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~ Light Departs the Clouds of Shade ~
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     Narrator: Princess Zelda

     Hyrule's future looked terribly bleak. Was I to die by the sword the evil one carried? I could not release myself from him. I could not even speak. I am sorry, Hyrule. I thought. I have failed you...again. I closed my eyes, expecting to die. However, I did not die. Instead, I heard a strange sound and felt heat of fire in the wind and Gravitor's cry of pain. He released me and I fell to the floor, where I collapsed. Supporting myself with my arm and rubbing my throat, I opened my eyes to see what had happened. I could smell the scent of burnt fabric. Gravitor stepped aside with a horrid scowl to see behind him. There, I saw a figure; a most familiar figure. But as it was familiar, it was also strange to me. This is how he appeared from a distance:

     His schiloette was large, his body obviously muscular with broad shoulders and very trim at his waist. He was unquestionably male. His ears were very long and sharp. His hair, which flared out like a waterfall of flame, was very bright white. It flowed all the way to the backs of his thighs and his bangs covered the sides of his head, being parted in the middle, save a few stray strands of hair that hung down in front of his face. His narrow eyes were dark like that of the midnight sky. His skin was well tanned. He wore a red tunic, light brown pants and long sleeved shirt. His lower legs were covered with knee-high brown boots and his forearms were covered with bracers covered with brown metal. On his back was a sword, plain in style as well as the Gerudo Mirror shield. I could not see details at this point, though.

     "Who dares enter this place?" Gravitor growled at the new figure.

     "I am but a wanderer," the fire-haired man replied. His voice.... so masculine, yet a soft voice. Soothing, yet intimidating. Such a voice I would not soon forget. "And I stand to protect the innocent. Now... step away from the Lady."

     "Do you honestly believe that I would listen to you?" the evil one mocked. "If you also trust that you can protect Hyrule from me, then make me believe your worth!"

     "Very well," the warrior complied. He drew his sword with such force that the sheath flew from his back. He readied his shield while his eyes narrowed even further. I knew he was upset. Gravitor gripped his own sword tightly with both hands, ready for the battle to come. One thing I noticed right away was that the warrior was left handed just like Link. I began to realize that this man looked remarkably like him, too. But he couldn't have been Link. He was much too big and his hair was too bright. I could also see it in his eyes; I did not know this man. But at the same time, I wanted to.

     My day dreaming came to a halt when the two combatants clashed their blades together. Putting their strength into their blades, they pushed on each other. At first, it seemed like the evil man was getting the upper hand but the warrior held up. With a single final thrust, the warrior pushed the dark lord back a small distance. However, this left him open for Gravitor to straight-kick the young man in the chest. I was very surprised to not see him fall down. To give himself a chance to recover from that heavy blow, he held up his large shield. He was wise to do so, for it blocked a stabbing thrust from his foe. The man nearly toppled, but his large feet kept him stable. Gravitor swung at him again and the warrior sprang forth his shield, blocking and deflecting the blow. This rendered the foe defenseless long enough. The swordsman stabbed forward and managed to hit Gravitor in the chest. Gravitor stumbled back but recovered and thrusted forward with his shoulder, hoping to impale the young man. He was blocked by the reflective shield, but he once again knocked him back a little. The dark lord pulled a cheap move and punched the stranger in the stomach, causing him to bend over. With that, he used his elbow to strike his neck, throwing him to the floor. Gravitor lifted up his Greatsword to strike again. In responce to it, the stranger rolled in a half circle around his foe and came upwards, striking his back. The dark lord swung around with his blade out. The warrior ducked under the swing. Gravitor swung low and the warrior jumped on top of the flat blade and slammed his shield on the evil man's head. I could not help but gasp at the sudden display of fast thinking. He back flipped with his sword outward, slicing upwards on his foe's torso.

     But then, something happened that at first scared me greatly. Gravitor began to swing his Greatsword around wildly. Trying to keep out of the way, the stranger backed away and was trying to find a way through that swirling blade. Try as he might, his own blade was knocked out of his broad hand. With hands like those, it must have taken an awfully great amount of strength to accomplish that feat. The sword whirled fast in the air and stuck its blade into the wall. Remembering what followed after my guard had this happen to him, I feared that even this brave wanderer was going to fall. Gravitor thrusted forward again with a kick and threw the man down on his back. He jumped forward and pinned him down by using the spikes on his knees. With Gravitor's hands raised and ready to deliver the finishing blow, the pinned stranger began to think quickly. His eyes searched the room and found the guard's sword on the ground nearby. He began making reaches for it, but they were subtle.

