Chapter 2: Weird Sisters
High above the earth, in the Celestial Ream that mortals in their ignorance called the Heavens, the three Goddesses that had created Hyrule had come together, each of them of course having observed Ganondorf's railings against them. They met within the Hall of Justice, although justice was unlikely to be meted out anytime soon, as they simply had come to confer about what had just transpired below. There had been no need to formally call a meeting – the events had been significant enough to catch everyone's attention on their own.
"Did you see how bold he was," Din, mocked. "I am trembling with fear! Oh no, it's not me, it's the Heavens! He's shaking them already!" She laughed out loud, amused by the threats of the King of Evil. "Good gracious, the Heavens! He doesn't know the tiniest thing, does he? And yet he spouts these overblown threats for everyone to hear... it would be pathetic if it wasn't so funny!"
Her fellow Goddesses did not seem to agree with her assessment. At least, she was the only one laughing.
"Why so serious? Or are you afraid? I say we go down there and show him who he's messing with! He forgot that his powers came from us! He's nothing without us!"
"The Triforce of Power is his," Nayru stated in a flat voice. "And that power cannot be taken from him, not even by us, until the Triforce is yet again united or the bearer dies. And I need not remind you that using the Triforce has made him effectively as immortal as ourselves. He has all the time in the world to plot against us."
"I agree with Nayru," Farore said. "He may not be a threat yet, but he might become one if he pursues his foolish plans."
"All the more reason then to go down there and teach him a lesson in humility!"
The Goddess of Courage sighed. "Of course not. Please, Din, I know you are the youngest, but could you at least try to think about our dignity? We are the Goddesses of this world. Even if Ganon may pose a danger to us one day, we do not simply jump down and lower ourselves on his level. We are much more... subtle than that."
"I don't know anything about subtlety," Din sulked.
"Only too true, sister, but -"
Nayru interrupted. "I do not see the need for interference at all, subtle or otherwise. No matter what his power in the Terrestrial Realm may be, he has no means to enter here. I propose a policy of strict observation, until a moment may come where an actual threat materializes. And it may well never come at all. None may force the hands of the Goddesses without adequate reason."
Farore disagreed. "That approach is far too passive for me. There must be a golden mean between doing nothing and picking up his gauntlet like a drunken brawler!"
"What is your alternative suggestion then?"
"Yeah, out with it. What's your plan? Flood them all again?"
"Very funny. No, we still have two highly reliable agents down in Hyrule. Or at least one... as I am not sure of the Princess's loyalty right now. After all, she was the one who planted this mad idea in his mind. Which, by the way, ought not go unpunished."
"I do not agree with that last part. Princess Zelda is not to blame for that man's insanity. His actions are his own."
"Of course you would say that. She's your little darling..."
"I am above your teasing, little sister. I recommend you try your luck with Farore."
"Be that as it may." The Goddess of Courage tried to get the conversation back on track. "But there remains no doubt, that my agent... I mean, Link, can be relied on to do what is necessary. He handily defeated Ganon but minutes ago."
"Not that handily. It took him some time. And it was two on one, as usual."
"Oh I'm sorry they went so hard on him... on your little darling."
"Enough of this. Conduct yourselves like Goddesses. Wasn't it you who spoke of dignity?"
"Of course, Nayru. My apologies. Regarding Link, we need but send him a dream vision, and he will be on his way again to continue his fight, as he always does. And he will vanquish Ganon – as he always does – and weaken him, and buy us more than enough time to formulate a proper strategy."
"Bah, I'm sick and tired of having this boy do all the fighting and hog all the glory. I know I used to champion Ganon... I still do, sort of, once I've beaten some sense back into him. But this is something we should do ourselves."
"My opinion on this matter has not changed. Non-interference and observation are the best policies... in most situations. Acting prematurely without properly assessing the facts at hand is the very opposite of wisdom. Having Link face him again so soon is unprecedented. He might lose, and what would the repercussions of that be?"
"Wisely spoken, big sister! So I just have to do it, don't I?"
Farore sighed. "Why can we never agree on anything?"
"Indeed," Nayru nodded, "we have arrived at an impasse. We have dominion over this world, but none of us has dominion over the others."
"So I can do whatever I want, right?"
"I am afraid it would appear so," Nayru admitted.
"Excellent! You just stay here and agonize over strategy and stuff, I'll sort this little problem out in no time."
"Appeals to your responsibility seem futile," Farore said, resigning. "Fine, do whatever you please. But do not expect us to not mock you when he bloodies your nose with your own power."
"I must protest. I do not do mockery."
"Yes, I know Nayru. I know."
