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Lanayru's warning

Link came to with a start, his eyes wide opened. It was like waking up from a horrible nightmare. The wave of terror and at the same time of relief that attacked him was so intense that he thought he was going to faint; he fell to his knees, gasping for breath, almost choking with each sharp intake of air.

The Light Spirit spoke again. His voice was like an echo in the deep cave, but to him it seemed to come from far away.

The Dark Power that you seek is within the sleeping Lakebed Temple in Lake Hylia…

Link closed his eyes tightly and shook his head, still so overwhelmed by what he had seen and felt that he only uttered a gasp in the midst of his heavy breathing. The Spirit's voice faded away and everything remained in silence, except for the continuous flowing of the spring water.

With his body still trembling, Link stood up; he felt a slight nausea, but it dissipated quickly. When he was sure that his legs won't fail him, he took a few steps. His blue eyes were fixed for a few moments in the deep waters of the cave. The words of Lanayru, the spirit that dwelt in them, still rang in his head.

Never forget that...

Link turned towards the exit, without looking back.

The sunlight blinded him for a moment when he left the cave, highlighting a golden gleaming in his honey-colored hair. The warm sunshine reflected off the surface of the lake, in the pure and clear water. The sky was deep blue. There was no trace of the orange-colored dusk that had covered the whole region with purple clouds, blurred like ink stains. Like the regions of Faron and Eldin, he had managed to bring light back to those lands.

He breathed deeply, and fresh air made him feel a bit better, easing his dizzy head. He went down the wooden ramp that connected the spring of the spirit with the lake, watching from the rail all that laid around him. He saw the flamboyant owner of the fun park, watching the water with the same bored expression that when he first saw him from the Twilight realmdomain of the shadows. Two Zora soldiers, slender aquatic creatures with human shape, were still looking for something near the lake. Fish swam near the shore, their scales gleaming in the sunlight like silver.

Everything was well.

He put his shield and sword aside, and with a deep sigh, he fell on the grass growing on the shore of lake, moist and fragrant. How had he got into that dangerous adventure? He, a simple farmer whose only concern was to put the goats in their dens before sunset ...

Only a few days had passed, but they seemed years. In the name of Ordon, his village, he was about to embark on a journey to Hyrule Castle to deliver a gift to the royal family, when some monstrous creatures took his friend Ilia and the children. When he went after them, a strange monster took him in a place where the sun never set, transforming him into a wolf as well. He had woken up in a cell, where a strange imp called Midna took him before Princess Zelda. Now, this creature accompanied him everywhere, and after helping to restore the Light Spirits, she asked him to help her saving the world seeking for the Fused Shadow, a strange, ragged armor that hid the most extraordinary and malignant power never imagined ...

For he was the Hero chosen by the Goddesses, the hero who had to free the world from the threat of darkness.

Sitting down, he took off the glove on his left hand, staring at the back. He had a curious mark, shaped like three triangles arranged so that together they created another. For him it had always been a simple birthmark -Talo, one of the children of the village, had told him that the goat herder had a goat-shaped one in an not very visible area of his body; for sure, he was joking-, but it had proved to be the mark with which the goddesses appointed their Chosen ones. Princess Zelda herself had shown him hers, and he had seen it through his wolf eyes. He, a simple farmer who had not yet come out of age, and the sovereign of Hyrule, appointed by the same fate ...

A shrill voice brought him out of his thoughts. It was Midna. Among the black shadows where he was hiding only a deep, scarlet eye was visible. He recalled his own dark image, distorted by evil in the vision of the Spirit, and he felt a chill. He looked away.

"What?" Midna urged "Worried, hero? Why? Not only the children of your village, but your friend is safe too, you saw her this morning, didn't you? Well, this morning or whenever it was, in the Twilight is difficult to know what time it is, it's always the same ..." she winked an eye. "Hey, I think it's better that we spend the night here and go to Town Castle early in the morning. You are behaving weirdly, probably due to exhasution. I don't want you to have a fit or something while we look for the last piece of Fused Shadow, you know? I depend entirely upon yourself, "hero", so you better get over this soon"

"Thank you, Midna. I appreciate you're so concerned about my health" said the boy sarcastically, putting his glove again. He could not help but thinking that creature of the shadows was only using him. It was probably true ... But no matter what, they were stuck together on that quest.

He realized that he was very thirsty and reached down to the lake for drinking, making a bowl with his hands. He used them to wash his face, but it was not enough; after all the cold when the region was covered by the shadows, now it was impossible to resist to those sun-drenched waters ...

The young hylian went to a more hidden place, took off his clothes and jumped into the water. The first iced contact left him breathless, then it turned into something delicious and he laughed, delighted, letting the water not only clean his body but his mind, drowning his thoughts.

In the vastness of the lake, somewhere beneath his feet, it was hidden the dark power he sought. His body temperature was already acclimatized to the water's, but Link shuddered at this thought.

