Song of the Chapter: Enter the Twilight Realm - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

As a new day dawned Eragon and Midna knew they could delay no longer. Together they ascended the sandstone steps to the Mirror of Twilight's empty frame. Midna summoned their three missing shards. On their own the fragments twisted and turned, aligning themselves with the Mirror's surviving quarter. Without a crack to hint it had ever been fractured, Mirror of Twilight glowed radiant as the dawn.

The massive chains holding the black monolith glowed and crumbled to dust, dropping their load with a crash that shook the foundations of Arbiter's Grounds. The Mirror tilted in the monolith's direction, the runes upon its glass spiraling out in elegant circles of light. It projected its power upon the monolith, a swirling portal with a Triforce at its center.

"Some call our realm a world of shadows, but that makes it sound unpleasant," Midna said wistfully. "Our Twilight holds a serene beauty. You have seen it yourself when the sun sets upon this world. Bathed in that all people were pure and gentle... And then along came Zant and his foul power. I was so filled with hate at what he had done to me I didn't care what happened to this world and its people so long as I had my vengeance." She smiled at him. "And then I met you, and Zelda and Saphira, and your brother and so many others that showed me this too was worth fighting for."

Eragon glanced at the portal and realized himself no different. "When Twilight first fell upon this land I hated every aspect of it. It had taken what I loved and twisted me into a monster. I thought you a self-serving imp willing to use me only to further your own ends. Thank you for proving me wrong about everything."

The Twilight Princess glanced contemplatively at him. "If we can just defeat Zant, the curse on me will dissolve, and we may be able to revive Zelda. Her Wisdom still lives within me."

Eragon's stomach flipped. Zant and Ganondorf had stolen so much from this land. There were countless wrongs even a Hero could never right. Perhaps, just this once, there was one he could.

"For Zelda," he agreed. "For all the world."

As Eragon stepped toward the Mirror of Twilight a series of steps shimmered into existence. At their base he hesitated. The swirling portal before him suddenly looked far smaller when he realized how large he could become. He imagined his dragon form torn between two worlds and shuddered.

"Midna, will the Master Sword protect me from transforming in your realm?"

Midna faced the Mirror, expression inscrutable. She briefly glanced at him. "Just being in the Twilight Realm won't transform you. The Twilight Zant unleashed upon your world was a distorted mirror of the true thing, just like he distorted our people into shadow beasts. And me into this." She bitterly gestured to herself. "But it should protect you from Zant's worst magics. That's what matters most."

Eragon frowned at the Mirror. The Twili tribe's ancestors had been driven into the shadows and their descendants could no longer stand the sunlight of their original realm. He wondered if Zant thought it poetic justice to leave light-dwellers as faded spirits within their own realm.

He climbed the first step to the Mirror and turned to Midna. She hung nervously back.

"Um, listen, Eragon... Can I ask you one last selfish favor? Regardless of what my reasons may have been, I once abandoned my kingdom. I left behind the Twili. Those who followed me and considered me their leader... Even now the survivors wait, suffering, believing help will come for them."

"And we have," he reminded her. "You've come back for them with your sacred beast in tow."

"Not like this." Midna's voice cracked. "Please, Eragon, don't let them see me like this. Don't let them know how low Zant has truly brought us. I was supposed to protect them, and I failed."

Eragon had a thousand arguments against her. He bit them back at the expression on her face. He couldn't reduce a friend to pleading sobs right before they charged into an alien realm to save her people. He dipped his head and said nothing when she gratefully slipped into his shadow. She would not have to hide away for much longer.

Without hesitation he ascended the final steps and did not resist the force that pulled him into another world.


In his mind Eragon had first associated Midna's realm with the Hyrulean provinces during their time under the cursed Twilight, dark and teeming with shadow beasts. After learning Midna's kingdom was named Eluryh he had been unable to envision it as anything but Hyrule's dark mirror. He envisioned Zant holed up in a castle much like the one he had imprisoned Zelda in.

He manifested beneath orange skies shrouded by dark violet clouds. Instead of one elegant castle three stout black fortresses each sat on their own floating island. In the distance hovered other towers. Black waterfalls like liquid smoke tumbled down from them into the cloudy abyss below. The earth of each island was jagged, as if each piece had been gauged from the earth and thrown into the sky.

"Egotistical bastard," Midna hissed. "Of course he wants to live up in the heavens like a god. It better not come all crashing when we kill him."

Eragon's remark died in his throat as he noticed the hunched figures in the central courtyard. They stood like monstrous scarecrows. His hand crept to his sword hilt as he recognized the black masks obscuring their faces.

"Wait! They aren't enemies, Eragon. Please get closer. They can't see you at this point."

