Sorry my readers that this chapter your month-long wait. I had so many new ideas for this portion of the story I had to split it into two different chapters to accommodate all of them. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year! The next chapter will be coming shortly.

Edited 5/29/2017

Chapter 7-Scorched Earth of Eldin

"Everything hangs on my next step. Finding my nerve, playing my part." -"Born for This", Mandisa.

"No," was the first word to escape my lips. "I cannot allow it."

"Why?" Karane demanded.

I tried to anwser, but the words died in my throat. There were a thousands reasons for me to say no, but to articulate just one for her proved to be difficult. They were so extraordinary, but one rang through loud and clear.

"Why?" she demanded again. "Why can't you accept my help?"

"I can't risk anyone else getting hurt."

"Everything carries that risk, in a way. Everything we do carries a risk, in some way," Karane said, repeating her philosophy to me.

"You have no idea," I retorted. "I have enough help."

The Old Woman in the temple and Impa had given me enough help.

"And what form does this help take?"

"Would you even believe me if I told you?"

I wanted to tell her; tell her everything that I had heard in the Chamber, what Impa and the Old Woman had told me, but I couldn't force the words out. The full tale that had unfolded would sound so like a fairytale to anyone that had lived it that she wouldn't believe me. I'd only told Karane last night about Link's injury and my journeys on the Surface. I'd left out details like the Old Woman, Impa, but not Ghirahim. If I filled her in on the rest of what was happening, she might not be able to believe it. She would have to see for herself.

I also knew that Karane always stuck to her words and she never backed down. She was coming, and I couldn't stop her by persuasion; but I would find a way. I couldn't risk anymore lives down there.

"Fine," I lied. "You can come."

She let out a squeal of excitement.

"Finally, I get to put my training to use. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," I said. "After breakfast."

I didn't mention that I was planning to leave long before breakfast. Karane gave me a final hug and bolted from the room. Exhausted both emotionally and physically, I took a long hot bath, changed, and landed on my bed, taking care to lock my door. I didn't want to have a surprise visit from Karane in the morning. As soon as I said my prayers for, I was out as soon as I hit the pillow.

xxxxxxx

Next morning broke clear and bright, prefect flying weather. I was up at the crack of dawn, quickly packed my things, dressed in the white dress Fi had provided me last night, did my hair, and left my room, silently closing the door behind me. I crept down to the cafeteria and to my surprise, found a steaming hot bowl of porridge waiting for me, lying on a tray on one of the tables. Henya had probably gotten up early and made it, just in case I had to make an early exit.

She had also left a flask of pumpkin juice for me. I sat down, began to eat the porridge, and rested my left hand on the trey. It began to shake uncontrollably. I bit my tongue to prevent me from yelling out, yet I jumped back and retracted my hand as if it had burned. The tray stopped moving as soon as I stopped touching it. I was puzzled; what had just happened?

More cautiously now, I touched it again. Again, it began to shake, except this time it also heated up the pumpkin juice and already hot porridge. Curiosity overtook my fear, and I touched it with my other hand. It began to shake twice as hard and my hands lit up, literally. I lifted them in front of my face and stared at them wide-eyed, as they shone brightly in the early morning light. This wasn't supposed to be happening! Had some of the sword's magic transferred to me, or was I hallucinating? I pinched myself just to make sure; it hurt a lot, which which seemed to rule out that possibility.

I touched the fold of my dress; nothing happened. My dress seemed immune to whatever magic was causing the tray to shake. I shook my head; I couldn't be shaken by such events. I had to be strong, like Link was. If I wasn't, he wouldn't survive. This was question that would have to be anwsered by the Old Woman or Impa. But they weren't here, and I wasn't sure if I'd run into one of them on the Surface today.

Thinking better of it, I went back to my room, dropped the dress off, and put on one of the knight uniforms. It would be better to fight and move around in. I ate my porridge at top speed and downed the pumpkin juice before grabbing my pack and heading up the stairs to my Father's office to retrieve my sword...

"Zelda!"

I let out a small squeak of surprise, promptly tripped over the hem of my dress, and crashed to the earth. I looked up to see Karane standing next to the door. She had a pack on, with a Wooden Shield, and a practice sword strapped to her belt.

