Chapter Seven: The Triforce of Knowledge
"The hour of my revenge is nigh at hand," Ormek said to himself as the Temple of Knowledge came into his view. He, Syrus, Lucrus, Shriek, and the scout had been riding through the sandy desert for just under seven hours. The trek had taken a lot out of all them. The blistering heat of the sun had been beating down on them the whole way. The Tyfirians had covered their faces with white scarves to prevent their skin from burning.'
All the members of the company were weary from the long ride, not only because of the searing heat, but the lack of water as well. Only Ormek did not feel the heat. He was too focused on his prize to think of anything else. Now that the temple was in sight, it seemed all physical pain had left him. Seeing the temple for the first time in fourteen years, brought back some tortuous memories, none the less Ormek was overjoyed to see it.
Now that Ormek knew where the temple was, he relieved the scout and took the lead. He led the group to the secret entrance at the rear of the temple. When they arrived at their destination, Ormek, Syrus, and Lucrus dismounted their horses. The scout then took the horses to the near by well to give them a drink. Ormek guzzled down the rest of the water in his canteen, as did the rest of the group.
"Why did you lead us to lead us to back of the temple?" Lucrus asked. "The entrance to the temple is on the other side."
Ormek scowled and snapped at Lucrus, "This temple was built to make simple fools like you think that its entrance faces west, when in fact it faces east." Ormek turned away from Lucrus and began to feel the bricks, looking for the trigger brick. It took him several minutes to locate it. Once the brick was pushed in, the group heard a loud grinding sound, but they could not see the entrance.
"The door must have been buried beneath the sand," Ormek said, "Get digging." Syrus and Lucrus dropped to their knees and started shoveling the sand away with their hands, while Ormek left. He soon returned with three shovels that had been left behind when the excavation site was abandoned and passed them out.
The three men dug for a little under hour before they uncovered the entrance to the temple. The work was exceedingly tiresome, especially after the long ride through the desert. Nonetheless, Ormek forced them to keep digging until the passage was completely cleared out.
"Stand guard, Major," Ormek ordered, he then crouched and began to crawl through the passage. He was followed closely by Syrus, who had a difficult time fitting through the door, on account of his large stature. Shriek flew in, after Syrus finished fighting his way through the passage.
Syrus was fascinated with the architecture of the temple. It was the finest workmanship of any building he had ever seen.
"It's even more magnificent than you described," Syrus said. Ormek did not respond. His attention was turned towards one of four skeletons lying on the ground. It wore clothes that were now nothing more than rags and a sword protruding from its rib cage. Ormek knelt down and stared into the empty eye sockets of his grandfather's skull.
"Gramps, I'm back. It's been a long time since we parted, hasn't it?" Ormek said, almost as if he expected the bones to answer him. "Oh, how I wish you could see our people now. We have our own king, King Talrid. He is a righteous man, whose only desire is to serve his people. In fact he distributes his royal wealth to those who can not afford to buy food; he is no richer than any simple peasant living in Tyfiria is.
"Ah yes, Tyfiria, that is the name of our new free nation. It was named after the Tyfirian rebellion, the band that was responsible for freeing our people. Thanks to them, our people are no longer slaves of the corrupt Cyntirians." Ormek turned his gaze over to the other three skeletons clad in Cyntirian armor. His eyes began to fill with tears, but he forced them back. He drew his sword and with a strong swipe, his blade plowed through one of the skeleton's rib cages. The force from the blow flung the bones all about the temple.
Ormek turned back towards his grandfather's bones and began to speak to it again. "Still, even with our freedom, the Cyntirians oppress us. The land we won from them during our revolution is barren and it can not support our growing populace. We can not grow enough food to feed everyone. The whole country is starving.
"Don't worry though. I am now the commander-in-chief for all of the Tyfirian forces. We have both a mighty army and navy. They are both great assets to Tyfiria; they raid Cyntir constantly to obtain supplies, which our people so desperately need. But we are not yet strong enough to take Cyntir head on, so we are forced to remain living on the useless mountainous land of the north.
"But all that is about to change. With the power I will acquire from the Sacred Realm, I'll be able conquer Cyntir and take what rightfully belongs to Tyfiria. Yes, soon the Cyntirian king will know the suffering he and his nobles caused us. Hmm, how ironic that the temple the Cyntirians were so obsessed with fourteen years ago, after wasting so many resources and slaves on trying to uncover the secrets of this place, all their efforts will result in their former slaves exiling them to barren lands.
