Hey, I've returned!
Yes, fret not, fretters, I have the literature you were undoubtedly looking forward to!
This, my friends is at least twice as long as all my previous updates, and I hope you enjoy it!
O
It is common belief that, in the lower districts of Castle Town, The Goddesses help those who help themselves. That help from without is often enfeebiling, and help from within invariably invigorates. 'Twaddle', I tell them, 'Twaddle of magimous degrees'
Elunnin Brackwrithe, Hyrulian Philanthropist
Link delicately pulled on 'his' black tunic, emblazoned with Majora's cruel countenance, over his chain-mail shirt. He tightened his belt above his hips then paced back and forth in 'his' chamber, contemplating Hyrule under the rule of Natu, Majora's sorcerer.
The Hero had been killed, but resurrected later. What exactly were Natu's motives, this "Storm" he spoke about? It was all he had heard these past few days, from either his sick-bed in the infirmary, and when discharged, across the oaken table, over liquid meals.
He, apparently the Champion of Majora, would have to defend Hyrule against something even worse than the sorcerer's god. What was worse than a crazed... thing? What exactly was Majora: A demon at least, perhaps a form of deity? It was confusing; the Goddesses had not bestowed him wisdom.
Link collapsed into his chair, taking up a spoon to idly stir his salty Terminian leek and potato soup, taking a cautious sip once in a while. The doctors, even Natu himself, had said he would never be as steady as he once was, both physically and mentally.
He hated sickbays.
A weathered map served as his place mat, Natu having scrawled all over it in the last "meeting". He wanted an empire where he could give patrols more often than ever, even adopting the ancient providence system. Whilst the three Hyrule had merely made it a country, Natu's eyes had sparkled mischievously, muttering something about Trespas, their neighbours to the south, with a booming agricultural business.
The Hero dropped his spoon back into the broth, easing himself up and padding over to the windowsill, where he rested his arms. The servants were slowly setting up targets and those banners.
Natu was vain. The two coloured banners hung everywhere, two halves of Majora's mask plastered arrogantly everywhere. Not even the infirmary, where Link sometimes sought sanctuary in this week of freedom, was safe anymore. A week: a week to gawp at the usurper's cold, callous eyes. Not even 'his' chambers were a haven. True, his designated quarters were spacious, organised and fit for some minor lord, but they were not his, per say. They had probably been wrenched from some old noble's family: probably deceased. Link could still see the cobwebs lingering in the corner.
The Hero took his eyes back to the courtyard. A few crystalline flakes were gently settling on the slabs, covering the poorly cleaned blood. The battle was now merely a forgotten dream, parts repeating like foggy mantras, fading into troubled sentences.
A servant's voice jolted him out of his reverie.
"Muh-master L-link?" intruded a timid squeak.
The Hero looked impatiently over his shoulder, noting the servant's poor posture. His defences were appalling. As were his manners.
"Didn't Natu teach you to knock?" He snarled, hating his ruminations to be spoilt.
"Oh, I-I am in-incredibly suh-sorry. I'll re-remember next time."
"Is there any reason why you are here at all, other than to bother me?"
"Uhm, yes. I h-have a message from our King." The servant said, holding out a slip of vellum, like it was a bone for a dog to snatch.
One thing that annoyed the Hero was that everybody was scared of him. Yes, he may look like evil's incarnation, but he was still the same man inside. Maybe these people had forgotten that he had once been the Hero of Time, and had averted the Moon's fall over Termina. Of course, now that he thought about it, Ganondorf's defeat took place in a different future, and Majora's attempt at revenge didn't even concern Hyrule.
Link opened the letter, scanning the scholarly script.
Link,
As soon as you can, I'd like to see you in the courtyard. I have some no doubt familiar faces that I'd like you to re-meet. Also, I hope your archery is still as good as it once was. I wish to test your loyalty.
Natu
The text brought back memories of reading lessons under the Great Deku tree's boughs, Saria guiding his tongue as she explained the written word to him. The unnecessary twirls and points tried to dissuade him, but the general message came across.
"Thank you. I shall see that I comply. You may go." The Hero barked, feeling anger subside in him.
"Oh, Master Link, I'm to accom-accompany you." The servant said with a cautious smile.
"Very well; wait whilst I get my bow."
Link moved to his weapon rack, where, sadly, the Master Sword was missing. He took his bow from the top and strung it, quickly putting it across his chest using the string as a handle. "Let's go." The Hero beckoned, pushing past the servant.
O
The bitter, snow filled air breezed about the courtyard, causing Link to retreat into 'his' tunic. As per the letter, three shapes awaited him. One of these were Natu, the other a giant, toned muscles rippling under his tunic and cloak, and the last a cloaked figure who was not too dissimilar to how Natu had first appeared to The Hero.
"Ah, our champion emerges. Welcome, Link: I'm sure you have met Captain Ganondorf,"
The giant nodded curtly, red mane swirling about his green head. Link returned it, eyes quickly darting elsewhere.
