Getting to the Temple of Light did not seem easy considering that it was in the desert, with its sloped, sandy surfaces that made it impossible to climb in order to get where they wanted to go. After several attempts of climbing both as a Hylian and as a wolf, Link found the road impassable. Midna was unable to help him jump onto the sandy ledge, she had lost that power when she gave up her imp form. Link, now in his Hylian form, ran along the edge of the slope, trying to find any way to get up. He tried using several of his items to see if he could loosen any part of it, but to no avail. As he was pacing back and forth, puzzling over it, Midna sighed and beckoned him over to her.
"Listen…Link." She began carefully. "I think I know of a way for us to get up there, but its dangerous. I never gave you this option before but…there's a Twili spell, which allows you to create your own paths. But it's dangerous…it's really complicated and if I mess it up then you could be seriously hurt…and then there's the side effects. If you hold the power of the spell too long, you'll be plagued with the darkness of the Twili realm. And the removal process has to be done slowly over time, because if it is done to fast it could kill you. The problem is that even though it is slowly being drained out of you, you're still exposed to it and therefore still susceptible to the side effects. It wouldn't be a problem if you were a part of the Twili race, where the darkness runs in our veins, where we feed upon its power. But for a person of light, a person like you, it can spread through you like a disease, turning you toward a darker design. It's dark magic…evil magic. Something Zant would have used, which is exactly why I don't want to put it on you. And I can't put it on myself, because Twili magic can never be performed on oneself. Thankfully, you're about as close to the light as a person can get, considering you're the chosen hero and all. It'll take longer for the effects to catch up to you."
Link cringed inwardly. He wasn't so sure he was close to the light. Your heart is plagued by selfish desires. It seemed that this one bit of information followed him everywhere and riddled him with guilt.
Link realized Midna was still talking. "…still think it's a bad idea, but I know that you'll say yes anyway. That's just who you are, Mr. Hero." She sighed, and Link thought it sounded almost like an affectionate sigh. She turned and looked at him. "Am I wrong?" She asked.
Link grinned and shook his head. Midna sighed again, nodded, and bit her lip. "Hylians and Twili magic shouldn't mix." She muttered, and Link humorously recalled the bags he carried that were embellished with Twili magic, so that all of his items shrunk down to incredibly small sizes, so that he could fit practically everything into one pouch, and every item became so light it was like it wasn't even there.
Midna began chanting in a strange tongue, the ancient language of her tribe's ancestors. She held out her hands carefully toward Link. The tattoos along her body began to glow, illuminating her features. Her sharp red eyes were narrowed in concentration as she continued with the spell. Link began to feel tingly, and slowly it felt like there was heat prickling around him. He swallowed thickly as the chant continued on. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck, and then suddenly Midna began to pick up speed, saying words in the strange dialect faster and faster, until a faint glow surrounded Link, and suddenly he felt like he'd been dunked in icy water. He gasped, and Midna faltered, her gaze worried, and in that split second it felt like Link was being pierced by a hundred knives. He couldn't help it, he screamed, long and loud, the pain blinding. Midna cried out, he thought it was his name that she said, but he couldn't tell. He managed to look at her and his gaze said all. Finish it. Midna nodded, took a deep breath, and picked up a few lines from where she left off.
Slowly, the pain began to fade away as the spell was continued. Link closed his eyes, suddenly exhausted, and then felt a heavy weight in his chest, like a stone had been dropped on his heart. He opened his eyes, and Midna let out a breath of relief. She ran to him, taking his face in her hands gingerly. "Are you alright? Did it work?" She put one arm around his shoulders as he faltered, his knees suddenly weak. The intense heat from the desert was not helping. Raising a shaky, extraordinarily pale hand, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and summoned the weight in his chest to his fingertips. He opened his eyes to see a shadow fly out of his hand and carve a path upward in the sand. It worked.
"Oh thank goodness." Midna gasped. "I'm going to start to take it off of you now." She said, and reached her hand out. She placed her fingers gently on Link's forehead, and closed her eyes. Link felt some of the weight begin to soften. "There, it should slowly begin to make its way out of your system." She said with a sigh. She straightened up suddenly, as if embarrassed. "Now come on Mr. Hero, we have a temple to get to." She snapped, sounding much more like herself.
Link transformed into a wolf, because even though his fur coat made the heat even more unbearable, his paws were a lot quicker across the sand than his legs. Midna didn't seem at all out of breath as she jogged alongside him, keeping pace as he sprinted on his four legs.
At long last, they made it to the oasis. There was a path that lead straight into the surprisingly large lush area, and Link and Midna walked in cautiously, knowing all too well to never trust an unknown place, no matter how beautiful. As they made their way down the dirt path, looking around, there was nothing of interest to be found, except at the very end of the path. There was a gorgeous spring in the middle of the path, and beyond it the temple. A incredible building made of white stone and had vine tendrils, with bright, exotic purple flowers dotting them, climbing along the several pillars on the outside that held the structure up, and disappearing into the entrance. Link, however, was still exhausted from the spell, and knew that he couldn't go in just yet, as much as he might want to. He stumbled toward the spring, and fell to his knees just on the outside of it and filled an empty bottle of his with water. He drank it down thirstily while Midna kept watch. She looked up at the sinking sun. "We'll rest out here tonight, and in the morning we'll take on the temple." She said. Link nodded wearily, watching the small fish in the spring flit around. He pulled out his fishing pole and launched it into the water. It wasn't long before one took hold, and he was able to yank it out of the water.
This particular fish was called the Clearwater Springfish, roughly 14 inches (35 cm) in size. It wasn't the largest fish around, but definitely big enough for a meal. Link typically wasn't the type to kill fish, he was more into the catch and release type of fishing, but he was hungry and there wasn't too many options. He used the tip of his sword to cut off the fish's head, effectively killing it. He made quick work of gutting the fish, and then took the meat to one of the lantern posts outside the entrance of the temple. When it was done, he held out some of it toward Midna, who wrinkled her nose but took the fish anyway. "How do you people eat this stuff?" She mumbled as she bit into it. Link, who was already half way through his fish, gave her a grin. When their bellies were full, Midna took the first watch, while Link curled up under the canopy of leaves and fell to the welcoming darkness of sleep.
