A.N.- Sorry for the delay. the really long delay. I'll be posting another
chapter after this today, and another after that ASAP.
Arkan awoke, the sun shining brilliantly through his window. The memory of
the dream pushed into the depths of Arkan's mind. Not so far as to never be
remembered again, but just out of the grasp of consciousness.
He swung his legs out of bed and walked into the hallway. His father emerged
from his small study as Arkan walked down the hallway. "Hey, son," he
greeted happily, "I couldn't figure out the meaning of the inscription on
the blade your found. I need to use the castle's library. You want to come
along?" Arkan's face lit up with excitement. "Do you mean it dad?"
"Absolutely. Get dressed and have a decent breakfast, we'll leave as soon as
you're ready." Arkan's eyes twinkled as he rushed into his room to change,
he would finally go to the castle for the first time.
Once changed, Arkan rushed out of his room and downstairs toward the
kitchen; the smell of food wafted out of the kitchen, making Arkan's mouth
water. He sat down at the table, quickly, and waited for his food.
Arkan couldn't get over the fact that his father was taking him to the
castle. He had always wanted to go, but Zinc had always said he was too
young and irresponsible. From what his dad had told him, the castle was a
beautiful place; full of gardens, books, and many other exciting things.
Arkan's mother set a plate of two pancakes and a glass of milk in front of
Arkan. Trying not to be too disorderly and rude, Arkan devoured the food as
if he hadn't eaten in two or three days. Rising from the table, he wiped his
mouth and rushed outside.
The rain had finally ceased in its torrent upon the land of Hyrule. The wind
blew lightly through Arkan's long, blonde, hair; the sun shone brightly on
the land. The grass glistened as the sun's light hit their water-covered
blades.
Zinc was already saddling up two horses for the journey. On one horse, he
strapped on Arkan's sword; on the other, he fastened a bow and a quiver of
arrows. Arkan approached the horse, which held the sword, and prepared to
mount. "Are you going to need help getting on, son?" Zinc asked. "No," Arkan
assured, "I think I'll be able to get on by myself." Placing his booted foot
into the foothold, Arkan heaved his body onto the horse. He struggled to
swing his leg onto the other side of the beast, but eventually he was able
to situate himself in a comfortable position. Zinc mounted his horse with
ease and, looking at Arkan, trotted down the path that led out of Kakariko
Village.
Zinc and Arkan crossed the bridge in front of the village. The two trotted
upon their horses in silence; Arkan too excited to talk, Zinc too deep in
thought.
At last, Arkan saw in the distance the outer walls of the castle; the
drawbridge still up, apparently the guards hadn't bothered to lower it yet.
Arkan spurred his horse into a gallop, and sped towards the bridge. Nearing
the walls at an incredible speed, Arkan panicked and tried franticly to
bring his horse to a halt; but the beast refused to heed his command; it
continued its suicide route toward the moat. Arkan yelled and screamed,
trying in some way to make the beast stop, but still the beast ran; but
Arkan continued his attempts and halting the horse. Finally, the horse dug
its hooves into the ground and came to a screeching halt; this took Arkan by
surprise and he was, therefore, flung off of the horse, through the air, and
onto the ground. He skidded and rolled until he fell off of a ledge and plun
ged into the moat. All sense of direction had been lost to Arkan at this
point. He struggled to surface, to breathe the precious air of which his
lungs craved so earnestly. His head popped above the surface of the water as
he gasped desperately for air. Finally having obtained an idea of what had
happened he waited for his father to come to his aid, for the ledge he had
fallen off of was so high that he could not climb out by himself.
The sound of hoof beats could be heard. Soon, they came to a halt and
footsteps were heard, coming towards Arkan, who waited patiently in the
water of the moat. Zing looked over the ledge and at his son, with a look
that said he was sorry, yet wasn't sorry for what had happened.
Zing reached his hand out toward Arkan, who gladly reached and grasped his
father's hand in his. With a slight bit of difficulty, Zinc hauled his
sopping wet son out of the moat. Now out of the water, Zinc looked his son
over, as any father would.
Arkan was bleeding from his elbows, arms, and knees; but nothing fatal.
