The Legend of Zelda: Eternal Winter

By LostInHyrule, Imagination's Dream, and Linkc-Hero of Twilight

Engoth's breath created a fog cloud in front of his face when he exhaled. A black scarf was wrapped around his neck and mouth, and his long black hair covered the rest of his head – only his blue eyes were visible. A blanket of snow coated Kakariko Village, and it steadily kept falling.

The windmill upon which Engoth leaned was still turning shaking off a bit of snow each pass, which fell in front of him. He shook his head, and bits of ice flew off onto the ground, only to be replaced in his hair by the falling snow.

The Tower loomed in the distance. It was large enough that it could be seen from Kakariko Village in the far distance, although it would take nearly a day to reach on horseback. It looked as if it was made of ice. If it wasn't, then it was so thickly coated in it that you wouldn't have been able to break through it with a sword. And then there was the wall. Gigantic – 20 feet tall, creating a courtyard around Xalon's masterpiece.

Xalon was denied his throne, years ago now. Most Hylians wouldn't have heard of this, before the crisis, but Engoth wasn't a Hylian. In fact, he wasn't born in Hyrule at all. Far to the West, in the kingdom of Radite, Engoth would also have been royalty himself, had he not escaped. Engoth would have been grudging prince of the elves; it was a job he never wanted. He had never been his father's son in his heart, and his father had never loved him. He was the next link in the bloodline, and nothing more.

The Gerudo have one male born every 100 years, and that male is made king. Never before had twins been born, both male, and both fighting for the throne. Upon growing up, Ganondorf and Xalon never knew that they could not rule together – on their joined 18th birthday, it was revealed that only one could rule.

Ganondorf had been born first – if only by a matter of minutes. However, such a small difference in time was enough to crown him king of the Gerudo, and Xalon simply a misfit Gerudo Male.

There was one other of the Gerudo, however, who opposed this decision – the Gerudo High Sorceress thought that they should have to fight each other for the position – that with two Gerudo males, the better should be chosen.

She wasn't listened to, and, having had enough with the Gerudo's rigid customs, vanished completely. However, not before granting Xalon, whom she still believed the true king of the Gerudo, the Magical Orb.

This orb would grant him magical powers far beyond anything he had tried before – he had always been skilled with magic, but he believed this would make him invincible.

Word of an uprising in Gerudo Valley soon spread to Radite, but it was hushed in Hyrule. The Hyrulean government assumed the Gerudo would sort everything out on their own, and they didn't want to worry Hyrulean citizens. So, when Xalon, and a group of Gerudos began a construction project in the middle of Hyrule Field, it came as a surprise to most of Hyrule's citizens.

Xalon told them all that he planned to build a tower of 50 feet in the middle of Hyrule Field, and when nobody stopped him, he did just that. It took him a year – but when it was finished, nobody could deny that it was the most spectacular thing in Hyrule.

He saw his opportunity then and there; with the help of his magical orb, he cast a spell that would bring Hyrule into Eternal Winter. Clever as Xalon was, he cast this spell during Hyrule's winter – nobody would know until springtime, when the spell had already set in.

And, come springtime, the snow did not go away. It didn't get warmer. Xalon sent a message to the King of Hyrule, in mid-springtime.

Dear King of the Hyruleans,

This winter is my doing. If you want your subjects to live until the next true winter, then you shall relinquish your throne to me, and I shall relinquish this winter.

Xalon, King of Hyrule

When the King did not relinquish his throne, Xalon stayed put – he and his monsters could survive in the ice, and the Hyruleans couldn't.

That was why today, a meeting was being called in Kakariko Square, to make good of the one weapon the Hyruleans still had: the Prophecy. The prophecy stated that Five Races of the World – Hylians, Elves, Zoras, Gorons, and Sheikah would unite to create a team powerful enough to vanquish any evil. But in order for the team of the five chosen ones to be able to wield their power, they would need the three pearls.

In the North, The Red Orb of Fire and Destruction keeps the world in balance with Chaos and Destruction.

In the West, the Blue Orb of Water and Serenity keeps the world in balance with Peace and Intellect.

And in the East, the Green Orb of Life and Justice keeps the world in balance with Justice and Revenge.

If the five heroes could harness this power, they would be able to destroy Ganon. Engoth fully expected to be the Elven representative on the team, and he planned to become the leader.

Looking down over Kakariko Village, a short, cloaked figure was visible climbing the steps to the city's entrance.