The ice groaned beneath the sleds as the 1st and 2nd Battalions of Odin's Brigade completed their crossing, boots sinking into powder that rolled away in gentle hills rather than the jagged stone Odin had braced himself for. Behind them, the frozen bay that had carried two thousand men and their artillery without a single lost gun seemingly stretched endlessly toward the horizon.
Odin dismounted at the mouth of the passage, breath fogging in the crisp mountain air, and looked out over the terrain ahead, not a narrow chokepoint at all, but a broad, rolling expanse of snow-blanketed hillside stretching for kilometers between the twin peaks of West and East Mount Drena. Ten supply carts could stretch the gap and have room to spare.
"Not even a watchtower," Captain Kinnota said beside him, puzzled. "Not so much as a fence post."
"Why would there be?" Odin replied. "No army has ever crossed here. No outside threat had ever crossed Hyrule's borders, so there was never any need for such things."
Odin then turned to his officers.
"Now stop dillydallying and get moving!"
The order went down the line, and by midday the 1st and 2nd Battalions had begun the slow, grinding push through the passage. Artillery rolling smoothly over packed snow, cavalry able to spread out and screen the column's flanks. What should have taken weeks through mountain terrain took days.
A week into year 28 they were on a path towards Hyrule Castle.
…
To the south, the 3rd Battalion of Odin's Brigade landed in the Deplian Badlands. Although it was not so bad after. Too close to Death Mountain to be cold yet too far up north to be scalding hot. During the winter the weather was comfortable, and they continued their way towards the Hylian Military Training Camp.
…
Farther east, the 4th Battalion of Odin's Brigade pushed into the Akkala Wilds, a tangled country of dense pine and broken hills that made artillery movement a nightmare and an ambush fatal. Luckly for the Lieutenant Colonel leading that Battalion the population of Akkala might as well be zero. After two weeks of haggling through a small, forested mountain they found their way towards Akkala Citadel.
…
Back in the southeastern portion of Hyrule Kylia's Brigade, that being the 5th Battalion, encamps in Kakariko Village for the winter as they wait for the rest of the Brigade to arrive from Pavo Island.
As for repeating the same trick Kylia had accomplished in Kakariko Village in Castle Town?
It would not work.
Kakariko Village was special because their leader was spiritually defeated even before Kylia's forces had arrived. The Sheikah forces that were defeated in New Rosa had already spread rumors of the terrifying might of Kylia. So, the populace obliged Ishiro's orders to comply and desist. Also, there was the unique aspect of Kakariko's geography having high points for Lavovy Airmen to glide and snipe from. Lastly there is the fact that Kakariko is a village and does not have a lot to lose compared to that of a capital city.
Castle Town on the other hand is not spiritually beaten; they are the capital of a Kingdom after all. It's like comparing a village to Moscow. A village might surrender if isolated and overpowered but Moscow would fight to the death. The terrain around Castle Town sucks for Lavovy Airmen. Like Rito, Lavovy cannot fly and can only glide, best suited for mountainous or forested terrain. Castle town is surrounded by a literal plain, impossible to properly ambush. Lastly there is scale, Castle Town is much bigger than Kakariko and it would be a pipe dream to assume five Valors or 700 Airmen could occupy the city without any trouble, especially legitimacy troubles if the King is to be executed.
For now, it's best to just wait. The 6th Battalion had just landed at Lanayru Bay with another Battalion of troops, and The Kylian Navy is heading back towards Pavo Island for another trip.
It's only a matter of time before the 1st and 2nd Brigades meet in Castle Town.
…
Over to the far west President Tykhyy's opens and reads a file containing the Year 27 Census:
"Kingdom of Kylia – Year 27 Census and Economic Report (Wartime Summary)
---
Population Statistics
Total Population (Year 27): 112,296
Previous Year (Year 26): 107,139
Annual Growth Rate: +5%
The population of the Kingdom increased by 5%, despite ongoing conflict. Primary contributors include:
Refugee influx: Populations displaced from frontline regions, notably Sovi, Pavo and New Rosa.
---
Economic Overview
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): 323,829,408 Kon
Previous Year's GDP): 294,390,371 Kon
Annual GDP Growth: +10%
The wartime economy has seen significant stimulation due to:
Expanded military production, now employing a major portion of the workforce.
Growth in steel output, from 2,024 tonnes to 2,152 tonnes over the year.
---
National Debt
Debt-to-GDP Ratio (Year 27): 150%
Previous Year: 129%
Change: +21 percentage points
The sharp rise in debt is directly linked to military expenditures, which have increased:
From 103,236,630 Kon (Year 26)
To 113,540,293 Kon (Year 27)
An increase of 9.98%.
---
Agricultural Production & Food Security
Total Food Production (Year 26): 179,673 tonnes
Previous Year: 173,565 tonnes
Increase:+3.5?%
The increase is attributed to technological innovations bearing the burden of a reduced workforce from military mobilization.
However: population growth (+5%) continues to outpace food production growth (+3.5%), causing a modest decline in the Self-Sufficiency Rate compared to the previous year.
Self-Sufficiency Rate: 160%
Including Granary Stores: 220%
The Kingdom remains food secure, capable of feeding multiple nations, even under wartime strain.
---
Military Casualty Report (Year 27)
Alliance Forces Killed in Action (KIA): 250
Kylian Forces Killed in Action: 210
Axis Forces KIA: 8,800
Estimated Civilian and Unlisted Military Fatalities: few thousand (exact figures unavailable)
---
Notes and Projections
Economic growth is heavily dependent on wartime industries, which may not be sustainable in peacetime.