However, there was a rather deep gash in his right arm. Seeing this, Zinc
went to his horse and removed a pouch. From the pouch he took a few
bandages. He knelt down by Arkan and, with careful hands, wrapped Arkan's
wound. Arkan winced in pain, and yet he put up with it despite the
discomfort. "This'll hold for now," Zinc said aloud to himself, "but I need
to buy a potion." "What?" Arkan asked. "Nothing, I just need to buy
something now, don't worry," Zinc assured.
With this, Zinc took his son by the hand and led him to his horse. Picking
him up, he set Arkan down on the horse and then mounted his own. Now,
though, Zinc faced another perplexing situation, the drawbridge still hadn't
been lowered. Zinc sat upon his horse, contemplating how he would get it to
open. Arkan too, stared at the drawbridge and tried to find a way to get it
to drop. Finally, Zinc bumped head, wondering why the idea hadn't occurred
to him before. Beside the drawbridge was a window, rather narrow, though.
Zinc slowly trotted over to the window. Taking his bow and an arrow, he
aimed it at the window. The wind blew hard, forcing Zinc to lower his bow
and wait patiently. The wind continued to blow relentlessly, as if an
intelligence was what was causing the wind to continue to blow. Slowly the
wind died, seemingly reluctant. Again, Zinc raised his bow, aiming it at the
window. Zinc waited a moment, to be sure that the wind would not kick up
surprisingly; finally, satisfied with the lack of wind, Zinc let the arrow
fly.
The arrow flew through the window and could be heard ricocheting off several
walls before finally ceasing to fly about the room. The sound of footsteps
and voices could be heard, and a man's head popped out of the window and
yelled, "What do you think yer' doin.. Oh, Zinc, sorry. I didn't recognize
ya'." "That's fine, Trab. I just need you to lower the bridge." "Sure Zinc,
gimme' a sec'." Trab's head disappeared into the wall. Another voice could
be heard, which was followed by another. The drawbridge slowly brang itself
down and finally stopped. Zinc led Arkan across the bridge, turning into a
small alcove; where a number of pegs stuck out of the ground. A few horses
were already tied to a few of the pegs. Zinc led both of the horses to two
vacant pegs. Taking the reigns, he quickly tied both up and left; taking bag
from one of the saddles. He walked down the short road that led to the
bustling crowd that made up Hyrule's great market.
Zinc held Arkan's hand tightly, as to not lose him in the throngs of people
that passed by. The crowds around each section of the market formed a human
wall around them. Zinc pushed through them with difficulty, and approached
the door of the potion shop. Opening it, he rushed in and closed it quickly,
glad to be out of the madness of the market. He approached the counter where
a tall fair skinned man with short hair stood. Zinc pointed to a red pot on
one of the shelves, and motioned to a bottle he held in his hand.
"Sure thing, let me get it ready," the man behind the counter said. Taking
Zinc's bottle, he walked out of sight to the back of the store. Arkan
approached his father and asked with pleading eyes, "Dad, can I go to the
Happy Mask Shop. Please." Zinc stood a moment and then replied, "Sure thing,
Arkan. But just be sure not to go anywhere else. When I come to get you, I
expect you to be in the mask shop." "O.K. dad, I will," Arkan said with
delight. With this said, Arkan opened the door and exited the shop.
Arkan was caught off guard by the swiftness of the moving crowd, and was
swept away like a leaf dropped into a rushing river. Arkan fought to try to
and go against the constant flow of people, but soon gave up as he saw that
the effort was hopeless.
He continued to walk with the mob (if you will) until he saw an outlet in
the walls, looking like an alley. Arkan pushed and shoved his way over to
the outlet, but the current of people swept him away before he could get to
it.
Unknowing as to what he would do, he asked no one in particular, "Does
anyone know where the Happy Mask Shop is?" A large man with a red bulbous
nose turned to him, smiling, and said, "Oh, Link how are ya'.. Wait a sec',"
the man said, hesitantly, "Yer' not Link are ya'?" Arkan looked at the man
perplexed. Who was Link. "No sir, I'm not. But do you know where the Happy
Mask Shop is?" "Course I do," the man said, laughing in such a way that his
entire body jiggled and gesturing with his hand, "It's over there. Ya' can't
miss it." "Thank-you, sir," Arkan said, appreciatively. "Ah, it's nothin',"
the man replied. With that, the large man walked away, making a path for
himself through the crowd with his body.
