Vaun Harkinian: Um…yeah…sorry for the extremely long update. I'd like to blame it on thanksgiving, but I can't because it'd still have been late. I'd like to blame it on my beta-readers, and…I will! So anyway, on to my one review response.
blondie91- Wow…that's high praise from…well…just about anyone.
Chapter 3
The Land of the Dead
For the first few seconds following Galivan's demise there was only darkness. It was darkness so deep, so intense, that it seemed to suck all hope from the very air. Those few seconds were worse than anything Ganondorf could have done to him. The sense of eternity passing in seconds would be enough to send even the immortal goddesses reeling. However, it was only a few seconds and even extended to a great degree by the power that they held they were still seconds governed by the laws of time.
The next moment Galivan awoke in the Castle of Hyrule, but this was different. The castle was yet untouched by Ganondorf's evil and seemed to rest in a time of its own. Galivan was lying on the floor and when he looked up from his prostrate position he saw the King of Hyrule standing above him. It wasn't the false king who still resided in the temporal world, but rather the king who had died at his hands.
Although the long lost king was transparent he still held the aura of dignity and responsibility that befitted a true king. The king now stood as he once had before age had taken him. His features still had the incomplete touch of youth and his long dusty hair flowed down, ending at the name of his neck. His light mustache made him look older than the rest of him told you to believe. A long red robe trimmed with white fur was draped over his curved shoulders, hanging just above his jet black boots. He stood over Galivan with a slight smile set on his kind-hearted face.
"Rise son of the plains, you are in the true Hyrule." The king gestured out the window at the untouched town square that lay stretched out below the castle.
Galivan slowly rose off the stone floor and strode over to the window, transfixed by what he saw. Outside was a world untouched by time and weather. The town looked as it might have in its fledgling years. The houses were still bare rock, with no tapestries or markings etched on their walls. Most of the people walking peacefully on the street were all in their prime, from eighteen to twenty-one. However, there were also those that couldn't be converted to the peak of life. These were people who were killed as children or babies. There were many more of them than one would think likely due to the number of youngsters that Ganondorf had killed. Still, it was a picturesque scene of peace and finality.
Galivan turned back, only to notice what he had been too awestruck to see before. Not only was the previous king there, but so were all the others, ranging back to the birth of Hyrule itself. All of the greatest men in history had been gathered in a single room. Staring once again, Galivan moved to kneel before the noble assembly. He looked up at the past kings that had once ruled his country.
"My lords," Galivan spoke in a subdued tone. "Where, might I ask, am I? What exactly am I supposed to do with myself now that I am, ahem, deceased?"
"Ah yes, I suppose you would like some answers." The previous king was apparently the spokesman of the group and addressed Galivan with an authoritative tone. "As for where you are, this place is the land of the dead, so to speak. This is the place where the people who have died in the other world are sent to have a good time before they are sent away once again." Before Galivan could speak out the king continued. "I know what you are thinking, that once dead someone cannot be brought back to life. That is so, but the souls of those long dead can be sent back to the world of the living in the form of newborn children. There you have it, the miracle of life in a nutshell.
When someone dies in the land of the living they are sent here, but once here they are returned to their youth. Although it would appear that everyone here is young and always will be," and he gestured around him at all the other young kings around him. "When they come here they all have a set number of years until they are sent back once again to the living world. However, they will lose all memory of everything they have ever done.
I suppose that will have to do for an introduction, keep in mind that while you are here you can still die and be returned as an unexpected baby. Have fun." The king chuckled as Galivan stepped out of the chamber, sensing the dismissal in the king's voice. He walked along the halls of the new-looking castle thinking about what had just transpired. In the gardens of the palace he knelt down by the great pond and stared thoughtfully into its depths. His reflection was transparent in the soft rippling blue. 'I'm dead. I died at the hands of Ganondorf, although I died fighting, but what can I do now that there is no purpose in my life?' Galivan sat there for some time, simply tracing his finger along the gentle surface of the pool.
Looking up, he realized that the day was quickly fading into night and although he was dead, it seemed as though he would need a place to stay for the time being. Galivan exited the castle, noticing the lush grass and bountiful flowers that grew along the way. Although this was a place where only the dead resided, it seemed as though it was full of life. The town center itself was a barren area with only the pure white stone visible. Galivan headed towards the nearest inn where it looked like a small gathering was already growing.
"Galivan? Galivan it really is you!" Galivan turned to see a comrade in arms running up to him. He recognized him as Alfred, one of the men he had chosen to accompany him to the tower. He was a good man, although he was one of the first to die. "So you died in your battle against Ganondorf then? I expect we'll be seeing him soon then."
