Lya's Story (prequel to Shades of Gray and The Death/Return of a Hero)

[TwilightRiku_13]

Hm, I am quite intrigued. What was the importance of the sword? What happened after Fortis pulled it out of the stone? Lots of questions with no answers; I hope all will be revealed soon. I mean, the whole story sounded like a legend or some kind of folklore. Also, how does it connect to the story? I'm really curious about that. Anyway, great job, and I look forward to more.

[HeartOfTheHero]

Originally Posted by TwilightRiku_13

Hm, I am quite intrigued. What was the importance of the sword? What happened after Fortis pulled it out of the stone? Lots of questions with no answers; I hope all will be revealed soon. I mean, the whole story sounded like a legend or some kind of folklore. Also, how does it connect to the story? I'm really curious about that. Anyway, great job, and I look forward to more.

this is supposed to be more of a legend. the connection isn't quite as obvious as i wanted it to be, but the sword is the one that Lya found in the desert cave.
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Side Story (Untitled)
Part 2

Over the next several days, Fortis fought his way out of the desert. Large sandstorms, wild animals, and other challenges made the trip out of the desert almost impossible. By the time that he finally reached one of the kingdoms that bordered the desert, Fortis was barely alive.

He was taken to the council that governed the surrounding kingdoms. The main rulers of the kingdoms were all waiting for his report. Fortis quickly told them everything about the sword and how the villagers hadn’t told him anything about it.

“We must send our army to this village at once!” shouted King Nefas. “We can’t allow them to make the first attack!” The other council members nodded in agreement.

“This sword should also be examined,” Queen Vitiosus said as she eyed the sword which lay on the table in the center of the room. “I will take it with me and see what I can find.” Her eyes glittered with malice as she looked down at the sword.

“Fortis, you will remain here while we examine the sword and decide what will be done,” said another of the council members.

“As you wish, your majesties,” Fortis bowed as he exited the room.



A week passed, and the armies of the kingdoms were prepared to march into the desert. The council called Fortis to attend another meeting. Upon entering the council room, Fortis saw that the sword was once again lying on the table in the center of the room, but now the large stone that had been inlaid in the hilt had been removed and sat next to the sword on the table.

“What have you learned, Vitiosus?” King Nefas inquired as the last of the council members found their seats.

“There is nothing special about this sword,” she said in her sharp, dry voice. “I can find no reason why that tribe would value it so much.”

“There must be something,” Fortis insisted, “why else would they be so protective of it?”

“Perhaps because they planned to use it to attack us,” Vitiosus snapped.

“Whatever the reason, we are prepared to begin the attack. Commander Fortis, you will lead the army to the village tomorrow and begin the attack.”

Fortis saluted the council and left the room. As he was heading to the army camp, he was stopped by a young girl had the same dark complexion as the desert villagers.

“Sir,” she said in a pleading voice, “you must return the sword.”

Fortis stiffened and started to walk past her. “I can’t do that,” he said sharply.

“You don’t understand!” she cried as she followed him, “we need it, it protects us!” Fortis turned and looked back at her. “Come with me and I’ll show you.” She started running towards the desert. Fortis hesitated, then followed her back to the village.



As Fortis walked into the village, he couldn’t believe his eyes. The healthy, lively people that he had left just a few weeks before had been ravaged by sicknesses and injuries. The bright atmosphere of the village had evaporated, and in its place was a feeling of gloom and depression.

Verum came running up when he saw that Fortis had returned. “You brought it back?” he asked hopefully. Fortis shook his head and looked around the village again. Some people were lying forlornly in the streets, and he could hear someone crying in one of the houses. “Fortis, we need it,” Verum said quietly.

“What…what happened here?” Fortis asked, still in shock from the dramatic change in the village.

Verum sighed and gestured for Fortis to follow him. They stopped in the center of the village, where the stone pedestal stood. “It’s not just our village that is suffering, it’s the whole desert. That sword is in our care for a reason. My people are supposed to protect it until a truly righteous person comes to claim it. In return, the sword protects us and the desert.”

“I don’t understand,” Fortis said, “we examined the sword, there was nothing out of the ordinary about it.”

