~~Link~~
As I stand on the edge of Skyloft, I close my eyes and try to imagine how I'm going to get to the ground.
I picture Zelda waiting for me, the relieved look on her face when we meet once more. Suddenly, there's a musical noise beside me and when I open my eyes again I see Fi hovering by my side.
"Master, are you going to depart?"
Fi stares at me with her ever impassive eyes, and I sigh before falling over the edge without another thought. As my Loftwing catches me and we soar towards a bright green light in the distance, I glance back over my shoulder at the only home I can remember.
It's as if Fi can sense my uneasiness; from the sword strapped to my back, I hear, "Master, there is a ninety-eight percent chance you will see Skyloft again with Zelda."
Ninety-eight? I don't know whether it's good that it's so high or bad that it's not a hundred percent. While I contemplate that, my Loftwing screeches to draw my attention.
We've reached the light, and as I look down I see straight through the clouds. Down below there appears to be a mass of foliage and forest. It looks like it's a long way to what could be certain death.
Closing my eyes, I picture Zelda lying on the ground hurt. It makes me feel a bit sick, and quickly I hurl myself off my Loftwing. As I fall towards the ground I grit my teeth against the wind pressure and mutter encouragements to myself under my breath.
Surely this sailcloth will help me land...right?
Zelda's safe. Zelda's safe.
...She HAS to be safe.
As the ground rushes to meet me, I pull the sailcloth out and steel myself for a potentially rough landing.
"Hrrrrgnh!"
When the sailcloth first unfurls and catches the wind it jerks at my arms, but as I descend the pressure dwindles until my feet gently touch the ground.
I take in the air with great, rushing breaths when Fi materializes in front of me.
"It appears you have landed in an area known as the Sealed Grounds. This is the land your people call the Surface. Please proceed with caution."
When she disappears again, I resist the urge to vomit as once again try to absorb this new information. Holding my head high, I walk towards what looks to be a large ancient temple when I feel something sinister creeping from below.
Looking down, I'm surprised to see a what appears to be a large spiral into the ground. The path below swirls menacingly, and at the very bottom is a small pillar. Fi said this place was call the Sealed Grounds...so what's being sealed here?
I'm not given time to wonder when my head hurts and I stagger back to visions of my nightmare.
As the world turns black around me and the great creature from before rises up to meet me, I struggle to grab the sword from my back. Rows of gleaming teeth smirk at me like an old enemy, and as the illusion sweeps over me and disappears I shudder and look down once more at the pillar below.
I know what's down here now.
The doors to the temple swing open with a resounding boom, and as I peek in to see a mostly empty space with holes in the ceiling allowing light to stream through. As I walk in I feel like I'm walking into a place I've been to many times before, and the weight of it all threatens to crush me.
On a raised area near the end of the temple is an old woman; she too seems familiar, and when I approach she smiles shakily at me.
"Hello, child of fate. I see you too have descended from the skies, and that you have brought the Goddess Sword with you."
At her words I start, and lunging forward I ask, "Too? Has someone else been here? Have you seen a girl my age with long blonde hair?"
She holds up a hand to silence me, before replying, "I have sat here many years waiting to help you fulfill your destiny. You stand beneath the roof of the Sealed Temple, built by the Goddess in an age long gone by. Your arrival here was predestined many years ago."
At my confused face, she chuckles warmly and nods for me to sit with her. As I sit with her in silence, she closes her eyes and breathes deeply.
"Yes," she murmurs. "It has been many years since that day. The one you seek, the Spirit Maiden, descended here shortly before you in a shower of light. The gears of fate have begun to turn, but all is not right. She was not meant to reach the Surface this way. I feel the shadow of evil working behind this. He means to stop you two from the destiny you are to fulfill. He means to stop you from meeting again."
"He?" I ask, scooting closer. "And what do you know of Zelda?"
"The maiden you seek has left to find her fate, as should you," the woman chides me gently. "What is your name, child?"
"Link. It's Link."
Her eyes widen for a moment, before the smiles returns twofold and she murmurs, "Link...how odd."
Cryptically she stares at me before sighing, "I understand your concern for her, but you must focus on moving forward. She has her own purpose she must find, and it would suit you well to follow behind. Leave here for Faron Woods."
When she points towards the door, I know I'm dismissed, but as I stand up I find myself staggering again under the weight of a vision.
"This temple...I remember this temple." It's the male voice from before. "Hylia, why are we here?"
"Are you not fond of visiting the old places with me?" a woman replies, her voice silky and ethereal. "We met here first, Link. Do you not like sentiment?"
"I do," the man grumbles. "It's just...that was long ago, before I knew who you even were. For a goddess, you're pretty deceitful."