The debt burden may require post-war restructuring or international assistance.
Despite modest agricultural growth lagging behind population increase, food security remains robust, positioning the Kingdom as an exporter and a humanitarian supplier."
Setting the report down, President Tykhyy leaned back in his chair, eyes lingering on the casualty figures one more time. 460 dead against 8,800. A ratio that would have seemed like fiction thirty years ago.
He glanced toward the window, where the last light of the year was fading over Kylia City's rooftops, then reached down beneath his desk and pulled open a certain drawer he rarely touched outside of holidays. From within, he retrieved a dust-covered bottle of vodka, older than most of the treaties currently sitting in his filing cabinets.
"Well," he muttered to the empty office, pouring himself a modest glass. "Happy New Year, I suppose."
…
Back in Kakariko, Kylia sat cross-legged atop the flat roof of what had once been Ishiro's chambers, the hole she'd put through its months ago long since been patched over by nervous local carpenters. Snow drifted lazily past her in the dark, catching the light of the village's lanterns before settling into the thatch below. Zirka rested across her knees, the map spread out beside her weighed down at the corners with river stones.
"So…um…out of all the places you could have gone, why the roof in particular?" Zirka asked.
Kylia thought for a second before finally replying "It's too stuffy inside."
After that both stayed silent for a full minute.
"Cough, cough, cough" Zirka cleared her throat, wafting away the uncomfortable silence.
"Are you…Aura farming?"
"RAH!" Kylia roared, raising Zirka overhead with her left hand, right shoulder leaning forward, ready to throw the annoying sword out.
"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Zirka's voice panicked. "Calm down! Tell me, what's on your mind?"
Kylia's arm hovered there a second longer before, with a long, pitiful sigh, she lowered the blade on to the map in front of her.
"I-I feel something is not right." Kylia trembled, tears forming in her eyes. "I can't think properly anymore. I feel mad, angry! Yet whenever I try to act, I hesitate."
"I can't decide! I want to kill, destroy, get rid of all things that get in the way! I want to destroy Hyrule all by myself, and I can do so."
Clenching her hand with a claw motion she describes. "I have thoughts of strangling Hylians one by one with my own hands until they're all gone."
"Yet there are these voices in my head telling me not to. I been noticing that me…the original Kylia, is gone."
"I don't feel like myself anymore! I can't think for myself anymore. I can't remember myself anymore! What is my favorite food? Who do I like?! Did I have friends???!!!"
Curling up into a ball Kylia continued, sobbing.
"I can't feel alive anymore, as if I'm just going through the motions of her life and position! A robot who just can't STOP!"
"I feel guilty for not believing I'm even Kylia anymore. Who am I? If this continues…I don't think I can take it anymore…I want to be happy again."
Staring at the small, shivering ball of feathers beside her, Zirka did not know what to do.
As expressive as Zirka was and despite her supposedly long-life Zirka, no, the former Dark Master Sword, did not have much experience with soothing and comforting. Back then the sword embodied either hate, spite, pain, agony and all the other nasty emotions or the absence of emotion entirely.
After being mutated by Kylia's interference, the blade had gained a higher level of sentience and played around with its newfound emotions, such as happiness, sadness, disgust, and anger.
Never though had it felt guilt. Such guilt of causing a little girl cry.
Yes, to a 9,000+ year old relic, Kylia was a 47-year-old, 1.86-meter-tall minor. Her physical appearance was that of a 14-year-old and her mental age was probably around the same.
And adding to the guilt Zirka knew who caused all of this to happen. She tried to take her soul and anything that involves souls can get ugly real fast.
"What!"
Startled, Zirka glanced right back over at Kylia. The edge of Kylia's blackened blue hair had become fully black and was now creeping up the strands.
Zirka's blade ran cold, its edge unusually sharp. She needed to help this girl and help her fast!
"Hey kiddo!" Zirka called out. "Look at me, Look at me! Snap out of IT!"
"Huh?"
Kylia slowly lifted her gaze in stupor at the sword in front of her.
"I'm sorry! I couldn't tell, I didn't understand, I did not know what you were going through!"
Zirka spoke quickly.
"I'm not very good at this and I don't know how to help you, but I'll tell you this; you got to keep believing, you got to keep living, and you must never fall!"
"When I mean living, I don't mean surviving, I mean real living! Not working or fighting!"
"Fighting this war is not living, it's surviving! And it's not good for you either! Take a break and visit some areas in Hyrule! There are so many novelties and adventures that awaits us here!"
"Back at home, get outside the hellhole that you call an office and relax with others that are not officials or subordinates!"
"Try new foods! Travel around! Fly for actual fun! Maybe even visit the family that you have!"
"But never give up! You have others around you that truly care for you, me included!"
"Remember that promise we make? We're so close! Don't back down now!"
"Once you help me get my inheritance back, I can help you! I can help YOU discover YOURSELF, but you can't give up!"
"Your life doesn't have to be like this poorly written book some cold and cruel author wrote, focused only on numbers and facts! A fantasy without actual fantasy! A nonfiction within a fiction!"
"So Please!"
"So…what will it be?"
"…What will you choose to do?" Zirka pleaded.
"…" Staring back at Zirka, Kylia thought within the long stretch of silence before responding.
…
Relieved Zirka thought to herself.
"Time is running out!"