The same peculiar sensation overtook me as the world became hazy and then clear again. A chilling wind was the first thing I felt and my eyes were greeted with a landscape of dirty brown patches of swamp-grass, coalescing into murky green stagnant pools. It was as if the lushness had been sucked out of this world and replaced with a wasteland. Hopefully it was impossible for my attackers to follow me through the transporter yet I moved quickly nonetheless. I heard a noise above me and turned to look - it was a bird, like the magpies that used to swoop down and attack if one ventured to near their nests yet it was blood-red and looked bony and hungry. Squawking it dived rapidly straight for me and I ran as fast as I could, thinking I would have to double back and dodge it to avoid the cruelly sharp beak, yet my fear gave me incredible acceleration and it was soon left far behind. When I was sure I'd lost it and stopped to catch my breath it was only then it struck me; how had I been able to move so fast? I didn't even remember my feet touching the ground. I felt something on my back as well as my supply pack and jumped when I turned to look - wings! I scampered to the nearest murky pond and gazed into it, with not my face staring back but again the face of the fox I had seen in the mirror previously. 'This world must alter our shape,' I said aloud to myself. 'But in what way...?'
'Perhaps I can answer that' a deep voice behind me sounded. I recoiled in fright and spun around. There was a large tree there, with browning leaves and.. a face! 'Wh-wh-what are you?' I managed.
The tree snorted. 'It would have been more courteous to say who,' it rumbled. 'But I don't expect that any more around these parts. Now I believe you were wondering how this world alters you? Your shape takes on what is in your heart. I'm very homely by nature and don't like to travel around.. so one day I took root here and never left. This world also slowly alters your mind as well as your shape.. I've grown quite accustomed to what I've become now and can't remember my previous life; who I was or where I was from. Now judging by you,' he said surveying me quizzically, 'It seems you're the sort of chap who's clever and sharp and your wings tell me you like to be on the move, in search of adventure. Am I on the right track, young fox?'
It seemed to me an odd way to be addressed yet it fitted well enough. 'I'd say that's quite accurate. Anyway, I must keep moving but I may come back one day.'
'By all means, take your time,' the tree replied, its eyes slowly closing. 'I'm not going anywhere.'
I made my way west, for a quick look around the area yet it was just as unappealing as the rest of the area. I was about to return to the Light World when I noticed something wedged into the ground that gave me chills as my eyes ran over words marked in jet black: 'Swamp of Evil, No entrance, No escape'. There was something about that phrase; how could such a paradoxical place exist? It was simultaneously alluring and terrifying. 'No matter what, I just have to know what lies in there,' I thought, staring intently at the message declared boldly on the rotting wooden signpost. Gazing up at the monumental cliff face confronting me in what would have been the entrance to the desert it seemed at first glance a hopeless task. My wings could only take me a so far off the ground so to reach the top that way was impossible. 'And yet, where there's a will, there's a way,' I reminded myself.
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The guards had arrived back at Hyrule Castle and presented themselves and their prisoner before Agahnim. 'So Princess,' smirked the wizard. 'Not only do you try to escape the castle but you also interfere in my affairs.' He brought his face close to hers, and spoke slowly and deliberately, 'Now, where is the Icerod?' Zelda stared back coldly at him.
'I have no idea, it has been hidden,' she said truthfully.
'Then who does know?' said the wizard in a dangerous tone.
Zelda bit her lip. 'I don't know who, that is to say, I don't know his name. He was short and had a fair complexion..'
'Liar!' one of the guards interrupted and made to slap her but his hand was caught by Agahnim in mid-air and twisted behind him as he yelped in pain.
'No one is to touch her,' he growled menacingly, releasing the shocked soldier. 'I need her and the others unharmed so that we can break the seal of the seven wise men to open the gate between this world and the Dark World.' He turned to the guards, 'You must have gotten a good glimpse of this man, find him! Send a regiment of guards to patrol Kakariko Village and the Lost Woods. And bring Sahasrahla to the castle at once!'
'What of the other, the man you first hired?' queried one of the guards.
Agahnim gave a disdainful wave of his hand. 'He is no longer any concern of mine. I have a feeling he's going on a rather unpleasant one-way journey,' he smirked. Turning to glare at Zelda, he motioned for the remaining guards to take her to the castle dungeon. It would take some time for him to prepare the required magic to seal the Princess in the Turtle Rock dungeon in the Dark World. He returned to his tower to again make contact with the Dark World. Opening the channels of communication, a vision of a large demonic figure with pointed ears appeared before him.
'Master Ganon,' said Agahnim. 'Princess Zelda has been captured. The final phase of our plan is nearly at hand!' The dark creature cackled with delight. 'Excellent,' it rumbled. 'Begin your preparations immediately. My troops will soon be ready. Have you obtained those magical items yet?'
'The Firerod has been returned to your world and we are recovering the Icerod as we speak.' There was no need to inform Ganondorf of the slight mishap; soon it would be found. 'No one resembling the prophesised Hero of the realm has made an appearance,' Agahnim continued. 'We have a few candidates; an old swordsman and his nephew, a thief and an adventurer. However I'm confident none of these pose any realistic threat to us. Once we have the Elder, the secrets of the Master Sword shall be lost forever and this world will be ours!'
As the communication ended, Ganon smiled to himself. The gate between the worlds would soon be open and he would conquer Hyrule with his army of darkness. It bothered him slightly they had not yet found the identity of this Hero though. However for now it did not matter, as long as the wizard succeeded in sealing the final maiden away nothing could stop him. Then, after he had outlives his usefulness he would do away with Agahnim too. The golden light of the Triforce of Power bathed the room in a soft glow behind him. Very soon, his wish to conquer the world would be fulfilled.
