The Legend of Zelda: Link Accused of Murder

written by Matthew Gnojek - Updated: 4/4/03

Link Accused of Murder

Legend…the unverified story handed down from earlier generations…

the romanticized myth or story…the fanciful story…the true story.

Legend…such a simple word but perhaps the tale itself is not so simple.

It began, long ago, when we three powerful goddesses created the world and all of its inhabitants. Each of us had an amazing power beyond imagination. Power…Wisdom…Courage…these, because they were used purely, created the lands and its nations…Gerudos…Zoras…Gorons…Hylians. We saw that we could depart from this world, now that the work was done. But left we our powers behind us and called them the Triforce. Only to be accessed by those who could find our secret, sealed away in another dimension. Alas, our creation need not wait long before evil came for it. A desert man, inhabited by powerful darkness, overthrew the land called Hyrule and enslaved it by stealing the Triforce, Power. Two yet remained in the days of darkness. Two who knew that freedom should rule. Two who never forgot their vow to end the darkness. Two who fought to save our world. Two who possessed the powers of Wisdom and Courage. But it was fated so that neither knew they possessed a third of our great power. My Triforce of courage went to the one they called Link…my sister Nayru’s Trifoce of wisdom went to the one they called Zelda. After the defeat of Ganon and many more enemies to come, their lives came closer together. These Triforce bearers had fallen in what the mortals called love. They wed and believed their days would always be bright together. But true happiness is short lived. The very essence of darkness possessed a wizard and caused him to steal the ocarina of time. Using the powers granted to him by the darkness, the wizard took the fabric of time which we created and tore it to shreds. Billions upon billions of dark warriors began to march against all that was good. So in a last attempt to end this War of Time, the nations on our world formed a final alliance to defeat the Wizard Hualdien and his armies. Link and Zelda alone fought against the wizard, but he was far more powerful than any foe the barers had faced. The wizard brought back the dark one, Ganondorf... the Mask Majora...and the ones who created it. This wizard, wielding unspeakable dark magic, forced the creators to seal the evil powers of the mask in Ganon. The bearer of Wisdom knew she must stop the creators, but was taken by the wizard to the dark dimension, despite Links greatest efforts. One year of their time passed...he who bore my power never ceased to search for the one he loved. The way to the dark dimension was well known, as many a brave warrior of the proud Alliance Army of Hyrule had ventured through it to fight the evil therein, but few ever returned. Link found the dark portal, and cleaved through the black host of evil creatures surrounding Hualdien’s castle. He made his way to the highest tower of that fell place, and there Link battled the wizard with all his might...and failed. But the wizard was too overconfident to see that if he released his full power...it would be his undoing. As the wizard uttered incantations in an evil tongue that even he himself did not understand, the dark power within him charged it’s energy beyond what any mortal being could stand. Hualdien felt every fiber in his soul being torn, and at the same moment he thought that he had made a mistake by summoning the Darkness that was about to consume him, he turned to dust in a great burst of dark flame. Link survived the blast, badly hurt, determined to find Zelda and prevent her from being killed by Hualdien’s, now collapsing, castle. It did not take long for him to find Zelda... guarded by Ganon. Zelda had not been able to stop the melding of Ganon and the Mask. Ganon had become almost as powerful as the wizard. Zelda tried to convince the barer of courage to leave the castle and fulfill his destiny as the Hero of Time, but Link would not go. Link used his remaining strength to break through the crystal which held Zelda. Unfortunately not even my Triforce of courage could protect him from Ganons attacks. He fell to the ground in exhaustion and pain. Link would have died, but Zelda then cast a spell that saved him from death, and before he could stop her, she sent him back to Hyrule... leaving her at the falling castle to fight Ganon alone. The portal destroyed itself as Link passed through it. It was at that point I, Farore, believed that love was a weakness... nothing more. Link had forfeited his destiny and as he looked down at his hand... the Triforce mark vanished. Now remember, all that I have said and will say, for there are now none living who remember. I am the last...even my sister goddesses...gone...I, Farore, tell you...The Legend of Zelda.