Before embarking on the search, Midna had given him the opportunity to choose. If he had knew then what he was going to be exposed to... But now he couldn't stop. For the kingdom. For his people. For his friends. For Ilia ... The shadows would cover it all sooner or later, and only he could prevent them to spread around the world.
It was his fate; a fate that, somehow, he had always known ...

"Link!"

Startled, the young boy sat with a splash and covered his chest as if by reflex, in a somewhat ridiculous manner. Midna's voice was mocking.
"Don't worry, I'm not looking. There is nothing that interests me in a human bathing. Is just that you reminded me something with all your splash and water... Remember, boy; tomorrow, when you've caught up with your girl friend, don't forget about the child"

Link hadn't. When, in his wolf form, he had seen Ilia in a tavern of the town castle, she was very worried about a Zora child lying unconscious besides her. He had proved to be the Prince, and his mother, who was killed, came to him to ask for help when he was in the throne room.

"Remember" Midna insisted "that her mother has promised a way to move in the lake as a fish in his element... Heh, heh, pun intended. Human race... if you're that powerful... why haven't you learned to breathe underwater?"

"I will not forget it... " Link sighed, rolling his eyes. "Hey ... Now ... Please, don't talk while I leave water, okay? ... I know you're not watching, but I feel ... uncomfortable"

Midna snorted. After some time in silence, Link ventured out of the water; the contact of the air against his wet skin made him shiver with cold and he rushed for his clothes, giving a snort.

The lake became tinged with orange at sundown, but this time, after twilight, the night would appear, followed by a new day. Accustomed to the modesty of its people, Link felt lost in the immensity around him. When they were younger, Rusl always told him and Ilia that over a thousand years ago, the entire region was a vast desert. Seeing it now with his own eyes, he hardly could believe it. Moreover, it still remained a great part of the region to be seen, extending westward as far as the eye could see...

After finding some wood, he lit a fire with the lantern he carried. His stomach rumbled with hunger. When he could catch a fish using the fishing rod Colin gave him, the sky was dark. It was small, but better that nothing; after roasting it at the stake he could soothe his stomach a bit. Anyway, he realized he wasn't very hungry; the words of Lanayru were still spinning in his head.

Beware ... Those who do not know the danger of wielding power, will, before long, be ruled by it ... Never forget that ...

Somehow, the Spirit of Light had used his own mind to create that illusion, and so he had seen what he saw: himself and Ilia, dominated by the lust of ambition. It had been a warning, just a warning about the power that he was about to get in his hands ... Still, his own dreamy image killing Ilia and the blood dripping from the sword still made his heart shrank. In part, he had done it ... The overwhelming feeling of triumph and pleasure he felt when he came to was not an illusion, it was his ... He felt a shudder and fanned the flames a little, as if with fire he would be able to ease the strange chill that had suddenly seized him.

Sleep began to weigh on his eyelids as he watched the fire, lost in thought. To go to Castle Town without his mare, Epona, safe in the fields, would mean a huge effort; he needed to sleep well to be refreshed. The blanket was with his mare, with the rest of his belongings, but under the ledge where he was the night breeze would not reach him. Using his hat as a pillow, he laid on the grass, and after a while he fell into a deep sleep.

The next thing he saw was the dark, black and thick like ink.

He saw the knife, but he was faster. He would not let her take it away from him. Blood spurted instantly, splashing. He smiled like insane at the blood dying his hands, his clothing, dripping on the floor from the edge of his sword. He wanted it to himself, it would not belong to anyone else ... Life was just the small price that others had to pay in exchange for the absolute, majestic power ... An unimaginable power ...

But someone else was willing to stop him. The laughter of that evil drench that looked like him sounded like an echo, echoing in every corner of his mind before he vaporized him as if he were just dust in the wind...

Link awoke in the darkness, stifling a scream in his throat. He waited for a moment that Midna would ask what the hell had happened, but he only could hear his own breathing, shaken by fear, and his pulse thumping frantically in his ears. Luckily, he hadn't screamed.

He lay on his back with a deep sigh and tried to normalize his breathing. He raised a shaking hand to wipe the sweat that was soaking his face, cold and sticky. In the darkness of his closed eyes, he still could see the scarlet glow of the blood his own sword had shed... He opened his eyes and saw that it was the glow of the bonfire, which was almost off.

With a shudder, turned on its side, hugging his body; he felt his rapid heartbeat still echoing in his ears. As much as the goddesses had decided it, he wasn't sure if he would find that courage which with he had been granted. He raised slightly his hand, still trembling, before his eyes, looking at the mark of the Chosen ... a power by which humans had been, and probably still were, able to kill. And he had it, without ever wanting it...

"Link, don't say nonsense, it was a dream" he muttered, angry with himself. "It was just a damn dream"

Why was he so worried? There was nothing he wanted in the evil power that Midna needed, the same who had caused the disappearance of its creators, centuries ago. But, for a single moment, a part of him had wanted it...

He closed his eyes tightly. It was a dream, he said, just a dream. And that illusion was only a warning. Just a warning ...

With these words repeating in his mind, he noticed that the absurd fear started to dissapear. It was not longer until he fell asleep again, this time with no nightmares disturbing his rest.