrez's sword with his own, his arms shaking violently as the sage pushed even harder. Poder gave up and quickly rolled out of the way of Destrez's blade and swung his sword at the young sage's head. Destrez narrowly dodged Poder's sword, then pulled his own sword out of the ground and attacked at the same time as Poder. The swords made contact and both sides tried to push the other over. The blades remained locked in combat, Poder struggling to fend off Destrez. The sage eventually overpowered Poder and dealt a deadly blow to the stomach. The dark lord fell over in pain, blood spurting out from his wound. His robes were turning red with blood. His vision was becoming blurred. The last thing he saw was Destrez's satisfied smirk... and then darkness.​

 

[Zelda's_Child]

Ooooh... nice few chapters, Majora's Cat! Did Poder die? How will the rest of the story go if he does?

Anyway, lovely writing once more!

 

[Diablo]

Wow Majora this really good. It seems like poder is in big trouble.

 

[Majora's Cat]

Well, I'll be completely honest. I never expected so much positive feedback, and I appreciate you guys commenting on my fan fic!

Anyway, this next chapter will take a decidedly lighter tone. I guess I wanted to take a break from the stabbing, murders and the overall dark tone of the story... so enjoy this little tidbit.

Chapter 8
Tsukino's Choice​

Link awoke, Tsukino sleeping soundly by his side. The beautiful morning sun creeped up out of the sky. A radiant yellow light began to light up the sky, signaling the dawn of a new day. The sight was almost heartwarming... except for the dozens of bodies littered all over the ground. Link's morning was ruined at the sight of the corpses. The village really started to stink, so he decided to do some clean-up. While Tsukino lay in the cave recovering from her wounds, Link spent countless hours clearing out the bodies and the blood. It was really quite haunting work. Link shuttered at the sight of a villager's severed hand. At the end of the day, the village was clean for the most part. Link had made graves for each and every one of the townspeople, though very poorly. Each tomb was simply a stick protruding from the dirt where each body was either half-buried or completely lying out in the open. Tsukino got out of the cave and walked up behind Link and snickered.
"What?" Link seemed confused. He thought he had done a rather good job at cleaning the village and arranging the graves.
"Sticks? And most of the bodies aren't even buried!" Tsukino laughed even louder.
"Well, it only took me a day to do all of this! Do you know how tiring this is?"
Tsukino laughed ever louder and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Link, you're such a dimwit. You're not at all like your brother."
"A lot of people used to say that..." Link remembered how the adults had always praised his stupid brother and never once mentioned Link. Poder was stupid. Very, very stupid.
"Well, I think you're rather sweet. You did all this? It takes a big heart to actually touch those bodies," Tsukino looked over at a fat man's corpse, his arm dismembered and laying next to his leg. "Poder was a heartless snob. He could really care less if his closest friend was killed."
"Seems like you really hate him..." a big grin creeped along Link's face. "Poder was always a stupid jerk."
"Yes... but I once loved him."
Link was taken aback by Tsukino's words. "What?"
"I don't want to talk about it... all you need to know is that your brother is a tyrant."
"If you hate him so much, why are you a member of the cult?"
"I loved Poder so much... I would do anything for him. I joined the cult and became his most loyal follower. I wanted so much for him to treat me respectfully..."
Link frowned. "Well, Poder's a butt."
Tsukino smiled, and the two went in search for a shovel to dig better graves for the villagers. ​

