Note: The list of Colossi-names was found on TV Tropes. I apologize for any possible inaccuracies.

TO THE ANCIENT LAND

Chapter Four: Master Sword

Link had been losing himself in this land. He'd been warned of a possible loss of memory by the Elder in the Village of Horned Men, but he did not think he was losing that. The warrior's mind felt intact, but he sensed that something else, something even more precious than memory was being taken from him by increment, with every enormous creature he'd returned to the earth.

He had known their names. Somehow, the knowledge of the victims' names had come to him. Link could not explain it. He did not have Navi or Tatl or any other fairy telling him about what he was fighting, nor did the voices of Dormin help him with identities. The voices echoed in his skull sometimes, but only when he was in peril and apparently taking too long to fell a beast to the entities' liking. A few vague tips as to the weaknesses of the Colossi were all he'd received.

Not knowing the source of the knowledge, he knew that he had faced Valus, Quadratus, Gaius and Phaerda and survived. His latest kill, Avion, had triggered within him questions without end. He leaned his aching back against the stone of one of the field-shrines. He looked up at a hawk on the wing.

He'd had occasional dreams about giant birds – ones that people rode. He could have dismissed this as the fancy of a vivid imagination, but it was something that stuck with him. It was like his childhood habit of looking for tiny people in the forest undergrowth instead of just fairies. It was like the nightmares he'd had for some years of watching himself – outside of his body – slain by Ganon. It was like the incessant wondering he had about the world of the time he'd left behind. Link had a creeping feeling that the Hyrule he'd saved would not remain in peace forever.

It was, indeed, a terrible thing to have enough strangeness in the mind but enough of a normal function to know that something is "wrong" with you. Link had once thought his problems to be clear-cut: As soon as he'd received a fairy, he'd become a true Kokiri and would live in the forest forever or until the time came for the children of the forest to fade back into it. He'd have a sacred companion and would probably finally learn how to blend into the mist like everyone else did and would stop frightening the forest animals with what his best friend, Saria, used to call his "strong presence." When he'd been gifted with Navi, instead of simplifying, his life became infinitely more complicated.

Link knew that he was not a normal person by any stretch of the imagination. He knew that he was a little bit crazy. Perhaps that is what it took to play the Hero's role. The unusual nature of his mind had come into the fore of his thoughts as he rode a giant bird over an ancient lake. He'd never done this type of thing before, yet he had. Of course he'd fought giant monsters in his own land before, but somehow, he remembered what it had felt like – specifically – to ride a large bird. He'd never mounted such a steed – at least outside of his dreams and in the life that he knew. He also had the thought of Avion that it was "not just a riding-bird," but, "laid beak to tail and wing-tip to wing-tip, as large as an entire city, suspended in the sky." He felt as if, at one time, he had lived in just such a city, even though he could not recall such a place outside of hazy dreams as he took afternoon naps on the soft grass of the fields of Hyrule.

Where had such thoughts come from? They baffled him.

The young man had busied himself whittling arrow-shafts. He did not have an unlimited supply of arrows and had to make some quick ones to see him through future fights. He'd heard once somewhere that there was a spell one could learn or buy that could alleviate the problem of running out of arrows, but Link did not have that spell. He had a small protection ability, a limited shield… and he could generate fire from his internal body heat out around him on a limited-level. His weapons, however, had to be cared for to stay in good condition and the ones that required ammunition could only be used if he found or made such ammunition. There were no weapons or hunting-supply shops here. If there ever had been, their owners and keepers had died out long ago. There were many trees in this land, plenty of sharp rocks and even some simple metal ores and sands Link found he could melt down with his Din's Fire to make arrowheads… Birds were not in short supply here – not all of them were giant or statuesque - and they left their spent feathers upon the ground.

The fruit of the trees was filling and sweet, and the branches provided wood to whittle to his needs. Link was glad that he had the forethought to bring a small knife with him. Crafting ammunition was not work for a sword. He picked up and repaired any spent arrows he could, treating them as special treasures. He found them obnoxious to make from scratch. He needed them, too. The beings he slew in this land fell only to his sword, but well-placed arrows did a fair bit of damage. They also got the creatures' attention. Link found that he had to use strategy to lure any given Colossus into a favorable position. Hitting the first one with his hookshot had been sheer luck.

