I recalled a far-off memory, or perhaps a dream of some sort, from when I still bore the Triforce of Wisdom. I, or rather the me that wasn't me, watched a hero face the vile Ganon atop the ruins of a tainted castle, little more than a grand pile of rubble crumbling away into the smoldering moat of lava below. Their hands glowed with golden light, and the clash between them rent something in the air. The beast produced two grotesque blades from its palms, swinging them wildly, and though the hero was tall and strong of body, still the fabled blade of evil's bane was knocked out of his hands. With his remaining shortsword he slashed at Ganon in any opening he could find, but a shroud of darkness covered the beast almost like a coat of mail. However, its tail glowed – perhaps it had been some sage magic, piercing through the shroud in what little way they could. His focus guided by a little fairy, the hero struck and struck again, and though it was only a tail, the beast was stunned. The hero jumped through the surrounding ring of fire to retrieve his shining sword, his left hand shining greater still, and leapt back into battle.
Though the hero could not match the sheer might of Ganon's golden power, his own strikes were true, and deftly he deflected the beast's weapons as best he could. Then, the beast raised both swords into the air, and the hero lost sure footing atop the rubble, frantically raising his shield to block. I watched with eyes that weren't mine – with its full weight behind its giant, bony swords, the beast crashed them down into the hero's shield. However thick its steel was, quickly it cracked, split, and broke apart until naught was left on his mangled, bleeding arm but a misshapen shard of metal and leather. I screamed with a voice not mine, rushing forward as the beast again raised its now downturned blades, only able to watch as these hands shone gold, attempting to conjure up some spell with the abilities afforded by the Triforce of Wisdom. But the relic granted more than that, and I, nay, she knew she could do naught in that instant. Down came the blades, and I dropped on cold rock, wailing, watching as the beast ripped a golden shape from the still body. My heart panged, and the beast stared me down – sickly yellow eyes piercing through a shroud of black. And then it took its steps toward me. The pain sent me back, threw me out, and I couldn't help but feel there was something wrong with the fate that had been written that day.
In the dark innermost chamber of the caverns under Death Mountain I sat, hugging my knees in solitude. For all my bravado when I met the Demon King, I found that here, in this hellish place, any inclination of resistance I had was met with some pervasive dread. In the room just ahead was my captor Ganon himself, but directly surrounding me were stone blocks too tall and sheer to climb, a fell fire which I couldn't dispel, and gargoyles whose eyes I could swear stared back at me.
"O brave hero," I had said. "Save Hyrule," I had pleaded. But for all my accrued wisdom, I could discern little about the one who took up a sword in the name of my kingdom. Rather, I didn't even know that much – now stripped of my greatest treasure and tool, I could only perceive the vaguest of feelings to guide me. All I knew for certain was that now, in my nigh-abandoned domain, someone had risen against the forces of the Demon King. Their reasons for doing so, however, were yet hidden from me. Any words of mine I tried sending out to them were only met with silence, grunts, or the occasional reactionary thought. Of course, I couldn't blame them. Anyone would curse when pelted with high-speed boulders by an unruly pack of octoroks.
"Come on, Zelda! Find them!" I said to myself, scowling with only the gargoyles to see. As my mind's eye leapt out of the steaming caverns, I beheld this sweeping view of a ghastly Hyrule, its colors and definitions faded far too much to make out anything past the greater features. Without the Triforce, this was the best I could muster.
Having told them to make for Lake Hylia, I searched along the river. I could feel the presence of a Triforce fragment deep under the lake, where the shriveled root system of a tree, long dead yet still colossal, had left behind spacious caverns beneath a small island. Nay, I could feel another nearby… but it was too faint. For now, I would have to focus on the one still somewhat clear to me.
Then, deep within the tree's caverns, I saw a shape, and made out just a bit of its voice through the grunts – probably a young boy. He was even younger than me, and armed with no more than a sword and shield. Was this the hero on whose shoulders I was forced to place Hyrule's last hopes? One could take a single look at his figure and tell that he had seen too few winters. But... he battled the group of stalfos with speed and precision guiding his sword, and if there was fear in him, he didn't let it stay his feet. He only focused on his enemies, dodging their shambling strikes and slashing at them from behind his small shield. When the reanimated skeletons were defeated, the boy trudged forward, and with a key found nearby, he opened a dirt-covered door, too thick to break. Could this place have been used as some sort of hideout in the distant past? Or perhaps even a witch's den? I was astounded enough with the place's existence, and so I pushed those thoughts away and continued following the boy.
Soon, in a room filled with animated steel urchins, he found a trapdoor hiding a ladder that led into what seemed like a proper hideout. There were stone blocks lining the walls and ground, though the boy only found an old yet serviceable bow and a disturbed colony of keese. Unfortunately, the boy had no arrows of any sort, and so after testing out its string, he kept the bow over his back.
Then I heard a voice call out to me from far away, and my mind's eye shook away the phantasmal figures. It was deep, bellowing, and drummed up fear in my heart upon hearing it.
"I have come to collect, Zelda," he said, dispelling the dark fire between us.
"Ganon."
"You have not yet upheld your side of our agreement. But I am patient, Princess. Reveal to me the location of but one piece of your Triforce, and I will spare you for now, to continue performing your task. Surely you have not sat here idly."
"I haven't, Ganon. But the weight of your malice has spread too deeply throughout my land. Were it not for your evil, I could have discerned the locations easily."
"I do not believe the great princess of Hyrule is as weak as she desires to appear. Even without the Triforce, you still bear a power most considerable, do you not?" Ganon then outstretched his fingers, and I saw the dark flame burn from his clawed fingertips.
"Grant me but a moment, Demon King."
Eyeing down the beast, I had no choice but to believe he wouldn't harm me while I whisked my mind's eye away once more.
Please, brave hero, I pleaded, hoping the goddesses would hear. Please be safe.
In the deepest cavern beneath the colossal tree, I saw the boy dive to the side, away from a barrage of fireballs. Facing him was a dragon with a single shining horn of spiraling pearl, rampaging on all fours with a fell aura surrounding it. Could it have been the fabled unicorn of Lake Hylia? Perhaps it was drawn unknowingly to the power of the Triforce shard, or this just happened to be its above-water roost. Whatever the case may have been, it truly was a shame that this marvelous beast was now affected by the spread of malice, and that the boy had no other choice but to slay it.
Soon enough, the boy's sword glowed with a rainbow light, and when he raised it up and stabbed through the air, the light burst from his sword – a seven-colored spike swirling to hit the dragon squarely in the horn. The elegant creature fell, and the cave was filled with silence. The boy breathed deeply for a moment before advancing into a hidden room, seemingly carved into the cave too impeccably to have been done by human hands. Caught in his eyes was a golden light, and in his hands he now bore a single shard of my Triforce of Wisdom. The room faded, and the boy was swept away, back to the world above. With that, I breathed and let Hyrule's open winds take me back to my body.
"The first piece is at Lake Hylia, Ganon. On an island lies a lonesome, giant tree, and beneath it the piece was sent. Look hard enough, and perhaps you will find it."
"I do enjoy the way you mock." He revealed a yellowed and toothy grin. "Very good, Princess. You have earned yourself more time. You would do well to use it wisely." Ganon's heavy steps took him out of the room, and as the door shut behind him, a clench of his fist reignited the fire keeping me trapped here.
I could weather the storm however much was necessary of me, for Hyrule's hopes no longer rested on my shoulders. This hero accepted them in lieu of the one who was supposed to be this country's ruler... Perhaps I never truly bore their weight. I was too afraid to wield power when it was necessary...
O brave hero... Save Hyrule. Forgive me for my weakness.
