buThe Return of the Dark One/u/b
By: Sonnet A.K.A. Talonclawfange
( E-mail me at Talonofdayyahoo.com, but not if you're going to give me sick advertisements! I DONT WANT THEM!! I'M ONLY 16! Just feedback, please.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Hyrule, Link, Epona, Zelda, or anything else from Shigeru Miamoto and Nintendo's genius video game: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I wrote this story in dedication to them, since it's from the best video game of all time, created by them. Oh yeah, and Kai-ten-giri belongs to Akira Himekawa who wrote some totally awsome Zelda manga. The only things I own are the Soku Tree, Chain, Sohran, Calwots and all other things not in the original video game (so don't use em' without asking me and putting that I thought them up). I also wrote this because I like reading, drawing, and, recently, writing fantasy (all talents are given to me by God, so all credit goes to him as well). I think Link is really cool - Good job, Miyamoto!
Note: bThis story is separated into two parts because it is so long! /b The first part is 40 pages long and the second is 43. This story takes place after my other stories, which are: The Problem of the Swamp Fairies, Duels and Dragons, Hunt for the Dragonlord, The War of the Kings, and The Song of the Siren's Shell, so you probably want to read them first or you'll be a little confused. It's somewhere between PG and PG-13, there's no sexual themes or foul language, but there's violence and blood. There's a bit of drinking, but only the bad guys do it and it clearly shows that alcohol makes you stupid, so it's not like I'm glorifying it, in fact I'm showing it SUCKS! Still, the alcohol will be removed by request if it bothers anyone. bEnjoy!/b
biPart One/i/b
ubSection 1
The Soku Tree's Water/b/i
Sighing peacefully, Link sat down against the huge side of the tree called the Elder Tree (the huge tree in the middle of Royal Field in North Hyrule). The soft grass under him was still cold and wet from dew, but he didn't care. He relaxed all his muscles as he waited for the sun to rise, but was careful not to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. While he waited, he remembered his conversation a week ago with the Deku Tree Sprout.
"iWell, if Navi was just exploring the forest, she would have at least come back and checked up with me by now,"/i The stubby little tree had said. i"She's been gone for months. I don't know how to explain it; I'm sorry, Link."/i These words had worried Link greatly. What had happened to his fairy partner? He hadn't seen her since they went their seperate ways in the Temple of Time. iNavi....are you lost? I really wish I could talk to you, I miss you! /iHe hung his head, wishing that somehow she could hear his thoughts. After that meeting with the tree, Link had put the Master Sword into its pedestal and turned into a child again. He figured that sinse he had parted ways with Navi as a child, he might have more luck looking for her in that time. He had gotten Epona (still a foal) and travled deep into the lost woods looking for his fairy. He had experienced a strange thing there...he had gone on an adventure in Termania, a worl parallel to Hyrule. He had saved the land and gained a lot of masks (some quite poweful) but had not found Navi. When he went to get his sword back and become an adult again he also found out that no time had passed while he was in Termania and his masks could not be worn as an adult. Is was as if he had gained nothing in Hyrule. He was very happy at being able to help Termania but Navi remained missing.
Link felt light on his face and looked up to see the beautiful sun slowly emerging from behind the hilly horizon. The cold, wet air of early morning and hazy, thin mist were dispelled by the rising sun's warmth. The formerly dark, starry sky began to brighten, turning various shades of yellow, pink and orange. So pretty...Link thought. Link didn't know why he loved to watch surises and sunsets so much. He supposed that for some reason he liked to pause and admire nature more than most people, and beauty comforted him when trials were tugging down his spirits. As the sun detatched from the horizon and flung its bright paint onto the clouds above, Link closed his eyes against the glare. iAs soon as possible, I'll search the Lost Woods for her. That's the only place I can think of that Navi would be right now, in this time or any other. Or maybe she's found a new companion and is traveling around far away. The Deku Tree said fairies only have one companion, but I suppose it's possible that they could have two.../isomehow Link doubted it. The logical side of his mind told him she could have found a new partner after leaving, but the other side said it just wasn't so. It just couldn't happen. She was in the forest, or exploring, or maybe....iMaybe she's trapped somewhere, in danger and needing my help..../iLink brushed away the pessimistic thought. He would not let it back into his head unless every other possibility was proved wrong, he resolved.
Link waited for the sun to slip behind a low cloud before he could open his eyes. While his eyes were closed he slipped into deep thought about everything he knew about fairies. He had learned quite a lot from having one follow him around. Navi had usually been kind and helpful but familiarity breeds contention; like a time when they argued about....
"Link, is it thee?" Link was startled out of his thoughts by a very near voice. It sounded like the voice of a man in his middle years, not young and not old. Link jumped up and looked around, wondering how he could have possibly let someone sneak up on him. "Do not be alarmed, look behind thee!" Perplexed, Link turned around and looked at the tree he had been sitting against and did a double-take. The formerly faceless tree somehow had a face! It was right in the middle of the trunk, like the Deku Tree's had been before he died, but this tree didn't look quite as old. Link stared up into the brownish-grey bark face.
"Ah, it is thee, Hero of Time. I have been wanting to meet thee ever since the great Deku Tree told me of thee. Like the owl Kaepora Gaebora, I was a friend of the Deku Tree. I am the Soku Tree, it is a pleasure to meet thee!" Link had recovered from his initial shock; it was certainly not unusual for him to talk to trees, after all.
"Nice to meet you too, great Soku Tree," Link said, with a slight bow. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"There is, Hero, but to understand I must first tell thee something. Dost thou remember the great storm that took place not long ago? That storm was not natural, it was induced by a great and evil power. The storm caused the clouds to release their moisture early, therefore there was too much water in the soil. I absorbed the usual amount but the rest dried up and now there is no natural storm to replace the ground's wetness. The grass around thee is not afected, for the morning dew is sufficient to keep it living. The dew is much too meager for a giant old tree like I, and my delicate balance of moisture is being disturbed. Will thou not bring me some water from the lake to repair my balance, Link?" Link thought a moment about what he had just been told. An induced storm? Who could have enough power to induce a storm so big? That strom's lightening had struck the castle several times, and the damage had taken a few days and many men's labor to fix. A Royal Dragon might possibly have the power to conjure a storm like that, but they obviously had a respect for nature's balance.
"I would be glad to, Soku Tree. Anything for the friend of the great old Deku Tree..." Link trailed off, missing his huge mentor and parent. "How much do you need?"
"Three hundred gallons would be sufficient." Link's jaw dropped.
"Three hundred? How am I ever going to carry that over here?" He then remembered he had the golden gauntlets. Three hundred gallons would be extremely heavy, but Link knew the gauntlets could help him carry it. If he needed extra assistance, there was always Epona.
"This should help thee," The Soku Tree said, and his upper branched rustled about. After a few moments, a large, water-tight basket made of interwoven Soku leaves floated down. "These leaves are able to bear three hundred gallons. Luck be with thee! I know a Hylian of your calibur can complete this task." Link nodded and got out the Ocarina of Time. He then played Epona's song and the magical notes echoed far, to the ears of Link's faithful horse. She came speeding to him imediately, and Link mounted her.
"To the Lucky Lake in the Ethereal Forest, please!" Link said, patting Epona's side. With that, the horse sped off like a bullet to the lake, Link tagging along the giant basket of leaves while riding. In a matter of minutes, they arrived. Link had named the lake Lucky Lake because a while ago, Epona had been thrown by a huge dragon into the Ethereal Forest. She would have died if she hadn't luckily landed in the small lake. Link got off Epona and managed to fill the leaf basket with water. However, when he tried to lift it he found the thing was too big to carry with two hands, so he put part of it on Epona's back. "Okay... steady, girl! We have to get this back to the Soku Tree without spilling it." Epona seemed to understand, and kept pace with Link as he walked back onto Royal Field. At the slow rate they had to walk, it took about half an hour to get back to the tree. The Soku Tree saw them coming and loudly greeted Link. He didn't know Epona had never seen a giant talking tree with a face.
"Ack, no, Epona!" With a loud snort of fear, Epona bucked and bolted away from the strange, loud tree. The water in the basket fell right on Link, soaking him. He sat on the ground, glaring irritably at his horse. The Soku couldn't help chuckling a bit. "Get over here, Epona..." Ashamed, but not too ashamed, Epona trotted over to Link and started nuzzling his head. "Oh, trying to butter me up, eh?" Epona then licked Link's hair, giving him a nice, big cow lick shaped like a tidal wave and knocking his hat off. The Soku Tree laughed out loud, and Epona neighed, bobbing her head up and down as if laughing. "Oh, stop it!" Link comlpained.
After some hair fixing and another half an hour, Link and Epona returned with more water. Carefully, they dumped it all around the Soku Tree evenly. Link then sat down tiredly on the wet grass, and Epona sat next to him.
"Thank thee, Link and Epona. Thou hast been of great assistance to me. I have something for thee, Link." Once again the tree's upper branches started rustling, but this time a small, beetle-sized leaf fell onto Link's lap. It was stiff and shiny, and had some intricate gold writing on it that Link could not read. "This belongs to my sister, the great Cosu Tree. She dwells in a place far away from here, across many waters. If you ever make her acquaintence, give it to her; she will surely be very grateful to thee and give thee something useful. I'm sorry I do not have anything better for thee."
"That's all right. It wasn't much trouble anyway, right, Epona?" His horse snorted and shook her head.
"I have nearly forgotten! I must reward thee too, noble Epona." The tree shook some branches and three, big, juicy apples fell to ground in front of Epona. They were only visible for several seconds before Epona eagerly gobbled them up. She nodded at the tree, as if to say 'thank you'.
"Well Soku Tree, it's been nice meeting you, but I have to be on my way to the gorons soon. But before I leave, I have a question." Link said, getting to his feet.
"What is thy question, Hero?" The tree inquired.
"Do you know who made the induced storm? It could be a real problem if another one happened."
"I am sorry, but I do not know who or what made that terrible storm."
"Oh well, thanks anyways. I'll see you again sometime." Epona stood up and Link mounted her, then they rode away to Hyrule Castle to pick up Zelda and Impa.
buSection 2
Mud Pit/u/b
Darunia smiled broadly as he watched the three riders dimount their horses at the bottom of the mountain. Link, Impa and Zelda then climbed up the mointain, destroying a few tektites (large, four-legged arachnid-looking creatures) on the way. In a couple minutes, they reached the entrance of the Goron Village and Darunia.
"BROTHER! So good to see you!" Link braced himself as the herculean goron gave him a 'Goron Hug'.
"Nice to see...you too!" Link gasped as the big creature squeezed the air out of him. He endured it for a few seconds until Darunia finally put him down. "Can't possibly go into village without one of your Goron Hugs..." Link said sarcastically, rubbing his squashed arms to get the blood moving again.
"Well of COURSE not! Guess what, Brother? We've prepared a feast tonight in honor of you and the princess and her nanny visiting us! We haven't had one in such a long time, so we thought it would be a good idea."
"That sounds great!" Link said, perking up now that he felt healthy again. Even though gorons ate only rocks, they were quite good at cooking Hylain food. Zelda, Impa and Link followed the big Boss of Gorons into the Goron Village.
"You must have some more of my meat buns, Link!" A female goron shoved a plate full of steaming, delicious meatbuns in front of the Hylain. Though it was very tempting, he didn't take one.
"No, I'm stuffed! They look delicious, but if I eat any more I'll explode...thank you anyway, mam." Smiling, the goron went to go offer some to Zelda and Impa, not knowing that they were also full. Link yawned contentedly and looked around to see how many gorons were finished eating. It was somewhat hard to see in the dusty, large, torch-lit goron cave, but Link could see a few were still eating. He admired the artwork of gorons dancing carved and painted into the dirt wall beside him while he waited for the feast to end. After a dozen more minutes, every goron and Hylian, as well as the Sheikah woman, had eaten his or her fill, and all the leftover food was put away. The loud chatting died down as Darunia stood up on a tall rock for everyone to see.
