Chapter 4: A Hidden Identity Must Stay Hidden
The Next Week
Zelda went to her garden, and as expected, found Onigami perched on a tree, his cloak still covering all of his features. With him around, the two assassination attempts had failed miserably for whoever was after the princesses' life, and she felt that she needed to know a little more about her new guardian angel, as she liked to call him.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Onigami beat her to the punch line.
"I know what you want. What I can tell you about myself is extremely limited though, so you'd be severely disappointed if you think you can dig deep into my past, princess."
"I'll take what you can offer. You saved my life repeatedly and I hardly know you. You even refuse to give me a solid name, just a title."
Onigami sighed. He then jumped down to face the princess. The cloak swished upward, still concealing his face, but she managed to get a quick glimpse. It wasn't enough to make out, but she did see what looked like a red streak on his cheek. She could've also sworn to herself that she caught a small glimmer of blue and silver.
"… I shouldn't have done that," he said to himself. That's the next thing that she noticed: Onigami spoke as if he had two voices speaking as one. What made it stranger, however, was the fact that one of the tones he used just seemed so damned familiar… 'Hmmm…'
Onigami groaned. He knew that the princess had started the puzzle. It would only be so long before she pieced it together.
"…Seeing as you have already started to figure me out on your own, I guess I can tell you a little
about myself. My real name in this world has been long forgotten. I am an expert in the balance of the dark and light arts. I, by myself, am immortal, and so naturally, I must find a way to conceal myself from the rest of the world, in order to stop the arousing of suspicion, so normally, my spirit is contained in a certain mask, of which I refuse to tell you. Whenever I can, I manage to draw a single, chosen soul to me, where then I try to strike a deal with them. Let me merge with them, and I promise them great power for the rest of their lives. But alas, they were all mortals, and as time passed, so did they, their bodies deteriorating once they pass. I then retreat, and reseal myself within my confinements."
"So the… are you here merged with someone already?" asked Zelda.
"Yes, but something was different about this one. His soul is that affected by my sisters themselves."
She stared at him in disbelief. "Wait… when you say 'your sisters…'"
"Yes princess, you finally catch on. I am actually the fourth celestial being. The only god, and brother to the Goddess Three: Farore, Nayru, and Din. I am in fact the creator of balance, and master to the fourth Triforce: The Triforce of Balance. Without my portion of the Triforce, the other three forces – power, wisdom, and courage, become unstable, which can result in chaos. If you possess courage, but neither the wisdom to use that courage, nor the power to back it up, you're energies are not balanced. If you posses great wisdom, but lack the courage to use it, nor the power to back it up, you're not balanced. If you posses fathomless power, but lack the courage to use it, nor the wisdom required to back it up, then you're not balanced. You see yet princess? THAT was the reason that Ganondorf was driven mad when he made contact with the Triforce. THAT is why the Hero of Time had such a hard time fighting him, and THAT is why you had all the wisdom in the world and were yet too naïve to use it properly. With magic, there must be a certain balance before it can be mastered. If not, it can lead to your own destruction."
By this point in the conversation, they were both sitting down amongst the flowers of Zelda's private garden. Zelda had been extra careful to take down detailed mental notes. With her Triforce piece, it allowed her to store more information into her own memories and made it easier for her to access them later. She considered herself lucky too - with what she had heard today, it was enough to make even her dizzy. She just sat there, taking in everything that was explained to her. Onigami got up.
"I have told you everything you need to figure out the rest by yourself. Now there are some things that I must ask you. Does anyone besides the Sages know about your… alter ego?"
"You mean Sheik? No, no one else knows. Why?" she asked.
"Because I have placed a magical barrier around the entire castle. No one will be able to go in or out of the castle until I take it off… except you."
"…but why though?" she asked.
"Because I need to take care of some business in the Forest Temple. I shall be staying there while you are busy trying to figure out my hidden identity. Once you figure me out, then come looking for me inside the Temple. By then I would have already taken the liberty of eliminating all of the monsters in it and unlocking all the doors, so navigating it won't be a problem. I'll most probably be in one of the Gardens there. After that… I'll tell you everything."
Zelda looked down, as if hiding some sort of expression.
"…why are you doing this? Why did you even come to me?"
"Because princess, it is my duty. The legends say that the Triforce has the ability to make any one wish come true. That's slightly inaccurate, for you see princess, it isn't the Triforce that does that. I do. All that we are doing is trying to make the wish of my host come true."
Onigami then used his dark magic to create a portal to the Lost Woods, but paused before going.
"Remember princess, not even in the darkest of nights are you alone. Just remember…"
And then, as if one of the voices were shut off, the familiar voice said, "I'll be watching you… always…"
With that, Onigami stepped through the portal, closing it as he stepped through it.
Zelda just stood there in shock. That voice… she knew that voice… but, was it possible? Onigami's words seemed to eco in her mind. 'All we are doing is trying to make the wish of my host
come true…'
There was only one possible person who she knew of that had that sort of voice, so full of feeling…
'…Link…'
Next Time: Zelda has figured out one half of the puzzle, but it seems that the second half has got her stumped. In desperation, she heads to the Castle Library, a room she hasn't needed to use in ages, to see what she can find. Will she figure out the secret to Onigami the Wanderer? Find out on the next edition of The Wanderer.
Chapter 3: Eluding Puzzle's – Will The Wise Be Stumped?
Authors Notes: Despite the lack of reviews I'm getting for this particular story, those few who are actually reading this and have made it this far will be happy to know that this fic is an exception to my policy on 'No Reviews, No Story,' and here's why: this is an idea that has been playing at my head over and over again, and seeing as I'm a hard core Zelda fan (I've beat every single Zelda game with the exception of Zelda's 1 and 2. Goddesses I wish I had a Game Cube for the new Zelda game…), I am determined to finish this fic. I estimate that this one will have at least 15 chapters. After that… who knows. Depending on how my other fic, The Path Of A Warrior turns out, I might just continue writing… or not. You'll just have to read the prologue for it to find out what I mean. So anyways, it's not goodbye just yet, so don't go anywhere. Just remember, I'll be watching you…