Chapter 21: Realm of Sin IV

Dear Link,

Are you doing better? (Much of the paper is smudged from erasures and cross-outs)

From Gale

Dear Gale,

Not really, but it's nothing I blame you for. I'm sure you weren't in control of yourself then. I'll be more careful not to upset you. Actually, the main reason I'm not well tonight is because I summoned the Clockwork Dragon to defeat the Great Wyrm and then the Wyrm wanted to talk with me for a long time. The white witch here says that keeping the dragons out in their full forms for long is beyond my capacity for magic right now.

This wouldn't be a good night to get together. Not just because I'm resting up from my injuries, but also because they've left a caretaker with me to help out. It's not one you need to be concerned about, just a kid who wants to be a storyteller. I've been telling him about my adventures and some of what I've dreamed about with other heroes. Nothing in detail about us, of course; I just told him that there was someone I loved that I couldn't talk much about.

On another note, I've learned a song when I went back to Taven recently, from the Skull Kid in Trickster's Grotto. He says it's the song of the Marsh Queen, some figure in Sudai associated with flowers. I feel that the song could attract monsters, while he says that it can affect the marsh flowers. Do you know anything about such a song? Sorry if I can't transcribe it; the reason I figured out the Song of Soaring from your letter is because it's one another hero knew. But the Rotting Dragon is in that area, so I'd like to know if the song is useful there.

Love, Link.

Dear Link,

You wouldn't have a formal education with magic, but you do seem to have a pretty good intuition about it. Most of us who use magic frequently know how to check our magic reserves to make sure we don't overdo things. Although at a point, it gets rare that such things are a problem. You might be able to draw such information from your predecessors much like you did with archery. Keep some green-type potions on you to refresh your magic energy; any good potion brewer will tell you what works.

I do know the song of the Marsh Queen. Anyone who wishes to travel into the swamps would do well to know it. Even if I ruled over the land of Sudai, the deep swamp is ruled by a benevolent dragon known as the Marsh Queen. She is fond of flowers and is known to grow some unique varieties. Some adventurous youths will go seeking particular flowers of hers, for medicinal or romantic reasons. However, she has been known to punish those who steal the flowers or ruin her garden, so they often have to do a favor for her to get the one they want.

More important to you, the Marsh Queen transforms certain monsters in her territory. If you run into one that is unusual for having flowers (especially a Deku), that monster is one under her command. She's not strict on those who defeat such monsters, but if you play her song for them, they will not be aggressive to you. If you have the Marsh Queen's favor, such monsters may even fight other monsters for you. The song is a sign of allegiance to her, so it can cause regular monsters in the marshes to attack you instead.

I'll leave you to rest for tonight. But again, I worry about us not having a lot of time together if you keep capturing these dragons. Consider slowing down, for that reason and for your health.

Wish I could see you tonight,

Gale.

The next morning, Ilara was looking in good shape. The villagers even boasted that you couldn't tell that their snow constructs had been damaged at all. Glad for that, Link said goodbye to a few of them and warped over to Eblan. The priest he questioned there didn't know much about traveling in the swamp. He could give directions to a town actually in the marshlands where people would know more. Trying to avoid the main roads, Link headed off to the town of Reeds.

At the edges of the floodplains, he found the small town. It escaped the river's flood by having raised wooden walkways and houses on stilts. Watery fields for rice surrounded the town, while a few barns and silos could be seen on higher grounds. While some effort was made to have bright colors here and there, many things looked weather-worn and slightly muddy.

The people of Reeds were busy with their daily work when he arrived, but a barkeep at the tavern was willing to talk with him. "How do you go about finding the Marsh Queen?" Link asked.

"Are you searching for a heart lotus?" the barkeeper asked, smiling fondly at some thought.

"No," Link asked. He should try to be more conversational, so he added, "Why ask that?"

"Well you seem to be of the right age for that," he said. "You from Sudai?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm a traveler."

"Ah. Well local folklore has it that giving a heart lotus to the person you love is a sign of forgiveness or regret, that you're serious about your relationship despite faults in yourself or your significant other. Among simple folks like those in this town, it also gets used to ask for marriage since the Queen will make you prove your worth if you try going for the lotus fairly."

