LOVE IN A TIME OF CALAMITY
Part 1: The Return of Calamity Ganon
Chapter 3: Blood of the Goddess
Author's note
12/3/17: Small changes (Improved the funeral rite! Woo.) but mostly the same.
Warnings: death.
The guardian came to a standstill, head whirring, before slumping to the ground with a thump as red smoke dissipated out of the top of the machine. Though they now patrolled Hyrule Field like ants on a forgotten picnic, their trek back through Hyrule field had been relatively unhampered. They continued on, side-by-side, heading north along the road to Castle Town.
Zelda felt different; lighter and heavier at the same time. She could feel the power moving through her like a river. It had been barely perceptible when she'd stopped the guardian from killing Link, but the closer she got to the castle, the more rapid and turbulent the flow became within her; like a river in spring fresh with snow melt. But more than that, she felt… opened, as though all this time she'd had cotton in her ears and now everything sounded sharper and clearer. It was like a sixth sense made manifest: she could feel things upon the wind she'd never noticed before—energies undulating upon the breeze, invisible presences made known to her.
The perimeter wall of Castle Town loomed and with it, an echoing sense of fear and sorrow—sharp and painful, yet somehow muted. Before the sealed southern gate monsters which earlier had battled the castle guard, now unimpeded, pounded their fists angrily upon the tall, metal gate demanding entrance. Others made to climb the walls, but slid and tumbled down the sides as the rain-slicked stone impeded their progress.
As they neared, several monsters turned in notice, shouting to their companions and pointing in their direction. Zelda raised her hand, letting forth another burst of light, this time gentle waves expanding outward, pulsating in regular intervals like a heartbeat. The monsters recoiled, stumbling over each other in their haste to retreat. Zelda moved forward with Link trailing behind her, driving the beasts away. Yet as she drew closer, the earlier sensation of fear and sorrow washed over her again, this time like a tidal wave, causing her to stumble in her stride. Over the din of the monsters scuffling and shouting to escape her power, she could hear faint voices: whispers, prayers, pleas…
"Goddesses, please, watch over Maren and the children …"
"I'm not ready to die… please, I'm not ready—"
"In the name of the three, may my sins be absolved. In the name of the three…"
"Mother, Father, I'm so sorry for all the lost years. I should never have enlisted…"
She paid no notice as the monsters' number thinned before them; her head was spinning with so many voices—desperate, scared, full of regret. Despite the rain, she could feel her tears as they trailed down her face, sorrow overwhelming her. She struggled to keep her power active and her stride steady as she approached the gate, the last of the monsters retreating across the field. As she looked around her, at the bodies littering the battlefield, it dawned on her with horrified understood what she was hearing and to whom the voices belonged. Lowering her hand, she stopped the flow of power.
She turned her head towards Link, eyes wide as tears streamed freely from her eyes, her throat almost too tight to speak. He moved towards her, concern and confusion etching his features as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Zelda, what—"
"I can hear them," she whispered hoarsely, gaze a million miles away.
Link looked at her in confusion.
"Link," she said, stronger this time, slowly turning her head to focus her gaze on his, "I—I hear them—their voices…" She moved forward, gaze sweeping over the bodies around her in horror. Stepping towards the figure of a man crumpled against the gate, moblin spear protruding from his gut, she knelt down in the mud, hand glowing as she cupped his lifeless cheek. She could feel his soul still trapped within his body, held from passing by the weight of unfinished business in this life—could hear his final thoughts echoing in her mind.
"I loved you, Sari. I never told you—Goddesses, I wish I had…"
Grief—harsh and white-hot—overwhelmed her, and what she did next she did by without thinking, by some unknown instinct. Stepping back slowly and raising her hand, she recited a traditional funeral rite, her voice echoing with unearthly resonance as she spoke:
"By the will of the Three are we born of their love.
By guidance of the Three do we live in harmony.
By decree of the Three, when our time is through, do we return to the silent realm anew.
May the Three greet you at journey's end:
Din from whose power came the land;
Nayru from whose wisdom came order of strife;
Farore from whose courage came all life.
To them your soul do we release.
In tenderness and truth, find peace."
All around her the bodies of the fallen began to faintly glow, the light from her hand pulsating in rhythm. Pale blue wisps, ethereal and transparent, rose from them, floating slowly towards the heavens before fading into the sky like wisps of smoke. For a moment, all was still. Lowering her hand, Zelda smiled softly. The clamor of voices was gone. Turning to Link, she found him staring at her in ill-disguised awe.
"Princess! Master Link!"
The exclamation startled them both, drawing attention to the tiny guard room window set into the wall to the right of the gate. The face of a balding, middle-aged man greeted them.
