The Legend of Zelda (Valiant Comics)/Issue 5

The Legend of Zelda Issue #5 was originally released in June 1990.

Coming Home
The story begins with Link returning to his home in Calatia to visit his parents, Arn and Medilia. Although Link is happy to see them, he is greeted with a punch to the face by his father, claiming that Link is not his son and ordering him to leave and never come back. Confused, Link begins to travel around Calatia but receives the same mistreatment with everyone else in town, and so he decides to see Queen Seline to figure out what has happened. When Link goes inside the palace's throne room, he finds that Shadow Link and Thunderbird have made the queen their prisoner and taken her place instead. A Daira knocks Link unconscious, and when he wakes up, he finds himself in one of the palace's towers along with Seline. The queen begins to explain that she was defeated by someone who looked just like her, and that Shadow Link has taken over her kingdom, making her people suffer under his rule. Link tries to convince Seline that they must escape, for everyone thinks he is evil and even his parents hate him; however, Seline explains that the chains that bind them have taken away her powers, just as they take away his strength. Just then, a Daira comes to take them to where Shadow Link is, who sentences both of them to be executioned as a warning to the citizens of Calatia to not defy the new king. The queen then halts him and demands her right of a life trial since it is Calatian Law that anyone sentenced to death has the right to trial by combat to prove their innocence. Thunderbird questions Shadow Link if it is wise to let the restless citizens witness such an event, but still Shadow Link accepts Seline's challenge to thus crush the people's spirits by defeating their queen again. In accordance with the ancient laws, Seline chooses Link to fight in her place, and Link agrees. Before heading back to the tower, Medilia apologizes to her son, while Arn encourages Link to fight bravely.

At the tower, Seline explains to Link that the chains have not had time yet to weaken him as much as they did to her, so he still has a chance to defeat Shadow Link. Later, while Link and Seline are sleeping, a magical projection of Zelda's spirits appears and urges Link to return to Hyrule, for it is under attack. Although the princess insists that she is doomed unless Link helps her out, the young hero refuses since everyone is counting on him, at which point Zelda's apparition disappears by saying that she is doomed. However, Zelda's projection is none other than Shadow Link disguised, who is angered that he could not trick Link into leaving so that the Calatians would have thought he fled like a coward. Shadow Link refuses to fight the young hero again since, despite that the magic chains will have stolen half of his strength by morning, Link still posessed the Triforce of Courage, so Shadow Link asks for Ganon's aid. Upon Ganon's appearance, Shadow Link explains to him that he must defeat Link tomorrow, but the Prince of Darkness tells him not to worry since tomorrow will be the one day he will easily defeat the young hero. Ganon elaborates that tomorrow is the Day of the Triforce, which is when, once each decade, the three Triforce pieces disappear for reasons unknown from dawn to dusk.

The next morning, Link wakes up to realize that his Triforce of Courage has left his heart, and Seline explains why. The young hero is discouraged since he cannot hope to have any chances against Shadow Link, but the queen tells him that she has faith in him, and not the Triforce of Courage. A Daira then comes to take them away to the battle arena, where the trial will continue until only one of the Links survives. After a short struggle, Shadow Link easily bests the young hero, and just as Shadow Link is about to deliver the final blow, a swift move by the real Link causes for the both of them to dangle from the edge of the arena, getting ready to fall into the fire pit below. Link angrily explains that he had to let Zelda face her doom alone just so that he could put an end to Shadow Link's tyranny, but just then the fake Link explains that Zelda lives and it was all a trick done by him. With Shadow Link's sword gone and Link's sword point at the back of Shadow Link, Link threatens to kill his counterpart unless he orders the Daira guards to drop their weapons, which Shadow Link obediently commands. The story ends with everyone, including Medilia and Arn, celebrating Link's victory.

