Thanks to all my reviewers. You guys make my day with reviews, and I'm grateful for that, so yeah... thanks again guys for reviewing.
There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. ~Edith Wharton
Breeze
Link sighed as he huddled up on the tree branch he was sitting on, the wolves had been here for almost an hour, and still they didn't leave. What was most unusual was that they were looking at him with eyes that seemed almost expectant but not in the YAY we've got food type of way.
A tall silver colored wolf slowly walked up to the trunk, a odd gem dangled from around it's neck, it was shot through with orange and the color was obsidian black. We are tired of waiting, Pup.
Link yelped as the voice ran through the air, he could understand it, almost like they were talking in Hylian but not quite. " You can talk?" he asked curiously.
The silver furred wolf looked at him with glowing amber eyes Of course we can, we are a pack, and how does a pack work without a means of communication? It asked, edging ever closer to the tree I am not yet convinced that you are of the wolf blood. I thought you would be a little bit... Smarter.
Link brought his legs up closer to the branch "Hey! I'm not stupid? And why would I have wolf blood anyway?" He asked defensively as he warily reached for a long stick that he noticed was with in his reach. The branch was wobbling, generally not a good sign and a soft crinkling sound appeared, the sound like what happened when the surface of a frozen lake broke.
If wolfs could smirk, this one did, Why he asks. It snickered, the silver furred tail swishing lightly over the leaf strewn floor of the forest. Your father's, father was one of us. It said, So logic stands that you could be the same. Your grand father was a soldier and a guard, Your father a watchman and a farmer neither had the talents of the beast, so then, we will now see whether you have them or not.
The wolf prepared to spring, Link could see the powerful hind muscles tensing and he caught a glimmer of bared fangs in the dappled forest floor. He wrapped his fingers tightly around the stick he had picked up, he didn't really think a stick would do him much good against a wolf.
"LINK!" A child's voice cried, as it rang out clear as a bell.
"Malon!" Link exclaimed as the brunette haired little girl ran to the top of the clearing where he had been resting. " Get away from here."
"I finally found you," she exclaimed as she taunted him with a sweet smile. " Found you. Found you." she chanted, giggling at the end, obviously oblivious to the wolves below.
The silver wolf was regarding the child with a mixture of contempt and amusement Well then, fresh meat for our cubs. It growled as it slowly slid further among the ground to stalk it's prey.
"Don't you dare!" Link spat as he lunged at the silver wolf, the stick he was banishing in one hand chopping the air. The wolf slid neatly out of the way, like it had been expecting the blow.
Poor form, It tutted, almost disappointed as it circled Link. The rest of the wolves were now oddly quiet as they watched. Occasional swishes of the tail and short growls but nothing more.
"Malon get away from here." Link said simply, as he tensed his muscles and slowly began to circle the wolf like it was doing to him.
"But..."
"Now." He ordered, watching the wolf, at the moment, it seemed content to circle, but he had seen them hunt before. They'd stalk something until they had it trapped and cornered, then like a cat, they'd play with their prey before killing it.
Malon scampered away, probably out to report to the villagers. "Meanie." she pouted as she ran away.
Link changed direction suddenly, hoping to catch the silver wolf of guard with a swift side to side movement, but it didn't work and the wolf easily switched directions like running water.
The silver wolf growled slowly, drawing out the sound until it sounded almost like a purr So you do have some instincts It approved as kept on circling.
Link slashed diagonally, hoping for a cheap shot to knock the wolf out of the way. No such luck. The wolf darted nimbly to the side and lunged aiming it's fangs at his throat. Link instinctively lifted his arm, like he was expecting something to materialize on his arm and protect him. Nothing appeared. Time to improvise.
The wolf snapped as he swiftly back handed it across the snout, retaliating, it spun it's legs out from behind it. The swift movement raked it's back claws against Link's chest and he yelped slightly as pain and blood welled from the wound. Keep your eyes on your opponent It barked out as it watched his eyes drop to the wound on his chest.
Link growled " Kinda hard when your bleeding." he retorted, but kept his eyes on the silver wolf. He lunged and a was rewarded with a quick blow to his wrist, leaving it stinging. Don't be too hasty,The wolf reprimanded.
Link slashed again but right after the movement dropped into a thrust, catching the wolf on the shoulder. The wolf snarled and lunged at his throat. The air seemed to turn into molasses as the slightly yellowed fangs approached ever closer to his beating jugular.
His mind went blank and a sudden flurry of movement from his arm caught the wolf in the chest with the long stick and he suddenly felt, invincible. He knew what to do, and for that brief moment he felt like he had regained a toy he had lost long ago, the feeling like he had broke the dam and felt all the water rush into him.
Link instinctively side-stepped and rolled behind the wolf, feeling rough stones and grass brush against his back as he slashed with the blade(1). The silver furred wolf darted nimbly out of the way. The wolf growled threateningly. Link tensed and readied the stick again.
