Chapter 2

The night air at the border between Shihara and Hyrule is still but frigid nonetheless. Small critters normally too afraid to venture out into the world during sunlight hours can be heard scurrying about in the nearby shadows. Kline sits at a small camp set up for the king and company. King Rotha rests comfortably in an enormous tent, so large it contains separate rooms for he, his guard and his advisor. Speaking of Rotha's trusted man, Korri walks out of the tent and watches his son, who sits on a smooth rock in the light of the fire, silently contemplating matters in his own world. That world in Kline's head was the one he oft escaped to since his mother had died, Kline went out to explore dangerous places and have adventures and even when he was home he wasn't really there. Korri had worried about his son not getting over his mother's death but Kline had succeeded where his father hadn't and left Korri behind. Korri's only distraction was work, his own son offered no comfort and yet there he stood, a heavy fur blanket in his hands to supply his son with additional warmth since he refused to sleep in the king's tent. Korri lays the blanket over his son's shoulders and stands behind him with a hand on his son's back. "The fire will die out at some point tonight and you need to stay warm" Korri softly murmurs. It takes a few minutes of standing there in silence but eventually Kline looks up and says "thank you." Korri nods and sits opposite his son, who so much resembles him as a child. Kline is twenty years of age and convinced he's left his childhood behind but Korri still sees his little boy when he looks his son's way and it rends his heart seeing Kline so distant, cold and cruel. "I love you, you know," Korri tells his son. Kline nodded "I apologize, I've been… mean to you" Kline says in a whisper "I just wish it would've become easier living without mom and it never did, you upset me and disappointed me" Kline admits. "How'd I do that?" Korri asks. "You never tried to move on and live your life, you gave up completely. Every time I tried to turn to you, you were too busy locked in your room crying, you had everything and you threw it all away when mom died as if that's what she would've wanted for you" Kline says angrily.

Korri is stunned, this admittance is the most he's gotten out of his son in years. Korri feels rage and indignation well up in him "He's your son, you're the father, he needs to show you some more respect" Korri internally tells himself. "You have no idea what I went through after your mother died, you and your mother were my whole world, when she died I was left to grieve my wife, Rotha refused the throne, and I was left with a disrespectful child that I had to raise on my own. I had trouble doing everything… eating, trying to help King Ructus figure out who his successor would be, trying to convince Rotha to grow up and accept his responsibilities as heir to the throne, going to your school to pick you up and then cook and clean for you… the only time I had to grieve for your mother were nights before sleep came for me, the memories of her were so overwhelming, I had no choice but to cry" Korri tells his son. "Why is Rotha king now if he refused at first?" Kline inquires. "When his father realized Rotha meant to be free of the throne, he asked me to become King. I would've forgone weeks of training in etiquette and meeting with the king's guard and all that other nonsense to be crowned immediately. The job meant guiding Shihara into the future on my own and leaving to other countries and going to war, that life would pull me away from you, maybe even put you in danger, so I told Ructus that I would help convince Rotha instead. My efforts worked so well Rotha asked me to be his advisor and so it has been for the last fifteen years" Korri answered. "We could have been rich and powerful" Kline mutters resentfully. "Yeah, and you would have been without both of your parents… but I guess that's what you want" Korri says getting up and re-entering the tent. Kline sits alone again, studying the dying flames.

Two days have passed since the night Korri and Kline spoke at the fire, on the edges of the town called Cliffside, Link awakens from a fitful sleep. He wipes the sweat off his brow and takes deep breaths trying to quell the wild panic spreading throughout his body. "The people from Shihara, they're coming today" Link reminds himself. He rises, showers and cooks himself breakfast, the house is empty, his aunt, uncle, and cousin are out at the town fair showing off their prized livestock and playing games and making merry. His uncle in his youth had been a blacksmith but found his hand better served in farming not however before making a fine sword, gleaming cold silver with swirls set into the very blade itself, it had been named Vilotus and bestowed upon Link some years ago, Link grabs the sheath that houses his family's sword and straps it around himself after adorning his finest tunic and pants. The tunic is a rich emerald green like the fields he'd played in as a child, the trousers a beige color and brown boots colored more by the dirt of Link's toils than any paint. He heads to his room and runs his hand along the floor of his bed till his fingers meet with steel, from underneath his bed Link pulls out a sapphire colored shield with the Hylian crest on it. His uncle would flog him if he knew of Link's dream to journey across the lands all over the world, they expected him to stay at Cliffside forever and help run the farm. Link's first steps outside have him greeted by a warm pleasant breeze, the sun is high in the sky partially obscured by clouds and light breezes play gently across his face. He approaches the horse given to him by his uncle the year prior for his birthday and climbs on "Hurry now Mala, to the castle" he gently murmurs to his mare. The gorgeous chestnut brown creature begins at a trotting pace and quickly begins speeding till they're racing across the emerald expanses of swinging blades of grass. The clouds appear to move with them as Link looks up and around him is nothing but trees and grass. In the distance mountain with tops that pierce the sky lay in wait as if daring him to explore them and directly ahead growing in size as Mala blazes forward, an enormous white castle, four towers adorned at the top with obsidian roofs, and a wrought iron gate enclosing the massive landscape. There's a garden the size of Cliffside that surrounds the castle and a lake in the backyard where Link and Zelda have spent countless hours alone. Surprisingly around the castle was where they found the most privacy, the castle staff along with the king were all well aware how much Zelda resented being royalty and therefore no one expected her to be anywhere near the castle. Link pulls on Mala's reins to slow her down as they draw close to the castle, he turns to look eastward and sees a caravan moving down the road straight towards the castle.

