Hello there everyone! I'm back again with an update! About time, huh? I bet you all throught this story was dead. NO WAY! I may be lazy and not have too much time for this, but I WILL NOT give up on this story! I mean really! There's probably about five or so chapters left. I'm so close to the end that I can't give it up. So please, bear with me. Hopefully, I will get the next chapter out more quickly (It's more fun to write a chapter with more than one character in it). Anyways, I would like to thank everyone who has sent in a review, this story has well over two hundred (I'm not sure of the exact count. My ff.net account seems to have decided to delete the oldest ones and lower the tally, while the story itself still shows the right number)! That is awesome! Thank you very much! And please, be sure to keep sending in your reviews! Maybe they will convince me to update faster.
The Legend of Zelda
The Golden Land
Chapter Twenty-one
The Sorceress of Fire
LAST TIME:
"I see," Link replied. "He turned to the massive domes Turtle Rock. "So, this is where the sorceress lives?" The dragon nodded. "So, how do I get in?"
"KNOCK AND YOU SHALL ENTER."
"Knock?" Link asked raising an eyebrow. The dragon nodded. "Okay." Link walked up to the head of the turtle. He raised a fist and knocked on the turtle's nose. There was a rumbling sound, then the turtle's head began to shift, the mouth opening to reveal a passageway.
Navi flew out from under Link's hat. "You know," she said. "You never have good experiences entering something's mouth. Link nodded, but entered the passage anyway. The stone turtle's mouth closed behind him.
NOW:
As soon as he entered Turtle Rock, Link, the Hero of Time, was bombarded with heat and the red glow of magma. The entrance/mouth of the stone structure slammed shut, causing Link to glance back at it.
"What a pleasant place," Navi commented idly from the air around Link's head. She then landed on the Hero's hat. "It's too hot to be flying the whole time."
Link shrugged. He didn't care. His Goron Tunic kept the heat from bothering him. Besides, he was used to Navi by now. She was pushy and tended to nag, as well as being a bit lazy and prone to complaining But, more than anything, she was sarcastic.
Getting his bearings, the Hero of Time turned back around and studied the chamber he was in. It was very large. The ceiling was high and it went back quite a ways. Link was currently standing on a rock bridge that went back most of the length of the room and ended in a "T" intersection, that led off to doors on either side of the room. About thirty feet up in the air was another rock bridge. This one was connected to a rock cropping above Link's head on his side of the room. It went out straight a little further than the bridge Link was currently on and just stopped, as if it had yet to be completed.
The only other thing of note in the room was a large stone pipe. It was positioned about ten feet back from the "T" intersection of the bridge Link stood on, raising out of the lava. The pipe, about ten feet in diameter, rose a good ten to fifteen feet above the bridge Link was on. At the top of the pipe, the Hero of Time could see bits of boiling magma bubbling into the air.
"Navi, goo check that out," Link ordered, pointing towards the pipe.
"Oh, alright, I-" Navi's reply was cut short by a sudden rumbling. A giant plume of lava suddenly shot up from the pipe, raising through the air. the plume past the end of the bridge above Link by only a few centimeters, and continued up. The pillar of lava stopped right at a whole in the ceiling of Turtle Rock that was the same size as the pipe below. After several seconds, the plume of lava abated, lowering back down into the pipe, and things settled down. Link looked up at the whole in the ceiling. Squinting, he could make out blue skies.
"I think I'd rather not check that thing out," Navi announced.
Link nodded. "Alright. Let's go examine those doors." He headed off down the bridge, Navi still riding on his head. Several flaming Keese seemed to emerge from cracks in the wall as Link walked, forcing him to shoot several with either arrows or his Longshot. Just before the Hero of Time reached the "T" intersection, the lava plume erupted again in much the same fashion. Upon arrival at the intersection, Link could more clearly see the two doors that the bridge led to. The left door was locked and chained, while the right one was unobstructed. "I guess we go that way," he muttered to himself. The lava plume erupted again as Link went through the door.
The door slammed shut behind the Hero of Time and bars rose up, blocking his exit. There was a moment of silence as Link examined the rather plain circular room . . . and as the half-dozen Lizafos therein examined him.
"Perfect," Link muttered, arming himself with the Master Sword and his Mirror Shield, Navi leaping into the air and circling the enemy. With a loud squawk, the group of lizard men leapt at him. Link swiped the first away with his blade while it was still in midair. He sidestepped the second's blade, and blocked the third's with his shield, while hacking off a forth one's head. Link parried the next two attacks, one with his sword and one with his shield, while kicking a Lizafo in the gut, knocking it away. Quickly, Link did a low powered spin attack, catching two more Lizafos and cutting them down. The last two Lizafos approached from opposite sides. The first attacking high, the second swinging low. Link batted away the first's blade with his shield, then hopped over the second's swing, bringing the Master Sword down to cleave the beast's skull. Reversing the grip on his sword, Link stabbed backwards, catching the final opponent in the gut.
As the body of the final Lizafo dissolved in magic flames, a chime sounded and the bars on the exit slid open, as did the bars on a door on the wall left of the entrance. Navi landed back on Link's head, while the young teen sheathed his weapons.