"It had been a great pleasure to feed our guests tonight, who so graciously helped us with some remodeling of the village earlier today. Now it's time to party! Link, would you play some forest music for us, please?!" More than any other kind of music, gorons loved forest music. Darunia loved it most of all.
"Sure!" Link said, getting out his ocarina and sitting on a big rock. Zelda had brought her harp, and sat next to him to help since he had taught her Saria's Song (a forest song taught to Link by his friend Kokiri and Sage, Saria). As the two started playing the fast-paced song, every goron jumped up and started dancing, not able to resist the fun beat of Saria's Song. Impa pitched in by whistling the song loudly, and Darunia went into a tantrum-resembling frenzy of wild dancing.
"Ohhhhh yeaaaaaah! Hot, hot, hot!" The loud Goron Boss roared, jumping up and down and twisting in an unrestrained expression of his love for forest music. Soon the entire cave which made up Goron Village shook with the force of the heavy gorons jumping around and dancing. It was the most fun the Goron Tribe had had in a long time. The three music makers continued raising the pitch of the song and speeding it up, until Link could not hear himself think for the noise of dancing and music. The smell of goron sweat and dirt shaken loose slowly replaced the smell of food. As the gorons skipped and rolled in the torchlight and the music reached its maximum speed and volume, a deafening crash was heard and the cave was filled with blinding light.
Startled, the gorons stopped dancing and the Hylians and Sheikah stopped playing. The light dissapeared instantly and the cave was dark again for a few seconds. Then another loud crash was heard, and light spilled into the village for a second from the entrance. It was lightening and thunder.
"Quickly, gorons! We must roll our door rock into its place before our cave floods with rain!" Every goron started rolling up the many Goron Village paths up to the entrance, which was always open to the air and sky except when it rained. They all reached the top, followed by the slower Link, Zelda and Impa, and rolled a huge, circular rock into the gaping entrance to Goron Village. Lighting flashed angrily one last time before the big rock sealed the doorway. "That was close...we were so busy having fun we didn't even realize a storm was brewing!" Darunia kicked irritably at the mud under his feet created by the small amount of rain the had come in before the door was sealed. "I'm afraid you three will have to stay here tonight." Darunia said, turning apologetically to his three small guests. "Will your horses be alright?"
"Epona probably led the two white horses to Kakariko Village by now. The villagers know the horses belong to us, so they'll be fine." Zelda said.
"Well, we don't have any Hylain beds here...we gorons sleep on the ground! You'll have to sleep on some rugs I bought from Hyrule market, they're the softest things around here." The gorons put out all the torches to conserve oxygen, and, their fun ruined, everyone went to sleep. Link slept in Darunia's room on a soft rug, and the princess and Sheikah slept in a female Goron's room on their own soft rugs. It was cold, but eventually the whole village was sleeping.
"Brother, wake up." Darunia shook Link gently, and the warrior roused, yawning.
"Is it morning?" He asked, getting to his feet. Immediately he sensed it wasn't morning. Something was wrong.
"No, Brother. We have problems. It's almost dawn, and the storm has been raging all night! I don't know how it's possible, but water is leaking from behind our door rock. I don't want to wake up the entire village to push the rock farther into its hole, so can you help me do it? I know you're very strong with your gauntlets, Brother." Link nodded and followed the Goron Boss up to the door rock. He was right, small sprays of water from behind the rock were shooting water about. As Link put his hands on the rock to push it in further, it budged backwards an inch and more water came spraying more violently from behind it. "Hurry, Brother!" Darunia said urgently, pushing on the rock. Link also pushed, and the rock slid forward, cutting off some of the water sprays. Thunder growled indignantly outside, and the force of a flood started pushing the rock back toward Darunia and Link. Water sprayed strongly from behind it, and the two Sworn Brothers pushed harder. Pressurized water hissed loudly as it resisted getting cut off by the rock. The noise and moisture started waking up sleeping gorons.
"This is unbelievable! The Goron Village had never been truly threatened by a flood before!" Darunia shouted over the hissing. The more he and Link pushed on the rock, the stronger the water pressure became and the more water sprayed into the Goron Village. Desperately, Link and Darunia kept shoving the slippery rock, struggling with it for a few arduous minutes. By now, everyone had woken up and came sleepily over to watch Darunia and Link. The gorons, realizing the danger and coming fully awake, began to join Darunia and Link. The rock was forced back with the extra help, cutting off all but a few tiny streams of water. The inhabitants of the village heard the muffled thunder crash again, as if angry that water from its petulant storm was not getting in. The flood pushed on the rock with renewed force. The rock slid backwards on the muddy ground, forcing back Link and all the gorons! Water sprayed loudly forth again, it was a dangerous tug-of-war on which the fate of Goron Village rested.
"We can't hold it!!" Link shouted, shoving the rock harder than ever; to no avail.
"You're right, Brother! GORONS! GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROCK, QUICKLY!" Darunia yelled over the storm and rushing water. The gorons, Darunia, Zelda and Impa quickly moved to the sides of the rock so that if it and a ton of water burst forth, it wouldn't hit them. Link held the rock until everyone was out of its path.
"Link, get over here!" Impa yelled. Water was now violently gushing from behind the rock, but Link held on stubbornly.
"The Goron Village will take months to repair if it floods!" He yelled, his boots slipping in the mud.
"If you don't get out of the way, that rock will crush you! iMove it!/i" Link knew the Sheikah was right, but how could he possibly let the home of his great friends, the gorons, be destroyed? Impa jumped over to Link and grabbed him tightly by the waist, then sprang quickly out of the way as the door rock shot past, barely missing squashing her and Link. Water erupted explosively into the cave, ruining all the dirt passegeways and halls of the Groron Village that lay in its path. For nearly twenty minutes the cave was flooded, and everything was being slowly destroyed except the ledges on either side of the enctrance, on which stood all the gorons and their visitors. Soon the water flow lessened in intensity and the storm outside cleared up at a mysteriously fast rate. Silence reigned in the Goron Village, and the gorons stared down at their once beautiful cave, now nothing more than a mud pit.
"I'm sorry, Darunia..." Link said, breaking the oppressive silence.
"It wasn't your fault, Link..." Darunia said, staring sadly at the brown, wet, mess of a cave.
"Link, listen to me next time," Impa said, looking sternly at the Hylian. "You could have been killed by that rock, then this disaster would have been twice as bad. Be grateful everyone is still alive." Link nodded and thanked her for saving him. "Well, King Hyrule will be worrying about his daughter now. We had better go before he sends a search party."
"I'll stay here and help the gorons until tonight. I'll see you then." Link said, and Zelda and Impa left to go get their horses in Kakariko Village and return to the castle.
buSection 3
The Killer and the iAngel's Star/i/u/b
That night, Link, Impa, Zelda, Chain and Daphnes Hyrule had a talk about the aggressive storm. The King had already been told what happened at the Goron Village, so Link told him the Soku Tree's suspicions of the storm being an artificial one. The King told Link that no damage had been done to the castle, that the entire strom had seemed to be centered on Death Mountain. They agreed that the violent storm had definately not been natural, but no one had any idea who could have done it. The most powerful magic user Link knew was the Queen of Dragons, Sahoriel. Of course, Feelock had also been very powerful and also Ganondorf, but Link didn't think either of them could have possibly done it. Next to them there was Zelda, Coflix, and Saroe, but chances of them causing the storm were virtually nonexistant. That night, everyone went to bed perplexed.
As Link layed awake in his bed, listening to Chain's snoring, he once again searched his mind for a possibility of who could have caused the storm. The Three Godesses of the Triforce? Link didn't think so. Who would want to attack Hyrule Castle one week, and the gorons the next? It didn't make any sense. Slowly, weariness overtook Link, and he fell into deep, peaceful, sleep.
A barely audiable rustle was heard in Link's room, and imediately the warrior was awake, griping the Master Sword's hilt. He was sure he had heard something, but as he quickly scanned the room, he found it empty of all but himself and the sleeping Chain. Perhaps the noise had come from his brother, but Link didn't think so. It had sounded like it was coming from the window or the door leading out to the balcony, but they were closed and locked the way they had been left. Perhaps it had been Link's imagination. He paused for a few seconds in the dark room, listening. Then Link laid back down, unable to shake his gut feeling of being watched. He stayed awake and alert for another twenty minutes in the dark silence of his room, and nothing moved.
Just as his eyelids began to get heavy, his feeling of being watched and a feeling of another prescence flooded back into him with renewed force. He sat up, feeling, for the life of him, that there was another creature in his room...and an evil one. Link got up slowly, walking around and searching all of his room for an intruder. The door and window remained locked, and a glance outside told him nothing was there. There was also no one behind the dresser or under the beds. Link even looked out into the silent hallway. Nothing. No one. iWhy do I feel like this? I know someone is here, but there's no one... /iLink reluctantly returned to his bed. iAm I having a nightmare or something? This is rediculous! /iVexed, he laid down for the third time, eyes and ears open. After another dozen minutes he began to grow drowzy again. His eyes closed and he sighed tiredly. He heard the rustling sound again.
Instantly, a black thing jumped out from behind Link's bed (an area he had searched at least twice). The large, man-shaped thing landed right on the surprised Link before he could move, putting a cold hand on his neck to silence any noise that might warn his brother. As Link brought up the Master Sword to defend himself, the black thing put a large, painful slash in his arm and he dropped the sword. The faceless thing then brought the gleaming dagger, already tipped with some blood, over its head; ready to deal a killing blow with it. Link's yell never made it past his throat as the black assasin brought the dagger down.
Snorting as his sleep was disturbed, Chain yawned without opening his eyes. He heard some rustling in Link's bed, and, still half asleep, he partially opened his eyes and waited for them to focus. A large, black, man-shaped shadow monster was choking his brother and had a dagger poised over his face, only barely held off by both of the straining Hylain's hands. Chain closed his eyes numbly, still not realizing what was going on. Then it registered in his brain and he was imediately awake.
"Link!" He shouted, jumping out of bed and launching himself at the beast. He grabbed the monter's waist and yanked on it, but was not strong enough to pull it off the weakening Link or even budge it from its spot. Link's left arm shook with the effort of holding the dagger off and his right hand pointed to the Master Sword, lying on the ground next to his bed. The hand returned to its job of holding off the dagger and Link's face twisted in pain as the dagger got closer, despite both his hands' strength. He knew he was going to pass out from the monster's tight grip. Chain quickly grabbed the Master Sword and swung the heavy thing into the black assasin monster. The thing made no scream as its skin sizzled from the sword's light power and it was thrown off Link, to the floor. Gasping, Link gratefully took his sword from Chain and performed a jump slash on the black monster. This time the monster screamed, being cut from its inhuman shoulder all the way down to its shadowy legs.
"Who are you?!" Link demamded of the dying shadow beast.
"If you want to know, you must be rocked consistantly by blue to the southwest for seven days and meet a piece of green land..." The monster whispered. With that, the creature dissolved into black nothingness, leaving as mysteriously as it had appeared. Link looked back at Chain, confusion written all over both their faces.
"Thanks, Chain." Link said, shivering. He could still feel the cold of the shadow monster's body all over him.
"Any time, Link." Chain said, walking to and putting a hand over the shoulders of his brother. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I wonder what that creature meant..." Link memorized what the monster said, thinking maybe it was a riddle to lead him to whoever sent the assasin. Royal Guard soldiers burst into the dark room, too late for the action.
"I think it was talking about the Great Sea," Zelda said, walking alongside Link. The two of the and the King were going to greet a dragon and a calwot. A soldier had informed them that the two creatures were sitting patiently by the north entrance to Hyrule Castle.
"Yeah, that sounds about right. What do you think, Daphnes?" Link asked the King.
