First of all, 100 reviews and follows? (Cue Beedle Voice) Thaaaaaank yoooooou! (Have I made that joke already?) I know they're just numbers, but what an exciting and encouraging milestone. :) Second of all, I'm reeeaaally really excited about the next few chapters and have been for some time now. I hope you enjoy!
Travel log; 9 days since setting course for Hyrule. Supplies: adequate. Won't need to restock anytime soon. Mila led us through a cave—see map—a shortcut to Hyrule. Exited cave into forest at sunrise. Found some suspicious looking berries. See diagram. Identified by Mila as poisonous. Did not eat. Saw a finicky looking squirrel. See diagram. DID eat. All are healthy. Currently in densely forested area at base of mountain range. Again, see map. Important: Saw a very strange bird. See diagram. Identified by Mila as tropical and not usually found in climates such as these. See map.
"Coloring again, Manny?" Link joked. "You know we've got a kingdom to save, don't you?" They had stopped to camp, and Link was kneeling and roasting remaining scraps of meat over a dwindling campfire. Manny, lying on his stomach and sketching in a journal some ten feet away, narrowed his eyes.
"It's a travel log," he replied haughtily. "I'm diagraming everything we see! Plants and animals and the like. For all you know, it'll come in handy someday when you find some berries and think to yourself, gee, I wonder if these are poisonous? Then you can look back and compare, instead of chowing them down and turning into a fat old poisonous berry yourself." He turned to Mila, who was rolling out a sleeping mat a few paces away. "I diagramed that strange bird, too. As well as I could, I mean, because you said it was so weird."
Link thought back to that morning, when they'd come out of the cave to find themselves squinting against a cold, pale sunrise. The bare branches of the trees had been shivering under a glittering sheen of frost, but in spite of the chilly air, an ugly, bald-headed bird with an array of inky feathers had squawked down at them from a branch. It had seemed so out of place in that frozen but beautiful sky, and for a moment Link's mind had screeched to a definite halt—he felt like he'd seen a bird like that before—and then it had taken off in a bone-chilling display of jagged, misaligned feathers. Now, the memory of it still made his stomach turn.
"It was weird," Mila confirmed. "Birds like that aren't supposed to exist in this climate. They would freeze their feathers off; to be this far north… well, it's against their natural instinct."
"Exactly," Manny said. "See, it's good that I'm diagraming this stuff! Putting these pencils to good use, am I not? Art will save the world! …Link? You've gone awfully quiet. What's eating you?"
The young man at the fire pulled the skewer out of the fire and blew softly on the charred meat. After a minute, he lowered his hands and stared into the fire while the meat cooled.
"That bird… the tropical one… I swear I've seen one just like it before."
"I feel the same way, oddly enough," Manny mused. "But where—" His eyes went wide, and he dropped his pen. "The courtyard!" he shouted suddenly. "Hyrule Castle Courtyard! When Nohansen and Zelda were practicing archery—that bird that swooped over the castle wall and aimed straight for the princess—and you shot it, remember? You snatched up that bow and shot it down!"
Link's jaw fell open. "I do remember!" he cried in reply. He could feel a giddiness welling up within him that was quickly replaced by an eerie feeling. "Even then, I remember Nohansen saying something about it being too far north—that it was a tropical bird, called a, a…"
"A kargaroc," Manny finished quietly. He was staring at the dirt as he spoke, an expression of disturbance having come across his face. He turned his eyes slowly towards Link. "I remember it now. It attacked Zelda, like it was preying on her. If you hadn't shot it down, you'd never have met Nohansen. Well, not really, I mean."
Link fell silent, and slowly, his eyes returned to the fire.
"Sorry," Manny said after a minute. "Maybe I shouldn't've…"
"It's fine," Link interrupted, his voice low.
"Are you talking about Sir Nohansen? The knight?" Mila cut in from across the camp.
"Yes."
"He was loved by all," she said softly. "In fact, I had almost forgotten you were his squire, Link."