Link went through the unopened door to find himself in decently large square room. The left half of the room had stone floor and led to an unlocked door. The right half of the room was full of lava, which swirled around in a circular current. On the far side of the room was a small platform which led to a door.
Link walked up to the edge of te lava poll. "What are you doing?" Navi asked.
"Testing the waters. So to speak," the Hero of Time replied drawing his bow and stringing an arrow. The tip os the arrow began to glow with a blue light. Aiming into the lava, Link loosed his ice arrow. It hit the molten liquid in an explosion of steam. A patch of lava instantly solidified into small stone platform of sorts. The platform was quickly caught in the lava's current, and began to drift in a circle towards the platform on the far side of the lava. Link grinned . . . until the platform broke up and sunk about half of the way there.
"I don't think you'll be riding that," Navi commented.
"Hush, you."
The pool of lava was too large to jump, even if Link made one of the temporary platforms halfway and used the hover boots, and the platforms sunk too quickly to use more than one. Weighing his options, the Hero of Time elected to try the door on the non molten side of the room.
Upon entering the next room, Link found another pit of lava, which spanned the entire chamber. There was a small platform on either side with a door, one of which Link stood on. The room was roughly fifty feet across. Small platforms zigzagged the room, each separated by about ten feet. Skull-like fire bubbles hopped in and out of the lava at random, searching for prey.
Link grinned and tapped the heels of his boots together twice. The platinum encasing of the hover boots formed. "Good thing you have those," Navi commented. Link nodded, and dashed towards the nearest platform. He slid to a halt there just in time to raise his shield as a fire bubble attacked him. After putting out he creature's fire, a quick swing of the Master Sword cleaved the skull in half. The Hero of Time carefully made his way across the room, avoiding the fire bubbles, and went through the far door.
The next room was a rectangle the middle was a large pool of lava about twenty feet wide. On the opposite side of the room was a treasure chest. On the side of the room Link was on was strange fountain. The fountain stood much like an ornate bird bath, rising several feet off the ground on a pillar-like base. The fountain itself had a smooth, plain basin. The stone figures of two dragons rose on opposite sides, each with its mouth opened and pointing upwards. However, instead of water coming from the dragons' mouths, a thick, fine white mist rose, spilling back into the basin like a deep fog. A very cold fog. The air temperature around the fountain was over thirty degrees cooler than the rest of the temple.
Link studied the fountain for several minutes, along with Navi. The Hero had thought about passing his hand through the mist, but decided against it, as he didn't want to have to amputate a frozen limb.
"Shoot an arrow through it."
"Huh?" Link stumbled out of his thoughts and turned to Navi, who hovered beside him.
"Shoot and arrow through the mist," Navi repeated. Link raised an eyebrow at her. "It works when you shoot an arrow through a fire to melt ice, so why not the reverse?" she clarified.
"Navi, I think that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard you say," the Hero replied.
"Oh, just try it!"
"Fine." Link notched an arrow and aimed it through the swirling mist at the lava pool in the middle of the room. With a twang, the arrow flew, hitting the lava in a cloud of steam that temporarily enveloped the entire room. When the steam abated, the pool of lava could again be seen. It had completely frozen into a solid block of stone. Link blinked. "Whoa." He turned to the grinning Navi. "Not one word."
Now unimpeded, Link walked over to the chest on the far side of the room. In it was a magic crystal. The new crystal instantly merged with the one he already had for producing Ice Arrows, upgrading said weapon.
Armed now with his new upgrade, Link backtracked to the room that was half solid and half lava, with a door across the lava. Aiming his bow, the Hero of Time fired one of his new arrows at the pool of lava. In a massive cloud of steam, the magma froze solid as before. Link went through the far door to find a small, plain room containing a treasure chest. In the chest was a small key.
Link backtracked again, to the giant chamber he had first entered in Turtle Rock. Now possessing a key, he unlocked the second door and continued on. Beyond the door, the Hero of Time found himself at the base of a large, gently sloping staircase. The stairs were lit by torches and continued on, curving somewhat, as if wrapping around the entire dome of turtle rock . . . which is exactly what it did. Link traveled up the stairs for a long time. Every now and then he would run across a Stalfos knight, or a Lizafo, or some fire bubbles, or a beamos.
After walking for what seemed like forever, Link arrived back in the main room, this time on the upper bridge. He walked to the edge of the bridge and peered down at the pipe full of bubbling lava. At a sudden rumbling sound, Link quickly retreated from the edge, to watch as the plume of magma shot up past him to the roof. After several seconds, the plume abated and Link again walked to the edge. This time he readied an arrow, which began to glow with a strange blue-white light. He fired the arrow down at the magma boiling in the pipe. The pale arrow flew, leaving a trail of frosty mist. In an explosion of steam, the arrow hit the magma, freezing it into stone.
Navi quickly hid in a pocket on Link's tunic. "This is gonna be bad," she muttered.
"Where's your sense of adventure, Navi?" Link joked.
"I lost it in Jabu-Jabu's belly." Link chuckled.
A rumbling sound stopped their chatter. "Here we go," Link muttered, crouching at the end of the bridge. After several seconds, the stone "cork" on the top of the pipe was forced of by the magma pushing up below it. The makeshift platform was carried up into the air by the lava plume. As it passed his bridge, Link jumped out, landing on the rising chunk of stone.