He cautiously edged toward the closest one. It didn't move at his approach. On closer examination the thing was not quite a shadow beast. Its mask was far smaller and looked half-formed. The runes upon its chest were not vibrant red but blue-green like Midna's. Though it was hunched over it did not stand on all fours like an animal. His heart clenched at its labored breathing.

"Oh gods," he whispered.

"They're the inhabitants of this world... They're still my people. Even blinded by those masks and deaf to all but their inner screams. Zant... how could he..."

"Can we save them?" he murmured. These Twili did not look completely far gone. Not like the true shadow beasts. "All we have to do is find Zant and finish it."

"By then we'd be too late. They're almost to the end now." She shrieked when he reached for the Master Sword. "No, don't! The light from the Master Sword will only kill them!"

Eragon swallowed thickly. Perhaps the Ocarina of Time might have purged the corruption from their souls but he had given it to Murtagh. Neither his brother's mundane ocarina nor Ilia's horse call were potent enough tools, no matter the melodies played on them, for such a cleansing. "If my light can't save them it can at least end their misery. They can still die as themselves."

Midna's shadowed form sprang up beside him. "Light can still save them, just not your world's light. We need a Sol."

He blinked. "Whose soul?"

"No, lizard boy, a Sol. It's a shining sphere that helps illuminate this world. A Sol like the sun of your world on a much smaller scale. Our greatest sorcerers craft them from spells that predate our banishment. My ancestors especially needed them when they and their crops will still adapting to this realm. They helped give us life. Now they are mostly used to power our devices, but the Sols in the palace are especially potent. Even one should be enough!" Midna frantically looked around them before pointing to the nearest tower. "Assuming Zant's redecorating hasn't meddled with the interiors too, there should be a Sol right in there."

Eragon nodded as she slipped back into his shadow. He vowed to the Twili he'd be back for them. Then he unsheathed the Master Sword and charged toward the door. At his approach it smoothly slid open with magic the magicians in Alagaesia would have killed for.

While the palace might have once been the home of Twili royalty this tower now only held empty rooms teeming with mindless monsters Midna assured him have never been Twili. They kept themselves braced for a shadow beast army or even Zant himself but encountered nothing more insidious than hovering golem crafted after Zant's mask. The Masks teleported and spat dark fire balls but were easily dispatched by the Master Sword.

Eragon changed his mind upon encountering the first chamber filled with a dark fog that turned out to have been comprised of Zant's shadow crystals. He suffered his first involuntarily transformation since Zant had cursed him. Even the Master Sword could not dispell such concentrated darkness. His flames could temporarily scatter the darkness but the crystals always clumped back together. Only after squeezing into the next chamber could he breathe clearly and freely resume his human body.

"Do you think the Sol will be strong enough to destroy it permanently?"

Midna hummed doubtfully. "It should all dissipate when Zant's dead. And keep away from those waterfalls. They're all probably made of those crystals too."

His anxiety only grew as they encountered only minor monsters and fog that was bothersome but not lethal as they progressed deeper into the tower. If Zant had hoped to lull him into complacency he was sadly mistaken.

It was almost a relief when a door barred with blood-red magic finally slammed shut behind him. At the opposite end of the massive chamber stood a hand that protectively clasped a shimmering Sol. Eragon drew his sword and shield, not fooled by the chamber's deceptive calm.

"Come on, Zant," he called. "Isn't it finally time to step out of the shadows?"

As he stepped fully into the chamber red barriers slammed down to pen him into a makeshift arena. Zant appeared before him. His form was blue-green and incorporeal, his outlines shimmering.

"Damn!" Midna swore. "It's only a phantom!"

The Phantom Zant raised its arms and summoned an ominous orb of red magic. Eragon didn't give it time to attack, lashing out and slicing through its torso. The phantom vanished, its magic harmlessly dispelled. Then it reappeared on the opposite wall. Eragon could not reach it before its magic tore open a portal and loosed a swarm of angry Keese.

With a roar Eragon assumed his dragon form and burned through the swarms. The Phantom Zant teleported away before his flames could make contact. The green dragon whirled around for a second shot. His fire again tore through summoned monsters but could not touch their master.

After several more futile attempts, he acknowledged a dragon's body was just too cumbersome for the fight and exchanged sheer power for speed, agility, and opposable thumbs.

Midna manifested the Hero's Bow in his hands when he called for it. Its arrows harmlessly sailed through their target. Even bomb arrows proved ineffective.

Finally Midna vanished both bow and quiver. "Okay, this isn't working out. Good thing we know your sword works."

Eragon unsheathed the Master Sword and charged. Several times the Phantom Zant evaded him. In his anger he once shouted a spell word before remembering magic was useless in this alien realm. Only when the apparition again tried to summon a monster horde did it slow down enough for him to land a single blow.

