Ganondorf and Link felt the roasting heat wash over them as they entered the temple. Link exhaled in agony, and Ganondorf coughed. "Well, Darunia was right," he grumbled. "It's at least as hot as the desert at noon. Why anyone besides the Gorons would worship here is beyond me. At least our Temple shades its visitors from the heat."

Link took a quick look round the chamber. It wasn't nearly as large as the Goron's city center, but it had a similar dome-shaped roof hewn out of the living rock. The obvious source of the heat bubbled and frothed in front of them, in shallow pools on either side of a raised pathway. Stones with higher melting points had been placed in the shallow pools at intervals, and on their tops stood statues of Din,. She stood nude from the waist up and rivulets of lava forced through the statue ran down her head as hair. The room could have been described as beautiful, had it not been so uncomfortable and deadly to anyone without the special tunic.

Without any warning, Link sprinted across the path toward the door on the other side of the room. "Be careful, boy!" Ganondorf shouted after him.

As if on cue, a fire-lizard with obsidian-black scales emerged from one of the pools. With a hissing intake of breath, it prepared to spout fire at Link. But Link merely walloped the creature over the head with his sword and leaped above it, leaving it looking sheepish and confused. As if to restore its pride, it turned on the pursuing Ganondorf, which rendered it mute with a wave of his hand.

The door ahead of them was locked. Link stuck his hands in the lock and began looking around the room. "It wants a key," he said absently as Ganondorf walked up to him.

"Obviously. It has a magic barrier on it, too, one that I can't break without the key. Not really set up for pilgrimages, is it?"

Link scanned the room again, then pointed. "There's a chest over there. See it?" He pointed to one side of the room, with the yawning pool of lava between them.

"Good luck getting it, kid."

"Hold on, let me think." Link sat down on the floor and assumed a concentrating expression. Ganondorf sighed and scanned the room for anything to stand on. Had the statues of Din not been covered in lava, they might have used those to traverse the pool. He had a few choice things to say to Darunia about where the Gorons kept their keys.

Suddenly Link sprang up and took the rope they kept in their pack, which Zelda had given him before they parted. It had been tied together where it had split apart from Ganondorf's weight in the Spirit Temple. Link tied one end of the rope to an arrow he had found in the woods. He held the other end of the rope up to Ganondorf. "You're tall; hold this up as high as you can."

Curious to see what Link had dreamed up, Ganondorf did so. Link shot an arrow he had found in the forest across the room, the point burying itself in a semisolid rubbery substance on the wall near the chest, which lay spattered about the room like lichen from hell. "Now give me a boost," Link ordered.

Ganondorf frowned at him. "You're not going to try and traverse the rope over to the chest, are you?" Darunia's warning rang in his ears.

"Sure. I did it all the time at home. Well, not with lava…I used a rope bridge to cross the canyon to get to the river."

"The canyon?!"

"Well, it wasn't wide, but it was deep. Now help me up, okay? Oh, and let me borrow that shield we found in the Spirit Temple."

Ganondorf said nothing as he handed over the mirrored shield, which was so big on Link that it made him look like he was wearing a turtle shell. He had to put both his arms through the hand grips to carry it. Then Ganondorf lifted the boy high enough to reach the rope. Link quickly shifted hand over hand, legs swinging over the bubbling lava as he inched his way toward the chest.

"Mind the lizards!" Ganondorf shouted as one lifted its head, anticipating a meal, and aimed a spout of fire at Link. Link raised his legs to cur around the rope, and the fire struck the shield, harmlessly deflected to the sides. Link furiously thwacked the rope as little bits of fire leaped onto the rope anyway, putting out the fires immediately after they started, with just a little browning for damage.

Ganondorf gritted his teeth. "Hurry it up!"

Link traversed to the end of the rope, dropping down on the small bit of stone where the chest sat. He opened it and then raised the key over his head in triumph for Ganondorf to see.

"Very nice!" The Gerudo shouted at him. "Now get back here!"

Link stuck the key in his belt, then stood on top of the empty chest to grasp the rope, and made his way hand over hand back again. He kicked a lizard in the snout before it could start breathing fire at him, and landed on the path next to Ganondorf. "Do you think you can yank the rope hard enough to get some of it back without dropping it in the lava?"

"It's worth a try." Ganondorf pulled as hard as he could, Link grasping the rope as it flew toward them in snaking curves. A third of the rope fell into the lava, which devoured it as well as the arrow. They pulled up the remainder and stamped out the fire burning at the end. "Better than nothing."

Link hurried over to the door and inserted the key. The lock fell to the ground, and with a little push, he found he could open the door. He ran inside, Ganondorf following behind.

--

"So his ancestor was a famous warlord?"

