Chapter Eleven: Startling Discovery
Ruaru hurried pace down the corridors of the castle to the throne room. Scurrying right past the guards Ruaru intruded on the king's meeting with King Heuaris and Prince Zensha, discussing military alliance plans to destroy Link, and arrangements for Zensha's wedding to Zelda. "I want a private place away from the castle and from prying ears..." said Zensha inspecting his fingernails.
"Yes, yes, of course...Ruaru! What is the meaning of this?" said the king
"Forgive the intrusion sire! But I have just made a discovery of utmost importance! I feel it requires top priority."
"Discovery about what? Zelda's whereabouts?" asked the king as he rose to his feet in hope.
"Uh, no sir. It's about Link." the king slumped back into his chair.
"Him? What would I want to hear about him for?" asked the king in disgust.
"As you well know ever since Link donned the fierce deity mask, he has been standing on the hill seemingly waiting for something."
"Is this going anywhere? In case you haven't already noticed, I have a wedding to plan." spat Zensha as he ran his fingers up and down the contours of the three women that he requested to wait on him. Ruaru furrowed his brow and continued to speak to the king.
"We believe he has threatened to unleash Ganon to do battle with him and that Link's spirit is the only thing keeping him from obtaining the secrets of Ganon's whereabouts."
"Hmph. If it wasn't for Link, he never would have known about Ganon to begin with." the king said curtly.
"Sire, he's not planning to release Ganon at all."
"He's not? Well that's good news."
"We'd be better off if he was." the king's head slumped down as he glared at Ruaru through the top of his eyes in disbelief.
"We what?"
"I've been doing research on celestial magic, the force that Charantanatah is drawing energy from. The star that is heading towards the planet is Charantanatah's source of power, and as it gets closer, he gets stronger, however, the star does not lose any power of itself. Once the star has reached our planet, he will have acquired the maximum amount of energy that he can take. He will then turn the power back on the star, which will essentially be like combining two of them together. With that much power collected together, he will use all that energy to open a door. One so massive, he will be able to summon the armies of hell from it." The King and his associates were pale white.
"Are you sure? Why would he do that? He's already strong enough to destroy an army by himself. Link could conquer the world with ease. What would he want with the armies of hell?" asked the King.
"Link doesn't want the world. He never had any desire to dwell in the comforts of the royal court and he would certainly take no pleasure in ruling the world. It just isn't in him. Link craves adventure. So with the power of a god at his disposal, he will use it to summon the greatest of all adventures. He will call forth the rest of his tribe and resurrect the ancient conflict that once left Termina barren and void of life."
"You mean...?"
"Yes sire, I do." said Ruaru as he opened his eyes intensely. "War of the gods. Link wants to battle the gods that Charantanatah once had such difficulty dispensing of. And Hyrule is the battlefield."
"Are you sure?" asked Zensha who had finally been scared enough to take his attention off of his concubines.
"The books of Celestial magic all have this technique listed as one of the foremost extravagant spells a user can execute. The amount of energy Link is gathering, as proven by the star's speed and direction, can only mean he plans to use a gate master spell. It's the only thing that makes sense. That is what Link is waiting for. He's waiting for the star to arrive so he can begin Armageddon." said Ruaru grimly. The king was silent for a long time, with his mouth hanging open as he looked at his associates and back at Ruaru for suggestions.
"Can we stop the star?" Ruaru shook his head.
"We can't stop a star sire, that is impossible." the king put his hand to his chin in thought.
"Oh what's the dreadful fuss about? Just kill the gruesome masquerader and be done with it." said the prince as he sat back into his chair and began to flirt with one of his concubines. "Isn't that right?" he whispered into the ear of one of the women while he stroked her thigh, making her giggle quietly.
"The lad is right old boy." said King Huearis. "The only way to stop this mess is too stop him." he said
"But...kill Link? He has done so much in the past, it wouldn't be right to..." the king saw Heuaris and Zensha eyeing him with annoyance. He paused and sighed. "Very well. Summon the marshal Paladins. Link must die." Ruaru slipped out of the throne room.
"The Paladins? They are the king's new warriors that he had trained after the imprisoning war, to be prepared in case such an event ever occurred again. They constitute the highest order of the Royal Knights of Hyrule. Their skills are second to none! Surely they will try to retrieve the master sword to kill Link. Which means,..." he thought to himself. "The Princess! I must warn her that the paladins seek the Master Sword! They will surely kill her if they do not recognize her, and if she does not get to the sword first, they may be able to kill Link before we have a chance to cleanse the mask!" Ruaru hurried to the garden to seek solitude. "Zelda...Zelda..."
