The Legend of Zelda: The Demon Within

Chapter 51: A Knight in Holodrum

The temple passage led directly into the mountains north of Holodrum, and from their, the only way forward was through a large forest, which they could only enter after climbing up higher into the mountains. The back entrance from the temple was clearly of significantly higher elevation than the entrance, and they found themselves on top of a cliffside overlooking the valley below.

Despite Rajyhna leading the way out of the temple, Link had quickly retaken the lead once more and now began the ascent up the mountain. At last, they found a passage into the forest, and so they made their way into it, keeping an eye on their surroundings carefully so as not to get lost.

The light shining through the trees was beginning to dim. Night was falling rapidly, but they pressed on, knowing that they could not rest now. Too much was at stake.

Link perked her ears up as she heard soft music playing through the forest. As it grew louder, the clear sound of a violin could now be heard, and the others began to hear it as well. She followed the sound, until finding a boy sitting on a stump, his instrument made of forest materials. Strangely, he was clad in green garments.

The six waited for him to stop, and he looked up at them. "Ah, our guests have arrived. We've been waiting for you, Hero of Time."

Link raised an eyebrow. "Wh-what? How did you know we were coming? And why do you look like a Kokiri?"

The boy laughed. "Because I am a Kokiri, silly. Surely you would recognize your own flesh and blood?"

Link shook her head. "W-wait... I grew up with Kokiri, but I'm not really—"

"Come with me," he proclaimed. "The Great Deku Tree wants to speak with you."

"What?" Navi called out.

The boy ran through the woods, and Link and Navi quickly pursued him, the others following behind. He ran through the twisted paths, but finally came to a very large and tall tree, a stream flowing around it. Other Kokiri were visible amidst the woods, and the Great Deku Tree called out to them. "Come hither, Link and Navi, my children."

Link and Navi stepped forward, still unsure of what to think about this whole situation. "Navi, what are you doing? You must not let him win. You are far more powerful than he ever will be, and yet you have let him manipulate you. You must fight his power."

"W-wait, but the Great Deku Tree is—"

"Navi, you of all people should know who I am. Yes, I watch over the Lost Woods of Hyrule. That mighty forest is the birthplace of I and all the Kokiri, as handed down by the Goddesses. But my seedlings have spread across the entire world, and when a new Deku Tree grows up, new Kokiri children will be born, and my strength will grow evermore."

Link narrowed her eyes. "So, wait... you ARE the Great Deku Tree! The same one from our forest?"

"Yes," the tree proclaimed. "Although I can grow in many places, I am always connected even from afar. I exist there, in the Lost Woods, and also here, in this Forest Haven. But there is a dark power growing here. Fado, will you show them for me?"

The boy stood up, nodding his head. "Of course, my lord. Come, this way, travelers. You need to see this."

Fado directed them through the forest, until they came out to a cliffside clearing. Across the way, a large barrier spread out over the land before them, separated by leagues of water, but still incredibly close. Within its confines, a wretched forest stood in the mountains directly north of them. Further in the distance, to the northeast, they could barely make out a large black tower.

Kasuto gasped. "That... that's Aslark?"

Fado nodded. "And that forest before you is the Forbidden Woods. It is so close, yet so very far away."

Link lowered her head. "Saria... Saria's in there... I can feel it..."

Fado sighed. "Yes... Saria's soul is trapped in there, within the Majora's Shrine at the center of the forest. To get there, though, you must first break the seal, and to do that, you must have the Moon Pearl, the Harp of Ages, and Rod of Seasons all in your possession, and take them to the Black Castle in the mountains east of here. Then, the way to Aslark will open up to you. Even after you arrive, though, you cannot just walk right into the confines of the Forbidden Woods. It is sealed with dark magic. You will have to seek out Queen Dihryn Aslark, whom holds the key to shrine."

"That's all fine and dandy," Shadow remarked, but I don't think Dihryn will give us the key so easily."

Fado narrowed his eyes. "I never said it would be easy. But it must be done. Dihryn is the only one who can open the way for you. You will have to confront her at her castle and defeat her. Only then will you open the way to Mephistopheles' lair."

The boy reentered the forest and returned to stand before the Great Deku Tree. The others walked up to the Great Deku Tree as well. "So, now, you know what you must do?"

Link nodded. "Yes... Fado told us everything. There is still something I want to know, though. What did you mean when you said I was your child? And Fado said I was of Kokiri blood... but I thought..."

