A/N: Sorry that it took so long, but I just finished moving into my dorm. Add to that, this was a hard chapter to write. But yes, so here it is.
Oh, and heads up for when Lugh appears. Yes, stallions can be caring and not go nutso when a mare is around them.
Justin Time: Glad you liked it. Yes, he is back. Hehe, you will have to read on to find out more about Link's family. And you need to update!
Killer- KoBloods: I can out run a squash, so hah! And besides, you could seriously hurt me with one of those and then it would be even longer before the chapters came out!
The Sheikah had loaned Link a horse, and he had set off for the Hylian camp early the next morning. They had also given him tips on how to avoid the undead. The day was gorgeous with a beautiful pinkish red sunrise. The war torn land looked beautiful once again, but the sight was spoiled once the sun had moved on higher in the sky.
About midday, Link noticed a rider coming towards him. The rider's cloak streamed behind him; the cowl covered his face. The horse was pure white, and he used no bridle. Link slowed the mare he rode down, deciding to see what the rider wanted.
"Who are you?" he questioned as the white horse stopped in front of him. The rider stared at him, grinning.
"I am the Sage of Time, and my name is my own," he began, and Link stared at him in shock at his word choice.
"I am here to offer you advice, should you wish to take it."
"Wait," Link began, "I have not heard of a Sage of Time; the Sages are of Light, Forest, Shadow, Water, Fire, and Spirit."
"But there are seven sages, no?" the rider asked, still smiling. Link stared at him, confused.
"Aye, but with Rauru and the six from my time, that makes seven." The Sage shook his head at Link's answer.
"I was not needed when you fought Ganondorf in that alternate time, so I did not come. Rauru is the Sage of Light from his time, from the time of the first Sages. Zelda is the Sage of Light from your time," he cocked his head to the side and shrugged, "My time as well, I guess. Anyways, Rauru will remain until I awaken in your time. For then there will be seven sages and he can move on to his rest." Link stared at him, still confused and amazed that this man knew of that alternate time.
Though, I suppose that means he is speaking the truth, if he knows of that time that all others have forgotten.
"So… there were originally seven other Sages, including Rauru?" he asked after mulling over the information.
"No," the Sage said, shaking his head, "There were originally only six other Sages."
"But-"
"Let me explain. There is only one Sage of Time, and there will only ever be one Sage of Time. That is because of Time itself. For everyone, Time is a path that cannot be stepped out of; they must follow it, blindly. For you, the Hero of Time, there is some leeway. However, it is still a path that cannot be changed. Time is a path, for everyone but me that is. For the Sage of Time, Time is not a path but a series of doors, and these doors lead to everywhere and whenever. Understand?" Link nodded bleakly, still confused but not as much. The Sage laughed.
"You'll understand soon. Now, the advice; go to the Gerudos' camp first. Get the sword and break Prince Kelvin's son, Aedan, out of his cell."
"But wouldn't it be easier if I got the Ocarina of Time first?" Link asked, confused at the Sage's words.
"It is up to you, but understand this: the choice you make will determine if your time will still be what you know it to be or if it will change. Now, I must leave. Take the horse with you; his name is Lugh." Then, to Link's utter amazement, the Sage disappeared, leaving his horse.
"Dammit, now what do I do?" he muttered as he dismounted and grabbed Lugh. The horse looked down at him, measuring him with a condescending eye. Link must have met up to his standards, for as soon as he turned his back, Lugh began to heartily scratch his face on him. Caught by surprise, Link fell forward. He rolled over and glared at the horse, who snorted at him and nuzzled his knee.
"I don't have any treats," Link said as he stood up. The horse looked at him mournfully and sighed. Link stared at him; Lugh was behaving much like Epona. He shook his head and focused on the task at hand. Where to go; the Hylian or Gerudo camp?
"Well, I was given the horse, and I won't need him to go to the Hylian camp," Link began as he led his horse, with Lugh following, to a nearby tree, where he sat down.
"Course, this Sage person may have done that just so I would go to the Gerudo camp. Should I trust this Sage?" Link looked at the two horses and groaned.
"You're no help, either of you." He sat there, for almost half an hour, before he stood up. Grabbing the Sheikah mare, Arin, he took her reins, attaching the other ends to Lugh's saddle. He then mounted Lugh and turned him towards the Temple of Time. He would not make it there by nightfall, but by midday tomorrow he should be there. And there, he planned to talk to Rauru and see if this Sage of Time could be trusted.
The Skull king stared at his sobbing captives. The Goron prince, older than the Zora princess by a few years, stood in front of her, trying to protect her from their evil captor.
