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Dawn found Link already awake, stripped down to his leggings. He stood at the open window, looking out upon the plains of Zinatia. The sun was just rising, casting rays upon the plains. They looked like a carpet, the mix of green and gold stripes. He sighed; he had already begun missing Hyrule, its homely feeling. Here in Zinatia, he felt out of place, almost uncomfortable. The only person he knew here was the King, but Link would be leaving him soon. He would be leaving of this, the capitol, the grand rooms, the filling banquets. He would soon leave to live a life he was used to, out there in wild living off of the land could provide him with.

"Zelda must be worried," he muttered, leaning against the windowsill, "She must be worried about me terribly." He stared back out onto the Zinatian landscape, seeing the change that had just happened. The stripes were gone, the sun now illuminating the rest of the world. He watched as the sky changed colors as the sun rose, this was a sight he was not going to forget soon. "But what about Midna?" he asked, "She must be the one that is really worrying, for it's been three years. With Zelda, I've only been gone a couple weeks. I wonder if Midna even remembers me."

He sighed, and walked back over to his bed, and started putting on his clothes. It didn't take him long, it still bothered him that they were still tight on him. He would have to ask someone somewhere to help him fix it, because he had no knowledge of sewing. He sat down on the edge of the bed, lifting his head up and staring once more at the pictograph.

"So Hero, you had a piece of the Triforce, even though you're a Twili?" Link asked to no one, "Well, how did you get it? Why? Was it just some celestial fluke like Ganondorf?" He sat there on the edge of his bed, still wondering about the Hero from long ago. His thinking was disturbed by a soft knock on the door, followed by a voice.

"Um, Sir Link? Is this your room? Cylan sent me, if that means anything." The voice said. It sounded like a girl, Link half-expected it to be a boy.

"Oh, please, come in!" Link said, standing up, "The door's open, by the way."

The door opened, and then entered a lady. She seemed to be about Link's age, if not just a little bit older. She wasn't really skinny, nor was she big, she was kind of in between, thin, if you will. Her hair was short, only coming down to a little past her shoulders. Link noticed that she wasn't wearing a dress. All the woman and girls he had seen wore dresses, but this girl wore leggings, brown ones to be exact. Covering her torso was a white, button up cotton shirt, long-sleeved. She had the sleeves rolled up to just bellow her elbows; she reminded Link of Ilia, just a little bit though. Link noticed that she was carrying an armful of scrolls of all different sizes and materials. There were some that were parchment, one looked like it was a rolled up leaf, and another that was black.

"Hello, I am Mylanth Crin, Cylan's assistant," the girl said, approaching Link. He moved over on the bed, and she took the seat, continuing, "Cylan told me about how you want to go on the quest of the Hero, right? Well, I'm here to explain that to you and answer any questions. So, which shall we start off with?"

"I have a question that has been bothering me," Link said, turning towards Mylanth, "Are you aware that the Hero is from a race called the Twili, and they live in a shadow world of our own?" His tone was serious, he was half nervous to hear the answer.

"A shadow world?" Mylanth asked, tilting her head slightly, "Why, I think it is written somewhere that the Hero came from a place he called Twilight, or something like that."

Link's heart started racing, "How did he get here, into Zinatia? The Mirror of Twilight? Another way? Please, tell me!" Link said, his speech speeding up. Mylanth back away, she was getting a little nervous.

"I-I don't know Sir Link," she said, her voice small, "The Hero never said how he got here, all he mentioned was the name of his country. Please calm down, you are scaring me."

Link's face softened, and he backed away from Mylanth, "I am sorry. It's just; a dear friend of mine went into the Twilight Realm, destroying the only way to it. Since then, I've been wondering if there was any other way, and I believe that here in Zinatia the key may be found. Once again, I am sorry."

"Don't be Link, I can understand your plight," Mylanth said, "I have lost friends to the hidden wonders here in Zinatia, and often times I have looked for a way to bring them back. Let us continue onto to brighter things, shall we?" Mylanth picked up a scroll, and unfurled it, holding it in both hands. Link stared in curiosity as she looked it over. She eventually placed it on the bed between them, facing Link.

"This is a map of Zinatia," Mylanth said, "As you can see, it is very large. The arrows refer to the Hero's journey, and these marks indicate important stops on the Hero's journey. Are you following?" Link nodded. By that map, Zinatia was easily three times the size of Hyrule. Mylanth continued, "His first stop was here, at the gorge of Lantus. That's were we'll be going first. It is said that at the gorge, there lies an orb, not the one the Hero sealed away the Evil in, but a different one. This orb was said to be able to grant the user magnificent strength and speed for three days. You can see why the Hero wanted it, but there is a catch. The orb can only be used once every one hundred years, so unless someone has used it, we're out of luck." Mylanth stopped, and looked up at Link, waiting for him to say something. He did, but this was a question.

"This Evil, I've been hearing about it a lot, but what does it look like? I've been wondering about that the most. How am I supposed to fight something if I don't even know what it looks like?" Link asked, a curious expression on his face.

