The Reign of Something Different
Chapter Three: Dilemma
As far as the eye could see there was forest. Dense shrubbery mended together with sparse pine trees, which wove together with exotic plants of all kinds. Though most plants normally would never be found near each other because they were so different and needed a different climate, here they all thrived, for this was the Realm created by Farore.
Said goddess was sitting on a chair of ivy, looking at her sisters, whom she had summoned to her realm moments ago. There was rash Din leaning against a poplar tree, who's flaming hair curled around her shoulders and neck, constantly twisting as if truly burning. She wore the clothes which were worn by her followers, the Grudo, but in shades of violent reds and gold. There was calm Nayru, who's blue tresses folded around her body, pulsating like the tides of the water itself. Her body was draped in water itself, that clung to her body but did not halt the movements of her tail, which was her lower body. But one could not overlook Farore herself, who had long hair of a chestnut brown laced with strands of ivy, leaves and flowers which grew naturally amidst her silken locks. She wore the simple clothing of her children, the Kokeri, but her tunic was trimmed in copper strands.
As Farore watched her sisters, her sisters waited for her to speak, Nayru lounging on a cloud-like chair of rain droplets which she had conjured upon her arrival, Din standing impassively watching her earthen sister with masked interest.
Farore finally spoke, her voice low with the sound of baying wolves and shifting leaves. "He is again in with the living creatures."
"Impossible." Din scoffed, her voice sounding of fire and flames and the harsher sound of blade meeting blade on the battleground. "We made sure that He was locked away. He could not break free without our knowing if He could break free at all."
"We would have at least notices if one of our own Creations was possessed by Him, as He would not have a body of his own after all." Nayru agreed, her voice that of waves splashing against the deck of a ship and of storms on the open see, her tail twitching in boredom.
"But He did not posses anyone, Divine sister." Many time I saw through Link's eyes a strange boy dressed as a Sheikah-"
"Then why did you not tell us?" Din hissed, her forked tongue lashing out in her ire.
"Because he deceived me. He and Zelda appeared to be one and the same to my descendant, so I did not question the matter further."
Nayru raised a delicate eyebrow, "My descendant would not help Him."
Din snarled. "Divine sister, you do not even look at your descendant, out of 'respect'. It would be easy for Him to corrupt her mind, especially her younger mind." The perfect fire goddess smirked, "It is understandable, though unpredictable."
"Yes. It was very unexpected." Farore murmured, looking at Nayru. "There was no way you would have known, Divine sister."
Din smiled at the earthen goddess of courage, a cruel and yet perfect smile. "So then, Divine sister, how did you find out He was again walking the earth if you had been fooled by that mortal descendant of Divine sister Nayru?"
"When Link thought that He was Zelda, I felt an immense outpour of emotions which subsided after a few minutes. Time passed and then suddenly I felt the same outpour again. Looking through the eyes of my descendant I saw Him and realized, when Link did, that He Zelda were not one and the same." Farore explained simply.
"You are distraught Divine sister." Nayru murmured. "There is something else that you are not telling us and it weighs heavily against your heart."
"He is in His realm, close to His citadel. But for now He has only the power of a Sheikah, using the power of the Fierce Deity to open the Gate between His realm and that of Hyrule."
"You are still troubled by something." Din commented looking at her nails boredly.
"Of course I am. Link is with Him! I have seen the emotions of my descendant and I know what He could do to them!"
"Calm down Divine sister Farore." Din cut off Farore. "Have some faith in your descendant."
"Faith in your descendant! You are one to talk sister! Did YOU have faith in your descendant?" Farore snapped at Din who raised an eyebrow.
"I matters of emotions I had complete faith in Gannandorf." Din's smile turned cruel. "In matters of power I had my doubts."
"Yes, well Farore's descendant is the exact opposite of yours, isn't she?" Nayru smirked. "She can have complete faith in Link's power but not in his emotions." Nayru paused in thought before continuing. "But He won't be worrying about tampering with Link's emotions now. He would be most worried about regaining his former power first."