How ironic is it that after their parents spent years trying to kill each other that now, these two depend on each other so much? He asked himself.
When the Goron prince had been caught wandering alone at night some time ago, a patrol of undead had brought him in. The Skull king had been pleased at the news, for it had given him the solution to his problem. He would ransom the prince for the Spiritual Stone of Fire. He then decided to use this same plan to get the Zora's Sapphire. About seven or so days ago, a pair of Stalfos had brought in the Zora princess. She had gone out for a swim and had become lost. As night fell, she panicked and left the deep water. From the shallows, she was nabbed by the Stalfos. And now, all he needed was proof to send to their worried parents and demand the Spiritual Stones.
After one of the princess's fins had been torn off and the prince's hand with its distinctive tattoo had been cut off, the two were sent back to their cells to await medical attention. Messengers were then prepared; they would not leave until nightfall, for it was just past high noon. Most of the undead could survive during the day, as long as no sunlight seared their skin, so they were quite at home in the Skull king's spacious, underground cavern.
While pleased with his plan, the matter of the Hylians and the Gerudo still troubled him. To get past the Gerudo was a feat not many could boast of, and none of his undead was among that number. He needed a hostage of theirs as well, and preferably a young one. The Hylians though, were a predicament. He knew that he could sway their king, but it was the prince that troubled him. The prince had a clear head and would not be swayed by promises of power and security. News of the prince's son's capture had reached him, as well as news on how the prince reacted. The news pleased him, for when his family was involved, the prince did not think clearly. Somehow, he had to unsettle the prince enough that people would stop listening to him.
"You there," he demanded, pointing at a nearby Stalfo, "get me the spy from the Hylian camp". The Stalfo nodded and left the room, returning with a man dressed in a Hylian guard's uniform. It was, in fact, the same guard that had followed Kelvin home and escorted his daughter to the Goodwife Glenn's house. The man was not an undead; he was a willing servant to the Skull king. For besides being a skilled necromancer, the Skull king was also a skilled liar and sly speaker. Many had flocked to his banner in the early years of the war and now were scattered through the land, spying on their own clansmen.
"Tell me what you know of the prince," he ordered the spy.
"He is married and has two children," the spy began, "The eldest being his son, who is currently held by the Gerudo. His daughter just turned thirteen and is fairly feisty for a young girl. His wife has a weak constitution, and her son's capture has hit her hard. Prince Kelvin is very attached to his family, the king excluded. He is good friends with the Sheikah leader and regards him as a brother. He is a fair man, even with the Gerudo. He wishes to end the war, and soon." The spy stopped when the Skull king held up his hand; he had heard enough.
"Thank you. Now, I want you to take a message to the Hylian king. I care not how he gets it, as long as your position is not compromised. This message will say that I am willing to talk to him about peace and maybe even a possible alliance. I will need to meet him; make sure that you stress that point in the message. It would be for the best if the prince was not there, understand?" The spy nodded.
"Good, now go. You have already spent too much time away," Bowing, the spy left the room. The Skull king smiled, for he had now decided on how to prevent the prince from interfering with his plans.
Snapping his fingers, he summoned a pair of Stalfos.
"Get me one of the Gerudo king's daughters," he ordered, "And I want her here as soon as possible." The Stalfos grinned and set off to get some others. They too would not leave until nightfall, and so they spent the time preparing for the raid.
It took Link longer than he expected to get to the Temple, but that was due to a sharp rock. Arin had stepped on it, and it pierced the hoof. She had kept up for a bit, trying her hardest not to show pain. When Link noticed her lagging behind, he had stopped Lugh, and then noticed her limp. They had walked the rest of the way, with Link on foot and Lugh with all of Arin's burdens. He arrived the day after he had planned on being there, but it was in the morning, so he was not that far behind his schedule.
When he entered the Temple, he realized that he couldn't open the Door of Time. Cursing, he glared at the stone as he thought of how to get Rauru's attention. He pulled out his ocarina, and standing close to the door, played the Song of Time. As the last of the notes faded away, he opened his eyes and looked at the door. Nothing. A hopeful nicker cut across his thoughts. Lugh was watching him, ears pricked forward.
"You like music, eh boy?" Link said, smiling, "You're just like my girl at home." The words cut into Link's heart. Up until now, Epona and the grass filled plains of Hyrule had been far from his thoughts. But this strange horse had brought them back, and quickly. Link sighed and walked over to where the horses were. Rubbing Lugh's head, he thought of his time, and of how badly he wanted to return there. Tears sprung to his eyes and were roughly brushed away.