Sunrise…The mornings had come slowly for Link as of late. Zelda had not returned from Hualdien’s castle… much like the alliance armies which had fought in the war. He never said much of anything after Zelda’s "death", and Link couldn’t... wouldn't fight as well as he used to. People talked about how they could see his skill leaving him, but that was not the truth. Link had indeed lost some of his mobility because of the blow from Ganon so many years ago… but, after years of waiting and hoping for Zelda to return, Link simply lost his will to fight. In these years after the war, life in Hyrule had gone back to being as it was when Link was a child. Hyrule had, on the other hand, another enemy. Many mortals died during the War of Time, but the "nomads" received the worst of it. Most said that, even though the Gerudos blamed Hyrule for all the bloodshed, days were now peaceful, quiet, and happy again. The Gerudos had moved onto other lands and swore revenge on the King. Life, for Link was still not as happy without Zelda. Yet, he was not alone. He and Zelda had a child. Lira, who had been born before the War of Time began. Now, when I first saw this child I knew that there was something different about her. She was, in most ways, more skilled than her father and mother. And yet I knew that she did not possess any of our Triforces, yet. Twenty years had now passed, and, as he had for almost a year, Link arose and rode to his childhood home in Kokiri Forest.

Link dismounted his horse, Epona, on the tallest hill in the forest, sat in the twilight, and remembered. Link remembered days when he, Zelda, and their many friends would explore together. He remembered days when people danced for joy in the streets of the town market. He especially remembered the days when he and Zelda would walk by Lake Hylia hand in hand, stopping only to gaze into each other’s eyes. He even remembered his days in the Kokiri Village. Link looked all around and recalled how the peaceful village once looked. It had a stream running through the middle of the village, trees that seemed to touch the sky, neighbors, the Great Deku Tree, Saria… Link stopped when he thought of his old best friend. He had not seen her since the end of the War of Time. She had left Hyrule and said that she wished never to return. Link looked all around him a second time and saw what he had seen many mornings before. After the war ended, the village was abandoned. The houses grew empty, plants turned gray, and the Great Deku Tree had now been reduced to ashes. Link reached for his ocarnia, trying to take his mind off of Zelda and the rest of what life had become. It was not the ocarnia of time, for it had been lost in the War.

After he played for a short while, he noticed the sun was rising. The old hero stopped to watch it come over the mountains, which separated the oceans from all of Hyrule. But something was distracting him. He had heard something coming up the hill. Link knew it could very well be an enemy, so he sat perfectly still in order to hear if it was still coming his way.

"Hey, dad!!" Link, in surprise, shouted as he jumped up, grabbing a dagger from Epona's saddlebag.

"Ha, ha ha ha!" Came a voice from within the only living bushes, "Do you have any idea how many times I’ve managed to scare you like that dad?"

" Very funny Lira, but when I have a heart attack it won’t be such a gut buster for you," said Link as he put the dagger away. A young woman twenty-one years old walked out from behind the bushes. She had long golden hair like her mother’s and looked as if she wouldn’t hurt a fly.

"Oh come on dad," she giggled as she gave him a hug, "You and I know your heart isn’t that bad."

"Well, For what reason did you scare me today?" asked Link.

"I wanted to say goodbye before I go and meet Jonathan at the harbor; his ship comes in today."

"I don’t understand why you’re meeting him," said Link. "I know you're friends, but I thought that he was going to arrive here by his own means of transportation. "

"Transportation dad?"

"Yah, it's called a horse. It's one of those useful things people have so that their friends don't have to pick them up at harbors.

"His last letter said his horse's leg was injured and it couldn’t be ridden," said Lira. "So I sent him a letter telling him that I would meet him with horses for he and I to ride back."

"Oh, is that the only reason your meeting him?"

"Dad!" she said, a little bit embarised. "Jonathan and I are just friends, but I need to get going soon ok?"

"Just be careful Lira. There are robbers and stafols and all sorts of other stuff out there."

"Don't worry. I've learned self defense from the best fighter around," she said as she looked at her father with a smile.

"That's my point. The fools don’t stand a chance."

"Thanks dad, and I’ll be back before sunset!" She shouted as she began to run towards Lon Lon Ranch. Link turned towards the sun and started to talk to himself.

"Oh Zelda, if only you were here to see your daughter now" Link had a tear in his eyes now. "I miss you more every day … but…but I know you’ll find a way back… someday we’ll see each other’s face again." Link wiped his eyes and knew, by the sun’s place in the sky, that the time had come to return to his work at the castle. He mounted Epona, and rode back to Hyrule Castle.

