Crystal Tears
The Musings of Scholars
---
"Their finest leaders taken from them, spirited away by a mixture of magic and necessity into the Temple of Light, the races of the world eventually fell into disarray. The Hylians perservered, held together by the strength of the Princess Zelda and the blunt refusal of her people to fade into chaos, as the other races seemed fated to do."
Aghanim yawned despite himself. Histories could at times be interesting, but it was tiring to read through countless volumes and still reach no solid conclusions concerning his ambitions. He had already filled his mind with history concerning the actual Imprisoning War, though the aftermath of this conflict was arguably more intriguing than the war itself. Bitter that their Kings, Queens and most revered leaders had been taken from them, the many races of the world turned their frustrations at the Hylians, who alone had their Princess returned to them at the conclusion of the War. The Gorons disappeared into the mountains, resigning themselves to isolationist principles.
The Zoras, a race that had always been preoccupied with its Royal Family, traditions and honorable values went mad at the loss of Princess Ruto, the last heir to the King. Upon King Zora's death, the old honorable traditions were lost in a sea of chaos and malcontent, eventually leading to a Civil War. Those who held true to the Zoran principles of honor and pride rebuilt their cities and elected a new King... those who chose to forsake their culture broke off into a new clan, renamed themselves as Zolas, and took to ravaging the lands of the Hylians... after all, was it not their fault that their princess had been stolen in the first place?
The Kokiri, under the protective guidance of the reborn Deku Tree, remained in the Lost Woods as a legend to most people. It was said they still existed, though like the Shiekah existed as mere Shadows, mourning the corruption of their forest as the Shadow Folk mourned the decay of the entire land. The Gerudo, lost without their King or his second in command to hold their society together, slowly migrated out of the deserts, integrating themselves with Hylians and their culture. Eventually, the deserts were emptied of all their denizens, though it was widely believed that the many thieving gangs that plagued Hyrule were descended from them. The Gerudo culture was eliminated, but the deserts still held the evidence of their existence...
But nothing, none of these histories could tell him what he wished to know above all else: how to reverse the spell that even now contained the King of Evil in the Sacred Realm. Irritated by their lack of such key information, he slammed the text shut, scattering dust particles across the table he had been sitting at for hours upon hours. He stood, stretched his muscles, weary from inactivity, and strode silently from the library, put off by its newest failure. He had been so certain that he had found the correct book that time...
"The Kakariko Library... I know many books of divine importance find their home there... but I can only assume that what I seek lies in a far more elite collection of knowledge," the Wizard mused darkly, staring up at the sillouhette of Hyrule Castle, far to the east of his current position. Who knew what treasures of knowledge the Royal Family held close to them in their castle?
"It is time, I think, to find out..."
---
Princess Zelda stealthily made her way through the hidden catacombs of Hyrule Castle, reveling in the knowledge of these secret passageways only she knew of. Their discovery had been quite by accident; the first passage she had found had been unearthed when she was much younger. One of the younger guards had been standing watch outside, when a harmless garden snake had startled him. Watching from the turrets on the castle walls above, Zelda had watched the boy with interest as he recovered himself and resolved to make the animal his pet, thus abandoning his post to search in the bushes toward the eastern walls of the castle, where the garden snake had sought refuge. Watching with bated breath, eager to see if the young man would be successful, she had been quite surprised to see him suddenly tumble forward, disappearing into the ground with a choked cry of alarm.
Intrigued by this incident, the Princess had quickly made her way downstairs, and upon searching the bushes found the first secret passage the old castle contained. Enthralled by the existence of such mysterious places in her own home, she had sworn the young guard to silence on his discovery as they both emerged from the passage into the inner gardens of the castle. Since then, she had made it her personal mission to discover each and every passage the castle had hidden within it. Always having been a naturally smart girl, it didn't take her long to find them.
Now, she hurried through the dank sewer tunnels beneath the castle toward the Sacred Sanctuary, once known in a different age as the Temple of Time. Now remodeled as a church to honor the Godesses, a single priest made his living within its walls, teaching morality and honor to any who cared to hear him. It was this man that Zelda ran to, frightened by her latest dream and shunned by her father, too busy with affairs of state to hear about the nightmares of his daughter. The wise priest Rikoru always had an affectionate ear to turn toward her, however, and she desperately needed this comfort in lieu of the nightmares that her mind had ushered to her the previous night.
