Chapter 11 The Fall of Death
Finally, last chapter. Ri2, to answer your question, the Lord of Light did not stop Ganon at the beginning because he wanted to test man, to allow Ganon a chance to deceive people, for he wanted to test people to see if they were worthy to be with him. If people immediately are deceived and change sides, then truly they aren't really your friend. Yes, Gentlemen get their hands dirty. The Lord of Light has sent fairies to the world to help people, and when necessary, He intervenes himself. If you want further explanation specify in your review, log in, and I will reply to it. The Lord of Light can have a form, but he doesn't really need one. Yes, the Gatekeeper is the symbol of Jesus in this Allegory.
A day of mourning. That was what the day was like for Malon, Link, and the other followers of the Gatekeeper. They had returned to the far east of the Graveyard, and had taken up residence there. They wept, cried, and comforted each other, but there was very little they could do. All of them had lost hope, for none could see how salvation could be reached now that the Gatekeeper had fallen.
Back in Kakariko, total chaos had taken over. The so called "good spirits" had finally revealed their true intent. Now Poes ran rampant through the streets at night, possessing and tormenting anyone they met. The Spirits still continued to tell everyone that everything was alright, that the Poes were just the last remaining forces of the Gatekeeper, come to torment those who followed the truth, but the people began to doubt their word. But what could they do? They couldn't fight against the spirits. The spirits were paranormal creatures, and the people of Kakariko village were mere mortals.
"If we can endure these attacks," one of the spirits had said. "Then eventually the creatures of darkness will leave our town forever. But until then, we must live out these attacks with a state of pacifism."
But the Poe attacks continued, and the spirits did nothing to stop it.
Deep beneath the soil of Kakariko, Chaos was raging. The Underworld, the place of eternal death, was growing. Extending its roots through the darkened soil it reached out like the hands of the dead, as it heard its master's calling. The dead moaned and shook their chains as the heat grew hotter, and their tormentors became more malevolent. The dead tortured each other, for that was the way it was. In the times of darkness those who fell to evil had turned against each other, lost all morality, and slit each other's throats. How long had they been buried? Since death. And till eternity. Raging fires. Laughind demons watched from above as their pray, so easily deceived in life, now so greatly punished in death. But the demons feared this great demise as well. Deep inside them, they knew that one day they would share the fate of the dead that they watched. They would be cast into the fire, and they feared it. Even Nargasa, in his evil, knew what was to come. Ganon was weak compared to the powers which would one day force him into the pain.
But inside this terror, something was happening. Death, the cold spirits which dragged people down to this fiery demise, looked up to face the change. Above them two spirits fought, each one fighting fiercely as if their very existence depended upon it. Whichever prevailed would call the shots. But the dark spirit could not stand against the light spirit. It could not take the glory that radiated from this great being. Above the Underworld they fought it out, cutting into paranormal flesh. But the Dark one, the leader of the Evil spirits could not stand. And he fell. Just lightly as the presence of the light spirit left the land, he fell. The Dark spirit fell right upon the underworld, and was burned by its touch. He screamed, and slashed at the flames that touched him, trying to escape from their wrath. He cursed the light being, crying out against it in anger. Death could just watch in amazement. Its leader had fallen. The leader shook itself out from the flames, and shot out from them as fast as it could. It had to escape from the darkness of Hell.
Death rose up, and shot after the light spirit, flying steadily up towards the surface. But it would not escape. The dark spirits chased after it. Death was moving. The light spirit turned, and saw them coming. Death was coming for it. The millions of spirits, always responsible for dragging so many people down into Hades, were coming for the light spirit. The light spirit could have fled, but it stopped. Was it not its duty to secure the salvation of those who were still alive? Was it not its duty to conquer death for the final time? Yes! Death, flew, straight, like an arrow on fire. The many demons forming it shrieked and roared at the light spirit who had turned to face them. Then, when they were close enough, they struck! Death struck with its claws, scarring the spirit of light in its already scarred body. Where its master failed, death would succeed. But they were not strong enough, as the spirit of light scarred death with its flashing blade of light. It scarred them and cut them as the millions of demons cried out in spiritual agony. They turned away from the light, and so it burned them. And the light now cast them away.