"I wasn't his squire, don't get the wrong idea. He showed me how to use a sword, but I was still just a kitchen boy in the end."
"Don't lie, Link, he did more than that," Manny countered. "He was going to raise you to knighthood!"
"He wanted to. Doesn't mean he was going to." He poked the remains of the dying fire and watched a few sparks come shuddering free of the charred wood.
"You never know," Mila offered, but the remark was halfhearted. Link sighed.
"And I never will." He got to his feet with a groan and brushed the dirt from his trousers. "I think it's bedtime for us all. By tomorrow, we'll be back in Hyrule."
But even when he lay down, it took him a good while to fall asleep. The black bird's shadowy outline haunted his mind, and he couldn't help but wonder what it was doing so far away from home.
An omen? he wondered, unable to help himself. Nohansen raised a cup to his own death…what if we, in our foolishness, are doing the same?
With time, the fire died out and the company was left in darkness, although a flame of frightened anticipation still burned brightly in Link's mind.
"Lon Lon Ranch, 5 Miles," Manny read aloud the next morning. A cloudy morning had dawned over a vast expanse of field, and the company was still only half-awake. "Isn't that where the kitchen got all its milk?" he asked after a second, and something lit up in Link's mind.
"I think you're right!" he announced. Something warm swelled up within him. "That must mean we're back in Hyrule." He could not suppress the wave of joy that then washed over him. He knew that this wasn't the Hyrule he knew, and yet he'd never expected to set foot here again. Just to be breathing the air again…
"We should go to the Ranch," Mila cut in. "Maybe they will be willing to provide for our journey."
Manny smiled. "A valid point, Lady Mila." The girl snorted.
"If I'm a lady, then you and Link might as well be viscounts."
"I reckon we'd make quite excellent viscounts," Manny announced with a grin. There were stars in his eyes. "In fact, maybe when we save Hyrule…"
They came upon the ranch at noon. A stone wall blocked off the ranch from the rest of the field, its grassy pastures seeming to roll out over the rippling hills, so pale and green. A pristine white barn was perched atop the nearest hill, a weathervane shaped like a cucco squatting proudly upon the roof.
"You wouldn't think this country was haunted," Manny said, approaching a place where the wall gave way to a wooden gate and resting his hand on the latch. The gate was painted red and white, and the words Beware of Cuccos were painted in a dainty hand across the front.
"Cute," Mila murmured. But when Manny went to nudge the gate open, it fell clean off of its hinges, and Link noticed a shiny padlock on the gate that appeared to have been broken off. A chill ran down his spine.
"Somebody forced it open," he realized. The world seemed to darken around him, and his next steps into the ranch were gingerly taken, as if there might be mines planted somewhere in the soil. Manny and Mila crept quietly behind him along the dirt path that snaked through the hills, coming to a halt at the barn. It was eerily silent.
"It's so quiet," Link said after a long moment. He had one hand resting on the door of the barn.
"That's because there are no animals," Manny replied. "This place is abandoned... or..."
"Let's just check for provisions," Mila cut in, all business as usual. "Go on, Link."
He swallowed heavily, then swung the door wide. The inside of the barn was dark and musty. Only a few shafts of sunlight permeated the rafters, currents of dust swirling in the beams.
He took one step forward, the hay-strewn floor creaking beneath him, then another.
Another.
Another-
"MMMMMPPPPHHHH!"
He drew his sword on instinct, blood running cold.
"Who's there?!" he called out, trying to suppress the waver in his voice.
"Ghosts," Manny whispered into the dusty air.
"No..." Link argued as the muffled weeping grew louder. He followed it to a stall at the end of the barn and forced it open. The sight that met his eyes unnerved him.
A rotting horse lay slaughtered on its side, smelling foul as it decomposed. The slaughter had been recent; its blood was still drying on the hay. Behind the horse, a dirty, blood-soaked girl was bound and gagged, seeming to put all of her energy into shrieking. When she saw Link, her dark eyes widened in shock, and she quieted.
