Three down...one more to go. Finally.
As Link had suspected, there was much, much more to this little bargain he had with the old man after all. He hadn't wanted just a single treasure from only one of these shrines…
He wanted four of them.
The old man had Link running positively ragged across the plateau, encountering hostile creatures at nearly every turn. This ranged from more of those easily killable red monsters -bokoblins as the old man called them - to packs of wild wolves on a snowy mountaintop. Even had to fight off skeletal undead versions of those bokoblins too. These stupid things ensured that he could never even once settle down for a brief rest when the sun set. They seemed to spawn endlessly from the ground in constant waves during the night...
He'd also encountered a few more husks of the same ancient machinery he'd seen at the Temple of Time before…
Except these units had been functioning.
A few missed blasts of supercharged energy, aimed directly at him, had completely melted the stone walls behind him. This was enough to force Link to simply avoid fighting these immobile machines altogether. He wasn't an idiot after all. Stubbornly bold and courageous, perhaps.
But not an idiot.
He hadn't apparently survived 100+ years just to get vaporized by ancient crippled automatons. Favoring stealth instead, he had crept past them and through the ruins they were housed in so he could reach the shrine that was located there. He had retrieved the treasure that was inside, then sneaked out the same way he had arrived.
Meanwhile, that old man had strangely been spotted all over the plateau. Seemed to always be one step ahead of wherever Link was trying to get to. And with each encounter, he'd frustratingly change the main objective on him.
"I need two treasures. Did I not say?" he'd told Link after the first shrine trial.
No. You didn't say.
"Oh I'm terribly sorry, I actually meant four. The final treasure can be found on that snowy frostbitten mountaintop there. Did I not mention?"
No! You did not!
So here he now found himself in the midst of a mountaintop snowstorm...waist-deep in snow...exhausted and sleepy. The wind was biting against any exposed skin. The ends of his hair were frozen solid, he couldn't feel his toes... or his hands really. Wasn't even completely certain he still had a face.
Still, he stubbornly made his way to what would be the very last shrine, according to the old man. Really, Link had no more reason to trust any further assurances from that codger at this point. But he trudged along...
It had been two long and painful days since his awakening into this forsaken world. He hardly had a single moment to himself. Being persistently on the move at least had the benefit of tortuously training and conditioning Link for his likely trials ahead. Still, he felt as if he were pretty much eternally looking for a good spot to stop and catch his breath, all while being forced to move on to each next objective immediately.
Torture and training... Be careful what you wish for.
On the bright side, he had a full belly now. Learning to hunt and cook quickly solved that problem for him. A seemingly bottomless rucksack - gifted to him by the old man - now contained about twelve or thirteen carefully roasted hunks of steak. Delicious. Therapy for his stomach, warmth for the soul.
Now he just had to do something about his massive sleep deprivation issue… Another century of sleep, perhaps?
Ha!
He continued to slosh his way through the ever-thickening snow, clad in a warm doublet also lent to him by the old man for this final excursion. For all his grievances against him, Link was thankful that the mysterious old stranger was at least freely giving him the basics of what he needed to get by. And he'd thanked him each time.
"Your retrieval of the treasures is all the thanks I need," the man had replied.
Right...we will see about that.
Link ascended a small hill, breathing into his hands in a vain effort to keep them warm.
Must be close, he thought. I've explored just about every inch of this damned mountain...
He reached the top of the hill, and with weary, tired eyes he peered through the snow and fog...and finally saw the welcoming orange glow of the last shrine.
YES.
Stamina suddenly renewed, Link sprinted towards the shrine. It was perched precariously atop a small but steep hill which he would have to climb. Without hesitation, he jumped onto the rock face and began to scurry his way up. He ignored the sharp signals of pain that his bloody, frostbitten fingers shot towards his brain.
If there'd been only one thing he'd discovered about himself over the last couple of days, it was that he had a superbly high tolerance for pain. He did hope that he wouldn't have to test the limits of that anytime soon, however.
