Chapter 4
Section 1 – Breakfast of Champions
In another part of Hyrule, a good 20 miles away from the castle, Zelda, Jethro, and Brian's unnamed brother were just waking up. After yesterday's experience of walking directly East into the sun, Jethro decided that they would begin traveling around midday from now on. He didn't have to worry about the creatures that seemed to come out around dusk. That was why Link was here, so he wouldn't have to worry about such things. Jethro, still used to waking up early in the morning, had been the first to wake up. He began getting the fire going again so he could prepare some breakfast for his companions. A nice omelet was all. Jethro didn't know terribly much about cooking, but with the eggs, cheese, and cold pork he had with him, he could make a fairly memorable omelet. The aroma of the pork frying spread through the campsite, and woke Zelda and Link from their individual slumbers.
Zelda emerged from her tent. Link had slept on a bedroll with his head propped against a log, so he just stayed where he was after waking. It was still somewhat chilly out, so he preferred the warmth of staying in bed. Zelda had on a simple cloth robe. It had been hard for her to come up with a wardrobe of clothes she could travel in. After finding that nothing in her closet that she would allow to get frayed and tattered, she had sent two servants to pick up some commoner's clothing at the market in town. They came back with the finest of lowly peasant garb for the noble princess. She was not used to such loosely hanging clothes, allowing her much more room to move about. She sat down on another overturned log and watched as Jethro poked at the omelet, trying to turn it over.
Link finally decided to sit up, though still not giving up the warmth of the bedroll. He looked over at Zelda and the simple robe she had on. A smile emerged on his face as he recognized this article of clothing. Ironically, he had been one of the two servants sent to town to pick up some clothing for the journey. He almost laughed at how out of place she looked in peasant's clothing, but decided it was best not too. He didn't know enough about Link to know if he would laugh at such a thing, so he figured it was best to just keep his mouth shut. Link was still looking at the robe, having lost track of how long he had been staring. He caught himself and looked up, catching eyes with Zelda, who then turned her head to look another direction as well.
Jethro broke the potentially awkward moment for the two of them by announcing that breakfast was ready, and then handing each of them their plates. Link poked at his a bit, taking slow bites. He wasn't very hungry. Zelda was a fast eater, and tended to scoop up large portions of food in one spoon or forkful, put it in her mouth, and immediately dig her spoon or fork back in for another. Meals were not a time to talk, to her. She liked getting the meal over with so she could get on with her day. She saved conversations for later. Few things bothered her more than sitting around at the table politely waiting for the slow eaters of her family and friends of the family to finish up. They would take a small bite, put down the fork, and proceed to have a five minute conversation before taking another small bite. It irritated Zelda to no end, wanting nothing more but to leave the table, rather than sit and listen to a conversation that didn't interest her for what would be at least an hour after she had finished. Luckily she didn't have that problem now, as anything Link could say would probably fascinate her and Jethro seemed like the type to use his words to propagate some end, not just for mindless conversation. That is, he wouldn't be the one to start such a conversation, though he might follow through with one if baited.
Link hadn't eaten much of his omelet. He wasn't a morning person to the point that he wasn't hungry in the mornings either. It was honestly a reaction to the time of day. Had he woken up in the afternoon (as he preferred) after the same amount of time since the last meal he ate, he would have gladly eaten the omelet. But morning was different. Morning made it hard for him to get going, which included his appetite. He would force himself to eat the omelet now while it was still warm since he knew he wouldn't get another chance to stop and eat when he finally got hungry. He started eating a bit faster and taking bigger portions with each forkful. He didn't like having to force down food like this. Food was a great wonder of the world to him, one which he enjoyed quite a lot. He wasn't a glutton by any stretch of the word, it's just that when he actually ate, he preferred to savor the moment and enjoy the intricate flavors. In this same manner, when he wasn't hungry, he preferred to not eat. He didn't like forcing food upon himself, not allowing himself to actually enjoy what he had been graced with. He understood that not everyone gets to have a decent meal, and that having healthy food available was a blessing, not to be overlooked. After he had gotten about half way through, he had woken up a bit more and it was less of a pain to eat. The more he ate, the more he was willing to eat, and likewise, the more he enjoyed what he was eating.