Galivan sighed. "I am afraid not old friend. I have failed in my battle against Ganondorf. I'm sorry, but it seems that your death was in vain." Galivan quickly rushed past, not bearing to see the disappointment that would undoubtedly be present on his face. He moved past the crowd towards the inn, recognizing some of the faces as he passed them by, but not able to give them a second glance. He walked up to the front desk and immediately stopped in his tracks.
"Yes sir, may I help you?" The receptionist asked, staring oddly at the transfixed man that stood before her.
"M-mother i-is that you? Mother it's me, Galivan!" He shouted to the younger version of his mother that now stood with her hand over her mouth, shocked into silence.
"Cassandra, I've got to leave for a bit, my son's just arrived." Galivan's mother called to an unseen woman somewhere in the recesses of the inn and an understanding voice called back in confirmation. The mother and son exited the small building and walked on in the vast city.
Galivan's mother turned around to face her son, studying him from head to toe. He looked at her much in the same respect. She was now a nineteen-year old girl as opposed to the elderly woman he had always thought of as his mother, even though when alive she was only thirty-two. She had shimmering copper hair that was tied up in twin braids that fell on either side of her head. Her face was dotted with freckles and her nose was slightly upturned. Her eyes were a distinctive brown that were the same color as her hair. In all, she looked like a very plain woman though she always seemed to be finding something to smile about. She was slightly shorter than Galivan and wore a dusty brown and white dress.
"Oh how you've grown my darling boy." She cooed in a more motherly manner than her figure would have suggested. "It is so nice to see you once again, even if it does mean that you've lost your life, but come, let's not talk about such things. Return with me to my house so we can catch up."
Galivan's mother skipped away and he couldn't help but smile at the joy he had brought his mother once more. He followed her out to a secluded section of town where many great buildings rose off the paved street. His mother stopped at one of the buildings in the row, fished a key from her pocket and entered, ushering Galivan in. The inside of the building was a hall with many doors lining the sides. There were stairs at the end of each hall that led to similar halls and similar doors. The pair climbed a few sets of stairs before they reached a single door among many others. His mother once again opened the door with a key from the deep confines of her pocket. The inside of the room was a homely place, if not small. Two armchairs were set in the middle of the room with a plain blue rug placed in between them. A small bed was placed in the far corner and a fireplace roared in the wall opposite from the entrance.
"Well, how do you like your new home my son, at least for a while anyway."
Galivan stared around the room, it was small, but it was somewhere to live, but still, one thing puzzled him.
"Mom, where has father gone?" His mother looked at him with a teary shine in her eye.
"Your father was given a shorter time in this world then I was. He has already passed on to the living once more." Galivan regretted speaking and tried to comfort his mother as best he could, consoling her with kind words and helping her into one of the armchairs that sat near the fireplace.
They stayed in this home for two days and lived peacefully. Galivan's mother went to work every morning and he tried to find a job for himself so that he could get a place of his own, but their peace was destined to be short lived.
On the second night they sat in the twin armchairs. Galivan was telling stories of his adventures after his mother had left. Suddenly, a man in a dark cloak burst into the room and gazed lifelessly around, finally setting his eyes on Galivan. He pointed towards Galivan and spoke in a soft scratching voice.
"You have been summoned by the high council. You will attend tomorrow at one hour after noon." After speaking his part the strange man walked right out the door into the hallway. Galivan tried to rush after him, but when he opened the door to call out the mysterious man was already gone. Even after he left Galivan kept wondering. There was something odd about that man, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.
"There was something different about that man, what was it?" He voiced his question to his mother, but upon turning back to her he noticed that wells of tears were falling from her eyes. "What is it mother? What's wrong?" He moved towards his mother, putting an arm around her shoulder and attempting to shake her out of her huddled position.
"You don't understand Galivan." She finally uncurled from the armchair and turned towards him. "That man was a messenger of the council a-and." She burst into tears once more and Galivan tried to console her.
"Its okay mother," he spoke softly. "I have already met with the kings, I won't be afraid." His mother simply shook her head and kept crying.
"N-no Galivan. The high council is not the kings. The kings are the leaders in name only, though they have been granted eternal death by the council. The council itself no one has ever seen, but their messengers are feared above all. They are the horrible minions of death. Didn't you see it Galivan? Those men were solid. They send people to the council if the council wants them. The council's purpose in this world is a horrible thing. They take the people of the dead to be sent to the land of the living."
Galivan paled at this. He had just been reunited with his mother and he did not want to leave her again so soon. He didn't want all his memories erased. "What if I don't go? I don't want to leave you again."
His mother shook her head once more. "You can't escape. The messengers will come for you no matter where you go. Come on my son, you must spend your last day in happiness. Go to sleep for now." She rose up from her chair and stumbled across the room towards the bed in the corner. She cried herself to sleep, though she tried to keep it hidden from her only son.
