CHAPTER II: THE SILENT REALM

Link and Zelda watched on high, gliding around gracefully atop their Loftwings. Zelda's long blonde hair was glittering in the light of the setting sun, making it appear as though it were made of liquid gold – something Link had always greatly enjoyed. The two of them danced through the sky together, keeping a careful eye out for the lighting of the signal fire which was due to appear in mere minutes. As the sky darkened, so too did the land floating below them. The usually beautiful sight gave Link inkling that something was wrong, no doubt a by-product of the dream he had experience earlier. In turn, this called him to recall the dark presence that had appeared in his room as he changed into his outfit for the performance. The shadow slowly crept along the ground and eventually reached the giant stone statue of the Goddess that towered over the village. From his new vantage point, he could clearly see the whole statue and noticed that the expression of the Goddess was one of a fierce protector, rather than one of benevolence. Link found himself enjoying the thought of a battle maiden Goddess over a mother-hen type figure. Zelda called out to him as she readied herself to begin their part of the show. The fire flared to life, lighting up the eager faces of the people below. Everyone from Skyloft was watching and waiting for the spectacular finishing act of the show, something that Gaepora had promised to be revolutionary and exciting.

Zelda swooped down low, blazing past the heads of the crowd. Link followed suit, daring to get a little closer than Zelda, knocking Gaepora's hat to the ground as he did so. Raucous laughter erupted from the audience, while Gaepora only smiled nervously as he dusted off his ceremonial headgear. Link and Zelda weaved in and out of each other as they ascended sharply before fanning out at the peak of the climb. They pulled up on the birds and looped backward over each other, which drew many cheers from their friends. The music swelled from a gentle jazzy number into a rather upbeat groove, signalling Link and Zelda to ready themselves for landing. They hovered beside each other and looked each other in the eye. Link gave an encouraging wink, and they spiralled toward the ground in a move normally only performed by the most masterful of flyers. The two of them released their holds on the birds, waiting until they had flown away safely before pulling out their sailcloths. As they floated down gently, the crowd went wild with excitement over the finishing move. They touched down and took a low bow, smiling at the audience who were all very impressed.

Gaepora walked to the front of the stage area, dressed in his 'Wise Old Owl' costume. He told the story of Skyloft's beginning, having the audience utterly enraptured.

Out in the back of the seating, a woman screamed at the top of her lungs. More screams added to hers as people saw what was happening. Link stepped in front of Zelda instinctively, protecting her from whatever was coming toward them through the crowd.

Groose pushed through the last few people until there was no-one between himself and the stage. His body was moving erratically as he stammered toward Link, and horrific noises escaped his throat. Groose's skin began to bubble and distort until it was stretched so thin that it tore open. Everyone watched in horror as bits of skin and flesh fell to the ground. Groose cried out in agony before he exploded into a dark gory mess that sprayed out everywhere. In the epicentre of the explosion stood a small and black, almost rodent-like creature with glowing yellow eyes. It exhibited the same awful twitching movements that had taken over Groose's body earlier. A fresh wave of terror washed over everyone as it dissolved into the ground and hiding itself from everyone's view.

What happened next, nobody was prepared for.

The people who had been hit by the aftermath of Groose's shocking transformation began to howl with pain as they became corrupted by the darkness. It spread throughout their bodies like a virulent poison until it turned them all into more of those tiny creatures.

"LINK! LOOK OUT!" screamed Zelda, pointing to the ground behind Link. The shadow that had vanished was quickly reforming, readying itself to attack Link. He dodged its first few swipes, but it was much too fast for him to keep up.

Just as it was about to land a strike, a golden triangle appeared on the back of Link's left hand. A wave of energy pulsed outward, causing everything to freeze in place. He turned around to see the same thing happen to Zelda who was staring around, wide-eyed and shocked.

"Link, what's happening?" she asked, her voice wavering.

"Stay close. We will find out soon enough, I am sure," he said, taking Zelda's hand in his own. She had a golden triangle, too, and it felt warm to the touch. "What could these mean?"

"I think I may know. My father…" she glanced in his direction, uncertain of what she would see, "I once overheard him talking about something called a Triforce. It was left behind by the three Goddesses who created the land below the surface, long before our Goddess raised us to keep us safe. The three parts of the Triforce are said to be the most powerful artefacts in existence."

"So that means..?"

"I think the goddess is watching over us."

"Then where is the third person, with the third part of the Triforce? I don't think it is anyone in Skyloft, otherwise we'd have seen them… here. Where are we exactly? It's so… quiet."

"I believe we are in one of the Goddess' Silent Realms. The Goddess used them to test a hero of old, long ago, when Skyloft was first threatened by a great evil." Zelda said, thoughtfully.

"If this is a test, then where is the -"

Link's question was cut short as Zelda tackled him to the ground, narrowly avoiding the end of a particularly nasty looking blade. A few strands of Zelda's golden hair floated to the ground, landing beside the tip of the blade now wedged into the earth. Both of them looked up the blade at its wielder. Staring back at them were deep, blood red holes where eyes should have been.

"Hey!" An unknown voice called out to them. "Listen!"