The lava powered elevator carried the Hero of Time up to the hole in the ceiling of Turtle Rock, stopping even with the roof. Link hopped off, onto the top of Turtle Rock. Several seconds later, the lava plume subsided and the elevator fell back away. Breathing the cool, clean air in relief, Link found himself at the start of another set of stairs, this set leading down the back of Turtle Rock and into the mountain. Muttering, Link started down the stairs. "I wonder if the others had to walk this much."
The stairs led down the turtle's shell and across its tail into a small opening in the mountain. The passageway through the mountain was almost pitch black, but was fortunately short. Link suddenly found himself again faced with the intense heat and red glow of magma.
"You have finally arrived."
The Hero of Time's attention was suddenly draw to a feminine voice at the far end of the chamber he had just entered. There, seated on a stone throne upon a raised dias sat the source of the voice. There sat a young woman who's age was indeterminable. She wore a dark metal breastplate with gold trim and a red strapless top that came up just high enough to make her decent without the armor. A small golden band wrapped around her upper arm on both arms. Gauntlets made of the same dark metal as the breastplate and trimmed again with gold adorned each forearm. Fingerless black gloves peeked out from under each gauntlets, covering the woman's hands. The gauntlets were each connected to the gold band on their respective arms by two strips of a silky black material, the same material the gloves were made of. She wore a large black belt with a black, gold-trimmed buckle. She had a Spartan-style skirt; a short plain red skirt made of the same silky material, covered by a skirt made of strips of material, which appeared to be an almost black type of dragon's hide, tipped with the dark metal used in the breastplate and trimmed with gold. She wore high heeled boots made of the same black dragon's hide that laced up above her knees. A golden clasp was latched arounder her neck, with a red ruby adorning it in the center. The woman's head was topped by the skull of a dragon. The skull was trimmed with gold and a blood red ruby was placed in each eye socket. The skull had horns like a ram, and could very well have once belonged to Volvagia. From under the skull spilled out two large, bushy ponytails of fiery orange hair, streaked with red. The woman's blood red lips were twisted up in a smirk and her violet eye bore into Link.
The Hero of Time stared at the woman for a moment. He swallowed and began, "Uh, are you by chance . . ?"
"I am the Sorceress of Fire," the woman stated, interrupting him.
"Oh, okay," Link said quickly, taking a step back. This woman was intimidating. The glow of the lava danced off the dark armor she wore, creating a rather spooky image. "Er, I am Link . . ."
Again she cut him off. "I already know who you are, incarnation of the Hero. And I know why you are here."
"You do?"
"Of course," the sorceress replied, rising from her seat. She held a gnarled, wicked looking scepter made of an indistinguishable material. "You want my shard of the Talisman of Ages. And I will give it to you, but only if you can defeat the opponent I set before you."
Link gave a sigh. So he would have to fight after all. Navi floated around his head. "Don't worry, Link. I'm sure you can take anyone she throws at you!"
The Hero of Time nodded. "Alright. I'll fight whoever you send."
"Very good," replied the sorceress, smiling in a rather predatorial way. "Oh, and Jaggen is not so much a 'who' as a 'what.'"
Link blinked in surprise. "Huh?"
Smirking, the Sorceress of Fire pointed upwards, and at the same time a swishing sound could be heard. Link turned his head upward to find a large form descending into the crater they were currently in. The form belonged to a large red-brown colored dragon. With surprising grace, the dragon settled down on the ground. Huge bat-like wing folded behind the beast. Now the dragon seemed to be a little more red in color than before, but that may have been the lighting. Smoke rose from the great beast's nostrils. Golden eyes bore down at the Hero of Time. Two long, straight black horns protruded from the back of the dragon's head. A whip-like tail twitched behind the beast. Sharp claws cut small grooves in the floor.
"This is Jaggen," the Sorceress of Fire stated. "He will be your opponent."
"Oh, a dragon. Wonderful," Link muttered. His eyes flickered around to take in his surroundings. He was in a large crater, but it would be impossible to climb out. On one side of the crater was the sorceress's throne. On the other was a small entrance platform. Both were connected by small rock bridges to the massive center platform. Everything else was a pool of lava. The walls of the crater rose, widening as they got higher, to open up to clear skies nearly a hundred feet above. The sides were covered with sharp rocks. Swords, shields, spears, armor, and the like littered the sides. It was apparent that a large army had been destroyed here once before. One of the sides of the wall, however, was relatively smooth. It looked as if a flow of lava had spilled over that side and solidified into rock., with only a few minor obtrusions pointing out.
"If you can defeat Jaggen, I will give you my piece of the Talisman," the Sorceress of Fire said, lowering herself back onto her throne. "Go."
With that, Jaggen was suddenly hurdling through the air at Link. The Hero doze to the side as the dragon passed by, avoiding it's jaws. Link neatly rolled and rose again, spinning and drawing his bow. He fired an Ice Arrow at the dragon's looping form, but Jaggen nimbly dodged in the air. The arrow struck the side of the crater, coating a large area in ice. Link put away his bow and drew his sword and shield. Jaggen completed his looping turn and charged at Link again. This time, the Hero of Time crouched low, holding his shield up and his sword back. Magic energy began to course through the Master Sword.