     "Heh heh heh heh... You foolish boy, did you really believe you stood a chance?" Gravitor boasted. "Now die and be an example to all the world that all who oppose my might shall fall by it!"

     "I'll be an example, alright," the wanderer breathed. I didn't know what exactly he meant by that.

     Gravitor startled to swing down to cut the man's head in half but was met by a swordstrike to the neck! This caused him to let go of his sword, which found itself embedded into the floor. He stood up and began to back away from the warrior. I saw that a strange fluid began to ooze out of his wound. I did not know what it was and I still do not to this day. But I did know this, it was not blood. It was thicker than blood and colored purple. At the same time, an odd purple mist was rising from the nasty substance. The dark lord began breathing rather heavily as he spoke out to us, "A quick draw and a keen stratagist. I will admit to you that you did well in this fight. If I were a mere mortal like you, I would have died easily by this. But I will not be beaten so simply." A strange black hole appeared and grew in the room behind the fleeing foe. He added, "You have just made your death wish, boy. I will be ready for your strikes... if you survive long enough to see me again..." He entered his hole and the anomoly shrank down and closed itself. One last time, the evil's voice whispered to us, "...for this seige was only a small portion of my plan..." Once all was quiet, the Greatsword vanished on its own. I realized that the new stranger just saved my life and the lives of all in Hyrule. I watched as he sat up and rose to his feet. He began walking to me. That was when I took in the details of this stranger.

     His body had wonderous proportions, but none of them were unattractive. His skin was tanned in a lovely way. His face was most memorable to me; for he looked close to Link, but sharper features that made the appearance his own. His long hair blazed like fire yet its shine suggested softness and comfort in touching it. He had a lovely sized nose; not so small to be feminine, yet not large to be ugly. His mouth was normal width, yet his lips were thin. His deep, dark sapphire eyes glistened as he gazed upon me. I could see such seriousness inside them but also compassion and mercy. I also looked at the rest of his body, but I kept looking back up to his captivating eyes. His neck was a little longer than most, but nothing that would have made him less appealing. His torso was very fit and strong; he was muscular yet lean, not bulky. Even behind his clothes, I could see that his chest was quite large and deep, even for a man his size. His shoulders were rather broad and well rounded. His arms were very full with noticabe peaks at the middle of his bicepts and his well-sized hands appeared huge for his wrists were thin. His legs were long and nicely thickened, but not so much to take away from the appearance of them being nicely smooth. His feet, like his hands, were also large. He was overall a well developed man. I could not help but wonder what the details of his body were like.

     His clothing seemed very familiar to me, but with a touch of uniqueness to make the look his own. His hair was not tied back in any way and his head seemed bare of any accessories, but I did notice his ears held golden studded earrings with a long black crystal that hung down. They seemed rather fancy for a wanderer. His light brown trousers and long sleeved shirt were tough and thick. However, they clung to his limbs well enough to display his strong body well. On the front and back of the sleeves and the sides of the legs, I could see the obvious seam and thick stitches. In fact, it also appeared that they had been repaired often. A red tunic over those articles appeared to be of thick, durable material and seemed to have some heavy wear. It was textured but not rough. The trim was smooth and darker in color. Like his undergarments, the tunic was made in two halves - front and back - and sewn together with wide stitches and thick, rope-like string. Cross shaped stitches began at his hips, to leave the skirt to be in two seperate pieces for more movement, and ended just under his ribs. This allowed the tunic to be open under his arms to compensate for the size of his chest and upper back. The cross stitches began on the short sleeves to close it up. Cross-shaped stitches also lined the outside of his sleeves and curved their course to the back of his neck. The neck itself was a V-neck and ended at the middle of his chest. A brown belt was secured around his waist where two pouchels were attached. A second belt was attached to the belt around his waist at the buckle and was strapped around the man's left shoulder and attached back to the rear of the belt. This held his sword's sheath, once he reattached that again. He had interesting arm protection; thick black cloth bracers on his forearms with a brown plate of armor strapped to them, facing outside from his body. These plates were very scratched up and heavily marked. On the backs of his hands, a solid metal plate was strapped to his wrist and forefinger, leaving the palm of his hand and fingers bare. His brown knee-high boots were simple, as they were in two pieces around the shins and sewn together with noticable stitches, yet rather form-fitting to his legs. But those parts seemed to be comig apart from the foot, due to age and wear. The feet of the boots were also in lined to his feet, which led me to believe truthfully that they had wonderful shape.

