Courage

Farore sat, bored, in the Maku Tree in Labrynna. Nobody visited her after Link had left. Nayru was still busy making sure everything was all right with the timestream, and Din kept visiting Subrosia to make sure the Temple of Seasons was completely cleansed of Onox. Apparently there was no way to raise a thousand-ton temple after it sunk.

Today, though, was different. The three Oracles would get to see each other after a long time. Din's circus troupe was touring in Labrynna, and Nayru was going to perform with her. Farore would be relieved of her boredom in a few short hours. Nothing could ruin the day.

And yet…

Something was off today. Something didn't feel right in Farore's chambers. The books were askew on the shelf, no longer arranged in the neat alphabetical order she always had them in. The papers on her desk were rumpled, a few drops of ink splattered upon the wood surface. Her quill wasn't in the same place she'd left it in, and the feathers on it were ruffled.

It's probably nothing, Farore told herself. She flipped through her Treasure- the Tome of Secrets that held Hyrule's greatest legends, secrets, and spells. It was a thick, old-looking, leather-bound book embossed with the Crest of Courage- Farore's goddess counterpart's symbol.

"Feeling alone?" a voice said from the entrance, startling her. Farore looked up; it was Impa. The large, Goron-like woman filled the doorway. Unlike most other days, where her face was taken up by a large smile, it was grim. "You'd better come to town," she said. "Something strange is going on."

"So it isn't just me," Farore said, slipping the Tome in her book bag. "My rooms aren't how they should be. Someone or something was looking through my stuff."

"That's nothing," Impa replied. "Wait till you hear the latest gossip."

Wisdom

Nayru carefully strummed the strings of the Harp before putting down the tuner. The Harp of Ages, a pretty red-blue harp with green leaves at the top, had seemed a bit out of tune. The Strings of Time had been a little loose. Now they were tighter. Inked on either side into the delicate wood of the Harp was the symbol of Nayru's counterpart goddess, the Crest of Wisdom.

She strummed it experimentally. The room rippled around her as she dove partway into the timestream, straightening out when she stopped.

Nayru frowned. Something was off. There was something different in the timestream that wasn't supposed to be there. She didn't like it, whatever it was. A premonition came onto her, fading into near nonexistence quickly, but it was still there.

Nayru stood and grabbed some magic powder she'd gained from Syrup the witch. She sprinkled it into a boiling pot of water over the fire. The steam rising formed a picture; too dark to see nothing but the faint outlines. The outlines did not look familiar. "Tsk," Nayru murmured. She swiped a hand through the smoke, and the image dissolved.

Nayru grabbed the Harp of Ages. She was going to go to the town a little early in hopes of seeing Din before the show. Perhaps Farore had the same idea, she thought with not a little excitement. She hadn't meant to be so busy, but there were several small tweaks in the timestream that she had needed to fix. She hadn't seen her fellow Oracles in a long time, she reflected as she walked out of her house and down the path of the town.

Power

Din walked into the crew tent behind the curtain. "Impa, I'm hungry," she moaned. "I need strength to dance, you know."

She stopped. Impa wasn't in the tent, crouched over a pot or pan or whatever she was cooking. Strange. Din shrugged and walked out. Just behind the curtain, the rest of the troupe was sharing bread and fruit.

Din swiped an apple from the tray and bit into it. The sweet taste of the fruit filled her mouth. It tasted more like Summer than Autumn, when it was harvested. Spring always tasted spicy, like a good curry made from the best ingredients. Summer was sweet and juicy, just like the apple Din was eating. Autumn usually tasted dry but tasty, like pumpkin seeds. Winter was succulent, like a fat steak from a healthy cow.

Din opened her small chest of belongings. It seemed to contain changes of clothes, hair ribbons, and a book or two. Din pushed up on the lid, which was a false top. The Rod of Seasons dropped into the chest. She picked it up and ran her fingers over it, feeling the carved Crest of Power on the top. The white wood also had the four signs of the Seasons on the knob at the top.

Din delicately placed the Rod back in the secret compartment. As she thought: there was discord among the Seasons. She would have to visit the temple after the show through one of the hidden warps in Labrynna.

"Din! There you are!" the Ringmaster said breathlessly. "The show's about to start!"

"Sorry, Ringmaster," Din said cheerfully. "I'm coming." Din, the dancing girl, was the highlight of the entire troupe. It was because of her that the troupe was even touring.

"Din?" the Ringmaster's son said tentatively. "Th-there's a girl here to see you."

Din looked up. Nayru stood awkwardly at the edge of the curtain, clutching the Harp of Ages in her fingers.

"Nayru!" Din cried. "You're just in time. Ringmaster, this is my friend Nayru," she said. "She's the one I told you about- the one who'd be playing with us today?"

"Ah yes, Nayru," the Ringmaster said vaguely. "Thank you for coming."

"Din is a very close friend of mine," Nayru smiled. She gently strummed her Harp. "I'm happy to help anytime."

As the Ringmaster walked away, Din gave Nayru a hug. "I'm so happy to see you," she said. "Have you seen Farore?"

"I ran into her," Nayru said slyly. "She was browsing the bookstore. I gave her that extra front-row pass you sent me."

"I can't wait until after the show," Din said truthfully. "Unfortunately-"

"Don't tell me," Nayru said suddenly, looking worried. "You've felt something… wrong?"

"Yes," Din said, a little surprised. "If you'd like to meet up with me right after the show, I'll give you a quick tour of Subrosia. I need to check the Temple- the Season Spirits are troubled."

Nayru nodded. "There's something weird about the timestream. I can't shake the feeling that something's going to go horribly wrong."

"The show's about to start," Din said. "After the opening act and the twins, we're up. You can watch from the audience 'til then."

Nayru nodded. "I want to find out if Farore has felt something too." She walked back out and sat in her reserved seat.

Courage

Farore watched Nayru sit next to her. "What'd she say?" she asked.

"She's the third act," Nayru told her. "She'll meet up with us after the show. Tell me, Farore, have you… felt something strange?"

Farore blinked. "Yes. Impa came to me this morning. I've been in town all day. She said there was something going on, and boy, was she right!"

"What happened?" Nayru asked urgently.

"The town gossip- they're whispering secrets that shouldn't be heard outside the Tome. I don't even know how they know them." Farore gripped the Tome in her arms more tightly. "Someone was in the Maku Tree last night. They were looking for something."

Nayru gasped. "How horrible."

"They were looking for the Tome, I know it," Farore said fiercely. "What is going on?"

"I don't know," Nayru said sadly. "There's something strange in the timestream. I don't know what, but I don't like it."

"I wish Link was still here," Farore said wistfully. "He'd know what to do."

"I do like Link," Nayru said, her tone suddenly bitter, "but I also know that we can protect ourselves without his help. We're the Oracles, for Power's sake! We're strong enough to protect ourselves."

Farore couldn't hide her smile. The Oracles were in agreement not to use the goddess's names when speaking like that, otherwise they would be confused.

"The show is starting, hush," she hissed as the curtains parted.