---​

Over the next few days, Link and Tsukino had taken a liking to each other. They were fast becoming the childhood friends that they had once been. There were many fond memories from that time, and it felt like Link was revisiting those carefree times... except for the fact that a lot of the work to be done around the village had to do with corpses. Link and Tsukino seemed completely ignorant when it came to what they were actually doing. The two were shoveling graves for corpses that Poder, Link's twin brother and Tsukino (as well as Link's greatest friend) had killed. They always smiled when handing each other a severed leg or throwing a gruesomely disfigured man into the grave they had dug. Link would stare into Tsukino's eyes, and Tsukino into Link's. The two would turn away shyly, but they both knew there was something more. Tsukino was confused, torn between brothers. Was she to side with Poder, the evil man she had once loved? Or Link, a man that had saved her life after she attacked him? There was no doubt that Link had a strong heart. Poder had no such thing. Tsukino remembered back when they were all children, the twins were so similar. Everything about them - absolutely everything was he same. Slowly a gap developed between the two. The gap widened and widened until one became a madman, the other a brave hero.
"You know..." Tsukino thought aloud one day.
Link turned to look at her and listened thoughtfully. "Yes?"
"You are a brave soul, and I want to do what is right. I want to join you in your cause. There is no gain in being Poder's slave. He is a terrible man, and I believe you will be the one to kill him. I have faith in you. Please, take me along with you. I can prove to be of assisstance."
Link knew this was coming - it was going to come eventually. Tsukino and Link had revived their former bond... and perhaps a spark that had never existed previously. "Of course you can come. I could not possibly do this alone."
Link took Tsukino's hand, and gripped it firmly. She smiled and made a vow: "If there ever is an obstacle ahead, if there ever is an evil lurking in the shadows, remember. I will always be at your side... always."
Link was startled as Tsukino embraced him. He smiled, and the two watched the sunset together.​

 

[Majora's Cat]

Chapter 8
Execution​

Poder was strapped to a cross, his arms and legs tied tightly. He had been stuck to the cross for several days now - the isolation from the rest of the world was driving him insane. For days on end he could not see a thing in the darkness, only the sound of sand storms outside the dome. His mental state was being pushed to the limit. The blood from his wound had dried up long ago, but the torturous pain remained. His hands were going numb from the rope binding him to the cross, and the position he was in was hurting him. Poder winced. Nayu, Destrez and the puppy walked down the stairs.
"Hello, prisoner. Do you know what today is?" Destrez taunted Poder. As if he didn't know. "Today is the day of your glorious execution."
Nayu paced back and forth across the room. "Yes, and it will not be either Destrez or myself ending your life. We think it would be more appropriate it our little friend did it." Nayu motioned towards the wimpering puppy standing next to him.
Poder laughed at the thought of it. "The puppy?!"
"This is no ordinary puppy. This is Foodles, the Sage of Water."
Poder laughed even harder until tears began to stroll down his cheeks. "Foodles?! That's pathetic!"
The puppy's faced scrunched up in anger, and it began to grow in size. Foodles was now larger than Poder, his appearance more menacing than when he was an innocent little puppy.
"Foodles is perhaps more powerful than I. We really don't know what kind of untapped power our little canine has..." Destrez said in a deep, booming voice. "He's cute, isn't he?"
Poder tensed up. He didn't know whether to laugh at the thought of being killed by a puppy or to be concerned. He couldn'y help himself - he chuckled, then let slip a snort.
"Kill him now, Foodles," said Nayu.
Foodles' razor-sharp teeth protruded from his mouth. His eyes began to glow, as well as a spot on his head. Foodles began to expand in size, and presumably strength. The puppy's head stopped before he hit the ceiling. He snarled and growled, hoping to unsettle Poder. The dark lord simply stared back at Foodles without emotion. The puppy became enraged at Poder's expressionless face and opened its saliva-filled jaws.
"Before this pathetic puppy makes an attempt to kill me, can I have a few words?" Poder asked.
"Of course. The more, the merrier. I want to hear your last few words before being eaten alive," said Destrez, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I want to hear you shriek in pain as your heart is pierced by Foodles fangs..." Destrez spoke with a bit more of a sinister tone.
"You surey didn't think that these ropes would hold me?" Poder sneered.
Foodles wrapped his fangs around the cross, but as he began to bite down on Poder, he broke free of the ropes binding him to the cross and sent a black fireball down Foodles' esophagus. The puppy began coughing up blood and feinted, his teeth still sunken into the cross. Poder fired black butterflies at the two remaining sages and ran up the stairs. He quickly crawled through the hole and headed in the direction from which he originally came. The sand blinded Poder's sight, making it hard to figure out where he was heading. He was still fatigued from his wound, and collapsed right onto the sand.​

 

[bigflyingpotato]

Ah you do know how to make a good cliffhanger. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Great chapters as always.

 

[Diablo]

I would have never expected a puppy be the sage of water.