Jethro was quite a fan of the omelet, and honestly believed it a challenge to make a better one than his. He had had quite a bit of experience making them, as he couldn't make anything more complicated. This was his favorite though. There was something great about the taste of food cooked on an open fire. There was something about the unique flavor that couldn't be replicated in any other environment. He had never experienced this phenomenon before (the dinner from last night had been served cold) and was delighted to discover it. He was going to look forward to this journey much more now that he could anticipate this kind of outdoor tint to the meals. Although he derived this much pleasure from even simple meals, he was not quite allied to the savoring school of thought. He was able to take joy out of meals even if eating them somewhat quickly. He didn't eat nearly as quickly as Zelda, mind you, but he ate at somewhat of an above average pace. Zelda was right about him. He wasn't one to initiate a mere conversation, and yes, he would contribute to one if it came up. The conversations he wanted to have would not be well accepted with these young people. They wouldn't appreciate, partially or fully, a meaningful conversation of philosophy or one of the theories of modern science. They wouldn't care to discuss Hyrule's recently emerging great novelists, or even listen to him speak more of The Sword of Time. They seemed perfectly content eating in a harmonized silence, and he wasn't going to ruin that feeling of equilibrium.
None of the three travelers were allotting much importance to custom. When Zelda was done with her meal, she got up and silently excused herself to put away the plate and begin cleaning the skillet Jethro had used. Jethro, about to finish anyway, insisted that Zelda let him clean it. Realizing that she might point out that she was finished and he was not, he quickly gobbled up the last remnants of the omelet to relieve her of that argumentative advantage. He didn't have to do that. Zelda was going to argue with not having to do work. She had never had to do such work before, and wasn't quite sure that she would have done it properly now. She just figured that it was the polite thing to do, being as how she was done anyway. But, if Jethro insisted, there was no need to continue this courtesy. Link soon claimed that, though there was still omelet on his plate, he was done. He handed his plate to Jethro, who finished what was left for him, and then continued to clean up. Link finally stood up and stretched, shaking out his legs, which had fallen asleep. He awkwardly trudged along trying to wake them up, which made Zelda laugh under her breath. She still wasn't quite sure about Link. For some reason she thought that had he heard her laugh he would have been slightly insulted. He just seemed different. But, on the other hand, she always had this fear of letting him know her inner emotions. She was afraid of letting him know just how much she cared about him, and how much she worried when he went off, and how relieved she was every time he came back. Not relief that the world was safe, though that did bring a bit of joy to everyone, but that Link was okay and had returned to her, if only temporarily. That's why she was so happy to take part in this adventure. Finally she would be there alongside Link, knowing that he was safe, and that he would keep her safe. If something happened to Link, it would happen to her too, and that was okay. She didn't mind dying alongside Link, with her final visions being those of Link battling to the death in her name. She just didn't want Link to disappear from her life. And yet, she could never let him know any of this. She was probably just a young girl to him, she often thought, even though she was actually his senior. He just seemed so much older, probably due to the aging effects of such dangerous adventures. If he knew about her feelings, he would just find them silly. After all, he's never been much of one to wear his emotions on his sleeves. Yet that was what was so intriguing about him, wasn't it? He was so mysterious. He would take time out of his own life to save the world, out of a feeling of duty, she supposed. Sure he had been hailed a hero time after time, but what of his life? What of his real life, the life he would lead if the world were not in peril? She had no idea what Link did when he had time to relax. No one ever told tales of his personal life, of what went on in his humble hut when evil had been cast out from the land. She wondered about this, about how much there was she didn't know about Link, about how much she wanted to know, and hoped to whatever forces ran the cosmos that one day she would know these things.
