Link woke up. He felt better, but he was still very weak. As he regained
consciousness, he felt Zelda's warm embrace around him. It was soothing. He
heard the voices of Ruto and Darunia in the background, with birds singing
and the river flowing peacefully.
A thunder roared high above Death Mountain.
None of them even bothered to turn, for they knew the horrible sight that expected their gaze.
Instead, Link turned to Zelda's face, that smiled down upon him, lit by the sun's first rays.
"Good morning. You might have noticed our friends are back to their usual selves."
"I have. I feel all numb. Help me up?"
"Of course"
Zelda helped him up. Her legs had fallen asleep, and she was sure that if she peeked under her dress, she could see Link's face imprinted on her chest, right where he'd slept. It didn't bother her that much, under the circumstances, she figured she owed him one -at least one more-.
"Silence, you two!", Link's voice imposed over the others' quarreling.
"Good mornin', brother!" Darunia had honestly forgotten what he was arguing about.
"I take it you had a good half-night's sleep" Ruto intended to make a sarcastic remark on Link's "accomodation" for the night. She'd always been jealous of Zelda's apparent privileges.
Link shrugged, gave a quick glance at his wound, then started readying himself for travel.
"Time to get moving." Zelda turned for a second to Ruto and Darunia. She noticed that might have been precisely the reason they were arguing in the first place.
After a couple minutes, Ruto approached Link, speaking in a voice just above a whisper: "I can get to Zora's realm much earlier If I swim upstream. I may be able to rally my people." She was particularly reluctant of speaking of her kingdom in front of Darunia.
"I advice you come with us to the castle, we can have a herald in your land in no time, and we can start discussing our course of action while we wait for reply."
Ruto shrugged. She didn't particularly liked Link's attitude at the moment. Maybe it was the situation she didn't like one bit.
She nodded nevertheless and walked the long road to Hyrule castle with them.
Link expected all the other sages to arrive eventually to discuss the matters in a gathering. Nabooru had neglected her duty as Gerudo chieftain for years due to her spiritual obligations that tied her to the temple beyond the desert. He at least expected her second in command to arrive before nightfall.
Saria was willingly secluded in the forest, aware of the possible annihilation, striving to spend her final moments surrounded by what she loved. Most of it, anyway...
Rauru was never anywhere to be found, but he was never late either, whenever matters were urgent, that is.
Impa, of course, quite possibly remained guarding the Shadow temple, for it would be surely the next one to be attacked.
None of them liked having the people of Hyrule fight the Sages' battles. Link was particularly angry at the situation. It had always been his duty to keep Ganondorf at bay. He'd much rather have himself fight an army than lead another one to their deaths.
However, he realized this was a battle that the kingdom's heroes could not fight alone.
Zelda made sure Link rested properly, as she made sure she exhausted her healing resources on him to make sure that nasty poison was out of his system for good.
Death Mountain growled through the day, bad omen for the superstitious peasants in Hyrule City.
Finally, word came from the gate guards up to Link's resting chambers in the highest tower. 'Riders from the south-west' he overheard the messenger speaking with Zelda.
He hurried to greet them, though Zelda was not particularly thrilled.
Nabooru was older than Link, yet her body remained nearly the same. Link used to joke with her about 'drinking from the Kokiri fountain'. In reality, besides of the fact that she was a sage, her people had the tendency to age in the most graceful manner in Hyrule, maybe even more so than the mysterious Sheikah. It was not mere sorcery what had kept those twin sorceresses alive for four centuries.
Link and Nabooru embraced profusely at the castle's gate. He made sure to welcome her half a dozen times. The Gerudo second in command indeed came with her. Link had to behave stoic and courtly once again, once he remembered the situation.
Zelda greeted both spokeswomen as politely as she could, careful not to hint to either of them that she wasn't as delighted to have them there as she claimed. Nabooru and her escort were thrilled to be there, however.
"It has been a long time, kid" She spoke to the young hylian, who didn't really appreciate the term 'kid' on him any more, not even on a friendly tease.
"Indeed is has, old friend" Link made sure to emphasize the word 'old' ambiguously. They both laughed as they embraced once more and shook hands ceremoniously.
