The Legend of Zelda: The End of Time
By Jacob Karesh
"Zelda, no!" was the cry that came too late. The source of that cry, Jethro, was about to be struck from behind by a bone club as a penalty for letting his guard down. His protector, Link, currently had his back against the cave wall fending off three undead baddies of his own. Zelda, the target of the call, had just done a seemingly helpful act of retrieving the artifact the trio had traveled many miles to obtain. At least this way, when everyone looked back, they could easily place the blame for the coming of the apocalypse.
Chapter 1
Section 1 – The Luncheon
Had it not been for the painful feeling of falling down on a hard wood floor, Link would have been later than he already was. Never a fan of waking up, this was a normal occurrence for the protector of Hyrule. As he glanced over to the top of his dresser, he saw the piece of paper that reminded him of the event of the day to which he was tardy. The paper was an invitation to a luncheon at the castle proper. Though it was styled like an invitation, it was much more like a summons, as Link realized that whenever his presence was requested, the fate of the free world would soon be involved. He was just that type of person.
Link hurried his way through clothing himself and donning his equipment before stumbling outside to notice that the sun was high in the sky, but past its peak. Link hopped on Epona and rode like the wind over to the palace, hoping to be only reasonably late, not irritatingly. This task would have been easier if it weren't for the stubborn brute of a castle guard who would be damned if he was going to let a young adult with a sword strapped across his back waltz into the castle. Link suddenly wished he had brought the invitation with him.
"Look, I'm telling you I was told to come here for lunch."
"Look, I'm telling you that without that being in writing, you're not going anywhere."
"Ask the head guard, he'll remember me. He'll tell you that I'm okay to let in."
"I am not authorized to leave my post."
"Look, I'm already late. I don't have time to run back and get the invitation. Can't you look the other way?"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, I have a job at hand."
"Let him through," came a fair voice from the side. "Have you no respect for Link, the sole protector of Hyrule?"
"You're Link? Well, why didn't you say your name? I would have let you right in! Please forgive me."
Link detested the silent implication of forgiveness as he walked off with Zelda in the direction of the luncheon, because he knew that providing his name would not have eased the guard's love of exercising mindless authority. Nevertheless, Link brushed away these thoughts as he continued on through the garden. He had been through the castle garden many times, but it always amazed him how much care was put into its upkeep. Link wasn't really all that into flowers, and didn't know what any of them were called, but he assumed that they were the best flowers royalty could buy and showcase on the walkway from castle gate to front door.
Link put all of these feelings aside when he entered the dining room, where he saw two faces: one familiar and one new. The familiar one was Zelda's old father, the King of Hyrule. From the looks of him, Link guessed that he wouldn't live to see his grandchildren. It was his own fault really. No one forced him to wait so long before having Zelda. His wife had died years before in an attempted armed robbery of the castle treasury. Now the old man lived alone with Zelda and more servants than he knew what to do with. An awful life in Link's mind, but sought after by many. The second, unfamiliar face was promptly introduced to Link as Jethro. Jethro stood to shake Link's hand as he came closer. The king begged that everyone sit and enjoy the meal on the table.
For the duration of the meal, the four of them made small talk, recounting personal encounters with what trivial day-to-day conflicts. It wasn't until after the meal was over that Jethro opened his mouth to speak something profound. As Link detected, this monologue Jethro was about to deliver was the reason for the get together, and so he listened intently. Jethro, who felt uncomfortable delivering such a speech while seated, stood up before everyone.
Section 2 – The Sword of Time
"I suppose it is about time I explain to everyone why I have come here today. The full story is long, so I recommend you get comfortable. I am what some would call a scholar, and what others would call a fool. Up until know, I was known for my writings and my careful studying of other works. However, what I hope to be doing in the near future falls under a new category. I have come to recover a lost artifact from far across the land. I have come to recover The Sword of Time.
"Usually I spend my days writing about things I deem important in this world. This time I shall write about the journey of recovering this item. You are probably wondering then why I chose to seek it out. The truth is that in my readings, I have found sufficient evidence to determine the current home of the artifact by piecing together information from different sources, and I want to experience the adventure of obtaining it. Beyond that, I believe that there is great potential in the kingdom of Hyrule having possession of this artifact.
"Link, I can see you fidgeting in your chair ever so slightly, having something to say, but holding it in. I can already guess at its source, as I have heard much about your past. My mentioning of a 'sword of time' has brought you memories of The Master Sword, which once granted you the ability to travel seven years forward or backward, depending on whether or not it stood in its pedestal. However, I must stop you to bring up what The Master Sword actually did. You see, the sword contained certain energies in it that could shift time forward seven years. The pedestal though, when touched by the metal of the blade, had the ability to cancel out these energies perfectly, bringing time to its true standing point. The intricacies of that particular artifact are too complicated to describe in less then several sittings.
