"Many years ago, my father left Hyrule to complete a task for the king. He had traveled far into the west in pursuit of a particularly dangerous person, a man named Sollus. My father found himself astray in the depths of the Lost Woods. He searched for a way out for several days, and just as his food began to run low, he discovered a deep pit within a cave, so deep the bottom was nowhere in sight. Just then, Sollus, starved and exhausted, chanced upon my father. With his back exposed, it was too tempting a target. He charged Rada, pushing him over the brink. Willing himself to one last act of revenge, he grabbed Sollus by the ankle and dragged him down too."
"My father awoke at the bottom of the pit. Sollus was nowhere to be found. Getting his bearings, my father found himself to be in the basement of some sort of clock tower. The town was celebrating the dawn of a new day. The land, as you may have guessed, was Termina. He decided to stay in Clock Town until rumors of a man fitting Sollus' description came to his ears. In the meanwhile, he spent his time in the town, practicing with the town guard to keep his skills honed, doing various good deeds for the townsfolk. Eventually, my father met a woman, and they fell deeply in love with one another. They were married, and she bore him a son- me."
"I grew up in Clock Town, with no knowledge of my homeland save my father's bedtime stories. I learned the tale of the three goddesses, and of the Triforce, and of Hyrule's royal family. Most importantly, I learned of my Sheikan heritage, the only explanation of my white hair, unusually fast reflexes, disproportionate strength, and magical abilities. He told me that someday, he meant to send me back to Hyrule, to serve the King, to make up for his years of absence. One day, while playing on the street, I saved a girl about my age from a few bullies intent on robbing her. She and I grew to be quick friends. Her name was Song. Over the next four or so years, our feelings for one another matured. She was gorgeous. It was then that my father found himself in possession of a mask known as the mask of the Fierce Deity. It had been left in this world by Link, after defeating the beast known as Majora. My father discovered it near where he entered the realm of Termina. He took it home and thought nothing of it. Song and I, we used to spend hours on the rooftops looking at the stars and moon. I loved her with all my heart, but I could never shake the feeling that I was just her friend. Of course, I had more than few rivals for her hand, and I worried that one of them would win out in the end. Then the worst time of my life came. I was sixteen. My father had gone off in pursuit of a man resembling Sollus. I was finally ready to ask Song to marry me, when my father sent me an urgent message. He was in Ikana valley, and needed help, desperately."
"I couldn't deny such an urgent summons. I told Song that I needed to leave, that I was sorry, and quickly dressed in the Sheikan garb my father left me. I buckled on my sword- a masterwork, forged by Gorons, tempered by expert blacksmiths. It is a Sheikatana, balanced perfectly for my hand. The sword will suit no man better. Nothing can turn or damage the blade. Borrowing a horse, I rode like the wind. I arrived in Ikana to see my father at Sollus' feet. Using my magic, I drew him to my side. He told me where Sollus had been these last years... In that valley, trading his sanity and life for power. He was now something neither living nor dead, an emaciated, skeletal being, but in possession of furious strength and powerful magics. My father passed on to shadows, telling me with his dying breath that I was powerless to stop Sollus. Something in my pack stirred. At first, I thought that some small animal had worked its way in to get at my provisions, but the truth was much greater- or worse, as I later discovered.
"I reached in to see what was moving the pack, and the Mask of the Fierce Deity was there, calling to me, urging me. In my pain for my Father and lovesick for Song, I yielded, a decision I shall forever regret. I put on the mask, felt a rush of power... And I stood, as Link did before me, joined with the Deity. I was in my Sheikan garb, but it was all white, save for an armor plate on my chest. My face bore tattoos, much like the ones on my arms. My eyes were white, blazing with power. The blade at my side was gone, and in it's place, a massive spiral sword was in my grasp. My strength was gargantuan- I had no shield, nor any need for one. I could wield the blade with one hand. It was exhilarating.
"My father's murderer spotted me, seeing that I was aware of him, and could expose the danger to the town he sought to destroy. He attacked. Sollus stood no chance. I swung the sword once, and the blade smote him heavily across his chest. His ribcage shattered and he was nearly cloven in two. He turned to flee, but I swung the blade again, without even thinking- launching a bolt of destructive force at him with only my weapon. The energy scorched his flesh. Another five bolts rendered the creature to ash, leaving nothing of the sinister man."