Ormek stood up and walked toward the pedestal in the center of the temple. He sheathed his sword and then pulled out an odd looking staff that was strapped to his back. The staff was about a yard long and it was a dark ocean blue. The tip was made up of an odd shaped, three-pronged spearhead. On the top of the staff was a coil in which a spherical object would fit. Ormek then took out the blue orb from a pouch that hung from his belt. He gently placed the orb inside the coil and held the staff above his head.
"Behold, I Ormek, have assembled the scepter of Sokor," he chanted, "and with this staff I shall gain access to the secluded part of Sacred Realm and claim the power that lies with in it!" Ormek then thrust the tip of the staff into a small hole in the middle of the pedestal. The orb began to spin within the coil and spit out beams of energy that formed into a bright portal. Syrus and Shriek were amazed by this spectacle, but Ormek acted as if he had seen this magic everyday of his life. After staring into the portal for a short while, Ormek stepped into it and vanished.
"Faster, yah, we must go faster," Link yelled as he kicked his horse's side. His horse was running as fast as it was able, but Link was too anxious to care. Chiron followed behind as closely as he could, but keeping up with the blinding pace of Link's steed was not an easy task. Fortunately, Chiron was skilled rider and the ride was almost over.
Link and Chiron's destination soon came into view. The two young men had ridden all day through the sandy desert. After their escape from the manhandla, they rode back to the Tyfirian camp to retrieve their equipment. Luckily for them, most of the troops had gone out on patrol. Using his stealth skills, Link was able to venture into the practically unguarded camp and retrieve both his and Chiron's weapons. From there, Link picked up Ormek's trail. There had been no wind that day, so the tracks were clearly visible, even on horseback.
Link and Chiron had found their way to the Temple of Knowledge. Upon seeing the temple in the setting sun's light, a chill went down Link's spine. He followed the tracks to rear of the temple. As Link turned the southwest corner of the temple, his horse suddenly collapsed. To Link's terror, he looked up to see Major Lucrus holding the hilt of a long sword. The tip of the blade had been plunged into Link's horse.
Link sprung to his feet and drew his sword and shield. He swung his sword mightily at Lucrus, but Lucrus blocked the strike with a slash of his own. Lucrus attacked again, but this time his sword crashed against Link's shield and Link was knocked of balance and fell to his knees. Chiron dismounted his horse and ran to Link's defense, but it was not needed. Link rolled away from Lucrus before he could attack. Again Link got back on his feet. Chiron came to Link's side and then the both of them attacked in unison. Both of their attacks were blocked, however Lucrus was knocked backward and he fell into the hole that was dug to uncover the temple's entrance. Lucrus quickly realized where he was and slipped through the small passage.
"Colonel, were under attack!" Lucrus shouted as he emerged from the small tunnel. Syrus drew his word and readied himself for battle. Lucrus positioned himself near the door with his sword raised above his head, ready to decapitate anyone who might try to get through the passage, but no one came. Lucrus stood motionless for what seemed like an eternity to him. Finally, he heard something coming through the passage. Lucrus expected to see the head of one of his enemies, instead a bomb rolled out from the door. Before Lucrus could act, the bomb exploded, and threw him back, unconscious.
Syrus was blinded momentarily by the blast, but his vision returned swiftly. Out from the smoke, came two figures.
When Link saw the portal in the center of the room, he knew instantly it led to the Sacred Realm. He knew he had to close the portal quickly or something terrible might come out.
"Hey, your those to guys we caught hanging around our camp!" Shriek said in shock. He began to shake. Shriek shot a concentrated sonic blast at Link, who dodged it easily. The sonic wave continued on and hit the temple wall. The shock was very powerful, but the wall seemed untouched. Link quickly pulled his boomerang from his belt and threw it towards Shriek. It found its mark and the black fairy fell to the ground.
Syrus then came after Link, he swung his long sword with a vertical swipe, and Link blocked with his own sword. Chiron rushed over to help, but as he approached, Syrus turned and threw a fist, which hit his opponent in the eye. Chiron fell on his back and had to struggle to get back to his feet.