"Nice try," she said, smirking in the early morning light. "I knew you were going to try and pull something like that."

"You know me too well," I muttered mutinously as she helped me to my feet.

"Yeah, it comes with being your second best friend. Where were you going exactly?"

"To my father's office to retrieve my sword."

"Your what?"

I hadn't told her that detail last night.

"My sword, come and see."

Karane followed me intrigued. I threw open the doors to reveal my father's now deserted quarters. He'd left the sword leaning against the wall, where I'd left it last night for Fi to tell my father the rest of what had happened. Fi appeared out of the sword, floating in front of me in the air.

"My Mistress..." Fi began.

She shifted her gaze to Karane, who has her jaw wide open and resting on the floor.

"...and her friend, who my scans indicate is Karane. As is your custom, I will provide my first name. My name is Fi."

Karane just continued to stare at Fi. Fi turned her attention back to me.

"My Mistress-"

"What?" Karane said again. "She's your servant?"

"No. I prefer the term guide," I responded. "Fi continue."

"..My scans also indicate that Eldin is a hot environment, so I recommend bringing along a lot of water. I calculate a 99% chance it'll extend your hours of endurance on the Surface," Fi carried on, as if Karane wasn't even present. "Refilling your Heart and Stamina Potions would increase your odds of survival by 90%."

Fi turned back into a small blue ball of light and merged with the sword. I picked it up and strapped it back onto my waist.

"We'll have to stop by the Bazaar then," Karane said, following me, aborbing the shock well. That was one of her strongest attributes; she could handle shock and surprise quite easily. But it was about to be severly tested once we reached the Surface.

"Well, Karane, I'm going to warn you right now before we go."

Karane stopped walking towards the stairs and turned and looked me in the eyes.

"I can't prepare for what you are about to see and witness. Nothing is as it seems. All the legends that we were told as kids, as merely bedtime stories are true.

Karane didn't respond, but continued down the stairs.

"Let's get going," she said.

We both went down the stairs and met my father waiting for us at the bottom.

"Good morning Zelda," he said.

Karane came down the stairs behind me.

"So, she got through to you," he observed, without me having to tell him a single detail. "Karane I'm going to place you under the same obligation I've placed Zelda. No telling anyone what is going on, yet. I have a feeling that it will get out eventually. The people aren't ready yet for what you are about to witness. They might revolt."

"It's okay, Zelda explained it to me yesterday," Karane said. '

"Let me deal with the people, finding Link is your mission and first priority," my father said.

He gave me and Karane hugs.

"Be careful out there."

"I will."

He let go of me and the two of us left for the Bazaar. We exited the Knight Academy and descended the bridge connecting the Knight Academy to the majority of Skyloft. We were almost there when I saw my worst nightmare approaching. I grabbed Karane and pulled her behind one of the houses.

"Zelda. what are you doing..."

"Shh," I said, slapping my hand across her mouth.

Red-haired Groose marched past us, muttering under his breath. He came close enough that we could hear a little of what he was saying. He seemed in a state of shock that seemed like that of yesterday, after I'd slapped him across his ugly face.

"Zelda...Link...Why is...mad? What happened?"

We both watched him walk away, towards the Knight Academy.

"What's wrong with him?"

My mind flashed back to the previous evening

"I guess he's still smarting over the slap I gave him last night," I commented.

"You did what?!"

"Oh, I kinda slapped him across the face," I said, fidgeting uncomfortably.

Karane had a shocked look on her face.

"Look," I said, trying to hide the fact that the incident still bothered me. "I don't know what I was doing. He insulted Link, and I kinda lost it."

Karane shook her head.

"I'm not surprised," she said. "Groose has had it coming for years, but I never imagined it would be you that would bring the hammer down."

Once Groose had gone, I left the safety of our hiding spot, trailed by Karane. We entered the Bazaar to find it nearly deserted. I shoved two nearly-empty glass bottles into Karane's hands.

"Go visit Luv and get these refilled with a Heart and Stamina Potion," I said to her. "Meet me back at the door when we you have finished. Having me visit her two times in two days will raise suspicions that we can't afford right now."

