Dark cinched the saddle strap on his mount tight, reaching up to grab the seat and test the fit. The saddle stayed snugly in place, and the horse snorted as if in partial approval. Dark patted the mare's neck and stroked his hand over her flank a few times. Like the other two borrowed mounts, she hadn't gotten used to him yet, and they had a long journey ahead in which to get acquainted.
He moved around to her head, letting her bump her nose against his palm and sniff him. He murmured nonsensical things to her, stroking her velvety soft nose and cheek in a soothing way. Silas had owned plenty of horses on his farm, and in the years Dark had lived there, he'd come to appreciate the quiet and warmth of horses. As he cared for them day after day, the simple tasks and act of caring for an animal had helped to chase away bad memories and thoughts. But even now, this sweet chestnut mare couldn't quite banish the thoughts thrashing around his mind now.
The day before their departure, Dark visited Lord Baxtry, Elena's father. At Lillian's suggestion, he asked Lord Baxtry for an audience. His lordship had been a friend of his mother's family for many years, as a fellow nobleman, and he'd also served in the Hylian Royal Army and it was possible he'd met Dark and Link's father as well.
Much to Dark's surprise and hope, Lord Baxtry had been happy to talk about both of Dark's parents. Unfortunately, he had little to say about Naron other than he remembered a young, ambitious, and well-respected soldier. Regarding Dark's mother, though, he bore some interesting opinions. It was these revelations which bothered Dark now. Rumors which contradicted the unpleasant story which his uncle Magnus had told him and Link weeks ago. It painted Shaiya's parents, Dark's grandparents, as villains who cast out their only daughter when she fell in love with a lowly soldier, not as grieving parents of a runaway and rebellious child.
"Ready to go?" Lym's voice drifted into his ear, drawing his attention from the mare.
"Yes," he said, nudging the rucksack at his feet with a booted toe. He turned to look at her, and barely resisted a smile. Knowing Lymira's prickly nature, she would take it as amusement.
Like him, she'd dressed for travel. While he wore a form-fitting but comfortable leather tunic, gauntlets and gloves over a dark blue shirt, Lymira was wearing a leather vest over an indigo top which offset her unique eyes and a pair of sturdy riding pants that were extremely form-fitting. He pointedly stared at a point between her shoulder blades when she turned to hoist her own pack onto her mount's back.
Each of them packed only what was necessary so they could keep a faster pace, which meant a bedroll, tents, camping utensils, a spare change of clothes and some food. But the length of their journey was also unknown. For none of them know how long it would take to find Dark's mother, and whether they would be successful. He tried to put this out of his mind as he strapped on weapons next, opting to take on Deraphine in a sheath on his back, a dagger in his boot and a bow and quiver on his hip. Next to her mount, Lymira was tying a belt with various pouches attached around her hips, checking the contents meticulously.
Silas strolled up, rolling his shoulders as he got used to the feeling of leather pads resting on them. Dark did grin when he saw the smooth leather plate he was wearing as protection.
"I'm shocked Lillian found something to fit your gigantic frame," he joked.
Silas chuckled. "It wasn't easy. Though your friend Taver was kind enough to lend me one of his creations, too." Reaching over his shoulder, Silas yanked a huge sword from a sheath on his back, swinging it back and forth a few times to test its weight. Dark and Lym both took a step back.
Dark recognized the blade's excellent craftsmanship as Taver's, but the sheer size of it was still alarming, even for someone as physically strong as Silas.
"How can you swing that thing one-handed?"
Silas shrugged, used to his superhuman strength. "Practice, I suppose. Plenty of days hauling hay and wrangling cows." He winked at Lymira who shook her head in disbelief.
"I think you might be part-moblin," she teased, which made Silas grin wider.
Dark pretended to need to inspect his rucksack, letting Silas and Lym have a modicum of privacy. There hadn't been many sparks flying since the attack on Zora's Domain, but he suspected that traveling together across Hyrule and the goddesses knew where would reignite any embers between them. He certainly didn't want to stand in Silas's way.
Jeim's earlier words whispered through his subconscious, but he waved those thoughts aside. He focused on actually checking all of their gear, and once he was satisfied they were prepared, he turned to his traveling companions.
They would need to traverse Hyrule on horseback until they reached the Lost Woods. From there, he hoped they would be able to follow Shaiya's trail to wherever she ended up, or at least find clues along the way. If it became necessary to leave the horses, they would double back to find a village to leave them.
"Let's leave before we lose any more of the light," Dark said, swinging into his saddle. "I hope we can reach the woods by nightfall and set out in the morning with the help of Lym's pendant."
"Wait!" she cried, now digging around in her rucksack. A plaintive yip sounded from inside. Dark sighed. Silas's eyebrows rose. "I just need to arrange some things—calm down!"
"Tell me you're not bringing a small, fire-breathing dragon with you on this trip," Dark groaned.