Section 2 – And Those Who Can't Do, Teach
Things around camp started to take up more life after breakfast was over and the cleaning was finished. After everyone had agreed nonverbally that traveling East in the morning was not well appreciated, there was time to kill. Fortunately for Jethro and Zelda, they had a specific task to take up this time in the morning. A task which would take more than a single morning to complete. Link's imposter, on the other hand, found himself characteristically bored once again. His mission was, of course, separate from that of Jethro, Zelda, and the real Link. His mission was to continue pulling off this illusion of Link throughout the journey, until that one final moment. He had to, above all else, keep the other two convinced that he was the real Link. Right now he felt pessimistic about his accomplishment of that task. He simply didn't know enough about Link to believe he was doing a thorough job of impersonating him. Sure, he had been a practicing con artist for most of his life, holding a fine respect for his ability as a believable actor. But he had never had to take on a role so specific before. He had always worked with basically stereotypes, which were just enough to fool people into whatever scheme he had at the time. Image was not an issue. He took on the form of Link while fully in his company, and hadn't changed out of it since. What was on the inside was what really counted for this one, though. That was something he couldn't imitate. Sure, he had casually observed Link before while working in the castle, so he knew some of Link's mannerisms, but he had never known he would need to impersonate him. He never knew it would be beneficial to absorb the details of how Link behaved. It was in this department that he was currently lacking, and he realized that. Fortunately, he still had the one thing going for him that he always had. No matter how much was pitted against him right now, no matter how difficult of a task he was poorly carrying out, he still had what he always referred to as "the gold." "The gold" meant a situation where their minds had too little evidence to consider the notion that this Link was an imposter, and so many of the flaws in his behavior go either unnoticed or unconsidered. Sure, he was doing a poor job of conveying a traditional Link, but without a reason to suspect an impersonator, these irregularities in Link's personality would just spawn confusion, not suspicion. The right amount of gold will always clear your name of these small misdemeanors.
At that point, Jethro and Zelda were willing to accept the gold, so to speak. The two of them were inside Jethro's tent, where Jethro was beginning his introduction for the course he was about to teach.
"You remember why you are here with Link and I, right?"
"Of course," Zelda replied. She was here so she could be with Link, of course. "I came because your party could use a cleric, and you saw the potential in me."
"Right. Now, here is the problem with our situation. You could say I have book smarts, right? Well, that is, I have a vast knowledge of things that have been written down over the years, so quite literally book smarts." He amused himself with his wit, and let out a small chuckle. "With my collection of writings old and new, there are many things that I understand in theory, but there is a wide separation between understanding a concept and being able to recreate it. Some things, no matter how much I understand how they work and their application, I simply cannot do. What I am going to attempt to teach you is one of these things. Based on my readings of great mages and other practitioners of magical arts, I can claim to have some understanding of how it works, but I simply don't have that essence in me which allows me to put it to use. You, on the other hand, have this essence. Your problem is that it is untrained, and you do not fully understand what it is you do. Your potential is thus left behind. What I'm hoping is that we can combine our talents to hopefully teach you to understand and better control your magical essence to put it to even better use."
"That seems reasonable enough."
"As I said, though, this will not be easy. The knowledge I possess comes from many, many books. Little things here and there. You would probably find them extraordinarily dense and exceedingly boring, so I have to somewhat of translate what I know into a way you can understand and apply to yourself."
Jethro was teetering on the edge of offending Zelda. She forgave him since this condescension probably wasn't intentional. It was still rather annoying, though, listening to this unwittingly pompous old man immediately assume her disinterest in the pursuit of knowledge, and her inability to understand such an intellectual level of speech in these books. It wasn't sexism, no. It had nothing to do with her being female. Zelda had no doubt that he would hold the same attitude towards Link if he were being taught. Zelda didn't even think it had to do with age, either. Zelda simply thought that Jethro acted this way towards anyone who didn't commit their life to reading and collection in the same way that he did. For his information, though, Zelda was not only literate, but was one of the few people in the land that had devoted time to reading some of the well appreciated works of the blossoming greats. She enjoyed reading these wonderful works of literature that took her to other lands, and she especially loved when they forced her to think, to question something, even if small, in day to day life. It wasn't too much of a stretch for her to imagine herself enjoying some of the books in Jethro's collection. Zelda now realized that her mind had drifted off, and she had not been paying attention to a word Jethro had said for at least a minute or two.
