LOZ:Twilight Princess:Prologue FINAL

The Bridge of Eldin stood strong yet silent.  The red sky painted its old grey stones and the neighboring landscape in the most beautiful hues, and yet the sky lingered with the air of omens.  A light, yellowish flutter of clouds wisped throughout the dusk sky and dulled the warmth.

In the silence then a thundering neigh sounded, and a lone rider sped through the grand archway of the bridge.  The footsteps of the red horse echoed against the thick stone, reverberating into the wide canyon that stretched far below.  With the setting sun shining upon the pair from the west, the horse's crimson body appeared even more vibrant, an orange tint running the length of its bouncing white mane and tail.  The clomps of its hooves seemed to keep a constant rhythm, one that kept everything in sync.

The rider remained unidentifiable other than his soiled green clothes.  He paid no mind to the grandness of the bridge or the glamour of the castle on the distant northern horizon.  Not even the breathtaking sunset took his eyes from his road.  He was set.  On a path back into a familiar land, into the mountains he had visited so many times before.

The rider whipped around the grassy terrain of Eldin field, heading south into the mountains that splayed out before him.  Then, for the first time on his journey back, he gazed toward the castle with a sliver of a memory tugging at his mind.  The glimmers of the sinister dark and yellow clouds that had surrounded Hyrule Castle and the thought of a lonely wolf sitting and howling to an empty sky.


----PROLOGUE: Of Symbols and Whispers


The soothing sounds of the spring lulled the sun in the evening sky to sink into slumber.  With the mass of brightness dwindling behind the clouds, a young ranch hand and a blacksmith sat at an enclosed spring admiring the peace.  A burdened red horse with a glowing white mane sat behind them in the soft sands. It seemed the goddesses had painted the red and violet hues of the sky with their elegant brushes in the simplest harmony.  Even frogs upon lilies moaned in agreement, their croaks echoing into the stillness of the coming night.

This was when life in the Ordona province seemed the simplest, even though it was already an honest and easy life.  There was no rush in heavy streets, no yelling townsfolk, no ill circumstance.  The trees blanketed the lives of the people, their soft whispers an unchallengeable melody of wind and leaf.  There, sitting at the spirit spring, was yet another bright moment of tranquility.  The hushed melody of the descending twilight deterred the pair from their chore, and, late as it was becoming, they assured themselves there was time for this respite.

It was at that time that the blacksmith, a square-jawed, sandy-haired man in his middle years, spoke out to the adolescent beside him.  "Tell me, Link….  Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls?  They say it's the only time when our world intersects with theirs, the only time we can feel the lingering regrets of spirits who have left our world."  He breathed deeply, thinking over the weight of his words as he toyed with his short, grey beard.  Then he spoke softly, "That is why loneliness always pervades the hour of twilight."

The fair-haired youth looked to him then, a glimmering wonder glazing his crystal blue eyes.  His mentor, Rusl, always seemed so full of life even in his older age, and his sudden weariness at the dark hour troubled him.  He rarely heard him speak in such a manner.

But the blacksmith shifted his focus, "Enough of this talk, though….  Link, I have a favor to ask.  As you know, each year we craft a gift for the royal family of Hyrule, and each year I am the one to make the journey and present it."  Link nodded, remembering every time he had watched Rusl leave … and how he waited restlessly to hear the tales of his adventure upon his return.  Link had known for weeks now that the time of Rusl's annual departure neared, but never had he before made a request of him in his absence.  "I've talked it over with the mayor," continued Rusl, "and, although it is my duty … I want you to take Ordon's gift--a sword and shield--to Hyrule Castle and present it to the royal family."  

It took a moment for the reality of his words to sink in, and the blacksmith watched with a grin as Link fell into a dream of discovering the world that had so long been unknown to him.  Link had always envisioned a day when he would journey into the vast lands of the kingdom, discovering its many wonders.  It seemed he had remained still, living within Ordon Village, for far too long.  He had yearned for adventure since his childhood.  Every exciting tale Rusl had told him, whether myths of ancient lands and ferocious creatures or his own stories from the road, had filled Link with a lust and envy he could never quite describe.

"You've never been to Hyrule, I know," said Rusl.  "But, Link, it is a wondrous place."  Rusl turned his attention to the water, the beads ever flowing in a constant gentle trickle, rippling toward them before ebbing away again.  "In the kingdom of Hyrule, there is a great castle, and around it is Castle Town, a community far bigger than our village."  Link had heard these descriptions many times, the story of the other provinces of Hyrule, villages full of life, full of so many people of varying jobs and hobbies.  It was hard to imagine life outside the forest, vast fields and tall mountains.

As the blacksmith spoke of Hyrule, the wonder in his voice suggested he was reimagining the spring before them as the vast kingdom, and Link looked into the water, trying to imagine it for himself, trying to understand the shape of the castle and its tall spires, the bends of the great Zora River, the cliffs of the rocky canyons in the Eldin province to the east.  "And far beyond Hyrule is the rest of the world created by the gods.  You should experience it."  Rusl flashed a suggestive smile, "And perhaps you'll be lucky enough to meet the princess herself!"

