Hey all! I'm back again! Sorry about the wait. My family moved. I went back to school. Oh
yeah, and I discovered that dungeons are really, REALLY hard to write about. I can see why
people don't usually do it! Please excuse how lame and short these three dungeons will be. They
really are hard (and boring) to write about. Also, I wanted to fit each dungeon into it's own
chapter. Anyway, I will try to get the next chapter out more quickly. Please be sure to review!
Many thanks to all of you who are following this story! Now, on with the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Zelda. I merely control the character's fate.
The Legend of Zelda
The Golden Land
Chapter Twenty
Sorceresses of Water
LAST TIME:
The Hero of Winds stood for a minute, examining the odd scene. Finally, he trudged his
way up the stairs to the large door. *What now?* he thought. There was no latch to pull the door
open with, so how did he open it? Finally, he decided to just knock. For a moment, nothing
happened. Then, suddenly, the door split in the middle, sliding open. Link stood there for a
minute, then shrugged and walked in. The door closed behind him.
NOW:
The Wind Waker glanced back at the door that had just shut, it's noise muffled by the
water. He shrugged. Guess he couldn't leave until he found the sorceress. Oh well, he hadn't
planned to anyway. He continued to move forward, only to find a stone wall. Fortunately, there
was an opening in the ceiling above his head. Link crouched down and hopped, tapping his heels
together while he was above the ground. Now, this was a very odd sight, considering that he was
underwater.
The iron casings on Link's boots magically disappeared when he clapped the heels
together. Now free from the added weight, Link floated up to the opening. Surprisingly, the
water ended just at the opening and he broke the surface. The Wind Waker took a deep breath,
still treading water. He was glad to breath air again. Breathing water was just strange.
Link climbed out of the pool of water and found himself in a large room. A VERY large
room. A GIGANTIC room. The ceiling itself was probably three stories high. The room was
more or less square, each sided containing one large door. In the very middle was a raised dias
upon which sat a massive pearl in a large basin. The left and right sides of the room each had a
large moat-like trough of water which started against the wall and came out about ten feet. The
artificial rivers each ran the length of their respective walls. In the middle of each of the two
rectangular pools was a small stone bridge which led to the door which resided in the middle of
the wall. The far side of the chamber was a little different. The ground abruptly ended in a chasm
that was over twenty feet wide and appeared to lead down forever. On the other side of the
chasm, the ground resumed as usual, creating a twenty or so foot deep platform. In the middle of
the far wall was a giant gold door that was intricately decorated. At the edge of the platform in
front of the door was a metal bridge, which was hinged to the platform. It was currently in a
vertical position, creating a sort of barrier in front of the door. Not that the door needed one.
With the bridge up, there was no way across the chasm. On either side of the door there, there
was an unlit torch stand.
Now, normally, Link would have notched a fire arrow and shot the two torches to see if it
lowered the bridge. However, there was one problem. In the chasm before the door, a steady
wall of water fell, blocking the entire wall off. The water would undoubtably prevent a fire arrow
from doing its job.
Sighing, the Hero of Winds decided to investigate the two more accessible door. The left
(north) door was barred, preventing passage. Link could not find a lock on it anywhere. After a
minute of investigation, Link found that there were two torch stands, one on either side of the
door. In the trough. Underwater. The Wind Waker groaned. The torches would be impossible
to light unless the water was drained first.
Link made his way over to the right (south) side door. Much to his relief, it was unlocked
and unobstructed. He passed through the door to find himself in a room that curved slightly to
the right. The door slammed shut behind him and bars came down from the ceiling, stranding
Link in the room. But he wasn't alone. In the middle of the room, two massive, armored figures
turned at the sound of the slamming door. One figure hefted a massive sword and a circular
shield. Link immediately recognized it as a Darknut. The other figure lifted a giant two-handed
ax. Link wasn't really sure what that figure was, but it looked as fearsome as the Darknut,
perhaps more so.
The two creatures advanced on the Hero of Winds. *Well, I could use a good workout,*
Link thought as he unsheathed his sword and strapped on his shield. He dropped low into a
fighting stance as the two armored creatures approached.
With a grunt, the unknown creature hefted its mighty ax and swung it down at Link. The
Wind Waker hopped back, easily avoiding the weapon, which lodged itself into the stone floor.
The Darknut swung it's sword down diagonally. Link dove to the side, rolling under the blade.
Now behind the monster, the Hero of Winds hopped back to his feet, slashing upward with his
sword. The blade severed the straps on the back of te Darknut's armor, causing the breastplate to
fall off with a clank.
The ax wielding enemy managed to dislodge it's weapon an slowly marched after Link,
metal boots clattering against the floor.. *These guys aren't too quick,* the Wind Waker thought.
He baited the monster, which proceeded to take a horizontal swing with it's ax. Link easily
dodged the attack, and leapt in closer to counter, but he was forced to retreat again as the massive
ax came back at him on a return swing, nearly chopping the hylian in half. *Gotta watch out for
that one!* the Wind Waker noted.
The Darknut now rejoined it's comrade, both large creatures slowly approaching the Hero
of Winds. Link raised his shield and dropped his body low. He smirked as he extended his arm,
holding his sword straight out behind him. A golden aura appeared around the blade. As the two
hulks closed in, nearing attacking range, Link gave a yell, swinging his sword and sending himself
in to a dizzying spin. Yellow magic energy coursed through his sword, forming what appeared to
be a yellow ring around the lad. Balancing on one foot, Lin, the human top, glided towards his
opponents like a buzz saw. The two creatures attempted to strike, but weren't quick enough.
The clatter of metal colliding quickly and repeatedly with other metal could be heard, along with
the thrashing of blade against hide.