The restless scampering of rats and the unsettling rustles from overhead that could only be made by roosting bats spurred her forward at even greater speeds. By far, the worst part about taking this passage was the unsavory denizens that were always there to greet her. A feeble lantern cast a glow ahead of her, and when it finally illuminated the end of the long tunnel, her relief took the shape of an audible sigh. She emerged from the tunnels and into the back of the Sanctuary, hoping that Rikoru was not in the middle of a sermon or similar engagment.
Thankfully, he sat alone in a chair near the tunnel entrance, absorbed in one book or another. By now he was fully accustomed to Princess Zelda's tendency to arrive uninvited in this manner, and his greeting was unsurprised and simple:
"Hello, child... back again so soon?"
"I'm sorry to trouble you again..." She hastily apologized, wrinkling her nose at the her dishevled self reflected at her courtesy of one of the many reflective decorations the Sanctuary held. "It's just... my father is engaged in state affairs once again... and at this point I doubt he would take me seriously regardless of whether or not he could take the time to hear me out."
"It is no trouble, Highness. I take it that you had another dream?" Rikoru had been hearing her troubled dreams for some time now, and found them both fascinating and disturbing in their implications. They said prophetic dreams ran in the blood of the Royal Family...
"This was no dream, Rikoru..." Zelda shuddered lightly in memory. "This was a nightmare, of the worst sort."
"The same crystal prison as in previous dreams?"
"Yes, but there was more this time... You know that up until now I have never seen the one responsible for my imprisonment."
"And this time?" Rikoru raised an eyebrow, peering at the girl over his glasses.
"He was frightful. His face was covered in scars, at least what little of it I could see... and his eyes glowed with some eerie presence. I've never seen such a man in my life, and I hope I never have to! His clothes were blood red, and he kept reciting Hylian incantations..."
"This description doesn't match that of anyone I know, either," Rikoru sighed, "but as you know I don't really get out of here much."
"I know. The most disturbing thing... I could sense this man was evil himself, but behind this was an even greater presence. It was as though he represented two people at once; himself, perhaps, and another, far greater evil as well." Zelda's eyes darkened at the recollection of this overwhelming sense of evil.
"And still, no hope to be extracted from these nightmares?" Rikoru pressed, urging her to continue in detailing the events of her dream.
"That was the second thing I came here to discuss," Zelda admitted, her face taking on a thoughtful expression. "I remember being more frightened than ever before, but at one point... just a brief point... there was a sense of relaxation, as though salvation was on its way."
"Yet there were no clues as to what this salvation could be...?"
"The only symbol that was revealed to me was in the form of a sword. It seemed simple in design, yet its importance was so overwhelming -- I didn't recognize the blade, however."
"There are many famous legends surrounding swords," Rikoru mused, crossing his arms over his chest. "Most of them concern the Master Sword, a legendary blade that was forged specifically to ward off evil. My knowledge of this legend is somewhat rusty, sadly."
"A clue is a clue," Zelda replied gratefully, barely holding back the urge to give the elderly priest a hug. The Master Sword... she had heard of the legend. "I'll definitely look further into that prospect."
"I hope it yields results, Highness," Rikoru said sincerely, placing a wrinkled hand on her shoulder. "It is growing late... you will be missed."
"Not likely," the Princess snapped, losing control over her frustrations for a brief moment.
"Your father means well," the priest sympathized, understanding the source of her bitter tone.
"I know. I love him, but his preoccupations will never sit well with me..." Zelda trailed off, and silence prevailed in the Sanctuary for several brief seconds.
"Safe journey," Rikoru spoke softly, breaking it.
"Thank you," She returned quaintly, then turned to get back to her home the way she had come. "Blasted rats..." she muttered to herself, visions of the fearsome, malevolent figure from her dreams dancing before her in the darkness.
---
(A/N):
And that's pretty much how Princess Zelda is going to be. Somewhat of a tomboy, adventurous and yes, the dreamer of prophetic dreams. Hurrah. I named the priest of the Sanctuary Rikoru because "Old Man of the Sanctuary" doesn't cut it for me. I do hope you won't mind the name too much. Also, someone informed me that I need some sort of disclaimer that explains that I don't own Zelda -- but isn't that kind of... obvious? Hell, I don't even really own this storyline.
