Chapter 1

A halo of moonlight encircled the clearing where the small group of men waited. Captain Rusl of the Hylian Royal Guard stood facing them, hands clasped behind his back.

"For some of you, this will be nothing new." Wisps of steam drifted from the captain's lips. "For others – well, welcome to the party."

His eyes fell on the youngest of the group, and the young man called Link felt a surge of pride in response.

"So," Rusl went on. "For the benefit of our virgin soldier here" – a soft chuckle rippled around the circle of men – "Let's go over the rules, shall we?"

Rusl winked. Link responded with a short nod as he held onto his composure. He wasn't going to show any sentiment. No way. They'd rib him for weeks.

The captain lifted his chin. "We serve Princess Zelda and in her name, we don't maim, we don't mutilate, we don't torture." He paused, then, "And we never, ever take any pleasure in the fight." An owl's soft hoot rang in the distant air. "All blood is sacred."

Link set his mouth into a grim line as he nodded along with the captain. His skin prickled with anticipation. Fifteen years of training, fifteen years of being fed enhanced herbs and downing thick, scarlet potions, all to make him ready for this, his first mission.

The captain sniffed. "We're here tonight to capture the Man in the Golden Mask. That's what the egotist calls himself." He paused. "Capture, not kill. His banditry ends today. North of here is the Old Forest Trail. That's where he'll be. Only because no-one else uses that path anymore." He looked around at each man – four in total including Link– in turn. "I'll be waiting here. Go."

Two of the group – Ben and Jak - dived straight into the forest, twigs and leaves damp with dew crunching under their boots. Link waited a moment, waiting for one last acknowledgement from the captain. He felt a pull at his shoulder. Link looked up.

Garett, the senior soldier amongst them, smiled down at him. "Enough with the hero-worship, kid. Gotta job to do."

Link nodded and followed the older man into the forest. They pushed past shivering leaves – they echoed the shiver in Link's own heart – and stiff branches that mimicked his taut muscles. His breath pumped in a steady rhythm.

Garett flicked a glance over at Link. "How you feeling, lad?"

"Just grand."

"Keep up, then." Garett grinned as ducked a low-hanging branch. "Wanna make this quick. I've got a hankering for some wine and women. Both. At the same time."

Link smiled. He'd only known his new teammates a few weeks, but he'd gotten used to their ways pretty quick. Tonight he was going to play along with the banter. It was probably for his benefit anyway. To deflate the tension or something.

"Wine's on me." Garett's grin widened. "The women are on you."

Link grinned back. "I can't afford your tastes, Garett."

"Oh-hooo, did you hear that, lads? Puppy's getting a bit of a bite." He looked back over at Link. "I'm not picky, you know. I'll settle for any lass. Who was that wench in Jessie's?" He frowned. "Windy?"

Another soldier chimed in. "Wendy."

"Yeah. Yeah, you remember, Ben. Wasn't much to look at, right? But plenty of handholds, if you get my meaning." He drew in a deep breath. "Picture the scene, kid."

"I'm trying not to," Link replied.

"Me. Wendy. Tall bottle." Garret paused, musing. "Maybe even a cucco or two to spice things up." He thought on it some more. "With the bottle."

"Can't unsee it now."

Garett's laugh was cut off as Jak held up a sudden hand. The company came to a halt, crouching on the tip of a grassy rise. Down below a lone horse trotted along the worn path, and the man riding atop swayed from side-to-side, his golden mask plain bar for the twin horizontal slits for his eyes and the two vertical lines that allowed him to breathe.

Trailing the Man in the Golden Mask was a gaggle of youths, heads bowed, bare feet shuffling in the dirt.

Unease creased Link's brow. "What…?"

"It's his protection," Garett whispered. He flicked his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Thinks we won't attack when they're with him."

"Well, he's right," Link replied. "We have to a-"

Garett threw Link an incredulous look to cut him straight off. The older man turned to the rest of the company. "Boys, take them out."

Link's heart lurched. "Wait. This isn't…"

Garett's head snapped towards him, his eyes drained of all comradery. "I'll tell you what is and what isn't." Link felt the older man's hot breath as he leaned in. "This is war. This is what we do."