She was expecting someone else, he realized. The monster who did this to her...
He was at her side immediately, cutting her free of her bindings. When the gag came loose, she tried to speak-but couldn't. She coughed and coughed, then swooned. Link caught her as she fell, and she weighed nothing in his arms.
"W-water..." she begged with a trembling breath. "Please..."
Link gestured to Manny for the canteen. When he gave it to the girl, she drank weakly, but greedily. She dropped it when she was finished and wrapped her arms around Link's neck for support.
"You have... to leave..." she implored between heaving breaths. "They'll... be back..."
"What's she saying?" Mila asked.
"Whoever did this to her isn't finished," Link answered. "They're coming back for more."
"Then let's get out of here," Manny said. "Quickly!"
"Not without her."
Mila gulped. "Of course not," she said softly, and drew a knife. Its edge glimmered in the faint light. Link watched as she paced carefully past the stalls. In the ones that were open, he could see the shadowy outline of all the other slaughtered horses. His stomach churned, and he turned back to the girl.
"We're going to rescue you."
She started to protest. "My- my father..."
"There are others?!" Link realized with horror. That changed things rather drastically. "Where?"
"Don't know..."
He turned to Manny. "Look around. Find her father, and any other survivors. Be quick, we haven't got loads of time."
To the girl, he said, "Let's go." He slipped his arms around her and hoisted her up, bridal-style. She felt as fragile as paper, and her head fell softly against his chest. Red hair, he realized. I didn't notice with all the blood...
An earthshaking screech sounded outdoors-a screech that shook Link's very bones. The girl began to cry.
"They're back! They're back!" she wheezed, and Link dashed out of the barn to the hills, coming to a halt under the sky-it was darkening, storm clouds raging above him like ocean waters and blotting out all the light. The girl in his arms began to wail.
"Oh, gods! We're doomed..."
That was when the sky seemed to rip open, an inky shadow spilling across the grass. Link turned his eyes to the sky in horror just in time to see—a dragon?!—no—no, it was a bird…
A bird the size of a dragon. It looked eerily like the one he had seen this morning, but this one could have crushed the barn and everything inside with one effortless blow. The creature came crashing to the earth as the winds swirled about it, its massive feathers waving like flags in the current of air. It screeched again with wide, crimson marbles for eyes while a web of lightning lit up the atmosphere. The world continued to darken.
"STAY BACK!" Link heard Manny yell, and he turned just in time to see his friend brandishing a knife. The frail girl was still wailing in Link's arms, and he turned to her.
"Don't worry," he said, more to himself than to her, and then set her down gently against the barn. She whimpered as he let her go. "I'll come back—I'll come back, I promise!"
"You'll die," she wailed. "You'll die, you'll die…"
The desperation in her voice haunted him, but he had no choice. He reached for his bow and nocked an arrow, approaching the beast.
It's no different than when I shot down the bird in Zelda's courtyard, he told himself. He could remember the moment clear as day—it all had seemed so simple then, so instinctual, like time had slowed down and all that mattered was saving the girl, saving the girl, saving the girl…
He turned back to the red-headed girl once more. Her head lolled against her shoulder. Beneath the blood, her pale skin shone like a lily. She was slender, and might have been quite lovely, once…
Do it for her.
He took one more shaking step forward and planted his feet. There was another flash of lightning as he drew his bow, and concentrated. Aim for the weak spot. The red eye was a gleaming planet in the light of the raging skies. Concentrate, concentrate.
The eye blinked.
He released his arrow.
SQUAAAAAAAWK!
The creature reacted furiously, flapping its wings and stumbling about as Link dashed closer. He could feel Manny and Mila's heat at his heels.
"Link!" Mila cried. "Link, do you see her?!"
"See who?!" Link replied over the growing tempest.
"The rider! The rider!"
