Do I know that the original Hyrule Warriors came out when I was in high school, and I've since finished 2 years of college? Yes, yes I do. Is that going to, in any way, stop me from posting a fanfic about my possible favorite non-canon character in LoZ? No, definitely not. Yes, I know I could just swap the names and honestly have an original story. However, I love the idea of Volga's character far too much (and the culture I've since based off of my idea of him and his story) to just let him stay the way that he is, honestly to the point that I have an idea for a second book following this one, if this one does well enough. For now I'll only be posting the Prologue until I have the entirety of the book written, which I'll then set up a schedule for posting. So, yeah, enjoy the story that I've been writing for years lol.

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The sun shone down brightly onto a thick, dark green canopy of broad leaves, the air rippling and warping with suffocating mid-summer heat. Birds chirped their songs into the sweltering air, squirrels ran through their routes amongst the tree branches, deer ambled along the forest floor as they grazed on any low hanging leaves they could reach. A hot wind rustled through these branches frequently, but it did little to alleviate the oppressing heat, not a cloud in the sky to provide any relief.

A blur of red and gray cut through the thick, hot air, broad webbed wings tucked close for high speed flight. Thick red and black colored armor covered his form, the polished metal reflecting the light of the sun into the eyes of those unlucky enough to try and glimpse what was overhead. A helmet, forged into the shape of a dragon's top jaw, combined with dark markings on the skin of the armored figure, provided plentiful shade so that the lime, reptilian eyes could spot prey.

Or, in this case, avoid contact with those who wished him harm.

With a fresh deer carcass clutched in his clawed gauntlets with almost frightening ease, his speed barely hindered by the weight, he soared over the canopy of leaves. He could feel the occasional, stray leaf smack against his wings, he could hear the occasional startled cry of a bird, or a squirrel, as the wind from his wings disturbed their hiding spots within the high branches. His mind wasn't on the forest, though- it was on the rapidly approaching mountain on the horizon, and his family within it.

Sstop worrrying sso much, Volga. Blizzagia iss a capable fighterr, jusst as we arre. Sshe can defend herrsself and Link, a wispy voice echoed through his skull, earning a rough hiss from him. Volvagia, his draconic half- they were two sides of the same coin, bound to one body, yet with separate thoughts and voices, and oftentimes opinions.

I know, I know, I don't need a lecture. But those dragon hunters are growing bolder with each passing month. It won't be long before they find out where we are. There aren't many hiding spots left for us, especially with Link now, he answered, his voice a disdainful growl as he answered with a thought, rather than aloud. They weren't hunters- they were slaughterers. Murderers. Killers. There wasn't anything noble about their actions, they didn't kill out of necessity- they wanted nothing more than gold, and glory, that they couldn't get elsewhere. Even in the time of cars, of trucks and trains, and of those cellular devices- phones, he'd heard them called- they still chose to hunt those who had done no harm.

Link iss sstill ssmall enough to hide frrom them, and we arre fasst enough to esscape theirr weaponrry, sstrrong enough to take them out. You doubt ourr ssissterr? Volvagia quipped, his voice a much more relaxed tone.

I trust her skills, and always have. It's the ones that follow us that I'm concerned about, Volga huffed as he gave a flap of his wings, easily clearing a particularly tall tree as the mountain loomed closer on the horizon. It wasn't terribly tall, not tall enough to scrape the sky, but the height was more than enough to deter most sane people- all races, save for the Rito really- from climbing up without gear. And yet, that security that had once calmed his nerves no longer held that same power.

He found himself pushing himself faster, his wings beating the air more often as he felt the warm air from the peak they had chosen to reside at. He knew he was going to hear about it from Blizzagia- about how it was too hot, and uncomfortable, why didn't they go north this time instead?- but he had to admit, he did enjoy hearing her complain about the heat. It was better than him feeling frostbitten after every hunting run, like he had before he had taken little Link under his wing.

He angled his wings, feeling the wind push against his armored chest as he banked left. His lime green, reptilian eyes scanned the mountainside. Within seconds he spotted the opening they had carved out- a fissure in the stone, with just a flat enough base that he could land without stumbling. Unknown scents caught his attention, his wings immediately flaring out as he stopped, taking a deep breath through his nose.