That was interesting to know. But did he need such a serious sign? "I see. Actually, I'm searching for the dragons that escaped the Septdraco here." He showed the back of his glove to prove it, causing the barkeeper to go still. "The Rotting Dragon is supposed to be somewhere in the swamps and I was hoping the Marsh Queen could help me locate it."

"Are you that guy?" the barkeeper asked. "Link Verden?"

"Yes," he said, putting his hands on the bar. That would at least show that he didn't mean harm here. Still, he kept ready to flee if needed.

"Well the new king is looking for you." He glanced over at a wall nearby; a group of small portraits hung there. "Then again, I have some family in Eblan and they said you saved the whole town without asking for a reward. They even had to talk you into accepting a free meal and room."

"I'm doing what I feel is right," Link said. "And I didn't want to burden them further."

The barkeeper chuckled. "Sounds like you could be a rare one. All right, I'll help you out. In exchange, I hope you can help the Marsh Queen."

"Is she in trouble?"

He nodded. "There's a place south of here called Flower Manor. It's a bunch of ruins, but it's where we normally find the Marsh Queen and her garden. But when that cursed storm blew through here, the Rotting Dragon invaded the manor and drove the Marsh Queen out. She should be able to fight magic of decay and rot, but it was more powerful than her. We've been nursing her back to health nearby, but the loss of her garden has made her depressed. If you can destroy the Rotting Dragon and undo its decay like you drove off the sickness in Eblan, she'll be able to repair the swamps herself. It'd help us out too, since a line of decaying vegetation has been heading towards our fields."

Then they weren't in danger yet, but could be soon. "All right. May I speak with her if she's around?"

"Sure, do you know her song?" Once Link played it on his pan flute, the barkeeper added, "Play that for her guards and she'll know your soul. She can then tell you how to reach her manor."

As it turned out, the people of Reeds didn't want others, even those from Sudai, to know that the Marsh Queen was ill. They were helping her recover in one of the barns, leaving a pair of men and some Dekus with lotus tops to guard her. "Sorry stranger," one of the men said. "But we don't allow folks not of our town around here."

"I'm here to help the Marsh Queen by taking care of the Rotting Dragon," Link said, tapping his flute against his right hand. "I was told to play her song here."

"You can help her?" one of the flower Dekus asked excitedly, its large yellow petals bouncing as it moved. "Should we let him?"

"Well," the man started to say.

A white flower Deku interrupted him. "You're really here after the bad dragon and not our good queen?"

"Right," Link said.

"You'd better be honest," the yellow flower Deku said. "Or, we'll, um, or she'll get you good! That song is meant for an offering a peace, you'd better not be here in the marshes using it for battling."

"Us," a blue flower Dekus hissed.

"Battling us, right," the yellow one said. "I mean, not battling us. We met in peace, that's what the song means."

Sympathizing with the Dekus in this, Link nodded again. "I understand. I won't fight her allies."

"He can play the song and the queen will know if he's honest," the other man said, trying not to smile at the Dekus.

"Oh, right right!" the white flower Deku said. "Play it, please."

Link nodded and started to play the song. While he did, one of the men went into the barn. The flower Dekus were quick to sway along to the music, so Link repeated the tune a couple of times for their amusement. "Wow, you play that flute really nicely!" the blue one said while bouncing in place.

"I'm glad you liked it," he said, feeling like these Dekus could easily cheer people up.

The door opened back up. "She says to let the hero inside," he said.

"You must be something else to have the queen know you as a hero just on the song!" the yellow Deku said. "Good luck, hero!"

Over this adventure, Link had already seen a wide range of creatures considered dragons. He wasn't sure what to expect of the Marsh Queen. But once he saw her, he could understand why she was called that even with her being in a large barn full of hay dust. She had a body meant more for water than land, with fish-like gills and long fins. Her scales were an emerald green and her tail fin was a bright pink; she might have been unremarkable otherwise if it hadn't been for her vines. Growing all along her back, she was covered in dark marsh grasses, wide lilypads, and many dozens of flowers. She could blend into the marsh unseen and then rise up to the awe of those who saw her.

But not now. Her flowers were wilted or in bud forms, while some patches of the grass seemed like they could fall out. The Queen's golden eyes were alert in spite of that. "I apologize for the poor conditions we've met in. At any other time, I wouldn't mind helping someone with a soul like yours. As it is now, I can't do much."

