The front half of the army was mounted on horseback, every steed as black as the desert night. The army was much bigger than the Sahaarians had ever encountered; there were well over five-hundred soldiers. The village of Sahaar alone housed a mere thousand, most of whom were peasants. It had been peaceful in Sahaar for a long time; too long, the elders insisted. The enemy had indeed been rebuilding and training harder than they ever had before -- they wanted something more from the Sahaarians than just a fight, this time. The men were bent on conquer, for that was the goal their master had pounded in their minds for this fight. The soldiers followed Garof without question, as he had them easily under his many spells, destroying their morals.

The Hurali were only shadows of sentient beings, a collective of mindless droids to his magic; Garof was their only care in the world. Nothing could stop these monsters but brutal, painful death. They had been preparing solely for battle all their lives.

There were very few women of the race. They lived separately from the men, and were nothing more than breeding machines, made to mate with the finest soldiers. The women were actually very loving and comforting mothers, for Garof did not use his magic on them. However, when the children were barely able to walk or speak, they were taken away to begin training as soldiers. The women did all they could to escape their imprisonment, but they had nowhere to escape to but a desert wasteland. They could not even launch a retaliation,a s their small community was situated far from the training grounds of the men were situated, and all their supplies dependent on the soldiers.

Only someone with eyes to see through the illusions of the Haunted Wasteland could travel the desert alive. Garof was the only one who possessed those eyes: a gift of magic from his father, the late keeper of the Triforce. Garof had, however, made it possible for his army to see the truth of the land. Years ago he had forged the Lens of Truth, an object of wonder that allowed anyone who looked through it to navigate the deser. It had never left the Hurali's hands; without the Lens, they could get nowhere without Garof's direct guidance. Because Garof usually sent his army off without him to do his dirty work, the Lens was an invaluable object to them. Likewise, they were more than willing to sacrifice any life for it, for without it, they would be lost in the desert.

Garof had only recently joined forces with the Hurali. Before, he had been their mortal enemy. The Hurali were fixed only on the idea of possessing the Triforce, and Garof was for them welcome means to their end. As children, Rauru and Garof had grown up in the land of Hyrule. The training ground of the Hurali was not far off from there. In fact, the Hurali had all once been mere outcasts of Hyrule, until they banded together to form the new settlement. They were a race hardened to the cruel life of the desert, who sought revenge against nearly every other civilization they came in contact with, for whatever ancient dispute. Over the years they became only more viciously bloodthirsty, and more powerful.

The Hurali's coppery armour shone in barely-risen rays of sunlight, matching the gleaming coats of their immaculately groomed war-horses. They fought like madmen; Sahaar stood only a grim chance. Link, Raven and Esper moved out energetically as ever into the battle scene to fight those odds. They fought as a team, covered one another and shouted to other Sahaarians to join them. An individual trying to fight off five Hurali would get nowhere; but a group of five Sahaarians trying to fight off twenty-five uncoordinated Hurali might have a chance.

The Hurali paid no heed to any honour of swordplay at all. They killed from behind, they sliced their opponents anywhere that might debilitate them even just slightly, they showed no mercy, and they never paused in their action. Even as the Sahaarians put their entire beings into the fighting, there was no hope at all. Men lay everywhere, some dead, but many still dying. Link knew that the images of the Sahaarian warriors reaching out to him with their bloodied limbs, as they slowly approached certain death from fatal wounds, would not leave his mind for years to come. And even then, they would merely fade into the dark background of his subconscious with the dying gaze of every soldier who had once searched his eyes for some extra moment of life. One man lay now with a sword driven through this jaw, his eyes wide, as if searching for such a savior. Another futilely clutched at a length-wise slice that extended down his entire left leg.

Espergrai fought for his life. There were Hurali everywhere, some on horseback, most fighting in packs of three. Esper was continually warding off two or more of them at a time. One would go for his neck, while another attempted damage from behind. He sensed an enemy coming at him from the rear and kicked out backwards to fend him off. The soldier was swift, though, and grabbed Esper’s foot just long enough for him to lose his balance. Esper fell hard on his side, nearly impaling himself upon his own sword -- though that might have almost been a better death than what was to come. No matter how fast he got up now, the enemy would have him cornered. They had recognized him as a skilled fighter, and were far more interested in his death than that of a mere peasant.

At that moment, Raven leapt fiercly out from nowhere and kicked down the Hurali soldier who was about to drive his sword into Esper’s ribs. The other soldiers were stunned just long enough for Esper to escape the deadly blow of their swords and spring to his feet. They were after Raven by then, however, having recognized her from previous battles; her death was a strict order. She was pummeled by eight soldiers, all at least two feet taller than her. She fended them off at first, but they continued to close in. She kicked and slashed her way out of the circle they surrounded her with, but she couldn’t injure them vitally enough to drive them away, much less kill them.

