The night of the full moon had arrived as Iris watched Sable prepare herself for the hunt. Strangely she did not take her sword and dagger with her, only wrapping her coat around her to protect herself from the cold. She gave Iris her jester hat with a nervous smile "Keep this safe for me, I'll be back at daybreak."

Iris questioned once more "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"No, I have to do this alone." Sable then nodded to Gorko who was at the doorway "Can you let me out of the city?"

They walked back up the ramp, most the Gorons were busy with their evening routines. Murmurs and whispers echoed as Sable walked past. Most knew about the hunting challenge between her and Darmani and were providing their own theories about how the night will unfold. Sable paid them no attention as she focused on the task at hand. When they arrived at the great stone door, Gorko performed a ground pound to open the colossal entrance. He smiled to her "Be careful, goro. I hope you know what you're doing, goro."

Sable laughed to herself "I hope so too."

She left the village in the dead of night to travel through the snowfields. The wind had settled that evening resulting in a picturesque winter wonderland to explore. The full moon hung above her like an ominous eye, watching her as she ran through the darkness. Strangely the moon was an ominous red, however Sable and none of the other creatures in the mountains even considered the warning it was giving.


Darmani was confident that he would best a mere child in hunting a deadly beast. He had heard of Fire Salamanders, a type of bipedal dodongo that could ignite its body with fire at will. The hide of such a creature would make a fine trophy and testament to his courage and power. Frustratingly the beasts seemed to live underground and were possibly the reason behind the hot springs dotted through the mountains. They only seemed to reach the surface in winter and oddly in tune with the full moon.

The bitter chill did not cut through Darmani's body as he marched onwards. He ventured deep into the mountains near Snowhead, the temple of the northern Giant. Regardless of the seasons it was permanently strangled by the grasp of winter. The clear sky and silence made it easy to spy towards the horizon in all directions. He smiled as he saw his mark as clear as day. A gleaming lizard with onyx and ruby scales calmly bathed in the moonlight. It was massive, easily towering over him, with curved spikes lining its body. Its tail wavered across the snow, etching patterns in the whiteness.

He cracked his knuckles with confidence, as far as he could tell there was no sign of Sable anywhere. He then curled into a ball and rolled towards his opponent. As he did, the gift of his bloodline came into effect, his rocky skin parted to reveal a series of spikes.

The Fire Salamander heard the Goron coming a mile away. Its webbed ears twitched as it raised its monstrous head with annoyance. Red eyes blinked momentarily before it lowered its head and braced itself. It scooped Darmani up effortlessly with its horns and tossed the Goron aside. A mane of flames danced along its spine and tail.

Darmani crashed into the snow and uncurled, before he could rise the Fire Salamander was already upon him. Open fanged jaws reached down to rip his face off, a fiery glow bubbling from its throat. Darmani resisted, throwing his hands up to catch the beast's snout and twisted the monster's head to the side. He narrowly avoided the surge of lava that poured from the beast and onto the snow.

The Fire Salamander snorted at him and turned to burrow back into the earth. Darmani charged forwards screaming "You are not running away!"

The creature head butted him again, sending the Goron back to the snow. Its mouth opened wide as its mouth glowed with flames once more. Darmani was utterly shocked as the Fire Salamander closed its maw and looked towards the distance.

What appeared to be a green fox was now sprinting towards them. For whatever reason the Fire Salamander appeared utterly terrified and enraged by its presence, wildly swinging its massive claws as its mane blazed blue. The little fox outmanoeuvred its cumbersome strikes, its bristled fur allowed it to grip the snow. The two monsters chased off into the distance leaving Darmani behind.

Beneath the guise of the Forest Fox, Sable felt her heart racing and her body ache as she propelled it in ways she never thought possible. Incapable of speech, she howled as she dived aside to evade the salamander's rampaging claws. They chased one another to a dead end by a frosty cliff. However in this new skin, Sable initiated her strategy using her newfound agility and lightweight frame to climb vertically. The Fire Salamander roared with fury as it lost its footing and collided with the cliff. Sable could easily climb these walls as she realised that the fox possessed spinnerets rather than claws. She kicked off the frozen stone and streamed long whips of spider silk in the process. Flames blazed stronger along the salamander's spine as it untangled itself form the momentary distraction.