"Link! Are you crazy!" Navi screamed, floating somewhere above him.
"We'll see. I've never played chicken with a dragon before," he replied. The dragon continued to speed at the Hero. Link crouched lower.
At the last second, Jaggen seemed to realize what Link was planning and twisted his body to the side, using one clawed forearm to push off the ground for extra turning power. His other scraped along the ground as he desperately tried to avoid coming near to the Hero. At the same time, Link let loose his spin attack, sending blades of energy slicing through the air around him. As Jaggen passed by, Link's magic attack scored a gash along the dragon's side. Jaggen bellowed in rage as he took again to the air.
The fire dragon landed on the platform again and faced Link. After several seconds, the dragon again charged. Link lowered himself again, preparing to use his spin attack, but stopped when Jaggen thrust his head forward, jaws open. A stream of fire erupted from the dragon's mouth, headed towards the Hero. Link quickly jumped to the side, but was still singed by the dragon's fiery breath.
Jaggen began to circle Link in the air. The Hero of Time again drew his bow and fired an Ice Arrow, but again, the dragon dodged it. In retaliation, Jaggen again spewed flames at Link, which the teen dodged. The dragon continued circling, periodically breathing fire at its opponent.
"Link, you're a sitting duck here!" Navi exclaimed in his ear.
"I know! I know!" The Hero of Time scanned the walls of the crater. Rocks and weapons were all he could find. There was nothing he could . . . wait! There was a shield wedged tightly into the rocks, it's wooden backside facing out. And there was a large sturdy saddle caught in the rocks! And again, there was a large wooden pole, most likely from a spear designed to kill dragons.
Link gripped his Longshot in his shield hand, as well as his bow. He fired an Ice Arrow at the dragon, which was easily dodged, but only intended as a distraction. As soon as he had fired the arrow, Link fired his Longshot at the shield in the wall. He was quickly pulled to the rocky wall, where he found footing enough to again fire his Longshot at another usable target on the wall, closer to the dragon. Almost there, Link gave the Longshot a twist, dislodging it and sending himself free falling.
Jaggen turned in time to find a very strange sight. A Hylian was hurdling through the air AT HIM, sword drawn and ready. Link muttered to himself when the dragon dodged to the side, and pulled out his Longshot again, looking for a target he had spotted earlier. However, he was interrupted by Jaggen's tail, which whipped through the air to hit him, sending the Hero flying in a different direction. Link cursed as he quickly tried to find a new target. No. No. No. No. There! The wooden pole! The Hero quickly fired at his new target, and was pulled to a new rock outcropping.
Barely arriving at his new location, Link found Jaggen preparing a blast of fiery breath. Unable to find a new target, Link did the only thing he could to avoid the fire . . . he jumped. Again falling through the air, Link tried desperately to grab onto a rock outcropping. However, the only thing to happen was that his Mirror Shield got caught on something, and was yanked off his arm, hanging where it was as Link continued to fall.
As luck would have it, Link finally spied the remains of a giant crossbow-like scorpion resting near the top of the crater. Thankful that he had the Longshot, Link aimed and fired. He was reeled up to a rock out cropping near the top of the smooth side of the crater. Jaggen circled below, keeping an eye on him. Link scanned the area, finding his shield again. In the shiny, reflective surface he could see himself.
Jaggen pulled out of his circling and made his next pass at Link, placing himself between the Hero and his shield. Thinking quickly, Link drew his bow and a arrow. He took careful aim, his arrow glowing with a blue-white light. He fired. Jaggen dodged, juking upward as usual. The arrow sailed past him, striking Link's own shield. The Mirror Shield, reflected the arrow and it's magical energy back just as Link had aimed for it to, a little higher than the path it had originally traveled. Jaggen was caught completely by surprise as the icy weapon detonated against his underbelly. The dragon roared in pain and anger and plummeted down.
Link was already in motion, before the arrow even hit his shield. He tapped his heels, summoning the hover boots, and hopped off the rocky outcropping onto the smooth remains of the lava flow that covered that side of the crater. With virtually no traction, Link practically flew down the sloping wall. Skiing towards a ramp-like outcropping of rock. Using the natural ski jump, Link leapt into the air.
Jaggen pulled himself out of his dive, but had completely lost his bearings. The dragon flew blindly, right in front of the ramp Link jumped of from.
Holding the Master Sword in a reverse two-handed grip, Link came down on the dragon's head, ready to plunge the sword straight down. However, as soon as Lin landed on the dragon's snout, he found himself unable to move. Then, he suddenly found himself back on the platform he had started from.
"Very good. That is enough," came the voice of the Sorceress of Fire. Link noticed that Jaggen was also on the platform, though was no longer attacking.
The sorceress stood up. "You have defeated my pet. Which means this belongs to you," she said, lifting her and. A fragment of a pendant rested on her palm. The fragment lifted up into the air and floated over to Link. "With this shard of the Talisman of Ages, perhaps you will be able to receive the blessing of the goddesses. Good Luck in your quest, Hero of Time."
