Prologue
The legends of the land of Hyrule state that the world began when three goddesses came upon it, new and chaotic. Through their combined powers, they were able to mold the fledgling world into what it is today. Din, Goddess of Power, stabilized the chaotic world and laid down the foundation of the earth itself. Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, brought further order to the world, setting law and logic into place. And Farore, Goddess of Courage, then created life… all things that live upon Hyrule. The three Goddesses looked upon their work then, and were satisfied, and so they departed Hyrule. And yet, some small portion of them remained… something that was less than a fraction of the Goddesses' power, and yet infinitely more than any mortal could ever hope to possess. This remnant took an equal fragment from its existence from all three Goddesses, and even moreso from their attributes… Power, Wisdom and Courage. This artifact was thus named the Triforce, and as the people of Hyrule grew in knowledge, they became aware of its existence.
Though the Triforce did not have a mind of its own, being merely an object with no soul, it nonetheless yearned for an owner, one who would use its power accordingly for the benefit of mankind. Each aspect of the Triforce had in its core a notion of the perfect wielder… the Forger of Power, the Keeper of Wisdom and the Juror of Courage. Together, the Triforce sought a mortal who embodied all three… but mortal man did not come. For the Triforce was not lying out for any to find. It had been hidden away in an echo of Hyrule known as the Golden Land… the Sacred Realm. A world like, and yet not like Hyrule, for it was only a reflection and possessed no separate existence. The gateway to the Golden Land was blocked away by unknown guardians, and for centuries it remained that way… but such things never last forever.
To the dismay of all, it was an evil man who was eventually gained access to the Sacred Realm. Ganondorf Dragmire, King of the Gerudo Thieves, coveted the Triforce. By manipulating all in the world of Hyrule around him, he was able to access it… and to take the Triforce. And yet… the Triforce was displeased, for there was imbalance in Ganondorf's heart. The King of the Gerudo valued power far more than he did courage or wisdom, and thus he could not contain all of the Triforce… only one of the three aspects. The other two rejected him and fled, now forced to actively seek out appropriate holders of their own volition. And this they did… Princess Zelda, daughter of the former King of Hyrule who had been killed by Ganondorf, became the Keeper of Knowledge… and a young boy named Link, who had been manipulated by Ganon into opening the way to the Sacred Realm, was chosen as the Juror of Courage. Together, they rose up against Ganondorf and all his power. The people of Hyrule rose with them, and six Sages joined the heroes in their struggle. Rauru of Light… Saria of Forest… Darunia of Fire… Ruto of Water… Impa of Shadow… and Nabooru of Spirit. Led by the Seventh Sage, Zelda of Time, the Sages gave Link all of their power and he confronted the man who would rule all of Hyrule. Though he was now the Forger of Power, Ganondorf was defeated.
And yet… such was the awesome power in even one-third of the Triforce that Ganondorf could not die. His mortal form was shed, and he was revived… transformed into a beastly monstrosity. From that day, Ganondorf Dragimire was no more… there was only GANON. But even as such, Ganon was defeated once more… and since his death seemed impossible, after Link had brought him down, the Seven Sages cast Ganon back into the Golden Land and then sealed it once more, stronger than before. For the rest of their lives, the Seven Sages strengthened the barrier more and more, piling enchantment upon enchantment upon it in the hopes that Ganon would be forever barricaded. Link, the Hero of Time, did his part as well to protect Hyrule once he had gone. Since he was no sorcerer, the mighty warrior instead founded the Knights of Hyrule, an order of men dedicated to upholding order in the land and preparing in case the worst came true someday, and Ganon returned.
Years passed, and the heroes of Hyrule grew old. Link and Zelda were not as foolish as Ganon; they knew their own mortality was only right and proper. And so when their times came, they died in peace instead of using their Triforces to extend their lives as Ganon had. The Triforce of Wisdom was passed along the bloodline of the royal family, willingly relinquished by Zelda… although none of her descendants have been able to consciously call upon its power as she did, it remains nonetheless. The Triforce of Courage is assumed to have done the same, though no record of Link's descendants is known. The other Sages left descendants as well and passed on in time. And the seasons turned, and Hyrule grew older, and memory of the atrocities of Ganon's rule faded from the minds of men. Hyrule flourished, the people of the Hylian race most of all, and the Triforce was forgotten save in misty legend. But though they had been forgotten by all but the most studious… the Triforce, and the Golden Land, and Ganon… they still remained, waiting.
