RP11 Intro Sequence

**Summary of the Opening Exposition**
**Section One**
Begins just prior to the events of Ocarina of Time. Ganondorf is preparing to set out for Hyrule Castle, and on his last night in the desert he has an encounter with the future Sage of Spirit, Nabooru, that ultimately leads to the birth of his bastard son Deonysius Dragmyre.
**Section Two**
After the events of Ocarina of Time, Nabooru has become the Sage of Spirit, and as such her people believe the person Nabooru to be dead, and know her only by her title, making no connection between the two. She is desperate to be allowed to return and help raise her son, whom she loves fiercely despite the circumstances of his conception. Ultimately it is decided that the Sages must live amongst their peoples and guide them, thus is Nabooru able to return to the desert and guide Deonysius, though not in the manner that she would prefer.
**Section Three**
Fifteen years after the events of Ocarina of Time, Deonysius has grown into an intelligent young man and has assumed the mantle of King of the Gerudo. He is a just and fair King in the eyes of his Gerudo people. He meets Nabooru, whom he knows only as the Sage of Spirit and she shares with him a prophecy she had foretelling danger of some kind to all the people of Hyrule, but particularly to the Gerudo.
**Section Four**
Deonysius is trying very hard to find a way to circumvent the prophecy that Nabooru shared with him. As he is looking through the books in the library of the Gerudo Fortress he is given a suggestion by two elderly librarians to seek the power of the Triforce in order to protect his people from the unknown danger of the vision.
**Section Five**
Nabooru goes to the Chamber of Sages to try to convince her colleagues to open the seal into the Sacred Realm for Deonysius so that he can protect Hyrule from her prophecy. A spectral form of Ganondorf appears to her and they converse for a time, then she banishes him back outside into the Sacred Realm. 
The Sages begin to arrive. She passes along her message and they turn her down.
**Section Six**
Nabooru returns to Gerudo Fortress to tell her son Deonysius the bad news. Deonysius then decides that if they won’t open the seal for him willingly, he’ll have to find a way to make them do it.
**Section Seven**
Nabooru goes back into the Chamber of Sages to give her colleagues one more chance to change their minds and help Deonysius willingly. They refuse again and she tells them that he has found a way to force them to aid him. She leaves.
The Sages decide that Nabooru is probably telling the truth when she says that Deonysius has found a way to make them do what he wants. They refuse to open the seal and risk the consequences of such an act, so they sacrifice their lives to keep him from taking control of them.
**Section Eight**
Nabooru tells Deonysius that the Sages refused him again, and so he tells his Gerudo captain to send assassins to kill the Sages and release their powers back into the ether so that he can install them in new Sages. Nabooru is horrified, and yet she still loves her son to pieces so she goes along with it.
**Section Nine**
The leaders of each of the races of Hyrule (aside from the Gerudo) find their Sages dead. Ultimately they leap to the conclusion that Deonysius killed them, which is false, despite the fact that it would have been had the Sages not killed themselves.
**Section Ten**
The other Hyrulean races decide to get some revenge on the Gerudo for killing their Sages. They try to make Deonysius surrender himself but he doesn’t, so they attack Gerudo Fortress en masse. Things are going poorly for the Gerudo until Deonysius finally gets into the game.
**Section Eleven**
With the help of Deonysius and his powerful magic the Gerudo have managed to drive the Hyruleans out of Gerudo Valley. The Hyruleans set up a trap meeting intended to kill Deonysius and the Sage of Spirit that actually only ends up killing Deonysius’ Gerudo captain and a bodyguard. Deonysius is pissed and decides to exact revenge.
**Section Twelve**
Under the leadership of their King the Gerudo have driven the Hyruleans all the way across Hyrule Field to Castle Town. The Zoras and Gorons have broken off and left the Hylians to fend for themselves while they see to the defenses of their own domains. Deonysius blasts the drawbridge to Castle Town apart, gets into a fight with a young Knight and then uses a Quake Medallion (very rare and powerful magical artifact) to pretty much reduce Castle Town and Hyrule Castle to ruins.
**Section Thirteen**
Deonysius has gathered five Gerudo heroes from the war, the best of the best, and brought them to the ruins of Hyrule Castle. There he tries to turn them into the new Sages, but they are incapable of handling that kind of power and it begins to change them into monsters. They escape into Hyrule to cause all sorts of mayhem.
**Section Fourteen**
Nabooru witnessed Deonysius’ attempt at turning the Gerudo women into Sages and the disastrous consequences of the act. She finally decides that Deonysius has gone too far.
Deonysius sees that Nabooru has set herself against him and he makes the choice to eliminate her. In a short conflict he kills her, and upon inspection of the body he finds that Nabooru was his mother. He goes a little nutty for a moment with the shock, and in killing Nabooru he takes her Sagely power into himself, but he does not become a Sage, because he is already a monster like unto those he unleashed. He determines that his power is the only thing that he has left and he will do whatever he must do in order to keep it.
**THIS IS THE 36 PAGES IN WORD EXPOSITION. THE NEXT POST WILL BE A 3 PAGES IN WORD SUMMARY. I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU READ THE FULL EXPOSITION, AS IT WILL HELP YOUR ROLEPLAYING AND GENERAL KNWOWLEDGE OF PRESENT-DAY HYRULE. However, should you choose to be lazy and not read it, you won't loose anything, except the knowledge you aren't reading.**
**CLICK HERE FOR A SUMMARY OF THESE EVENTS**
**Ganondorf Dragmyre – Pre Ocarina of Time – Gerudo Fortress**
A knock came at the door, the sounds of light impact against the heavy wrought iron echoing in the dimly lit chamber. Seconds passed slowly, tensely. She again rapped on the door with her knuckles, more insistently the second time. A cruel grin came to the face of the King of Thieves. He knew who waited on the opposite side of the threshold. He stood finally; turning from his lamp lit table, charts and scrolls strewn across it haphazardly, and strode across the room purposefully. His hand rose to the latch and he pulled the door open slowly, dramatically. In the corridor beyond waited his Captain. Her red hair was like fire, her fierce eyes bored into him. His expression did not change as he looked into that raptor gaze with only mild interest, he stood before her, filling the threshold, his black and gold silk robe was pulled open in the front, revealing a thick chest and stomach, corded muscles bulging beneath taut dark green skin. He made no effort to cover himself as they glared at each other for a moment that seemed to stretch on interminably. Finally she faltered and her gaze fell to the floor, no longer able to look into her master's eyes. Ganondorf moved slightly to the side and waved her in with a hand. She complied without a word, shuffling into his chamber. His eyes took in her every movement, the way she held herself, her mannerisms and quirks, he noticed how she jumped slightly when he slammed the heavy door shut behind her.
"My King, what is it you called me here for?" she asked in a weak voice that did not suit her. Ganondorf grinned wickedly; even the strongest quaked when they stood before him. The thought made him laugh quietly, a cold, mirthless laugh. Her eyes rose from the floor to regard him, her face was unreadable, but he didn't need expression to know that she was masking unease, even fear.