"I agree with Zelda. The 'green land' may be a mossy rock or forested island in the sea somewhere; probably to the southwest like the monster said," The King suggested.
"Wow, I never would have thought of that. Thanks, guys. I guess my only choice is to go to the ocean," Link said, thinking. "But what am I going to do if I don't have a boat?"
"I have a boat which is big enough to sail the ocean but can be controlled by one or two men. It was built long ago just in case the Royal Family might need it, and is in one of Hyrule Castle's storage rooms. You can use that, Link." Daphnes said, smiling.
"Thank you. Maybe if I ask very nicely a dragon will help me carry it to the ocean."
"Perhaps." The three reached the north entrance to the castle and stepped outside, to meet the dragon and calwot. The dragon was a mountain dragon, about as big as four houses. He had smooth, shining green scales, and large off-white horns curved like a ram's. He had tough, yellow belly scales and iridescent blue wings. The calwot was a dark reddish-brown male with the familiar feathery black wings.
"bGreetings, King Hyrule./b" The dragon said, and he and his companion bowed. "bI am Scal-zer, and this is Dhimun. We come to talk to you about the recent storms/b."
"What is it you would say?" The King asked.
"We have some information for you," Dhimun said, his bright green eyes on Daphnes. "Queen Saroe and King Coflix say that these past two storms were the work of a powerful magic user. The Queen also said that she smelled calwot magic and foul purpose in the targeted storms. The storms were obviously meant to harm one person. Who was at the castle a week ago and at the Goron Village the night before last?"
"Me and Link and Impa were there..." Zelda said, wondering which one of them the storms were targeting.
"bIt was most likely one of you, then/b." Scal-zer muttered. "bIt wasn't one of the calwots in Catalin or a dragon...does anyone have any idea who it could be/b?"
"Feelock has not been seen since he exiled himself from Catalin," Dhimun said, "Maybe it was him?"
"I thought he turned over a new leaf. Why would he do this?" Link pondered.
"Wait, I remember Coflix said he could tell that the storm spell was not cast from within the Stalfos Swords. If it was Feelock, he must have left them for some reason." Dhimun said, crouching down and scratching behind his right ear with his back footpaw. Link told the calwot about the black monster he had encountered last night, and asked if that could have been done by calwot magic.
"No, definately not. That kind of monster can only be created by black magic, and calwots have none of that," The cat said, still scratching. Link wondered if the storms and the assasin were linked at all. "Sorry, but that is all the information I have," Dhimun said quietly.
"bAnd I, also. All Sahoriel and Cirokaal said was that the storms were not done by dragon magic./b" Scal-zer said, "bWe just came to tell what we could and offer any assistance you might need, as new additions to Hyrule./b" Link wondered just how many races were now a part of Hyrule. iThere's Hylians, Sheikah, Gerudos, zoras, gorons, dekus, Kokiris, fairies, swamp fairies, dragons, calwots, griffons and sea griffons../i.It seemed like Hyrule had expanded quite a lot through friendships in the last year or so.
"Thank you for your information." King Hyrule said. "There are two ways you can help. Scal-zer, if you would be so kind, Link needs help with getting a boat over Ganon's Swamp to the Great Sea. Dhimun, the gorons need help rebuilding their village. Parhaps you could go over there and lend your paws along with the soldiers we already sent?"
"Certainly." Dhimun said, standing.
"bI will also aid the gorons after I have helped Link with his boat./b" Scal-zer offered.
"That's very kind of you." Zelda said, "I'm sure they will need all the help they can get, even with the zoras and Hylian soldiers helping them." Dhimun bowed and bid the three Hylians and dragon farewell, then flew off in the direction of the Goron Village.
"Link, I know you like doing everything yourself, but I want you to take at least on experienced Royal Guard member with you. Two heads are always better than one, you know." King Hyrule looked at Link seriously.
"But Daphnes...I suspect these storms were targeting me! I could survive pretty well if the ship is destroyed in a violent storm, but another soldier might not." Link said, equally serious.
"Nonsense. Sohran, the Secondary Captain of the Royal Guard, is going with you. You take far too many risks on you own."
"I'm only concerned for his safety...I think I can handle this without dragging another man into it."
"Link, you are truly the Hero of Time..." Daphnes looked at Link, admiring the way he was always concerned for others' safety before his own. "I think this kingdom might be doomed if anything happened to you. That is why I insist you have someone to watch over you on your journey." Link frowned, knowing this was a disagreement he was not going to win.
"Alright..." Link said, sighing and hoping Sohran would not be harmed on the adventure. Link had learned about controlling ships and sailing, but he didn't think Sohran had any idea about it.
"Can I go, father?" Zelda asked, knowing the answer.
"No."
"But I never get to go-"
"No."
"Please-"
"No!"
Link and Sohran waved as Scal-zer flew away, slowly dissappearing into the haze hanging over the shore. The small ship the King had given Link and Sohran was about thirty feet long and had two masts. It had square sales which were very good for fast sailing but small enough to be opened and closed by two men. In the middle of the deck, just behind the center mast, there was a one-room cabin with two beds. The deck had two levels, one smaller and higher level which the steering wheel was on, and a lower level that held the masts, cabin, a small boat, and the anchor. A month's worth of food and water for two men along with extra ropes and sails were stored belowdecks with a few other things. The figurehead of the sturdy ship, named iThe Angel's Star/i, was a singing angel.
"Let's get going, Sohran." Link said, smiling over at him. The twenty-year-old, short blonde-haired warrior nodded. Sohran looked slightly different than the last time Link had seen him. Most of his hair was very short, but in the front it was grown out and a long piece partially covered one eye. Link thought it looked cool, but most older Hylians probably didn't. The two men climbed up the masts and loosed the sails. Sohran then took the steering wheel, guided to the southwest by Link and his compass. Wind was favorable, and the ship sped to the northeast. Link smiled as the relative wind blew back his bangs. He was very excited about going someplace new.
"This is going to be a lot of fun, eh, Link?" Sohran asked, smiling as well. He had been wanting to get out of the castle for a long time.
"I hope so. It would be a real bummer if a storm hit, but let's not talk about that. I don't want to jinx it, if you believe in that kind of thing," Link said.
"Do you have any idea who we're looking for, on this 'green land'?" The short-haired Hylian asked.
"Well, so far all the information I have is that the stroms were created by a calwot but the assasin was not," Link began, "Because of this, I doubt it could be Feelock, but the possibility can't be discarded. I don't know if the one we're looking for on the 'green land' is even linked with the storm at all. Hopefully we'll find out in a week; that's how long the shadow creature said we were to be on the ocean."
"Well, that's strange. We don't even know who we're looking for? This will be interesting indeed." iThe Angel's Star/i made good time for the rest of the day. When nighttime aproached, Sohran slept for eight hours while Link kept the ship on course, then Link slep for eight hours while he steered. Link awoke next morning to a still boat.
"Good morning! Well, sort of...the wind died down a few hours ago." Link sat up and yawned.
"That's okay. The ocean is never windless for very long. We'll just have to wait until it starts up again." He said.
"And be bored to death until then." Sohran said, sitting down on the deck.
"Not necessarily," Link said with a smile. "I brought a couple of fishing poles. Even though we have plenty of food, maybe we can fish for fun to pass the time. You know, see who can catch the biggest fish."
"That sounds like fun," Sohran said, grinning. Link went belowdecks and retrieved two fishing poles. He had bought them a while ago from the fisherman at Lake Hylia. He had payed an outrageous price of 750 rupees each, but he had plenty of money and didn't worry about it. Link baited them both and gave one to Sohran, and the two of them casted and sat down, waiting for a bite.
"So, how are things going for you lately, Link?" Sohran asked after a while.
"Other than the storms and black monster, fine. I met a new friend three days ago called the Soku Tree. He was pretty nice." Link said, stretching his legs out comfortably.
"That's good. New friends are always great. I met a new troop of Hyrule Army soldiers two days ago. All were nice except this annoying guy named Fanod who acted like he was the king of the world..."
"Well, there's always going to be people who are hard to get along with. I'm glad you're not one of them or this trip would be very unpleasant. I don't know you very well, but you seem to be a nice guy." Link said. Sohran was quiet for a moment, enjoying a brief gust of cool, sea wind on his face.
"Thanks, you too. Hey, why don't we get to know eachother a little better? Tell about our past and such, you know." Sohran suggested.
"Alright. You go first, then." Link said, looking over at him. Link noted that he was no longer wearing the Royal Armor he had worn yesterday and the day before. He wore a grey tunic, embroidered with a few silver triforces.
"Okay...My dad is a retired soldier and my mom's a seamstress. I have one older sister who had a jewelery store and two younger brothers who aren't quite old enough to join the Royal Guard yet. I joined the Royal Guard when I was eleven, the earliest age you can join. Ever since then I've trained hard and lived in the barracks. That is until Ganon took over, then I lived in Kakariko until he was defeated. I got second place in the Warrior Contest for the first time when I was fifteen, and became second in command two years ago, after a successful campaign against some of Ganon's minions. I have a girlfriend named Jayes, who's nineteen and lives in Kakariko Village. I used to have a horse my father gave me, but he died right after I became second in command. That's pretty much it."
"Sounds interesting." Link said thoughtfully. Sohran gave him a look that clearly stated he was more interested in Link's past. Though Link hated to talk about himself, he began. "Well, My mom and dad are dead, and I was raised as a Kokiri until I was eight. All the Kokiris were nice to me except Mido and his friends, but I forgive them. Shortly after my eighth birthday, Ganondorf cursed my adopted father, the great Deku Tree, and he died after giving me the Kokiri Emerald. That was when I met Navi, I don't know where she is now, and left to meet Princess Zelda."
"Wow, you two go way back." Sohran said, listening interestedly.
"I collected all the spiritual stones and got the Master Sword from the Temple of Time. The temple sealed me for seven years while Ganondorf stole the Triforce of Power and turned Hyrule into a world of monsters. After the temple released me, I met Sheik and Epona, freed the six sages, and along with them fought Ganondorf. As you know, he was sealed in the sacred realm. I moved into the castle and was Zelda's bodyguard until Impa returned and I found my brother, Chain. He's my only blood family now."
"Wow, your life must have been very stressful...hey, do you mean to tell me you're really only eight years old?!"
"Eh...well, sort of...I did mature in the Temple of Time, even though I wasn't awake..."
"Whoa, the Hero of Time has only been in this world for eight years...incredible! You're really awesome to acomplish so much in eight years. I really admire you!"
"Oh cut it out...you're embarassing me...I'm not that great!" Link said, his face getting red with the flood of compliments.
"Stop being so modest! I can tell why the godesses chose you to be the Hero, man. Eight years old..." Sohran chuckled a bit. Link didn't know what to say, and luckily the akward silence was broken by a tug on his line.
"Got one!" Link jumped up and tugged on his pole to secure the hook. He then reeled in his line.
"I bet it's a big one..." Sohran said, standing up to watch. It was not very hard to reel in the fish, and as the line came up over the side of the ship, Link frowned. His fish was the size of a Deku Nut. Both men laughed at their own anticipation for the tiny creature, and Link quickly let it go and rebaited his line. The Hylians resumed their spots on the side of the cabin. In a few minutes the wind started to blow slightly. The men knew it would be a short time before it got strong enough to sail again. Then, Sohran's line got a tug.
"Heheh, my turn," Sohran said, and gave a sharp yank to his pole to secure the hook. He then jumped up and started to reel in the line. At first it was easy, and both Hylians expected another puny fish. Then there was a very strong and sudden pull on the line, strong enough to pull Sohran to the railing of the ship and nearly make him drop the pole. He held on, tightening his grip on the pole, and reeled hard.
"Need some help there, Sohran?" Link asked.