The two dark creatures were thrown back. The Darknut fell to the ground and was
consumed by dark magical fires. The other opponent staggered back, its broken armor falling
from it's body.
It took Link a second to reorient himself after his Hurricane Spin. When he had recovered
from the dizziness, he turned to face his remaining opponent, who was also just recovering. The
creature quickly struck out, swinging vertically at the Hero of Winds. Link easily dodged and
shook his head as the monster again got its ax stuck in the floor. Link quickly darted in and cut
his opponent a fatal blow. The monster collapsed, also disappearing in a blaze of magic fires.
Now that the enemies were defeated, the bars on the door Link had entered through slip
up, freeing the exit. At the far end of the room, another door was unblocked in a similar way.
The Wind Waker sighed, choosing the door he had not already been through and continued his
journey.
The next room was box shaped. In the middle, a pool of water split the room in half. The
ground on the far side of the pool was raised so that a person could not climb out of the water on
that side. On the side that Link entered through, there was a circular grate on the floor, with an
identical grate on the ceiling directly above it. A constant stream of water poured from the top, to
strong for the Wind Waker to pass through. Inside the jet of water, Link could just make out the
form of a chest.
Glancing around, Link spotted a strange design on the wall. It looked like a plaque of a
large eye. Now, the Hero of Winds was already in a testy mood, and he really didn't like the way
that eye was watching him, be it an inanimate object or not. Pulling out his bow, Link notched
three arrows and shot them right into the middle of the eye. The eyelid lowered, closing the eye.
At the same time, the flow of water from the ceiling stopped, exposing the chest.
Link grinned and opened the chest to find a small, silver key. He liked those kind of
switches. The Hero of Winds turned to examine the far side of the room. How could he get to
the raised other side? Thinking about some of his past "experiments" with magic arrows, he
pulled out an arrow and notched it. The arrowhead began to glow with a cold, blue energy. Link
fired the Ice Arrow into the pool of water. The area where the arrow hit immediately froze into a
flat platform of ice, which floated on top of the water. Smiling, Link hopped onto the platform
before it could melt enough to sink, and jumped over to the far side, where he caught the ledge
and pulled himself up. He was greeted by a locked door, which he opened with his newly
acquired key.
The next room was rather small. On the middle of the floor, a large circular design was
carved. On the ceiling above it was a grate, but no water was coming from it. Link went and
stood on the middle of the circular design and examined the room. From where he now stood,
the Wind Waker could now see a small hole in the wall. It led to a small tunnel that went back ten
or so feet. At the end of the tunnel was another of the eyeball switches. Standing at any other
point on the floor, Link would not be able to see all the way down the tunnel, let a lone shoot.
The Hero of Winds notched an arrow and fired it into the eye, which closed. For a second,
nothing happened. Then, water came gushing from the grate above his head, nearly knocking him
over.
*Great,* Link thought. *Just what I need. More water.*
That's when the floor opened up under his feet.
With a yelp, the Wind Waker found himself being flushed through a long, twisting series
of large pipes. After several moments, Link caught a glimpse of light. Then, he suddenly found
himself airborne. For a couple of seconds, anyway. Then the Hero of Winds crashed down into a
small pool, next to a large pipe, which was spewing up water into the air, like it had done him.
Gathering his wits and his dignity (thank the goddesses no one had seen that) Link climbed
to his feet and trudged out of the pool. He was now in a smaller sized room, which was half
occupied by the pool he had just climbed out of. On the dry half of the room was another circle
on the floor, next to a small opening in the wall, which Link guessed was another pipe ride. Oh
joy. Also, there was a large white crystal. Link promptly drew his sword and whacked the crystal
(because everyone knows that is what you do to large crystals sitting conspicuously in the middle
of a room). The crystal began to glow yellow. Figuring that was all he could do here, the Wind
Waker moved over to the circle on the floor and flushed himself out of the room.
With a thud, Link landed in the room where he had fought the Darknut and the ax
wielding monster. He quickly decided that he preferred to land in a pool of water, as opposed to
on a stone floor. Dragging himself out of the massive puddle which had formed around him, the
Hero of Winds went to the door he had originally entered the room through.
Once Link entered the massive entrance room, which he had dubbed "The Lobby," he
stopped as the ground gave a rumble. The Wind Waker watched as the giant pearl in the middle
of the room began to shimmer in different colors. Finally, the pearl began to rise, levitating in the
air. It rose about half way to the ceiling before it stopped and just hovered. With a snap-hiss and
a bright flash of light, a fire sprang to life in the basin where the pearl had resided. The fire
burned and eerie white color that didn't seem entirely natural.
Carefully, Link made his way up to the pedestal and inspected the basin. The fire
definitely seemed unnatural. Noticing a jar of sticks nearby, Link picked up a stick and rubbed the
tip in the fire. The stick caught fire well enough. As the Wind Waker inspected his new torch, a
thought occurred to him. The torch stands outside of the palace he was now in had burned white-
hot, even underwater. Quickly dashing over to one of the pools of water in the room, link dunked
the lit end of the stick underwater. Amazingly, the fire did not go out. The water did not seem to
effect it at all.
Grinning, Link darted over to the barred north door. On either side of the door were
submerged torch stands. Link dunked the magic torch underwater and lit both of the stands.
Instantly, the bars on the door slid up, allowing him passage. Before going through the door,
Link tossed away the burning stick, as it was getting too low for comfort.
The Hero of Winds went through the door to find himself in a round tunnel. The tunnel
was just high enough that he didn't have to crouch to walk through. However, a yards down the
tunnel was a giant pearl, which completely obstructed the passage. Link gave the pearl a good
shove and it rolled down the tunnel a ways before hitting something and stopping. A side tunnel
of equal size was revealed where the pearl had originally rested, leading to the left. Link followed
the tunnel, which looped around, only to end where the pearl now rested. He again gave the pearl
a shove, sending it rolling down another tunnel. Link continued on for several minutes of pushing
the pearl around the tunnels, before he finally revealed the exit.
