Flames that burned high and fierce among the ruins of Fernad were doused by the fiercer tidal wave. Teri looked away from her beloved home and watch with tears in her eyes as her ship, her pride, disappeared beneath the water. She looked across an empty sea, a sea that used to house hundreds of ships and a large port, with strong walls to protect it. It was all gone.
She walked to the top of a small rise on the beach. Scanning the beach she saw something move.
"Ahoy there!" she cried.
"Ahoy captain!" a man replied, "Glad I am to see ye alive!"
"Have ye seen anyone else?" Teri asked.
"Nay," the sailor answered, "I shall go this way, see if there are anymore survivors."
"Right," Teri yelled back, "I shall do the same on my side." The sailor walked away. Teri turned around, hoping both were successful. Upon turning, she had immediate success. A man was running towards her. But it was not a sailor. He bore a soldier's armor, a green cape, the captain's cape, bounced behind him. The man clutched his right arm. As he drew nearer, Teri recognized his face.
"Borin!" she cried with joy. She ran as fast as he could to him. She was about to embrace him, but Borin put a hand out.
"I'm in pain." He panted.
"How bad?" Teri asked, her joy giving way to concern.
"My arm is certainly broken." Borin said, "I probably broke a few ribs, both legs are bruised, but not seriously. And talk about your bad backs." He stood straight but the effort obviously caused him great pain.
"No need to act like a soldier right now." Teri said, "We hit a calm part of the storm."
"Thank the gods," Borin said, "Only they how much pain I'm in."
"Your wounds are not all that make ye suffer." Teri said after a pause.
"The destruction of my home is what pains me most." He said vehemently, "Majora passed over our city, breathing fire and shadow. I survived because I jumped over the wall to avoid the flames and the shadows did not touch me. Most of my men tried to follow. But either the flames consumed them or the shadows devoured them." Borin chocked and he shut his eyes. Teri pulled him close and wept into his shoulder.
"I'm sorry." She said, her voice muffled and filled with despair, "I'm sorry I could not help ye." She sobbed more heavily. Borin put his good arm around him.
"If ye were here, ye would have been dead." He said soothingly, "It is with luck that ye are alive now. I saw what happened."
"It must have been a dreadful sight." A voice said. Teri looked up and saw Gerud, dripping wet, carrying a body on his shoulder.
"Your alive." Teri said with relief. But it was no louder than a whisper. Gerud heard her though and nodded.
"And so is he." Said Gerud. He placed the body gently on the ground. "He shall soon be waking up." Borin looked at the young, pointy-eared man on the ground.
"Who is this?" he asked.
"Our last hope." Teri replied. She explained all that had happened in Hyrule, who Link was, how Ganondorf stole the orbs and donned Majora's Mask. When she finished, Link groaned.
"Welcome to Hesra, Link." Gerud said. Link opened his eyes a little and placed his hand on his head. He pulled it back, yelling in pain. The symbol appeared on his gauntlet. Borin jumped back.
"What is going on?" he demanded. Teri had no idea. Link's screams grew louder. The others were forced to cover their ears and move away. The noise was too intense. Then the light from his hand pervaded his body. Then he disappeared into the light. Now Teri and the two men had to shield their eyes from the light. That's when she noticed that the screams had stopped.
"Link!" she cried, eyes still shut. After a few seconds, she cautiously opened an eye. She saw nothing. She opened both her eyes. And there stood her last hope.
When Link was on the ground, he had a cut on his forehead, a green tunic that was torn and he was weaponless. Now, Link was standing up, cleaned and healed. He wore a suit of white armor, with the symbol of the triforce painted on the chest. Teri could see a sheathed Master sword and the mirror shield on his back. His longshot was hooked on his left side while his bomb bag was on the right. The only impressive change was what he wore, but Teri could feel a power pulsing from every fiber of his body and all that touched it.
"Link?" Teri asked. He looked at her, smiling. He nodded before jumping into the air. And then he flew towards the city.