The second had only gone down with arrows to its feet and Link had just climbed the beast. The third looked like it had enough soft areas to try the hookshot – but even with the long chain, the tip could not reach past the giant's knees – or where "knees" should have been. Link had felt like a bug with a toothpick going after that one. He'd also felt dishonorable. Gaius had come to him as a knight seeking sword-to-sword combat. From Link's perspective, the great knight's sword was as big as a bridge, meaning that he had to do things dirty. Link had learned with Iron Knuckles and similar enemies that sometimes going in from behind and other "cheap" tactics were the only ways to survive fights.

Phaedra – Link had hated that battle. Tricking it into hunkering down so he could climb its tail and mount it was one thing – that had been a relatively simple matter. What he'd despised about the fight was the fact that the creature had taken on a shape resembling something he'd loved. Link adored horses. He had many memories of days spent at LonLon Ranch learning about them under Malon. His dear mare, Epona, had taken him through many dangers. The bizarre screaming of the Colossus had not helped him to do what he had to do.

Avion- the phoenix, had to be lured with arrows. Link had used the hookshot to stay upon its flailing wings at certain points during the fight. Most of his time was spent running down its tail as though it were a highway. The stone bird had been especially difficult to fell because his sword seemed to have taken on a mind of its own.

Link had noticed awkward things with the Master Sword when he was fighting the second Colossus. He'd aim it for a good solid stab to one of the huge bull's seals only to have the blade glance off hair and hide as if it had been moved by an un-felt wind. The warrior had managed to force it to work for him, but after that, it had been growing increasingly heavy.

The problem was at a point where Link could barely unsheathe the sword and its tip dragged in the dirt whenever he carried it. The young man wondered if this had anything to do with the mysterious shadow-threads that painfully pierced his heart whenever he'd defeated a giant. It probably had more to do with his actions in general. He knew that he was losing something essential to him every time he broke a seal and watched the oil erupt and spray out of something it had given life to.

As Link sat, he drew his sword to polish the blade. His hand shook as he struggled to free it from the scabbard. He laid the impossibly weighty slat of metal across his knees. It grew light once he'd stopped gripping the hilt tightly. Link experimentally tightened and loosened his grip, feeling the sword's peculiar weight-shift. He sighed.

The Master Sword was a sword of Heroes. It was his sword. It was also – according to all he had learned about it and felt from it – a sword that desired justice. It was a magical sword, one that could not be touched by evil persons and one that could only be wielded by Hyrule's true Hero.

The Master Sword was supposed to have a special connection to the Hero's spirit, and, indeed, Link had felt this. However, this was not the first time the sacred blade had treated him cruelly. The first time he'd tried to use it, he'd been put into a coma for seven years. There was a rumor that the sword would become heavy for any Chosen Hero who had lost his or her way – that a Hero who'd become unworthy of the title and position would lose their ability to wield the Master Sword.

"Have I become unworthy?" he asked the sword, not expecting an answer.

"Mattas…"

Link's eyes widened and his ears perked. He thought he saw an image flickering in the blade, an image most strange. He stared and he could have sworn he saw a face staring back at him. The sword was giving him a vision of a blue woman with vacant eyes. The sword's edges glowed. Link heard music echo in his head and felt himself drawn into a dream-world. He felt his body fall away from him, succumbing to sleep. The young swordsman found himself standing upon a plain dampened with very shallow water.

The sky was filled with clouds, but much bluer than the sky over the Forbidden Lands. The ground reflected it perfectly. Link wondered, for a moment, if he had been taken to a particular room of the Water Temple back in Hyrule. He'd had an important battle with himself there. Instead of seeing his dark side manifest, he saw a floating blue woman with a blue and purple cape.

"Do not be alarmed, Master," she said, "We are within a non-physical plane, a 'room' within your mind. I am only capable of speaking with you here, as I am incapable of taking a physical form in this age."

"Master?" Link asked. "Who are you?"

"My original designation," she answered, "was 'Fi.' It serves as my name. I was given it in another life. In this life, you only have known me as the Master Sword."

Link gasped in awe. "You are the spirit of the Master Sword? I had no idea there as an actual form… or that I've been wielding a girl."

Fi continued to float and stare at him with her alien, pupil-less eyes. "I have no technical gender, Master Link. I once had the form that you see for ease of communication before I completed my original mission."

Link rubbed his head. "Original mission?" he muttered.

"I was created by the Goddess Hylia to aid the first among her champions. My Skychild-Master tempered me in the sacred flames of Farore, Nayru and Din to enable me to repel Evil."

"You put me to sleep for seven years… in the other time."

"You were not ready for heavy battle, Timewalker-Master. You would have died."

