Author's Note: I realized that I did not make a change to an early chapter that I originally claimed to do. My absent-mindedness seems to know no bonds. By the time you read this chapter, it should have been corrected. If you don't notice it, then no harm, if you did, then go back and read Chapter 12 that contradicts the statement and see the changes made to suit the new issue.

Chapter 25

Broadstead was slightly larger in size to the first town the hylians had entered in Silidan. The real difference, however, was in its composition. Whereas the first town was mostly farmland, Broadstead was created as a part trading post and mining town. The streets of the town had many stores to abide the shoppers, while in the middle of town, a road led to the back to a lift that went down into the Crystal Faults. On this particular day, the trading section was more vibrant. Many of the residents and workers were strolling about the main street to meet with the multitude of travelers who came to purchase their unique goods.

As Link and Ashei approached the town, they wondered what the people's reaction would be to have hylians in town. Ashei considered brandishing their weapons as a precaution, but Link believed that they'd appear too aggressive and may just cause unnecessary trouble. Instead, they would stay on horseback while they entered the town with weapons sheathed. To their relief, nobody made note of their apparent dissimilarities. While Ashei found it peculiar, Link took that as a sign to search for a certain, crimson-haired man.

It only took a minute or so for Link to hear the sound of a lute playing in the distance. He followed the music to the center of town where he would undoubtedly find the minstrel. Sure enough, Mandrakos Fears was in the center plying away at the strings of his instrument and singing a song. This time, however, he was accompanied by a woman. She had much darker skin, which one may have mistaken for a gerudo, but her darker hair indicated otherwise. Although the style of clothes was similar to that of her counterpart, the colors were casual, and did not stand out as much. In her hands was a flute, which she played with incredible skill. Link and Ashei took a moment to listen in on the show.

Deep red are the sunsets of mystical places
Black are the nights on summer-day sands
We'll find the speck of truth in each riddle
Hold the first grain of love in our hands

Again, the hero realized how well the strange man performed both with his music and with lyrics. This audience in particular was completely enthralled in the feat. Even Ashei couldn't help but listen to the enchanted music. Soon, the act came to a close, and the crowd responded with an abundance of applause. Mandrakos and his friend both bowed humbly, and waved them away, indicating that they were done. The spectators soon went their separate ways, allowing Link and Ashei the chance to speak to the jester. Before Link could take his first step towards him, Mandrakos smiled in his direction and greeted him loudly.

"Link! Ah, good to see you!" He took Link's forearm in his grasp and shook it firmly, while patting him on the shoulder with his free hand. "I trust you had no trouble with the locals this time?"

"None at all. I assumed that was your work again." The hylian smiled back, and as they broke their grip on each other he turned to introduce his companion. "This is my friend, Ashei. She was in the tournament with me if you recall."

"Oh, I do recall." He turned to shake her hand as well, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise." Ashei replied. "I've gotta admit, I was really surprised by your performance. It was really captivating."

"Well, as I like to say: songs from the wood make you feel much better." The tall man then spun to bring his own cohort to the front. "And this is my friend, Evanith. She's been away on . . . other duties, but she found a couple days respite to stop here. "

Both Link and Ashei held out their hands for her to shake, but Evanith relented. Mandrakos tried to elucidate. "Sorry, I forget things sometimes. She's not very good with other people. You have no idea how long it took to get her to open up to me. Has this problem of living in the past. I'm afraid I can't explain further at this time."

"Sorry to hear that." Link said sympathetically. He turned his attention back to the bard. "I do not wish to press you for information, but I believe we had a deal."

"Quite so, quite so. And it just so happens that I have the information you are looking for." He took a step back to grab his satchel that he'd left on the ground. After rummaging through it for a couple seconds, he pulled out an item. "This is a patch for the noble house of Edravorn. Sanducci received one like this for selling Ilia to the son of the house lord."

"So, she's a slave now?" Link's tone had immediately darkened, so Mandrakos finished his discovery. "Ah, but don't you fret, don't you fear. I will give you good cheer. Lord Juse Edravorn's son, Filion, is by reputation a decent man. And according to Sanducci, the young man did not imply that she was a gift for someone else, so that leaves us to believe that she is safe, and not being abused."

Link finally broke a smile. "I appreciate that, but for what reason would he buy her?"

"I was wondering that myself, so I asked around the castle. Turns out that there was recently an attempt on Lord Juse's life. A number of servants had to be removed from service. Most likely, Ilia is just another replacement servant girl."

