Greetings, fellow fanfic authors. Well, this is it. My novelization of Hyrule Warriors. Now, I know some of you are thinking, "It's a bit early don't you think? The game isn't even out in the US yet." Admittedly, I was going to do a novelization of Twilight Princess, but with the game being out in Europe, I thought I'd seize the moment. This novelization is going to be slightly harder than my other two because I don't have the game nor a Wii U. Everything I write comes from what I see on Youtube. This is just the prologue to whet your appetite. Now, obviously there are going to be spoilers for those who haven't played it. So, those who wish to avoid that might as well stop reading. As for everyone else. Please read, review, and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Hyrule Warriors: Heroes Through Time

In the lush countryside was a kingdom by the name of Hyrule. It was acclaimed by many as the most beautiful kingdom in the land. It was prosperous, lush, the people were very friendly, and the land was very peaceful. The centerpiece of this kingdom was a magnificent castle, home to an equally magnificent princess. This was the home of Princess Zelda of Hyrule. Zelda was famed throughout the land for her beauty and wisdom. Many have said that despite her young age, she ruled Hyrule with the kindness, wisdom, and grace that befitted any ruler. She was described as having beautiful, flowing golden hair, fair skin, and blue eyes so brilliant that they were said to be reflections of her pure soul.

The princess was currently asleep in her bed, enjoying a good night's rest. Or, at least, she would be were it not for a recurring dream she's been having as of late. Every night she would find herself besieged by the same dream replaying itself over and over like a record. Zelda tossed and turned and clawed the sheets as the same image from before played in her mind...

Zelda was on a lush barren field, fully dressed in her armor playing a song on her Goddess Harp, one of the instruments passed down from her family. Everything seemed peaceful for the most part. That is, until the sky began to darken. At that moment, a black cloud of darkness began to appear and menaced toward her. Zelda dropped her harp in a panic and ran. The cloud raced toward her, absorbing the harp into the darkness. Zelda ran as fast as she could, but was too late and found herself overtaken by the darkness. When she opened her eyes, she awoke with a scream to find herself back in her room. Sweat poured down her brow as she massaged her temples.

At that point, Impa rushed into the room with concern easily read in her expression. Impa was a young woman with tanned skin, white hair, and fierce red eyes. She wore her standard blue uniform decorated with red feathers on her belt and the symbol of the Sheikah tribe on her breast. Impa was the head of a tribe known as the Sheikah. The Sheikah were a tribe of shadow warriors who were allies to the Hyrulean Royal Family for generations, always serving from behind the scenes. Impa, however, had decided to break away from tradition and take a more active role in serving the Royal Family. And thus, she became Zelda's most trusted adviser, as well as the Captain of the Guard. She was respected by many as a veteran soldier whose military competence and skill on the battlefield was legendary. Her loyalty to Zelda, however, was second to none. For her, Impa would go to the ends of the very earth.

"Another dream, Your Highness?" Impa asked.

"Impa..." Zelda began shakily. "The same nightmare keeps haunting me..."

"An omen, perhaps, of dark times ahead for Hyrule." Impa replied.

"Dark times?" Zelda repeated with worry.

"If that is indeed true, we must locate... him..." Impa said, looking at the green tunic with the blue scarf. She had been concerned for Zelda when she first told her of her dreams. Impa took them as a sign of trouble. A sign that the Hero of Legend would be needed once more as he was before. And thus, the two began to search for the reborn spirit of the Hero in hopes of combating whatever threat may arise. But so far, they've had no luck. "We must find the reborn spirit of the hero." she said as she turned to the window.

"Indeed." Zelda replied. "You go on ahead. I just need a minute to get ready."

"Are you sure you don't require anything?" Impa asked.

"No, I'll be fine." Zelda assured her. With nothing else, Impa gave a bow and exited the room. Once she was gone, Zelda rose from the bed and went through her usual morning routine, taking a shower and finally putting on her dress. Her dress was an elegant pink ballgown with a purple tabbard and gold armor decorating it. Good if she needed to join the battle in a pinch. Her golden locks were braided to keep her hair out of harms way during the battle. Her crown was gold and decorated with a red diamond.

