Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. After successfully rescuing Osfala from the Thieves Hideout, Link happily rushed to tell Sahasrahla the good news. He then went on to get his sword tempered by Ienzo, get the rest of his items from Ravio, and get them upgraded by Mother Maiamai. After getting some encouragement from one of the Maiamais who opted to stay in Hyrule, Link forged on his quest with newfound determination.
OOC: First off, I wanna say thanks for all the reviews so far! Glad to know everyone's enjoying this story even though it's my first time novelizing a Zelda game. Also, I might as well get these two announcements out of the way.
Announcement 1: Once I'm done with this novelization, I will be novelizing Twilight Princess in anticipation of the upcoming game Hyrule Warriors.
Announcement 2: And yes, when the game comes out in September, I will novelize Hyrule Warriors.
After visiting Mother Maiamai in her cave, Link began to search the area for a way to Lorule. His search took him all the way to the marshland south of Hyrule. He took a left turn and headed towards the Hyrule Desert. That's when he saw one of those rifts that led towards Hyrule. He went through the rift and found himself back in Lorule Kingdom, and more specifically, in a swamp. Before he could do anything, the telepathic voice of Hilda spoke. "Welcome back to Lorule, Link." she greeted. "Princess Hilda!" Link replied. "Where am I?"
"The place you have found yourself is near a dreaded and rotting swamp. This is Misery Mire." Hilda began. "Within it I sense... the very faint presence of a Sage. But this is quite odd..."
"What is it?" Link asked.
"I also sense desert sand near this Sage, yet there is no desert in Lorule. How very strange, indeed." Hilda replied.
"Maybe not in Lorule, but there's one in Hyrule!" Link said.
"Regardless, you will need an item that will give you control over sand." Hilda said. "I say again there is no desert in Lorule, but the start of your path is through here. Quite baffling. So say I, Hilda of Lorule..."
"Wait!" Link said. "Do you know where Zelda is?"
"Unfortunately no, I cannot sense her presence as of now." Hilda said. "But rest assured, I will do my best to search for her." And with that, the telepathic presence faded, leaving Link alone again. Link then made his way to the swamp. Along the way he was attacked by swarms of flying mushroom-like creatures who spat at him. Link blocked their attacks with his shield and forged ahead. Upon arriving at the swamp, he saw another rift in the rock pillar. "Since I'm at the swamp in Lorule, this should lead to the desert in Hyrule." Link said to himself. He then went through the rift and indeed he found himself in Hyrule's desert region.
Link started to explore the desert until he felt something pull at his leg. He looked down to see a hand emerging out of the sand. Or rather, the hand was made of sand. It attempted to drag Link under. In a panic, Link stabbed at the hand with his sword. The hot metal caused the creature to scream. It was a Geldman, a monster made of sand that lurked in the desert. Deciding now was the time to put his new Sand Rod to the test, Link pulled it out and pointed at the sand creature. The staff glowed with yellow light as Geldman screamed in pain. As if being molded by invisible hands, the Geldman's body began to contort in pain until finally it froze into stone. Link then took out his Hammer and finished the monster off.
Link wanted to take a sigh of relief, but he knew full well that there were bound to be more of them. He had to tread carefully here. He made his way to the southeastern part of the desert where he climbed up the pair of stairs. From there, he used his Sand Rod to create a makeshift bridge to the nearby pillar. He used it again to make his way to the platform where he saw another rift to Lorule. Link went through the rift and found himself back in Misery Mire.
From there, he walked along the bridge and made his way to the southwest part of the mire. He found another rift and walked through it to make his way back into the desert. Using his Sand Rod to make makeshift bridges. He made his way to the Desert Palace. "The next sage has to be in here." He said to himself. "Here goes." Link climbed up the stairs, used his Sand Rod to make a makeshift bridge and entered the palace. Inside the Palace, he used his Sand Rod to form a bridge and get to the other side of the room. He went down the stairs and used his Sand Rod on another patch of sand. This time he used his wall merge to get to the door.
In the next room, he was confronted by two Gibidos, mummy-like enemies. He used his Fire Rod to burn away at their bandages, revealing them to be Stalfoses. He then finished them off with his sword and moved on. Link climbed up the stairs where he saw two Beamoses, mechanized sentries that fired lasers. To avoid detection, Link used his wall merge and slipped by them. He then went through the nearby door.
The next room had a small patch of sand on the bottom floor as well as two more Beamoses. He couldn't do anything from where he was so he went to the other part of the room, which floor was covered with sand. Using his Sand Rod, he created a bridge in between the four pillars with blue orbs on them. He used a spin attack to activate the orbs, causing the gate to open. He went back to the other part of the room and used his Sand Rod on the patch of sand to create a wall to block the Beamoses' lasers as he went through the door to the next room.
This room had a large patch of sand as well as three gargoyle statues. The door in the room was locked and could only be open by pressing the three switches in front of it. That's when Link got an idea. He pulled two of the statues on the sand and used his Sand Rod to raise them up to the switches. He then pulled them onto the switches. He used his Sand Rod to form a bridge to the statue on the ledge and drag it over to the final switch. With all three pressed, the door was unlocked. He walked through it to find himself back in the main room. He used his Sand Rod to form another bridge to the door on the left, avoiding the spiked traps.