"Nabooru, on the morrow I leave for Hyrule to pay my respects to the King. I have sworn fealty and must honor that oath." he told her in a tone that should have made it clear beyond any doubt that did not humbly submit. He reached out a large hand and took her chin in it. He felt her tense almost imperceptibly at the touch; he knew that she was suppressing the urge to flinch. "I could not leave without bidding you a proper farewell. You know I hate to be apart from you."
"Your Majesty will be taking a large Gerudo honor guard with you. There will be no lack of willing women to satiate your... hungers." she replied carefully. Ganondorf could see her choosing her words painstakingly, so as not to ignite his anger. The grin faded and instead he directed at her a look of cold, uncaring calculation.
"You wound me, Nabooru. It is you I want. The others are merely things to occupy my time. It is you I must have." his eyes locked on hers and his big right hand gripped her arm tightly. "It is you I //will// have."
"If Your Majesty commands it." she uttered meekly, turning away from his gaze, but unable to free herself from his grip. He could have laughed, he knew her not to be so weak and submissive. He wanted her to struggle; he wanted the true Nabooru, not this pitiful specter. Perhaps he would have to make her get some of that backbone back. His hand slowly moved up her arm to her shoulder, to her soft, tender neck, and then to her cheek. Her skin was warm and inviting. She looked away to her right, staring at the wall with all of her will power. Within an instant he gripped her thick head of fiery red hair in his big fist.
"My Majesty does." And with that he thrust her against his table, sending the ancient texts he had been studying to the floor on the other side. The lamp teetered and nearly fell over, but Ganondorf directed his power at it, commanding it to remain upright, some of those papers were very old and very powerful, and the very act of setting fire to them could have dreadful consequences. Nabooru bounced off of the heavy wooden table and fell to the floor in a heap, clearly not wanting to get up for fear of further abuse. Unfortunately for her, she would not escape it no matter what she did. If she did not want to fight back, he would make sure that it made little difference to her whether she had or not. He covered the distance in a few strides of his long, powerful legs and, gripping her shoulders, lifted her once more to her feet. Locks of her disheveled red hair now fell across her face. He gripped her shoulders tightly and lifted her from the floor with little effort, letting her legs dangle uselessly for a moment before pitching her sideways, where she landed roughly on his stiff bed. Once again she did not move. She did not try to recover from his brutal assault. He stepped slowly up to the side of the bed and turned her onto her back. She looked up at him through the hair that fell over her face and eyes, she may act like a willing servant, but those eyes told of her true nature. With a single swipe of one of his hands, he tore open her jacket, exposing the flesh underneath. She made no move to cover herself. Another swipe and her pants were rent in a similar fashion. She lay there on her back and waited for what was to come as Ganondorf loomed over her. He jammed his knee in between her legs and forced them apart, she looked as though she were ready to get up and run screaming from the room, but she did not move. Even as he fell upon her, his thick fingers closing about her neck, she did not move, she did not recoil, she simply lay there, and let the King do as he wished.
**Nabooru – After Ganon’s Defeat – Chamber of Sages**
"I must go to him!" Nabooru called out desperately, her voice echoing endlessly throughout the Chamber of Sages. All about her, each standing on the platform bearing the sigil of their element, were her colleagues. Each now bore a grim expression, their gazes all fell upon her. She wanted to cry out at the injustice of it all.
"You are a Sage. Like it or not, you have moved beyond your old life." Rauru, the wise and elderly Sage of Light intoned sharply, his powerful eyes gleaming with his sheer conviction on the matter. Nabooru had always had the greatest respect for the man, he had been a Sage long before any of the rest, and yet in that one fiery instant she hated him, she wanted nothing more than to lash out at him with her power. "There can be no going back."
"But he is a //male!// No male Gerudo has been born within the one hundred year period since the beginnings of recorded history! Even now the people view him as a bringer of hope! They believe that in him is the chance to free themselves from the curse that for so long has plagued them! They believe that he could be their savior! He needs a mother to guide him!" she insisted. She looked from one to the next, each one glared back at her. She knew that she would find no understanding here, only judgment.
"Nabooru, I myself have a son, a son that believes me dead, as your son shall." Darunia told her in a soft voice that did not suit his powerfully muscled form. She looked to him and could see in his eyes a sorrow similar to that which she felt now so keenly, but she could also sense his resolve. "We cannot be what we wish we could be for them."
"And yet, the peoples need guidance." Saria spoke up. Her light, child like voice carried a tone of authority that was entirely unsuited for her. She turned to Rauru; her eyes filled with an insight that seemed alien to one of such youth, though all knew that Saria was much older than anyone else within the Chamber save perhaps Rauru himself. "Is that not correct? Do we as Sages not reserve the right to walk among them, to guide and protect them? Is that not simply a right, but a duty of the order of Sages as well?"
"It is indeed, dear one. It is indeed." Rauru turned to look once more into Nabooru's raptor eyes. His look was a sad one, but something in his face comforted Nabooru, allayed her fears. For the first time she trusted to hope. "You must go to your people. You must be known to them only as the Sage of Spirit, for in their minds, Nabooru is dead. Guide the boy, for as he grows he will take up the mantle of King, even as you have said. Teach him compassion; teach him kindness, for he will draw lightning from many sides. Many know him to be the son of Ganondorf, let him forge a new reputation for his family name, let him take the path of the righteous, and avoid the path of the corrupt. That is your duty, Nabooru, you must see it done. Do not fail us." The elder Sage swept his arm around at the rest, as if to encompass them all in the duty he had laid upon Nabooru's shoulders. "You all must go among your people. You must guide them down the paths to peace and prosperity, but heed well my words, never reveal your true identities to the living, for the consequences of such an act could be unthinkable."
**Deonysius Dragmyre – 15 Years After Ocarina of Time – Gerudo Fortress**
The library was a vast chamber; the walls were lined with tall shelves, each holding books and scrolls, many of them older than the very fortress that contained them. Tall, wide shelves also created a maze through the middle of the hall, and scattered here and there were long, dust covered tables. Sputtering torches hung from the walls in iron brackets, and above the tables, lamps hung from the rafters. Deonysius Dragmyre strode through the threshold into the musty vault. His intense gaze took in every detail, his powerful eyes moving this way and that, absorbing the scene with remarkable clarity. His flaming red hair was tied back in a ponytail that fell to the middle of his back. Framing a powerful jaw and thin lipped mouth was a short cropped beard of similar hue. He swept across the hall, walking with the grace of a lion on the prowl, his black robe billowing out behind him. He purposefully wound his way through the twisting paths between the book shelves, finally turning a corner to lay his eyes on the one he sought.
The Sage of Spirit stood before him expectantly, or what he imagined was expectantly. She was cloaked and cowled in robes of heavy black, concealing her countenance from him as usual. She bowed deeply to her King, as was customary, and he inclined his head in return. When she rose back to her feet, he spoke at last.
"Why did you call me down here so urgently, esteemed Sage?" he asked respectfully. From within the shadows of her cowl, the Sage of Spirit regarded him for a moment before replying.
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry to call you away from your audiences, but I have stumbled upon a matter of some urgency of late and must share it with you." Deonysius' eyes narrowed, Sages seldom acted so openly, it was said to be their way to guide and advise, and if necessary, manipulate.
