THE GREAT PALACE
The magical force fields in front of the Great Palace disappeared as Link approached. He had to hand it to Elezaar. The trouble he had gone through just to keep the Triforce safe was amazing. But it was Link who had endured the real trouble. Now only a few more demons and one last guardian stood between Link and everything his heart desired.
This palace was yellow in color. Why? It was made of sulfur. Magic kept it structurally sound. The smell was bad enough to make Link seriously consider cutting his own nose off. Not only that but the internal temperature of the palace was over 105 degrees. The gravity was more intense making everything much heavier. What kind of masochistic fruitcake must Ganondorf have been to take up residence in a place like this?
Lon had given Link something more valuable than gold. This map told Link exactly where to go. Lon had been correct when he warned Link just how huge this place was and that he wouldn't have had a chance without a map.
The elevator took Link to the first floor. Have you by any chance ever heard the squawk of a peacock? That's the sound Link was hearing now. Nope, no peacock, just a demon that sounded like one. Link was immediately confronted with an enemy he'd never seen before. It was a Firebird. The name pretty much describes it. It reminded him of a cross between a Mago and a Troll. It certainly had a lot of energy and it was spraying fire all over the place. A thrust was out of the question. Not using Reflect wasn't an option either. The fireballs were surprisingly mobile and long-lasting.
Link tried to duck in and stab so that the fireballs would fly over his head. The only problem with that strategy was that he had to be alert. Some of the fireballs actually bounced on impact (if you can imagine fire bouncing) and came right back in his direction. He also had to be careful not to let this flaming hot bird bump into him. He felt like he had to stab the bloody thing ten times before it died. It would have been nice if someone had warned him that Firebirds have three hearts.
A mere few feet to the west and Link had another unpleasant surprise. He fell through the floor (yup, another concealed hole) and straight down into a group of Bots. As if that wasn't bad enough, these things were also much tougher than he would have expected. They could take a licking and keep on… well you get the idea. I don't need to infringe any copyrights here. Even worse, they would reappear after he'd killed them if he tried to walk away. That gave him an idea.
"ARSTA!"
Link spent the next several minutes barbecuing Bots and managed to pick up enough Blue Jars to replenish all the magic he had used up in the Valley of Death. He freed himself from the area by breaking through some bricks and then climbed back up, careful not to fall through the floor again.
The next elevator deposited Link at what appeared to be an abandoned floor. As he headed east, he encountered no enemy for quite some time. Well if something's too good to be true, it probably is. Another Firebird was waiting for him. Once again, Link was in for another nasty fight with this hyperactive opponent. This time it was a little easier to defeat. Somehow he managed to back it up against the elevator shaft and stab away. Firebirds rely on mobility. Even then it took an enormous amount of stabbing to vanquish it. But what was that up above the shaft?
In a place from which he would have expected to see an Ironknuckle statue came a frightening omen. It was a statue of another bird. This one was dressed in armor and had a long, sharp beak and razor sharp talons. So this was what was to be found here instead of Ironknuckles. Link had terrible images in his mind of what sort of skills these things might have.
Things only got worse when he took the elevator downstairs. It was now getting more difficult to breathe. Demon Heads swarmed through a room with brick barriers. They would never stop appearing and it took multiple hits to kill each one. The real misery was to be found in the next hallway.
"SQUAWK!"
"What the hell was that?" (getting to be a catchphrase, eh?)
Link was up against an enemy of enormous skill; a Dreadhawk. This was what he had seen represented above the elevator shaft; a species of carnivorous bird demon older than Hyrule itself. It had the strength of ten men and the agility of a Moa. Like the Blue Ironknuckles, it could use the Sting spell. Unlike the Ironknuckles, it could jump. Heck, it could jump twice as skillfully as Link. And it was very fast and very aggressive and extremely skilled with a shield. The usual Ironknuckle strategy probably wouldn't work on a creature like this. And it was too fast with its shield for Link to land a hit. What part of it was vulnerable? He had to think fast. Though it hadn't injured him yet, it was throwing the full weight of its body against his shield. With gravity itself affected, he couldn't withstand even this.
Suddenly Link had an idea. He tried his best to feign a full frontal assault to force the Dreadhawk into an area with a higher ceiling. Sure enough, it began to jump over Link's head. That was all he needed. He started to upthrust whenever it jumped. The creature couldn't seem to guard against that very well and after a couple hits, it was dead.
No. No way. It couldn't have possibly been that easy. There had to be a catch. Of course! This thing had been red. Link was terrified at the idea of facing a Blue Dreadhawk after seeing what a red one could do.
