Chapter 12
After a few hours of rest we move out and get back to the main room, the fourth flame had gone back to the torch and the gate opens up.
"Further into the creepy abandoned prison we go..." I said as we walk up the stairs. At the top are some strange gears visible through some cracks in the floor. One of them looks like a specific shape fits in the ground like a key. We continue through to the next room and it's a large open room and there's a massive sword in the middle with weird seals tied to ropes tied to the hilt to the ground.
"What is this?" Link asked reaching for one of the ropes,
"Link don't!" I said as his hand brushes against it and the rope breaks. Glowing red words appear on the blade as the rest of the seals burn off and disappear. The blade lifts out of the ground and floats in front of us. Link transforms into a wolf and attacks whatever is holding the large sword and once Link attacks it turns visible showing the massive demonic like ghost screeching at us. Link transforms back and the ghost floats up into the air too far for Link to reach with his sword. I shoot it with my arrow and it lands on the ground and Link give it the finishing blow. Both it and the sword disappears, the door gate opens ahead of us and we enter. Inside is a large object that looks like a spinning top.
"Could be useful." Link said throwing the top out in front of him and it spins, he jumps on top and floats around. Link moves over to where there are some groves in the walls and the sides of the top fit and the top climbs up the side of the wall.
"That's pretty cool!" I said running after Link and he jumps off the wall and lands next to me. We use the top to get through the rest of the prison till we got to a large room full of sand and in the center of the sand is the remains of a very large monster. Link walks over towards the remains.
"Never seen anything like it..." Link said, there were several rusty swords imbedded in the remaining bones. A fierce battle happened to bring this monster down... Just as we're about to walk away Zant appears on top of the skull of the monster. Link quickly pulls out his sword and shield and stands in front of me.
"You still live? How astonishing. No wonder some call you hero. But this is truly a bitter sweet reunion... Truly! For I fear this is the last time I will see you alive!" he said as a sword appears above him and he strikes into the skull. The entire head glows for a second, almost like circuits ran through it and Zant disappears. Red eyes begin to glow in the empty sockets of the skull as the monster rises up to its waist almost like it was still alive.
"Get to higher ground." Link yelled as I run up before the ground beneath me sank in the sand. Link uses the top to glide on top of the sand and attack the part of the spine sticking out of the sand and I keep the head distracted above. I feel a chill down my spine as I turn around to see a hand reach for me, I quickly jump out of the way and shoot an arrow at it but is disappears... this has happened before!
"Link! You might want to hurry it up! I've got a friend up here!" I said,
"What?" he yells back, I don't think he heard me through the roars of the skeletal monster... how is it able to do that without vocal chords? Link strikes the monster again and its body breaks into dust until just the head remained. The sand disappeared and Links lowered down to the bottom. He used the top on a device that lifted the ground beneath him bringing him back to my level, I was keeping an eye out for any more magic appearing hands. I use Farore's wind to get over to Link but I almost don't make it,
"That was close!" I said,
"Yeah, let's not risk doing that again... what were you yelling about earlier?" he asked,
"A hand came out of nowhere and tried to grab at me." I said,
"Zant was using the fight as a distraction to get to you..." he said,
"Speaking of which, we need to destroy that sword." I said as Midna appears and pulls out the sword and link strikes it destroying it. A bridge appears making a path to a door. We walk through the door and make it back outside to a staircase, we climb up to the roof and get stopped by some shadow creatures. We quickly defeat them and walk over to a leaver and Link pulls it. Six chains pull up a rock from underneath the sands as we see a platform appear and Midna quickly flies over making a shocked face. We climb up and see that the mirror is broken. Midna's face changes from shock to anger as she lowers to the ground and looks down. I feel a familiar presence as I see five spiritual like beings on top of five of the six pillars above us.
"A dark entity lurks in the twilight... it houses an evil power... you who are guided by fate... you who possess the crest of the goddesses... hear us." one of them said, they all looked the same...
"At the command of the goddesses, we sages have guarded the mirror of twilight since ancient times. You seek it... but the mirror of twilight has been fragmented by mighty magic. That magic is a dark power that only he possess..." they said as my heart begins to throb, "his name is..." part of me screamed for them not to say it, "Ganondorf..." He said as all of my memories of Ganondorf come flooding back... I fall to my knees.