"Thank you," Link said examining the pendant. It was silver with one whole golden triangle on it. He pocketed the pendant and turned back to the sorceress. "How do I - ?"
The sorceress silenced him by lifting a hand. A swirling blue light appeared on the ground before the teen. "This will take you to the entrance to Turtle Rock. Valoo is waiting for you there. Have courage, Link. The world is counting on you."
The Hero of Time nodded and stepped into the light.
The Legend of Zelda
The Golden Land
Chapter Twenty-one
The Sorceress of Fire
LAST TIME:
"I see," Link replied. "He turned to the massive domes Turtle Rock. "So, this is where the sorceress lives?" The dragon nodded. "So, how do I get in?"
"KNOCK AND YOU SHALL ENTER."
"Knock?" Link asked raising an eyebrow. The dragon nodded. "Okay." Link walked up to the head of the turtle. He raised a fist and knocked on the turtle's nose. There was a rumbling sound, then the turtle's head began to shift, the mouth opening to reveal a passageway.
Navi flew out from under Link's hat. "You know," she said. "You never have good experiences entering something's mouth. Link nodded, but entered the passage anyway. The stone turtle's mouth closed behind him.
NOW:
As soon as he entered Turtle Rock, Link, the Hero of Time, was bombarded with heat and the red glow of magma. The entrance/mouth of the stone structure slammed shut, causing Link to glance back at it.
"What a pleasant place," Navi commented idly from the air around Link's head. She then landed on the Hero's hat. "It's too hot to be flying the whole time."
Link shrugged. He didn't care. His Goron Tunic kept the heat from bothering him. Besides, he was used to Navi by now. She was pushy and tended to nag, as well as being a bit lazy and prone to complaining But, more than anything, she was sarcastic.
Getting his bearings, the Hero of Time turned back around and studied the chamber he was in. It was very large. The ceiling was high and it went back quite a ways. Link was currently standing on a rock bridge that went back most of the length of the room and ended in a "T" intersection, that led off to doors on either side of the room. About thirty feet up in the air was another rock bridge. This one was connected to a rock cropping above Link's head on his side of the room. It went out straight a little further than the bridge Link was currently on and just stopped, as if it had yet to be completed.
The only other thing of note in the room was a large stone pipe. It was positioned about ten feet back from the "T" intersection of the bridge Link stood on, raising out of the lava. The pipe, about ten feet in diameter, rose a good ten to fifteen feet above the bridge Link was on. At the top of the pipe, the Hero of Time could see bits of boiling magma bubbling into the air.
"Navi, goo check that out," Link ordered, pointing towards the pipe.
"Oh, alright, I-" Navi's reply was cut short by a sudden rumbling. A giant plume of lava suddenly shot up from the pipe, raising through the air. the plume past the end of the bridge above Link by only a few centimeters, and continued up. The pillar of lava stopped right at a whole in the ceiling of Turtle Rock that was the same size as the pipe below. After several seconds, the plume of lava abated, lowering back down into the pipe, and things settled down. Link looked up at the whole in the ceiling. Squinting, he could make out blue skies.
"I think I'd rather not check that thing out," Navi announced.
Link nodded. "Alright. Let's go examine those doors." He headed off down the bridge, Navi still riding on his head. Several flaming Keese seemed to emerge from cracks in the wall as Link walked, forcing him to shoot several with either arrows or his Longshot. Just before the Hero of Time reached the "T" intersection, the lava plume erupted again in much the same fashion. Upon arrival at the intersection, Link could more clearly see the two doors that the bridge led to. The left door was locked and chained, while the right one was unobstructed. "I guess we go that way," he muttered to himself. The lava plume erupted again as Link went through the door.
The door slammed shut behind the Hero of Time and bars rose up, blocking his exit. There was a moment of silence as Link examined the rather plain circular room . . . and as the half-dozen Lizafos therein examined him.
"Perfect," Link muttered, arming himself with the Master Sword and his Mirror Shield, Navi leaping into the air and circling the enemy. With a loud squawk, the group of lizard men leapt at him. Link swiped the first away with his blade while it was still in midair. He sidestepped the second's blade, and blocked the third's with his shield, while hacking off a forth one's head. Link parried the next two attacks, one with his sword and one with his shield, while kicking a Lizafo in the gut, knocking it away. Quickly, Link did a low powered spin attack, catching two more Lizafos and cutting them down. The last two Lizafos approached from opposite sides. The first attacking high, the second swinging low. Link batted away the first's blade with his shield, then hopped over the second's swing, bringing the Master Sword down to cleave the beast's skull. Reversing the grip on his sword, Link stabbed backwards, catching the final opponent in the gut.
As the body of the final Lizafo dissolved in magic flames, a chime sounded and the bars on the exit slid open, as did the bars on a door on the wall left of the entrance. Navi landed back on Link's head, while the young teen sheathed his weapons.
Link went through the unopened door to find himself in decently large square room. The left half of the room had stone floor and led to an unlocked door. The right half of the room was full of lava, which swirled around in a circular current. On the far side of the room was a small platform which led to a door.
Link walked up to the edge of te lava poll. "What are you doing?" Navi asked.
