Chapter Four
"The weather?" Link's eyes furrowed. "Why the hell do you want to know about the weather? What's it got to do with anything?!"
"Because there was no dark and stormy night anywhere else on Hyrule. It was just over the Market and Castle."
Link's frown deepened. "What are you getting at?"
Kielke smiled, and with her eyes reduced to half-open slits, Link got shivers down his spine. "Come with me," Kielke said, and Link's impression was that of Rauru, the Sage of Light.
The Wyvern girl rose out of the chair and walked over to one of the walls with hieroglyphic writing on them. Link followed her. Kielke took his hand in hers and removed his gauntlet, and she examined his bare hand for a moment, noting the lines in his palm. She ran a delicate finger over one particularly long line, which tickled Link so much he jerked his hand out of her grasp.
"What are you doing?" he shouted.
Kielke smiled. "Sorry, I was just reading your palm. You've got a particularly long life line, which is good news."
Link rubbed his palm, still unnerved by the girl's cool and light touch. It had felt like a bird's wing had gently brushed his hand. "So, how is it good news that I have a long life line?"
Kielke took his hand again and this time pressed it up against the wall. "Because this is a prophecy that will alter the course of history in Hyrule."
Link gazed at the rows of hieroglyphs, some in wide columns separated from the rest by finely chiseled lines. He moved his hand up along the many strange symbols to the low ceiling, where the Maiden constellation began. He folded his arms and glowered at Kielke. "What does it say?"
Kielke moved down the wall. "The prophecy is written in three languages," she began. "The first, here--" she touched a panel closest to the cave entrance--"is written in ancient Hylian. The next," she continued, moving her hand to Link's left, "is written in Sheikan, which I can read pretty well, save for a couple of weird ones. And yours," she said gravely, touching the one that Link stood in front of, "yours is written in a language not even Impa knows."
Link stepped away from Kielke. This was going way too far, even for him. It was impossible! Impa knew every tree and stone in Hyrule, it was her business to know as a Sheikah! Still, he swallowed his complaints and choked out again, "What do they mean?"
Kielke went back to the panel of hieroglyphs that was written in Sheikah. "In the beginning, there was altogether six races, not five. They were called the Yunaiteddo, meaning 'united.' They were once four tribes, but then became united under common ground. But then an evil sorceress named Akuma, meaning 'demon' or 'evil spirit', began to accumulate vast amounts of dark energy into her body. Two of the original Yunaiteddo tribes followed her, the Serrain clan and the Crenor clan. The other two, the Dartanen and the Zerat, decided to end Akuma's campaigns to gain control of Hyrule. But even in this time of war and bloodshed, a child was born of one of the Crenor and one of the Zerat--"
"While you're going on about this whole thing," Link cut in, "Princess Zelda is probably lying on the ground somewhere hurt or worse. What are we doing sitting around talking Hylian history for?"
Kielke glared at him. "Will you shut up for ten minutes? I'm getting there. Thank you. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. The child grew up to be one of the most powerful warriors in Hyrule's history. You've already gotten very acquainted with him."
Link scoffed. "Yeah, like I know an ancient warrior who's probably as loonytunes as the Happy Mask Salesman."
"You aren't opening your mind. To you, the warrior's likeness came in the form of a mask."
"No way!" Link shouted, backing out the cave. "I've had enough of this! You're saying that the spirit in the FierceDeity mask was once a real person?!"
"Yes, now get back here," Kielke snapped. "There's more." Link obediently stood by Kielke's side again.
"Now," Kielke said, "the FierceDeity as you know him, his true name was Hinode, meaning 'sunrise' or 'morning.' He even had a family: a wife and two daughters. But there were many people who would like to see him and his family dead.
"He had many legends circling around him already, of his courageous deeds in battle, his wisdom of planning campaigns against the evil ones, and his power to turn them back. He used powerful magic in the battlefield, and always performed some of the light magic--like jeweled butterflies and flowers--for his children's entertainment."
Link nodded. "So he was like a family man and feared warrior all at the same time."