Espergrai ran toward them with more strength than even he knew he possessed. He cried out loudly in anger as he decapitated one soldier in one swift movement. Before the body had a chance to fall to the ground, Esper kicked it toward the rest of the soldiers. They were unfazed, but it did take them a moment to regain their formation. Raven had already beheaded another soldier by then, and both her and Espergrai's passion outpowered the soldiers' robotic fighting techniques. They had fought as a team many times, their minds truly as one in battle. Never had they faltered; and they certainly did not plan to do so in the battle of their very lives.

Esper and Raven ran from the group of soldiers before the circle reformed. There was no choice but to run from battle, regardless of honour. They were clearly overpowered. They conquer by any means necessary,for the soldiers were not going to retreat with the Triforce so close. The enemy was without dignity or even heed to their own lives.

Before Esper and Raven had a chance to figure out any kind of battle plan, the first screams of women and children rang out. My Goddesses, thought Raven. They’re slicing the children. Link noticed the first flames from one of the houses. The Hurali were setting fire to the village. He looked around him at all the dying or dead Sahaarian soldiers. The Hurali didn’t even bother keeping a quarter of their soldiers on top of the battle. Most of them were torching houses, then killing the families who rushed out of them. Many of the occupants of the houses were too frightened to leave their houses; forced to choose between dying of black smoke, or from a black Hurali blade tearing through their throat.

Link helplessly watched a child run out of one of the houses, in flames. The young girl’s dress and hair glowed a sickly orange and billowed smoke out behind her. She screamed in terror, her eyes wide. The Hurali didn’t even bother to put her out of her misery; she was no threat to them. The flames continued to consume the girl. Link could smell her burning flesh from yards away. The girl’s mother ran out after her, even more hysterical than the flaming child. A Hurali blade decapitated the mother on her way out the door, her head rolling up against the wall with eyes wide, her face still contorted with fear.

Link was desperate to run after the child, but she was on the other side of about fifteen Hurali soldiers. Link would certainly not make it to her in time and could not risk his life for just one other, for there were still many others he might be able to save. The girl’s clothes had been completely burned off, now; every part of her skin was aflame and blackening. The girl was still filled with of panicked energy. She made eye contact with Link for but a moment, but that was all it took to redirect her. Before he realized it, the girl was tearing the soldiers toward him. He shouted to her to drop to the ground, but the child was too panicked to pay heed to his words. She ran straight into his arms. The smell of her burning flesh was almost too much for Link. He futilely forced her to the ground, trying to smother the flames. The girl was motionless as he did so, her eyes still wide and unmoving. It was then that he realized that she was dead.

Link had barely time to rise to his feet as a Hurali soldier advanced behind him. Link fought with a new level of strength and anger. To so brutally steal the life of a pure, innocent child was not war; it was brutality. He beheaded the first soldier who attacked him, and the next two. Somewhere in the midst of his battle Esper and Raven had appeared back at his side. He was safe for the moment. They took a moment to look around, and realized that they were the only beings standing for a large radius. The rest of the Hurali soldiers were methodically torching the village. They must have assumed their comrades had taken care of the Sahaarians. They had, in fact, seriously debilitated every other soldier but for Link, Raven and Esper.

The three wordlessly ducked behind a nearby stone building, which the Hurali had not yet attempted to torch. Raven tried not to look at the other soldiers as they lived their final moments of life. None of them could move even their fingertips, but their eyes followed her. There was no way to help them, though. They had all lost too much blood, the soldiers would see her; no matter how she tried to tell herself these things, she knew the guilt would not leave her. She had failed them. If only she’d trained them differently, or been there sooner to save them.

She sighed, taking a last glance to her fellow soldiers, her friends. She wished only to apologize, to thank them for their tireless duty and sacrifice. She had to restrain herself from running out after them by taking a glance at the nearby soldiers who were –as of yet- oblivious to her presence. Her villagers' hopeless eyes faded. These were not soldiers, she realized. Most were family men, just trying to make a living and protect their loved ones. But in their final gazes, she saw none of the resentment she expected. Instead, they focused on her with deep respect. She could see their lips moving, by then, nearly every one of them, as they uttered what would be their last words: it was an honour to serve you, M’lady. She nodded back to them, then, unable to look any longer without tears, broke her gaze, and turned to Link and Esper, who were somberly discussing their options.

“There’s no way to save them, now, Esper. They’re suffering; they’re frightened…” Link trailed, his voice nearly cracking with emotion. “We can’t beat the Hurali, like this, and even if we could, it would be too late to rescue anyone. What’s left of this villa-”

“You have no idea what this village is to us,” Esper countered harshly. “If even one person escapes alive, they will be grateful for it. If even one house is left standing at the end of all this, we can rebuild.” He glared at Link, this stranger who could not possibly understand the impact of his presence. But as Esper stared into Link's eyes, he repented the blame. Link was not the acting force of evil.

