Chapter 3

It was night time in the village. A light chilly breeze blew outside and crickets and other critters chirped pleasantly in the darkness. Link sat in Sharanan's little hut, sipping some hot tea, wrapped comfortably up in blankets. His aged companion sat nearby, tending to the fire in the middle of the room. A pot filled with hot stew suspended above the flames by a metal pole was currently simmering. It's aroma was simply delicious and practically had Link drooling.

"So..." Sharanan began, catching Link's attention. "Tell me, how did you stumble across this place, Link?" Link gulped down the rest of his tea and set the cup down on the floor beside him. "Well, that forest up on the hill that overlooks this town was filled with this really thick fog. Epona, she's my horse, and I were going through the forest to see what was on the other side, and we ended up here," Link replied. Sharanan raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he said, almost as if he didn't believe him. Link caught this tone in his voice and frowned slightly. "I'm not making this up, Sharanan..." Link trailed off when the old dragon waved his hand. "It is not because I do not believe you boy, it is because the mist, you see, has special properties to it." "What do you mean?" Link asked.

Sharanan sighed and shifted in his position, stirring the stew while it cooked. "The mist is what has kept this village hidden for so long. It allows only a certain few to enter, such as those with pure hearts and those with no malcontent. I suppose you fit the description of one who is allowed entry. Soup's done!"

Link eagerly scooted closer to the fire and held his bowl out as Sharanan poured him a generous helping. It was beef stew with pieces of carrots, peas, and onions, along with, obviously, chunks of beef. Link slurped it up ravenously. He hadn't eaten in a whole day because he had been trying to save his quickly depleting rations. When he was done with his first bowl, he asked for seconds, which Sharanan was happy to give him.

Link patted his belly after eating his full of stew, which was nearly half the large pot, while the old sage chuckled at his behavior. The young hero suddenly became thoughtful and sat up from his slouched position. "Sharanan, can I ask you a question?" He nodded without looking up from poking the fire. "You say this is a village, and I see lot's of houses. But where are all the villagers?" Sharanan smiled. "You will see them in the morning," he replied, esoterically. Link frowned but before he could say anything more, the sage spoke once more. "My granddaughter will be here in the morning as well. I'm sure you would like to meet her, Link," Sharanan winked at Link, causing him to redden slightly. "But, for now, it is late and I know Hylians require sleep to function properly the next day."

Link nodded, yawning as if his body only now realized its need for rest. He snuggled up close to the fire, said goodnight to his ancient companion and closed his eyes. He was asleep in moments.

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The sun was slowly rising over the horizon and spreading its golden rays as far as the eye could see. The nightly chill vanished and was replaced by the warmth of the colossal yellow star in the sky.

Link rolled over, still half-asleep, facing the ceiling of the stone hut he was a guest in. A light cool breeze blew in from the entrance and disturbed the hero. He scrunched his face up and covered his head with his sheets. The sound of birds chirping and horses neighing kept him from returning to his sweet slumber.

In a rustle of sheets, Link pulled himself up, zombie-style, into a sitting position and stared out the doorway. "What's wrong with Epona?" he asked himself. He ran his fingers through his blond hair, carelessly knocking his hat off his head. His hair reached to the end of his neck and just barely touched his shoulders.

"I'd better go see what's wrong with that crazy horse," he mumbled, standing slowly from the smooth but hard floor that was made of the same marble-like material as the roof.

Link dragged his feet to the entrance and pulled the sheet aside. He stepped out into the sunshine and shielded his eyes from the light. He walked over to where he had tethered Epona and found her rearing up and whinnying like the world was about to end. Her nostrils were flared and her eyes were wide with what Link presumed was fear.

Link yawned with his mouth open-wide. "Epona, what's the matter?" he asked, almost like he was speaking to a child. At the sound of her master's voice, Epona turned her gaze to him and neighed, almost as if to call him to her. Link obeyed and approached his horse and stroked her nose and mane and spoke to her in a soothing voice. The effects were immediate and Epona calmed her raging storms.

Link subconsciously pulled a carrot out of his pocket and watched contentedly as Epona munched on it. The sun was warm on his bare head and neck. He tilted his head back slightly to let the sunlight kiss his face. Epona finished the carrot and nudged him for more. "Want more, girl?" Link patted her nose and was turning to head back into the hut to get more treats for her, when a large shadow passed over them blocking out the sun.

