The Legend of Zelda: Plague of Jintha'kal (Open, Could be Mature)

Zelda, once Princess and now Queen of Hyrule, had learned over the years to trust her instincts, especially after that whole mess with the Twilight Realm. Therefore, when her gut told her to check on the Master Sword, she followed it. What she discovered was that the guardians of the Sacred Grove had been destroyed, and a foul energy hung in the air. When she entered the small courtyard that housed the Master Sword itself, her eyes widened in shock, her guards drawing their weapons and moving to protect her.

A dark mist swirled through the air around the Master Sword, hanging around ominously. Closer inspection, however, showed that a single tendril had reached out and was seeping into the blade, staining it black. "No... h-how can this be possible?" Zelda took a step forward, and the black mist suddenly all shot into the blade, turning it fully black, radiating with dark energies. Somehow, some way, the Master Sword, 'Blade of Evil's Bane', had been corrupted.

Zelda swallowed hard, feeling fear for the first time in a very long time. When Hyrule had been bathed in Twilight, she had not been afraid, for the simple reason that she knew in her heart that with the Master Sword, there was always hope. Now, however...

"Your Highness!" Zelda snapped out of her thoughts to see more black mist swirling next to the corrupted Master Sword, taking a shape... a familiar shape... Zelda's fear became outright horror as she realized what she was facing. There, drawing the corrupted blade in a tauntingly slow manner, wearing a cruel grin, was a black, shadowed version of the very man who had last wielded the blade in defense of Hyrule.



"Link..." Snapping to attention, she turned on one of her guards, eyes desperate. "Run, run from here, and find him! Link, from the village of Ordon! Find him and tell him what has happened!" She shoved the guard away, drawing her own sword and turning back toward the the evil shadow, only to find it was gone. "....What?" She froze in shock, only to have her vision filled with a spray of blood. Her remaining guards fell around her, and she inhaled sharply as she felt cold steel pressed to her throat.

"Well, 'Your Highness', it seems you made a mistake in coming here, eh?" The shadow was behind her, arm around her waist and blade poised to slit her throat as he whispered in her ear, causing an unpleasant shiver to course through her. "You know, I bet your blood is quite the pretty color.... Why don't we find out?" Zelda shut her eyes tight, knowing it was all over, only to feel the hateful presence disappear.

Zelda glanced around warily, sword held at the ready... until she heard mad cackling from her right. She whirled around to attack, and screamed as the corrupted Master Sword entered her back and erupted from her chest. Her vision swam, and the last thing she heard before her mind faded, was that vile voice. "Tsk tsk, 'Your Highness.' I thought you were better than that. Tell Link I said 'Hello'!" He burst into laughter, and Zelda's world ended.

~~~~

Zelda sat up suddenly in bed, gasping for air as she clutched at her chest where the blade had seemingly impaled her... except there was no wound. She looked down in shock, only to be distracted by her bedroom door opening, one of her attendants bustling in. "Your Highness, you are finally awake! Are you alright!?"

"What... what happened? How did I get here, I was in the Sacred Grove, and that... that thing..."

"We found you lying on the ground unconcious, your guards dead, and the Master Sword gone, Your Highness..."

"I... I see." She didn't know what this meant, she was sure she had been impaled... however, this wasn't the time for this. She threw off the covers, and got to her feet despite her attendants protests, heading for the door. "Where is he? Has Link been found?"

"Link? The Hero of Twilight? Why would we be looking for him? Was he the one who did this!?" The small man was surprised to be slapped across the face.

"Don't you ever say something like that again! That man has been through and done more for Hyrule than you could possibly know! Don't let me ever hear you saying one word against him, do you hear me!?" The poor man simply nodded in fear, and Zelda turned on her heel, storming from the room...

~~~One Month Later~~~



Link gently patted Epona's neck as they left the treacherous mountain path, setting foot, or hoof, on solid ground once again. Two weeks travel, following the map through Hyrule proper to get to the isolated and out of the way territory of Eldruin, a kingdom unto itself. It had taken a little over a week for Zelda's magic to pinpoint where the Master Sword had been taken, it's corruption hindering the process.

Now, Link had arrived, crossing the border into Eldruin, a small nation that little news reached, or came out of. His task? To find this shadowy doppleganger of himself, retrieve the Master Sword and, if possible, restore it to it's former glory. How he was supposed to do that, he did not know. All he had to go on was that the last sensed location of the legendary blade was the village of Moradin. This time, he had no guidance. He was completely on his own.