"Testing the waters. So to speak," the Hero of Time replied drawing his bow and stringing an arrow. The tip os the arrow began to glow with a blue light. Aiming into the lava, Link loosed his ice arrow. It hit the molten liquid in an explosion of steam. A patch of lava instantly solidified into small stone platform of sorts. The platform was quickly caught in the lava's current, and began to drift in a circle towards the platform on the far side of the lava. Link grinned . . . until the platform broke up and sunk about half of the way there.
"I don't think you'll be riding that," Navi commented.
"Hush, you."
The pool of lava was too large to jump, even if Link made one of the temporary platforms halfway and used the hover boots, and the platforms sunk too quickly to use more than one. Weighing his options, the Hero of Time elected to try the door on the non molten side of the room.
Upon entering the next room, Link found another pit of lava, which spanned the entire chamber. There was a small platform on either side with a door, one of which Link stood on. The room was roughly fifty feet across. Small platforms zigzagged the room, each separated by about ten feet. Skull-like fire bubbles hopped in and out of the lava at random, searching for prey.
Link grinned and tapped the heels of his boots together twice. The platinum encasing of the hover boots formed. "Good thing you have those," Navi commented. Link nodded, and dashed towards the nearest platform. He slid to a halt there just in time to raise his shield as a fire bubble attacked him. After putting out he creature's fire, a quick swing of the Master Sword cleaved the skull in half. The Hero of Time carefully made his way across the room, avoiding the fire bubbles, and went through the far door.
The next room was a rectangle the middle was a large pool of lava about twenty feet wide. On the opposite side of the room was a treasure chest. On the side of the room Link was on was strange fountain. The fountain stood much like an ornate bird bath, rising several feet off the ground on a pillar-like base. The fountain itself had a smooth, plain basin. The stone figures of two dragons rose on opposite sides, each with its mouth opened and pointing upwards. However, instead of water coming from the dragons' mouths, a thick, fine white mist rose, spilling back into the basin like a deep fog. A very cold fog. The air temperature around the fountain was over thirty degrees cooler than the rest of the temple.
Link studied the fountain for several minutes, along with Navi. The Hero had thought about passing his hand through the mist, but decided against it, as he didn't want to have to amputate a frozen limb.
"Shoot an arrow through it."
"Huh?" Link stumbled out of his thoughts and turned to Navi, who hovered beside him.
"Shoot and arrow through the mist," Navi repeated. Link raised an eyebrow at her. "It works when you shoot an arrow through a fire to melt ice, so why not the reverse?" she clarified.
"Navi, I think that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard you say," the Hero replied.
"Oh, just try it!"
"Fine." Link notched an arrow and aimed it through the swirling mist at the lava pool in the middle of the room. With a twang, the arrow flew, hitting the lava in a cloud of steam that temporarily enveloped the entire room. When the steam abated, the pool of lava could again be seen. It had completely frozen into a solid block of stone. Link blinked. "Whoa." He turned to the grinning Navi. "Not one word."
Now unimpeded, Link walked over to the chest on the far side of the room. In it was a magic crystal. The new crystal instantly merged with the one he already had for producing Ice Arrows, upgrading said weapon.
Armed now with his new upgrade, Link backtracked to the room that was half solid and half lava, with a door across the lava. Aiming his bow, the Hero of Time fired one of his new arrows at the pool of lava. In a massive cloud of steam, the magma froze solid as before. Link went through the far door to find a small, plain room containing a treasure chest. In the chest was a small key.
Link backtracked again, to the giant chamber he had first entered in Turtle Rock. Now possessing a key, he unlocked the second door and continued on. Beyond the door, the Hero of Time found himself at the base of a large, gently sloping staircase. The stairs were lit by torches and continued on, curving somewhat, as if wrapping around the entire dome of turtle rock . . . which is exactly what it did. Link traveled up the stairs for a long time. Every now and then he would run across a Stalfos knight, or a Lizafo, or some fire bubbles, or a beamos.
After walking for what seemed like forever, Link arrived back in the main room, this time on the upper bridge. He walked to the edge of the bridge and peered down at the pipe full of bubbling lava. At a sudden rumbling sound, Link quickly retreated from the edge, to watch as the plume of magma shot up past him to the roof. After several seconds, the plume abated and Link again walked to the edge. This time he readied an arrow, which began to glow with a strange blue-white light. He fired the arrow down at the magma boiling in the pipe. The pale arrow flew, leaving a trail of frosty mist. In an explosion of steam, the arrow hit the magma, freezing it into stone.
Navi quickly hid in a pocket on Link's tunic. "This is gonna be bad," she muttered.
"Where's your sense of adventure, Navi?" Link joked.
"I lost it in Jabu-Jabu's belly." Link chuckled.
A rumbling sound stopped their chatter. "Here we go," Link muttered, crouching at the end of the bridge. After several seconds, the stone "cork" on the top of the pipe was forced of by the magma pushing up below it. The makeshift platform was carried up into the air by the lava plume. As it passed his bridge, Link jumped out, landing on the rising chunk of stone.
The lava powered elevator carried the Hero of Time up to the hole in the ceiling of Turtle Rock, stopping even with the roof. Link hopped off, onto the top of Turtle Rock. Several seconds later, the lava plume subsided and the elevator fell back away. Breathing the cool, clean air in relief, Link found himself at the start of another set of stairs, this set leading down the back of Turtle Rock and into the mountain. Muttering, Link started down the stairs. "I wonder if the others had to walk this much."