After a short climb, he arrived. He examined the shrine immediately but there were no surprises to be found here. Its entrance was designed exactly like the last three shrines: an ornately-sculpted brown and orange-glowing cone with a pedestal nearby. Scanning his slate on the pedestal's sensor would allow him access, so he did just that. The orange glow emanating between the stone etchings on the shrine's surface changed to blue. The several interlocking bars of stone serving as doors folded themselves inward, giving him access to the platform that would send him into the depths of the shrine. Link stepped on the platform, took a moment to gather his thoughts as it descended. Reaching into his bag he pulled out a large chunk of meat and began gnawing on it absentmindedly.
He wondered what new toy he'd find in this particular shrine. Within each of the previous shrines he had retrieved far more than just mere treasure, after all. Housed in each one were pedestals that upgraded his Sheikah Slate with new "runes," which were mystical applications that gave it some interesting world-bending capabilities:
In the first shrine, he'd found magnesis - a rune for his slate that allowed him to move large metallic objects at ease.
Next was the bombs, which at a single touch of the slate's screen produced glowing blue explosives. Seemingly from thin air. The pyromaniac inside of him had a field day with these, blowing up enemies he encountered left and right once he'd left the shrine.
And then there was stasis, which allowed him to hold both small and large objects in place. He discovered that kinetic energy was stored in anything targeted with stasis, and he had spent more than just a few minutes of his time beating and launching massive boulders all across the Great Plateau. This provided him with a few precious moments of eased tension, as indicated by the childlike giggles each successful launch produced from him.
If the old man had seen this, he'd surely have scolded him for wasting time. Not that Link cared. There was only one person on that plateau wasting another's time…
And that person most certainly isn't me, he'd thought.
Link stepped off the platform and into the shrine. As expected, the ghostly voice of this shrine's Sheikah monk greeted him.
"To you who sets foot in this shrine... I am Keh Namut. In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I offer this trial." The words echoed through the shrine's interior.
Link scanned his Sheikah Slate in a nearby pedestal.
"Sheikah Slate authenticated" it read "Distilling rune."
He found it no mere coincidence that these monks shared the 'Sheikah' moniker with his strange device. This ancient tribe, or race, or whatever it was, clearly had a huge hand in shaping the world he found himself in. He'd be interested in digging up more information about them, if he could ever manage the time… between boulder-launching, and fighting back calamities and such.
The pedestal finished condensing the information onto his slate, again 'dropping' it on with yet another loud PLOP.
The word 'cryonis' appeared on his screen. 'Create a pillar of ice from a water surface.'
Ah, just what I need right now. More ice. He was still shivering from his frigid trek up the mountain.
The trials he faced in this particular shrine were designed around this new application, just like the others were for their respective runes. Curiously, Link found that each trial also seemed like it was geared to train him specifically. But perhaps he was being too self-important for thinking that.
I'm not even remotely worth all of this preparation… can't even run ten feet without wanting to die, he thought, as he used his new cryonis rune to build another large tower of ice out of the water in front of him.
Nevertheless...I have to admit. These runes are quite awesome.
Within these shrines, Link had encountered several of what he recognized as miniaturized versions of the great mechanical beasts that had tried to kill him in the ruins before. These units, however, seemed designed to train rather than annihilate. As a result, Link had loads of fun toying with them.
And it was no different in this shrine. He turned the corner after lifting a closed gate up out of the water with an ice block, and he saw another one of these little guardian robots patrolling the corridor ahead. It had yet to spot him, however. Link crept through the shallow water, slowly, then climbed on top of the little machine and sat atop its head. Knowing something was amiss, the half-domed head of the robot began to spin around wildly, and Link held on tight for the ride. He admittedly felt a bit of guilt in doing this, knowing that there were greater priorities. But he had a feeling that - in the past - it would have been typical of him to combat stress and tragedy with comedy.
When he'd had his fill of this wild spinning entertainment, Link pulled one of his arrows from the pouch on his back and jammed it straight into the single glowing eye of the machine. He jumped off and turned around in time to see the doomed robot fizzle with energy, then explode in a shower of sparks. After collecting the parts it left behind, which he was certain would come in handy later, he started to make his way towards the end of the shrine.
But before leaving the room, he noticed a small glowing chest sitting on the wall in the chamber. His compulsive nature would not allow him to leave without collecting every single little treasure that he could find in each of these shrines. So he used a cryonis ice block to elevate himself high enough to look inside.