Zelda, who had just arrived back at the entrance to Goron city, stopped in her tracks. "What's wrong?" asked Mema.
"It's Ruaru!" she said as she closed her eyes and touched her temples. "Ruaru? Is that you? What's the matter?"
"Zelda! There have been some new developments while you've been gone!"
"Like what?"
"Link isn't resisting Charantanatah like we thought he was!"
"You mean, time is up?!" she asked in a panic.
"No, no. Link is in full control! He was just trying to scare you! He doesn't care about Ganon! He defeated Ganon without the mask! He has nothing to prove there! He is gathering up his power, for soon, he will open a gate to a realm where banished gods dwell, and he will challenge them! All the races of Hyrule will become extinct! And the planet will be no more!"
"He's...in...control?" Zelda was horrified. Ruto was right. Link wasn't trying to fight the mask after all. He was possessed by it's evil power and he was acting on his own. She didn't want to believe it, and even though Ruaru said it was true, she didn't believe it.
"Zelda! There's more! Your father has summoned the marshal paladins!"
"He what?!" Zelda's pace quickened.
"They will seek the master sword Zelda! You must get to it before they do! They are ruthless in their tactics! They will kill you!"
"Ruaru listen to me! You have to convince father to call them off! They don't stand a chance Ruaru! Father will just be sending more men to their deaths!"
"Don't underestimate them Zelda. They are skilled in the necro arts as well as they are skilled in the arts of physical combat! They stand as good a chance as any to defeat Link. And working together, they could probably do it!"
"They're...they're that strong? Well, don't worry. I already have one of the three spiritual stones and almost all of the sages have been summoned to the cleansing. I need you to summon Impa for me."
"Why cant you do it?"
"There is something I need to do right now. I'll talk to you again when the time for summoning is at hand!"
"What could you have to do that's more important than this?!" shouted Ruaru in outrage. "Zelda? Zelda!!" but Zelda had already cut off her psychic link with Ruaru. "I hope you know what your doing young lady. For all our sakes." he grumbled to himself.
Ruaru hurried pace down the corridors of the castle to the throne room. Scurrying right past the guards Ruaru intruded on the king's meeting with King Heuaris and Prince Zensha, discussing military alliance plans to destroy Link, and arrangements for Zensha's wedding to Zelda. "I want a private place away from the castle and from prying ears..." said Zensha inspecting his fingernails.
"Yes, yes, of course...Ruaru! What is the meaning of this?" said the king
"Forgive the intrusion sire! But I have just made a discovery of utmost importance! I feel it requires top priority."
"Discovery about what? Zelda's whereabouts?" asked the king as he rose to his feet in hope.
"Uh, no sir. It's about Link." the king slumped back into his chair.
"Him? What would I want to hear about him for?" asked the king in disgust.
"As you well know ever since Link donned the fierce deity mask, he has been standing on the hill seemingly waiting for something."
"Is this going anywhere? In case you haven't already noticed, I have a wedding to plan." spat Zensha as he ran his fingers up and down the contours of the three women that he requested to wait on him. Ruaru furrowed his brow and continued to speak to the king.
"We believe he has threatened to unleash Ganon to do battle with him and that Link's spirit is the only thing keeping him from obtaining the secrets of Ganon's whereabouts."
"Hmph. If it wasn't for Link, he never would have known about Ganon to begin with." the king said curtly.
"Sire, he's not planning to release Ganon at all."
"He's not? Well that's good news."
"We'd be better off if he was." the king's head slumped down as he glared at Ruaru through the top of his eyes in disbelief.
"We what?"
"I've been doing research on celestial magic, the force that Charantanatah is drawing energy from. The star that is heading towards the planet is Charantanatah's source of power, and as it gets closer, he gets stronger, however, the star does not lose any power of itself. Once the star has reached our planet, he will have acquired the maximum amount of energy that he can take. He will then turn the power back on the star, which will essentially be like combining two of them together. With that much power collected together, he will use all that energy to open a door. One so massive, he will be able to summon the armies of hell from it." The King and his associates were pale white.
"Are you sure? Why would he do that? He's already strong enough to destroy an army by himself. Link could conquer the world with ease. What would he want with the armies of hell?" asked the King.