"Pura?" Link said as he and Midna rush over to me. I could feel by body begin to panic.
"Is it another attack?" Midna said as the sages come down to us.
"The daughter of the goddesses knows that name all too well for it was during the time of the great hero that he appeared."
"Who was he?" Link said as I lower my head,
"He was the leader of a band of thieves who invaded Hyrule in hopes of establishing dominion over the sacred realm." I said beginning to shake and link pulls me into his arms.
"Calm down, I've got you." Link said holding me tightly.
"He was known as the demon thief. an evil magic wielder renowned for his ruthlessness... but he was blind... the hero defeated him and we six sages brought him to justice... and yet... the Triforce of power still lingered inside of him..." they all begin to weep, "His abiding hatred and lust for power turned to pure malice... he killed one of us...Perhaps that evil power has been passed to Zant.." he said as my body begins to calm down and I hold onto Links tunic.
"You're just now figuring out where Zant got his power? It's far too late..." Midna said,
"Only the true leader of the Twili can utterly shatter the mirror of twilight... so Zant could merely break it into pieces. Once broken by magic, the mirror of twilight became fragments, which even now lie hidden across the land of Hyrule. One is in the snowy mountain heights... One is in an ancient grove... and the other is in the heavens... you who have been sent by the goddesses... you should be able to gather the three pieces... But you must be prepared, for a dangerous power resides in those fragments...
"Have you calmed down?" Midna asked looking concerned, I nod slightly.
"S...sorry..." I said... Ganondorf... the one who took me from my home and called me his... Little Bird...
"His grip on the daughter of light is tightening, her body is trying to protect itself..." one of the sages said,
"His grip...?" I said, "This is me rejecting his magic?"
"Yes, for you are the true Triforce the thing he desires most," one said as one of the Sages walks up to us. "Stand up." He said as I look at Link and he lets me go and helps me up. "Remove your scarf," he said and I remove it. The sage lays his hand on my chest then slowly pulls it away. My chest starts to burn as it feels like something is being pulled out of my chest. I grab onto Link to support as the pain stops. In the Sages hand floated a piece of magic.
"That! Looks like the one that was pulled out of Link!" Midna flies over,
"That was inside me?" I said stepping back.
"Its how he kept track of you... this was also how you were able to travel through the twilight." he destroys the magic, "This should stop the pain,"
"So they were never panic attacks... it was him." I said tightening my fist. "I will never be his... little bird!" I scoff but this time those words don't cause my chest to hurt. But still saying it made it uncomfortable. "I'm not afraid anymore..." I said turning to Link who looked worried,
"We can't allow the evil to get his hands on her again..." the sage said,
"Then we better go look for those mirror pieces." I said putting my scarf back on then smiling at Link,
"You have so much confidence." he smiles back,
"The things that were holding me back are gone. I can go all out." I said as I could feel the winds around me stir. I look back and the sages are gone.
"Where should we look first?" Midna asked,
"They said one piece is in the mountains..." Link said,
"That woman, Ashei, she said there was a mountain... that there was evil there..." I said
"Let's head to Castle town, see if she's found anything else out." Link said as he looks at Midna and we warp to the front of Castle town. I felt a little sick.
"You alright?" Midna asked,
"Yeah... I think now that the magic is out of me, warping makes me feel weird." I said,
"We'll keep warping to a minimum then." Link said as we enter castle town and Midna hides in Link's shadow while we head to Telma's bar.
"Hey!" Telma said and we walk up to the bar counter, "How's Ilia? I'm sure that shaman will find a way to get her memory back. That Renado is a talented man, for sure! Anyway honey, you've got your own things to worry about, so you just make sure you do what needs doing right now okay? Ashei has some information for you."
"Thanks Telma," Link said and we walk over to the others, "where is she?" Link asked
"She's up on Hyrule's northern mountain, checking things out, she's got good instincts, trust me. If you need directions there on the map on the table." she said, and we look at the map,
"Ashei is over here just past the Zora domain." Shad pointed out.
"I didn't know there was a path into the mountains from there." I said,
"It's only known to a few," Auru said,
"Then let's go see Ashei at the mountain," Link said and we leave castle town, and head upriver towards the Zora domain. Near the riverside is a cave that leads to the base of the mountain.