"It's fine, I came to help you," he said, giving her a bow of respect. "I'm Link and I've come to get the Rotting Dragon, so anything you could tell me about it could be helpful."

After a moment where she seemed to study him, she replied, "Those seven dragons were born of sin. In particular, Rotting was formed by jealousy. Are you confidant in facing your own jealousy?"

"Yes," Link said. It was something he'd dealt with when he was younger, so he never let such feelings bother him for long.

"Then you shouldn't have a problem with it since you bear weapons that can neutralize it. If facing it was simply facing jealousy, I wouldn't have had so much trouble either. But I had no way to activate the seal on its chest and the myriad poisons it exudes overcame me. It was named fittingly as it is ragged flesh and bones held together by magic. Normally, that would make it hard to fight without disrupting that magic."

"I could activate the seal with my sword, but I think I'd rather try the arrows first," he said.

The Marsh Queen nodded. "Also, you may wish to bring some antidote potions with you. There's a witch in town who brews potions, she can help you there. Once that toxic dragon is out of my territory, I should be able to fix up my gardens myself. Perhaps I could return you help sometime in the future."

"Don't worry about it, I'm just working to get these dragons out of our world," Link said. "I've seen what they're capable of and I'd rather no one else be in control of them."

She chuckled at that. "I feel I can trust you in that. And yet, perhaps you can face this one sin with confidence, but what of others? Do you know what the others were born from?"

"Sulfur was born of cowardice," which was helping him overcome what fears he had, "Clockwork was born of wrath," which he felt like had never been a big problem for him, "the Great Wyrm was born of sloth," which was something of a fault in him when it came to mundane matters. Now that there were many things at stake which were important to him, he was having to be talked into taking time to rest. But then what was Prism born from? The little dragon had never mentioned anything like that while the rest had freely stated what they were.

"Hmm. We already spoke of Rotting. The Thorn Dragon was born of pride, Twin Fang was born of greed, and the Prism Dragon was born of lust. What do you think of your chances against those?"

Link wasn't too worried about Thorn and Twin Fang now hearing that; the most trouble would be getting to them. But hearing what Prism was? That made his blood go cold. The dragon said it was cooperating with him willingly. However, he'd not faced a challenge for it, nor had it told him about itself. He wasn't sure how to explain the situation, especially not to a being the locals treated like a guardian deity.

"The two you've not met might not be a problem once you know their locations," the Marsh Queen said, waving her tail slowly. For a moment, she looked uncomfortable being stuck here in the barn. But she seemed to put it out of mind as she spoke to reassure him. "Twin Fang is far off in the bay of Laverre City and you can find the Thorn Dragon on the way, in the Ordonne farmlands south of Taven. How exactly do you have the Prism Dragon?"

"It says it's cooperating with me, but I don't control it," he replied, his face warm with embarrassment as he said it.

"You could work with it temporarily but I wouldn't trust it for long," she said. "Eventually you'll have to challenge it to get it to accept you as a master. You should be sure of yourself when you do. Is there anyone you trust to speak of private matters with?"

As uneasy as it made him, he realized he couldn't trust Gale that much. Anything that Gale knew, Demise would also know. "I wanted to talk with my sword master, Gregio, about," how to say this? "...matters like this. But he wasn't there when I was last in Taven."

"I've heard of him; he used to be a well respected Hylian knight before he defected. The people here in Reeds tell me things and they say he's been called to the castle here to be named a sage of this era."

Then he'd be part of Zelda's plan to stop Gale. "I see." But Gregio was the person he trusted most, and the one person he felt like he could safely talk about this with.

"And I've also heard things, like they're calling you a traitor and you've been interested in learning about our last king." She kept an eye on him, with a look of caring concern. "When I heard you play my song, though, I didn't hear the heart of a traitor. You must have a good reason for doing what you do."