"Yeah right, like that's going to happen, you sillies. Just you watch."
And with that, the Goddess of Power unceremoniously departed the white-marbled walls of the Hall of Justice, vanishing into thin air, as Goddesses are wont to do. A faint red glow remained, hovering above the spot where she had stood, radiating for a minute until it faded away. Farore watched it disappear and finally let out a moan.
"She's so immature. She still thinks being a Goddess is all fun and games."
"While I cannot condone her actions with good conscience, the net effects of her little... excursion may yet be positive, assuming this questionable ‚duel' can appease her infinite boredom."
"We are Goddesses! A millennium is as a blink of an eye to us, and a blink of an eye is as a millenniums, whichever we choose. Being bored is so... so unbecoming."
"You worry too much about what is proper instead of what simply is."
"Well, at least one of us does."
The two remaining Goddesses remained silent for a while, each of them pondering their own thoughts. They spent most of their time in the Heavens that way – silently pondering, thinking, occasionally watching the events on the world below if they judged them sufficiently interesting, rarely – very rarely – interfering. Neither of them chose to watch what Din was doing down in Hyrule, though; perhaps to spite Din who surely wanted to show off. Neither Nayru nor Farore approved of their younger sister's impulsive behaviour, and if she knew she had an audience, she might behave even more reckless than otherwise. And since she was a Goddess, she would know.
After some minutes or hours or days, Farore broke the silence.
"Do you think it's possible she could lose?" A hint of concern coloured her voice. „Ganon does bear the Triforce of Power, after all. And if she just rushes in without thinking – and you know that's what she will do -"
"The probability of her losing is non-zero. But then again, so is the probability of every event. The Triforce may contain a good fraction of our powers, but less so when split in three as it is right now. Even considering Ganon's own innate magic abilities – which are admittedly considerable – the worst he could do is damage her pride by forcing a draw, since he has no way of truly harming her."
"That's not very comforting. Even a draw would be horrible... I would die of embarrassment."
"We are the Goddesses. We do not do dying."
"You are right, of course. You are right."
Din soared through the empty skies of Hyrule, drawing a trail of red flame behind her, though she made herself invisible to all who might look up, as her fellow Goddesses frowned upon showing themselves to the mortals of this world. Her eyes surveyed square miles of landscape at a time, noticing the numerous tiny creatures moving so very slowly over the land, losing valuable time of their short lives. She had once felt a certain amount of fondness for them, but time and boredom had chipped away at that, and now she could only watch them with indifference. They were not what she was looking for, anyway; she was seeking out only one specific dweller of this realm, eager to show him just who he was dealing with.
Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found.
It did not take her long to scan all the lands of Hyrule for traces of Ganon, and she found many of his monsters still aimlessly wandering the landscape, but not their master himself. She wondered whether he had crossed beyond the vast mountain ranges that surrounded the kingdom of Hyrule, but she found that very unlikely, as Ganon's ambitions had never strayed from this place – that was to say, never until this day. But now that he had claimed to be at peace with Hyrule, he might have left for other lands, making laughable preparations for his would-be assault on the Goddesses.
She was just about to resign herself to looking for him elsewhere, when she realized that there was another place where he might hide – no, where he was likely to hide, at least more likely than in far-off Labrynna or some other kingdom: The Sacred Realm. He had spent so many centuries in there, sealed away with no way to escape until his time should come again, that he had made it his base of operations. Over time, his presence had corrupted the land, turning it into a dark world, the few adventurers or treasure-seekers who stumbled there either taken by monsters or becoming monsters themselves. The Hylians who knew about it called it the Dark Realm, a fitting name for this wretched world halfway between the lands of the humans and the lands of the Gods. Whatever sanctity it had possessed as the resting place of the Triforce had vanished without a trace, and for a long time now it had been nothing more than a breeding ground for the worst types of monsters and other foul creatures.
Din very much hated that place.
However, Ganon was likely to be found there, hiding away somewhere among his filthy servants, quite possibly quivering in fear and regretting his bold declaration of war. She could imagine the look on his face when he realized that he need not bother trying to find the Gods, that the Gods were coming to him to punish him, and it was a comforting image that strengthened her resolve. Besides, she had boasted to her sisters that she would strike him down, and as much as she loved them, she would never give them the satisfaction of seeing their impulsive younger sister come home without achieving her goal. The taunts she would have to endure!
So she chose to ignore her disgust for the Dark Realm and venture there; after all, the sooner she beat up Ganon, the sooner she could get out of that appalling place. She opened up a portal – an easy feat for a Goddess like her, obviously – held her nose, and crossed over.