After many hours Galivan found that he could not sleep and instead opted to take a walk around the deserted town. Before he knew it he found himself at a bar, the only type of place that sold some kind of food or drink in the land of the dead. There was no reason to eat, but a ghost can still get drunk. He set himself at a stool near the bar and ordered the strongest drink they had to offer. After what seemed like hours of simply sitting and drinking, he finally returned to his mother's home.
He spent the night in that one room apartment, sitting and waiting for the sun to rise on his last day as a conscious soul. His mother rose from her bed hours after dawn had risen over the mountains and plains.
She rose to see her son sitting in one of the high armchairs, muttering to himself.
"Three hours…three hours left…" His eyes were glazed over and his body lay motionless on the chair, locked in a waking dream. She walked over to him, concerned for her poor child. She cupped his cheek in her hand and shook him softly, waking him from his death-like sleep. He aroused slowly, blinking the sleep from his eyes and rubbing a headache that was the result of far too much drinking. His mother was standing above him with a look of sorrow and pity in her eyes. He wanted to comfort her, to let her know that everything was going to be alright, but in reality, he had that same feeling of sorrow and pity in his mind. So all he did was clutch to his mother and cry into the folds of her dress as he had done so many years ago, but this time she was crying along with him, with her head resting on top of his.
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The final hour arrived all too soon for the small family of two. The time was twelve fifty-nine and the messenger was due to arrive any second. As the town clock tower sang its echoing song across the fields the door burst open once again and the solid, cloaked messenger arrived. This time he simply stretched out its hand and said "come." Galivan reluctantly stood, knowing resistance would be futile against beings with such obvious power. With one last look at his mother, he departed with the mysterious man.
Once they entered the hallway the messenger turned towards Galivan and spoke a few incoherent words under his breath. A dark aura covered the two beings and in the next moment Galivan was alone in a long dark corridor. Seeing no other way out, he walked along the path towards the only light that was visible.
At the end of the corridor Galivan found himself in the center of a spacious chamber. Odd glyphs were constantly appearing and disappearing on the flat surface of the ground. They were constantly changing colors as they flashed in and out of existence, but there were only seven colors in the spectrum: green, red, blue, yellow, purple, orange, and white. There was one ever present shape in the room. Surrounding Galivan was a pitch-black heptagon.
On the corners of this dark figure seven robed figures stood. Galivan looked at each of them in turn. The first figure he saw had a green pattern on his robe. The figure itself was a hulk of a being. It stood at least two feet taller and wider then the others and the outlines of muscle were apparent even through his robe. The second figure was of a normal size, but the opening in his hood was sewn shut. He had red patterns on his robe and the floor under his robe was red and bubbling. The third figure was even stranger then the last two. At first glance the figure was simply hooded with blue patterns on his robe, but on closer inspection every part of its body was constantly in motion. The fourth figure had purple patterns and seemed normal enough, but there was something about its appearance that made you think that you were staring at empty space. The fifth figure had orange marks on its robe. You could see a face through the opening in its hood, but it was as transparent as Galivan was. The sixth figure had yellow trim. Through every opening in the robe a great yellow light shone that would blind any onlooker. The final figure had white marks and was the most normal of them all. A dark glow surrounded it and it had a sense of authority in its very presence.
Once he was done examining his surroundings he looked towards the figure in white and spoke gravely. "Well, you might as well get it over with. Being here forever would be boring."
All seven figures spoke at once, though at first it was hard to notice as all their voices had the same dark emotionless tone. "Get it over with? Do you even know what it is that you are doing here?"
"Of course I know what I'm doing here. My mother already told me what you people do in this world. I am here to have my memory erased and be sent back to the land of the living as a baby." Galivan spoke in a more confident tone than he had started out with.
"Is that what you think? Well that is what we usually do, but every once in a while there is someone who perks our interest. You are one such person. You have asked for our help and we have summoned you to give it."
"What do you mean? I never made a request to you."
"Oh didn't you? Look here." The seven figures gestured towards where Galivan was standing and a scene appeared inside the heptagon. Galivan was lying there, battered. He recognized this scene as his final moments of life. A voice echoed throughout the chamber that Galivan recognized as his own. There was only one phrase being said, 'GIVE ME POWER!'
"So what? That doesn't mean I asked for your help."
"Asking for power is as close to requesting our help as is possible for a mortal. We have decided to answer your prayers and give you power."
"What does it matter now? I'm dead, I don't need any power."
"What if we told you we could bring you back to life? Ganondorf is still alive you know. Don't you still want to kill him?"
