Chapter 28

Hide behind the burning sun

"Why won't you help?" Farore exclaimed.

"Because that is the law little sister." Nayru replied calmly, returning to tuning her harp.

The three golden goddesses stood in their heavenly throne room far away from the mortal eyes where all the immortal beings reside. The three queens, goddesses of creation, mothers of world, law and life ruled peacefully over the celestial kingdom, watching the world unfold below them. It was in this resplendent throne room that Farore now confronted her elder sisters.

Din and Nayru each sat in their respective thrones weathering Farore's storm as she stood before them.

The throne room itself was beyond anything in the mortal world. Constructed from light compressed into stone, it shimmered and shone, sometimes blinding white, sometimes an ever-shifting rainbow which undulated and billowed like the northern lights. The centre of the room was dominated by a large chess board. Though unlike any normal chessboard, this one was a direct reflection of the mortal world. The board itself was a perfect image of Hyrule and the surrounding areas. The chess pieces represented every mortal down on the surface. A chess piece shaped in Silver's perfect likeness stood in Faron's spring along with Zelda's, Epona's, Dal's, Kvas' and Ilia's. Whereas Link's chess piece was in an area of the board shrouded in shadow, with Nubia and Majora for company.

"But can't you see what's going on?" Farore pleaded. "We can't keep relying on Link and Zelda to save the day. They aren't invincible. You know that."

Nayru looked down at the chessboard, it rippled as if it were underwater, the folds of time peeling back to reveal an alternate Hyrule, one drowned in water. Then it changed again showing instead the kingdom replaced by two others.

"Every sword has its breaking point, no matter how much it is tempered." Rephrasing Hylia's own words that she had spoken so long ago.

Nayru shook her head, swiping her hand sideways to replace the layers of time.

"We cannot get involved Farore, you know that."

"You're the goddess of law and justice sister, why can't you just change it?"

Nayru once again shook her lovely head. She looked every bit the strict lawmaker and wise goddess the mortals made her out to be. Her hair, the colour of the rich blue sea was pinned with the zora's sapphire, braided and twisted in a complicated pattern like the woven threads of a tapestry. But long as it was, it still reached to mid-way between her shoulder blades. Her eyes were a deep fathoming blue that sparkled with a wisdom that spanned all the ages. She wore a simple white dress embroidered with silver and gold thread. In her hands she held a lyre, a type of small harp which she was carefully tuning. Her face, while creased as she thought, radiated only divine knowledge and immense judicial power rather than the pain and worry that most people would associated her frown with.

"Laws cannot be changed sister, especially by those who made them." Her voice was frustratingly serene and level, as if Farore was simply an equation to be cracked.

"Please Farore, stop this foolishness." Din said, speaking for the first time. "You should be grateful we allow you to communicate with the mortals. Do not try my patience."

Din was the eldest and strongest of all three goddesses. Her skin, wasn't pale as snow like her sister Nayru's, but a rich brown like the colour of soft sandy soil. Her eyes were hard as rocks, the colour of the molten lava. Her face was hard and angular, as if it were carved from granite. Her fiery red hair was pulled into a high ponytail, held up with the goron's ruby. She held a rock in a hand which she was carving using a thin stream of fire she summoned in the palm of her hand. No-one ever crossed Din.

"You helped Silver didn't you! You saved her when you gave her the triforce of power!" Farore retorted, turning to her sister.

Even sitting down, Din was still taller than Farore. She looked as immovable as the mountains she had carved.

"Farore, it would be unwise to continue, do not test our sister's nerves." Nayru warned.

"If you don't interfere, the darkness will destroy Link then it will destroy Hyrule, then it will destroy us." Farore stepped up so that she was eyelevel with her sister. "We are goddesses, we cannot afford to sit idly by while the Dark resurrects itself."

"We cannot get involved Farore, that is my final word on the matter." Din said in a voice that rumbled like the shifting earth.

"You abandoned Hylia to face the dark alone! Your only daughter Nayru, now she is gone. Only her spirit lives on now."

"Farore, stop this." Nayru warned, but there was a sadness in her voice.

"And now you would abandon Link too. How many times has his life been cut short because you would refuse to act? The first hero, the second, the third, the fifth, the sixth and now you would knowingly leave the seventh to die. When will you understand their pain? Or are you as heartless as Demise was?"

"That was foolish Farore." Nayru said, her eyes narrowed to slits. "You should know better than that."

"Do I?" Farore challenged.