From that proposition, Link fell into a world of fantasy.  Journeying out into the world was a thrilling idea already, but to meet Princess Zelda, ruler of the Hyrulean kingdom and a woman said to be a vessel of the rarest beauty and wisdom?  The possibilities of such a journey sparked new life within Link, and his imagination spun as he looked to the back of his left hand.  There lay a symbol of three darkened triangles lined up to assemble one perfect triangle.  All through his life, orphaned to Ordon, he had wondered what this figure meant and how such a mark had branded him.  And who were his parents?  Why had they left him to this place?  He had wished with all his heart to one day find the answers.

In that moment, Rusl glanced toward Link and followed his line of sight to the odd marking.  His mouth thinned into an indiscernible frown, but instead of disturbing Link's thoughts with his own ponderings he rose and brushed off his backside.  "Well, come on then, Link, best get these bundles back before Epona falls asleep."

With some reluctance Link pulled himself up from his earthly chair and took hold of his horse's reins, calling for her to rise. She obediently dragged herself from her thoughtful gaze and stood before her master, tossing her mane.  Link had remembered bonding with Epona when he was but a boy and she a small, wild pony.  As far as he knew, he had been the only man who had ever been able to tame her independent nature.

On the way back to the village all Link could think about was this journey upon which he would soon embark.  They crossed back over the great rope bridge that linked Hyrule to the path which led toward their village, the clomps of Epona's hooves echoing into the deep ravine below.  They passed through the rocky cliffs adjoined to another spring, and in that quiet moment, Link heard a faint whisper.  The back of his hand burned suddenly, but he gave no indication of this to Rusl the blacksmith who walked idly in front of him.

Rubbing away the soft pain, Link nonchalantly turned his head in the direction of the spring, gazing over the calm waters and verdant life. But whatever had called out, there it remained no longer.  Concluding that the noise had been the frail voice of the dying wind, Link continued onward into Ordon.

Yet, as he passed out of sight and earshot of the spring, a dim yellow glow twinkled with a soft, singing whine before it once more faded into the evening air.

===============

It was not long before they arrived on the outskirts of Ordon Village where Link's house rested.  His home had been carved into one of the larger trees found in their forest.  Instead of killing the tree in order to turn it into a home, the house had only been etched into part of the tree, the smaller of its two trunks serving as his carved home.  The other enormous trunk continued to sprout upward as it also hugged its lesser half, sheltering it like a son.  Moss and vines tumbled over the triangular roof from the boughs above, blending its façade almost perfectly with the surroundings.

Standing before the ladder leading up onto porch area was the beautiful Uli and ten-year-old Colin, wife and son to Rusl.  As she turned to notice the pair returning, Rusl immediately came to them.  "Uli, what are you doing?"  His voice was understandably full of concern, for her belly swelled with the promise of bringing a newborn into the world in a matter of months.

"We're fine," she said with a slight laugh.  Uli always seemed to wear a smile over the simple beauty of her pale cheeks.  "It was getting late.  I wondered if you and Link were still out."

As Rusl and Uli exchanged another few concerned remarks, Link brought Epona along behind them toward the grassy niche beside the great tree that served as her stable.  He flashed Colin a small smile of greeting as he passed and then went about unburdening Epona from her charge.  One by one he unlaced the bundles of wood and heaved them to the ground to rest beside his horse, the only thing in this world that was truly worth anything to him.

Rusl heard the rustle as Link set the last bundle at the base of his house, and he apologized for not helping him.  The youth waved off the blacksmith with a smile.  "In that case, I think it's time I return home," said Rusl.  "I'll see you tomorrow, Link."

With that, Rusl grasped his son's hand, but Uli called back to Link.  "Link, Colin spent the day making something."  Link looked to Colin, who only tossed dirt timidly about with his sandal.  "Could you come by our house tomorrow?  It's for you," she said, and Link could see in her expression that she had known her son would be too shy to ask the question himself.  

"I'd be happy to," said Link, looking from Uli to Colin.  The boy grinned and his father tousled his blond hair.  The married couple bade Link a good night and then headed back into the village.

Link watched as they walked down the path, a dirt road which set him apart by at least a quarter of a mile from the rest of woodland civilization.  Watching as they, his surrogate family, disappeared from view, he felt the tinge of loneliness creep up his spine.

Loneliness always pervades the hour of twilight, Rusl had said.

The fair-haired youth leaned up against his tree house, as Epona finally sat down among the grasses of her alcove.  Link cast his gaze up to the sky, watching as the colors played with the clouds and hid the distant stars.  He had to remind himself that it was not loneliness he felt; it was peace.  Peaceful solitude.

He had known the life of an Ordonian since he was a babe.  Rusl and Uli had taken him in to be reared as their very own.  He had heard the story several times, how Rusl had found an abandoned child, cold and crying, in the forest.  To Link, however, it was less of a story and more like a chapter of one.  He had wondered away countless hours on the thought of where he had come from and why he had been chosen by the gods to live in Ordon.  It was a pleasant existence, to be sure, and he never once loathed his home or his neighbors.

But he was always left wondering….

He was a Hylian, unlike the rest of the village--who had been born to men and women, grandfathers and grandmothers--who had been living in Ordon for generations.  Perhaps this was why Rusl had asked the mayor for Link to be their messenger.  In a few days he would embark on a journey into the heart of the Hyrulean kingdom and give the Ordonians' gift of tribute to the royal family.

Link glanced toward the woodland road that would guide him out of the forest and found himself smiling and wondering for another countless time what kind of adventures laid in wait outside the boundaries of the forests of Faron Woods.

He blamed it on imagination, but just then he could have sworn he had heard that lamenting whisper again, calling out to him.