Link watched this change, first in Esper’s expression, then in Raven's own eyes. He proposed his idea gently. “Is there anything flammable that we can get our hands on to block the village gates?” The walls of the city were massive, and constructed completely of stone. They were designed so that no enemy could get into the village. However, they would serve just as well to keep the enemy from escaping.

“Link, no! …There are still people alive in there...” Raven spoke fiercely, but in her heart she had already accepted that it was their only option. If they were to rescue Rauru, to save the world from Garof's rule, the Village had to be sacrificed. She bowed out of her statement.

“Better than flammabie, Link; there's fuel and explosives in the building behind us...” Esper trailed off. “M’lady and I will cover you to take them to the gate, and we’ll ignite it from there.” He sighed as if surprised by his own words.

The door into the building was on the same side as they were already against, so kicking their way into it was no difficulty. Espergrai went inside to retrieve the appropriate flares, while Raven and Link stood guard outside. The Hurali were torching the village from the rear, first, so that they would still be able to escape out the gates once the village became an inferno. Those on horseback would be the last ones out; to ensure every building was aflame before galloping to safety.

Esper handed the explosives to Link, then drew his sword in tandem with Raven. Moving quickly would be their best plan of action, so that the Hurali soldiers would not have time to realize their plan. They ran quickly to the gate, a twenty-second dash that seemed an eternity, through the bodies of whom had once been the best friends of Raven and Esper. They tried not to look down at the bodies as they ran through them, sometimes tripping over limbs and torsos, or accidentally rolling a misplaced head. They were quickly noticed by the Hurali soldiers. They still stood a chance, despite: the mounted soldiers were still farther inside the village, and the grounded ones were not built for speed or agility in their heavy armour.

Link led the way, his legs moving faster than he ever had before in his life. Raven and Esper followed close behind. They were armed, and ready for the attacks of the Hurali that they knew were to come before they could complete their task. Link made it to the gate, and began hastily planting the explosives while Esper poured oil around the frame. Once they went off, the gate would topple inward and block the entrance to the village – in theory. Link also had some highly flammable potions with him, which he would place amongst the flares to ensure a fiery mess of wood and iron that even theHurali could not destroy.

As he worked, Link tried to block the thoughts running through his conscience. He had come to save the village, and to save the girl. His mission had been horribly distorted. Torching the village would take care of the Hurali, but then what? How were they to find their way through the desert back to Hyrule? How would obliterating the entire Hurali race affect the course of history? What if they could not destroy Garof, as had been done before? Link was confused and wary as he had never been before in his life. Adventures of his kind were supposed to go according to plan.

The first Hurali soldier arrived just as Link finished his work. As Esper and Raven fought the man mercilessly, Link called to them. Esper acknowledged Link with a swift nod, and Raven took the liberty to slit the soldier’s throat as he lunged toward Esper. Esper ran toward the gate, motioning Raven to follow. He did not sense her presence behind her; she was instead involved in combat with the second Hurali soldier on scene.

“Run, m’lady!” Esper called desperately. There were more Hurali coming after them. The soldiers had figured out the trio’s plan, and weren’t about to let them go through with it. Raven knew that the only way to ensure they stayed in was to stay in with them. As the village's head warrior, she was not about to cower from her end; she would go down with Sahaar. How could she bear to continue her life afterwards, having let it down? Her father had died in this place, her warriors had died in this place; it was only right for her to stay. Link and Esper could battle Garof without her. Truly, her battle was no longer with him, but with these monsters that had actually committed the act of murdering her loved ones.

She kicked the soldier to the ground viciously, then paused a moment, reverent, before she drew an arrow from her quiver. She used the small bit of magic she possessed to create a spark that was large enough to ignite the end. She nocked the arrow, staring straight ahead, aiming at the base of the gate. At that moment, her gaze met Espergrai's. His eyes were shining with tears as he watched her in horror. He was shaking his head, calling to her, but even he knew it was too late. She stared into his eyes meaningfully, then closed hers as she let the arrow fire toward the gate. As it flew through the air, she opened them again. Her senses seemed to slow down as the arrow cut through the air toward her last escape. The look in Espergrai’s eyes was unbearable. She felt only the need to fall into his arms, not to die alone. She resented all the years she had ignored her attraction to him, and she resented leaving him, for truly he was the only one left for her to love. She knew that the look in his eyes was more than that of a man about to lose his best friend and fellow soldier. He was about to lose his soul mate. As she took her final glance at him, she could see his lips move. They formed her name. At that moment, he was possessed by a new inner strength, his legs suddenly carrying him toward the gate. He had to get her out, or to die with her trying. As the arrow hit and the fireball erupted, Raven saw his lips move once more:

“I love you.”

Next..