"Naw, let me fight him. If he's big enough that I can't reel him in, he deserves to stay in the sea!" Sohran declared, reeling harder against the increasing resistance. The line got tighter and began to pull Sohran, and he had to hold on to the rail and reel in his line at the same time. "This one's going to be huge, but it won't get away!" Sohran grinned. Then the fish on the other end gave an unexpected yank of incredible strength. Sohran went sailing over the railing of the ship, belatedly letting go of the rod as he plunged into the sea.
"Sohran!" Link ran to the rail and leaned over, trying to spot the man overboard. Sohran surfaced moments later, grimacing unhappily.
"Drat, he was bigger than I thought, I guess." Sohran said, patting the side of his head to get water out of his pointy ears. Suddenly, a geyser of water erupted from the sea right next to Sohran, and a huge, great white shark surfaced, crushing the comparitivaly tiny fishing pole in its huge, gaping jaws. Link could have sworn he saw Sohran's eyes bulge to an unnatural size as the terrifyingly big shark clamped its teeth in an ugly grin, splinters flying everywhere. "Whaaaaaah!" Sohran screamed, swimming as fast as his arms could take him away from the shark. Angered by the tiny hook stabbing into its gums, the shark persued this tasty-looking new food source. Link quickly jumped overboard, onto the back of the shark.
The shark took off, easily gliding through the water with its fins. It would already have reached the slower Sohran, if it didn't have an annoying Hylian clinging to it's dorsal fin. Link held on tightly, but could feel his fingers sliding off the slippery scales of the shark. iWhat can I do? If I release even one hand to grab my dagger, I'll definately fall off. If I just stay here, the shark will definately catch Sohran!/i At least Link didn't have to worry about putting his Zora Tunic on, because the shark's dorsal fin stayed above water while he persued Sohran, who was still swimming as fast as humanly possible. The Impatient shark clenched and unclenched its jaws in anticipation, its tough teeth clashing loudly each time. The snapping maw was getting closer and closer to Sohran. Link knew if the unfortunate Hylian was caught in those teeth, he would be swiftly crushed and torn apart like a limp doll. The shark's clashing teeth gave Link an idea.
"You like biting, shark?!" Link chomped down on the shark's tender dorsal fin, biting it painfully hard. Link had never heard a shark yell before, but this one let out a beastly screetch. The frightened shark threw Link off, and cringing in pain from the caustic bite, it swam away. A cold wind blew over Link and he shivered. Shark fin tasted nasty. Breathing raggedly, Sohran stopped swimming and turned to Link, who was spitting out the salty, sour taste of shark fin.
"Thank you." He said, swimming over to him. "That was really close." Link finished spitting and spoke.
"You're welcome, but I hope I never have to bite a shark again!" The whole idea of biting a shark was pretty ludicrous, and, ignoring the cold wind that had suddenly sprung up, the both men burst out laughing. "Well, we had better get back to the ship..." Link and Sohran turned to look at their ship. It was sailing away.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going? You can't leave without us!" Shouting callow pleas for the ship to slow down, Link took off swimming after it.
"Wait for us, you stinking ship! Come baaack!" Sohran followed Link, both swimming as fast as their tired bodies would take them. They were gaining on the ship, but the ship was slowly gaining speed.
"Stoooop!" Link yelled, practically flying through the water with Sohran right behind him.
"It's speeding up, Link! We'll never catch it!" Sohran yelled, trying to swim faster.
"It's alright! If we can just get it within range of my hookshot, we'll be fine!" Shoving their way through the cold, salty water, Link and Sohran got a little closer to the ship. "Hold on to me!" Link said, and Sohran held onto his waist firmly. Link took out the longshot and its chain sprang forth, barely reaching the ship. The hook stuck in the railing, and Sohran clung to Link as the two were yanked to the ship. Sohran climbed over the side, and helped Link up. They bent over for a minute, panting to catch their breath, grinning at eachother.
"That...was fun!" Link said between breaths. Sohran nodded, and as soon as the two had recovered they checked the direction of the ship. To their amazement, the strong cold wind was blowing in exactly the right direction! The iAngel's Star/i practically flew over the waves, making great time. For a quarter of a day, the two companions chatted amiably as their ship carried them to the southwest. Link usually wasn't particularly talkative, but he found that Sohran was a nice and interesting person, so the two talked about a lot of things. By midafternoon, some dark-looking clouds were gathering overhead, and Link couldn't help feel a sense of foreboding. Link could tell the clouds were very small and unthreatening looking as they approached, but he recalled how the two very violent storms had sprung out of nowhere. The Angle's Star could withstand an ordinary storm, but if a storm of the same unbridled fury as the last two struck, they didn't stand a ghost of a chance.
buSection 4
Lightening and the Kaisokah/u/b
Thunder rumbled lowly in the clouds, which were sprinkling rain over the ocean and the iAngle's Star/i. For nearly three hours, water had been lightly dripping from the heavens onto the world of water below. It seemed like a normal storm. Link and Sohran were sitting on deck, maintaining a straight course and enjoying the cool rain. They were not worried about the water-resistant deck. Though it made the deck more slippery and flammable, a substance had been put on it to keep moisture out of the wood.
"Well, this is pleasant," Link said, turning his face to the skies. "I really like rain, when there isn't too much of it."
"Me too." Sohran agreed, brushing his wet hair out of his face. Link stretched, it was about time for him to retire. "Well, I'd better go to bed, Sohran. See you in the morning." Just as Link stood up to go into the cabin, a white flash of lightening zapped the ocean, not half a mile away from the ship. Link turned slowly to Sohran. "That didn't look too safe. Since the wind isn't blowing consistantly southwest anymore, maybe we better throw down the anchor and stay in the cabin."
"You're right. That lightening was awful close; it would be safer in the cabin," Sohran concurred. Link and Sohran walked to the side of the ship and hefted the large anchor, throwing it over the side. It sunk and stopped the motion of the ship, and the two companions went to lower the sails. Before they got more than a few feet, a large and frighteningly loud bolt of lightening struck 30 yards away from the starboard side of the ship, lighting the waves eerily for a split second with its extreme voltage. The rain and freezing wind picked up instantly, and Link's worst fear was confirmed. A large storm had sprung from a complacent one in a matter of seconds.
"We have to get the sails down, quick! If those are ruined by the wind and lightening, we'll be stranded out here!" Link yelled over the fridged wind howling in his ears. Rain came down in sheets as Link and Sohran dashed to the smaller of the two masts. They quickly scaled the mesh connected to the crosspiece and climbed to the ends of the crosspiece. Together, they pulled up the sail and tied it in place. A lightening bolt suddenly struck the side of the ship, jolting the ship and causing both Link and Sohran to fall to the deck. The bolt also warmed up and instantly dried the point on the ship it hit, lighting a small fire. Link, a bit bruised but not really hurt, jumped up and tore his soaked hat off, running over to the fire and putting it out with the hat. Sohran, scrambling to keep his footing in the slippery water, ran to the center mast and began climbing the mesh. Another lightening bolt struck the steering wheel of the ship, igniting it instantly. Grumbling, Link ran over to the fair-sized fire, not exactly knowing how he was going to put it out since his hat, back on his head, was far too small. The bolt had not shaken the ship much, so Sohran had not fallen and was already pulling up a piece of sail; thinking: iMaybe, just maybe we can survive this storm if we get the sails up and grab the blankets from below to put fires out.../i
But the fires were not the only problems of the iAngel's Star/i. The ocean had become very choppy, and a particularly huge wave crashed into the ship. It put out the fire on the wheel, but also swept Sohran and Link right off their feet. After being slammed into the railing rather hard, Link got up, looking around for Sohran. There was no sign of him.
"Sohran!" Link yelled very loudly. He heard a faint reply and ran to the middle of the rocking ship. Leaning over the railing, he spotted Sohran hanging tightly onto a stray rope. Link swiftly hauled the weary Hylian back over the side of the ship. Then another big wave hit, coming from the opposite side of the first one. Yelling, both warriors were roughly shoved across the deck and into the opposite railing, the hard impact nearly breaking it. Link knew it was only a matter of time before the ship was either turned over by a big wave or set completely alight by a bolt of lightening. There might have been a chance of survival earlier, but it was gone now. Staggering to their feet, Link and Sohran tried vainly to get to the mast in the middle of the bucking ship. Unfortunately, a furious bolt of lightening zapped the mast at that moment, and the two partners heard wood cracking as the force of the bolt weakened the wood. It was a miracle the whole thing didn't go up in flames as the electricity zigzagged all the way down to the bottom and to the side of the mast, exploding into the corner of the cabin. Closing his eyes against the light of the sparks, Link missed the two-foot-long cabin splinter flying towards him.
"Link, iwatch it/i!" Sohran slammed into Link, making both of them lose their footing. On the way down, Sohran flinched as the sharp shard of wood grazed his back, giving it a pianful laceration all the way across. Link got the breath knocked out of him from getting slammed to the ground with a 190-pound Hylian on his back, but knew why Sohran had done it. iSohran just saved my life! I saw that splinter too late and it would have gone right through me./i
"Thanks, Sohran." Link said, quickly getting too his feet and helping Sohran up, taking special care not to be rough with his back. A violent wave slammed into the lower aft of the ship, hurling the two men forward and separating them. They got up as quickly as possible, though fatigue was starting to set in from the beating they and their vessel were taking. They tried one last futile time to get to the center mast as the sea, preturbed by their prescence, tossed the boat to the side. Link managed to grab the railing, but Sohran was slammed up against the center mast by the force of a large wave. The Hylains knew they were finished when a hot, explosive, jagged line of electricity slammed into the center mast a second time. The sail and mast were instantly flaming, and the base of the mast cracked and toppled in a shower of sparks. Link shielded his eyes from the heat of the blazing mast crashing into the cabin. Both were anihilated. iSohran's in that mess of flames!/i Link realized, the caustic thought driving him forward.
Not seeing his friend on one side of the flaming pile of debris, Link sprinted over to the other side, slipping twice and getting singed by the flames licking at the dark, cloudy sky. Link reached the other side and found Sohran there, struggling to get out from under a colapsed, burning side of the cabin. Grabbing hold of his upper arms, Link pulled Sohran out, ignoring the heat of the fire, which, though diminished a bit by the rain, was still intense. He didn't even have time to think about putting on his flame-resistant tunic. During a few seconds where the ship was steady, Link pulled Sohran to the railing, away from the flames.
"Sohran, are you okay?! Say something!" Groaning, Sohran tried to get to his feet and failed miserably.
"Link, I can't feel my back but the rest of my body feels like it's being stabbed with knives..." Link noticed that there was a few pencil-sized splinters sticking out of Sohran's skin. Before he could do anything about it, two lightening bolts fell from the furious heavens. One lit up the sea behind the ship, and the other struck the right middle deck. The bolt was extremely powerful, and literally broke the ship in half. The two sides of the deck held onto eachother by mere planks, which would soon be destroyed. Link and Sohran's only option was to abandon the ship. Link frantically looked around for the small ship that had been on deck, and spotted its simmering remains amidst the flaming pile of wood in the middle of the broken ship. Link then looked in the sea and found a large floating piece of wood that was not on fire. As the ship began sinking into the water, Link picked up Sohran and jumped overboard. Link then began pulling himself and Sohran onto the floating, pathetic excuse for a raft as the last remains of the iAngel's Star/i dissapeared beneath the maliciously tossing waves. Link and Sohran were only about half way onto the raft when a final, cruel piece of electricity rained down, striking the water nearby. The waves lit up brilliantly, but Link's world tumbled into darkness as the searing volts tore trough his body.