When Link saw two guards standing at the bridge he began to wonder if something was wrong. Link had never seen these men in his life and they seemed to have a dark appearance about them. Nevertheless, he continued riding. Link was now only ten yards away from the castle when one of the guards shouted,

"You there, what is your name?!" Link rode closer and answered the guard when he could look him in the face.

"I am Link."

"And what is your business here?" asked another guard.

"I live in the castle, and I am his majesty’s overseer of the guard. But who is your commander? I have never seen you in a regiment before." Both guards looked at each other and then pulled out a piece of paper. Link thought it looked like they were comparing him to a picture of a man on a wanted poster. One guard left and returned with someone that Link recognized. The general of the armies of Hyrule, being followed by ten armed men, was walking towards Link and the guard who stood with him. These men also had the strange darkness about them. The general stopped the procession, and asked the two guards to come speak with him where Link could not hear. Finally the general pointed at Link and shouted, "Arrest that man!" All ten men pulled Link from the horse and began to bind his hands, but the old warrior was still too fast for them. He suddenly kicked the man trying to hold him down and began to loosen his ropes. Before he could get loose of all the ropes, another guard charged at Link, sword drawn. So, in one swift move, he dodged the guard’s attack and, at the same time, allowed the sword cut his ropes. Four more men charged at Link. He stood still as the four came at him, faster and faster. Just when the guards were a foot away from turning Link into a book page, he jumped. All four slammed their heads into one another knocking each other out. Link landed on the pile of men and back flipped onto the grass. Seeing that the fifty six year old man had hardly lost any of his skill, the general made a hand gesture at which time the four remaining guards slid two arrows in each of their bows and aimed them straight at Link. Link, still in fighting stance, looked at the general who began to speak.

"Link, I do not wish to order these men to let loose their arrows." Link waited for a minute and finally, as he stood normally again, he said,

"What are my charges?"

"Tie his hands and feet," commanded the general. The men who had been on the ground began to bind Link a second time. Link could do nothing to stop the guards with four men pointing arrows at him. All he could do was speak.

"What are my charges General Valorum?!" Link said in an angry tone. After the guards had finished, they left Link and the general alone to speak.

"Link, you are under arrest for the murder of Princess Zelda."

Link turned white.

"Murder… Zelda?"

"Yes, Murder. I, myself, found evidence in that castle you spoke of, years ago. Evidence that you killed Zelda."

"I would never commit such an abomination. I did not kill my wife and I-" Link stopped. The general had spoken falsely. Link knew that the castle had collapsed.

"General, the castle was destroyed." Valorum looked nervous now.

"I… um… I searched in the rubble there, yes that was what happened."

"So you know how to get to the dark dimension?" asked Link.

"Um, yes... of course. There are men who helped me look for evidence, and they can confirm it," stammered the general.

"I thought you went in by yourself and looked. You’re trying to create false evidence against me aren’t you general?" Link, was now realizing what Valorum was trying to do. He could hear the nervous General mumbling something to himself.

"If people, other then my men, find out what Link’s saying is true than I will fail Tenabra." Link had heard everything.

"So what were you planning? To align yourself with the forces of evil and attack Hyrule? You are a liar, Valorum." The general, in an attempt to silence Link, delivered a nose-breaking blow to the old hero’s face.

"Listen good you arrogant scum. I do according to what Tenabra, Mistress of Darkness, commands."

"When Zelda comes back-" Valorum cut off Link.

"Your dear wife is dead, and I suggest you get used to it." Link, now bleeding, spat in the general’s face.

"Erguh!" The general, who had being kneeling, stood up. Then he leaned down and put something in Link’s shirt pocket, then began to walk towards his men. "Besides, I’d be glad if I were you Link. You’ll be seeing her soon if I have my way."

"You’ll die for this Valorum!" Link shouted.

"Perhaps I will, dog, but long after you."

Coming soon…Link is being put on trial and suddenly the king falls over in pain and dies. When he is blamed for poisoning the king and sentenced to death he is saved by an old friend and reunited with the one person who knows of the great danger that approaches Hyrule. Next installment…Reunited

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Hey! (to quote a really annoying fairy) If you’ve liked my story so far, write to me. I’m always open to suggestions or comments. I’ll be done with my next section around February…uh I’ll talk to ya later, my fellow Zelda fans…the truth is out there!

E-mail: thegnojeks@MSN.com