The Legend of Zelda

Spirit Tracks

A Novelization by Kerian Halcyon

Chapter 2: Castle Town

The train moved easily as if it was a stone on ice. With a big blow from his whistle for dramatic effect, Link moved the train forward along the tracks as easily as if he was scootching one of his younger cousins for bedtime. He made sure that all of the instruments were running correctly before tossing a bag full of coal into the fire; the equivalent of fuel for the whole 3 hour journey.

Alfonzo poked his head out of the window occasionally to give him some quick quiz questions, as a part of his "final exam." Link was asked to use the gearbox a couple of times; how to properly use it to go faster, slower, lock speeds, or properly use the emergency brake so as to keep passengers from getting endangered. He was instructed to blow the horn whenever they passed farms to ensure that they didn't run over any of the pigs or cows that frolicked nearby. Once, a couple of large, domesticated Bulbos; pigs the size equivalent of Link's wooden engine; decided to rest on the tracks. It was only thanks to Link's timing with his whistle and the fact that Bulbos were light sleepers that the monster-sized pigs didn't get run over.

At last, they were on the long stretch of road towards Whittleton; the first outpost in the whole realm before they would reach the open, hill-covered country that led to Hyrule Castle Town. Knowing that there were no farms for the next few miles, and that they didn't have to worry about any oncoming trains for at least a half an hour before they reach Whittleton, Link left the train running and locked it into gear. Placing an alarm in the form of an hourglass that would ring a bell once all the sand hit the bottom, Link set the dial up for about 45 minutes before opening the door of the passenger car and coming inside.

"Good job so far," Alfonzo said, "You got your hourglass set?"

Link nodded.

"Good. I don't want us accidentally running into another train while we are on the tracks," he said, "The Princess will be rather cross with me if we both came late and wounded."

Link smiled. Alfonzo had been good friends with the princess and the king back when he was a part of the royal guard. However, after the King had died, Alfonzo became distant to the point that he decided to quit the life of a swordsman and begin a more peaceful job of running a train. Alfonzo had been pretty much everywhere, though one of the things he had yet to do was run into another train. Such an accident was scarier than a derailing and deadlier than a boiler blowout. Accidents like that were not very common in the past…though nowadays…

"Alright," Alfonzo said as he gazed down at a map on the table in the passenger car, "This is a map of the Spirit Tracks. We are currently in which realm?"

"Forest," Link replied.

"Good. Now, the tracks outlined in dark colors are tracks that you can use at the moment. All other tracks at this point are off-limits, so until you get to be an associate engineer, you can only go between Aboda, Whittleton, and Castle Town, understand?"

Link nodded. Curiously, he gazed down at the map. There was so much space within the Forest Realm alone, though Link didn't understand why everywhere else was off limits. He had been to Castle Town before and seen its extravagance, and he even saw the forested region of Whittleton once during the routine visits there for lumber that Alfonzo would take him on. However, Alfonzo seemed hesitant to go anywhere else. Link was always curious why, though he never bothered to ask before.

"Alfonzo," Link said, "Why is it that the Spirit Tracks are off limits outside of that area?"

Alfonzo looked hesitant to answer. Before he could, however, they heard something that frightened the both of them out of their wits; a train whistle.

Link was quick to leave the passenger car and get back into the engine. Instinct took over as he pulled down his own train whistle and pulled back the gearbox for the emergency brake. Alfonzo was flung forward and landed hard on the floor of the passenger car. Link ignored the fact that his mentor was hurt, because anything was better than what they had just avoided.

There was a train on the tracks right in front of them. The train had stopped and was blocking the path. Behind it, several workers were busy trying to build an offshoot of the tracks. They were moving westward, towards the Lost Woods, and were busy working long and hard on each individual rail and piece of wood that made up their conglomeration of tracks. Link suddenly realized that there weren't any tracks leading into the forest, even though the map said otherwise.

"Hey, you blockheads!" one of the workers shouted, "Watch where you're going! Can't you see we've got a rail to finish?!"

Alfonzo rubbed his head and poked out of the passenger car. "What in Din's name is going on here?!"

The worker's mood suddenly changed from mad to frightened. He stood up straight and tall and gave a salute. "Alfonzo! I…I didn't know you were making a trip today. The rails weren't booked out of Aboda for at least another three days."

"I've got to take my apprentice to his graduation ceremony," Alfonzo said as he rubbed the bruise forming on his forehead, "Why do you have a train blocking the way to Castle Town?"

