Legend of Zelda
The Lord of the Masks : The Fellowship of the Mask
Chapter Two: The Council of the Sages
Malon shook as she walked the dark halls of the unfinished Hyrule Castle, and though she leaned heavily and weakly on Link's arm the rest of her body was impossibly tense. Under her other arm she carried an object wrapped thickly in cloth, And her fingers were white from the pressure they placed on it.
"Where are they?" she asked tersely, her eyes searching the shadows.
"I don't really know. I've never been in this part of the castle, even before it was rebuilt," Link replied, steady and unwavering.
Unbelievable, Malon thought, cursing herself. It had to be you, didn't it? Look at yourself, walking with a hero through the halls of an ancie- a noble castle. Link wouldn't have screwed up like you did. He would have handled it from the beginning. You're as useless as… as… by Din's flames, you're the most useless person in all of Hyrule! Never thought about that, did you? Never realised that-
"Malon? Are you okay?" asked Link. He knew better than to try to shake the girl off, although she was making him a bit uncomfortable. There was something wrong with her, and she had always gone for the whole Hero of Time thing. If she needed support, literally or figuratively, he would be there. That was the whole point.
"Are you sure they've built it yet?" she growled.
"Link? Malon?" called a voice, and as they stepped into the intersection of corridors a bright light shone on them. Malon shrieked, both at the voice and the light. Somehow, as the jolted, the bundle flew from her hand.
"I'll get that," said Link, now seriously worried about Malon's condition. He leaned forward to pick it up.
"Don't touch that!" she yelled, and dove ahead to grab it. "Ah!" That was it, just a simple 'ah' and no more as one of the exposed spikes of the fallen thing stabbed into her hand. Malon looked back at Link angrily, and for a second a he thought there was a reddish glow at the back of her eyes.
"Right!" he said, and in a dignified but completely unceremonious way lifted Malon off the stone floor and rushed down the hall, the bundle still in her hands. They entered a room that was surprisingly bright and warm, considering the complete shadows of the hallways behind them.
It was a large room, with walls of smooth stone that were glowing flame-yellow in the light. Excluding a few bookcases and chests, the room was bare. Except in the middle of the floor, where a large and circular table of polished marble was etched and stained into a map of Hyrule and the world around it.
Also around the table were the friends Link had come to think of as the seven Sages. Rauru, the old and wise Sage of Light, the ever-youthful Kokiri girl Saria, Sage of Forest, the mighty and Sage of Fire Darunia, Ruto, the Zora princess and Sage of Water, Impa, Sheikah defender of the Royal Family and Sage of Shadow, and Nabooru, the sometimes-questionable and always-lively Gerudo Sage of Spirit.
And Zelda, the Hylian princess Zelda. The seventh Sage -her patronage had always remained a mystery to Link- who had perhaps been a part of the legends Link knew he had followed even more than he. As a hero, Link had met many princesses, and didn't doubt he would meet many more, but something about Zelda always seemed different to him.
"You have brought with you the relic?" asked Rauru.
"Yes, don't worry, I don't need to say hello to any of my friends. Haven't seen them for six months, thought it felt more like eternity, but don't worry, I'm sure that-"
"This is important, Link. Don't go all rebel on us now," said Zelda.
To her surprise, Link simply said, "Of course, Princess," and put Malon down onto the soft rug. Impossibly, she had fallen asleep, and it took no more than all the strength Link could muster to pull the wrapped object out of her grasp. Without it, Malon simply rolled away and curled up against the cold drafts.
Link watched this, placed the object on the table, and said to Rauru: "You can't tell me that's normal. Oh, and-" he turned to Darunia "-hi-" then to Ruto "-hi-" then Impa "-hi-" and lastly Nabooru "-broke out again, have you?"
"I never get caught," said the Gerudo queen of thieves, and laughed.
"No, Hero of Time, that is not normal. Malon has been chosen as the new bearer," said Rauru, and he pulled the cloth off of the spiked thing, "of Majora's Mask." The moment it was free, the Mask slid upright until it stood on its point. Zelda waved an arm and a shaft of light wrapped itself into an aura around the dark mask, freezing it in place.
"I thought it was legend," said Darunia, gravely. "Are we certain of its authenticity?"
"Touch it," said Link, bitterly.
"Don't," warned Rauru, but Darunia knew better anyway. "No other mask could be shaped in this way. It is an ancient and terrible form, and the creation of such a thing would require astonishing effort. The mask itself would resist being tainted so."
"Who would make such a thing?" asked Ruto, ever naïve and bright.
"The one who created all the others, of course," said Rauru, waving her off.
"It is not as common a tale now as it was when last you walked Hyrule's land, o Sage of Light," said Impa, who was one for tradition and knew how one was supposed to refer of the noblemen (and, she reflected, noblewomen) of Hyrule. Strangely though, it never occurred to her that perhaps, being a Sage herself, such agonising formalities could be neglected.
Or, as Link phrased it, "Could you possibly speak without sounding like you're trying to be the biggest snob of the year?"
"Link! What's wrong with you?" Zelda, again.
"Termina. Sorry, Impa."
"Termina?" repeated Rauru. "What of it?" Link looked around the table at the Sages, his friends. This was going to be a long story.
"Where did you think I had been for the last six months?" he began…
"And what became of the Masks?" asked Rauru, more than an hour later. He had interrupted with questions many times, though no more than any of the others.
"I gave them to the Happy Mask Shopkeeper," said Link. "Just when I got back."
"Ah. Well then, perhaps they are safe for now. Link, you did exactly the right thing, did you know that?"
"Well," said Link, starting to grin, "I did-"
"Sheer dumb luck, of course, but nevertheless right. The strange one you refer to as the Happy Mask Salesman is more properly called the Guardian of the Masks, and he is as legendary as you yourself will one day be."
