Chapter XIV: Her Fiery Right Hand
Nearly a week had passed since the tsunami stormed the shores of Dragonroost. It had stretched on for miles immeasurable, cleaving the night like a legion of ships that dwarfed anything man could build in both size and speed. The island was practically destroyed— not one tree remained standing, and most were uprooted entirely, tearing up the earth. The Rito emerged to survey the desolation of their home, and wept at the sight. Inside the mountain, several passages and caverns collapsed. Among the lost were homes and several crop caverns. Thankfully, none of the Rito themselves were actually harmed.
However, things did not bode well for the guests of the people. Most of the Rito blamed the Hyrulians for the recent turn of events. The elders reasoned that the tidal wave was caused by magic— nothing of such force or magnitude had ever been seen or heard of. Worse, they lost the oldest friend of their people, the staple of their culture and guardian of generations uncounted. Many believed that it was a catastrophe that would not have occurred… had it not been for the Hyrulians.
Komali heaved a sigh, then drank from the glass in his hand— cool water sweetened with mint leaves. Despite the fact that he had been prepared for these events and what would follow, Komali felt anxiety romping through his thoughts. Tension wracked his upper body and his heart was in a vice, and sleep seemed to elude him. He had hoped the honey would soothe his frustrated nerves; alas, the turmoil within him would not subside.
It had taken his people more than a week to restore some sense of order to the island and to their daily lives. The crew of the Anathema worked 'round the clock repairing their ship. It was damaged badly during the battle between Valoo and the tidal wave. After a few days, the elders demanded that the Hyrulians be put out of the mountain. The people were on the verge of becoming hysterical, and seemed to side with the elders. To appease them, Isaac chose to placate them and the Hyrulians had since bedded upon the ship. Isaac, Medli, and Komali continued to bring them food, and food for the crewmen as well.
Once the clean up and repairs were completed, the Rito resumed normal life within the mountain and the Hyrulians set about interpreting the writings in the journal left by the fallen hero with what information they had been provided. Isaac had not intended that he should not complete his council with the princess, and Komali wondered if Valoo had also hoped things would be cleaner than they were. It seemed that was never the way of it, Komali thought.
His thoughts were interrupted when Medli brushed past the curtain to his quarters and stepped inside. Komali was seated upon the floor, leaning his back against the wall next to his palette. Medli came and joined him. He had always cared for her. When his mother died, Medli became more than an adopted sister to him, something of a mother. It was a bond they never lost.
"Why have you come?" he asked without looking at her.
"Because I know you," she said, smiling. "Left to your thoughts, you will but brood and stew in your unrest."
He nodded, sipping from his glass. "Indeed, you know me well." He leaned forward and, setting his cup down, dry washed his face with his hands. "Medil, what do we do now?"
Medli shook her head. "You know I can't tell you that."
He turned to look at her. "I just… I don't understand why Valoo didn't prepare the people, too."
"You know why," she said, giving him a coy look. "There is nothing our people can do about any of it. It is best that they remain apart from this."
"Then why are we getting involved, Medli?" he demanded.
At that she studied him. She seemed almost surprised. "Is that what this is about?" she asked.
"What?" he answered.
"Are you… afraid of this?" she asked.
"Of what?" he said, looking away.
"Is it what may await at the altars? Or the Beast?" she asked, ignoring his deflection.
"No," he said.
"Then what is it?" she prodded.
"I don't know," he said. He stood and moved across the room, putting both hands on the cavern wall and putting his forehead against it. He stood there, silent, for several minutes. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his back and, sighing, he turned.
Medli stood before him, smiling though somehow clearly sad. "I did not come only to give you company. I know you have questions, and so do I. But I don't have the answers you crave and neither will you find them here. All that is left to do is face what lies ahead. You may not like what you find, but you'll find it."
Komali looked her in the eye, and knew she was right. It didn't quench his anxiety. But it helped him to put it aside for now. "Why else have you come?"
"Isaac is meeting with the elders," she said. "He has requested that we join him."
Komali nodded. "It's a little sooner than I expected."
Medli nodded in return. "Still, we were told to be ready. Have you packed your things?"
"Yes," he answered. "I prepared everything the night the Hyrulians arrived."
"Good," she said, smiling. "Are you ready?"
He nodded, and they both moved out into the passage, heading towards the council room.