"I think he's got the hang of his new powers." Gerud commented, following Link's trajectory. The Hylian stopped and floated above the middle of the city. He examined the ruins all around him. When he was done looking, he placed his hands in front of him. They started to glow.
Teri felt it first, her feet being sensitive to shifts in the ground and she was much lighter than Gerud. It was a slight trembling, hardly worrying about. But it was steady and soon it intensified. She was having trouble standing, as well as Borin. They fell to their knees while Gerud remained firmly planted. Teri looked up at Link. She did not what she expected to see, but it certainly was not this.
Pieces of the cities walls and buildings were swirling around the Hylian. They rose from under the ashes and were hoisted into the air by some unseen force. This lasted a few minutes. Then the trembling stopped. Teri stood just as the ash exploded into the air. It was now a full-blown tornado. The wind nearly picked her up, but Gerud was there to keep her and the soldier on the ground.
The stone and ash started to mix together. They became whole walls and buildings. Link was piecing the entire city back together. It took ten minutes before the entire city was rebuilt to its original splendor. His job done, he floated back to the ground. The others joined him soon after, in front of city hall.
"In time," Link said when he saw them, "this city will be populated once again. Until then it will never truly be rebuilt."
"Thank you Link." Teri said, looking at the city in wonder. Link nodded.
"I also managed to pull some of your men out of the water." Link said. "Unfortunately, most of them are dead. I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Teri said reassuringly, "It's not your fault."
"She's right." Gerud added, "Ye may not have the power to bring back the dead. But I'm sure ye have the power to avenge."
"I certainly hope so." Link said.
"What do ye mean?" Teri asked, stunned that he said that, "Ye have the power of the triforce as well as your own power. How can ye not win?"
"Because Majon has all five orbs in the shadow temple, a place where he will not be drawn out very easily. He is also the fusion of two beings, who were very powerful before they met. Plus, I am not at full strength."
"When will ye be?" Borin asked.
"When I return home."
After much deliberation, it was decided that Gerud and Link would go to the temple of Light. Teri and Borin would stay and search for survivors not only in the land of the sea, but in the other lands as well.
"We will need as many men as we can summon to attack the Majon's domain." Borin said.
"Indeed we will." Link said, "For I do not know how long my power can last in battle."
"The disciples of the light will be able to give ye an idea." Teri said.
"And they will know of some way to extend it and increase it if necessary." Gerud added.
"Hurry now." Borin said, "We know not if Majon will attack again." Link agreed and they took their leave from their friends.
"I hope the other lands have not been ravaged as this one has been." Gerud said once outside the city.
"They are not." Link said, "Majon had no reason to attack them." Link gazed far into the north. Many leagues away, he could see the outline of a forest.
"Is that the forest land in front of us?" Link asked. Gerud, though not capable of seeing the trees, said it was.
"Fire, wind and sea are all connected to the forest. They give it life one or another." Gerud explained.
"Makes sense." Link said.
"The land of Light lies beyond the forest." Gerud continued, "It will take us six or seven days to reach the temple of light."
"Good thing we found some food." Link said, looking at he pack Gerud carried.
"And there are many rivers and lakes in this field." Said Gerud, "There are some towns to the north and south of our path. Should we need anything more, we will be able to get them there."
"I see some of them now." Link said, gazing at the horizon.
"Your sight has much improved." Gerud commented.
"So has my speed." Link said, "But I do not know the way and I don't want to tire myself out too much."
"If ye wish, we can stop at Magol Town to the south. It will take a day to get there, but there are horses there. We will be able to regain the lost time very quickly."
"I like that idea a lot. Let's go."
They walked for hours across the undulating, grassy fields. No obvious hint of evil had touched these lands, but Link could sense danger beneath his feet.
"Do you have a weapon?" Link asked sometime during the day.
"No." Gerud said, "Put we are on home turf now so my powers have increased as well." He fell silent and Link felt a surge of power. The Hylian looked at the giant hand. He saw a long white staff grow. It extended to a length of three meters before ending with scythes pointing in opposite directions.
"Now, that's cool." Link said, pointing at Gerud's weapon.