Lymira hoisted her pack defiantly, sliding her arms through the loops. Zara's small, scaled head popped out of the open top, nestled among Lymira's gear. Her reptilian eyes, droopy with sleep, surveyed the bright sun with annoyance.
"I have to take care of her," Lym defended herself. "And bond with her. And besides, like you said, she breathes fire. She might be useful."
Silas laughed. "She could certainly make starting cooking fires easier."
Lym hopped into her own saddle, guiding her mare alongside Dark's, giving him a challenging look. "We come as a package deal now," she told him archly. "This is non-negotiable. You want me and my talents? She comes with." In emphasis, Lymira shook the time pendant around her neck.
Silas shot Dark a look as if to say: you know she's right.
"Besides," Lym said again in that teasing, sing-song voice. "She can protect you."
"I have no doubt," he replied dryly, shaking his head at Lym's sly smile. "Ready?"
Two answering yesses, and they set off. This part of their journey was predictably uneventful, but even over the long hours of riding, Dark found the usual calmness of horseback riding couldn't totally banish his troubled thoughts. If anything, as darkness grew across the horizon and swallowed the sun, they only grew, and grew.
Hyrule Castle, Link's office
Link pored over yet another scrawled report, detailing the chaos being caused in remote Hylian villages by the mysterious, shadowy doppelgänger wearing his brother's likeness. If it were safe, he would ride out now and try to get to the bottom of this problem, but all he could do was send out yet more patrols, more soldiers on his behalf. So far, their investigations had turned up nothing but ransacked villages, homes burned to the ground, livestock stolen and people terrified of a creature they could not understand, whispering about the return of Ganondorf.
Link sighed and set the short, written report aside. There was no new information. He suspected Alatar was behind these problems, too, but was his goal simply to sow chaos and discord? Hyrule was in a delicate state, even now, so many years after the civil war. And even though Link and the Sages had stopped Ganondorf, it seemed the Gerudo leader's ghost was determined to haunt them. People were still afraid to speak his name, and most couldn't even remember all he had done to destroy Hyrule.
As one of those unfortunate few, Link could not forget those dark years. He rubbed a hand over his tired eyes, willing the feelings of doubt and anxiety away. He'd slept little the past few weeks, and tonight would be no different, it seemed. Dark had left just this morning, and Link was consumed with an unexplainable dread ever since.
It was stress, he assumed. He was concerned for his brother and the outcome of his search, concerned for Zelda, who after having her father recover for a brief time, was now at his bedside once more as the king wallowed in an apparently supernatural sleep. Perhaps another of Alatar's tricks. And now, just before Dark's departure, he'd met with the Sages to discuss their plans and outright lied to them. Something he hadn't done before.
The Sages, bickering once more about whether it was better to seek Alatar out, had asked Link if there was any possible way for Dark to enter the Dark World and provide them a way through. Link had denied it, even knowing Dark's success with bringing Link himself between dimensions in the tunnel of ages. The last thing he wanted was to put his brother in even more danger by asking him to go back to the Dark World, even if it was to slay Alatar. There was a better way, and he would find it.
A knock on the door lifted his head to the open doorway.
"Am I interrupting?"
Nabooru stood there, wearing a long woolen cloak to fight against the chill. Hyrule in wintertime was colder than she was used to.
"Not at all." Link swept everything on his desk aside, pulling out the chair opposite him for her to sit.
Nabooru's golden eyes danced in the waning light of the sputtering oil lamps on his desk. "I want to apologize."
Link frowned. "What for?"
"I know you and some of the other Sages disagree about how to fight Alatar," she began.
"Do you agree with Rauru and Impa, then?" he asked. "That I should ask Dark to endanger himself instead of pulling the Master Sword?"
Nabooru's face was still, but her eyes grew hard. "I am the last person to tell you to draw that sword."
Surprised, he asked her. "Why?"
"If that sword is keeping Ganon in check, it should never be removed, even to prevent another calamity. The other Sages can talk all they wish about the need to protect their people from outside dangers. They have no idea what it is to try and protect your people from evil inside."
Link said nothing, searching Nabooru's expression.
"I am a Gerudo, but I am a Sage," she continued. "I will protect Hyrule as best I can from any threat, but my people need my protection, too. The greatest threat they have faced came from within, and it is my greatest regret that I could not help my brother and my friend from succumbing to the darkness. If my choices are to face another enemy without the sword of evil's bane or risk unleashing evil, I say let that darkness lie in its prison. I fight either way."
"Nabooru…"
"Don't reach for the easy solution, Link. Do not draw the Master Sword."
Link's jaw tightened. "So, I should ask my brother to go into the Dark World then? I won't treat him as if he is expendable."
"No one thinks Dark is expendable," Nabooru said. "Least of all me. The Sages are afraid, Link, and people strike at what they fear. They thought the fight was over. They are not all warriors. They do not know there is always another fight. They want to rely on you and the power of that sword. If they can't have that, they'll settle for the next direct attack."