"And while He makes His way to the Citadel, we will come up with a way to destroy Him!" Din giggled with glee at the idea of destruction.
Thus the three goddesses began their plotting, plotting to destroy what survived of Fierce and anything that stood in their way.
Sheik fought the urge to cry out as he felt the Gate deposit him on the floor of the temple in his realm. Unlike other times when he had used his harp to warp around Hyrule this warp was a painful one because the gate was through realms and not through the space of one realm. And the throb in his head meant that the warp had worked. Blearily he opened his eyes seeing the temple which was exactly like the one in Hyrule except this one was well kept and above ground.
Sheik stretched, his body now fully recovered from the warp and looked around for the Hylian that had accompanied him, albeit unintentionally.
Link moaned as the pain coursed through his body. Well, why shouldn't he, Sheik thought, his eyes softening as he looked at his compatriot. The warp was meant for Sheikah and not for any other race. But Hylians and Sheikah were basically the same, biology wise so Link should have no problem adjusting to the warp. It would just take some time. And time was a think Sheik did not have. The Goddesses knew, he had felt Farore's presence through Link and by now she would have called her sisters to her to come up with a plan to stop him or destroy him. His only hope was to get to the Citadel which was a good five days away if he was the only one traveling. But now that Link was here it would take longer, especially if Link was injured. Link was in way over his head now, and Sheik owed him an explanation at least and he also owed Link to much to leave him here with the temple priests to recover in a strange world. He did not expect Link would wait for him even if it would only take five days. Link would recover in two, maybe even one day. Though the priests would treat Link well and make sure he recovered, outfit him and (if asked) inform him of where he was, it was still not the same as if Sheik had been there. But in retrospect, Sheik had no choice now that the Goddesses knew. Though the Goddesses themselves could not come to his world, the way things stood now they could send minions. Not Creations so to speak, but monsters. Link had successfully beaten Ganandorf's minions but he would not be able to stand against a godling.
Still deep in thought Sheik gently picked Link off the ground and started carrying him towards the Priest's cloisters.
Maybe that would be best anyway. Farore would send something to take Link back to Hyrule and then Link could live out his life the way he would have if Zelda had not told him of Sheik's existence. (For who but Zelda would have told Link... she probably sent him to say good-bye)
Sheik stepped from the room that housed the now closed Gate into the hall, and immediately an apprentice spotted him, running to get a superior.
Sheik just waited, looking at the temple hall he had not seen in so long. Fierce had been good friends with the High Priest of the Gateway before he had been imprisoned but still that was a long time ago. The High Priest would be an old man by now, maybe even dead for all Sheik knew.
"Fierce, Deity and Ruler, I am gladdened to see your safe return."
Sheik turned to see a man, very old in age but still of a vibrant mind, dressed in the black robes of his office. Sheik recognized him immediately and smiled.
"It is good to see you again my old friend."
The elderly priest nodded at Sheik's burden. "I see someone else got caught in the Gateway... or did he come voluntarily."
"I do not know, but I suspect the first." Sheik said crisply. "He should recover soon. Link is a Hylian."
"We will see to his recovery, Great One. Will you hasten to the Citadel or are you to wait for him to wake?"
"Time is pressing." Sheik said, knowing that the elderly priest would know what he meant. "I must hasten to the Citadel as quickly as possible."
The elderly High Priest and the Godling Sheikah began to make their way to the empty rooms where the Priests of the Gateway took sick patients and guests that needed a room before resuming their travels. They were silent until Sheik had laid Link down on a bed. The Sheikah then turned to the High Priest almost hesitantly.
"Link is under my protection for as long as he stays here. Make sure the right people know that around here. And do NOT, under any circumstances tell Link who I am or where I am headed."
"He does not already know?"
"Because of certain circumstances Link was not in a position to know my true identity. He knows me only as a Sheikah who helped him in the realm he came from."
"And you wish for him to not be told that the Sheikah he knew and the Fierce Deity are one."
Sheik nodded and dismissed the High Priest before turning to look at Link. Why was this so hard anyway? Within five days he would be himself again, and if Farore had not sent a creature after her descendant by then he would be powerful enough to send Link back. So why could he not just leave Link in the hands of the Priests and go? He should at least say good-bye. Now did the room have any...
