Across the dirt laden road, the three riders made their way to
the limits of Hyrule Castle. A few quaint cottages occupied the nearby lands
as they neared the drawbridge. Upon emerging from the shadows of the forest,
the riders were upon the bridge and two guards were posted at the entrance.
"Halt! What is your business here?" asked the guard.
Aragon lowered his hood, and the guard gasped with astonishment. "We are
here to speak with the King about the recent attacks on the villages throughout
the kingdom. These boys are survivors of the attack on Kakariko, and also need
entrance," replied Aragon.
"Pardon my rudeness, you may enter, Sir Aragon," the
guard embarrassingly responded. He stepped aside, motioned to a guard on the
other side, and the bridge was lowered over the moat below. When it was complete,
the guard motioned for them to go on in, and the three rode through the main
gates.
Passing through a dark tunnel, they finally emerged into the over
populated market place. As their horse trotted down the streets, the sights
and sounds of the merchants and their customers bartering could be heard. To
the right, a butcher cut the head off a cucco, and added it's body to the others
hanging from the shop's roof. A blacksmith was wielding his newly tempered lance,
and then gave it to a man to inspect. A woman was chasing a man who had stolen
some fruit, and finally was caught by some guards and dragged off, but not before
the women tossed the fruit at the thief. "Bombs, bows, arrows! Get your
shields here! All the equipment you'll need to be a regular adventurer! Prices
as low as twenty rupees!" yelled a vendor at some passing by townsfolk.
"Aragon, this place is so crowded," remarked Eric. "Don't
they know that there are villages outside of the castle walls where they can
live in peace and with less commotion?"
"Yes, it is a very stressful life inside the walls, but the
benefit is the protection of the land's finest defenses. This, to some, is more
valuable then any open field or peace of mind," commented Aragon. "This
way, gentleman," he spoke as he turned down an even busier road.
As they rounded the corner, the two boys halted with awe of the
scenic view of the castle itself. The two had never seen anything quite like
it in their lives. "It is even more beautiful than I could ever have imagined,"
Eric gasped. Link just kept looking, the castle's beauty eased his pain for
awhile, but as theyrode on, the reality of what had happened sank back into
his heart.
Finally, the three arrived at the castle grounds, and dismounted
their horses. A few of the Royal Keepers immediately took their horses and brought
them to the nearby pasture. The main doors were crafted unlike anything seen
before by the two boys, probably made in the distance lands of the Shigrami,
and upon entering the waiting room, two guards approached.
"Sir Aragon, the King is expecting you," explained the
guard as he escorted the men to the main throne room. As then entered, there
was a debate going on already, and all went silent as they entered.
The King looked over, and saw it was Aragon, and yelled, "Aragon! It is
good to see you! Please, come here with the two lads and tell us what is going
on in my kingdom!"
They walked down the center aisle, and the King sat down in his
throne, and two ladies brought out chairs for Aragon and the boys. As they neared,
the audience could be heard whispering in amazement Aragon's name to one another.
When they had sat down, Aragon began, "Thank you for gathering here, lords
and nobles. It appears that an ancient evil has been awoken by an unlikely person.
The force that sweeps the land is known as the Darkswin, the ancient souls of
the devils who tried to overtake the overworld and were cursed to wander the
underworld in torment. However, it, along with other monsters, have over the
eons joined the ranks of the Dark Lord's Tribe of Evil. The Darkswin was unleashed
when an ancient artifact was awakened by my friend Link here, and the Dark Lord
dispatched it to reclaim the artifact. Now, the book is safe, but the Darkswin
will not stop until it has the book, or is recalled by the Dark Lord. I suggest
that your majesty organize an army equipped with some weapons I will give you
to defend the land from it until my colleagues and I deal with the situation."
The audience raged into an uproar. A man stood up and shouted,
"Did you say the Dark Lord, sir? You mean Ganondorf? That's nothing but
an old fairy tale told to children to warn them of the dangers of becoming powerful
and greedy!" Another yelled, "This is nonsense, that boy up there
is the cause of all this? Have him undo it then, or I say we should hang him!"