The Kingdom of Hyrule had long been taken to be the center of modern society. Culture, religion, economy, technology – it seemed Hyrule was always above its neighboring countries. It would be hard for a people who believed they were 'the descendants of the goddess' and had named themselves such to not raise themselves up, standing over the rest. Yet despite it all, not even the center of the civilized world could weather the world itself turning against them. Many years of quakes had rung deep beneath the earth and shifted the land, and the chaotic change in topography had led the Hylia River to flood the grand Hyrule Field, forming a new Lake Hylia. Dust storms blew in from the desert, which had long been abandoned by its nomadic tribes. Thunderstorms and blizzards in the kingdom's more distant regions grew harsher and ever encroached inward. The catastrophes broke the effective rule of the kings and queens of Hyrule, already long weakened by the loss of the full Triforce. Left and right, vassal lords and ladies split off from Hyrule to rule their own territories, many of them eventually failing. And over the reigns of just a handful of monarchs, the once-majestic breadth of the Kingdom of Hyrule had been reduced to a small petty kingdom of its own. So the current king, standing weakly on a tower balcony of his decrepit castle, lamented the crown he had inherited from his forebears and the heavy sorrows that came along with it. Truly it was a hollow thing, and in it he found no joy.
"Your Majesty!" a servant yelled, rushing into the room.
"What is it?" he said, sighing deeply as he turned around. "Can I hope you've brought good news?"
"Yes, my king," the servant said, catching her breath before managing a smile. "The delivery was successful. Will you come now?"
The king felt strength return to his legs, a kind he hadn't felt in a very long time.
Despite his excitement, he gently opened the doors to his queen wife's chamber. The chilly spring breeze blew as he laid his eyes on her, resting in bed with a little bundle in her arms. The nursemaid Impa cleaned away the sweat from the queen's brow and the messy byproducts of birth, and at the sight of the king, she lowered her head to hide away a grin. The king's jaw slowly dropped, and with eager steps he approached.
"Hera?"
"Yes, my love?" she asked, not looking up.
"M–May I sit closer?" he muttered, eyeing the space next to her on the bed.
"Of course," she said. The king carefully inched closer, trying not to disturb the delicate peace cradled next to him. His eyes peered past his wife's shoulder, and she cooed at the baby, which made little sounds of its own.
"Oh!" exclaimed the king, his eyes and lips quivering. The queen gently passed the bundle into his arms, and unable to hold himself back, his tears fell like drops of morning dew on an old window. The baby cried at the sight, and the king returned the feeble thing into the soft arms of its mother. It weakly reached out with its little hand, and the queen pulled at the knot at the top of her dress, bringing it down over her shoulder. It didn't take long for the baby to latch onto her breast, and the queen continued to suckle as her husband barely held himself together.
"I won't let you shove her off to me every time she cries, dear."
"She?"
"Yes," the queen said, tilting her head in delight. "Her name will be Zelda."
"Yes... Of course. Zelda." The king looked to the wall opposite them, where a heraldic Triforce sat – three perfect triangles joined at the points to form one greater triangle. Though however deep the luster of its gold was, it was still a mere facsimile of the true relic. Two pieces the king of Hyrule still bore, and he regretted the folly of his ancestor that brought the loss of the third. In his veins flowed the same blood, and he feared, with it, the same flaw. That so long as he wore the crown, he shared in its faults.
He found that the words could barely leave his throat. "She... She will have to..."
"Harky, please," Hera said gently, yet still with some iron behind her. "You are a father now. We've waited so very long for this day to come, and by some miracle, she's here. Please, forget for one day the weight on your brow. We've lost so much time... but none of that matters anymore. She's here now, with us. Right now, she's not Hyrule's next queen, or even a princess. She's just our daughter. Zelda, our little miracle."
"Yes... Our most grand miracle."
The king breathed a little easier, and he removed the crown from his head and the mantle from his shoulders, and sat again at his wife's side. And as Impa and the other midwives stepped out of the room, he stared into the baby's eyes, allowing himself to cry again. Though soon, his own gaze was pulled back to the emblem on the wall, staring back at him, silent and still.
"May Hylia's blessings be upon her," he said. The weight of the crown had not left, and he buried it deep down.
Months and years passed like grains of sand falling down an hourglass for the old king, and one day he found himself sitting in a wide rocking chair on his balcony, staring at his little realm of Hyrule. His body had thinned and shrunk, and he found he barely took up half the space on the chair. The spring air was crisp, and he felt its chill on the tips of his nose and fingers. The crown on his brow had almost fallen over his eyes, and he had not the will to fix it. Only rocking back and forth slightly, he watched the few servants in the bailey handle the little work he could pay for. He saw his knight captain look back up at him, and he wondered why his old friend remained here, accepting such paltry wages. He saw a little cemetery past the far side of the castle, beside a little hill. Soon, he heard steps behind him, light and hesitant.
"Father? Are you cold?" Zelda asked, holding a shawl in her hands. The king turned his head as much as he could, just barely seeing the young girl.
"Zelda... Please, come closer." He sighed, trying to smile as his daughter approached, and she placed the woolen shawl over his front. "Thank you, my girl."
"Father, I've... I've been reading the history books – like you asked. And I've been learning what the servants do here, their duties and schedules..."
"Yes... And do you have any questions? Was there anything you didn't quite understand?" He found he spoke with some little vigor he didn't have before.
Zelda shook her head. "No, um... Impa helped explain some things."
"Do you know why you have to learn?"
Zelda didn't say, only averting her gaze.
"We learn from the mistakes we make, Zelda. And if we are lucky, we learn from the mistakes those before us have made. So we can try to be better."
Zelda looked down at her feet, furrowing her brow pensively.
"Is there something you want to say?" he asked.
"Wh–What… What mistakes... have you made, Father?"
The old king's smile faded, and he looked upon his daughter with ages of woe. His eyes wandered off, and slowly he lifted his arms to remove the crown and the cap beneath from his head.
"Too many, my girl."
Zelda's eyes widened, and though she wanted to speak, she kept silent.
"I was a child once too, Zelda, just like you. Your mother and I... All we knew was struggle and pain."
"Did you... get hurt a lot?"
He smiled wistfully at her innocence. "In a way. Impa has told you stories of another Hyrule, one from long ago, yes?" he asked, and the girl nodded. "Yes, we are the Kingdom of Hyrule," he said, puffing his chest slightly as he did. "But we are... different. Allow me to teach you two things today, daughter."
"Y–Yes!" she said, straightening her posture.
"Your mother, she... would have wished you were older before this happened. One day, you will inherit all that I have. This castle, the trees, rivers, and mountains of Hyrule... They will be yours. And her people will be your subjects."
Zelda had begun to know what that day would entail; a pain rang deeply in her heart, and she found that her knees almost buckled.
"This is great wealth, yes," and the king almost laughed as he said it, "but do not think this gift comes alone, for it is only half so. These people... They are like my own family. Almost like you, Zelda. You are my one and only child, but they are also mine to look after. I cannot eat my fill knowing they starve, I cannot sleep soundly knowing they have no roof. This crown is them, for their worries must weigh upon me. When I am gone, this kingdom will be yours, but so will the welfare of our people. They will look to you to provide for them, to keep them safe. One day, they will be yours to bear. Do you understand, girl?"
She nodded, though in truth she was unsure, and the old king saw this.
"You will understand, one day," the old king said, and he trailed off in regretful thought.
"Was there... something else, Father? You said 'two things.'"
"Yes... Before, I said you would learn to avoid the mistakes others have made. But, in truth..." The king held the crown in his hands, and his brow became heavy. "Remember my words," he said, though his gaze was kept firmly on the crown in his lap, and his voice trembled. "Even should you reach my old age, should you learn as much as you can... you will still make mistakes. All the wisdom in the world will not spare you from the pain of your decisions. Remember that."
For but a moment, Zelda saw a glint of light on the back of her father's hand. The king tightened his grip on the crown, and though it was little more than a golden band ornamented with a triangular emblem and the wings of birds, his pale, gaunt hands began to bleed, staining the shawl red.