The wolf growled again and dropped down into a crouch Good. It said, lightly brushing it's tail lightly over his shoulder. You do have the blood of the wolf inside of you.
Link blinked, what had happened? One second he had got his ass handed to him and the next, he had knocked the wolf away like it was nothing. His arm was burning like it was on fire and his head thudded from the increased amount of blood pressure and his wrist... The back of his wrist felt like someone had passed an searing hot iron over it.
You can lower your blade now pup. The wolf said as it eyed the stick warily.
Link hesitated and decided to keep standing but lowered the stick he had been using from it's ready stance. " Alright I have the blood of the wolf in me. So what?"
The wolf snickered So what? You know how much a swordsman would give to have your inborn gift? The rest of the pack barked in agreement and dissolved from their tight circular formation and began playing with one another. Some going out to hunt while the others watched over the cubs.
The silver wolf dipped it's head into a slight bow We haven't been introduced yet have we? The name's Luna. Den mother to this pack and pup of Yuri and Sol. Luna said simply.
Link blinked "Wait, Den mother? Your a girl?" He sputtered. Loosening his grip on his stick in surprise.
Mistake. Luna slapped his face with her tail and neatly unhooked the orange and black jewel from around her neck. Here, this belongs to you. She said, shoving the gem forward with her claws, ignoring the first question. And yes, Den mother, the leader of the pack.. Depending on gender, we either call them den-mothers or den-fathers.
Link went to hook it around his neck before Malon came back. " LINK!" she cried, stopping when she saw him conversing with a wolf. "Get away from it." She snapped, suddenly sounding like her strict mother.
Luna looked up, It? I have a name you know. She growled as she stood back onto her legs. Meet back here tommorow at midday pup. We need to introduce you to the pack.. The silver wolf blinked at the gem he was holding with his gloved hands. Take care when you put that on pup. We don't want any accidents to the first wolf-blood in two centuries would we? It asked as it stalked back to her pack.
Link sighed as he watched the wolf bound away. Since when could he speak to wolves? It might be because he had never tried in his ten years of life. Link ran a finger over the surface of the black gem, his gloves preventing his skin from touching the volatile black crystal.
As his fingers caressed the gem he felt a thrill run through his body, the feeling that he had just opened his eyes after being in darkness for a year. He felt free, alive, and the sudden longing in his blood to dig his fingers into something. Link flinched and tore his fingers away from the gem.
The young blond haired man looked at the gem Luna had given him and placed it in his pocket. Her parting words weren't exactly reassuring.
Link sighed and allowed Malon to tug his hand back to the village. On the back of his hand, underneath the worn leather gloves that most farmhands wore, a segment of a triangle was starting to appear on the back of his hand that gleamed like polished gold.
Zelda opened up the letter and slowly began to read. It wasn't anything important, simply a collection of words that didn't make any sense and a paragraph that was composed mainly out of unusual symbols.
The princess recognized them from her tutoring classes but she had yet to learn to read the runic alphabet. Curious, Zelda traced the outline of each symbol with her left finger, all of them had gentle curves and angular lines.
After ten minutes of examining each letter individually, she gave up. " How am I supposed to read a age old language with out any prior knowledge?" she asked to herself, absentmindedly tracing the eye of the sheikah.
The back of her hand was starting to itch, she realized as she scratched it with her right hand. The feeling was like something was burning on the back of her hand. The closest thing she could describe it to was having a piece of searing metal touch her skin except thousand times worse.
Suddenly something clicked and the intense feeling of burning seeped away. Zelda blinked and looked at the letter once more. The runes made sense now, the confounding arches and sweeps were now like an open book. The letter itself didn't make any sense. It was a simple little dabble that said that one of the servants had found one of her dolls in the backyard.
Zelda frowned and placed the letter to the side. She hadn't recalled losing one of her dolls but she should check just to make sure... Then again her father was still mildly angry from what she'd gathered so it probably wasn't smart...
Thud! The door to her room flew open and a tall black haired gerudo stepped through the door. " Hello Princess." he said simply.
The young princess' first reaction was to slam the door in his face but swiftly restored her manners " Lord Dronam." she said, inclining her head slightly. Proper etiquette would of required him to bow back but all he did was a short nod.
"What are you doing in my room?" she said flatly.
The black haired gerudo blinked at the blunt statement " I got dismissed from the council, and seeing as I have no where else to spend my time, I was interested in seeing how the princess lived."
Zelda eyed the gerudo warily " Ok... but why are you interested in that?" she pressed, the itching in her hand seemed to flare up even more as he approached her.
" Well really it's none of your business but since your being so persistent, I suppose I can humor you. You see my son has been wanting a new bedroom so I thought I could use some remodeling tips." The gerudo ambassador said simply as he took a swig from a flask at his side.
"Really?" The Hyrule Princess asked, surprised that such a cold and callous man would have a son or do something as ordinary as remodel a room. She thought he'd have servant's for that.
Dronam caught the look on her face " Surprised?" He asked, as he fingered the hilt of an ebony inlaided dagger on her shelf curiously. " I'm not rich, or even mildly wealthy you know." he remarked as the short silence dragged on.
