The travelers came into bright sunlight. The mysterious fog of the Lost Woods was well behind them, and they continued their journey along the clear, flat path of the Kokirian Way on Hyrule Field. Micah held his head high; confident at last of where his path lay. But Belle wasn't so enthusiastic, and she jumped about his head.

"What are we doing?" she cried. "We don't belong at Kakariko. Why are we going there?"

"You know why," Micah said with a frown. "We're going to find the source of the army that killed Link. If we don't stop it soon, it might tear all of Hyrule down!"

Belle flew into his face. Epona stopped. "Look," she said. "I know you're upset about Link, but riding off on some impossible quest is not the way to handle it. Most people mourn, you know. At home. That's what you should be doing."

Micah grimaced and smacked Belle out of the way. The horse continued moving.

"Hey!" she cried. She shook it off and hurried to catch up. "You've got quite a temper for such a little boy. Keep up the violence and I just might..." She stopped. Micah pulled gently on Epona's reins.

"What is it?" he said. Belle bounced in panic, and buried her head in Micah's pocket.

They were at the crest of a hill. Micah peered down into the shallow dale below, and there he saw two men. One was a peasant dressed in rags, and the other was a monstrous soldier dressed for battle, who was just short of being a giant. Behind the soldier stood a horse just as immense, also dressed for battle. The soldier and the peasant were having a conversation, but it was far enough that Micah couldn't make out the words. Moments passed, and Belle finally peeked out of the pocket.

With a sudden jerk of his arm the soldier drew his sword, and in an instant, the peasant slumped over, blood spurting from the stump of his neck.

Micah cried out. The eye of the soldier caught him at once, and with a single arm the soldier pulled himself onto the horse's back and kicked the spurs. As Micah sat in shock the soldier came upon him, sword still drawn, and in the instant before the sword met his neck, Micah had the chance to do one thing. He held up his shield. The sword and shield collided with a terrific clang, and Micah's shield fell to the ground, shattered.

The soldier rode on, but as soon as he realized he had missed his quarry, wheeled around furiously. Micah was ready this time; Epona was already running.

Link had always boasted about having the fastest horse in the world, but Micah soon found that to be false. The rider was quickly gaining. Micah gave him a glance. The horse's lips were curled back and its eyes locked on Epona, as if it desired to devour Micah's small horse. Its black hooves assaulted the ground, tearing up patches of grass and clumps of dirt. Micah kicked the spurs as hard as he could, ignoring Epona's protests. Still the grave rider gained, and his terrible sword was held high, stained in blood and rust, reflecting the rays of light into the eyes of his prey. Micah kicked the spurs again, but it was clear that Epona was out of energy, and that the soldier was going to win.

A trumpet sounded in the distance, followed by the monotonous stamping of feet by an army of thousands. It seemed, to Micah, that the already grim situation was going to grow even grimmer, but the soldier abandoned the chase, and spurred on his horse in the direction of the moving army.

Epona came to an exhausted stop. Micah, overwhelmed, slumped over, falling off the saddle and onto the hard ground. He stared at the sky, wheezing like a dog.

Belle fluttered above his head. "And that," she said pointedly, "Is why you should stay home and mourn."

Micah glared at the fairy. "You're going to get smacked a second time," he muttered. Belle zipped away.

He got to his feet, and found them to be extremely heavy and shaky. He leaned against Epona, and saw, with a bit of guilt, bloody sores in her side where the spurs had hit. Micah collapsed. He sat with his back against Epona's leg for many long minutes. Tentatively, he sunk his hand into his pocket, and brought out what remained of his shield. Splinters of wood and jagged pieces of steel surrounded the handle, the only complete part of the shield. Belle gazed in wonder. Micah gazed in horror.

Belle popped up and said, "Micah, what's that?"

He looked up at the horizon. In the distance billowed a pillar of smoke so broad and so dark, that it could only mean one thing.

The Army of Minds had claimed another town.