Chapter 12: The Tower of the Gods

"The Hero of Time? Are you crazy?!" Tetra shouted rather loudly, making King pull his head back. "No, there's no possible way! You think this…kid…is the Hero of Time?"

"Perhaps, but perhaps not, that is for the Gods to decide," King spoke.

"And what if he isn't, huh? Will we have come all this way for nothing? What about Link, what will happen to him?"

King looked away. "He who fails the test…" he began, then paused for a moment. "…Will die," he finished after a time.

"Die?!" Tetra shouted. "So you're going to send this kid in to die?"

"If Link is the Hero of Time then he will prevail!" King shouted rather suddenly, which caused Tetra to jump back some.

Link had been listening, but his eyes had been fixated on the tower before him. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He then slowly exhaled, then opened his eyes once more. "I'm not afraid."

"Are you certain?" King asked.

"Definitely. I will conquer this tower or die trying."

"Are you both nuts?!" Tetra shouted and smacked Link over the head. "You go in there and you'll be killed! What will your Grandma think if she hears that? Don't you have a sister to save anyway?"

"I am saving her!" Link shouted rather suddenly, this threw Tetra back as well. He balled up his fists and closed his eyes. "I am saving her…I need the Master Sword to defeat Ganon and that bird…without it, I can't do anything. If I don't beat them, my sister will never be saved. The only way to get the Master Sword, though, is to conquer this tower."

"Then you'll do it for your sister?" Tetra asked. "You'll hold her in your heart, hoping she will aid you?"

Link nodded. "My family is my strength."

"Peh…" Tetra folded her arms and turned away. "Family…family's just a waste of time…" She reached into her shirt and pulled her necklace out once more. King's eyes went wide at the sight of the necklace, but he did not speak. After a moment, Tetra returned the necklace to under her shirt then turned back to Link. "Fine, you can go in there if you want. Take your little test and see if you're some great hero of times passed, but leave me out of it."

"Don't worry, you will have a different role to play in this," King spoke. "Your role will not be here, though."

"Then why did you drag me here?"

"For reasons I cannot explain of this time. You are important to saving this land from the evils of Ganon, but how important…that has yet to be seen."

"Well, guess you better get going." Tetra shoved Link over the side of the boat.

"Wah!" Link shouted as he fell, splashing into the water only a few inches below him. "Why did you do that for?"

"You've got a Tower to conquer, and I didn't see you moving to conquer it."

Link growled. "I'll conquer it, just you watch!" Link turned to look back at the tower then began to swim forward.

"Peh…he'll come crawling back…just you wait and see…He's no Hero of Time…" Or…is he? Green clothes, courage beyond any I've ever seen…What if he really is the Hero of Time reborn? But why would he come back after all these years? Why didn't he come back when the ancient kingdom needed him most?

Link continued to swim forward until he had swam inside of the tower. There he found the land went up and into dry ground. He quickly climbed out of the water then looked around. "I'm here!" he called out. "I'm here to take the Trial of the Gods!"

"Chen kianzu dea alede ali Jasra ke ali Jeilzu," a firey, female voice spoke in a whisper.

"Ije mii penalizu," a fluid, female voice spoke in a whisper.

"Reinelzu, ani iste maff chien chen zoirunzu ali Gau Urerinaku," a more earthen, yet still female voice spoke.

"So ein qui hengu," the firey voice spoke. "Chaihen, iste tain zoirun ali Gau Urerinaku?"

"Uh…huh?" Link asked, his face going pale. He had been asked a question, but he knew not the language.

"Tain rebei dea ka hemlai, Reinel," the fluid voice spoke.

"You have no understanding of the Old Language?" the earthen voice asked.

"Err…no…sorry…I don't…"

"We understand," the fluid voice spoke.

"We are the Goddesses of Hyrule," the three began in unison. "We are Din, Nayru, and Farore, Creators of Hyrule and all the world."

"Hyrule?" Link asked.

"You do not know of Hyrule?" the firey voice asked.

"No…should I?"

The voices were silent for a moment before the fluid voice spoke up. "It is not important at this time. Why have you entered this sacred place, the Tower of the Gods?"

"To take the Trial of the Gods. I seek to claim the Master Sword."

"The Master Sword?" the three voices asked in unison. "Then could he be the one? Has the plan finally succeeded?"

"Boy, of this we must ask you," the earthen voice spoke. "What is your name and of where do you hail from?"

"My name is Link, and I come from Outset Island."

"The Hero's Island," the fluid voice spoke.

"And the Hero's name," the firey voice spoke.