And he was glad he did. Inside, he found an old weapon - a spear! - that felt instantly comfortable in his hands. Ignoring the fact that it should not at all be possible for such a long pole to be housed inside this chest, he tested the spear out, jabbed at the air in front of him...
This felt good.
He jumped down from the wall, and suddenly felt compelled to sprint down the corridor, stabbing the spear ahead of him with one arm then spinning back onto his feet in a seamless motion. The move came naturally to him. Far too naturally for him really, causing him to wonder just how good his spearsmanship had been in his past life.
He stood there for a minute... gripped the spear more tightly in his hands, examined it...he began to drift away as if in a dream.
His mind swirled with intense nostalgia as visions started flashing in his eyes...
He was younger… much younger.
A large metallic spear was clutched in his small hands. Cold to the touch.
He saw another pair of red hands, warm and friendly, guiding his arms and his movements as he propelled the spear forward repeatedly.
Before long, the hands let go, and he continued lunging the spear into the air in front of him on his own. Comfortably, and confidently.
"Very good form, Link!" a soft, serene voice said behind him.
The sound of it warmed his heart. Link smiled, turned around.
The female voice belonged to someone a little bit taller than him, red in color, a totally different species…but he couldn't make out the face. It was a blur to him. All he could recognize was...
...A pair of bright yellow eyes.
Link gasped as the dream broke. He realized he'd been holding his breath the whole time. This was by far the most vivid vision yet.
It wasn't much...but it was something. He hoped this was just a harbinger of more memories still to come. He strapped his new favored weapon to his back and proceeded to complete the remaining trials within the shrine - nothing that required too much critical thinking. A simple matter of balancing a large see-saw with an ice block underneath, and he had made his way to the Sheikah monk of this shrine.
Like all the others, this one appeared to have been mummified or sealed away ages ago. He was encased in a transparent blue cube of energy, likely preserving and protecting the body of the monk for the duration of his time there. Also like the previous ones, Link wasn't entirely sure if this one was alive or not…
He touched the barrier, and it exploded all around the room in a shower of blue sparks.
"Your resourcefulness in overcoming this trial speaks to the promise of a hero..." the monk's voice echoed through the chamber. The monk then gifted Link with the treasure of each shrine - a purple orb with a faint yellow glow emanating from the interior. On its surface was a symbol - a yellow pair of wings. Link still had no idea what the crazy old man wanted with these strange little items...but he had a feeling he'd be finding that out rather shortly.
His duty fulfilled, the monk slowly dematerialized and floated away in a flurry of greenish-blue particles of light.
"May the goddess be with you…" the voice trailed off.
"And you as well…" Link said automatically.
Link emerged from the shrine.
And that's a wrap! He thought, excitedly. Now he just needed to track down that old-
"OHO!"
Never mind.
The voice was, of course, coming from the old man who was yet again descending gracefully on his paraglider right towards Link.
"With this," the man said as he landed, "you have now acquired all of the Spirit Orbs from the shrines on this plateau."
"How did you-" Link began. "...Never mind."
"Oho ho!" the old man exclaimed. "Extraordinary. That means it is now time to tell you everything."
Yes. Finally.
"But first..." he grinned and began to turn. And suddenly Link realized that yet another stupid little game of his was likely coming. Maybe it was the fatigue, or the cold, or a combination of it, but something snapped in Link's brain.
"NO!" he shouted. "No 'but first' ! No more games, no more anything!"
The old man raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me Link, but-"
"I've had it with you!" Link said. "There's always a catch. Always. And for what? Is that how you get your sick entertainment? Jerking me around like a toy? Just be up-front with me. That's all I ask!"
The old man tried to keep his poise.
"I see. Link, listen to me. I understand your frustration, but-"
"No more." Link said flatly. "I am tired, I am cold, I am sleep-deprived...and you know what? I can pretty much handle all that. No problem.
But you.
All you've done since I got here is lie and deceive and manipulate me for kicks... all while hiding behind that big bushy beard of yours! ...if that's even a real beard!"
The old man was taken aback at that one.
Link wasn't being serious, of course. The beard was most certainly real.