"-priests in Kakariko village, which, come to think of it, seems like it would be of better application to you. I don't have any specifics from that marked, though, so I'll just start off today with the basics that I can recall from memory. I guess you could call it the theory, as I have gathered, of magic." Jethro took in a deep breath, allowing his mind to catch up to his mouth, and slowly let it out, calming himself down, as he had talked himself into somewhat of a frenzy.
After this brief pause where he collected his thoughts, Jethro began again, this time speaking more slowly and deliberately. For the first time, Jethro was speaking and not prepared to do so. He had to actually prepare individual ideas and think about how he would structure them, something which usually came naturally to him.
"To start off, there are many ways in which people use magic. Magic is more of a blanket term, covering many feats that we cannot physically explain. Magic has always been somewhat of a touchy subject for me, since it cannot be explained with simple physics. It is still largely unknown how it works, at least by me. Whatever it is, it is something that comes from within, something I cannot explain, but I'll try. How should I put this…of all the things I have observed, I have classified two types of magic. That is, two ways in which I have seen magic used. The first seems to come from energies in the world. People who use magic in this way seem to draw in power from the world around them, and release it in any number of ways. These people can feel the energy flowing in all things, even those we don't consider alive. They can feel the life in all things, and they can draw it in for their own use."
"But if they draw in energy from the world around them, wouldn't that eventually remove the world of its energy, of its life and essence?"
"You would think so, but there are two things which stand in the way of that happening. The first, more simple one, is that the world is so vast, and there is simply so much energy compared to how much is drawn in, that any reduction in energy goes unnoticeable. While that might be true, there isn't any quantifiable evidence to show how much energy is drawn in and how much exists in the world. Besides, that would still mean that in the long run, in a course of millions of years, energy would be noticeably removed from the world. Now, the other reason why this doesn't happen is because there is not this sort of one way flow of energy in the world. Energy is constantly being recycled from one source to the next. It is vibrant and moves around through all things. I suppose that's what keeps it alive, so to speak. As I said, it is not a one way flow of energy out of things. Energy is replaced back into them. When a mage draws in this energy, he releases it one way or another. Suppose he releases it as a ball of fire. This ball of fire reintroduces energy to the world, which flows back in. Energy can't simply be removed from the world. It will exist in one form or another somewhere. A mage can't simply draw in energy and keep it inside himself forever. Think of holding your breath. Your body needs air to survive, so naturally you breathe. If you hold your breath, you eventually have to release it. In the same way that some people can hold their breath longer than others, some mages can hold in this energy longer than others, and can take in more energy at a time. Do you understand?"
"Well, you tell me. You're saying that you have separated magic into two fields. You haven't gotten into the second one yet, but you say the first one works through the use and recycling of energy in the world. This energy is contained in all things. The practiced mage can feel it, and understands how to draw it in and eventually release it, bringing the borrowed energy back into the world, keeping the amount of energy constant, in one form or another."
"Precisely. I'm glad you could understand. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to properly communicate the idea."
Zelda furrowed her brow slightly at this remark, reminding herself again that Jethro didn't know how offensive and condescending he was being.
"What of the other type of magic?"