"Then of this we challenge thee, brave Link," the voices spoke in unison. "In this tower your power, wisdom, and courage shall be tested. Have courage enough, and you shall find the way to the Master Sword. However, only one who holds no hatred and no desire for revenge in his heart may touch the sacred blade, for it is a blade that no evil may touch. A trial you must pass here, but a final trial you must pass when you touch the blade as well."

"I understand," Link spoke.

"Then let your power, wisdom, and courage be tested in this, the Trial of the Gods," the voices spoke in unison once more, then faded away. Link looked around and torches lit all around him, finally lighting the tower.

Link's eyes went wide and he fell back upon the floor in shock. The room he now stood in was massive in size. Directly in front of him lied a large golden face upon a wall. From its mouth, water spewed forth into a moat that circled the room. Two other faces lied on either side of it as well, though their mouths lied closed. To the left of him was a single door, but in front of the door lied a strange square symbol. To his right was another door, though this one held no symbol.

Link turned to his left and entered the door with the symbol in front of it. Inside he found a large statue standing in wait for him. It stood atop a pedestal, and upon the pedestal were strange markings. As Link grew close to the markings he began to notice what they were. They were symbols showing the Wind Waker, and a set of waves much like he had seen at Dragon Roost Island.

Immediately, Link drew his Wind Waker and began to wave it in the same pattern. When he finished, the statue's eyes began to glow, and a deep voice spoke forth. "This is the Command Melody. Unto you I give it. Using the Wind Waker, you will use this melody and my mind will link to yours. Whatever you wish of me I will do. Close your eyes and see through my eyes. I am your servant from now until you release me."

Link did as the voice spoke, and when his eyes were closed, his vision seemed to shift. He found himself looking through the eyes of the statue. He rose a foot, but instead of raising his foot, the foot of the statue rose. Link then took a step forward, only to find the pedestal was only as large as the statue, causing the statue to fall to the ground. Link pushed as if to push himself up, finding the statue did just as he did, and it pulled itself up off the ground.

To the door, Link thought. He walked forward, towards the door, finding that his one feet did not move, but when he moved his feet in this vision, his feet controlled the statue's feet, causing it to walk forward, stopping at the doorway. When his eyes opened, he noticed the statue seemed to pull itself together, returning to the position it had been in on the pedestal. "So, I control it like that, do I?" he asked himself, then ran to the statue. He quickly opened the door and waved the Wind Waker once more, closing his eyes.

The statue pulled itself up and he walked it forward until it reached the square symbol upon the floor. When the statue touched it, Link felt himself thrust back, and his control was lost. The statue that shifted into a new position and covered the symbol upon the floor. When it did, a second symbol, this time a circle, appeared in front of the door that now lied in front of him. As well, the left face's mouth had opened and now water was pouring from it as well. He also noticed the water coming from the middle face seemed to have lessened now.

"So, these symbols control those faces. I'll bet there's something behind that middle face, and if I put a statue on each symbol I'll be able to get through." Quickly, Link rushed forward into the second room, finding himself staring up at the statue above him. It lied at the top of a set of stairs, but there was only one problem. In this room, Link heard the sound of electricity passing around the room. He was not alone.

Soon Link found himself surrounded by a circle of strange yellow blobs. Electricity seemed to spark from the gel that was their body, and each seemed to stare at Link. "What the hell are these?"

"You don't know about Chuchu?" Tetra's voice asked over the stone Link wore. "They're a gel-like creature. You won't be able to kill them with anything you have, even if you had a sword. On top of that, these things are Yellow Chuchu, so they're electric. Touch them, and you'll get quite a zap."

"Then what do I do?"

"I don't know, you're the one taking the Trial."

Link growled a little then closed his eyes. He thought for a moment as the chuchu seemed to slowly grow closer to him. He reached down and into his pouch, pulling out his Fairy Boomerang. He then opened his eyes and tossed the boomerang forward. It spun and chopped right through one of the chuchu, cutting it in half. It then circled around under Link's command and chopped through the others before returning to his hand. The Chuchus, however, seemed mostly unaffected. It had cut them in half, but this seemed to have only caused Link to have twice as many to fight as before.

"Aww damn…" Link spoke as he stared at the chuchu around him. "Now what?" Link shouted, then noticed something. With a little luck, the jellies may have been just short enough for him to jump over. With a quick thrust with his feet he launched himself into the air and over the jellies and onto the ground behind them. At once, the jellies pulled themselves together, forming one massive chuchu. "Oh…shit…" Link spoke as he stared at the creature now before him.

Link quickly pulled his Fairy Boomerang out once more, preparing himself to fight if need be. He quickly stepped back, making his way up the steps while keeping a close eye on his enemy. It was there, at the top, when he noticed something about this statue, it looked similar to a wizrobe, a sort of mage creature.