"And our other companion, lovely Lady Zelda." Natu said a grin in his voice as he took her hand. She quickly tried to bring it back to her side, but quickly gave up once the sorcerer's grip proved iron. He brought the appendage to his lips, before disgusted letting it fall. Link was rather taken aback at this revelation. Hadn't, in a previous world, Natu told him Zelda was dead? What was to gain by hiding information like this?
Curse that sorcerer. Curse his very name.
Even to go to the lengths that Natu had, to spoil Zelda's visage like this, was bordering on blasphemous. To reduce not only he, but the crown princess to the undeath he knew only too well...
Natu should lock his doors tonight.
The Hero gave a quick bow, showing the former princess some respect. "Lady Zelda."
In the bleak, frigid light of the noon, Zelda's disfigurement was resplendent in its horror. Her fair skin was replaced with smooth, ashen grey, cobwebbed with the insidious purple veins and their equally vile golden particles. Her brown hair was now remade- or rather reduced to- white, purest white. In its absurd cleanliness, it seemed to harbour more dirt, filth and lies. She seemed to wither away in the sun's rays, and Link could see that see now favoured the shadows. To hide the squalor they both were now.
In once known life, not this mockery he was now, the Princess had been the only person he had answered to. Now, that spot was taken by Natu, unfortunately.
"Master... I hope this isn't idle chatter. I have other work that you have given me," started Ganondorf's grating tones, reluctance and power in a sentence. Had the scourge come to face a power greater than his?
The Hero felt a shiver of fear. He had nearly tasted death at Ganon's hands. If the giant was scared, then Link should be quaking in his boots. To shake the cowardice he felt, the Hero took refuge in Courage, tensing his left hand. Where his Triforce piece should have been, however, was now nothing. His power was gone.
"Farore." He murmured, having lost everything.
"Pardon?" Natu intervened, as if sensing something was afoot.
"I agree, I said. This is a waste of time, meeting those we know." As if to make a point, he took his bow over his head, testing the string.
"Ah, yes; to business of sorts." Natu sagely remarked, bowing his head "Link, you may take the first shot," He said, offering the Hero a flight of arrows, "You should not miss."
"I hope not."
Link took a single arrow, fitting the shaft. Carefully, he raised the weapon, bringing the flight back to his pointed ear. Disconcertingly, various bones clicked into place, his fingers numb.
The Hero steadied his shaking weapon and peered down the arrow, to the bull's-eye. He let the projectile loose, watching as it missed its target, hitting the edge.
"What?!" He exclaimed in disbelief. He'd done it perfectly. The tried and tested method: He had failed. Goddess-damned sickbays, they couldn't put him back together properly.
A slow, sarcastic clap shattered his rage. "Well done. Congratulations are in the offing, Hero of Time. How far have you fallen?"
Link let his weapon out of his hand, a fist of his left hand as the woodwork clattered about. "You said yourself, that I am not as steady as I once was. I have to make use of the limitation that I am."
Natu bowed his head further, pulling up his hood as the snowfall worsened. "True enough. I suppose... I will have to work on your... condition. Ganondorf?"
The Hero picked up his bow as the target reported the King of Thieves' success, right in the centre.
"Those who are obedient to me benefit from my gifts. Where do your loyalties lie?"
Without waiting for Link's answer, Natu called in two guards and a prisoner from the gaol.
The prisoner was as tall as a child, clad in forest green rags, her age timeless. The memories were still fresh in The Hero's head. She was Kokiri, the Sage of the Forest, and Link's best friend.
She was Saria.
The things that had changed were numerous, and not at all pleasant. Blood leaked from a split lip, and her eye was swollen and bruised, cuts and tears everywhere on her person.
"What have you done to her?!" Link demanded, taking a swing at the sorcerer. It never hit the intended target. Instead, Ganondorf immediately caught the fist in his great paw, taking some pleasure in rearranging Link's knuckles with a squeeze.
Link wrenched his hand free, his lip peeling back in rage. He watched as the guards let Saria fall to her knees.
"Believe me, my champion, I wanted to avoid bloodshed."
The Kokiri murmured something which earned her a kick from one of the guards.
Natu turned to face Link, a malicious grin clearly visible from under his black hood. "To prove yourself as Champion, I order you to execute this vixen. High treason, trespassing, attacks against civilians: The list of her unforgivable crimes goes on."
The Hero felt courage rekindle in his hand, burning bright throughout his body.
"One shot to end her suffering. If she really means so much to you, I shall bring her back, like I did with you. Show your faith, Hero."
Then silence fell as everyone looked to Link.
He cautiously put an arrow to his string, hefting it to eye-line.
Saria watched her executioner prepare, no effort to run or to protest: just a tear from her intact eye.
O
Link watched from the window as the blood was cleared, Goddess tears writing over the past.
Natu clearly knew a few tricks, and anticipated rebellion. It hadn't been exactly original to turn just as he shot, and the sorcerer simply used magic to deflect the bolt.