Pleased with the direction he had acquired, he made his way through the
crowd with great effort. Seeing a door, he pushed with all the strength he
had to reach it before the rush of people could sweep him away. Reaching out
his hand, he opened the door and quickly entered. Glad that he was safe from
the crowd, Arkan took time to calm himself down as he looked around the
room. The walls were covered with masks of all shapes and sizes, colors and
hues, faces and figures. Arkan stood wide-eyed at the overwhelming amount of
masks that he saw. Finally, for the first time, he was at the shop his
friends had always been talking about. And, though he had never been to the
Happy Mask Shop before, he recognized a great number of masks. A bunny hood,
a mask shaped as a stone, a pig mask, a mask of a skeletons face. Arkan was
baffled at the fact that he recognized any of the masks at all.
"May I help you?" a voice asked from behind the counter. Arkan looked up to
see a man with slanted eyes looking down at him with a smile. The man was
tall, with read hair. Arkan approached the counter, behind which the man
stood. The man's eyes widened as Arkan approached. "Link?" he asked,
bewildered. "No sir, I'm not Link," Arkan said, calmly, "My name's Arkan. I
saw someone else who thought I was Link too. Who is he?" "Oh," the man said,
the expression on his face fading away, "just someone I once knew. But the
boy that I knew changed on that day, ten years ago." The man's last words
trailed off as he stared out into space, thinking back to a different place.
Seeing that the man did not seem to want to continue speaking, Arkan went
back to his examining of the masks on the walls. Something in the back of
his mind grew stronger, striving to be discovered by Arkan's consciousness.
But it was still too weak, it would have to wait for another chance.
The door opened and Zinc stepped into the room. He looked over at Arkan and
asked "You ready, son,". "Yeah," Arkan responded. Taking his son by the
hand, Zinc led him out of the shop and back into the madness of Hyrule's
market.
Zinc walked unhindered by the massive amounts of people rushing by. He
emerged from the crowd onto a road, which led to the castle. Zinc reached
into his bag and removed a bottle full of a red liquid. He handed it to
Arkan, saying, "Here Arkan, drink this." Arkan took the drink and removed
the cork. Lifting to his lips, he let the liquid flow smoothly down his
throat.
It tasted sweet in his mouth, and he enjoyed it while it lasted. But,
eventually the fluid was drained from the bottle. Handing the bottle back to
his father, he waited for something to happen. He looked at his father but
said nothing, Zinc simply smiled back. Suddenly, Arkan felt a tingling
sensation in his arms and legs. However, the sensation felt strongest where
the gash on Arkan's right arm was. Looking at his father, he removed the
bandage and was astonished by what his eyes saw before them.
The wound was closing up by itself. As each side of the wound met the other,
the line that was left behind disappeared blood and all; leaving nothing
more than a faint scar. Arkan looked around at the other wounds he had. They
too were closing up and disappearing.
Arkan looked up at his father again, a question in his eyes and about to
come out of his mouth, but Zinc came up with an answer before he could speak
the words. "It's a healing potion made of a special type of mushroom. I got
it so you wouldn't hurt while you were at the castle; besides, that gash was
pretty deep, I was worried." Arkan was too amazed by his experience to
answer, or say anything for that matter. Zinc saw this and simply led his
son down the road towards the castle.
Arkan looked to his side and saw a massive building. "Is that the castle?"
He asked, pointing to the building. "No," Zinc said, "that's the Temple of
Time" Arkan continued to stare at the structure. "It houses the Master
Sword," Zinc continued, "When evil encroaches upon the land of Hyrule, and
threatens to destroy the world we have labored so hard to create, the Hero
of Time will take the sword from it place and strike the evil down;
banishing it to the sealed realm, where it will live out the remainder of
its existence.. alone" "Whoa," Arkan said, but he said no more. He was
seeing, hearing, and feeling so much. His mind couldn't talk and sort out
all that was going on at the same time. Instead, he simply walked on with
his father down the road.
As the two walked down the road, they neared a gate, guarded by two men in
armor holding spears. Apparently, the guards knew Zinc, for they called for
the gate to be opened before Zinc could even ask. Thanking them, he walked
past the gate and guardhouse.
Finally, they both reached the end of the road. A drawbridge lay lowered,
which both entered. Arkan's eyes widened, yet again, as he saw the vastness
of the place he had entered.