"You have my attention."
"Your Majesty, I have encountered a prophecy."
Deonysius froze. He knew that prophecy was a dangerous branch of magic, perhaps the most dangerous of all. He also knew from his studies that if the Sage needed to speak with him about it so urgently, it must in some way regard him. "And what does this prophecy have to do with me?" he asked cautiously.
"It is about your people."
"Please share the words with me if you will. I would hear them for myself." The Sage of Spirit cleared her authoritative feminine voice and recited.
//The sky shall darken as the light of liberty dies.//
//The land shall fall under the oppressive shadow of war unlike any other.//
//In that war shall the aggressors be cast down in chains.//
//But those who thought victory was theirs will know the darkness as it descends upon them, heavier than a mountain and grinds the desert thieves to dust.//
Deonysius stood transfixed. He had studied the prophecies in the vault, and had never come across one such as this, it did not have the familiar feel on the tongue of one produced in the ancient dialects. He looked to the Sage, trying to penetrate the shadows concealing her face and gaze into her eyes.
"Where did this prophecy originate?" he asked her in a tone of command, a tone that he had been forced to adopt as he had grown into his throne. He could not read her expression, something he dearly disliked, and so instead was forced to wait for her reply so that he could weigh her words. She hesitated only an instant.
"I..." she stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, he could tell from the way she sounded and what little of her body language he could perceive that she was struggling to maintain her composure. "I know the words because they are mine. I gave this prophecy... last night."
"I did not know that Sages bore the talent for prophecy." he muttered, more to himself than to her, but she responded anyway, her voice weak.
"Nor did I." He pulled up a heavy wooden chair, covered in the fur of a white wolfos, and sank into it. He needed to think a moment. He brought to the fore everything he could recall about his studies of prophecy. It was a complicated branch of magic, and those who lacked the talent or were not well versed in it stood little chance of understanding much of it. However, those with power such as his, and he was sure, the Sage's, did have certain insights.
“Prophecy is supposed to reveal itself unto the prophet not only in words, but in sights and images also, is this so?" he asked her, curious to try and understand fully the implications of what the prophecy foretold. He could understand the part about war coming, but the threat seemed to be greater than that, darker. He had gotten the sense merely from listening to those words that there was a far deeper meaning than what was conveyed by them. As he watched her with his intense gaze, she slowly nodded.
"I do not understand much of what I saw. Terrible images flashed through my mind, blinding me to all else. There was fighting all around at first, mounds of dead, but I could not make out who it was that was fighting. There were hundreds of scenes of death and destruction before everything changed. All of the sudden these faceless peoples were held in chains. Some burned, some drowned, and still others died of poison or were choked to death by living vines. Some were simply claimed by the shadow of death. But then the scenes changed again, and this time the people were not faceless specters, they were Gerudo. The sun was rising, looming over the horizon, over the land of Hyrule in its entirety, the light and the heat blazing. Our people recoiled from it, and all across the land, those faceless men and women all cringed too, at the sight of the rising sun, for as it rose into the sky, deep shadows swept across the sky and descended upon the land." He could see that she was trembling slightly. "It was a truly horrible vision, Your Majesty; I hope I do not live to see the truth in it."
"Worry not, esteemed Sage." Deonysius told her comfortingly, while within he steeled himself to do what had to be done. "It shall not come to pass. I will deny fate in this; no doom shall come to the Gerudo people whilst I am their King." He drew himself up from the chair. "You may leave me now. Go and see to my audiences, there are matters I find I must look into here in the vaults."
**Deonysius Dragmyre – Gerudo Fortress**
It had been several weeks since his fateful meeting with the Sage of Spirit in the library vaults, but the words of prophecy still burned hotly in Deonysius' mind. There were parts that seemed clear as day, and other parts that made no sense at all, prophecy was a dangerous and untested branch of magic, and he dared not trust even that which seemed the most obvious. One thing was certain to him though, the prophecy foretold danger to the people. Not just his people, the Gerudo, but all of the races of Hyrule. He had to stop it, there had to be a way.
He had sworn the Sage to silence in this matter. It had been clear that she had wished to advise him in some manner, but his command and her own unease with her foretelling of doom seemed to stay her hand. Still, she often came to him at times when he was alone, poring over many of the older texts that could be found within the vaults of his fortress. Sometimes she would come to help him, and at other times she would simply bring him something to drink. He thought her manner was odd for a Sage, and an advisor. He thought she acted more matronly than was usual for one of her status, but perhaps she simply saw the necessity in his research and wished to help him. After all, it had been she who had seen all the terrible images of the prophecy. He was simply acting on them as he thought he should. Whether set in stone or not, he could not abandon his people, and those of the rest of the land, to some terrible future without first trying to circumvent it.
This night the Sage was elsewhere, attending to the duties of her position. He had thought before when she had been spending so much time watching over him that she must be abdicating her sagely obligations, and had told her that he would have no part in it. She had sharply insisted that she had more than enough time in the day to attend to all her charges and that it was not his place to concern himself over how an anointed Sage spent her time, but to simply accept whatever advice or guidance she could offer.
He slammed the massive leather bound book closed, howling in frustration. He dipped his fingers into his pocket to caress the half of a pendent that had once hung around his mother’s neck. This was the only keepsake she had left him before she had died so many years ago in resistance to the very man that had planted Deonysius himself in her belly. He could dearly use her guidance now. No matter where he looked, he could find nothing. Nothing!
"What's the problem then, Your Majesty? What's the problem?" the dusty voice of one of the old hags that kept the books in the vaults asked. Without looking Deonysius could tell she was coming around the corner by the way her footsteps fell. He slid his chair back and all but leapt to his feet, turning on the old librarian in a rage caused by weeks of frustration and helplessness.
"There's nothing here! Thousands upon thousands of books in the archives and there's nothing!" He roared into her impossibly wrinkled face. She simply smiled up at him, though her smile seemed to carry with it a sense of intent, though what it could be he couldn't say. When he had stopped his rant she spoke.
"Are you sure you've checked everything?" she asked him politely, peering into his face with her ancient eyes.
"Yes! Yes I'm certain! I've sat down here for hours on end and I have nothing to show for it!" he bellowed, his words echoing through the dimly lit chamber. They carried with them such force that the dust rose from the shelves. He was giving in to the grips of despair, tears stood out in his eyes. What was he to do?
"Perhaps I can be of some assistance." he turned to the source of the voice to see the other librarian swoop in behind the first. They were mirror images of one another, both so ancient that they appeared as though they were already half dead. She pulled from her long dark robe the oldest book he had ever seen. It was a dull red leather bound book, nearly as thick as it was tall. Her bony finger ran along the pages and pulled it open to one almost exactly in the middle. On the worn page his eyes took in the spidery script of the oldest tongue of Hyrule, Ancient Hylian. The image of three triangles imprinted on the page in gold was surrounded by it. He had encountered the language before but reading it was difficult. He looked up into her eyes.
"Kotake, what is this?"
"Your Majesty, it is what you've been seeking." His eyes narrowed, he looked one more to the page, then back up into her eyes.