Having put on her clothes, Zelda met up with Impa on the castle walls overlooking the nearby training yard for the new recruits. "We will find no fully-fledged heroes here..." Impa said as she watched the new recruits. "We'd be wiser looking elsewhere." As they walked along, Zelda looked to see two of the recruits sparring. But one in particular caught her eye. The recruit had blond hair and blue eyes much like she did. The recruit's name was Link. He was a young man who had always wanted to be a soldier of Hyrule since his childhood. When he was finally of age, he enlisted in the army. Ever since, he had been praised by many as the best recruit in the academy. Some even go far as to say he might be in the army one day.

Link was now sparring with one of his fellow recruits. Link assumed a fighting stance as the recruit charged at him with his wooden staff. Link blocked the staff with his training shield and leapt high into the air when his opponent tried to swing at him. Before the recruit had time to react, Link had bludgeoned him with his wooden sword. The recruit fell to the ground as Link sheathed his sword. He then walked over and extended a hand to the fallen recruit with a friendly smile. "Better luck next time." he said.

The recruit smiled back and took the hand while getting to his feet. "Wow, you really are as good as people say." he said.

"Well, not that good. But thanks for noticing." Link replied. He then looked up to find Princess Zelda staring right at her. This was quite a shock for Link as he had never seen the princess in person before. Zelda continued to stare at him before turning to Impa. "He looks like a suitable candidate." she said. Impa stared at Link for a bit, not really sharing Zelda's interest. "He is merely a trainee." the Sheikah said flatly. "Come now, Impa." Zelda playfully chided. "As a Sheikah, you of all people should know that appearances can be deceiving."

"True." Impa chuckled. "If it is alright with you, milady, I would like to test him."

"If you must." Zelda said. Impa leapt from the wall into the training yard. Link was briefly startled by the Sheikah's sudden appearance, but stood at attention. "Good morning, General Impa." Link said with a salute. "At ease, recruit." Impa replied. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"Link, ma'am." Link replied. "It's an honor to meet you."

"That was quite an impressive display." Impa began, picking up the wooden staff. "Of course, anyone can defeat a trainee in combat. I wonder how your skills are against someone with years of experience under her belt?"

"You want to spar with me?" Link asked, incredulous that someone as skilled as Impa would waste time challenging a neophyte such as himself.

"If that's okay with you." Impa said as she dropped into fighting stance. "Well... okay." Link said as he took out his sword and shield and dropped into fighting stance as well. "Link, are you out of your mind?!" The trainee Link had been sparring with earlier shouted. "That's the General Impa! One of the best soldiers in the army. You won't stand a chance against her!"

"She challenged me to a match." Link said. "I'm never one to back down from a good fight." Link didn't have much time to say anything else as Impa charged at him to attack with her staff. Link blocked the blow with his shield and ducked when Impa tried to swing at him. He delivered a sweeping kick to knock the Shiekah off balance, but Impa used her hands to launch herself high into the air to deliver a strike from above. Link blocked with his shield once more and the two combatants were in a gridlock, both trying to throw the other off. Link broke the stalemate by delivering a kick to Impa's knee, then following up with a kick to her chest to send her to the ground.

The other trainees in yard stopped to watch the sparring match between them. Never before has anyone been able to hold their own against Captain Impa before, let alone a trainee. Link leapt into the air an attempted to strike from above, but Impa rolled out of the way and knocked the weapon out of his hand. Link rolled out of the way to retrieve his weapon just as Impa tried to attack him again. Link made another sweeping kick then followed up with another to the chest to knock her too the ground. Impa was about to get to her feet when Link pointed the wooden sword to her face. "I think this is checkmate." Link said coyly.

"Ah, my boy. You forget the first rule of battle..." Impa began. She then made a sweeping kick of her own to send the boy to the ground. Having gained the upper hand, Impa pointed the wooden staff at his chest. "Never let your guard down." she said. She then extended a hand and pulled Link to his feet. "Quite impressive." she said. "I see why many consider you the best in the academy. You show much potential." Impa then looked up to see a solider running to Zelda. She leapt back up to the castle wall to meet them. The soldier had a harried look about him as he gave a low bow.

"What is it, soldier?" Zelda asked.