The next elevator ride seemed to take forever. Link was being taken way down into the depths of the palace. Now the air actually became colder but even still it was harder to breathe. By the time the elevator touched down Link was freezing. In fact it was so cold that he was almost relieved to see that there was yet another Firebird lying in wait. Fire! Warm!
But wait, things were about to get even more amusing. The passage ahead featured not only new and improved Demon Heads, but new and improved Ropes as well. Link set himself up to block a stone only to find out that these things spit fire instead. He had to leap at the last minute to avoid the fiery blast that his shield couldn't handle. Another Dreadhawk statue sat atop the elevator shaft. This one had a glowing slot. No way. No way on earth would he risk it. If this thing came to life the results could be deadly.
Never mind. The elevator took him straight into a passage with a Blue Dreadhawk anyway. Link quickly cut through the bricks and Bots in front of him so as not to be trapped. This new Dreadhawk was deadly beyond words. It was unfathomably aggressive and took quite a few more hits than its red counterpart. Link couldn't possibly block all of its attacks. He could barely keep up. He just kept swinging and thrusting at any movement while this thing jumped circles around him. It was a pathetic thing to watch. By the time the battle was over about the only good thing he could say was that he'd protected anything vital. Every other part of him was cut up. This was another one of those situations where he really should have healed himself but was afraid to waste magic. Now that the temperature was reaching frigid levels, the last thing he needed was to lose too much blood.
The pathway to the next elevator was not at all well-guarded. But the elevator had taken him into a room with drapes. The guardian couldn't have come so soon, could it? Nope. There was a Firebird and a… What was that? It was like a Skull Ball but several times larger and slower. The skull inside seemed to be that of some sort of monster long since extinct in this land. Thankfully it wasn't tough to beat on account of its size and low speed but Link could just imagine what would happen if that thing had hit him.
"Oh crap, not again!"
Yup, another Blue Dreadhawk was all too pleased to greet Link up ahead. Ganondorf must have had a thing for birds. Under ideal circumstances, Link was very agile himself. But now he was injured and half-frozen and his sword weighed over thirty-five pounds due to the modified gravity. His shield was so heavy that it was useless. His own body was heavier too.
Link threw down his shield and gripped his sword with two hands. He wasn't used to fighting like this. The ecstatic Dreadhawk launched three Stings in Link's direction. While he was busy blocking them with the flat of the sword, the Dreadhawk flew straight at him at a speed of over two hundred miles per hour. It sliced the side of his head so quickly that Link had no chance whatsoever to react at all. Not all the Stings had reached him yet.
The Dreadhawk squawked at him in a manner that would almost seem like trash talk. Link felt his anger rise again and he was quite certain that if he gave in, this creature would be dead within seconds. But no. The price was too costly. No way would he compromise himself just to beat a six foot tall barnyard fowl.
Link held his sword out straight at his side. The Dreadhawk cocked its head from side to side as if it were trying to figure out what Link was up to. Link began to fling the sword around wildly in a figure eight pattern. The Dreadhawk tried to use the Sting again only to have its shots knocked out of the air. Faster and faster the sword twirled in its broad figure eight. The Dreadhawk lunged…
"AFIERNA!"
The smell of burnt feathers filled the room. The Dreadhawk had to extinguish itself. It was coughing hard. Obviously the spell had badly injured it even though it had survived. In a fit of anger it lunged again. Without ever stopping the figure eight motion, Link merely turned and sidestepped it, flinging his arms and hips back towards the bird as it passed. It was decimated by his blade.
Link was exhausted and collapsed onto the floor. As he had grown stronger, his senses had become sharper too. Oh boy! He could hear a fairy down in the elevator shaft! He picked himself up off the floor with great difficulty. The Dreadhawk had left behind a red jar. His lips were cut so badly that it was extremely painful trying to drink its contents.
The fairy was ecstatic to see Link. "You're almost there!" she shouted after healing him. "We left a gift for you on the opposite side of the shaft. Don't stop now."
The gift she spoke of was another doll. Link hoped he wouldn't have to use it but he was thrilled to have it.
For one of the first times in this palace, Link had to head west. The Firebird in his way was a mere inconvenience. He could now deal with these things more efficiently. But the room up ahead scared him. It wasn't because the enemies were tough, but because he thought he was lost. According to his map this room contained a passage to the lower portion of the palace but he saw nothing. Nothing but bricks. Maybe…
Link stabbed wildly at the bricks. Brick after brick vanished but no passage. But suddenly as Link hit one more, he found himself falling. The floor had been false.