"Father!"
Zelda placed her hands above his, trying to remove his grip from the object. Blood trickled down into the grooves of the crown, and the king weakly threw the thing aside, though it did not fall off the balcony.
"Impa!" Zelda screamed, running back inside. "Impa, please! Where are you?"
The nursemaid came rushing in as fast as her old bones could take her. Quickly she pulled the girl aside and covered the king's hands tightly in a handkerchief.
"Wisdom will not spare you," the king said, choking, as darkness took his vision.
He woke in his chamber in the dead of night, with moonlight pouring in through the cold windows. Impa lay curled in a chair beside the bed, sleeping soundly; it seemed she intended to keep watch, but fell asleep some time ago. Parts of the old king's palms and fingers were wrapped in bandages, and he could see the mild stains of blood beneath them.
Light-footedly he rose from his bed and opened the door to the balcony again. Restless nights had made him too familiar with the sight of his domain under moonlight, all the way from the mountain border of the faraway desert, to the sparkling waters of the eastern seas. He outstretched his hand, and the Triforce appeared on its back, with its lower-left portion shining most brightly. It was true that the topmost one, the Triforce of Power, was in his possession, but it lay deep within the castle vaults, for he had neither the will nor a reason to wield it. He would not subjugate his kingdom's lost lands and neighboring countries to revive the Hyrule of an age past, but as it stood, he didn't have the full Triforce to wield or even wish upon. Time and time again, the king struggled against this inherited temptation, and he smothered it as best he could.
"Is this fate all Hyrule has stored for it? Is there no salvation for us?" he asked the light on his hand.
An eastern wind was his only response.
"My king?" Impa said, waking from the whistle of the chilly breeze. "I ask for your pardon, Your Majesty, I must have—"
"Never mind that, Impa," he said, shutting the balcony doors. Thank you, for... patching me up."
"Father?" he heard from the corridor, on the other side of the door to his room. "Is that you? Impa, is he awake?"
"She refused to leave, Your Majesty."
He opened the door. "Daughter, you should not be awake this late."
Zelda's head dropped as she sighed."Your hands... Do they still hurt?"
"Not at all. Impa has taken good care of us for a very long time. Now, hurry along to your room. It's well past your bedtime."
Zelda remained where she stood, hesitant to move.
"If you are well, Your Majesty," Impa started, "then I will take my leave. A good night to both of you." She squeezed past the king and his daughter into the corridor. She placed her hand upon the little girl's shoulder. "Be brave, young one."
As Impa silently walked away, Zelda breathed deeply and raised her head. "Father, why did you do that? You could have really hurt yourself!"
The old king raised his eyebrows. "I am sorry for worrying you, daughter. But..."
Zelda did not relent; her fists were clenched tightly, and her incensed gaze was focused squarely on her father.
"I am sorry, Zelda," he said, sighing before turning to sit on the bed. "I hoped to spare you from this... But the truth is that, had I the choice... I would have given up the crown long ago. I would have thrown it into the sea and not once looked back."
Zelda was disarmed by sheer shock. "Why... Why didn't you?"
His brow furrowed. "A ruler's responsibility is not easily shirked, Zelda. Were I not here, who would protect them and theirs from being absorbed by our neighbors? These people, they could have left these lands so long ago. What keeps them here is the pride of our name, our culture. Still... Rulership is a delicate thing, my girl. I must weigh what is wise against what is right, what I want against what is necessary. Long have I been tempted to wield divine power and retake the lands and peoples my forefathers lost, but the tools of our reign ought not be wielded carefreely and out of balance... These are my faults, girl. Not a day goes by that I do not believe these people would be better off without me. And that is something I so greatly desire."
"Father, I..." Zelda muttered, wiping at her eyes. "I don't want to lose you too."
"Oh, my girl..." he said, springing out of his seat. Kneeling, he pulled Zelda into his embrace, hating that he let his broody concerns distract and get the better of him. "You misunderstand. Please, forgive me. I did not mean to hurt you. Your mother and I thought the world of you. She is gone, but her love for you will always remain. You were our miracle."
Zelda only managed a whimper, grasping her father's shoulder more tightly.
"So you see, no matter what happens, Zelda, I will always be your father, and your father I will be before anything else."
Some short time passed, and the king bade his daughter to retire and sleep, and Impa reappeared to guide her back to her room, leaving him alone. His eyes were drawn to the pale glint of gold resting on a table by his bed, and he held the thing in his hands once more. The old king pulled his gaze away to the moon high in the night sky.
"I have made many mistakes... but you will always be my one redeeming deed, my girl. You will save our people, one way or another."
Though the east wind blew once again, the king did not despair.
I continued to search for the Triforce shards' presences around the kingdom, guiding the hero there in time before Ganon's forces would inevitably come back empty-handed. In the following dungeons the hero raided, he found no lack of monsters spurred by Ganon's malice. I believed it was a sort of darkness that came with his return, and that it would only get worse each time. With it, harmless creatures became aggressive, long-buried corpses rose again as vigorous stalfoses, river Zoras became brazen enough to attack any person who would dare wander along their riverbanks – the list went on.
At the top of the East Palace nestled in the Crescent Mountains, the hero had battled a dodongo, which was curiously very far away from Death Mountain. Its thick hide repelled his sword, and only by mishaps with bombs did the boy inadvertently defeat the beast. Then, in an abandoned council palace in the south once used for diplomatic meetings, he had come face to face with a certain four-headed plantlike creature. Writings had failed to give it a name beyond the 'Manhandler,' which the few unlucky souls excavating the old palace had called it so long ago. But now, the boy stood against the thing which wobbled around on what must have been a thousand tiny legs. He slashed and stabbed, and the more of its massive heads that were severed from its central bulb, the faster it became. It chased the boy around the palace's east wing, spouting acids from its last remaining head, until the boy frantically rushed to lunge with his sword. The blow took the head and its snapping mouth off the central bulb, and the bulb convulsed before turning to dust, blown away by the open wind of the southern mountains. The shard of my Triforce had quickly revealed itself to him, and he went on his way to wherever I could guide him next.
"O brave hero... Return to the lake, and cross the water."
Was this all I could do? Guide the hero to risk life and limb while I sat here, waiting for him to reacquire the pieces of my Triforce? Expect him to storm this volcano and defeat all of the monsters and cultists gathered here, before facing off against Ganon himself, alone? I could barely take care of Hyrule when things were peaceful, and that was when I still bore the Triforce of Wisdom. What could I do now, being trapped here with the Demon King in the chamber just ahead? I had no strength of arms, no skill in the ways of the sword and spear. Ganon now bore unrivaled might with the Triforce of Power in his hand. Bearing it myself was a thought I trembled at the shadow of. Here I sat, powerless to do anything that mattered. I hugged my knees more tightly.
I didn't flinch when Ganon opened the door to my chamber. Even with the weight of his heavy steps ringing up my spine, I sat still.
"I have returned, Zelda," he said, though without the usual self-congratulatory pomp in his demeanor. With him was one of his cultists; people had taken to calling these secretive cloaked figures 'wizzrobes,' for lack of a better term. Whether they were magic-using moblins or undead like the rumors said, I couldn't tell. But now that I knew they served him, I regretted not having done anything about them, though I wondered if I even could have.
"Let's get this over with, Ganon. I'd prefer some quiet."
"I did not think you hasty, Princess, but it serves us both. Reveal to me the next location of the Triforce of Wisdom. Quickly."
"I was close before you got here." I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and changed my expression a few times. "The next piece is at the other island of Lake Hylia, within the Snake Lord's Lake-fort."
"The ruined home of a petty lord who had splintered off, is it?" Ganon said, and he couldn't help but laugh, though with his eyes trained on me, he abruptly stopped, and raised his hand. The Triforce on its back glowed, and the dark flame blazed over it. "Tell the others to prepare," he said to the wizzrobe. "I am sending the dragon."
