The Legend of Zelda - The Tainted Blade (Season 1) | WATTYS WINNER 2018

Silver Mane and Fire - (S1.E3)

The next day, the harbor reopened and all the merchant ships that had waited anchored at sea the day before came to port. Zel was swamped at his normal job working with his father, the harbormaster. He only managed to inspect the cargo of six ships before noon. Another eight were docked and waiting on Zel or Borson, the other inspector, to give them permission to unload, and another six ships waited in the harbor for an open dock. Meanwhile, Gramor and his assistant Jai had their hands full managing the harbor fees and preventing the unloading sailors from piling their cargo in one place. Lurelin merchants bought and moved the cargo as fast as they could, but there was always more to take its place. At the same time, the ships' captains and merchants also negotiated exports, with which Gramor also had to keep track of and collect the tariffs.

Zel had no idea that closing the harbor for one day could have caused so much chaos. Normally, the every-day export and import trade found in Lurelin City operated without a hitch, and on most days every waiting ship could be processed by mid-afternoon. As it stood now, Zel didn't expect to get to the last ship until well after dark, which meant the captains would not be happy if they could not unload and load before the next morning.

It was a very long day. Hot and miserable. Tempers flared, and more than one fist fight broke out. When at last Zel inspected the final ship and, with the aid of his father, forcefully convinced the captain that he could not unload until daybreak, Zel finally slumped away in search of something hot to put inside his famished body. Thankfully, one of the food vendors, a kind older lady, had food waiting for all the workers who had not left for the night. It also helped that one of the over-night ships had contracted her to feed their crew.

"Tomorrow will be better," she said as she handed Zel a bowl of fish stew.

"Thanks, Carra." He took a deep breath, fixed his eyes on a darkened slope back behind a building, and decided to eat in quiet isolation.

Zel eased down the narrow allow between two shops and started climbing the hill to sit next to an old oak tree. As he neared the tree, a low growl rumbled from the shadows beyond.

Zel stopped and peered into the darkness. "Who's there?"

Shuffling in the leaves. "I have been watching you, child." Said a low sinister voice.

Zel took a step back and almost slipped down the slope. "What do you want?"

Footsteps beneath the tree...more than a mere human should produce. Red eyes glowed in the shadows. "The taint is heavy upon you. I can smell it," the voice sneered.

Zel held his breath as the creature stepped from the deep shadows to where the moonlight gleamed upon the creature. The top of its horned head brushed branches far too high for Zel to reach. Silver and black hair covered its head, face, and neck like a mane. In its muscular arms, it held a wicked square weapon, more saw than sword, with a long handle bigger than Zel's leg. But perhaps the most disturbing thing was the four-legged, striped body that carried the torso of the dangerous creature.

Zel had only heard stories about lynels, stories meant to scare children around campfires, but never did he imagine those nightmare monsters to be actually real. Half horse-like beast, half human-like monster, the lynel towered over Zel and barred its teeth.

The bowl of stew dropped from Zel's hand. "Please," he whispered, his voice trembling. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The lynel leaned its torso forward and brought its flat, fanged face level with Zel. "Begging..." it rumbled.

"Please," Zel stammered. "Don't kill me." He tried to take a step back, but his numb legs wouldn't move.

"Bring it to me and I may agree." The lynel lifted its head, sniffing. "Or perhaps I do not need you, after all. I smell the taint elsewhere." It backed away, raising its weapon.

As the weapon slashed toward him, Zel finally broke free from where he had frozen. He dropped to the ground and the weapon sliced through the air over, the wind of it rustling Zel's hair. He rolled backward, down the hill, tumbling for several moments until he managed to land on his feet.

The lynel roared behind him with all the sound of a rushing wind. An orange flicker lit the sky as if someone had ignited a bonfire behind him. Another detail from the old stories...lynels breath fire.

As Zel reached the street below, he chanced a look back and found the forest up the slope ablaze. The lynel stood in the flames, undeterred, watching him flee.

Finally, Zel found his voice. "Help! Lynel! Help!"

He rounded a corner and saw Gramor and Jai looking up toward the raging fire from where they sat eating and chatting with Carra.

"Lynel!" Zel shouted, pointing up the slope.

Gramor's eyes widened. He dropped his bowl and sprinted down the dock toward the harbor bell.

As men spilled out of their homes brandishing skiff blades and pole-arms, Zel's heart hammered against his chest. Not for fear of the lynel, but with a desperate urgency to get back to his little home and protect the sword. He could feel the sword's presence, even now. Pulsing as if it had a heartbeat of its own. Its pulse sent a throb through Zel's mind, numbing his thoughts, making his skin grow cold and clammy. He began to turn toward the sword, prepared to dash back to protect. Then the lynel stepped into the torchlight of the men who had gathered.

The monster paid no attention to the men, but kept his weapon at his side and calmly walked with his eyes fixed on Zel. Only after the men had surrounded it, did the lynel pause and glance at them with contempt.

"Leave this place!" shouted Gramor.

The Lynel sneered at him and then eyed Zel.

Zel's head swam with the pounding of the sword. A red haze seemed to emanate from the lynel with each pulse, and Zel knew that the monster could feel it too.

After several tense moments, the lynel scowled back down at Gramor. "The taint will soon consume this settlement. Already it spreads. The darkness will cause you to destroy yourselves. Then I will return and take what I want." The monster slowly turned around. "I am content to wait."

As the lynel disappeared into the sharp shadows and light of the flames slowly dying away in the forest, Gramor turned to confront Zel.

But Zel was already fleeing for the sword. A few men scrambled past him with blades and poles, rushing toward the alarm bell. Zel paid them no mind. Women stood on their porches peering toward the gathering torches at the center of town while children clung to their legs. None glanced his way.

He reached his little house, flung open the door, and latched it shut. Only then could he take the deep breath he had been holding. Only then could he let his pounding heart drift back to a normal rhythm. Only then could he let his numb legs sag.

As he crumpled to the floor, he turned and crawled to his bed where he could still feel the heart-like pulse coming from the sword...louder now, intimate and possessive.

He dragged it out and tore all the wrappings away, not caring about the tingle that coursed through his skin at the touch of the tainted metal. The black tar oozed from the diamond, coating Zel's hands as he clung the blade against his chest. The dark shadows roiled out again, enveloping him in a cold that turned his stomach.

Still, he had to hold it close. He had to protect it. He clenched his eyes and embraced the sword as he had seen his father embrace his mother.

Someone knocked on his door...his father. Or mother, more than likely. He clenched his teeth and hoped they'd go away. They didn't know about the sword. No one knew. All they knew was that he had had a bad fright and now locked himself in safety.

One knock and the intruder went away.

Zel climbed into the bed with the sword. He nestled it close to him, not caring that the blade still carried a sharp edge and dug into his palms.

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