Eric jumped up, and yelled back, "It is true! Our village
of Kakariko was attacked by this fiend, and Aragon saved us from being killed
ourselves! No mortal thing could have done what we saw, it is a work of pure
evil and even our guards could not stop it! You have to believe us that Aragon
is right!"
The King rose, and ordered silence. He turned to Aragon, and remarked,
"The people are not all followers of the Order of Light's teachings, Aragon.
I can't tell them our nation is under attack by a force that is believed to
just be a myth. However, I will take his suggestion and arrange a special team
of defenders to protect the land from this evil force. That is my decree, and
it is law. This meeting is adjourned."
The people were satisfied with the King's remarks, but many of
them were still angry that Aragon had made up this story and tried to impose
the ancient ways upon the people. As the crowd left, the King turned to Aragon
and remarked, "You know, if you are right sir, I pray thee that you will
take the proper steps to protect the land."
Aragon nodded, and then replied, "The Order will be convening
soon to discuss our course of action, your majesty." The two stood up,
shook hands, and the King left. The two boys, still in disbelief, looked up
at Aragon, and Link asked, "What do we do now, Aragon?"
Aragon rose, and motioned, "Follow me. We will go to speak
with the Order. That is the true reason we are here, lads. What you have just
seen is the politics of mankind at work. They dominate reasoning more than logic
or emotion. It is why one day, our Order fears darkness will consume the land."
They walked on out of the room, and down a hall to a corridor
that was dimly lit. As they neared the end, a robed person held his hand out
and Aragon nodded, revealed his mark, and the person retracted his arm. As he
passed, the person held his arm up for the boys. Aragon turned around, and held
out the Book of Mudora, and the robed person stepped back in shock and allowed
them to pass.
After a dark, winding stone stairwell, they passed through and
old steel door, and into a circular room with unnatural light coming from seven
torches, each a different color. Aragon did some weird hand gesture into the
air, and sat down at a table. The robed man came down, and placed two chairs
down, one by each side of Aragon. Finally, another door opened, and one by one,
six different people walked in. First, a short, sleek haired elf clothed in
traditional Kokiri attire, and was seated. He was followed by a tall, stump
brown fellow with bulging arms and short legs. Eric looked at Link and whispered,
"That's a Goron!" Next, a weird alien like figure walked in ackwardly,
covered in blue scales and a huge head. It was a Zora, from the far waters of
the great ocean. A heavily clothed woman walked in, dismounted her robes, and
was in a very strange purple and white outfit, like a jumpsuit. She was accompanied
by a young girl. As she walked into the room, Link rose his head slowly and
was awestruck. She had golden blonde hair like pure silk from the lands of the
east, and a figure like that of a dove. Link kept staring until finally Eric
nudged him and said, "Stop staring, it's not polite!"
As the six took their seats, they all did the same little thing
that Aragon did, and then they all spoke, "May the way of the hero lead
to the Triforce" and then placed their hands with the marking onto the
table. One by one, a light shot up from their marks, and finally, a light shot
down from the hole in the roof into the circular area cut out of the table.
It turned a bright blue, and a figure descended onto the floor. The light then
retracted back into the roof, and then the six removed their hands.
The being in the middle then began, "Welcome, I Rauru, the
Sage of Light hearby decree this meeting of the order of light now in session.
Please, introduce yourselves to those who don't know you."
The Kokiri spoke first, "I am Mido, and I hail from the Kokiri
Forest." The Goron stood up and responded, "I am Darunia, and I hail
from Death Mountain. The Zora stood, and she spoke, "I am Ruto and I hail
from the oceans of Hyrule." The weird clothed lady stood and announced,
"I am Impa, and I hail from the Sheikah in the lands to the north."
The beautiful girl stood and said, "I am Princess Zelda, and I hail from
Hyrule." Link was shocked! This girl he had been eyeing was the princess!
And Zelda was that name he had heard in his dream. "Could it have it be
the same two people," he thought to himself.
As he kind of sank back into his chair, Aragon rose and announced,
"I am Aragon, I hail from the Shigrami in the lands to the east. "
Aragon then nudged the two boys, and Eric shot up and spoke, "I am Eric,
and I hail from the village of Kakariko." Link then quietly stood up, and
said softly, "I am Link. I hail from the village of Kakariko."