"Link doesn't want the world. He never had any desire to dwell in the comforts of the royal court and he would certainly take no pleasure in ruling the world. It just isn't in him. Link craves adventure. So with the power of a god at his disposal, he will use it to summon the greatest of all adventures. He will call forth the rest of his tribe and resurrect the ancient conflict that once left Termina barren and void of life."
"You mean...?"
"Yes sire, I do." said Ruaru as he opened his eyes intensely. "War of the gods. Link wants to battle the gods that Charantanatah once had such difficulty dispensing of. And Hyrule is the battlefield."
"Are you sure?" asked Zensha who had finally been scared enough to take his attention off of his concubines.
"The books of Celestial magic all have this technique listed as one of the foremost extravagant spells a user can execute. The amount of energy Link is gathering, as proven by the star's speed and direction, can only mean he plans to use a gate master spell. It's the only thing that makes sense. That is what Link is waiting for. He's waiting for the star to arrive so he can begin Armageddon." said Ruaru grimly. The king was silent for a long time, with his mouth hanging open as he looked at his associates and back at Ruaru for suggestions.
"Can we stop the star?" Ruaru shook his head.
"We can't stop a star sire, that is impossible." the king put his hand to his chin in thought.
"Oh what's the dreadful fuss about? Just kill the gruesome masquerader and be done with it." said the prince as he sat back into his chair and began to flirt with one of his concubines. "Isn't that right?" he whispered into the ear of one of the women while he stroked her thigh, making her giggle quietly.
"The lad is right old boy." said King Huearis. "The only way to stop this mess is too stop him." he said
"But...kill Link? He has done so much in the past, it wouldn't be right to..." the king saw Heuaris and Zensha eyeing him with annoyance. He paused and sighed. "Very well. Summon the marshal Paladins. Link must die." Ruaru slipped out of the throne room.
"The Paladins? They are the king's new warriors that he had trained after the imprisoning war, to be prepared in case such an event ever occurred again. They constitute the highest order of the Royal Knights of Hyrule. Their skills are second to none! Surely they will try to retrieve the master sword to kill Link. Which means,..." he thought to himself. "The Princess! I must warn her that the paladins seek the Master Sword! They will surely kill her if they do not recognize her, and if she does not get to the sword first, they may be able to kill Link before we have a chance to cleanse the mask!" Ruaru hurried to the garden to seek solitude. "Zelda...Zelda..."
Zelda, who had just arrived back at the entrance to Goron city, stopped in her tracks. "What's wrong?" asked Mema.
"It's Ruaru!" she said as she closed her eyes and touched her temples. "Ruaru? Is that you? What's the matter?"
"Zelda! There have been some new developments while you've been gone!"
"Like what?"
"Link isn't resisting Charantanatah like we thought he was!"
"You mean, time is up?!" she asked in a panic.
"No, no. Link is in full control! He was just trying to scare you! He doesn't care about Ganon! He defeated Ganon without the mask! He has nothing to prove there! He is gathering up his power, for soon, he will open a gate to a realm where banished gods dwell, and he will challenge them! All the races of Hyrule will become extinct! And the planet will be no more!"
"He's...in...control?" Zelda was horrified. Ruto was right. Link wasn't trying to fight the mask after all. He was possessed by it's evil power and he was acting on his own. She didn't want to believe it, and even though Ruaru said it was true, she didn't believe it.
"Zelda! There's more! Your father has summoned the marshal paladins!"
"He what?!" Zelda's pace quickened.
"They will seek the master sword Zelda! You must get to it before they do! They are ruthless in their tactics! They will kill you!"
"Ruaru listen to me! You have to convince father to call them off! They don't stand a chance Ruaru! Father will just be sending more men to their deaths!"
"Don't underestimate them Zelda. They are skilled in the necro arts as well as they are skilled in the arts of physical combat! They stand as good a chance as any to defeat Link. And working together, they could probably do it!"
"They're...they're that strong? Well, don't worry. I already have one of the three spiritual stones and almost all of the sages have been summoned to the cleansing. I need you to summon Impa for me."
"Why cant you do it?"
"There is something I need to do right now. I'll talk to you again when the time for summoning is at hand!"
"What could you have to do that's more important than this?!" shouted Ruaru in outrage. "Zelda? Zelda!!" but Zelda had already cut off her psychic link with Ruaru. "I hope you know what your doing young lady. For all our sakes." he grumbled to himself.