Hey there . thanks very much for reading. While I'm blabbing your ear off I want to mention a cool person who is my best reader and had a very cool story of thier own. Please check out StoryWeaver1's nice Zelda fanfic. Don't worry, it wont take forever to read like mine -.-' You'll like it, ITS COOL! Say, wondering what kaisokah means? You'll just have to read the next chapter :D bye now
By: Sonnet A.K.A. Talonclawfange
( E-mail me at Talonofdayyahoo.com, but not if you're going to give me sick advertisements! I DONT WANT THEM!! I'M ONLY 16! Just feedback, please.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Hyrule, Link, Epona, Zelda, or anything else from Shigeru Miamoto and Nintendo's genius video game: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I wrote this story in dedication to them, since it's from the best video game of all time, created by them. Oh yeah, and Kai-ten-giri belongs to Akira Himekawa who wrote some totally awsome Zelda manga. The only things I own are the Soku Tree, Chain, Sohran, Calwots and all other things not in the original video game (so don't use em' without asking me and putting that I thought them up). I also wrote this because I like reading, drawing, and, recently, writing fantasy (all talents are given to me by God, so all credit goes to him as well). I think Link is really cool - Good job, Miyamoto!
Note: bThis story is separated into two parts because it is so long! /b The first part is 40 pages long and the second is 43. This story takes place after my other stories, which are: The Problem of the Swamp Fairies, Duels and Dragons, Hunt for the Dragonlord, The War of the Kings, and The Song of the Siren's Shell, so you probably want to read them first or you'll be a little confused. It's somewhere between PG and PG-13, there's no sexual themes or foul language, but there's violence and blood. There's a bit of drinking, but only the bad guys do it and it clearly shows that alcohol makes you stupid, so it's not like I'm glorifying it, in fact I'm showing it SUCKS! Still, the alcohol will be removed by request if it bothers anyone. bEnjoy!/b
biPart One/i/b
ubSection 1
The Soku Tree's Water/b/i
Sighing peacefully, Link sat down against the huge side of the tree called the Elder Tree (the huge tree in the middle of Royal Field in North Hyrule). The soft grass under him was still cold and wet from dew, but he didn't care. He relaxed all his muscles as he waited for the sun to rise, but was careful not to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. While he waited, he remembered his conversation a week ago with the Deku Tree Sprout.
"iWell, if Navi was just exploring the forest, she would have at least come back and checked up with me by now,"/i The stubby little tree had said. i"She's been gone for months. I don't know how to explain it; I'm sorry, Link."/i These words had worried Link greatly. What had happened to his fairy partner? He hadn't seen her since they went their seperate ways in the Temple of Time. iNavi....are you lost? I really wish I could talk to you, I miss you! /iHe hung his head, wishing that somehow she could hear his thoughts. After that meeting with the tree, Link had put the Master Sword into its pedestal and turned into a child again. He figured that sinse he had parted ways with Navi as a child, he might have more luck looking for her in that time. He had gotten Epona (still a foal) and travled deep into the lost woods looking for his fairy. He had experienced a strange thing there...he had gone on an adventure in Termania, a worl parallel to Hyrule. He had saved the land and gained a lot of masks (some quite poweful) but had not found Navi. When he went to get his sword back and become an adult again he also found out that no time had passed while he was in Termania and his masks could not be worn as an adult. Is was as if he had gained nothing in Hyrule. He was very happy at being able to help Termania but Navi remained missing.
Link felt light on his face and looked up to see the beautiful sun slowly emerging from behind the hilly horizon. The cold, wet air of early morning and hazy, thin mist were dispelled by the rising sun's warmth. The formerly dark, starry sky began to brighten, turning various shades of yellow, pink and orange. So pretty...Link thought. Link didn't know why he loved to watch surises and sunsets so much. He supposed that for some reason he liked to pause and admire nature more than most people, and beauty comforted him when trials were tugging down his spirits. As the sun detatched from the horizon and flung its bright paint onto the clouds above, Link closed his eyes against the glare. iAs soon as possible, I'll search the Lost Woods for her. That's the only place I can think of that Navi would be right now, in this time or any other. Or maybe she's found a new companion and is traveling around far away. The Deku Tree said fairies only have one companion, but I suppose it's possible that they could have two.../isomehow Link doubted it. The logical side of his mind told him she could have found a new partner after leaving, but the other side said it just wasn't so. It just couldn't happen. She was in the forest, or exploring, or maybe....iMaybe she's trapped somewhere, in danger and needing my help..../iLink brushed away the pessimistic thought. He would not let it back into his head unless every other possibility was proved wrong, he resolved.
Link waited for the sun to slip behind a low cloud before he could open his eyes. While his eyes were closed he slipped into deep thought about everything he knew about fairies. He had learned quite a lot from having one follow him around. Navi had usually been kind and helpful but familiarity breeds contention; like a time when they argued about....
"Link, is it thee?" Link was startled out of his thoughts by a very near voice. It sounded like the voice of a man in his middle years, not young and not old. Link jumped up and looked around, wondering how he could have possibly let someone sneak up on him. "Do not be alarmed, look behind thee!" Perplexed, Link turned around and looked at the tree he had been sitting against and did a double-take. The formerly faceless tree somehow had a face! It was right in the middle of the trunk, like the Deku Tree's had been before he died, but this tree didn't look quite as old. Link stared up into the brownish-grey bark face.
"Ah, it is thee, Hero of Time. I have been wanting to meet thee ever since the great Deku Tree told me of thee. Like the owl Kaepora Gaebora, I was a friend of the Deku Tree. I am the Soku Tree, it is a pleasure to meet thee!" Link had recovered from his initial shock; it was certainly not unusual for him to talk to trees, after all.
"Nice to meet you too, great Soku Tree," Link said, with a slight bow. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"There is, Hero, but to understand I must first tell thee something. Dost thou remember the great storm that took place not long ago? That storm was not natural, it was induced by a great and evil power. The storm caused the clouds to release their moisture early, therefore there was too much water in the soil. I absorbed the usual amount but the rest dried up and now there is no natural storm to replace the ground's wetness. The grass around thee is not afected, for the morning dew is sufficient to keep it living. The dew is much too meager for a giant old tree like I, and my delicate balance of moisture is being disturbed. Will thou not bring me some water from the lake to repair my balance, Link?" Link thought a moment about what he had just been told. An induced storm? Who could have enough power to induce a storm so big? That strom's lightening had struck the castle several times, and the damage had taken a few days and many men's labor to fix. A Royal Dragon might possibly have the power to conjure a storm like that, but they obviously had a respect for nature's balance.
"I would be glad to, Soku Tree. Anything for the friend of the great old Deku Tree..." Link trailed off, missing his huge mentor and parent. "How much do you need?"
"Three hundred gallons would be sufficient." Link's jaw dropped.
"Three hundred? How am I ever going to carry that over here?" He then remembered he had the golden gauntlets. Three hundred gallons would be extremely heavy, but Link knew the gauntlets could help him carry it. If he needed extra assistance, there was always Epona.
"This should help thee," The Soku Tree said, and his upper branched rustled about. After a few moments, a large, water-tight basket made of interwoven Soku leaves floated down. "These leaves are able to bear three hundred gallons. Luck be with thee! I know a Hylian of your calibur can complete this task." Link nodded and got out the Ocarina of Time. He then played Epona's song and the magical notes echoed far, to the ears of Link's faithful horse. She came speeding to him imediately, and Link mounted her.
"To the Lucky Lake in the Ethereal Forest, please!" Link said, patting Epona's side. With that, the horse sped off like a bullet to the lake, Link tagging along the giant basket of leaves while riding. In a matter of minutes, they arrived. Link had named the lake Lucky Lake because a while ago, Epona had been thrown by a huge dragon into the Ethereal Forest. She would have died if she hadn't luckily landed in the small lake. Link got off Epona and managed to fill the leaf basket with water. However, when he tried to lift it he found the thing was too big to carry with two hands, so he put part of it on Epona's back. "Okay... steady, girl! We have to get this back to the Soku Tree without spilling it." Epona seemed to understand, and kept pace with Link as he walked back onto Royal Field. At the slow rate they had to walk, it took about half an hour to get back to the tree. The Soku Tree saw them coming and loudly greeted Link. He didn't know Epona had never seen a giant talking tree with a face.
"Ack, no, Epona!" With a loud snort of fear, Epona bucked and bolted away from the strange, loud tree. The water in the basket fell right on Link, soaking him. He sat on the ground, glaring irritably at his horse. The Soku couldn't help chuckling a bit. "Get over here, Epona..." Ashamed, but not too ashamed, Epona trotted over to Link and started nuzzling his head. "Oh, trying to butter me up, eh?" Epona then licked Link's hair, giving him a nice, big cow lick shaped like a tidal wave and knocking his hat off. The Soku Tree laughed out loud, and Epona neighed, bobbing her head up and down as if laughing. "Oh, stop it!" Link comlpained.
After some hair fixing and another half an hour, Link and Epona returned with more water. Carefully, they dumped it all around the Soku Tree evenly. Link then sat down tiredly on the wet grass, and Epona sat next to him.
"Thank thee, Link and Epona. Thou hast been of great assistance to me. I have something for thee, Link." Once again the tree's upper branches started rustling, but this time a small, beetle-sized leaf fell onto Link's lap. It was stiff and shiny, and had some intricate gold writing on it that Link could not read. "This belongs to my sister, the great Cosu Tree. She dwells in a place far away from here, across many waters. If you ever make her acquaintence, give it to her; she will surely be very grateful to thee and give thee something useful. I'm sorry I do not have anything better for thee."
"That's all right. It wasn't much trouble anyway, right, Epona?" His horse snorted and shook her head.
"I have nearly forgotten! I must reward thee too, noble Epona." The tree shook some branches and three, big, juicy apples fell to ground in front of Epona. They were only visible for several seconds before Epona eagerly gobbled them up. She nodded at the tree, as if to say 'thank you'.
"Well Soku Tree, it's been nice meeting you, but I have to be on my way to the gorons soon. But before I leave, I have a question." Link said, getting to his feet.
"What is thy question, Hero?" The tree inquired.
"Do you know who made the induced storm? It could be a real problem if another one happened."
"I am sorry, but I do not know who or what made that terrible storm."
"Oh well, thanks anyways. I'll see you again sometime." Epona stood up and Link mounted her, then they rode away to Hyrule Castle to pick up Zelda and Impa.
buSection 2
Mud Pit/u/b
Darunia smiled broadly as he watched the three riders dimount their horses at the bottom of the mountain. Link, Impa and Zelda then climbed up the mointain, destroying a few tektites (large, four-legged arachnid-looking creatures) on the way. In a couple minutes, they reached the entrance of the Goron Village and Darunia.
"BROTHER! So good to see you!" Link braced himself as the herculean goron gave him a 'Goron Hug'.
"Nice to see...you too!" Link gasped as the big creature squeezed the air out of him. He endured it for a few seconds until Darunia finally put him down. "Can't possibly go into village without one of your Goron Hugs..." Link said sarcastically, rubbing his squashed arms to get the blood moving again.
"Well of COURSE not! Guess what, Brother? We've prepared a feast tonight in honor of you and the princess and her nanny visiting us! We haven't had one in such a long time, so we thought it would be a good idea."
"That sounds great!" Link said, perking up now that he felt healthy again. Even though gorons ate only rocks, they were quite good at cooking Hylain food. Zelda, Impa and Link followed the big Boss of Gorons into the Goron Village.
"You must have some more of my meat buns, Link!" A female goron shoved a plate full of steaming, delicious meatbuns in front of the Hylain. Though it was very tempting, he didn't take one.
"No, I'm stuffed! They look delicious, but if I eat any more I'll explode...thank you anyway, mam." Smiling, the goron went to go offer some to Zelda and Impa, not knowing that they were also full. Link yawned contentedly and looked around to see how many gorons were finished eating. It was somewhat hard to see in the dusty, large, torch-lit goron cave, but Link could see a few were still eating. He admired the artwork of gorons dancing carved and painted into the dirt wall beside him while he waited for the feast to end. After a dozen more minutes, every goron and Hylian, as well as the Sheikah woman, had eaten his or her fill, and all the leftover food was put away. The loud chatting died down as Darunia stood up on a tall rock for everyone to see.