A good reason.. Link rubbed his neck, reminded of the other night. He shouldn't waver and there was good reason to believe in Gale. Yet there were also good reasons not to. "I…"

"You walk a darkened path where it's unclear if you've lost your way," she said. When he nodded, the Marsh Queen went on. "I've seen something like that before, every time that I met young Gale before he was known as Ganon. While we didn't meet much, he did come by occasionally to acknowledge me, as per custom. And one time, he showed up without warning, without any guards either even though he was still a boy. Another town of the marshes had angered me and he came by to ask about healing herbs since they were suffering under illness. Though I wanted an apology, I couldn't remain hardhearted to his plea and allowed him to take what was needed.

"For most people, they saw that kind of thing out of Gale and felt, here's this honorable king who's dong the best he can under bad conditions and he's selflessly looking to make things better for others over himself. He seems so good, right? But I could hear in his song and see in his eyes a darkness deep inside that he was barely aware of. He had the soul of a demon that was fated to crush the human heart he was born with and there was nothing he could do about it. I would have to hear him again to know if any part of his humanity remains."

"I'm not sure if I could, but if I could get him to play your song or something in this town, could you tell?" Link asked.

She nodded. "As long as I'm still here, I could. Give it a try, as I am curious myself. You may even bring him to me if you wish, once the Rotting Dragon is gone. It's something we should be certain of. However, even if there is a good part to him left, I believe you should work to overcome the challenges that the Septdraco presents you with. If you can't overcome that, you won't have a chance at saving Gale. The light of your soul will need to be powerful to truly reach him in his darkness, especially with the two of you being fated to fight.."

"I don't want to fight him, but," he said, his thoughts getting jumbled up. Some of what the Great Wyrm said came back to him. "I thought I chose to be a hero, but maybe I didn't. Why is this happening?"

"It may not be something you can easily grasp as a human," the Marsh Queen said. "Try to think of a world where power replaces morality. In that place, being weak is a sin and will be punished with enslavement or death. Others only matter in terms of what they can do for you, whether it be worshiping a stronger person to be granted some of that power yourself, or giving such small boons to others so that they are your tools and toys, to use and break as you wish. That is a glimpse at the world of the demons, where the monsters of this world often originated."

"It's not a world I'd want to live in," he said.

"And yet you would be seen as great in that world," she said, which disturbed Link. "It was in that way that Demise saw the first hero he faced. But the demon king still saw himself as greater, with his victory inevitable. As courageous as the hero was, with what powers he had gained, he was still a mortal being doomed to grow weak with age and die. Every human would have been wiped out on the grounds of such weakness. Yet Demise lost, killed by the only one he thought was worth any attention.

"Of course, he was furious about it. When you make a mistake and lose, you think over what happened and try to improve what went wrong, right? That's how humans do things, they can accept and understand their faults. Demise thought he was incapable of mistakes. So he tries to understand it, replays the scenario with different factors to find a way he can win. But he can never accept it. From the observations of my lineage, that is most likely why these legends occur again and again. The hero and the villain must fight over the princess and the Triforce because he forces it to be fate, to understand it without accepting his own faults."

"Then he'll unconsciously get us to fight even if he says he doesn't want to?" He closed his eyes, trying to keep calm over this when he wanted to scream about it. Yet some part of him knew that this was fate.

"You poor soul, I wish I could tell you that there is a surefire way to save you both from this. Yet I don't want to lie, so we must settle for what truths and possibilities are there. And I haven't seen him myself in several years, leaving me with much I can't be sure of."

Link looked back at her, certain that she was sad for him now. He stepped closer and rubbed her snout. "Thanks for believing in me at least, that means a lot to me right now." Then he had the thought, she was practically a deity herself without a strong connection to the legends before now. "I do have some ideas for what I could do to save Gale, but I'm not sure how to act on them. Could I tell you what I'm thinking of and ask if you can figure out how to make them work?"

"Of course, I'll do what I can."

Nearly an hour later, Link was heading deeper into the marshlands with Balrog. There was a bitter grassy taste still lingering in his mouth from the herbal tea that the witch in Reeds had him drink. It was meant to boost his body's protection against magical poisons so that he didn't come out of this battle terribly sick. It wasn't much of a bother knowing that.

Along with that protection, he was feeling better about his plans for Gale. The Marsh Queen knew how to make his ideas work and he felt like he could pull it off. There were strong risks to his plan; it could fail if Gale didn't fully trust him, or it could fail so badly that he himself would be crippled worse than the Zora guard Rosso. Or he could get killed, though that seemed not as bad as if Gale got killed and he lived with the honor of a victorious hero. And the whole thing was a foolish venture unless they knew for certain that Gale had some humanity left.