"That is enough." Din's voice was as thunderous and as dangerous as the roar of an erupting volcano. "We interfere only, and only when the course of destiny is about to altered. I saved the Halfling because her death would alter fate in favour of the Dark." Farore backed away. "We feel Link's pain as sharply as you do, we feel the emotions and fears our triforce bearers as keenly as you do. I feel every tear the Halfling sheds and I feel her pain as if it were my own." Now Din rose to her full height, towering over Farore. "Yet you would believe we sit idly by and do not care for the fate of mortals. We care just as much as you do little sister."

"Then help them." Farore pleaded.

"I've warned you…" Din began, her voice low and threateningly.

"Then at least resurrect the Fallen, let them help in your place."

Din's eyes narrowed until they were thin as slits.

"Out of my sight."

Knowing better than to tempt her sister's temper, Farore fled.

Outside the door, Phaira was waiting. Kicking off the wall she'd been leaning on, she inclined her head to the goddess.

"How'd it go my Lady?"

Farore shook her head.

"They never listen to me."

"What about resurrecting the Fallen?"

"She threw me out when I asked." Farore bowed her head as she fought the raging emotions within.

"That…sucks…" Phaira muttered.

"Silver?"

Ilia's voice was the only sound that filled the spring. The gentle lapping of the water against the rocks and soft rasp of sand on sand seemed subdued. The mist still obscured Silver's form, a seething mass of grey shot through with white light. Five pairs of eyes watched with quiet horror, too shocked to move, too frightened to intervene. Fi floated, impassive as ever, her blank blue eyes fathoming and unfeeling. Yet even so, in her posture, the strain of sustaining the mist was evident. Her shoulders sagged, and she floated so low that her feet brushed the surface of the water. Every now and then, her form would flicker like a static on a bad wireless.

The moon rode high in the sky, looking down with a cold indifference. The dusting of stars overhead throwing their ghostly light down to illuminate the mist.

"Silver?" Ilia's voice called once more.

The mist curled tighter around her. Pressing right up against Silver, so that she was lost in a writhing ball of white.

Epona took a step forward. Her ears were flat, and she arched her neck. She stared at the mist, daring it to challenge her.

The mist took the vague form of a small sturdy pony. It stubbornly stamped the water, holding its head high.

Epona walked right up to the mist, until she towered over it. Even though her own mist was poisoned, and her human form with it, she was an intimidating figure and her presence more than enough made up for her mist's absence. The mist-pony took a step backwards but did not yield.

In normal circumstances, the two greys confronting each other, rather than fighting, would attack with their mist. They would coil and twist around the each other, taking on any shape, until one completely enveloped the other and forced it into submission.

Epona, took a more creative approach. She reared up and her hooves hit the mist-pony, passing straight through. As she did so, she channelled her emotions and memories like she would if she were using her own mist. The mist-pony resisted her mental attack. Of course, her mist didn't have its own mind and consciousness.

Nevertheless, without Link and their bond and with Silver shaky and new, the mist had no choice but to yield. It faded back into a shapeless mass, and parted, offering up its new master to Epona.

Lying face-down in the water, was a girl.

Link hurt so much. He didn't understand anything anymore. His body felt weak, weaker than anything he'd ever felt before. It felt as if his very spirit had been drained of every last drop of vitality. And he felt so empty. He felt as if half of him was missing, as if it were elsewhere. He was lonely. He was hurt. He was confused.

He wanted his pack.

He wanted Ubi. He wanted Poni. But most of all…he wanted Arri.

He missed her thick fur which she would always let him snuggle into. He missed the way she had let him chase her tail. He missed it when she threw him into the air and twirled him around and around. He missed her mist, which swirled around him, and sung him lullabies.

But she disappeared. He could remember the shouting, the growling. The anger and hate seeping in from outside the den. He remembered crying, the fear that coiled in his stomach as Arri attacked 'Am. The terror as he watched 'Addi throw her across the ground, his growl a hundred times more powerful than the loudest roar of thunder.

He remembered the aftermath too. The tears that 'Am shed when she thought he was asleep. The times when 'Addi got up during the night to look for Arri, to howl for her. He remembered Poni's silence, the oceans swimming in her eyes.

First Ubi had gone. And then Arri.

Everyone abandoned Link in the end.

Now he was well and truly alone.

He wished Arri were here now. She could get out. She would have the strength to fight the shadow lady. She could get out of everything. No matter how many times they'd played 'escape', she would always win.

"Ӕli? Ӕlini?" Her voice was sharp as flint, using the old pack name for young cubs.

The wall rumbled and rearranged itself to reveal an archway. Nubia stepped through, the shadows clinging to her like a second skin. Link couldn't see her, the cell was pitch black. Not a sliver of light penetrated the darkness. But he could hear her, the hiss of the shadows and the clack of her boots on the floor. He could smell her clean dead smell.