In the next room, Link found two torch stands. One of them was burning with the magical
white flame he had encountered earlier. The other was unlit. The unlit one stood on top of a
grate on the floor, and below and identical grate on the ceiling. A constant stream of water
connected the two grates, drenching the torch.
Seeing no sticks laying around, Link notched an arrow. He took aim, and fired it first
through the flame of the lit torch, and then through the water and into the unlit torch, catching it
on fire. Once the torch was lit, a treasure chest fell from the ceiling. Link opened it to find a
magical crystal. The crystal instantly merged with the one he already had for producing Fire
Arrows. His Fire Arrows were now upgraded to use the special magic white fire.
Link retraced his steps to the main lobby. He walked up to the chasm opposite the
entrance to the palace. He peered through the wall of water to see the unlit torches by the large
door. The Wind Waker readied an arrow, which began to glow with a strange red-white light.
He took aim, and fired at one of the torches. The flaming arrow sailed through the water and
struck the torch stand, instantly igniting it. Smiling at his success, Link repeated the process on
the second torch stand.
With an affirmative chime, the hinged bridge on the far side of the chasm swung down,
landing in front of Link with a crash. The Hero of Winds quickly crossed the bridge, once again
being soaked as he passed through the wall of water. On the other side, he opened the large door
to find a small room. The room consisted of another of those "flush yourself systems" as Link
had dubbed them. Standing on the circle, he fired an arrow through the small tunnel, activating
the contraption. The Wind Waker was once again doused with water, before the floor opened up
under him. Link was flushed through a series of pipes for what seemed like an eternity, before he
finally found himself airborne . . . just before he crashed down into a not so shallow pool of water.
Sputtering, the Wind Waker pulled himself out, onto a platform in the middle of the pool.
"So, you have finally reached me."
Link spun around at the feminine voice. At the far end of the pool was a raised dias with a
throne-like chair. Upon the throne sat a woman. She appeared to be young, although it was
impossible to guess her age. Her blue hair was bulled back into two large, bushy ponytails, held
in place by seashells. Her dress was very strange. She wore a top piece made of what looked like
choral, with two large halves of a clam shell serving as a bra. Loose sleeves of a turquoise
material hung around her arms. Around her wrists were cuffs adorned with gold, choral, and
pearls. A necklace made of shells and pearls hung around her neck. The lower half of the bikini-
like ensemble was just as risque as the top. The bottom was made of choral and gold interwoven,
and the covered in the front and back with a loincloth of the turquoise material. Her feet were
adorned in delicate sandals, which lace all the way up past her knees. A faint and somewhat
intimidating smile rested upon her blue lips, and her turquoise eyes bore into the Hero of Winds.
Link swallowed and turned to face the woman, fighting down a faint blush. Even Tetra
dressed more conservatively. "A-are you the Sorceress of Water?" he stammered.
"I am," came the even reply.
The Wind Waker swallowed again. "Uh, I am Link. I-"
"I know who you are, incarnation of the Hero," the sorceress interjected, cutting him off.
"I also know why you have sought me out." At this, the sorceress rose from her seat. She held a
spiraling, shell-like scepter. "Those who seek the blessings of the goddesses must be wise,
courageous, and powerful. Before I will give you my piece of the Talisman of Ages, you must
prove yourself worthy."
Link groaned inwardly. He didn't like where this was headed. "And how can I do that?"
he asked.
"You must face my precious pet," the sorceress replied, a smirk playing across her lips.
Noticing a ripple in the water, Link turned around. A head was rising from the water
behind him. The silvery-blue smooth reptilian head of a dragon. Slowly, the entire body of the
dragon emerged from under the water. The pale colored beast towered over the Wind Waker.
Massive wings, like those belonging to the ancient pterodactyl unfurled behind the monster, their
undersides a royal purple color. A white mist issued from the dragon's nostrils.
The dragon sat on a platform just like the one Link currently stood on, large webbed claws
tapping against the stone surface. A large, horn/fin adorned the back of the dragon's head, while
a finned tail swept back and forth behind it. Golden eyes peered down at the Hero of Winds.
"This is Elemyn," the Sorceress of Water stated. "She is my Ice Dragon. A beautiful
creature from a land far, far north of here. If you can defeat her, I will give you my shard of the
medallion."
Link swallowed again, his eye twitching. *Wonderful. A dragon. Could this day get any
better?* He unsheathed the sword on Gilded Sword that the Hero of Time had given him, and
strapped on his mirror shield. Glancing to either side, Link took in the surrounding area. They
were in a large clearing, fenced in by very dense trees. The tops of the trees seemed to bend in,
creating a sort of natural dome. On one side, where the trees weren't quick as thick, he could
make out Zora's Fountain. Apparently, they were on a cliff a few meters up the side of the
fountain. The clearing was covered in what appeared to be marble. Most of the area consisted of
a giant pool of water. In the center was the pipe Link had ridden, still spewing water. Inside the
large pool were several raised platforms, each a good jump away from the others. It was on one
of these platforms that the Hero of Winds stood.
The Hero of Winds and the Ice Dragon faced each other in silence for a minute, neither
moving a muscle. The Sorceress of Water smiled, watching the two opponents.
"Begin."
And they were off. With a mighty beat of her wings, Elemyn was airborne, open jaws
aimed straight at the Wind Waker. Link leapt to another platform beside him, avoiding the
dragon's dive, however he was forced to one knee by the gust of wind created by the creature's
wings. The dragon, having missed its target, pulled up into a loop, then shooting straight down
into the water.
