After the meeting with the
fairy…
Fab had begun to prepare for the trip to Kakariko. The messenger Zelda had sent to the remaining Sages had finally been received by the last, and hardest to reach, Sage. Darunia of the Fire Temple had received the letter, and agreed to meet with the other Sages at the castle. He agreed, but there was still the small problem of getting past the guards that his son, Link of the Gorons, not to be confused with Link, the Hero Of Time, had posted at the entrance to the temple. Darunia was, basically, on house arrest. Meanwhile, back in Hyrule, Link prepared for his own trip, in light of another of Zelda's dreams….
Link awoke again, but his time to the suns rays streaming through the window, and onto his face, instead of to Zelda's screams. He stepped out into the hallway, and saw the door to Queen Zelda's chamber wide open. His heart began to beat furiously, and he walked to her room. He stepped gingerly into the room, and found the room completely empty. The doors to the balcony were thrust open, and the curtains that hung over them blew around in the breeze. Link stepped through, onto the balcony and saw Zelda, framed by the sunlight, with the wind blowing her gown around her legs. She held out her finger, for a mockingbird stood upon it, singing it's little heart away. He cocked its head, and saw Link, and took flight immediately at his appearance. Zelda turned, and saw Link, standing their, admiring her beauty. She walked forward, the wind blowing her golden hair in every direction, and took Link's hand. "Link… You must leave… now… I fear if you stay any longer, your life would be in grave peril…" Link looked at her questioningly, then replied "But… your Highness…" Zelda stopped him by putting a finger to his lips.
"Link. Go. Now. Do not return until I command you to. The Goddess's were kind enough to grant me another dream… If you do not flee, the same evil that wants me will learn of your existence… and then…" She stopped there, unable to continue. Link looked at the ground, then looked at her eyes, and realized that they were red from crying.
"Very well. But, where do I go?"
"Anywhere. Just far from here. Any of the temples will be safe… or so I believe. But, wherever you go, be wary of two individuals… A woman with beautiful golden hair that is even fairer than mine, and a young man… The thief known as Fab, to be exact. I know you know how he looks. Now, Go!!"
Link looked into her eyes for a few seconds longer, then brought her face close and kissed her rosy lips. Zelda kissed back, holding him close. They separated, and left her on the balcony, staring off at the horizon. Link packed his belongings, ate a small breakfast, and headed to the royal stables for Epona. He departed later that afternoon.
At the same time, at an
exclusive meeting…
The windmill in Kakariko village was a busy place in the mornings, but today it was busier than usual. After Ganondorf had been locked away in the Sacred Realm, Impa had instituted a new order in Kakariko in an attempt to make up for the lost Sheikah's. Though it lacked the original valor and sorcery of the first Shadow people, Impa hoped that one day that would be made up by the dedication of a people that had lived through a dark time and were now striving to erase the last presence of it from Hyrule. Today, the leader of this new order had called together a new meeting. They believed that they had to free Darunia the Fire Sage from his prison in the temple, even if that meant starting an all out war with the inhabitants of Death mountain. After the meeting, the warriors, all but one, left. Hours later, about the same time that Link left Hyrule, the last warrior left…
"I can't believe they're doing that!" He thought to himself as he left the huge building. He wore a brown tunic and brown pants, and a dark brown cape. Hanging from the belt he wore was a sheath. In that sheath was a sword crafted by a master Goron blacksmith. The sword rivaled the strength of even the master blade. He had brown hair with blond streaks in it that covered his forehead, and gray eyes that seemed to change color, depending upon what angle they were viewed from. Unlike his father and mother, who had pale skin, he had bright, tan skin, and rosy red cheeks. He was sought after as a lover by nearly all the woman in the village… and quiet a few men. More then you'd expect, anyway. He refused them all. Even when India, the most beautiful woman in all of Kakariko village had stalked him a few months before, he had turned her down also. Not only was she extremely hot, but also she was the daughter of the richest man in all of Hyrule, second to only the Royal Family. When he had refused her also, some in the village figured that he must find enough pleasure in himself.
He headed to the gate that lead up to Goron city. He was one of the few villagers allowed up the mountain, since his parents were both buried up there. After Link Of The Gorons became leader of the rock people, the late King of Hyrule had sent a diplomatic assembly to the meet with the mountain people. A strange force had driven the dodongos in Dodongos Cavern to fly into a rage, and leave their ancestral home. The assembly had been trapped between a rock face, and the dodongo's. After the terrible massacre, only two survivors were found… Unfortunately, his parents were not amongst them. The dead were buried on the mountain, and he went up there constantly to comfort his troubled soul. As he neared the gate, a woman in a house called out to him.
"Hey, Aaron!"