"Why? The pain and sorrow she would have felt, surely it would have been best to end it at your own hand?" asked a long forgotten voice, one of royal standards.
Something the sorcerer was keen to enforce was that the Three Bearers of Triforce were free to wander the castle. Only Natu's rooms and the armoury were out-of-bounds; and the gate, of course.
The sorcerer could not just have his underlings run out from underneath him, could he? Link scoffed slightly, but he was drowned out by his immediate coughing fit. Where would Natu keep the Master Sword? With his sword, The Hero thought, he could simply fight his way out. Then his last crushing defeat drifted up from the abyss of his memories.
Link glanced hatefully over his shoulder, before looking back to the window, mournfully.
Within the open doorway stood Zelda, of all people, and Link did not want a confrontation.
"My Lady, I ask that you knock next time you enter my chambers."
Regardless, the Princess stormed into the room, the end of her fraying skirt trailing like an ominous storm cloud as it curled and unfurled repetitively. Considering they were by the light of the warm candles and not the stark lighting of outdoors, she seemed like some dark, furious siren.
"You are an inconsiderate pig! To take her dignity like that! I'd-"
"You'd what, Zelda? She was my friend. My very first friend, since birth! You've never had a friend like her!"
The Hero paused as his sorrow choked him momentarily.
"I couldn't kill her just like that. Natu asked too much of me. Sometime he will realise I refuse to be his puppet, and that day will come with a knife in his throat."
Link wiped his tear sodden face, turning to face the Princess.
"To you, she was simply a sage, a servant for you to order about, but to me, she was much, much more!"
He stood ready to pelt more of his rage at her, but the Princess' next move threw him.
"I know, I know. She fought until the end." She whispered.
Quickly recovering, he allowed his rage towards the princess to dissipate.
"That villain Natu; He will surely twist her into something evil, something as evil as us." Link said, staring down at his clenched fists.
"Yes..." She murmured, staring at her lifeless hand and she dragged it through her snowy hair. Her reluctance seemed to add to her serene charm, something Link had thought only life could bring.
"We need to talk, about how to take back Hyrule for our own. I cannot accept this travesty our kingdom has become. Saria's death needs to mean something. A sacrifice for a greater cause. We must rid our kingdom of Natu and Ganondorf, and their cruel magic."
The Hero nodded, taking a seat at his table.
"That is not all, Your Majesty. Natu's power comes from a great demon, known as Majora. He is the reason the Moon started to fall over Termina."
He grabbed the nearest tankard of wine, taking a sip to quench his thirst which had amassed in his contemplation.
"I guess... it was revenge, revenge for a deed that had not been done. Alone, abandoned; Majora felt like that, and his grief threw him to destroying everything he once treasured. Friendship can do terrible things, once it is twisted and abused. He turned on each of the four Giants, much like our own Goddesses, and he bent them to his will...
"On whim to a man I once knew, I braved the harsh, unfamiliar landscape to do what I thought right. With each of the Giants from their own realms, I managed to delay the Moon's falling so I could fight off Majora, consign him to his evil mask. Then, once all was said and done, I gave the wretched mask to this Man, who spirited himself and the mask away. "
Link sighed, knotting his fist harder inside his leather gauntlet.
"That, I assumed would be the end. No more of this absurd demon that played the land of Termina like a pair of loaded dice. But the games that are fixed, I once heard someone, long ago, from a foreign land say... the games that are fixed are easiest to best."
Zelda tucked one of her ivory hairs behind her pallid ear, mulling over Link's words. Eventually, she let free her thoughts.
"Maybe, Link, we could seal this Majora in to the Sacred Realm, like the Sages and I did with Ganondorf."
"There are several flaws with that plan. We no longer have all seven sages. Ganondorf was hardly imprisoned for any length of time. Unless..."
"I was released by Natu. Otherwise the Magic would have held for another few hundred years." interrupted the tones from earlier.
Both the Hero and the Princess looked urgently over at the King of Thieves, who stood in the doorway. He uncrossed his arms, striding over to the table to tower above them both.
"What you have said is true: Hyrule belongs to us, not this... imbecile who has claimed it for himself. I do not appreciate how I am now Natu's lackey. Majora needs to be shown its place, and I for one offer my services. If it is rebellion you desire, then I shall not stand in your way."
And, as he had appeared, Ganondorf suddenly took his leave.
"Working with the King of Thieves? That's something I'd hardly do of free will." Link admitted.
"I suppose that several new bonds will have to be forged to cleanse our kingdom." Zelda added thoughtfully.
And so, the Three Bearers of Triforce took a stance to repel the evil demon that plagued their land.
O
Yes, Elunnin Brackswrithe is really a fictious Samuel Smiles, but when I read his Self-Help, I thought that that would be the quote for this chapter. Expect to hear more from Mr Brackswrithe in future.
Please review, because I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings!
(If not, I will find you.)