Chapter Seven: A Whole New Set Of Problems
Fate was an irresistible little brat, Farore always said. No matter what people did, in the end they fell victim to whatever fate had in store for them. It was why Ganon always lost.
Din agreed. The Link was fated to rescue a Zelda, usually by defeating Ganon, in an almost endless cycle. Yeah, fate was definitely irresistible.
Nayru did not agree. Fate was hard to thwart, true, but a sufficiently determined madman who didn't care about how suicidal his actions were had a good shot at breaking free of fate, prophecy, destiny, and/or whatever else bound him (or her) to some path.
It was rather sad that Nayru was the one who turned out to be right.
Especially because the Goddesses of Hyrule were not the world's only Goddesses.
Really, how could anybody think that they were?
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At that moment, however, the Goddess of Water was acting incredibly feminine. Divine or not, at War or not, she was still a female with the body of a sixteen year old and the mind of an umpteen million.
To be specific, Nayru was trying on dresses in one of Seraphia's richest market districts. Sure, her normal outfit looked quite good on her, but it was just plain rude to not have anything special for important events. Of course, few people cared what she did. The people of Seraphia were very practical, after all, and had told themselves that since Nayru was a Goddess, she was completely exempt from all manner of insults created by action.
Prince Adam didn't feel the same way. He had demanded that she start dressing up to show proper respect to his station, despite the fact that she could have spat on him and kicked him into the dirt without offending anybody else. Divinity definitely had its perks. In this case, the right to take whatever she wanted from the shops.
It hadn't been her idea. Or Link's, or even Adam's. The people of Seraphia had actually demanded that she not even bother trying to pay for anything. She was their Goddess, after all, and they had informed her that this was simply their way of showing respect.
Seraphia was not a country where the people were obsessed with going to temples and praying. Sure, the temples existed, and yes, people did go there to pray, but their practicality always came through. They showed respect for the land by working it to the best of their ability. They showed respect to the crown by obeying the laws, paying their takes on time, and fighting for their homes as needed. And they showed respect for Nayru by giving her free stuff from their shops.
Dria hated it. No, no, that's wrong again. She hated Nayru.
Her full name, which nobody but her priests even tried to pronounce, was Driathrankil'metragintheak. Even she, always so picky, had agreed that Dria was fine.
When the Goddess of Wisdom had first come to Hyrule, Dria had decided to take pity on the poor girl. She'd been nearly dead, after all, and the Dark Lady of Seraphia didn't really want another Goddess dying in her territory. That would have made things very… awkward… next time anyone came to visit her.
Now, however, that blue-haired chit had seduced her people away, going so far as to ensnare the Captain of the Mage-Knights in her clutches. Dria really hated it. She was the one who had gifted him so much. A baby born in the lowest, poorest part of the country, she had reached out and given him gift after gift. Strength, the raw power to crush his foes. Speed, to lance out with his weapon in a blur the human eye couldn't even follow. Magic, the likes of which few mortals had ever known. All his powers, all his greatness, it was all because of what she had done!
And now, he had turned his back on her, seduced by that foreign Goddess! He had completely ignored everything she had ever done for him! He was like her child, her precious little boy, everything anyone could have wanted. She had pulled him up from the lowest place in the world to one of the highest.
Now… it was too late to do anything about it. Seraphia believed in Nayru now, and soon they would believe in Din and Farore as well, those dirty little brats! And how could her priests continue to follow her faithfully, when another Goddess moved among them?
Dria screamed, grabbed a priceless shield that had been forged for her by some of the best smiths to ever live, and hurled it across the chamber she called her home. It shattered into a thousand pieces as it hit the wall. THAT STUPID NAYRU! She wasn't going to wait any longer, she was going to go out right now and teach that girl a lesson!
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Nayru stepped into her room, arms piled high with boxes upon boxes of dresses that the shopkeepers had insisted on giving her. They were such nice people! Quite pleased, the Goddess set them down in a corner, spun around, and flopped onto her bed. She needed all the rest and fun she could get if she was to help finish Ganon off. Hee hee hee.
