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"Sceptre of Darkness"The Legend of Zelda: Sceptre of DarknessBy: Link the Hylian HeroCast Of Characters: The light of the midday sun radiated from the clear, cloudless sky, illuminating all of Hyrule Field with a bright glow. Link and Zelda strolled through Hyrule Field each hand in hand. Both stopped and gazed into each other's eyes. Zelda: I love you, Link. Link: I love you, Zelda. I could never forgive myself if something happened to you. Zelda: Really? Link: Yeah, really. I couldn't live without you. Both strolled on through Hyrule Field. Zelda: We'd better get back to the castle. My father will be expecting us. Link: You're right, we were four hours in Zora's domain. Zelda: Whoa! Four hours?! It seemed like four minutes. Link: Princess Ruto sure knows how to throw a party! Suddenly, the sky filled with menacing purple clouds. A dazzling flash of light brought a disorientated Zelda to her knees. Out of nowhere, a gigantic bird appeared in the sky. Its feathers were black and white, and it had a large blue head with a grey beak. It held some kind of weird sceptre in its hand. It swooped down, grabbed Zelda and flew off in the direction of Lake Hylia. Zelda: LINK! HEEEEEEEELP! Link: I'm coming, Zelda. Two minutes later, Link stood at the foot of Lake Hylia, but neither the bird nor Zelda were to be seen. A strange white portal was next to the professor's hut. Out of it came Zelda's voice. Link: ZELDA! ARE YOU IN THERE? Zelda: Link........come......quickly. I'm.....in.....the portal. Being the courageous hero he was, Link pulled out his sword and shield
and leaped in. What unfolded in front of him was more than he was
prepared for. This was a new land that Link had never seen
before. The trees extended miles into the distance. The mountains
loomed above everything else. Colossal statues of the same
bird that kidnapped Zelda were scattered everywhere, though they seemed
to form a pattern around an even larger statue of the bird.
On the pedestal was inscribed "H.R.H. Xemparius, Ruler of Tempestia."
Link was completely lost, so he decided to ask for directions to the nearest
town.
Link: Excuse me... Man: Yes? Link: Where's the nearest town? Man: That'll be Larnakku, the main city here. [Pointing north] It's that way. It's not far! Link: Thanks. Man: Don't mention it! The man darted off southwards. Link began the journey to Larnakku. Hopefully there would be someone or something there who could tell him something about Xemparius and his intentions. From the look of things they were evil ones. The straight road stretched on for miles into the distance. Link passed by several houses, as their inhabitants greeted the hero with an open cheerfulness, but their faces had a touch of despair or unhappiness about them. Link wondered what it was troubled these people so much, but he would not know until he reached Larnakku and solved part of the mystery surrounding Xemparius and his kidnapping of Zelda. As Link passed by one house, a middle-aged man asked him: Man: Good afternoon! Link: Hello! Man: Are you a warrior? By the look of that large sword, you are! Link: As a matter of fact, I am! Man: Where are you going? Link: To Larnakku. Man: You're not from Tempestia, are you?! Link: How did you know that? Man: No-one but a stranger would head there! Nobody does anymore, not since that day 25 years ago...... Link: Why, what happened then? Man: Lord Xemparius came and conquered Tempestia. Somehow, one day, he brought sadness and despair all over the land. No-one knows how! Link: That's awful! Why doesn't anyone go to Larnakku then? Man: That's where Lord Xemparius has his palace. It's a lonely, desolate place and only a shadow of its former glory. Anyone who goes in there has to deal with the Royal guards, and they're not exactly friendly. Neither is Xemp...I mean Lord Xemparius. Link: He kidnapped a friend of mine from Hyrule. He took her off into this world, using a portal and I followed him in here. Man: Hyrule? Where's that? Link: You don't know where Hyrule is? Man: Nobody in Tempestia has ever been allowed to leave the country since Lord Xemparius took over. I've only ever left this village to go to Larnakku, and that was 8 years ago. The people of Tempestia were brainwashed so that they knew nothing of the Takeover. Link: How do you know about it? Man: Somehow I survived the brainwashing. In fact, we're the only two besides Lord Xemparius that know about it! What's your name, by the way? Link: I'm Link. Who are you? Man: I'm Arthur. Well, Link, can you tell me something about yourself? Link: Uh...sure. Where do I start? Man: Start by telling me what age you are. Link: Ok, I'm 17. Man: Are you a warrior of some sort? You look like a brave guy to me! Link: Yeah, I am! I saved Hyrule from a tyrant named Ganondorf. But that's ancient history, because Zelda reset time again and now we're the only people who remember it. Besides, I had to save a parallel word called Termina..... Shoot, I'm boasting! I'm sorry! Man: That's ok! A HERO?! A child's story tells of a hero who would save Tempesia. He's described as.....let me see.... A tall young man with tremendous courage.....quite strong......a pleasant personality.....oh, my mother used to tell it to me all the time, but I've forgotten it. That description fits you quite well, Link.....oh I'm sorry I tend to do this sort of thing-blow everything out of proportion. Link: Not at all! I'm used to being in legends and prophesies! I was in 2 so far! I'm boasting again-sorry! Man: There's nothing to be sorry about! I'm sorry to take up your time, you'd better be going to Larnakku. Link: No trouble at all. I love to chat with people. In fact, this chat has taught me a lot about this place, and about Zelda's kidnapper. Man: Goodbye, Link. If you pass by here again, make sure you talk to me! Link: I will! Goodbye. Leaving this man's fascinating company behind, Link
headed off to Larnakku where he would try to save Zelda, and learn more
about how to save Tempestia. Somehow, he got the feeling that
there was more to this bird than he suspected, and that saving Tempestia
wouldn't be so easy.
