Look what I left you for Easter, enjoy and don't forget to say thanks. (Unless you don't like Easter, in which case just enjoy and happy un-birthday)

The Book of Ancients

"I've been waiting for you." Regime stood just outside the town gates, his arms folded behind his back. "You took a little longer getting here than I expected. Do tell, was the path difficult?"

"No, not really, just long." Aden turned toward Gale. "Are you sure you-?"

"Yes I'm sure." She said curtly, looking anywhere but the town. "I'm not going in with you."

Aden sighed, he didn't understand what had put her on edge, but so be it; this was her decision. To Regime he shrugged helplessly. "You heard the lady. She won't be coming into town with us, and don't even think of trying to convince her otherwise –she'll kill us both if you do."

"Don't tempt me."

The old man shook his head. "It's all right, you're the one I want to speak to Aden. She's irrelevant."

Many things Gale may be, but irrelevant is not one of them. Aden braced himself for a retort from her, but the redhead didn't reply; she seemed lost in her own thoughts. "Well, see you later." Gale glanced at him once and uttered a half articulated grumble.

"Please come with me." Regime flashed his teeth in another perfect grin, before turning on his heel and striding past the gates. Aden gave Gale one last concerned glance and slowly followed.

Kakariko had grown some over the years, but it was still a relatively sleepy town with a few vendors and merchants. Several times Aden was tempted to try and snatch something, but he held back, for the moment.

Of all the places he had thought he'd be taken, the library was low on his list; he'd never been much of a reader, he lacked the required patience. But as he dismounted and followed Regime into the building, he couldn't suppress a small gasp at the wealth of written knowledge he saw.

The old man led them to a small reading desk with two chairs by the far window, upon which sat a single green book. Humming a nameless tune to himself he sat and reclined, for once just looking like a regular old man. "You have the Pendant?"

Aden slouched in his seat and nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Ah, very nicely done…"

"And?"

Regime closed his eyes and smiled, "And was it easy to get?"

"No." Aden tapped a finger on the arm of his chair. "I nearly died several times to get that Lucky-Charm-Thingummy."

"Oh really? Tell me all about…"

"Gale was attacked by monster tentacles. I was nearly ripped apart by crazy fairies, skeletons, and Cyclops, flattened, and a mummified freak beat me to a bloody pulp!" Aden was sure to keep his voice low so no one's unwanted ears would overhear.

"And yet you sit here, triumphant in the end."

"Yeah, I guess so… Now I suppose you'll tell me what the point was in all this?"

"Patience is not your strong suite..." The elder cracked open an eye. "Tell me, what do you know about the Golden Power?"

"The Triforce? Only that it's a symbol of the gods, and that it supposedly grants wishes." Aden blinked. What does that have to do with the Pendant of Courage?

"Correct." Regime smiled brighter than before. "Would you humor an old man and let me start from the beginning? It's not often I get to tell stories."

"Go ahead, geezer, I'll listen."

"Excellent!" The old man straightened. "Now then, you remember the tales about the Golden Land of the Triforce? And how eventually only greedy men tried to reach it?" Aden nodded. "Well, after a while, a man named Ganondorf Dragmire succeeded, and used it to build an army to try and conquer Hyrule. The knights of Hyrule fought back, and though many of them died, they bought the King's seven wise men enough time to magically seal Ganon in the tainted Golden Land –later renamed the Dark World."

Yeah, the Imprisoning War. I've heard this tale a long time ago…

"After many years of peace and tranquility, in which Hyrule healed its wounds, new disasters struck; drought, pestilence, and such –even though the Dark World was still sealed. In response to this a wizard named Agahnim appeared and quelled the chaos with his magic. For a time it seemed as though peace had returned, but the wizard proved to be a traitor; he began collecting the descendants of the original seven wise men, and made them vanish into the Dark World one after another. The final descendant was, of course, the Queen, then a princess."

Mother… "And now we come to the part where this all relates to me, and my current situation."

"If only your blade was as fast as your ability to run out of patience… Very well, the details are sketchy on how this happened but a young man named Link actually broke into the castle dungeon, freed the princess, and later returned and defeated Agahnim."