But it could all work. Link felt better knowing that much and was able to enjoy the ride over instead of worry over everything. Much of this area was still flooded from that unnaturally lengthy storm over Hyrule, but he could see the beauty in there that Gale spoke fondly of. Grasses waved under the dark waters, just starting to reach the air again. Majestic trees stood proudly where they were, not letting the current conditions trouble them. On a few higher areas, he spotted deer, rabbits, foxes, and other animals biding their time until the waters returned to normal levels.

The roads were still underwater in most places, but he could see them well enough to follow. Balrog's hooves sizzled against the water rather than squished through like a regular horse. At major crossroads, there were signs pointing the way towards towns, the Marsh Queen's manor, and a few other landmarks. Some of the bird calls he heard were familiar, while others must not travel into the forests.

Then there came a point where the bird calls ended. Balrog showed no nervousness, but the lack of birds was enough to tell Link he was in the right area well before his magical compass chimed and started pointing towards the manor. While the whole marsh had scents that he was unfamiliar with, this area reeked of excrement, rot, and sickness. Link glanced down in trying to think of some way to overcome that when he noticed another oddity: the water was flowing towards the stone ruins where the Marsh Queen should reside. The plants underneath it were all dead, as were vines on the wall ahead. From the browned flowers clinging on, it had been a rapid death.

If all the flowers and plants here were alive, this would be a beautiful place. There were weathered statues, the framework of an old building, and ornate windows with cracked colored panes. While it was called a manor, he wouldn't be surprised if it had been a temple instead. It felt desecrated now that he was here, not through violence but through a disregard for life all the same. Some of the stone paths looked under a few inches of water. However, there were dark areas that could be pits with greater depths. Even if he got the Zora suit on, he didn't think it'd be a good idea to try wading through this himself.

Behind the old manor, he found where all the water was flowing. There was a large sphere of water hanging in the air, drawing more substance into itself. Dark swirls showed an inner turbulence. Looking at it, Link had an eerie feeling about this water. That wasn't mud and debris from the marsh, it was a magical curse of some kind. It reminded him of being in the tower: the days when he was too weak to get up and heard the drone of rain, a dark cell that only the thunder pierced, chains and humiliation and horror… a heady passion that made him forgive all that even though it hurt and he was still hurting…

Link brought his hand to his chest. Could he really challenge Prism like this? He had to; he had a plan and he couldn't falter when it came time to put it into action. Now that he knew what he was facing, most of them didn't cause him worry. But that knowledge made him look over other things in a different light.

A spiteful screech forced him to pay attention right before a mucous glob was hurled at his horse. Even the stoic Balrog screamed over that kind of pain, right before the phantom horse disappeared. Reminded of Epona in that, he grimaced as he got his footing. That was his fault for letting his mind wander in a dangerous place. Link got a bow and arrow in hand as he looked up where the Rotting Dragon was.

The disgusting patchwork creature overhead should not be capable of living. Its wings were darkened bones with limp fragments of violet skin hanging on. Through the missing skin and scales, he saw wrinkled organs and blood-tinged bones. Half of its head was missing entirely. On the largest chunk of anything, which could broadly be called its chest, the white seal marking was stark with how clean it appeared.

This was always the simple part. Having already swapped the enchantment over, he fired a light arrow right into the marking. Either confident or counting on this, the Rotting Dragon didn't even evade it. Sickly green magic moved them over to the silent testing realm to face each other.

On seeing the area he arrived in, Link wondered if this had been how the manor had once looked. The safe zone with the torch basin was in a grand entrance hall that had the extravagant wealth to rival the entrance to Hyrule Castle. These walls were covered in gold, with diamonds glittering in the chandelier overhead. In contrast, his clothes and sidebag were covered in marsh water, mud, and globs of the Rotting Dragon's attack. The white marble busts ahead looked down on him judgmentally, asking him if he really belonged here.

He smiled a little at it, this immense effort at making someone jealous that undercut itself with how hard it tried. He wouldn't want to live in a place like this. Planning on searching this place quickly, he stepped out of the safe zone and entered a hallway. There was so much wealth, and yet no fire. All he had to do was find a white flame and get it back to the start. Most of this could be ignored.