"Now, The Sword of Time on the other hand is significantly more complicated than even that. The Sword of Time is infused with energies that open up the possibility of all times. Essentially, the wielder of it could use the sword to travel to any point in time. Once again, the pedestal in which it sits is used to perfectly cancel the powers of the sword when the sword rests in it. This in itself is quite an impressive property of the sword, but you haven't even begun to understand its true power. For you to understand, I'm going to have to propose to you a theory.
"Now, consider mathematics. In mathematics, there are what we would call 'imaginary numbers.' These are numbers which retain properties that are beyond human comprehension. For instance, the square root of a negative number. Two positive numbers will make a positive number when multiplied. Two negative numbers will also make a positive number when multiplied. So, a number which can create a negative number when squared is beyond human comprehension. Likewise, time has certain periods which are beyond human comprehension. Because we cannot understand their very existence, we do not perceive them. The time in which we exist flows right over these periods, so we never know of their existence.
"However, I have a theory that The Sword of Time could even unlock these imaginary periods of time. We as a people would have access to things we can't even begin to understand. As a scholar, I can't express how much that excites me. Imaginary time would provide enough information to scribe for the rest of my life! All I ask of you is help on my journey. Link, from what I have heard of you, I assume you would be an excellent, well, bodyguard for me. I have no idea what kinds of hostilities I might face on my journey."
Link did not seem at all surprised. After hearing Jethro talk about a journey, Link understood that this would indeed be his own journey as well, so he paid close attention.
"Sure, I'll come along with you. I'm not doing anything else, and you seem to have a worthy enough cause."
"Why thank you so much. You will not regret this opportunity, I can promise you that. Now, your majesty, I have a request that might seem shocking. Along with Link and I, I request the assistance of your daughter, Zelda."
The king was snapped into attention immediately. "Zelda? Why do you want to take my precious daughter from me?"
"You probably know this, but she has great magical potential. I myself have the resources to study the ways of mages, but I can never perform the feats that they can, simply because I do not have it in me. Zelda, on the other hand, has it. Indeed, she has already begun tapping into magic to protect and heal. With my resources and her innate abilities, she should be perfectly able to become a great cleric. Our party has a scholar and a fighter, but I think having someone who can tap into the energies will be quite useful on a quest such as this one."
"I…I leave it up to Zelda. I cannot make this kind of a decision for her. I do wish I could always have her at my side, but I recognize how this shelters her from the experiences she could be having. Zelda, what do you want to do?"
Zelda paused for a moment to think it over. Well, she appeared to, that is. In honesty, she created this pause so as to not make her feelings for Link obvious by immediately saying 'yes' while already gazing into his eyes. So, she used this pause to realign her gaze and pretend to be considering the many theories that had been thrown her way by Jethro over the course of the afternoon. As her father expected, Zelda eventually said that she would come along.
The afternoon turned to evening as Jethro sprawled maps and various leather-bound books across the table, each of which covered with illegibly tiny notes. Jethro made references to the map as they existed in the books, and references to the books, as they existed in the map. All of it might as well have been to hear himself speak, because it was all over Link's and Zelda's heads. Eventually Jethro either finished or realized that he was making no progress, Link couldn't tell. In either case, he bid everyone good night as he went off to bed in the guest suite of the castle. Link took that as a hint that he should head on back home. Zelda bid him goodbye, and then left her already asleep father to lie in his chair as she went back into her bedroom.
Section 3 – The Shadow
Link was fond of the night, so traveling through it not only didn't bother him, but actually brought him a bit of joy. Night masked many things, yet at the same time revealed the true nature of many. In his time, Link had known many occurrences of both. It was a nice clear night, so he wanted to take full advantage of it by taking his time. Rather than ride Epona back to his humble home, Link walked her the way. It seems that night also made one of the more protective people in the world rather careless.
Link tripped over a rock; his knee would properly thank him the following morning. It was the type of occurrence that was more annoying than painful, but Link rubbed at the now skinned flesh anyway. Upon rubbing this wound, his shadow came into focus where the rock was. Upon further inspection, Link updated the thought to "where the rock was supposed to be." That was the pesky thing about being so observant: everything took a form of significance, whether that significance was understood or not. In this case, it was not, and Link, ever to be luck's jester, was made the fool by turning his back. This "shadow" of his slowly and silently got off the ground, and pounced on the flatfooted fighter, quickly bringing him down into a drugged sleep.