"Your Highness! Trouble on the countryside!" The soldier replied. "A horde of monsters are approaching Hyrule Castle as we speak!" With determination in her expression, Zelda turned to Impa. "Impa prepare the troops for battle!" she commanded. Impa nodded in reply and she and the soldier left. Zelda took one last look at Link before following them. The trainees, meanwhile, stared at the princess and Impa, shocked by the turn of events.

"Whoa! Is that the princess?" One trainee asked.

"What's she wasting her time with us for?" asked another traineee.

"Good question." Link said to himself. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Outside Hyrule Castle gate...

Zelda, Impa and a battalion of the Hyrulean forces stood outside the gate ready to combat whatever evil has arrived to threaten their land. Zelda stood armed with her trusty Rapier, a weapon that had been in her family for generations. Impa was armed with her Giant Blade, a large sword hand forged from the Gorons themselves. They would not have to wait for long as a dark cloud soon emerged, serving as an eerie reminder to Zelda of her recurring nightmare. As the cloud grew closer, Impa and Zelda could make out vague figures in the darkness. The horde of monsters were largely composed of red goblin-like beasts called Bokoblins, skeletal creatures called Stalfoes and Stalchildren, and lizard-like enemies called Lizalfoses. There were even some knight-like creatures called Darknuts.

But there were two figures among the horde that stood out. One was a small wizard dressed in an extravagant, but worn down purple robe with a hood. From beneath the hood, a single red eye served as his only facial feature. His hands were skeletal and his left hand had a large red ring on his index finger. The wizard lacked any visible legs and thus hovered above the ground.

But the other figure next to him, however, was much more recognizable. He was a tall man with black, almost soulless eyes. He wore impressive red armor and a dragon shaped helmet with green eyes and a red tassel that resembled hair tied in a ponytail. In his hand he held a red spear that was every bit as tall as he was. The head of his spear was decorated to resemble a dragon's claw. Everyone immediately knew who this was. This was Volga, the Dragon Knight. He was a mercenary feared throughout the land for his skill and ferocity in battle. Unlike other mercenaries, who fought for money, Volga fought for the thrill of combat. Where battle was joined, there you would find him. He was infamous for bellowing his famous war cry before charging hard into battle, slaughtering opponents at full charge and often impaling them on his spear. Some even claimed that he had the blood of dragons flowing through him and could turn into one at will. Of course, no one has ever survived a fight with him long enough to tell.

"Impa, come with me." Zelda said as she marched toward the monster horde.

"Your highness! What are you doing?" Impa asked.

"You know I prefer words over violence." Zelda replied. "If there is a way to avoid all out war, then I will readily seek it out." And without another word, she and Impa marched toward the monster horde. Volga and the Wizard did the same and met them halfway. "I do not know what business you have with Hyrule," Zelda began, "But if you have come seeking aggression, know you shall be shown no mercy. If you have a grievance with my kingdom, then please, let us discuss this peacefully."

"Our quarrel is not so much with this kingdom, but with you." the wizard said, his eye turning into a nightmarish mouth to speak. "Our fair Mistress, Cia, desires this land for herself. And we are merely granting that desire. So, merely surrender your kingdom to us and no one else need be harmed. That sounds like a fair deal, yes?"

"How dare you?!" Impa shouted with outrage. "Do you truly believe Princess Zelda would give in to such outrageous demands from demons such as you? Surely you jest!"

"You know I will not do that." Zelda said sternly.

"Then... there's nothing else to discuss." the wizard said as he turned to Volga. "Oh, well, I tried. Volga?" Without a word, flames gathered around Volga's body as he transformed into a monstrous dragon with a fiery mane and a skull for a head. He then gathered fire and spat a large fireball at the castle. The soldiers managed to move out of the way in time. Impa and Zelda glared at the two monsters with clear anger in their eyes. "You dare attack Hyrule Castle?! You monsters!" Impa said as she drew her Blade.

"Hiya ha ha! And we're just getting started!" The wizard shouted with sadistic glee. "Attack my hordes! Slaughter them all!"