 

[Majora's Cat]

@ Diablo

Yes, the Sage of Water is a puppy. Actually, probably a year or so before I discovered ZD, I always imagined the Twin Chronicles saga as a Zelda game in WW fashion. Link and Poder fighting to the death... I always remembered the order of the four bosses in my mind - Foodles being the third. I already have all the sages' battles and everything in my head - I just need to unleash the power onto ZD's forums. Now I imagine TC as more of a dark-toned TP-style story, perhaps more realistic and much darker. Ah, I remember how a long time ago I would only dream of a game with the same concept as Twin Chronicles.

 

[Zelda's_Child]

Lovely few chapters, Puss. I always look forward to a new part whenever I come on ZD.

Interesting, I actually never picture things, but I think it would make a great game in TP style now you mention it.

 

[Majora's Cat]

Chapter 9
Beginning of War​

The golden sun's vivid rays peeked up among the trees casting a radiant light on the morning mist. It had rained the night before and a beautiful fog covered the village. Link stretched his arms and legs and sat up. He blinked his eyes open and let out a soft yawn. He took a gander at the sleeping Tsukino. She started to fidget, a sign that she may have started to wake up. Link took a quick look at her wound - it looked as if it was healing smoothly. Each and every day their bond grew stronger, and there was beginning to be talk of rebellion. Tsukino insisted that they should organize a militia to combat the ever-expanding cult. Problem was, there were not many villages left where Poder's darkness had no yet reached. The village in Southern Hyrule where the two resided had already been assaulted though the cult had not officially conquered the area. The sky remained a serene light blue, the thin clouds drifting by peacefully day in and day out. Link knew that if Poder had already corrupted the area, it would be overrun by grotesque creatures and ominous black clouds would hang overhead. The forest was still beautiful and unharmed. Tsukino believed that Southern Hyrule would be the most ideal place to house a rebellion. It seemed practical - Southern Hyrule was not yet taken over, and the forest was the perfect place to hide away from the cult. On the other hand, Western Hyrule had not yet been corrupted, but the desert was far too dangerous to set up camp on. Days passed and the two worked out the details. Still, Link had to focus on something more important. He still had the four shards of the tablet to find and destroy. This would not be an easy task, especially if war broke out between the cult and the soon-to-be rebellion. Tsukino wished only for Link to stay at her side, but he knew no such thing would happen.
"Listen, Tsuki..." said Link as he approached Tsukino.
"What is it?" she flashed a heartwarming smile towards Link, and he smiled back nervously.
"... I will have to leave soon. I must find the four pieces of the tablets before Poder kills the remaining four sages. This will not be easy, and therefore I cannot handle the army with you."
Tsukino seemed apalled by his words. "Why? You are perfectly capable of doing both - you are the chosen hero!"
"Yes, but I was chosen so that I could find the tablet and destroy - I was not chosen to lead an army of rebellion against my brother. I'm sorry..."
Tsukino frowned, but understood what she had to do. "So you want me to lead the rebellion?"
Link nodded. "You are the most fit. You were one of Poder's brilliant generals, were you not? I have faith in you, just like you have faith in me."
"I... I understand," Tsukino stared at Link with puppy-dog eyes. She was so innocent. "I can tell you where to find the first piece of the tablet. Poder only trusted Traicion and myself with such important information. All he would mention was that the first tablet resides in a hidden woods, far away from known civilization."
"Thank you, I will come back as soon as possible. For now, though, I guess I'll stay longer," Link said as he smiled at her.
Tsukino smiled back, and the two locked eyes for a momentous few seconds. ​

---​

This day was the arranged day for the great hero to embark on the real journey. Tsukino had already brought several townspeople from all around Hyrule to join in their cause. Among the individuals were Elanore, a feisty young girl with thick-rimmed glasses and Sharon, a teen with bushy blonde hair. Many other worthy warriors had agreed to join the militia. The army grew stronger each and every day, gaining supporters from all around the kingdom.
"Farewell, sweet Tsukino..." Link spoke softly as he was about to depart the village.
"Farewell, Link..." Tsukino stroked his hand and held it tight. "Don't get yourself killed."
The militia waited behind Tsukino as they waited for the brave hero to begin his journey. Link gave Tsukino one last hug, and left the village. He knew what he was doing - he was beginning a journey that would one day decide the fate of Hyrule. ​

 

[bigflyingpotato]

Hmmm character and plot developement, always a pleasure to read. Nice that you have plans for your story MC, and you're not just making it up as you go.

 

[Majora's Cat]

Thanks, guys. I really appreciate your kindness.