Link jerked as though he'd been slapped. He wasn't going to back down, though. "The captain –"

"Approves, believe you me." Garett's cheek twitched. "But he doesn't have to know about this, if you get my meaning." He nodded toward the path below. "Each day that bandit stays free means more innocent people stay unsafe."

"Princess Zel-"

"Oh, please."

Link felt numb. The world swam in front of him. His fellow soldiers seemed to be moving through tar in his eyes. They drew their bows and nocked their arrows in slow, measured deliberation. Worse was the quiet satisfaction he saw on each man's face.

Link sprung to his feet. "No. This –"

Garett growled and gave him a hard shove. "It's a sham. The kids are probably in on it."

Link shoved back. Garett hit him with a punch, sending Link tumbling down the rise, sharp branches and jagged rock scraping his clothes. Now time flew. He heard Garett curse, heard the whispery flight of arrows loosed.

Link scrambled back to his feet –

And found the Man in the Golden Mask bearing down on him, his sword - broad and immense - swinging from side-to-side; each drunken, wayward arc hacking out chunks from the trees standing parallel on the narrow pathway. Moonlight bled into his mask.

No time to think.

Link planted his boots in the soft soil and drew his blade. Two-handed, he raised his sword just as the masked man fell upon him. Steel cracked and Link was swatted aside with ease. A bolt of pain shot through both his wrists and up his arms. He tumbled awkwardly to the floor.

Link's back prickled. He threw himself to one side, narrowly missing the tip of his opponent's sword as it ploughed into the ground. Link stood, gasping, the nerves in his arms trembling. Screams rang out in the air, mixed with gleeful battle cries. Link felt sick.

No time at all.

The masked man, weapon now free, adjusted his footing and lunged in with another wild swing. Link ducked, and the blade splintered into a tree, coming to a sudden halt. Instinct made Link move – his two-handed grip on his own weapon flying upward.

His opponent was quick. The masked man pulled his blade free, silver moonlight flashing off of the steel, and both swords came to a jolting halt in mid-air. Link felt the shock of the impact ripple up his arms again, and set his teeth against it. The shimmer of metal echoed through the dark forest.

Panicked thoughts beat against Link's mind. What's going on here? Where's the captain? And why is no-one helping me?

Steam hissed out from under the other man's mask. The twin blades trembled under the pressure of both men pushing against them. Link forced his aching shoulders to push on, felt the bite of his sword's hilt through his gloves.

It wasn't enough.

Link felt his knees begin to buckle as the masked man towered over him, pushing the locked blades downwards. Link swallowed. His throat was dry and raw. He glanced up, defiant. The masked man hesitated.

Now.

Link twisted out from under his opponent, his sword sliding free, then used the momentum to spin around and –

A fist cracked into Link's jaw. The world exploded into darkness.

Down, down, down…

Link saw the universe shrink and shrink and shrink; a ball hanging in a black void, then a dot, then saw it vanish. Time and space melted away. He felt himself snuffed out like a candle.

There were no words. No voices. Concepts formed in his innermost core.

Din.

Farore.

Nayru.

Link (who?) didn't understand. What was going on?

We are they. We are not they. We are none. We are one. We are all there is.

I am one.

Link (who?) tried to push with his thoughts. Who are you?

The entity replied. This sensory world is but the first step on a ladder of being. Your path is askew.

Down, down, down…

Drowning…

Close the Breach of Black Glass.

Link sucked in a long, cold breath as his senses came rushing back to him. Fractured colours congealed into familiar shapes and images. Dampness seeped into his clothes. He found himself lying in a ditch.

Link's ears pricked to the sound of voices floating toward him. "What happened to the lad?"

"Idiot. He was an idiot." Garret's voice. "Why'd he spin for? Doesn't he know you never turn your back on an enemy? What do they teach the young 'uns in the Academy now?"

Link forced himself into a state of unnatural stillness. Did they even know he was here?

His finger twitched, touching cold steel. His sword.

"It don't matter how big you are, how quick," Garret was saying, oblivious. "It just matters how you channel your strength."

The first soldier spoke again – Ben, Link realised - an annoyed tinge to his voice. "You don't have to lecture me. What do we tell the captain?"

"Boy's dead," Garret replied. "Did you see that bandit punch? That's channelling your strength."

"A kill with one hit?"

"Scum must have a stash of Red P somewhere."