But he wasn't about to miss an opportunity to give the old man a taste of his own silly medicine. Link was seeing red, and he had a point to prove: he was not getting jerked around by this guy anymore. He could endure just about anything this world would throw at him - but one thing he knew he absolutely couldn't stand...was flaky people.
"Oho ho…" the old man laughed, nervously at first, before suddenly exploding in a fit of joyful laughter. This carried on for several seconds.
"After so many years…" he eventually said, through tears of joy, "I finally get to see the true Link, once hidden behind a silent, stoic mask. Snarky, bold, impatient, straight-forward...and I daresay quite funny indeed! Hohoho..."
Link wasn't at all sure what the old man meant by that. But he finally started to calm down.
"A century ago you would not have even dared to utter such words to me." the old man explained. "My, my, how tragedy changes our perspectives…how quickly our fickle wealth and social status will disappear with failure." He grinned at Link. "I assure you that I am not offended, young one. Quite the contrary, I am pleased... Pleased to know that amnesia has torn down the great walls that once contained your raw emotion." The old man pointed at Link's Sheikah Slate.
"Look at your map. I want you to meet me at the place where two lines drawn between each of the four shrines would intersect-"
Link raised an eyebrow at him.
The old man coughed.
"Er….the Temple of Time, that is. Meet me there," he explained, smiling.
Link grinned, and the old man simply disappeared from right there in front of him.
Now that's more like it, Link thought.
No more cryptic instructions. No more secrets.
That old temple statue came in handy after all.
Link was ascending the tall ladder to the top of the Temple of Time, having taken a brief stop to pray at what he now identified as the statue of the ancient goddess Hylia.
"Time has stolen your health and vigor from you, oh courageous one," an ethereal voice had said as he prayed. "I can offer you restorative power, in exchange for the symbols of your courage you have attained within the shrines."
So that's what these orbs were.
He felt instantly energized after praying, so much so that he was practically hoppingup this ladder to where the old man was waiting.
I traded away the treasures he wanted ...Link thought. Oops.
But he knew deep down that this was what the old man had intended for him in the first place…
Night had settled in during Link's long trek off of the mountain and towards the Temple of Time. Fortunately, there was just enough light from the bright moon to see his way around the rooftop. The old man was in a destroyed room towards the front part of the temple roof. He smiled as Link arrived.
"Now then... The time has come to show you who I truly am," he said.
"I...was King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule. The last leader of this once-great kingdom."
A brilliant flash of light, and the old man had disappeared…
In his place, clad in regal clothing, was the ghost of the old man. He was suspended above the ground, surrounded by bright blue-green flames that danced in the darkness.
"The Great Calamity was merciless..." he began. "It devastated everything in its path, lo, a century ago. It was then that my life was taken away from me. I have remained here, in spirit form, since that time."
Link wanted to say something, but he found himself utterly speechless at this revelation. He'd already suspected that the old man, Rhoam, had some connection to the kingdom.
But he was the king?
Whoa.
"I must apologize for leaving you in the dark for so long." continued Rhoam. "But I did not find it wise to overwhelm you while your memory was still fragile. I thought it best to assume a temporary form for the time being." He turned slowly, and floated towards the shattered window facing Hyrule castle in the distance.
"Forgive me." Rhoam paused for a few seconds, then glanced back at Link.
"I believe you are now ready...ready to hear what happened 100 years ago."
Link nodded, and the same nostalgic feeling he'd felt multiple times before began to settle into his heart. His vision narrowed, melted… to the scene of a great castle. Hyrule castle. The great beast was swirling around it.
The voice of King Rhoam cut across the scene in front of him.
"You must learn the history of the demon king… in order to truly understand. He was born into this kingdom, but over time was transformed into the raw, horrifying malice you see before you."
The scene of the vision changed again. A tall, dark-skinned man with sharp features and a large nose stood before him...hair red and wild like a roaring flame…
This was the demon king.
He then morphed into a raging monster, a massive horned pig. The face vaguely resembled the swirling mass of malice around the castle…
"Stories of Ganon were passed from generation to generation in the form of legends and fairy tales," Rhoam said. "But there was also...a prophecy. 'The signs of a resurrection of Calamity Ganon are clear, and the power to oppose it lies dormant beneath the ground.'"