"The Triforce? That is your solution? You’re mad."
"The Triforce of Power, Your Majesty. Since your father was sealed away, the whole Triforce was split into its three supporting pieces." Koume replied.
"Taking even one individual piece of the Triforce is next to impossible. What you propose is madness, I am not the one meant to bear it."
"And so you would leave it in the covetous hands of your father when it could help protect your people?" Kotake demanded sharply. Deonysius felt his face heat at her words. His fist clenched.
"I will take your words under advisement, witch." his hands reached out and snapped up the massive book, tucking it under his muscular arm as he stormed from the vault, their words still ringing in his head. He needed the Sage.
**Nabooru – Chamber of Sages**
The Sage of Spirit stood atop the emblem of her element within the vast Chamber of Sages, watching, waiting. She had summoned the others some time ago, but each had business within their separate realms to attend to, and none could come immediately. She had expected such, however, now the time was long gone when they should have heeded her call. She grew restless as minutes stretched into hours for her as she stood alone in the dark.
"So quiet, my dear, so very quiet..." the deep, terrifyingly familiar voice whispered in her ear. She spun quickly, a blazing orb of energy materializing in her hand even as she found herself face to face with... a phantom.
"How could you..."
"Be here?" Ganondorf finished as he swept one transparent arm to indicate the Chamber of Sages. A sickening grin of amusement contorted his face. "This is a place of the Dark World, wench. My world. I wield the Triforce of Power; I can go anywhere I please."
His grin slowly faded. "Though I must admit, it's a great deal more difficult when you're all here, nearly impossible in fact." and then his smile returned, the disgusting, arrogant smile of a monster. "Nearly."
"You've watched us..."
"Very good." He said in a nauseatingly condescending tone. "Yes, since I first began gathering strength in this realm into which you banished me I've been watching you all. Though for the last decade and a half it's been terribly boring. Not like that first time." His incorporeal body turned away from her, his muscular arms clasped together behind his broad back. "So how fares my son?"
"He has grown into a good man. A good King." Nabooru told him venomously. She did not fear him, not here in the Chamber. By the way he had talked just moments ago she knew it was taking him a great deal of energy to enter here even as a specter, she could banish his spirit at will, and she intended to.
So why did she wait?
"I see."
"He is everything that you could never be." Nabooru finished. He turned his head slightly to look back at her over his shoulder.
"If that is so, than he cannot be half the King you make him out to be."
"He cares for our people. You never did."
"And so you come here this night to demand that you Sages join your wills and open the seal so that he can claim the Triforce of Power from me? It sounds as if his selflessness is already waning, my dear." Nabooru didn't know what to say. She had no idea how he knew such things, he was banished from the land of Hyrule, the land of the mortal.
"He does it to prevent the shroud of doom from descending upon the land. He seeks this power only to help the people."
"That will not last my dear. Once he has a taste of that power it will take him in, and he will only want more." Ganondorf laughed, that cold, mirthless laugh that still haunted her dreams, bringing forth terrible flashes of that night so long ago.
"You know nothing of righteousness; you were corrupted by greed and lust too long ago to remember." She brought her right hand forth, absorbing the ball of crackling energy she had forgotten about back into herself, feeling its warmth spread into her limbs. "Linger not in this place, you do not belong here." And with that she swept her hand through his middle, and his form began to fade, but even as it did he grinned at her darkly.
"He will know me Nabooru; he will come to see me in himself. It shall not last..." and then he was gone, and she was alone once more.
**Nabooru – A Little Later – Chamber of Sages**
"Nabooru?" the ancient voice of the Sage of Light asked as he popped into view in his rightful place. Nabooru's head shot up immediately, drawing her away from her thoughts.
"Rauru. I have been waiting here for some time now."
"I apologize, there has been quite a bit of business to attend to in my realm this night. The others should be along any moment." He replied apologetically. "Your summons didn't seem exactly urgent, so I decided to attend to matters there first before coming."
"If you think it best."
As the words were just out of her mouth, the forms of the others began materializing in their proper places, when they were all gathered, Nabooru spoke.
"I apologize if I have pulled you all away from pressing matters, such is not my intention. But I must bring before you a matter of even greater importance." She drew in a deep breath before continuing on. "I have given a prophecy. We must open the seal to the Sacred Realm."
The mouths of her fellow Sages literally hung open in shock. It was as clear as day to her that they could not believe what they had heard from her mouth, and they probably thought her mad for even suggesting it to them. The sages were the ones who had sworn to protect the seal after all. She waited for them to regain their composure; it was Impa who spoke first.
"Prophecy is an arcane area of magic. On the words of prophecy alone you would have us abdicate our most important duty and open the seal into the Sacred Realm. You would have us risk setting the King of Evil loose into the world once more, with the force of the Triforce of Power and the inherent magic of the world to back him? Have you gone mad in the last few weeks-" Rauru cut her off with a raised hand and settled a calm, unruffled gaze on Nabooru.
"Tell us of this prophecy." And so she did. She recited the words to them even as she had to her son, the King of the Desert. And when she finished, she related to them the gravity of the images that had accompanied the prophecy. None spoke as she told them everything; they merely stood and took it all in. When she was finished, Ruto put forth the query Nabooru most feared.
"In light of the seriousness of this foretelling, why would you have us open the seal and risk unleashing the one man in all the world who could potentially bring such a thing to be?"
Nabooru drew breath. "It is not about Ganondorf Dragmyre." Ruto looked as though she were about to argue, but Nabooru continued. "Mysterious as it may be, this is a prophecy, and I am the prophet. The prophet is afforded slightly more insight into the meaning then those who only hear the words. Ganondorf Dragmyre has no place in this doom I've Seen."
"You have not fully answered the question, Nabooru." Impa cut in harshly.
"I shared this information with the King of the Gerudo, as this vision of mine affected in large part his people, and mine. He believes, and I agree, that the Triforce of Power is the only viable source of protection against whatever darkness may loom over the horizon. That is why I propose that we open the seal, so that we might join our wills and take the Triforce of Power from the hand of the King of Evil."
The expressions on the faces of her fellow sages at that point turned dark. This time it was Darunia who spoke.
"You would have us risk a confrontation with the bearer of the Triforce of Power so that we could take it and give it to another covetous Gerudo King!" His voice boomed, echoing sinisterly through the Chamber of Sages.
"Deonysius is different! He is not his father, he is different! He is //different!//" she wailed at them desperately, Darunia's words had been like cold steel to her heart. Anyone who spared a glance could see that Deonysius Dragmyre did not live up to his namesake's reputation. Darunia's big mouth twisted into an ugly grimace as he glared at her, fire dancing in his eyes.
"Without unanimity, you are denied! And I will never support you in this! I will not be the accomplice to the rise of a second King of Evil! Ganondorf Dragmyre and the Triforce of Power shall remain safely beyond the seal! And I suggest you advise your young charge that he cast his gaze elsewhere, or he may well find himself joining his father!" Even before his words stopped echoing, Darunia faded and was gone. The other Sages looked at her for only an instant before they too faded and left her alone once more.