"Wh–What?"
"You seem surprised, Princess, but more than that, frightened. I have sent my servants to the locations you have given me prior to this. Each time I have been told nothing of note was there, especially no golden shards. What they did find were the fresh corpses of a variety of creatures."
"...That does not make sense."
"We shall see, once the mightiest of my thralls returns."
Despite being in the depths of a volcanic cavern, I could hear, nay, feel a wave of some sort push through me from above. A great roar, perhaps... But I couldn't give myself away, not yet.
"I thought the dragons had all but disappeared, Ganon."
He sneered. "I would not know. But surely you knew about this one, living atop a peak so close to your home."
"I had heard only stories, rumors. Not even the Triforce of Wisdom can grant me true omniscience."
"Then know this, Princess. This dragon is a peculiar one, beyond even the magic wielded by the one found beneath that tree you had directed me to."
I tried rolling my eyes as convincingly as I could make them. "I have given you the location, Ganon. Leave me to concentrate on finding the next piece."
"Spite suits you, Princess, but this lack of concern does not. Do you not care that a dragon may now terrorize your land, and its people?"
"It is only doing so by your control. I could do little against your invasion, Demon King, before you bore Power. Tell me, what should I do now? Besides, you said you would claim my skull when all was done. Why should I worry about a thrall of yours, whatever sort of creature it may be?" I scowled, looking away.
"Hmm. You yourself might be different from the others," he said, unimpressed. "Chin up, Princess. It will all be over soon."
Ganon and his follower left the room, and the barrier flame reignited as the door closed shut. Quickly, I meditated, trying to find the boy again. I soared past the grey winds of Hyrule's skies to Lake Hylia, and I saw a raft tied to the little island's dock. I could hear wings beating against the clouds far away, and I dove further below.
Through the gaps of the fort's ruined roofs and walls, I saw him. The boy slashed through devilish Vires and the swarms of keese they burst into, all without so much as breaking a sweat.
"Brave hero, you must listen! The Demon King has sent a dragon here. It is on its way! You must find the Triforce piece and hide before it arrives!"
The boy looked around. "Here?" he said. It was the first time I heard his voice.
"You're here?" I said. Even with this magic thought-talking or whatever it was, I hadn't spoken much in a while. "You're Zelda, aren't you?"
"Y–Yes, I am..." she said. "Never mind that, you must hide!"
I breathed deeply, sheathing my sword, and I felt the rust on it grind against the scabbard. There didn't seem to be much to this building left, so I had to be coming up on the Triforce piece. Coming to a turn, I saw more light coming through the walls, and an empty room ahead.
Zelda gasped. "There's something else here!"
Through the floor came bursting another one of those blasted blue things with the four heads, though this one was slimier than the one back in the mountains down south. Still, it wasn't any faster, and its hide didn't look any thicker. I knew how to deal with this. I took a little bomb from my pouch, pulled the fuse striker, waited a second for the creature to get close enough before throwing, and boom – the bomb took out all four heads at once. The broken floor beneath crumbled even further, and then I saw a glint in the cellar below. Through a crack in the wall, there it was... Yet another piece of that Triforce thing Impa told me about. But with the flapping of wings above, I heard her voice again.
"You must hide!" Zelda said.
She was right. But before I could try diving into the cellar below, the air singed and a burst of flame landed on the exploded corpse of the four-headed creature. A roar thundered all around, breaking the air like a hammer smashing wood. The next thing I knew, I had my fists against the ground, banging against the cold, damp concrete. I heard another roar, but I wouldn't have it. I stood, and with great pain in my legs, I pushed against the force, and pulled out the bow from over my back. The dragon hovered in one spot, and each flap of its wings sent the wind swirling around. I would only have an instant. I pulled back the bowstring, and my legs only had to push back harder. Right in between the dragon's flaps, I loosed the arrow, and it spiraled through the air, hitting the dragon square in the belly.
Except it bounced right off the dragon's scales. The recall spell, returning the arrow to my bow, still worked fine. At least I was getting my money's worth.
"Please, brave hero, this foe is beyond you!"
She was right, of course. Chances were that I'd die fighting this thing, but it wasn't like I could escape and hide here on an island. And the dragon was the only thing between me and that Triforce shard. So I grunted, banging my sword against my shield, and I was sure the dragon noticed. It roared once again, outstretching each of its limbs before diving down, and its landing shook the ground enough to make the few walls that stood crumble even more. I leapt back to put some distance between us. My shield was small, and made mostly of wood, at that. However thick it was, it wouldn't stand a chance against fire like that.
The dragon, as it turned out, had two heads, and both of them hissed, their teeth burning with little embers. Its scales were a deep green, and it almost waddled around on its legs, approaching as it eyed me down. As much as my legs wanted to turn back and run right out of the building, I had to stand my ground against the weight of its roar. Fighting was the only chance I had to stay alive and do what I came here for. So I stood.
"A mere boy," the head to my left snarled. "But see the anger in his eyes," said the one on the right, "the strength in his legs, as firm as an oak tree." The mouths on both heads curled, smiling, baring their yellowed teeth. "But even the strongest oak burns down."
The dragon reared, breathing deeply as its chest and neck glowed a dark orange from beneath its scales. They looked thin – my chance was there. I raised my shield and I could see the dragon smirk. I knew I'd only have an instant. Fire burst from the dragon's mouths, but I only felt its heat; I was already rushing in. I jumped as high as I could, digging in my blade just above the dragon's collarbone. Yanking it out upward, I ripped open the neck on the left, and dark flames of many colors seeped out from its bleeding throat. Again I swung my rusted sword, its edge now burned black and blue, smashing it into the gaps between the scales. The dragon roared out in blazing heat and I slashed yet again, and the neck only hung on by the bone. I heard a roar behind me, and rolled away to the side, watching as the still-living head gnawed through what remained of the other's neck, accidentally tearing too much away when it realized.
The fallen head burned away in a flurry of embers and smoke as the remaining one reeled in pain, searing the torn flesh.
"Agony!" it screamed, roared. But once it regained its breath and footing, it looked me square in the eye. "It has been long since we have bled. The would-be heroes of this land and beyond burned by my flame, whether they attempted to flee, or stood their ground. None have harmed me so much as you, yet..."
The dragon smirked, its eyes looking behind me, and I jumped out of the way, but not nearly fast enough. Flame burned at my calf right above the boot, and I slammed hard into the wall. The pain stung up and down my leg, and I could smell the burn. Behind where I had been was now the burnt skull of the dragon's other head, floating in the air like a ghostly ember.
"Be not vainglorious, boy," both heads said. "Heroes far and wide may have died doing less than you have, but you will need more than reckless valor."
My wooden shield, seeming tinier the longer I faced this dragon, was useless here. Against that thing's fangs and claws, its fire, it'd only slow me down. I grunted as I got back on my feet and threw aside the shield. Though I feared the rusted sword would finally break, I couldn't hold back anymore, so I held it tightly in both hands, and in it I found some strength. The dragon's other head, burning as a pale purple flame, stared at me just as the living head did.
"Do something, boy. Or are you now afraid of my fire?" the dragon snarled. "Let me give you a glimpse of the blazing inferno that awaits you."
The dragon heads blew another gout of flame, which still managed to singe my sleeve as I jumped away.
"How quick you are!" the dragon said, laughing. I bolted past the fiery head, turning past the corner. I'd come to know this place fairly well, but the dragon just kept catching up with me. "You cannot run, boy!" I heard from somewhere behind me, and suddenly the walls caught fire, and quickly it spread. Something flashed red, and I ran to the nearest room I could find, away from the blaze.