And in time… darkness threatened Hyrule once more.
It was nearly midnight, and in Kakariko Village, most of the population were fast asleep. The only exceptions were Old Burt and George, who had gotten lost on their way home from the tavern, but they were in no state to notice anything either. Even the smithy was dark and silent; on many nights it would ring with the sounds of work at the strangest hours, an occurrence that eventually caused the other villagers to demand its relocation to a glen away from the other houses. But not tonight. Tonight, all was still… save for the rustling of two figures in the trees to the north, right on the line where the Village ended and the Lost Woods began.
"I still think this is a bad idea, father." The female of the pair, a teenaged girl wearing a light green tunic once favored by the legendary forest sprites, informed the other. "No, wait. It's not a bad idea, it's an AWFUL idea. This kind of experiment under the BEST of circumstances would be bad. Trying it like this…!"
"And I still think you worry too much, Jean." The older man also wore green, but there the similarities ended; his clothing was draping robes that cloaked his entire body below the neck. The only thing that marked them as father and daughter aside from a slight similarity in facial features was their hair, long and green as grass. "Honestly, you're almost as bad as the other elders."
"The other elders have been around for a lot longer than you, father." Jean reminded him. "Don't you think they might, after all their years, just MAYBE know what they're doing?"
"Most of the time, most of the time." Her father admitted. "But this phenomena is as new to them as it is to me… as it is to ANYBODY. This has never happened before… it may never again. We must take advantage of it while it lasts."
"It's just too dangerous, father!" Jean continued to protest. "The Sacred Realm was sealed away for a REASON. And all current evidence indicates that it's still the Dark World!"
"But that's not saying much. Current evidence is nearly nothing." The older man wagged his finger. "That's why this is necessary… we have to know what it's REALLY like over there. If the power of the Evil King has dwindled and died by now, then we will be able to take our time and prepare a perfect solution to the situation. If, on the other hand, the Forger still controls the Triforce and all its power, we will have no choice but to go with any plan we can in time. But we have to KNOW first."
"Have you even asked the others about this?" The young girl tried desperately as her father began shifting a pile of head-sized rocks, grunting with each one.
"Of course not!" He snorted. "You know what they'd say. 'You daft young fool, Agahnim, leave the work to your elders and betters.' Pah."
"They would NOT." Jean snorted back at him. "And you know it, father."
"Maybe… but they still wouldn't allow it." Agahnim frowned. "That's why we have to do this tonight… those 'circumstances' you talked about. This'll likely be the only night this year when BOTH of them are out of the village at the same time. All the other distortions are too close to the others… and we can't wait for more to appear. It has to be this one, and this the only time we can use it without them finding out." Jean raised an eyebrow.
"Sara and Lucy are both still there, you know. What if they investigate this?"
"Not likely, daughter mine." Agahnim smiled. "Nothing personal, but your generation still have a ways to go with your abilities. Even if they notice something they'll shrug it off. Ah, here we go…" Jean growled for a moment, then sighed as she saw the last rock roll off of the ground, revealing a perfectly square, shimmering blue hole of energy.
"All right. How are we going to do this?"
"It will all be perfectly safe." Agahnim began to explain. "We won't even touch it… I will enter a meditative trance that shall separate my mind from my body. I'll still be able to use my vocal chords to communicate, but the rest of my body will be inactive. It will be my MIND that enters the Sacred Realm. You see? Even if there are things there that could harm me, my body will still remain here. And, of course, you and me both are protected from any pull the portal might make upon our bodies by the ward our ancestor placed on all of her descendants."
"I still think this is a bad idea, but there's obviously no talking you out of it…" Jean shook her head. "Just be careful, father, and come back as quickly as possible."