Galivan froze in his place and stared at the motionless figures. "H-he's still alive? Of course he is, no one can kill that monster, but I could be alive again, with more power I could kill him. Yes, I accept all the power you will give."
"Wait, before you take this power you must know what you're getting into. This power is the dark triforce. This power is the opposite of the triforce. It is pure evil and once accepted it cannot be thrown away. In exchange for our generous gift, you must also do a little task for us. In order to have power you must also take the pieces of the light version of the triforce. The three pieces are now held by Ganondorf, Zelda, and Link. You must kill them all."
Galivan began to rethink his decision. To kill Ganondorf would be just fine, and to kill someone he had never met he could live with, but Zelda. He thought back to all the times he had spent in her company, granted unknowingly. To kill such a close friend was something he just couldn't do. "I can't. I've known Zelda for so long, how could I just kill her mercilessly?"
"Then you will allow Ganondorf to keep on living? You will have all those years of pent up rage wasted? Come Galivan, this power is rightfully yours, take it." The white figure stretched out his hand, revealing an upside down, black triforce. The air around it was dark and smoking.
"No, I just can't do it. Such power is not mine to take. I don't want to kill people."
"Come Galivan. Do not let your comrades lives be in vain."
Galivan froze once more. To kill was a horrible thing, but in a way he had already done that. He led his men into battle. He brought them to their deaths. Galivan thought back to his conversation with one of his comrades, Alfred, when he had first arrived and the hopeful expression on his friends face. Ganondorf had to die, at any cost. Galivan looked up at the figures with new resolve in his eyes. "What Gannodorf has done will not be forgotten... If I must kill them than I will."
"Good. Here is your rightful power Galivan, take it." The triforce pulsed and floated over to Galivan who nervously anticipated its arrival. The struck his chest and sizzled as it passed through his skin. Galivan let out a bloodcurdling scream as the triforce entered his heart. The pain soon passed however as power flowed through his bloodstream. He could feel the power. It seemed like a physical entity was expanding his muscles and mind. He could feel all the spells and incantations enter his mind and his muscles getting bigger and more powerful. The change was over in an instant and he could feel his newfound strength along with his lust for more.
"It appears that the transformation is complete. We will give you a small lesson about its power and origin. When the goddesses came down to create this world they left behind a triforce and seven sages to protect it. Unfortunately for the goddesses they did not realize what they had truly done. The laws of this world are that in order to create something good, something evil must also arise. When they created Hyrule they also created the land of the dead. When they created the triforce they also created the dark triforce. When they created the sages they also created" and they gestured around them, "the dark sages. It was foretold before even the goddesses were born that there would be a war between the good and evil sides of the world. You are the champion of evil and you will conquer Hyrule. The three pieces of the dark triforce represent three traits just as the light version does. They are greed, wrath, and cunning. Your weapon should arrive now."
Before Galivan a great weapon appeared. It was a truly massive weapon that was almost as big as he was. One end was pointed like a spear with two axe-blades on either sides of it. The other side had a curved blade wrapped around it like a flat shovel. In the center of the pole that connected the two sides the word REQUIEMwas printed. Although it looked awesome at first, on closer inspection it was a rather frail blade and was chipped and scratched in many places.
"How am I supposed to fight with such a weak weapon? I can't use this."
"That is where the true beauty of the requiem lies. It may look weak, but you can boost its power by killing the souls of the already dead. Once you kill enough you will be able to fight with the full strength of this legendary blade."
Although Galivan was now consumed by evil he still held onto his good side for the time being. "HEY! I don't want to kill anymore than I have to. You never told me I would have to do this."
"You will kill them. You will kill them all. If you don't then you won't even reach Ganondorf."
Galivan slumped in defeat and picked up the weapon with only one hand. "I-I must do anything to kill him." He strode out through the corridor and found that he could teleport himself to the outside. He now stood there as a young man about to take the final plunge into darkness. He now stood at least seven feet tall with powerful muscles. His brown hair waved in the wind and all boyishness was now gone from his face. He stood with a dark look in his pitch-black eyes. He strode down the hill towards Hyrule once more. The first soul he saw was his old comrade Alfred.
Alfred started, surprised to see his old friend outside the castle at this time. He looked different somehow. Somehow more solid, more present than he was when he was alive. Alfred called out to his friend, not noticing the weapon behind his back.
Galivan walked over, answering the call. As he neared the man he brought the great weapon over his head.
"Your death shall not be in vain."
Vaun Harkinian: Remember last chapter when I said this will be long? Well maybe this'll give you an idea. Here ends the three-part prologue. Although, you might consider the next chapter to be part of the prologue as well, since the main character isn't in it. Anyway, REVIEW PLEASE!