There, I found that the moment I stopped, all strength in my legs faded away, and the pain of the burn returned, cutting more deeply than before. Falling against the wall, I pulled out my waterskin, finding little more than a few swigs of the fairy water left in it. My calf stung when I poured a bit of the water over it, and I drank another mouthful myself. A rotted support beam crashed down from above, and the crumbling wall brought the fire in – I found myself shaking and curled, my hands clasped behind my head.
"Hero! You must escape!" Zelda said, but all I could really hear was the crackle of flame. "This isn't worth your life!"
"You will burn!" The dragon said, laughing, and even from afar its roar stamped on me, forcing the air from my lungs. What remained of the ceiling above could barely take the brunt of it, bringing dust and pebbles pattering down against the cobbled floor. Searing hot air came rushing in through the gaps in the broken wall, and I felt the heat and the weight on my back again—
"Please!"
"Fire…" another voice said, coughing. In the hearth, long burnt out, sat an old man. "Fire!" he screamed, as more of the room collapsed again. I'd seen this same thing in other places throughout Hyrule, people taking shelter wherever they could away from the moblins overrunning the land. Sometimes they'd end up in places like this, in more danger than before.
I breathed deeply, faster and faster until I found strength in my legs again. I pulled the shriveled man, who was too dumbstruck to resist, and together we waded our way through the smoke and cinder.
The dragon and its phantom soared around the ruin, breathing flame that crashed through stone as they went. Today must have been my lucky day, as the old man and I made it out of the crumbling building through the rear exit, where that hidden shard still sat beneath. But against the crackle of fire and crash of stone, I heard the roars come to a stop, and I knew we couldn't rest.
The old man escaped my grasp before I could notice, and he dropped behind some rubble opposite the blasted doorway, making too much sound as he did. It took all I had in that moment to stay where I was; I hid beside the doorway, tightly gripping my sword.
"I can still smell you, boy. Smoke cannot hide you! Stone cannot protect you! I can hear you whimper!" it roared with two voices, and the old man behind the rubble yelped, unable to move. The dragon began stomping, and I felt each impact of its clawed feet grow greater and greater as it approached at speed. "No still tomb of heroes nor glorious death in battle will you be afforded, boy, for your last breaths will be in the churning acids of my stomachs! Curse none but your own weakness, and know! My name is Gleeok!"
A twofold gout of flame burst against the rubble as the dragon's wings tore through the already broken doorway – and I swung my sword, with its rainbow-tempered edge ripping through the dragon's mouth and throat. Colored flames expelled from the red gash as the dragon tried to breathe and failed, choking on its own blood and embers. The force of it all threw me back, and I found my sword had finally broken. Still, half the rusted blade remained, and I walked to the dragon, our eyes locked until I stopped in front of it.
"Curse you, boy," it said, grinding its fangs and teeth. "What, then? Will you end me... here and now? This is... not over."
I stood still, looking down at the thing until its last labored breath spurted out, and the body and the phantom head both burned away in a flurry of purple cinders. All I could do was sigh as I let my shoulders drop. I heard one last roar fade away in the distance, carried away by the wind. The grey sky above rumbled.
"You... You did it..." I heard Zelda say.
I dropped down into the cellar beneath, where the dead plant monster lay, and took the Triforce shard. The gold of its surface glimmered with a deep and heavy light. In my hand it joined with the other shards, leaving behind no scar or any hint of ever being broken – aside from where the other pieces would be. This shard made four, so I had four left to find. As before, I was whisked out of the room, which was now gone and left behind no trace of having been there. Despite the flaming building being so close and such a pain to my ears, I found I had renewed strength, and the broken triangle disappeared from my eyes.
Rain began to fall, and though I pulled the old man's arm, pointing at the raft I rode to the island, he refused to budge. There was a strange look in his eyes, like there hadn't been a dragon and his home wasn't on fire. Well, if it was his home, then it wasn't my place to get him to leave. I took another look at the smoldering ruin, the rain slowly dowsing its flames, and the memory of my own home stung. My eyes watered and smoke filled my lungs again – and only when the old man pulled at my sleeve could I shake the memory away.
"Your sword," he said, almost grinning. "It's broken."
I unsheathed my blade, almost as if we both had to point out the obvious. There was still something of an edge on the spike that remained, but any further use would shatter whatever was left. The man snickered, breaking air in half with his hands. I sighed and put the broken sword away.
"Go there," the man said, pointing to the north. "Not Death Mountain, never there. The waterfall," he said, moving two fingers back and forth as if they were legs walking. "The waterfall! Walk into it!" he yelled, his arms outstretched, and soon his eyes drifted off as he muttered to himself.
I walked away, shaking my head. It was probably best not to give the ramblings of a madman too much thought. Then again, my clothes did stink. I'd do well to clean up.
"The waterfall..." Zelda said. "Mount... Hera. The Zoras used to live there. I know not what the old man meant, but... you may find something of use there."
I pulled my hat further down my head and made my way back to the raft. My bow, the last real weapon I had left for now, was still in good shape, but I knew I couldn't rely too much on it for long.
"Hero," Zelda said quickly. "I... I believe the next shard of the Triforce is in that vicinity as well."
At least this wouldn't be too long a detour, then. I took a deep breath and continued to the raft.
The boy only grunted as he trudged forward.
"Hero, I am sorry," I said again, reaching for his shoulder. "I... It's my fault you must go through such difficulty."
"No," he said, the sound almost scratching at his dusty throat. "It's not your fault. Only Ganon's." And he trudged further, his hand tightly grasping the hilt of his broken sword, still sheathed, as if it was the only thing he could trust.
In his heart I felt a deep pit, and every step he took was an attempt to fill the hollow. In his heart he placed the Demon King at the fore – mayhaps that the figure's presence would spur his feet to keep moving, one in front of the other, again and again. He could say that all this tribulation was to be blamed on Ganon, but I knew what he did not. It was my weakness that allowed Ganon to rise again, that I could not wield my greatest weapon against him. And for what? Fear that I would be an ill ruler, abusive of the trust placed in me? And a ruler of what, exactly? A barren land of no import, whose only value was this treasure too dangerous to use, and of which an entire third was lost. Verily, with this treasure from my ancestors did I also inherit this weakness.
Perhaps this doubt itself was a sign I was unworthy of the responsibility. And thus, the hero arose, guided by fate to fill the role I could not. And even if he could, who could say fate wouldn't again turn ill? Who could say my nightmare wasn't also a premonition, and a curse for all Hyrule?
Nay, hero, if there was anyone at fault, it was me. For being too foolish to see the seeds of Ganon's return, for being too weak to protect my people from Ganon, for being too craven to do what was necessary to defeat him. And perhaps my greatest sin was allowing such a young child to shoulder Hyrule's empty future, one whose legs surely did not have the strength to bear this weight.
Had I still the Triforce of Wisdom, I had no doubt that it would show me Ganon victorious over this hero, and the demise of this land, all before his dark, flaming hand would claim my head. And so would this Hyrule, on its last legs, suffer Ganon to be triumphant once again. I turned to leave, for grey winds to sweep me back to my bodily confines, when the hero stopped just before reaching the raft.
"Help me defeat Ganon," he said.
"Wh... What?"
"That dragon almost killed me. I have to be stronger, but I know that won't be enough. I need your help."
"But, Hero... what hope is there?" I said, all too wearily.
I had not intended to speak my mind, especially not to the young boy who had just bested a dragon. But I could not deny how freeing it felt. Still, the boy was unwavering.
"I can't do it alone."
He was right. He may have come this far on his own, but never did I think Ganon had a dragon, and one of such intelligence, under his command. Undoubtedly the dangers would only become greater from here on out. And here the boy stood, now without a sword. Nay… Despite being without a sword, still he stood. So what was I? A powerless princess who had allowed her kingdom to fall because she was too afraid to act. And now she only sat, trapped in a volcano. My heart panged, just as when I watched Ganon atop the rubble.