"They're here," Link thinks. He approaches the front gates where the usual guards have been replaced. Link realizes in shock that the front gate is now being manned by shiekah, members of an ancient tribe of warriors who live to serve and protect the royalty of Hyrule. One of the sheikah guard raises a hand motioning Link to stop and in a harsh tone demands to know who he is and what his business in the castle is today. "I'm here to see the king, I was asked to be here when the visitors from Shihara arrived, I'm here to serve my king in an advisory capacity" Link answered. "We weren't made aware of that, it'll need to be checked" the guard replies. Link nods politely and dismounts " I'll hitch my horse," He says "we can have it brought to the stables" Another guard offers. Link nods again and smiles cordially as the guards leave the gate, he waits till Mala and the guard leading her to the stables are out of sight and climbs over the gate. Once inside the castle grounds Link confidently strides through the gardens even greeting the some of the employ. He walks around the castles enormous front doors and begins walking along its eastern wall keeping close to the castle. He runs his hand along it, palm flat till he feels a bump, he taps it twice and a panel of the castle wall begins sliding forward and back till a doorway stands before him. The walk through the tunnel is quick and dark once the door closes but Link who has traversed this path many times knows the way. Link hits a wall and taps this one fifteen times, Zelda and He both agreed the second ought to be much more taps in order to ensure no one else got into the room. A door opens onto a large bedchamber, to Link's left sits an enormous four-poster bed the curtains of which are drawn, to his right, a fireplace, currently empty. A dresser with a mirror affixed to it stands directly across from him, so large is the room he could have sworn he just hadn't seen Zelda but he quickly realizes he's alone. "Where is she?" he asks himself. He walks to her door and is about to look out into the hallway beyond when he hears other footsteps approaching. Link quickly and quietly rolls across the room till he's near Zelda's bed and quickly hides underneath. A pair of boot-clad feet move across the floor of the room and the muttering Link begins to hear is recognizable. "she acts as if we've never had foreigners here before, Zelda please change out of those ratty clothes and present yourself as a proper princess" she says in a mock rasp. Link rolls out from underneath the bed to the welcome sight of his girlfriend in her undergarments. "Lovely really milady," he remarks, Zelda laughs and embraces him "It's nothing you haven't seen before" she replies laughing. They kiss and Link feels his heart race as their lips meet, goosebumps explode down his arms as he runs his hand down to the small of Zelda's back, he begins moving lower but she grabs his hand and swats it down "control yourself you animal" she teases your guests are here." "To hell with those guests," Link says. "Ah, if only it was that simple" Zelda says as she dresses in blue pants with gold swirls going up the sides of her legs, she dons a matching blue shirt with buttons the top of two of which she undoes, her hair already done up into its usual long single braid and her well-worn boots on her feet. "My father told me to throw my boots away this morning, to hell with that nonsense" Zelda laughs. Link smiles broadly, he loves her fiery spirit, most times he feels bad for the king who seemingly has no idea just how strong and passionate and loving Zelda truly is, when she turns to him smiling and rushing him out of her room he leaves in her wake and the two hand in hand leave to the parlor upstairs to meet the visitors.