Link grabbed Zelda's hand and pulled her in the direction of the voice. "Someone is calling us, over this way!" Link was panting quite heavily now. He immediately regretted not sticking to the recommended fitness training set out by the Knight's Academy.

The creature was still pulling at its axe, attempting to dislodge it from the ground. Link couldn't help but think how lucky he was that Zelda was there.

"Watch out!" The voice called again. Link spun on his heel to see that the creature had well and truly removed the weapon from the ground. It was now dashing towards the two of them with alarming speed. The voice called out again, and Link finally caught sight of what was calling for them. A tiny blue ball of light was bouncing around frantically. "Quickly! This way!" the ball of light sped off down the path leading to the light tower at the edge of Skyloft. Link helped Zelda up onto the ladder, and just as Link started his climb, several of the creatures converged at the base of the ladder. Link mustered up the last of his stamina, and leapt up a few more rungs, putting himself safely out of harm's way. As Link scrambled onto the surface of the tower, and pulled his feet up, everything seemed peaceful again. Zelda peered over the edge to see if the creatures were still pursuing them. She sighed in relief when they weren't there. Link collapsed onto the ground out of exhaustion.

"Thanks for helping us; I don't think Link would have survived if he had to run much further." Zelda waved her hand at the motionless body of her companion. Zelda noticed, now that she was no longer running for her life, that the ball of light had tiny wings, which were beating furiously. "Are you a…?"

"A fairy! My name is Navi."

Zelda almost squealed with excitement, only ever having been told of fairies in her storybooks. "I am Zelda, and this is Link."

Link grunted in recognition of the introduction.

"Ugh! Can the fate of the world really depend on such a lazy boy!" exclaimed Navi.

Link raised himself up off the ground, and looked around. From this high point, Link could see almost all of the lower areas of Skyloft. He eyes took in his surroundings, and he noticed that this place was much the same as Skyloft, save for a few key details. The rivers and streams coming from the waterfall were running red, in the same dark, bloody shade as the eyes of the creatures that tried to kill him and Zelda. Looking further, Link also realised that there was no sky – just nothing. It wasn't black, or white, or anything… Just nothing. He turned back to look at his friend, feeling slightly uncomfortable with all the changes made to Skyloft. He especially didn't like the nothing, something about it just made him very uneasy. Zelda returned his look with an easy smile, instantly alleviating some of his worry. Zelda opened her mouth to say something, but Link interjected. "So… you going to tell us what's going on here?" Zelda shook her head slightly, dismayed at how rude Link seemed sometimes.

"You are in this place – this Sacred Realm – because the world is in danger. Not just your little paradise of Skyloft, but everyone on the surface below the clouds. I know not where you will go on your journey to save us, but I can be certain it will be immensely dangerous. You will need all the help you can get, and there are many people whom you will meet, and eventually travel with, to plunge head on into the darkness you must face. I trust you saw what became of your red haired friend?"

"It was horrible. He… That wasn't really Groose, was it?" Zelda was visibly shaken by recalling the recent memory.

"It was indeed Groose. He became so jealous of Link that the darkness spreading throughout the world was able to latch onto the feelings within in his heart. Finally, when he was not even able to capture your Loftwing and prevent you from performing, and having been so humiliated when defeated by a mere bird, the darkness completely took over him. As he had not a very strong heart, the creature he produced was of a similar calibre. They are called the Heartless, and they have only one goal: to bring everything into darkness. That is why it is up to you, Zelda, and – IS HE SLEEPING?" Navi froze in the air and fell to the ground.

"I'm awake," murmured Link, still sprawled on the ground.

"GET UP!" yelled Navi.

"I can hear you just fine from the ground, you know," Link mumbled dopily.

"He's not like this all the time, I swear!" said Zelda, who was trying to suppress a slight laugh.

Navi flew down to Link's face, and a tiny pair of hands reached out, and grabbed a lock of his hair. She pulled with all her might.

Link sprung up, startled and clutching his forehead. "What was that for!"

"Listen! You, Zelda, and the other Triforce bearer are the only ones who can save everyone. Other people may try, but without the divine powers bestowed upon you by the mark of the Triforce, they will be powerless to seal off the world from darkness! Your marks will allow you to summon a powerful weapon to aid you in combating the darkness. But you must yet earn your weapons. They are located inside the statue of the goddess, and you must retrieve them. As soon as you step off this tower, you will have a small amount of time before the Guardians – who have been tainted by the darkness, which has even managed to infiltrate this beautiful place – are going to realise you're there, and they will come after you relentlessly. Once you have claimed your weapons, this realm will shatter, preventing the darkness from corrupting it further. Are you ready to run?" She aimed that last part directly at Link.

"Just one more thing… Why us?" asked Link.

"That… I do not know. I fear I never will either."

"I'm ready." Zelda had a look of fierce determination upon her face.

If she was that determined to do this, then he was too. "Let's go," replied Link.

They walked to the edge of the tower and peered down. The Guardians were no longer surrounding the tower, but they could not have moved too far.

Zelda slid her hand into Link's and gave him a light squeeze. He turned to her, and smiled. They were ready.