It is a black morning
So early that the sun has yet to rise
An ominous air looms over the kingdom of Hyrule
As a single soldier walks soundlessly in his home
So careful as not to wake his wife
Before he dresses in armor and takes his spear
He silently brushes a kiss on his sleeping love’s cheek
He looks at his baby boy and momentarily remembers his father before him
Silently praying that his son does not suffer the same fate as them both
As he takes his spear and heads for the door
He takes one last look at his simple home as he did every day
Never knowing if he’d ever return home
He slinks out the door, shutting it without a sound behind him.

At the castle, away from the peace
Chaos erupts as the soldiers are rushed to the battlefront
Armor clanging, horses braying
Each sound like a gunshot on the weary soldier’s nerves
He suddenly wishes he were back in the silence of his home
But before he knows it, the troops stop
Facing north on the great fields of Hyrule
Staring at the great dark mist on the horizon
He realizes the haze has eyes
It is not the morning fog, but hundreds of beasts
Stalfos, moblins, darknuts,
Their eyes glowing like fiery coals set into their twisted heads
Their size vast, their strength immense
Did his fellow men even stand a chance?

The opposing forces charged
With a cry that broke the morning
Armor clashed, screams of pain resounded in the chill air
Bearing his own spear, the soldier watched helplessly
As friends and fellow soldiers collapsed in crimson pools
In anguish, his weapon clanked against the bones of a stalfos
Its metal shield was no match for his weak armor
Oh, how it hurt to feel its jagged sword on his flesh
He wished so painfully for it to be all over
For Hyrule to be safe, so he could go home
And be in the comforting arms of his wife
To watch his boy grow
And to live a peaceful life as a normal Hylian
His lone wish was abruptly ended
By a darknut’s axe to his skull

He was never even given the time to think
How his wife could live without him
How his son would have no father
But he would have never guessed
That his last thoughts were nearly identical
To the hundreds of other soldiers surrounding him
Laying there, without an absolution from death
Without a chance of hearing answers