Aryll trudged up the mountain passage, dimly lit by the torches lining the walls. She passed by several tapestries lining the walls of the corridor, and thought that they somehow illustrated the story that Valoo had told her. It was still difficult to comprehend, and more than that she found herself confused. She wanted nothing to do with whatever petty errand the Princess was on— for all anyone knew, all of those ancient writings were the drunken fantasies of some long dead, balding vagrants. Much less did she trust her…
But she felt a drive in her soul, one that had been gaining steam for some time. It had been pent up in her for a decade without observation. For as long as she could remember, Aryll had been quick to anger. When it took hold, her enemies fell before her like chaff, cut down without remorse or hesitation. But when she learned that her brother had died? It felt like the floodgates shattered and the anger came in a rage she had never known. And that rage had lit a fire in her, a fire for truth and vengeance. She wanted, needed, to know why her brother had died. Nothing would stop her now.
As she worked her way up the corridor, she could see another guard posted at a fork in the passages. She began to reach for the sword slung around her back. She had grabbed it from the ship on her way out. Her own had been lost or perhaps destroyed in the chaos of the tidal wave. As she approached the man he was clearly alerted as she began to draw her sword.
He was unarmed, but that meant nothing to her now. The anger began to take over again.
She drew the blade and held the point out as she moved toward the man, stopped with the tip just barely touching his chest. He seemed to fumble over his words, but managed to speak, "Wh-who are you?"
"That don't matter," she spat. "What does matter? I wanna find these Elders that cur Graybeard was talkin' about. Which way is it?"
The man swallowed a frog, and pointed to the passage going off to the left. "Th-that way," he said, stammering.
Aryll grabbed his tunic with her free hand and nearly threw the man down the tunnel. "Lead the way, bloke." The man stumbled, but regained his footing and, looking over his shoulder with his hands up, he proceeded down the passage way. Aryll nodded. It looked as though this little trip might prove beneficial after all.
Zelda made her way down the passage, led by a young Rito man. The ship had been repaired and Zelda had stayed there for the past week and few days. Zelda had been studying Link's journal when he came bearing a message, a request for audience from the Elders. She noted that the request did not come from Isaac and the Elders, but from the Elders alone. Judging from their interactions, Zelda had wondered how long the Chief and his Elders would be civil. She didn't know what to expect, but she hoped that she might be able to bring a few questions to Isaac.
She knew that he had not completed his tale, but she was actually grateful for the time. It gave her the opportunity to measure his words against Link's research. The odd thing was, what Isaac claimed to be true resonated with some of the writings in the Sages' Doctrine. A description of the geography contemporary to the time in which portions of it were written seemed to line up with what Isaac had said. More than that, the Goddesses were not mentioned in the portions of the document that were believed to be the oldest.
The clinching detail, however, was the Master Sword. Zelda had not been there for the moment Link found it and drew it from the stone it had rested in for millennia untold. But he wrote of it explicitly in his journal. When she had first read it, she didn't note some of the more curious details or consider the implications of what he found. But after speaking with Isaac… Upon the altar in which the sword was placed were a few pictorial images and inscriptions in a tongue Link was only partially able to translate. It was commonly held that the Master Sword was created by the Goddesses for the purpose of fulfilling the prophecy, but the images and inscriptions didn't mention them at all.
The inscriptions themselves— or what Link had been able to translate from them— were largely unclear. They mentioned a place called "The Lost Realm", and the images depicted hills illuminated by an incredible light. It was not a sun or star that cast the light. Instead, what loomed over the hills was a symbol Zelda had never seen— that is, until the events upon the Lion's Roar. Link had copied it into his journal: Three triangles, two side by side and another resting upon their points. She had no idea what it meant, and thought little of it when she first saw it in the journal.
But as she returned to it earlier that week upon the Anathema, she finally recognized it. She had nearly forgotten what had happened on the Lion's Roar— after kidnappings, battles at sea, fights with crippled pirates, and altercations between giant dragons and monstrous tidal waves, she had nearly forgotten it was there. She inspected the back of her right hand, and the symbol that was burned into it. It did not glow as it once had, but like gold it caught the light of the torches along the passage. She didn't know what to make of it— the symbol on her hand and upon the altar of the Master Sword, or the inscriptions that spoke of "The Lost Realm". But she did know this: Link's findings challenged the foundations of what her people believed about their world.
They passed through the opening and into the great chamber. The man looked over his shoulder as he led her up the great staircase, "The Elders await you in the council chamber. Isaac is there too."
"What is this about?" Zelda inquired.
The man answered, but this time without turning to look at her. "I am but a messenger. I do not know the will of the Elders."