Most. He got paused on seeing a family portrait on the wall of one of the rooms. Standing in a garden of many flowers, they all smiled and kept close. Some portraits like this could be stiff and emotionless. The people here seemed blessed to have each other, wealthy enough to have no worries in how they lived. While he didn't care about the gold on the walls, this painting reminded him of things that had been out of his reach for a long time.

"That's from a highly skilled artist, don't you agree?" a man said from Link's side. He started explaining something about having worked hard to get the commission from such a master; Link couldn't help but notice the man's clothes. While his face and hair marked him as the father in the portrait, his clothes were much like that of the mage guardians from Clockwork's test.

"It is a good painting," Link said out of politeness. There were feelings trying to break out in painful ways, but it would be rash to let them take over. "I'm looking for the soul flame, though. Where is it?"

As he expected, the guardian tried to dismiss it. "Oh, well that's a small little thing, nothing of big importance. And nothing you'd really be interested in. Say, how about you come out back and take a look at my fishing boat? You won't see a finer one around, not in your life."

He chuckled at that, though he did look away from the painting to the guardian. "You're trying so hard, but no, sorry. If the soul flame is of no big importance to you, it won't be a problem for me to take it to it's proper place."

The guardian stared at him for a moment, then smiled with a smugness trying to be friendly. "No, it seems like you're the one trying too hard to deny yourself. Trying to be faultless is a fruitless exorcise that will only leave you feeling unhappy and unfulfilled. Live how you are and strive to get what you want. That will leave you in a better place. And here, I can show you many things you could have. I'm not going to give any of it to you, no, because they're all mine, but you can see more clearly what goals you could have."

"If I considered all the things I don't have," especially from that painting right next to him, "I'd get lost in fruitless unhappiness. I know I can be jealous but I can't let those feelings take over. Besides, I already have a goal and nothing you have could make that any clearer."

Down the hall, he saw a bright flash from one of the rooms. The guardian looked nervous as it did. "Well if you're so sure of yourself, what of the jealousy of others, hmm? That could cause you problems, we could talk about that."

"Who would be jealous of me?" Link asked, brushing the guardian aside.

Oddly enough, it dropped back and didn't trouble him further. He didn't look at much of the room that the flame was in; it was more gaudy pieces of no importance to him. Link picked up the flame fully expecting it to hurt for a moment like the flame from the Great Wyrm's realm. Instead, it quieted the old feelings trying to break out.

And he remembered a time shortly after he moved into the orphanage with over a dozen other kids around Taven. Gregio had caught him crying out in the woods one afternoon and had talked with him a while there. That was back when he still had real defects in his speech, but the old swordsman had been patient while he fumbled around trying to explain himself. Then Gregio had told him something that had stuck with him: all of the other kids there were suffering too. But one could take care of smaller things to make sure that suffering didn't get worse, and eventually they could all find a way to be happy again. Hoping for that, Link had gone back to work on chores and try not to make the others any unhappier. Eventually that led to him taking up a sword to keep the others safe. He didn't fight to hurt others, but to try ending all this nonsense with wars and evil so that the other children could find peace and happiness.

Though if things were that simple, he wouldn't be as troubled as he was.

He got the flame back to its basin and the Rotting Dragon's hateful growl didn't even faze him. "I can't believe we have to answer to a summoner like you."

"Then why are you?" Link asked before he could catch himself.

It clattered its half-jaw. "Our magic compels us to, as such obedience has been woven directly into our very state of being. As such, and as you have passed my trial, I, the Rotting Dragon born of jealousy, submit my will to yours. Though it is clear I never had a chance at your soul. But you'd better watch yourself around Prism. It's nearly conquered you already."

"I won't let it," Link said, although he couldn't say it with as much certainty as he could about Rotting here.

"You may say that, but we already know that your heart questions it," it saw with a perverse delight. It then vanished, sending him back to the normal world.

He really should get with Gregio somehow and prepare himself for that. Before trying to get to his mentor, though, there was the more immediate problem of the muddy and potentially poisonous mess he'd gotten into. Hopefully there was someone back in Reeds who wouldn't mind helping him clean up his clothes and gear from this.