A.N.- Review if you like, I'd appreciate it.
Arkan awoke, the sun shining brilliantly through his window. The memory of
the dream pushed into the depths of Arkan's mind. Not so far as to never be
remembered again, but just out of the grasp of consciousness.
He swung his legs out of bed and walked into the hallway. His father emerged
from his small study as Arkan walked down the hallway. "Hey, son," he
greeted happily, "I couldn't figure out the meaning of the inscription on
the blade your found. I need to use the castle's library. You want to come
along?" Arkan's face lit up with excitement. "Do you mean it dad?"
"Absolutely. Get dressed and have a decent breakfast, we'll leave as soon as
you're ready." Arkan's eyes twinkled as he rushed into his room to change,
he would finally go to the castle for the first time.
Once changed, Arkan rushed out of his room and downstairs toward the
kitchen; the smell of food wafted out of the kitchen, making Arkan's mouth
water. He sat down at the table, quickly, and waited for his food.
Arkan couldn't get over the fact that his father was taking him to the
castle. He had always wanted to go, but Zinc had always said he was too
young and irresponsible. From what his dad had told him, the castle was a
beautiful place; full of gardens, books, and many other exciting things.
Arkan's mother set a plate of two pancakes and a glass of milk in front of
Arkan. Trying not to be too disorderly and rude, Arkan devoured the food as
if he hadn't eaten in two or three days. Rising from the table, he wiped his
mouth and rushed outside.
The rain had finally ceased in its torrent upon the land of Hyrule. The wind
blew lightly through Arkan's long, blonde, hair; the sun shone brightly on
the land. The grass glistened as the sun's light hit their water-covered
blades.
Zinc was already saddling up two horses for the journey. On one horse, he
strapped on Arkan's sword; on the other, he fastened a bow and a quiver of
arrows. Arkan approached the horse, which held the sword, and prepared to
mount. "Are you going to need help getting on, son?" Zinc asked. "No," Arkan
assured, "I think I'll be able to get on by myself." Placing his booted foot
into the foothold, Arkan heaved his body onto the horse. He struggled to
swing his leg onto the other side of the beast, but eventually he was able
to situate himself in a comfortable position. Zinc mounted his horse with
ease and, looking at Arkan, trotted down the path that led out of Kakariko
Village.
Zinc and Arkan crossed the bridge in front of the village. The two trotted
upon their horses in silence; Arkan too excited to talk, Zinc too deep in
thought.
At last, Arkan saw in the distance the outer walls of the castle; the
drawbridge still up, apparently the guards hadn't bothered to lower it yet.
Arkan spurred his horse into a gallop, and sped towards the bridge. Nearing
the walls at an incredible speed, Arkan panicked and tried franticly to
bring his horse to a halt; but the beast refused to heed his command; it
continued its suicide route toward the moat. Arkan yelled and screamed,
trying in some way to make the beast stop, but still the beast ran; but
Arkan continued his attempts and halting the horse. Finally, the horse dug
its hooves into the ground and came to a screeching halt; this took Arkan by
surprise and he was, therefore, flung off of the horse, through the air, and
onto the ground. He skidded and rolled until he fell off of a ledge and plun
ged into the moat. All sense of direction had been lost to Arkan at this
point. He struggled to surface, to breathe the precious air of which his
lungs craved so earnestly. His head popped above the surface of the water as
he gasped desperately for air. Finally having obtained an idea of what had
happened he waited for his father to come to his aid, for the ledge he had
fallen off of was so high that he could not climb out by himself.
The sound of hoof beats could be heard. Soon, they came to a halt and
footsteps were heard, coming towards Arkan, who waited patiently in the
water of the moat. Zing looked over the ledge and at his son, with a look
that said he was sorry, yet wasn't sorry for what had happened.
Zing reached his hand out toward Arkan, who gladly reached and grasped his
father's hand in his. With a slight bit of difficulty, Zinc hauled his
sopping wet son out of the moat. Now out of the water, Zinc looked his son
over, as any father would.
Arkan was bleeding from his elbows, arms, and knees; but nothing fatal.
