It seemed to be one of those days again...

Panting with the exertion, I found myself sprinting across an open field, with at least thirty bulblins chasing me. All I could hear was the earth-shaking gallops of the boars they rode, and the Twang! of their bows. Epona had run away in terror, throwing me off, and not coming back when I called her. Now, I was running for my life, with a freshly twisted ankle to add to my situation.

"Ugh," I grunted in pain, a stitch in my side beginning to form as I dashed away. I really needed to find some sort of vantage point- hopefully that would give me some tactical advantages, at the very least. I vaulted over a fence, and about two seconds later, the bulblins broke through it behind me.

A flaming arrow shot past my face, almost hitting my cheek, and managing to singe one of my sideburns a little. They were catching up. I dashed into a grove of trees, just along the edge of Faron Woods, and managed to hide in the tall grass. I could hear them coming closer and closer, and I began to sneak through the dry blades toward a nearby tree in an attempt to lose them. With a mighty summersault, I managed to get behind the maple, in such a way that made the motion seem like a wind picking up. Hopefully they would think I was still in the grass.

Fortunately for me, bulblins aren't the smartest race of Hylian monster, and they didn't seem to know where I was...

Well... for a minute or two.

Unfortunately for me, one of the boars picked up my scent, and I had to scramble up the tree before they got to me. I got a few moments to catch my breath, before they started firing their arrows. One of them lit the tree on fire, and I could see the flames rising higher and higher, coming ever closer to me, as I hung from one of the branches. I could feel the smoke stinging my eyes, and I knew I wouldn't be able to climb down the usual way without suffering major burns.

There was only one way to get down, and that was to jump out, falling at least six feet in the process.

Well, I might as well give the bulblins a show before they all died.

The flames were licking at my heels, and I pulled out the Hero's Bow, aiming it steadily at the closest monster to the tree. With a sharp Twang! Woosh! Thump! the enemy fell to the ground, black blood shooting out of his forehead and splattering the flames, causing them to turn a hellish, purple shade. My boots were starting to smoke, and my skin becoming soft and pink.

Realizing I was about to start cooking alive, I leapt out of the tree, managing to fire a quick shot at another bulblin, which fell to the ground, though my shot wasn't quite as accurate this time. I felt the wind rush against my face, and, like it always seems to do when one is falling, time seemed to slow down. The three seconds I was in the air felt like thirty, so I saw quite clearly when one of the bulblins shot an arrow into my right ankle.

I also felt it quite clearly as well.

One second, I felt like I was soaring through the air, the next, I was out of control as the arrow's momentum swung my foot skyward, causing me to lose my stability as I fell. As I plummeted to the earth, the sharp pain of the arrow shot through me, though the wind blew out the flame on it's deadly tip before it could set my pant leg alight.

I landed in the dirt, flat on my stomach, more pain shooting through me. Fortunately, no bones seemed to be broken, but a steady stream of blood was flowing down my leg, soaking my trousers until they turned almost as purple as the fire.

I lay there for a few seconds, stunned, as the other twenty eight bulbins slowly began to circle me. They could only get through the thick trees about two at a time, what with the beasts they rode on, so it took a little while for the whole pack to get to me, but in all the time I had to escape, I could only manage to roll myself over onto my back.

I groaned.

The pain was almost unbearable, and at this point, I almost wished they would just kill me and end it.

The monsters had dismounted from their pig-like steeds, probably so they could finish me off with their clubs. So much for having a quick, easy death. I could tell these guys loved to have fun with their prey, and this time I was the aforementioned prey.

I closed my eyes as they drew closer, taking a deep breath and preparing for the end. I sure hoped someone could take my place, and save hyrule without me. Maybe there was a knight, or an adventurer who was capable of the task. At any rate, I didn't think I would be missed.

But as the monsters closed in on me, and began to raise their clubs, I remembered something Colin, a little boy from Ordon Village, had said to me once.

"You can do Anything."

My eyes shot open.

I was not going to give up. Not now. Colin needed me. Hyrule needed me! If I let myself go here, the kingdom would fall into the hands of a murderer, and darkness would wash over the face of Hyrule. But I wasn't going to let that happen.

With a burst of new found strength, I jumped up, performing a spin attack as I did so. My foes were struck by the whirling blade in my hands, and black blood spewed everywhere. It killed a few of them, and those that had survived the attack hollered a blood curdling war cry. I leaped into the air, slamming my sword into five of them, as the ten that remained tried to fire at me with their bows.

Thankfully, I had equipped my shield earlier, and it blocked the arrows that would've hit me otherwise. I whirled around to face them, and gave them the strongest glare I could muster. It seemed to frighten them somewhat, but it didn't stop them from coming at me. Their bravery was admirable, but also stupid.

Because I slayed them all, one by one.

As the last one hit the forest floor, I felt my own strength draining from me. Breathing heavily, my knees buckled and I collapsed into the soft dirt. My wounds were still bleeding, but I was too drained to take care of them. The pain was numbing, and it left me totally helpless. I could feel myself drifting into unconsciousness- my vision was unfocused, and the world was going dark.

I lay there, weakly stroking the grass with my bloody hand until my vision faded completely.