The Musings of Scholars
---
"Their finest leaders taken from them, spirited away by a mixture of magic and necessity into the Temple of Light, the races of the world eventually fell into disarray. The Hylians perservered, held together by the strength of the Princess Zelda and the blunt refusal of her people to fade into chaos, as the other races seemed fated to do."
Aghanim yawned despite himself. Histories could at times be interesting, but it was tiring to read through countless volumes and still reach no solid conclusions concerning his ambitions. He had already filled his mind with history concerning the actual Imprisoning War, though the aftermath of this conflict was arguably more intriguing than the war itself. Bitter that their Kings, Queens and most revered leaders had been taken from them, the many races of the world turned their frustrations at the Hylians, who alone had their Princess returned to them at the conclusion of the War. The Gorons disappeared into the mountains, resigning themselves to isolationist principles.
The Zoras, a race that had always been preoccupied with its Royal Family, traditions and honorable values went mad at the loss of Princess Ruto, the last heir to the King. Upon King Zora's death, the old honorable traditions were lost in a sea of chaos and malcontent, eventually leading to a Civil War. Those who held true to the Zoran principles of honor and pride rebuilt their cities and elected a new King... those who chose to forsake their culture broke off into a new clan, renamed themselves as Zolas, and took to ravaging the lands of the Hylians... after all, was it not their fault that their princess had been stolen in the first place?
The Kokiri, under the protective guidance of the reborn Deku Tree, remained in the Lost Woods as a legend to most people. It was said they still existed, though like the Shiekah existed as mere Shadows, mourning the corruption of their forest as the Shadow Folk mourned the decay of the entire land. The Gerudo, lost without their King or his second in command to hold their society together, slowly migrated out of the deserts, integrating themselves with Hylians and their culture. Eventually, the deserts were emptied of all their denizens, though it was widely believed that the many thieving gangs that plagued Hyrule were descended from them. The Gerudo culture was eliminated, but the deserts still held the evidence of their existence...
But nothing, none of these histories could tell him what he wished to know above all else: how to reverse the spell that even now contained the King of Evil in the Sacred Realm. Irritated by their lack of such key information, he slammed the text shut, scattering dust particles across the table he had been sitting at for hours upon hours. He stood, stretched his muscles, weary from inactivity, and strode silently from the library, put off by its newest failure. He had been so certain that he had found the correct book that time...
"The Kakariko Library... I know many books of divine importance find their home there... but I can only assume that what I seek lies in a far more elite collection of knowledge," the Wizard mused darkly, staring up at the sillouhette of Hyrule Castle, far to the east of his current position. Who knew what treasures of knowledge the Royal Family held close to them in their castle?
"It is time, I think, to find out..."
---
Princess Zelda stealthily made her way through the hidden catacombs of Hyrule Castle, reveling in the knowledge of these secret passageways only she knew of. Their discovery had been quite by accident; the first passage she had found had been unearthed when she was much younger. One of the younger guards had been standing watch outside, when a harmless garden snake had startled him. Watching from the turrets on the castle walls above, Zelda had watched the boy with interest as he recovered himself and resolved to make the animal his pet, thus abandoning his post to search in the bushes toward the eastern walls of the castle, where the garden snake had sought refuge. Watching with bated breath, eager to see if the young man would be successful, she had been quite surprised to see him suddenly tumble forward, disappearing into the ground with a choked cry of alarm.
Intrigued by this incident, the Princess had quickly made her way downstairs, and upon searching the bushes found the first secret passage the old castle contained. Enthralled by the existence of such mysterious places in her own home, she had sworn the young guard to silence on his discovery as they both emerged from the passage into the inner gardens of the castle. Since then, she had made it her personal mission to discover each and every passage the castle had hidden within it. Always having been a naturally smart girl, it didn't take her long to find them.
Now, she hurried through the dank sewer tunnels beneath the castle toward the Sacred Sanctuary, once known in a different age as the Temple of Time. Now remodeled as a church to honor the Godesses, a single priest made his living within its walls, teaching morality and honor to any who cared to hear him. It was this man that Zelda ran to, frightened by her latest dream and shunned by her father, too busy with affairs of state to hear about the nightmares of his daughter. The wise priest Rikoru always had an affectionate ear to turn toward her, however, and she desperately needed this comfort in lieu of the nightmares that her mind had ushered to her the previous night.
