IX.
He found Sheik on the training ground's armory, grabbing some things from the cupboards there. It was just a small out-building, but it was where Sheik liked to store some of his weapons. He tended to spread his things throughout the castle so he'd always have access to something – it was one of the uniquely thorough things about Sheik that had become more endearing than worrying to Link. A small satchel hung over his shoulder and he loaded it with throwing knives.
"Sheik?"
His friend glanced back, giving him a once over, then going back to his task. "I've haven't seen her that worked up in a long time."
"Neither have I," Link agreed, leaning against the doorframe. He watched the Sheikah work efficiently, everything about his body language submitting that there was some sort of preparation happening. "What are you doing, exactly?"
"Just getting things together," Sheik answered somewhat innocently.
Link gave him a glare, the purpose of his companion's movements suddenly clicking into place. "You think you're going with me, don't you?"
"Of course I am."
"You are definitely not," Link deadpanned.
Sheik closed the satchel and faced Link with skeptical red eyes. "You truly think I'm going to let you walk into the Nether? Alone?"
"Yes," said Link matter-of-factly.
"That's not happening," Sheik said shortly, moving past him and back into the sunlight laying a wave of heat over the training grounds. The three acres of dirt was empty, too bright and too hot. Link could feel sweat pricking at his neck as he followed his friend back out, exasperation bending his breath.
"Who's supposed to keep Zelda safe while we're gone?" Link demanded. He was going to the Nether for Zelda and for Sheik. To keep them safe. How was he supposed to do that if Sheik went with him? "I can't allow you to-"
Sheik, in a flash of movement Link nearly missed, dropped the satchel and charged forward. Link avoided the attack by a hair's breadth, ducked into a crouch and groaned. It was pretty common for Sheik to start unwarranted sparring when he felt Link was being an idiot. And this time Link wasn't up for it. "Come on, Sheik. Don't start this with me right-"
But it was too late. Sheik had knocked him down with a leap Link didn't even see, a knee planted on his chest and hard eyes surveying him as though a point was made. Link let out a cough, the air all but knocked out of him, and glared up at his assailant.
"You need rest if I can knock you down that easily," Sheik warned, looking a bit amused despite their argument.
Link squinted in the brightness and said, "You're not going with me, Sheik."
"Too bad you don't have a choice," Sheik said easily.
"I outrank you. Don't make me order you," he shot back, shoving Sheik off of him and clambering back to his feet.
"I won't let you go alone." Sheik was still standing close enough that Link could see the tension now building in his shoulders.
"I won't let you go down there with me and get yourself killed! Why are you arguing with me about this?" Link growled, his voice rising with each word. He just wanted to keep everyone safe and no one was letting him do that.
"Because you're being a hypocrite!" Sheik barked, making Link flinch. Sheik rarely shouted and sometimes Link forgot just how powerful of a voice his friend really had when he put it to use. "You preach to me about friendship last night but you reject it now when it's convenient for you! Maybe Zelda is right. Maybe you really do think you're a martyr."
Link froze. Did he actually think that, somewhere in the undercurrent of his mind? He was so used to having to put everything aside for divine prophecy. In fact, his whole life was built around it.
"Evanna needs the Vaspra. She isn't going to endanger the kingdom until she has it. So stop acting like you have to do this alone. This isn't a temple, Link," Sheik finished, voice returning to its customary volume. "This isn't prophecy."
Red eyes urged down his heart rate, but Link still growled in frustration. Sheik wasn't going to drop it – that much was clear. But every time he imagined Sheik descending in the Nether with him, Link's stomach twisted and panic scattered rational thought.
Link didn't want Sheik down there. He couldn't lose Sheik. Knowing he almost had once before had shaken him enough.
"I know," Link sighed, running his hands over his face. "I know, Sheik. But if we go down there and you die…" He found himself repeating Zelda's words and suddenly realized exactly what fear she felt. It was consuming and demanding. It was like the war all over again.
The fear made him feel so weak, a commonality for Link since Ganon's Fall. It reminded him of the uncontrollable terrors, triggered by the slightest pin-drop, and grueling moments of defeat when his mind conquered him. As hard as he had worked to find his strength once more the mere thought of a new, higher stake and his loved-ones caught in between destabilized him.
Movement broke his thoughts – Sheik snatched Link's left arm and, in a quick motion, pulled off his gauntlet and glove. The spider-thin outline of a small triangle was still a hazy glimmer on fair skin; the last vestige of the time a piece of the Triforce was his. "You had this for a reason. Put those fears to bed. We don't have time for them. We are going down there to save Hyrule. But if you really think I don't have the same fear of you dying..."
Sheik let go just as roughly, scooped up his satchel and said, "then you are being an absolute moron."
And then he left.