Humans. A mix of strange human and Hylian scents, defensive magics that he couldn't quite place, and-

No. No, no, no no no-

The potent, metallic scent of blood.

The blood of an ice dragon.

A lot of it.

Fiery rage swelled within his chest as he dropped the deer carcass, smoke now billowing between his bared teeth as his wings folded tightly to his side. The wind whistled through his helmet, under his wings, past his armor as he dove through the narrow, craggy entrance to their hideout and into the spacious cave system they had called their own.

The rage that had built up within his chest solidified into a heavy boulder of horror that blocked his airway, stopping him from taking a deep breath as he came to a hover.

His sister laid against the back cavern wall, her serpentine body entirely limp, her iridescent blue and purple scales covered in ice, stained red with her blood that seeped into an ever expanding pool under her. Hunters surrounded her body, looking at him in terror- one with a blade already at the ready to carve, as if she were some animal. Huge gashes of ice lined the walls from their battle, bullet holes peppered throughout the reddish orange stone.

A deafening roar escaped him before he had even realized his rage had returned double fold, enough to cause some of the stalactites around the edge of the cavern to tremble. Red filled his vision as he landed in front of the serpentine dragon.

The world moved in slow motion. The hunters scrambled for their weapons of metal and fire through molasses, the easily half dozen or so humans reeking so strongly of panic, it would have overwhelmed him in most other circumstances.

He was hardly aware of his own actions as his chest filled with a deep breath, only to be released into a fiery white plume, surrounding two of the murderers. His breath ran out, as did the fire- nothing left of the hunters save for charred corpses. They never stood a chance.

A battle cry to his right- a hunter, coming right at him with a blade. Even from afar, he could smell the venom along the blade, see it dripping off the edge. Cowards.

A feral snarl escaped him as he pivoted out of the way, the hunter's knife whistling just past his wing membrane. He kept his momentum up, his other wing coming from behind and driving right into the hunter's spine. A cry escaped them as Volga felt their bones snap beneath his strength, their body crumbling to the ground lifelessly and the blade skittering out of their reach. He took no chances- a well aimed stomp to the back of their neck cut their remaining breath short.

Two loud, echoing gunshots, followed by burning pain as two small holes were torn through the thick, leathery skin on his wings. A bellow escaped him as the pain only served as a catalyst to his rage. He whirled around to face the two hunters who had dared to fire at him.

He charged straight for them, even as they continued to fire their weapons- he could hear the bullets plinking off of his heavy plate armor.

Barely aware that his arms had shifted into red scaled claws he leapt up, gaining height with a flap of his wings before letting gravity do most of the work- slamming his metallic boots onto the fragile humans who connected roughly with the ground, sprawling out awkwardly. He felt as his heels snapped through both of their rib cages, heard the crack and squelch of their bones and organs breaking and rupturing under his weight.

Panting heavily, sharp teeth bared, his gaze darted around as he stepped off the disfigured corpses. There was another one. There were six hunters, not five. Where did they go?

A small scuff off to his left, behind his sister's body. A flap of his wings carried him off to the side as another gunshot rang out, his momentum carrying him out of the way of the bullet. His chest heated up once more, his throat burning as he took a wide arc around the cavern, feeling several bullets fly just above his wings, just past his face.

The hunter ducked and rolled to the other side of the icy dragon's broad skull just as he released a plume of white fire, the solid stone ground taking the brunt of the flame.

Midair, he twisted around, a bellowing roar escaping him as the hunter aimed her gun at him, only for her eyes to go wide as he extended his arms, his black claws and fiery red scales gleaming, before they sank deep into her shoulders. Her bones provided little resistance as his grip tightened, feeling her shoulder blades fracture and split under his terrible grip as he came to a midair hover. Her gun clattered to the ground uselessly as a scream tore from her throat.

"Please!" She cried out, her voice barely rasping out as she struggled in vain against his talons. She kicked and thrashed as much as she could with her legs, her arms failing to even reach his wrists in her attempt to loosen his grip.