Chatpter Two The walls of Larnakku towered above Link, loomed overhead. It was an unfathomable shock for the hero to find what seemed to be Tempestia's main city in such a desolate state. A portion of a large stone crest hung over the entrance, the other portion in the moat below. The drawbridge was dislodged from the walls, reminding Link of Hyrule Castle Town after Ganondorf destroyed it. Above the entrance was inscribed "Larnakku City, Residence of ...," the inscription seemed to have been scratched out at some point, "H. R. H. Xemparius, Ruler Of Tempestia." The fact that there was a capital A beginning the scratched out inscription gave Link the impression that Xemparius wanted all traces of the conquering of Tempestia destroyed or concealed. There seemed to be nowhere to go but onward into Larnakku, to try and find out where Zelda was. The drawbridge rattled and rocked beneath the hero's feet, making Link increasingly aware of its instability. Unexpectedly, this creature appeared out of nowhere, shouting Guard: "Not so fast, who are you?" Link: "I'm Link." Guard: "What business have you here?" Link: "I........" Guard: "Have you come to pay homage to His Highness?" Link: "I...have." Guard: "Alright. Come through then, but be quick about it. His highness dislikes people roaming about Larnakku." Link: "Thank you" Guard: "Leave your weapons at the gate." Link: "What......?" Guard: "Leave your weapons at the gate, just in case you attempt to endanger the life of his highness. You look like a troublemaker." Link: "Why would I hurt HIS HIGHNESS?" As soon as he uttered those words, he drove his sword into the guard's chest and the corpse fell to the ground with an empty thud. What Link found in that town was a testament to the evil of Xemparius. A dark, gloomy town, with remains of former prosperity, half-withered slaves cried out for Link to help them, only to be whipped by their master until they could no longer stand, piles of bones, clearly human remains, could be seen in every corner of the town. In the centre lay a colossal statue to the bird. In the distance was a bleak castle, even more depressing than the scenes in the town. Link decided to walk over as far as he could, to attempt to enter the castle. When he reached the statue, there was a sinister inscription in the pedestal: His Royal Highness, The Dark King Xemparius used the great Sceptre of Darkness here to bring chaos and despair over the people of Tempestia. Long live Xemparius! This inscription told only one thing: the sceptre that Xemparius used to overpower Zelda was none other than the Sceptre of darkness, and he probably wished to use her in his evil work. This brought an immense surge of determination and courage on Link, more than he had ever felt before. He drew his sword and advanced in the direction of the castle. When he reached the gates, fourteen guards surrounded him and abruptly said in a firm shriek: "Halt! Go no further. You have been caught in possession of a weapon, and must leave immediately, or suffer the consequences." Link: Never! I have come here to rescue Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. Guard: Leave, or we will ensure that your friend suffers an unpleasant fate! Link had only one option. Link: Alright, I'll leave, on the condition that my friend is unharmed...... Guard: Be gone, at once. We shall escort you to the gate. As soon as they reached the drawbridge, they hoisted Link with an odd magic beam and thrust him towards the other end of the drawbridge. As soon as they had done this, they destroyed it, and Link's only entry into Larnakku. As Zelda's only hope, he just had to get into Larnakku some other way. He paced back and forth around the walls, trying to find some crack on the wall, or some inconspicuous opening, as was in Hyrule Castle when Link first met Zelda. It seemed to be sealed, impenetrable. Suddenly, a strange-looking man appeared. Man: You are looking for a way into the town, aren't you?! Link: I .....am, but how did you...... Man: That's not important right now. The important thing is that you get inside that town and rescue your friend. Link: How.........alright. Can you show me a way in? Man: It's over there, near the watchtower. Link: There's nothing but a wall there. Man: That's what it seems to the naked eye. Try harder, and it will be revealed to you. Link: Thank you, Mr...... When Link had turned around to thank
the man, he had vanished. This strange man said that there was an
entrance near the watchtower. There was nothing left to do but
search for it. At this stage, he was prepared to do ANYTHING for
Zelda. |