Chapter Seven
Into The Mountains

Within the next day the grassland plains of Hyrule were lost into the distance. Sheer mountains towered over the company as they made their steady way along the westward winding road through the rugged hills. The horses were not accustomed to this terrain, forcing the company down to the dusty earth on foot for much of the journey, and even though water became sparser, and shade was in short supply, Link kept the company moving at a fast pace; the soldiers were in no mind to protest. Rael's skin was dry and hot, and the night he had spent sleeping in the mountains was equally bitterly cold.

As dawn came upon their second day in the Gerudo Mountains, Rael was pleased to realise that Jolane had not woken him again, watching him like she had been doing. What had she been doing the other night anyway? There was something peculiar about Jolane, beyond her remoteness and unusual temperament.

Rael rode alongside Elane for some time during the morning, while Daran and Tabett rode further behind. The four Hylian soldiers were spaced out in a wide square, moving along higher ground and keeping watch for Gerudo bandits and raiding parties. So far there had been no sign of any Gerudos, but this seemed to make Link - who rode at the head of the group, always in sight - even more wary. Jolane rode close on Link's heel, preferring not to talk to the Taraners and seeing more safety in the man she knew as Sergeant Kantar.

Rael and Elane had never spent long in each others' company alone, without Tabett and Daran also being there. It was a strange friendship – much the same as the relationship he shared with Tabett. Whereas he had known Daran since childhood, Tabett and Elane were still somewhat strangers to him. They had never spoken about their pasts aside from the experiences they had all shared, and they remained still quite separate emotionally. Nevertheless they were bonded by this friendship of mutual hardship and struggle. Of course there was that one night when he had fallen asleep in her arms, as he cried himself to sleep, the day he learned his father was dead… but that was… different.

Elane was very pretty, beautiful even, but he had not thought about her in as more than as a friend since the day they met, and he did not feel any differently now - probably because Elane was already deeply in love with Tabett, and Tabett with Elane. He watched her riding beside him with a lingering fascination. Long waves of dark hair framed her narrow smooth-cheeked face, and her curious blue eyes seemed to hide knowledge of some bright spark of an unusual past. Elegant would be an insufficient word to describe her nature, but he always had the feeling that her elegance was just a cloak she wore over a very different and long-concealed personality.

"Rael?" She was looking right at him, puzzlement on her face. He must have been daydreaming… how long had she been looking back at him? No matter.

He blinked. "What?" Shaking his head, he raised a defensive hand. "Sorry, my mind was wandering."

"Are you all right?" She was concerned about him. He knew because she had tilted her head the way she always did when she was speaking more intimately.

"Yes, fine." He looked forwards again, up the dirt track, at the brilliant blue sky ahead through the dry valley. He laughed, "Catch me if I do that again."

Elane sighed. "Don't worry about Ralis, Rael."

Ralis had been the furthest thing from his mind, but now that Elane mentioned him his stomach clenched. "I wasn't thinking about him," he replied firmly.

Elane nodded, "I just mean you should try to let go of all the things that are worrying you, or you'll become like a stone, and you'll forget all that is good."

What was good? Besides, he already felt like stone. He certainly felt cold and lifeless much of the time, but that did not mean anything. Despite what Elane said, Rael felt he had plenty to be worried about. The whereabouts of Ralis for one, his father's death, where Link was taking them, what Zelda was planning back in Hyrule, the fact that Link and Zelda called him their son… the Kairin invasion! Yes, he had plenty to being angry about. "I understand." That was all he said.

They said nothing for a while. The sun was high above their heads, and the blazing heat was such that Rael truly believed he could collapse from the back of his horse at any moment. He had taken off his shirt and wrapped it tightly around his head to keep the sun off his face and neck. He did this in imitation of the scarf Elane had tied around her own head.

There were creatures among the rocky passes that Rael had never seen the like of before. He caught glimpses of large crab-like creatures scuttling underneath rocks, and birds with long beaks and wings like bats. There was next to nothing here that they could hunt and kill for food, even if he could stomach the strange looking - and most likely foul-tasting - creatures, so Rael clung to hope that the food in the saddlebags would suffice, and Link was rationing it properly.

Rael was pulled out of another trance as Jolane raced past him on her white mare, darting ahead, and pushing her horse to make impossible jumps over wide gaps of cracked earth. She certainly seemed to be enjoying herself. "She'll kill that horse if she isn't careful," Elane said softly.

"I hope she does," muttered Rael, "then we could leave her here."

"I don't think Sergeant Kantar would do that." Said Elane, surprised at Rael's attitude. "Do you not like her?"

Rael grunted, watching as Jolane brought here mare to a stop ahead of them, looked about and then hurried ahead towards Link. "It isn't that I don't like her," Rael said carefully, "I just don't trust her. We have no idea who she is; she could be dangerous." He considered telling Elane about Jolane watching him in his sleep, but decided not to. "At any rate, she was supposed to be gone by now. But Sergeant Kantar hasn't sent away.

"I don't think she's dangerous." Elane grinned at Rael. "She is pretty though."

Rael frowned at Elane, "What does it matter if she is? I mean, I don't think she- I mean, I haven't looked at her that way."

Elane laughed. "Of course not; not Rael, the famed womanizer of Taran Kaey." She laughed again. "I've talked to Daran, Rael."

"Daran greatly exaggerates then," said Rael, stonily.

"Is that so?" she said, as though she knew something he didn't. "That night at the Lon Lon Ranch, I seem to remember you disappearing with one of Vic's sisters. We didn't see you again all night."

