Rage of the Rathalos (Saga)

[Illidan Stormrage]

Link straggled behind. After the dragon hoisted itself into the sky and fled, he hunted his pegasus, or another mode of transportation capable of pursuit. He eventually found his winged horse, startled and rearing, no doubt smelling the spilled blood over the broken village streets. It took some time to settle it down, and even longer to mount and convince it to fly, but his perseverance paid off. Shakily he sped into the sky, chasing the fading roars and smoke. His throat jettisoned into his stomach as he rose. Flight was not something he would acclimate to quickly.

He steered his pegasus to the lip of a cave, where many other soldiers waited outside. Link landed surprisingly adroitly, until his mount detected the scent of blood and dragon breath and reared violently. The Hylian was an experienced rider, but he slipped from the saddle and crashed into the dirt. The impact shuddered through his skull but he was otherwise fine. Gaining his feet, he avoided the eyes of the amused men around him and entered the cave. I don't see any of you risking your lives in here.

It was dark, but periodic flashes of orange-red light briefly illuminated the walls and guided him. As the clamour of battle strengthened and shadows drew longer behind him, he unsheathed the Master Sword and approached cautiously. As he neared it almost sounded like there were two dragons further in. He really hoped that was wrong. One of the beasts was more than--

Raaaaaagh!

A primal bellow pealed through the cave. A light shockwave rattled the stony walls as two massive forces collided. Were the two dragons warring against each other? Had the other adventurers perished, and were they fighting over the charred spoils? Link didn't know anything about how dragons acted. He knew one particular serpent enjoyed Gorons, but that was about it.

Raaaaaaaaaaaagh!

The monster's voice boomed thanks to the natural acoustics of the cave, but it wasn't the volume that sent goosebumps pimpling Link's skin. It was somehow familiar, but not in a good way, and not in a way that made sense. The dragon had been very vocal at the village, but this battle cry was different, although no less intense.

Link took another step. He felt a shiver of nerves through his rib cage when he realised there was no solid earth beneath it. He tumbled down the sudden decline, almost losing his sword in the process. He came to a stop at the base of the slope and fast returned to his feet. The temperature skyrocketed. The once distant screams felt like they emanated from inside his skull. His Hylian shield slipped over his right hand and he rose to meet the beasts in battle.

When Link looked up, the coldest chill suffused his heart.

Ganon was back.

This wasn't the Gerudo thief that everyone knew him as, nor was it the usurper who sat in a dark castle that once belonged to Princess Zelda's father. No, that man, no matter how powerful and disgusting he was, did not stand before him now. That was Ganondorf. This was Ganon. A monstrous, snarling man-boar with glowing white eyes and terrible red mane. Though he lacked the man sized swords he battled Link with in their climactic battle, his gleaming tusks were perfectly functional alternatives. Slaver fell from his growling lips as he struggled against another dragon with green scales. Link didn't see the crimson leviathan he fought earlier, but that creature vanished entirely from his mind.

How did Ganondorf manage the transformation? Did he still hold the Triforce of Power here? Link shook his head; that didn't matter now. What was he going to do? Aid Ganon against the dragon that threatened Camelot, or strike at the hulking manifestation of Din's power and bring him down before he got out of hand? For the first time in recent memory, Link didn't know what the right course of action was.

A strange compulsion made him feel for his ocarina. All he could picture was the ruins of Hyrule Castle and an unnatural ring of fire lining the perimeter of the battlefield. Zelda watched on helplessly as Ganon's menacing form crystallised in momentary flashes of lightning against the ink black sky. Even with the Triforce of Courage, that moment tested the limits of Link's bravery.

And now it was tested again. Link could never forget the absolute devastation of Hyrule Ganondorf wrought in the seven years he slept in the Sacred Realm. Even with open eyes, he saw the caged Gorons, the frozen Zoras beneath their own domain, the enslaved Spirit Sage Nabooru before her awakening, the shambling zombies that invaded the Castle Town, and so much more. No mere dragon, no matter how threatening and vicious it was, could perpetrate such calculated evil.

In that moment, the right path crystallised. Link felt the thrum of power stir in the Master Sword and a cool blue light hugged the blade. It reacts to pure evil, he thought. And dragons have no morality.

Link took off into a sprint, dragging a ghostly trail of light behind his weapon. Ganon grappled with the dragon, unaware that history was about to repeat itself.