"Removing the mask, I carefully sat down to assess my situation. It began to talk to me, begging me to put it on. I denied it, again and again. I buried it in the bottom of my pack, picking up my father's body and bearing him home. The loss tore at my heart, flaying my mind. I was half mad when I arrived at Clock town, and soon to be fully-fledged insane. I came home in the midst of a celebration. It was Song's wedding party. My chief rival had made the bid for her hand. She accepted. I was thrown into a rage unlike any other. I returned to the place I called home, threw my belongings aside, left my father's body with my mother and left for the home of Mesou, the man who spited me for my close relationship with the woman who was now his wife. I took but two things with me- my rage and the mask."
"His friends, my bitter rivals, denied me entrance to the party. They knew that if I was given chance to declare my feelings for Song she would want the marriage annulled. I did not learn this until later, but I wanted much more than to annul the marriage. I wanted to annul the man who had taken her from me. I persisted. Emboldened by my lack of weapons, they decided to send me packing with fists, sticks, and stones. All I did was smile and put on the mask. They fled in terror before I even needed to lift my sword. I kicked in the door, walking through the crowd of wedding guests, a full foot taller than anyone else, reveling in the power, the sweetness of my revenge... I found him at her side, at the foot of the stairs. He was holding her, lust in his eyes, and I knew he did not love her. I hated him all the more. I landed the merest tap on his chest. It knocked him flat. I lifted my sword, thinking to cleave him in two with the weapon. Instead, I put the sword aside, jabbing it into the floor planks. I picked him up and threw him against the wall, like a rag doll. I lifted him again, ready to begin breaking all the bones in his face. Someone grabbed me from behind. I roughly elbowed the one who tried to stop me. I was rewarded with the sound of breaking bone, a gasp of shock from the crowd, and the sound of someone collapsing to the floor. I slammed Mesou's head against the wall, dropping him like a broken toy. He was sobbing on the floor. I took my sword and meant to kill him when I finally heard what he was sobbing..."
"It was 'Song'... I turned in horror, following his gaze.. She was the one had tried to stop me, show me the brute I had become. She lay on her back, astonishment frozen on her face, her lip swollen, blood trickling from her nose. The eyes, those beautiful eyes that I had loved to look into, now stared accusingly at me. I tore off the mask, dropping it to the floor. It floated into the air, hovering before my face, telling me to put it on, begging me, demanding it of me- it had given me the vengeance it claimed I wanted. I grabbed a sword from someone and smashed the mask into a thousand splinters. In a flash of light and an inhuman howl, it was gone."
"I knelt at Song's side one final time, kissing her forehead tenderly, wishing I could undo the horrors I had committed that night. I fled, amidst accusing stares. I returned home, filling my pack with everything I could carry. I buckled on my sword, a weapon I considered myself unworthy of. I wrote a note to my mother, explaining everything as well as I could, but I knew she would disown me for the murder. I would do as destiny commanded me. I would go to Hyrule. I could not leave Termina by the same means my father came in, for the door was too well watched. I was now an enemy of the city guard. I had to force my way out a gate, for the town watchmen were now commanded to stop me from leaving, that I would not escape punishment. Like any punishment they could mete out was worse than the tortures of my own soul."
"I walked westward, into Ikana again. I walked past the place where the Fierce Deity mask first ensnared me. Past the ashes of Sollus the undead. I Scaled the cliff wall and stated walking onward, ever onward, into the desert. The solitude of the wasteland, it's isolated oases and the occasional village or hermitage gave me three years to ponder the madness of life. I hated myself from sunrise to sunset, sunset to sunrise. And then, one night, I had a dream. I beheld this land, I witnessed the events of The Imprisoning War, the battle fought by the sages and the Hero of Time to consign Ganon to the oblivion of the Evil Realm. And then I saw you and your allies in the peril we face now. And something told me that my destiny was tied to your own."
"At last I understood why the mask was fated to possess me. It was to bring me here, to do everything in my power to stop the evil that would befall this land. And now, I felt that someone needed to know. I tell you this tale that you may have hope. Nothing repairs a broken heart like love. All I can tell you is, keep looking. Love will find you, when you are ready." He stood, walking to the bridge. "Before I leave, I would like to teach you a melody... It's not much, but its properties are the stuff of legends where I've come from. Its effects vary, from body to soul... I've found it can work wonders on the heart, too. Keep it close." Pulling out a small flute, Sando played a short melody, it's haunting notes ringing clearly across the night sky...
Link, on the shoreline, still holding his love, wondered who was playing the Song of Healing.
With the final echoing note, Sando turned, walking in silence back to their camp on the shore. Zelda pondered his words for a long time. Maybe he's right... everything happens for a reason. I may not know what the reason is now, but someday, I'll find out.