Quickly, Link pocketed his boomerang and waved the Wind Waker once more. When he did, he closed his eyes and the statue rose to life. Through the eyes of the statue, he now could see what he had hoped for was true. He rose the statue's hand up and a ball of flames appeared in its hand. It then tossed the ball down, striking the chuchu before him, causing it to roar. Hearing such a thing come from a mass of jelly was strange, but Link paid little attention to it.

With another blast of fire, the chuchus were pushed back and slid down the stairs. Finally, Link struck them with a blast of ice, freezing them in place. He then walked the statue down the stairs and out of the door, where he set it upon the circular symbol. When he did, the third face opened its mouth, and the middle face closed its. This caused water to rush through two of the faces but left the middle open, revealing a stairway upward.

Quickly, before the chuchus could melt into jelly once more, he rushed his way up the stairs. "You have passed the Trial of Wisdom," the fluid voice spoke.

"But can you pass the Trial of Courage?" the earthen voice asked.

At once, the torches around Link lit once more and his eyes went wide. Before him lied a massive pit. There appeared no way across, and Link gulped as he looked down into it, seeing eternal blackness. "I didn't climb that far up…did I?" he asked.

"Only one way to know," Tetra's voice spoke over the stone once more. "Fall and you'll know, but you'll probably also die."

"That's not much help!" Link spoke up, then looked forward. He looked up to the ceiling where he noticed several small chandelier-like things hanging from the ceiling. "Only one way across…" he spoke. He pulled out his grappling hook and tossed it up to one of the chandeliers and it wrapped around one. He tugged, noticing the chandelier-like object wasn't attached to a chain, but was instead attached to a metal pole that did not move. He gulped once more and stepped to the edge where he jumped forward, gripping the rope hard. He flew forward a ways, then rocked back. He soon found himself just dangling there and he bit his lip as he pulled himself up to the chandelier-like object.

Unhooking the grappling hook, Link then tossed it across the room and onto another object. He pulled once more, then breathed a heavy sigh. "I can do this…courage…" He pushed off and flew through the air once more. The fall gave him enough momentum to rise up towards a third chandelier, which he reached out for, barely grabbing with his hand. He bit his lip again as he stared down at the eternal blackness below him. Once slip, and he was a goner.

Link pulled himself up onto the third chandelier, then gripped it tight as he looked around. "There has to be an end to this somewhere…the tower wasn't that wide…" It was then that he saw it, ground, just a single swing away. However, there was nothing to grab onto, so he would have to hook his grappling hook to where he was and swing across.

With great difficulty, Link hooked the grappling hook to the chandelier, then let himself drop down until the rope snagged, stopping his fall. He then turned towards the ground and began to swing himself back and forth. His momentum steadily increased and with each swing he grew closer and closer to the ground. However, it soon became apparent that he had only one choice, that was to let go of the rope at the exact moment and hope he would catch the ground.

"Courage…" Link spoke as he continued to swing. "I can do this…I can do this…I can do this!" he shouted. As he swung forward the final time, at the peak of his arc, he let go of the rope. He reached his hand forward, hoping he was right. As he began his descent, Link noticed the ground was further then he had thought, and at first he began to panic.

However, something shined forth in Link's heart, something his Grandma had once said. "With the right amount of courage, you can do anything," was what she had said. He pulled himself together quickly and stretched his hand out as far as he could. Just barely, his fingers gripped the edge of the land. His second hand soon rose to grab the edge and he pulled to try and pull himself up. His feet soon found a foothold and he set them there, pushing up and soon pushing himself out of the hole and onto the ground.

"Oh my gosh!" Link shouted and fell onto his back. "That was scary shit!"

"You have passed the Trial of Courage," the earthen voice spoke.

"Now all that remains is the Trial of Power," the firey voice spoke. "Ascend the stairway and prepare yourself. Your greatest trial awaits."

Link let himself catch his breath while waiting for the adrenaline rush in his system to die down. His body was shaking, showing he had been afraid. However, to that, he remembered another statement of his Grandma's. "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to push through that fear and do what you must."

Link pulled himself up and took a final deep breath. He then turned to the staircase before him and began the ascent up to the final stage of the tower. "I'm here!" he shouted once he reached the top. "I'm ready for the final trial!"

"Then let the Trial of Power begin," the firey voice spoke. In an instant, two large, stone hands fell to the ground. They slowly rose into the air, and Link noticed they weren't attached to anything. In the centers of each hand lied a small, machine-like eye. However, that was not all that awaited him. A head made of stone, looking much like the head of a King wearing a crown appeared behind the hands. The hands then came together as fists, striking knuckle to knuckle with one another. "Behold, the greatest test of power, the great Gohdan!"