Not for the first time, he once again wished to see Midna again. He sighed softly, and started on his way down the dirt road to the village, thinking about what had happened. One minute he had been resting in Hyrule Field, the next he'd been hailed by a royal guard, telling him that Zelda was in danger. Now... now he was in yet another unknown land, trying to find the corrupted Master Sword, stolen by an evil version of himself.

"This is wierd, even for me..."

(Okay, I have a long 'epic' of a story planned out. I will be playing three main characters; Link, and two others who will be introduced within the village of Moradin; one male, and one female. I am requesting three characters as well, however it is not a requirement. Let me explain. Either two females and one male, three females (the woman I'll bring in swings both ways), two females, or one female. This is if you want a situation where your one character is in a sort of relationship with all three of mine. It's really up to how you want to play it.

Furthermore, if you decide you want to play another canon Zelda character, that's fine. If it's Midna, please explain how she ends up there. If Zelda, same thing. This is obviously set in the Twilight Princess timeline. THis thread is open, so if multiple people wish to join to play the different characters, that is fine; so long as you are sure you can commit to a drawn out thread and will be active. I don't want people to be left hanging. You can either be from Hyrule and traveling to Eldruin, a native of Eldruin, or magically transported there. If a native of Eldruin, know that they would not know of the events of Twilight Princess, but would know of the Master Sword, and the Hero of Time. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.)

Seeing as how my entire phone is Zelda themed, it seems like a requirement that I join this rp :p

Do you mind????

(Please do! This thread idea is burning a hole in my brain, lol. I have an entire plot for this thing set up. Any idea what you'll be doing in regards to your character/characters? Any questions you may have, please ask, I want to make sure this thread works!)

http://wen-m.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d4cdagk


Ewril sat in her shop, tending to her family's heirlooms. They had many, though two were of the utmost importance. One being a strange circular blade, which she now had laid over her knee as she polished and sharpened the steel with her whetstone. The other, a large mirror, easily the size of a doorway and a small blew jewel that matched the odd decor on it's frame. The mirror remained covered at all times to the public, with only her family knowing it for what it was. When the jewel, currently cradled between her breasts on a delicate silver chain, grew hot the mirror -or rather whoever was behind the mirror- was calling out.

Naturally, the mirror was kept in her home above the shop. But it was a slow day, and she saw no harm in getting a core or two done while sitting behind the counter.

Her shop was filled of odd items. some were simply basic weapons, bows and arrows, swords and daggers. At one point she even carried a slingshot for a child to play with, though when they didn't sell as well as she had hoped, she never did restock on those. Though all the weapons were no her main source of income.

Ewril was known around as a healer. She had been told stories as a child about her ancestors.

She recalled the story well as she worked in fact.

A young child had left the protection of her woods and met a farm man while looking for her missing brother. She had fallen in love and lost her immortality. She aged and married the farmer. Supposedly her brother had been the hero of time. Of curse, it was all ages ago.

Still, if it were true, it would explain a lot.... Like why they had such an odd family heirloom and seemingly unnatural healing abilities. She sold potions, blue and red ones made to heal the body and soul. The recipe was a family heirloom as well.... Yet by far, her favorite was considered the one of least importance. A song, lighthearted and cheery, it was a melody she often found herself humming, imaging what sort of person her ancestor Saria might have actually been like.

Her arm was growing tired of the endless sweeping motions it took to sharpen the blade. She sighed and set it down on the counter, standing to stretch her back out, going on her toes to help it crack.

As Link entered Moradin, he dismounted from Epona, choosing instead to walk her through the village. This place wasn't really that different from Hyrule proper, he found. Moradin itself, he found to be like a less dusty, larger version of the secret village he'd met Impa in. It was mildly comforting, the fact that this land wasn't drastically different. He noticed the odd looks he was getting, but it didn't bother him too much, honestly. However, it was as he passed a shop that he paused, blinking as he looked over at it.

Something felt... odd. He reached up and lightly grasped the small pouch hanging around his neck, that held a shard of the Mirror of Twilight. The biggest piece of it he could find. He'd gathered the rest of the pieces he could find as well, but actually putting the mirror back together was beyond him. The best he could get out of his work was a memento of Midna... He shook his head to clear it, and sighed. "I'm imagining things..." Still, seeing the shop reminded him that he needed to restock on Blue Potion, so he tied Epona up outside of the store, and slipped inside.

(If it wasn't for your plan to bring in Midna, I would be all for the descendant of Saria to be with the descendant of the Hero of Time, lol. That was clever, I like it.)

[:p I thought it was cute lol I'm thinking the blue 'jem' is a sol. >>; Soooo Link might notice it lol]

Ewril looked up as the bell rang above her door. She had half expected another mother to come in for the cold that was going around.