"Well, keep in mind the idea of energy, because it still has some manner of application to this new way of using magic, the way that will more or less apply to you. The second way I have observed people using magic is through the practice of faith. I'm sure you understand that the mind is a very powerful thing, and sometimes what a mind truly believes can have a sort of impact on the world, so long as it is an honest belief. Our minds constantly shape the world in small ways, unnoticeable to us. Remember, of course, this is just a theory. I can't say for sure whether or not this occurs. Anyway, this belief and faith ties in with the energy of all things. It ties in with the essence inside of you. Now, I'm sure you have been taught of the way this world was created. The three Goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore worked together to create everything we see. As powerful as the three are individually, they're power is unmatched together. The three of them came together to form the Triforce, a symbol of their unity, and from that, their might. There is more to understand of them than that, though. Once the three Goddesses became the one holy Triforce, they became much more than that. They became infinite. They became all things in existence, and in that regard, all things in existence, all the wonderful things they had created, became them. And so, when everything in existence comes together, it makes up the essence that is the Triforce. It's a more spiritual than religious belief, but, supposing what we assume of the Goddesses and the Triforce is true, that is how I believe it exists. If that is true, then you could say this energy that exists in all things is the divine essence of all things, since they are all part of the Triforce."
"If that's the case, then why is it that you claim to not have it in you to perform magic? If the Triforce is infinite, and thus you are part of it, then you should have this same divine essence or energy in you, and be as able to perform magic as anyone else."
This brought a smile to Jethro's face, not only because he had an answer for this, but because he had not anticipated that Zelda would ask such a question. He began considering that perhaps she was a philosopher at heart, and she could observe and question the world in the way he did, though not as well, of course. "What a clever question, Zelda. An important one, as well. I'm glad to know that you are paying such attention to notice such things. In answer to that, I say that there is somewhat of a difference in the two ideas. It was my mistake to use the same word 'essence' to describe both because, while similar, they are different concepts. When I said that I didn't have it in me, that I didn't have this magical essence, I meant that I don't have the will to do it. Most people do not. It is a very difficult task to practice magical arts, requiring much focus and concentration. Most people who try find that they physically cannot have this level of focus, or cannot even understand how to focus. I am one of those people. For example: throwing a rock at a target. Everyone can use their arm to throw a rock. They have the same bone structure and musculature required. However, I personally cannot aim that rock for the life of me. Physically, yes, I could execute the same movements as someone who had better aim, but mentally I cannot do them on my own. I would have to think about and set up the exact positioning of my arm to make it work. However, for the person with better aim, all of these things come naturally to him. He just sees the target and throws the rock. His body naturally does the right positioning to make it work for him. This is how it is with magic. The kind of mind and focus it takes to do magic comes naturally for some, and not to others. We are all part of the divine essence that makes up the Triforce, but that does not mean we are all made the same. We are all very different people. Some of us can do magic, others cannot. Anyway, back to what I was saying about this faith based magic. This type of magic is based on connection, you could say. The people who use this can feel this oneness with everything in existence; they can feel the connection of all things to make up the Triforce. So, these people look inside themselves and use that connection to the Triforce to perform these magical feats. They call upon that divine essence within them to do it. So, unlike the people from the first type, the source of their power is within. The first type of magic is about temporarily borrowing energy from other things and releasing it back out in a specific way. The second type is about using the energy inside oneself as a connection to the divine, and calling upon that connection to do wondrous things. The ability to do this seems to depend very much on having a strong belief in this connection. However, there is no reason to say that this same sort of binding faith is not present in those who use the other type. In both there is use of something that exists in all things. The difference is that one takes outside energy and uses it, and the other utilizes the connection of all things with energy, which means all things in existence. I'm sorry if this second type was harder to understand, but that's just because it's harder for me to understand."