**Nabooru – Gerudo Fortress**
The haunting melodies of the pipe organ resonated through the still night air that rushed in through the open window as Deonysius' fingers joined with the massive instrument in musical harmony. His eyes were closed, his thick, muscular neck craned as though to gaze up at the high ceiling of his chamber. The wind rushed over his shirtless torso, cooling the sweat that clung to his dark green skin as he played, lost in the moment. The tune that filled her ears was dark, melancholy. Listening to it, Nabooru could feel a lump forming in her throat, that kind of sadness could not be conveyed simply by the organ, it was in the hands that played it. She waited at the door for a while, simply watching. She could not say how long she stood, transfixed by the music, but finally she seemed to draw up from her trance and decided that she could remain silent no longer.
"And when did you take up the organ, Your Majesty?" She asked as she walked forward from the door, leaving it ajar as she strode across the room to come to a halt a few paces behind Deonysius. He stopped playing immediately upon hearing her speak, turning to gaze up at her, his eyes narrow.
"I gave orders not to be disturbed." He didn't seem angry; he did not seem bothered in any way at all. He looked as though he was simply stating a fact.
"I'm aware of that." Nabooru replied, taking in her son's appearance for the first time. His long, fiery hair was disheveled and fell in a tangle over his face and neck. His muscles were rigid, tight. Sweat beaded on his face and chest despite the cool air blowing in from the window. He wore no boots and his simple black trousers were rumpled. "But you also gave orders for me to report upon return."
They had not truly been orders, nobody living issued orders to the sages. It had been more in the nature of a mandatory request, at least, that was how Nabooru preferred to think of it. She had complied, how could she not when she could see the sense in his proposition, the logic in it. Even though her calling said that she could not, she simply could not deny the merits of the plan that Deonysius had presented.
That her son had presented.
She rapidly changed between surges of fierce pride and deep dread at what the young king insisted was the only way to circumvent the prophecy that she had delivered.
"They refuse you." she told him before he had the chance to ask her what their answer had been. His look upon hearing her declaration was not one of anger as she thought might be the case. Instead it was a look of despair, of deep melancholy.
"Wise Sage, I find myself now in the position that I dreaded to be placed in." he began softly, his tone was heartbreaking. She wanted nothing more than to take him into her arms and hug him tight, to comfort his sadness, but she simply stood, looking down into his pained eyes as he addressed her in the only way he knew to. "I have a responsibility to my people above all else. I am not merely their ruler; I am their guardian, their protector. They must come first in my life."
He stood slowly, turning from the organ, walking away from the massive instrument and toward the window. She perceived the slightest shiver in him, be it from the cold or some other source, and he waved his hand, the window slamming shut at the silent command. "But so too are the Sages. They do as they feel they must to protect the people, as do I. I find myself at an intersection of faith, one in which I can either pursue that which my instincts tell me is the only path and possibly save my people, or do nothing as the Sages have suggested and risk the dark future that your prophecy has suggested."
Nabooru didn't know what exactly he was saying. She thought it remarkable just how much he had grown in the years that she had advised him, but now he seemed to have aged many years in a matter of weeks since that first ill fated meeting. He carried burdens now that then had not rested on his shoulders. Now he looked as though the fate of the world truly did rest on his shoulders, and the weight of it threatened to crush him.
"It seems that the Sages wish to deny me my only chance." he told her flatly, his powerful eyes, the eyes that had always been so chillingly familiar to her, now drilled into her mind with a gaze that spoke volumes about his resolve. "I must act as I feel I must. If the Sages will not open the seal willingly... I will make them open it."
Nabooru gasped and drew back with a horrified expression that Deonysius could not see through the shadows of her cowl. There had been no doubt in what he had said, there was not misinterpretation. He meant to do whatever had to be done to save his people, she was at once proud and repulsed by his utter conviction, but her feelings of revulsion were pushed aside.
"I am with you, Your Majesty. My loyalty is to the people, and I too will do whatever must be done to defend them." She slowly sank to a knee, showing deference to the King of the Gerudo, and in her mind, showing her love and support to her son.
**Nabooru – Chamber of Sages… Again**
"We have denied your request, Sage Nabooru."
Nabooru stood once more within the circle of the six Sages of Hyrule. She had called them together once again, as she had previously. She had been instructed to offer them with one last chance to willingly aid Deonysius before he was forced to act. She had come so that she might beg them to see the logic, the sense in his plans and convince them that his way was best. She wanted no confrontation between the Sages and her sorcerous son, for while there was no doubt in her mind who would emerge victorious from such a meeting, she took no joy in the knowledge. She looked to each of the Sages in turn, her eyes pleading.
"You do not understand, none of you do." she insisted. "Deonysius believes, and I agree, that this is the only way to be able to defy prophecy. Would you have the dark fate that I foretold descend upon the land and bring suffering and death to your peoples?"
"Deonysius is no Sage. He cannot have the wisdom to See as we do." Rauru intoned in a booming voice that filled the Chamber of Sages. "He cannot see all ends."
"Nor can we!" Nabooru pursued, leaping on the words of her fellow Sage in order to try to strengthen her argument which, she knew all too well, was pitifully weak. "We cannot See all that is! There are things that are beyond us. There are times when we must not be so blinded by our calling that we ignore logic and reason."
"Nabooru!" Darunia roared, his voice feral. "We will not be a party to this! You have had our answer."
Nabooru wanted to wail despairingly, but she could not, she was here for a reason. She could not let Deonysius use his power against them; she could not let him risk such a confrontation. His power was greater than she had ever perceived, but she feared for him still, she knew full well that the Sages were far from helpless. They commanded the elements, they had more tricks up their sleeves then he knew. She steeled herself for what she had to do next.
"If you will not join with me willingly to open the seal..." she swallowed hard, "then you will be made to do it. Deonysius will have your help; the choice is yours whether or not it will be as people free or as slaves to his magic."
The Chamber of Sages literally exploded with elemental fury as the Sages lashed out against her. Their powers assaulted a shield of crackling orange energy that they quickly determined as unassailable. Finally the terrible barrage ceased, though the tension within the Chamber was thicker than ever. They all looked at her with horrified expressions on their faces. There was no doubt that they believed what she had told them, she could tell by their bearing that they did. She was melancholy knowing that she had, with that declaration, alienated herself from them forever. Whether or not they went along with her son's request willingly, she would never again be regarded as one of them, she would be an outsider, an enemy, who just happened to bear the title of Sage.
"You are blinded!" Impa spat harshly, glaring at her as she regained her senses. "You would throw the world into the meat grinder for your bastard King!"
Nabooru had delivered the message she had known she would inevitably deliver. She could do no more but try and convince them to go along with it of their own accord.
"The plan is sound. Please, whether or not you like it, Deonysius will have your assistance. Do not resist him; do not put yourself against him. His gift is immense, greater even than his father's."
Saria, who was always the calmest, most collected of all the Sages, whatever the discussion, spoke suddenly, her voice surprisingly hard. "Nabooru, leave this place and go back to your King. You and he will find no help from us." Nabooru looked into the child's large eyes and then nodded sadly. There was but one choice left to them, the most terrible of all. 
"I believe he has already found a way."
