Chapter 3
The sound of drums greets Link's ears as he enters the Temple, drums and the weird echo of a long distant choir. Link sat back and let the music flow through him into an awareness of all that within the room. Mounting the steps with infinite caution, his sword drawn and at the ready, Link turned left and entered the room he had seen what felt like an age ago. In front of him stood a door so wide that four could comfortably walk through abreast. Jumping lightly across to the door Link stood and looked at it, full in the knowledge that he may die, and then who would protect Zelda? He entered.
In the centre of the chamber, coiled and with the firelight flickering off his scaled hide, Volvagia awaited.
Volvagia had long hair of fire but on that body you could see the charred and scarred marks from his last battle with Link. The sinuous body looked contorted and bent, evidence of badly set broken bones. The scales seemed dimmer, almost as if a silver mist covered them, obscuring their vibrant colours.
The rest of the differences in Volvagia paled into insignificance against the changes in his eyes. The deep crystalline eyes seemed almost bloodshot but with a flush of golden yellow. Those emotionless eyes which had hidden everything and shown nothing now had a raw emotion burning through them. Pain.
As Link looked into those eyes he felt his soul flutter, his heart leap in sympathy. He felt an overwhelming sadness which caused him to realise that, in his heart of hearts, he could not do this to the fire serpent again.
Link knew also that he could not just give up so he drew his sword to defend himself. The sword hummed as it left its sheathe and with despair, Link held up the sword.
"Master"….
The words vibrated through his head that Link fell to his knees and, as his sword clattered at his feet, he pushed his hands against his ears, hoping that it would lessen the sound.
It didn't.
As crystal eyes met sapphire ones, the words "heal me" swept through Link's mind. Immediately images flashed through his mind…
"Now you have found that which was stolen from you I can return you to your true form. As I have promised…" The mask salesman seemed to light up in sadistic glee and jumped to the organ that filled the chamber in the Clock Tower. As he began to play and the sad melody swept over and through Link, he could feel the deku shrub, the hideously confining and humiliating deku shrub retreat into a vortex leading to …a mask. The mask clattered at Link's feet. "This tune will free any soul from corruption and pain. Do not forget this…"
Link looked at Volvagia in despair. "My ocarina… Zelda has it…" Link's voice drifted off for he began to feel light-headed. His blood raced through his body, a tiger that was swallowing him whole. He could hear the organ of the mask salesman, or was he imagining it? Something inside him responded and the faint music of the ocarina joined the organ. The tune took form in the air and he could feel the tiger that was the music that was…
Time.
The music surrounded Link in a nimbus of light that grew brighter and brighter until Link shut his eyes to block out the blinding light but they then flicked open of their own accord because the light was in his eyes too. Link knew in his heart that if the light continued he would die so he took control of the pain, pulling it into his body until he throbbed with the power of it. The music was in his blood and was being pumped round his body till he was sure his heart would burst…
He laid a hand on a scaly hide.
The light burst out of him, channelling through him into Volvagia, where a flush of sapphire appeared in a hand shaped mark which spread across the serpents body.
The pressure lifted Link off his feet and hurled him to the other side of the room , as the cavern lit up blindingly.
Link groggily got up
"What was that?" he asked the air.