The Legend of Zelda
The Winged Ones
Chapter 7: Children of Destiny
Chirin found himself in a glowing room, not a thing was around him, an endless world of white. A distant echoing voice, a soft and strong female voice spoke "The sacred realm, the mirror of the heart. What shall be reflected from within…." the voice was joined by another and then another as they whispered this phrase.
Outside the temple the glow of the Triforce of Wisdom, the Triforce of Courage and the Triforce of Power grew stronger till a blinding light engulfed them all and then suddenly, nothing…
Zelda looked at her hand, the symbol was gone.
Chirin heard a sound like a small glass chime, he turned around and there suspended in this vast emptiness, the golden Triforce. Chirin did not even know the significance of the item that laid before him, all he knew is this symbol adorned his kingdom and it was of great importance to his mother and father.
The boy did not know what this item was or what it meant, what he did know was that his soul longed to have it.
Chirin put out his hand.
"The boy with the balanced heart, mind and soul. The boy who can hold each part of the Triforce for Wisdom, nor Courage, nor Power overshadow each other, each and Equal…What shall be reflected from within…?"
Chirin touched the golden relic.
A wind surrounded the boy as Chirin was carried upwards, he closed his eyes as an odd sensation cloaked him, and when the boy opened his eyes he found that the entire Triforce glowed on the back of his hand.
The voices sounded "Purity is reflect from within. The holder reflects the one before him in heart, in mind and in soul. Let him also reflect the one who came before him in body and form for that is what destiny wishes…"
Chirin gasped as a chill filled the air, a flurry of snow began to circle him as Chirin's hair turned silver his eyes clear crystal blue, red marks etched into his face and wings sprouted gracefully from his shoulders. He was returned to his feet and he stared at the white feathers, wings like his father had somehow obtained. When he looked up from his pearly wings Chirin found he was not alone.
The Three Golden Goddesses towered before him one glowed with an aurora of blue, one green, one red. They all spoke at once "Son of the hero if time, child of the children of destiny, rightful holder of the Triforce. The world shall reflect what is within thou's heart." with a white flash Chirin found himself back where the master sword once stood but now the room had become a gateway to paradise and sword was now resting Chirin's arms.
Chirin still remained in this new winged form, the form of the first holder of the Triforce.
Chirin walked out to the top of the steps of the Temple of Time.
The battle had gone on without him, a storm ravaged the air with a fearsome power. Link had been helped by the healing abilities of a pink fairy called forth by Navi. The fairy had brought the wounded hero out of his unconsciousness...but the fairy was unable to completely heal him for the damage was shared by two forms.
Link had regained the Tenshioni form, the torn wing had recovered with the energy that the Tenshioni drained from Link's Hylian body. His other wounds had also seemed to heal but his recovery was only on the surface for the wounds still remained as part of his Hylian core. Taking on the Tenshioni form while wounded was a price he would have to pay later.
Chirin could see his father was still wrought with pain having taken on the Tenshioni form when not fully recovered.
Ganon was caught in the grips of Link's third light spell and he could see his mother ready for battle alongside Impa.
Link turned to see the winged form at the steps of the Temple of Time and was shocked to realize just what he was seeing. Chirin stood there and watched as Zelda used her power as the leader of the sages to hold Ganon in the grips of a pure and powerful light spell.
Chirin calmly and confidently moved forward, down the steps, across the field, leaves swirling around him caught in the wind of the power his new body radiated. The boy silently gave Link the Master Sword not taking his eyes off the Beast of Ganon.
Link took the Master Sword, the sword blessed by the Goddesses. He gazed in wonderment down at his son who stood unflinching at his side in this gale force wind, the tips of their wings touching as father and son stood side by side in the face of evil.
Lightning struck the ground as the storm festered in the air, the storm brought forth by Ganon's foul presence raged on around them. Link grasped the Hilt with both hands and with a dark determination on his marked Tenshioni face brought forth the finishing blow striking Ganon across the face and then thrusting it into the gem that adorned the Beast's forehead. The body of Ganon collapsed twitching in the field that was splattered with the blood of the Beast and the Hero.