Without another word, her form shimmered and was gone, leaving her words to echo in the heads of her fellow Sages.
**The Sages – Chamber of Sages**
"What do we do?" Ruto asked, her voice full of panic and desperation, her eyes cast around the Chamber, lingering for only moments on the now empty seal that Nabooru had just moments ago stood on as she delivered her new master's terrible ultimatum.
"We are Sages! Get a hold of yourself! We are too strong to be compelled to do anything! It is a bluff to solicit our aid in this mad task of theirs!" Darunia roared angrily in Ruto's direction, though his words were meant for all of them to hear. They all seemed to consider that possibility for a moment until Rauru spoke.
"We all know that Nabooru does not lie, and she sees more of her son than we do, even if it is not enough to break whatever hold it is he has on her. I think that if she says he has found a way to force our hands, then he most likely has." Darunia snorted derisively. Rauru held up one wrinkled hand to call for silence. "Consider what she said, his power is greater even than his father's. Born of a powerful sorcerer and a potential Sage, a union that was so strong that it was able to circumvent the curse that was placed on their people long ago and yield a male child. His predecessors have all delved very deeply into the mysteries of magic, there are probably more magical secrets contained within their vaults and archives than anywhere else in the world. I fear that he very well may possess such a spell."
"We cannot allow him to breach the seal." Saria interjected, her powerful young eyes sweeping to each of the other Sage's faces in turn. "And if he does indeed possess such a spell, he may well be able to use it before we can stop him, or even divine for certain the truth of it. We cannot allow him to control us, the mere possibility that he could raises a very serious question, what do we do?"
There was silence all throughout the Chamber of Sages, tension hung in the air about them. Finally Impa spoke, her eyes cast to the platform atop which she stood, tracing the lines of the symbol of the shadow. "We all know what we must do... but I wish it were not so."
Something passed between the sages in that moment as her words reached their ears and filled their minds with a dark resolution to do whatever had to be done to insure the safety of the seal. They were the only way in, there wasn't a man alive in the land of Hyrule that could take out the Master Sword from its resting place within the Temple of Time, if they could be taken, they could be made to open the seal and unleash that which must remain locked away. Rauru, his eyes filled with tears, looked to each in turn.
"Go unto your realms, do what must be done, live as you would." He fought to swallow the lump in his throat. "Return here on the morrow and fulfill your duties as Sages."
**Deonysius Dragmyre – Gerudo Fortress**
"I failed." Nabooru choked past the lump in her throat as tears splashed down her dark cheeks. She prostrated herself before him in a show of dire shame. Deonysius gazed down at her blankly, he couldn't show her any emotion, he was steel, and his sheer conviction straightened his back, making him stand erect and strong. He wanted only to prevent the greater horror, but to do so it seemed he would be forced to commit the lesser himself.
"Stand, Sage." He told her in a flat tone, he was steel. "You have lost no honor in my eyes; you cannot revoke the free will of your fellow Sages." He took a deep breath, and his eyes surveyed her coldly.
"Unfortunately... I can. I must." The Sage's cowled head shot up, her eyes bored into him from the shadows of her hood. They were wide, stricken with horror.
"Your Majesty... you cannot do this! They are Sages, as am I. I beg you not to do this!" she pleaded desperately. Deonysius reached down, his big hand grasping her shoulder through her robe and lifting her to her feet so that she might face him as an equal in this matter, though the gesture meant little since he was far taller than her anyway.
"I offered them a choice. They refused to cooperate." He couldn't believe this was what it was going to come to, he wanted so bad not to hurt anyone, but he had no choice. "I cannot put the lives of a few above the lives of many, even the lives of Sages, especially not the lives of my own people. I have no other options."
Slowly, deliberately, he turned to face his Captain, Alviara. She looked at him with a blank expression similar to the one he wore, she knew what was coming.
"Alviara, send the assassins. Have them bring the medallions back to me as proof." she nodded and turned on her heel, marching from the room clutching her naginata tightly in her fist. As she disappeared out the door, the Sage of Spirit grasped his arms and spun him around.
"Assassins! You can't!" she wailed shrilly. Slowly he reached up and took hold of her wrists, removing them from his person. "You said you were going to make them help you! You didn't say you were going to kill them!"
"There is no choice. Even one such as I cannot control you Sages, your power is too great to allow such a thing, especially when you are gathered together." He took a deep breath and continued. "I have been searching the vaults for a way to do such a thing, and found nothing."
"But you said you could make the Sages help you! Killing them will only make it next to impossible to breach the barrier! It will be for naught!" He shook his head.
"No, it won't. I found something else. I told you that I would make the Sages help me, I did not indicate in any way that I meant these Sages." What he had found had been buried deep in the vaults, under heavy guard by spells and shields that it had taken far too much time and effort to penetrate, in a vault hidden from his knowledge, an archive of some of the most ancient and sacred texts to be found in Hyrule. It had given to him in a riddle the only possible way he might achieve what he desperately wanted not to have to achieve. After that he had returned to the mystical Book of Mudora, a book that had survived since the time of the ancient Hylia, written in Ancient Hylian. It was there in those pages that he had found the answer. He slowly walked over to his heavy wooden table and laid his big hand atop the worn leather bound book. "For me to do this, for me to have Sages that will rally to my cause... the ones who stand against me must die. Then I can bring forth the power of their elements and install them in new bearers, new Sages who will aid me."
"No! The Sages must be those who have earned the title! They must be those with the potential, not just in their physical selves, but in their minds as well! Creating Sages in those without the potential will be disastrous! They will abuse the power!" The Sage shrieked at him. Deonysius closed his eyes and sighed, this was the only Sage on his side, and he knew that he needed her to see his plan, but he didn't want to alienate her by killing all of her colleagues.
"Sage, listen to me. You will be the elder Sage; it will be to you to teach them to use that power for good, and not to do wrong with it, that is why I must have you with me in this. You can provide for them the guidance needed to become true Sages, instead of merely shadows of their predecessors, you can keep them from unleashing the horrors you have just described." He reached forward into her cowl and took her chin in his hand. "It will all begin with their ultimate act of love for the peoples of Hyrule. Opening the seal and allowing me to take the Triforce of Power that I might ever guard all the realms of this land against that which you foresaw."
Her chin trembled and slowly she nodded. In his mind Deonysius breathed a sigh of relief. He had meant those things he had told her, he did need her, and the new Sages would need her, but if he was forced to choose between her and his people, he would choose his people, as he had done when forced to choose between them and the lives of her fellow Sages. They had signed their death warrants, and before long they would be no more, and the powers of their elements would return to the ether to wait until they were called once more into the world of life.
**The Queen of Hyrule – The Temple of Time**
People cheered and waved as her horse trotted past, following the mounted guards as they picked a path through the crowds of people. She smiled and waved back at her loyal and admiring subjects. So loved was she by her people that they gathered in great hordes whenever she rode forth from her great royal keep to pay homage to their Ladies and seek counsel from the wise Sage of Light. Her Captain of the Guard rode at the front, his armor gleaming in the sunlight as he called for the people to move aside and allow their Queen to pass, that she might reach her destination safely and swiftly. They parted quickly as she neared, forming a winding path into the market, finally opening up into the courtyard of the Temple of Time, the monument of worship for all those of their faith. She rode into the open area, her guards encircling her protectively, and dismounted, patting his roan gelding affectionately before handing the reins to Duncan and walking up the steps to the great church. Their footsteps echoed softly as he walked into the vaulting stone chamber with six well armed and armored sentinels at his back. But what all their eyes fell upon brought deadening silence crashing down upon them as they were all of the sudden too horrified to speak. 