“It’s not something that you would find just by examining it. It’s…complicated. You see, it was given to my people many generations ago. No one is really sure who it was that gave us the sword, but our responsibilities were undeniably clear. We weren’t supposed to let anything happen to it, or let it leave the desert unless it was in the hands of the one who it was meant for. If it’s not returned within the next few days, my people and everything else in the desert will die.” Verum looked quietly at Fortis. “Will you help us? Or will you lead your army here and attack us?”

Fortis was struck by the severe tone that Verum had. There was no doubt in his mind that Verum was telling the truth. But how could he convince the council? They were all prepared to attack and conquer this village the next day.

“I’ll do what I can,” Fortis said, “And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry for causing this trouble for your people.” Verum nodded and walked back the village as Fortis turned and headed back to the council.

[TwilightRiku_13]

Oh, so that is the sword that Lya found. I was wondering what that sword was all about. So, when Fortis took the sword, the desert was pretty much brought to ruin. Will the same thing happen again now that Lya took it? Or will she become the righteous person that the sword was meant for? Well, I guess all will be revealed soon. Anyway, great job, and I look forward to more.

[HeartOfTheHero]

Originally Posted by TwilightRiku_13

So, when Fortis took the sword, the desert was pretty much brought to ruin. Will the same thing happen again now that Lya took it? Or will she become the righteous person that the sword was meant for?

i haven't decided exactly what is going to happen, but it should be interesting.
here's the conclusion to the side story. there will be a little bit more tomorrow probably, but this is all i had written for my creative writing class and i didn't have time to add the ending that i wanted, so i'm going to try to write it tomorrow.
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Side Story (Untitled)
Part 3

“That is absolutely absurd!” shrieked Queen Vitiosus, “You can’t possibly believe this story!”

“I agree, it must be a ploy to get us to lower our guard,” King Nefas said as he frowned at Fortis. “You will continue as planned tomorrow with the invasion.”

“But your majesties, you must –“ Fortis tried to protest.

“If you don’t like your orders then we can replace you,” Queen Vitiosus snarled.

Fortis stood seething for a moment, then said quietly, “I live to serve, your majesties."

“That’s better,” Vitiosus said as she settled back in her chair.

“May I make a request before I leave with my troops?” Fortis said stiffly.

“What is it that you want?” King Nefas said in a suspicious voice.

“I would like to use the sword during the fight during the attack on the village. It would most likely be devastating for the villagers if the weapon that they revered so much was the one that defeated them.”

King Nefas nodded in agreement with Fortis’s idea. Fortis walked forward and picked up both the sword and the stone that Queen Vitiosus had removed from the hilt and left the room.

The next day, Fortis led the army into the desert. Instead of taking them directly to the village, he had them wait a few miles away while he went to the village alone. When he was close enough to see the building, he realized that Verum was waiting for him. Fortis held out the sword for Verum to take, and then offered him the stone that had been removed from the hilt. Verum sighed, with both relief and disappointment.

“Verum, the council has ordered me to destroy your village. They still believe that you plan to attack the kingdoms. I can’t prevent them from trying to conquer you; they’ll just replace me with someone who doesn’t understand you. Is there anything that you can do about this?” Fortis asked.

“Don’t worry,” Verum said, “my people have already left. We’re building another village farther in the desert where your army cannot follow. It seems that we will need to find ways to defend ourselves now,” Verum stated as he held up the stone. “The sword’s power won’t be as strong while the stone is separate from it, and we won’t be able to rejoin the two. Perhaps when the one whom it was meant for comes to claim it, they will be able to restore its power.” Verum turned and started walking away. Before he had gotten too far, he turned back to Fortis and said, “Thank you,” then he disappeared into the desert.



An hour later when the army invaded the village, all they found were empty houses. Fortis smiled at the other soldiers’ confusion, and then ordered them to return home.

[TwilightRiku_13]

Oh boy, this whole situation with the sword and the stone looks really bad. I mean, Lya has the sword, but Gandalf has the stone. I wonder how long it will take either of them or both of them to realize that the sword and the stone are connected. Well, I hope Lya is the first one to realize it, and I hope she can get the stone back and rejoin it with the sword. Anyway, great job, and I look forward to more.

[Keeper of Memory]

hey HeartOfTheHero (opps sorry) the last time you posted something was 10 days ago. im going to forget whats going on and have to read the whole thing again. i know your playing crisis core and all but can you PLEASE write the next chapter soon. im going to bug you all next week in 1st period if you don't update by they end of the weekand.