Link rushed to the edge of the platform to see if he could spot the dragon, however the
water was unnaturally blue, and more difficult to see through than that of Zora's Fountain. The
sudden splash behind him, however, was quite easy to detect. The Wind Waker rolled to the side
just in time to avoid Elemyn's clamping jaws. As the dragon retracted her head, Link took a
swipe at her with his sword. He scored a glancing blow, which did little more than anger the
beast.
Elemyn pulled back snarling. Link braced himself for the next attack. However, he had
not anticipated the dragon's tail, which suddenly leapt from the water and slammed into his side,
throwing him from the platform toward the water. Suspended in midair, Link spotted the Ice
Dragon, half in the water half out, shooting straight at him, water parting around her body.
Knowing that landing in the water would be a very bad thing for his health, Link glanced around
for some way to stop his descent. His eyes came to rest on the tree limbs above. Still inches
above the water, Link had his hookshot in his shield hand, aiming upwards. As the tip of his hat
grazed to water, Link pulled the trigger. With a clank, the arrow-like tip of the devise launched
upwards. As Link's head began to enter the water, the hookshot struck a strong tree limb,
sticking in place and switching from extend to contract. Link was yanked up out of the water,
just as Elemyn's head passed through where he had been.
The hookshot contracted, and Link dislodged it with a slight twist. He fell, landing on
another platform. Elemyn pulled out of her dive, and perched upon a different platform. The two
face off for a moment, before the dragon made a move. She swung her head to the side, throat
convulsing as if she was going to either spit or vomit. Suddenly, she snapped her head forward,
jaws open. An extremely dense mist issued from her mouth, almost like flame. As the blast of
mist barreled down on him, Link stepped to the side, avoiding the worst of it. The mist, he
discovered, was very, VERY cold. Link shivered as he rose from his crouching position. He
tried to move, but suddenly found himself unable to move his feet. Looking down, he discovered
that his feet were now frozen in a solid block of ice. *Crap!* he thought. Glancing back up he
discovered that Elemyn had moved closer. *I guess that is why she's called an Ice Dragon.*
The pale dragon leapt into the air, while at the same time, whipping her tail around to hit
Link. The Wind Waker, unable to dodge, was launched into the air by the blow. The dragon
turned in the air, aiming down at an angle so that she would land on the water, jaws first, just as
the Wind Waker passed by below. Link realized this, and again pulled up his hookshot, which
was still in his hand. He aimed horizontally at the base of one of the trees and fired. As the
hookshot suddenly pulled him in the opposite direction, Link tapped his heels together,
summoning his iron boots. With a flick of the wrist, Link unhooked the tip of the hookshot. He
was already dropping into the water by the time the tip contracted.
Link quickly sunk to the bottom of the pool. He quickly hid behind the base of a nearby
platform. Shortly, he heard a muffled crash, which he assumed to be the dragon entering the
water. Being sure not to move his weighted feet, which would surely be heard by the dragon, the
Wind Waker, switched his hookshot over to his left hand, while he pulled out his bow with his
right. He notched an arrow, holding the end of it and his hookshot in the same hand, but did not
draw it back. Then, Link waited.
Elemyn slowly made her way across the bottom of the pool, searching behind the pillars
that made up the platforms for her opponent. He was down there somewhere. Finally, Elemyn
passed the pillar Link was hiding behind. The Wind Waker instantly drew back his arrow, which
burned with a red-white light. The sudden source of light, caught Elemyn's attention, and she
whipped her head around to face the source. For a second time froze. Only a few feet apart, the
dragon's head pointing straight at Link, and Link's arrow pointed straight at the dragon. Then
Link loosed the arrow. Normally, bow and arrows don't do much underwater, but this was a
magic arrow, and at this range Link couldn't miss, and Elemyn couldn't dodge.
Even as the blast of magic fire detonated in the dragon's face, Link was firing his
hookshot upwards. As he was pulled up out of the water, the Wind Waker tapped his heels,
getting rid of his iron boots. Link sailed up to where his hookshot had stuck in a tree limb, then
quickly dislodged it. As he began to fall, the Wind Waker quickly notched another arrow. The
dragon had now broken the surface of the water, thrashing around in pain. Link aimed as he fell,
and fired another magic arrow at the beast's head.
The arrow never made it. A mere meter away from the dragon, the arrow suddenly
bounced back, as though it had struck a solid wall. The arrow itself suddenly sparked and burned
itself up. Link landed on a platform blinking in surprise.
"That is enough."
Link turned to the voice. He had forgotten about the Water Sorceress. Elemyn seemed to
calm down and stopped thrashing, though obviously still hurting from the Fire Arrow.
The sorceress stepped forward. "It seems that you were able to defeat my Elemyn, Hero
of Winds. As promised, I shall give you my shard of the Talisman of Ages. Perhaps you may
receive the blessing of the goddesses." The sorceress stretched out her hand, upon which rested a
fragment of a pendant. The fragment lifted up, off her hand and floated over to Link. He caught
the shard out of the air. It consisted of about a third of a circular pendant. It was made of silver,
with a whole golden triangle on it, obviously representing part of the Triforce.
Link pocketed the piece of the medallion. He suddenly felt a nudge from behind him. He
turned around to find himself face to face with Elemyn.
"She likes you," the sorceress explained.
Link nodded. "Um, okay." He gently stroked the dragon's muzzle. "Sorry about that
arrow, girl." The dragon made miffed grunt. As if a pitiful arrow could really hurt the mighty
Elemyn!
"This will take you back to Zora's Fountain," the Water Sorceress said, making a gesture
with one hand. A swirling blue light appeared on the ground before the Wind Waker. "Good
luck in your quest, Link. The fate of the world depends upon you."