"Pleasse? Pleasse?" He snarled, his voice layered in his fury- both his and Volvagia's rage, their agony, mixing into one voice. "Pleasse doesn't cut it, human. Not after what you've TAKEN FROM ME!" He shouted, digging his talons in deeper, feeling the satisfying snap as her shoulder blades fully fractured under his anger.

"Please, I- I have a family!" She begged, her eyes wide as he struggled to breathe- he could feel her lungs barely taking in any breaths dangerously close to his razor sharp claws.

"Then, an eye forr an eye."

The burning heat within his chest and throat grew to a point he couldn't contain, before he exhaled.

He could barely hear her scream over the full roar in his ears from his flame.

Her screaming stopped, her body becoming nothing more than a charred corpse, then nothing but ash under his fury.

His wings beat the air as he ran out of breath, Volga panting as his green gaze searched the cavern they had thought was once safe. He couldn't smell any other hunters, none that were alive. The scent of blood, of ash, and death, threatened to overwhelm him as his wings faltered in their rhythm, forcing him to a rough landing on the stone floor. Struggling to catch his breath he ignored the stinging bullet holes in his wings, and the scent of poison, as he focused back on the body of his sister.

"Blizzagia," he uttered as he lurched forward, before he broke out into a sprint. He dropped down to a knee, skidding with a ear piercing scrape as he came to a halt by Blizzagia's heavily armored head. His wings dropped down to his side as his talons shifted back into hands, his armor flowing back into place over them as he lifted her eyelid, his breath catching in his throat at the lack of resistance. Her icy blue eyes didn't even move, her pupils static and the skin around them already as pale as could be.

"No, come on, Blizza, not like this," he whispered as he hurriedly pulled off his gauntlets, holding a hand in front of her nostrils.

Nothing.

No cool air from her exhale. No frost gathering on his hands. Nothing.

His breathing hitched as the realization slowly dug at his heart as he looked away from her head, taking in the wounds. The ice that had covered her scales was gone, melted into water around her that only partially washed away the blood that had dried and grown tacky. A deep gash had already been cut into her side by the hunters, her skin and scales having been lifted up around the area from their attempts at skinning her, as if she were nothing more than some wild beast. Bullet wounds, aimed for the softer, less armored spots- along her underside, under the white scales that coated her belly and neck. The faintest trace of poison still remained along the wounds, even now slowly burning away at the open skin and muscle.

His eyes burned and his vision blurred with grief, his hands coming to rest on her heavily armored dark blue head, the rough triangular scales poking at his skin. Trying in vain to keep his vision clear and his breathing even he gently ran a hand along her side, coming to rest on a loose scale around the deep gash. With trembling hands he gripped the iridescent scale, a shuddering breath escaping him as he pulled it, the triangular shaped scale coming off without much effort. The poison must've weakened it at the base.

Without another word he slowly stood, his legs wobbling- the holes in his wings were numb now, the area around them burning as the poison that had been on the bullets spread through his wing.

He forcefully tore his eyes away from the body of his dead sister, turning towards a relatively small passageway that led deeper into the mountain.

Link.

He had to make sure he was safe. That he was alive. He couldn't lose both of them.

He forced his legs to obey as he started off towards the tunnel, his injured wing dragging along the ground while the other folded behind him. Struggling to regain his breath he pushed himself forward, shakily clutching the scale in his bare hands. The icy scale felt as though it were freezing his hand, but he refused to drop it. He couldn't.

The tunnel was small, opening up into a small cavern that had been converted into a semblance of a modern human, or Hylian room. Furniture built of wood from trees he had felled, small toys crafted by local artisans that laid atop thick pelts that provided a soft place for Link to rest his head. His heart felt as though it stopped at not seeing the young child, at first- only for a wave of relief to nearly knock him over at hearing the slight movement of someone shifting their position coming from under what sounded to be the bed.

"Link," he called, his already gravelly voice raspy to his ears as he knelt down, blinking to try and clear his vision of tears. "It's okay now...it's safe."