"It had been a great pleasure to feed our guests tonight, who so graciously helped us with some remodeling of the village earlier today. Now it's time to party! Link, would you play some forest music for us, please?!" More than any other kind of music, gorons loved forest music. Darunia loved it most of all.
"Sure!" Link said, getting out his ocarina and sitting on a big rock. Zelda had brought her harp, and sat next to him to help since he had taught her Saria's Song (a forest song taught to Link by his friend Kokiri and Sage, Saria). As the two started playing the fast-paced song, every goron jumped up and started dancing, not able to resist the fun beat of Saria's Song. Impa pitched in by whistling the song loudly, and Darunia went into a tantrum-resembling frenzy of wild dancing.
"Ohhhhh yeaaaaaah! Hot, hot, hot!" The loud Goron Boss roared, jumping up and down and twisting in an unrestrained expression of his love for forest music. Soon the entire cave which made up Goron Village shook with the force of the heavy gorons jumping around and dancing. It was the most fun the Goron Tribe had had in a long time. The three music makers continued raising the pitch of the song and speeding it up, until Link could not hear himself think for the noise of dancing and music. The smell of goron sweat and dirt shaken loose slowly replaced the smell of food. As the gorons skipped and rolled in the torchlight and the music reached its maximum speed and volume, a deafening crash was heard and the cave was filled with blinding light.
Startled, the gorons stopped dancing and the Hylians and Sheikah stopped playing. The light dissapeared instantly and the cave was dark again for a few seconds. Then another loud crash was heard, and light spilled into the village for a second from the entrance. It was lightening and thunder.
"Quickly, gorons! We must roll our door rock into its place before our cave floods with rain!" Every goron started rolling up the many Goron Village paths up to the entrance, which was always open to the air and sky except when it rained. They all reached the top, followed by the slower Link, Zelda and Impa, and rolled a huge, circular rock into the gaping entrance to Goron Village. Lighting flashed angrily one last time before the big rock sealed the doorway. "That was close...we were so busy having fun we didn't even realize a storm was brewing!" Darunia kicked irritably at the mud under his feet created by the small amount of rain the had come in before the door was sealed. "I'm afraid you three will have to stay here tonight." Darunia said, turning apologetically to his three small guests. "Will your horses be alright?"
"Epona probably led the two white horses to Kakariko Village by now. The villagers know the horses belong to us, so they'll be fine." Zelda said.
"Well, we don't have any Hylain beds here...we gorons sleep on the ground! You'll have to sleep on some rugs I bought from Hyrule market, they're the softest things around here." The gorons put out all the torches to conserve oxygen, and, their fun ruined, everyone went to sleep. Link slept in Darunia's room on a soft rug, and the princess and Sheikah slept in a female Goron's room on their own soft rugs. It was cold, but eventually the whole village was sleeping.
"Brother, wake up." Darunia shook Link gently, and the warrior roused, yawning.
"Is it morning?" He asked, getting to his feet. Immediately he sensed it wasn't morning. Something was wrong.
"No, Brother. We have problems. It's almost dawn, and the storm has been raging all night! I don't know how it's possible, but water is leaking from behind our door rock. I don't want to wake up the entire village to push the rock farther into its hole, so can you help me do it? I know you're very strong with your gauntlets, Brother." Link nodded and followed the Goron Boss up to the door rock. He was right, small sprays of water from behind the rock were shooting water about. As Link put his hands on the rock to push it in further, it budged backwards an inch and more water came spraying more violently from behind it. "Hurry, Brother!" Darunia said urgently, pushing on the rock. Link also pushed, and the rock slid forward, cutting off some of the water sprays. Thunder growled indignantly outside, and the force of a flood started pushing the rock back toward Darunia and Link. Water sprayed strongly from behind it, and the two Sworn Brothers pushed harder. Pressurized water hissed loudly as it resisted getting cut off by the rock. The noise and moisture started waking up sleeping gorons.
"This is unbelievable! The Goron Village had never been truly threatened by a flood before!" Darunia shouted over the hissing. The more he and Link pushed on the rock, the stronger the water pressure became and the more water sprayed into the Goron Village. Desperately, Link and Darunia kept shoving the slippery rock, struggling with it for a few arduous minutes. By now, everyone had woken up and came sleepily over to watch Darunia and Link. The gorons, realizing the danger and coming fully awake, began to join Darunia and Link. The rock was forced back with the extra help, cutting off all but a few tiny streams of water. The inhabitants of the village heard the muffled thunder crash again, as if angry that water from its petulant storm was not getting in. The flood pushed on the rock with renewed force. The rock slid backwards on the muddy ground, forcing back Link and all the gorons! Water sprayed loudly forth again, it was a dangerous tug-of-war on which the fate of Goron Village rested.
"We can't hold it!!" Link shouted, shoving the rock harder than ever; to no avail.
"You're right, Brother! GORONS! GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROCK, QUICKLY!" Darunia yelled over the storm and rushing water. The gorons, Darunia, Zelda and Impa quickly moved to the sides of the rock so that if it and a ton of water burst forth, it wouldn't hit them. Link held the rock until everyone was out of its path.
"Link, get over here!" Impa yelled. Water was now violently gushing from behind the rock, but Link held on stubbornly.
"The Goron Village will take months to repair if it floods!" He yelled, his boots slipping in the mud.
"If you don't get out of the way, that rock will crush you! iMove it!/i" Link knew the Sheikah was right, but how could he possibly let the home of his great friends, the gorons, be destroyed? Impa jumped over to Link and grabbed him tightly by the waist, then sprang quickly out of the way as the door rock shot past, barely missing squashing her and Link. Water erupted explosively into the cave, ruining all the dirt passegeways and halls of the Groron Village that lay in its path. For nearly twenty minutes the cave was flooded, and everything was being slowly destroyed except the ledges on either side of the enctrance, on which stood all the gorons and their visitors. Soon the water flow lessened in intensity and the storm outside cleared up at a mysteriously fast rate. Silence reigned in the Goron Village, and the gorons stared down at their once beautiful cave, now nothing more than a mud pit.
"I'm sorry, Darunia..." Link said, breaking the oppressive silence.
"It wasn't your fault, Link..." Darunia said, staring sadly at the brown, wet, mess of a cave.
"Link, listen to me next time," Impa said, looking sternly at the Hylian. "You could have been killed by that rock, then this disaster would have been twice as bad. Be grateful everyone is still alive." Link nodded and thanked her for saving him. "Well, King Hyrule will be worrying about his daughter now. We had better go before he sends a search party."
"I'll stay here and help the gorons until tonight. I'll see you then." Link said, and Zelda and Impa left to go get their horses in Kakariko Village and return to the castle.
buSection 3
The Killer and the iAngel's Star/i/u/b
That night, Link, Impa, Zelda, Chain and Daphnes Hyrule had a talk about the aggressive storm. The King had already been told what happened at the Goron Village, so Link told him the Soku Tree's suspicions of the storm being an artificial one. The King told Link that no damage had been done to the castle, that the entire strom had seemed to be centered on Death Mountain. They agreed that the violent storm had definately not been natural, but no one had any idea who could have done it. The most powerful magic user Link knew was the Queen of Dragons, Sahoriel. Of course, Feelock had also been very powerful and also Ganondorf, but Link didn't think either of them could have possibly done it. Next to them there was Zelda, Coflix, and Saroe, but chances of them causing the storm were virtually nonexistant. That night, everyone went to bed perplexed.
As Link layed awake in his bed, listening to Chain's snoring, he once again searched his mind for a possibility of who could have caused the storm. The Three Godesses of the Triforce? Link didn't think so. Who would want to attack Hyrule Castle one week, and the gorons the next? It didn't make any sense. Slowly, weariness overtook Link, and he fell into deep, peaceful, sleep.
A barely audiable rustle was heard in Link's room, and imediately the warrior was awake, griping the Master Sword's hilt. He was sure he had heard something, but as he quickly scanned the room, he found it empty of all but himself and the sleeping Chain. Perhaps the noise had come from his brother, but Link didn't think so. It had sounded like it was coming from the window or the door leading out to the balcony, but they were closed and locked the way they had been left. Perhaps it had been Link's imagination. He paused for a few seconds in the dark room, listening. Then Link laid back down, unable to shake his gut feeling of being watched. He stayed awake and alert for another twenty minutes in the dark silence of his room, and nothing moved.
Just as his eyelids began to get heavy, his feeling of being watched and a feeling of another prescence flooded back into him with renewed force. He sat up, feeling, for the life of him, that there was another creature in his room...and an evil one. Link got up slowly, walking around and searching all of his room for an intruder. The door and window remained locked, and a glance outside told him nothing was there. There was also no one behind the dresser or under the beds. Link even looked out into the silent hallway. Nothing. No one. iWhy do I feel like this? I know someone is here, but there's no one... /iLink reluctantly returned to his bed. iAm I having a nightmare or something? This is rediculous! /iVexed, he laid down for the third time, eyes and ears open. After another dozen minutes he began to grow drowzy again. His eyes closed and he sighed tiredly. He heard the rustling sound again.
Instantly, a black thing jumped out from behind Link's bed (an area he had searched at least twice). The large, man-shaped thing landed right on the surprised Link before he could move, putting a cold hand on his neck to silence any noise that might warn his brother. As Link brought up the Master Sword to defend himself, the black thing put a large, painful slash in his arm and he dropped the sword. The faceless thing then brought the gleaming dagger, already tipped with some blood, over its head; ready to deal a killing blow with it. Link's yell never made it past his throat as the black assasin brought the dagger down.
Snorting as his sleep was disturbed, Chain yawned without opening his eyes. He heard some rustling in Link's bed, and, still half asleep, he partially opened his eyes and waited for them to focus. A large, black, man-shaped shadow monster was choking his brother and had a dagger poised over his face, only barely held off by both of the straining Hylain's hands. Chain closed his eyes numbly, still not realizing what was going on. Then it registered in his brain and he was imediately awake.
"Link!" He shouted, jumping out of bed and launching himself at the beast. He grabbed the monter's waist and yanked on it, but was not strong enough to pull it off the weakening Link or even budge it from its spot. Link's left arm shook with the effort of holding the dagger off and his right hand pointed to the Master Sword, lying on the ground next to his bed. The hand returned to its job of holding off the dagger and Link's face twisted in pain as the dagger got closer, despite both his hands' strength. He knew he was going to pass out from the monster's tight grip. Chain quickly grabbed the Master Sword and swung the heavy thing into the black assasin monster. The thing made no scream as its skin sizzled from the sword's light power and it was thrown off Link, to the floor. Gasping, Link gratefully took his sword from Chain and performed a jump slash on the black monster. This time the monster screamed, being cut from its inhuman shoulder all the way down to its shadowy legs.
"Who are you?!" Link demamded of the dying shadow beast.
"If you want to know, you must be rocked consistantly by blue to the southwest for seven days and meet a piece of green land..." The monster whispered. With that, the creature dissolved into black nothingness, leaving as mysteriously as it had appeared. Link looked back at Chain, confusion written all over both their faces.
"Thanks, Chain." Link said, shivering. He could still feel the cold of the shadow monster's body all over him.
"Any time, Link." Chain said, walking to and putting a hand over the shoulders of his brother. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I wonder what that creature meant..." Link memorized what the monster said, thinking maybe it was a riddle to lead him to whoever sent the assasin. Royal Guard soldiers burst into the dark room, too late for the action.
"I think it was talking about the Great Sea," Zelda said, walking alongside Link. The two of the and the King were going to greet a dragon and a calwot. A soldier had informed them that the two creatures were sitting patiently by the north entrance to Hyrule Castle.
"Yeah, that sounds about right. What do you think, Daphnes?" Link asked the King.