" Why would my father hire you, if you weren't rich or had good connections?" Zelda asked disbelieving, he definitely had an ulterior motive. Just what was it?
Dronam shrugged " Perhaps it's because of all the Gerudo, I'm the only one that can speak Hylian with any degree of fluency but I hear my people are learning quite well." he remarked(2).
Zelda blinked and looked at him. " So your son. How old is he?" She supposed she should try being civil, after all of all the people in the castle, he seemed to be the only one who could understand the feeling of being caged. Not to mention he was also the sole Gerudo Ambassodor to Hyrule Castle.
" 11, a bit older than you actually." He said, as he ran a hand through his jet black hair. " He's good at... a lot of things." He trailed of, obviously not wanting to give away any information about his son.
" I thought the Gerudo were predominately female save for a king?" Zelda asked, looking at the man suspiciously, the jet black hair that he had wasn't common for a Gerudo and his eyes were like chips of ice. Not the burning fire that she had heard her father comment on for more than one occasion. She suspected her father of being jealous of the Gerudo, for their obvious military strength and impeccable wealth.
" I am the King." Dronam said flatly, producing a pendant made of mica, rubies, and amber.
Zelda raised an eyebrow " Yeah right," she snorted, " A king isn't dressed as shabbily as you." The princess took in the dishevieled travelling robes, the pendant she recognized from her history lessons as one given to a person of trust but not the mark of a king.
Dronam smirked " Really? The Gerudo are the opposite of your petty little country. The women get all the influnce in politcs and the Queen holds all the real power. The King is merely a figure head."
Zelda looked at him " Doesn't sound to bad." She said, thinking about her life if her mother was the ruler. No dust bunnies what do ever. A lot more gardens planted in the city... And the people would hate her. Her mother didn't have the skill or the dedication to be a monarch.
" For you maybe." Dronam answered as he fingered the pendant around his neck idly. " Excellent view." he said calmly, easily changing the topic of the conversation without making it seem so.
" Yeah it's nice." Zelda said lamely, she really didn't know what to say. She had never really looked out the window and admired the view.
" It's beautiful." The gerudo ambassador said looking down at Castle Town. The view was like you were flying, the whole city sprawled below with small ant sized dots representing the people and beyond the town one could see the mountains and a glimpse of a gleaming body of water that could only be Lake Hylia.
Zelda looked at the ambassador curiously " You don't seem to be like any other Gerudo." She said.
Dronam tore his eyes from the picturesque view and looked down at the brunette haired princess. " And I suppose you've met a lot of Gerudos?" he asked.
" Well... No, but I've heard about you."
"And what exactly have you heard about us?" Dronam inquired mildly.
"Well your supposed to be a militaristic society and don't really care for the rights or rules of other people."
Dronam glanced out the window " A politician see's the truth and bends that to his advantage. You still have not seen the truth, so then why do you insist on speaking out at meetings when your prior knowledge is from the sterotypes and gossips of your people?"
Zelda bowed her head ashamed " I'm sorry." She mumbled.
Dronam shrugged and walked out of the room " Don't be." he said flatly " As a politician I have seen the truth and trust me, truth is never beautiful. Better to live happy in ignorance than sad in truth is it not?" He said as he walked out the room.
Impa flinched, the current sage of shadows hobbled over to the small stone tablet the ancient hero of time had given them. Beside it lay the tablet of twilight, found in a tree house far to the east. The sage frowned, just for a second she thought she had seen the hyrule symbol engraved on the stone shine a deep golden shade.
Impa ran her fingers over the worn stone. It felt cool and weathered, like it always had and the obsidian tablet of twilight looked as bland as ever. The sage frowned as the engraving for the ancient hylian word of wisdom suddenly flashed golden.
The sage blinked as the sudden flash of light illuminated the room. The sage ran her calloused fingers over the Tablet of Time. It was said that when all three parts of the triforce were awakened the Tablet would show the way to the sacred realm, a place where it was said that anything was possible. Impa ran her fingers over the word " Wisdom".
She was sure she had seen it flash gold. The sage hesitantly reached for a looking glass on the corner of a book shelf. The lens of truth, something she swore she'd never use again. Truth, she had learned long ago was an open flame, revealing but also burning in the process. The sage hesitantly placed her hands over the worn leather that covered the actual lens of the lens of truth. Impa could almost feel the power resounding of it, speaking whispers about her ancestors and about times long past. The sage tore her fingers away in disgust. She dismissed the notion of the triforce from her mind. Her spies had told her that the princess was being ignored in the council, the other spies had been combing the surrounding countryside for any hint of courage. Soon... she thought amused. Then they'd...
The sage snorted and shook her head, fairy tales and migraines, that was what was making her think these obscure plots. What was more important right now was taking their rightful land back. The land that they had made from stone hewn by their race's own hands and built from their own sweat and tears.
Kakiriko Village.
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