However, there was a rather deep gash in his right arm. Seeing this, Zinc
went to his horse and removed a pouch. From the pouch he took a few
bandages. He knelt down by Arkan and, with careful hands, wrapped Arkan's
wound. Arkan winced in pain, and yet he put up with it despite the
discomfort. "This'll hold for now," Zinc said aloud to himself, "but I need
to buy a potion." "What?" Arkan asked. "Nothing, I just need to buy
something now, don't worry," Zinc assured.
With this, Zinc took his son by the hand and led him to his horse. Picking
him up, he set Arkan down on the horse and then mounted his own. Now,
though, Zinc faced another perplexing situation, the drawbridge still hadn't
been lowered. Zinc sat upon his horse, contemplating how he would get it to
open. Arkan too, stared at the drawbridge and tried to find a way to get it
to drop. Finally, Zinc bumped head, wondering why the idea hadn't occurred
to him before. Beside the drawbridge was a window, rather narrow, though.
Zinc slowly trotted over to the window. Taking his bow and an arrow, he
aimed it at the window. The wind blew hard, forcing Zinc to lower his bow
and wait patiently. The wind continued to blow relentlessly, as if an
intelligence was what was causing the wind to continue to blow. Slowly the
wind died, seemingly reluctant. Again, Zinc raised his bow, aiming it at the
window. Zinc waited a moment, to be sure that the wind would not kick up
surprisingly; finally, satisfied with the lack of wind, Zinc let the arrow
fly.
The arrow flew through the window and could be heard ricocheting off several
walls before finally ceasing to fly about the room. The sound of footsteps
and voices could be heard, and a man's head popped out of the window and
yelled, "What do you think yer' doin.. Oh, Zinc, sorry. I didn't recognize
ya'." "That's fine, Trab. I just need you to lower the bridge." "Sure Zinc,
gimme' a sec'." Trab's head disappeared into the wall. Another voice could
be heard, which was followed by another. The drawbridge slowly brang itself
down and finally stopped. Zinc led Arkan across the bridge, turning into a
small alcove; where a number of pegs stuck out of the ground. A few horses
were already tied to a few of the pegs. Zinc led both of the horses to two
vacant pegs. Taking the reigns, he quickly tied both up and left; taking bag
from one of the saddles. He walked down the short road that led to the
bustling crowd that made up Hyrule's great market.
Zinc held Arkan's hand tightly, as to not lose him in the throngs of people
that passed by. The crowds around each section of the market formed a human
wall around them. Zinc pushed through them with difficulty, and approached
the door of the potion shop. Opening it, he rushed in and closed it quickly,
glad to be out of the madness of the market. He approached the counter where
a tall fair skinned man with short hair stood. Zinc pointed to a red pot on
one of the shelves, and motioned to a bottle he held in his hand.
"Sure thing, let me get it ready," the man behind the counter said. Taking
Zinc's bottle, he walked out of sight to the back of the store. Arkan
approached his father and asked with pleading eyes, "Dad, can I go to the
Happy Mask Shop. Please." Zinc stood a moment and then replied, "Sure thing,
Arkan. But just be sure not to go anywhere else. When I come to get you, I
expect you to be in the mask shop." "O.K. dad, I will," Arkan said with
delight. With this said, Arkan opened the door and exited the shop.
Arkan was caught off guard by the swiftness of the moving crowd, and was
swept away like a leaf dropped into a rushing river. Arkan fought to try to
and go against the constant flow of people, but soon gave up as he saw that
the effort was hopeless.
He continued to walk with the mob (if you will) until he saw an outlet in
the walls, looking like an alley. Arkan pushed and shoved his way over to
the outlet, but the current of people swept him away before he could get to
it.
Unknowing as to what he would do, he asked no one in particular, "Does
anyone know where the Happy Mask Shop is?" A large man with a red bulbous
nose turned to him, smiling, and said, "Oh, Link how are ya'.. Wait a sec',"
the man said, hesitantly, "Yer' not Link are ya'?" Arkan looked at the man
perplexed. Who was Link. "No sir, I'm not. But do you know where the Happy
Mask Shop is?" "Course I do," the man said, laughing in such a way that his
entire body jiggled and gesturing with his hand, "It's over there. Ya' can't
miss it." "Thank-you, sir," Arkan said, appreciatively. "Ah, it's nothin',"
the man replied. With that, the large man walked away, making a path for
himself through the crowd with his body.