"It was fine," Zelda said, "I think I understand." Zelda was just happy Jethro seemed to have backed away from the elitist attitude he was displaying before. Perhaps he was beginning to understand that other people could have such an understanding of things, and could have intelligence, even if they didn't have a wide assortment of books collected. The conversation continued on, mainly with Zelda asking questions for clarification and calling upon Jethro to seal up any gaps in his explanation. They continued having this friendly discussion for a good hour, never moving on past these theoretical principles of the two types of magic and how they are related. That was all that needed to be covered for today and it certainly took up enough time on its own. While the specific information was new to Zelda, she had some kind of an understanding of it beyond the actual information. It was like there was something she had been noticing for all of her life, but just could never put the words to explain it. She still had no control over her use of magic, but somehow the understanding of the fundamentals made it feel like she was progressing. She understood this all connecting essence Jethro spoke of because she had been feeling it, on a small level, all of her life. She had just never been able to put words to this feeling. Now she could. Now she could say that it was the essence she was feeling. It posed a great many questions. Was this the reason why she seemed to have a window into what people were thinking? Was it because she could feel that connection with the other person, as one thing in existence to another? Did this explain why she saw all people as brothers, and why she felt they should be treated as such? Was this theory the reason behind all of her morals and views of ethics? Treating others as you would wish to be treated has more significance when you believe in this kind of connection with the others. Was this connection the reason for love? More importantly, was it the reason why she felt it down in her very soul when someone she loved was taken from her?
Section 3 – Linking All Things
Link was growing impatient at camp while the conversation between Zelda and Jethro continued. He decided to take a short hike down to the stream nearby and wash himself. If there was one thing that he was going to look forward to the least on this adventure, it was that he was going to have to wash in these disgusting streams on the occasions that they were available. This was a practice he couldn't understand in the least, being as he was a person who enjoyed cleanliness and maintaining personal hygiene. However, there was one thing he knew about Link, which was that Link went on such adventures all the time, and probably didn't have the same respect for bathing. So, he would have to take these baths when and where Zelda and Jethro's eyes couldn't see him. Simple enough, they seemed to be a rather absent minded bunch. Now, while they were cooped up inside that tent talking nonsense, was the perfect opportunity.
Link got up and started following his ears, for in the distance he could hear the running sound of the stream as it rubbed against the rocks on shore. Just a faint trickling of a brook, but it was enough to guide Link to the water source. He looked behind at the camp a few times to make sure nobody had caught him leaving the camp. He figured if they did, he could form a good enough excuse, but he would rather know he was being watched than find out later he had been followed. Once he had gotten far enough away that a number of trees blocked the line of vision from him to the camp he stopped these periodic checkups and began to casually walk back to the stream.
He walked up to the shore and bent over to look at his reflection on the surface, partly to check how well he was pulling off the image of Link, and partly to see how disgusting he had gotten traveling through the dirt and filth all day. He was pleasantly surprised in both regards. Seeing his reflection gave him newfound hope in pulling off his objective. Having not had a chance to look at himself, and simply trusting Brian's judgment as to how he looked, he had been rather pessimistic. Now he realized just how good he was at his job. One day, he thought. One day when I'm done with this mission I'll walk down the streets among my fellow con artists, and they will call me sir. He smiled at this thought, and started taking off his clothes, leaving them a few feet behind him. He wanted to make sure that the slight splashing of the stream wouldn't get them wet, both because he didn't want wet clothes and because he didn't want Zelda and Jethro to know what he had done.
He slowly slid into the water, which was surprisingly warm. It wasn't until after he had submerged that he realized a major problem with this plan. He had no way to dry himself, and even if he did, his hair would still be visibly wet. When he got out, his clothes would get wet by resting on his water laden body. Besides, if he kept secretly bathing like this, they would begin to wonder how Link was keeping up such an incredible hygiene. He decided that he wasn't going to lie to them about it, but rather say that, yes, he did indeed bathe. There was no other way out of it. He didn't want to lie to them knowing that they would call him on it, raising suspicion and taking away some of his gold. On the other hand, if he accurately claimed that he had been bathing, they would be suspicious all over again as to why Link was uncharacteristically bathing on this adventure.
