Love of Blue eyes – Unbelievable happenings
I ran as soon as something screamed. Alright, I'd admit, it was a bad idea coming to the Market when anything close or in it was far too dangerous and far too close to Ganondorf's castle to be nowhere near safe, but the dream I'd kept having those couple of weeks were driving me mad. And in both repetitiveness and freakiness too. And if what my friend had said was right, it should stop after this. Never actually told him what the dream was about, but I really couldn't. Not much point in it if he was going to stop me and the dreams were going to carry on.
I ran up the stairs and hid behind a hedge, panting from the sprint. What were those things anyway!? The living dead? What were they doing here? It wasn't like the place was filled with magic . . . well, the quickness of crushing the Hyrule castle and replacing with the black one sure as hell seemed like magic, but . . . I hadn't seen much of it — if any at all — these past seven years. I calmed myself and stood, brushing myself off of dirt.
I wondered if what I was doing wasn't stupid. It sure as hell felt like it, since the Hero of Time has supposedly already awakened, making my little escapade worthless and pointless. But I might as well do it, since I was already near the doorstep of the Temple of Time, and I really wasn't in the mood of meeting . . . whatever those things were. By my wild guess they were Redeads, but they only came from stories; why would they end up in real life? I jogged up to the steps leading into the Temple, looking up at Death Mountain in horror. A constant hoop of flames circled around the mountain peak, like some angry dragon protecting its territory. I gulped, surer than sure that the ring of fire hadn't been there when I was living in Kakariko. And it definitely wasn't part of the dream either.
I shivered and turned away, the angry blaze reminding me too much of the fire I had seen at the night of Ganondorf's attack, when the Castle Town and the Castle itself had fallen. It had brought some moblins into Kakariko as well, and we had to fight for our lives that night, the town lit by the blaze and screams of the dieing in the Castle town. That night I had truly believed it was good to be a nephew to a carpenter; you had an arsenal of temporary weapons like saws and planks with nails hammered through them. But our house had fallen with some others, and we were moved down to the southern end of Lake Hylia – which had been increasingly losing water for the last four years – to a refugee camp.
Refugees in your own country. That really sucked.
I entered the Temple of Time, taking deep breaths to get back my normal heart rate. When was the last time I had entered? It was one hell of a long time ago, since, uncle really wasn't the religious types to come all the way to a different town just to pray and hear stories. From the inch thick dust that rested on the floors I saw that the place hadn't been cleaned in a long while as well, since nobody had dared to come for the past two years.
Except me.
I paled slightly at my own thoughts, wondering if I should go back. What if Ganondorf really had magic? What if he could sense an intruder around the castle and the town? Because if he could I was screwed. I'd end up dead with a strike of lightening, and left here to rot with the dust.
I shook my head away from those thoughts and ran towards the alter, where three gems were put into place. Why did they look so familiar? Behind it was another chamber and I ran for it, like it was told to me in the dreams. What happened next in the dream was bleary, and I didn't really remember it, except I had grabbed something like a stick and it had been blue.
I glanced in to find the legend of legends, making my jaw drop to the dirty floor.
The Master Sword!
Were the Goddesses kidding me!? Why was the weapon in plain sight!? And why was the thing right here!? To find something as rare and fabled as the Master Sword, didn't you have to go on some sort of quest? I thought of the excursion I had through the Market place, and shook my head. That surely couldn't count as a quest, since first, it wasn't really some big dungeon, second, I'd run from whatever that had littered the dead and dark streets of the town, and most of all, I was just Link. Not some Hero.
But as soon as I laid eyes on the sword, my dream replayed, making me go in a trance. Jumping over a dreary moat and broken bridge . . . hearing a drained and frightening scream . . . running through an empty grey town . . . seeing a dark castle ahead . . . climbing up a flight of stairs sandwiched by two dry lawns . . . white walls with a dark chamber at the back . . . three gems of river blue, forest green and fiery red . . . grabbing a blue hilt with the emblem of the Triforce . . . yanking it upwards . . . sharp red eyes meeting mine . . .