"Then what would you have me do?" he asked, exasperated. "I don't want to draw the Master Sword, and I don't want to put anyone else in danger. I don't want to do nothing, but it seems there's nothing to be done!"
Nabooru's mouth curved in a smile. "I dislike waiting for the fight to come to me as much as you do. But sometimes it is better to let our enemies make a mistake than be the first to do so, hmm?"
Link sighed. "Normally the solution is so clear to me. I'm not used to this uncertainty and helplessness. It's unsettling, to say the least."
Nabooru smirked. "Even the Hero is human, Link."
"And how does a human fight against primordial demons without a weapon that can hurt them? How do I keep Hyrule from falling into darkness once again, when I sometimes feel I don't know what I'm doing with all this?" he asked, gesturing in frustration to the papers on his desk.
The Gerudo leader stood and placed her hands on the desk's surface. "The same way the rest of us do. You focus on one thing at a time, starting with the most urgent and important."
Link again looked at the desk, littered with items vying for his attention, competing with the worries in his mind.
"If Alatar wants to hide, let him hide," Nabooru declared. "We will use this time to get ready for him. Use this time to protect the kingdom and yourself."
Link rubbed a hand over his face again. "I know you're right."
Her concerned gaze raked over him. "And get some sleep, for Nayru's sake. You look exhausted."
"I haven't been sleeping," he admitted. "Strange dreams."
"Hmm."
"Thank you for your advice, Nabooru. Truly."
A faint smile crossed her lips. "I'm here when you need me."
Castle Town, Lord Magnus' residence
Magnus stormed through the open door of his office, nearly ploughing into the servant who had opened the door in haste for his arrival. Sweeping off his cloak, Magnus discarded it carelessly on the floor as he stomped into the room, eyeing the two men waiting for him with a frown. He strode straight to the richly finished oak sideboard, decanting and pouring himself a generous goblet of wine. He took a healthy swig, finally turning to the other two men with a full scowl.
"He refuses to meet with me!" Reaching into his vest pocket, he withdrew a note and tossed it onto his desk. "He rebuffs my counsel and any attempts to meet with him! How am I expected to complete your mission," he pointed at the taller man with a sneer. "When he won't cooperate?"
Alatar lifted the hood off of his head, assured that Magnus' servants were out of view. "Link has denied you again?" he asked, his amusement hiding an undercurrent of frustration.
"Ungrateful brat," Magnus spat, taking another sip of wine. "My attempts have been in vain. The two of them parted on good terms this morning. And the court! Ha!" Shaking his head, Magnus slammed his goblet down, pouring another. "For once, the vile miscreants at court are refusing to participate in rumour and speculation! They've failed to point their fingers even once in his direction!"
"Calm yourself," Alatar snapped, frowning at Magnus' ruddy face. "Our latest efforts will bear fruit." He nodded at the second, hooded and cloaked man.
Magnus eyed the man with distrust. "You really think his silly illusions can achieve what our machinations cannot?"
Alatar regarded Magnus coldly. "So far, your efforts have been a resounding failure. Yet you question the effectiveness of magic? Perhaps I should not grant you your wish after all."
Behind him, the other man stifled a laugh.
Magnus stiffened. "My efforts have not been successful," he admitted. "But they will be. I don't see why you allowed Dark to leave, though," he complained.
"Allow me to worry about him," Alatar replied with a dismissive wave. "Focus on Link. Fabricate ideal circumstances, if need be, it matters not. But if you fail, rest assured I will not grant you what it is you want."
Alatar's cool eyes rested on Magnus a long moment, until the lord inwardly squirmed. Only his desire for the promised reward kept him from voicing further complaints.
"You can really do it?" he asked, "You can really give her magic to me instead?"
Alatar's eyes flashed. "You doubt me?"
"No, no," Magnus backpedaled. "It's just…my sister has been long dead."
"You are sorely misinformed. But do not concern yourself. I can do all I promised. And more."
Magnus' eyes gleamed with anticipation. He sipped at his goblet, satisfaction curling his lips.
With Magnus satiated, Alatar turned to his young companion. With one hand, Alatar reached into his long robes, retrieving a dark purple pearl that rested in the palm of his hand. Holding it out, he allowed his magic to surge through the object, changing its glassy indigo depths to brilliant blue. A portal formed at their feet, pulsing with cool, inviting energy.
Alatar and his companion stepped through, leaving Magnus to his machinations. The Dark World welcomed them, opening to a round, stone-walled room. Outside tall, narrow windows empty of glass, a thunderstorm split the sky, but no water touched inside the room.
"Sir," the other man addressed Alatar. "Are we sure we need the mother's blood? Would it not be wiser not to split our focus?"
Alatar frowned. "Your focus will be on your task. Leave Magnus to sow his seeds and rumours." He placed a hand on the other man's shoulder, fingers digging in slightly. "Do as I ask, and you will reap your reward, as well."
The young man nodded. "And what about once it's done? Shall I still take care of Lord Magnus?"
Alatar's mouth curved. "No. That will be my pleasure alone."