She raised an eyebrow at the oddly dressed man who stepped in. He wore a mossy green tunic and sock hat-- odd considering the hot temperature in her opinion.

"Afternoon." she greeted, moving the large circular blade off the counter, propping it against the wall behind her. "Looking for anything in particular?"

She moved to sit back down on her stood, pinning her long red hair up and out of her way, exposing her long pointed ears. Ears she herself couldn't help but notice the traveler shared with her.

------In the Realm of Twilight--------

Midna looked out from her palace room over the city, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. The Twili people all seemed back to normal since the events with Link had passed... Zant's evil had all but been irradiated.

She scoffed at the thought.

Evil... irradiated. Yeah right.

"In the world of twilight there is always good and evil present. We are not in the light, nor in the darkness. It's a healthy mix."

Midna looked over her shoulder at the man in her door way who spoke to her. "Reading thought's again?" she accused ligthly. She sighed and stood up straight, looking down at the city longingly. Her people.... And yet...

"You miss the hero, don't you?"

Midna didn't respond, staring out over the city a while longer before turning to face her guest. "What do you want, Versi?"

She never did trust Versi. He had been her fathers right hand man for a time, and had helped her escape Zant.... But something always did seem off about him.

The man stared at her for a moment before speaking. "We've managed to open the chamber, your highness."

Midna felt her own jaw drop ever so slightly.

"You did ask me to retrieve you when we succeeded, did you not?"

"Thank you. Midna said turning form him, unable to hide the grin sprawing over her lips if she stayed facing him. "Now, go. I need to think."

Link smiled kindly, nodding as he pulled an empty bottle from a hip pouch, setting it on the counter, pulling out his wallet at the same time. "Yes, I was looking to buy some Blue Potion, please. Had a bit of trouble on the mountain path." He did, briefly, notice the gem dangling from her neck, but ignored it for two simple reasons. One was that it didn't immediately register. Another was that, considering it's location, he was not about to stare. Then he got that wierd feeling again, like being near the Twilight... this was going to get annoying if he kept getting that feeling. Missing her was bad enough, he didn't need to be teased about it by imagined senses.

(I forgot what a 'Sol' is...)

[http://www.zeldawiki.org/Sol I'm thinking hers is a small one. It powers the mirror]

She looked impressed. "The mountains?" she questioned, curiously as she picked up his bottle. She filled it for him. "Fifteen Rupoor." she said passively.

Link had come across his first main difference between the lands. Currency.

"Sounds like you've come a long way." she mused. "You ought to take the horse of yours and get her some water. There's an inn just across town."

Link just looked at her for a brief moment, then blinked, before palming his face. "...Did you say Rupoor? I figured Eldruin would use Rupees too..." Well, this was just perfect. He'd come 'prepared' with his wallet filled to the brim with a thousand Rupees, and now it was useless. Well, except for his Magic Armor, but that didn't mean much right now. "A long way... yeah, I came here from Hyrule proper..."

(Thank you!)

The red head considered him for a moment and pushed the bottle a bit closer to the edge. "Consider it a gift." she said.

When he looked up at her, she offered him a smile. "Traveling's hard when you have no money. If you feel up to it, I can pay you for a couple days of work and in the mean time give you a place to sleep and put up your horse." she offered. "Wha'd'ya say?"

Having someone form Hyrule Proper would attract customers for the time he was there, and besides, she had always been taught the importance of hospitality. "Just around back there's a two stall stable. One's got my horse in it the other is full of tack, but you're welcome to empty it out for now and use it."

Link was surprised, but smiled. "That... would be nice, thank you. I'll probably be traveling alot still, but it would be nice to have a safe place to rest when I need to." He'd be staying in the village for now until he got a lead on the Master Sword anyway. He took the potion, and turned toward the door. "Where should I put the tack while Epona is in there? I don't want to make a mess for you."

"There's a back door to the shop. There should be enough room in the storage area." she said simply. "So long as you leave a path way for me to get back there if need be you should be fine. I'll set up the spare room while you get that straightened away."

She picked up the circular blade, allowing it to rest over her shoulder and under her arm, pulling back the red curtain behind the counter to show a staircase leading up in a spiral to the second floor.

"Though it might be nice to know the name of my new tenant." she joked. "Opposed to what the sign says, I'm Ewril, or Rill for short." she introduced herself.

