Chapter 54: The Hero of Twilight
Link sat on the bed and waited for his father to speak. Rayand was quiet for a long time. He merely sat on the mattress with a pensive countenance, seemingly collecting his thoughts. Outside, through the window, Link could see that the day was nearly done. The sun had already disappeared behind the mountains to the west, so that the sky and the room were filled with a soft periwinkle color that appears briefly just before the stars begin to show themselves.
Finally, Rayand spoke. "It was such a long time ago. Hyrule was different back then, smaller." He closed his eyes. "I lived in a discreet corner of the nation, in Ordon Village. It was quite similar to the village where you were born, actually."
"And this was when you were about my age?" Link asked.
"Yes. But as incongruent as this may seem, my days in Ordon Village are about four hundred years past." Link let his jaw hang open. "Don't worry, I'll explain later. But for now, you need to know about my quest. As always, I was matched against Ganondorf, although I didn't know it at the time. He was working through a servant by the name of Zant, king of a parallel realm to ours known as the Twilight realm. Zant sent his minions for me, and I was captured and taken away to the dungeons of Hyrule Castle, which was, at the time, overtaken by the beasts of Twilight. You see, when this parallel dimension enters this land of our own, living spirits are all turned to ghosts, powerless to do anything. Hyrule had no way of fighting the monsters. But anyway, back to the subject of my capture. The moment the monsters touched me, I became a blue-eyed wolf for no apparent reason, and I was completely lost in that body. I didn't know what to do, so I sat in the dungeon…and passively fretted."
"Well, how did you get out?"
"I didn't escape by myself. For quite a while, I simply stayed there, hopeless. My only solace was sleep. I was not only fearing for my life, but for my friends back in Ordon, a small boy named Colin and a girl of my own age named Ilia, who had been captured as well. I must honesly say that, despite the numerous tribulations I have faced since, that was the darkest time in the entire spectrum of my experience. Imagine yourself alone, in a dark dungeon, in a body you don't understand, chained to the floor, no way to escape…" Rayand opened his eyes, and thin streams of water gushed from them. "But then…but then I was rescued."
"By whom?"
"Her name was Midna. She appeared to me in the form of a devious imp, whose eyes were full of fire and mirth like I had never seen before. I didn't like her at the time, for she was condescending, pretentious, and not to mention…a little inconsiderate of my personal space." Rayand actually chuckled, before sighing and returning to his contemplative attitude. "But she freed me from my bonds, and therefore I had no choice but to do what she said. She guided me out of the dungeons, where I first witnessed the dreadful shade that had settled over the world. I was horrified. But I did what Midna said, and she led me to the tower of none other than princess Zelda herself."
" Really? But she belonged to a different generation, right?"
"Of course. And I was just as enamored with her as you are."
"I never said I was enamored with Zelda."
"The way your interest suddenly sparked when I mentioned Zelda gives everything away, you do realize."
Link blushed as his father gave him a clever smile. "Yeah, I guess so."
"So tell me, what window of opportunity did you find to pursue your own romantic adventures without the interference of Ralis?"
"Can you just continue with your story?"
Rayand laughed. "Sure. But don't expect me to let this go. This is your first real romance after all, not counting those petty attempts at love that both you and Dysor tried with Aola."
Link couldn't help but smile. "The story, Dad. The story."
"Right," Rayand said as if he had forgotten, though he obviously hadn't. "So Zelda informed me of the sorry situation of Hyrule, and the brutal and efficient way Zant had taken the land for himself. Then she sent me off with Midna to save the entire world from being consumed by this mysterious, alien, and seemingly evil realm that had entered our own. As you can probably assume, I was under a lot of stress at the time. But with the help of Midna, I set out on my quest, I discovered how Ganondorf had been manipulating events from behind the scenes, and I slew him with the Master Sword. It would take weeks to narrate all of the events that happened between my escape and the temporary death of Ganondorf, but it was much like your quest. I traveled among the regions and races of Hyrule, embarking on adventures and completing tasks much like you are now. But what I remember best is my growing relationship with Midna."
"The pretentious imp you mentioned earlier?"
"Yes…she was not as cold hearted as I thought. She was, she told me, a princess of the Twilight realm, doing anything she could to save her people from the Usurper King, Zant. After the icy barrier between her, a being of Twilight, and me, a being of light, had melted, she showed me her heart and I showed her mine. She became my dearest and closest friend. But at the end of the grand journey," and at this Rayand's face darkened, "she had to leave me forever."
"Why?"
