The Hylian Offensive

Commander of the Hylian Offensive, first General over the North, and personal confidant to the King of Hyrule, General Nihil smiled with a touch of smugness at his own titles. For fifteen years the man had awaited the summons from his king to finally complete his own legacy. Ganon’s attack had come as a surprise to everyone, but many of the generals in Northern Hyrule were not particularly surprised at the reports of the south falling. They were hardly more than a colony, in many a noble’s eye, and their organization had been roughly hewn and unprotected. General Nihil doubted that the force had been half the size reported back up to Northern Hyrule, but they still seemed to be able to do anything but lick their wounds.

The King of Hyrule, though, had seemed much more worried when words had reached his ears. Nihil often thought the man over-cautious, and had long since urged him to send troops much sooner, assuring him resistance would be minimal down in the lands of Southern Hyrule. Perhaps there were indeed many monsters, but the aging general could not see how those savages would pose a threat to the well-trained blades of the Hylian Army. There were monsters up here as well, and the Guard made short work of most of them. They were a pestilence if anything, but not a true threat.

General Nihil smirked one last time, though, coming around a corner into the final hallway that would take him to the king’s study. Whether the King of Hyrule had been mistaken or not, he was still Pernius Nihil’s king; he would not forget that. To show his arrogance would be a foolish way to lose his illustrious titles. The general slowed down now, approaching those double doors guarded by two of the Royal Guard. With one hand carrying a satchel tucked under his arm, he nodded at the guards, watching with satisfaction as one hurried quickly in to alert the king of his presence. He could almost taste the victory already.

The Royal Guard returned a moment later, nodding again at the general who had already begun walking toward the door, assured of his entrance. The words “The king will see you now” hardly made it out before Nihil was already opening the door. The man’s seniority held him untouchable to anyone but the King of Hyrule himself. With a half a prayer to the goddesses for favor, the man pushed the doors open and entered into the presence of royalty.

The king’s study was large, even for the standards of Hyrule Castle, and the ruling man stood at the opposite end of the door, back turned to his guest as he looked out of a large window over the vast expanses that made up Hyrule Castle Town. It was a sight that you could behold for an entire day without growing weary, but Nihil knew that his king’s mind was far from captivated by it. Taking two steps into the room, the general lowered himself onto one knee in respect, declaring his entrance as was proper for him to do so, “You have summoned me, your majesty, and I have come.”

The reply came back with only a moment’s delay, the King of Hyrule turning around to face the door with a smile, “Rise, General Nihil. I will not afford any more delays.”

Delays indeed. They had exasperated Nihil to no end over the last several years. The king had been slow to act on initial word of the invasion in the south, but as intelligence of the region became more and more certain, the King of Hyrule had grown in desire to send troops down there as well. With his growing assurance, though, the nobles had become restless. Within a short time of Ganon’s domination fading into silence in the south, the king had faced a significant amount of pressure from those nobles to withhold on the invasion. Coupled with the man’s own uncertainties, action had been delayed further.

About a year ago, now, Pernius Nihil had leapt at the prospect of movement when the king’s speech had rallied much of Hyrule Castle Town. The port city of Impa was to be constructed, and the troops would be leaving for Rauru within weeks, they had said. But delay had struck again, first in the form of Jagon Fenris, and then again with the sudden freeze the lands had undergone. Now, though, reports had claimed that the monsters in the south were acting oddly and that much of the land was lacking in defenses. It was the perfect news to inspire action after all these years.

General Nihil could’ve danced with anticipation. Before the second year was up, it would be his name in the history books, the one who had conquered the lands of Southern Hyrule from the treacherous claws of monsters.

The king ushered him over to the table, and the work began. The plan was a simple one, really. The Hylian Invasion force would be split up into three parts, each leaving at different times and landing in strategic locations to help bolster the front and resupply the previous troops. The supply line wasn’t long from a distance perspective, but those waters in the Hyrule Bay could be treacherous as you got away from Impa, and many of the northern shores of Southern Hyrule were lined with reefs. Landing an invasion directly there could prove disastrous. No, their ships would sail into the Eastern Sea before landing on the eastern coasts themselves.

Nihil had had these plans ready for years now, though, and he enthusiastically went over them with the king for at least the fourth time in the last fifteen years. It would finally happen this time, the man was sure of it. After much talk, the king backed away from the plans and maps on the tables, taking a long pause that Nihil held his breath for.

“How soon can the first wave be sent, General?”

The aging man smiled, pure confidence at his plans shining its way through, “I can have the ships ready to leave in no more than five weeks, your majesty.”

The king’s face broke into a smile that matched Nihil’s, slapping the man on the back informally and grasping his shoulder like he would a friend, “Then in five weeks the reclamation of the south will finally begin, General.”