The First Wave

In the far, eastern reaches of Hyrule on the port of Impa, the town carried a life it had not seen since its birthing a year ago. Countless shirtless men and the occasional Goron roamed through the streets, each one hauling more cargo than the last in any way that they could. Every man, woman, and child interested in seeing the ships out the door on that day were working as hard and fast as they could to meet deadline. The air was charged with anticipation, the breaking of a fifteen year silence coming at long last. Over the last month, ship after ship had been commissioned to be built, and now the fleet for the Hylian Guard stood all but ready to depart. By first light next morning, the first wave would begin launching.

So intense was the bustle that very few noticed the increasingly large speck on the horizon, and many almost dropped their boxes when a lone Rito male landed in their midst, his feathers ruffled and his hands clutching a courier pouch. Before anyone could intercept the flying humanoid, a tall man with officer stripes on his uniform swooped in.

“Good to see you made the flight. You have… another letter for us? I’m Lieutenant—“

“Lieutenant? No, no. I have a letter addressed to a General Nihil,” the Rito responded curtly, visibly irritated at the travel. About a week ago another Rito had been in here with a message claiming their deity had foretold a storm and that they should delay the invasion. At the time, Nihil had disregarded the message completely, pointing to the perfectly clear skies and scoffing at the possibility of a storm. Now, though, as the Hylian looked across the ocean he could already see some darker clouds on the rise. It could just be a coincidence, but the man was beginning to have second thoughts.

“General Nihil?” The lieutenant sighed at the name, knowing there was no escaping it, “If you must. Very well, come with me.” The Hylian and the Rito met eyes, both exasperated by each other. It had been a long day for the both of them, and neither wanted to put up with each other. Still, they exchanged nods with each other and the Hylian turned to lead the way.

The men carrying boxes parted to the sides easily at the officer and the Rito hurrying down the streets, two high-profile figures in a bustling mess of preparation. Everyone had a task to be carried out, and the Hylian officer was not thrilled that his own was being pushed back. Nevertheless, a two minute walk brought him to the small house that Nihil was in, temporary officer quarters before the first wave launched. Even before entering the building, though, the Hylian braced himself for the encounter. General Nihil was his superior in every sense, but he was nobody’s favorite.

The lieutenant opened the door respectfully, “Sir, a letter’s arrived from the Rito for you again.” Before he could say another word, the Rito pressed his way through the door with no respect for policy. Frustration was alight in the bird-man’s eyes, and no Hylian hierarchy was going to get in the way of that.

“The chieftain urges you to reconsider the last letter and reminds you: a storm is coming and attempting to make sail during it would be a disaster. We understand and support your fight, but the great Valoo has been very clear!”

The general let loose a sigh and beckoned both of them in, clearly no happier than the other Hylian at the intrusion. He was a gaunt, elderly man that no one really liked but respected anyway. A number of the other officers were completely onboard with his gung-ho strategy that consisted of reclaiming the savage lands from down south, but the lieutenant wasn’t sure if he counted himself in that boat. After a long pause, General Nihil spoke respectfully enough, but his tone was saturated with condescension. “The Hylian Offensive appreciates the concern of the… ah… ‘great’ Valoo, but our priority is this invasion. The weather is the least of our concerns.”

The Rito looked furious at the apparent disrespect, and for a moment the lieutenant thought the bird-man might scream. The silence in the room seemed to stretch on forever, but finally the Rito turned on his heel and stomped out of the room in stormy silence. The Hylian breathed again. “Sorry about that, sir. You know how they are.”

The general smirked, shaking his head and scanning the papers on his desk, “I do, lieutenant. I do. By the reports I’m seeing things are almost ready go. You’ve done good work here, lieutenant…”

“Onox, sir. Lieutenant Onox. I understand you’re leaving on the first ship tomorrow morning,” the man replied quickly. The lieutenant often forgot that the man most excited about the invasion was the one leading it. “Every ship will follow yours, general.”

Nihil stood slowly, smiling all the while, “So they will, lieutenant. Now is a time for heroes—don’t forget that. Every history book will recall tomorrow as the day we began the reclamation from the forces of evil. No time to rest, lieutenant. Dismissed.”