That was when he saw a silhouette atop the monster's back. He'd been so focused on the eye that he'd totally neglected the rider…
He shot another arrow, then another. Neither one found its mark, and as the beast came charging closer, his concentration dissipated like smoke. What was left was a frantic jolting of the bones that was begging him to flee.
No. No!
He nocked another arrow—drew—released—missed. He reached for another arrow—and found himself out. Panicking, he drew his sword, knowing it was no good, no good at all, but he had to try anyway.
The bird's shadow fell over him as it lunged. He dodged, but only barely, catching the creature in the side. It wailed in outrage, but it was more provoked to anger than it was seriously wounded, and rounded on Link again. He dodged again, remembering his spar with Swiftblade—if only I had been more dedicated to my practice, he lamented, and swung his sword again. It found its mark, piercing the belly of the creature, but the blade was too dull and the wound was not fatal.
Now, the creature was angrier than ever.
I have not lost yet, Link told himself. I can still defeat this creature!
The bird screeched again, and Link saw that Manny had caught it in the belly with two small knives. Link's eyes widened as the furious monster beat Manny to the side with a wing, and he went catapulting through the air, landing in a heap on the ground. Horror washed through Link's body, and he heard Mila crying out as she dashed to Manny's side.
I have not lost yet. I have not lost yet.
The horror turned to anger—he shouted—lunged—
SQUAAAAWK!
A deep red gash appeared in the winged beast's side. Plump red droplets drenched the earth below the wound, but it was not enough to fell the creature. It began flapping its wings frantically, which created gusts of air so powerful that Link stumbled and fell onto his back. The creature loomed over him, a silhouette against the lightning—he rolled to the side just in time for the creature's talons to pierce the earth. It rounded on him and knocked the sword from his hand, the crimson eye glistening. The gaze ran straight through him like a spear, and for the first time, he felt true, unadulterated fury.
I will not let Nohansen's death be in vain.
Just as he thought those words, a dazzling ray of golden light shattered the clouds like glass, giving way to a blazing blue sky. The bird backed away in terror as a glittering vapor swirled down from the clouds, forming a ring around Link's hand. Within a split second, it had solidified into a magnificent blade, sharp as anything, perfectly suited to Link's stature. He felt as if he'd been born brandishing it.
A wave of confidence seared through him and compelled him to lunge forward with a shout, never questioning where the sword had come from, never stopping to marvel at it, only wielding it with such fury and precision that in seconds he had sliced the bird open from its beak to its tail, and it collapsed to the earth in a flurry of stinking, foul feathers.
"NO!" the rider screeched, backing away from her twisted steed. In the radiant light of day, Link could see that the rider, although masked, had the figure of a woman. Her voice was shrill and panicked. "This is impossible! It cannot be you—it cannot be you—THE HERO OF MEN IS DEAD!"
On instinct, Link dashed for her, but she vanished on the spot. His hand closed around violet smoke, and his emotions all melted together. Confusion, anger, fright—and then he remembered—
"MANNY!" he started to run, but a gust of wind constrained him, and he fell back to the earth.
"Your friend will be just fine, Hero of Men. He is not as wounded as you fear."
Link whipped his head about frantically. "Who said that?!" The voice appeared to have come from thin air.
"We are the Picori, sometimes called the Minish, the tenants of the gardens, Farore's chosen guardians…"
Link was confused. "The who?"
"…we bloom like flowers but live like men, are magical as warlocks, miniscule as thimbles—ow!"
"Enough of this gibberish, I can't take it! Hey, you! Look down, you twat!"
"Huh?" Link glanced down, then shrieked as a patch of clovers shifted to reveal two humanoid creatures who could have fit in the palm of his hand. One of the creatures, spry and violet-haired, was rubbing his scalp, apparently having been bonked atop the head by his old, bearded companion, who was carrying a cane. The elderly creature stepped forward, his clover falling away, which he'd previously been holding like an umbrella.