Syrus swung wildly at Link, but all of his attacks fell upon Link's shield. The Hyrulian began to grow impatient; he was too concerned with closing the portal to put his head in the fight. Link forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand. He put his shield on his back and grabbed the hilt of his sword with both hands. Link went all out on Syrus. He swung his sword furiously, forcing Syrus to revert to a defensive position. Then with one powerful swing, he knocked the sword out of Syrus's hand. He then kicked Syrus in the stomach, sending him careening back.
Chiron was back on his feet by this time. He rushed over to Syrus and pointed the tip of his sword to the Tyfirian's throat. Link dashed over to the portal. He studied it for a moment and determined he needed to pull the scepter from the pedestal to close the portal. He firmly grasped the rod, but before he was able to pull it from its place, a fist came through the portal and struck Link on his lower jaw. The force from the blow caused him to release his grip on the scepter and fall backwards.
Ormek then leapt out of the portal with a sword in his left hand. He walked up to the scepter and pulled it from the pedestal with his right hand, causing the portal to close behind him. He then hurled the scepter to the ground and turned back to Link.
"So, you two were able escape your doom," Ormek taunted, "I am impressed you were able to make it this far. You have even managed to defeat some of my best servants." He glanced over at Syrus. "Even Colonel Syrus has fallen namelessly before you. Tell me lad, by what name shall I call you?"
Link got back on his feet and said, "My name is Link, not that it will matter to you. You will not live long enough for it to matter."
Ormek chuckled, "Why do you seek to take my life, Link? And why have you, a Hyrulian, chosen to interfere with the affairs of Tyfiria?"
"You have upset the balance of the Sacred Realm and that is a problem for everyone in the world." Link said with an authoritative tone.
"Sacred Realm?" Chiron said in astonishment. He loosed his grip on his sword. Syrus saw his opportunity and rolled away. The colonel retrieved his sword and started to attack, but Ormek stopped him before he could.
"Stand down Syrus. I do not want you to kill them. I want that honor for myself." Ormek then held out his clenched right fist and the symbol of the Triforce appeared. At first Link was confused, he did not know what he was seeing. He did not understand until the upside-down triangle in the middle of the Triforce, which was normally left empty, was filled in and started to glow brighter than the other three triangles.
Link stared coldly at Ormek. He carefully studied his enemy out in his mind. "So," Link thought, "this is the man responsible for Calrith's death and the suffering of all the people of Cyntir. He will pay for what he has done. I do not know what power this new Triforce piece holds, if it is indeed a piece of the Triforce. Well it does not matter. Ormek is in for a shock. I have a piece of the Triforce too. He will fall just like the rest of his lackeys."
Ormek drew a second sword from its sheathe and stepped down from the pedestal. He approached Chiron and they crossed swords. Link took this opportunity to lunge at Ormek. It was a cheap shot, but Link did not think Ormek deserved a fair fight. Nevertheless, Ormek was able to block the attack with his other sword, without even looking away from Chiron. It seemed to Link that Ormek already knew he was going to attack.
For nearly half a minute neither Link nor Chiron attacked and Ormek remained as still as stone. Finally Chiron swung his sword, but it was blocked just like Link's had been. Link attacked again and was again blocked. Link and Chiron then attacked at the same time, this time holding nothing back, but Ormek was still able to block everything that was thrown at him. Still the fight was going well. Ormek only seemed to defend and was quickly moving back to the northeast corner of the temple. It was not until Ormek was forced into that corner that he finally launched an attack of his own. The speed and force that were in his swing surprised Link and Chiron. They both narrowly avoided getting hit.
Ormek went ballistic. Both his swords became a blur as he slashed furiously. His attacks were so fast and frequent that both of his enemies had to devote all of their energy to blocking his mighty blades. With each attack of Ormek's, Link and Chiron found it more difficult to block the next one. Chiron was soon overwhelmed by the relentless attacks of Ormek. He lost his sword trying to block an attack and was hurled to the ground by a kick to the stomach from Ormek.
Ormek then turned all his attention towards Link. With two swords to defend against, Link tired quickly. With each slash he defended against it felt as if his muscles were on fire. Just as Link was about ready to give in, Chiron rejoined the fight. This provided Link with a great relief, but he was still too tired to attack and both he and Chiron were fading fast.
"Chiron, fall back!" Link ordered. Chiron was all too happy to abandon the fight and head for the door with Link. Syrus instinctively chased after them. Link and Chiron slipped out the passage and Syrus followed after, but his large build caused him to get stuck. He struggled to get through, but to no avail. Ormek ran over to Syrus and yanked him out of the passage by his belt. He then slipped out the door just in time to see Link and Chiron ride off in the desert night on Chiron's horse. Ormek ran as fast as he could in pursuit of the two men. Although he was much slower than the horse, he was confident he would catch them.