Don't check on me. Do not check.

"I guess I owe you a gold coin then," Ben replied.

"Damn right, lad. Told ya Link wouldn't be able to run with us."

"We leaving the body?"

"We leaving all the bodies," Garret growled. "The masked man held the kids hostage then killed him. Took out Link, too. That's our story."

Doubt nudged Ben's voice. "They've got arrows in them."

"No-one's going to check. Nobody. The forest animals will be done with 'em by dawn." There was a pause, as though Garett was daring Ben to challenge him, then, "Chain the bandit up and let's go."

Link heard the clink of metal, mixed with snarled protests and raised voices. He slipped in and out of consciousness as he waited for the footsteps to fade away. The hoot of an owl jerked him awake.

The young Hylian pulled himself upright. He began to stomp around in circles as he tried to work the feeling back into his limbs. His jaw ached, and his tongue probed a loose tooth.

"Outstanding," he muttered. "Just plain grand."

Link climbed out the ditch and back onto the trail – and stopped as his boot struck something hard. He looked down, and saw the bandit's mask. Some of the gold paint had been stripped away revealing the natural silver beneath. Not exactly knowing why, Link reached down to pick up the mask and tucked it into his belt.

What had just happened? Everything had changed in a flash. One minute he was part of a noble brotherhood serving Hyrule's young sovereign, the Princess Zelda, and the next…the next…

The arrows. The screams. Link heaved.

Why? We could've taken out the bandit without harming anyone. Why?!

The weight of what had just happened forced Link to his knees. His breath hissed through pursed lips. Link had been three years old when he'd been plucked from a family he could barely remember to train and serve with the Royal Guard. The fifteen years that followed were under Captain Rusl's careful tutelage, under his lessons of virtues and values, the way a Hylian should be, the way Princess Zelda – herself but a little girl when she'd ascended to the throne of Hyrule – expected them to be.

The captain had lived the ideal, to such a degree that an awestruck Link always found himself wanting in stark comparison. Stories had filled the Academy, stories of Rusl rescuing orphans, defending the princess, giving a quarter of his wage to the poor. Link, on the other hand, had nothing but misspent nights and misspent coin in Kakariko's brothels, the dawn bringing with it self-loathing and disgust.

The young Hylian took in a deep breath, then stood, picking his sword up as he did so. Sheathing the weapon, he turned in the direction of Kakariko, the direction of home. He needed answers.

Link sensed the carnage behind him. He didn't want to look, didn't want to see the bodies. He began to move off, but something held him back.

I can't leave them unburied.

But then if anyone checked, they would know that someone had been here. Worse, his former friends would know he was still alive. If they ever came back, that was. He remembered Garett's cold words: No-one's going to check.

Link closed his eyes for a long moment. He sighed. His sword would work as a makeshift spade. It would take most of the night, though, and the graves would be shallow. He hoped the captain was telling the truth about no-one using this road anymore.

Or…he could leave things as they were, go back to Kakariko and bring some help, some witnesses. People would see the massacre, would recognise the arrows. Justice could bloom. Who could he trust, though?

Ilia. I can trust Ilia.

Bracing himself, he turned around – and an empty trail stared back at him. Link blinked. The bodies were gone. His eyes scanned the whole area. No blood, not even a stray arrow.

Had Garret changed his mind? But, then, why hadn't he checked on Link himself?

Link's head began to hurt. Nothing more he could do now except head back to Kakariko. Ilia would be there. He'd talk to her.

They'd left their horses back near the forest's edge. Link didn't dare want to go back for his. It was going to be a long walk. Link sighed. "Outstanding."

As he began his trek, Link's mind flitted back to the fight with the bandit. He shouldn't have lost so quickly, so easily. The herbs and potions the Royal Academy students lived on were supposed to enhance a man's strength and skill. That, and all the training they'd had to endure.

What exactly had happened after?

Drowning…

A dull, nourishing glow settled over the core of his heart, the last traces of his strange experience fading like embers on a dying fire.

Close the Breach of Black Glass.

The world shifted in and out of focus. Everything seemed different somehow. Changed.

This sensory world is but the first step on a ladder of being.

Link felt a sudden leap in his heart. The words rang of truth. Some instinct deep within him was sure of it.

Certain.

If only he had the slightest clue as to what it meant.