The restless scampering of rats and the unsettling rustles from overhead that could only be made by roosting bats spurred her forward at even greater speeds. By far, the worst part about taking this passage was the unsavory denizens that were always there to greet her. A feeble lantern cast a glow ahead of her, and when it finally illuminated the end of the long tunnel, her relief took the shape of an audible sigh. She emerged from the tunnels and into the back of the Sanctuary, hoping that Rikoru was not in the middle of a sermon or similar engagment.
Thankfully, he sat alone in a chair near the tunnel entrance, absorbed in one book or another. By now he was fully accustomed to Princess Zelda's tendency to arrive uninvited in this manner, and his greeting was unsurprised and simple:
"Hello, child... back again so soon?"
"I'm sorry to trouble you again..." She hastily apologized, wrinkling her nose at the her dishevled self reflected at her courtesy of one of the many reflective decorations the Sanctuary held. "It's just... my father is engaged in state affairs once again... and at this point I doubt he would take me seriously regardless of whether or not he could take the time to hear me out."
"It is no trouble, Highness. I take it that you had another dream?" Rikoru had been hearing her troubled dreams for some time now, and found them both fascinating and disturbing in their implications. They said prophetic dreams ran in the blood of the Royal Family...
"This was no dream, Rikoru..." Zelda shuddered lightly in memory. "This was a nightmare, of the worst sort."
"The same crystal prison as in previous dreams?"
"Yes, but there was more this time... You know that up until now I have never seen the one responsible for my imprisonment."
"And this time?" Rikoru raised an eyebrow, peering at the girl over his glasses.
"He was frightful. His face was covered in scars, at least what little of it I could see... and his eyes glowed with some eerie presence. I've never seen such a man in my life, and I hope I never have to! His clothes were blood red, and he kept reciting Hylian incantations..."
"This description doesn't match that of anyone I know, either," Rikoru sighed, "but as you know I don't really get out of here much."
"I know. The most disturbing thing... I could sense this man was evil himself, but behind this was an even greater presence. It was as though he represented two people at once; himself, perhaps, and another, far greater evil as well." Zelda's eyes darkened at the recollection of this overwhelming sense of evil.
"And still, no hope to be extracted from these nightmares?" Rikoru pressed, urging her to continue in detailing the events of her dream.
"That was the second thing I came here to discuss," Zelda admitted, her face taking on a thoughtful expression. "I remember being more frightened than ever before, but at one point... just a brief point... there was a sense of relaxation, as though salvation was on its way."
"Yet there were no clues as to what this salvation could be...?"
"The only symbol that was revealed to me was in the form of a sword. It seemed simple in design, yet its importance was so overwhelming -- I didn't recognize the blade, however."
"There are many famous legends surrounding swords," Rikoru mused, crossing his arms over his chest. "Most of them concern the Master Sword, a legendary blade that was forged specifically to ward off evil. My knowledge of this legend is somewhat rusty, sadly."
"A clue is a clue," Zelda replied gratefully, barely holding back the urge to give the elderly priest a hug. The Master Sword... she had heard of the legend. "I'll definitely look further into that prospect."
"I hope it yields results, Highness," Rikoru said sincerely, placing a wrinkled hand on her shoulder. "It is growing late... you will be missed."
"Not likely," the Princess snapped, losing control over her frustrations for a brief moment.
"Your father means well," the priest sympathized, understanding the source of her bitter tone.
"I know. I love him, but his preoccupations will never sit well with me..." Zelda trailed off, and silence prevailed in the Sanctuary for several brief seconds.
"Safe journey," Rikoru spoke softly, breaking it.
"Thank you," She returned quaintly, then turned to get back to her home the way she had come. "Blasted rats..." she muttered to herself, visions of the fearsome, malevolent figure from her dreams dancing before her in the darkness.
---
(A/N):
And that's pretty much how Princess Zelda is going to be. Somewhat of a tomboy, adventurous and yes, the dreamer of prophetic dreams. Hurrah. I named the priest of the Sanctuary Rikoru because "Old Man of the Sanctuary" doesn't cut it for me. I do hope you won't mind the name too much. Also, someone informed me that I need some sort of disclaimer that explains that I don't own Zelda -- but isn't that kind of... obvious? Hell, I don't even really own this storyline.