"Hero of Men," he said, "allow me to explain—we are of the Picori, a mythical race that hail from the forests, yadda yadda, yes, you heard that correctly, mythical. I am their a craftsman, called Ezlo, and I come bearing a very important message. …Oh, and this is my airheaded apprentice, Vaati. Say hello, Vaati."
The violet-haired Picori bowed low. "It is a deep honor, Hero of Men. I have long awaited this day—OW!" he cried as he was smacked yet again. "Would you stop doing that?!"
"We don't have time for your schmoozing, Vaati! The Hero of Men is on a very important quest, and we cannot hold him up!"
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Link asked.
"I'm getting to that, if you could just be patient! Ahem. You see that sword in your hand?"
Link had nearly forgotten about it. Returning his attentions to the weapon, he allowed himself to admire it. Besides boasting a fiercely sharp blade, its pommel was exquisite, an ornate interlocking of deep violets and blues with silver scrollwork. The base of the blade was inlaid with precious gems and carvings in a language he could not read.
"What about it?" he finally breathed, still in awe of its beauty.
"I made it."
Link snorted. He couldn't help himself. "You?!"
"Yes!" the man replied, taken aback. "Me!"
Link could feel his face turn red. "I didn't mean… I'm sorry. It's beautiful."
"It's more than just beautiful," Ezlo explained. "It's imbued with a magic called light force. Have you heard of it?"
It seemed to ring a bell. He racked his brains…
It was Mila's voice that spoke up from surprisingly close-by.
"Those words were written on Princess Zelda's memorial. May her light force endure, and take new shape among those who loved her." At Mila's side, Manny stood hunched over and bruised, but very much alive otherwise. Relief flooded through Link's veins, but it was quickly replaced by a lurking fear.
"Mila," he said, "go see if that red-haired girl is alright, and help her find her family. Please," he added as an afterthought.
"Of course," she answered swiftly, no questions asked. She knows better. When she began dragging Manny with her, he protested.
"I want to see—"
"Come along, Manny. Hey! With me." The pair sauntered off arm-in-arm, and Link returned his attentions to the tiny newcomers. Instinctively, he reached out a palm and lifted up the elder and his apprentice to eye-level. Up close, they appeared even more alien. The sight was a little unnerving.
"Light force," Ezlo explained, "is the reason that magic exists in this world. You cannot wield magic without light force, and the more you have, the stronger you are. And sometimes, the loonier. Regardless, it is... desired. Highly desired, especially by those who would abuse it."
Link glanced at the sword again. "And this sword..."
"This blade is sacred," Ezlo continued. "It has power that most will never dream of, and none are worthy of wielding. None… except for you."
"I don't understand," Link argued. "Why me?"
"Why not you?" Ezlo shrugged. "Heroes come and go, but they rarely look how we expect. That seems to be everyone's mistake nowadays."
"What does that mean?"
"Look at me! I've said too much!" Ezlo realized. "How imprudent." He took a step forward. "I cannot tell you everything that lies in store, Hero of Men. I can only tell you what I know."
"And what's that?"
It was the apprentice who spoke up. "There is a Picori prophecy, one that has existed for centuries, that a red eye will open in a black night and sit on Hyrule's throne, ruling the kingdom with a vengeance like no other, until the greatest soldier in all of Hyrule takes up arms against him—and this soldier will be called the Hero of Men, and on his brow will rest the laurel of House Nohansen."
Spoken aloud, Nohansen's name sounded like a war horn, a call to action. It stirred something within Link's core.
"But she—the woman in the mask—said that the Hero of Men is dead."
"Or the one she thought to be the Hero of Men is dead," Ezlo corrected.
"But who would she think was…" Link began, trailing off.
"You already know," Ezlo replied. The realization struck Link like a hammer.
"Sir Nohansen," he realized, bowing his head. "She must've heard the prophecy and thought it was talking about Nohansen—the laurel, of course—that's why he was killed, that's why…"
A red eye will open in a black night, Link remembered, and the eerie coat of arms that had always frightened him in the armory. It brushed the dust off of another old memory—of nighttime whispers in an infirmary, so many years ago…
"That girl in the mask," Link said. "She was behind Nohansen's murder—she thought she could stop the prophecy from happening."