When it was over I felt dizzy, and I had to grab a wall to steady myself. Red eyes? I didn't remember seeing that in my dream, but I felt sure that I was supposed to give the sword a try. It occurred to me that only the Hero of Time could wield it, but I brushed it off, since the hero was supposed to sleep seven years before actually being able to use it. But then it occurred to me once again, that I may possibly get trapped in some limbo for seven years, but I shook it away. I was not, I said to myself again, not the Hero of Time. Therefore, it was only a harmless observation to try out the hilt. Besides, what kind of teenager like me let the chance to touch a legend slip?
I stood in front of the pedestal and grabbed the hilt, feeling the fabric underneath to be rather familiar. I shook my head. C'mon, Link. The notion of touching the sword before was balderdash! But it still felt familiar. It was as if I'd done this before, except I'd had to reach up to grab, like I had been too small for it. I frowned, licked my lips, and pulled.
It slipped out so easily that I almost stumbled.
Blue light shot up from the pedestal, thin as a thread.
Oh shit. I had a bad feeling I triggered something beyond my control.
The thin thread of light grew thicker and stronger, turning into a post, then into a pillar. As soon as it touched me, it froze me, and it enveloped me like some cloak, suffocating me. The light seemed to grow in strength and soon I was blinded as well as unable to breathe, crushed by the blue glow that had somehow gained weight and pounding my lungs.
Was I being lifted? Because I was sure for a brief second that I wasn't standing, but I wasn't lying on the ground either. And in that brief second things bashed into me, intangible but still forceful, like a wind in a storm, except it was more of an internal – heck, maybe even a spiritual – thing. Anyway, it hurt and didn't hurt at the same time; ultimately it just wasn't fun. When it was finished I was flung onto the ground, and I groaned, shaking my head.
When I clutched it I was wearing a hat.
. . . Huh?
Wow wait, where had that come from? I pulled it off of my head and examined it, finding it familiar again. What was it with the senses of repeating myself? It had to be the dream; it had to. But this sure didn't come out in it. If it had and I didn't remember, surely, I'd lost my mind. There was no other explanation. Besides, it made the most sense. How could I be sane after all these hallucinations? Either way, the long coned, forest green hat was something that I hadn't worn before, and so it was proof that I was going insane.
"Link. Welcome."
That sagely old voice was another proof that I'd lost my mind, too.
Wow wait, an old man? What was a defenceless guy like him doing in the Temple of Time, which happened to be next to a destroyed Castle Town? Which, my mind reminded me, was the very same thing I had decided to enter. I ignored my own thoughts and stood, finding myself in a completely different room from before.
The white walls were gone, replaced with darkness, and the occasional mass of glittery blue, floating in the blackness like tapestries showing the crystallized or the liquefied versions of a clear, cloudless sky. The floors . . . I stumbled backwards in fright when I saw that I was on a blue pillar – leading from the forever going blackness, if I may add – with a bright yellow Triforce emblazoned in the middle, with me in the empty white centre. Other pillars rose in six directions, with different colours of the rainbow and strange symbols scored into the jewel like platforms. This had to be a dream. It just had to be.
"Your time has come; your presence in the Chamber of Sages will be honoured forever."
I snapped up my gaze to meet the old man's, who I had temporarily forgotten the existence of. He looked as if he was a priest or the vicar of the Temple with his elaborate brown robe, and his shaved head. His beard probably emphasized his rank or wisdom, and I found myself nodding to him to acknowledge his presence. He was shorter than me, and was on the chubby side, giving him a fatherly air. The next he said made me choke.
"Many have waited for you, Hero of Time."
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The sky blue light faded, and I was back in the Temple of Time, much to my relief. But the reality of what Rauru had told me weighed down on me as I examined my attire, which was familiar, and now I knew the reason why. It looked just like the tunic I had worn in Kokiri forest. Even the hat was the same; except it was longer, and was sturdier, and it stuck to my head like glue (in a comfortable way, if such a thing was possible). I remembered everything then. I remembered the years I'd spent in the forest, the months when Navi had come to me, the weeks I'd spent wondering around the field with her, the days when I'd fought in the Deku tree, the Dodongos Cavern, and in Lord Jabu-jabu. I remembered having nightmares about Ganondorf, about Zelda's escape on her white horse, in the stormy night.
No wonder I had had an uncanny dislike for storms.