"Please come join us in the dining hall, we can start discussing matters." Zelda interrupted intentionally to move things along quickly.
At the table awaited Ruto and Darunia. They had been arguing until they heard the great hall's doors swinging open, then they smiled innocently.
"Finally they arrive'." Darunia grumbled under the noise of his chair's creaking as he stood.
Nabooru bowed in apology, and assigned herself a seat right next to where she knew Link would sit.
She smiled at Zelda's discomfort when she leaned even closer to him. In the past, neither woman had had the resolve to snatch him for themselves once and for all when they had a chance.
Link was, as usual, oblivious to most such matters, a quality in him Zelda did not particularly like. Nabooru was convinced he could not possibly be as naive as he appeared, though.
"We shall begin." Zelda imposed as the queen she was.
For the next hours, they'd debate on the enemy's origin, motives, and more importantly, how to defeat them. Halfway along the meeting, Rauru finally arrived, apologizing endlessly, then caught up quickly, and swiftly got his point across the table to everyone else: "It is the job of us Sages, not the people of Hyrule, to protect the realm from any enemies, for we are the ones imbued with the spiritual power to do just that."
Rauru was eldest and most wise among them, and so they remained silent for a short while. It was finally agreed that the Hero of Time would be insufficient to defeat the forces of Ganondorf this time, but with the active aid of the Sages, victory would be in range. After all, what was the point of saving the land of Hyrule if all of its people were dead?
Zelda frowned upon the decision, though she forced herself to agree out of common sense. The Sages were powerful beings, and resourceful ones, too. They would find a way to defeat the new threat.
Later, all six of them had agreed on gathering the rest of the Sages as soon as possible.
It was not the first time, nor the last one, that they'd been forced to move restlessly. Last night's nap had been the last good sleep Link would have in a week.
And so, they began to move instantly. They set out for Kakariko, in hopes of talking Impa out of her temple. They knew Kakariko had little time left until it was festering with the spoils of the invading army, and Impa would fight -and die fighting- against their armies if she had the chance.
Thus, Link, Zelda, Rauru, Darunia, Ruto and Nabooru began the ride to Kakariko the same night...
A thunder roared high above Death Mountain.
None of them even bothered to turn, for they knew the horrible sight that expected their gaze.
Instead, Link turned to Zelda's face, that smiled down upon him, lit by the sun's first rays.
"Good morning. You might have noticed our friends are back to their usual selves."
"I have. I feel all numb. Help me up?"
"Of course"
Zelda helped him up. Her legs had fallen asleep, and she was sure that if she peeked under her dress, she could see Link's face imprinted on her chest, right where he'd slept. It didn't bother her that much, under the circumstances, she figured she owed him one -at least one more-.
"Silence, you two!", Link's voice imposed over the others' quarreling.
"Good mornin', brother!" Darunia had honestly forgotten what he was arguing about.
"I take it you had a good half-night's sleep" Ruto intended to make a sarcastic remark on Link's "accomodation" for the night. She'd always been jealous of Zelda's apparent privileges.
Link shrugged, gave a quick glance at his wound, then started readying himself for travel.
"Time to get moving." Zelda turned for a second to Ruto and Darunia. She noticed that might have been precisely the reason they were arguing in the first place.
After a couple minutes, Ruto approached Link, speaking in a voice just above a whisper: "I can get to Zora's realm much earlier If I swim upstream. I may be able to rally my people." She was particularly reluctant of speaking of her kingdom in front of Darunia.
"I advice you come with us to the castle, we can have a herald in your land in no time, and we can start discussing our course of action while we wait for reply."
Ruto shrugged. She didn't particularly liked Link's attitude at the moment. Maybe it was the situation she didn't like one bit.
She nodded nevertheless and walked the long road to Hyrule castle with them.
Link expected all the other sages to arrive eventually to discuss the matters in a gathering. Nabooru had neglected her duty as Gerudo chieftain for years due to her spiritual obligations that tied her to the temple beyond the desert. He at least expected her second in command to arrive before nightfall.