The vision changed to a large rock wall, with several men and women chipping away at the stone with large tools.
"We decided to heed the prophecy and began excavating large areas of land. We discovered several ancient relics made by our distant ancestors."
The rock wall suddenly exploded in a shower of boulders and dust. The face of an enormous beastlike machine emerged.
"These relics, the Divine Beasts, were giant machines piloted by warriors."
A group of men surrounded a husk of one of the ruined energy-blasting guardian robots that had been scattered around the Temple of Time.
"We also found the Guardians, an army of mechanical soldiers who fought autonomously. This coincided with legends oft-repeated in our land... We learned of a princess with a sacred power, and her appointed knight, chosen by the sword that seals the darkness."
Back to Ganon, the demon king... a green-clad figure emerged into Link's view, fighting off Ganon. At his side, a beautiful blond-haired woman clad in white robes. Link could feel time rushing past within the vision, the figures changing as it did: different faces, heights, eye colors, clothing….but the demon king remained the same in each iteration.
As did the result: its demise at the hands of these two.
"It was they who sealed Ganon away using the power of these ancient relics."
Another scene change… to what appeared to be the latest incarnation of these two heroes. Their faces were obscured from view, and only their silhouettes could be seen.
"One hundred years ago, there was a princess set to inherit a sacred power and a skilled knight at her side. It was clear that we must follow our ancestors' path."
The king didn't even need to finish. Link could tell that the male figure in this vision was, in fact, him. And this woman? Must surely have been the voice that was coming from the castle. The princess.
"We selected four skilled individuals from across Hyrule and tasked them with the duty of piloting the Divine Beasts."
Four individuals now stood in front of the princess… with Link himself in the middle.
"With the princess as their commander, we dubbed these pilots Champions. A name that would solidify their unique bond. The princess, her appointed knight, and the rest of the Champions were on the brink of sealing away Ganon…"
Link suspected what was coming next.
"But nay...Ganon was cunning, and he responded with a plan beyond our imagining."
Back to the castle, massive dark clouds floated above as the malice swirled and spun around it, thunder, lightning, rumbling...like a great earthquake. And a mighty bloodcurdling roar from the beast… from the demon king, which shook the entire world at its very foundation. Balls of dark energy erupted from the castle, possessing the guardians being cleaned and examined by workers at the castle. Some of the energy also began possessing each of the divine beasts. The blue light emanating from their interior changed from blue to purple, dark with malice.
"He appeared from deep below Hyrule Castle, seized control of the Guardians and the divine beasts. And turned them against us. The champions lost their lives. Those residing in the castle as well."
Back to the castle, where swarms of possessed guardians wreaked epic destruction upon the populace of the castle town. Buildings were on fire as superheated energy blasted its way from the singular eye atop each guardian's head. They marched quickly through on their mechanical tentacled legs, trampling citizens underfoot.
Link cringed at the screams of pain and agony that emanated from inside the buildings, as people were vaporized left and right by the corrupted guardians.
"The appointed knight, gravely wounded, collapsed while defending the princess. And thus the kingdom of Hyrule was devastated absolutely by Calamity Ganon."
"However...the princess survived…
...to face Ganon alone."
The princess now stood in front of the ruined Hyrule Castle."Link…" the female voice from earlier...the princess... "Link, you are our final hope. The fate of Hyrule rests with you!" Her cry was desperate, longing.
The great beast, swirling above, turned its attention to the princess. He could see its face quite clearly now, demonic, bestial. A mere shell of the demon king's visage he'd seen before. As the princess held her hand in the air, a bright glow emanating from it, the beast suddenly dove in to consume her, and-
The vision ended. Link was back in the room at the temple of time, Rhoam floating in front of him again. He was breathing heavily. The vision was so vivid, so real, that it was like he had actually been there. And he realized with absolute certainty now….that he had.
"That princess was my own daughter. My dear Zelda." said Rhoam, his voice full of sadness and regret.
"And I believe that you've come to realize...that you were the chosen knight who fought bravely at her side. Until the end." He turned to face Link directly. "You were immediately taken to the Shrine of Resurrection. Here you now stand, revitalized, 100 years later."