The worker looked at the train and then shrugged. "Standard procedure," he said, "We needed something to properly warn people on the tracks that there's people working. Ever since the Spirit Tracks started disappearing, it's been getting harder for us to build these replacement rails. We can move it now if you want."

"We're late enough as it is," Alfonzo said, "Thanks for moving it. Good luck to you."

"May the Spirits smile upon us all," the worker said. He turned over towards the other train and gestured for the engineer inside to move. The small train ahead of them let out a burst of steam before backing up into the newly created rail, giving ample room for Link and Alfonzo's train to move forward. Once the train was far enough back that it wouldn't get in the way, the worker threw a nearby switch in the ground and positioned the tracks so that they would go forward.

Link pushed the gearbox forward. With a loud hiss of steam, the wooden engine moved forward, allowing the two to continue on their journey to Castle Town.

Link and Alfonzo both sat on the two seats on the cockpit of the engine. Link was rather depressed, and it didn't take a genius to see why. Alfonzo sighed and put a hand to his temples, which was a very recognizable sign of him being under stress.

"Why didn't you tell me the Spirit Tracks were disappearing?" Link asked.

Alfonzo didn't even face Link out of regret, instead focusing on the tracks ahead and straightening his bandanna. "They've been disappearing for a while now," he explained, "They're part of why the job's been getting tougher each year. Trains have managed to derail because of small sections of track having been gone, making certain areas inaccessible to trains anymore. The guys at Castle Town have been building replacement tracks ever since, but they are not in any way being in the same quality as the Spirit Tracks. It's just…not possible to replicate."

Link felt his heart sink. Alfonzo placed an assuring hand on his apprentice's shoulder, trying to comfort him as best as he could.

"I know how much this meant to you," he explained, "We'll get by…you'll see. I'll be sure to do everything in my power to make sure you live up to your dad's legacy as a royal engineer. I promise."

Somehow, the promise didn't help Link's mood. The whole reason why he was being an engineer was because it was the wish of his father. His dad had been a royal engineer and had been a respectful man; a legend almost. Link had looked up to him in many ways, and still looked up to him, even though he…

"We're approaching the main tracks now," Alfonzo said, "Whittleton's just ahead. You'd better take the wheel. It's fair game for all other trains from here on out, so don't crash us…"

"Geez, as if I didn't have enough pressure already," Link muttered.

Alfonzo chuckled. "Keep up that attitude, and I might just give you an F," he said with a smile.

The remainder of the day went by uneventfully…save for the fact that the tracks were crammed moreso than usual. Supplies were being sent from Whittleton to the individual track sites by all sorts of trains, most of them being normal passenger cars. Since few people travelled outside of Castle Town save for visits to other realms, there were few customers willing to go places now that the Spirit Tracks were disappearing. Lumber was in high demand for the replacement rails being constructed, but since everything was disappearing it was becoming hard to get all the supplies needed, especially metal. The metal that could be re-used from old junk yards was used in conjunction with wooden planks to make replacement rails. They were very low quality, and nothing was guaranteed to work again after the first time, which meant constant repair on low-quality rails were often demanded.

Link was glad they were going to stay in Castle Town overnight. If that weren't the case, they'd be in deep trouble, since traffic stalled easily at night. Link didn't like the prospect of sleeping overnight in his wooden train, which would surely happen if they had to stop for workers on the replacement rails. Alfonzo was tense as well, mostly because of the fact that there was nothing they could really do to stop what was happening.

Link's heart managed to lift up when they saw the well-familiar landmark that meant that they were close to Castle Town; the Spirit Tower. Like a lighthouse in the ocean, or a beacon in a dark cave, the tower was a welcoming sight. Standing taller than the tallest keep in Castle Town, it was easily the biggest construction in all of New Hyrule. It was older than time itself, yet it never managed to wear down over time and kept its same, multi-colored stones in relative quality throughout its existence.

Link could not help but marvel at its sight, and almost forgot to slow down for the next turn. Using the specialized switches aboard the train, he guided the wooden engine to its primary destination; Castle Town Station. With the Spirit Tower in sight, Castle Town was never far behind it. The huge walls and parapets made the whole city seem like a rock sticking out of the open ocean; a welcome reprieve amidst all of the drone of color around them, in this case the color of green grass. The cobblestones and gigantic, cubic rocks hewn from gigantic quarries seemed to welcome the sunlight with their bright gray coloring.