"You thought you were a Hylian?" the Great Deku Tree remarked. "Yes... you are. But you are also a Kokiri."

"In truth," the Great Deku Tree continued, "all Kokiri are Hylians. When your people returned to the land from the heavens, and were just beginning to build your land, many orphaned children found themselves lost within my woods. They would have died if I had not stepped in to save them, giving them natural power. They became as one with the forest, and when they reached the age of ten years old, they stopped aging. However, eventually, their youthfulness became too much for them, and they're bodies took on a spiritual form, transforming them into fairies, whom then began to protect and watch over new generations."

"As the first Kokiri became one with the forest, the forest began to produce more of them from the bonds that formed between my children. So long as they stayed within the boundaries of the forest, they would stay at one with the forest. However, if that bond is severed, their Hylian blood will continued to flow normally again, and they will age. Kokiri will be severed from the forest if they leave it for an extended period of time, as you have seen yourself."

"So, wait, its because I left the forest that I started aging?" Link asked. "But, then again, that sorcerer..."

"No, Link. You are not the one who was severed from the power of the forest."

Link raised an eyebrow, then turned up to face the tree again. "My mother was a Kokiri..."

"Yes. Your mother was a Kokiri. Not only that, though, but she was the previous Sage of the Forest. Your father, a Hylian, entered into the depths of the forest and met your mother at a young age. She fell in love with him, and though I warned her, she chose to live out her life as a normal Hylian. Years later, she had a son, but war broke out in Hyrule. Your father, whom had become a general of Hyrule, sent your mother and his son away to Labrynna, where she stayed for some time, but then she felt the pull that brought her back to Hyrule. She left her son there, and she returned to Hyrule."

"The powers of the forest drew her back to the temple, where she awakened as a sage. She returned to be with your father, knowing that the only way to drive the evil out of Hyrule was to use her power along with the other six. During this great Civil War, she had another child... you, Link. Hyrule Castle was attacked, your father killed, and your mother mortally wounded. She returned to the forest, barely alive, and laid you before me, knowing that you were Hyrule's last hope, and then, she died. Saria, your dear friend, the one you love so much, became your caretaker. She saved your life, and now, it is time for you to save hers. Save the one you love."

Link lowered her head. "Yes... Saria... she was like my big sister... then I grew older. Heh. But, I'm not going to let her down. I will save her, even if it costs me my life."

Navi clenched her fists. "No, Link... you won't be saving her if you die in the process... because if you die, this world will be destroyed!"

"Navi is right, Link," Mickaw added. "This worlds needs you. We need you. We cannot save this world without you, or without Saria!"

"The power of seven sages... plus the Hero of Time. That is what is needed to defeat Ganondorf. Mephistopheles, however, is a different matter. If we don't destroy him, even if we can save Saria, stopping Ganondorf is pointless."

"Link, your friends speak the truth. But you must also remember who you are. You must fight the power of Mephistopheles. Like Navi, you are also being manipulated by his power. You cannot hope to defeat him if you let him manipulate your mind."

Link raised an eyebrow. "Wh-what? What are you talking about? Of course I know who I am!"

"Heed my words, Link, and you, too, Navi. The journey will only get even more difficult as it nears its end. He will continuously try to dissuade you from your rightful path by manipulating your minds. You must be stronger than him."

The Great Deku Tree paused, then changed the subject. "Nightfall approaches. Rest here for a while, but then you must descend these mountains down into Holodrum. There, your next goal awaits you."

Link nodded. "Thank you for your hospitality, oh Great Deku Tree. We shall not overstay our welcome."

Rajyhna yawned. "Ugh... about time. I haven't had my beauty sleep in over a week."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have come," Shadow retorted. "In any case, now is a good time to rest."

"Fado," Link remarked, "can you wake us when the time is right?"

Fado nodded. "Of course. Now, let me show you to your beds, if you can call them that. Come with me."

Fado walked off to a nearby area, and everyone followed behind. The 'beds' were nothing more than piles of leaves, but they were very soft. Everyone stripped their weapons and equipment, laid down, and fell fast asleep, dreaming sweet dreams, knowing that it would be the last they would get for a long, long time.

XXXXX

Rajyhna sighed as they may their way down the mountain towards Horon Village. "Wow... I'm surprised at just how comfortable that bed was. I wish I could've slept for a few more hours..."