"My first choice." Gerud said, twirling it in one hand.
"Good," said Link, "You will be needing it after sunset." Gerud understood and asked nothing.
The sun was descending behind the mountains, when they arrived at Magol. The first thing Link and Gerud did was summon the captain of the guard and told him to ready his troops. As they expected, the captain would give such a command without good reason.
"Did you not see the beast that flew over your land a few days ago?" Link asked.
"Yes of course." The captain replied, "Who are ye, sir? Ye are not from Hesra, it is quite obvious."
"My name is Link, and I'm going to be doing most of the fighting if you don't summon your men." He turned to Gerud, "Staflos. Full-grown. That's what's coming."
"What are Staflos?" Gerud asked.
"Skeletal warriors wielding shield and sword. They are strong, quick, as well as ruthless and merciless. I sense at least a hundred approaching."
"I only have fifty men." The captain said. Link could only stare at the guard with a grim face. Then his face lit up.
"Keep them all by the walls. I shall hinder the Staflos as much as I can." He ran outside. Gerud followed, while the captain blew a horn. As the soldiers ran to the barracks, Link headed for the town center. Once there he leapt into the air, drawing gasps and cries of surprise from many of the inhabitants of Magol.
He looked towards the mountains. The sun was gone. The night sky now covered the rising army. At first Link saw one. Then the skeleton raised its sword and roared and the rest of the army rose from the ground, shaking off the dirt. There were two hundred.
A roar escaped from their lipless mouths and they charged. Link crossed his arms in front of his chest and then shot them towards his sides. A light erupted from his body, rapidly expanding. It brightened the entire city and the field that the un-dead army stood on. From all appearances, nothing changed and the Staflos kept coming.
They soon reached the walls and jumped over them. The soldiers were ready for them, though many were scared stiff. A few of them ran away. But these ones had to stop for something intrigued them, as well as the rest of the guard. The Staflos were slowing down! They were all in slow motion.
"Hurry up and kill them!" Link ordered. The guards, with renewed courage, lifted their swords high and waited for the Staflos to come down. Once in range, each guard sliced a skeletal warrior before it had a chance to raise its weapon. One quarter of them were gone.
Gerud hoped that Link would be able to keep it up. But just by looking at the Hylian, he saw that was not possible. He was much weaker than anyone thought. Sweat was dripping from his face. The strain was evident from the expression on his face.
"Link!" Gerud called, "Don't kill yourself. That light ye shot out before must have done something."
"It did." Link replied with great effort, "All their weapons and armor have been rusted. But there are too many."
"Don't worry about that." Gerud said, "The soldiers only ran because they had never seen such creatures before and it surprised them. Now, they will show their true skill, even if they moved at full-speed."
"Then get ready." Link said, after a pause. "Guards! The Staflos will be moving at full-speed! Prepare yourselves!" With that, he let his arms drop. As he floated to the ground, the un-dead picked up speed. But as Link mentioned, their weapons had been aged and apparently their bones as well. Legs were being broken as the Staflos landed from the high jump.
The guards found the fight easy yet tiresome, for the Staflos kept regenerating after a time. They would rest in pieces only if the entire army lay was laid to rest in a short time span. The guards were not killing their enemies fast enough. Gerud saw this and joined in the battle. And Link saw another reason why Teri kept this man on board.
He was certainly strong, that was apparent from his size. Even so, he moved faster than any man that Link had ever seen. Gerud was faster than Zelda's counterpart, Sheik. One slice from the giant's double-scythe and the Staflos would crumble. With his help, the soldiers of Magol defeated the un-dead army. Their bones burned into ash to show their surrender.
The city rejoiced over this great victory. Ever since the dark lord arrived, Magol and the surrounding towns had been filled with despair. It was great to laugh again. True, two men had died during the battle: a Staflos landed on one man, while the other was overwhelmed by five Staflos attacking him at once. They were to be remembered with honor.
Gerud ran to tell the news to Link. The Hylian was still at the town's center. But Gerud was stunned to see that the wielder of the triforce was on the ground. He was unconscious.