"I agree with Zelda. The 'green land' may be a mossy rock or forested island in the sea somewhere; probably to the southwest like the monster said," The King suggested.
"Wow, I never would have thought of that. Thanks, guys. I guess my only choice is to go to the ocean," Link said, thinking. "But what am I going to do if I don't have a boat?"
"I have a boat which is big enough to sail the ocean but can be controlled by one or two men. It was built long ago just in case the Royal Family might need it, and is in one of Hyrule Castle's storage rooms. You can use that, Link." Daphnes said, smiling.
"Thank you. Maybe if I ask very nicely a dragon will help me carry it to the ocean."
"Perhaps." The three reached the north entrance to the castle and stepped outside, to meet the dragon and calwot. The dragon was a mountain dragon, about as big as four houses. He had smooth, shining green scales, and large off-white horns curved like a ram's. He had tough, yellow belly scales and iridescent blue wings. The calwot was a dark reddish-brown male with the familiar feathery black wings.
"bGreetings, King Hyrule./b" The dragon said, and he and his companion bowed. "bI am Scal-zer, and this is Dhimun. We come to talk to you about the recent storms/b."
"What is it you would say?" The King asked.
"We have some information for you," Dhimun said, his bright green eyes on Daphnes. "Queen Saroe and King Coflix say that these past two storms were the work of a powerful magic user. The Queen also said that she smelled calwot magic and foul purpose in the targeted storms. The storms were obviously meant to harm one person. Who was at the castle a week ago and at the Goron Village the night before last?"
"Me and Link and Impa were there..." Zelda said, wondering which one of them the storms were targeting.
"bIt was most likely one of you, then/b." Scal-zer muttered. "bIt wasn't one of the calwots in Catalin or a dragon...does anyone have any idea who it could be/b?"
"Feelock has not been seen since he exiled himself from Catalin," Dhimun said, "Maybe it was him?"
"I thought he turned over a new leaf. Why would he do this?" Link pondered.
"Wait, I remember Coflix said he could tell that the storm spell was not cast from within the Stalfos Swords. If it was Feelock, he must have left them for some reason." Dhimun said, crouching down and scratching behind his right ear with his back footpaw. Link told the calwot about the black monster he had encountered last night, and asked if that could have been done by calwot magic.
"No, definately not. That kind of monster can only be created by black magic, and calwots have none of that," The cat said, still scratching. Link wondered if the storms and the assasin were linked at all. "Sorry, but that is all the information I have," Dhimun said quietly.
"bAnd I, also. All Sahoriel and Cirokaal said was that the storms were not done by dragon magic./b" Scal-zer said, "bWe just came to tell what we could and offer any assistance you might need, as new additions to Hyrule./b" Link wondered just how many races were now a part of Hyrule. iThere's Hylians, Sheikah, Gerudos, zoras, gorons, dekus, Kokiris, fairies, swamp fairies, dragons, calwots, griffons and sea griffons../i.It seemed like Hyrule had expanded quite a lot through friendships in the last year or so.
"Thank you for your information." King Hyrule said. "There are two ways you can help. Scal-zer, if you would be so kind, Link needs help with getting a boat over Ganon's Swamp to the Great Sea. Dhimun, the gorons need help rebuilding their village. Parhaps you could go over there and lend your paws along with the soldiers we already sent?"
"Certainly." Dhimun said, standing.
"bI will also aid the gorons after I have helped Link with his boat./b" Scal-zer offered.
"That's very kind of you." Zelda said, "I'm sure they will need all the help they can get, even with the zoras and Hylian soldiers helping them." Dhimun bowed and bid the three Hylians and dragon farewell, then flew off in the direction of the Goron Village.
"Link, I know you like doing everything yourself, but I want you to take at least on experienced Royal Guard member with you. Two heads are always better than one, you know." King Hyrule looked at Link seriously.
"But Daphnes...I suspect these storms were targeting me! I could survive pretty well if the ship is destroyed in a violent storm, but another soldier might not." Link said, equally serious.
"Nonsense. Sohran, the Secondary Captain of the Royal Guard, is going with you. You take far too many risks on you own."
"I'm only concerned for his safety...I think I can handle this without dragging another man into it."
"Link, you are truly the Hero of Time..." Daphnes looked at Link, admiring the way he was always concerned for others' safety before his own. "I think this kingdom might be doomed if anything happened to you. That is why I insist you have someone to watch over you on your journey." Link frowned, knowing this was a disagreement he was not going to win.
"Alright..." Link said, sighing and hoping Sohran would not be harmed on the adventure. Link had learned about controlling ships and sailing, but he didn't think Sohran had any idea about it.
"Can I go, father?" Zelda asked, knowing the answer.
"No."
"But I never get to go-"
"No."
"Please-"
"No!"
Link and Sohran waved as Scal-zer flew away, slowly dissappearing into the haze hanging over the shore. The small ship the King had given Link and Sohran was about thirty feet long and had two masts. It had square sales which were very good for fast sailing but small enough to be opened and closed by two men. In the middle of the deck, just behind the center mast, there was a one-room cabin with two beds. The deck had two levels, one smaller and higher level which the steering wheel was on, and a lower level that held the masts, cabin, a small boat, and the anchor. A month's worth of food and water for two men along with extra ropes and sails were stored belowdecks with a few other things. The figurehead of the sturdy ship, named iThe Angel's Star/i, was a singing angel.
"Let's get going, Sohran." Link said, smiling over at him. The twenty-year-old, short blonde-haired warrior nodded. Sohran looked slightly different than the last time Link had seen him. Most of his hair was very short, but in the front it was grown out and a long piece partially covered one eye. Link thought it looked cool, but most older Hylians probably didn't. The two men climbed up the masts and loosed the sails. Sohran then took the steering wheel, guided to the southwest by Link and his compass. Wind was favorable, and the ship sped to the northeast. Link smiled as the relative wind blew back his bangs. He was very excited about going someplace new.
"This is going to be a lot of fun, eh, Link?" Sohran asked, smiling as well. He had been wanting to get out of the castle for a long time.
"I hope so. It would be a real bummer if a storm hit, but let's not talk about that. I don't want to jinx it, if you believe in that kind of thing," Link said.
"Do you have any idea who we're looking for, on this 'green land'?" The short-haired Hylian asked.
"Well, so far all the information I have is that the stroms were created by a calwot but the assasin was not," Link began, "Because of this, I doubt it could be Feelock, but the possibility can't be discarded. I don't know if the one we're looking for on the 'green land' is even linked with the storm at all. Hopefully we'll find out in a week; that's how long the shadow creature said we were to be on the ocean."
"Well, that's strange. We don't even know who we're looking for? This will be interesting indeed." iThe Angel's Star/i made good time for the rest of the day. When nighttime aproached, Sohran slept for eight hours while Link kept the ship on course, then Link slep for eight hours while he steered. Link awoke next morning to a still boat.
"Good morning! Well, sort of...the wind died down a few hours ago." Link sat up and yawned.
"That's okay. The ocean is never windless for very long. We'll just have to wait until it starts up again." He said.
"And be bored to death until then." Sohran said, sitting down on the deck.
"Not necessarily," Link said with a smile. "I brought a couple of fishing poles. Even though we have plenty of food, maybe we can fish for fun to pass the time. You know, see who can catch the biggest fish."
"That sounds like fun," Sohran said, grinning. Link went belowdecks and retrieved two fishing poles. He had bought them a while ago from the fisherman at Lake Hylia. He had payed an outrageous price of 750 rupees each, but he had plenty of money and didn't worry about it. Link baited them both and gave one to Sohran, and the two of them casted and sat down, waiting for a bite.
"So, how are things going for you lately, Link?" Sohran asked after a while.
"Other than the storms and black monster, fine. I met a new friend three days ago called the Soku Tree. He was pretty nice." Link said, stretching his legs out comfortably.
"That's good. New friends are always great. I met a new troop of Hyrule Army soldiers two days ago. All were nice except this annoying guy named Fanod who acted like he was the king of the world..."
"Well, there's always going to be people who are hard to get along with. I'm glad you're not one of them or this trip would be very unpleasant. I don't know you very well, but you seem to be a nice guy." Link said. Sohran was quiet for a moment, enjoying a brief gust of cool, sea wind on his face.
"Thanks, you too. Hey, why don't we get to know eachother a little better? Tell about our past and such, you know." Sohran suggested.
"Alright. You go first, then." Link said, looking over at him. Link noted that he was no longer wearing the Royal Armor he had worn yesterday and the day before. He wore a grey tunic, embroidered with a few silver triforces.
"Okay...My dad is a retired soldier and my mom's a seamstress. I have one older sister who had a jewelery store and two younger brothers who aren't quite old enough to join the Royal Guard yet. I joined the Royal Guard when I was eleven, the earliest age you can join. Ever since then I've trained hard and lived in the barracks. That is until Ganon took over, then I lived in Kakariko until he was defeated. I got second place in the Warrior Contest for the first time when I was fifteen, and became second in command two years ago, after a successful campaign against some of Ganon's minions. I have a girlfriend named Jayes, who's nineteen and lives in Kakariko Village. I used to have a horse my father gave me, but he died right after I became second in command. That's pretty much it."
"Sounds interesting." Link said thoughtfully. Sohran gave him a look that clearly stated he was more interested in Link's past. Though Link hated to talk about himself, he began. "Well, My mom and dad are dead, and I was raised as a Kokiri until I was eight. All the Kokiris were nice to me except Mido and his friends, but I forgive them. Shortly after my eighth birthday, Ganondorf cursed my adopted father, the great Deku Tree, and he died after giving me the Kokiri Emerald. That was when I met Navi, I don't know where she is now, and left to meet Princess Zelda."
"Wow, you two go way back." Sohran said, listening interestedly.
"I collected all the spiritual stones and got the Master Sword from the Temple of Time. The temple sealed me for seven years while Ganondorf stole the Triforce of Power and turned Hyrule into a world of monsters. After the temple released me, I met Sheik and Epona, freed the six sages, and along with them fought Ganondorf. As you know, he was sealed in the sacred realm. I moved into the castle and was Zelda's bodyguard until Impa returned and I found my brother, Chain. He's my only blood family now."
"Wow, your life must have been very stressful...hey, do you mean to tell me you're really only eight years old?!"
"Eh...well, sort of...I did mature in the Temple of Time, even though I wasn't awake..."
"Whoa, the Hero of Time has only been in this world for eight years...incredible! You're really awesome to acomplish so much in eight years. I really admire you!"
"Oh cut it out...you're embarassing me...I'm not that great!" Link said, his face getting red with the flood of compliments.
"Stop being so modest! I can tell why the godesses chose you to be the Hero, man. Eight years old..." Sohran chuckled a bit. Link didn't know what to say, and luckily the akward silence was broken by a tug on his line.
"Got one!" Link jumped up and tugged on his pole to secure the hook. He then reeled in his line.
"I bet it's a big one..." Sohran said, standing up to watch. It was not very hard to reel in the fish, and as the line came up over the side of the ship, Link frowned. His fish was the size of a Deku Nut. Both men laughed at their own anticipation for the tiny creature, and Link quickly let it go and rebaited his line. The Hylians resumed their spots on the side of the cabin. In a few minutes the wind started to blow slightly. The men knew it would be a short time before it got strong enough to sail again. Then, Sohran's line got a tug.
"Heheh, my turn," Sohran said, and gave a sharp yank to his pole to secure the hook. He then jumped up and started to reel in the line. At first it was easy, and both Hylians expected another puny fish. Then there was a very strong and sudden pull on the line, strong enough to pull Sohran to the railing of the ship and nearly make him drop the pole. He held on, tightening his grip on the pole, and reeled hard.
"Need some help there, Sohran?" Link asked.