"Exactly. Well anyway, Akuma once got too close to the village Hinode and his family were living in. So he moved them into hiding and went off to drive Akuma back. But what he didn't know was that the same person who helped him hide his family was a spy for Akuma."
"What happened?"
"Akuma stormed the hideout at the same time Hinode left to fight her. She killed his wife and eldest daughter, but the youngest was left alive--barely. When Hinode returned, he was so enraged that he left the half-alive daughter with the Holy Sage of Light, Rauru, and went off to fight Akuma. After a long battle, Hinode strangled Akuma, and put a curse on her, making her of no flesh--nothing more than an evil dream."
Link rolled his eyes. "Get to the damn point, Kielke."
Kielke smiled at him. "The point is, the body of his daughter was unsalvageable, but her spirit was to be hosted by a certain girl of prophecy, with the same 'twilight fire' eyes as Hinode. He himself had been deathly injured in the battle with Akuma, and he transferred his spirit into the form of a mask, which you picked up in Termina."
"You know about that?"
"Rauru told me."
Link was about to ask how Kielke had met the acquaintance of Rauru, but he decided to keep his mouth shut.
"Now, Hinode's daughter was also part of Akuma's prophecy. In order to become flesh again, she had to find the true Sage of Time, who could survive the burning blade and tame the savage heart--"
"Zelda," Link whispered. "Akuma is the one who kidnapped Zelda?"
"Yes," Kielke answered. "She had to appease her demon guardian, Dapat, by using the SAge to open the Gates of Time and retrieve a sacred relic. But to appease Hinode, she had to find the girl with twilight fire eyes and bring her out of the host's body, and name her with the true name of her birth."
"Well, what are we sitting around talking about riddles and prophecies and evil spirits for?" Link shouted. "Let's go find Akuma and bring Zelda back!"
Kielke shook her head. "Only one person knows where Akuma is hiding. He also is the only one who can go through every inch of her dungeon knowing where he's heading. Someone who can get us through."
"All right, surprise me," Link said with a smug look on his face. "Who is it?"
"The weather?" Link's eyes furrowed. "Why the hell do you want to know about the weather? What's it got to do with anything?!"
"Because there was no dark and stormy night anywhere else on Hyrule. It was just over the Market and Castle."
Link's frown deepened. "What are you getting at?"
Kielke smiled, and with her eyes reduced to half-open slits, Link got shivers down his spine. "Come with me," Kielke said, and Link's impression was that of Rauru, the Sage of Light.
The Wyvern girl rose out of the chair and walked over to one of the walls with hieroglyphic writing on them. Link followed her. Kielke took his hand in hers and removed his gauntlet, and she examined his bare hand for a moment, noting the lines in his palm. She ran a delicate finger over one particularly long line, which tickled Link so much he jerked his hand out of her grasp.
"What are you doing?" he shouted.
Kielke smiled. "Sorry, I was just reading your palm. You've got a particularly long life line, which is good news."
Link rubbed his palm, still unnerved by the girl's cool and light touch. It had felt like a bird's wing had gently brushed his hand. "So, how is it good news that I have a long life line?"
Kielke took his hand again and this time pressed it up against the wall. "Because this is a prophecy that will alter the course of history in Hyrule."
Link gazed at the rows of hieroglyphs, some in wide columns separated from the rest by finely chiseled lines. He moved his hand up along the many strange symbols to the low ceiling, where the Maiden constellation began. He folded his arms and glowered at Kielke. "What does it say?"
Kielke moved down the wall. "The prophecy is written in three languages," she began. "The first, here--" she touched a panel closest to the cave entrance--"is written in ancient Hylian. The next," she continued, moving her hand to Link's left, "is written in Sheikan, which I can read pretty well, save for a couple of weird ones. And yours," she said gravely, touching the one that Link stood in front of, "yours is written in a language not even Impa knows."
Link stepped away from Kielke. This was going way too far, even for him. It was impossible! Impa knew every tree and stone in Hyrule, it was her business to know as a Sheikah! Still, he swallowed his complaints and choked out again, "What do they mean?"