And with that they fell silent as they passed into the corridor at the top of the stairway. She imagined that the young man knew just what the "will of the Elders" was. In fact, the statement itself confirmed her suspicions. The Elders were usurping control of the people, and Isaac was about to be deposed. Further, she now expected that the Elders had summoned her to less than kindly expel her from their island. She worried that she might not get the answers she had come for now, but she would deal with that when she came to it.
After passing through several corridors and climbing further up the inside of the mountain, the young man stopped at a threshold and turned. He said, "The Elders await you inside."
She nodded and thanked him, then went through the threshold. It was a small room, adorned only by the torches upon the walls and a red and brown carpet sprawled out on the floor. It nearly covered the whole floor, but edges near the wall bordered the carpet. Before her sat the five Elders, the one called Liam at the center. In front of them sat Isaac, who gave her a smile, but one that she knew was strained. Zelda approached and joined him upon the floor.
"Good day," she said, facing Liam.
The man nodded, then said, "Thank you for coming, Zelda."
Zelda nodded in return. "Why have you summoned me?"
"To the point," the man said, smiling (in what Zelda was fairly sure was not a friendly spirit).
"Very well." Isaac shifted in his seat, which seemed to amuse the Elder seated before him. Liam looked to Zelda and said, "Your arrival upon our island was unexpected, to say the least. And quite untimely, I might add."
"I see…" she said. "I apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused."
"Thank you," the man said, smiling. His manner was polite but Zelda had spent enough time at court to know the faces of the politician when she saw them. "There has been dispute about the direction of the Rito people in recent years. When you arrived, tensions were at their highest. You were invited into our home, but without the counsel of the Elders."
"Forgive me," she said after a few moments, "but I was under the impression that I was admitted under the authority of the Chief."
"That may be," the man said, stirring in his place— her comment had struck a chord—, "but for all we knew, it was not in our best interest."
She knew it would have been pointless to pry further on that subject, so she moved to the point. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked.
"After the events that occurred a week and a half ago," the man said, seeming to puff up, "there has been a shift in the leadership of my people."
She nodded slowly, not quite certain but suspecting. "Very well."
Isaac spoke up at this. "Shall we dispense with the ambiguous conversation?" Zelda was caught of guard by his words, and the elders seemed to take a slightly deeper shade of red in the face. He turned to Zelda. "Liam has used the recent events to convince the people that I am unfit to lead them. Along with the Elders, they have exalted him as their new Chieftan."
Zelda felt her eyebrows leap upward. "Can he do that?"
Isaac shrugged and smiled. "He has."
Liam stood and approached the man, and looking down on him he said, "Isaac, your arrogance knows no limits. And it is your arrogance that has put you in this position, and ushered this calamity upon us."
Zelda interrupted their exchange and said, "Pardon me, but am I to understand that you are blaming me and my companions for the tidal wave that struck your island?"
"Of course not," the man said, seeming almost amused at the idea. "But had you not been bound for our home, perhaps the spell that drove it here would have driven it elsewhere."
Zelda nodded, folding her arms. "So you're blaming me for the tidal wave."
The man shrugged, "It matters not." He turned and returned to his seat. "You have been summoned because you have overstayed your welcome. You are to leave, this afternoon."
"I think you fail to understand the severity of the circumstances that bring us here," she said. "I came for answers to questions about a prophecy that promised a beast. My people believed that beast would cast a shadow of darkness and fire across their land and, after speaking with Isaac, I believe that there is more at stake than one continent alone."
"Oh, I understand perfectly," the man said, eyebrows raised. "Better than you do, perhaps. But that is beside the point. You will leave, or you will be made to leave."
Isaac shook his head. "Your ignorance astounds me, Liam."
The new Chief rolled his eyes. "Why is that, Isaac?" His tone clearly demonstrated his disinterest with the man's opinion.
"Do you really believe this mountain will protect you?" Isaac asked.
The man smiled sardonically. "I'll take my chances."
It was clear the man would not be reasoned with. Zelda said, "What will you do with him?"
Liam turned, a questioning look on his face. "With who?"
"Isaac," she answered.
The man laughed, genuinely delighted by the question. "I will do nothing with him, silly girl. He hasn't merely lost his authority over the people: he has lost their respect. Such a man is a pariah, and of no threat to the people any longer. He will live in his quarters like any other citizen of the mountain."
He seemed to perk up, amused with a thought. He raised his hand, waving it in a mock gesture of generosity. "In fact, to demonstrate my good faith, I will grant you one request, Isaac. Anything you ask for, it will be granted to you— but not up to half my kingdom." The other Elders laughed at that last comment.
