There are some works in Hyrule's ancient library that are said to have come from other worlds.

Besides the Book of Mudora and countless scripts written in a tongue few can still decipher, there is one set of documents in particular that one can differentiate at a glance. The paper upon which silver writing is scrawled is as black as charcoal, a sharp contrast to the gentle yellowed scrolls surrounding. Some claim they were written by an unrestrained malice, one so evil that it was too great for the land of Hyrule. A few scholars have labeled the tale it contains 'propaganda' for brainwashing an unwary generation, but those who take the time to read it have come to find that it seems a sincere and rueful recounting of a tale that never made its way into the official history books.

Perhaps, then, it's just fiction. There is, as of yet, no evidence to prove the reality behind this tale. But for those who are curious, it begins as such:

"The Sheikah are a proud race, but we never forget the past. And when this story began, our people had already suffered at the hands of hatred and greed. We were healing, but the old among us still knew that Hyrule was responsible for our pain… Still, all was forgiven so that our people could live at peace, as we had before. Though Hylians and Sheikah both tottered on the brink of doubt, things were better.

"Sometimes it seems like every event spun out of control, and I know, if any of us had the chance to go back, we might have done things differently. But we can never change the flow of time.

"Please, listen well. There are things I want to tell only to you."


It was amusing to pass straight from the crisp spring air of Castle Town into the stuffy, dust-drowned interior of the Official Hyrulian Library. Nokune poked her way through the double doors, almost coughing. Sunlight through the customized window above the door painted a slightly crooked symbol of the Triforce onto the smooth stone floor, and within the massive, arching room, two voices ricocheted off the walls—a contrast to the otherwise heavy silence, despite the number of people the building contained.

"Absolutely not!"

"Aska, I swear I'll be gentle. I only need it for a minute. Then I'll write down what I want and be out of your hair."

Ironically, the louder of the two voices belonged to the operator of the establishment. Aska pushed her spectacles higher on the bridge of her nose with a frown deep enough for two faces. She hugged a thick, bright green volume tight to her chest. She was an icy woman, proper and strict, incapable of loving anything half as much as her books. The woman's pale blond hair was tied in a stiff braid with a red ribbon, the only splash of opposing color to her otherwise sunshine-yellow ensemble. She sniffed and held up the book for a minute, displaying it sarcastically. "This is the Book of Mudora. It is the most powerful book of spells in all of Hyrule. I will not just pass it out to any amateur magician who asks to borrow it."

The man she was arguing with was Nokune's uncle, Okuin. He was tall and thin for a Shiekah, with very dark, almost black skin. His pallid hair was secured in a low pony tail that fell nearly to his waist. "Come on," he pleaded.

Nokune slipped up next to her uncle, smirking. This wasn't the first time such an argument had taken place. Aska and Okuin did not get along.

He didn't seem to notice the newcomer at first, which Nokune took as a compliment to her stealth skills. "You can trust me," the man continued. "I'm a sage, too, you know."

And he was. But while Aska was the knowledgeable Sage of Light, Okuin was her polar opposite: a young and still-in-training Sage of Shadow. The librarian gave him a look that told him his position had little to do with their argument.

Okuin folded his hands. "…Pleeeeease?"

With a sigh, Aska finally handed him the massive tome. He could hardly disguise his eagerness, but he took the book with respect, opening it immediately. Nokune leaned around his shoulder, and he glanced over and gave her a wide smile.

"Oh, hey, it's my favorite niece! Where have you been all day?" he asked brightly. Aska drew herself up as though she were about to burst, and Okuin cut himself off as he noticed her impatience. "Hold that thought."

He laid a strip of parchment over one page and copied something down lightly with a thin charcoal stick. Then he removed his notes and handed the Book of Mudora back to the woman. "Thank you," he said politely.

Aska huffed, possibly disappointed that he hadn't done anything to warrant a scolding. Hugging the book under one arm, she turned on her heel and flounced away, the lacy edge of her dress swishing against the stone floor.

Poking her uncle, Nokune now answered his earlier question. "I've been out around the castle. It's my day off, but the weather's nice. What was all that about? Must be pretty important if it's worth dealing with Aska."

Okuin began wandering in the direction of his personal study, which opened into the library, for convenience's sake. He kept his eyes glued mainly to the scrap of paper, trying to memorize the text on it, which was clearly written in a different language. "It's the oddest thing. This scroll arrived for me today from the Gerudo Desert. Apparently someone from there thought it might interest me, but I don't think they would have sent it if they'd known what it was. It's some kind of spell, I think it's meant for summoning some…kind of…tool."

"Sounds very general," Nokune muttered.

"Eh-heh, it's hard to explain. I think I need to do a little more research on the Sacred Realm to understand it fully…but from what I can tell, it's meant to be a weapon that can 'pierce the heavens'."

"That's a little creepier, actually."

Okuin's mind was working along different lines. His long hair bounced as his head shot up. "Ooh, I know. Let's just try it out a see!"

"Huh? Uwahh—!" Nokune struggled to keep up as Okuin looped his arm around hers and charged off. They took the steps down to his cellar-based study—really more of a messy laboratory—two at a time until Okuin let go of her and bent for a moment to catch his breath. She thought to put her hand on his shoulder, but before she could ask how he was doing, he'd pulled ahead. He grabbed miscellaneous objects and set up a stool for her to observe as piles of Nayru-knew-what gradually accumulated on his desk. In the end, he lit several candles to illuminate what looked like patterns traced into the dust and small rocks dumped out on the table top. Then he slid open a scroll, tacking on the new notes, and began to read out the spell.

Nokune slipped onto the seat without taking her eyes away from the scene. She was highly interested by now. Most Hylians would question why a Shiekah girl of only sixteen years would rather sit on a bench in a musty lab and listen to someone muttering in gibberish than hang out with friends her own age in the sunlight, but Nokune had always been like that. Okuin was more like a big brother than an uncle. She was fiercely loyal to him, despite the fact that she could pin him in a fight any day. Their similar circumstances united them: Okuin had lost his closest relatives in the same house fire that had orphaned Nokune. They took care of each other. He cheered her on during her harsh military regimen, and she enjoyed watching him train in magic.

The spell was long. Okuin nearly broke his concentration when the edge of the old paper sliced a nick into his finger. He hissed the remainder of the words out, waving the wounded finger through the air indignantly, and the candles dimmed for a moment when he stopped. The stones on the table exploded, like balloons popping, and what remained of them hung in the air for a second before shooting past Okuin. He flinched, but none of them touched him as they passed.

The sage put the scroll down. "Hm. Nothing happened." He'd scarcely finished speaking before his hair rippled spasmodically and proceeded to braid itself into an even plait.

Nokune nearly fell off the stool. "Your hair!" She pointed, grinning.

He glanced at her, then spun around until the braid flopped over his shadow. There, fastening the bottom, sat an odd, black metal clip, box-like and decorated in meaningless runes. Okuin's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "That's all it does? …Well. That's just stupid."

His bony shoulders slumped over the odd creation as he bit his lip in disappointment. Nokune though back to his argument with Aska. If he'd gotten her to agree, he must have been wearing her down for hours. And for what?

A second thought occurred to her, and she slid off her perch to comfort her disillusioned uncle. "I doubt you'd need a spell from the Book of Mudora just to tie your own hair back. Come on, we'll do some more research, together this time. You might have missed something all alone."

"I guess so." He pulled the curtains open on the high, ground-level window that fed light into his underground study. "Well, if you're going to help me, you might want to get comfortable."

"Righto. Just tell me what I'm looking for!"


"Yes…as nonsensical and innocent as it seems, that's how it began…"