Link entered the room to find himself locked in with a segmented creature that moved through the sand. Link used his Sand Rod to expose and stun the creature before finishing it off with his sword. With the creature gone, the door unlocked itself. Link went through the door and into the next room which had sand in it. He jumped down from the sand floor and climbed up the stairs. From there, he made a bridge with his Sand Rod and went through the door. The next room was mostly empty sans a small lever on the wall. He pulled the lever down and it caused sand to pour down the ramp into the other room, filling it with sand. With the room full of sand, Link could reach the treasure chest, which had a small key in it. He used the key to unlock the door and enter the next room.
The next room he found himself was back in the same room he had visited previously, only now he was on a higher ledge. He saw a lever on the wall and pulled it down, filling the room with sand. Using his Sand Rod to make makeshift bridges, me made his way to the switch and pressed it, revealing a large treasure chest. He used his wall merge to get to the chest and open it. But what was in the chest was no Big Key. But instead, it was another pair of fingerless gloves. The sign next to it said that they were the Titan Mitts, which granted anyone who wore them incredible strength.
Link put the gloves on and headed back through the door all the way back to the room where he fought the strange creature. Seeing a large boulder block the door, Link decided to put his new Titan Mitts to the test and lifted the boulder with ease, tossing it away. The door was locked, but Link soon saw a small treasure chest on the far side of the room. He climbed up the stairs and used his Sand Rod to create a bridge to the treasure chest. He opened it and found a small key, which he used to unlock the door. Link walked down the hallway and was back outside the palace.
Link saw a cave entrance in the wall and went through it. As soon as he entered the room, the floor tiles came to life and flung themselves at him. Link used his shield to defend himself, but as soon as the assault was over, he found himself attacked by two ant lions that spat fireballs at him from the sand. Link used his Sand Rod to stun them, then finished them off with his sword. With them gone, a bridge appeared. He walked across the bridge and up the stairs before using his Sand Rod on a patch of sand to form another bridge. He then used his wall merge to get to the stairs on the right. He went through the door and up the path of sand before going to the door on his right.
The room he found himself in had the same red and blue platforms like the Tower of Hera. Link walked down into the room, using his shield to defend against the arrow traps. He reached a blue orb and struck it to raise the platform. He then got on the ledge and use his Sand Rod to raise the patch of sand that had the gargoyle statue on it and pulled it out of the way. With it gone, the arrow trap would continuously hit the orb, raising and lowering the platform. Link went to one of the platforms and made it to where a small chest was. That's when he found a small key. He went to the northeastern part of the room and used the platform to get on the ledge and exit the room.
The next room was covered in sand and had a ramp for sand to pour out of like the past room. On the left of the room balls rolled off of only to fall into bottomless pits. There were also some blocks impeding the way. Link formed another idea and used his Sand Rod to raise the sand and let the ball roll on and destroy the block. He climbed up the stairs and did the same with the second ball. He then repeated the strategy with the third ball, causing it to roll into the block impeding the ramp. That allowed sand to pour out into the previous room. He went back in the room and used his Sand Rod to make a bridge over to the ledge where the big chest was. He opened it to find the Big Key.
Link left the room and used the small key to unlock the door. The door in the next room was locked, but Link then saw a Beamos on a patch of sand in the center of four orbs. Link walked to the Beamos to get its attention, then quickly raised the sand under it, causing its laser to hit the four obs and unlock the door. He went through the door but was locked in with four Pehats. He defeated them all and a small key appeared. He took the key and went back to the room. There he saw another Beamos in the center of four blue orbs. Repeating the same strategy as before, he walked to the Beamos to grab its attention, then raised the sand beneath it before running to the platform before it elevated to the ledge where the locked door was. He unlocked the door and forged on.
Link walked through the next room and into another room to find the Big Door, but there was no way to get to it from below. He went to another room with sand in it. He raised the sand with his Sand Rod and made his way to the ledge where another small key was lying in wait. He grabbed the small key and went back to the room with the Big Door. He used his small key to unlock the door nearby. The room he found himself now had more of those living bombs he saw at the Thieves Hideout. He used one to destroy the block impeding his path. The room had more sand and more of those moving bombs that seemed to follow him wherever he went. That's when he saw three more blocks on the pillars in the room.
Link struck one of the bombs with his sword so it would stop moving in front of the pillar, then raised a patch of sand. The bomb exploded and destroyed one of the block. He repeated the strategy on the other two blocks. With all three destroyed, the arrow trap in the room could freely fire arrows at the blue orb, raising and lowering the platforms. He went back to the platforms and used them to get on the ledge and go through the door. From there, he found himself back in the room with the Big Door. The ledge he was on had a lever next to him. He pulled it and sand began to fill the room, letting Link access the Big Door. He unlocked the door and forged on.
