Veran
"Raphael Ambi. Named after the boy who reinstated the Labrynnian Royal Family...the same foolish boy who tried to be a hero for his Oracle. You two are not so different." Veran slid a long finger down the face of the painting of Ralph, careful to not sink her sharp nails into the framed canvas. He was joined by the paintings of the Princess of Lorule and the Princess of the Lake Hylia Zoras. However, all her attention was set on the last of the Ambi line.
"I know she will come for me, your Nayru. Even now, she leads your army north towards Darunia. Your Resistance is following. Yes, I know they're coming, and I will let them think we don't have a clue. Their surprise will be my surprise. In time, you will know what it is like to fail, to have your plans undone by some boy and his sword. And no matter where your friends run or where they may hide, death still arrives. It will be fun. That's something one considers when taking over the world, but the idea of you and Nayru falling to my feet...does put a smile on my face. So Ralph Ambi, I hope you can hear me in your current form, and I hope you can see me because, in two days, you will watch your world burn."
Impa
The soft, mechanical hum of the restoration pod was the only sound to bounce off the walls of the Shrine of Resurrection into the ears of the two Shikah occupants. Impa stood directly in front of the pod, impatiently tapping her fingers. Behind her was Sheik, leaning against the wall, impatiently waiting on his wife. Unlike her, however, he kept his emotions in his head.
Despite knowing that the Imperials would come for the Triforce, she hadn't expected Veran to give an ultimatum. Knowing the Queen of Hyrule, Veran-or as Impa used to know the woman, Verona- is a conniving mistress of wickedness. This torture definitely was her doing. 15 hours have passed since this morning, and the world was already falling to pieces. Three Sages were captured, a power she was sure belonged to the Prince of Darkness had appeared not but a few minutes ago, and Link...was still unconscious after ten hours in the shrine.
"Three days… You think she'll surrender?"
"No, I fear she'll try to win." Impa shifted her body uncomfortably. "Even worse, something is happening on Death Mountain. I fear-"
"That's just his power, Impa. There's no way he can physically leave the mountain. It takes much longer to form a body."
"I hope you're right. But what could have triggered the Prince of Darkness so much? Why now?"
Sheik shrugged. "Maybe his descendant is alive and coming to kick his ass? You know the Dragmires have a hard time staying knocked down." Sheik, of course, was referencing the prince's parents. Nabooru and Malladus' goals in their lifetime were unpopular with not just the Gerudo, but with North Castle as well. Even the Queen and the Hero was apprehensive of a united Gerudo...much good it is doing Hyrule now.
Impa returned her gaze to Link's pod, sighing. "How long must we wait?"
"You can go back if you want."
"Even if I wanted to, I cannot." Impa raised her right hand, staring at the back of it. Zelda had entrusted her to keep it hidden. What Vaati and his Imperials didn't know was the only advantage the young princess had in Darunia. "As long as the Imperials think Zelda has the whole Triforce of Wisdom, I will hold on to my tiny piece of it. Until Link wakes, we wait."
Sheik nodded. "Then pray he wakes in the next two days."
Link
"Where are we?" Link found himself with Shade in an empty world, with nothing but the two of them and the large building they exited from. Yet, despite the emptiness, the world had a serenity about it.
"We are in the Sacred Realm. Before you get confused, the last time you were here, that is too the Sacred Realm. It was morphed to a familiar version, the same one the Hero of Legend traveled, but this is its true form. That building over there, once the Pyramid of Power, is truly the Palace of the Sages." Shade smiled as he looked back to his successor, placing his hands on his hips. "This place has a special feeling about it. The world we know is under fire, yet this one, calm like water. They say the Sacred Realm reflects the heart of the one who wields the Triforce, so I wonder if this realm is reflecting both Zelda and Vaati's hearts."
"Maybe neither."
"Maybe…"
"So...what's my first trial?" Link was ready to get started, and his mentor nodded in agreement.
"Sure you are ready. Your first trial, all of them maybe, will be different from any experience you had the last two months. You have braved dungeons, monsters, villains, and even a dark manifestation of yourself. So, are you ready?"