The parlor is a chamber with floors that gleam. There's art on the walls, mainly portraits of the planet in its early days when the three Goddesses Nayru, Din and Farore were still shaping the world with their holy hands. The ceiling is decorated in the same manner with drawings of the goddesses and the sacred land made so by the leaving of one Triforce. The embodiment of the Goddesses great power, the Triforce was a triangle consisting of three smaller ones, all made of impossibly beautiful gleaming gold, the Triforce contained the power to grant the desire of its holders heart but only if one managed to prove themselves capable of possessing all three parts of the triforce and entering the sacred land. Everyone in Hyrule knee the stories and legends of the same three Triforce piece holders who had been reincarnated into different bodies throughout the annals of time to do battle over its power. As Link and Zelda enter the parlor, Zelda looks up at the drawings on the ceiling and wonders briefly when the next tale in the story the Goddesses began weaving all those millennia ago will start. Her father King Hespidus of Hyrule stands in the middle of the chamber by a group of comfortable looking chairs and a table laden with food and drink. Hespidus is wearing an outfit similar to Zelda's but his is covered by a red cloak lined at the top with fur, his crown sits upon his salt and pepper hair, he's shaved his face bare and resembles the pictures of him in his bedchamber where he was young and full of vigor. The parlor doors open and in walks eight men, five of whom wear light but sturdy looking armor plated clothing, the others, two are middle-aged men resembling the part of life Hespidus is experiencing the other, much younger like Zelda and Link. The young one has piercing icy blue eyes and a strong gaze, his short cut black hair has signs of once being long "he looks so much like Link" Zelda thinks to herself. The thought makes her uncomfortable, beside her Link is silent, a grim expression on his face, he sees the resemblance too it feels unnatural to him but he isn't as affected as Zelda seems to be. Hespidus now noticing Link is here has no time to ask his daughter why the former blacksmith of cliffside's nephew has been welcomed in on this so he instead turns his attention to his visitors, he extends a hand to King Rotha and the two warmly greet each other. "I've had my people take the liberty of preparing refreshments for you all, rest up, eat and regale me with the tales of your travels," Hespidus tells Rotha and his group. "No easy journey for sure. Thousands of miles on horseback, many nights sleeping in tents, Korri here has helped me keep my sanity I don't have the patience for these political things" Rotha says. Rotha extends a hand to Zelda who is incredibly surprised when their hands meet and he shakes hers firmly "They called me Rotha Wuldwin before the king nonsense" "Zelda is my only name at this point in my life" the Princess replies getting a hearty laugh out of King Rotha. "Your daughter is quite spirited, she reminds me of mine," Rotha tells Hespidus. "Where is your daughter?" Hespidus gently inquires "Oh believe me Rowena is no politician, talks to forge alliances and visits to foreign lands, diplomacy, that sort of thing, it doesn't suit her, my Rowena lives by the sword you see" Rotha proudly explains "The young people haven't been properly introduced" Rotha observes loudly as he takes a hearty swig of wine "This dark haired brooding man here is Kline, the son of my most trusted advisor Korri. Believe it or not, Korri is next in line for my throne, I arranged it to be so, he's of good stock as is his boy, now then how about you?" Rotha asks pointing a finger at Link. "They call me Link" Link extends his gloved hand and Rotha shakes but holds onto his hand for a second longer than normal, gazing intently at the back of Link's hand. Rotha grunts as if finding something odd and releases Link. "What of your stock boy? You aren't the prince" Rotha says. "No sir, I'm the nephew of the kingdoms best-retired blacksmith, in the kingdom, today I'm here for the princess in a support capacity" Link respectfully answers. "friends are you? That's good, you two could teach each other a lot, it's good to have friends in different stations of life it broadens your horizons" Rotha sagely remarks. "This is going to get tiring and fast, why don't the three of you fine young people get better acquainted" Rotha suggests. "Excellent idea, the king will be leaving in some days but Kline and his father will be staying as guest for quite some time, we should begin our cooperation with the Shiharians by making them feel comfortable here with us" Hespidus agrees. "A tour of the grounds perhaps" Zelda suggests. Kline shows no sign of even having heard any of them, he sits gazing at the artwork on the ceiling. Korri nudges him and he rises slowly, following Zelda and Link out of the parlor. "You have a library, right? Where is it?"Kline asks. "We can take you if you want it's on the way to the west wing where you'll be staying anyway" Zelda responds. As they walk Kline remains silent and stern, Link growing uncomfortable asks "Why the library?" "I've heard of the old legends of Hyrule, the story of the three goddesses and all its always intrigued me, what better place could I go to learn of the Triforce and the sacred realm than the home of the people who serve to protect them?" Kline asks. "good point" Link muttered. "You came just for that?" Zelda asks "I suppose" is the response. The three stop before wooden doors with gold carvings in ancient Hylian on them. Zelda runs her fingers along the wood "It says that the greatest power in the universe is the one power the goddesses refused to bestow freely upon man, Knowledge. Albeit knowledge is useless without wisdom but still" Zelda hesitates opening the library doors, it almost feels like an invasion of privacy allowing a stranger into her library but he is her guest and she must be gracious and welcoming so she opens the door.