Link and Chiron did not get very far from the temple. Just as they thought they were in the clear, their horse collapsed. Chiron looked up from the ground to see his horse's leg wrapped up by a long scaly tail. The horse was then dragged beneath the sand. Shortly after this, a large round scaly body rose out of the sand and sunk back under. The body continued to pop in and out of the sand, each time rising at a different location.
"What was that?" Link asked Chiron. The farmer only looked at Link with fear in his eyes and shook his head.
"That is a veriok," said Ormek, who had just caught up with them and stood barely out of reach of the veriok's grasp that encircled his adversaries. "Fascinating creature, really. Did you know that a veriok kills its prey by constricting it till it suffocates? It will be a pleasure to watch this sand snake eat, especially if his meal consists of you two.
As soon as Ormek finished speaking, as if on queue, the veriok ensnared Link and Chiron, wrapping them up in its long muscular body. Its eye-less head burst out of the sand and it flicked its tongue at its prey. The veriok then began to constrict the two men. Link's breath was squeezed right out of him and he found it nearly impossible to take in more air. Things grew blacker with each breath he attempted to take and Link could see the same thing was happening to Chiron.
Ormek watched with a big smile on his face as his two enemies slowly suffocated, but before the last ounce of life was squeezed from them, a large bird dived out of the sky and clawed at the veriok's head with its mighty talons. The sand serpent was frightened and released its prey. The bird then swooped down, grabbed Link and Chiron with its feet, and flew off.
"Blast!" Ormek yelled as he watched his enemies escape. His cry caught the attention of the veriok. It retreated back to the sand and began to circle around Ormek. The Tyfirian drew one of his swords and closed his eyes. When the veriok attempted to wrap up Ormek, the general performed a back flip and avoided the snake's grasp. The veriok caught nothing but air and the missed attack left its mid-section out in the open. Ormek lunged at the veriok and sliced through it. The serpent howled in pain and thrashed about. In its fury it tried to bite Ormek, but the Hylian jumped out of the way, and thrust his sword through the top of the veriok's head, killing it instantly.
"Blast!" Ormek shouted again as he pulled his sword form the veriok's skull. "Oh well, they will not be able to stop me now. Not even the whole Cyntirian army can stop me." With that Ormek headed back towards the temple. When he got back he discovered Syrus had pulled Lucrus and Shriek out of the temple and was tending to them. Shriek and Lucrus had both recovered, while the scout had returned with the horses and appeared to be ready to move out.
"Did you catch them, sir?" Syrus inquired.
"No," Ormek replied, "but those two will be caught, one way or another. But for now, they are of little importance. Come let us return to our camp."
"But sir," Syrus protested, "won't that be dangerous with the verioks out?"
"You leave them to me," Ormek snapped, "With the power I posses no veriok shall be able to harm us." Ormek reentered the temple retrieved the scepter of Sokor. He then walked back to the temple entrance and pulled out the trigger brick. He then took the blue orb out of the coil of the scepter of Sokor. He tossed the sphere up in the air and before it could hit the ground, Ormek drew his sword and struck it, causing it to shatter into dozens of little pieces. He took the remaining parts of the staff and dropped them down the well.
"No one shall ever again enter the secluded part of the Sacred Realm," Ormek said to himself. "Shriek!" Shriek flew over to his master's side and inquired how he could be of assistance. "Relay a message to Admiral Shrion for me," Ormek ordered. "Tell him my mission was a success and I want him to set up the blockade immediately. Also, tell him that once he has the blockade set up, I want him to personally head to the Frozen Fortress with five of his best ships. I want him to be on the look out for those two men. His job is to make sure they do not penetrate the fortresses defenses."
"Yessss, sir" Shriek said with a confused tone. With out receiving any further instruction he flew off at top speed towards his destination.
"So, Link," Ormek thought to himself, "you also have some connection to the Sacred Realm and that accursed owl Kaepora Gaebora. Yes, I am sure he will tell you all about the ancient relic that can confound my power. No matter, you will never get to it any way. I will make sure of that." Ormek then leapt up on his horse as did the other Tyfirians and they began their ride back to camp.