[Keeper of Memory]

okay so i forgot to bug you yesterday and today so be perpared for some major bugging tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HeartOfTheHero]

hey everyone! i'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get the next chapter up. i've been sick off and on for the past few weeks, and when i wasn't sick i had ridiculous amounts of homework. but i finally finished chapter 18, so here it is :)
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Chapter 18

Too many shadows in my room,
Too many hours in this midnight,
Too many corners in my mind
So much to do to set my heart right

Ganondorf had me do a few more “recovery missions,” as he called them, where he sent me to find some seemingly worthless items. I wasn’t sure why he was making me do this, but it was simple and didn’t involve one doing any harm, so eventually I stopped complaining. As far as I knew I was doing everything perfectly, but I guess some things didn’t measure up to his standards.


“You did something wrong,” he snarled at me. It had been about three weeks since my first assignment from him, and it was the first time that I had been summoned to his castle. Usually he just used the mental link thing, which was highly disturbing, but it worked out as far as keeping everyone from getting suspicious.

“What do you mean?” I said in an annoyed tone. I had done everything he’d said completely by the book on every mission. Well, except for that first one … the sword was still hidden under my bed. But he couldn’t know about that, could he?

“On your first mission!” he shouted as he jumped up with rage. “You did something wrong on your first mission!” Oh no, it is about the sword … “You were supposed to bring me everything that you found in that cave! I needed everything, but you must have missed something!”

“Well maybe if I knew what you were looking for, I can tell you if I saw it or not,” I said with a sharpness that I was almost too afraid to use. What will he do if he finds out that I kept the sword?

Ganondorf glared at me, then started pacing back and forth. He seemed to be debating over whether or not it was a good idea to tell me. “What did you see in the cavern? I want a detailed description of everything that was there,” he demanded.

I sighed and looked away from him, imagining the large cavern that the stone had been in. “There were a few torches and the stone dais that was in the center of the room. That was all, the ceiling was too high for me to be able to see it, so I don’t know if there was anything there.”

Ganondorf stood glaring at me, then abruptly turned away. “Go back and find what you missed.” Then he left the room.

Well, this is just perfect, isn’t it, I thought as I headed out, I have no idea what I’m going to do.


It took me most of the day to get back to the desert cliffs where the cavern had been. Once I got there, I realized how stupid I had been. I had forgotten to tell him that it had collapsed, and there was no way for me to get back inside.

I sat down on the edge of the cliff, with my feet hanging off the edge, and watched the sun finish setting while I tried to think of something to do. When I couldn’t think of anything to fix the situation, I let my thoughts wander, and soon found myself considering how messy my life had gotten again. I was leading a double life, or at least, that’s what everyone would think if they ever found out. Ganondorf had me trapped, and I had practically let him do. Oh, sure, he had one of my best friends, but if I was really a good friend, I would have tried to rescue her by now. And here I was, sitting under the big sky while she was trapped in some cramped little cell. My life was falling apart, and I didn’t think I was going to be able to put it back together.

I got so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t realized how late it was getting, and the next time I looked up at the sky, the full moon was casting an eerie light over the wastelands before me.

I felt a bit uneasy as I saw shadows shifting and I decided to head back home. As I stood up, a flash of light caught my attention and I spun to find myself face to face with a man. Or at least, something that looked like a man…

He was dressed in sand colored robes similar to the villagers, but his looked more old-fashioned. He seemed to be glowing slightly in the moonlight, and I thought that I could see through him a little bit. It was almost like he was … no, I refuse to use the term ‘ghost’.

“Please,” he said in an accent that I hadn’t heard before, “answer me truthfully. Are you the one that removed the sword from the cavern?”

I shivered as I looked at his face, which wasn’t entirely clear, like when you take a picture of someone but it’s not in focus. “Yes, that was me,” I answered hesitatingly.

He sighed and relaxed some as he said, “Then you are the one that we’ve been waiting for.”

“What do you mean? Who are you?” I asked. I knew that I should feel more uneasy than I did, but for some reason I wasn’t.

“It’s a long story,” he said as he came and sat down close to where I had just been sitting. “But you deserve to know the truth about that sword.”