However, even Link managed to notice the deeply set shadows that the castle gave, reflecting New Hyrule's dark hour. Even individual cracks gave out more blackness than usual, making the castle city appear rather gloomy and forboding. The noise from inside, however, suggested that the people within weren't going to let such a mood stop them from everyday life, and the prospect of Hyrule Castle Town's wild life brought Link's hopes up, and already a smile was creeping on his face.

Link used the switches on his engine's dashboard to turn the tracks, allowing him to enter the station. Since the switch automatically turned in the direction that the tracks were facing; either left or right; it was easy to use the switch to turn the tracks about. The tracks would magically correspond with the switch and allow the engine to go in the direction it wanted to go,without the need of stopping the vehicle and move an external switch on its own. The prospect was discovered originally by the natives living in the country before New Hyrule was founded, though they didn't use steam-powered locomotives to drive the tracks.

Link slowly parked the engine into one of the circular track areas that housed a nearby shed, which was used to house any train when not in use on the tracks. For this part, he had to finish the job manually. Alfonzo followed him out of the train and supervized as Link pulled the different switches to move the platform so that his train was backwards to the shed he wanted to go. Specifically choosing Alfonzo's reserved shed, he hopped in the train and backed it up until it was completely submerged inside of the garage. There, he shut down the whole systems, locked up the coal box and the passenger car, and then closed the shed door.

"Well done, Link," Alfonzo said proudly, pulling the switch back to allow the platform's tracks to face the outside of the 'garage' so more trains could get in, "You passed with flying colors! Now all you need is your diploma, and you are ready for the rails!"

Link smiled warmly. "Thanks, Alfonzo," Link said, "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Thank me later, Link," his mentor replied, "You aren't done until you get to the castle. Now, thank the Spirits that we managed to get here earlier than I thought. Since we are here early, I'm going into town to pick up a few things and reserve a hotel room. You head on over to the castle and I'll meet you there within ten minutes. Whatever you do, don't go into the throne room without me. I don't want to miss out."

Link nodded. "You can count on me, sir!" he said with a salute.

Alfonzo smiled. "Get a move on," he said. And with that, he was gone.

10 minutes of freedom in Castle Town was like 10 minutes of paradise for the young boy. Link had only been in Castle Town a few times; enough so that he had already known where to go on the streets, what parts of the city were available, and which ones were off limits…like, Red-Line-District-Off-Limits. Many people knew Link already, and several wished him luck and congratulations for graduating.

Link heard a lot about the widespread downfall of the Spirit Tracks. Thus far, all of the trading outposts had been cut off. There were only three places accessible to Castle Town via the Spirit Tracks now; Whittleton, Aboda Village, and the Spirit Tower. Many fanatical individuals or very religious priests were stating about how Hyrule was in a time of mortal peril, that the people should remain calm in this dark time, and that they should trust in the Spirits for guidance. Indeed, both Golden Goddess worshippers and Spirit worshippers had gathered together in town squares to discuss ways to solve the matter at hand. Link decided to ignore them for now; he wasn't exactly the most religious fellow around. Sure, he believed in the Spirits and Goddesses, but he hadn't been to a church sermon in forever, and hadn't gone very often ever since…

Link made his way north towards the castle. He passed several vendors and shops along the way, and waved hello to the people he knew as he went past. Some of the more bold shopkeepers openly came out and offered their wares to Link, who simply declined what they had to offer. It's not like what they had wasn't interesting; swords and shields, assorted tools, cucco fricase, ice cream freshly frozen using what little of the special freezing ice that shopkeepers had left in town, etc; however, Link knew that he didn't have the time to spare, so he ignored them all and just kept going.

Finally, the big archway that led to the castle was in sight. As he approached, he saw something rather odd; a red mailbox was bobbing up and down, trying to catch his attention. Everyone else ignored it, which made Link wonder whether or not he was seeing things, but he was soon mistaken as a man approached him and tapped his shoulder.

"It looks like the mailbox is bobbing for you," the man said.

"I've got mail?" Link asked, "All the way here in Castle Town?"

"The Mail system uses magic," the man explained, "once a mailman is nearby who has a letter for a specific someone, the mailbox will move up and down to get that person's attention." He cocked an eyebrow. "You never got mail from a mailbox like this before?"

"Uh…come to think of it, no." Link said. To be honest, the mailboxes in Aboda Village were all plain and ordinary. There was nothing very special about them…at least, he thought that there wasn't anything special about them.

The man smiled. "Just come over to the mailbox and touch it," he said, "It'll do the rest. Have a fun time in Castle Town, boy!"