Kielke went back to the panel of hieroglyphs that was written in Sheikah. "In the beginning, there was altogether six races, not five. They were called the Yunaiteddo, meaning 'united.' They were once four tribes, but then became united under common ground. But then an evil sorceress named Akuma, meaning 'demon' or 'evil spirit', began to accumulate vast amounts of dark energy into her body. Two of the original Yunaiteddo tribes followed her, the Serrain clan and the Crenor clan. The other two, the Dartanen and the Zerat, decided to end Akuma's campaigns to gain control of Hyrule. But even in this time of war and bloodshed, a child was born of one of the Crenor and one of the Zerat--"
"While you're going on about this whole thing," Link cut in, "Princess Zelda is probably lying on the ground somewhere hurt or worse. What are we doing sitting around talking Hylian history for?"
Kielke glared at him. "Will you shut up for ten minutes? I'm getting there. Thank you. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. The child grew up to be one of the most powerful warriors in Hyrule's history. You've already gotten very acquainted with him."
Link scoffed. "Yeah, like I know an ancient warrior who's probably as loonytunes as the Happy Mask Salesman."
"You aren't opening your mind. To you, the warrior's likeness came in the form of a mask."
"No way!" Link shouted, backing out the cave. "I've had enough of this! You're saying that the spirit in the FierceDeity mask was once a real person?!"
"Yes, now get back here," Kielke snapped. "There's more." Link obediently stood by Kielke's side again.
"Now," Kielke said, "the FierceDeity as you know him, his true name was Hinode, meaning 'sunrise' or 'morning.' He even had a family: a wife and two daughters. But there were many people who would like to see him and his family dead.
"He had many legends circling around him already, of his courageous deeds in battle, his wisdom of planning campaigns against the evil ones, and his power to turn them back. He used powerful magic in the battlefield, and always performed some of the light magic--like jeweled butterflies and flowers--for his children's entertainment."
Link nodded. "So he was like a family man and feared warrior all at the same time."
"Exactly. Well anyway, Akuma once got too close to the village Hinode and his family were living in. So he moved them into hiding and went off to drive Akuma back. But what he didn't know was that the same person who helped him hide his family was a spy for Akuma."
"What happened?"
"Akuma stormed the hideout at the same time Hinode left to fight her. She killed his wife and eldest daughter, but the youngest was left alive--barely. When Hinode returned, he was so enraged that he left the half-alive daughter with the Holy Sage of Light, Rauru, and went off to fight Akuma. After a long battle, Hinode strangled Akuma, and put a curse on her, making her of no flesh--nothing more than an evil dream."
Link rolled his eyes. "Get to the damn point, Kielke."
Kielke smiled at him. "The point is, the body of his daughter was unsalvageable, but her spirit was to be hosted by a certain girl of prophecy, with the same 'twilight fire' eyes as Hinode. He himself had been deathly injured in the battle with Akuma, and he transferred his spirit into the form of a mask, which you picked up in Termina."
"You know about that?"
"Rauru told me."
Link was about to ask how Kielke had met the acquaintance of Rauru, but he decided to keep his mouth shut.
"Now, Hinode's daughter was also part of Akuma's prophecy. In order to become flesh again, she had to find the true Sage of Time, who could survive the burning blade and tame the savage heart--"
"Zelda," Link whispered. "Akuma is the one who kidnapped Zelda?"
"Yes," Kielke answered. "She had to appease her demon guardian, Dapat, by using the SAge to open the Gates of Time and retrieve a sacred relic. But to appease Hinode, she had to find the girl with twilight fire eyes and bring her out of the host's body, and name her with the true name of her birth."
"Well, what are we sitting around talking about riddles and prophecies and evil spirits for?" Link shouted. "Let's go find Akuma and bring Zelda back!"
Kielke shook her head. "Only one person knows where Akuma is hiding. He also is the only one who can go through every inch of her dungeon knowing where he's heading. Someone who can get us through."
"All right, surprise me," Link said with a smug look on his face. "Who is it?"