The Hero of Winds nodded. "Thank you," he responded before stepping into the light.
yeah, and I discovered that dungeons are really, REALLY hard to write about. I can see why
people don't usually do it! Please excuse how lame and short these three dungeons will be. They
really are hard (and boring) to write about. Also, I wanted to fit each dungeon into it's own
chapter. Anyway, I will try to get the next chapter out more quickly. Please be sure to review!
Many thanks to all of you who are following this story! Now, on with the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Zelda. I merely control the character's fate.
The Legend of Zelda
The Golden Land
Chapter Twenty
Sorceresses of Water
LAST TIME:
The Hero of Winds stood for a minute, examining the odd scene. Finally, he trudged his
way up the stairs to the large door. *What now?* he thought. There was no latch to pull the door
open with, so how did he open it? Finally, he decided to just knock. For a moment, nothing
happened. Then, suddenly, the door split in the middle, sliding open. Link stood there for a
minute, then shrugged and walked in. The door closed behind him.
NOW:
The Wind Waker glanced back at the door that had just shut, it's noise muffled by the
water. He shrugged. Guess he couldn't leave until he found the sorceress. Oh well, he hadn't
planned to anyway. He continued to move forward, only to find a stone wall. Fortunately, there
was an opening in the ceiling above his head. Link crouched down and hopped, tapping his heels
together while he was above the ground. Now, this was a very odd sight, considering that he was
underwater.
The iron casings on Link's boots magically disappeared when he clapped the heels
together. Now free from the added weight, Link floated up to the opening. Surprisingly, the
water ended just at the opening and he broke the surface. The Wind Waker took a deep breath,
still treading water. He was glad to breath air again. Breathing water was just strange.
Link climbed out of the pool of water and found himself in a large room. A VERY large
room. A GIGANTIC room. The ceiling itself was probably three stories high. The room was
more or less square, each sided containing one large door. In the very middle was a raised dias
upon which sat a massive pearl in a large basin. The left and right sides of the room each had a
large moat-like trough of water which started against the wall and came out about ten feet. The
artificial rivers each ran the length of their respective walls. In the middle of each of the two
rectangular pools was a small stone bridge which led to the door which resided in the middle of
the wall. The far side of the chamber was a little different. The ground abruptly ended in a chasm
that was over twenty feet wide and appeared to lead down forever. On the other side of the
chasm, the ground resumed as usual, creating a twenty or so foot deep platform. In the middle of
the far wall was a giant gold door that was intricately decorated. At the edge of the platform in
front of the door was a metal bridge, which was hinged to the platform. It was currently in a
vertical position, creating a sort of barrier in front of the door. Not that the door needed one.
With the bridge up, there was no way across the chasm. On either side of the door there, there
was an unlit torch stand.
Now, normally, Link would have notched a fire arrow and shot the two torches to see if it
lowered the bridge. However, there was one problem. In the chasm before the door, a steady
wall of water fell, blocking the entire wall off. The water would undoubtably prevent a fire arrow
from doing its job.
Sighing, the Hero of Winds decided to investigate the two more accessible door. The left
(north) door was barred, preventing passage. Link could not find a lock on it anywhere. After a
minute of investigation, Link found that there were two torch stands, one on either side of the
door. In the trough. Underwater. The Wind Waker groaned. The torches would be impossible
to light unless the water was drained first.
Link made his way over to the right (south) side door. Much to his relief, it was unlocked
and unobstructed. He passed through the door to find himself in a room that curved slightly to
the right. The door slammed shut behind him and bars came down from the ceiling, stranding
Link in the room. But he wasn't alone. In the middle of the room, two massive, armored figures
turned at the sound of the slamming door. One figure hefted a massive sword and a circular
shield. Link immediately recognized it as a Darknut. The other figure lifted a giant two-handed
ax. Link wasn't really sure what that figure was, but it looked as fearsome as the Darknut,
perhaps more so.
The two creatures advanced on the Hero of Winds. *Well, I could use a good workout,*
Link thought as he unsheathed his sword and strapped on his shield. He dropped low into a
fighting stance as the two armored creatures approached.
With a grunt, the unknown creature hefted its mighty ax and swung it down at Link. The
Wind Waker hopped back, easily avoiding the weapon, which lodged itself into the stone floor.
The Darknut swung it's sword down diagonally. Link dove to the side, rolling under the blade.
Now behind the monster, the Hero of Winds hopped back to his feet, slashing upward with his
sword. The blade severed the straps on the back of te Darknut's armor, causing the breastplate to
fall off with a clank.
The ax wielding enemy managed to dislodge it's weapon an slowly marched after Link,
metal boots clattering against the floor.. *These guys aren't too quick,* the Wind Waker thought.
He baited the monster, which proceeded to take a horizontal swing with it's ax. Link easily
dodged the attack, and leapt in closer to counter, but he was forced to retreat again as the massive
ax came back at him on a return swing, nearly chopping the hylian in half. *Gotta watch out for
that one!* the Wind Waker noted.
The Darknut now rejoined it's comrade, both large creatures slowly approaching the Hero
of Winds. Link raised his shield and dropped his body low. He smirked as he extended his arm,
holding his sword straight out behind him. A golden aura appeared around the blade. As the two
hulks closed in, nearing attacking range, Link gave a yell, swinging his sword and sending himself
in to a dizzying spin. Yellow magic energy coursed through his sword, forming what appeared to
be a yellow ring around the lad. Balancing on one foot, Lin, the human top, glided towards his
opponents like a buzz saw. The two creatures attempted to strike, but weren't quick enough.
The clatter of metal colliding quickly and repeatedly with other metal could be heard, along with
the thrashing of blade against hide.
The two dark creatures were thrown back. The Darknut fell to the ground and was
consumed by dark magical fires. The other opponent staggered back, its broken armor falling
from it's body.