The fall had been startling enough but Link very nearly jumped out of his skin when he tried to proceed down the hall. A Bot twice the size of your average polar bear fell from the ceiling right in front of him. Link screamed out loud. The large Bot bounced after him as if it wanted to eat him. As soon as he stabbed it, the large Bot erupted into several small Bots. Good. He needed one more blue jar. But these Bots were the toughest he'd ever seen. They could take quite a beating. No matter. He got what he came for.
Link headed east over another disappearing bridge. Sure enough, in the center was a pit, the pit that would take him to the end of his quest. Link fell through to the final area.
This wasn't like any other guardian room he had ever encountered. There were no drapes, just a set of columns and a platform. The cold and gravity that had plagued him throughout the palace were gone now. Well this was it!
"AGDA!"
"AFE!"
"AJIS!"
"OK, bring it on!"
And on it was brought. In flew Thunderbird, raining down fire. It looked like a giant flying Aztec god. This was somewhat of an inactive guardian. It hovered around the room in a pattern and dropped fireballs but displayed no other movement or aggression. Link's initial attacks proved futile. Thunderbird was covered with a thick armored plate and nothing Link did could shatter it.
"AFIERNA!"
Well almost nothing. The plate shattered revealing a very unpleasant freak of nature with big jaws. Link made several attempts at an attack on any part of its body he could reach. But even now his efforts were futile.
Well, so many guardians before it were vulnerable to head wounds when nothing else had affected them. BINGO! Link jumped up and slashed at its head. Oddly enough, Thunderbird actually made a vain attempt to bite him. But Link's blade hit its target and Thunderbird was affected. Try as he might, Link couldn't seem to injure Thunderbird with an upward thrust. He had to stick to a jump and slash technique which was far less convenient but quite effective.
As Link inflicted more and more damage, the creature spewed forth more and more fire. Link suffered a couple second-degree burns but at this point he wouldn't be stopped. He was so close! Just a little more…
BOOM!
With one final hit Thunderbird was dead.
"YES! Thank God, at long last!"
Link gleefully ran down the hall giggling like a schoolgirl. Sure enough, there was the Triforce of Courage sitting upon a high shelf being guarded by a small ghost.
"Hi. How ya doing?" said Link to the ghost. "I'd like to introduce myself. The Chosen One, at your service. I've come for my prize."
The ghost smiled. "Greetings traveler! I am the guardian spirit of the Triforce. Only he who was meant to have this power could have come so far. I can finally be at rest for at last you have… LOOK OUT!"
The ghost grabbed the Triforce and vanished.
"Your prize? You mean my prize. I don't need you anymore."
Where had that voice come from? The room flashed and a truly shocking thing occurred, shocking even compared to every other strange thing Link had been through. As the room flashed, Link's own shadow jumped from his side. Link howled in pain. It felt exactly as if he'd been ripped in half. But the pain only lasted for an instant. He felt light. He felt free. He felt better than he had in a long time. As for the shadow, it took its place nearby and became three dimensional, if you can picture three dimensional darkness.
"I assume I need no introduction," said the shadow.
"Um… no, actually you need a lot of introduction," replied Link. "Who are you?"
"Tell me Link, does your lady love know the truth about you?"
Link's heart nearly stopped at those words.
"What was that like?" continued the shadow. "Must have been rather satisfying."
"Shut up."
"They think you're a hero."
"Shut up!"
"If anyone knew the truth you'd be ruined."
"SHUT UP!"
"The only reason you ever came to Hyrule was because you were running. You were on the run from a posse from your village and it wasn't safe to stay there any more. And you know why they were chasing you. Go on, say it."
Link trembled angrily. "I killed my father. He was an abusive drunk who beat the hell out of me and my mother and by the time I was fourteen I couldn't take it anymore. It was a mistake. He was fast asleep at the time. I had no justification at the moment that I took his life. There, are you happy? I'm a murderer! I killed my father and my life was nearly ruined because of it."
"You mean the man you called father," replied the shadow with a laugh. "The real story is far more interesting."
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh you're going to love this. Where to begin? Well, it seems that a certain queen of Hyrule wasn't quite so hot for her husband as you might have thought but she sure took a shine to his gorgeous young butler. And soon enough, OOPS she had a kid with this guy. And both she and her husband had blue eyes and the kid's eyes were brown so no chance the kid was his. Well this created quite a fuss as you might imagine. The butler was hanged, the queen got a beating, and the baby… well the baby was tossed down a shallow well. You've had a lot of hip pain throughout your life, haven't you? Your hip hurts right this second, doesn't it?"