Eragon might have been a Dragon Rider but even his stamina had its limits. By the time the Phantom Zant finally exploded into a cloud of shadow crystals his shaking legs could scarcely support him. What time had not been spent chasing after the phantom had been spent dodging its monsters.

"The real thing better not be so slippery," he growled.

His wrath spluttered and died when he turned to the Sol. He had nearly forgotten the suffering Twili.

"Wait!" Midna cried as he reached to take the shining orb from the hand's clutches. "It's guarded by a King's Hand!"

Eragon warily stared at what he had thought only a statue. Seemingly inanimate monsters had fooled him before. "Is it dangerous?"

"We modeled the Hands off the Wallmasters from your realm. Their magic is so strong even you could do little more than briefly stun them. They're designed to hold onto their Sol no matter what. They're not deadly to thieves because their primary purpose is to protect the Sol... and distract the thief before the royal guards show up." Midna chuckled bitterly. "All Zant had to do was program them into thinking he's the rightful king. If even I tried to grab the Sol now the Hand wouldn't recognize me as anything but a thief."

"Will the Hand follow me?"

"It'll phase through walls up until you step outside with the Sol. That's the flaw a Hand's enchantment; its indestructibility is rooted to the tower itself."

Eragon spared the King's Hand a thoughtful pause. Then he snatched the Sol and bolted for the entrance.


Eragon sighed in relief when he finally stepped foot into open air and the last door shut behind him. Wrestling a magic hand for a miniature sun had not been the strangest thing he had done, but it certainly ranked near the top of the list.

His relief morphed into amazement when the Sol's soft light fell upon the Twili closest to the tower. Its massive form shimmered and shrank before exploding in a wave of particles. The figure left behind blinked in awed disbelief.

The man was obviously human, despite his blue-gray skin and the seamless shadows he wore as garments. Orange hair like Midna's even peeked out beneath his hood. His eyes were also like Midna's, red irises on golden sclerae. First the Twili's hands flew up to his face and then to his body. His eyes, already wide, bulged when he noticed Eragon and the Sol above his head.

Melodic babble fell from the man's lips. Eragon did not need Midna hissing a translation in his ear to understand his gratitude.

Then the Twili suddenly stiffened and looked back to the cursed forms in the courtyard. Both men raced up the path. Eragon bathed them all with the Sol's light. One by one the restored survivors clutched each other and wept. The small ones had turned out to be children. Eragon wanted to weep at such a revelation. Not even the innocent had been spared.

One child pushed his way out of a woman's arms and looked wildly around. With a cry he pointed at another floating island. Upon it stood a wheezing Twili still in the throes of corruption. Eragon knew it was the boy's father.

Eragon's heart clenched. The gap was too large to leap. Even if he somehow threw the Sol over and liberated the Twili he still would have been stranded.

"How do I tell them not to be afraid?" Eragon muttered to his shadow.

Midna hissed the words in his ear. Eragon recited every syllable carefully but his tongue tripped over the strange sounds. The children giggled at his horrible pronunciation but the adults nodded to show his point had gotten across.

Then he slowly set down the Sol and backed away. Only when he could put no further distance between himself and the Twili did he transform.

The children gasped in fearful awe... and then broke into excited chatter swiftly hushed by their elders. The man Eragon had first saved bowed his head. The green dragon nodded back. Then he carefully picked up the Sol and flew across the gap.

Like the others the Twili smoothly resumed his true form. His garments were more elaborate than the others', more of his skin concealed by shadows and a true robe draped over his slender frame. Faced with an adult dragon, the Twili backed away, slipping into an aggressive stance... until he heard his family's cries.

The Twili's rigid stance slackened as he gazed beyond Eragon to the Twili gathered in the courtyard. Then he fixated back upon the dragon. His eyes lingered on the golden lines that traced Eragon's wings and the Sol in his mouth. They widened the slightest fraction.

Eragon knelt in a clear invitation to climb aboard. The Twili sized up the gap's distance before mounting with all the dignity he could muster. He still clung like a burr when Eragon gently lifted off. Not even waiting for the dragon to land, he gracefully leaped from his back when close enough to the courtyard. Only when his wife and son were in his arms did his resolved composure crumble.

While the Twili were distracted by their reunion Eragon resumed human form and discretely drilled Midna for important information.

Lord Higure swiftly recovered from his shock when he realized Eragon had shifted shape before introducing himself, unaware his princess had already done that for him.

"I'm Eragon Veles," the human slowly said back. He gestured toward the other floating towers in the distance. "Any others?"

Lord Higure shook his head. Eragon's heart sank. The one solace was he could evacuate the palace far quicker. If the palace's enchantments failed when Zant died they could all die in the crash when the floating islands fell back to earth. He could only carry so many passengers at once. It would take at least two trips with the Twili before him.