"Be wary, the weather on Snowpeak has been treacherous, not to mention the monsters..." The Zora guarding the entrance of the cave said,
"That's not ominous at all," I joke and we walk through the cave and a person wearing a strange head cloak that looked like a snow monster was standing to the side looking at us. Bellow us was a frozen lake with ice floating around.
"Link, Pura?" the person said pulling off their headgear showing that it was Ashei, "What brings you to a dangerous place like this?"
"We heard from Telma that you were here, what's going on?" Link said,
"Ever since Zora's domain got covered in ice, this mountain's been much colder than usual, yeah? Not only that, but I heard a really weird story from the Zora's, Apparently, the beast that lives somewhere in this mountain has been seen frequently in Zora domain, I was curious, so I came and waited... and as they said, a giant appeared! It looked like this..." She hands Link a rough sketch of a harry monster, It looks like an abominable snowman. "Apparently this thing has been stealing red fish from the village. I want to investigate further... but I can't even see the path through this blizzard, yeah?" she said,
"We won't be able to find our way through that either..." I said to Link,
"I've got an idea!" Link said grabbing my hand and pulling me away, "Thanks Ashei."
"What your idea?" I asked,
"Well, he's after the red fish right?" he blushes, "I... I can track the scent in my wolf form..."
"That could work... we just need to get our hands of that fish." I said,
"Let's go ask the Zora's which type of fish the monster keeps taking." Link said and we head out on another quest. We go up to one of the Zora's and show him the picture Ashei drew,
"The red fish? That's a reek fish! We didn't think that anyone besides Prince Ralis was capable of catching this type of fish..." he commented,
"So the prince is the only one who can help us catch this fish." I comment,
"Sorry, Pura... I'd take too long to ride to Kakariko village..." Link said,
"I'll push through." I said as we warp to Kakariko village. We walk around and Meg passes by us.
"Hey Meg! Have you seen Ralis?" Link asked,
"Oh! He's in the graveyard, that's where he always is." she tells us and we head over to the graveyard and head to the King Zora's grave. We find Ralis sitting next to it. We swim over to him and he stands up and turns to us.
"Is... is your name Link?" he asked,
"Yes," he said,
"My mother came to me in a dream... she showed me your image. She spoke of a youth who would save our domain and steer my fate. One named Link. I must thank you for all you've done if there is anything I can ever do for you, please tell me." Ralis said,
"Actually, could you tell us how to catch a reek fish?" he asked,
"The reek fish feeds on a very valuable type of coral, and without that bait, even our best fishers cannot catch one. Look closely, Link... my earring is made of this coral. I would like to give it to you." He hands Link the earring. It's a coral earring that is in the shape of a fish hook. "I received it from my mother... But it's fine. I no longer need it. As I look at you, I get a sense of what my mother wanted, what I should be doing now... I will return to my village. The reek fish can be found near the mother and child rocks in the waterfall basin near my village, the reek fish are red so I think you should be able to spot them..." Ralis said as we thank him and leave the grave before teleporting back to the Zora domain.
"Are you alright Pura? You're looking a little pale..." Link said,
"I'll be fine as long as we don't warp for a little while..." I said, "You get the fish I'll rest for a bit." I said as he pulls out a small fishing rod and goes over to the water and starts fishing. After only a few minutes he brings back a reek fish.
"That was easy!" Link said and I walk over to him.
"Uh! That stinks!" I said covering my nose. The smell was starting to make me nauseous.
"Yeah, but that'll help me track." Link said holding out the fish and I take it. He transforms into a wolf and starts to smell it than transforms back. "C'mon," and we walk back to the base of Snowpeak. Ashei was gone so we didn't have to worry about her seeing Link transform and we make our way across the frozen lake to the other side where the blizzard was howling. "Take off your scarf and hold onto one end,"
"Why?" I asked taking it off.
"I'm going to hold onto the other side so we don't get separate in the storm," he said transforming and biting the other end of my scarf and pulling me with him.
We start our climb up through the blizzard. I could barely see Link in front of me... not to mention that my hands were starting to go numb but I hold on to the scarf trying not to let go. We finally make it out of the storm and Link transforms back. We enter a cave and I quickly wrap the scarf back around my neck but it didn't help much since it was as cold as I felt...
"Don't like the cold..." I said shivering,
"We'll get you warm soon," Link said as we explore the cave.
