Wot, wot? Another chapter only two days later? (By now, it's 4. I wrote it 2 days ago, but the site was down and all). By Jove, he kept his promise! Seriously, though, I really like this chapter. Probably my favorite so far. I'm a sucker like that. Plus I've got a ton more ideas boggling around in my head (I was hit with a veritable mushroom cloud of inspiration today), so you can expect lots more real soon (I hope)!
Thank you all sooooo incredibly much for the reviews! Plus I've noticed I've made quite a few favorite stories and/or authors lists! And on my first fanfic, no less! I feel so loved I could cry! Keep reviewing, you all are why I'm writing this!
Ooh yeah, one more thing. I'm putting up a map of Hyrule at my deviantart site, sakabatou314. Every time I write a new chapter I'm gonna edit in new things if there are any, such as paths, places, etc., and I'll keep it up at the top of the page. So, it's there if you want it.
Nabooru waited patiently at the entrance to the Desert Colossus, knowing that Kirandorf and Ganondorf would be aware of her presence. She had never been passed the first small room inside the temple—Kirandorf disallowed any further trespass. He had, however, entrusted her with the secret path through the Haunted Wasteland to reach the hidden temple, a secret passed only through the line of Kings for centuries, and made her his personal envoy to the Gerudo Village. He and Ganondorf left the Colossus for the village only a handful of times a year, using Nabooru as their main line of communication to Hama, who ran the day to day affairs of the Gerudo community. This was more than enough responsibility to counter the fourteen-year-old's natural curiosity to explore the temple.
The large iron door that led into the deeper labyrinths of the temple suddenly rose upward with a clang! As the two men came through the doorway, it fell closed again behind them. The door was completely plain, with no hinges, handle, switch, or any apparent way of opening it. This, along with two crawlspaces she had been told led to dead ends, were the only methods of entry into the Colossus, barring a couple of openings on the outside, a staggering distance up a vertical climb.
Both men gave her a curt nod in greeting. Each was sweating profusely, soaking their cloaks (torn, patched, and torn again countless times through years of training) as to appear as if they had come from the oasis. Their solid bodies never failed to impress—they seemed to be sculpted from pure muscle. She nodded in return, looking from Kirandorf to Ganondorf, holding her gaze on Ganondorf for noticeably longer. To say that Gerudo males were rare would be like saying the desert was rather large—an incomparably enormous understatement. And here was one practically her own age! Not to mention stunningly handsome. She had decided some time ago that this one would be hers. Since he visited the village so infrequently, she knew that she had no competition to speak of.
Ganondorf, for his part, never failed to notice the extra attention Nabooru gave him. He simply staunchly refused to acknowledge it. He was not an extremely sociable person by any stretch of the imagination, living in near-solitude with Kirandorf for most of his life, and his training under the King was the only real thing of import in his mind. That was not to say he didn't notice her beauty in return. Her hair was an even more fiery orange than most Gerudo, and her body was developing splendidly. That the typical Gerudo clothing was revealing to say the least, desert weather not requiring much cover except on the occasional chilly night, certainly helped him to observe her assets. The bottom line, however, was that he simply had no time for girls.
Kirandorf was the first to speak. "It is good to see you again, Nabooru. I trust you and the others have been well."
"Very well," she agreed. "Crop yield has been better than usual, raids have been very profitable, and both Alara and Raimi's births were successful."
Kirandorf was pleased to hear this, as births were uncommon occurrences in Gerudo Valley.
"There was also a very heartwarming commemoration last week for my mother," Nabooru continued, "in honor of the anniversary of her death." Although Gerudo were almost never killed on raids, due to their stealth skills and battle aptitude, the current King of Hyrule had been bolstering Hyrule's army in recent years. Talrin had been cornered by a phalanx of Hylian knights and her tattered body had been left at the entrance to the Valley as warning, the tail of her horse tied to her hair and hung over her face as an insult.
Ganondorf gave Nabooru a small, respectful smile. "I wish I had known about this. I was quite fond of Talrin, and would have liked to attend."
Nabooru was buoyed by Ganondorf's concern. Truthfully, Nabooru was buoyed any time Ganondorf talked to her. "It's quite alright, Ganondorf," she said, practically beaming at him. "It was a surprise to me as well, and I knew that you would have been there were you able."
"Well," started Kirandorf, "I am very glad to hear all of this. I have, however, summoned you here for a reason. I have a message that I wish you to relay to Hama, so that she may announce it to the village. Tomorrow morning Ganondorf and I will leave the Valley. It is past due that Ganondorf see Hyrule beyond this desert."