Lord Higure stonily turned his suggestion down. Then he picked up the discarded Sol and set in right in the courtyard's center. Runes etched into the stone started to weakly glow, though their light paled in comparison to those upon the Twili's garments. Only then did Eragon notice a second indentation in the earth.

Staring purposefully down at Eragon's shadow, Lord Higure voiced his commands. Eragon strained to hear the words Midna breathed into his ear. The immediate area surrounding the palace swarmed with monsters and Zant's armies. Lord Higure could teleport the survivors to a safe place not even Zant could find. However, Higure could not do so if the usurper's wards were still in place. He needed the second Sol. Only then could his people escape and Zant's central keep be breached.

Eragon bowed his head and flew back to the second tower.

Midna erupted from his shadow as soon as the first door shut behind them. "Thank you for not revealing me. I couldn't bear to face any of them like this."

"I'm sure they'd understand. Look how they were when we rescued them." Finding Midna not receptive, he switched tactics. "Lord Higure carries himself like a leader."

"He worked hard to climb his way of the ladder of squabbling nobles. Before Zant massacred my family Higure wasn't that close in line to the throne. Now he and his clan are probably my heirs." Midna paused. "I'm glad he is. Should I not survive... Well, I'd rest easy knowing my people are in good hands."

Eragon had no idea about the Hyrulean Royal Family's current state. Would he leave them with a tyrant or incompetent fool if they couldn't revive Zelda?

Shaking fears for the future out of his head, Eragon drew the Master Blade, and focused on the monsters in front of him.


The Twili in the courtyard broke out into whispers when Eragon finally returned with the second orb. Returning to human form, he carefully placed the Sol into the empty indent.

Both Sols flared even brighter as light blue patterns spiraled out from them. Despite the gaping distance between the floating towers they too shimmered with runes. They repelled Zant's pouring waterfalls of shadow crystals.

Eragon startled as a sudden glow emanated from behind him but saw nothing. The Twili children pointed to his sheathe. Slowly he undrew the Master Sword, its metal shining brighter by the second. Lord Higure protectively raised his robe to shield his family. He slowly lowered his arms as he realized the light did not burn.

Around them the runes dimmed before dying out together. The glowing Sols faded to a dull glow as the cascading shadows crept back in. Still the Blade of Evil's Bane shone with a radiance of its own.

Lord Higure stepped away from them and sharply raised his arms. Orange magic gathered in his hands, spanning out into a swirling portal when he threw the fire ball at his feet. Then he turned back to them and bowed, drawing his hands before him. His clan followed suit.

Eragon swallowed but did not shrink away. He dipped his head in bashful acceptance.

The first man Eragon rescued stepped into the portal and vanished. Shortly after he returned to lead the others through. One by one they vanished until only Eragon and Lord Higure remained.

For a moment the lord's eyes appraised him. While Midna's irises were true red his were deep orange. Then in thick, accented Hylian he asked, "Does Midna live?"

Eragon nodded. "Yes."

Lord Higure's gaze strayed to the Master Sword. "Our prayers have finally been heeded, for you are indeed the sacred beast our gods foretold. May your sword light your way and may you never falter in the dark." With a meaningful glance at his shadow he sank into a final bow. "And may we all meet again in fairer times."

Then Lord Higure too warped away. His portal disappeared with him.

"Sensitive old bastard," Midna muttered fondly. "Always knew the shadows better than their king."

Eragon approached the solid wall of shadows that blocked access to the central keep. He knew his dragon power had power enough to temporarily dispel darkness. Instead he raised the Master Sword and channeled his strength into a great spin. Light radiated out in all directions. When the brightness cleared the shadows had vanished. They did not sink back down.

Midna cackled. "Wonder how that will work on Zant."

With a smirk Eragon strode forward to find out.

I took some heavy creative liberties on the Palace of Twilight because of course it wouldn't look that way in any medium but a video game. The gaps between the towers and the rough-looking patches of earth holding them up don't look natural to me, so I'm saying Zant put his castle in the sky because of course he has a god complex. A floating castle with wards impenetrable from the outside means he doesn't need intelligent guards mucking up his psycho solitude. On the Twilight side I'd also say their version of the Mirror was originally locked away in a vault. Only later did Zant put it out in the courtyard as a monument to his ego.

In canon Midna describes Sols as a source of life while in-game they function more like batteries. Midna's ancestors (and the livestock and crops they maybe took with them) were originally from a world with an actual sun and should have all died long before they adapted to their new world. The Sols were probably a sun substitute as they adapted to the Twilight and then primarily became for magic battery services.

Midna's true form is kinda... off compared to the other Twili shown in the game. For plot purposes Twili here instead have Midna's more humanoid appearance. And a little more agency than in canon.