Isaac grinned, and without missing a beat he said, "My children."
"What about them?" Liam asked, still caught up in his self-amusement.
"I want them to leave this island upon the Anathema," Isaac said, folding his arms.
The statement seemed to shake the new Chief out of his humor. He seemed to consider the words for a moment, then said, "The girl isn't yours by blood."
"You know that doesn't matter here," Isaac said, smiling wider. "I adopted her when her parents died and she's as much mine as Komali is."
Liam's lips seemed to tighten. After a few moments, he said, "Pick something else."
Isaac laughed and scoffed at the same time. "Why?"
"Because I said so," Liam said through gritted teeth.
"You have no good reason to keep them here," Isaac said, looking at the man over his nose.
"It doesn't matter," Liam said, eyes narrowing.
"No," Isaac said, grinning. "You gave your word as Chief. Would you really care to sully your good name so soon?"
Liam grinned this time, a menacing look in his eye. "Your word against mine? I will hardly worry."
At that Medli and Komali suddenly entered the room. The man guarding the threshold burst in after them, trying to drag them out. Komali simply turned and struck the man full in the face. He fell to the ground, his hands pressing into his nose. Komali looked down on the man and simply said, "You will not keep me from my father."
He turned and approached Liam, standing over him. Again looking down on the one he addressed, he said, "We have been standing outside, listening to this conversation."
Liam looked up at him, something near contempt in his eyes. "So what?"
"Regardless of the recent events," Komali said, "I was the Attendant to Valoo. You may have destroyed my father's reputation, but you have not destroyed mine. If you fail to grant my father's request or should persuade any man or woman to attempt to prevent it, I will personally see to it that every man, woman, and child knows of your two-faced ways."
Liam's face took a deep shade of purple, and he seemed almost to tremble with anger. He looked down at the ground, and said in a low voice, "Pack your things and get out. You and the orphan."
Isaac stood up and said, "Liam, your hatred for my family is infantile, nigh on crude. But it is pointless."
"Not your family," the man said, looked up at Isaac, rage in his eyes. "Just you."
Isaac turned to leave, and Komali and Medil followed. Liam stared into the distance, lost in his anger. Then Zelda stood as well, and turned to leave. But she stopped and turned on her heel, and looked at Liam, saying, "Liam."
He looked at her, nearly spitting the word, "What?"
"We may not be at court," she said. "But there are few I would allow to use my first name, much less to call me a 'silly girl'. I have had men imprisoned for such gestures of profound disrespect for me and for the crown."
The man seemed to go still, staring up at her. She continued, "I am leaving with Liam one of my royal seals, as well as a messenger pigeon from the Anathema. If the danger the prophecy promises reach as far as this island— and I think it will— or if Isaac should have any concern for his own well-being or that of his people, he will be instructed to send word of it to my kingdom, sealed with my own signet."
Liam looked at her, breathing slowly. His rage seemed somewhat disarmed, but his pride prodded him to speak, "You will stay away from my people."
Zelda smiled curtly, and answered, "I think you fail to understand me, Liam. Do you have a militia here?"
The man growled through gritted teeth. "Yes, what of it?"
"Mmm," she answered, nodding with mock interest. "The kingdom of Hyrule has an army comprised of multiple divisions, as well as a naval core. The combined forces of my kingdom's military amounts to something just over ten legions. It occurs to me that you may not understand this terminology. To clarify, that means that at my disposal is a military force of more than ten thousand men."
Liam's face lost color, and the Elders seated behind him were clearly uncomfortable. Zelda smiled, and said, "If and when the safety of my new friends is jeopardized, by you or the dark forces that are coming for this world, you will find the full strength of the armies of Hyrule sailing up to your doorstep. Your people will be removed and relocated to my country, and the culprit will face justice according to the severity of their crimes."
The Elders clearly blanched and Liam had broken eye contact, his pride visibly squashed. Zelda turned and, as she neared the threshold, paused and looked over her shoulder, "Oh and, Liam? I consider the abuse of my friends to be a capital crime." With that, she passed through the threshold, leaving Liam and the Elders speechless.
Zelda turned and climbed down the small set of stairs. Beside her walked Medli, and Isaac and Komali walked just behind. She had no idea where two new people were going to fit upon the Anathema, but she wasn't concerned with that. Now her mind turned back to what had brought her here in the first place. If what Isaac had told her was really true, then she now possessed context for the prophecy that the historians of her country had lacked up until this time. But there were still so many questions. She looked over her shoulder as she walked. "Isaac?"