"Deceitful?" Hylia, the woman, sounds amused. "Would you walk among your people if they knew who you were? I was lonely. I watched you...all of you. We had been created at the same time but I was left to watch from a distance while you all enjoyed this world."
"I know," the man's voice softens. "I know, Hylia."
The woman hesitates, before she asks fearfully, "Perhaps...perhaps you regret meeting me? I could understand that. I approached you as if I was a mortal woman but…"
I feel the sensation of a soft hand in mine, before the man replies, "Never! I've never regretted this!"
Warmth envelopes me as the woman laughs happily, and I feel a sudden pressure of someone leaning on my chest.
"Good," she murmurs happily, the warmth of her breath on my tunic. "Neither have I."
When I come to, the old woman is staring at me impassively.
As I sit up, ready to question her, she motions towards the door. It's clear that she's going to be as cryptic as everyone else about what's happening to me, and with a sigh I stagger to my feet and thank her before setting off.
I pass by the Sealed Grounds and walk for a bit through the undergrowth until I reach a particularly leafy part of the forest.
Fi, voicing my thoughts, reappears and states, "This is Faron Woods, Master. Just ahead-"
"Wait a minute," I interrupt. "Do you hear something?"
Fi pauses, and together we listen; in the distance I can hear somebody whimpering, accompanied by some horrifying screeching.
I don't wait for Fi to tell me what to do-instantly I dash forward, and rounding the corner I see two red creatures with axes threatening a bush-like thing on the ground. When they see me they turn and rush at me, still screeching.
It's clear these things don't have a shred of intelligence; drawing my sword I easily disarm one and bash the other one's head in instantly. As they stagger, falling to the ground with dying sounds the bush pops up to look around.
It's a bird-like thing, with a long pointed nose and cute round eyes. Feeling a little sorry for it, I kneel down and open my mouth to say hello when it spots me and begins trembling twice as hard.
"Koo-weep! Now there's a green one? I didn't know they came in green!" it squeaks, taking a small step back. "Don't hurt me, koo!"
I watch as it waddles off as fast as it can to the top of the nearest hill before Fi tells me, "I picked up some rather interesting dowsing readings on the creature, Master."
"Tell me."
"Due to the characteristics and the readings I received, I conclude that we just encountered a Kiwki. They are a peaceful race that dwells here in the forest. They are capable of intelligent speech, but there is no way it could be mistaken for Zelda. Clearly the Kiwki has had some sort of interaction with her. I recommend following him as soon as possible."
Standing up, I brush off my pants and set up off the hill after the Kiwki. As I reach the top and look into the next part of the forest I see it hiding behind a rather large mushroom.
"Hide and seek, huh?" I stifle a little laugh at how strange this situation seems. Jumping down, I approach the mushroom and give it a light tap. This sends the Kiwki into another panic and it zooms off again, while I walk slowly behind.
After a few more minutes of chasing and cutting down a few carnivorous looking plants, I finally find it shaking behind a tree.
"Kwwwwweeee! It found me again!"
The creature throws into self face first into the dirt, and as it continues to shake I can't help the smile that comes across my face; it's all a little too cute to take this seriously, and feeling protective I kneel down once more and try to speak in my softest voice.
"Hey there," I say, encouraged when the Kwiki looks up at me with somewhat teary eyes. "I don't want to hurt you. My name's Link. Could you tell me your name?"
It blinks, before straightening up and asking curiously, "Kwoo...you don't want to eat me? Come to think of it...you did fight off those red monsters for me."
I smile again, trying to convince the Kwiki it's in safe hands. It must work, before the Kwiki finally pipes up, "Kee-paleep! I'm Machi. You seem okay, even if you're scary too. Thank you for saving me!"
Machi scratches his head, then squeaks, "That's weird. A little while ago I ran into another funny animal like you, but that one was a girl."
Inwardly, I curse my bad timing. She was here! Just a while ago!
Trying to keep control of my expression to keep the creature from being scared again, I ask quietly, "Zelda? Did she say her name was Zelda?"
"What's a Zelda? I don't know who this girl was but when I saw her she was in trouble. A pack of those red monsters was chasing her, kwee, but she escaped into the forest with the Kikwi elder."
At this news, Fi appears beside me, causing Machi to shake again as he tries to hide his face in the ground. Unperturbed by the clear distress she's brought to the Kikwi, Fi tells me, "We have obtained some information on Zelda. She was attacked but somehow managed to evade capture; however, I infer that she is still in significant danger."
Looking around, Fi brings out my map before marking it telepathically.
"This is your current position relative to Machi the Kikwi. Given the strength of the dowsing results I conclude that you should continue dowsing for Zelda. You will likely find the Kikwi Elder this way, and he will surely have more information on her whereabouts."
When Fi disappears again, Machi pops back to his feet and squeaks, "That startled me koo! You keep some strange company, friend."