It did not even see the scorpion stinger lashing out from beneath, its point aimed at its chest.

In one swift jab the Fire Salamander felt weak, its body became numb as the poison coursed through its veins. Its organs were in the grips of paralysis as it fell to the ground, its breath becoming weaker and its heartbeat almost stilled.

The Forest Fox stood before the fallen behemoth licking its paw. From this angle it revealed that the fox skin was merely a disguise to conceal the grotesque chelicerata that was the true monster. Darkness enveloped its form and shifted to reveal a girl with grey skin and evil eyes.

"So, a Gomess finally came for me." The voice of a fierce man invaded Sable's senses "Well played child. You alone bested me so you deserve to take my soul."

"I am honoured to do so." She bowed, her arm in the process became flecked with shadows. Her claw of tendrils reached out once more and struck the Fire Salamander's chest. Its body writhed as she tore out a gleaming red light. Her hand then reverted to normal as the darkness shed from her form like a second skin. The star of light had become one with her as her skin began to pulse with the energy.

Sable's breathing rasped as she knelt before the corpse of the Fire Salamander. It took all her strength not to collapse into the snow. The crunching of footsteps roused her awareness as she glanced over her shoulder.

Darmani paused in his stride as she looked back at him. He had witnessed the entire spectacle, never before did he even imagine such ancient creatures battling in the mountains. He nervously stated the obvious "You… you weren't lying, goro. You really are a Gomess, goro."

"I told you what I am…" she weakly answered "Now, I have to get to the Great Fairy, before…" Sable felt her body sway against her mind's wishes. A firm hand caught her before she fell completely. The last thing she saw before passing out was Darmani's petrified face looking down at her.


When she finally opened her eyes she was no longer in that snowfield. Sable was looking at a beautiful glacial palace up ahead. Crystal spires reached out to touch the sky as the structure perched upon high spires of stone. A deep canyon served as the moat while a large winding snowy path was the bridge. All around this frozen kingdom were high walls of snowy mountains. A constant thump was heard as the keeper of this small sanctuary went about his business. Sable gasped softly as she noticed the massive Goron walking in the canyon. He was so tall that the canyon only came up to his waist. He waved in her direction "Evening Darmani, goro"

"Evening Biggoron, goro" replied Darmani

Sable then realised Darmani was carrying her over his shoulders. She attempted to climb down but found her body was still too weak to walk on her own. Darmani felt her awaken as he grunted "Good to see you're awake, goro"

Her mind struggled to form a sentence "What… wait, where…"

"I'm taking you to Snowhead, goro."

She tilted her head, utterly bewildered by his actions "But why?"

"I may not like you, goro. But after watching you fight that monster, I do respect you, goro."

"Same," Sable informed as she leant over his head "It was pretty brave of you to charge towards the Fire Salamander… but I'd be a little more careful next time."

He did not turn "How so, goro?"

"When you rush in and focus on one thing, you lose sight of everything else. That's just asking for trouble." Sable let out a sigh "You seem to be a good person Darmani and your clan loves you so don't throw your life away so recklessly."

"You forget who you're talking to, goro." Darmani boasted "The blood of Goron heroes flows through my veins, goro."

"That doesn't mean you're magically immune to death."

Darmani abruptly fell silent as the snow crunched beneath his heavy frame. He followed the path around to the base of the Snowhead Temple. Their journey did not ascend in any way as he manoeuvred to the back of the icy tower. Obscured by the glacial structures was a tunnel leading into darkness. A familiar aura of magic pulsed from within and beckoned Sable to enter.

"Are you alright, goro?" asked Darmani as Sable struggled down his back.

"I have to go alone… wait for me here" she said as she walked slowly away from him. She stumbled a little but kept moving, determined to see the Great Fairy. Remaining conscious was becoming harder as her first successful transformation had tired her body out in ways she did not think possible.