Rael glared at her, and a smile flickered on Elane's narrow lips. "That- I- look, that was nothing. But no, Jolane- there is something wrong about her. Trust me."

What was Link thinking letting her stay with them, anyway? Did he know something about her that he didn't? "Excuse me Elane," he said, and heeled his horse forward quickly before she could reply. Rael clung tight to Garsh's back as he thundered over the rocky terrain, throwing him up and down rapidly. Link was higher up the slope ahead of him, and he had to push Garsh hard to keep up with him. He passed Jolane, almost knocking her aside, and heard sharp words chasing after him.

"Sergeant!" he called, as he drew nearer to Link. The Marshal shifted his head to look back at Rael, and nodded respectfully as he drew in step. Rael gave an exhausted breath, and dismounted from Garsh's back to let him recover strength.

"Rael, is there something you need?" said Link, looking down at him from atop his tall mount.

Rael grunted as he caught his breath and took up a steady walking pace beside the old armored man. "Where are going? You still haven't told me."

Link ran a hand through his red-grey hair, and chuckled to himself. "Have your friends not realized that we are not on a 'royal errand' yet?" He did not turn to look at Rael immediately. Link seemed to be suffering from the heat, his old lined skin looked hot and dry.

"I don't think they are bothered where we are going, sir," said Rael honestly, "but I know I am. You still haven't told me. What are you looking for?"

"I'm following whispers Rael." He said, fixing his eyes on the road ahead. "Don't give me a look like that, I don't mean that literally. But I am following rumors and hints and vague messages from the past. I will know what it is when I find it."

"But you must know something?"

"I know…" he lowered his voice. They were well out of earshot from the others anyway, but he kept his voice hushed. "I am looking for the Horn of the Blood, the Great Horn of Light, the Gods Horn… there are many names, but all the scraps of history I have found point to the West, to… well, I do not know for certain."

"A horn?" He remembered his dream. That being that spoke to him… he said something about a horn. "The horn rings true," he muttered to himself.

"What?" said Link, gripping his shoulder.

Rael looked up at him and regretted having said anything. "Nothing."

"Rael, you know something," said Link strongly, staring at him with hazy grey eyes, "don't lie to me."

Rael sighed. "I had a dream, a few nights ago - when we were still in Hylia. Don't make a fuss about it. There was a voice in the dream. It called itself the Illivartan. He sounded male, but I couldn't be sure; his voice was inside my head."

Link's expression was such that he looked like he had been slapped across the face. "Why have you not spoken of this before?" he said, half amazed, half angry.

Rael knew why he had not spoken of it until now. After that dream, he thought he had woken up, but he had not really. Within that still-a-dream when he thought he were awake Link had killed him – and then he had woken for real. That had frightened him, and he certainly was not going to tell Link about that part of the dream. He was not afraid of Link as he was now – at least no more than was rightfully sensible, considering his temperament and ability with blades. "I did not know what the dream meant. I thought it was just… nothing." That was true – he had certainly not known what it meant.

"What can you remember?" Link asked softly.

"I… I can remember it all, actually. At least a certain part." Rael shut his eyes, and recalled what he had heard in his dream. He had made no point of trying to remember what was said, he could just recall it, as though it were buried in his subconscious. "Twice… no, once. No, sorry. Twice and once the horn must sound, twice at dusk and once at dawn. Where the… mighty, almighty rather… where the almighty there ferment their wine, the chosen must drink deep… in the blood of salvation."

Link tried to remain calm-faced, but Rael could see from his eyes that his mind was racing. "Twice the horn must sound at dusk, and once at dawn. Where the almighty three ferment their wine the chosen will drink deep in the blood of salvation."

"Must drink," corrected Rael.

Link frowned. "I see. I suppose that that nothing is definite, that we must make it happen somehow. Nothing is certain. That is not pleasant. But the blood; the horn is called the Horn of the Blood. And that verse in the Tome - A river of blood marks the father's path. A guide awakens and the horn rings true. Do you understand these things Rael? Or do such things confuse you?"

"I understand parts," said Rael truthfully, "but the difficulty is the fact that you think it is about me."

"Do you not believe it is?" said Link, curiously.

"I make my own destiny, Kantar."

"You certainly do, but so far, whether you like it or not you have been fulfilling prophecy at every turn."

Rael was skeptical about that still, but was prepared to humour Link for now. "Well then, there was something else you ought to know."

"Yes?" said Link eagerly.

Rael paused. There was more to tell but he was scared of what it meant. "I will tell you, but please do not make too much of it." He recited the rest. "Ten will ride forth, and five return. The father shall weep and the mother shall mourn."

Link eyed Rael warily, and looked around the mixture of people moving through the valley; the four Hylian soldiers, Barark, Nolin, Thoril and Barl, scouting in the high passes; Elane, Daran and Tabett, now riding side by side a way behind them; Link and Rael themselves, of course; and Jolane made ten. "Five will return? Gods, I hope you were just dreaming." Rael could see from the fear in Link's eyes that he knew full well it was a prophecy that could and would come to pass.

"Kantar." Rael said, addressing the older man sternly.

"Yes?" Link responded, distantly.

"Why is Jolane still with us?"

Link laughed, smiling down at Rael. Jolane was trotting along close by, so he kept his voice low. "I believe her being with us is the will of the Gods, and I regret cannot say more. It is not chance that threw her before us in Hylia. She is important. After all, without her our party is only nine, and that would conflict with the prophecy in your… dreams."

"That is no comfort," muttered Rael.

Link's voice was like ice when he replied saying, "There are few comforts in war."

As if to reinforce the point, as the word 'war' left Link's lips, the Gerudos appeared.