Sheik looked around the room noticing the simplicity before seeing the small desk. And where there was a desk there was always parchment and writing utensils.
As Sheik had predicted Link woke two days later, feeling only a little sore but very hungry. The High Priest had been alerted and Link found himself after lunch with an old man whom he had never met.
"Greetings chosen of the Fierce Deity." the elder man said, nodding his head in greeting.
Just that simple sentence sent off warning bells in Link's head. First of all he was sick of being "chosen" and also he had no clue who the Fierce Deity was.
"Pardon?"
"Do not fear. The Fierce Deity is our God, the Creator of this realm and of all the beings in it. For one who is not Created by our God to make their way through the Gateway to this realm, and survive, they must be under the protection of the Fierce Deity."
Link was shown to a chair and sat down across from the High Priest of the building which Link assumed was a temple.
"Now you must be very confused about where you are and why you are here."
Link nodded.
"You were caught in the Gateway when it was opened. The Gateway works like a warp does except it transports one across the realms instead of across the space of one realm."
"So I'm not even in Hyrule anymore?"
"I am afraid I know not of this Hyrule you speak of, but because of that I can tell you you are not anywhere near it. You are in the realm of the Fierce Deity, the lands of the Sheikah, called Venera by its inhabitants."
"Sheikah..." Then Link remembered, "Where's Sheik?"
"If you mean the Sheikah who was with you, who opened the Gate, he was called away urgently shortly after you arrived-"
"Where did he go?"
"To the city of the Sheikah I imagine but I have no way of knowing for sure."
Link felt disappointed. He finally was told the truth about Sheik's identity and Sheik was not there. It was frustrating. But other than that little detail Link was interested in this new world that was so different than his own. It would be a pleasant change from home where so much was expected from the Hero of Time. Here no one knew him except as a stranger. Maybe now he could finally lay down his responsibilities that had haunted him back home and live a normal life, the life Zelda had tried to give him by sending him back in time yet again after the defeat of Gannon which at the time Link could not accept. Link was so deep in his thoughts that he had tuned out most of what then elderly man had said so he only caught the last part.
"...I'll assign one of the apprentices to show you around. But they are all busy today so feel free to walk around and explore. If you get lost don't hesitate to ask."
Link knew a dismissal when he heard one so he left thanking the Priest for his time although Link had no clue as to what the Priest said for most of it.
Link took to wandering around looking at the intricate designs of the building which was indeed a temple. He couldn't read any of the writing but could look at the artistry, one symbol of which confused him. It looked like the triforce, but something was out of place, as if the artist was focusing on the triangle in the middle of the triforce. And then Link realized that must have been what the artist had done. But why?
Link was suddenly thrown out of this thought process because at that moment something or someone ran into him. As they picked themselves up off the floor Link saw who had run into him. A young Sheikah, with white blond hair and blue-gray eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going."
"Its no big deal." Link said. "But why is there a Sheikah boy running around a temple of Priests anyway?"
"Well I have to get some medicine for my Grandmother. This temple is dedicated to that kind of stuff... healing and travelers I think." The Sheikah looked at Link and more Link's clothing curiously. "You're not from around here are you?"
"No." Link said then he thought of an idea. "And I'm a bit lost. Do you know if there is a library around here?"
"Yea, sure. I can take you to it." the boy said and proceeded to do just that. "Oh, and by the way." he said as he left Link in front of the library doors. "My name is Solinari. My Grandmother and I live in the city. Feel free to stop by if you need a place to stay."
"Thank you. I'll remember that." The boy smiled and was on his way. Link frowned when he saw that the boy had a harp strapped to his back. That reminded Link of Sheik again. Sighing to himself he entered the library, After a few minutes of browsing around looking he found a book on the religion of Venera and curled up in a chair to read it.
Author's Note:
Rio: Sorry it took so long, hope you still enjoyed it!
Ryu: ^.^
signed,
Rio the FlowerofBlackfire