"Well," Mylanth said, "The Evil is said to take many forms, often splitting into multiple parts to fight. It's most common form is that of a woman, tall as a building and long swirling hair. Everything about her is shrouded in black; her clothes, skin, hair, everything."

"Thanks, that helps," Link said, feeling a little better, "Well, when do we leave? You can explain more on the way there, can't you?"

"Oh, yes, I guess I can," Mylanth said, standing up and gathering her scrolls, "We'll be leaving shortly. I can't tell you how excited I am Sir Link, we are finally going to be free of the Evil!"

Three hours later, Link was once again on the back of Epona, riding down the street towards the main gate. Mylanth rode beside him, riding on an all black mare. Zinatians lined the street, cheering at the top of their lungs, waving handkerchiefs, throwing flowers and confetti. Link waved back, a nervous grin on his face. He felt pressured, these people have been terrorized for ages, what if he failed? If he failed, that Evil might come and destroy these people.

Link sighed; this wasn't like anything he had done before. Sure, he had helped save Hyrule and liberate the people of the Twilight Realm, but that wasn't anything like this, or was it? He reached into his pocket, bringing out a small, black box. The King had given this to him, and Link remembered what he said to him.

"Here Link, take this," the King said, handing Link small, black box.

"What is this Your Highness?" Link asked, moving the box with his hands, eyeing every side. It was normal enough, just a black box, but then he noticed something, there was a small key hole on the top.

"This is a special weapon Link," the King said, his left hand held tight, "This has been passed down from King to King, and is to only be held by a King. It's main purpose was to rival the powers of the Evil, to vanquish her forever. It can only be used once, and even then you must be very careful. For this weapon contains an extraordinary power, and you could lose yourself to it. If that happens, then your judgment will be clouded, and you will be no different than the Evil herself."

Link gulped, putting the box in his pocket. The King extended his hands, grabbing Link's and putting something in them. Link looked at it, and saw that it was a very tiny key, the key to the box. He stared at it, also putting it in his pocket, the same one that held the box. Link bowed one last time to the king, and made is way out to the stables, where he hoped onto Epona.

Link put the box back into his pocket, continuing to wave at the townspeople. He still couldn't believe that a place like this existed, that so many people lived here. He guessed this town could easily fit most of Hyrule's denizens. He guessed that magic must have helped build this town, if not, and then it must have taken generations to build. He looked behind him, at the spire that towered over all the land. The spire must have been built and supported by magic, for surely winds must make it sway the tiniest bit.

He looked in front of him, seeing that there was a large crowd at the gate. The crowd parted as Link and Mylanth came through, closing in behind him. From the end of the road to the gate, Link and Mylanth were surrounded by townspeople on all sides. Link breathed a sigh of relief as he finally made it out of the gate, the people staying inside. He looked behind him once more, seeing the excited faces of the crowd. He hoped those faces would still be there, that he wouldn't fail and all those people slaughtered.

"I…Li….Link!" Mylanth shouted, getting Link's attention. He looked at her, showing that he had her attention, "Finally, it looked like you dazed off or something. Anyway, I think I should tell you a little more about the orb…" Mylanth's voice drifted off as she grabbed a book out of an overflowing bag. She rummaged through it, and brought out a torn and apparently burnt rolled up piece of paper, held together by a bright red string. She undid the string, putting it in her pocket, and unfurled it.

"Now, the orb is said to be guarded by a village of a strange tribe. Not much is known about this tribe, except what is documented by the Hero," Mylanth said, looking over the paper, "He said here that he had to 'partake a ritual of the strangest kind; they danced around a circle of rock, and placed my in the center. They did give me a strange herb, one of the likes I had never set eyes on before. I do not remember much of what happened afterwards, except that I held the Orb in my hands, on the top of the Gorge.' Strange, isn't it? I've done some research, but I haven't been able to find any herb anywhere that has these kinds of effects. Who knows Link, maybe you have to go through the same thing as the Hero?"

Link nervously laughed, that he wasn't looking for. He scanned the horizon, looking to see if there was any sign of attack, most likely the telltale fog of the Schlieffs. He wanted to know more about them, but decided to wait until they made camp, or if they stopped before then.

The rest of the day was uneventful, except for the occasional sighting of a bird or a rabbit. If it was a rabbit, Link would try to track it, but most of the time it was either far gone or escaped right from Link's grasp. Mylanth teased him the rest of the day when one rabbit jumped into Link's face, frightening him; he ended up with scratches as result. They made camp inside a ring of small bushes, about ten feet wide in all directions from the middle. The sun was just setting as they did so, and Link, sitting on his bedroll, watched the colors of the sky. He thought of that one day, that day that Rusl took him to the spring to talk to him about the trip to Castle Town.

"It was probably that one conversation that started this whole adventure. Maybe if I hadn't agreed to go to Castle Town, maybe this wouldn't have happened, but that wouldn't have stopped Bulbo". Link thought, watching as Mylanth poked the embers, putting new brush on it to keep it alive. He crawled under his blanket, away from the fire, and closed his eyes. Right now, all he wanted to do was rest, take in everything that he had learned, everything that was expected of him.