There, half holding itself up against the great stone altar was the body of the aged Sage of Light. His robes hung off him loosely; his eyes stared off at the wall. His mouth hung open as though he had been trying to utter some word or phrase that he had been unable to finish. Finally regaining some sense of consciousness, the Queen of Hyrule rushed forward, placing her hand atop the brow of the Sage. She nearly recoiled when she found that the skin was cold to her touch.
The Sage of Light was dead.
**Link the Goron – Death Mountain**
Link strode across the uppermost level of his cavernous mountain city home, looking down at the lower levels and the Gorons working and playing. He smiled faintly, recalling a time when he too had been one of those that had spent all their time rolling throughout the city. It had been too long since duty had fallen upon him, since his father had died in the brutal rein of Ganondorf and the horrible dragon Volvagia. He had been named the leader of their tribe, the Big Brother of the Gorons of Hyrule. His father had named him after a young man that had come into their realm quite suddenly one day long ago and vanquished the creatures that had kept them from excavating rocks from their most plentiful mines, the Dodongo's Cavern. He had named his son after a hero; there could have been no greater honor. And yet every day Link felt the crushing weight of that responsibility pressing in on him.
The terrible stress that came along with being relied upon to defend and protect his people was what led him to go and seek the refuge of the knowing Sage's wisdom. He had done so many times, sought the aid of that mysterious being that advised him in the ways to best serve the Gorons. He had taken a small chamber on the top level of their city, why Link could not say, as it was customary for those of high standing in their culture to live on the lowest level, where his father had lived, where he now lived. He reached the heavy stone door and pounded one heavy fist against it, producing a little melody that was the key to the chamber beyond. Within seconds of him taking his fist away, a terrible grating sound filled the cavern as it opened slowly, admitting Link into the dimly lit quarters of the Sage of Fire.
He walked in slowly, as he always did. The Sage often made him feel better, but he was still slightly nervous around the mysterious Goron. As the small entryway opened up into the small chamber, his eyes fell upon the figure that lay on its back, a mighty sword protruding from its chest. The arms and legs of the Sage were splayed out at odd angles. His robe was tangled around his right arm and his head, obscuring his visage. Link rushed to him, his feet splashing in pools of blood as he neared, falling to his knees beside his only friend and ally. His fist clutched the tangled robe in a terrible grip. Finally he threw back his head and bellowed, his voce echoing back beyond the threshold, carrying his howls into the vast city beyond that all might share his grief.
**The Sheikah - …Somewhere**
“She is dead then.” He asked in a gravely tone from within the deep, shadowed folds of his cowl. His eyes scanned everything as he took his place within the circle of men and women that had gathered. Each also wore a concealing robe as was their custom. One to the right of him slowly nodded her head in reply and he exhaled a sigh of weariness and deep melancholy. “Prepare the funeral pyre, and send emissaries to the other races. The death of a Sage is a dark portent that cannot be ignored. And somehow I get the feeling that it is not confined to our small domain.”
**King Zora – Zora’s Domain**
“Your Majesty.” A tall, thin Zora with teal tinged scales said with a bow as he entered the throne room of the Zora’s Domain. The corpulent King Zora sat on the edge of the tunnel that led out to the holy shrine of Lord Jabu Jabu, looking down upon the newly arrived messenger.
“What news have you, Valius? What have your seekers found?”
“The body of the Sage of Water was found in Lake Hylia, Your Majesty. The Tektites had already begun to feed on the body, but the Sage Medallion was easy to recognize.”
King Zora sat in silence a moment, letting the gravity of the messenger’s words sink in. The Sage of Water, already dead. First his daughter had died years before, and now this. The Zoras had suffered much in the last decades, and the death of their most powerful guardian only seemed to compound all that loss and sufferance into a single event. King Zora suddenly found a terrible rage rising up in him.
“How did she die?” It could not be a natural death, it just couldn’t, not to so young and powerful a Sage as she.
“A sword forged of red ice, Your Majesty. It was still in her breast when we arrived. She had been dead for several hours.”
“Red ice!” Only one man had ever conjured so unnatural an element as red ice against the Zoran peoples. That man was bound outside the walls of reality.
But his son ruled in the desert.
**The Deku Tree – Kokiri Forest**
The Deku Tree, vast and intimidating in its towering majesty stood deep within the ancient wood, its limbs climbing to dizzying heights, stretching out to shelter the Kokiri Forest within the shade of its immense branches. The face within the surface of the bark smiled its benediction down upon the two small children of the forest who now entered the clearing, their brightly hued little fairies buzzing around their heads in angst. Their faces were not pleasant and happy, but dark and grim, as though they carried the omen of truly vile news.
“Why dost thou come to me?” the great tree asked in a voice that shook the trees at the edge of the clearing. The two Kokiri fell to their knees, prostrating themselves before their creator. Their fairies froze in their incessant circling. The first Kokiri, a small girl with a head of full, sunny golden curls, rose to her feet to address the Deku Tree.
“Oh Mighty Deku Tree, I and Mido come before you today bearing tidings most grave.” She paused for a moment, her fairy, glowing a gentle pink, came forth to resume its orbit around her. “The Sage of Forest has fallen.”
For a moment no sound at all was made within the forest clearing, it was a silence so deep that the two Kokiri could quite audibly hear the beating of their little hearts. The wind rustled the leaves of the trees encircling them, and those of the great Deku Tree above them. The rapid, nearly imperceptible hum of the fairies’ wings was carried to their ears in the silence by the lightly blowing breeze.
“Of this I am already aware, my children.” The Deku Tree said at last. The two Kokiri were incredulous, the Deku Tree could not have known, they had been the first to find the body of the beautiful young Sage of Forest.
“How, Great Deku Tree? How could you possess this knowledge already? We came to you immediately upon the discovery of her body.”
“I know because she told me.” This time the young boy Kokiri stood and stepped forward.
“That makes no sense, Oh Mighty Deku Tree. How could she have told you she was to be murdered? She was a Sage, her power over the Forest was like unto yours, how could she have expected, let alone known, that she was to be slain?” his voice was that of a child, but his tone spoke of a towering arrogance within his soul.
“Because, my children; the Sage of Forest was not slain. She committed the deed herself.” The Deku Tree paused for a long moment as an icy gust blew through the meadow. “I sense a war is brewing in the land of Hyrule, I can feel its first chill winds blowing my branches even now.”
**Deonysius Dragmyre – Gerudo Fortress**
“You wished to treat with me and mine, so welcome to the Gerudo Fortress.” Deonysius addressed the emissaries of the other Hyrulean races cordially. None returned his pleasant greeting; instead each wore a grave expression as they seated themselves at the circular table he had provided for the meeting. Deonysius was the last to sit, and the way that he had arranged the chairs he now faced all four of them, as their chairs were all pushed to the opposite side of the table from where his was placed.
