Winged Ones - Battle

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I describe Dark Link in many ways, from his canon form of solid shadow with glowing red eyes, to an almost exact copy of Link only everything is few shades darker (it was night when he fooled Malon this way) At times I describe him as shifting between flesh and shadow, and that is what we see here.

I made this for chapter 25, I also added more text to chapter 25 recently to go along witht this image. Below is what I added

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Link was able to match Dark blow for blow, steel clashed as both blade and shield were used for defense admits the barrage of attacks. Dark aimed with a vertical slice but Link met his attack with the edge of his own blade, blocking and then deflecting the dark sword before cutting the shadow's arm.

The hero in green seemed to have the upper hand despite difficulty focusing, too concerned for what his princess and their son must be facing. But as Link fought, his focus became unclouded.
Zelda was in the form of Sheik and in that form she is more than just a mere threat to a foe. And Chirin is no longer a child, the boy has been aging into a fine warrior and can certainly hold his own in a fight.
Their last encounter had ended in failure for the very existence of the three shadow doubles had come as a shock, but this time each knew what to expect, the playing field had been leveled.
Link had to keep faith in his family and focus on his own battle.

The winged one aimed low and cut Dark across the left leg. Link cursed under his breath for the sword had landed shallow, it was not the disabling blow he had set to unleash.

Dark aimed to take a wide swing at the hero forcing Link to turn sharply in order to block the blade. The shadow used this as an opening to strike at the king with a tasteless attack, chucking his shield right at Link's face.

The attack was close range leaving no time to dodge and the winged hero only managed to half turn his head before the projectile made contact. The metal edge of the shield struck the side of his face like a ten pound frisbee.
Damage from the outside could not be seen but Link was met with the taste of blood. The blow had slammed the inside of his cheek against his teeth, cracking molars and tearing flesh apart.
The force of the impact left his ears ringing, head reeling, causing our hero to fumble.

The doppelganger left Link no time to regain his footing and with a swift kick ripped the Hylian shield free, nearly dislocating the hero's arm in the process.
But Link recovered his senses quickly and repaid the favor by in turn also aiming for the face, landing a slash across the shadow's brow as the dark one darted back.

The shadow of Link retreated slightly, creating some distance between them. The evil incarnation grinned widely, his form shifted from flesh to shadow and then back again as he reveled in the excitement of so much blood drawn on both sides.

Link spat the blood that had been pooling in his mouth and took on a defensive stance with his blade, waiting for Dark to make a move. He dared not take his eyes off of the shadow to retrieve his shield, and so now, his blade must play the role of both weapon and protection.

The hero's focus was solely on his own fight, every fiber of his being on edge and ready. Link was in his element, those many years spent fighting his way through temples and dungeons had left him forever ready to face such a fight.

Dark's stance changed slightly, the hero saw this and was fully prepared to meet the shadows attack.
But suddenly every fiber of Link's being frayed as he heard Chirin scream. The sound was sickening, any father's heart would sink upon hearing such a cry of pain from their own child.
The winged hero's focus had been broken, fear gripped his heart, Link lost his edge… and at that moment the shadow attacked.

Dark let out a spin attack.
The blade cloaked by magic tore its way across Link's middle. The blade's bite was shallow but the magic aura around the sword cut right through him, shocking his system and knocking the hero off his feet. The attack sent Link careening backwards as every sensation began to stutter causing his grasp on the sword to fail. The attack left our hero winded and stunned with pain as he hit the ground.


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Line art via pencil and paper, colored by mouse in Corel Painter X (I had ni tablet)
No ref images used! I swear to Din I am not kidding!
(*Is so proud of the poses/layout of this one)

line art

More Winged Ones stuff