"But you couldn't see her?"

"Unfortunately, no. Again, because of the coup, they're being very protective of who they let in. They refused to let me be their new minstrel in the gallery."

"So what if she gets into trouble while we're busy? How do we-"

"He's not always this thick as a brick is he?" Mandrakos asked Ashei. She shook her head, "He really cares for her. I'm sure you can understand that, yeah?"

"Oh, I can understand, yeah. I was just making sure since he acted like this last time I saw him."

"You seem to know a whole lot for being just a simple jack." Ashei said inquisitively.

"Well, I've made it my business to obtain all knowledge that I can. I'm very fond of history and family trees." He let his smile shift slightly to a smug grin. "I'll wager you that if you give me your full name, anyone's full name, I can tell you of the origins of the family name, and trace it down to at least six generations, possibly more, if given minor personal background."

"Really?" Ashei was not buying it.

"Try me."

"Okay . . . how about Auru Firlian?"

"Well that's an easy one. Firlian's originated twenty generations ago with Hezek Firlian, merchant of Hyrule of no special note. Four generations later, Ciri Firlian made a name for himself during an economical crisis. The Firlian's then became advisors to the throne ever since. I can recite each name if you insist."

"No, that was an easy one, I admit. Try mine next: Ashei Irnevire."

"Really? And you don't think this one is easy? The Irnevire name came into existence twenty-four generations ago when Derik Vice was released from prison. He changed his name to Ulric Irnevire in order to start a new life without people suspecting him of villainy. His son, Horis, joined the academy of knights once he was of age. The family has been in the service of the royalty ever since, giving it the distinction of having the longest lineage of nobility of any family."

Ashei's jaw dropped, and Link gave her a quizzical look. Once she reclaimed her dignity, she glanced towards her friend. "My family has tried to keep their past hidden for an incredibly long time."

"I understand." Link nodded. "It also just occurred to me why your father was so adamant about passing on the family name."

Ashei nodded in return. Link took Mandrakos up on his challenge next. "Okay, my friend Rusl has an unusual lineage. His surname is Sotur."

"Well, now that truly is an interesting one. It started some nineteen generations ago with Kayle Sotur. He was a pilgram who originally came from the Silidan, hence his human lineage. When he reached Hyrule, he fell in love with the people and decided to become a resident. He was an inventor of sorts, and had many failed attempts at creating self-sustaining machines. His three next generations-Nimo, Wells, and Brenin-followed in his steps, but also failed. Next in the generation was Pruse, and he chose the less glorious job of a carnival performer. The family remained in that profession until after the tenth generation, which was Moke. Now, Moke had three sons. Do you know which one bore your friend?"

"I believe he said it was 'Kelso'."

"Ah, ha! Very good! Now, Kelso chose the life of a diplomat. He kept many relations with numerous different races, but his greatest work was with the gerudo tribe. He spent much time in the desert there, since a new gerudo king had recently been declared. He died, unfortunately of an unknown disease. He only had a daughter named Olemp, but she had fallen in love with the gerudo king. They had a child together, but gerudo tradition forced them apart, and she returned to Hyrule. She then married a man of the surname: Lorian. Her first child, Geruk, was forced into a life of disgrace, isolated himself by moving south to the land of Ordon. There he became a rancher and farmer."

Link could hardly stifle his laugh, and Ashei glared in confusion, as it was her turn to do so. The hero regained his composure, but couldn't hide the smile on his face. "I thought that one would trump you."

"Then I suppose there's no point in assuming you don't know Shad's past." Ashei shrugged in defeat.

"Oh? Is his name well known?"

Ashei simply said the word, "Duro."

Mandrakos began to cackle with amusement. Evanith tried to calm him down, but the genealogist couldn't help himself. Link took the moment to speak to Ashei. "I know Shad doesn't like to talk too much about his family history, but was there something I should know?"

"You mean you don't?" Mandrakos was still wailing as he responded. "Oh, then you won't mind if I sing The Fall of the Dragon Rider to explain?"

"Uh-"

"He would." Ashei intervened on Link's behalf. "We do have a purpose for our presence, and we could use whatever help you can give."

"Are you sure? It's only sixteen verses long, I co-" Evanith nudged him with her elbow, indicating for him to drop it. "Oh, very well. Perhaps another time."