The man left and returned to the throng that was the rush-hour crowd in the city. Link looked over at the bouncing, bobbing mailbox and shrugged. He may as well try it out. Approaching the moving wooden box, he tapped it once with a finger.

The box held still. Right away, Link heard a noise that sounded like a mini train whistle. Backing away, as if expecting a tiny train to come through, Link saw a pretty comical sight ahead of him. Off to the left, a man in a red uniform and wearing a strange, tall, red cap similar to the caps worn by older generations of engineers, was approaching the mailbox. What was comical was that he was moving around like a train; his arms moved back and forth, his legs moved in time with each arm, and he even made noises to sound like the steam coming out of a wood engine. When he made it to the mailbox, he stopped and made a 90 degree turn in Link's direction.

"Special delivery for a Mr…Link!" the mailman shouted, "Is there a Mr. Link anywhere near here?"

Link approached the man. "I'm Link," he said.

The man's eyes widened. "Wow! You're kind of…young. And in an engineer's uniform! You must be a graduate. I usually only deliver letters to people who have come of age. Congratulations!" The man gave a graceful salute. "Hey, howdy hey, mister!" he said, "Postman number 99 at your service! You can just call me Postman…everybody does…"

Link cocked an eyebrow. The man relaxed a little bit and chuckled in embarassment.

"Eh, heh, heh," he said, "I'm just an average guy. Really. I just do this postman gig to get by. You know, put food on the table. It's not an easy job, but it's a livin.'"

"I understand," Link said, "So…you have a letter for me?"

"Wah? OH! Oh, yes," the postman cleared his throat, "Ahem! I've got a letter specifically addressing you, from my…eh…boss. I'll just read it aloud."

"Read it aloud?" Link asked, "Isn't that…kind of, you know…rude?"

The Postman laughed. "Haha! Just kiddin.' We used to do things that way, back before New Hyrule and all that, but not anymore. Some folks thought that reading it aloud was rude, so now we just deliver the letters. Sure, it gives you a mess, but in exchange for privacy many people would take the mess." He began to rummage around in a pack on his waist. "Now, let me see…where is it? I know I put it in here somewhere! Aw…come on. There! Got it!"

He pulled out a very neatly made envelope from inside of the pack and handed it over to the young engineer. "Here you go, Mr. Link! This is for you. Now that I delivered it safely, my work is done. See you around!"

Without another word, the Postman turned 90 degrees right and resumed his comical routine of pretending to be a train, whistling in the air to get people to move aside. Link finally let out a very well hidden bout of laughter, and almost fell flat on his butt again. Taking the letter in his hand, he opened it up and looked inside.

The paper was made out of an old style of parchment. The ink was black and very well written, and a familiar logo of an envelope with wings was placed on the lower-right corner of the paper. Link began to read the letter silently to himself next to the mailbox.

Dear Link,

Our new postal system has started running today. We read your name in the registration recently and decided to send a check-up letter to make sure you were informed of the new mailing system. Everyone who comes of age at 15 years old, or who are about to become graduated from an apprenticeship, are registered into our network either via magic, personal request, or by a guardian. If you are reading this, it means my new postman is doing the his job right.

Postman 99 is brand spanking new to our system. Though he has the right stuff; supposedly he's descended from the same postman that delivered mail across the islands via his makeshift backpack wings that we use in our trademark logo; he seems to be a little…odd. However, he is as efficient as they come, and we have yet to have a complaint about him from our customers. Do us a favor…be nice to him, won't you? He's kind of sensitive about the way he acts, and can get depressed real easily. Laughter unless told by a joke is generally discouraged in his presence. We'll be in touch again if anything new comes up or goes wrong…hopefully the latter won't happen.

Personal congratulations for your oncoming graduation!

Sincerely in writing,

--The Postmaster

Link looked over the letter again to make sure he didn't miss anything. When he was finished, he folded up the parchment and put it in his pouch for safe keeping. Deciding that enough time had been wasted, he made his way through the great archways and up towards Hyrule Castle.

Looks like destiny awaits, Link said to himself.

The outside of the castle was as glamourous as the city, if not moreso. The extravegant grounds were covered in rare forms of bluegrass, specifically meant for decoration, and hedges cut up into different forms of artwork ranging from animals to symbols of Hyrule's culture and royalty dotted the lawns and lined the walls of the castle.