"Enter dad, and I still don't know what this has to do with me…"

"The hero who defeated the wizard wielded a special sword known as the blade of evil's bane. After defeating both Agahnim and Ganondorf he returned the Master Sword to its resting place in the Lost Woods." Aden sat up, and Regime laughed. "Listening now? In order to awaken that ultimate weapon three virtues are needed in a person to prove their worth, this is done by obtaining three pendants: Courage, Power, and Wisdom."

"I already have Courage, so Power, and Wisdom next?" The old man nodded.

"The book in front of you is called the Book of Mudora, you can use it to translate ancient Hylian. The Pendant of Power is locked in a dungeon in the desert, and you'll need that to open the lock."

Aden picked up the emerald tome carefully, thinking. Many things now made sense, like why the sword in the forest refused to budge, and more importantly just what it was. If dad was able to get it, then I should be able to get it too. "You seem to know a lot Regime, so tell me, does the name Blind ring a bell?"

Regime appeared puzzled. "Blind? The thief king that served Ganon? Yes, Link killed him if I recall. Why?"

"Well he's not as dead as you'd think, he attacked me and Gale in the Eastern Palace."

"Really…" Regime closed his eyes thoughtfully for a moment. "Aden…"

"Yes?"

The old man opened his eyes and fixed him with a long, hard stare. "The Hylian inscription on the Master Sword's pedestal reads thus: 'The Hero's triumph on cataclysm's eve, wins three symbols of virtue. The Master Sword he will then retrieve, keeping the knight's line true.' It originally referred to Link, but… I think it may also point to you. If Blind is still alive, be on your guard; a fiend like that is not to be taken lightly."

-8-

Blind let out a deep sigh. Before him, an eight pointed star was carved into the stone, and within the blood red design rested a Stalfos, the skeletal warrior deathly quiet and still.

"The final preparations are ready." Blind nodded as a young woman with short brown hair appeared by his side. "You can proceed with the ritual when ready, master."

"Good work Miko, we'll begin now. I'll need you to supply the energy for this or I won't have enough to maintain my mortal form."

Without a word, Miko placed a hand on his shoulder. "If I remember, this ritual is short, but draining."

"Yes." Blind returned his attention to the Stalfos and knelt, placing his palms at the edge of the star. "Are you ready?"

"Ready master."

"Then three, two, one…"

The Stalfos let out a high, bloodcurdling screech and began thrashing around, though the creature's arms and ankles remained bound by the magic.

Blind immediately felt the strain on his body, at his shoulder Miko's hand went weak. But the worst was over, the ritual was proceeding on its own now. The crimson star was melting, oozing into the Stalfos and dying the bone red, as though the monster was a sponge. Over the next few minutes muscles and tissues began to weave together, covering semi-formed organs. Blind shut his eyes as the strain became too great to bear, then all at once, it was over.

"He's beautiful…" Miko breathed. Blind opened his eyes; where the Stalfos had once been now sat a young man in the prime of his youth.

"Clothe him." Blind commanded. At once, Miko was at his side, laying a robe over his shoulders. He didn't seem to mind her presence, busy as he was taking in his surroundings.

"Where…? Who…? Who are you? And where am I?" He asked, blinking in confusion.

"That's Blind –the one who made you."

"But who are you?" He asked.

I'm Miko, yours forever. If you ever want anything I'll give it to you. Just ask, whatever your heart desires, I'll give it to you, I swear."

"But my heart desires nothing." He replied, rubbing his middle, "It's my stomach that desires."

The brunette was up in an instant. "Yes of course. I'll get you something right away."

Blind watched her leave the room, her expression one of worshipful adoration. "She seems quite taken to you…"

"You're Blind, right?" The raven-eyed man tried to stand, but barely made it to one knee before collapsing.

"Easy… You're not used to a physical body yet, it'll take a little time." Blind extended one hand to help him up. "However, once you are used to it, there's a boy I want you to kill. Think you'd enjoy that?"

-8-

It's ALIVE! Oh, sorry, wrong scene. Well this chapter was awfully fun to write. Please tell me what you think.