Link actually went a little red, embarrassed by his slip-up of not introducing himself. "I'm sorry. My name is Link. It's nice to meet you, and thank you again." He went out the door, and led Epona back to the stable. After a bit of work, he had the tack all moved to the storage area, and Epona comfortable in the stable. He then headed back inside, something nagging at the back of his mind; he was sure he'd figure out what it was eventually.

Rill looked up from the window she was pulling closed when he reentered the shop. "Oh, there you are." she said, nudging her head to the counter. "That key's for your trunk." she said. "Up the stairs, first room on your left is where you'll be staying."

She grunted slightly as she pulled the last window shut, closing up shop as the sun set. "When you've got your stuff squared away come back down and I;l treat us to supper." she said. "You can tell me all about Hyrule." she suggested, wiping her hands clear of dust.

With the sun setting, it was getting to be chilly in the town. Rill had even put a solid shirt on under her black vest, allowing her necklace to stand out against the white cloth.

Link nodded a bit, taking the key and heading up. Because of the magical properties of his outfit and the pouches on it, all of his equipment was stored quite conveniently, which was good, considering everything he had. Still, he removed and folded his hat, setting it aside, and removed the pouches. The rest he left on, as it was quite comfortable, and he had nothing else anyway. He headed back down stairs, and it was then that he got a better look at Rill's necklace. 'That looks like... but, it couldn't be...'

"So how come you can't see into it?" A short woman asked, frowning. "Some mirror.... This thing is broken!"

"No." said Midna calmly. "It isn't broken.... It's just... off."

She curled one fist under her chin as she inspected the mirror... Or rather, the black plane of glass that was to be a mirror.

"Find a new job for Versi." she said, narrowing her red eyes. "I don't need him trying to 'help' right now."

"Yes, your highness." the woman bowed before leaving.

Midna frowned, placing a hand flat against the smooth surface of the glass. It was cold. "Hm..."

--------

Rill held open the door for him, raising an eyebrow. "See something you like?" she asked sarcastically, tucking her necklace away.

Link blinked, and shook his head. "Sorry, just... reminded me of something. I didn't mean to stare or anything. Anyway, you wanted to know about Hyrule?" He decided to put her necklace out of his mind for now. The idea of it actually being a Sol was ridiculous. The look was simply a coincidence.

(Forgot to mention he put his sword and sheild away upstairs as well.)

She nodded, locking up behind them. "Can you tell me about the Deku Forest?" she asked. "Or the Zoras?" she asked hopefully. She had never been any farther than one village north. She had never had the chance to travel outside of her dreams.

Dreams were the way she could see the world. She could visit stories of the Hero of Time and how he fought on the side of the Goddesses. Stories about princesses and monsters and a legendary sword that saved the world.

Link paused, thinking about that. "Deku Forest... oh, you mean like the Kokiri Forest? It hasn't been called by those names for... well, a long time. I don't really know much about it. I come from the village of Ordon, which is in the Ordon Woods, which connects to the Faron Woods. I'm pretty sure it's where the Kokiri Forest used to be... I think. I can't really say for sure, especially since the ruins of the Temple of Time are deep in those woods. I've never seen any records about it, and those are the only forests I've seen." He shrugged, but then brightened.

"I have been to Zora's Domain though, as well as Death Mountain, Gerudo Desert, Snowpeak... all over, really. Kinda had to..." He paused, glancing to the floor. 'Was a difficult journey, I guess... didn't notice as much because of....' He sighed, and looked back to Rill, and smiled, pushing those thoughts away. "Anyway, what would you like to know?"

Ewril felt a pang of disappointment upon hearing the Koriki forest was no more. She had really wanted to see it one day.

She noticed the emotion cross his face and frowned slightly, feeling her heart go out to him in sympathy. He must have lost someone dear to him along the way.

"Tell me whatever you can." she said, leading him to a restaurant. "Do the Zoras really breath under water? And do the Gourons really eat rocks?"

It was a small building, round, with a porch that went along the entirety of the outside, decorated with tables and paper lanterns to keep away the bugs.

"OI-" she called in. "You've got guests you need to come out and attend to." she called into the kitchen door, having known the owner for a while.

Link smiled, nodding. "The Zora's do breathe underwater, yes. They are amazing swimmers too. I've seen them do amazing things... I even saw one swim up a waterfall while dragging a small fishing boat." He glanced around the restaurant, finding it to be a nice place, and continued, while following Rill. "The Goron's do eat rocks, but also some metals, as well as drinking lava... and milk, surprisingly. They can eat what they want I think, but that's mainly what they eat. They are incredibly strong, too." He winced a bit at the thought; they'd given him more than a few bruises on accident, and ven more on purpose before he'd proven himself to them.