The light spirit lashed Death again, scarring it with its blades of light. Then, when all the dark spirits had been drained of their power, the light spirit cast Death into the fire. The dark spirits screamed as they fell into Hades, burning and screaming, and dissolving away. For Death will fall! Death can never stand against the powers of light, and as such it will die. Death cannot stand. For it has no sting. The spirits tried to escape, but it was hopeless. Immediately when they touched the fiery surface of the Underworld, it began dragging them down. They screamed as they felt the complete separation from their creator take its toll. Their flesh burned under the spiritual agony of the fact that they had lost all that they had ever had. Ever since the fateful day when they had traded what was good for evil, they had begun their descent. And Death had done enough. It was time for those demons to fall!
Then, as the last remnants of the creatures that were Death was sucked beneath the surface of Hades, the spirit of light turned from the dark land, and rose towards the sky.
"We can't do this sir."
"My son," Nargasa said to the sixteen year old boy whom he had taken "under his wing" since the spirits of darkness had taken the town. "We must make sure that the powers of darkness are cast from this town for ever."
"If you really are concerned about that," Johan (the boy) said in response, "then why won't you do anything about the Poes which attack us every night."
"Because we must whether their attacks until they leave us for good. That time will come."
"And yet you were so hasty to destroy the Gatekeeper?"
Nargasa stopped. He then turned, and faced the boy with fire in his eyes.
"Don't you ever say that to me again. Understand!"
Fire shot through Johan's eyes.
"No sir," he said. "I do not understand you anymore. Do you really intend to be there for me for eternity as you say? Or do you just make promises to win people over. Do you really think you are as great as you are? Or is it just a guise for the evil behind your mask."
Suddenly Nargasa turned and stared into the boy's eyes, glaring deep into his soul. Johan took a step backwards. Then, suddenly, Nargasa drew a bright shining yellow blade, and plunged it into Johan's chest. The boy shuddered as the blade sliced into his defenseless soul, unprotected against the powers of darkness.
"Now you will pay for saying that!"
Suddenly a loud trumpet roared over head, blasting through the ears of Nargasa and the other spirits as a curse, but singing sweetly like the call of grace to the people of the town.
"No!" Nargasa shouted, turning towards the window. "No!"
Without a word Nargasa dashed out the door, leaving Johan in the room with the yellow Hergon blade in his gut.
Nargasa ran out the door and turned towards the direction of the graveyard, and beheld an amazing sight. A glorious figure shrouded in a white, gleaming cloak walked down across the path into the town of Kakariko.
"Nargasa!" the figure shouted. "Your reign over these people has ended!"
The words rose above the sky, echoing like arrows through the Evil Spirits mind. Nargasa growled, and took a step back. Behind the figure walked all the people who had followed the Gatekeeper out from Kakariko village. With them were Malon, Link, and Hailey.
"What are you doing here!" Nargasa raged. "I killed you quite soundly before. And you just won't stay dead!"
"I have risen again," the Gatekeeper said. "I was not worthy of hell. I met Ganon, and fought him, and defeat him. As such he forfeits all control of this town. This town belongs to the Lord of Light!"
"This town shall choose its Governor," Nargasa said, "and they chose me!"
"Are you sure about that Nargasa?"
"Of course I'm s-"
Nargasa then looked out at the townspeople who had stepped out from their homes to see what was going on. Their faces no longer held the triumph from the night they killed the Gatekeeper. Now their faces held fear, and shame.
"There is no place for evil here anymore," Nargasa said. "No longer will you use this town to pour out your wrath!"
Nargasa took a step back.
"Spirits!" he shouted. "To me!"