“We will have none of your pleasantries, Dragmyre. We come for a reason, as I’m sure you’ve gathered from the great host that even now camps within this very valley.” The Hylian ambassador replied darkly, his feelings of hate plainly evident in his open glare.
“Yes, I will admit I was wondering about that.”
“Silence.” The Goron ambassador growled. This time the ambassador for the Zoras spoke.
“On behalf of the King and the people whom I serve, I come here today to demand your immediate surrender.” The Zora intoned almost ceremonially as he waved his finned arm at Deonysius. The ruler of the desert reaches was about to speak when the chamber door was thrust open and in swept the Sage of Spirit. She stopped as her eyes fell upon the scene; all the races of Hyrule save for the Kokiri arrayed against her King. She simply stood, taken by surprise, unable to move. “And that of your //Sage.//”
“You’re fools.”
“Excuse me?” The ambassadors seemed taken aback by that simple statement. Deonysius slowly pushed his chair back and rose to his full height, nearly a head and a half taller then the long, lean Hylian.
“You’re fools meddling in affairs that you have no business interfering with. There are dark times for this land, and they’re looming just over the horizon, I can feel it. And this time there is no legendary hero who will rise up to take back the land, the only thing that can stop this threat is the sheer force of power.” All the braziers in the room roared up into great pillars of flame that surrounded them as Deonysius directed at the Hyruleans a gaze of pure ice. The slightest wave of his hand and the fires blew out, leaving them all in the dark.
“In short gentlemen, I refuse your demand. My guards will escort you out now.”
**Deonysius Dragmyre – Gerudo Fortress Under Seige**
“Update, Captain Alviara?” Deonysius asked politely as he swept into the makeshift war room, leading the Sage of Spirit in his wake. The Gerudo woman leapt immediately from her chair and into desperate explanation.
“So far the Hyruleans have fallen back to their encampment and are holding their positions, but it’s only a matter of time before they marshal their forces for another assault. We were barely able to repel them the last few times, and they haven’t committed their full force to the field yet.” Alviara said in a rush.
“How are the defenses holding? I understand that the barricade in the front courtyard has held so far, what makes you think that we can’t continue to hold it?”
“Your Majesty, the barricade was shoddily crafted in the first place, it has only held this long because we’ve been able to convince them to retreat instead of spending their numbers on breaching it. If they bring their full force to bear they’ll easily be able to overwhelm the outer defenses and still have the numbers to storm the fortress.”
“You make it sound as if this is a hopeless battle.” Said Deonysius as he walked over and picked up one of the many reports lying on the large, roughly hewn wooden table, scanning it briefly before setting it back down and walking over to the open window, crossing his arms behind his back and looking out into the starry night sky. “Would you like me to give myself over to them, now that you know what it is we are faced with? It could end this war before it begins. Would you like me to surrender?”
“Never, your Majesty. The Gerudo people need you more then ever. You cannot simply abandon us, you must lead us.” Another of the several Gerudo women in the chamber inserted fervently. Deonysius couldn’t help but smile a bleak smile.
“Good. I’m going to need your dedication to our cause if we are to survive this.”
“Lord Deonysius, it is well known that you are a powerful sorcerer, possibly greater even then your… predecessor. You need to use your power; you can drive off the Hyrulean horde all by yourself!”
“He could, but to do such a thing would be a betrayal of those who were not blessed with such a gift. Those with magic bear an inherent responsibility not to use that power against those who have no manner of defense against such a thing.” The Sage of Spirit informed them all. “I myself worked to teach your King that very principle, magic cannot be used in such a manner, even if it means losing this battle.”
“However, I have responsibilities that supersede such ethical principles, and while it pains me to say this, the safety and sovereignty of my people must be foremost in my heart and mind.” Deonysius turned from the window, his face grim. “If it comes to a point where there is no longer a choice but to unleash my powers against the Hyruleans, I’m afraid I will have to do so. I hope against hope that it does not come to such a thing, but if it does, I will act.”
“You cannot! To abuse your power in such a way is against everything I’ve taught you!”
“My dear Sage, you have been a good advisor, and a good friend, and you taught me many things. It was you yourself that impressed upon me the necessity of putting my people before myself. You cannot know how it would hurt me to use my power in such a way after all the lessons you’ve taught me, but I will see my people safe no matter the price I have to pay.”
**Deonysius Dragmyre – Gerudo Fortress Under Seige**
“They’re inside the fortress!”
“Fight for your lives!”
Desperate cries rang through the corridors, accompanied by the constant ringing of steel on steel as the Gerudo attempted to form some sort of defense against the Hyrulean forces now rampaging through the halls.
Deonysius could hear the calls as he sat contritely in the war room. The Sage had departed some time ago to meditate and left him to sit alone in the dimly lit chamber, listening to the sounds of the battle raging around him. He knew that the time for action was rapidly approaching; he knew that the sooner he intervened, the more Gerudo would live to tell the tale of this day to future generation.
“Rally! Rally and drive them out!” some Gerudo shouted wildly in the corridor beyond the heavy iron door that barred entry into the chamber. A valiant effort, but Deonysius knew that the defenses would fail utterly if he did not act soon, he was the only one that could rally the Gerudo now.
The sounds of combat outside began to fade, and he knew that his people were dying. He could no longer sit idly by and hope that events would sort themselves out without him.
It was time.
He pushed his chair back and climbed slowly to his feet. The sounds of fighting were now all but gone in the corridor beyond, all he could hear was a number of men talking in Hylian accents. The murderers of his people, killers who had come for wanton slaughter.
“Mother, I never knew you, but forgive me.” He muttered.
If they wanted a slaughter, he’d give them one. One gesture and the door was blown off its hinges and through the far wall. Deonysius stepped out of the war room into a shocked silence as Hylian soldiers stood staring at him with numb surprise. Five of them stood in the corridor over several Gerudo corpses. There were three on his left, two on his right.
He didn’t care.
Violent detonations filled the hall, spelling the ends of all five in fire and blood. He stood still, his breathing heavy as blood lust seethed in his veins like liquid fire. He had killed with magic for the first time, a thing that the Sage had warned him about. She had told him that to kill with magic was to open oneself up to all of his or her darkest impulses. She had told him that it took great strength of character to resist them. But Deonysius couldn’t waste time fighting back those darker pieces of himself, he needed them if he was going to drive the Hyrulean butchers out of his domain.
**Deonysius Dragmyre – Gerudo Valley**
“Secure the bridge Alviara.” Deonysius instructed his captain as the last remaining Hyruleans managed to escape across it back into Hyrule proper. The handsome young Gerudo woman nodded and then waved her hand forward, signaling their soldiers forward. As the last Gorons rolled out of view of the desert people’s army Deonysius breathed a silent sigh of relief and turned around to look inward at his own domain. The ground was littered with bodies, male and female, and of every race. The fighting had been quite brutal, and Deonysius had been the most ruthless of anyone on the field of engage