Rill listened intently, taking a seat as he spoke.

An elderly man came out from the building, blinking behind a thick set of glasses. "Rill, who's yer friend?" he asked, looking Link up and down with a critical eye.

Unlike Rill, his ears were rounded, like most people. His eyes were magnified by his glasses, showing off a hazy blue color and countless laugh lines across his face.

"Link." she said, not bothering to elaborate on the blonds behalf. "He's going to be taking up the spare room at the shop. So how about a nice Moradin supper?" she grinned. "We'll have a pitcher and that famous roast of yours."

The old man nodded with a smile. "Alright then." he said, mumbled something that sounded like the order repeatedly before retreating inside.

Rill looked back to Link and placed her chin on her fist. "So, do all Hyrulians have pointed ears?" she asked. "Or just people in Ordon like you?"

Link shrugged slightly. "As far as I know, the Hylian people all have pointed ears, or at least a majority of them. Some have rounded ears, but that's rare. Really, I only found all of this out maybe... almost a year ago. Up until then, I'd never left Ordon village. I lived in a tree house, worked on a goat farm, played with the local kids... then the Twilight came and... well, everything changed then..."

"The twilight?" she blinked. "What happened?" she asked, frowning.

News rarely reached them, much less an actual bad event.

As Link spoke, a pitcher of ale was brought to the table with two cups and soon after, their meal. A steaming plate of odd vegetables and three thick slices of meat placed upon them.

Link paused, wondering how much he should tell her. The whole thing? Or should he leave out parts. After a long pause... he decided, and began softly. He started by explaining what he knew of Ganondorf, and the trouble he'd caused, the attempt at his execution, and the Triforce. This included the revelation that he himself had the Triforce of Courage. From there, he launched into the story of what had happened on that day that Zant had invaded Hyrule, up until the point where, in the form of a wolf, he woke up in a dungeon. Here, he paused.

"...That's when I met her. Midna... when we first met, I couldn't stand her. SHe was pushy, rude, talked down to me... but she needed my help, and I needed hers. So together, we worked to undo Zant's magic and free Hyrule. We became friends... good friends. She honestly became the most important person to me, and I didn't even care when I found out that the crazy imp that was helping me was actually forced into that form by Zant and was the exiled Twilight Princess... anyway, after we free'd Hyrule from Twilight, we needed to take the fight to Zant. The only way to move between the two realms, was the Mirror of Twilight." Link took a long, deep breath, then continued. "I'm getting ahead of myself..."

He went back and touched on the places he'd been, things he'd done. Freeing Hyrule of Twilight, the temples, the Master Sword, the Light Spirits, gathering of the Fused Shadow and pieces of the Mirror of Twilight, everything. Then... then it was time for the end of things.

"We defeated Zant, only to find that Ganondorf had regained enough power to return to Hyrule. We returned as well, and we fought him. First he possessed Zelda, and I had to force him out of her. Then he transformed into a massive beast. Midna and myself managed to defeat him. Then he returned as this... strange energy cloud. Midna teleported Zelda and me out of the castle, which was then mostly destroyed as she used the power of her people to try and defeat him.... she lost, and Ganondorf convinced me that Midna was dead." Anger was evident in his eyes here.

"The next battle was on horseback. Zelda rode with me, using arrows of pure light to weaken Ganondorf, where I would then be able to catch up to him on his horse and strike him with the Master Sword. When I finally got him off his horse, he created a barrier, sealing the both of us in, Zelda unable to interfere. It's there that we fought for the last time. He was much faster and stronger than me, but I managed to outmanuever him, and finally impale him with the Master Sword. The Triforce of Power left him finally, and... that was it.... except that now, the magic that had changed Midna released her back to her true form." Link went silent, staring at the floor for a long moment before continuing.

"I... I knew Midna had to go back to the Twilight Realm, to lead her people. I had no problem with that.... however... Light and Twilight cannot mix. The light of our realm is lethal to them, and the Twilight can drive someone from here mad. It was too dangerous... so... so as Midna left, she.... destroyed the Mirror of Twilight... and with it, any chance of us seeing eachother again. SHe was crying when she left... my last memory of her is her crying as she leaves, the two of us unable to see eachother ever again... it... it's just hard to handle..." Once again, he fell silent, except to speak very softly.

"She was going to tell me something before she left, but stopped herself... I don't know why... but I wish I knew what it was... what she wanted to say... dammit, I want to see her again... I know I can't though, and it's... I don't even know why it hurts so badly..." His usually upbeat mood had plummeted during his tale, and he'd barely touched his food.