He ignored her, and passed the gate. Up the mountain he walked, until he reached the graveyard. In the exact center of the graveyard was a statue erected by the Gorons. It depicted a noble warrior on horseback facing off bravely against an adult dodongo. Near the front of the yard was where his parents were buried. He knelt by there grave, and began to pray, when he heard a strange howling come from an overpass near the backend of the graveyard. He stood, and watched the creature that appeared to be made of shadows. It moved restlessly amongst the graves, as if it were searching for a particular one. It finally stopped at one, and it seemed to reach in through the ground, at the body buried there. Suddenly, it yanked its arm up through the ground, and held something wiggling in its hand. The creature looked at the heavens, and shouted, "This is to you, "goddess's"! May the one, true divine leader of Hyrule damn you both into the hell you locked him in!" and with that, shoved the struggling thing in its hand down its throat. It dropped to the ground, and disappeared from Aaron's view.
He walked forward, and found the thing, writhing around, as if in pain. Suddenly, it cocked its head up. And stared at him. Then, a slit in the head opened, and it began to speak. "What's this? A creature of Din's? How dare you come to the threshold of Zecht's?" It stood a few three feet taller than Aaron. Aaron was kind of small for his age, and was used to opponents sometimes even being twice or three times his size. A few feet taller didn't scare him. It was what this creature did that scared him. Through the slit it used as a mouth, came out a long, red, snake like tongue. The tongue curled around the creature's neck, then shot back into the slit/mouth. Aaron stood tall and straight before him, and then drew his sword. The creature reared up into what could be assumed was a fighting stance. "I will show Din that Zechts is nothing to be toyed around with… and that I am not so much a lowly warrior as Zechts thinks!" It lunged forward at Aaron, tongue braying out at the warrior. The tongue wrapped around the sword, and instead of blood spurting out, like Aaron had thought would happen, the creature yanked the sword out of Aaron's hands. Aaron stepped back as the creature his sword back down, into the ground behind him. Suddenly, two more slits in its head opened, and two more tongues snaked out. The creature leapt onto Aaron, and pinned him to the ground. The three tongues ran along Aaron's skin, leaving trails of green slime.
"Oh… Say hello to your Goddess for me, fool!" It roared, before plunging down into Aaron's chest. The three tongues turned into lance like things, and stabbed into Aaron. Aaron howled in pain, as blood spurted out onto his clothes. Suddenly, his blood began to glow with a strange red light, and the creature roared back in surprise.
"No! Din! How does your magic take effect even here, in the realm of Zechts? No! It can't happen!!" The creature fell back, and suddenly a ghastly figure appeared above Aaron. The figure shimmered in the same red light, and then faded into Aaron. Suddenly, a voice was heard.
"Aaron… my chosen… it is not time for you to leave this world! Stay here… the people of Hyrule need you! Stay!" and with that, the voice was gone. Aaron's wounds suddenly healed, and Aaron stood upright. The ground opened up, beneath his feet, and Aaron fell into a complete darkness.
After a while, Aaron returned to consciousness. He was in a beautiful room, with silk draperies hanging from the walls. Aaron climbed out of bed, and found that he was no longer wearing the same brown clothes as before. Now, he wore black pants, and a shimmering red shirt. He walked to the door, and opened it. Outside, he found beautiful marble hallways. He was about to take a step forward, when he heard a voice from behind him.
"You are finally awake."
Aaron turned, and saw a woman in a beautiful golden dress standing in the room. She had golden hair, and skin fairer than even Zelda's. Her eyes were a red that seemed to burn with all the fire in Death Mountain. The golden dress she wore shined with a brilliant gold that almost seemed to mix together with her hair. Not only that, but a red light escaped from her fair skin. Aaron stared at her in astonishment.
"Wh- who are you?" he asked.
"I am Din, Goddess of Power. You are…" Before letting her continue Aaron started.
"Whoa! You're Din? Does that mean… that I'm… dead! Ooooooo! That is sooooo cool! So, where are my parents?" he turned and looked down the hall, expecting his Mom and Dad to come down the hallway. Instead, they remained empty and silent. Din continued talking.
"No, you're not dead. You have great things coming before you. You are my chosen. The only one who has the necessary… strength, power, to undertake a task of great magnitude."
Aaron looked at her skeptically "You're sure I'm not dead?"
"No, Aaron, you're not dead… Not the brightest of folks, I see… but I guess I didn't choose you for Wisdom… That's Nayru's job… But you're still my chosen. I would usually send my messenger to speak with you, but I think this task is of great importance. A force of true, unspeakable evil has come to Hyrule. And… He is amongst your people. Only you, and the two others, can defeat him. The Hero Of Time… You know about him, right? He will meet you in Kakariko. Take him to the Death Mountain Crater. There, before both of you, everything shall be more thoroughly explained."
While she had been talking, Aaron had been thinking to himself. "Hey, if I'm not dead, how come I'm here with you?"
Din's fair skin turned bright pink. "Haven't you been listening to any word I've been saying?! Go to the mountain Crater! Take the Hero Of Time with you!"
"Kay."
"Good! Now, before you irritate me more, sleep. When you awake, you shall remember all!"
Aaron dropped on the ground, and Din looked at him. "I wonder
what Nayru will say when she sees him… I'll never hear the end of it…" She bent
down, and lifted Aaron in her strong arms, and placed him on the bed.