Link walked slowly down the marble walkway towards the castle. He had never been over here before, and as such it was only natural for him to take everything in at once. As he did, he noticed a strange sight straight ahead of him. Two guards, each dressed in the green uniform of the King's personal army, were blocking the door for a rather strange man who looked as if he had wings growing out of his arms.

"But it's imperitive that I see his majesty!" the man said, "This is something that is of dire need of Hylian assistance! The Rito colony is in trouble!"

"His majesty has been dead for five years," one of the two soldiers said, "If you wish for an audience with him, Rito, then go northeast for about a mile and dig down about 20 feet until you find his crypt."

"Then I should speak with whoever is next in line," the man said, "Where is the fabled princess? By the grace of Medli, I must see her!"

"The Princess is not apt for rule at this time," the second soldier said, "Save for several specific duties, she isn't in charge yet. Chancellor Cole is the only one fit enough to run the country, and he has asked for no visitors…man or otherwise."

"Surely there must be some way that I can talk to them?" the man asked, "The Rito Colony needs supplies, badly! I have to talk to the princess for permission to ask for permission to use the Spirit Tower as a conjunction to use the remaining tracks to reach the colony!"

"That is unacceptable," the first soldier growled, "The Spirit Tower is off-limits to all but the Royal Family of Hyrule. There is no way we are going to let some islander bird-man to enter it!"

The man roared in frustration. His outburst caused the two soldiers to shove him back and raise their spears. The man simply calmed down and shook his wings as if they were a cape or an extension of sleeves.

"Fine," the man said, "If you shall not answer to the pleas of the Rito, then I shall look for help elsewhere."

The man finally turned around. Link got a good look at his face and body features, and almost felt his mouth drop open. The man wasn't really a man at all. He had the body of one, yes, but he had wings attached to his arms. If that had not been considered odd at first, the fact that the man's lower legs were hawk-like sure did, and the beak on the man's face certainly fit the description of being strange.

The bird-man walked on the marble walkway towards the archway out of the castle. As he did, he noticed Link was staring at him. When he was within five feet of Link, he bent down and stared back, giving Link full view of the beak on his face.

"What's the matter, boy?" the man said in a deep voice, "Have you ever stared into the eyes of a Rito before?"

"N-n-n-no," Link said nervously, "You're the first Rito I've ever seen in my life."

The Rito cocked an eyebrown and snorted. "Don't make it a habit at staring at someone different," he said, "We are all the same inside, regardless of race." He sniffed the air. "You are young. What is a boy doing here in the castle?"

"I'm graduating into an engineer," Link said. He let a little pride slip into his voice, and his mouth contorted to form a small smile.

The Rito lifted his body and smiled back. "Good luck and congratulations, then," he said, "Had times have been different, I would have asked for you to visit my colony…but with the state of the tracks, I doubt you'll ever see the Ocean Realm in your lifetime…later, kid."

The Rito kept walking towards the archway, never once looking back at the castle. Link watched the bird-man go. He couldn't help but feel kind of sorry for him, even moreso since, in a sense, they were both rather helpless in the face of a much darker tragedy.

What is wrong with the Spirit Tracks? Link asked himself. What could this mean to Hyrule?

To be continued…

Kerian: Okay, I bet you guys want an explanaition as to why there is a Rito in Spirit Tracks. Personally, I was bummed out when they didn't show up in Phantom Hourglass, and even more bummed out when they didn't arrive in its sequel, so I thought...why don't I just add an original character for a little while into the story, just to shake things up? This guy is the result. He doesn't really shake things up as far as canonity is considered, but he's going to play a small part in the whole of the story. If you guys don't like it...put it this way; at least I'm not going off and making up a whole bird-like race like they did in the Ocarina of Time manga...lol.

For those of you who already stated it, I know I goofed up when I called the birds on the symbols of the trains cuccos instead of doves. Alright...my bad. In the heat of the moment, people tend to make mistakes. Sadly, I'm one of those people. Don't worry, though...I made up an excuse that can ensure that canonity stays intact, though you won't find out until Chapter 4...Muahahahaaaa!

Ciela: Geez, Kerian. Enough with the laugh, already!!

Kerian: *tries to ignore the green fairy hovering around his head* Okay, since I got that by, I guess that's it as far as author's notes are considered. Oh...and the Postman is guaranteed to show up in this story. It wouldn't be a Spirit Tracks fanfic without him, would it? Now, I'll let you guys wait patiently for the next chapter release, and until next time...

Ciela: We, out!

-Kerian and Ciela