The Legend of Zelda: Zelda's Honor

Chapter 46 - Turning the Wheels

Naar crumpled the parchment in his fist, he was livid at the news. They had needed the fresh supplies of clothes and food. Not that the men actually needed the food to survive but it was one of the few pleasures he could give them to stall an outright mutiny. There were insufficient females remaining to go around the camp, many having died off due to abuse or disease. Limited things were left to keep the restless men occupied and their head kept in the war.

To distract their mundane lives when it wasn't spent raping, killing and pillaging, Naar instituted an age-old tradition back in Nevachrea. A sport they used to play before the war, before Hyrule reneged on their agreement and left their nation to rot. It was a simple game comprised of two goals and a ball. The object was to kick, head butt, or throw it through the hoop at the opposing end. The rules were also simple: you could not travel with the ball and anything went with regards to how the other team was treated, this lead to the game ultimately becoming a blood sport, much to the excitement of the men.

The game occupied their artless minds and their inner, bloodthirsty natures. It helped stave off the inevitable sedition. Naar needed those sacred stones soon. Thanan had sent word earlier that he was closing in on the ruby's location but the local dragon population seemed to have waylaid his search significantly. The Gorons also were not making things easy on Thanan. They had lost many good men to their formidable might.

Things had not gone according to plan at all this week. The letter was the last in the line of irritable circumstances that enraged Naar. True to their word, the witches dispelled the barrier blocking the Gerudo kingdom. They were ready to strike with a full regiment of five-thousand men. Over half of those lost their lives permanently in the assault. Although the siege was successful, those irksome Gerudo merely fell back to a far more defensive position. Sealed away in their desert colossus, that realm of influence was at a standstill. Now this! Naar threw the letter across the tent.

"Is there anything else you require?" The messenger offered apprehensively.

Naar merely waved him off with a gesture, so deep in thought he had abandoned all notion of torturing the poor bastard. Talamir and Timner had written the report. His initial assumption of bandits had been correct. What was disconcerting was that there appeared to be two factions of bandits. One set was merely stealing the supplies while the other merely torched them completely along with the men. Could there be uprisings already in the homeland? If that was the case, he might have to travel home and take care of this situation himself.

He shivered at the thought of being back in Glaun'rung, of being near Barrachas. He owed that man a great debt for revitalizing their nation and giving them the capability to sustain this war over the cycles. However that man was a very disturbing individual, even more so than Thanan, who was an enigma himself. Barrachas served as Nevachrea's high priest, something the country never had prior to his appearance. Naar made it a point to avoid the man at every opportunity, only deigning to meet with him if the situation demanded it.

His mind drifted back to thoughts of the Triforce, mulling on the plethora of ways they had conceived of to acquire it. The ancients who built the Temple of Time were very methodical in setting up its defenses. There seemed to be no clear way of gaining access to the Sacred Realm without following the one and only path described in the translated texts at the castle: through the sacred stones and further therein, the Master Sword.

Naar had read the manuscripts multiple times to grasp their meaning. Even if they successfully accessed the Master Sword, it would reveal itself to no one but the Hero it had chosen. Maybe those two crones were onto something, all signs pointed to that young boy he met seven cycles ago. To think he had him under his power and had no idea how vital he was to the overall campaign. It made him furious just thinking about it! He had to agree that assisting Link seemed to be the only viable alternative in getting what he desired.