"I never blamed you for this. Please, help me."
The pain went away, as if pulled by ebbing waves. This boy had every reason to hate me, and yet he wouldn't. Even after I wanted so much for him to hate me, he wouldn't. Such mercy, from someone I hadn't even met yet. Perhaps through him, by helping him in whatever way I could... I could atone for my shortcomings.
"Yes, Hero. Please, forgive me. I will help you defeat Ganon in any and every way that I can."
For just a moment, Hyrule's grey winds fell calm. He lowered his head, and I espied a slight smile on what I could make out of his face. And the winds pulled me back, deep within Death Mountain.
I opened my eyes only to see Ganon sitting on the other side of the fire, and all the air in my lungs vanished. The Demon King only smiled, and I saw the rotting black gums over his yellowed fangs.
"Princess Zelda... Truly, you are." He shook his head, still smirking. "I do not know why I allowed myself to think you were different, to believe that this Hyrule had robbed me of the pleasure of defeating you."
I wanted to speak, to say something to conceal whatever I could, but I couldn't muster up the air... as if Ganon and the weight of his power wouldn't allow it.
"For our princess's sake, repeat what you had told me upon your arrival, Gleeok."
Gleeok? But I saw for myself, the dragon died...
"My king— I... have not yet... retaken my physical form..." I heard, though from where I could not tell.
"You are in the presence of two rulers!" Ganon clenched his blue fist in dark flame, and I heard the voice roar out in distorted pain. "Disrespect me no further, dragon, and do as your king commands!"
I heard the dragon whimper, and slowly, a little purple shadow appeared behind the Demon King, struggling to stand against the rushes of heat coming from the open door. I'd spent so much time watching the boy that I almost forgot I was trapped within the bowels of Death Mountain.
"My king... Princess... There was a boy on the island... Small, swift, and silent he was... I thought him like any other fool with a sword... but he was cunning and almost reckless... and the boy bested me."
His eyes still trained on me, Ganon snarled with a wry smile, and I watched his neck flare as he exhaled in strange delight. "Begone, dragon, and await your reconstitution." The shadow faded away, moaning as it went. "The truth has made itself clear to me, Princess. From among the refuse and slag, our hero has arisen."
My gasp gave me away, and Ganon's smile disappeared, leaving behind only his heavy brow and bared fangs.
"You lied to me, Princess," he said, standing up, towering above the fire. "I said I would claim your skull when all was said and done, but my anger burns! Oh, I would crush you until naught remained but blood and pulp!" he screamed, and with his roar, the walls of the cavern shook. Even with the fire between us, Ganon was all I saw, and I fell back, trying to get away.
"No, no," I sputtered.
"You did not fear the future in which you die by my hand," Ganon bellowed. "Despite my efforts, you did not despair. You fought, you clawed, you schemed against the will of Ganon. Indeed, I was furious, yet... Above this, Princess, I am elated."
"Wh... What?"
"Yes, I am. Because, now, I realize the consequences of my deeds. I razed Hyrule so the hero would not get in my way, would not keep me from my prize. In the far-flung past, one piece I won and the other was yielded unto me, and then the Triforce was taken from me. I sought to use the Triforce of Wisdom to find the missing piece of Courage, and your breaking of it only flamed my ire. Despite you offering your divination of the pieces' locations, I feared some plot from you in keeping it from me. But now... Now I know, the hero is collecting the pieces for you, and soon his journey will bring him to me."
No. Oh goddesses, no.
"You understand," he said, and he smiled again. "You did not despair when we first met. Your legs trembled like a fox backed into a corner, yet it was you at your most dangerous. I thought you hopeless, fighting only to stave me off and clutch onto your dirt and ashes a little while longer. I see now that even on its last legs, even with all smoldering hope snuffed out, that the world will respond. Such is the land of Hyrule, to make its own hope. Or perhaps it is the will of the Triforce, of fate."
"You... You know little of fate, Ganon."
"Hah! You may be right, Princess. Knowledge was always your purview, and might mine." I saw the gold triangle on the back of his hand glimmer slightly. "Oh, Princess. While Wisdom may be yours, I have learned over my long life and unlife that precautions must be taken, but even those have proved ineffective now. So I will embrace this fate, and I will stand dread the victor."
It took all the strength I had just to not fall sprawled on the ground.
"Let the boy hero come with the Triforce of Wisdom in tow. Raise him up, Zelda. Make him strong. And you will watch as I smother Hyrule's last hope once and for all."
Ganon turned to leave, and the very moment the stone doors were shut, all strength left my limbs, and I sobbed.
"What have I done?"
My only response was the crackle of fire around me.
I've sent a young boy to his death.
No, no, Zelda. So long as the hero stood, there was still hope. And he had his strength and wits; he would never fight Ganon's forces with reckless abandon. But above all that, he was brave. The hero's defining quality – the will to act in the face of fear.
He sought your help, and you owed him that and more. Don't you dare yield up your hope so easily.
I sat up, straightening out my frayed dress and composing myself. As much as my heart wanted to continue pushing it off, I thought back to that old nightmare – a vision of a long, long time ago, when Ganon first attacked Hyrule... and won. The things they lost that day, and even more, sacrificed to keep Ganon from dominion after he had won his prize, were too great.
I saw Ganon's visage again, his yellow eyes and rotting teeth.
He's still just a boy. Ganon will kill him.
Remembering this struck pain into my very core, but I couldn't let that stop me here. Something was wrong that day, beyond even the outcome of that dire battle. The would-be hero of that time had lost against Ganon, despite being tempered by his long journey, and bearing the Triforce of Courage.
Nay... Could it have truly been because of that?
The Triforce was a relic left behind by the goddesses... An object that would grant the deepmost wish of the one who would claim it, but only if their heart embodied the three aspects of the Triforce in balance with each other. If not, its three pieces would split apart, leaving the finder with the portion they embodied most, and to take the remaining pieces for their own, as Ganon did. Truly, the Triforce was the very symbol of self-similarity in both form and function. An object that would grant the wish of its holder, leaping beyond the laws of cause and effect, to change the very fabric of the world... I supposed the natural question that followed was what would happen if parts of itself were wielded in opposition to each other.
Yes… Hyrule's would-be hero, her champion of eld, now all but a forgotten cinder of ages past, wielded one piece against Ganon brandishing another. Two opposing wills – two pieces of the Triforce came to clash against one another that day... and I would surmise that event rent the flow of time, like a river cloven in two, to see both their wills done. Perhaps it was our river that saw our champion defeated.
Other heroes of ages past had fought against the Demon King before. Against all odds, the great hero bested Ganon possessing the full Triforce; while this was an unbelievable feat, there was no clash between the Triforce's pieces, so it did not fall under the matter at hand. However, the great hero's successor, wielding the Triforce of Courage, fought a Ganon with both Power and Wisdom, though if the decaying records of my ancestors were accurate, this Ganon was but one instance of his being mindlessly resurrected, and possessed by a sorcerer, at that... So perhaps he did not truly wield them.
My time with the Triforce of Wisdom helped me glean that the hero's defeat was more than just a deep misfortune, and perhaps I had the right of the situation. Of course, I had no real evidence of my hypothesis, and without my Wisdom returned, I could never truly discover the truth of the matter.
But what I did understand was that the Triforce must be wielded in balance in one's own heart. If even its sundering had brought Hyrule to such a state, and clashing with itself had rent time so to see two opposing wills done, then perhaps the relic of the goddesses was best left alone.
If one who sought to use it had to fulfill its balance, then the Triforce was surely just a test of worthiness for one who would lead Hyrule. Seeing as I and my forebears could not, that we shared this weakness, then I ought to see the Triforce restored, if only to leave it in preservation. For Hyrule's sake.
I saw his terrible face again. He who once bore the Triforce like the golden rulers who preceded me, he who would use it for his evil ends. Sickly yellow eyes piercing through a shroud of black, lusting power all to make his wish into a full reality.
