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Chapter Text

The Myths and Legends of Lorule

By: Aurmod

Preface

Throughout its long history, this book has been passed through many hands and added to countless times. Its true origin remains a mystery that likely will never be solved. The only clue pointing to who the original author was is a signature that reads "Aurmod" at the bottom of the first page. Whether this was the author’s real name is unknown. This mystery did spawn a new tradition, however; each writer whose ink graced its pages thereafter has signed the same way, and so too will I. Thus, this book is more commonly referred to as “The Book of Aurmod” despite that not being its actual title. 

This tradition disappeared over the years as interest in the teachings of the past regretfully dwindled. As I sit here, beginning to write my own additions to this work older than living memory, I am struck by the history within its worn paper. It is likely that my pen will be the last to leave its mark, however. I am saddened by this thought, though it is my reason for writing this. 

Perhaps leaving this note goes against the tradition laid before me since I am writing to you as an individual rather than as part of the collective that is Aurmod, but I wished to add it regardless. I suppose that disregarding tradition like this is nothing new for me. After all, while my true identity too will remain unknown like theirs, my name is still contained within these pages even if it is not by choice. I may not live up to it in truth, but at least I will not depart from this realm without leaving my own mark on these pages now. 

So, as I write these final words, may I join the ranks of all those who came before me.

-Aurmod

Index

The Golden Goddesses

The Legend of the Master Sword

The Battle Against Carnage

A Demon’s Rise

The Age of Lorule’s Downfall

The Hero of Virtue

A Prophecy of Blood

The Legend of Hilda

Chapter Text

Before even the strands of time itself were spun, there was a vast nothingness. It was a void, not of shadow nor of light, but of the neutral space in between. The one thing it knew was to consume and destroy. Its appetite and greed were as vast as its nothingness, for it swallowed all that it touched.

For something to be, it must hang within the strings of balance, however. Everything that is therefore has an equal, even that which is not. 

From within this nothingness came a something of matching power. Existence itself fought for its survival, being born anew again and again, only to be swallowed once more. 

In a final monumental effort, three sisters managed to tear themselves from the void’s grasp. They tore through the bowels of the nothingness with wings woven with the strands of time, shining gold and pure in their existence. The emergence of the golden three marked the beginning of everything. 

With their combined strength, the nothingness that once threatened to swallow their creation was imprisoned within a cage of everything it once tried to devour. 

Threading the fibers of what would become the world, Din, the goddess of power, ensured the land would be strong and never fray. Nayru, the goddess of wisdom, knit those fibers together to hold good and true so that they may never unravel. Then, Farore, the goddess of Courage, stitched the essence of life itself into the world’s seams, adding the finishing touches that stitched everything together at last. 

When the three goddesses could finally call their creation complete, they had one last gift to bestow upon the world before they departed. Made of the virtues power, wisdom, and courage, the Triforce was formed to maintain the balance of the world in their absence. Only those who possess all three can wield its might. Though hidden from sight within a realm of the goddesses, with one touch, a mortal’s greatest wish can come true. 

Tasked with the protection of this sacred relic, it is the goddess Lolia who presides over mortals in their stead, shrouding them from those who would do them harm. With the lands and seas of their creation entrusted to the deities and guardian spirits who watch over even still, the Golden Goddesses' influence remains forever present, holding back the void so that existence may continue ever onward. 

Chapter Text

Within the Blade of Evil’s Bane
A spirit did reside.
One day he betrayed the goddess
And was cast aside.

Another world, a foreign place
That sacred sword does sleep.
Its spirit serves another god
One once from beneath.

It was sought by this distant force,
A being of great might,
Who wished to wield its power to
Blot out his world’s light.

Once stolen by this other god,
Brother by only name,
To that land of light he fled
To fuel his sole aim.

And yet, in regards to its fate,
A single question still remained;

Was it ever truly stolen
Or was the spirit who had chosen?

Does its pedestal still lie empty?
In the Skull Woods where it is buried?
And does it act as the spirit’s grave?
Or does he live even to this day?

Perhaps the blade is now lost for good,
Or was destroyed in a time long past.
Could it be found and can it be saved?
Or has it found its own way instead?

Only one can know for certain;
The only witness who was there.

Not the god, goddess, nor world of light,
For none are the spirit who resides

Within the Master Sword

Chapter Text

Long, long ago, in a time countless centuries before the kingdom of Lorule came to be, the gods and goddesses still walked freely alongside mortals. Among them was the goddess Lolia. She ruled over the people of the surface as protector, hand firm but just. The people were happy and praised her for her work. However, their peace could not last. 

One fateful day, a blinding light sliced through the heavens, making a path for the many malevolent horrors to come. They descended upon the innocent down below. 

An onslaught the likes of which will never be seen again overtook the surface, bloodying the lands in its unrelenting frenzy. People and animals alike were slaughtered without mercy until the land’s sacred springs ran red. 

At the head of the charge was a god who burned bright with rage and viciously massacred all who dared stand in his way. Chaos reigned, and its king was Carnage. 

His goal was singular, a divine golden power. Although the golden power could not be wielded by divinity, in his eternal fury, Carnage had long since cast his aside. Such was his ruthless determination. 

Two unyielding forces, the goddess and god were locked in combat. They traded blow for blow, scar for scar. Neither relented nor paused in their pursuit. 

However, in one last attempt to gain an edge, the goddess sacrificed her power to strip Carnage of what remained of his. Her spirit was scattered across the land, sealed away with a single divine instrument as its only key. 

Before she set this final act into motion, Lolia had carved a safe haven for her people buried deep beneath the ground. The people would remain within its protection for many generations, shielded by the war being waged in the lands above. In its heart, she placed a harp forged by her own hands, waiting for the one who would hear its call.

Centuries passed. The land healed. Forests regrew and flourished. The water of the sacred springs ran clear once more. Peace was restored. 

As is a truth of life, however, this peace would soon come to an end. The influence of the avatar of chaos wormed its way past his binds. It spread through the earth, infecting its roots and veins until the corruption reached the beating heart of the land. 

The goddess’s shattered spirit cried out in warning. Its whispers would soon be heard by only one.

From the deep came two mortals chosen by fate. One was to be a guide, the other a vessel marked by the gods. Blessed with divine foresight, the Chosen Hero took up the harp forged by the goddess to learn well of its call. He learned of the surface. 

Hand in hand, the fated two ascended from the deepest pits of the underground to the lands above. The spirit maiden trusted in the Chosen Hero’s guidance. With him at her side, she cleansed herself in the pure waters of the sacred springs and sought Lolia’s fragmented spirit. 

Whole once more, she used this newfound power within the spirit of the goddess to call down a rod made of the moon’s rays from the heavens. With it, the Chosen Hero illuminated the path set before the spirit maiden. At its end was the golden power sought by the malevolent forces. 

With the combined strength of this force left by the Golden Goddesses and Lolia’s divine spirit, the goddess reborn faced the avatar of chaos who once ruled over demons. The sacred grounds at their feet shook as they traded blow for blow and scar for scar. The battle that ensued was swift but final. 

Carnage was defeated. His spirit was sealed away for good, never to threaten the land or lives of Lolia’s people again. 

As such, Ravio became a name that would go down in history, unforgotten for millennia, as the guardian hero chosen by the honorable Hilda, first of her name and the goddess reborn. 

By their hands, the land was made anew. It grew into a proud kingdom; one that would soon be known as Lorule.