The next room Link was in had quicksand in it. Link used his Sand Rod to create a bridge and made his way outside where there was a rift to Lorule. He walked through the rift and found himself back in Lorule. There was a pit of sand nearby, but he couldn't see the painting of the next sage. When he walked onto the sand, the ground began to rumble. Link readied his sword, preparing to face whatever would rise out of the sand. What did emerge was a monstrous plant. It's body was long and slender like a serpent and its head was pink. The beast spotted Link and spawned several flying plant creatures. Link fired at them with his bow and attempted to strike the monster, only for it to hide within the sand.
Link remembered how he fought his way through the temple and used his Sand Rod on the spot where the creature traveled to, pulling the monster out of the ground and stunning it. He ran up to the beast and slashed at it several times with his tempered sword before the monster dove back into the sand, spawning more creatures to distract Link. Link dispatched them with a Sword Beam, but was nearly swallowed whole when the monster rose out of the sand beneath him. Link again used his Sand Rod to stun the beast, then struck at it some more with his sword.
The monster dove into the ground and emerged again, only this time the head bloomed to reveal five eyes in its mouth. The monster fired a torrent of sand from its mouth, but Link used his Sand Rod to create a wall of sand to defend against it. Link rolled out of the way and attempted to fire another arrow at one of the six eyes, only for the creature to summon a vine and grab Link by the leg. It raised Link over its mouth, preparing to swallow him whole. Link quickly tossed a bomb in the monster's maw. The creature screamed in pain as the bomb exploded in its bowels. Link used the opportunity to cut himself down with his sword and fire several arrows into its eyes.
The monster screeched and feel to the ground. Link leapt up and impaled the monster's heart with his sword, dealing the mortal strike. The creature writhed in pain before exploding in a flash of light. The sand in the area drained into nothing, revealing in its place the portrait of Irene. Link touched the portrait and in a flash of light, he was teleported to the same place Osfala was. "Well, hello Link." Osfala greeted. "Found another sage, have you?" Osfala's answer came in the form of a diamond appearing right next to him. Like a newborn baby bird, Irene emerged from the diamond.
"Wh-Where am I?" Irene asked, looking around the room in a panic. She then saw Link in front of her. "And what are you doing here, Link?"
"Hey there, Irene." Link greeted. "You were kidnapped by Yuga. I managed to find you. Good to see you're okay."
"You... you came to rescue me?" Irene asked, blushing a bit as she sheepishly rubbed her shoulder. "I... I dunno what to say, Link! But, uh, hey! My fortune came true after all! Took your sweet time getting here, didn't you? I was in big trouble! And I've gotta get back to my gram!"
"I'm sorry! I had a lot to do!" Link replied defensively.
"It's no biggie." Irene said. "Just don't take so long next time! And don't make the other sages wait either. C'mon, get to saving the rest!"
"I'm on it!" Link said.
"Oh, and one more thing." Irene began. "Could you go check on my gram, and let her know I'm okay. She must be worried sick about me."
"Don't worry, I will." Link assured her. The triangle in the center of the platform glowed and Link stepped in it, transported back to Misery Mire. "Congratulations for finding another sage, Hero of Hyrule." came Hilda's telepathic greeting.
"Thanks, Princess Hilda." Link replied.
"You will also be pleased to know that I have found another sage." Hilda said. "He is in the Dark Palace, northeast of Lorule Castle. To get there, you must go through a rift in the northeast."
"That's the Eastern Palace!" Link exclaimed. "I'm on my way!" Link then ran for the nearest rift to Hyrule.
Meanwhile, at Lorule Castle...
After her discussion with Link, Hilda retreated to the balcony of the castle as she always did, looking over what was left of the once proud kingdom of Lorule. Never before had she felt so helpless. Her kingdom was dying right before her eyes and she was powerless to stop it. Sometimes she wondered why she performed such a mundane ritual. Perhaps it was her way of reminding herself to carry on and fight for her kingdom. Or maybe she just liked reminding herself of her utter failure. She gave a weary, tired sigh as she went to the throne room, wherein it hung the portrait of Zelda. It felt wrong to deceive the boy like that, but it was necessary.
Hilda walked up and gazed upon the picture of Zelda. As she did, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of anger mixed with a little jealousy. Here she was, day after day fighting to protect her kingdom from its utter and inevitable destruction and Zelda was the princess of a kingdom that seemed like a fairy tale filled endless happy endings. It almost made the bile within her rise at the thought of it. Oh, what she wouldn't give for her kingdom to be that again! A place where everyone was happy once more, a place where there were no more suffering.
"Oh, lovely Zelda." Hilda began, conversing with the portrait as if Zelda could actually hear her. "What is it like to rule a kingdom blessed by so many happy endings? Once upon a time, Lorule was such a place. Once, but sadly no longer. Lorue was much like Hyrule. So very beautiful. So very prosperous, So very... promising. We are in desperate need of a hero- and your Link is superb. We all deserve a happy ending, don't we? I can only hope Link will emerge victorious."
And with that, she left the throne room, closing the door behind her and leaving Zelda alone again.
And another chapter done! Link explores the Dark Palace next chapter. Stay tuned!