Pleased with the direction he had acquired, he made his way through the
crowd with great effort. Seeing a door, he pushed with all the strength he
had to reach it before the rush of people could sweep him away. Reaching out
his hand, he opened the door and quickly entered. Glad that he was safe from
the crowd, Arkan took time to calm himself down as he looked around the
room. The walls were covered with masks of all shapes and sizes, colors and
hues, faces and figures. Arkan stood wide-eyed at the overwhelming amount of
masks that he saw. Finally, for the first time, he was at the shop his
friends had always been talking about. And, though he had never been to the
Happy Mask Shop before, he recognized a great number of masks. A bunny hood,
a mask shaped as a stone, a pig mask, a mask of a skeletons face. Arkan was
baffled at the fact that he recognized any of the masks at all.
"May I help you?" a voice asked from behind the counter. Arkan looked up to
see a man with slanted eyes looking down at him with a smile. The man was
tall, with read hair. Arkan approached the counter, behind which the man
stood. The man's eyes widened as Arkan approached. "Link?" he asked,
bewildered. "No sir, I'm not Link," Arkan said, calmly, "My name's Arkan. I
saw someone else who thought I was Link too. Who is he?" "Oh," the man said,
the expression on his face fading away, "just someone I once knew. But the
boy that I knew changed on that day, ten years ago." The man's last words
trailed off as he stared out into space, thinking back to a different place.
Seeing that the man did not seem to want to continue speaking, Arkan went
back to his examining of the masks on the walls. Something in the back of
his mind grew stronger, striving to be discovered by Arkan's consciousness.
But it was still too weak, it would have to wait for another chance.
The door opened and Zinc stepped into the room. He looked over at Arkan and
asked "You ready, son,". "Yeah," Arkan responded. Taking his son by the
hand, Zinc led him out of the shop and back into the madness of Hyrule's
market.
Zinc walked unhindered by the massive amounts of people rushing by. He
emerged from the crowd onto a road, which led to the castle. Zinc reached
into his bag and removed a bottle full of a red liquid. He handed it to
Arkan, saying, "Here Arkan, drink this." Arkan took the drink and removed
the cork. Lifting to his lips, he let the liquid flow smoothly down his
throat.
It tasted sweet in his mouth, and he enjoyed it while it lasted. But,
eventually the fluid was drained from the bottle. Handing the bottle back to
his father, he waited for something to happen. He looked at his father but
said nothing, Zinc simply smiled back. Suddenly, Arkan felt a tingling
sensation in his arms and legs. However, the sensation felt strongest where
the gash on Arkan's right arm was. Looking at his father, he removed the
bandage and was astonished by what his eyes saw before them.
The wound was closing up by itself. As each side of the wound met the other,
the line that was left behind disappeared blood and all; leaving nothing
more than a faint scar. Arkan looked around at the other wounds he had. They
too were closing up and disappearing.
Arkan looked up at his father again, a question in his eyes and about to
come out of his mouth, but Zinc came up with an answer before he could speak
the words. "It's a healing potion made of a special type of mushroom. I got
it so you wouldn't hurt while you were at the castle; besides, that gash was
pretty deep, I was worried." Arkan was too amazed by his experience to
answer, or say anything for that matter. Zinc saw this and simply led his
son down the road towards the castle.
Arkan looked to his side and saw a massive building. "Is that the castle?"
He asked, pointing to the building. "No," Zinc said, "that's the Temple of
Time" Arkan continued to stare at the structure. "It houses the Master
Sword," Zinc continued, "When evil encroaches upon the land of Hyrule, and
threatens to destroy the world we have labored so hard to create, the Hero
of Time will take the sword from it place and strike the evil down;
banishing it to the sealed realm, where it will live out the remainder of
its existence.. alone" "Whoa," Arkan said, but he said no more. He was
seeing, hearing, and feeling so much. His mind couldn't talk and sort out
all that was going on at the same time. Instead, he simply walked on with
his father down the road.
As the two walked down the road, they neared a gate, guarded by two men in
armor holding spears. Apparently, the guards knew Zinc, for they called for
the gate to be opened before Zinc could even ask. Thanking them, he walked
past the gate and guardhouse.
Finally, they both reached the end of the road. A drawbridge lay lowered,
which both entered. Arkan's eyes widened, yet again, as he saw the vastness
of the place he had entered.
A.N.- Review if you like, I'd appreciate it.
