Chapter Eleven: Rae Lawen
"I'm sorry Link, but you cannot go in right now, a maiden is taking her rights on the Ground. I cannot allow any men, other than our ordained king to pass." She gripped her spear tightly to prove that she meant what she said and glanced apprehensively at Rook who sat at Link's side. This ceremony was taken very seriously and was not one to be interrupted. Link loosened his grip in the reigns and let the horses rest for a moment.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," he sighed, looking at Rook and trying to think of what to do. It was kind of Rook to take the time to help him with this and he didn't want to come all the way out there for nothing. "Will it be okay to go in and get the bricks we need any time soon?" The guards nodded to each other.
"Perhaps tomorrow when the ceremony is over," one of them said. "Until word we cannot let you go."
"I suppose we could camp out in the valley tonight Link," Rook suggested, "It wouldna' be tha' bad, it's getting' warmer out now anyway." Link shrugged his shoulders.
"I guess so, but I would like to speak with Tiamra myself if you don't mind, if she's available of course though." The guard nodded again and sent the younger one running up the trail to the Fortress to fetch her.
It was not long before Tiamra's tall personage was coming down the path toward them, the young guard trailing closely behind. She welcomed them at their cart, but did not invite them in.
"So Kakariko sent you to fetch its supplies eh?" Tiamra said calmly, clucking her tongue with the Hylian syllables. "Of course, you are welcomed to them, but we had a bit of a…surprise come up upon us. After it is over, you may proceed with your errand."
"We don't really have time to waste Tiamra, I said I'd get this back to Kakariko sometime tomorrow," Link replied. "We won't be in the way, and we would be gone before you know it." Tiamra sighed impatiently and waved them off.
"Oh very well, proceed. Ala will show you were your items are. We were not expecting the initiate this soon anyway. Be quick, if you are longer than half an hour I shall have you escorted out." She turned and left up the walk, leaving Rook and Link to follow the young guard.
They had only been at the job for about ten minutes when they heard a great deal of commotion coming from the front of the Fortress. Gerudo rushed past them whooping and yelling excitedly and poor Rook was so startled that he fell back in the cart. All of the Gerudo were gathering around the entrance to the Training Ground and Link strained his neck to see what they were doing. As the stream of brown bodies flowed out of the building and to the crowd, a flash of paler skin caught Link's eye.
"Megeara!" He shouted above the yelling of the women. Megeara stopped suddenly and turned to where she had heard her name be called. Her eyes went wide when she saw him standing there.
"Link…" she trailed off but was swept off again by the crowd. The doors of the Training Ground flew open and everyone hushed as the figure emerged from it.
It was a changed figure from what it had gone in as. Megeara's breath caught in her throat in an alarmed gasp as she gazed at it when it walked passed. In its fist, was the Ice Arrow, the treasure of the Gerudo Training Ground. Megeara did not even recognize her…
The eyes had such a blaze burning within them and her entire body seemed to be alive, glowing with the pulse of life. She walked with such prowess, that many of the younger Gerudo who had not yet seen the effects of the Ground, bowed their heads as if they were faced with a spirit. The blood of her battles marked the blood of her passing, it washed away her childhood and she was reborn an adult. Loraefin held the arrow above her head, her eyes wild and fierce. She was battered from head to foot, but her inner strength flowed from her as if it were a touchable force. The Gerudo yelled in ceremony and Tiamra came forth with a bow in hand. Loraefin took it and strung it with the Ice Arrow. She pulled back and let the arrow fly with all her might and it flew straight and true until it reached its mark at the top of the large solitary pole with the red flag tied to it. Instantly, blue ice covered the top half of the pole and everyone cheered triumphantly. Link stared at the arrow in amazement and disbelief. He didn't want to see who had just shot that. Tiamra bent forward and embraced Loraefin, making the sign of blessing used among the Gerudo.
"My sisters!" Tiamra yelled, "a child no longer stands before you! Here stands a Gerudo warrior fit to walk the path! From this day forth, no longer will you need the name you were given as a babe, a new name must be received as fit for a woman not a child! You know the name you must take, it came to you within the Ground, the name of the soul that has been reborn within you…Declare that name and take it for your own!" Tiamra's last words echoed across the valley and the Gerudo all fell dead silent.
Loraefin stood strong and silent for a moment, the Gerudo blood buzzing furiously within her. She lifted her face to the sky and instinctively knew what to call out before the heavens.
"Rae Lawen!" Her voice called out and the Gerudo echoed back to her.
"Rae Lawen!" Their voices rippled over the stones and the great cliffs. Link knew that voice…
Loraefin called again and then a third time, with each call the Gerudo echoing back. A small part formed among the crowd and Link saw Loraefin standing there and his breath caught in his throat. At the last call of the forgotten name she felt the power drain out of her like rain, and she was Loraefin again. Tiamra now held in her hand a tiny object wrapped in cloth as she came to Loraefin. She held it out to her and uncovered it, revealing the amber gem set in its silver frame. Loraefin's eyes shot up to meet Tiamra's and Tiamra smiled and nodded holding it up for her and placing it on her forehead. It was the Crest of the Gerudo, the symbol of pride and honor worn only by the initiates that completed the Ground. Loraefin kneeled and closed her eyes and let it be placed on her forehead, taking in the coolness of the metal on her skin.
"Now, rise Rae Lawen," Tiamra spoke softly and held out her hands to her. "You have proven yourself worthy to wear the Crest. The Goddesses have smiled on us this day." She bent forward and kissed the girl on the newly placed Crest and brushed her temples.
Loraefin smiled and was led away with Megeara to be bathed and provided with a clean robe for the meal in their honor that night. She would often remember that moment when she first felt the surge of Gerudo energy running through her, and at times it seemed even more than that. Her body was not even her own, but taken over by something else that was unexplainable to her. She was power at that moment in time. It would be a long time before Loraefin would even come close to an answer to what happened to her that day, and even then it was still not understood. But as she sat at the head of the table that night, among the Gerudo, her family, her sisters, she did not need an explanation. She was Rae Lawen.