Link was shocked but the shadow continued. "Well one of the Queen's ladies in waiting felt sorry for the little bastard. She rescued him from the well and then secretly sent him off on a boat headed for the Western Islands and told the sailors to give the kid to any couple they met who wanted a child. Shame they picked the town drunk, isn't it?"
"You're full of crap!" shouted Link.
"No, I assure you every word is true. Which brings me to the most amusing part of this tale. Zelda was your sister! You had a romance with your own sister and didn't even have a clue! Oh my gosh, that's funny!"
"LIAR!"
"Oh, and even better… YOU KILLED HER!"
At this point the shadow began to laugh hysterically. Link furiously lunged at it but it jumped out of the way.
"So you see, you are of royal blood after all, just like Elezaar said. You just aren't from HIS particular bloodline. Think about it, it makes perfect sense. Every word is true and if you had done enough snooping you would have come to this conclusion yourself."
"Who are you?" screamed Link.
"Me? Oh, no one very import. Death, darkness, despair, that pretty much sums up who I am. And for a while now, I've been part of you. Remember Darunia?"
"That was you! You possessed me?"
"Now you get it. Give the boy a prize. Yeah dumbass. When you were asleep, I'd take control. I could always communicate telepathically with the Cult but when you were asleep I could take over your body."
"And when I was awake?"
"I stayed conveniently tucked away in your shadow while the darkness in your heart gave me strength. But I was very good at giving you a few rather interesting suggestions. At first I just tempted you starting on the day the crest appeared. Your reaction to the attack on Impa was one of my favorites. 'Oh no granny, don't die! NO! Bad Saria! You die now!' Oh that was precious. You nearly went off to wipe out a whole village. But once you crossed the sea to the island, well that's when I actually possessed you. You remember me grabbing you off the raft, don't you? And we've been two peas in a pod since."
"Why reveal yourself now?"
"Why? Amusement mostly. You see boy… now how can I explain this to you… ah yes, you are about to die. You see, I needed you to get me to the Triforce. After a while I figured you'd make it here alive no matter what we threw at you so I just waited. My master may have underestimated you but I won't. I'm sure you understand what happens now. You die, I revive Lord Ganon with your blood, we take one Triforce, in a matter of time, we take all three, I get my body back."
"Your body back?"
"Ah yes, sadly I am currently unable to assume physical form after my rather untimely death at the hands of Elezaar's son."
"Agahnim!"
"Oh you guessed. Smart lad. Yes. Time to die!"
This fight was unlike any other Link had been through. Agahnim was ruthless. What a magnificent fighter! Since he was a shadow image of Link, he had all of Link's moves and Link was the best swordsman in all the land. Having not been given the thrust techniques himself, Agahnim couldn't use them. But he could easily block them if Link tried to use one. He couldn't use magic either without a body. But Link was sure none of his own spells would affect Agahnim anyway.
The two viciously traded blows for over a minute but since their techniques were identical, neither one could land a hit. But fighting that hard is exhausting. Link grew tired and without a body, Agahnim had no such problem. He slashed at Link, cutting his forehead quite badly. Link tried to wipe the blood out of his eyes.
"You're slowing down boy! Getting tired already? Is that all you've got?"
Agahnim slashed again and cut Link's arm. But just then, Link quickly landed a blow. Then another. Then another. "Now who's slowing down?" he jeered.
"Why you insolent brat! I'll teach you how to talk to me!" Agahnim lunged and his blade hit the far left side of Link's abdomen. He hadn't hit anything vital or any major blood vessels but Link was in agony.
Link jumped up and went into his thrust pose. At the last second he switched up into a normal stab and caught Agahnim off guard. The trick worked so well he tried it again. Same result. But now Agahnim was coming at him hard. Link found himself backed up against the force field. In a panic he started swinging and stabbing wildly. And now Agahnim had to get out of the way but not quickly enough. Link nailed him pretty good. Unfortunately the flat of Agahnim's sword had hit one of his burns and now he was really hurting.
Agahnim charged again. Link decided to keep his position with his back against the force field. Striking from a defensive standpoint seemed to work. Agahnim's shield didn't cover any more of his body than Link's. Link nailed him right on the top of his head. Agahnim stumbled back.
The two stared each other down for a few moments. Suddenly, Agahnim threw down his shield and held his blade up. "Let's end this. Now."
"So be it," replied Link, throwing down his own shield.
