Chapter 7: A hidden artifact

Gorgonis had left Faron, heading northwest almost entirely on foot. He could only teleport a mile or so, as it was a highly complex magic.

Ghirahim complained, "I thought we would reach the destination by some more efficient means! Not just walking almost all day for five days straight! Don't your feet feel any pain from walking this much, let alone barefoot?"

"To be perfectly honest, only slightly. Unlike you, who seems to have mastered every nuance of teleportation, I have not. I can teleport a modest distance, but it takes time for my energy to regenerate. The energy from the tree is slowly leaving my person, meaning future teleportation will be MORE taxing, not less. You are by far the most impatient, pompous being I have ever seen. Not to mention your very short temper. There is no other way to travel to Eldin province." Gorgonis says to the annoyed sword spirit.

"Do you like walking this much?" Ghirahim says

"Actually, yes. It's very relaxing not having to rush continuously. We are on uncharted lands between Eldin and Faron. Not even the hero can find us here, so we can take our time." Gorgonis says

"By the way, I am still very curious as to what you are, as I don't recall ever seeing any species like yours." Ghirahim asks.

"You've helped me enough, so I feel like telling you."

After all that has happened, Link is very much unsure of what to do next.

"Why would Ghirahim join up with someone he doesn't know? Exactly what is the being that was resurrected? What was he going to do next? And where the hell did he go?" Link was mentally asking himself

Then Zelda pokes Link on the forehead with a stick. Meanwhile, Groose was equally deep in thought.

Zelda jokes to herself in her mind, "Groose just never stops surprising me. First he follows Link, then he helps Link, then he saves me, and now he's actually thinking deeply."

Groose hasn't said much since he saw that being resurrect and defeat Link twice in a row without much of a scratch. After Link had defeated the Demon King, Groose began to think Link was capable of pretty much wiping the floor with anything that crossed him wrong, as did Zelda.

Groose then speaks up, "Link, Zelda, do you two have any idea where this mystery person was headed?"

Zelda breaks in as Link was about to speak, "Well Link was busy being doubled over in disbelief about the great tree falling, and rightfully so, I saw a large column of water erupt north of where we were, after which we all investigated and found Faron."

"And the only major area north of here is the Eldin province." Link finishes Zelda's thought. "When I traveled there several times, no valuable objects of any sort were ever mentioned or even written about. The Mogmas didn't exactly show me any of their actual dwellings, except for a communal area full of tunnels. I was admittedly very rushed on several occasions, and I never really got much of a chance to talk to the Fire Dragon Eldin."

Zelda then interrupts Link's train of thought again by waving her hand in front of his face. "What about our local flying encyclopedia, Levias? He would definitely know of any valuable treasures or artifacts in Eldin or even what species the being we resurrected is, because he obviously is not human."

Ghirahim's head was spinning at what he just heard.

"So, your species once controlled Lanayru, but the goddesses turned on your kind because they disapproved of your actions? Very interesting indeed."

Gorgonis now asks, "So, now that you understand my motives, will you help? Like I said before, I would treat you like an intelligent being and not an object. Even so, it is your choice."

"As long as I am able to acquire some of that power you seek to fully awaken your true powers, I'll follow." Ghirahim says

Ghirahim begins to bow formally, but Gorgonis stops him, "You're not my servant, so that's not necessary. You're my accomplice."

The two have finally arrived at the foothills of Eldin Province. Gorgonis thinks to himself, "It won't be very long now. Will you still be nipping at my heels, Link? If that's the case, that would just be all too perfect."

Link, Groose, and Zelda all fly into the ominous, ever-present thunderhead near Skyloft. All had wondered why it was there every day, since don't clouds come and go?

Levias, the sky spirit, was by far the oldest of all four dragons, if he actually counted as a true dragon. Link saved him from a nasty parasite that was possessing him and making him go berserk. Thankfully, the possessed spirit was confined to this thunderhead and couldn't attack Skyloft in its blind rampage. Link managed to slay the parasite by an all-too-familiar method: hit the giant f*cking eyeball. Now Levias simply roamed the truly vast expanses of sky inside the cloud with just about nothing to do.

Then everyone heard a very light snore. The spirit was sleeping yet somehow still flying just normally. Very strange indeed. Link, Groose, and Zelda woke Levias by landing on his rather flat...well...billboard of a forehead.

A very deep yawn is heard by anything semi-intelligent inside the cloud.

"Link! Its been awhile since you last visited me. Did you bring me any of that delicious pumpkin soup?" Levias says

Groose and Zelda didn't quite believe what they were hearing.

"He REALLY likes the Lumpy Pumpkin's soup. Don't you remember anything about an annual offering of it to Levias?" Link says to his confused friends, then says to Levias, "Unfortunately no. We came to ask you about many things that have thoroughly confused us over these past weeks."

Link then pulls out a piece of the crystalline chains that bound the Water Dragon.

"Lanayru amethyst? I haven't seen any specimen of that in eight millennia. A race called the Vailcon discovered it, but then they just vanished along with the robots. From what I recall, they weren't doing much of anything wrong." Levias says

"Vailcon? One of them resurrected somehow recently, then I thought he was evil from the way he looked and he beat me surprisingly easily twice in a row, even stealing and using the Master Sword against me in our second skirmish. I believe the thing is headed to Eldin next, but why would he go there?" Link asks Levias

"Was he after some sort of power?" Levias asks Link in a somewhat grave voice

"Maybe, but he never told me a word of his intentions." Link responds

"The only legendary artifact capable of rivalling the Triforce was broken in two and hidden there. Ever heard of the Dark Mirror?" Levias says and asks

Zelda speaks up, "The Dark Mirror can absorb all light and emit darkness in its place. I knew about it long ago, but my memory of it is admittedly clouded. Doesn't Eldin personally guard part of it?"

"Correct, Hylia." a familiar voice says behind them

Ghirahim laughs almost maniacally. "So, you've figured Gorgonis out, but what exactly do you intend to do? Already he beat Link without even trying much twice in a row. You know, they say third time's a charm!" Ghirahim says before teleporting away.

"Did he come up here just to taunt us? Can't we give that albino bastard exactly what he deserves for everything he put us through? We killed Demise and now he's working with this Vailcon thing! He must have a vendetta against you or something." Groose says to Link

"I kinda figured that already, since I actually fought and beat him three times in a row." Link casually replies, "And I'm already used to all his games. He probably has a trap waiting for me to fall into. However, I'll have to end up springing it, because Eldin is in danger."

And with that, all three people leap off Levias and call back their Loftwings. They quickly exit the thunderhead and head for the everlasting red beam of light in the sky that marks Eldin province.