The door of her room slammed open. Blinking, Nayru looked over to find a girl who looked her own age (that is, the age she APPEARED to be) there. The girl had long, silky black hair, a beautiful black gown, and a face that was panting and red. A bit concerned, the Goddess sat up, tilted her head, and smiled.
"May I help you?" she asked pleasantly.
"YOU!" the girl screeched, running over and tackling Nayru. "This is all your fault, you brat! I've lost almost everything because of you!" Nayru understood what was happening a moment later as she peered into the spectrum of reality. This girl shone as brightly as any other divine being, which meant…
"Oh!" Nayru said. "You're a Goddess of Seraphia, aren't you?" Immeasurably pleased, the Goddess of Wisdom hugged Dria tightly. Screeching, the black-haired girl pulled back from Nayru and slid backwards across the room, furious. As Nayru continued to smile, Dria focused her power into the creation of an orb of destruction.
"You have two seconds to go home!" she yelled. Nayru blinked, then giggled slightly as a strong arm wrapped around the other Goddess' neck and hauled her backwards. "Who the--- lemme go! Lemmegolemmegolemmego!"
Link sighed as he looked down at the girl who had been about to attack Nayru. Who in the world was this, and why did she remind him of Farore?
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"ACHOO!"
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"Talk, girl." The Captain of the Mage-Knights said firmly. "Why are you trying to attack Nayru?"
"Because you picked her over me!" Dria roared, struggling to get free. She had given Link just a few too many gifts, though, because try as she might, she was trapped. Figured. Well, it was a lesson: No matter how much you like them, don't make them stronger than you are. Link was not dense. He had never seen this girl before in his life, so she could hardly be a jealous lover. Supposedly, anyways, there were always a few really crazy ones out there. His guts told him that wasn't the case, though, and they were very trustworthy…
Nayru sighed and fluffed her hair back.
"I put so much work into you, and all you do is ignore me the first time a cute Goddess comes along!" Dria spat. "You're an ungrateful brat! I should have helped somebody else…" the girl crossed her arms and managed to sulk while trapped in a headlock. Nayru was quite impressed.
"You haven't even told us who you are." The Link pointed out. Dria stomped on his foot, and he let her go. The black-haired girl coughed, then raised her hands. The entire chamber was enveloped in shadows, and every so often, a bolt of lightning came from nowhere and went nowhere.
"BEHOLD, MORTALS!" the girl said, to the roar of thunder from somewhere behind her. "FOR I AM THE DARK LADY OF SERAPHIA, GODDESS FIRST CLASS, UNLIMITED, DRIATHRANKIL'METRAGINTHEAK! MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS DRIA! AND YOU HAVE AROUSED MY ANGER!"
"She said 'mortals'." Nayru said, looking over to Link. The warrior nodded.
"Uh-huh. But I'm the only mortal here. She made a mistake." He agreed.
"SILENCE!" Dria roared, twin orbs of darkness appearing in her hands. "OR I SHALL DESTROY THE BOTH OF YOU HERE AND NOW!"
A field of light appeared next to Dria, and a pair of white arms came out of it to grip the girl. A terrifyingly cute girl poked her head out of the field a moment later.
"Sorry about all this. My sister's a bit high-strung right now." She said, somehow managing to give the impression of a bow before she pulled Dria into the field. The light and the darkness vanished. After a long moment, Link looked over at Nayru.
"Does this happen often around Goddesses?" he asked quietly. Nayru just shrugged. She had no idea.
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"Why do I have this nervous feeling?" Ganon muttered, looking at the dark twilight outside his room. He spun around and clapped his hands together. Four minions appeared. "It's like something is about to go right for a change… Mora! Kora! Sora! Lora! Get me…"
"A shrubbery?" one of the minions asked hopefully. The other three smacked her. Hard. It was a horrible joke.
