In the far east, the Rito gather upon their home, trembling and in wait for the coming storm. Even Valoo senses that something is amiss, that this is no ordinary storm. They have sent their warning to the Hylians docked at Impa, only to have it fall on deaf ears. But now is not the time to worry for others. Valoo looks to the skies, watching for the first clouds. "Be safe, my children..." his voice rumbles across the stony walls around him like thunder, a sound that would soon be echoed in the heavens. General Nihil waits at the docks, fists clenched as he stares at the horizon. He is furious; he had received word from the Rito about this coming storm, and had chosen to ignore it. But he had not been the only one it had been sent to. Onox stood patiently beside the general, feeling the man's anger roil from him. Onox had been the one to receive word from the King, that their forces were not to move until the storm passed. From an objective perspective, Onox understood why the order had come. The offensive could not withstand a major loss of its fleet, nor troops, not to the sea at least. So they were grounded until the clouds had passed, their anger building with every idle moment. In the Kokiri Forest, the Great Deku Tree senses trouble brewing far to the east. Though no words have passed between he and Valoo, both know that darkness is coming. The storm may only be the beginning of Hyrule's darkest days yet. Even his children feel the unease that hangs low in the air like a haze, making every breath drawn and difficult. Those living within the forest begin to prepare for the worst, honing and testing every weapon at hand. If the storm is only the beginning, then they must prepare for the end that too, inevitably, must come. So preoccupied were they with the sky, that they never thought to look to the land. In the dark of night, four figures slip away from smoke stacks surrounding Death Mountain. The time is almost nigh, and they must reach their destinations before the storm passes. They will. Hyrule will come to know that the shadow cast by Death Mountain is far longer than imagined.
