Chapter 14

The hunt for the missing Shards begins

The Sages tell my boy of their mistake with Ganondorf, and how Zant had shattered the Mirror of Twilight. There is only one shard of the Mirror still here. In order to save Hyrule, he must recover the three missing Mirror shards. One is hidden on snowpeak, one in the ruins of the Temple of Time, and one "in the Heavens" (Whatever that is supposed to mean.) . The Hero departs the Arbitrator's grounds, and returns to the desert. Out among the sands, I take the form of the golden wolf. In a flash of light, we meet once more.

There is something different about him.

When I appear, I see a new gleam in his eye- a hunger to learn whatever new move I have for him, and use it against his foes. The spirit of the wild beast grows within him. This time, I teach him the Helm Splitter, a powerful move that can cleave a foe's helmet- or his head- clean in half. When he preforms the maneuver, Link comes down on me with such ferocity that I'm barely ready for it. After he has mastered the Helm Splitter, I bid my boy farewell, and in with a flash of light, send him back to the world of the living.

It's time to return to Hyrule.

Back at Telma's Bar, Link informs the group of what has transpired in the desert. They, in turn, tell him that Ashei has gone to Snowpeak, to investigate the stories of a strange monster there. The Hero rushes to that snowy region, where he finds the female knight wearing a strange, hairy disguise. She tells link of the fur-covered creature who has been seen catching fish at Zora's domain. Thee knight shows my boy a picture of the creature, and I recognize it immediately. It is a Yeti, a peaceful inhabitant of these snow-covered regions. Although many thinks them monsters, the Yetis are an intelligent race, that are friendly to humans. I encountered them several times during my adventures.

But tracking them is not easy.

Returning to Kakriko, Link then asks price Ralis for any information, showing him the picture Ashei gave him. The prince tell him the creature feeds on Reekfish, a foul-smelling catch that is sacred to the Zoras. If my boy were to catch one and learn it's scent, he could easily track the Yeti's trail through Snowpeak. Ralis gives link his Coral Earring, which can be used as a lure to catch the sacred fish. Encouraged, he races back to Zora's domain, to carry out his plan.

I pity my boy's canine sense of smell, having to learn that foul stench.

Going on ahead of the Hero, I slip past Zora's domain, and into the frozen wild tundra of Snowpeak. These mountains are an endless sea of White, with blinding snows and biting cold. It would be very easy for a traveler to lose his way up here, and falls prey to the icy monsters that call this place home. Only the Yeti's eyesight can maneuver through the treacherous landscape. That is why Link must follow his trail. Soon, I see a dark colored wolf with an imp on it's back coming up the trail, killing White wolfos and Ice Keese as it goes. Eventually, he finds a large Yeti sitting in front of a tree, having just finished eating the Reekfish it had caught.

I almost laugh at the creature's appearance.

The Yeti is large, with whit fur covering his entire body. He has large, bulging eyes, and wears a Horse's saddle he found for a hat. Apparently, his name is Yeto, and he found the mirror shard, and took it back to his home. He agreed to give it to Link, if the Hero would race back with him. Knocking two frozen leaves off a tree, my boy and Yeto race down the mountainside, through the Twists and turns of Snowpeak. Straight towards whatever place this... Yeti...calls... Home...

Oh, Goddesses...not this place...

I know this mansion... it is a place of sadness and broken dreams. Snowpeak Manor... it was built long ago by a Knight of Hyrule, who wanted to get far away from the corruption in the Royal court, and the fanaticism of the New Sages. He brought his young bride here to live, and for many, many years they were happy. But the woman longed for the warm summers of Hyrule again, and it saddened her that their children were being raised in such a desolate place. Eventually, one winter got far harsher and far colder than all the winters before it, and took the life of the beautiful woman. The grief-stricken knight and his children took her body back to Hyrule, and laid it to rest beneath the field which she so loved. After that, the house was abandoned, and fell into ruin for many years. Yeto must have found the place abandoned, and decided to move in.

Why did the mirror shard have to end up here?

Yeto and my boy go inside the house, where Yeto's sick wife, Yeta, is sitting by a fire. He starts making a soup, to help her feel better, while my boy goes to speak to Yeta about the location of the Shard, and she tells Link that she put the shard in her room. Yeta had locked the door, and he would have to retrieve the key. What follows is a strange scavenger hunt, where the goes to different parts of the house to retrieve what he thinks, is the key, only to find another ingredient for Yeto's soup. Along the way, he fights Freezards, White wolfos, and strange Chilfos, who hurl Javelins. Whenever he becomes exhausted, my boy replenishes his health with a bottle full of Yeto's soup.

He should try selling that stuff in the castle town market.

As link fights his way through the house, I am overcome with sadness, as I think of the family that lived here. I picture the Knight, sitting at his desk near the fire, reading letters from Hyrule delivered by the Rito postman. I see the dining hall, filled to capacity with guests, as lavish feasts and banquets are held there every month. In the courtyard, I see a happy mother, playing with her children, as they wait for their father to return from a journey. In the Armory, I see the Knight showing his eldest son various suits of Armor, as the boy would have to follow in his footsteps someday. And finally, I see the Knight standing over his dying wife's bed, gently caressing her long red hair, and begging her not to leave him.

How could he possibly live without her?

As he explores the mansion, Link finds many cannons scattered throughout the grounds. They were put here by the knight for defense of the Manor, but my boy can use them to smash through the thick walls of ice blocking many of the passageways. In one room, the Hero encounters a Darkhammer, a armored Lizalfos warrior who swings a mighty ball and chain over his head, trying to smash Link with it. He dodges out of the way, and slashes at the beast's tail. My boy finally manages to would the creature mortally, and it his the ground with a thud. Link then claims the ball and chain as his own, as it will be another useful tool for smashing through the ice.

I wish I had found one of those.

Eventually, he finds the key, and (thanks to the soup) Yeta has recovered enough to take the Hero to the mirror shard. She leads him up to her bed chamber, and unlocks the door. But as she gazes into the shard, it's evil corrupts her. Encasing herself in ice, she becomes Blizetta, a monster determined to prevent my boy from taking the shard. She rains massive ice blocks down upon Link, which barely miss the agile young hero. Whenever she gets too close to him, he sends the ball and chain flying, cracking her own ice crystal a little more. After several of these strikes, the ice totally shatters, and Yeta collapses to the floor. Minda collects the Mirror shard, just as Yeto comes barreling into the room, tossing Link aside like a rag doll. His beloved wife lies in this place, hurt. And he so desperately wants to help her.

I know how he feels.

Yeta's eyes flicker open, and she asks about the shard. Yeto tells her she doesn't need it, and embraces her with love. Minda tells my boy the two wish to be alone, and they leave the room. I too depart, leaving the couple to their privacy.I had never wanted to see this place again, because of all the pain that still lingers on these grounds. Although so much grief and sadness happened here, it is easy for one to forget that there was happiness here, too. Now, a new couple has made the manor, and found their own happiness together.

I wish them the best of luck.

As we leave the Mansion, I look ahead to the third shard. It lies within the Temple of Time, another place where my life was changed forever. But before we can go after the Shard, the Hero must make some preparation for this next leg of the journey first.

Hyrule will be safe, as long as my family is here to protect it.