The thong sandals I had run in all the way from Lake Hylia were replaced with knee high leather boots, brown trousers replaced with white leggings. The red baggy shirt was replaced with a forest green tunic that matched my hat, and a white undershirt which I had been wearing all along. It was comfortable, and probably sturdy for a good fight, but I wondered. Where was the armour? How did they expect me to fight monsters and such unscathed? When I was a kid, I had opted for dodging more than hitting, and Navi had had to give me advice on when to attack, since every time I had done it without her consent, I had been tackled at. I'd thanked the goddesses none of the creatures I had fought had sharp teeth; I would've been dead if they had. I sighed and shook my head. I had to hope again that none of the things I had to fight had sharp teeth.
I looked around and noted the signs on the floors, which were identical to the coloured pillars I'd seen in the real Chamber of sages. I did a 'hmm' and turned away, imagining Navi insisting that we should go. What would be my response? I'd tell her we didn't know where to go.
The instinct I had trusted my life on all those years ago seemed as if it had come back with all the memories, and I swung my blade at the person behind me, who was sitting on the Sword's pedestal.
"There's no need to panic. I'm a friend." The first thing I noticed was his red eyes, the very same I'd seen in the vision when I'd seen the Master Sword for the first time that day. I cocked an eyebrow. I was going to need to keep my guard up if I knew I was the Hero of Time now.
"Do I know you?"
"No, but I know you."
I frowned. "Why would a guy like you know me?" since, this is the first time I saw him, and he wasn't in my just-found memories. He rolled his eyes. Well, the one I could see anyway, since his right one was covered by his fringe.
"Well you are the Hero of Time everybody's been waiting for."
I twitched. I just found that out a second ago and he already knows? "My name's Sheik, and as you've probably guessed, I'm Sheikah." He continued, pointing towards the emblem on his chest and his eye, "I'm not the last, although you don't see many in Hyrule. I'm here to help you out on finding out who're the sages. The question is, do you need it?"
I didn't need to consider, since I was desperate for it, but could I trust him? If I was right, Sheikah were sworn to protect the Royal family, but . . . "What if I did?"
Like I said. I was desperate.
"Then I come with you. Since I am already packed." He brought out a sack full of things, which impressed me. He sure was enthusiastic about this . . .
"So where are the Temples anyway?" I asked him as I sheathed my sword, watching him as he came near me. I couldn't risk getting stabbed, now could I? He scratched his forehead under his fringe, as if trying to remember. We were automatically strolling out of the temple as he recited the places of the next temples.
"One in a forest,"
"Kokiri." I decided, since no other place was big or magical enough to hold a temple,
"One in a mountain,"
"Death." It had to be. Why else was it in a state that it clearly said that it was in shambles?
"One under a lake,"
"Hylia." Well, that was the only Lake in the country.
"One in the house of the dead,"
"Kakariko." Firstly, it was the village the Sheikah built, and it was the only place old enough to hold a Temple. And it had the biggest grave yard in the country as well.
"And one in the Goddess of the Sand . . . ?" I noticed Sheik looked slightly bewildered, and decided he didn't remember much. Damn. He was my ticket and even he was unreliable!
". . . I don't know where that one is." I confided, since I didn't even know there was sand in Hyrule. But before I could think about where it could be, I noticed we were already out of the building, and Sheik was wincing his blood red eye at the sight before him. I looked at what he found so displeasing and I hissed in air.
"It looks worse from up here." Honestly. The state of the Market just wasn't pretty. Instinct shouted at me again and I looked at the Sheikah, who was staring at me. I scowled. What was he up to?
"What are you staring at?" I asked him, making a brow lower onto his red eye. He was glaring now.
"You." he said, "How'd you know the town was decimated? At this level?"
I rolled my eyes, not getting why he was so surprised. "Well I had to go through there to get here now didn't I? If it's the seven year sleep thing the prophecies are talking about, that's bull. The longest I've slept for the last two years is seven hours. I think the people who wrote the prophecies got that bit wrong."
He blinked and looked away, a calculating glint in his eye. He snapped his gaze back at me, glaring again. I cringed. I was going to have to get used to his eye. "What now?"
"What time did you grab that Master Sword? The date; the year. Give it to me."