If he brings it to Ganon, wielding its strength, his death will become definite. And Ganon will have won.
His face, seared into my mind, was ever a reminder that I was weak. Verily, it was enough to cast out all hope from my heart, to blow away any little ember I could muster.
I meditated again, letting grey winds carry my breath and eye far into the sky. The boy hero would need to know all that had happened. I found him in his shorts, wading in a little lake at the base of a sun-soaked waterfall, washing away the blood and grime of what must have been several days' worth by now.
"O, Hero..." I said, and he almost covered himself. "Pardon my intrusion, but I must tell you... Ganon knows about you now. The dragon yet lives, and it has told him everything. Ganon knows you are looking for the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom... and he has decided to let you. To bring it to him."
The boy sighed. "It was only a matter of time. Kill enough moblins, he'd have found out sooner or later. The dragon's still alive?"
"I... I suppose you are right. And yes, it is. The dragon is not of this dimension, I believe." The boy squinted his eyes; undoubtedly that much was beyond him. "And... I daresay it will seek you out again soon. I shall help you in any way that I can."
He nodded, continuing to wash his hair.
"There's a cave behind the waterfall," he said. "The person inside told me to go up the mountain. That I shouldn't stop until the end. It looks like there are two ways up, though."
Then perhaps that old man on the island was not truly mad, but I still did not know for what purpose he spoke.
The boy eventually finished, and with his clothes dried and worn, he began his trek up the mountain.
Please, Hero, I thought, hiding my mind from him. Please, give me some hope.
The way up the mountain was straightforward but steep, and each step the boy took was almost like climbing a ladder. At times when the way would twist and turn up the mountain side, the pause made the boy remember the burning in his legs and lungs. It seemed his strength would falter, that a misstep would send him tumbling down, but on and on he forged.
At the mountaintop, the boy came across a lake so wide I could scarce believe it sat atop a mountain. It was the fount of the grand waterfall below, and one of the headwaters of Lake Hylia. Beside the source of the flow was a cave; it was plain to see there had been some intricate adornment carved into the entrance, though the touch of time had taken much of it away. This holy mountain was once inhabited by the Zora, who were now long gone, and in their stead was a lone lynel galloping across the lakeside. The boy drew his bow.
"Hero, be careful!" I yelled. "These are no mere moblins! Even a band of knights would be right to fear this!" Truly, the lynel was a dreadful and terrible beast. Its four legs carried it with speed despite its massive size, and its arms were heavily muscled, bearing broad and crude weapons of its own make. Its blue mane even looked to be aflame in the sunlight.
But even after the lynel took notice of him, the boy did not flee. The lynel stomped and beat its chest, but still the boy was undeterred. Only when it slashed with its warped sword, and the force cut through the air, did the boy jump away and loose an arrow. Spiraling through the air, the arrow pierced through the lynel's chest before disappearing, though any pain it might have shown was overshadowed by its fiery roar. The beast slashed at the air again and again, and the boy dashed behind rocks. The lynel roared again, pulling out its own bow made of the same warped metal. It pulled a spike of steel from its satchel, pulling it back against the bowstring.
"Run!" I cried out.
The boy dashed away as the boulder burst into pieces, but not before letting loose yet another arrow of his own. The lynel reeled as it tried to rip the arrow from its belly, not knowing it was magicked to return to the bow it was launched from.
Yet the boy stood still, mere yards from the lynel, with his bow trained on the monster. The lynel growled, staying its rage, and it pulled another of its sharpened metal rods. But in a flash, the boy's arrow tore through the lynel's cheek and eye, and he closed the distance. With his broken sword drawn, he slashed at the tendon of the lynel's foreleg, bringing it crashing down on the ground. The boy zipped up the thrashing beast's back, jamming what little remained of his broken sword down through the skull of the lynel.
I was foolish to let my hope wither so easily. All the strength of one's blade and all the wits of one's schemes were useless if the hand and heart behind them were not made stout by courage. The will to act was something all too rare in these lands, and Hyrule had no future without it. So I would smother my fears and place my hopes on this boy's shoulders without reservation, as I should have done from the beginning, as he was willing to accept.
The boy entered the cave, and its weathered sconces lit up a little more brightly. The cave floor was covered in water at calf height, glimmering a deep azure, and many lily pads floated gently atop the surface. Ahead on the far side of the cave was a dais, illuminated by sunlight pouring in through a hole in the ceiling. Covering the walls and the underwater floor were murals carved into the rock with inlaid silver. I could not make out their details, having come here with my mind's eye, but I could follow the boy easily enough. On the pedestal atop the dais was a sword with a blue hilt; its blade shone a silvery white and was engraved with the most delicate of designs.
I found myself smiling. Unwavering courage was what was needed for Hyrule's salvation, but a proper sword would surely help.
With such an awesome sword sitting right in front of me, I could almost forgive this place for getting water in my boots. But just as I approached more closely, I heard water splash behind the rock table, and up came a giant fish leaping from a pool below, I supposed.
"Who are you? How have you come here?" said the fish... and I realized he stood on two legs. "Speak quickly!"
I turned to the princess. Her voice, rather.
"Oh, umm... Pardon our intrusion," she said.
"What? Who said that?" The old fish-man's eyes darted around.
"Some people told me to come here, to go up the mountain," I said, sighing. "Sorry, Princess."
"But the beast outside! How did you get past it?"
"It's dead."
The old man was speechless.
"Please, good sir. We don't mean to infringe upon you too greatly. This boy, he... he is in need of help."
"This voice and manner… Very few people are capable of such farspeech." The tail-like thing at the back of the man's head flopped around as he shook his head in thought. "Never did I expect to speak with the esteemed Princess Zelda."
"Nor did I think there were Zora like you still residing in the land of Hyrule. You... seem different from the rest."
"I am not of Hyrule, Princess. The Zora here have changed greatly from my people who have lived in the ocean for many, many years now. My king has expressed interest in having our people return to this land, to mend our bond with the Hylians and rejoin our brothers and sisters. To this end I am here to investigate whether it would be feasible. It pains me that our old kin remain so deeply belligerent."
The princess seemed to be getting along fine, but I couldn't really understand what was going on. The old man seemed to notice.
"I beg your pardons, Princess, and, erm... you, young boy. Now, you say you defeated the lynel outside? That can't be right, you're just a child. Hmm... But surely the princess of Hyrule would not lie. Indeed, I no longer feel its malevolence... Now, may I ask what you have come here for?"
"U–Um..." she said, stuttering. "He is... intent on saving Hyrule."
The man, though surprised, was unimpressed.
"Collect yourself, Princess, and try again."
She kept silent for a moment. "You have without doubt seen the extent of Ganon's control over Hyrule now. Though I foresaw his schemes, I failed to intercept them, and now this land has reaped the result of his seeds sown. I broke apart Hyrule's greatest treasure to keep it safe from the Demon King's clutches. Now, this boy has taken the charge of saving Hyrule from Ganon, and has braved monsters and assailants to have already recovered half of said treasure. But he is now without a weapon. So I beg you. Look past the broken bond between the Hylians and the Zoras. Help him, so he can save Hyrule. And perhaps this land can be shared by your people and ours once more."
"Is this true? You will save Hyrule?" he said, looking at me. I didn't like the way he said that, and my brow furrowed.
The old man thought to himself for a short while, the little tail thing on the back of his head shaking around at times.
"I do not distrust you, Princess. I know you endeavor in the best interest of your country in the way that you can. But in all I have seen of Hyrule of late – its dusty roads, its shattered fields, its hidden ugliness having cast off its veil... I do not believe a return to Hyrule is in the best interest of my king and his people. The mountain dwellers and the desert folk have all left, and the fairy children have disappeared from your woods. Your allies are gone. Hyrule is lost, just as kingdoms everywhere have fallen beneath the dirt over the bricks of their ancestors, and will continue to do so until the end of time. Whether I provide you with what you seek will not matter."