"I know," he said, smiling. "You still have questions." She turned her head back around, and simply nodded. He chuckled. "There isn't time now. You must make for your own land, to the northeast."
She looked over her shoulder again at that, and said, "But why would I go there?"
"I learned much in my lifetime and during my service as Chieftan," he said. "But my son is… was," he corrected himself and paused for a moment, "was the Attendant to Valoo. He knows more perhaps than even I and the Elders combined. Even so, what we know is only a portion of the truth. Together with the research of your champion, Link, he may be able to help you interpret some of these writings referenced in your journal."
"So," she said, facing front once more, "you don't know what I am supposed to do, then, do you?"
She heard him chuckle again. "No, miss, I am afraid not."
Zelda sighed. "I think, somehow, I expected to just show up and have you point me in the right direction."
He fully laughed at that, and she felt her face flush. "Few things come so easily, my child," he said. His words and his demeanor reminded her of her father. It was… comforting.
She looked to Medli. "I'm sorry about your family."
Medli smiled in return, "I hear it is a pain you share."
Zelda nodded, smiling sadly. "It is." She looked to her again, "If I might pry…"
"What happened?" Medli finished for her. Zelda nodded. Medli smiled. "Fear not, I don't mind sharing. My parents were… murdered."
Zelda was surprised by that. "What?"
Medli nodded. "Our people have always been somewhat reclusive. They go through seasons where they are more or less open to the outside world. When I was a child, my people traded with those to the south. My parents themselves were farmers. One day, some outsiders tried to cheat them of their crop. When my parents stood up for themselves…" Medli stopped, allowing Zelda to finish the thought.
"I see," Zelda answered. "The xenophobia of your Elders is disturbing. But I can see why your people might be given to fear outsiders. I'm so sorry."
Medli sighed and smiled. "It's alright. Isaac took me in, and I gained a new father, as well as a brother. It took me many years, but I fell in love with my new family." Medli was quiet for a few moments, "What… what about you?"
Zelda smiled in return. "I don't mind sharing either. My mother died giving birth to me. My father fell in battle during the conflict in my land."
"I'm sorry," Medli replied. "What helped you to move through it?"
"Well, a few things," she said. "My nurse Impa, for one. Impa has been a teacher and caregiver to me since my infancy. I never knew my mother, so Impa filled that role. As for my father…" she paused for a moment. "Impa was a help then too. But I had another friend, who supported and encouraged me in my grief. He helped me to give focus to what was at hand, but also to balance that focus with grief."
"I'm glad you had such a friend," Medli said, smiling. "By any chance, was this friend of yours the young man you mentioned? You called him Link?"
Zelda nodded. "Yes." They passed through the threshold at the end corridor, and they were again in the large chamber. Zelda was going to say something else when she realized someone was standing at the base of the stairs.
"Who is that?" Medli asked.
"Thats… Aryll," Komali said. "But what is she doing here?"
Zelda shook her head. "I don't know…" They came to the base of the stairs and Aryll took a few steps back, but remained facing them. "Aryll," Zelda said. "What are you doing here?"
She gestured with her chin to Isaac standing next to her. "Is this 'im?"
"Who?" Zelda asked.
"The old man y'were talkin' 'bout, the one with the answers," Aryll said.
"Well, yes," Zelda said. "I mean, no. He has helped but—
Aryll listened no further. In split seconds she moved forward and grabbed the man's tunic, then threw him out into the open area. Before anyone could react she was already standing over him. "Why did my brother die? Tell me!"
After the shock wore off Zelda began to approach, "Aryll, what are you doing?"
As Zelda approached, Aryll drew the sword slung about her back and had the tip at the man's neck. Aryll looked over her shoulder at Zelda. "Don't come any closer, witch," she said. "Or I'll cut 'is throat."
Zelda stopped where she stood. "Aryll," she said, feeling her heart racing, "this isn't going to help."
"You said he had answers!" she barked, spittle flying from her mouth. "I wanna know why you took my brother from me! And I wanna know why he had to die! And if I don't like the reason, I'll kill the lot of ya." She inched the tip slowly towards his neck so that it rested against his skin. He squirmed slightly, but knew enough not to move or it may dig into his neck. "Starting with him."
"Aryll, I know you want answers. And I'll explain everything to you. But please," she said, "don't do this."
