10th installment of the VGNU.
The scars of battle run deep in Hyrule's history, but the worst is yet to come.
Again the cycle begins, and a hero must answer the call, no matter how cruel and unfair.
(Originally published 2020-2021)
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Hyrule castle was a monument of architecture, and Link didn't understand any of it. He wasn't sure what the functionality of something this big was supposed to be for. Why so many towers? How many rooms were inside, and what were they all used for? It seemed an absurd amount of space to take up when you just needed a place to eat and sleep. Anything else was what the forest was for, and no important work ever happened sitting in a room. But then there was the field between the castle and the rest of the city, with a few short cliffs and long winding paths. There were several taller men wearing silver armor walking those paths, and they didn't look happy. Link was starting to think maybe all grown ups really were just grouchy all the time.
But he had to get through one of them, and so approached the knight standing guard by the gate along the main path. It was the only way to go for now, as the path up to the gate was lined with cliffs where more knights walked.
"So you say you want to see Princess Zelda, eh?" the knight standing guard asked. "You probably heard about her in town and decided you had to meet her... Well..." He shook his head, crossing his arms. "Go home! Get out of here! The Princess would never grant an audience to the likes of you!"
"Wha- You don't get it!" Link argued. "I don't just 'want to see her cause I heard about her!' I'm on a mission! I have to see her!"
"Do you really want to go through this gate that much? Let me think about it..." He pretended to think in a very mocking manner. "Ok, but in return... give me 10 Rupees..."
Link raised an eyebrow, then pulled out a small sack. "I have exactly ten." He handed the guard his single yellow Rupee.
The guard looked at the money, surprised the child offered it so freely, then opened the gate. "Okay, I'll let you pass, quickly."
Link barely had time to jump through it before it was already closing again. "Thank you!" he said in hushed tones before running down the path.
There were more guards along the main path, standing at attention on every corner. Luckily the courtyard was full of short hill just tall enough for Link to duck down and hide behind. His green tunic allowed him to blend in with the grass, and before he knew it he'd reached the castle's front gate.
Only problem-- it was also fenced off and guarded.
"We'll need to find another way through," Navi whispered. "I'll sneak up behind 'em and knock 'em out! You make a mad dash for the front-"
"No," Link chuckled, hanging his head. "We'll uh... we'll go around. Can you fly around and see if there's an opening?"
"On it!" Navi kicked off and into the air again. The castle was too big to circle entirely, but paying closer attention to the lowest level of the castle in the immediate area she found something that might work.