"Then give it anyway," I said, almost growling, "and we won't bother you anymore."
"You may have heard my words, boy, but you have understood naught! You think you will save Hyrule? I have discerned the truth your princess has failed to. You are nothing more than an angry child, screaming over what you have lost. I see it in your eyes! Your hand is guided by hate, and you think yourself a hero? Nay. You could wield no hope against the likes of Ganon."
"You don't know that!"
"I do! I have seen more years than you humans could ever know. So do not think I have forgotten the pain of mine own princess of ages past."
"What...?" Zelda said, her voice small. "What do you mean?"
"Your champion of eld, all but lost to time. She witnessed his failure against the Demon King, and never could she forgive the Hyrule that failed him. I... I will not betray her memory, Zelda."
Tears welled in the man's eyes, and Zelda didn't respond.
"Come on," I thought to her. "This was a waste of time. I'll look someplace else."
"Wait," she said, and I did. With her voice in my head, I could tell she was holding herself back. "You are wrong, sir. You may have seen the poor state Hyrule is in, but clearly you did not look closely enough. Our land may be broken, but our people survive. I do what little I can see to it that my people sleep beneath roofs and without empty bellies. Every day I watch them toil, scratching at the little bounty this land can yield. Yes, they complain, they pray to the goddesses for more, and many wish to leave. I would not stop them. Those who have stayed tell me that in their hearts, they love their home, and they labor so that they may build something better for their children. Those who would leave say they still hope for a day when this country is green again. So long as even one of these people still lives, still hopes for a better Hyrule, I owe it to them to do everything I can to see their wishes fulfilled. Not even Ganon will impede me on this road. I will not grudge the memory of your princess. But you will mind your courtesy in my presence and never again say that Hyrule is lost while I yet live."
Zelda's voice pulled me along, and we made our way to the cave's exit.
"Wait, Princess," the old man said. "Please, wait. I beg your pardons once more."
I wanted to continue walking, but Zelda held me back.
"I would hear him out. Please, let us linger for a little longer."
As I turned back and faced the man, he showed a sad look in his eyes.
"I apologize for my behavior, Princess of Hyrule. It is unbecoming of an emissary of the Zora King. And I would not have it said that the Zoras refused to help those who would oppose Ganon."
Good, I thought, but Zelda kept quiet.
"I see now that despite its dire straits, Hyrule has been inherited by one with the heart to protect it. And I should not presume to get in the way of one who would do good. Dare I say that this country sorely needs it. So, that brings us to..."
The man turned aside, revealing the sword atop the pedestal, and walked toward it. He grasped the hilt in his hands tightly, but held it gently as he turned back to me.
"This white sword was crafted in a manner blending the styles of the Zoras and the Hylians, as a symbol of the bond our nations once had, and left here as a memento of that far-gone time. It is light and perfectly balanced, even for your hand. Yet... I want what is best for my king and my people. I must allay my concerns."
My brow furrowed again, but I took a deep breath and held myself back from another outburst.
"This sword is more than a weapon – it is the last remnant of the Zoras' seat of power of our old domain. Know that I would not consider giving this to you should you have passed over the threshold of this shrine unworthy. Yet you defeated the terrible beast lurking outside, and in light of that knowledge, none would deny your strength. You were forged in fires I may not know, but still I must hear it from your tongue. Are you strong enough to wield a blade such as this? Have you the strength to save Hyrule?"
I knew what he was going to ask before he asked... at least, before that last part. But now, I found that I questioned myself. I was quick with a blade and my other weapons, and more than quick on my feet. I supposed myself to be strong, sure. But... to save Hyrule? I didn't really get all that talk between the princess and the old man. In the beginning, I went along with going around the kingdom, collecting the pieces of this Triforce, whatever it was, but in the end I always knew it was all just to get to Ganon. But defeating Ganon would save Hyrule... wouldn't it?
No, I couldn't afford to hesitate. Hesitation meant death. Yeah, saving Hyrule meant defeating Ganon. And I was going to do just that. I just needed a good weapon.
"Yes. I am strong enough."
The old man stared down at me. His eyes quavered, and the slightest of sighs escaped from him.
"Take it, then. And I pray you find yourself correct in your answer."
And I did. The sword, made of a white blade and blue hilt, shone faintly against the green glimmer of the water. I stepped back and lightly swung it around, and it really was lighter than I expected. Despite that, the sword certainly felt strong, and I felt stronger with it – I could almost feel that strange rainbow light coursing through my hand and the hilt. I was sure this sword could withstand me using that.
I looked at him, and his eyes and sneer remained weary. So I turned to leave, and the sound of my boots splashing in the water filled the cave. But my steps slowed as I remembered older, brighter days. Were they not what I... what we were fighting for?
I stopped for a moment.
"Thank you, mister."
With the sword held firmly in my hand, I moved to continue.
"Princess," the old man called out.
"...Yes, sir?" she asked, turning back to him. I stopped as well.
"It would do you well to remember that even the bravest of heroes may need saving themselves."
My jaw and my grip tightened as I stepped back out into the sunlight. Without words, I made my way back down Mount Hera, and the princess followed. Going a little ways to the east to the other side of the mountain brought into view a tower atop a cliff. The beating of wind carried dust and dirt and made the sunlight brown, but still the tower stood with only the features of its walls crumbling away.
"I 'shouldn't stop until the end,' huh?"
There was nothing to it but to keep walking, then. Through little hills and winding ways up the trail, I eventually came to the cliff on which the tower sat, but by then, twilight had fallen over the sky.
"Hero..." the princess said. "I am sure the Triforce shard is within this place. However... don't you think you should rest a little while before you go in? I believe this should be a safe place to recover your strength."
I sighed, but didn't have the energy to argue. "You're right. I'll rest."
Night had just begun to push away the twilight, and as usual I started a fire for the cold. Berries and tree nuts I had foraged made for a filling meal when roasted, and I had started to find comfort in sleeping out in the open night. Despite that, I couldn't take my eyes off the rumbling clouds.
"Hero..." I heard Zelda say, her voice reappearing. "Do you... fare well?"
It felt strange. There she was, trapped wherever the pig was keeping her, with her only way out – or whatever magic this was – doing nothing to return her to safety. Yet in her voice was there no worry for herself.
"I'm fine." But I would be foolish to think I could hide my thoughts from her.
"...You would be, yes, of course. Regardless, you have rested little throughout this task. Please, take all the time you need and allow your body to regain its strength. And, perhaps... if there is anything weighing on your mind..."
"What?"
"I, erm... could lend an ear. Should you want it."
"I don't understand."
"Hmm..." she said, and she kept silent for a long moment. "To my shame, I had not thought to discern why you were... doing all this, trying to save Hyrule. Would you mind sharing with me the reason why?"
I took a deep breath. I supposed I could tell her right now, easily. The few people left in Hyrule who I'd met would give me hard stares as I pointed to things, gave them however many rupees they wanted, and left without a word. It's not that it was hard to talk, it's just... I figured it would be easier and more effective to just do things without wasting my breath. Here in this Hyrule, words meant either distraction or hesitation, and I could afford neither without risking my life, or anyone else's. But here and right now, I was alone. Nothing but me, the princess's voice, and the rumbling clouds. So why couldn't I say anything? There were no monsters here to fight... Well, save one. But when it came to this one, I remembered words were unnecessary, and I already had all I needed for it. I took my new sword and pointed it at the growing cloud in the twilight sky.
The cold sneer it wore revealed growing fangs, and its teeth gnashed with thunder. Its eyes stared right through me, and the nostrils of its pig snout flared.
"Him, and only him."
The cloud snarled before it faded with the coming of night, and Zelda kept silent.