"What? How?" demanded Nabooru.
"Impa…" began Rauru.
"I can hardly keep all your old stories alive, Rauru. I have enough difficulties protecting the princess and keeping the Castle's records and library straight. Or rather, rewriting them."
"Very well. The Legend of the Masks is an ancient tale, and one that I had hoped would survive the ages. Briefly, it tells of the days when the Masks of Power were first created. They were forged by an unknown craftsman-"
"-or woman-" added Impa, reflectively.
"-and given to the leaders of all Hyrule's peoples. They were given ancient names, which have truly been lost to history. But I do remember how they were divided.
"To the Hylians were given the Masks of Secrets, which you have told me are now called those of the Great Fairy, the All-Night Mask, and the Mask of Truth, for they can reveal much that is unknown.
"The Kokiri were gifted with the Masks of Elegance, that let them move with speed with the, uh, Bunny Hood, dance with grace with Kamaro's Mask, and walk unseen behind the Stone Mask.
"The Masks of Allies were given to the Gorons, binding them to both the Romanis and the family to which Kafei is a part, and the Giants that once walked in the mountains.
"The Zoras were given the Masks of Skill: the Blast Mask, Mask of Scents, and the Bremen Mask, all of which give unique abilities to the wearer.
"The Gerudos claimed the Masks of Command, whether they chose the Captain's Hat, the Circus Leader's Mask, or the Postman's Hat, any gave them authority over those who would be led.
"As guardians of all the races, the Sheikahs were given the Masks of Communication, letting them speak with the Garos, Keatons, Gibdo, or Don Gero's people; four masks where the others had three.
"And lastly the five called the Guardian Masks were given to the Hero of Time of the day. Deku, Goron, Zora, and one that vanished immediately after its creation. I would have to believe that it was the one you say saved you in your final battle- the Fierce Deity's Mask. A shame it was broken at the last."
"Link just got back from a parallel world where most of the population of Hyrule was copied -copied- except for most of the sages -and by the way I'd like to know why I was- and you're worried about a mask?!" demanded Ruto.
"Link was able to defeat Majora's Wrath solely because of the Fierce Deity's Mask's power. Without it, I worry that we will not be able to stop the wearer if someone dons Majora's Mask," Rauru explained.
"Very well, so we know what Majora's Mask does- it can control all the others, except the Fierce Deity's Mask. But where did it come from?" asked Darunia, glaring at the violently shaped mask.
"Even that has been lost?" asked Rauru, in surprise.
"Stop glaring at me like that. If you had spent more time as Herald as you were supposed to…" Impa let the admonition hang.
"Very well. Majora's Mask was crafted by Ganon," said Rauru.
"What? How? Ganondorf can't be even half a century old!" protested Link.
"Ganondorf is just one step, Hero of Time. The entity we call Ganon has existed since Hyrule was born. When Nayru created the Law of the World, she failed to bring all of it within her power. That which still existed freely, the raw sentience without shape or life, became a single spirit. Farore, the last of the Goddesses to enchant Hyrule, could not draw it in either, and so she locked it away from corporeal form.
"She too failed, like her sisters, though Power falls to Courage and Ganon took many ages to create for itself a body. That was the first King of Evil, and in those dark days he created Majora's Mask as a focus for his unruly powers," Rauru explained.
He was weak, hissed a voice, and for a few moments there was no sound. The gaze of the Sages was drawn to Majora's Mask, but it still stood unwavering, without a sign of activity.
"Ganondorf was… well, yes, he was weak. He didn't understand the power he was gathering, because Ganon too was imperfect in his creation, and Ganondorf knew nothing of his strange origins. The power that was sealed within the mask grew, and evolved into a separate entity. Majora. At the last, Ganondorf was slain by the Hero of Time of that age, and the Mask was lost. And now we have found it again."
Link wasn't listening too closely now. He was watching Malon, restless in her unnatural sleep. On a whim, Link drew the Mirror Shield of Termina from his pack and placed it directly between the Mask and Malon. There was the sound of metal clashing, as there always was when a force was deflected by the enchantment, and she awoke.
"I'm still here," she said, looking at her surroundings and sounding like she wished it were not so.
"What do we do with it now? Is it a threat, as long as no one wears it?" asked Zelda.
"When would anything that looks like that not be a threat?" muttered Nabooru. "Let's pitch the thing down the Abyss inside the Temple of Shadow."
"It could be recovered," said Zelda, simply.
"Mount Doom," said Ruto, simply.
"Even that wouldn't destroy it."
"Bottom of Lake Hylia?" said Darunia, his voice betraying his distaste for all things watery.
"Valdruin," said Saria, and the others looked at her in surprise and wonderment. "The Great Deku Tree spoke of a place called Valdruin, once. He told me that it was far to the south, in a land of terrors, and the one place that one could be sure of nothing ever returning from."
"I've heard plenty of places called that before. Heck, I've been to them," said Link, invisible to most of the Sages. This was because he was kneeling beside Malon, cursing himself for not remembering to bandage her hand sooner.
"So you'd be perfect for the job?" suggested Nabooru.
"I knew it."
[Notes] How astonishing. The second chapter is up and it's not even 2003 yet. My apologies to anyone who was waiting for this, and my apologies in advance for how long you're likely to wait for the next part. Still, don't give up hope. In case it's confusing anyone, the events preceding this story are almost *exactly* those of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, except that OoT has my modified ending (what a shock) wherein Link is *not* sent back in time at the end. Termina is the same story, except that Link was adult the whole time. Well, as close to adult as he's ever likely to be. Anyway, if you liked this check out some of the other stuff I've written, along with Vilya 'n' Company's fics and just about anything they say is good.