The stairs led down the turtle's shell and across its tail into a small opening in the mountain. The passageway through the mountain was almost pitch black, but was fortunately short. Link suddenly found himself again faced with the intense heat and red glow of magma.
"You have finally arrived."
The Hero of Time's attention was suddenly draw to a feminine voice at the far end of the chamber he had just entered. There, seated on a stone throne upon a raised dias sat the source of the voice. There sat a young woman who's age was indeterminable. She wore a dark metal breastplate with gold trim and a red strapless top that came up just high enough to make her decent without the armor. A small golden band wrapped around her upper arm on both arms. Gauntlets made of the same dark metal as the breastplate and trimmed again with gold adorned each forearm. Fingerless black gloves peeked out from under each gauntlets, covering the woman's hands. The gauntlets were each connected to the gold band on their respective arms by two strips of a silky black material, the same material the gloves were made of. She wore a large black belt with a black, gold-trimmed buckle. She had a Spartan-style skirt; a short plain red skirt made of the same silky material, covered by a skirt made of strips of material, which appeared to be an almost black type of dragon's hide, tipped with the dark metal used in the breastplate and trimmed with gold. She wore high heeled boots made of the same black dragon's hide that laced up above her knees. A golden clasp was latched arounder her neck, with a red ruby adorning it in the center. The woman's head was topped by the skull of a dragon. The skull was trimmed with gold and a blood red ruby was placed in each eye socket. The skull had horns like a ram, and could very well have once belonged to Volvagia. From under the skull spilled out two large, bushy ponytails of fiery orange hair, streaked with red. The woman's blood red lips were twisted up in a smirk and her violet eye bore into Link.
The Hero of Time stared at the woman for a moment. He swallowed and began, "Uh, are you by chance . . ?"
"I am the Sorceress of Fire," the woman stated, interrupting him.
"Oh, okay," Link said quickly, taking a step back. This woman was intimidating. The glow of the lava danced off the dark armor she wore, creating a rather spooky image. "Er, I am Link . . ."
Again she cut him off. "I already know who you are, incarnation of the Hero. And I know why you are here."
"You do?"
"Of course," the sorceress replied, rising from her seat. She held a gnarled, wicked looking scepter made of an indistinguishable material. "You want my shard of the Talisman of Ages. And I will give it to you, but only if you can defeat the opponent I set before you."
Link gave a sigh. So he would have to fight after all. Navi floated around his head. "Don't worry, Link. I'm sure you can take anyone she throws at you!"
The Hero of Time nodded. "Alright. I'll fight whoever you send."
"Very good," replied the sorceress, smiling in a rather predatorial way. "Oh, and Jaggen is not so much a 'who' as a 'what.'"
Link blinked in surprise. "Huh?"
Smirking, the Sorceress of Fire pointed upwards, and at the same time a swishing sound could be heard. Link turned his head upward to find a large form descending into the crater they were currently in. The form belonged to a large red-brown colored dragon. With surprising grace, the dragon settled down on the ground. Huge bat-like wing folded behind the beast. Now the dragon seemed to be a little more red in color than before, but that may have been the lighting. Smoke rose from the great beast's nostrils. Golden eyes bore down at the Hero of Time. Two long, straight black horns protruded from the back of the dragon's head. A whip-like tail twitched behind the beast. Sharp claws cut small grooves in the floor.
"This is Jaggen," the Sorceress of Fire stated. "He will be your opponent."
"Oh, a dragon. Wonderful," Link muttered. His eyes flickered around to take in his surroundings. He was in a large crater, but it would be impossible to climb out. On one side of the crater was the sorceress's throne. On the other was a small entrance platform. Both were connected by small rock bridges to the massive center platform. Everything else was a pool of lava. The walls of the crater rose, widening as they got higher, to open up to clear skies nearly a hundred feet above. The sides were covered with sharp rocks. Swords, shields, spears, armor, and the like littered the sides. It was apparent that a large army had been destroyed here once before. One of the sides of the wall, however, was relatively smooth. It looked as if a flow of lava had spilled over that side and solidified into rock., with only a few minor obtrusions pointing out.
"If you can defeat Jaggen, I will give you my piece of the Talisman," the Sorceress of Fire said, lowering herself back onto her throne. "Go."
With that, Jaggen was suddenly hurdling through the air at Link. The Hero doze to the side as the dragon passed by, avoiding it's jaws. Link neatly rolled and rose again, spinning and drawing his bow. He fired an Ice Arrow at the dragon's looping form, but Jaggen nimbly dodged in the air. The arrow struck the side of the crater, coating a large area in ice. Link put away his bow and drew his sword and shield. Jaggen completed his looping turn and charged at Link again. This time, the Hero of Time crouched low, holding his shield up and his sword back. Magic energy began to course through the Master Sword.
"Link! Are you crazy!" Navi screamed, floating somewhere above him.
"We'll see. I've never played chicken with a dragon before," he replied. The dragon continued to speed at the Hero. Link crouched lower.