Darunia nodded. "More than that. For years, Ganondorf's name was given the title King of Darkness, Lord of Evil. He ruled for seven years, during which Hyrule withered like a tree in a drought. But that was because he did not possess the full Triforce."

Zelda blinked. "Why not, if the entire icon had been hidden in the Temple of Time?"

"The story goes that only one who is pure of heart can possess the whole Triforce," Darunia explained. "A great warrior who freed Hyrule from its first period of chaos was the one who interred it in the Temple of Time. Can't trust even the Royal Family to have only virtuous people in it, after all."

Fidgeting a little on the hard stone, Zelda asked, "So when it was split, he went after the other two, knowing he couldn't have them?"

Darunia scratched his head, making a sound like wheat on a grindstone. "Some say the Triforce will grant a wish if the icon is made whole again, no matter who does it. We Gorons only know bits of the story, after all…it's the Keeper of Wisdom's job to know the history."

Zelda bit her lip, her eyes cast downward. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. This is not the first time chaos has come to Hyrule, as I've just told you." He scratched his chin. "I wonder…I wonder if it is the aim of the Goddesses to bring the icon back to its original form, since all Three Bearers seem to be working on the same side this time."

"But someone will just come along and split it again." Zelda picked at her dress. "As foolish as it sounds…perhaps my uncle is right, in some things. Perhaps Hyrule should forget about the Triforce, as it causes nothing but trouble."

Darunia shook his head. "That would be a mistake as well. The Triforce is the source of Hyrule's magic power. It makes Hyrule what it is. Besides…" Darunia stared off into the light of the sparkling gems, as if trying hard to put words to thought. "There's another legend, saying that the Three are reborn in an Endless Cycle, which is necessary for the Triforce to exist. This constant retelling of the legend…of Power's destruction, Courage's heroics, and Wisdom's healing…it is as natural as the rain and wind." He paused. "No matter how dark the night, the sun always rises in the end. And if there were no darkness, there would be no way to compare the brightness of the light."

Zelda sat silently for a few moments, massaging the back of the hand that held the holy symbol. "I have to admit," she said slowly, "This all seems…familiar to me somehow, as if I've heard it before…in a dream…"

"Or in another life?"

She glanced up at him. The golden icon on her hand called to her, as if beckoning an old friend from a great distance. She felt suddenly very old, with a strange sense of calm, as if someone…her dead mother, or grandmother…were standing by her side, to guide and protect.

Or perhaps…it was herself?

--

"Blasted flying rats!" Ganondorf smacked at the fabric on his arm that had caught fire when a flaming Keese had rammed into him. "What magic is this, that they can burn and still be alive?"

Link could not be bothered with the explanation. With a bundle of arrows he had found in some dark corner of the Temple, he skewered the fiery creatures and opened up a new path.

Ganondorf frowned at a small, barred room, its lock rusted shut. "It looks like this place was once used as a prison. Who would jail someone in such an inhospitable place? You might as well behead the person and end their suffering. It'd be easier, too."

Link glanced briefly at the cells. "Maybe it's a Goron prison."

"Don't know why they'd need one. Well, all right, I'm sure they've had troublemakers from time to time, but we've seen enough cells to imprison the whole population!"

Link shrugged, spreading the crackly aged map he had found, kneeling on the floor and studying it closely.

Ganondorf frowned at him. "Not much of a thinker, are you? Do you just do what people tell you? What's your whole purpose in this thing anyway?"

Link glanced up, startled, as if nobody had ever asked him this question before. He turned back to the map, and Ganondorf was about to ask again when Link said, "To find a home."

Ganondorf blinked. "You don't have one?"

"I came here from another country, remember? There's nothing for me there." He rolled up the map. "If I help Zelda get her country back, maybe she'll give me a place to live. So I won't have to worry anymore about finding one."

Scratching his head, Ganondorf said, "You're a competent lad. I'm sure anyone would take you in as an apprentice."

Link smiled sadly. It was the only time Ganondorf had seen a sorrowful look on the boy's face. "You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

And then it was gone as quickly as it came. "Come on, there's still a long way to go!"

--

"I guess this is it," Link said, looking up at the enormous door.

"You have a big key and it's a big lock." Ganondorf wiped the sweat that rolled down his face in bullets. "Just open it already, so we can get out of here."

Link did so. They both stepped into an enormous, empty chamber, filed with - what else? - a gigantic pool of lava. A small altar sat on the other end of the room, at such a distance that they could barely make it out in the hazy, air-bending heat.

"Our rope's not going to make it that far," Ganondorf grumbled. "Got any more ideas in that head of yours?"

