A/N: Wow, Mudora is having fun now. Once Link left Hyrule, the childhood got too… stuck in a rut, or something like that. Zelda was getting boring, but now her character has matured and… LINK'S COMING BACK! I can't wait to write more on Hero's Path. Boy, is Mudora a loser.

Mudora is thinking of setting up his profile a little more conventionally. Maybe let readers know a little more about him. And maybe even put sneak-peeks of upcoming chapters on instead of new update summaries. Hmm… Mudora gets excited easily, eh? Anyway, let's get through the adulthood introduction.

A Princess' Destiny

Chapter 20: Pieces Assembled, Part Three: Revelation

Lightning: The shadow of Ganondorf broke the seal on the Lost Woods, and he led an army of monsters in as vegetation choked the children of the forest. Lightning: The Gorons were imprisoned and a dragon flew over Death Mountain as it burned. Lightning: Zora's Fountain was frozen over, with all the Zora's and Lord Jabu Jabu contained in the ice. Lightning: Strange water appeared on the surface of Lake Hylia, and it was dried up so that only the foreign substance remained. Lightning: Large splashes, as invisible footsteps, appeared in the pond in Kakariko Valley as the dead began to walk amongst the living. Lightning: A strange Gerudo woman issued forth a darkness that fed the evil king of Hyrule from the Gerudo Desert. Lightning: Shining light appeared from the threshold of the Temple of Time as a figure stepped through holding the Master Sword, preparing to strike down Ganondorf…

I awoke in the Temple of Time, realizing that I had just seen a vision. Such a thing hadn't happened in seven years' time.

The seven bursts of lightning. Just as the number three was a common representation the goddesses used, this number seven was as well. Seven bursts of lightning, seven Sages, seven temples, and seven years had passed since I had received a vision.

Perhaps this was it, a culmination of everything that had occurred over the past seven years. All that Ganondorf had done to this land would be dispelled. All that Impa, the rebellion, and I had done would have purpose. Link, Kauyo, and all the others who had died would not have died in vain. The Hero of Time would appear, the Sages would awaken, and Ganondorf would be brought down.

The night before, Impa had shown me the diary of that poor old grave keeper. Apparently he found Sheik's artifact that Impa spoke of. It had been buried with him. Surely, this Hero could find it in Dampe's tomb. I returned here in the night and slept on the cold, stone floor of the Temple.

I gazed around the room. It wasn't any brighter than when I drifted into sleep. The castle town ruins were kept under dense cover of smoke from Ganondorf's lake of fire, which he had formed by destroying Hyrule Castle. He made a huge crater, in which his lake had been formed, and reformed the castle into his own horrible pillar, floating above it.

My attention was brought to the altar. Below it, I saw three stones; one green, one red, and one blue. All had lost the brilliance they once held.

They reminded me of the poor boy I had commissioned to seek out those stones, only to be manipulated by Ganondorf and die in the Sacred Realm. If his body had been brought back, he would have had the noblest ceremony, greater than that of the kings, Knights, or Sages of old. That is, if Ganondorf had given any the chance to do such a thing. I resolved that, body or no body, that child would receive his honorable funeral the moment Ganondorf took his last breath.

Suddenly, the stones began glowing brightly. They made a strange ringing sound, and rose from the ground. Shattered pieces of some ceramic construction also rose from the floor in the midst of the stones and formed a perfect, feminine face.

"Princess of Destiny," it said, the lips moving in perfect harmony with the voice. It was a familiar greeting from a familiar voice. The goddesses. I had to admit that the iridescent colors of the stones on the ceramic face were a nice touch.

"My great Mothers," I replied, reverently. I really wanted to make up for last time. I rarely got to speak with the goddesses, and the usual formalities of prayer didn't seem quite enough in their presence.

"Doubtless, you have understood the dream we have given you," they said in their singular voice.

"Truly. The Hero shall dispel all of Ganondorf's curses and save this land from his grip."

"That is not all. Which of these curses that we have shown you have yet occurred within the land of Hyrule?"

"None, except two," I said after thinking about it. Only the moving vegetation of the forest and the power of evil from Twinrova, the curse of Ganondorf itself, had already occurred.

"It is so," they replied.

Something about this encounter just seemed much holier, and I'm not just talking about the Spiritual Stones. This Temple was the place men came to worship the goddesses. I was in their house, so without realizing it at first, I now noticed that our speech had become much more formal than it normally was.

They continued speaking.

"Let it come to pass; that before the Hero shall strike the Evil King from his throne, the wicked man shall cast a long shadow of darkness on the land. Thus says Din, the goddess of earth, fire and Power; thus says Nayru, the goddess of law, water, and Wisdom; and thus says Farore, goddess of life, the forest, and Courage. Thus concur all the spirits and fairies that dwell throughout the land; thus deliver this message, the Sages; and thus rings the Triforce, essence of the gods and all magic: that Hyrule shall know its goddesses, fear its creators, and love its sustainers before the binding of all that is evil. For nothing shall come to pass without our knowledge of it."

"It will be known," I said with a low, Sheikah bow.

"You have done well to learn from Impa of Shadow what you learned last evening. The artifact you discovered will permit entry for the Hero in the first of these temples, the Temple of Forest.

"Now, Zelda, Princess of Destiny; now, Sheik, keeper of the secret of the gods: go forth. Thus do your goddesses command, that you go forth and lead all of your Sages, all of our Sages, to the predestined places of awakening, the temples.