I can't break down now! He told himself angrily as more tears threatened to spill. But it was no use. He was alone, and he was in a strange time. Everywhere he had gone, Epona had been there. In Termina, they had been reunited once he found her at Romani Ranch. And since then, they had never parted. Epona knew him as no human did, and her comforting presence was gone. There would be no more reassuring nudges, no sly kicks aimed at annoying people. Her loud whinny would not reach him here, no matter how hard she tried to reach him, and his ocarina's music would not reach her ears.
A soft nuzzle broke Link's depressing thoughts. He looked into Lugh's eyes, deep with compassion and understanding. The white stallion rubbed his soft nose against Link's face, wiping away the tears. Biting his lip, Link stared at the horse. Lugh rested his head over Link's shoulder, pushing the young Hylian towards him. Letting loose his tears, Link grasped his mane, sobbing into his neck.
"I… just want… to go… home!" he sobbed, shaking. A nuzzle on his arm caused him to turn his head. Arin was there, a perplexed look on her equine face. Link reached over and rubbed her face. Lugh moved his head and looked down at Link.
"I'll… I'll be ok," Link told him, scrubbing away his tears, "I… well, everyone needs a time to break down right?" Lugh snorted.
"Everything has happened so fast…" he began, "And I have forgotten those I left behind. All of a sudden, they've come back. And it hurts; it hurts a lot. I want to go back so badly, but I can't. At least not yet." He walked over to the door of the temple; rain clouds darkened the horizon.
"We'll stay here tonight," he told the horses as he walked back and began to untack them. "Then we head for the Gerudo camp tomorrow, if the sky is clear. I don't want to met the undead while you're injured, Arin." Lugh nodded his head vigorously; he agreed with Link. Link laughed at the horse's antics.
The Sage of Time, or Enzaman as the elder Sages knew him, watched Link from high in the Temple of Time. For him, there were balconies and buttresses, doors and hallways, rooms and chambers, and windows with the most spectacular stained glass that no one else could see. And it was on one of these balconies that he watched Link and breathed a sigh of relief. Zelda had been on his case about this, to get Link to choose correctly.
'We cannot afford to have him go to the Hylian camp first! My ancestor was not a scrupulous person; Hyrule as we know it will be gone and who knows what will happen with Ganon and such!' she had stated.
'We cannot afford for him to be coerced, to forever mistrust the Sages. Are you willing to live with him if that happens?' he had asked her, receiving a glare.
'I'd rather that than a doomed Hyrule, and I know you would too.' She flounced off, the argument was over.
Enzaman lead a difficult life. He saw not only what happened in the time that he visited, but also what could happen. The 'could- be's were ghosts, shadows. They hovered in his vision, haunting him. He knew what could have happened had Link decided to go to the Hylian camp. He could have been captured, killed even. He could have escaped, with the Ocarina. But then, Aedan could have been killed, and then Zelda would not be around, and Ganondorf may very well have succeeded. Or he may not have even gained power, and Link would still be in his forest home, fairyless and carefree.
These shadows of what could be were never fully in his sight, but always in the corner of his eye. If he focused hard enough, he could see them in their entirerty, should another 'could- be' not try to jump into his sight. This ability made him cynical at times and sarcastic the rest of the time. Often, he would catch Zelda looking at him, wondering where the young man she had once known had gone to. She would sigh, shake her head, and, if she caught him looking, give him a mournful look that was reproachful at the same time. He had recently made the mistake of snapping at her, telling her to stop sighing because if she had left the Spiritual Stones and the Triforce alone, he would not be this way. She had stared at him, shocked and hurt, and than ran off, hiding her tears. Ruto glared at him and ran after Zelda, to console her most likely. The two were thicker than thieves. Saria had not been around, but once she heard about it, she had berated him for it at least a dozen times. Then Nabooru gave him a long talk on how he had to be considerate of Zelda's inner spirit. He thought that the whole Sage of Spirit thing was starting to get to Nabooru. Darunia did not say anything, but he had given Enzaman one of his looks, making him feel horrible inside. Impa was silent on the matter, as always. Of all of the Sages, she alone had left him alone. He was glad that she remembered what he had told her, all those years ago.
Since then, he had spent less and less time in the Sacred Realm. He began to visit other times more and more frequently, despite the shadow visions. It was preferable to the looks he received from the three younger females and Nabooru's talks.
So with dread he opened the door that lead to his own time. Waiting on the other side was Impa.