"What? Oh, yeah."
My face must give away my feelings, because Machi laughs, "Cheer up, kee-palep! I'm sure your friend and the elder are safe! If you're heading that way, kwee, could you also tell the elder I'm safe? I'm sure he's worried about everyone with the state of the forest, kwoo."
I nod, standing back up as I do so.
"I will. And thanks, Machi."
"Goodbye, kwee-koo!" Machi waves me off cheerfully as I turn and head towards the deeper section of the forest. "Goodbye!"
The first thing I see is a large Kikwi, face down in the dirt on top of a raised area of the forest. Luckily there's a rope hanging from a nearby tree, and I cross the small gap with ease. As I approach the enormous Kikwi, it rises.
Machi was weird, but cute. Despite having the exact same eyes and face, this Kikwi towers above me so high that I find myself slightly intimidated when it begins to talk in a rumbling voice.
"Kweeeeeeeeeee-heee. I am Bucha, the Kikwi Elder. I saw the way you spotted me despite my master disguise. You are clearly a master woodsman, koo!"
I resist the urge to tell him he couldn't be more obvious if he tried.
Calmly, I reply, "It's nice to meet you, Bucha. My name is Link and I'm looking for a girl named Zelda. Do you know where she is?"
"Zelda…? Ah, the girl. She was clearly one of your kind, kweeee. She was with me until recently, but now is not the time for such talk...I am worried for my tribe. I can't seem to recall anything right now."
Part of me wants to shake him and tell him to remember, but when I see the genuine confusion on his face I feel bad. As he continues to look around with concern on his features, I think about Zelda and how she'd approach this situation.
It's clear what I have to do.
"What if I found them? I already ran into Machi. He's safe in the first part of the woods. If I find the rest of your tribe and report back, will you try to think about Zelda for me?"
"You would help me, kwooo?" The elder's eyes widen, before he chuckles. "Thank you! I will do my best to remember everything while you search! There are three missing members still, kweee."
"Got it." I roll my shoulder, gearing myself up for the inevitable fights that I know are bound to happen. "I'm sure there are still monsters lurking around here, so please don't move from this spot until I get back."
He waves me off cheerfully, and as I set off I catch a glimpse of him stroking his mustache in contemplation. This gesture makes me want to laugh, and as I descend to the forest below Fi's voice accompanies me from the sword.
"It is unfortunate that Zelda is no longer with the elder, but if we help him we may be able to gain more information. I have added the Kikwis to help you dowse for them."
"Right. Let's do this Fi."
An hour and three Kikwis later I find myself standing back in front of the elder. As the elder chuckles at my dirt covered cheeks and bruises, I sigh deeply.
Finding the Kikwis wasn't the hard part; it was fighting off the monsters, the constant climbing, and everything else in this forest. It's like everything in this world is conspiring to kill me and I've only just started my quest.
Granted, it didn't help that one of the Kikwis was so scared he needed help down from a tree.
Finally the elder stops laughing at me, and wiping a small tear from his eye he says, "Kweee! Thank you for finding my fellow Kikwis, Link!"
"No problem," I say, wiping the sweat and dirt from my forehead. "Did you remember anything about Zelda?"
"Yes!" Bucha waves his arms in a happy manner. "I managed to help her up here where it was safe and tried to tell her to stay but she told me she had a 'fate' to carry out."
"What?"
Bucha shakes his head. "She said she needed to travel to the deepest part of the woods to the temple there. I warned her how dangerous that would be, but the clever little thing bounced off my stomach and ran off, kwee!"
While I process this, Bucha falls forward with a massive slam, revealing the small bush on his back that resembles the ones that the other Kikwi have.
"Take this as my thanks!" he rumbles, his face still on the ground. "It is a treasured heirloom of the Kikwis and will surely aid you, kwoo!"
I can't quite see what it is, but when I climb up his back I see a slingshot and pouch lying in the middle of the small grass patch.
It's no bow and quiver, but it's still a pretty good prize given that I don't have anything I can throw in the distance other than a Skyward strike. As I admire my prize, I hop off Bucha's back.
He rises once more, then winks at me.
"Now go find your girl! I'll be rooting for you, kweh heh heh!"
I turn a little red at his statement, before dashing off.
"Thanks, Bucha!" I call over my shoulder, heading for the temple. As I face forward, I steel myself for what's to come ahead.
Whatever this fate is, I hope it's one that brings Zelda back to me.
Hey guys, just a quick note today; I probably won't update the next chapter until next week because I'm in the middle of another big transition! I have the chapter almost ready but won't have a chance to get to it until I take care of my other stuff XD I hope you've enjoyed the last few updates and I hope you look forward to the next one and beyond!
As always, thanks for the reads and reviews!