Link walked along the mirrored land, gathering his thoughts. The sword-spirit floated easily beside him. Link was reminded of Navi, but shook the thought from his head. Navi was too small and brightly-lit for him to tell if she'd worn fishnet stockings.

"So, you protected me then," the Hylian said, "and you saw me through my battles."

"You are my Master, Link."

"If so," Link demanded, "why have you abandoned me now? I can barely lift the sword anymore! If it stays like this, I will die!"

"My analysis indicates that if you continue upon the path that you have chosen - that you will die."

"I have done wrong, haven't I?"

"Master, my designation is to repel evil. You have been using me to slay neutral and innocent beings."

Link hung his head and sighed deeply. "I guessed as much that you were lost to me when I began this quest… with the first taste of black blood. Have I been corrupting you?"

"I am incorruptible," Fi answered blandly. "Life and death lay within the hand of the wielder."

Link gave Fi a pleading look. By her mannerisms, he guessed that she could not read emotions, or that she could possibly read them in an analytic way, but could not understand them. His eyes pleaded with her, anyway.

"I have to save Zelda," he said. "She is the key to Hyrule's stability. Isn't that what you were created for? To aid Hyrule in time of need?"

"Hylia, Her Grace, created me to balance out and destroy evil," the weapon-spirit answered.

"Hylia is an extinct goddess," Link countered, "at least according to legend. All you have now is me as your master."

"That information is incorrect, Master Link," Fi answered. "Hylia's spirit still exists. Her Grace took the form of a mortal to save the world and has become a mortal's spirit."

"I do not understand."

"Her Grace's designation downgraded from Hylia to the Royal Family line in order to be Hyrule's rightful ruler whenever the people most needed her."

Link's jaw hung.

"Hylia's spirit is Zelda's," Fi concluded.

"Then you must help me!" Link cried.

"Her Grace's spirit has completed this lifetime."

"I'm trying to bring her back! Hyrule still needs her! I need her!"

Fi continued to stare blankly at him. "It is not my directive to kill innocent entities."

Link wrung his hands in exasperation and paced in the inch-deep water. "I know that!" he yelped, "But… they aren't people! I'm not even sure they can think! The people of Hyrule slaughter livestock to feed themselves and keep themselves alive – how is this different? I know it's different but… Master Sword, your queen and your goddess has fallen. We have a chance to raise her up again. Please help me… help me save Hylia."

Fi nodded gently. "I shall obey your directives, Master Link. Your motives are pure while your actions are not. Know that I cannot save you from what you are becoming, nonetheless, I will help you save Her Grace."

"Thank you…" Link said with exhausted gratitude.

"My analysis indicates that your current path is unwise."

Link blinked awake. The sword across his knees reflected only sunlight. He turned to see a horse's snout beside him, snuffling the grass by his feet. The horse was not Epona, but the mysterious black animal he saw from time to time. Link reached out to touch the beast, but it vanished as it had every other time he got near to it. Epona was grazing in the distance. Link put the Master Sword back in its scabbard and found that it was as light in his hand as it had been before he'd entered the cursed country.

He felt a little twinge of pride. He'd argued his sword into submission.

The song he'd heard in his dream would not leave his mind alone. He brought out his ocarina from his pouch and tried to reproduce the notes. Link knew that the Ocarina of Time had different properties in different lands. He did not know if the substance it was made from was a factor, but it had differing effects when he'd used it in Termina versus his use of it in Hyrule. He'd originally held onto it at Zelda's request until it sort-of became his because he knew how to use it best.

Here, in the Forbidden Land, there seemed to be to be no magical effects at all. The Ocarina of Time merely played music. The only magic it retained was the effect of Epona's call-song. Link could not warp himself anywhere or manipulate Time. Aside from his horse, he was alone here. He played the song until he matched it perfectly with one in his memory. Although the spirit of the sword had struck him as a character lacking in emotion, the song that had played in the background of the vision struck Link as mysterious and sad. It was a "lament" he decided. It had a quality to it that was not quite the same as a funeral-dirge, but carried a sense of regret.

Upon mastering this new song, Link rode to all of the places where he'd met Colossi and had returned them to rubble. He created a new ritual. Link struck the Master Sword into the nearest available earth or gapped brickwork before each fallen foe. He'd perch upon the remains and bring out his ocarina to play Fi's Lament. He decided that he would do this as soon as possible for each Colossus he felled.

He may have convinced the Master Sword to work with him again, but it did not mean that she did not deserve to mourn.

Take sword in hand and find me…