"Because she was the Twilight Princess, after all, and she had to tend to her people. She returned to her dimension through a portal called the Mirror of Twilight, and she broke it as she left to avoid any further conflict between our two worlds. But as she shattered the mirror, she also shattered my heart. I was devastated." Tears now streamed freely down Rayand's face, and he struggled to speak between sobs. "I tried to return to Ordon Village, but I couldn't…after everything that had happened…it was impossible. I set off, abandoning everyone I ever knew, Ilia, Colin, everyone. I sought adventure, more action to fill the empty space in my soul, but found only a dull and barren land without Midna. I was lost, just as lost as I was during my mission for Hyrule. Eventually, after years of wandering, I returned to Ordon one last time to try and make a life there. I settled down and married Ilia and started a family. We lived happily together, but at nights I dreamt of Midna, the friend I had lost. We grew old. Then, one day, she died and all my children moved out to the more populated regions of Hyrule, shattering my heart once more, the heart that had taken years to mend after Midna abandoned me. At that time, I realized there were only two people left in Ordon Village, namely Colin and me. The rest had left or passed away."
For a moment it seemed as if Rayand had stopped. Link was dumbstruck by this emotional display by his father. He had no idea Rayand harbored this kind of tragedy from his past. But he was still confused how, if Rayand was old at the time, he could barely be entering his forties now, or how he could have lived for so long in the first place. "So what did you do?" he asked, hoping for answers.
"I left again upon the back of Epona, and I rode far away, beyond the borders of Hyrule, through the desert, over sands and through ruins as far as I possibly could. I rode until Epona wouldn't run any more, and then I went on foot. I lived off the small lizards and insects that reside in the desert, as well as the water of an occasional oasis that I happened to pass by. I ran until I reached the edge of the continent, where the sand met endless water. Then I swam, for wherever there is one ocean, there must be two shores. Inevitably, I died. But then, with no explanation, I was revived and I continued on as if my death had never occurred. Thinking that, if I was revived in this manner, it must be the doing of the goddesses and that the purpose in my life had not yet ended. So I continued across the ocean with renewed vigor, tireless, not even eating now. But somehow I kept going. Eventually, I did reach land."
Link leaned in and listened with renewed interest. What world could possibly lie at the other side of this endless body of water? It seemed to him this last adventure of his father's had transcended beyond a mere physical journey and become a metaphysical search for his father's final calling.
"What I found was a forest, in the center of which stood a giant statue of an angel, whom I later discovered was the goddess Hylia. There was a temple there, too, which contained a great tree. I ate a single fruit off this tree, and I instantly felt reinvigorated, free from the bodily pains that had plagued me after my great swim. I also noticed a hole in the base of the statue of the angel, but I didn't enter, for I felt like there was still something to be accomplished before that place was explored. Where I got this strange premonition, I know not. But I lived in the temple for a while, an old hermit untouched by another sentient being for weeks. One day, though, something mysterious happened. In the side of the great tree there appeared a mirror. And when I gazed into it I found that I looked significantly younger. Indeed, I was aging backwards."
Link was stunned. The story here was becoming rather haunting. He somehow had a feeling that, by the end of his life, he would be doing the same, and he would find this mysterious statue and temple. "So what happened then?"
"Deciding that my life was far from over, I set out for more discoveries. What I found, I will keep secret from everybody for now, even you. But indeed I did age backwards, and when I was in the weak body of a newborn baby I began to age forwards again. And in my fourth lifetime, which, like the second, was inverted, I built a boat and loaded it with sustenance enough to bear me across the ocean. Then I headed back to Hyrule, where I began to age forwards again. I married Leali, who gave birth to you, and here we are now. That is the end of my story."
"It's quite a lot to process."
"Indeed it is. Now go out with the knowledge I have bestowed upon you, and continue on your quest. And mark my words, Ahriman is not to be trusted."
"It is only right to give her a chance, but I will heed your warning and use caution."
"To ally with her is not cautious. But go now. Saria recently told me that Ralis is at the village morgue with the body of his sister, and he wants to tell both you and Zelda in person that he has made a very important decision."
"I suppose I should not keep him waiting, then. I didn't know you could talk to Saria, too."
"I can talk to all the sages. It's an ability granted to me by the goddesses. Now go see Ralis. This is an issue of utmost importance."
Link obeyed by standing up from the bed and starting toward the door. He had his hand on the knob when Rayand spoke once more. "Wait! I have one more thing to tell you!"
"Yes?"
"There is a second Mirror of Twilight. I probably shouldn't really be telling you this, because it would be very dangerous to reestablish connections between our worlds, but it was the one that appeared on the tree. I carried it back with me, and hid it in a cave not far off from our village in Faron Woods. Just follow the path of stones carved with a small symbol of the Triforce in them. The symbols are really quite discreet, so it might take some work to locate the path itself…but if you do go back to the village, and you can find the cave, please, please inspect the Mirror for yourself and see if there is a way to activate it. I would thank you eternally if I could see Midna again."
"I will," Link said solemnly. Then he left.