It took Link a second to reorient himself after his Hurricane Spin. When he had recovered
from the dizziness, he turned to face his remaining opponent, who was also just recovering. The
creature quickly struck out, swinging vertically at the Hero of Winds. Link easily dodged and
shook his head as the monster again got its ax stuck in the floor. Link quickly darted in and cut
his opponent a fatal blow. The monster collapsed, also disappearing in a blaze of magic fires.
Now that the enemies were defeated, the bars on the door Link had entered through slip
up, freeing the exit. At the far end of the room, another door was unblocked in a similar way.
The Wind Waker sighed, choosing the door he had not already been through and continued his
journey.
The next room was box shaped. In the middle, a pool of water split the room in half. The
ground on the far side of the pool was raised so that a person could not climb out of the water on
that side. On the side that Link entered through, there was a circular grate on the floor, with an
identical grate on the ceiling directly above it. A constant stream of water poured from the top, to
strong for the Wind Waker to pass through. Inside the jet of water, Link could just make out the
form of a chest.
Glancing around, Link spotted a strange design on the wall. It looked like a plaque of a
large eye. Now, the Hero of Winds was already in a testy mood, and he really didn't like the way
that eye was watching him, be it an inanimate object or not. Pulling out his bow, Link notched
three arrows and shot them right into the middle of the eye. The eyelid lowered, closing the eye.
At the same time, the flow of water from the ceiling stopped, exposing the chest.
Link grinned and opened the chest to find a small, silver key. He liked those kind of
switches. The Hero of Winds turned to examine the far side of the room. How could he get to
the raised other side? Thinking about some of his past "experiments" with magic arrows, he
pulled out an arrow and notched it. The arrowhead began to glow with a cold, blue energy. Link
fired the Ice Arrow into the pool of water. The area where the arrow hit immediately froze into a
flat platform of ice, which floated on top of the water. Smiling, Link hopped onto the platform
before it could melt enough to sink, and jumped over to the far side, where he caught the ledge
and pulled himself up. He was greeted by a locked door, which he opened with his newly
acquired key.
The next room was rather small. On the middle of the floor, a large circular design was
carved. On the ceiling above it was a grate, but no water was coming from it. Link went and
stood on the middle of the circular design and examined the room. From where he now stood,
the Wind Waker could now see a small hole in the wall. It led to a small tunnel that went back ten
or so feet. At the end of the tunnel was another of the eyeball switches. Standing at any other
point on the floor, Link would not be able to see all the way down the tunnel, let a lone shoot.
The Hero of Winds notched an arrow and fired it into the eye, which closed. For a second,
nothing happened. Then, water came gushing from the grate above his head, nearly knocking him
over.
*Great,* Link thought. *Just what I need. More water.*
That's when the floor opened up under his feet.
With a yelp, the Wind Waker found himself being flushed through a long, twisting series
of large pipes. After several moments, Link caught a glimpse of light. Then, he suddenly found
himself airborne. For a couple of seconds, anyway. Then the Hero of Winds crashed down into a
small pool, next to a large pipe, which was spewing up water into the air, like it had done him.
Gathering his wits and his dignity (thank the goddesses no one had seen that) Link climbed
to his feet and trudged out of the pool. He was now in a smaller sized room, which was half
occupied by the pool he had just climbed out of. On the dry half of the room was another circle
on the floor, next to a small opening in the wall, which Link guessed was another pipe ride. Oh
joy. Also, there was a large white crystal. Link promptly drew his sword and whacked the crystal
(because everyone knows that is what you do to large crystals sitting conspicuously in the middle
of a room). The crystal began to glow yellow. Figuring that was all he could do here, the Wind
Waker moved over to the circle on the floor and flushed himself out of the room.
With a thud, Link landed in the room where he had fought the Darknut and the ax
wielding monster. He quickly decided that he preferred to land in a pool of water, as opposed to
on a stone floor. Dragging himself out of the massive puddle which had formed around him, the
Hero of Winds went to the door he had originally entered the room through.
Once Link entered the massive entrance room, which he had dubbed "The Lobby," he
stopped as the ground gave a rumble. The Wind Waker watched as the giant pearl in the middle
of the room began to shimmer in different colors. Finally, the pearl began to rise, levitating in the
air. It rose about half way to the ceiling before it stopped and just hovered. With a snap-hiss and
a bright flash of light, a fire sprang to life in the basin where the pearl had resided. The fire
burned and eerie white color that didn't seem entirely natural.
Carefully, Link made his way up to the pedestal and inspected the basin. The fire
definitely seemed unnatural. Noticing a jar of sticks nearby, Link picked up a stick and rubbed the
tip in the fire. The stick caught fire well enough. As the Wind Waker inspected his new torch, a
thought occurred to him. The torch stands outside of the palace he was now in had burned white-
hot, even underwater. Quickly dashing over to one of the pools of water in the room, link dunked
the lit end of the stick underwater. Amazingly, the fire did not go out. The water did not seem to
effect it at all.
Grinning, Link darted over to the barred north door. On either side of the door were
submerged torch stands. Link dunked the magic torch underwater and lit both of the stands.
Instantly, the bars on the door slid up, allowing him passage. Before going through the door,
Link tossed away the burning stick, as it was getting too low for comfort.
The Hero of Winds went through the door to find himself in a round tunnel. The tunnel
was just high enough that he didn't have to crouch to walk through. However, a yards down the
tunnel was a giant pearl, which completely obstructed the passage. Link gave the pearl a good
shove and it rolled down the tunnel a ways before hitting something and stopping. A side tunnel
of equal size was revealed where the pearl had originally rested, leading to the left. Link followed
the tunnel, which looped around, only to end where the pearl now rested. He again gave the pearl
a shove, sending it rolling down another tunnel. Link continued on for several minutes of pushing
the pearl around the tunnels, before he finally revealed the exit.