"Aw, what is it little Ӕli? You hurting?" Her voice was so sickly sweet, it was rotten.

Link tried not to meet her gaze.

"Yes, it hurts so much doesn't it? Having your soul slowly sucked out through a long straw."

Link tried to move away, a tiny whimper escaped his lips. Where was Arri?

"You don't know the half of it. You destroyed me ӔLi. You murdered Nubia, and this is all that's left of her."

Link didn't understand. He wanted Arri. He wanted Arri to come, to hide him from this mania that now pursued him with hell's vengeance. To protect him from her poison.

"How pathetic, even after all this time you still can't stand up for yourself. You always rely on others. First it was me, and now it's those pathetic creatures you call friends. But they're not here are they? They're not going to come for you? Ciara's gone now? Epona's too busy dying to come for you. So…what are you going to do now little Ӕli?"

Link couldn't meet her eyes, he didn't understand. She had been so good to him. But someone had leeched away that love, she had lost all her life and colour. Just a monochrome shadow flickering on the remains of a screen.

"So, tell me little ӔLi, where's the mist? Call it back to you." She told him.

Link shook his head.

"Don't play the fool, we both know the mist will want to return to you. It will come running to your aid. Now do it." She leaned forward so close that he could feel her breath on him, the shadows writhed around her face in her hair, their cold burning his skin.

Link shrunk back, twisting until the metal cuffs bit deep into his skin.

"Aw, I don't think you quite understand, my little moonling. Call back the mist. You owe me."

Link shook his head. He didn't understand. Everything hurt. Everything was so confusing. Ubi was good. But shadow lady was evil. Now they were occupying the same space. Epona looked after him, but she was too busy to come. Arri had loved him, but she was gone now.

His chest felt too tight, but his heart was empty. His mind felt as if it were stuffed with writhing snakes, but yet it felt devoid of life.

"I know you're hurting." Her voice was as quiet as a whisper.

With a gentle hand, Nubia touched his cheek. Her eyes were soft, the anger seemingly abated.

"I can feel your pain. I understand you're confused. So listen to me Ӕli. Call the mist back, I can use it to fix you. Then we can save Epona together."

Poni…Poni had always looked out for him. Even though she was forever busy, she had always found time to play with him.

Link's defences began to crumble. Ubi knew what to do. She always knew what to do.

"There's a good boy." She encouraged.

The triforce on his palm flashed, pulsating warningly.

"Leave him." A voice called.

Nubia recoiled with a cry, the shadows leaping up to protect her.

There, floating in a column of dark grey mist was a young woman. Her hair was dark raven, but her eyes were same stunning blue as Link's. She wore a dress of clouds, shapeless and formless. She had no legs, but from the waist down her dress dissolved into wisps of smoke. She was translucent, and her hair floated as if it were underwater. A scowl creased her granite features.

"Ceόlaith." Nubia spat.

"Leave my brother alone." The ghost snarled, her voice seeming to come from the mist rather than her moving lips.

"You're dead. You can't be." Panic crept into her voice. "I killed you. How can you be-?" There was fear in Nubia's eyes now and the shadows curled around her protectively, surrounding the ghost but wary of attacking.

"The mist is a powerful thing Nubia. It brought me back. Now leave my baby brother alone." Her voice was hard as steel.

Nubia hissed, stepping back.

"Formless as I am, I can still hurt you Nubia. Don't force me to."

"Link's triforce will only sustain you for so long Ceόlaith."

"Perhaps, but the pack is still mine, Chwaer."

Nubia hissed once more.

"I am no pack-sister of yours anymore."

With that, Nubia swept out. The shadows lingered, as if eyeing the ghost. She growled at them, and they scurried after their mistress. The door rumbled shut behind them.

The ghost turned to look at Link. His eyes were wide, but there was no fear in them. He looked, not happy, but calm. With a ghostly finger, the woman tried to brush the hair from his eyes. Her fingers passed straight through, but nonetheless, Link's shoulders relaxed.

"What has she done to you?" The woman whispered.

"Silver?"

All eyes were on the girl. The mist bunched around her, ready to defend its new host.

Epona lowered her head to sniff the girl's hair. It was a soft downy white, messily cut to shoulder length.

"Surely-" Epona began. "I never-"

"Epona? What's going on?" Ilia's voice was quiet and frightened.

"New dawn…" Epona muttered. "New hope…"

Epona looked up at the sky, the constellation of the hunter, despite the growing dawn, shone more brightly than ever.

"New hope…"

The sun was beginning to rise.

"Uh…Epona?" Dal whined.

"Help me get her up, she needs medical attention." The mare ordered.

"But what's?" Zelda asked.

Epona looked at them.