"I'll admit that I was mighty surprised, too. We zoras generally sleep under the waves, but that bed was a good substitute," Mickaw mused.

Link sighed. "I wish we could've rested longer as well, but we've got a job to do."

"That must be the village," Navi remarked, pointing down the cliffside towards the group of houses in the valley. "I suppose it makes sense that no one is around right now, since it is the middle of the night."

"Can you see the temple?" Link asked.

Navi shook her head. "No... its too dark for me to see. Fado said it was located northeast of the village, though, and we had to descend into the valley to reach it. Its possible that its surrounded by the mountains and impossible to see even in the middle of the day from this position."

Kasuto nodded. "I have very good night vision, and I can't even see it. It must be on the other side of the hills to the east. Let's keep going."

It wasn't long before they reached the prairie down in the valley and were already at the outskirts of Horon Village. They made their way through it quickly, not wanting to attract the attention of any civilians. Strangely, though, there appeared to be large footprints in the dirt, a little bigger than Shadow's feet, and not quite human looking, either. They didn't look like an animal's footprints, either.

Shadow knelt down onto the ground and glanced one of them over. "Hmm... I think this must be the answer. Look at those markings," he pointed to the edges of the print. "Those aren't boots. Those are steel greaves. I think some sort of armored knight is terrorizing this village."

They glanced around and noticed that a few of the houses were severely damaging, only proving further that these people were in fact under attack by some unknown force.

"Yes, you're right," a voice called out. A man stepped out from one of the houses, apparently having heard them. "I do not know where you come from, but this person appeared out of nowhere, demanding us to give him the Rod of Seasons. We refuses, and he attacked us... several of this village's citizens were severely wounded, and three people even died. Another visitor, a nicer man from a faraway led, agreed to take the knight to the Temple of Seasons. Please, will you help us?"

Kasuto lowered her head. "This man... his name isn't Mudora, is it?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Huh? How did you know that? Yes, Mudora was the name. He took that knight, Veldt he called himself, up to the Temple of Seasons. Oh, please, hurry and save him, and our treasure!"

"Listen," Link remarked, "if we help you, I'd like to ask a favor of you. I'd like to borrow your Rod of Seasons. I can't guarantee when I can come back and return it... but I promise I will return it when I get the chance."

The mayor of Horon Village sighed. "Okay, very well... if you can stop Veldt, you may borrow the Rod of Seasons for as long as you like... but please hurry!"

"Don't worry, we'll take care of that creep," Rajyhna remarked.

The group followed the path around into what appeared to be a large crevice in the mountains, where, sure enough, the Temple was clearly visible. They immediately raced up the stairs and into it, where they could hear yelling emanating from within.

"Mudora, I'm coming!" Kasuto called out.

At the far end of the temple, an old man cloaked in white robes, his face hidden by a hood, stood between the stand where the Rod of Seasons was placed and a tall knight in black armor. "You said you would hand over the Rod of Seasons, old man..."

Mudora shook his head. "I could not bare to let you destroy any more innocent lives! But you shall not take the Rod as long as I am here."

"I've had enough of this! Begone!" Veldt yelled out, slapping his steeling gauntlet into Mudora's face and knocking him down to the ground.

"Stay away from there!" Shadow snapped, teleporting to where Mudora once stood. He charged a blast of dark energy and threw it directly into the knight's face, forcing him to stumble back a few steps.

"Damnit... You insolent fool!"

Mickaw threw his fins out at Veldt, but they simply bounced off his army, merely enraging him even more. He turned back to face the intruders. "Hmph... so you people have come to save this worthless wretch? Very well. I shall destroy you all as well!"

The knight pulled a large sword over his back, holding it out in both hands. Link armed herself with her sword and shield, and Kasuto quickly pulled out her katana. Mickaw merely held his arms up, realizing that unless they can break down the man's armor there was nothing he could do.

Veldt suddenly turned and swung his sword away from them. Navi held her right hand up to deflect the attack with a barrier, then she threw her left hand up to bring up another barrier. She jumped back as Link threw her already damaged shield forward to deflect another blow, then promptly stabbed into Veldt's armor.

Kasuto dashed in and slashed twice horizontal at the spot where Link had pierced through, then Veldt quickly raised his hands as dark magic swirled around him. He yelled at it spread out, a wave of water knocking both Link and Kasuto back several feet and forcing them to the ground.