In the next room, Link found two torch stands. One of them was burning with the magical
white flame he had encountered earlier. The other was unlit. The unlit one stood on top of a
grate on the floor, and below and identical grate on the ceiling. A constant stream of water
connected the two grates, drenching the torch.
Seeing no sticks laying around, Link notched an arrow. He took aim, and fired it first
through the flame of the lit torch, and then through the water and into the unlit torch, catching it
on fire. Once the torch was lit, a treasure chest fell from the ceiling. Link opened it to find a
magical crystal. The crystal instantly merged with the one he already had for producing Fire
Arrows. His Fire Arrows were now upgraded to use the special magic white fire.
Link retraced his steps to the main lobby. He walked up to the chasm opposite the
entrance to the palace. He peered through the wall of water to see the unlit torches by the large
door. The Wind Waker readied an arrow, which began to glow with a strange red-white light.
He took aim, and fired at one of the torches. The flaming arrow sailed through the water and
struck the torch stand, instantly igniting it. Smiling at his success, Link repeated the process on
the second torch stand.
With an affirmative chime, the hinged bridge on the far side of the chasm swung down,
landing in front of Link with a crash. The Hero of Winds quickly crossed the bridge, once again
being soaked as he passed through the wall of water. On the other side, he opened the large door
to find a small room. The room consisted of another of those "flush yourself systems" as Link
had dubbed them. Standing on the circle, he fired an arrow through the small tunnel, activating
the contraption. The Wind Waker was once again doused with water, before the floor opened up
under him. Link was flushed through a series of pipes for what seemed like an eternity, before he
finally found himself airborne . . . just before he crashed down into a not so shallow pool of water.
Sputtering, the Wind Waker pulled himself out, onto a platform in the middle of the pool.
"So, you have finally reached me."
Link spun around at the feminine voice. At the far end of the pool was a raised dias with a
throne-like chair. Upon the throne sat a woman. She appeared to be young, although it was
impossible to guess her age. Her blue hair was bulled back into two large, bushy ponytails, held
in place by seashells. Her dress was very strange. She wore a top piece made of what looked like
choral, with two large halves of a clam shell serving as a bra. Loose sleeves of a turquoise
material hung around her arms. Around her wrists were cuffs adorned with gold, choral, and
pearls. A necklace made of shells and pearls hung around her neck. The lower half of the bikini-
like ensemble was just as risque as the top. The bottom was made of choral and gold interwoven,
and the covered in the front and back with a loincloth of the turquoise material. Her feet were
adorned in delicate sandals, which lace all the way up past her knees. A faint and somewhat
intimidating smile rested upon her blue lips, and her turquoise eyes bore into the Hero of Winds.
Link swallowed and turned to face the woman, fighting down a faint blush. Even Tetra
dressed more conservatively. "A-are you the Sorceress of Water?" he stammered.
"I am," came the even reply.
The Wind Waker swallowed again. "Uh, I am Link. I-"
"I know who you are, incarnation of the Hero," the sorceress interjected, cutting him off.
"I also know why you have sought me out." At this, the sorceress rose from her seat. She held a
spiraling, shell-like scepter. "Those who seek the blessings of the goddesses must be wise,
courageous, and powerful. Before I will give you my piece of the Talisman of Ages, you must
prove yourself worthy."
Link groaned inwardly. He didn't like where this was headed. "And how can I do that?"
he asked.
"You must face my precious pet," the sorceress replied, a smirk playing across her lips.
Noticing a ripple in the water, Link turned around. A head was rising from the water
behind him. The silvery-blue smooth reptilian head of a dragon. Slowly, the entire body of the
dragon emerged from under the water. The pale colored beast towered over the Wind Waker.
Massive wings, like those belonging to the ancient pterodactyl unfurled behind the monster, their
undersides a royal purple color. A white mist issued from the dragon's nostrils.
The dragon sat on a platform just like the one Link currently stood on, large webbed claws
tapping against the stone surface. A large, horn/fin adorned the back of the dragon's head, while
a finned tail swept back and forth behind it. Golden eyes peered down at the Hero of Winds.
"This is Elemyn," the Sorceress of Water stated. "She is my Ice Dragon. A beautiful
creature from a land far, far north of here. If you can defeat her, I will give you my shard of the
medallion."
Link swallowed again, his eye twitching. *Wonderful. A dragon. Could this day get any
better?* He unsheathed the sword on Gilded Sword that the Hero of Time had given him, and
strapped on his mirror shield. Glancing to either side, Link took in the surrounding area. They
were in a large clearing, fenced in by very dense trees. The tops of the trees seemed to bend in,
creating a sort of natural dome. On one side, where the trees weren't quick as thick, he could
make out Zora's Fountain. Apparently, they were on a cliff a few meters up the side of the
fountain. The clearing was covered in what appeared to be marble. Most of the area consisted of
a giant pool of water. In the center was the pipe Link had ridden, still spewing water. Inside the
large pool were several raised platforms, each a good jump away from the others. It was on one
of these platforms that the Hero of Winds stood.
The Hero of Winds and the Ice Dragon faced each other in silence for a minute, neither
moving a muscle. The Sorceress of Water smiled, watching the two opponents.
"Begin."
And they were off. With a mighty beat of her wings, Elemyn was airborne, open jaws
aimed straight at the Wind Waker. Link leapt to another platform beside him, avoiding the
dragon's dive, however he was forced to one knee by the gust of wind created by the creature's
wings. The dragon, having missed its target, pulled up into a loop, then shooting straight down
into the water.