Link glanced up at the sky, thinking it was only a cloud, and was quite surprised when it turned out to be the figure of a large flying creature. Its wingspan was at least 30 feet on each side.

The majestic creature flew gracefully overhead, its crimson red scales glistening in the early morning sun. It opened its large jaws and elicited a piercing cry that was both beautiful and frightening at the same time. Unfortunately, Epona failed to see the beauty in its shriek and returned to her previous cacophony. This time, it didn't take much for Link to ignore her as another dragon flew overhead and another, until a myriad of dragons flew overhead, filling the sky. Link watched, wide-mouthed.

They came in all colors and sizes. Some had stripes on their stomachs, or hands and feet, or backs, or tails. Some had spots that were of either a darker or lighter shade than the rest of the body. Some had teeth that poked out from between their lips. Some had short or long horns, some had none at all. The horns were either slanted slightly, slanted greatly or pointed straight up. The horns were also either curved slightly, curved predominately, entwined with each other or completely straight. Their colors ranged drastically from black to orange, and from pink to gray. Their eyes were rounded or slanted and glowed mysteriously. The colors ranged as much as their scale colors.

All of the dragons seemed to be congregating in the town square. They began landing, although gracefully, they sent shockwaves all throughout the town. It took all of Link's strength and balance to stay standing, but he still needed the support of the stone hut he stood beside, which seemed to be totally unfazed by the tremors. "So that's why the houses are made of stone," Link mused. He returned his attention to the congregation in the center of town. He could see that the dragons were reverting to their human forms now and were dispersing, back to their respective homes, he presumed.

Luckily for him, since he wasn't too keen on being discovered just yet, Epona had calmed and was brushing at the ground with her hooves. Link moved stealthily into the shadows, behind his mare and to the side of Sharanan's hut, which was on the east side of town. He was ultimately hidden from view, lest someone bothered to look around Epona, or they came from behind...

"Ah, everyone has returned from the annual pilgrimage I see. It was getting kind of lonely here." Link nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the familiar voice directly and so close behind him. He whirled around to face the old sage dragon, who was looking past him at the villagers who were going by the street in front of his house.

Instead of chewing the old man out for sneaking up on him, Link decided to inquire about the "pilgrimage" he had mentioned.

"Ah, the pilgrimage. As I mentioned before it is an annual event. All of the villagers of this town travel across the seas to the Sacred Land of Shura. There, they pray and meditate and become one with the spirits there." Sharanan placed his gaze upon Link, waiting for the questions he knew the young blond man would ask.

"Shura? Is that some kind of diety for the dragon clan?" Link asked, and did not disappoint the withered old man.

"Not exactly, but many revere him as such. He was the leader of our tribe hundreds of years ago. He was the one who prompted our secession from Hyrule and the rest of the world. He was the one who led us to this land and guided us in building a home here. He was a great leader, Shura was." Sharanan paused. "I knew him. I shared my knowledge and wisdom with him and helped him make many tactical decisions. We were close friends till the very end..." Sharanan sighed.

"What happened to him?" Link asked curiously and slightly concerned.

"He died from a very deadly virus called Ryuu no Yamai, which in the ancient dragon tongue means "Dragon's Disease". When one is afflicted with this disease, fatality is inevitable."

"What's it do?"

"Well, at the very beginning stages, a dragon will lose the ability to transform to human or into dragon form without incredible pain or loss of stamina. Eventually, the body is in constant pain even when transformation does not take place. The reason for this is a very deadly bacteria has entered the body and is eating away at the insides of the victim. I'm sure you can imagine the pain this would cause." Link nodded, his face a little green. "At the final stages, the body is constantly bleeding, inside and out. And if one does not die from the blood loss, they will die when the bacteria finally reaches the heart."

Link gulped before asking his question. "Does it always...eat the heart last?"

Sharanan nodded solemnly. "Yes. The bacteria, it seems, always goes on the same path, always reaching the heart last," he replied.

Link had become quite pale, sickened by the description of the dreadful disease. "I-I'm sorry for you friend..." Link began but the old man waved away his apology. "No need. I try not to dwell on the past," Link looked down at his bare feet and kicked at the dirt ground. "So, um, can this...Ri...riyu...this disease affect other creatures or is it just deadly to dragons?"

"Unfortunately, just dragons. To other species, the bacteria is ineffective." Sharanan chuckled slightly when he noticed Link was a little "green around the gills". "Anyway, back to the pilgrimage. It is a week long event and everyone must go."