Link nodded. He was ready for anything, or so he told himself. He had to succeed to get back to Zelda and the Resistance. "Yes."
Shade turned away, chuckling. "I know what you're thinking. You have three days, son. Zelda is strong, she can handle herself. Besides, while your mind is here, your body is with the Sheikah, contained in some kind of rejuvenating machine."
"So I'm not in Darunia, but in New Kasuto?"
"Yes. So no rush. But it is time we do begin the first trial. Now close your eyes, and remember that at all costs, your priority is finding the element." Link closed his eyes, not questioning as to why this was part of his trial. Seconds passed, and Shade's voice hadn't commanded him to open his eyes. But his other senses, it had definitely changed. One moment, the Sacred Realm was quiet, the next it was bustling with activity. His odor receptors, previously unresponsive to any smell of the holy sanctum, flared with the smells of hickory, oak, and...pumpkin? Link slowly opened his eyes, checking on his surroundings. Stone buildings dotted both sides of the dirt road before leading an open area of the village, and Link found himself in front of one house in particular. It was a two-story home, a metal fence bordering the four borders of the property. On the porch was a dark blond-haired man, sitting on the steps sharpening his sword. He hadn't noticed the visitor entering the gate, tearing up as he stepped closer to the sitting man.
"Father?" The man did look up, but his eyes weren't focused on Link at all. Instead, a second voice behind Link had gathered his father's attention. It was a hooded man in green with a wooden cane, his chin and brown beard visible. Despite the confused expression on the elder Koroks, Link knew the second man as he did the first.
"Sir?"
Rusl stood up, his eyes narrowing with familiarity but still cautious. He held his sword in case he would have to use it. "Who are you?"
The other person, who Link identified as Link of Calatia, smiled as he stopped a few feet from his successor. Neither man had noticed the teenager standing between them, which would have confused him had he not known how visions worked. "Depends on how history remembers me. Usually a dead man."
"And the other part?"
"Depends on the person, what they say about it." Shade tucked his hands underneath his cloak, in which Rusl tightened his hand on his own blade. Shade noticed that, and smiled once again. "You are quite apprehensive. Know how to use the blade?"
Rusl nodded. "I work the smithy. Used to serve in the army."
"His Majesty or Her Highness'?"
"Her Highness'. One of the many surviving soldiers of the usurpation."
"Is that what you call it? Official reports say that monsters attacked the castle, but King Vatis was able to drive back the attackers. It claimed Queen Zelda, however."
"I believe it is convenient the king lives and the queen dies. Even now, with his Imperials, Vatis seeks his goal: domination of the world."
"There's a rebellion, rumors say. Why don't you go join?"
"A rebellion was squashed eight years ago in Rauru, and they burnt that town to the ground. Heard the same happened to Nabooru."
"So resistance is futile, huh?"
"No. There is hope. Even in darkness, there's a light. An old friend once told me that."
"They sound wise."
"He never possessed wisdom, for sure. Courage was more his thing, for all the damn good it did Hyrule." Link silently listened the two men chat, sitting down on the steps of the porch while watching the sky. He knew the day, the hour, the signs of which fate would bring ruin to Ordon Village, and it was this day, February 20th, 2016, and Link remembered it like it was yesterday.
The forest to the west cried; if one listened hard enough past the cawking of birds, the sound of a horn could be heard. Link visualized the threatening figure of Horsehead standing before him and Zelda at their spring; Zelda jumped in front of him, hoping Nayru's Love would protect them from the spike ball; she was too late, and it hit her square in the chest; Link tried to fight back, but was overwhelmed.
But he wasn't sent to his memory of the day Ordon fell, but to Shade's memory of it. He wondered what his father was doing before he died, and assumed he was working in the smithery. Seeing him at home while his son and Shade's daughter hunted in the woods and relaxed in the spring...made the moment feel ordinary. Simple. Forgotten.
"You would say otherwise?"
"He was, in the end, either a dead man or a coward. Never showed up to fight at the castle. It is his fault we're in this darkness."
"You say that, but that's the truth you know. He might be dead, and the dead cannot fight. If he's alive, he might have a reason to not fight back. Maybe it was suicide to do so. Maybe he was disheartened. Maybe he was a coward. You'll never know."