The library, much like the rest of the palace is cavernous in size. Shelves reaching almost to the ceiling stand filled with books. The spaces between these shelves appear as roads of tile floor all leading to a communal area in the center furnished with armchairs and a large fireplace to peruse literature in comfort. Large stained glass windows adorn this room's walls, depicting scenes from some of Hespidus and Zelda's favorite storybooks. There's a glass display case upon a pedestal with a book of old Hylian folk tales inside called "Hyrule Historia" within are tales of many great heroes of the past and even in some alternate universes, the future. It has become encased in this glass and therefore immortalized by Zelda's mother's love for the book. Lorraine had constantly sought refuge in this library, Her library and read this book hundreds upon hundreds of times, even reading most of it to a young Zelda who reveled in the romance and danger and heroism of the stories as much as her mother had. Zelda brushes her fingers along the side of the case as they walk through the library and she feels a sensation very similar to tearing up which she stops immediately. They reach the communal area where Zelda stops a passing employee and asks for a copy of "Hyrule Historia" a much newer and less worn copy of her mother's favorite book is brought to her and she opens it in her lap. "The tale of the goddesses is a simple one" Zelda reads aloud "That Farore and her sisters Din and Nayru created the realm of Hyrule and a parallel one known as The Sacred Realm. The sacred realm acted as a home for The Triforce, an ancient and immensely powerful force capable of making real the truest desires of one's heart but only if they were worthy of holding it. The Triforce would have to be found and used by someone who had gained a mark of approval from each of the three goddesses. The holder of the Triforce of wisdom, the holder of the Triforce of Power and the holder of the Triforce of Courage. Conflict split the Triforce and it was fated that the same three beings would be destined to live in conflict rather than unite it because of power. The Triforce of power, the most easily corruptible of all three would always be in the hand of one whose heart was consumed by darkness. Legend says the cycle began millennia ago before Hyrule existed and men lived above the clouds, that a great evil reached through time to free itself from imprisonment and gain control over the world but it was stopped by a hero from the skies. The great evil known as Demise, cursed the hero and the holder of the wisdom mark, saying that they in all futures and in all reincarnations would be plagued by one of his own, a physical embodiment of his hatred. Since then countless tales have been told always of a warrior who carries wisdom, a hero who carries courage and a thief and a foul wizard who carries power" Zelda finished. Link grabs the edge of the book and gently pulls it away from Zelda. He flips through a few pages and sees that the chapters consist of different tales of the holder of courage's adventures, each hero is a different person in some way but mostly the same as well, a reincarnation of the original hero. The hero of time, whose dreams led him to go seven years into the future with an incredible sword to defeat evil. The hero of the winds, whose world in the distant future saw Hyrule engulfed by water and left down deep at the bottom of the ocean. The Champion of the wild was the most unique to Link, a young man who had failed his initial battle against evil and slumbered for one hundred years before reawakening to save Hyrule. "I've heard those stories but never in such detail, I've spent more time studying Shiharian myths and the like" Klein says "I'm curious to hear of yours, it would be nice to get an idea of another culture" Zelda replies. "There is a story in my kingdom of a great evil that once plagued this world even older than Demise, it was named Rivid, his incredible power drew in droves of devoted followers who established a cult rooted in his dark magic. They served him and their devotion was rewarded with bits of his own dark arts. He created magicians and powerful warriors all made great by the reward of faith, but his greatest creation was always his own sword. A blade said to hold within it a piece of Rivid's very soul, it was named Kaska." "Do you believe that Kaska exists?" Link asks. Klein unsheathes the sword strapped to his back an obsidian blade with waves of purple running up its length, it seems to shimmer and Link can feel a thrumming energy like aura peeling off the weapon. "Imagine testing the might of the Master Sword against the power of the greatest sorcerer in history" Klein proposes. "Hyrule has dealt with enough strife to last us an eternity even more so due to black magic, like whatever is actually in that thing" Link comments "I hope we never figure out which is stronger." "A man who has strength enough to crave peace, I admire that" Klein politely remarks. Zelda makes to say something when the door to the room opens and a guard walks in "your highness, I've been sent to collect the three of you and bring you back within the king's company, the blacksmith has also arrived for his nephew" the guard finishes. Link audibly gulps and the three rise to follow the guard back.