Link stood there brooding, which wasn't exactly normal for him. But he couldn't help the frustration he was essentially marinating in. Being backed into a corner from every direction wasn't helping his calm. Between Evanna's threats, the impending journey to the Nether, the complicated emotions coming from every angle, and Sheik insistence on following…he needed to break some things before he snapped at a person instead.
Link did himself – and everyone else – a favor and punched a few posts on his way back to the castle. By the time he was back inside, Link felt much better despite the fact he knew there was now zero chance of talking Sheik out of going. Even if he spoke to Zelda and had her try to convince him…well, Sheik rarely listened to Zelda when it was in conjunction with Link. It was one of the only ways in which the Sheikah would disobey a direct order, much to Impa's boiling anger.
Sheik was indeed found in the library, back on the couch with several books scattered around him. The day was fading behind him through the window and Link thought back to the evening just a week ago when they were researching Vaspra, blissfully unaware of Evanna's motives or the enormity of what was about to happen.
"I take it you're looking in historic accounts for anything involving the Nether," Link offered, unstrapping weapons and excess armor to lay them on a table next to Sheik's own pile.
"Of course," Sheik replied, tossing a particularly heavy book at Link, who caught it and settled next to his friend. They wouldn't ever conclude their argument nor apologize, but there was no need to either. They had made one another's stance known and butted heads, but at day's close they were no less friends for it.
The book was mostly lore and there were no accounts of actual people going into the Nether. There were plenty of stories, however, accounting the times in history when the Nether was torn open and the beasts of the realm invaded Hyrule. It seemed to happen every couple of centuries and, unsurprisingly, it was always someone conveniently resembling the Hero that would close it back up.
"My ancestors have been closing the Nether for," he checked the dates, "eight-hundred years. And then here I am, the first imbecile to go waltzing into the Nether."
"I suppose it had to happen sometime. Not every Hero is as intelligent as the next," Sheik quipped casually and Link ignored the bait to continue reading.
"The beasts were of all shapes and sizes. The most notable ones looked like naked men with too-long limbs. Their skin was dripping with dirt and blood and hung off their bones. Their claws were razor sharp and they tore my townspeople asunder. They let out a high-pitched wail that burst the ears of children and animals alike. We called them Baltas and prayed we'd never need use the name again.
The Hero saved us all from their horror. The number of the lost is great, but the Nether is sealed. Pray it never opens again," Link read out loud. "How pleasant."
"About as pleasant as this," Sheik agreed. "The flying creatures were the first sign of the rift in the Nether. They were oversized birds with red and gray feathers. Their beaks were sharp and agile, their eyes strong and unforgiving.
Once they spotted you, it was over; they would do everything within their power to devour you. They vomited a blend of blood and acid on their victims to incapacitate them. Once the body was dead and prematurely digested by the acid, they swallowed it whole...they called them Blood Backs."
"Maybe we should start cataloguing these creatures," Link offered tightly, reaching for a roll of parchment and a quill.
"I think that's a good idea," Sheik agreed. They shared a brief, grim look – their quest was beginning to sound more nightmarish than any temple or dungeon they'd challenged.
The rest of the night was spent listing all the creatures of the Nether and separating them by accounted speed, size, and attack method. In addition to Baltas and Blood Backs, they also found accounts of troll-like creatures called Mriths that would tear away flesh to specifically eat the bones of their victims. Then there were Vogs, a canine-like giant that could spit explosive fireballs and its scent could detect anything alive in a twenty-league radius.
By the time midnight was looming ahead on the clocks, they had a formidable list of adversaries to churn their stomachs. But still no idea what the Nether itself would be like.
They called it a night and put all the books back tiredly. Neither had adequate sleep the night before and their beds beckoned them. Without any more discussion they headed back for their respective rooms and delved into much needed rest with thoughts of the Nether's vile creatures swimming in their heads.
Come morning, Link found Zelda and Sheik talking quietly in her private dining hall. Stress hit him with a force he didn't appreciate. He could guess at what the subject matter was between them, but he found food was a much larger priority. They fell quiet as he sat down and dug into his own plate.
"Good morning, Link," Zelda said quietly. "Evanna has left the castle."
He paused, looking up at them in surprise, the news erasing any anxiety he'd been suffering from. They both looked exhausted, just as he felt; last night hadn't brought him pleasant visions and he imagined it was much the same for them. "Without word?"
Zelda nodded. "I don't know about her forces under the castle – I've tried to conjure a similar scry she used but it's really only helpful when you know the auras of her soldiers. Either way, the sentries saw her riding off early this morning before dawn."
"So where does that put us?" Link asked wearily.
"I can't even sense her presence in Hyrule…I'm not sure. Sheik thinks it's possible she may have gone back to Amrita."
"I can still sense something nearby that's not of Hylian nature. I think her forces are still present," Sheik supplied. "Though, honestly, I've been sensing several different presences for six months now."
"For six months now?" Zelda asked in surprise, Link mirroring her expression.