"Maybe I should ask him then, just what the hell happened to the Hero of Hyrule."
"And I, my friend, can tell you that he did want to storm North Castle, but was convinced by a fairy to not do so. So he spent the next eighteen years in his homeland, living under a new name and a new career as a swordhand. But one night, he had a dream. Four boys and five girls, all as young as the hero were in his second adventure, and they stood against the Imperial King. The first place his dream sent him to was here, a village in the woods." Shade raised his arms, lifting the hood and uncovering his head. He smirked weakly. "Luckily for him, he meets his old friend."
"MONSTERS!" Rusl and the Links turned to a young boy around the younger hero's age run down the street. He stopped at the Korok's residence, gasping for air as he faced his audience. As Link looked harder, he recognized the boy as Fledge, who was the "runt" of the Link and Zelda's group of friends. "Sir Rusl, monsters are approaching the village, and in huge force!"
Rusl turned to the forest. "Did you see my boy?"
"No. Link and Zelda haven't returned, not by this road at least."
Rusl swore under his breath, then turned to Fledge. "Spread the word. We must as many people out as we can, and when you find Impa, tell her as you told me." Fledge nodded and continued to run down the road. Rusl sighed and turned back to Shade, whose face was blank. It was shocking, more or less, and though Rusl had never thought how he would reveal that the princess of Hyrule was alive, he couldn't believe that it would be to her father who he reveals it first. "Link-"
The horn blew louder. Link doesn't remember a second horn, which means that he and Zelda were defeated at this moment. He blinked as he returned his gaze to his father and the ex-hero, but in that instant, the world changed. Ordon, once a peaceful village under a clear blue sky, was shrouded by smoke and fire. Link had only a second to comprehend everything before he heard a shriek from behind. He rolled to his side, just in time to avoid a red Bokoblin landing in the spot he formerly occupied. But there was no way the monster saw him. Rusl and Shade ignored him earlier, so he was safe.
That thought was dashed the moment the Bokoblin's eyes shifted to Link. It growled before standing up, only to meet its end by the quick swing of Link's sword, an exact replica of the sword he wielded before taking the Master Sword. He kept it in his hands, but as he watched the Bokoblin decay, only one thing was on his mind.
His father. Link remembered that Shade told him that Rusl and he separated at the town's entrance, in which the Ordonian would fight a Moblin. The Hero left the yard of his home and raced down the road towards the forest, stopping only to eliminate any monster in his way. He didn't expect the trials to be easy, but this one...it was cruel. Disgusting. Vile, even for the Goddess of Power and her disdain of Link. How dare they use this moment against him.
Then again, was he sure it just wasn't the Sacred Realm testing him? If so, what would the other trials offer? What other painful memories could he endure?
Then it clicked again. He wasn't reliving his own memory, but the memory of Shade. And the Hero of Hyrule...he had a lot of painful memories.
Removing his sword from a blue Bokoblin, Link spied the wooden sign that marked Ordon's entrance from the Eastern Woods. Link could see two men battling a huge blue Moblin, though there was a pause in the action. The men were talking as the monster, fallen on its back, tried to raise itself. As Link got closer, he could make out their words.
"Rusl, I cannot let you do this."
Rusl chuckled as he put his hand on Shade's shoulder. "Link... For eighteen years, I said that name with spite towards a kid whose only crime was that his father named him after someone he once admired. What I never expected was that he would admire you too. Sometimes I cannot tell if he is my son or yours, for while he has my training, it is your ability he possesses. He has the same look on his face, the same desire in his heart,...that damned courage is in both of you. I've trained him to become you. I wish I could go and find him… Tell me, Link, why have you truly returned?"
"I was going to leave Hyrule for good. I came to get supplies for a trip anywhere but Hyrule and Calatia. There's no reason for me to stay. But there is a reason for you to let me finish this fight while you go to the forest!"
Rusl shook his head. "No."
"No? What about your son?"
"Link...we both know light must return to Hyrule, but our time has passed along with Her Highness. But the gods haven't abandoned us. I feel it in my heart my son is Farore's...Nayru's walks this earth too. The two youths chosen by the gods are here, and they are together. My son Link...and your daughter, Zelda."