It came to his attention that he would have to admit to bathing, but he would also have to come up with a good excuse as to why he was doing it. Didn't want to get so dirty when traveling with company? No, something told him that that wasn't something Link would say, or even think about. He didn't seem too washed up when he went to the luncheon. Link struggled with the right answer, when it finally came to him through the process of such a struggle. He was getting frustrated that he couldn't come up with a good excuse, and decided to just relax for a moment and let it come to him naturally. He stopped actively thinking about excuses and just let himself lay back in the water and calm himself. It was this very action which gave him the good excuse. He decided that he would tell them he went to bathe to clear his head. He wanted to just relax for a moment and let the flow of the water relax him. It would have to be that one. There was nothing better he could say to dull the suspicion.
Now that he had this excuse, he could just sit back and enjoy knowing that the water was removing the dirt and grime from his body and bringing him back to a pure state. He just relaxed, dipped his head back to get his hair wet, closed his eyes, and relaxed. It would be fine. He knew Jethro could talk for ages, so he wouldn't have to worry about them for a while. All he had to worry about now was how he was going to deal with moving around in wet clothes. He hated that. It felt so uncomfortable! Not to mention that you couldn't get clean out in nature like this. The moment you got out, you would be wet, so all new dirt and leaves and twigs would stick to your feet and body while you move to get your clothes. Your clothes probably have leaves and dirt stuck to them too, so you have to shake that off and put them on. There was no way to avoid it. Immediately after you get out, you get dirty again. The only safe place to be was in the water itself, and he was just going to allow himself to be blissfully ignorant as to how clean that water actually was.
After a long period of simply soaking, he brought himself back to land where, sure enough, new dirt and leaves began to stick to his wet body. He picked up his clothes to find that the bottoms of them were covered in dirt. He shook them off and put them back on his body, where they immediately began absorbing the water. He was instantly dirty once again, exactly as predicted. Link silently cursed the outdoors, and vowed that after this was done he would never leave the city again. Get some civilization for crying out loud! Why must he impersonate someone so different in tastes for once? Couldn't fate have allowed me to find this artifact in a shop somewhere? Sure, it was going to be valuable and quite possibly useful, but at what cost? Or, why couldn't Brian have gone to do it? Maybe he wouldn't have minded as much. He couldn't have possibly minded as much. Well, what's done is done. He decided you can only complain about your current situation so long before realizing that such silent complaints won't accomplish anything. He proceeded back to the campsite, where he found that Zelda and Jethro were still talking in the tent. Just as planned. He sat down by the fire to warm himself, and hopefully dry these damned clothes. The fire had died down considerably since breakfast, as it had not been attended to for a while. He took a stick and started poking at the embers, trying to see if he could stir the fire back into life. He also now realized the hazard he left by leaving the fire unattended. Personally he wouldn't mind if Jethro and Zelda got burned alive in the tent, but Jethro was the only one who had even a faint idea where the sword was. Link had peeked in Jethro's tent the night before and opened up the one book that was out to the place that Jethro had marked. He read the story of Gryx and The Sword of Time and didn't see what was so informative that it needed marking. However, the one thing he did determine was that the cave of N'rar, where Gryx killed himself, was probably where Jethro was leading them. Unfortunately, he didn't know where that was, so he would still have to keep Jethro alive, for the mean time. It was a pity if he had ever heard one. How he hated that old windbag. Well, to be fair, he didn't talk that often, but when he did, he wouldn't stop or pause, even to let others contribute. He didn't see how Zelda could stand being kept in that tent with him listening to him go on and on about nonsensical gibberish he determined was scholarly. What the hell is a scholar anyway? What a self proclaimed position of righteousness. Well, he thought, not unlike the royal family. He smiled again at how fitting it was that the two of them be kept in the same room together. Let the two forces of "righteousness" compete until their throats are parched. Then maybe they'll realize that neither of them won any intellectual battle.