"As long as my body does not enter the realm, the barrier will not block my return. Let's get started, then." Agahnim sank to the ground and closed his eyes. A moment later, his breathing stopped and his body froze. Jean waited anxiously, knowing that her father's projected soul would be invisible. After several moments, his voice spoke again, though his mouth remained motionless. "I'm through!"
"What do you see?" Jean asked. There was a momentary pause before Agahnim answered.
"Right here, it's not too different from our world… to be honest, it looks intentionally similar. The trees have purple leaves, though… and to the south, Kakariko certainly looks different… not evil, just sort of shabby…" He paused again. "It seems to be day out, as well… the sun's shining brightly. Not what you'd expect from a Dark World… but wait, what's that up there? Is that… an eyeball? Strange…"
"An eyeball?" Jean made a face. "Flying? Gross, but not really evil, I suppose… does it have wings?"
"Not, it just appears to be levitating…." Agahnim continued his report. "Hm, there are a couple of natives over there… how bizarre. One of them appears to be some sort of squid, and the other is nothing more than a large hand. They seem agitated about something, but they're too far away for me to hear them. The hand's pointing at that eye in the sky… wait, now I see something to its side, far away but approaching… a bat flying in…? Looks huge… hold it, something's up. Those two natives are fighting some nasty-looking red monster in a white robe… don't like the look of that grin on his face, no sir… whoa, how did that bat-" And then, suddenly, Agahnim screamed. He screamed long and loud, and yet his body remained completely motionless.
"Father!" Jean yelled. "What's wrong! Tell me!"
"Run…" Agahnim croaked. "Run… Jean… now… go… Gan…" Jean bit her lip.
"But…"
"GO!" Agahnim screamed again, and Jean turned towards the north, vanishing into the Lost Woods. Breathing heavily, she moved as fast as she could, ignoring branches and undergrowth. Behind her, the screaming had stopped. Tearing past angry animals who had been sleeping and surprised forest bandits, she headed towards the only place she could think of to go.
"The Grove of the Master Sword…" She gasped as she burst into the most secret place in Hyrule. Only her family and six others knew of its location. Jean felt a surge of relief as she saw the monument ahead of her… surely, whatever evil had scared her father would not be able to follow her here. Nothing that was evil could come here, to the most holy place in Hyrule… not even the Forger, the Evil King himself… and then she froze, paralyzed in terror, as she saw who was standing in front of the altar in the woods, waiting for her.
"Now, how did I know you would come here…" Agahnim smirked, eyes glowing like hot coals. "As I saw you running, I knew… I knew you had to be one of THEM. What a marvelous hand fate has dealt me… one down already."
"F… father?" Jean whispered in disbelief. Agahnim blinked.
"Father… oh ho! Your father… so I have netted a descendant for my own use as well! Fate smiles on me indeed… which one, I wonder? Our surroundings suggest the Forest Brat… well, no matter. All will suffer the same fate, in the end…" He placed his hands together, and as Jean watched in fear, an orb of glowing energy appeared between them. Before she could run, it was too late; the energy sphere struck her head on, sending her flying into a tree trunk. She slid to the ground, unconscious. Agahnim chuckled again. "Ho ho… six more to go. I must wonder what you two fools thought you were doing… but no matter. If you wish to see the Dark World so badly… than I shall let you." Picking up Jean's unconscious body, he carried her back to the shimmering square of energy. As he stepped up to it, however, both he and his captive were hurled back in a shower of bright white sparks that erupted from their bodies.
"AGH! What…? Some kind of protection?" The wizard tried again, several times, all with the same result; even attempting to throw the girl in from a distance had no success. "So… THEY anticipated this possibility and took steps… but I have had far, far longer to prepare than they did. There are other methods. And then…" His eyes glowed even brighter than before. "And then… I shall be free at last! I only hope that HE has some descendant remaining… so that I may send his spawn to join him in the afterlife, piece by piece. And that is the least you deserve, for what you did to me… LINK."
And the Lost Woods were filled with the echoing sound of maddened laughter.