"We'll discuss that matter later. For now, we'll break for the day and leave you all to study the parts of this ritual individually."

As Rosso watched Zelda leave the room, her lips in a strict line, he wondered how she was keeping the Triforce of Wisdom. There was no doubting that she was clever, nor that she'd been considered wise beyond her years as a child. Most people might miss it in her courtly manners, but he could see a captive anger in her that was swaying her judgment. Things might look clear-cut to most people, with her trying to save Hyrule from the evil that had overtaken it. But how would she be later on?

Rosso put his instructions in his bag before getting up from his seat, but his mind was back on the question that had just been asked. If it hadn't been from the woman from Kakariko, it would have come from him. What did she make of Link being acknowledged as the rightful wielder of the Master Sword? The Triforce of Courage often appeared late, after the hero had proven himself in many trials. But the sword immediately took to him and glowed with a holy light in his hand. Why was she still adamant about him being a traitor with that sign having been witnessed by a number of people by now?

Even as she tried to avoid it, her silence on the issue spoke plenty for her. It wasn't national treason, it was personal. Zelda was now married to someone else, the queen of another country. Yet there was some part of her that was still counting on the hero to be loyal to her. Rosso had seen a lot of conflict in his life, from domestic squabbles to life-or-death battles. Someone in her role should be capable of putting personal issues aside to handle greater problems. She should have the wisdom to see the conflicting signs in these events. However, she wasn't going to let them, the people she had picked out as sages of this era, openly see how much the mention of Link made her angry now.

He was sure that the others had noticed as well; there were good reasons that they had been chosen this generation.

Rosso was the last to leave the room, so he had to look around some to find the person he wanted to talk to. While the others might be concerned, there was only one person here who had better insight into the hero. He spotted Gregio in one of the side rooms talking with a maid. That was odd, but he waited a few moments until she left. "Could we talk about Link since Zelda doesn't want to?" Rosso asked him, coming into the room.

"What do you know of him?" Gregio asked as if mildly curious. But there was a twitch in his eye; he'd defend Link as a substitute father, or simply not speak if it might be trouble.

"I spoke with him on a couple of occasions when he was in my hometown," Rosso said. "I first thought he was like one of those green-tail youths caught up in patriotism or honor, going into battle with ideals not realizing the reality of it. Because I've seen too many never come back after going away with that look, I tried to scare him off what he intended to do. But he had this look in his eyes when I did." He patted his shoulder. "Somehow he knew just as well as I did the dangers and was still going out to fight. I saw nothing in him that struck me as a lovelorn fool, nor someone who could become one, so I'd like to know what's going on."

"I would as well," he said, backing further into the room. "When I met him, I was actually looking for the sword. I knew the legends could become active back then."

"Didn't you leave service years ago?" It would have been when Link and Zelda were still children.

Gregio nodded. "First sign I saw was when Zelda was given only that name and no one else thought it was unusual. Meeting a quiet orphan named Link made it more possible, and then I found the sword." He was troubled to recall it. "It was glowing faintly in spite of poor treatment, but that faded when I touched it. I left it alone and you know what I came out to find? He was wandering around just outside the thief's hoard the sword was in, in something of a daze. A mere week before, a number of kids in that town had lost their parents in a distant battle. All this trouble could have started years ago."

"But it didn't." Still, Rosso could imagine what might have happened. Link was awkward socially in a way that most people could readily see. How much worse could it have been if he'd been pulled into something like the old legends much earlier?

"Because I wouldn't let it happen to him then," Gregio said. "At the time, I didn't know him well but I didn't want to see a kid forced into a role like that. I prepared him as best as I could by treating him as any other student. Even if it is some force of destiny, I wanted him to be able to choose to accept it. He did, so I know he must be troubled over what's going on."

"Could I help you with talking with him?" Rosso asked. "He might know the risks of battle, but this is something entirely different. I don't want to see a young man like him messed up in trusting the wrong person."

The older swordsman smiled at that. "Thanks, but I'm afraid you wouldn't help much in that conversation. It's a personal matter and I may be the only one he feels safe in opening up to fully. Although, there is something you might be able to do."

"And what's that?"

"Interfere with the power of legend itself."