With a wild shout the two adversaries rushed at each other with lightening speed. At the last possible moment, Link threw himself down into a somersault and ducked Agahnim's blade in the process. He turned and viciously stabbed…
Agahnim never had a chance to give any parting words. He seemed to fall through the floor. It was over. A moment later, the ghost reappeared with the Triforce and handed it to Link without so much as a word before disappearing.
At the same moment that Agahnim had been defeated, the light of day returned to the sky. Every single Wizzrobe perished immediately and the Magos were blinded. The Cult followers all seemed to understand what it meant.
"LONG LIVE GANON!" they shouted in unison and before anyone had a chance to react, they all committed mass suicide right there on the field of battle. The Western army and the demons were no match without their help. The Western king surrendered to Fabian. The demons fought to the last but were all slain.
"At last," whispered Impa. She was too emotional to even speak and just stood there in silence while the Hyrulian soldiers from both sides of Death Mountain celebrated and embraced.
Miles away from all the chaos, the Triforce had summoned a whirlwind which had transported Link to the basement of the North Palace. With everyone out at the battle, Link was all alone. Well, not quite.
Link walked up to the altar and held up the Triforce of Courage. The Triforces of Wisdom and Power floated off the floor and all three Triforces surrounded Zelda. There was a brilliant flash.
After centuries of sleep, Zelda, Princess of the original Kingdom of Hyrule woke up and smiled at Link.
You'd think he'd be overjoyed. But a sadness and fear filled him. He had murdered his father. He'd made a mess of everything. He had nearly killed Impa and had every intention of doing so. Surely she must have known.
"I told you I watched you throughout your WHOLE life, not just parts of it," she said.
"Can you read my mind?" asked Link.
"I can read your heart," she replied. "Link, I love you. I don't care if you've made mistakes. We all have setbacks but it's only when we stop trying or even embrace those setbacks that we die inside. Why can't you even look at me? Don't you love me? Haven't you wanted this moment with all your heart for so long?"
"YES! It's just that you're so…. And I'm so… Oh, what can I say here?"
"Did you know I'm a compulsive nail-biter?" she asked. "The problem was when you were in that coma you only got to see the good side of me and that's what you fell in love with. But I hope you won't be repulsed by all MY shortcomings. Did you think I was perfect? Oh you big beautiful dummy, I love you so much…"
Zelda practically tackled him. They didn't have sex but that had to have been the best make-out session Link had ever experienced in his short life.
EPILOGUE
Link seemed to defy the laws of science. Never once did he ever again cast a shadow for the rest of his life.
In the months that followed, Hyrule had the difficult task of rebuilding. Again. As predicted, life would still not be a cakewalk. As long as you draw breath, life presents itself with new trials.
The two nations never did reunite. The people of Northern Hyrule had no desire to live under the rule of Southern Hyrule. Even though they respected Fabian they were quite aware of the problems that having a twelve year old monarch would have presented. And there were the cultural differences that had developed in their two societies as well. But they agreed that the system of chieftains hadn't worked. A northern kingdom was called for. After Link and Zelda had married (which happened about twelve hours after she woke up) they begged them to take up residence in the North Palace and reign as their king and queen. And they said no. At first.
Link knew what his destiny had led him to, and yet he certainly didn't feel he had the qualifications to be a leader. Never before had he been so mistaken. Link turned out to be an amazingly good ruler. He and Zelda reigned throughout many hard times but the state always came out of it OK. They had five children, two of whom helped establish a new nation on a set of islands a few hundred miles west of Hyrule.
One of the toughest decisions Link had to make as a monarch or as a person was not the least bit political. He had to decide what to say or not to say to Fabian. I don't know if you would agree with his conclusions but in the end he kept his mouth shut. In fact he told no one, not even Impa. Zelda knew of course, but no one else. Why have Fabian lose respect for his parents? Why scar him by letting him learn that his sister had unknowingly had a romantic relationship with her own half-brother? Link had been traumatized enough himself by that little news bulletin. He could still be a big brother to him without Fabian learning the truth.
Fabian turned out to be a pretty good ruler himself. Of course having Impa as his Chancellor helped him a great deal, especially when he was still young and inexperienced. He did something unheard of. He married a commoner in direct defiance of the law and he got away with it. He must have liked her because they produced twenty-two kids. Having that many kids running around snuffed out any temptation Impa may have had to retire as Chancellor and return to the nursemaid profession in her remaining years. There's something to be said about being career-minded.
THANKS A MILLION FOR READING
©2006 Joseph Kerner