"No." Ganon said, growling. "Get me an imprisonment crystal from the treasury. If Nayru is actually brought here soon, I intend to seal her in one." The minions nodded and took off. The King of Hyrule turned around and bent over Farore. "I think I'll make you pay the energy for it." he added, kissing the girl. A torrential rush of power surged into his body. "Aah, you've been saving some." He whispered as tears leaked out from the small, green-haired Goddess' eyes. He didn't know what it was like to have your very being ripped out of you, but since even Farore cried when it happened to her, it must have been horrible.
He loved it.
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Nayru waved as Link left her room, the shut her door and smiled. Time for some changing into different outfits!
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"Dria, how could you go out and do something like that?"
"Well, half of this is your fault, you know! If you popped out there for five minutes and showed your face, those soldiers'd totally forget about Nayru!"
"Yeah, but only because they'd be thinking about how to get me in their beds! Men are stupid like that!"
"I know that, you don't have to tell me twice! I just wanted that Link to remember all I've done for him!"
"If you really care about him, you'll let him go! If he cares about you, he'll come back!"
"That is so like you, sister. Always hope and cheer and kindness."
"Well, I am a Goddess of Light… Seraphia's Radiant Queen. Just like you're the Dark Lady, Nayru's the Aquatic Sage, and Gabriel is the Black Death."
"…I know all about how much you stare at him. It's very unbecoming for a perfect little maiden like you to want a Death God."
"S-shut up, Dria! That's none of your business!"
"Yeah, yeah… hey… where'd Link go?"
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Link, the mighty Mage-Knight, had gone to his bedroom, magically warded against spying. Even if the eyes doing such were divine. It was a simple room, with little of the grandness that befitted his rank. A bed, a desk, and very little else. His indulgence was his bed: A huge resting place designed to make him as comfortable as possible. The warrior sat cross-legged upon it.
He stared at his right hand, where a warm glow could be seen. After looking at the mark of the Triforce for several long moments, the boy held his arm out in front of him. Some words came into his mind, like a memory he could almost grasp. Link frowned for a moment, then took a deep breath.
"Triforce of Courage, mighty creation of the Goddess Farore, I beg you to bring your creator here to me. Free her from where she is being held and transport her to this place, should you find me worthy as your bearer."
Silence. Sighing, Link got up and began to head towards the door. But he stopped when there was a flash of green light from behind him. After counting to ten, Link oh-so-slowly turned around to see Farore reclining on his bed, a smile on her face.
"Greetings, mortal." The petite Goddess said grandly. "I'm really quite flattered that of all the fair maidens in the world, you would choose to bed me and—" Link fainted and slumped to the floor. "Dangit, I wasn't done! Stupid Link…" she said, pouting as she crossed her arms. "Maybe I shouldn't have made that last remark… oh well." It was impossible to keep her down for long. Bouncing to her feet, the girl walked over to Link, picked him up, and strode out into the hall. "Hup two three four, hup two three four…"
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"Listen!" Zelda said, looking out over Link's Mage-Knights. They were actually pretty good at what they did, and halted their exercises immediately to listen to her. "One of the most important things you will need to know is that your will is very important! If you continue to believe that you shall prevail, no matter how strong your foe, your abilities will grow more powerful! If you ever give up that hope, you are already beaten!" they nodded and made noises of agreement. "I understand from talking to the Drill Instructor that you have all been working on formations for a long time. Well, now we're going to do one-on-one. Strategies are certainly useful, but they never survive contact with the enemy!"
The Mage-Knights wasted no time. Pairing up, twenty five small battles broke out in the huge courtyard. While their weapons were merely wooden, the warriors did not hold back at all. They would train to the best of their ability, all day, every day in order to serve their captain and country.
Zelda thought for a moment, then raised her left hand and began firing blasts of magic indiscriminately into the general melee below. None was enough to permanently injure, but they would hurt if they connected. Far from turning on her, the soldiers only fought harder. Their great leader did this to all the time.
Simulate real combat conditions, he explained to anybody who came to watch, and the soldiers will perform better. If they expect everything to be orderly in a war, they're dead. It was with this school of thought that he beat all of them senseless at least once a week. Cockiness was also bad, so a regular reminder that they were not invincible also helped.