Then, the three took their seats. Rauru then began, "You
have all been summoned here because a great evil has awakened. The Dark Lord
of Evil, Ganondorf Dragmire, has dispatched the Darkswin to recover the Book
of Mudora. He seeks it to discover the location of the Seven Sage Medallions
we have been entrusted to protect. However, his motives go deeper than that.
Ganondorf seeks to claim not only the Triforce when he has these seven items,
but to use the mythical Crystals of Light in his Evil Realm to destroy the Three
Stones with darkness, allowing him access to the Triforce, and bringing an era
of evil to our world. He does not know, however, that we have the book, and
that even if he claims all these things, he may still not enter the Sacred Realm
without the Three Stones of Virtue. One needs them to open the portals between
our realms, but not just anyway can use them. Only those chosen by destiny can.
However, Ganondorf will attempt to destroy the stones in order to break the
seal on the realms. It is the decision of this Sage that a journey to recover
the Three Stones be organized. This will be our first goal, and when it is completed,
then we will worry about the Medallions. For now, Ganondorf is powerless without
the Book or the Stones, and we must guard the Book and recover the Stones."
Darunia rose and spoke, "Why don't we just claim the Medallions
now, and go get the Triforce?" Zelda remarked back at him, "You can't
just claim the Triforce. You need the Three Stones in order to claim the Triforce
properly. Without the Stones, you can't access the Triforce.
Rauru added, "That is correct, it is useless to try to wield
the Triforce without the Stones. And besides that, only one can truly use its
power to the full extent." Aragon then rose, and said, "I would like
to volunteer to journey across the land to seek the Stones and to protect the
Book from the Tribe of Evil." Next, Darunia rose and spoke, "I too,
will also venture to seek the Stones and protect the Book." Next, Ruto
stepped up and said, "I, too, will go. You might need my abilities to navigate
the waterways when the time comes." Finally, Rauru turned to Link, and
then said, "I sense something with this young lad. I do not know what it
is, but I feel you will play a big role in the coming events that will unfold
in this land. It is my decision you will also go on the journey and protect
the Book. However, your friend may not go. He will have to remain behind with
us here until you return."
Eric jumped up and yelled, "Hey! That is not fair! I got
through a lot to make it here, and now I can't go? This is just not right!"
Aragon turned and calmed him, and explained, "Eric, your place is here,
not with us. I do feel that you will also play an important role in this all,
but now is not your time. You must remain behind with the other Sages and protect
Hyrule in case we fail."
Eric sat back down, disappointed with the court's ruling. As Rauru
was about to conclude the meeting, the door barged opened, and in walked an
elfish man with long blonde hair, a red tunic like Mido's Kokiri Outfit, but
no hat. He also had an incredibly remarkable bow around his back, something
Link couldn't help but marvel at.
"There is no way that you are going to leave me out of this
journey, Rauru," he exclaimed. Aragon rose, and replied, "Roam, you
don't belong here, you are not a Sage!" Roam chuckled and commented, "A
Sage I am not, but a member of the Order of Light I am. My father was the one
who stunned the beast Ganondorf and allowed our ancestors to seal him away.
It is my right to come along, and besides, if we must face him, you will need
me."
Rauru sighed, and then replied, "Fine, you may go. However,
you may not interfere with the decisions of the Sages at any time. Obey their
orders or you will be exiled from the Order."
Roam nodded in agreement, and turned back for the door. As he
was about to exit he murmured, "It shall be fun seeing which of us truly
is the Legendary Hero, eh Aragon?" He then continued on his way, and left
the room. The rest stood, and exited the room as Rauru faded into the ceiling
along with his ray of light. Link kept thinking to himself, "What did Rauru
mean by I was going to play an important role? Did it have something to do with
that light on his hand in the cave?" Link thought about telling Aragon
that he thought the Light was a crest of the Triforce, like Aragon has said
those chosen by destiny had on their hands, but he instead decided he would
wait until he was sure of himself. He still thought, "What if I am the
Legendary Hero?" He then shook his head in disbelief, and followed the
others out of the room as the door closed, and the last ounce of light faded
into the darkness which now engulfed the room.