Day of the Triforce
The story opens with Zelda panicking to Impa because of the missing Triforce of Wisdom, but Impa explains that it's the Day of the Triforce: the day where, once each decade, all three Triforce pieces disappear from Hyrule for one day, from dawn to dusk. Although Impa says they are defenseless with the Triforce missing and Link visiting his homeland, Zelda tells her nursemaid to relax, since due to all the Triforces gone, then Ganon is bereft of the Triforce of Power as well. Just as Zelda is looking out the window from the palace, she sees a woman being held by the castle guards. When the princess goes to investigate, the woman turns out to be Cassiopia, the healer of the Water Town of Saria, who has come to look for Link since Lynels have set fire to her village, capturing and injuring many of her people. Zelda informs her that Link is away at the moment but decides to return with her to the village. Although Impa warns Zelda to stay until the Triforce returns at sundown, Zelda insists that the people of Saria need her, and even if Ganon were to attack her, she has the Silver Arrow to completely destroy him.

Upon arriving to Saria Town, Cassiopia and Zelda find that the town has been completely burnt, and that Ganon's minions have captured all of its citizens. The princess tells the healer to have courage as she gets out her bow and shoots a Goriya from afar with a Silver Arrow. Cassiopia goes to free her husband using the Magic Boomerang while Zelda continues to defeat the various foes with her Silver arrows, encouraging the people of Saria to stand up and fight and thus defeat all of the fiends. Together, Zelda and the people of Saria successfully defeat all of Ganon's monsters, and the princess promises that she will use the Day of the Triforce to her advantage and completely destroy Ganon. However, just then, Cassiopia's husband comes and brings their son, Rus, who has been bitten by a Rope Snake when he was trying to escape the Lynels. Desperate, Cassiopia confesses that Rus is beyond her healing powers and that he will not last beyond sundown, but just then Zelda tells her that she will go to the Magic Spring and bring a fairy to cure the boy. Although Cassiopia wants her to go, her husband insists that Zelda go and destroy Ganon instead, for who knows how many other children will die if the Prince of Darkness is not stopped once and for all. Zelda reluctantly sets out for Death Mountain, where she informs Darknut Prime at the entrance that she has not come to fight him, but instead has come to destroy Ganon. Darknut Prime allows her to enter, and a Wizzrobe warns her that if she fails to destroy Ganon, they will kill her.

Zelda eventually finds Ganon defenseless in his throne, and just as she is about to shoot him with the Silver Arrow, she hears a cry for help in another room and cannot help but to go and aid said person instead. Right after Zelda leaves the throne room, Ganon shuts the door, and although she could work her way back in through another way, it would take her hours. The princess makes her way to where the cries were coming from and finds out that Miff is the one in trouble since two Goriyas were fighting to eat her. When Zelda asks Miff why she's in Death Mountain, the fairy explains that she heard Zelda was going to fight Ganon and thought she could use her healing powers. Zelda then explains that she had a clear shot at Ganon but came running when she heard Miff's cries for help. Surprised, Miff claims that she would have gladly faced her own fate if it would have meant Ganon would be destroyed, for her "tiny life" cannot compare to that. This causes Zelda to make up her mind and choose to save Rus's life instead of defeating Ganon, so she makes her way out of Death Mountain despite the fact that Ganon's minions are blocking the exit. When the princess reaches the exit, she defeats a Wizzrobe with her Silver Arrows, and soon all of the villagers from Saria, who had been hiding out in a nearby cliff, begin to help Zelda defeat Ganon's minions.

Back at the town of Saria, Miff easily cures Rus with her powers. Cassiopia's husband thanks Zelda for saving his son's life, worrying that Ganon has won and that he will attack the village again; however, Zelda reassures him that Ganon will only win when an innocent life is sacrificed to fight against him, and even if Ganon's minions were to attack again, the townspeople will be ready. The story ends with the Triforce of Power returning to Ganon, although he comments that today he felt he suffered his greatest defeat.

Bonus 1
Issue five's bonus story is titled Ambrosia Lite. It's a humorous advertisement for a drink called Ambrosia Lite, which appears to be a Calatia special.