Over the next half hour, he told me about the sword that I had found, and how it came to be in the cavern. Several hundred years before, someone had given the sword to a group of desert nomads and asked them to keep it safe until its owner came for it. In return, the sword would protect them and the desert from harm and keep darkness from entering it. When the nomads settled and built a village close to some of the neighboring kingdoms, Hyrule and a few others, a soldier was sent to find out the villagers secrets. He stole the sword and took it back to the kingdoms; they removed the stone that had been inlaid in the hilt. When the sword had been stolen, a series of plagues and diseases had swept across the desert and almost destroyed all life in the desert. When the soldier realized this, he returned the sword to the villagers and warned them that the kingdoms were planning on attacking them. The villagers went deeper into the desert and settled again where they were safe.

“We knew that it would be a long time before anyone found us again, but we didn’t want to take the chance of anything else happening to the sword. You see, after a few months, we realized that because the stone had been removed, it had diminished the swords power somewhat. It was no longer able to keep darkness from seeping into the desert, but it was still able to protect our village from harm. We didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t risk leaving the sword in a vulnerable area where it could be stolen again, but we had nowhere where it could be hidden. It was then that one of the children, playing up in these cliffs, found the cavern. We had to carve out the passage and chamber that were for the sword, but the main chamber didn’t need much work, and we decided to leave the stone there as a decoy for any unrighteous ones who came to steal the sword. The second chamber would only be revealed to the one whom the sword was meant for. You.”

I leaned back and looked up at the stars as I tried to take in everything that he had told me. “But what does that mean for me? Why was the sword meant for me?” I asked quietly.

“I don’t know. All I know is that you should use the sword to battle the evil that is trying to take over this world. That is what it was meant to do. Now, I must leave you,” he said as he stood and started walking up the trail in the cliffs.

“Wait! Where are you going?” I cried as I tried to catch up with him. “I still have questions, and, and, there’s something you should know…”

He smiled and suddenly I could see him completely clearly. “You have to figure out the rest for yourself. I’ve done my job. I told you about the sword. Now it’s time you did your part.”

“You don’t understand…I, I’m not … you must be mistaking me for someone else. I can’t be the one that the sword was meant for.”

“Were you the one who removed the sword?” I nodded. “Has the desert been destroyed?” I shook my head. “Then you are the one that it was meant for. Don’t worry, all will become right in time.” He turned and started walking away again.

“Well, will you at least tell me one thing?” He looked over his shoulder at me. “What’s your name?”

“Verum,” he said with a small smile, then he walked farther up the path and disappeared.

I stayed on the cliff side for a long time after he left, thinking about everything that had happened again. After some time, I finally realized what I had to do.

I was going to put my life back together and get my friend back.

If I take my heart’s advice,
I should assume it’s still unsteady,
I am in repair,
I’m not together but I’m getting there

[khfreak17]

yay!!!!! new chappy!!!!!! *claps like a little girl who just got a unicorn for her birthday*

[TwilightRiku_13]

Holy crap, where in the world have you been?!?! Part of me thought you fell off the face of the earth or something, but it's good to see you back and updating. So, the sword was meant for Lya all along. Unforutnately, she needs the stone for it to be all powerful. How is she going to get it back from Ganondorf? And will she get Link to help her? I hope she does; I want to see some Ganondorf ass-kicking from those two. Anyway, great job, and I look forward to more. Oh, and what was the namw of the song in this chapter? It doesn't seem familiar to me.

[HeartOfTheHero]

Originally Posted by TwilightRiku_13

Holy crap, where in the world have you been?!?! Part of me thought you fell off the face of the earth or something, but it's good to see you back and updating.

i had a cold, then i was swamped with homework, and when i actually had some free time, i just crashed and did nothing. it was pretty awful, but i'm back, and hopefully i'll be back to posting regularly :)

So, the sword was meant for Lya all along. Unforutnately, she needs the stone for it to be all powerful. How is she going to get it back from Ganondorf? And will she get Link to help her? I hope she does; I want to see some Ganondorf ass-kicking from those two. Anyway, great job, and I look forward to more.

from here on out i think i pretty much have everything figured out, so you should see more soon

Oh, and what was the namw of the song in this chapter? It doesn't seem familiar to me.

"In Repair" by John Mayer


***oh, and before i forget, i uploaded a sketch i did of the sword!*** ~>CLICK<~
it's not professional or anything, but i figured you all might like to see it