"Well," Link said, breaking his silence, "that solves the biggest mystery of all for me. I wondered where all these awesome scars had come from…" his lighthearted sarcasm helped ease the dark mood, and even Rhoam found himself smiling.
"And I also presume," Link continued "...that the words of guidance I have been hearing since i woke up have been coming from Zelda herself?"
Rhoam nodded. "You are just as sharp in the mind as your appetite is deep…" he mused. "Even now, as she works to restrain Ganon from within Hyrule Castle, she calls out for your help. But her power will soon be exhausted. Once that happens, Ganon will freely regenerate himself and nothing will stop him from consuming our land." his mood suddenly turned serious. "Link, I have absolutely no right to ask this of you, as a king who failed to protect his own kingdom." his hands curled into fists. "But I am powerless here. You must save her...my daughter. And do whatever it takes to annihilate Ganon." He turned again to face the broken window. "Somehow, Ganon has maintained control over all four divine beasts. Freeing them from his grasp - as well as the souls of the champions within - will be paramount to your success. As will figuring out a way to deal with the dozens of guardians surrounding Hyrule Castle…"
Link clasped his hands together. "Right...so... I probably shouldn't charge head-on into the castle and try to slaughter Ganon with a tree branch and a couple of arrows then, right?"
The king chuckled. "While I do not doubt your abilities… and as much as I would admittedly enjoy seeing your success in doing so… I must say that your best bet would be to instead head east towards Kakariko Village." Rhoam pointed out towards a distant mountain, one that gave the appearance of having been split right in half. "There, you will find the elder, Impa. She can tell you more about the path that lies ahead. We may be running out of time… but I do believe Zelda can hold out for a little longer. At least long enough for you to get enough strength back to sufficiently seal Calamity Ganon away for good."
He turned to face Link once again. "Head towards the peaks, then follow the road north. It will take you straight to where you need to go."
Link nodded. He was ready.
"Oh!" the king said suddenly. "And before you go on another tirade against me…"
"Oh right..." Link said. "...sorry about-"
Rhoam waved away Link's apology. The paraglider he'd been using before suddenly materialized before them, "...I must at least prove to you that I am a man of my word!"
Link grabbed the paraglider, which collapsed immediately into a small rod that fit comfortably into his rucksack.
"And I think that's it." said Rhoam. "Save Hyrule, Link. Save the kingdom. And please-" He paused for a second…"please tell Zelda...how much I love her."
Rhoam began to disappear.
"Oh and one more thing" he said, as his existence continued to fade away, "do send my warmest regards to King Dorephan. And should fortune favor you, to your... friend, Lady Mipha."
Wait, who?
Rhoam flashed a grim smile, before finally disappearing for good.
Silence.
The old man - the king - was gone.
And of course he'd used the opportunity to be cryptic towards Link, just one more time…
He sighed. There was a lot to take in. He'd have to process it all later. He emptied his rucksack right there on the floor, careful to toss out anything he no longer needed. In a chest nearby, he found a much-sturdier bow than the cracked one he'd found during his first trip to the temple. He wondered if the king had left it there for him.
He gathered all of his things, strapped them onto his back, and turned to face the open countryside again. The split peaks towered in the distance. He'd be heading there next.
Link felt a pang of sadness as he prepared to leave the plateau. Reminders of a once-thriving civilization had been all over this place. Knowing of his failure to protect these people only made him feel even more sick on the inside. He sincerely hoped the rest of the world wasn't like this...he wasn't sure his heart could take it.
Link unfolded the paraglider in his hands, then jumped straight off the top of the temple without looking back. He began to cut through the air like a bird as he flew above the incredibly high walls of the plateau and towards the open wildlands below. As he gracefully soared through the low clouds above Hyrule field, he chuckled silently to himself.
I told the former ruler of the mighty, great nation of Hyrule… the most powerful man in the entire world for his time... that his beard was fake.
If he'd had any friends left in this world to recount this story too, then they would surely be laughing about that one forever.
There was a time that I thought this chapter was long. Haha
Next is Chapter 4: Best Way to Travel.