Link rode hard into the night, the moon bright above him, like a beacon. He was out to clear his mind, which was constantly going over and over what had happened in the day. From the gory performance in the forest, to the very moment he had reached Lon Lon ranch, panting and demanding to speak to Malon.
She was working at the time, Ingo had told him, but one dark, icy glare from the Hero sent the older man scurrying off to his duties. Link found Malon in the barn, grooming the horses. She was quite surprised to see Link there, to say the least.
"What on earth…Why are you…." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Alright…What happened?" Link managed to finally catch his breath, regaining his composure.
"About that story Malon…What exactly is it?" Malon cocked her head.
"You have never heard it?" When Link shook her head, she nodded, than gestured for him to sit, settling herself on a pile of hay.
"It's a rather commonly told story here. Well, in Hyrule at least…" Link frowned. Then of course he would have never heard of it! He was raised in the Kokiri forest, and only when he became a true adult did he actually leave. Malon got into a comfortable position on the hay, laying her head back against it, drawing her knees to her chest.
"It takes place two hundred years ago….before there was one king ruling Hyrule. Back then, Hyrule was split into two provinces. The Kings that governed these provinces where, for lack of a better term, petty and irritable. To say the very least. They were almost constantly in fights with the other, whether it be over land, rules, or money. Eventually, it got so bad; they finally launched themselves into a full scale war with each other.
The ones to the south, near to Kokiri woods, were skilled in the art of magic, whilst the others, to the north, had power in weapons and soldiers. The south knew they could not win against the Northern Province using magic alone. Nor would it have been a clever idea to send mages and soldiers out to battle. They would have been brought down easily by the Northern provinces arrows, and slaughtered at hand to hand combat.
Therefore, the southern king gathered his finest mages, and his most skilled crafters. For two months, they labored over….something. The people in the southern, and the Northern Province did not have a clue as to what the southern king was making.
Finally, on the final full moon of the final month, the creation was finished. It was the perfect warrior, possessing speed, intelligence, extreme strength and senses, and very high endurance. Added to it were the legs of a spider, and tails of heavy iron, blades set upon each end. Supposedly, this thing could take several arrows, direct sword hits, and even fire. However, the creature was blind. Despite all that it had been given, the eyes could never work. The creators thus made some sort of seeing apparatus. Nobody quite knows what it was exactly. The south's ultimate warrior was disguised perfectly. It would be able to slip easily into the Northern provinces without any trouble. Its only mission was to destroy the Northern provinces king, and take out the weaponry and anyone who stood in the way. A fairly easy task. When the creature had completed its job, it would be destroyed. It was far too powerful to simply allow it to continue its existence, lest it gain a full conscious thinking mind, and rebel against its creators.
However, when the time came for it to carry out its job, something went horribly, terribly wrong. No one is quite sure of the details. Some say that the creature simply ran off, and murdered any person that dared to approach it. However, the other story stated that the creation had developed a mind of its own sooner than anticipated. It is said that it first attacked the North, as it was told. But it went too far. It slaughtered all that stood before it. Children, women, and men alike. Anything that drew breath that it could smell was doomed. It murdered the king of the North where he slept, supposedly tearing out his beating heart and slowly piercing it to simply watch the blood spurt. Than, with its mission it was made to do complete, it returned to the South. The fate that awaited them was swift and terrible. The creature had known, before it even left the Southern province, what its fate would be after completing its task. Filled with a mixture of rage and betrayal, it attacked its creators, mercilessly gutting them open, and then going after the people of the Southern province. The creatures own invulnerability that was meticulously built into its system, was both of the Kings undoing. It is said that the thing still lives where it was made, within the ruins of the old Southern province."
"In the woods….." Link murmured, staring off into space. He shook his head quickly, going back over the story. "You said the creature was blind…And it was given a device so that it could see." Malon nodded.
"Yes, but like I said, no one quite knows what it was. It's not important, really." However, Links mind was buzzing, repeating what he saw in the canyon. The girl…the THING…was wearing some sort of red eyewear….
"You also said it had the legs of a spider?"
"Yes. But-"
"Did this thing look like a Hyrulian?"
"What?" Link pulled off his hat, quickly running a hand through his hair.
"Did the thing created look anything like you or me?" He repeated slowly, looking at the floor. Malon shrugged.
"No one really knows what it looked like exactly. Just parts of it." Malon said simply. "Link, yesterday you told me this was rubbish. Why are you asking me about it now?" She leaned in, looking at the Hero with curiosity. However, Link was not through with his own questions.
"Did the creation have a name?" He asked, looking up at her now. It seemed irrelevant to Malon about what the monsters name was, but she nodded.
"No one really gives it a name. Whether it is out of fear or forgetfulness is relative. But I was told the name."
"Malon, what was the monsters name?" Malon sat up.
"Link, I don't see-."
"Just indulge me." She shook her head.
"Its name is old tongue. It had a meaning then, but it's been long forgotten now."
"Just spit it out, Malon." Link said irritably, glaring at her.
"Oh…Tegomie." She shrugged. "It's really not important." Link stood up, pacing now.
"Do you know where I could find out the meaning of this name?" Malon thought for a moment, and then nodded.
"The castle archives have old books in them. You can translate them with some help. However, it's really a useless language now. That time in Hyrule would most rather be forgotten by many. It's a black spot on its past."
"I don't care." The name of the thing, Tegomie…if he could find out its meaning, perhaps he could learn something more about the creature….
Link pulled Epona to a halt outside the market place, dismounting and tethering his horse. This excursion to the castle would take a bit longer than normal….