"Oh boy…" Link spoke and sighed. "We've got our work cut out for us today, don't we? You could have just said 'No, I don't think I'll be the hero this time' but NO you wanted to be the hero. You had to rescue your sister…and now look at where you are…" He shrugged. "Eh, such is life I suppose." Quickly, one of the fists came down to strike, but Link quickly jumped out of the way. "I've got…well…" Link reached into his pouch once more and pulled out his grappling hook. "A hook! Yeah! A hook! I'm not afraid to use it either!"

Suddenly, one of the hands grabbed Link's grappling hook, crushing the end of it and Link's eyes went wide. "Eep…" he squeaked out. "I wish I hadn't melted my sword!" he shouted as he quickly darted away, searching around for anything he could use as a weapon. "There must be something around here…a stick, a piece of metal, a stone…anything!" He then found himself tripping on something, causing him to fall to the ground.

"What tripped me?" Link asked as he turned. He found he had tripped upon the smashed remains of the last man who had tried to pass this trial. "Ack!" he shouted and jumped back. However, it was there that he noticed a bow and quiver, still in tact. He quickly scooped the bow up and grabbed and arrow, aiming up at his opponent. "I have a bow! I'll use it!" he shouted, then stopped and thought for a moment. "Why am I threatening a piece of stone? It's not going to listen!"

Quickly, Link took aim, aiming at one of the eyes on the hands. He let go and the arrow sailed forward, striking the eye dead on. The entire hand went into a violent fit, then collapsed to the ground. "That's one!" he shouted. He then aimed the bow a second time, firing it at the second hand's eye. This one hit direct on as well, sending the second hand into a violent fit before it collapsed to the ground. "How am I doing that?" he asked as he stared at the bow. "Is this a magic bow as well?"

Gohdan's eyes grew larger and its mouth opened wide. Suddenly, a huge blast of fire was forced out of Gohdan's mouth, aiming for Link. He quickly jumped back, then rushed around behind Gohdan. As it turned, Link hit Gohdan in one of its eyes with the arrow. Gohdan roared then turned down to look at Link as a second arrow rose up, striking him in the other eye.

Gohdan roared and its head shook violently before collapsing to the ground, its mouth wide open. The head seemed to twitch, as if trying to get up but being unable to. Link aimed the arrow into its mouth and fired, but it seemed to have no effect. The statue's head just continued to twitch as it lied there. "Is it dead, then?" Link asked, but soon the hands began to slowly rise up, preparing to attack once more. "I'll guess not…" he spoke and turned.

It was there, upon the edge of the tower, that Link saw a strange sight. A small black orb-like plant with a flower on the top of it. Suddenly, visions seemed to enter his mind, a memory of a time he couldn't possibly know. Soon two words came to his mouth "Bomb Flower". He quickly shook his head and rushed forward. The memories had told him what he needed to know.

Link quickly scooped the flower up and turned, tossing it forward. Gohdan's head slowly began to rise, its mouth still hanging open. The Bomb Flower landed directly inside the statue's mouth, and as it closed its mouth, the flower exploded. Cracks quickly formed around the statue's mouth at first, which then seemed to expand out further. Soon, Gohdan's head roared before it exploded. The hands then collapsed to the ground, and Link stared forward at the destruction.

"Is it…finally dead?" he asked, then looked up.

"You have passed the Trial of Power," the fiery voice spoke.

"You have passed the Trial of Wisdom," the fluid voice spoke.

"And you have passed the Trial of Courage," the earthen voice spoke.

"Now, Hero of Time, climb the stairs," the three spoke in unison. "Ring the bell, let the Great Sea hear the song of the Hero, and may your destiny and the truth of this world finally be revealed unto you." The voices faded, and Link stared forward.

"The truth of this world?" he asked. Finally, he stepped forward, climbing the stairs up the tower. There, at the top, he found himself standing before a magnificent bell. There was nothing else but the bell there, save for the pillars that held it up. Link reached forward and grabbed the bell string, then pulled on it, making the bell ring.

It was as if there was then a great melody of bells, as if forty different bells sang out in a different voice. Link felt the wind swirl around him and he was lifted into the air. He then found himself descending down, soon landing inside King once more. A smile was on King's face, and a look of anger, yet pleasure, was on Tetra's face. The wind then swirled around the tower and soon, a golden glow appeared in the center of the ring. "This is it, Link, the truth now lies before us," King spoke.

"The truth?" Link asked and King gave a nod.

"The truth of this world, and the truth about what happened to the ancient kingdom four hundred years ago. Prepare yourself, we enter the light." Link and Tetra raised their hands as King seemed to sail himself directly into the light. The light shined up around them, and they closed their eyes. They knew not what they would soon discover.