It amused Zelda to no end. However, she wouldn't go quite that far. She wanted their support when her kingdom was returned, and if they had some good will towards her, all the better. This small unit of warriors was among the most influential groups in this entire country. As she helped to train the warriors to be all they could be, Zelda prayed.
She prayed to Nayru, for the Wisdom to make the right choices and decisions in the coming battle. She prayed to Farore, for the courage to face whatever Ganon would send against them. And she prayed to Din, for the power to grab victory with her own two hands… well, her own two hands and her sword, anyways.
The Princess of Hyrule made an impressive sight, standing atop the ledge that overlooked the courtyard. Clad in heavy black armor, with her pale hair tumbling down her back, and bearing one of the land's sacred swords, Zelda was truly something Seraphia had needed. Another leader for the small country's armies, an icon for people to rally around. Her arrival might, just might, be enough to turn the war in their favor.
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"There is no trace of transportation magic." Ganon said softly. "Four chains remain unbroken, and the door was locked from the outside. The walls and the windows have powerful sealing spells set upon them. Farore could not possibly have escaped, and yet she has." He ran a hand down Din's cheek. "Tell me what happened, my lovely little Goddess. Tell me how she escaped, and I will not punish you for it in the slightest. I am offering you mercy."
Din smiled.
"She just vanished." Din replied. "I don't know how she managed to get away, or I would have done the same."
"Is that so…" Ganon replied. He put a finger at the base of her neck and slowly traced down her body. When he got to her stomach, he used a small amount of magic and tore away the cloth covering that part of her body. "Fine. Be that way, if you wish." He slowly traced a circle around Din's stomach. "Here's what I am going to do to you, Din. Inside your womb, I am going to conjure the egg of a creature from the darkest depths of the demon plane. Now, unlike those other creatures from that place, so deliciously evil, this little egg is not going to hurt you. No, it will start to feed on your power, gathering more and more of it. I am also going to work a little spell so that it takes an equal amount of power from me. We're going to be parents."
Din retched.
"Don't worry, it shall take only a few minutes… it will be the most painful thing you have ever experienced though, seeing as it is going to erupt out of you." Ganon added thoughtfully. "But you'll live. I will make sure of that." He finished tracing the circle, and Din felt the telltale flare of dark power that told her when Ganon. Mixed in was just a tiny bit of something else, though… her own power? Trying to help her?
Then it began.
For seven minutes, the screams did not stop from Ganon's castle. The guards, inside and out, carefully moved as far away from his room as possible without leaving their designated areas. Nobody wanted to really know what was going on in there, because on the irrational and completely baseless fear that it might happen to them if they found out.
What they forgot, of course, was that Ganon was hardly the type to keep his torture methods secret. Not only did he say what they were, but he instructed others in their use. What did the guards have to be afraid of?
When the dark ceremony was complete, Din lay glassy-eyed upon Ganon's bed, barely able to conjure a coherent thought, much less move. After he finished healing the gaping wound in her body, Ganon turned to the figure who was crouched on the ground beside them.
"I am Ganon, King of Darkness." The man said. "I have brought you into this world by feeding you my power and that of the Goddess on the bed. Obey the command of your father."
Slowly, the creature stood up and faced Ganon. It then bowed. A cruel smile crossing his face, Ganon indicated the wall. An image of Nayru appeared.
"As that other fellow has yet to make a move, I am sending you. Bring her to me alive." He ordered. The creature straightened, crouched, and leaped upwards. It vanished before it hit the ceiling. "Oh, parting is such sweet sorrow, but every child must leave its nest sometime." He said, amused. "Let this be a lesson to you, Din. Resist me and you shall suffer. Please me, and you shall be rewarded. You are no longer a Goddess of Hyrule, just a broken little girl. I am now the divine ruler of this land."
And he'd finally done it. Ganon had claimed divinity. Slowly, though the pain, Din started to laugh. Louder and louder, it bubbled and flowed out of her, a mad sort of laugh. Ganon was in for it now. To claim divinity when you were not… that was a real crime.
Ganon merely shook his head. Maybe she'd finally snapped and become as mad as he was. All the better, then.
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