Link raised an eyebrow. "You didn't go," he pointed out. Sharanan nodded. "Yes, well. I went when I was much younger. These days I don't think I'd make the trip," he replied. Link nodded in understanding. "What about Firagaht?"

"Firagaht stays behind when the rest of the villagers are commuting. The village is vulnerable when it is uninhabited, you realize. He, of course, goes at a different time. As for the gate guards, they, obviously, protect the village while everyone is away. They also go at a different time, though not at the same time as Firagaht. He always goes alone."

Link would've asked why Firagaht went by himself on the yearly pilgrimage, but he suddenly realized that he had been rudely awakened from his peaceful sleep, and wouldn't mind returning to it. He yawned and covered his mouth with his hand to block Sharanan's view of his lungs, and glanced back at the road where villagers were still passing by.

"Sharanan, do you think the other dragons would notice, if I walked by them...that I'm not one of them?" Link peered over Epona's side curiously, as a particularly large group, presumably a family, strolled by.

Sharanan chuckled. "Most likely, young one. Perhaps you didn't realize this before, but dragons have much more acute olfactory senses than that of your race. As soon as you entered this village I could smell the scent that you carry."

Link sniffed his tunic. "Well I haven't taken a bath in a few days..." he said modestly. His attention switched back to the old man when he heard jolly laughter coming from his ancient frame. "Ah, Link! I didn't mean your body odor, though I did smell that too." Link watched in confusion as Sharanan continued to laugh, but slowly calmed down.

"Link, you see, all beings, living or inanimate, have a scent that is distinct to all other things. Especially in living creatures, each creature has its own individual smell that allows creatures such as dogs or dragons, like myself, to determine their identity. Even if you took a bath, Link, you could not wash that sent away. Albeit, if you are wet, your scent is harder to pick up but it is still present. I'm sure you are bored with this old man's ramblings and so now I will leave you to do as you wish until my granddaughter arrives."

Link pinkened a little at the mention of the female dragon he was to be meeting today and avoided eye contact with Sharanan. "When will she be arriving?" he asked. Sharanan glanced up at the sky. "Oh, right about now," he replied nonchalantly.

"Hey Gramps, I heard tell of a Hylian in our town. I haven't seen a Hylian in ages...oh, hello."

Link turned slowly around when he heard the soft, melodic voice of what could only be a female. As he turned, he began to picture her in his mind. Strangely enough, an image of Zelda popped into his head. His revolution ended and Link stood before a stunning creature, who easily drop kicked Zelda's picture out of his mind.

There, standing before him was a young lady who looked, if she had been Hylian, around Link's own age of nineteen. She had long azure tresses that fell past her knees. Her bangs hooded most of her forehead, single blue strands looped over each ear, and shoulder length strands framed her face. Her eyes were a deep ruby red, and seemed pure and innocent, although they appeared to hide deep wisdom and knowledge in their depths.

She was of a medium build, and came up to Link's ear in height. Link tried not to seem like he was looking, but he noticed that the dress she wore was rather high, skirting (no pun intended) just above her knees. Of course, this was a skirt, Link simply was oblivious to this fact. It was new to him to see women show off as much leg as she was.

The skirt was of a light material and was white in color. The blouse attached was a lighter blue than her hair, but still a rather dark shade. She wore light brown boots that extended to the peak of her shins.

"Ah, Lira! You have returned safely to me. This is Link, the Hylian you apparently have already heard of. Link this is my granddaughter Lira," Sharanan introduced. Lira smiled and reached out hr hand. "Hello, Link. It is nice to meet you," she said kindly. Link shook her hand, instantly liking her. "It is nice to meet you too," he returned. Her hand was soft and warm, despite what her build would suspect you to think. She seemed like she labored just as hard as any Hylian man, and then some, simply from her countenance, but her hands still retained the femininity a normal noblewoman would have. He released her hand reluctantly and Lira turned her attention to her grandfather.

"How are you Gramps? Do you feel better?" she asked which puzzled Link. When had Sharanan showed any signs of sickness? Sharanan sighed suddenly seeming like the old geezer he was. "I have felt better, but nonetheless, I am alright," he answered. Lira gestured to the house. "We should head inside so we can talk about things where people will not hear," she said, her eyes lingering on Link briefly to let him know she was referring to the situation with him. Link agreed and the three of them entered the hut, covering the doorway securely with the thick sheet to prevent nosy passerbys from seeing

inside.

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