Then every Spirit Guide, Guardian, or long lost family member immediately left the people they had sworn to protect and ran to Nargasa's side.
"You want this town," Nargasa said with a grin, "then you'd better pry it out of our cold, dead fingers you Son of Light. I know who you are!"
The Gatekeeper whipped back his hood immediately, and glared at Nargasa.
"You don't know the half of it," he said almost in a whisper.
With that the Gatekeeper drew his flashing sword, and held it out towards Nargasa.
"You are but alone!" Nargasa shouted, as his skin began to dissolve.
The townspeople looked at him in fear as his skin slipped from his features slowly, as if it was melting in the sun. But when it fell away, there was no skeleton underneath. Just a gray, ghostly figure. A spirit.
"Did I ever tell you why I take on this form?" Nargasa (in his true form) said with a grin. "I could just have been a Dark Great Fairy, but no. I took on the form of the ghost of a man, walking through the rain at night. You know why? Because the first man I ever dragged to hell was a poor man dressed as I am walking in the rain. He was the first man I corrupted."
The skin of the other spirits began to slip away as well. The townspeople watched in horror as their guides, their guardians, and their lost family members became monsters. The were Poes once again.
"No," Nargasa said. "We are Poes too often. Take on your true form!"
The Poes cackled evilly, and began to change again. Surprisingly, as they changed, they began to shrink. They became small. Soon they were all in their fairy forms again. Their wings stretched out from a their bodies, which were all surrounded by a ball of purple light.
"Look!" Malon shouted, pointing at the sky.
Link and the others looked up to see an army of fairies flying down from the sky, lead by one mighty Great Fairy who wielded a mighty sword of light.
"Your power is weaker than the power of light," the Gatekeeper said. "Leave this town forever Nargasa. I banish you!"
Nargasa looked up in amazement at the mighty army of the Lord of Light that descended down upon him. The glory of the Lord of Light shone all around the Fairies as they flew down upon his army.
"You have failed Nargasa," Link suddenly shouted. "I finally see what you truly are. Ganon will never triumph. He is too weak. I see this now, the Lord of Light's power is greater than anything I have ever seen before. You failed to kill Malon, you failed to stop me from learning the truth, and Ganon failed to defeat the Gatekeeper. You have failed!"
Nargasa's eyes glazed over with a new emotion. Fear. He glared at the Gatekeeper before turning and fleeing as fast as he could. As he ran his guise fell away, and they saw his true form. He was just a Great Fairy, a Dark Great Fairy running for his life. The other evil spirits followed behind him. The Gatekeeper's disciples immediately began to cheer as the demons fled before them. Link hugged Malon, and the Gatekeeper smiled. Even the town's people began to cheer, for they now knew the truth about the Spirits. They ran to the Gatekeeper, and threw themselves to the ground before him, begging for forgiveness.
"Of course I forgive you all," the Gatekeeper said. "That is why I was sent here."
"What are you talking about?" Link asked.
The Gatekeeper's eyes became solemn, for there is an extreme form of happiness which makes you feel very serious.
"Oh," the Gatekeeper began, as if beginning a long story, "I don't know if I forgot all this, or if it just slipped aside so that I could grow up among the people of this world. But I was there at the beginning of time, when the world was carved into existence."
"I don't understand," Hailey said.
"You see, I am the Son of the Lord of Light. Essentially I am equal to the Lord of Light, but in another sense, I am a different person. It is hard to explain, and hard for people like you to fully understand. I was sent to the Earth to provide a way for the people to be redeemed for there sins after Ganon took the land. But in order to do this blood had to be poured to release Ganon's control from the Earth. So I sacrificed myself in order to secure a path. When I died I did not go with my Father. I went to the surface of Hell, where I battled Ganon for the rights to the Earth. He may still control it, but when he is defeated by the Hero of Time, he will lose all control over the earth, and the people may return to the Lord of Light after spending years under the dark reign of Ganon. I don't know if they will return to the Lord of Light, but they have the chance to. Maybe nothing will return. Maybe people will not change their way of life even after Ganon is gone. But at least I touched you guys, and at least the world knew the truth. If Nargasa had truly understood what love is, then maybe he would have seen exactly what my sacrifice meant. Maybe he would have understood what would happen. But that wouldn't matter, because if he understood then he would still be a Great Fairy."