At the last second, Jaggen seemed to realize what Link was planning and twisted his body to the side, using one clawed forearm to push off the ground for extra turning power. His other scraped along the ground as he desperately tried to avoid coming near to the Hero. At the same time, Link let loose his spin attack, sending blades of energy slicing through the air around him. As Jaggen passed by, Link's magic attack scored a gash along the dragon's side. Jaggen bellowed in rage as he took again to the air.
The fire dragon landed on the platform again and faced Link. After several seconds, the dragon again charged. Link lowered himself again, preparing to use his spin attack, but stopped when Jaggen thrust his head forward, jaws open. A stream of fire erupted from the dragon's mouth, headed towards the Hero. Link quickly jumped to the side, but was still singed by the dragon's fiery breath.
Jaggen began to circle Link in the air. The Hero of Time again drew his bow and fired an Ice Arrow, but again, the dragon dodged it. In retaliation, Jaggen again spewed flames at Link, which the teen dodged. The dragon continued circling, periodically breathing fire at its opponent.
"Link, you're a sitting duck here!" Navi exclaimed in his ear.
"I know! I know!" The Hero of Time scanned the walls of the crater. Rocks and weapons were all he could find. There was nothing he could . . . wait! There was a shield wedged tightly into the rocks, it's wooden backside facing out. And there was a large sturdy saddle caught in the rocks! And again, there was a large wooden pole, most likely from a spear designed to kill dragons.
Link gripped his Longshot in his shield hand, as well as his bow. He fired an Ice Arrow at the dragon, which was easily dodged, but only intended as a distraction. As soon as he had fired the arrow, Link fired his Longshot at the shield in the wall. He was quickly pulled to the rocky wall, where he found footing enough to again fire his Longshot at another usable target on the wall, closer to the dragon. Almost there, Link gave the Longshot a twist, dislodging it and sending himself free falling.
Jaggen turned in time to find a very strange sight. A Hylian was hurdling through the air AT HIM, sword drawn and ready. Link muttered to himself when the dragon dodged to the side, and pulled out his Longshot again, looking for a target he had spotted earlier. However, he was interrupted by Jaggen's tail, which whipped through the air to hit him, sending the Hero flying in a different direction. Link cursed as he quickly tried to find a new target. No. No. No. No. There! The wooden pole! The Hero quickly fired at his new target, and was pulled to a new rock outcropping.
Barely arriving at his new location, Link found Jaggen preparing a blast of fiery breath. Unable to find a new target, Link did the only thing he could to avoid the fire . . . he jumped. Again falling through the air, Link tried desperately to grab onto a rock outcropping. However, the only thing to happen was that his Mirror Shield got caught on something, and was yanked off his arm, hanging where it was as Link continued to fall.
As luck would have it, Link finally spied the remains of a giant crossbow-like scorpion resting near the top of the crater. Thankful that he had the Longshot, Link aimed and fired. He was reeled up to a rock out cropping near the top of the smooth side of the crater. Jaggen circled below, keeping an eye on him. Link scanned the area, finding his shield again. In the shiny, reflective surface he could see himself.
Jaggen pulled out of his circling and made his next pass at Link, placing himself between the Hero and his shield. Thinking quickly, Link drew his bow and a arrow. He took careful aim, his arrow glowing with a blue-white light. He fired. Jaggen dodged, juking upward as usual. The arrow sailed past him, striking Link's own shield. The Mirror Shield, reflected the arrow and it's magical energy back just as Link had aimed for it to, a little higher than the path it had originally traveled. Jaggen was caught completely by surprise as the icy weapon detonated against his underbelly. The dragon roared in pain and anger and plummeted down.
Link was already in motion, before the arrow even hit his shield. He tapped his heels, summoning the hover boots, and hopped off the rocky outcropping onto the smooth remains of the lava flow that covered that side of the crater. With virtually no traction, Link practically flew down the sloping wall. Skiing towards a ramp-like outcropping of rock. Using the natural ski jump, Link leapt into the air.
Jaggen pulled himself out of his dive, but had completely lost his bearings. The dragon flew blindly, right in front of the ramp Link jumped of from.
Holding the Master Sword in a reverse two-handed grip, Link came down on the dragon's head, ready to plunge the sword straight down. However, as soon as Lin landed on the dragon's snout, he found himself unable to move. Then, he suddenly found himself back on the platform he had started from.
"Very good. That is enough," came the voice of the Sorceress of Fire. Link noticed that Jaggen was also on the platform, though was no longer attacking.
The sorceress stood up. "You have defeated my pet. Which means this belongs to you," she said, lifting her and. A fragment of a pendant rested on her palm. The fragment lifted up into the air and floated over to Link. "With this shard of the Talisman of Ages, perhaps you will be able to receive the blessing of the goddesses. Good Luck in your quest, Hero of Time."
"Thank you," Link said examining the pendant. It was silver with one whole golden triangle on it. He pocketed the pendant and turned back to the sorceress. "How do I - ?"
The sorceress silenced him by lifting a hand. A swirling blue light appeared on the ground before the teen. "This will take you to the entrance to Turtle Rock. Valoo is waiting for you there. Have courage, Link. The world is counting on you."
The Hero of Time nodded and stepped into the light.