The Legend of Zelda: The Immortal Orchestra
Chapter One: The Instruments of the Goddesses
Disclaimer: If I owned The Legend of Zelda, I'd be in Tokyo, I'd be Japanese and my boss would be Shigeru Miyamoto. We can dream, though, can't we?
Author's notes: This story is set after the end of Wind Waker, but I'm not sure where Vaati comes into the timeline, so I just included him after Wind Waker as well.
"Link! L-iiiiiii-nk! I've some interesting gossip for you!" said Zelda, her voice ringing through the halls of her palace.
Link groaned, barely awake. Couldn't a hero get some rest? It seemed as if Hyrule couldn't get someone else to his job. Ganondorf this, Ganon that, and 'Oh help, it's Vaati!'. Seriously, Link needed help with this hero business, but he didn't know that yet. No one can save a kingdom by themselves every single time it got into trouble.
" What is it, Tetra?" asked Link exasperatedly.
" It's Zelda now. There's this mysterious stranger looking for you! He's got some important news he says that nobody else but you should hear. Nobody really knows who he is, but I hear he is a well-trained master in combat. I think he might be looking to teach you some secret skills and sword mastery!"
" Listen. I know all I need to, all right? Orca taught me everything he knew, and that's all there is to it." said Link.
" What, the way you spin around with a sword, not knowing which way you're going, and ending up nauseous at the end?" replied Zelda, with a disbelieving look on her face.
" You've got a point… But Orca said I was a master swordsman anyway. I can't get much better than defeating Ganondorf and Vaati, can I? "
" You might as well meet him, Link. After all, you do need a hobby." pointed out Zelda.
" I've got one! I like playing with the Wind Waker, you know, making up songs to play on the Ocarina of Time. I can play every one of the songs that my grandma taught me. Here, I'll play you one right now," interrupted Link, taking the Ocarina of Time (his grandma's keepsake) out from under his pointed hat.
Link reminded himself of the song's notes, going over them in his head a few times to make sure they were right, then played Zelda's Lullaby perfectly, a short but sweet melody that made Link feel proud. When he stopped, however, he found Zelda on the floor sleeping peacefully. A picture of benevolence, Zelda mumbled something in her sleep, turned over, and started sucking her thumb.
" Aww. Cute," whispered Link. " Well, I might as well meet this stranger. Nothing as bad as Ganon can come out of it." said Link to himself. Link was right in a sense. Nothing as bad as Ganon did come out of it. What came out was much, much worse.
The palace guard was leaning against the massive oak doors of the palace, whistling to himself, when a strong wind blew a large amount of dust, dirt and sand into his eyes. The frustrated guard rubbed his eyes, and in the time it took for him to bend over against the wind and clear his eyes, the stranger had arrived.
He was clothed in a jet-black robe, with a mark of the Triforce on his torso. His hair was a brilliant pearly white, but his eyes…His eyes burned with the flames of war and death. The startling red amongst the white, along with the black robe, meant that this stranger was almost certainly a foreigner, but surprisingly, an almost familiar one. He carried a bandoleer around his shoulders, which held a silver beater for…his gong. Whoever saw the stranger knew that the gong was his spirit, similar to Link and his Ocarina of Time.
The stranger waited calmly for the guard to recover, who in turn noticed the stranger standing by the door.
" Who are you?" asked the guard curiously but dutifully through squinting eyes.
" I am…a swordmaster of sorts, but politically, no one you need concern yourself with. I am here to meet the Hero of Time, the Hyrulian called Link, and if possible I would like to meet Queen Hyrule," replied the stranger solemnly.
" We don't have a Queen Hyrule, but I think the great Hero of Time may be able to meet you. I'll send for him right away, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait out here." said the guard, who disappeared through a secret door that was concealed by stone coloured paint and covering, which the stranger could hear being bolted.
" No Queen? Hmm…I may have to rethink my plan. It won't work without royal blood…did she drown with the King?" muttered the stranger to himself. " The Immortal Orchestra cannot be complete, but I suppose I can get the fool of a hero to gather the remaining Instruments of the Goddesses. However, I'll need something that he'd give anything for to get him to obey my wishes…What should I do?"
The stranger knelt down and prepared to meditate, to think of the brilliant plan he desperately needed. He took the gong off from the bandoleer, took the silver beater, and with a gentle tap began his meditation.
As Link slid down the stair bannister (a favourite pastime of his), he paused at the foot of the stairs and took up his Mirror Shield, which he was careful enough not point at anyone's eyes, and his Hero's Sword, thinking that he might as well make a good first impression. When he opened the great wooden doors, he could see…no one. There was no one standing at the door to meet Link. That was, until Link could hear a peculiar humming sound. Searching for the source, Link spotted the stranger, sitting on the floor next to a golden gong with a silver beater, humming. Not knowing what to do, Link stood there hoping that the stranger would wake up from his trance soon.
" You came…" whispered the stranger, but Link barely caught it.
" Pardon?" asked Link.
" You came…and I know now what to do…To the Holy Stage!" replied the stranger, quickly grabbing the silver beater and hitting the gong.
The gong reverberated, and made several different ringing and jingling sounds, that Link realised were being made by a set of bells hanging down from the top of the gong's frame, just touching the gong. Link also realised that there was power in the notes being played by the gong and bells. Link didn't have time to think of anything else, as he was gob-smacked to see Princess Zelda's castle disappear before his eyes, along with the rest of the Hyrule.
Link found himself on a glowing white stage, with the stranger standing right in front of him.
" Who are you?" asked Link urgently.
" I am Diego Ferago Bjorgen Gonavolo. But most creatures of this earth, such as humans, Hyrulians and even monsters, know me as Zephyrian the Sword Sorcerer. You, my friend, the Hero of Time, will help me gather the Instruments of the Goddesses."