"Soldiers of Hyrule, defend your kingdom to the very end!" Zelda said as she and the soldiers charged into the horde. With elegance and grace, Zelda fought her way through the horde with excellent fencing skills. A group of four Lizalfos charged at her. The princess used her powerful light magic passed down from her family and summoned the Light Arrows. She then fired four of them at the Lizalfoses and they died instantly, dissolving into purple smoke. She then infused her Rapier with her light magic and continued to cut down the monster horde.

Impa, meanwhile, was facing her own group of attackers. Using her iaijutsu skills, she cartwheeled into her enemies, deftly wielding her sword with her feet. She then summoned large swords constructed by water magic to slash at her enemies before leaping into the air and firing knives made of water. The attack left bubbles on her enemies heads, suffocating them and distracting them long enough for Impa to finish them off.

Volga, still in dragon form, dived into a group of soldiers, the impact of his landing making a large explosion. He then turned back into his human form. "Rejoice soldiers." he said. "You've been trained to fight warriors like me. Now's your chance. If you're ready to join your ancestors, then I accept your challenge!" The soldiers surrounded Volga and attempted to charge at him from all sides. In one fluid motion, Volga impaled one soldier on his spear, slammed him into another, turned his hand into a dragon's claw and grabbed another solider by the head before crushing his skull, slashed the fourth soldier with his dragon claw, and finally breathed fire on the final soldier, burning him horrifically.

"Pathetic vermin." he said before flying off to the next battle. The wizard, meanwhile, found himself surrounded by a group of Hyrulean soldiers. Gathering dark energy around his hands, he spun around while firing dark energy bolts. Knocking them all to the ground. He then raised his ring into the air, which began glowing with the same dark energy. It then fired tendrils of black lightning at the soldiers, horrifically emaciating them as if it was sucking out their very souls. "Mmm, delicious." the wizard said. Zelda saw the wizard and gave chase. "This rampage through my kingdom must end, wizard!" she shouted.

"Only if you can catch me first!" he said as he led Zelda through a nearby keep. Just when she caught up with him, he sunk into the ground like a shadow. "Now, minions!" he shouted. Just then, a group of Bokoblins threw some boulders to block the keep's entrance. "Perfect! Try to fight without your precious princess now! Hiya ha ha!" he cackled.

"Princess Zelda!" Impa shouted as she and some troops ran to the blocked entrance. "I'm alright, Impa!" Zelda replied from the other side. "Just keep fighting! If they seize Hyrule Castle, all is lost!" Impa hesitated for a few moments before she turned to her troops and said. "You heard her, men. Defend Hyrule Castle at all costs!" And with that, she and the others ran back into the battlefield.

"I gotta do something." That was the thought that kept playing over and over in Link's mind. It started from the moment he felt the castle shake from the fireball attack. He knew that the army was locked in a fierce battle. He also knew that Princess Zelda and Impa were in trouble. Even though he was a trainee, he was still a soldier for Hyrule. He felt that he just couldn't sit by while the kingdom was under attack from monsters! He just had to help somehow! With his resolved hardened, he took one of the many training swords from the yard and snuck out while the crowd was distracted.

As he made his way to the castle entrance, he saw three other trainees talking. "So, we just wait to hear what happened?" one of them asked.

"Pretty much all we can do." the other replied. "Unless you're thinking of jumping in there to help."

"Hardly." the third one said. "We wouldn't last two seconds out there." The three of them then stopped their conversation when they noticed Link walking to the castle drawbridge. "Hey. isn't that Link?" One of them asked. "What do you think you're doing with that sword?!" Link didn't answer, but drew his sword and ran out the castle. "Hey, wait! Stop! Link, are you crazy?!" The trainee asked.

"The dude's out of his mind!" the other said.

"He'll be killed out there!" Another said.

"Don't be a hero, Link!" The other pleaded.

But Link could no longer hear them as he was already outside, unsure but ready to face whatever dangers awaited him out there.

Next Chapter Preview: The Armies of Ruin. Next time on Hyrule Warriors! As the battle for Hyrule Field seemed to be turning in the favor of the Dark Forces, Link charges into the battlefield to help out however he could. But just when they believe the battle to be over, tragedy strikes! Find out what happens on the next chapter of Hyrule Warriors!