"He was a Great Fairy," Link said. "Now I understand. He turned to evil, and was cast away from the Lord of Light. So with no place to go, he came here to Kakariko village, joined forces with Ganon, and took up residence within the underworld he created beneath the well."
"You are correct," the Gatekeeper replied. "But the battle is not over yet. I feel that you will face Nargasa again. He has fled to the Graveyard with his evil spirits. They have gone to the Shadow Temple, the next step in your quest."
"Shadow Temple?" Link asked.
"Yes," the Gatekeeper said. "The place in this world which is said to be the closest to Hell. The fires of the Abyss are said to have burned the Shadow temple, and as such it is a common meeting place of evil spirits. You see, as they fear the fires of Hell, they must come close to it to throw in the souls that they drag down to the Abyss. And in doing so, they come to the Shadow Temple. My soul traveled down their after I died to fight Ganon."
"Is that why you said he forfeit all control of the town?" Link asked.
"You are correct," the Gatekeeper said with a smile.
He then turned, and looked at the townspeople.
"You all betrayed me," he said. "You joined forces with Ganon's minions and helped him to kill me."
His eyes then grew light.
"But you have come to me for forgiveness, and wasn't that what I was sent to bring forth? You all have been forgiven. Go, and sin no more. Spread the word of the Lord of Light after I leave, spread the light, tell everyone."
Then the Gatekeeper smiled at his disciples once more, before rising straight up into the sky as a column of bright light surrounded him. Link and Malon looked up in amazement as the figure of the Gatekeeper rose higher and higher into the sky. Soon he had disappeared from sight.
"Where is he going?"
"What is he doing?"
The people murmered among themselves.
"Do not worry about him now," Navi said, addressing the crowd. "He is not here anymore."
"What do you mean?" Link asked.
Navi smiled.
"He has returned to his father, the Lord of Light. He has traveled back to heaven, for his work here on Earth has been completed."
Silence reined over the crowd. None of them knew what to say. The man who had saved them from the evil spirits had gone. The son of the Lord of Light had traveled back home to his father. Then, without word, Link stepped forward, looking up into the sky where the Gatekeeper had disappeared.
"We will miss you, friend," Link said. "Thank you for all that you did for us, and all that you did for me. I make a solemn pledge here to strike down Ganon WITH the power of the Lord of Light. To strike him down with the Blade of Evil's bane, crafted to wield the energies of Light. I will work to spread what you have begun Gatekeeper. Thank you, and may the Lord of Light bless you."
A tear rolled down his cheek as he spoke, for he knew he would miss the Gatekeeper. But he also knew that he had gone to a better place, and he had finished what he had come to begin. Kakariko had been saved, and soon all of Hyrule would be as well.
There. Now you know my piece, my voice. You know that I believe in God, and Jesus, and have faith in them. You know I have faith in forgiveness. You know I trust that through the sacrifice of Jesus I will be redeemed of my sins. And this is not a selective gift. It is available to all of you. All you must do is believe that Jesus is your savior and Lord, and pray to him, accepting him into your heart as your savior, and asking him for forgiveness. Then you will be saved of your sins, and you will be a child of God once again. Heh, I should have known I would have gotten preachy at the end. Its the way I am. A final inspirational quote, and I'm gone. I pray that you people will seek out the truth of Jesus Christ after reading this, and I pray that God will lead you to the truth. Listen to me, or ignore me, I still love you, and I thank you for taking the time to read this. May God Bless you all.
"I believe what I believe. ITs what makes me who I am. I did not make it, no it is making me, it is the very truth of God, not the invention of any man." -Rich Mullins in a song.