"It's not uncommon," Sheik defended. "We get visitors from places like Termina or even here in this world often. Tradesmen, politicians, royals…I don't know if there's anything to it. But regardless," he insisted, giving them a look for derailing the conversation, "I think she has people in the castle providing intelligence. It may explain how she constantly seems to be so well-informed."
"Well, Evanna knows how much Vaspra we found and she knows where it is," Zelda explained, her voice going even quieter. "It's been stored deep in a vault in the side of Death Mountain. I was supposed to be the only one in Hyrule to know the combination of spells to open it." She paused, raising her tea cup to her lips, poised to take a sip. "It's gone as of this morning."
"Brilliant. So this is why you think she went back to Amrita. With the Vaspra," he said slowly, looking back to Sheik, who gave him a nod.
"We assume she wanted to take it before we used it against her," Sheik provided.
"Despite the threats that still loom, however, this has created an opportunity for us now," Zelda continued, trying to look on the bright side of a bad situation. "Evanna – from what I can determine after speaking to her – is not that well-versed on our origins and, by extension, the Sages. We now have the freedom to contact the other Sages."
"You want to call them to…what? Seal her in the Sacred Realm with Ganondorf? Foursky as well?" Link asked incredulously.
Zelda gave a dainty shrug. "Something like that. But we would need to draw Foursky out of Amrita and into Hyrule. It seems, as of now, Evanna is doing his dirty work for him by coming here."
Link digested this information. "Do you think Foursky plans on staying out of the picture entirely?"
Zelda gave him a very serious look that Link had learned to equate with the dropping of bad news. "It is very likely Amrita will attack us once they have their Vaspra. Hyrule is a valuable kingdom both in resources and this apparent entrance to the Nether. Whether Foursky graces us with his presence or not, we must be prepared for the possibility of a very dark future." She paused, glancing around the room in what was clearly paranoia before leaning forward with her fingers laced tightly together. "Which is why you both must get some Vaspra for Hyrule as well. It will be our only chance to stand against such a threat."
Link's stomach turned, Nameth's words of warning revisiting his mind. "Vaspra…is dangerous, Zelda. We would have to be careful with its use if we did manage to get any. It obviously twists minds, if Evanna is any indication of its effects." Link trusted Zelda's judgment, but his voice had dropped and the tone was very much so implying for the Sage of Wisdom to be careful. "Let's say we do use it as a weapon – just as we know Evanna and Foursky will – and defeat them. Then what? We keep the Vaspra, a substance of unimaginable, unnatural power?"
"No. We'd put it back in the Nether, of course," she assured him with a steady smile, like her answer was such a simple solution. "But more to the point, there must be a solution for these two tyrants. Nameth's words confirmed what Evanna claimed – they are indeed immortal. Which means we must find a very permanent solution for them. If the Nether is what they seel, I don't see why it shouldn't be their demise. Nonetheless, the other Sages will provide more answers for us."
"I agree. I think the Nether is our best option here. Put the Vaspra and those attached to it back where it all started," Link said, sitting forward again and digging into his breakfast, the hunger starting to get to him. "And I suppose we'll need Vaspra ourselves to even accomplish that task alone."
"That's a fair assumption," Zelda agreed. "But everything will change as the situation develops. There are still a lot of things we don't know. The portion of Vaspra we found was no bigger than your head, Link. What she can accomplish with that, I have no idea. And perhaps I'm completely wrong – maybe we won't go to war with Amrita. I won't have any insight until I confer with the others today."
"Until we know what the Sages have to say, I think it best we attempt to find whatever spies Evanna has implemented in the castle," Sheik added quietly, glancing around the room out of sheer habit of speaking so openly. "We might be able to catch one and cripple her web."
"I agree," the Queen said, "but more than that, the both of you need to prepare for what lay ahead. We need to learn as much as we can about the Nether and what you can take to carry the Vaspra back. We also need to write the contract for her terms. It will be the only thing protecting this castle while you both are gone."
Zelda's confidence was a relief to Link considering how unsure she had been the day before. Link didn't know if he could handle any more of that pleading – it twisted him up to see her like that.
Their minds were spinning with plans and calculations. With so many holes still in the picture, none of them would sleep well for a while. What if Foursky came to Hyrule before they even left for the Nether? What if they didn't find any Vaspra in there at all? What if it wasn't possible to seal them both in the Nether? Historically speaking, they didn't have the best track record with Ganondorf and he never had Vaspra in his arsenal. On top of that, none of them really had a scope on the real power of Vaspra. They only knew what Evanna could do and what old, flaking texts told them.
They had yet to find prophesies written about this one in which the Hero triumphed. No legends foretold of any victory. The Sages had never reached out to them with guidance. And every step they took had so far been met with destruction and utter resistance.
What if they couldn't win this one?
Thank you for reading! I'm sorry for all the slow plot development – stay with me guys. I promise this building to something really big. Bless my betas Sage and Cherry for their endless courage in tackling my bullshit.