Both Ganondorf and Nabooru reacted with surprise to this. Kirandorf hid a smile—he had been looking forward to their reactions.
The younger Gerudos spoke simultaneously, neither attempting to hide their shock.
"We're leaving?" Ganondorf exclaimed, in synch with Nabooru's shocked, "You're leaving?"
Kirandorf nodded. "We will stop in the village for supplies just after dawn. We may be gone for quite some time, but I more than trust Hama to run the village in my stead."
"Well, then, is Ganondorf done training for this evening?" Nabooru looked to the sky. The sun was beginning to sink toward the horizon. She had another reason for being here, and there wasn't much time left. "I mean to say that I wanted to... I mean... uh..."
"Of course," Kirandorf chuckled. "I'll leave you two to yourselves." With that, he turned, and the iron door slid open, without any apparent urging from the King. He walked back into the temple, and the door slid shut, leaving the young Gerudos standing alone in the entrance.
"What was it that you wanted me for?" Ganondorf asked, slightly nervous to be alone with the girl.
"You'll have to find out," she giggled, and skipped off into the desert with a childlike giddiness. Ganondorf shook his head and jogged after her.
The area immediately surrounding the Desert Colossus is free from the sandstorms that ravish the rest of the Haunted Wasteland, as if some force from the temple holds the raging winds at bay. After several minutes of running through this clearing, they reached the oasis at the southern edge. It was a small pond with a few palms, next to a raised sand dune that afforded a good view of the clearing all around. Nabooru climbed this dune and sat facing the setting sun in the west, motioning for Ganondorf to sit next to her. For a while they simply sat in silence, but eventually Nabooru began to hum, which then turned into a soft song.
Between the Sands that scar the EarthAnd raging Waters cutting deep Veins
Live the People born of Din's Fire
Tougher than Stone and mightier than Flame.
In the searing
Valley where the Weak do die
The Gerudo master
the Sun and the Soil
One with the
Desert, one with the Sand
The Master is
Subject and always is loyal.
Should a Man
trespass, he then becomes
Counted a Fool for
all the Ages to be
The soft Outsider
is sure to be ground
Will of the Gerudo
is stronger than he.
The Gift Din gives to her People
A Beauty surpassed by no other Terrain
Our Golden Land, free of all Evil.
As her song ended, Nabooru realized that Ganondorf was staring at her wide-eyed. "Was it really that bad?" she cried, turning a deep shade of red.
"No!" he said quickly. "It was incredible. I have never heard a voice half as beautiful."
At this her blush turned an even deeper shade of red. She then pointed excitedly toward the sun. "Look, it's starting!"
Ganondorf followed her finger and saw that the sun had reached the top of the swirling sandstorms in the West. Then, to his utter amazement, as it slowly moved downward, the sandstorm split, following a perfect line to the yellow-red orb. The farther downward the sun traveled, the closer the split got to the ground, until the sun rested on the horizon with a perfect wall of raging sand on either side. The opening stretched so long that Ganondorf could not even see what it led to.
"Isn't it wonderful?" breathed Nabooru.
Ganondorf could only nod his head, dumbfounded. His eyes could not be turned from the spectacle before him.
"I was out here at sunset months ago and was lucky enough to glimpse it," Nabooru informed him. "I researched the oldest scrolls I could find in the village, and found a mention of it in some ancient Gerudo mythology. It is called the Channel of Winds, and only appears at sunset before a new moon. Since only the Kings know how to reach the Desert Colossus, excluding me, it hasn't been seen in centuries. That's how our ancestors got to Hyrule, Ganondorf."
They both watched in silent absorption as the sun crept beyond the horizon. The Channel of Winds mimicked its movement, filling in at the top and slowly closing downward, until the sun was only a reddish glow over the sandstorms and there was no indication that the Channel had ever existed.
"I should return to the village," Nabooru said minutes later, finally breaking the silence. Ganondorf stood, still unable to tear his eyes from the spot where he had just witnessed the most amazing event of his young life. Nabooru took his hand and they slowly walked, again in silence, to the northern end of the clearing, where she would follow the unmarked path back to the village. She turned to Ganondorf and grasped his other hand.
"I... will miss your visits while I am away," he mumbled awkwardly.
She smiled and stared into his eyes as she replied, "As will I."
They stood there for a moment longer, then he released her hands and she turned, walking into the sandstorms. As he watched her figure quickly fade into the sands, Ganondorf came to the realization that the Channel of Winds was only the second most amazing thing he had found this day.