Link breathed a sigh, and the flap on Jethro's tent opened. Jethro and Zelda came out, and to Link's surprise, neither seemed frustrated with the other, and in fact seemed somewhat happy. Link didn't understand what they could possibly get out of posing unanswerable questions to the other and spreading unproven opinions. This Link was hardly the philosopher, and never intended to be. While Jethro and Zelda saw it as a spreading of knowledge, Link saw it as a waste of time. Even if one were to come to a resolute conclusion about one of the philosophical matters, lives wouldn't change. The only difference would be an acceptance of a new abstract idea with no application towards actual life. That was what frustrated Link about philosophy. It saw itself as a pursuit of knowledge and a quest to understand life, and yet the matters it attempts to resolve have no application towards life whatsoever. Link preferred the sciences, and respected Jethro in that he also had a fair share of knowledge on that subject as well. Maybe sometime he could discuss that with Jethro. That is, maybe some time he could initiate a conversation with Jethro, and then listen to Jethro's endless monologue for an hour afterward. At least that would be more entertaining than sitting around camp all day.
The inevitable and planned question finally came. Zelda was the one to ask it. "Why are you all wet, Link?"
Link was happy to already have the answer to this question. "I just needed to relax for a bit and clear my mind, so I went down to the nearby stream and soaked for a little bit. It really helps me, and allows me to have a better focus for the rest of the day."
While both Jethro and Zelda were acceptant of this answer, and decided it was certainly reasonable, Jethro still had his own issue with it that Zelda had not thought of. "That is all well and good, Link, but I would prefer if you wouldn't leave us like that, certainly without telling us. Remember, you're here to protect us. Had something come along while we were busy in the tent, you wouldn't have been there to do your job. Sorry, I don't mean to sound angry. I just mean that in the future I would like you to at least tell us, so we can know to start looking out for ourselves, and not leave ourselves in your absent hands."
"Sorry. I'll make sure to tell you if it happens again."
This was all new to Zelda. This was one of those personal details about Link she had been longing to know. So, even he needs to just relax sometimes and clear his mind of the frustrations from the road. It made him so much more human. He wasn't this abstract caricature of a valiant hero anymore; he was a real person who deals with the same issues as anyone else. This both pleased and disheartened Zelda, in a way. She was pleased to know that Link wasn't so far from other people, that he did not live on a different level, separate from the human urges, desires, and problems. She liked that this simple fact brought him closer to her, who also felt the need to just stop and relax sometimes. However, it just didn't seem quite fitting. So early on in the adventure he already needs to clear his head? But, nothing has even happened yet, what could he need to clear? This made a new perspective of Link, one in which he toils his way through adventures, bringing himself through agony and anguish to do so. A new view of Link where he did not seem so valiant anymore. Zelda started to regret this chance to really get to know the Link that existed on the inside, outside of folk tales and children's stories. A Link that didn't quite hold up to the fantasy she had had since tales of Link's adventures first spread through the lands. Maybe he wasn't so brave after all. Maybe he wasn't the man Zelda wanted. She shook away such thoughts. They couldn't be true. They couldn't possibly be true. Besides, she wasn't so shallow that such a slight change would force her fancy elsewhere. She was drawing far too many conclusions. It wasn't all about the brave man on the outside anyway. The one she loved was the hidden man on the inside, the one she knew nothing about. Maybe that was why she always seemed somewhat let down when she found out something new about Link. Maybe it was because it was the mystery she wanted to hold on to, not the man.
There was no longer any time to think about such things, for when Zelda refocused her gaze, she saw that Link was bleeding on the ground, with one slender knife in his back, and another through his throat. Jethro had backed himself up to the tent in terror, letting loose a scream that wouldn't come out. It was the most horrible thing Zelda had ever seen. It was the most cruel joke fate had ever played on her. Her last thoughts about Link were questioning his manhood, and her last words were, "Why are you all wet, Link?" She stood with her mouth gaping open, too shocked for tears to well up yet. She struggled to breathe as she saw the thing in front of her. It seemed half falcon, half man. And the bastard had killed Link, permanently shattering any and all of her hopes, as well as her beliefs about Link as an unbeatable warrior. There was no question though. The Link she had traveled with for the last day or so, the one she had started to see from the inside out, was lying dead on the ground. Forever.