"It only makes sense, I'm afraid," Ezlo said quietly. Even he seemed to sense Link's mourning. "All the while she was plotting to kill Sir Nohansen, the true Hero of Men was right beneath her nose… We have long suspected you, Hero, even before Sir Nohansen was laid to rest. And we have been following you, to bring you aid when the time came for you to understand your destiny."
"And you're saying the Hero of Men, that's me. That's my destiny. To save Hyrule."
"To fight for Hyrule," Ezlo corrected. "The prophecies never specify who wins. That would make history horribly boring, as you can imagine."
Link felt suddenly numb, and he let Ezlo and Vaati down with a shaking hand. "I see," he stated, swallowing heavily. It was like one of his childhood dreams, except now that it was actually happening, it felt surreal and made him slightly sick to his stomach. Why me? he had to wonder again. I'm just a kitchen boy…
"But how can you be sure?" he asked for what felt like the umpteenth time. "I'm not of House Nohansen. I don't wear his laurel on my-oh," he realized, reaching up to the spot on his headband where Manny had, somewhat crudely, stitched Nohansen's symbol. He quieted.
"The Picori have eyes and ears in every garden, and have long suspected you," Vaati spoke up, "but we were not certain, not until the day you decided to return to Hyrule and save it... that is valor of a different nature. And the blade in your hand-it chose you. That is how we are sure."
Link gulped. "I'll put it to good use."
"I'm certain of it," the elder said, "but just for extra guidance, I'm sending noodle-brain here with you. Go along, Vaati. Off you trot!"
The slender, violet-haired Picori stepped forward. "If it pleases you, of course, Hero."
Link reached down for the elder's apprentice quizzically and held him up to eye level. The face was so smooth and jovial, unmarred by time or experience.
"It'll be hard," Link said, simple as that.
"You're telling me? I have been waiting many years for this," the apprentice repeated. "If you do not take me with you, then I shall have to latch onto the laces of your boots and not let go."
"In that case… well, I don't see why not." Link placed the little creature on his shoulder. "Comfortable?"
"Most comfortable, Hero."
"You should return to those other fools," Ezlo said after a minute.
"Fools? They're my friends!"
"Why not both?" replied Ezlo offhandedly. He picked up his clover and propped it above his head once more. "Well, the rest of us should be going."
Link's brow furrowed. "The… the rest of you?"
A large patch of clovers shifted to reveal a huddle of at least a dozen other Picori. Link suppressed a gasp. "No wonder I never noticed you following behind," was all he could manage to get out. Ezlo gave a light chuckle.
"We will meet again soon, Hero of Men," Ezlo said, and with a rustle of clovers, he and the rest of his people seemed to vanish into the earth.
The fields became quiet again, the great black feathers of the bird carcass trembling slightly in the wind. Glancing at the sword in his hand again, Link couldn't help but wonder whether he deserved it. Nohansen's spirit seemed oddly present then, as if it were woven in with the wind, and he bowed his head in reverence.
This is all so much to take in, he thought, and yet, if Nohansen were here, he would tell me to accept the responsibility I have been given-to harness it-to make him proud.
For a long moment, the aching world was quiet and still around him.
He stood to face it.
Consider this chapter "part 1" of a 2-part arc revolving around the ranch and Link's return to Hyrule. (It was getting kind of involved so I had to split them up.) The next chapter is already well underway! I'm setting goals for myself and trying to finish up KITP this year, which will be a win-win for us both!
As usual, the Thank Yous: All my love to Din, SokkaMushroom, The Predicate, Kitty Lue, omaiga, GeekyZelda, PhoenixCaptain, Arison Nakaru, and icearrows1200 for leaving your feedback on the last chapter! :)
-Ctj