When you can't sleep, you write. More chapters to be done soon. Please enjoy and review.

Chapter 2

Link swat his sword in the air, getting more used to the feel of the weight with every swing. He opened the map that had mysteriously found it's way into his tunic shirt, and peered over it. Zora Domain was just a pathway south of his general area, which was marked as castle town on he weathered map. It made sense, the stone floors were indication enough of the presence of a castle. He walked along the dried-up stream, irritated by the blowing sand.

The path was littered with dried grass plants and bushes, twigs and sticks were strewn about from the dead trees. The blonde gulped hard, suddenly feeling a nervousness clench his through and the grip on his sword turned into a vice. This is crazy... he began to tell himself. But he continued to look at the withered ground and deadness of the land and his heart sank. Everything deserves a chance to live...

Another small boy held the butterfly by it's wings. "Hey Link! Check out what I caught!"

The little blonde boy gasped in horror. "Let it go! You'll hurt it!"

The other boy looked up in surprise. "I'll let it go...I just wanted to show you I could catch it, see?" He grinned proudly.

The other boy was in near tears.

"Geez Link. You may be tough in a fight, but you've got no guts when it comes to stuff like this, huh?"

Link shook the tiny memory from his head. Even his father had told him he goes too far out of his way for other people...

He ran up a slope of dirt, making his way further into the deep alcove. He was surprised when a large spider-like creature blocked his path, a hard shell on it's back like a turtle. Link gripped his sword tightly. The spider was dark and seemed to exume a shadowy aura. It gave a high-pitched screech and darted towards him. Startled, Link missed the timing of his upswing by a second too early, and the dark spider rammed into him, knocking him back into a wall. Stunned, Link steadied himself against the wall, and barely registered the creature barreling towards him again before he jumped to the side, swinging his sword in an upwards motion and flipping the arachnid creature. Once it was flipped on it's back, Link found the strength to push himself up hard with a powerful jump and lunge a downward thurst in the beast midsection. The creature screeched again, and it eight fuzzy legs curled in pain, brushing against Link and making him shudder. Finally it stilled, clearly dead as a thick purple liquid oozed from the sword stab. Disgusted, the swordsman withdrew his sword and continued down the path.

He ran into several similar spider-like creatures, some smaller than the rest, and some wicked-looking batlike creatures that had spindly claws and blood red eyes. They were swatted away easily enough by his blade, but they looked freakishly evil for wild animals. Finally, he came across what seemed like a dead-end at first, but then he realized that thin strips of earth zig-zagged their way into an opening at the top of what used to be a waterfall. The earth look dry a frail, though, like it could give way at any moment. Link started up the path to the entrance, taking very cautious steps. The pressure of his foot made cracks and dirt fall to the ground below, but it held firm, for now anyway. He was nearly to the top when a sickening cracking sound filled his ears, and his instincts took over as he sprinted the rest of the way, leaping into the hole at the top just as the earth underneath him gave way. He spun and watched from a safe distance as the dried piece of earth plummeted to the ground and shattered into several pieces. Breathing evenly to calm himself down, he continued forward.

Inside the Domain was a huge, almost-empty lake. A tiny amount of water trickled down from a high waterfall and emptied into the very pathetic lake. Creatures were crawling everywhere. Looking around, he noticed that there was also a large gateway that was having quite a bit of water flow through it. He ran down the path in front of him, pausing to slay a spider and the nest it had built, and looked around. An old shop, long abandoned and covered in cobwebs, stole his interest. Judging by the number of webs around it, he was certain some creatures had made their home in the cozy little square. To have earned such a good home it also must be a creature of great strength, so he advanced towards what seemed to be a throne room. A gate in the back, and a hallway leading to the waterfall opening on his left. Link walked up the path and past the gate, entering yet another dried up lake. Boulders and pieces of earth now filled the hole, and he was able to find a path to an interesting cave on the far side of the lake. Making his way towards it, he notices a small spring of water emitting from the hole in the wall, and felt a chill go down his spine from a cool breeze that came from the cave. Cautiously, he proceeded forward...

It was freezing in here. Somehow, while it was blistering hot outside, this cave managed to be completely covered in ice. He shivered and watched his breath in front of him as his arm seemed to be frozen to his sides, trying to keep warm. He swatted at a few of the bat creatures , knocking them into walls and slicing off their wings. To his dismay, one of them had breathed a stream of frigid air at him, freezing his leg to the ground. It failed to dodge his sword swing however, and seemingly died with a puff of smoke. Creatures from the shadows...they must return to where they came from, he surmised, recalling how everything just seemed to puff around him. He shivered suddenly, dragging his frozen foot along with him. This was harder than he thought it would be, but with the prospect of seeing the fields green he hardened his resolve. Luckily, there seemed to be a lit torch next to a doorway of some kind. Having the foresight to stuff a few dried stickes into his supplies was about to seriously pay off. He found a few good steady stones, littered the inside of the circle with the twigs, then used one small twig to transfer a small flame from the torch to his fire. The ice melted slowly, but soon he could feel the pins and needles digging into his foot. Wincing at the pain he massaged his foot thoroughly as soon as he was able to yank the boot off, now soaked with melted ice. As soon as he was sure his foot wasn't in danger of frostbite, he put his boot back on and continued through the cold cavern.

This place was not only cold and full of monsters and ice, but it had puzzles as well. Link was more than discouraged when he realized that he had to take the time to think out the rooms and figure out how to advance. And how was he supposed to find this power to revive the Sapphire? Starting to feel like he was fumbling in the dark, he entered a wide dome-like room that seemed very empty. He noticed, frozen in ice, was an open chest, from who knows how old. Curious, he walked over to investigate, but was swiftly spun around by a sharp object digging into his shoulder and ripping it wide open. Blood dripped down the torn tunic and his arm, and even though the wound stung something fierce, Link was almost grateful for the warmth it covered him in. He spun to see a humanoid with wolf-like features prancing on his legs, back and forth, back and forth. He lunged for another attack with an inhuman growl, swiping at the blonde-haired male with his claws. Link jumped backwards, then used the burst forward with a stroke of his sword and slashed at the creature, successfully landing a deep gash into the things arm. Infuriated, it attacked wildly with low growls and barks. Link parried and jabbed, whittling down the creature until finally he struck a fatal blow, and the creature collapsed on the floor, eyes rolled back and a distgusting thick blue blood flowing from it's wounds. Panting, and injured, Link sat down on the floor, and noticed something behind the creature...

It had dropped a large, ornate shovel, encrusted with gems and made out of a very sturdy yet light material. Link looked closely, and saw that the creature he just killed wore a holster for the shovel on its back. Pleasently surprised, Link removed the holster from the slain beast and attached it to himself. It would need to be washed of the thick blood sometime, but for now he just wanted to find this great power. The added weight to his back was barely noticeable, as the shovel was so light he wondered if it was really a shovel. Investigating the room more, he found a hole behind the old treasure chest. Sighing, and seeing no other way out, he dropped down.

Down the hold was a door, and a large on at that. Oddly enough, it seemed fairly new compared to the rest of the place. Gritting his teeth, he pushed the door open.