"Thanks." Ashei took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts on what information she needed. "Link was told that another one of the spirits lies inside the Crystal Faults. Can you tell us where it is and how to free it?"

"You already possess the tools to free it, and if you don't, you will. You don't really need my guidance, but I will mark on your map the location of the sunken shrine. I have the utmost confidence that you will easily discover the opening."

"Now that right there..." Ashei paused in mid-sentence. She attempted to speak again with a different approach, posing the question to Link instead. "Don't you find it funny that your friend only helps when he wants to?"

"Ashei, please..."

"Really, my dear highborn hunting girl," Mandrakos cut Link off again, choosing to defend himself. "Not to be boastful, but I help more people about this land than just you, and I must assist them all. I have a tightly knit schedule to keep, and you, Link, are amongst the few that can do most things by himself, or at least, with someone watching your back; just like during the Twilight Invasion."

"You had ears in Hyrule during that time?" Ashei's suspicions were growing.

"Well, as you had easily surmised, I'm not just a traveling jack. I've been working towards changing this land for a long time."

"How long is 'a long time'?"

"Well, let's see . . . somewhere around two hundred years."

Ashei's jaw dropped. Link was too busy processing what that could mean. Eventually, he was able to piece it together. "You're the advisor in the legend of House Maukro."

"Hey! So you can figure things out. I was beginning to worry for a second. Yes, I was there when the wizzrobes tried to subtly take over the broken kingdom and turn it into an empire. I knew that they would eventually turn their sights to Hyrule, and I knew that the abomination would be there in the end to swallow the survivors up if nothing was done to stop it. So I set several plans in motion to ensure that it did not, starting with House Maukro.

"With the help of the Spirits, the newly created Ordon Forest halted their immediate attempts. While I was positive I could keep the empire splintered, there was still the concern on how to reverse the effects of the abomination on this land. I finally came to the realization, that the only person on this earth, who could possibly deal with this issue, was the Hero of legend."

He paused from his exposition to point at Link. "That's you of course, but it had been so long since the last time the Hero had exposed himself, I had to have eyes on Hyrule while I kept busy here."

It made sense to the young man. Mandrakos was the reason that Silidan even had people that weren't completely hostile towards the hylians. However, there was one thing that didn't yet make sense. "You're very wise, Mandrakos, and very old too. What stopped you from taking my place when I was not around?"

"A two-fold question! How bold of you. Though I'm by neither human nor hylian, I'm no deity either. I will not tell you my entire story, as it does not concern the present situation, but I will say my existence has become one of aiding those in need. Let's just say that although I'm a decent fighter, I am not you. Also I've been forbidden from attempting to fulfill anyone else's place in the grand scheme of things if I were capable of doing so. Does that answer your question?"

"Just got one more for you." Ashei brought herself back into the fold. "Where are you going that's so important that you can't help out?"

"Why, to rejoin with Lord Aric and resume my services to him, as he prepares for the next attack." He turned to look up at the sun. "It's getting late. I suggest you take the lift down to the faults while you can. As for me and my friend, we must be off."

He waved them good-bye as he marched off in the most over-the-top manner, shouting grand commands to no one in particular. "Bring me my broadsword! Hymark, my faithful steed, let me find you a filly for your proud stallion seed!" As he grew further away from the hylians, he turned to Evanith and spoke in a hushed tone. "How many did I make?"

Evanith rolled her eyes, not amused at Mandrakos' most recent game. "Including the song: nine."

"Well then, I suggest we take a walk on velvet green to make it an even ten."

Link and Ashei had a chuckle over the ancient man's behavior before starting towards the lift.

"I noticed you cut him off from explaining Shad's story." Link commented. "What does it have to do with dragons?"

Ashei replied casually. "Shad's great-great-great-grandfather or other had delusions for grandeur. He had made extensive studies that would supposedly allow him to tame and ride a dragon. Of course, he failed, and died. Several other Duro's in the family had attempted to finish his work, including his father, but they all failed and died as well." At this point, Ashei's tone turned serious. "Shad has studied his ancestors' work, and has yet to find anything wrong with it. It's . . . twisted his mind."

Link was able to deduce the rest. Shad had no confidence in himself because even when evidence supported his theories, he would always come to the conclusion that he would fail; at least, when things might proved to be fatal. Ashei interrupted his thoughts with a comment of her own. "I noticed you didn't ask him to tell you of your lineage."

Link let a half-smile out. "If I had a surname, or knew who my parents were, I would have asked him."