It didn't occur to me why he would want that, but the glare he was giving me didn't give me much choice. "I don't know, somewhere in between twelve and one?" another glare and the date and year was out of me faster than a whip.
He held his elbows and looked down at the ground, probably thinking about something. Did he honestly believe that I was lying? What was the point in that anyway? And what was so wrong about the prophecies not being true? Sleeping seven years would suck, and I just wouldn't want to live with that. He looked up again, watching me in an unsettling manner. "Why did you even come to the Temple in the first place? Nobody would even dare to come near the gates if they had the choice."
I looked away, wondering whether to tell a good lie or the truth. "Dreams." I decided I'd spill. What was the point in lying anyway? "They've been haunting me for the past month or so. I heard from my friend that he had this reoccurring dream, and when he did the things as it happened in the dream, it didn't haunt him anymore. And since my dream was always about me, coming here, taking the Master Sword in my hand . . . I tried it out." I gestured towards my attire, slightly grimacing. "I didn't expect this to happen, I assure you."
He nodded and looked away to think again. Was I that interesting? Yeah sure, a green tunic you don't see often, not to mention the Master Sword but . . . why did the Hero of Time have to be me?
I noticed Sheik's posture had changed, and he looked rather pleased with himself. "So she isn't such a ruthless bitch after all."
Okay . . . sudden burst of bad language? Not cool. And who was 'she'?
I hit him on the head, making him yelp. He held the place where I had slapped, glaring at me. "What the hell was that for!?"
I hit him again, scowling. "For your bad language. As far as I'm concerned, there will be no swearing, cussing, cursing or insulting comments unless it's necessary. And as far as I could see, there was no need for it."
He grumbled as I walked away, and when I looked back, he seemed much younger. Like a kid that sulked just because he couldn't get his favourite candy or something. Either way, it was funny, so I rolled my eyes and waved him away, like I'd do to any of the kids in the refugee camp.
He glared me, and I grinned. I had a feeling I was going to like this guy. "So where do we go first?" I asked, walking down the temple steps on my own, "Death Mountain's closest?"
He joined me at a leap, and we were both at the base of the stairs. "No, we have to go in sequence, I'm afraid. We go to the Forest Temple. Your friend is to be a sage."
Alright. He had to be crazy. Alan being a sage? The guy couldn't even do proper equations, let alone philosophy! He cocked an eyebrow. "You live in the forest, don't you?"
A stab went through me, but I refused to show it. My past was my past and I intended to keep it that way. I shook my head. "I'd been evacuated to the southern end of Lake Hylia since Ganondorf's first attack. And before that I lived in Kakariko. And . . ."
"Before that you lived in the forest." he finished, crossing his arms. "You had a friend there? One that seemed sage like?"
I thought for a moment, remembering the people in the Kokiri village. Immediately green hair and blue eyes with a yellow light swirling around met me, and glanced down at Sheik, making him frown. "Could you stop that?"
Guess he knew what I was thinking; that he was utterly crazy. I looked away and thought the possibility over, asking, "Are you saying that Saria is a sage?"
He rolled his eyes. "Is she your friend?"
Well, was. Once I had tried to go back to the Kokiri despite the loss of my fairy, despite I'd known I was a Hylian. I'd come out of the forest a day later, frightened out of my mind and wondering why I had entered the forest in the first place. The Kokiri had sealed me off; but had Saria gone against it? I hoped so. "Yes."
I hoped what I had said was true.
"Any other friends that are sagely?" he asked again, and shook my head.
"No." She was the only friend I had in that village anyway.
"And you have no other suggestion outside your loop of friends that are sagely?"
An ugly face of a ten year-old met my minds eye. I shivered. Why did Mido have to appear, of all people?
" . . . No."
He shrugged. "It's probably her then."
The simplicity of his mind worried me.
When we were near the Market I played the Sun's song, which had come back with the memories. I remembered Zelda's lullaby, I remembered Saria's song. I remembered Epona's tune, as well. So many memories locked away because of some greater power and returned again, and I wondered whether I should be happy or not. These memories were painful; some things were best forgotten. When I finished this particular quest, will my memories be taken away again? I didn't know.
Didn't want to know, either.