Just then the ground beneath them rumbled. This was not unusual…the mountain had been rumbling since they left the forest. But the sound had a strange timbre to it, as if it were coming from something other than the natural flow of the molten stone.

Link's eyes narrowed. "That sounded almost like…a growl…"

Suddenly a swishing, slapping sound, like some enormous creature surfacing in thick water, echoed in the cavern. Both watched in trepidation as a blood-red fin rose from the lava, sinking back in again. Link drew his sword, and Ganondorf summoned a fistful of ice.

All at once the lava in front of them exploded, an ear-shattering roar erupting from the molten rock. As the magma fell, the enormous sharp-angled face of a dragon appeared. Its upper scales flashed crimson, the ones on its belly the color of orange flame. It stared at them with amber eyes that rivaled Ganondorf's in fierceness. The dragon spread its wings and the arching span filled the entire cavern.

Link faltered slightly, the gripped his sword.

The dragon turned his eyes upon him. "What brings you here, warriors? Come to slay a dragon for fame and fortune?" It had a deep voice that bounced off the rocky walls and rang in their ears. He spread his claws, with sharp points like polished spears. "You'll find it hard to come by."

"Hold!" Ganondorf held up his hand. "We're not here to slay dragons, though if you interfere with our quest, we will not hesitate to fight." He motioned to Link, who pulled the Fire medallion from his pack. "We have been instructed by the Goddesses to place this here. If you try to take it from this room, or in any other way diminish its power, then we will have no choice but to kill you."

The dragon's fierce temper burned low, like a candle that had just been lit and now settled into its wick. "I see. So you are not here for me at all. You should know, that if you are indeed sent by the Goddesses, killing me would be a grave mistake."

"Why is that?" Link asked.

"We dragons stoke the fires that feed the burning mountains. I am Valor, son of Volvagia, who lived here before she was slain by a Hylian warrior."

"Slain by a Hylian warrior?" Link glanced at Ganondorf and could tell he was thinking the same thing. "But if that was my ancestor…that would have been hundreds of years ago…"

Valor smiled slightly. "Dragons live a long time. Nearly forever…unless, of course, they are killed."

Link fidgeted. "I'm, er, sorry about my ancestor…"

The great dragon shook his magnificent head. "No matter. My mother was greedy and cruel. She developed a taste for Goron flesh, and when an evil king promised her an entire tribe of them, it would only make sense that someone would come along to stop it."

Ganondorf sighed. "Then I too must apologize, as it was likely my ancestor who tempted her."

Valor sank down into the lava until he faced them at eye level. "No need. Those of us who do not become like Volvagia are very wise, because we live so long. I can see you are not to be blamed for your ancestors' actions." He blinked his gold-coin eyes. "But I can tell from looking at you that their blood runs through you, and it does not surprise me that you come here on a quest of your own. So I will pass on some of my wisdom to you."

Link nodded eagerly; Ganondorf merely waited.

"Good and Evil, in their pure forms, only exist in tales," said Valor. "A dragon is a frightening thing to most mortals, but as I've explained, we have a purpose too." He nodded to both of them. "Destiny shapes your futures, but within that there is plenty of room to move. A hero can become a villain, and vice versa. Never assume that because something has caused trouble that it will always do so. Sometimes that which is feared, is feared not because it is bad or wrong, but only because the right kind of person can handle it."

"You mean like the Triforce?" Link asked.

Valor nodded. "I've heard tell of what's happened recently in the castle. It is a strange turn of events, as the Royal Family has been the Triforce's guardian for eons. But anything can happen in the great void of Time."

He held out his enormous clawed hand to Link. "Give me the sigil, and I will return this Temple to its former glory."

Link handed over the Fire medallion. "Good Luck, Keepers of Power and Courage. And say hello to Wisdom for me."

Valor placed the sigil at the altar. In the blink of an eye, the two were back in the Goron city.

"So you have both returned safely!" They whirled round to see Darunia standing nearby, with Zelda next to him.

"Was it difficult?" Zelda asked Link.

"Not any more so than the rest we've done so far," he said cheerfully as he handed back the satchel.

Ganondorf watched her glance at him with something like trepidation, and yet not the kind of fear he would expect from someone that had been hearing horror stories about his ancestor. He felt an odd tingling in one hand, and they all glanced down in surprise.

"It's…glowing…" Link said more to himself than anyone else, as he stared transfixed at the icon on the back of his hand.

"The Triforce is resonating as it senses its fellows." Zelda's voice had a strange, ethereal tone to it. "As we return the sigils to their sources, power returns to the Triforce."

"Then you must continue quickly!" Daruna announced. "If the King gets word that this is happening, he will barricade or even destroy the Temple of Time. You must go to the Zora's Domain, and quickly!"