He held out a hand towards Link, charging a blast of magic. Navi suddenly whispered her own incantation and an cold breeze enveloped the front of the knight, freezing his magical power and temporarily stunning him.

Mickaw then jumped in himself, slashing his sharpened fins across Veldt's front, shattering a piece of his armor, before quickly rolling away from another attack. Veldt stumbled back a few paced, but promptly regained his footing and yelled out in rage throughout the entire temple.

Shadow charged forward from behind him. Suddenly he swung around with surprising speed and slammed his fist into the sorcerers side, smashing him up against the wall near Mudora. Kasuto jumped into the air to catch him off guard, and immediately he swung his blade back into hers. The force of the attack pressed hard into her katana and she was quickly shot to the ground.

Veldt moved to finish the attack, but Link jumped up and deflected his next strike with her shield. In the process, however, her shield shattered to pieces and she gripped her arm in pain. "D-damnit! Just who the hell is this guy? Agh..."

"Link!" Navi cried out as Veldt prepared to finish both Link and Kasuto off in one blow. "No!" she threw her arms forward as a gust of cold air sprayed forth, freezing Veldt over again. She did not let up, though, and kept pouring all her power into it. Mickaw called upon his own power and began to spray Veldt with water magic to further increase the strength of Navi's icy power.

When both of them were drained of energy, they collapsed to their knees. Veldt, however, began to twist and writhe in the frozen block of ice. Mudora stood up, dashed forward, raised his foot up and kicked hard into the knight's side, knocking him over and shattering the ice, but also the rest of his armor. "Ugh... so... you... you are him... Agh..."

"You worthless piece of trash," a maniacal voice laughed out as a gust of wind raced into temple. The Wind Sorcerer, Vaati, appeared in front of the broken husk of the knight lying on the ground. "Hmph... But orders are orders. It seems I'm working for your master now, so I've got to fetch you from your failure. My power is still too weak to fight these fools, but I shall at least take you back with me. Come!" he called out.

The wind howled in the chamber, rushing through and into both Vaati and Veldt, and both vanished in an instant. Kasuto stood up, as well as Link, Navi, Mickaw, and Shadow.

"Well, that could have gone better," Rajyhna remarked.

Navi sneered. "What are you saying? You didn't even fight! Where were you?"

Rajyhna laughed, holding out the Rod of Seasons in her hand. "I managed to swipe this to make sure Veldt couldn't get his hands on it. Besides, I knew I was no match for him. I snuck passed in the middle of the fighting, grabbed the rod, and hid."

Mudora turned to everyone and nodded. "Thank you... thank you, everyone, for helping me."

"Mudora..." Kasuto looked him over. "You're doing well... how did you pull off that attack?"

Mudora laughed. "I was one a knight, long ago... I'm still fit for my age, but my age is catching up with me. But, Kasuto, why are you here?"

Kasuto nodded. "I was looking for you... you gave us a list of all the places you planned to go. I was sent to find you and ask for a copy of that book you were trying to right... If you hadn't finished it, I was also going to try and help you to finish."

He nodded. "Yes, yes indeed... In fact, I have recently finished a copy of it. My book will allow you to translate any of the ancient tongues around the world into the modern tongue. Well, at least those across the continents of Landon and Ramon. I still have all my notes, so I can begin writing a second book. You may have my first copy."

Kasuto nodded. "Thank you... that would be very appreciated. We cannot stay long, there are urgent matters to attend to, but I hope to see you back in Hyrule soon."

"I cannot guarantee when I will return, but I look forward to seeing you, as well. Now come with me back to Horon. I left my notes there. You can take the first edition of the Book of Mudora with you."

Link sighed. "Okay... So, we've got the rod, and you've got your book," she remarked, turning to Kasuto. "Let's head to Horon, and then finally, to the Black Castle."

"The Black Castle?" Mudora mused. "I was there briefly... very dark and sinister place, that is. I heard that an ancient warlord ruled from the Black Castle hundreds of years ago over all of Holodrum and Jalhalla, but he died off and it has stood there ever since. A mystic power is said to reside within. Perhaps that is what you're looking for."

Link shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure. All I know is that is where we need to go."

"Very well, then. Come with me back to Horon, then be on your way."

Kasuto smiled. "Thank you, Mudora."

Mudora led the way out of the temple, and Link added the Rod of Seasons to her pack. They returned to Horon Village and Kasuto took the first copy of the Book of Mudora, and then all six of them headed up into the mountains, where the Black Castle awaited...