"Naw, let me fight him. If he's big enough that I can't reel him in, he deserves to stay in the sea!" Sohran declared, reeling harder against the increasing resistance. The line got tighter and began to pull Sohran, and he had to hold on to the rail and reel in his line at the same time. "This one's going to be huge, but it won't get away!" Sohran grinned. Then the fish on the other end gave an unexpected yank of incredible strength. Sohran went sailing over the railing of the ship, belatedly letting go of the rod as he plunged into the sea.
"Sohran!" Link ran to the rail and leaned over, trying to spot the man overboard. Sohran surfaced moments later, grimacing unhappily.
"Drat, he was bigger than I thought, I guess." Sohran said, patting the side of his head to get water out of his pointy ears. Suddenly, a geyser of water erupted from the sea right next to Sohran, and a huge, great white shark surfaced, crushing the comparitivaly tiny fishing pole in its huge, gaping jaws. Link could have sworn he saw Sohran's eyes bulge to an unnatural size as the terrifyingly big shark clamped its teeth in an ugly grin, splinters flying everywhere. "Whaaaaaah!" Sohran screamed, swimming as fast as his arms could take him away from the shark. Angered by the tiny hook stabbing into its gums, the shark persued this tasty-looking new food source. Link quickly jumped overboard, onto the back of the shark.
The shark took off, easily gliding through the water with its fins. It would already have reached the slower Sohran, if it didn't have an annoying Hylian clinging to it's dorsal fin. Link held on tightly, but could feel his fingers sliding off the slippery scales of the shark. iWhat can I do? If I release even one hand to grab my dagger, I'll definately fall off. If I just stay here, the shark will definately catch Sohran!/i At least Link didn't have to worry about putting his Zora Tunic on, because the shark's dorsal fin stayed above water while he persued Sohran, who was still swimming as fast as humanly possible. The Impatient shark clenched and unclenched its jaws in anticipation, its tough teeth clashing loudly each time. The snapping maw was getting closer and closer to Sohran. Link knew if the unfortunate Hylian was caught in those teeth, he would be swiftly crushed and torn apart like a limp doll. The shark's clashing teeth gave Link an idea.
"You like biting, shark?!" Link chomped down on the shark's tender dorsal fin, biting it painfully hard. Link had never heard a shark yell before, but this one let out a beastly screetch. The frightened shark threw Link off, and cringing in pain from the caustic bite, it swam away. A cold wind blew over Link and he shivered. Shark fin tasted nasty. Breathing raggedly, Sohran stopped swimming and turned to Link, who was spitting out the salty, sour taste of shark fin.
"Thank you." He said, swimming over to him. "That was really close." Link finished spitting and spoke.
"You're welcome, but I hope I never have to bite a shark again!" The whole idea of biting a shark was pretty ludicrous, and, ignoring the cold wind that had suddenly sprung up, the both men burst out laughing. "Well, we had better get back to the ship..." Link and Sohran turned to look at their ship. It was sailing away.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going? You can't leave without us!" Shouting callow pleas for the ship to slow down, Link took off swimming after it.
"Wait for us, you stinking ship! Come baaack!" Sohran followed Link, both swimming as fast as their tired bodies would take them. They were gaining on the ship, but the ship was slowly gaining speed.
"Stoooop!" Link yelled, practically flying through the water with Sohran right behind him.
"It's speeding up, Link! We'll never catch it!" Sohran yelled, trying to swim faster.
"It's alright! If we can just get it within range of my hookshot, we'll be fine!" Shoving their way through the cold, salty water, Link and Sohran got a little closer to the ship. "Hold on to me!" Link said, and Sohran held onto his waist firmly. Link took out the longshot and its chain sprang forth, barely reaching the ship. The hook stuck in the railing, and Sohran clung to Link as the two were yanked to the ship. Sohran climbed over the side, and helped Link up. They bent over for a minute, panting to catch their breath, grinning at eachother.
"That...was fun!" Link said between breaths. Sohran nodded, and as soon as the two had recovered they checked the direction of the ship. To their amazement, the strong cold wind was blowing in exactly the right direction! The iAngel's Star/i practically flew over the waves, making great time. For a quarter of a day, the two companions chatted amiably as their ship carried them to the southwest. Link usually wasn't particularly talkative, but he found that Sohran was a nice and interesting person, so the two talked about a lot of things. By midafternoon, some dark-looking clouds were gathering overhead, and Link couldn't help feel a sense of foreboding. Link could tell the clouds were very small and unthreatening looking as they approached, but he recalled how the two very violent storms had sprung out of nowhere. The Angle's Star could withstand an ordinary storm, but if a storm of the same unbridled fury as the last two struck, they didn't stand a ghost of a chance.
buSection 4
Lightening and the Kaisokah/u/b
Thunder rumbled lowly in the clouds, which were sprinkling rain over the ocean and the iAngle's Star/i. For nearly three hours, water had been lightly dripping from the heavens onto the world of water below. It seemed like a normal storm. Link and Sohran were sitting on deck, maintaining a straight course and enjoying the cool rain. They were not worried about the water-resistant deck. Though it made the deck more slippery and flammable, a substance had been put on it to keep moisture out of the wood.
"Well, this is pleasant," Link said, turning his face to the skies. "I really like rain, when there isn't too much of it."
"Me too." Sohran agreed, brushing his wet hair out of his face. Link stretched, it was about time for him to retire. "Well, I'd better go to bed, Sohran. See you in the morning." Just as Link stood up to go into the cabin, a white flash of lightening zapped the ocean, not half a mile away from the ship. Link turned slowly to Sohran. "That didn't look too safe. Since the wind isn't blowing consistantly southwest anymore, maybe we better throw down the anchor and stay in the cabin."
"You're right. That lightening was awful close; it would be safer in the cabin," Sohran concurred. Link and Sohran walked to the side of the ship and hefted the large anchor, throwing it over the side. It sunk and stopped the motion of the ship, and the two companions went to lower the sails. Before they got more than a few feet, a large and frighteningly loud bolt of lightening struck 30 yards away from the starboard side of the ship, lighting the waves eerily for a split second with its extreme voltage. The rain and freezing wind picked up instantly, and Link's worst fear was confirmed. A large storm had sprung from a complacent one in a matter of seconds.
"We have to get the sails down, quick! If those are ruined by the wind and lightening, we'll be stranded out here!" Link yelled over the fridged wind howling in his ears. Rain came down in sheets as Link and Sohran dashed to the smaller of the two masts. They quickly scaled the mesh connected to the crosspiece and climbed to the ends of the crosspiece. Together, they pulled up the sail and tied it in place. A lightening bolt suddenly struck the side of the ship, jolting the ship and causing both Link and Sohran to fall to the deck. The bolt also warmed up and instantly dried the point on the ship it hit, lighting a small fire. Link, a bit bruised but not really hurt, jumped up and tore his soaked hat off, running over to the fire and putting it out with the hat. Sohran, scrambling to keep his footing in the slippery water, ran to the center mast and began climbing the mesh. Another lightening bolt struck the steering wheel of the ship, igniting it instantly. Grumbling, Link ran over to the fair-sized fire, not exactly knowing how he was going to put it out since his hat, back on his head, was far too small. The bolt had not shaken the ship much, so Sohran had not fallen and was already pulling up a piece of sail; thinking: iMaybe, just maybe we can survive this storm if we get the sails up and grab the blankets from below to put fires out.../i
But the fires were not the only problems of the iAngel's Star/i. The ocean had become very choppy, and a particularly huge wave crashed into the ship. It put out the fire on the wheel, but also swept Sohran and Link right off their feet. After being slammed into the railing rather hard, Link got up, looking around for Sohran. There was no sign of him.
"Sohran!" Link yelled very loudly. He heard a faint reply and ran to the middle of the rocking ship. Leaning over the railing, he spotted Sohran hanging tightly onto a stray rope. Link swiftly hauled the weary Hylian back over the side of the ship. Then another big wave hit, coming from the opposite side of the first one. Yelling, both warriors were roughly shoved across the deck and into the opposite railing, the hard impact nearly breaking it. Link knew it was only a matter of time before the ship was either turned over by a big wave or set completely alight by a bolt of lightening. There might have been a chance of survival earlier, but it was gone now. Staggering to their feet, Link and Sohran tried vainly to get to the mast in the middle of the bucking ship. Unfortunately, a furious bolt of lightening zapped the mast at that moment, and the two partners heard wood cracking as the force of the bolt weakened the wood. It was a miracle the whole thing didn't go up in flames as the electricity zigzagged all the way down to the bottom and to the side of the mast, exploding into the corner of the cabin. Closing his eyes against the light of the sparks, Link missed the two-foot-long cabin splinter flying towards him.
"Link, iwatch it/i!" Sohran slammed into Link, making both of them lose their footing. On the way down, Sohran flinched as the sharp shard of wood grazed his back, giving it a pianful laceration all the way across. Link got the breath knocked out of him from getting slammed to the ground with a 190-pound Hylian on his back, but knew why Sohran had done it. iSohran just saved my life! I saw that splinter too late and it would have gone right through me./i
"Thanks, Sohran." Link said, quickly getting too his feet and helping Sohran up, taking special care not to be rough with his back. A violent wave slammed into the lower aft of the ship, hurling the two men forward and separating them. They got up as quickly as possible, though fatigue was starting to set in from the beating they and their vessel were taking. They tried one last futile time to get to the center mast as the sea, preturbed by their prescence, tossed the boat to the side. Link managed to grab the railing, but Sohran was slammed up against the center mast by the force of a large wave. The Hylains knew they were finished when a hot, explosive, jagged line of electricity slammed into the center mast a second time. The sail and mast were instantly flaming, and the base of the mast cracked and toppled in a shower of sparks. Link shielded his eyes from the heat of the blazing mast crashing into the cabin. Both were anihilated. iSohran's in that mess of flames!/i Link realized, the caustic thought driving him forward.
Not seeing his friend on one side of the flaming pile of debris, Link sprinted over to the other side, slipping twice and getting singed by the flames licking at the dark, cloudy sky. Link reached the other side and found Sohran there, struggling to get out from under a colapsed, burning side of the cabin. Grabbing hold of his upper arms, Link pulled Sohran out, ignoring the heat of the fire, which, though diminished a bit by the rain, was still intense. He didn't even have time to think about putting on his flame-resistant tunic. During a few seconds where the ship was steady, Link pulled Sohran to the railing, away from the flames.
"Sohran, are you okay?! Say something!" Groaning, Sohran tried to get to his feet and failed miserably.
"Link, I can't feel my back but the rest of my body feels like it's being stabbed with knives..." Link noticed that there was a few pencil-sized splinters sticking out of Sohran's skin. Before he could do anything about it, two lightening bolts fell from the furious heavens. One lit up the sea behind the ship, and the other struck the right middle deck. The bolt was extremely powerful, and literally broke the ship in half. The two sides of the deck held onto eachother by mere planks, which would soon be destroyed. Link and Sohran's only option was to abandon the ship. Link frantically looked around for the small ship that had been on deck, and spotted its simmering remains amidst the flaming pile of wood in the middle of the broken ship. Link then looked in the sea and found a large floating piece of wood that was not on fire. As the ship began sinking into the water, Link picked up Sohran and jumped overboard. Link then began pulling himself and Sohran onto the floating, pathetic excuse for a raft as the last remains of the iAngel's Star/i dissapeared beneath the maliciously tossing waves. Link and Sohran were only about half way onto the raft when a final, cruel piece of electricity rained down, striking the water nearby. The waves lit up brilliantly, but Link's world tumbled into darkness as the searing volts tore trough his body.
Hey there . thanks very much for reading. While I'm blabbing your ear off I want to mention a cool person who is my best reader and had a very cool story of thier own. Please check out StoryWeaver1's nice Zelda fanfic. Don't worry, it wont take forever to read like mine -.-' You'll like it, ITS COOL! Say, wondering what kaisokah means? You'll just have to read the next chapter :D bye now