Before Zelda could call upon the sages to once again seal Ganon into another realm the symbol of the medallion of Wind began to glow on Link's hand and the ghostly form of Kaepora appeared. "No" He spoke as Zelda stared in puzzlement at the apparition before her "Let the child use his new power…he is stronger than all of the sages combined…"
Chirin looked at Kaepora with wonderment at this other winged figure, the same mysterious form he and his father have taken. Chirin's eyes met the warm gaze of Kaepora "Don't worry young Prince, you are the holder of the Triforce, you know what to do." Zelda, Link and Impa's eyes grew wide with these words as they looked upon the boy's now explained new form.
Chirin lowered his head and wrapped his wings around him. A light began to grow behind the wings, its sheen piercing through the gaps of the plumage, as the boy unfurled the pearly feathers a brilliant light shot forth from within them.
Ganon screeched and screamed and roared as the light surrounded him, the light which held all the power of three goddesses. Ganon stood and thrashed about as if to fight the power that ensnared him, the beast's motions began to slow as flesh turned to stone. The light became intense and blinding and with one last burst of intensity the glow disappeared. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness of night they could see the huge bulking form of Beast Ganon frozen in fearsome motion, now solid stone.
Zelda rushed past the stone cold Ganon and to her son's side. She fussed disconcertedly over his silvery hair and wings his face in her hands and then she hugged him close as the boy cried with the relief of being back in his mother's arms. Kaepora still in a ghostly form watched as Chirin's wings faded and his eyes and hair returned to normal.
"So the legend is true, the first holder of the Triforce was one of my ancestors, a Tenshioni." Upon hearing the Wind Sage's voice Chirin looked up from his mother's embrace and stared at the figure before him, yet another being woth wings. Before Chirin could ask what he had just done to Ganon and how, and before he could question who this ghostly figure was, Zelda spoke "You are saying that this is not the first time the Triforce has been held by mortal hands?" Kaepora nodded and began to tell the tale.
"Your history has retained the story of how the Triforce came to be and its connection to the sacred realm, but your history seems to lack the knowledge of when the Triforce was touched by mortal hands, I guess that is because the results of peace and paradise were far more subtle than what happened when Gannon touched the Triforce and shattered it to the three pieces.
My people speak of what was, to you, a horrid winter, but to us the intense cold that enveloped the world was like a key that unlocked the door to lands we had never before seen. That year the cold stretched so wide that even the desert became passable
Before this time no other race knew of the existence of the Tenshioni. That changed as we ascended upon the new kingdom of Hyrule, the castle and town freshly built.
Our history speaks of how the Tenshioni, Sheikah and Hylian, the three races who shared the long ears of the fairy folk, all seemed to inherently know the origins of our world. It seemed as if the three similar races of this world and of others were each blessed with the knowledge of the Three Goddesses. "
Kaepora sighed, "Our history speaks so much of the world outside our own and yet your history seems to have forgotten us, but we never had forgotten you." "My people did not forget." Impa stated flatly her voice holding no hurt or kindness, Kaepora turned to her and grinned "Yes the Sheikah, such a unique and exceptional race…it pains me to know that you are the last." Kaepora said his smile weakening, closing his eyes and turning away before opening them again "And to know that the Sheikah's selfless desire to protect others drove your tribe to protect my people, and as a result the seeds were planted for the disappearance of a noble race, and for that I am sorry." he said solemnly, Impa was taken aback by his kind words.
Chirin spoke up "But what about the Triforce?"
"No one recalls ever building the Temple of Time, it is as if it has forever been there, it was the location of the temple that prompted the building of the castle and town around it. But at this time the keys to the Sacred Realm were not in place, there was no need for the doors were sealed and could not be opened…but that was not the case with the grand window above.
The boy, our Prince, not much older than you Prince of Hyrule, found this by chance. With the curiosity inherent of a child he entered and saw the Triforce which at the time lay unprotected in the chamber where the Master Sword now acts as a key… and touched it. The world became a paradise and our history tells that this paradise lasted as long as our Prince lived.
It is said that with his passing the era of paradise ended and with his death came the keys to the Sacred Realm, the great races wanted to honor his memory and ensure that only one like the Prince of the Tenshioni would be able to claim the golden relic that the kindhearted being once held.
