A.N.- Wow! Posting two chapters in one day. I hope I can do that again. and soon. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this one!

All around him were flowers and plants, of all colors and hues. The scents

of the flowers mixed together and wafted into Arkan's nose. The place felt

warm and inviting. Indeed, the castle was all that his father had said, and

more.

Zinc followed a narrow path into a stone wall, where hallways stretched on

to lengths unimaginable by the mind. Zinc knew where he was going, and

turned right and walked down the hallway. The torches lining the halls

glowed brightly as they walked. Zinc and Arkan passed door after door, but

Zinc paid no attention to them. Suddenly, as if by random thought, Zinc

opened a door and entered; Arkan close behind.

The room was simple. It consisted of a bookcase, desk, a few candles, a

dresser, and two beds. Arkan felt completely at home, although the grey

stone walls did cast a slight gloom over the place. "This," Zinc began, "is

our room. Remember where it is so I don't have to go looking for you. Now,

with that said, run along; have some fun. It might take a day or two before

I can finally decipher the inscription on this sword." Arkan nodded and left

the room, in search of entertainment.

He wandered aimlessly through the corridors, not sure on what he wanted to

do. As he walked, he heard voices coming from a nearby courtyard and the

clashing of something. He quickened his pace and walked through an opening

into a wide and grassy area.

Two boys, about the age of fifteen to seventeen, were sparring with wooden

swords. One would advance a few steps in offence, and then retreat a few

steps as his retaliated in his own offense. Arkan watched in enjoyment as

the two fought. One of the boys let his guard down for a moment to rest,

upon which his opponent moved in and placed his sword next to the other's

throat.

"C'mon, Polin. I was takin' a break," one of the boys complained. "Yeah,

well you don't take breaks in the middle of a battle, Radx," Polin retorted.

"But, this isn't a real battle." Radx continued. "Yes, that's true," Polin

admitted, "But you should practice in such a way that you would be prepared

if you were face-to-face with your enemy." Radx nodded but said nothing.

Polin then turned his head to where Arkan stood. "Hey, kid. What are you

doing here," he asked. "Oh," Arkan answered, surprised in Polin's sudden

interest in him, "I was just watching. I enjoy athletics." "Really?" Radx

asked, slyly "Do you fight well with a sword." "Well," Arkan said

hesitantly, thinking back to his fight with the animated corpse, "yeah, I

guess I can fight O.K." "Well then," Radx said, "would you like to fight

me." "Uh. sure," Arkan accepted.

Radx tossed Arkan a wooden sword, and Polin stepped back against the wall.

"I'll watch the fight, and make sure things don't get out of hand," Polin

announced, looking at Radx; who smiled but said nothing.

Sword in hand, Arkan felt as if he could take anything or anyone on; like a

great power had been bestowed upon him. Then, Arkan realized how he felt,

and wondered why. Him defeating the corpse was mere chance. How am I going

to beat this guy, Arkan thought. But, something inside him pushed that

thought away and focused his mind on the battle at hand.

Radx placed his feet firmly on the ground, and Polin motioned for the fight

to begin.

Radx quickly swung at Arkan, knowing this would be an easy battle; but his

opponent proved him wrong. Arkan moved his sword and blocked the blow with

relative ease. Radx was visibly surprised by Arkan's quick reaction, and was

caught off guard when Arkan swung at his leg. Clumsily moving his swiping

his sword, he was barely able to block the strike. Both boys rallied back

and forth, neither one gaining an advantage over the other.

Radx was beginning to become frustrated. Why can't I beat this kid, he

thought. Intent on ending the battle, Radx charge and Arkan and swung with

all his might. In Arkan's conscious mind, he was terrified, but

sub-consciously, this was nothing to fret about. As Radx neared, Arkan bent

down. This took Radx by surprise, and he rammed into Arkan. Using Radx's

momentum to his advantage, he brang himself back up, flipping Radx over an

onto the ground, on his back. Flipping his sword, Arkan involuntarily

prepared to plunge the sword into Radx. He raised the sword and was about to

bring it down when a hand seized his arm.

"Whoa, kid. Don't over-do-it," Polin said, laughing a smile that held a

slight hint of fear. Radx still lay on the ground, eyes wide with terror as

he looked at the sword that hovered above his head. Slowly, Arkan lowered

the sword. Polin helped Radx to his feet as Arkan stood frozen. What was I

doing, he thought. "I.I'm sorry, Radx. I don't know what came over me,"

Arkan apologized. "It's fine, kid." Radx replied, "I guess I just

underestimated you. You're pretty good." "Thank-you," Arkan said, "but I don

't deserve it. I could've hurt you a lot worse than a simple bruise."

"Indeed you're right there. But, that'll teach me to be patient," Radx

responded.

"I'll think that's all the fighting we'll do for now," Polin interjected.

"Yeah, I think so too," Radx agreed, "See ya' later kid." Radx and Polin

walked away and left Arkan to stand there.

Arkan looked up at the sky, the sun was setting behind the mountains casting

shades of orange, purple and grey into the already dimming sky. Wow, I've

been here longer than I thought.

What was I thinking, Arkan thought. He mulled over the thought in his mind

as he walked down the hallway towards his father's room. He opened the door

and stepped inside, no one, beside himself, was there. "Dad must be in the

library," he said to no one but himself. He left his room and walked down

the hallway. But, again, he knew not how to get to where he was going.