     I was so amazed and awe-struck by this man's appearance and his deeds, I felt my face becoming hot. I placed my hand on my cheek and continued to stare. I could only utter in breath to him, "Who are you?"

     The youthful man smiled softly upon me and knelt down in respect to me. I believe now it must have been because I was the Princess of Hyrule, but I wasn't thinking of that at the time. I merely watched him as I awaited his reply.

     "I am Ryukenden, Your Majesty," he said to me. "I am but a wandering swordsman. Those who know me call me the Rurouni of Fire. Friends call me Ryuken, or Ryo."

     "Master Ryuken," I whispered. "Rurouni of Fire...? I wonder why I have not heard of him...? He certainly has wonderous skills."

     "Pardon me, Your Highness?" he asked as he looked to me.

     "Oh, I am sorry. I was just thinking aloud. You may rise, good master," I said, not wanting to keep him waiting. "You surprise me greatly. I did not believe that someone could enter such a war-laiden place alone."

     "Alone?" he asked me. "I am not alone."

     He reached into the larger pouchel and removed something from it. He whispered words of encouragement and let go of the item. The item was a purple fairy. He introduced to me, "Princess Zelda, this is Tael. He is my companion."

     "Hello, Your Highness," the fairy meekly nodded to bow. His voice was soft and cute, like a young boy.

     "Oh!" I smiled. "Hello, there little one! My, this is certainly wonderful for Hyrule that you both are here. If you hadn't come... I am quite afraid of the alternative."

     "You need not fear now, Princess," Master Ryuken smiled to me. as he offered his hand to help me up. I gladly accepted. How unusually warm his hand was! But I was not in discomfort, though it would take me a while to get used to if I was to touch him again. Even though he was smiling, there was something in his eyes that bothered me. He continued, "But I can't say all is well. The evil escaped and has vowed to return to us-" He was interupted by his own grunt of discomfort. his eyes shut tight as he held his hand over his lower chest and occassionally moved his hand to his upper abdominal. That was what I had seen in his eyes; his internal pain. I gasped and stepped towards him though unsure of what I should do.

     "Master Ryuken, you're hurt," I frowned with concern, but I knew I had stated the obvious. "You need to rest, now. I will get you to one of our finest guest rooms where you can relax. As you do, I will see if everyone is alright."

     "You do not have to provide such things for me," he said. "I do not wish to be an added burden to what tragedies have already taken place."

     "To not give rest to my savior of these events would be far worse," I insisted. "Though I will not force anything upon you, please let me give you comfort. I know it cannot fully repay my debt to you, but I beg that you would accept."

     He just stood there for a minute, as if not expecting me to say that to him. His ears lifted a little as a smile grew on his face, which I thought was cute. He nodded to me to say yes. He bowed again to me, then began walking to the wall where his sword was still sticking out. To assist him, I moved to retrieve his sheath for him. One thing I noticed about it was the many wraps around it. It was as if it was old, used in battle and needed constant repairs. He smiled further and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. But you really-" I interupted him, as rude as it was I wished to hear no more protesting. I said to him, "I want to help you, Master Ryuken." He listened to me, for he accepted his sheath and re-attached it to the belt on his back. He then replaced his shield and and slid his sword back into its place.

     "I shall lead you to your room, but then I must go an see what has been done. I will try my best to restore things to order and serve you," I told him.

     "Attend to what you need to, Your Majesty," he replied, still retaining his smile. "I can wait."

     "Ryo... please?" Tael pleaded. "I want to go to the room."

     He knew he didn't want to keep his little friend waiting. He told me he would like to go now if possible. I actually smiled, something I did not think I would do anytime soon. Before we left the throne room, I took one last glace at Impa. I would get help for her, but she would understand that I needed to first help the one who prevented Hyrule's downfall. I will come back. I thought. Do not worry, Impa. We are not in danger anymore.