"Princess, it is you! I thought I'd heard your voice, but it was so loud and strange, I thought it couldn't be, but then Martel said…"
Link stepped forward interrupting the diatribe. She recognized the man, of more specifically, his overly-exuberant manner: Barlow, a member of the royal guard.
"Barlow, we need to get to the castle. Open the gate."
Barlow offered a small salute, raising a bandaged hand up to his sweaty forehead. "You got it, Master Link!" Turning around and shouting into the depths of the guard station, his booming voice echoed out the small window. "OPEN THE GATES! THE PRINCESS AND THE HERO ARE HERE!" Hoots, hollers, and cheers echoed from inside the station in response, causing Zelda to fidget self-consciously.
The gates creaked open revealing a devastating scene within. At least half of Castle Town lay in ruin, destroyed by the rogue guardians. Stone rubble, charred wooden beams, and cracked blue tiles littered the once-pristine streets as buildings smoldered, sending their embers floating into the sky like red fireflies. Tentatively, Zelda stepped through the gate and into the broken city. Link walked beside her, senses tuned for any sign of danger. With the monsters at the gate now gone, the city was silent save for the crackle of burning wood and the steady patter of rain. Though seemingly devoid of life, looking more closely Zelda could see faces peering from behind the curtained windows of still-standing structures and from beneath the wooden doors of cellars. She felt her heart lift; there were survivors!
As they neared Central Square, Zelda found the reason for the silent, empty streets: rogue guardians patrolled the thoroughfares, eyes swiveling in search of those they hadn't yet killed. The Central Square fountain was missing its central flute, gurgling as water bubbled up from the exposed piping, overflowing into the fountain's base. Exchanging a brief glance with Link, the two silently approached using the noise of the fountain as cover. They weren't spotted.
It was time. Walking around the fountain to the side facing the castle entrance, Zelda raised her hand yet again. Eyes focused ahead of her, she said softly, "Draw your sword, Link." Once his sword was in hand, she let instinct take over, sending forth a burst of light. Unlike before she felt the power surge rapidly forth, cascading throughout her entire being and breaking upon her like a crashing ocean wave. Gone were her fears. All that mattered—all that was, in that moment—was the task of destroying Ganon.
The light was blinding, a sphere of pure energy growing, expanding outward until it encompassed all of Castle Town and the castle itself. The floating, ghastly presence that was Ganon roared, feral and guttural, twisting and turning in an attempt to outrun the light, but was quickly consumed. The whirring and clinking of the guardians prowling Castle Town as they were released of Ganon's hold dimly reached her ears, but was overpowered by the pounding of her heart and the rush of power flowing through her being.
As the sphere of light reached the edges of the moat it stopped, pulsating brightly like a supernova. Suddenly, overhead, the red beam from Vah Nabooris disappeared, a thick beam of bright blue light shooting forth in its place, blazing across the sky to pierce where Zelda held Ganon captive with a loud blast. Not moments later, the red beam from Vah Rudania disappeared as well, sending the same beam of blue light shooting across the distance to strike at Ganon. He released another bellowing cry, and Zelda took that as her cue to begin closing the magic in around him. The sphere of light grew smaller, passing through the rear of the castle as it came to consolidate, floating above the ramp leading to the castle bridge before them. The light pulsed once, then slowly dimmed, and from within its protective cocoon a mass of black and red sludge dropped from the sky to land on the ground with a sickening schlopp. A large circular lump occupied the center of the mass which twitched and pulsed like some demonic egg sac. Zelda stared in disgust. She had been trusting some deep instinct within her, allowing it to guide her actions, but she wasn't entirely sure what she had done or what she was seeing now.
"Malice," a mellifluous voice whispered in Zelda's mind, giving name to the thing before her, "Malice is its protective hide, its shield from the light. You have weakened it, daughter, but soon it will burst forth from its cocoon in full form. Be ready." She didn't question where the voice came from, or who it belonged to. She knew.
Turning to link, she looked at him resolutely. "It is time, Link." He turned to face the writhing mass, tightening his grip on the Master Sword, a look of determination and focus coloring his features. Briefly, the image of him bruised and bloodied in the copse of trees in Hyrule Field entered her mind. For the first time since approaching Castle Town, the intense focus and sense of duty which had pervaded her being was pierced by fear of what Link was about to face, and what could happen if he failed. Without thinking, she reached her hand gently towards the Master Sword, the triforce glowing on the back of her hand as Link eyed her sidelong with curiosity. With one finger, she touched the flat of the blade and light infused the metal. It to glowed softly, illuminating Link's face. Stepping back, she looked to him with a soft smile.
"Fight well, Link."