As Arkan walked aimlessly through the hallways, he reveled in the warmth and

warmth that the castle provided. As he came to an intersection, he heard

footsteps. As the footsteps grew louder as they neared, the feelings Arkan

had felt about the castle was drained from him. The warmth and comfort was

replaced with cold and darkness; Arkan grew fearful. The faint mark in his

left hand glowed dimly and burned so that he thought it would burn his hand

to the bone. The footsteps grew louder, and Arkan's fear increased. His

sight dimmed, making him hard to continued walking. Around the corner, a

fairly tall man came. Arkan's body collapsed in weakness, but he was caught

up in strong arms and set on the ground. Quite suddenly, the feeling of cold

and darkness left Arkan, and the warm and comfortable feeling of the castle

returned. With these feeling gone, Arkan was able to get a better look at

the man.

The man was wearing a green tunic and cap. He had deep blue eyes and blonde

hair flowing out from underneath his tunic in several, medium sized,

ponytails.

"Are you O.K. there, kid? You looked like you weren't doin' so good," the

man asked. "Yes, I think so," Arkan said hesitantly, "I don't know. I was

just suddenly overwhelmed. But I'm O.K. now, thank-you." "Anytime kid. I'm

always willing to help. It's practically my job. What's your name anyway,

kid." "My name's Arkan," he answered innocently. "Hey, I know your father,"

the man exclaimed, "Yeah, I've heard of you before. Your father's told me

about you. I'm Link." "Link?" Arkan asked amazed. "Yeah, but don't go acting

all different when you're around me. I hate it when people act all nice to

me when they find out who I am. So, where ya' goin', Arkan?" "Well, I want

to go to the library, but I don't know where it is," Arkan admitted. "Oh,

that's simple," Link said motioning with his hand, "go down this hall and

turn left the first chance you get. Then go down the hall until it ends. You

'll see a large door; it leads to the library. You can't miss it."

"Thank-you, sir," Arkan said thankfully. "Heh, anytime kid," Link said.

With that, Link walked off. But as he walked off, Arkan heard different

voices throughout his head. They talked back and forth' but Arkan could not

understand them nor did he know not who or what they were from. However, he

quickly dismissed it as nothing and walked off in the direction Link had

shown him.

Turning a corner, Arkan walked down the corridor and came to a large door,

with gold lines carved into it in intricate patterns and designs. Assured

that this was the library, Arkan pushed open the door and entered.

The room was immense, with lengthy rows of bookshelves extending in all

directions. There were large stain glass windows on the walls, allowing

light to come through them in dazzling colors of all kinds. Many torches

burnt throughout the room, so that it was always available to those who

needed it at anytime. All through the library were tables, at which one sat

Arkan's father hunched over a book, examining Arkan's sword, and then

scribbling on a piece of paper. Arkan approached his father and looked at

the book at which he was reading.

It was written in a foreign language to Arkan, but it had a picture in it

that he could understand. There were two swords in the picture. One of the

swords looked almost identical to Arkan's, and the other was different; it

was longer and had a jewel at the end of its hilt.

"How's it going dad?" Arkan asked. "Oh, I deciphered the inscription for

you," Zinc answered, "It doesn't quite make sense. It says, 'Light gives way

to darkness, and darkness gives way to the light in it.' I'm working on

something right now. There's more to that sword you found then meets the

eye. But, it'll take me a while to finish." "Thanks dad." "Sure thing, son,"

Zinc said.

After a moment, he closed the book and rubbed his eyes. "Well," he said,

gathering his papers into a neatened stack, "I think it's time I gave it a

break. C'mon Arkan, let's go to bed." "O.K. dad, I guess I'm a little tired

too." Zinc left his work on the table and walked out of the library with his

son. This indeed is a strange legend, Zinc thought.
It was late at night, a figure searched through a book. Finally, he came to

a picture of two swords. The figure drew his sword and compared to one of

the swords in the picture; they were practically identical. He read a few

paragraphs of the book and then silently closed it and replaced it on the

table from which he had taken it. Making sure all was as it had been, the

figure left the room silently.

In the quietness of his room, the figure thought to himself.

Master, is he the one we have searched for?

Yes, I believe so.

Should we kill him now?

No! We shall not chance that. Instead, our "other" shall do it.

Ah, master, I understand.

The figure brought out an ocarina and lifted it to his lips. Carefully, he

played notes that faded away into the stone walls of the castle. The elegy's

cloning began.

An eerie green light surrounded the figure. I became thinner and thinner

until, finally, it was molded to the figures exact shape and size. The light

then removed itself and came together in front of him. The light took form,

and became solid. In front of the figure stood another as himself, but not

quite the same

This figure was only a clone, made to do nothing but it's creator's will. He

had no heart, or soul. His eyes held color, but there was no life in them.

His mind knew nothing but one thing, and this knowledge would help him

complete the only task of his existence. It knew only how to kill. Its

wisdom was great, but deadly. It knew how the body worked, so it could

calculate when it would tire so it could make a precise kill. He was of the

darkness; he knew nothing else.

"You know what you must do?" the creator asked. The heartless figure nodded

but said nothing. "You will attack at night, and never be seen. Do you

understand?" Again the figure nodded, but said nothing. "Good, then be

gone." The figure left the room in a flash, off to do his master's bidding.

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A.N.- Chapter 9 should be up soon. Until then, review if you'd like.