Shade stepped back, eyeing his friend in shock. "What...how?"
"Her Highness was pregnant and hid it well from you. But you left days before she was born, and the same day, just hours later to be exact, North Castle was attacked. Impa was able to get the baby away to New Kasuto, but for the last thirteen years, she has lived with me. She doesn't know her bloodline, but once it is revealed, the Imperials will come for her. She will need a protector. It is only right you fulfill that. I've spent eighteen years with my child and thirteen with Zelda, and seen them grow into a fine young people. It is only right you get to know your child, and she gets to know the man behind the legend."
"Rusl." Both men heard the growl of the risen Moblin, its eyes focused on the duo that knocked it down. It set its wooden spear to its side, pointed it towards the Hylians, held its wooden shield in front of itself, and bent down. Rusl read the move as a charge and pushed Shade out the way. Shade subconsciously adjusted himself to roll and spring up to a kneeling position, but as he gazed up to his old friend, he was met with a ghastly sight.
From a few yards away, Link screamed his father's name. He doubted it was even heard, but it was all he could do. The older Korok was skewered on the spear, but he was still alive. He reached out to his old friend, pointing towards the forest. "Go, save my son...and your daughter." The spear was removed, and Rusl Koroks fell to the ground, never to move again.
"You… You monster!" Link roared as he ran towards the Moblin. Spotting the young Hero, the Moblin heaved up its spear and threw it. Link sidestepped, perfectly dodging the spear and leaped towards the Moblin as it shielded itself from his attack. Expecting such a move, Link thrust his sword forward, firing a beam that ate through the wooden barrier and implanted his sword through the same hole. The Moblin grunted as Link churned its insides before letting the hilt go. Defeated, the Moblin fell on its back, becoming a cloud of purple ash, with only its shield, his sword, and a bright purple stone resembling three droplets remaining in its place. Link knelt down, picked up the stone, and inspected it. It had to be one of the Elements he needed. Link pocketed the stone, turning to the area behind him. His father laid there dead, but beside him was Shade, though it was not the same one from the memory, the one Link saw before the trial began. The scenery slowly shifted back to the way it was before, to the gray emptiness that was the Sacred Realm's true form.
Shade still knelt down, gazing at the spot that Rusl laid. "You are wondering why this was one of your trials? Why you would witness your father's death?"
"...Yes."
"I asked the three to make the trials less of a real trial and more of a lesson. To show you my shortcomings, and hope that you would learn from them. You will relive my memories of my four great failures." Shade stood up and turned to Link. "I'm sorry this was your first, but in the grand scheme of things, this was the easiest for me."
"It's okay." Link picked up his sword, sheathed it and took out the purple stone. "This is one of them, isn't it?"
"Yes. The Earth Element."
"How did you fail here?"
"It wasn't a physical failure but a mental one. I...was running away, as you saw. To not strike North Castle was the smart thing, but not once did I ever prepare to free Hyrule. I didn't want to join the Resistance. I didn't even join the former Sages at Rauru eight years ago. I wanted nothing to do with Hyrule after Zelda died...and while I lost many friends to the Imperials, I watched only one, and that was my best friend die in front of me. And unlike you, I ran at that moment and didn't stop until I found you and Zelda. It wasn't until Clock Town that I felt like I used to when I drew the Master Sword again for the first time...But had I had the courage at Ordon, maybe Rusl would be alive...or maybe we would all be dead."
"You didn't fail him. You protected me and Zelda, and made us realize our destinies."
Shade nodded. "Maybe you're right… Come. We'll rest, and tomorrow return for the second trial. I have no idea what it will be...but for one of us, it won't be pleasant." The pair walked to the building that was present in the realm, returning to the realm of the goddesses. Once within, both men sought out the three women.
Nayru was first to be found, sitting nearby the door that the heroes entered in. "Oh, good you're back."
"What happened?"
"Nothing good of the sort. Din is furious right now. Death Mountain...it collapsed a few minutes ago...with Ganon and Ganondorf inside."