"If he dies, then its your fault!" Aryll screamed. "Just like it was your fault before…"
Zelda began to protest again. "Aryll—
Her words fell out when she realized just what Aryll was holding, and what sheath was slung about her back. "Aryll," she said. "Where did you get that sword?"
"What?" she said. "What do you care? I got it from the ship."
"Aryll that's the Master Sword," Zelda said. "You don't understand what you're holding. It possesses incredible power, and if you're not careful—
"What?" Aryll roared. "I could kill 'im? That's kinda the point, ya priss."
Komali tried his hand now. "Aryll, the truth you want can't be explained in a few brief words."
"Oh, I got all day," she said. She began to look crazed, and saliva dripped from the corners of her lips. "Talk."
Zelda said, "Aryll, we don't understand everything yet. There's nothing we can tell you that will slake your grief."
Aryll seemed to growl, seemingly at a loss for words. She screamed and said, "I want answers!"
"Its not going to change anything, Aryll!" Zelda pleased.
At that Aryll bellowed and turned on Zelda. But just as she turned, fire erupted from her right hand and set the Master Sword ablaze. She screamed in painful fury and seemed to try the throw the sword off to the side, but somehow it clung to her hand. As the blade slashed through the air, an enormous flash of light burst from it and illuminated the cavern, blinding the others. What sounded like an explosion thundered to their left, and once the light dimmed and faded, a great portion of the staircase had been destroyed, and much of the cavern wall blown in. Several passage ways were now visible to the naked eye and a few seemed to be collapsed in a few places.
The others stood gaping. None of them could understand what had just happened. But it had happened. In one moment, a grief stricken, rage filled seventeen year old girl stood over an innocent man with what most of them assumed was a simple sword. The next, that girl had turned and cut into the guts of a mountain like they were butter, releasing a blast of energy unlike anything they had ever seen another person do.
Zelda shook off the malaise and immediately ran to grab the sword from Aryll, who had collapsed to her knees. But, when her hand touched Aryll's, everything went suddenly black and the world faded from existence.
They soar over an ocean of trees, a forest that lies upon the southeastern part of the land. It is night, and the moon shines dimly over the treetops, its pale light reflected across them like a thousand mirrors illuminating the darkness with a pallid glow. There are places in this deep wood that have not known the breath of the living for thousands of years— a grove where men once lived among the enchanted wood-kin; a temple built not to honor any deity but meant only to serve as a garden for the living soul; and several others.
But none of these were their destination this eve. No, they tore through the shadow bound for a much grimmer setting. A place where even the worms do not go. A place where the trees do not live, their corpses serving as foreboding sentries warning the living to keep away. And in the heart of it is a lake blacker than the deepest reaches of the universe. Like a swamp it festers and bubbles, staining the air with an acrid stench that sickens even the wind.
As they approach the heart of this black wood, they come to a halt upon its oozing banks and admire with queasy disquiet the sight before them. But the trees, the stench of death, even the black lake itself are a friendlier sight than the obelisk.
There, on the shore not but several yards off, stands an obelisk that did not seem to belong to this world. The air around it seems to be darker still than the night soaked grotto, and even the lake glows in comparison to this rock plunged into the ground. And they can see strange characters carved into its face. It is guarded by the redead, languishing in hunger crazed hopelessness, craving that any living thing should pass by that they might feast.
But worse than all of it, was the creature. It was not of their blood in life, but in death it was kin to the redead. It stands among the redead, dwarfing them by, perhaps, half a length of the grown man. Its fur is stained red and black with blood and water from the mire, and its innards are exposed to sight in several places. Its eyes glow shrilly as it stares into their souls, knowing somehow that they are present but content to do nothing about it.
A wolf, great and immense. Grinning cruelly into their being and longing for the moment that it might tear their feeble frames to shreds. It has been so long since it could bask in the pleasure of the slaughter. And it waits... with expectation.
Zelda awoke suddenly and took her hand back from Aryll's. She had had another vision, but this time while she was awake. The only other time that had happened was… Suddenly she saw it. Glowing on the girl's right hand was the same symbol that also marked her. Her hand seemed unaffected, but the glove she had been wearing was gone, burned up in the fire.
Aryll stirred, coming to reality herself. "What… what happened?" she said, gripping her head in her hands.
"I… you…" Zelda stammered.
Aryll looked up at Zelda, angry but now somehow seeming… afraid. "Wh-what did you do to me?"
Zelda was still reeling from the vision, but also confused by the girl before her. "What are you talking about?"
"Th-that lake, those things…" she stammered. "That horrible smell… what was it? What did you do to me?"
Zelda blinked. Oh.