"Now isn't the time." There was an urgent tone to her voice.

Ilia came forward, helping to lift the girl up onto Epona's back. She was light, built with a lithe frame. She was dressed in thick white and grey furs, bunched around her shoulders, sometimes stitched loosely, in other places it was so close-fitting it was like a second-skin.

They managed to drape the girl over Epona's back. The mist clung close to her, flashing white and grey apprehensively. Ilia climbed up behind her to stop her from falling. She was startlingly cold.

"Zelda." Epona called.

The princess nodded and followed.

That left Dal and Kvas to sit in the spring, wondering what the hell had just happened.

They took her to Link's house. Ilia and Zelda took the girl inside, while Epona waited outside, dreading bad news.

Zelda sat on the edge of the bed, her hand gently holding the girl's. The triforce burned brightly through her glove. Her eyes were closed in intense concentration. Blue wisps of magic curled from her hands, and golden sparks leapt from their contact. Ilia placed a hot water bottle beneath the blankets in an attempt to warm the girl up.

It took an age, but eventually Zelda opened her eyes. She looked tired and haggard.

"I've managed to contain the mist, it won't go running through her mind anymore."

"But how did you?" Ilia asked.

"Once, when Link and I very little, I was told to share his mist. As my guardian, his mist would need to who I was. Normal greys don't have sentient mists, but they do have a rudimentary ability to understand thought and emotion. Link's mist, well it literally has a mind of its own, it nearly tore my mind apart before he managed to calm it down." There was a distant look in her eyes as she recalled the memory.

"Was this before…?" Ilia couldn't bring herself to mention the horror that had befallen the greys.

"Yes, a few months."

The conversation drifted into silence.

"I'll go and tell Epona what I've done." Zelda said, getting to her feet.

"I'll watch her then."

Zelda exited the house. As soon as Epona saw her, she trotted up.

"Is she alright?"

Zelda nodded.

"That girl is Silver, isn't she?" It wasn't really a question.

Zelda saw a sadness cloud the mare's eyes.

"Yes. Silver's half-grey."

"I know, I saw it in her mind."

Zelda could remember the feeling. Silver's mind had been chaotic. Whereas Link's had been a quiet pine forest, the wolfos' was storm-battered and coated in snow. A howling wind had torn through the branches, and the mist had felled entire trees in its excitement. Memories, reflected in the swirling snow, had shown the recent events. The wind's voice mimicked those of her friends. Everywhere Zelda had looked, the damage the mist had done was evident. Great sculptures of ice in which memories flickered like a television screen, lay strewn in shattered pieces across the carpet of snow. Of Silver herself there had been no sign.

As Zelda had walked through Silver's mind, she had seen clumps of mist gathered around memory sculptures, pressing so close to the ice that it shattered beneath the pressure. Whenever she saw it, she would call to it. Silver noticed there were two types of mist here. The grey mist that was Link's which would run to her side and guiltily bunch around her feet. But it was the white mist that intrigued Zelda the most. It seeped from the trees and seemed to be causing the most damage. Zelda hadn't understood why, but now, after hearing what Epona said, it made sense. Silver was half-grey. Evidently, the mist had been locked up inside her, a part of her yet unable to be free. When Link's mist had entered her mind it had released Silver's own mist. This mist had refused to listen to her. It had taken both the triforce's power and Link's mist to force it into submission. Now it was waiting, waiting for its mistress to wake up.

"You entered her mind?" Epona asked, though it wasn't a question.

Zelda nodded.

"Silver's mist has been locked away her whole life, it was released when she hosted Link's. It was a little too excited."

Epona flicked her ears, staring up at the growing dawn.

"How is she here?" Zelda asked. "The only ones who survived were you and Link, and only by Farore's intervention."

For a long while, Epona didn't move.

"You know of the story of the sun and the moon. How the sun shone so brightly, to distract the darkness, allowing the moon to escape?"

Zelda nodded.

"It's an old legend."

"Well, the same thing happened here." She paused. "When I touched Silver's mist, it showed me a memory. One of Silver, as a cub, her eyes barely open. Two wolves were fighting a shrouded figure in the SnowPeak lands. One of them was a wolfos, the other was a grey. The grey kept shifting between human and wolf, over and over, trying to outsmart the darkness." The fear in Epona's voice…it was something more personal. "That's all I saw."

"Hiding in the sun's light." Zelda murmured.

Epona didn't reply, she was lost to her memories.

Ok, sorry for the LONG delays. Stuff just keeps happening. But hopefully, I'll be able to post again, while I have the week off.

And yeah, please tell me no-one saw this coming. If you did…well crap…I need to try harder to be all mysterious. How does Riordan do these things?