The raindrops poured down through the decimated roof of the Temple of Time; the endless myriad of drops beating down upon the crushed stained glass windows which once decorated the eastern wall, which once shown the story of Din, the goddess of fire, Farore, the goddess of wind, and Nayru, the goddess of love, creating the land of Hyrule and gave their blessings to all of its inhabitants, which was made into the Triforce. The story also goes on to tell about a young boy dressed in green who saved Hyrule from an evil sorcerer named Ganon, who wrought a horrific wave of destruction to the people. The people prayed to the goddess to help deliver them from this evil, and when all hope was lost, the young boy in green came and used the power of the Triforce to save them.
Princess Zelda was entrapped in thought, as she entered the Temple of Time, built to honor the Sage of Time, Rauru. All that could be seen of her was a large grey cloak, used as shelter from the rain. The indentations in the tile below were quickly gathering water, making the entire floor slippery. She slowly made her way to the alter at the back of the temple, being careful not to slip and fall from one of the puddles. All along the way, she kept stroking her hand across the marble textures, touching especially the crack down the middle of the alter. She suddenly pulled her hand away, noticing that she had gotten a splinter of the marble caught in her finger.
After ten minutes of nostalgic thoughts, she decided to leave the devastated building.
"The tide has shifted..." A voice sounded out from the curtain of rain.
Zelda's eyes darted across the room. "Who's there?!" She quickly noticed a man dressed in a black cloak with a hood over his head covering his face standing in front of the immense door at the back of the room touching the alter.
"What has been... shall never be obtained again..."
"What are you talking about?" She inquired, slowly moving toward him.
"Tell me... do you know what has happened here?"
"Of course I know what has happened. An earthquake completely destroyed this temple, and with half of Hyrule along with it..." She spoke with a sorrowful tone.
"But that is not all, is it? Death Mountain also erupted, even though it has not done so in nearly five hundred years; a non-stop torrent of pouring rain; driving gales of wind; and your lands have been invaded and ravaged by new and mysterious black enemies..."
"If any of this has a point, get to it!"
"The elements are afraid... very soon, these things shall be the least of your troubles. And this door..." He turned, obviously referred to the door behind the alter which held the Triforce and the Master Sword. "…shall be sprouting anew with a nightmare unlike any you have ever seen before. And this time... it won't be stopped."
"What do you mean, 'this time'? Has it happened before? "She sprinted toward him, but she passed through him and he vanished out of sight. She suddenly realized that not a single drop of rain had hit him, even though he was in full view from the sky. "What... was that?"
"Zelda? What are you doing here?" The voice of a young blond-haired man asked from the entrance of the temple. He was dressed in a light weight green tunic and cap with a lightweight white shirt and pants beneath and wore a standard issue Hylian sword and shield on his back.
"Oh, Link, it's you. I'm not sure what I'm doing here. Perhaps I am just trying to restore the temple to what it was in my mind. Or maybe I am just being sentimental. What do you think, Link?" She asked him without even turning around.
"I think you're just standing in the rain hoping to restore something that will never again be restored. Now why don't you get out of there and get inside the castle?"
"I... I can't. I need to speak with the other six Sages."
"The other six? What could be so terrible that we need all seven Sages? And where are you even going to be able to find them all? Rauru left once this temple was destroyed, and we have no idea of the condition the other temples are in, and we haven't heard from any of the others in quite a while. For all we know, the Sages have left the mortal world completely."
"That is why we are going to other temples, one by one to see. If we can find at least one of the Sages, I am sure that they can help us find the others." She turned around bearing a gentle smile. "And besides, even if they did leave..." She giggled to herself. "...I'll find out on the way."
"Wait a minute, what do you mean 'I'll find out on the way"? You can't mean that you're going by yourself, not with everything that's happened here lately. It's way too dangerous to leave by yourself. But I guess that means that I'm going too, huh?"
"I guess you are." She let out a loud whistle. In a few seconds, a beautiful brown horse came galloping up behind Link.
"Hey Epona, since when do you start listening to Zelda's whistles?" Link laughed guiding her over to Zelda. "Up you go..." He grunted while helping her up to Epona's back and quickly jumped up behind her. "Come on Epona... up to the castle!" He spurred her on up the hill toward Hyrule Castle. "What do we need to get for the trip?"
"Let's see... we'll need an extra horse, plenty of food, a map to each of the temples, and probably some extra weapons and I think we'll be all set."
"Wait, why would we need extra weapons? I thought you used Magic." Link asked Zelda.
"I know. They're for you."
"What? For me? Why in the world would I need more weapons? You don't think I could handle it?!"
"Calm down for a minute and think. In the last few days, we've been under siege, we have had record breaking rain, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and lord knows what else. If we're up against all of this, I would bet that we may lose or break a couple swords along the way." Zelda thought.
"Well, if that's the case, then I'm going to need something a little stronger than a Hylian sword." A mischievous smile slowly crept onto his mouth. In moments, they were already packed and heading back south toward Hyrule Field. Suddenly, Link abruptly turned Epona and head west back toward the Temple of Time.
"What are we doing back here, Link?" Zelda inquired.
"I'm getting something a little stronger than a Hylian sword." He chuckled, referring to the Master Sword. The Master Sword was a magical sword blessed by the three goddesses with the power to banish evil, which he had put to good use years before. Pressing against the door at the back of the temple behind the alter which housed the Master Sword, but the door refused to move. "What...?" He questioned himself, pushing against it even harder. "What's going on? Why won't it open?!"
Zelda then remembered what the man she had met earlier had said to her. "Wait, Link-!" She called, but her voice was dubbed over by a thundering crack directly above them. A bolt of lightning struck the ground, jarring a precarious pillar down on top of Princess Zelda, pinning her to the ground unconscious.
"Zelda!" Link tried with all his effort to move the pillar, but to no avail. At last, he tied a rope to Epona and slowly began walking her away which finally began to move the heavy debris. Once it was safely off of her, he tried with all his ability to revive her, but could not. "Come on, Zelda... if you're not here, then no one will be able to talk to Rauru..." He said light heartedly to himself. He finally checked her pulse: Nothing. "No..." He whispered. "No, no, no..." He kept repeating to himself, crying over her body.
**********
Zelda's eyes flickered, slightly at first, then the rest of her body followed suit. She pressed against the back of her head. "Ow... my head..." She complained, straining to sit up. She looked around. To her astonishment, she was in the middle of a lush forest, much like what she pictured Kakori Forest to look like from Link's detailed description of it. There rain had stopped, and the sun was nearly blinding. "What? What happened?" She pondered, using a low tree branch to help herself up. "Where am I?"
"Why, you are in the Spirit World, of course." A deep booming voice laughed behind her.
"Who-?" She spun around and nearly fell backwards on seeing who the man was. "Rauru...?" She gasped, throwing her hood back from her head. "What is going on here Rauru? What happened to you and the other Sages? Why am I in the Spirit World? What...-"
"Ah, you have many questions, and we will try our best to answer them all; in due time, that is." He laughed.
"In due time?!" She stormed over to him, her patience obviously lost. "No, I have waited long enough. I want some answers, now!"
"...Very well."