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

Rangtar - (S1.E6)

As Crofta and Dasan surged forward to intercept, braving the searing heat of the roaring flames from the lynel, Zel kicked his horse and bolted off the path to the left. Padan followed closely behind. Ten feet beneath the tree canopy, Zel chanced a look back and found that Crofta and Dasan had moved to place themselves between Zel and the lynel.

Zel studied the undergrowth for paths for his laboring horse. The old mare was more suited to working fields than running from monsters. It didn't take long before they reached the edge of the lake. As his horse slid to a halt near the precipice, Zel leaned forward to gauge the distance to the water below. Behind them, a man screamed and the lynel roared.

"What do we do?" whimpered Padan.

Zel gazed back up the slope toward the road and could just make out the bridge. He angled his face toward the sounds of battle...now further down the road. Perhaps they could time it just right...

"Come on," he said, snapping his heels into his horse.

The trees thinned as they neared the road and Zel leaned forward for more speed. Finally, they cleared the trees. Zel jerked the bridle to turn the horse onto the bridge, and as he did he glanced over his shoulder. Crofta lay in the road, not moving, while his horse fled along the road back toward Lurelin. Dasan still fought, but on his feet now. Blood gleamed along his shoulder.

And then Zel locked eyes with the lynel. The monster bellowed and slapped at Dasan, knocking him to the ground.

"GO!" shouted Zel. He laid into his horse and Padan did the same. As he did, Zel reached down and grabbed the wrapped Master Sword. He pulled it up to cling it tight to his chest with one arm, while he struggled to keep his balance with the other. No matter what happened, the lynel would have to pry it from his fingers.

The hooves thundered along the wooden planks as they crossed the long bridge. Behind them, Zel could hear the grunting of the lynel in pursuit, louder now than the roaring waterfalls. He cast over his shoulder and found the white and black striped beast with all six limbs on the ground, charging like an angry bull. Worse still, the monster was catching up.

"Faster!" Zel told Padan. Padan's blanched face glistened with sweat.

The first bridge ended and the tone of the hooves changed as the horses struck solid ground upon the mid-way island in the middle of the lake. Then moments later, the second bridge brought the clatter of wood back to their ears.

The lynel was close behind Padan now. Zel stared forward, shaking his whole body as if to coax more speed from the old mare.

A deep bellow. A cry from Padan. A scream from Padan's horse. Zel glanced back as his friend and his horse plummeted to the water below, easily knocked aside by the monster. An icy shard of fear stabbed through Zel's chest. The end of the bridge was near. But then what? Where would he go? How could he escape?

Like an arrow, his horse shot off the bridge, kicking up a plume of dust as it struck the road. But then seconds later, the horse collapsed with a shriek as the lynel swiped its back legs out from under it. Zel flew over the horse's head and nearly dropped the sword. He twisted and slammed on his shoulder, sliding to a halt as icy pain shot through his side.

Then the lynel was over him. It leaned in with it's barred teeth, sweat and foam dripping. It's red eyes flashed and then the monster lifted one bulging arm, claws extended, and swiped for Zel's face.

The strike stopped inches from Zel. The lynel strained against an invisible force, unable to reach him. It struck again and again, each time repelled. Finally, it jumped backward, leaned forward, and spewed fire. The blaze warped around Zel as if he lay behind an invisible wall.