Link rushed to the edge of the platform to see if he could spot the dragon, however the
water was unnaturally blue, and more difficult to see through than that of Zora's Fountain. The
sudden splash behind him, however, was quite easy to detect. The Wind Waker rolled to the side
just in time to avoid Elemyn's clamping jaws. As the dragon retracted her head, Link took a
swipe at her with his sword. He scored a glancing blow, which did little more than anger the
beast.
Elemyn pulled back snarling. Link braced himself for the next attack. However, he had
not anticipated the dragon's tail, which suddenly leapt from the water and slammed into his side,
throwing him from the platform toward the water. Suspended in midair, Link spotted the Ice
Dragon, half in the water half out, shooting straight at him, water parting around her body.
Knowing that landing in the water would be a very bad thing for his health, Link glanced around
for some way to stop his descent. His eyes came to rest on the tree limbs above. Still inches
above the water, Link had his hookshot in his shield hand, aiming upwards. As the tip of his hat
grazed to water, Link pulled the trigger. With a clank, the arrow-like tip of the devise launched
upwards. As Link's head began to enter the water, the hookshot struck a strong tree limb,
sticking in place and switching from extend to contract. Link was yanked up out of the water,
just as Elemyn's head passed through where he had been.
The hookshot contracted, and Link dislodged it with a slight twist. He fell, landing on
another platform. Elemyn pulled out of her dive, and perched upon a different platform. The two
face off for a moment, before the dragon made a move. She swung her head to the side, throat
convulsing as if she was going to either spit or vomit. Suddenly, she snapped her head forward,
jaws open. An extremely dense mist issued from her mouth, almost like flame. As the blast of
mist barreled down on him, Link stepped to the side, avoiding the worst of it. The mist, he
discovered, was very, VERY cold. Link shivered as he rose from his crouching position. He
tried to move, but suddenly found himself unable to move his feet. Looking down, he discovered
that his feet were now frozen in a solid block of ice. *Crap!* he thought. Glancing back up he
discovered that Elemyn had moved closer. *I guess that is why she's called an Ice Dragon.*
The pale dragon leapt into the air, while at the same time, whipping her tail around to hit
Link. The Wind Waker, unable to dodge, was launched into the air by the blow. The dragon
turned in the air, aiming down at an angle so that she would land on the water, jaws first, just as
the Wind Waker passed by below. Link realized this, and again pulled up his hookshot, which
was still in his hand. He aimed horizontally at the base of one of the trees and fired. As the
hookshot suddenly pulled him in the opposite direction, Link tapped his heels together,
summoning his iron boots. With a flick of the wrist, Link unhooked the tip of the hookshot. He
was already dropping into the water by the time the tip contracted.
Link quickly sunk to the bottom of the pool. He quickly hid behind the base of a nearby
platform. Shortly, he heard a muffled crash, which he assumed to be the dragon entering the
water. Being sure not to move his weighted feet, which would surely be heard by the dragon, the
Wind Waker, switched his hookshot over to his left hand, while he pulled out his bow with his
right. He notched an arrow, holding the end of it and his hookshot in the same hand, but did not
draw it back. Then, Link waited.
Elemyn slowly made her way across the bottom of the pool, searching behind the pillars
that made up the platforms for her opponent. He was down there somewhere. Finally, Elemyn
passed the pillar Link was hiding behind. The Wind Waker instantly drew back his arrow, which
burned with a red-white light. The sudden source of light, caught Elemyn's attention, and she
whipped her head around to face the source. For a second time froze. Only a few feet apart, the
dragon's head pointing straight at Link, and Link's arrow pointed straight at the dragon. Then
Link loosed the arrow. Normally, bow and arrows don't do much underwater, but this was a
magic arrow, and at this range Link couldn't miss, and Elemyn couldn't dodge.
Even as the blast of magic fire detonated in the dragon's face, Link was firing his
hookshot upwards. As he was pulled up out of the water, the Wind Waker tapped his heels,
getting rid of his iron boots. Link sailed up to where his hookshot had stuck in a tree limb, then
quickly dislodged it. As he began to fall, the Wind Waker quickly notched another arrow. The
dragon had now broken the surface of the water, thrashing around in pain. Link aimed as he fell,
and fired another magic arrow at the beast's head.
The arrow never made it. A mere meter away from the dragon, the arrow suddenly
bounced back, as though it had struck a solid wall. The arrow itself suddenly sparked and burned
itself up. Link landed on a platform blinking in surprise.
"That is enough."
Link turned to the voice. He had forgotten about the Water Sorceress. Elemyn seemed to
calm down and stopped thrashing, though obviously still hurting from the Fire Arrow.
The sorceress stepped forward. "It seems that you were able to defeat my Elemyn, Hero
of Winds. As promised, I shall give you my shard of the Talisman of Ages. Perhaps you may
receive the blessing of the goddesses." The sorceress stretched out her hand, upon which rested a
fragment of a pendant. The fragment lifted up, off her hand and floated over to Link. He caught
the shard out of the air. It consisted of about a third of a circular pendant. It was made of silver,
with a whole golden triangle on it, obviously representing part of the Triforce.
Link pocketed the piece of the medallion. He suddenly felt a nudge from behind him. He
turned around to find himself face to face with Elemyn.
"She likes you," the sorceress explained.
Link nodded. "Um, okay." He gently stroked the dragon's muzzle. "Sorry about that
arrow, girl." The dragon made miffed grunt. As if a pitiful arrow could really hurt the mighty
Elemyn!
"This will take you back to Zora's Fountain," the Water Sorceress said, making a gesture
with one hand. A swirling blue light appeared on the ground before the Wind Waker. "Good
luck in your quest, Link. The fate of the world depends upon you."
The Hero of Winds nodded. "Thank you," he responded before stepping into the light.