The darkness parted as the familiar tiled path came into view again. Iridescent stones framed the small pond of rippling water. Green light sparkled amidst the eternal cascade of raindrops that cut holes in the shadows. The water of the fountain danced as a celestial form solidified from the fluid with a mesmerising laugh. Another beautiful woman wrapped in vines and leaves appeared from the ether. Her hair was bright green and floated around her delicate form. Her emerald eyes looked down upon Sable.

"Greetings Gomess child, I am the Great Fairy of Snowhead"

Sable looked to her feet "I'm sorry to have bothered you… I killed the Fire Salamander…"

"The moment you killed it, it became one with you. Now to make it part of your soul once and for all so you may use its form"

Sable suddenly felt as light as a feather once more as she floated above the ground. A ruby star of light formed before her as her vision turned red, then white.

Caverns dancing with writhing magma invaded her vision. Despite this, she could feel no heat as the magma glowed gently amidst the darkened caves. The walls were devoid of paintings suggesting that not even the Gorons knew of this place. An ethereal Fire Salamander confidently approached her from a nearby tunnel. The creature bowed to her and she did the same gesture.

"You have shown me true power, it's no wonder the Forest Fox agreed to let you take its soul." said the fierce voice once more "When you need me, I will answer your call."

The red light pulsed over Sable's skin as she felt a burning sensation flare up in her chest. She fell to her knees and gritted her teeth.

When she stood once more, she was back at the Fairy Fountain. The burning pain had ceased completely. The Great Fairy smiled as she floated overhead. At that very moment Sable wanted nothing more than to collapse and not rise for weeks. However her perseverance forced her to remain awake and respectful towards the magical entity. After all, the fairy did not have to speak with Sable at such a late hour of the night.

"You witnessed the true form of the beast's soul. It is now part of you and willingly accepts you as its master," informed the fairy "You are doing very well in collecting the legendary beasts. But I fear the next ones will be the most difficult to claim"

"Why do you say that?" replied Sable

"The Ocean Tiger is a very temperamental being and takes life as nothing more than a joke. It toys with everything, most go insane trying to find it"

"But surely the Fairy of Great Bay can help me?"

"She'd be the person you should see. However, you also possess the soul of a dragon in that pendant… It hasn't even acknowledged you as worthy yet." The fairy sighed a little "It won't even pay attention to you."

Sable clutched her fused shadow "Then how do I get it to acknowledge me?"

"With Ikana Valley the way it is you cannot enter to consult the wisdom of the Great Fairy of Ikana… then again she may not be able to help you at all. You should seek the Great Fairy who once lived in the Stone Towers, but be careful, for she is not like the rest of us."

Sable tilted her head, genuinely confused "Why not? Aren't the Great Fairies supposed to be the eyes of the Giants who watch over Termina?"

"There is another primal deity that watches over Termina." The Great Fairy reluctantly admitted "A great and terrifyingly fierce deity, the Oni… its fairy is the Great Fairy of the Twilight Realm… it was rumoured that she once dwelled in the Stone Towers, but no one has seen her since the fall of Ikana." She looked to the astonished child before her "You Gomess, you get your powers from the Twilight Realm, so there is no doubt in my mind, that one day you will confront this Great Fairy." She tried to give a comforting smile as she reassured "Do not fear her, for she'll mean no harm to your kind. That still does not help your current situation… Your best bet is to head to the Great Fairy of Clock Town."

"Thankyou for your help." bowed Sable

"Best of luck to you in your quest, no matter what path you choose now." The Great Fairy danced back into the water once more.

When Sable emerged she stumbled into the snow. A shadow loomed over her, looking up she saw Darmani had indeed waited for her. She shook her head "You're a jinx, every time I see you I just want to pass out."

He laughed heartily "Well we better get you back to the village then, goro." He scooped her up in his arms again, laughter continued to rumble out of him.

Sable growled "What's so funny?"

"You lecture me, but you can't even control your own powers, goro." Darmani mocked her "You need to know your own limitations, goro."

"You should be following your own advice."

"Don't tempt me to leave you out here to freeze, goro."