Saria was willingly secluded in the forest, aware of the possible annihilation, striving to spend her final moments surrounded by what she loved. Most of it, anyway...
Rauru was never anywhere to be found, but he was never late either, whenever matters were urgent, that is.
Impa, of course, quite possibly remained guarding the Shadow temple, for it would be surely the next one to be attacked.
None of them liked having the people of Hyrule fight the Sages' battles. Link was particularly angry at the situation. It had always been his duty to keep Ganondorf at bay. He'd much rather have himself fight an army than lead another one to their deaths.
However, he realized this was a battle that the kingdom's heroes could not fight alone.
Zelda made sure Link rested properly, as she made sure she exhausted her healing resources on him to make sure that nasty poison was out of his system for good.
Death Mountain growled through the day, bad omen for the superstitious peasants in Hyrule City.
Finally, word came from the gate guards up to Link's resting chambers in the highest tower. 'Riders from the south-west' he overheard the messenger speaking with Zelda.
He hurried to greet them, though Zelda was not particularly thrilled.
Nabooru was older than Link, yet her body remained nearly the same. Link used to joke with her about 'drinking from the Kokiri fountain'. In reality, besides of the fact that she was a sage, her people had the tendency to age in the most graceful manner in Hyrule, maybe even more so than the mysterious Sheikah. It was not mere sorcery what had kept those twin sorceresses alive for four centuries.
Link and Nabooru embraced profusely at the castle's gate. He made sure to welcome her half a dozen times. The Gerudo second in command indeed came with her. Link had to behave stoic and courtly once again, once he remembered the situation.
Zelda greeted both spokeswomen as politely as she could, careful not to hint to either of them that she wasn't as delighted to have them there as she claimed. Nabooru and her escort were thrilled to be there, however.
"It has been a long time, kid" She spoke to the young hylian, who didn't really appreciate the term 'kid' on him any more, not even on a friendly tease.
"Indeed is has, old friend" Link made sure to emphasize the word 'old' ambiguously. They both laughed as they embraced once more and shook hands ceremoniously.
"Please come join us in the dining hall, we can start discussing matters." Zelda interrupted intentionally to move things along quickly.
At the table awaited Ruto and Darunia. They had been arguing until they heard the great hall's doors swinging open, then they smiled innocently.
"Finally they arrive'." Darunia grumbled under the noise of his chair's creaking as he stood.
Nabooru bowed in apology, and assigned herself a seat right next to where she knew Link would sit.
She smiled at Zelda's discomfort when she leaned even closer to him. In the past, neither woman had had the resolve to snatch him for themselves once and for all when they had a chance.
Link was, as usual, oblivious to most such matters, a quality in him Zelda did not particularly like. Nabooru was convinced he could not possibly be as naive as he appeared, though.
"We shall begin." Zelda imposed as the queen she was.
For the next hours, they'd debate on the enemy's origin, motives, and more importantly, how to defeat them. Halfway along the meeting, Rauru finally arrived, apologizing endlessly, then caught up quickly, and swiftly got his point across the table to everyone else: "It is the job of us Sages, not the people of Hyrule, to protect the realm from any enemies, for we are the ones imbued with the spiritual power to do just that."
Rauru was eldest and most wise among them, and so they remained silent for a short while. It was finally agreed that the Hero of Time would be insufficient to defeat the forces of Ganondorf this time, but with the active aid of the Sages, victory would be in range. After all, what was the point of saving the land of Hyrule if all of its people were dead?
Zelda frowned upon the decision, though she forced herself to agree out of common sense. The Sages were powerful beings, and resourceful ones, too. They would find a way to defeat the new threat.
Later, all six of them had agreed on gathering the rest of the Sages as soon as possible.
It was not the first time, nor the last one, that they'd been forced to move restlessly. Last night's nap had been the last good sleep Link would have in a week.
And so, they began to move instantly. They set out for Kakariko, in hopes of talking Impa out of her temple. They knew Kakariko had little time left until it was festering with the spoils of the invading army, and Impa would fight -and die fighting- against their armies if she had the chance.
Thus, Link, Zelda, Rauru, Darunia, Ruto and Nabooru began the ride to Kakariko the same night...