"You shall not lead the Sages until their people are crying out for help, until the curse of Ganondorf lies heavily upon them. Now, the curse of Ganondorf's magic has already brought one Sage to the temple, though she is hardly aware even now. Yet, the children of the Forest Spirit, our reincarnate, the Deku Tree, cry out for help. They know very little of us, their eternal Mothers, and are lost without their father. You shall go forth unto them, and bring their Sage unto the temple. This one is a girl that has been touched deeper than any of the other children -- and perhaps any of the other Sages -- by the chosen Hero of the goddesses.

"Thus shall you do with all of the people, all of the curses, all of the Sages and all of the temples, until the Hero restores all of Hyrule. Take the harp we have given you, for you will need it. We shall teach you the melodies of the gods that will awaken the Sages. The harp cannot do it by its magic, for the temples are choked in Ganondorf's evil power. In order for our messengers, the Sages, to come into their full power they must be called by the power of stronger magic -- the magic we have bestowed to our Hero.

"Yet, chosen one, keeper of prophecy and head Sage, you must wait to begin the journey that lies before you. Now, you must encounter our other chosen one: the fulfillment of prophecy, and Hero of Time. However, he must not learn your true identity yet. He shall know you as Sheik, the surviving Sheikah. We shall tell you the acceptable time to present yourself as keeper of Wisdom and head Sage to our chosen Hero. He has waited seven years in the Sacred Realm, and now he will bring to pass all that we have shown you."

The room darkened as the Stones lost their shine once more. The face crumbled into shattered clay once more, and fell to the Temple's floor with the Stones.

A thought entered my head at the last words of the goddesses, but I let it pass quickly. The goddesses would never contradict themselves, never lie to me, and so I must not dwell on those long gone.

A light shone from beyond the threshold where the Door of Time once stood. I walked through to check it out.

There, my suspicions were realized. A man stood in front of the pedestal I had once viewed within. He was taller than I, and though his back faced me, I knew immediately who it was. The man had blond hair and pale skin, traits of a Hylian, yet he wore a green tunic over white clothing, and a green Kokiri hat. Link! Yes, a fairy floated near him, and they were quietly conversing. It had to be Link, the Kokiri boy! But he was a Kokiri, and he was dead! I didn't understand what was going on, but I knew that this was my old friend, the one who inspired hope in the people of Hyrule in an age long past. And in his gloved hand was the legendary Master Sword.

He turned to face me, and was startled. I was surprised that it startled him, though I didn't let it show. I realized that though I had known him for seven years, he hadn't seen my most famous guise, that of Sheik. I had to speak, alleviate his fears. I had that trademark, spooky-mysterious, Sheikah appearance and he was gripping his weapon.

"I've been waiting for you, Hero of Time," I said. That wouldn't do. I had to gain his trust. No, what was I thinking? I was just to deliver my message, as told by the goddesses. "When evil rules all, an awakening voice from the Sacred Realm will call those destined to be Sages, who dwell in the five temples."

I had his attention. Now to complete the message. Could I remember the five locations?

"One in a deep forest…" That much I definitely knew. "One on a high mountain…" I remembered that one. "One under a vast lake…" This one I remembered for the mystery of it. "One within the house of the dead…" The Shadow Temple, I knew. What was the other? I remember it making very little sense. Something about a goddess… Ah, yes. "One inside a goddess of the sand…" One, two, three, four, five. That was all of them.

"Together with the Hero of Time, the awakened ones will bind the evil and return the light of peace to the world…" That sounded nice.

But how would I lend credit to all of this? If I were to simply say, "The goddesses said so," he may guess my identity, something the goddesses didn't want.

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" he said. Though I remembered as clear as yesterday what his voice sounded like, it was much different. It was deeper yet still somewhat recognizably his. But he was asking questions I could not give true answers to. Perhaps it was that since I disguised myself as a Sheikah, the secret could be disguised similarly.

"This is the legend passed down by my people, the Sheikah. I am Sheik, survivor of the Sheikah." Would he buy it? Did he still trust the Sheikah, as he at one time trusted Impa in his youth? In his eyes I saw a fire, some anger deep down toward someone. Certainly it was Ganondorf, the one who had tricked him. Now I would have to put my faith in him, so that he too may trust his ability to win this time.

"As I see you standing there, holding the mythical Master Sword, you really do look like the legendary Hero of Time."

Link held the sword up and examined it. He moved it in a manner befitting a master swordsman. He knew what he was doing now. That was quite reassuring. However, he looked at the sword, and looked himself up and down, as in disbelief.

"Am I supposed to listen to you?" he asked, somewhat confused.

"If you believe the legend, you have no choice. You must look for the five temples and awaken the five Sages. One Sage will be waiting for the time of awakening in the Forest Temple." I realized now what the goddesses meant when they said the Sage was someone touched by the Hero. He had grown up in the Lost Woods, so she had to be a friend of his. "The Sage is a girl I am sure you know. But because of the evil power in the temple she cannot hear the awakening call of the Sacred Realm, unless it is delivered by you alone. Unfortunately, equipped as you currently are, you cannot even enter the temple. But if you believe what I am saying, you should head to Kakariko Village. Do you understand, Link?"

"I guess so," he said, not in a submissive manner, but somewhat immaturely.

I watched as he departed the Temple of Time and stepped out into the ruined castle town. I realized at that moment that the sights of the world may frighten him, but it was too late now. Now I would continue in the work of the goddesses, and go to the Lost Woods.