"So nice to have you back," she commented dryly. He ignored her and stalked over to Zelda.
"Well?" she asked.
"Rest assured, dear princess, he is going to the Gerudo camp, and he did it on his own volition."
Her eyes sparkled in relief. His ill spirits rising, Enzaman could not resist pointing out another possibility.
"There is still a lot that can happen. He may change his mind."
Zelda bit her lip, crushing the retort that was about to come out. She was tired of this fight and was willing to apologize to the other Sage.
"L-" she began, but was cut off.
"I need to go talk to Rauru," Enzaman said abruptly, "I'll keep you posted on what happens." And with that, he was gone. Zelda sighed, her shoulders slumping. After their argument on how to handle Link's decision, Impa had talked to her.
"He carries a burden larger than his share for us," she had said. Zelda had just glared at her; she was in no mood to speak about him.
"Do you know what he sees when he travels?"
"What anyone would see," Zelda said shortly.
"And more. He sees what can be; he sees what could have been when we look from this time. And he doesn't see it directly, but out of the corner of his eye. It is always hovering there, just barely in sight but not enough in sight to comfort him." Impa turned to Zelda and gave her a long look.
"When you take everything away, he is a warrior. And a warrior can't stand to have something hovering in his sight, waiting to strike. The visions of what can be drive him crazy, fraying his nerves. He sees more than what you and I can guess, and he knows that we can never be sure. Give him his space Zelda, and give him your friendship. Then his old self will emerge once more, not fully, but enough to dull the edges of his anger. However, you still must accept that this is who he is and he will not be who he once was." Impa then left, leaving Zelda to her thoughts as she always did after one of her talks. Zelda had stared across the Temple of Light, tears rolling down her cheeks. Impa was right; she had not been much of a friend.
When Enzaman emerged in the new time, he was once again in the Chamber of Sages. This time, only Rauru was there to greet him. The Sage of Time relaxed, if only a bit. Here, there were no visions ready to pounce and no lectures. There was only an old man, who he had come to consider a very good friend.
"Enzaman! Your face is a welcome one in this troubled time," Rauru exclaimed, his voice troubled.
"The undead have begun to move?" He asked, his voice catching. He knew of the undeads' plan to attack, but it was too early now for them to begin.
"No, but they are collecting. Add to that, Zelda has been worrying herself sick about Link and Impa. I remember them being fine, but I hardly saw them. They are alright, are they not?" Enzaman nodded in response to Rauru's worried query.
"They still have much to do, if everything is to remain as you know it," he commented, causing a look of worry to cross Rauru's face.
"I suppose they determine the present now," Rauru murmured. Enzaman nodded, the cowl of his hood dipping lower with the motion.
"I'll go speak with Zelda; she can not cave now. You have taught her as much as you can?" Rauru nodded, and Enzaman smiled. Things were working out.
"Well, I'll be off then. Do not worry about Link and Impa; they will be fine," he nodded good bye and walked through one of the doors. This time he ended up in Zelda's private garden.
She was sitting next to a small pond, staring at her reflection. Her hands grasped her dress, and the material was twisted and wrinkled. She was not crying, but one could see the tears that she held back. Allya stood far in the corner, scanning the area. She must have heard him enter into the garden. Stepping forward, he made the Sheikah gesture of peace. Allya narrowed her eyes, until he held up his medallion. Shocked, she stepped back, allowing him to approach Zelda.
"Princess," he said simply, wincing behind the hood. How many times had he said that to her, only to have her glare in mock anger and order him to call her by her name?
"I saw you," she whispered after she looked at him, "In my dream." Enzaman nodded; he expected no less.
"Do not worry for Link; he is fine, as is Impa. They will return. You need to care for yourself Princess; your people may have need of you soon."
Zelda turned away, facing the pond once more.
"I expected you to say as much. Rauru has told me of you, Sage of Time. If you see Link again," she paused, biting back a sob, "If you see him again, tell him… tell him that I am sorry, for everything." He nodded; he would convey the message. Zelda stood and turned to face him.
"I look forward to meeting you as you are in this time, Enzaman. Safe journey." He bowed, and exited through a door.
Zelda turned to Allya, who had a thoughtful expression on her face.
"What is it?" she asked. Allya looked at her, expressionless.
"His name; it confuses me. The first part, I know not, but the second part is the basis for 'time' in Sheikah. And there are tales of a youth known as Azaman, whose name means 'time', and he is the only one to have born it." Zelda stared at her, confused as to why it mattered.
"I'll ask Rauru about it," she said, and Allya nodded. That was enough for her.