Link stared out at the indistinct desert sands before him. It seemed to run on forever, and Link felt deep down that it did. The desert could go on without end, and at this rate it definitely would. They had been traveling through it for days with no discernable change or advancement. Every step, every day, was the same as the one before. Link feared this would become the truth. He felt a constantly growing fear that they would never leave the desert, never reach the temples. This would all continue on forever, just as it was always meant to.

Link's feet and legs felt every inch of the travel. They ached with each step and Link longed for the eventual rest. He knew it would do no good, though. Even that temporary reprieve at the end of each day was not enough to counter a day's trek. It was all just trying to catch up, trying to get enough food and enough sleep to get back on his feet the next day. Link thought there might come a day, soon enough, that no amount of either would prove sufficient. He would be entirely insatiable. Maybe then the grueling travel schedule would be lightened. Link knew this to be a foolish fantasy, but he entertained it anyway. Only this sort of vain thought could distract him during the endless forward march.

"How are you holding up?" Shad's voice called out from nearby.

Link looked over in time to see the man walking up. Shad looked as tired as Link felt, if not more so. It had become apparent with each passing day of travel that the man was not accustomed to this sort of labor. He was a scholar, in both name and body. Shad pressed on, though, so Link had to be sure he would. If such a meager man could manage the difficulty of the desert, so could Link. Besides, Shad had not complained of exhaustion once during the whole journey.

"I'm alright," Link said, trying not to let fatigue show in his voice, "You?"

"Fine," Shad said, rather breathily, "…I'm fine. I managed to talk Auru into stopping early today, that way we will finally be able to test the strength of your mark."

Shad had been pestering Link about a training session since he awoke. With the constant travel, though, Link was always beyond exhaustion by the time they came to a stop each night. He, too, wished to test his new limits, but had not been allowed a chance with this constant movement.

"That's great," Link said, already wondering what the supposed resting time would hold.

"We'll be stopping a couple of hours before dark this time. That'll give me more than enough time to ascertain the extent of your abilities."

There was something about the way he said your which hinted Link off.

"The others too?" he asked.

"Yes, of course. We haven't seen a single demonstration of what they are capable of. Since we are to reach the temples soon, there isn't much time left."

Soon.

There isn't much time left.

"Okay," was all Link was able to say before Shad began to march away. He was more than a little curious himself as to what the others could do. In the meantime, he prepared himself for several more hours of painful drudgery.

"Alright Link," Shad called out from his place a dozen feet distant, "Put your hand against the stone and pour as much energy into it as you can."

Link looked down at the small boulder before him. It was more than half embedded in golden sand, yet still managed to reach past his waist. Link set his palm against its surface and was amazed to feel how cool it was. Obeying Shad's instruction, Link reached out for the inkspot's energy. He felt it there, buzzing and fiery. Link pulled at it with all his might and forced it out through his palm.

As Link watched, a half dozen tendrils of dark fire shot out from beneath his hand and began to wrap themselves around the rock's body. Within seconds, the whole thing was encircled. He could still feel power pouring out, gushing as if there were no end to the deposit. Suddenly, Link noticed the surface itself was buzzing, growing warm. The dark fire was crushing itself against the stone, and Link felt it change.

Before Link knew it, two things happened. First, the rock crumbled in his grasp. The whole thing turned to dust and was instantaneously swallowed up by hungry flame. At the same moment, something grabbed Link by the back of his shirt and pulled hard.

Even as he was stumbling backward, Link noticed the ground crumbling beneath his feet. Before he had stopped moving, Link could see a gaping crater where he had been standing. Shad was laughing nervously from behind him, apparently as shocked by this as Link.

"It seems that was a poor example," the man said, "I guess that stone went deeper than I suspected. It does give a sense of scale to your capabilities. How much of your energy would you say that stunt used up? How much is left?"

"Hardly any at all."

"Oh, well that's disappointing. I suppose it's understandable but…" Shad began, before Link interrupted him.

"No, I mean it hardly used any at all. I feel as if I could do that again, a dozen more times."

"Well!" Shad exclaimed, apparently very pleased by this, "Do you mind if we, uh, test this?"

Link shook his head and they went out searching for more ways to ascertain a limit. They didn't stop until Link was absolutely powerless. By this time, Shad was very impressed by the results. There were many signs of the testing, but Shad considered these to be necessary for the knowledge gained.

And what knowledge it was. Link's energy deposits stretched deeper than he'd even guessed before. He could do many extraordinary things with the dark power, and even maintain multiple streams of energy at once. This all made him think of the night he'd nearly been killed by performing a few simple techniques at once.

Finally, when Shad was finished with Link, they returned to the camp in search of the other two. They came upon the child first, but were met with quick, silent escape. After that, they couldn't find him again. However, Zelda was not so difficult to capture. The two of them talked to her and she agreed, with some fearful hesitance, to display what capabilities she had.

The three of them returned to the edge of camp and Shad began to speak with Zelda about what he already knew. He said that, judging by the faint silvery markings upon her skin, she held the spiritual mark. Shad told her that hers was a delicate and complex power, but that he had never actually seen its use.

Finally, he asked her to show them something. She seemed afraid however, and Shad continued to persuade her. Link gave her some encouragement and she attempted it. Whatever was intended seemed to go astray, though, as she succeeded only in creating a flash of light and a bitter smell.

She was very upset by this, and it took both of them to console her of it.

The attempts went on for a while after that, but could produce nothing but that. Finally, as the sun was setting, they headed back into the camp. The three of them ate quickly and headed off to the tents, joining the others who were already asleep.

As their tents were the last in the row, Link and Zelda found themselves alone for a few moments.

"I'm sorry," she said while they walked, "I should've…"

"No, it's alright," Link insisted, "You'll get ahold of it."

"I don't…"

"Yes, you will. I promise you."

There was a brief pause filled with silence of the night, before Zelda spoke again.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"It's al…" Link began.

"Thank you for everything," Zelda continued, "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I'd still be…"

"I wouldn't be here either if you weren't there with me."

"Really?" Zelda asked. There was a hint of confusion in her voice.

"Yes. We got each other out of there, I'm sure of it."

Another silence, a longer one.

"Goodnight," she said suddenly, "Goodnight Link."

"Goodnight Zelda."

With that abrupt parting, they both disappeared into their tents.

It was hours later as Link lay awake. He was exhausted but couldn't make himself sleep. There was something too important to let him sleep. Link could feel power buzzing in his fingertips, as if in preparation for something. He could feel it out there. It was coming, whatever it was. Some strange, innate sense told him this. If Link stood, he would have been able to point to it. It lay in the direction they traveled. It was out there, in the night, waiting for him. Not any of the others, only him. Link could feel this in the buzzing of his fingers and the strange pull in his head. It was coming for him, just as he was coming for it.

Prey and predator, but who knew which was which?