Karane left without a word of protest. I filled up my pack with more food from the various stands, all while keeping an eye out for Groose. I didn't want a repeat of yesterday's incident. Luckily the Bazaar remained Groose-less long enough for me and Karane to get out unhindered. I also bought an extra Sailcloth for Karane.

I then headed for the Statue of the Goddess. As we approached it, the hole that had been there before became visible only when we came close to it. I went inside, but Karane remained outside.

"Aren't you coming?" I called back.

"Where...where did this thing come from?"

"Long story," I said, not in the mood to fill her in on it.

Fi made her reappearance out of the sword.

"My Mistress, I received this for you in the Skyview Spring."

She opened her 'arms' and gave me another tablet. This was red instead of green, and just as old looking as the first one. I walked through the passageway down in the chamber, up the stairs, and placed it into the altar. I braced myself as a red burst of light emanated from the tablet and out of the room. Karane, who had crept in behind me, jumped surprised as the light faded and zoomed out through the wall.

"What was that?" Karane asked.

"I'm not sure myself. All I know is that these tablets open holes in the cloud barrier," I said, walking towards out of the Statue of the Goddess.

As I came out of the Statue I whistled and Vella came down from out of the sky. She landed in front of the Statue.

She bent down low enough for me to mount her and then stretched her mighty wings.

"Oh yeah Karane, you'll need this," I said, holding out the Sailcloth and throwing it to her.

"Okay."

"We are going to be skydiving."

"Has Vella always done that?" Karane asked. "Landing on the ground and taking off like this?"

"No, it's just a recent development."

Vella, fly.

Vella took off as Karane dived off the platform and whistled to her green Loftwing, Needa. Karane's Loftwing caught her rider and pulled up next to Vella.

Vella let out a caw and headed straight for the red beam of light without me having to give her a command or pull on the rope around her neck.

"What?" Karane said, shocked as she told her Loftwing to bank by pulling on the rope around Needa's neck. "How'd you do that?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I have no idea."

We reached the opening and our Loftwings circled around it, allowing us to see down below the cloud barrier. Instead of seeing thousands of trees and greenery, I see what I identify my instructors had called an volcano; a large mountain with a opening in the top that spews forth molten lava created by the fires of Din.

"So, how do we get down? Do our Loftwings fly to the Surface?"

"No, we jump," I said.

"Jump?"

I jumped and started falling towards the Surface, spread-eagled to slow my descent. I'd only been falling for a few seconds before Karane zoomed by me, feet first and screaming. I groaned; I'd forgotten to instruct her on how to do this.

"Karane, open your Sailcloth," I yelled.

Karane fumbled with her Sailcloth and opened it, instantly break her fall. Soon she was floating lazily on the winds. I pulled out mine, several seconds earlier than I would've normally, and I opened it up as well. We floated lazily down, over lava streams and steaming earth, until we landed in a solid location near the summit. I was grateful that we hadn't landed near the base.

Karane was amazed. She examined the ground, the rocks, and even picked up some of the soil, shifting it through her fingers. Karane reached down and picked up some of the soil, shifting it through her fingers.

"So, this is ash."

"What?"

"Ash, the stuff Professor Owlan said volcanoes erupt and spew all over the place. You were in Geology class, surely you should remember."

"I'm sorry," I said, stifling some giggles and turning a shade of scarlet. "But me and Link were busy passing notes during those lectures. We considered it non-essential knowledge."

"How sweet."

"Shut up."

Karane giggled.

"That doesn't stop you from wishing. Anyways, Fi, can you resume tracking Link?"

"Yes My Mistress," Fi said in my head.

"Zelda, who are you talking too?" Karnae asked, looking at me with a worried look that clearly showed she was worried about my sanity.

I ignored Karane, and drew the sword from the scarab. I pointed it all around us, until the blade was positioned near the summit. It began to blink quite rapidly, indicating that Link was in that direction.

"Karane, I know you are having a hard time stomaching this new experience, but please swallow your questions, we've got Link to save."

So I went off, with Karane trailing behind me, her eyes big as dinner plates, taking in all the new sights. The path continued to slope upwards, with both of us having to be very careful as there were rivers of lava crisscrossing the place. We crossed one of them on stepping stones and another on a bridge made of black, volcanic rock.

"Oww!," said something, as I tripped over something.