Slowly, reluctantly, the young Hylian child slowly peeked from under the bed- vibrant blue eyes brimming with tears, his cheeks wet as he gave a sniffle. His loose, blond hair was a mess with his pointed ears barely poking out, the scent of fear rolling off him in waves. Volga extended a hand to the young child, who hurriedly scrambled over and wrapped his pudgy arms around the crimson red armor as best as he could, a sniffle escaping the child as he tried to bury his face into the fiery dragon's shoulder.

"You're okay, Link," Volga sighed out as he closed his eyes, his wings slowly coming to lay flat on the ground as he closed his eyes, holding the young boy close. His hand gently cradled his head, feeling tremors of fear run through his little body. Despite the fear that rolled off him and threatened to suffocate Volga's sense of smell, he felt him nod.

Together, father and son, wrapped in each other's embrace, they stayed there for quite some time until Volga felt Link's breathing even out. The rolling scent of fear slowly diminished from the young boy to a more manageable level.

Only once the burning in his injured wing started to spread further did Volga open his eyes, looking down to examine the two wounds. The poison had slowly eaten away at the two small wounds, the wounds closer to the size of an apple, rather than the relatively small holes that had caused when they first shredded through his skin. The sour, almost bitter scent of the toxin barely reached his nose, causing it to wrinkle slightly before he looked back to his son.

The poisson iss ssprreading, Volga. We werre lucky to get a low dosse of it, but if we don't find help we'rre going to be joining ourr ssissterr and fallen drragonkind, Volvagia's voice whispered, sounding hollow, as if he were in a daze.

I know...I know. No where around here would willingly help us, and any place or person that has any semblance of antidote is too far. It looks like we've run out of other options, Volga mentally responded. Link looked up at him with wide blue eyes, resting his cheek onto his shoulder.

You mean Rrhoam'ss offerr...I don't like it, but you'rre rright. If anyone would have acccesss, he would, Volvagia answered after a time. He nodded as he gently ruffled Link's messy, bright blonde hair before wrapping his arm around the child. With a grunt through gritted teeth he stood, gently balancing Link with one arm against his side, being sure to keep him above the faulds that protected his hips and waist.

With his injured wing dragging along the ground he made his way over to a bureau, gently stashing the icy scale of his deceased sister into a pocket along his hip, before reaching into a compartment along the top of the furniture- which was far too high for the child on his hip to be able to reach normally. Inside the rough wooden drawer he removed a small shard of what appeared to be metal, or something of the sort. The diamond shaped iridescent shard shifted between white, orange, red and black depending on the angle it was held at, demonic magic practically radiating off of it.

With a sigh he paused, bowing his head a moment before he dropped it, the shard dropping to the ground with a faint plink before he used his boot heel to crush it into nothing more than dust. Even through the thick metallic sole of his boot Volga could feel the magic escaping the now broken shard, escaping into the air around them before dissipating entirely. He stepped back several paces as he blinked, gritting his teeth against the burning of the wounds in his wing and in his soul.

A soft huff of what sounded to be worry escaped the child he held, once again Volga's gaze drawn to him. Always so quiet, the dragon thought, as Link buried his face once more into his shoulder.

"Well well. I'm glad to see you finally came a-" a light, honeyed voice as a cloud of black diamond shaped magic erupted from the floor where the shards had been shattered. An albino demon, as always dressed in a pristine white, form fitting suit appeared from the cloud of magic, well trimmed white hair covering half his face with, eye and ear included. His onyx colored eyes widened at the sight in front of him, his assumed speech coming to a screeching halt.

"By the gods, Volga, what-" he started, only for Volga to shake his head, cutting him off as he staggered slightly, having to readjust his footing to not topple over.

"We have no choice anymore, Ghirahim...the hunters, they..." his voice caught in his throat as he grit his teeth together, forcing a breath past the lump that had tightened in his neck. "They...came for us, they...they killed her. They came for us, killed her, like an animal, and..."

His voice once more trailed off as he could only shake his head, his burning vision clouding once more as he hugged Link closer to him, his grit teeth tightening into a frown as his eyes screwed shut, a shuddering inhale accompanying the motion.

"We have no choice...we...we accept Rhoam's conditions..."