Each race of this world played a part in the creation of the keys. The Spiritual Stones were crafted by the three who reflected the elements of the land; Earth… the Kokiri Emerald, Water… the Zora Sapphire, and Fire… the Gorons Ruby. The Master Sword was the work of the Tenshioni, the Ocarina crafted by the Sheikah, the grand doors were the work of the Guredo, and the song to open them was created by the Hylian. Each item became blessed by the Goddesses as they accepted these new conditions to the entry of the Sacred Realm where the Triforce laid unclaimed."
Kaepora closed his eyes, "Long have I watched the world and learned the world's history and watched as history unfolded. It seems this important piece of history that my people hold so dear was lost to the land outside our mountains and at times I wondered if anyone but the Tenshioni knew that the Triforce had been obtained by mortal hands. But as I traveled trapped in the body of the owl I noticed many symbols of the Triforce held by wings throughout the land, and so it seems that at least one shred of memory survived the test of time in this world."
The sage turned to the Sheikah and royal family "I know there is truth behind what I have just told you, for I am the ancient sage of Wind and my people have a deep connection with the magic of this world. Unbeknownst to the Fire Demon the owl form he cursed me with was also a blessing for I became even more in tuned with the magic of the land and was even able to hear the whispers of the Goddesses. It was the magic of this world that told me of how fate would unfold, it told me how to find the one person who would be able to hear my voice, you, Child of Time." He said turning to Link.
Zelda spoke "You are the eighth sage...Darunia, Saria, Impa, Nabooru, Ruto, Rauru, and myself...together we thought we were whole, but all along we were missing you..." her voice trailed off "That is why Ganon was able to free himself, we were not at our full power, the sages of six temples with I as the lead sage, we were not enough without you. But why, why did you not tell us? Why did you not help us find your temple to bring you into our circle of sages?" she said sharply her words driven by the hurt she had felt as a result of Gannon's reappearance.
Kaepora closed his eyes "My dear Queen, I was not to be found, unlike the other Sages I did not find my way back to my temple when destiny called for I could not. Trapped in the body of an owl with only Link able to understand my words I was helpless, all I could do was let fate unfold and wait for the Hero to find my true form. I could not help, even if I could communicate I had none of my powers, even now I am powerless, I am only able to speak through Link for he has taken within him the essence of the medallion of Wind in which my true self was sealed." he said with a saddened look.
"You are not powerless" Link spoke "You have guided me in this quest, as a child I relied on your wisdom to guide me and your presence was like that of an old friend as I found you throughout this world. You even followed me into another world and gave to me the Song of Soaring and thus granted me the speed of travel I was in great need of in the test of time I lived through there. And without you I would not have my wings." Link's words returned the warm smile to Kaepora's face.
The Wind Sage spoke "I am glad to know the Hero of Legend thinks so highly of me. But now I desperately need your help. It is time to start your next adventure for destiny has yet to be fulfilled. You and your son are the children of destiny and now you have fully awakened into the forms destiny has chosen for you, and together only you can kill the Fire Demon that stripped my land of life…But first" he said looking at Link's tattered and tired form, at the blood that coated him, knowing that the drain of the Tenshioni form would be great this time around. "You need to return to your normal form and rest, as children of destiny you are special but still mortal and mortals have their limits."
Link nodded and dispelled the Tenshioni form not expecting what would happen. Link did not know just how much the drain would be on him having taken on the winged form when his Hylian body was still so weak. As the wings vanished and his blonde hair and green tunic returned Link gasped with shock and pain. The hero while still on his feet went unconscious. His body collapsed and tumbled backwards, Zelda barely catching him before he hit the ground. Link was sprawled out gently upon her stained and tattered pink dress his head resting softly in her lap, hands limp at his sides. Navi floated down and rested in Link's cupped hand, happy to be back with him, but sad to be reunited at such a harsh time.
Zelda brushed the hair away from his eyes, her face adorned with a somber but heartfelt smile as she looked upon the weak and weary face of the Hero of Time, the calm face of the King, the face of the father of her child…father of the mortal who could hold the Triforce.