I landed on my front and quickly got up, pointing the Goddess Sword at whatever it was that had spoken.

"No, please don't hurt me," it pleaded.

I stopped; it looked like a..I wasn't sure what to call it. It had a face with a snout for a nose, and it was buried up it's arms, with a small tuft of red hair. It was colored a light shade of reddish brown, perfectly blending in with the environment. It looked like a Mogma, a race of below-surface dwellers thought to be extinct, as Professor Owlan had told us just last week.

"Sorry about that," I said, withdrawing the blade. "I thought you were one of the Bokoblins."

"Those fiends," he said. "They drove us from our home."

"Your home?"

"The place where those things set up their camp."

"Did you see something fly over here a while ago?" I asked, holding my breath. Perhaps he'd seen Link.

"Yes, it went by extremely fast, surrounded by a green halo. I wish I could fly like that. But we Mogma must live here underground."

"Do you know which way it went?"

"Towards the summit.

"Thank you very much. Well, it was nice meeting you er-,"

"Ledd, the name's Ledd."

"Oh, Thanks Ledd."

I leapt over him and ran off towards the north, and upwards with Karane hard on my heels. The sword kept blinking more furiously the closer we got to the summit.

"Uh, Zelda," Karane said after we'd been going for sometime. "Are you sure that sword is leading you to the correct destination? And how it it leading you?"

Her tone of voice indicated she had the general idea, but she wanted some confirmation from me.

"The more it blinks, the closer we are," I explained.

I left out the part where it had gone silent in the Faron Woods.

"Okay Zelda, whatever you say," she said, not quite placing all of her faith in me.

Eventually we reached the summit. I rounded a corner, saw what was behind it, and promptly retreated, pulling Karane with me.

"What? Zelda..what is it?"

"Bokoblins."

"What?"

"Bokoblins, they are enemies. They are trying to get Link, and they...it's a long story."

I peeked around the rock pillar and peered again at the Bokoblin camp. It wasn't much to be honest, a bunch of shanty and crudely constructed dome wooden buildings. But for creatures that have an obsession with undergarments, it was enough for them, I guess.

The only problem was, now that I got a better look, there were few Bokoblins. The camp was entirely deserted, execpt for a few discarded clubs that I recognized as similar to those from some that Impa and I had defeated in the Faron Woods. Someone had already come this way, but it couldn't be Ghirahim. They'd also cleaned out most of the camp for us. Only two or three of them were left. I left our hiding place and strolled casually into the center of the camp. They charged at me, screeching all the way.

"Karane, get ready to fight," I said, raising my sword.

They were stupid as usual. They charged in swinging their clubs. I ducked the first blow, which was aimed at my head, and stabbed the Bokoblin in the stomach. Meanwhile, Karane gracefully cartwheeled out of the way of her Bokoblin's first swing, and slashed the Bokoblin across the chest. Both keeled over, but we leapt over their fallen bodies and attacked the last one together. I slashed first, then pulled back, allowing Karane to get in. Link had just taught me and Karane this technique last week, and we'd perfected it. All three Bokoblins disappeared into clouds of purple smoke.

With the village now completely empty of its occupants, we walked along the main pathway, following the blinking Goddess Sword. The village had enough shanties for perhaps over fifty Bokoblins, which was weird considering we'd only run into three.

"Who did this?" I asked no one in particular, puzzled.

"What? Did what?" Karane asked, confused.

"This place should be crawling with them," I said. "But we ran into only three."

As we walked through the village I noticed a knife, lodged in one of the buildings wooden support poles. I tried to pull it out from the pole, but it threatened to topple if I budged it any further. I wasn't willing to bend over right now, so I grabbed it with one hand. It began to glow and steam. I jumped back again, stunned that something like what had happened earlier this morning had occurred twice within less than three hours. My hands were glowing again, faintly in the morning light. Panic was now threatening to seize me; I needed to talk to the Old Woman in the Sealed Grounds, as Fi had called

I pulled the knife out from the pole and examined it more closely. I'd seen these knives before, on the belt of a woman who could wield them with ease.

"Impa."

So, next chapter I'm really excited for. Part 2 of Impa's plan will role forth and we'll see the inside of Eldin Volcano. Stay tuned.