A Link to the Heart Chapter 17

The Temple of Time had been standing longer than any history book could tell. It had always been there, soaring over the land like a silver beacon. It predated the town that had grown up around it and made the mighty Castle seem like a young sapling by comparison. Nearby hills had eroded, the river had changed course several times but still the Temple endured. True, the stonework often needed repointing, spires and towers had been added and torn down again, over and over. Later generations had expanded the windows to fit stained-glass panels and the interior decorations had been changed with each passing season, yet for all that it remained the Temple of Time. Its origins were a mystery but ask anyone and they would simply say the Temple had always been and it always would be.

Link hadn't been inside the Temple for many years but its grandeur still took the breath away. The nave was long and echoing, lined with thick stone columns separated by pointed arches. A red rug ran the length of the nave, leading up to a wide altar set before a weighty stone door, sealed against any intrusion. The symbol of the Triforce was emblazoned above that door and it was repeated on the walls and hanging chandeliers. Off to one side was a statue of three young, fair-faced women, the Golden Goddesses Din, Nayru and Farore: Hyrule's patron deities. Link had never paid much attention to the faith of Hyrule, but they seemed to have echoes in statues he'd seen in other lands, various deities worshipped far and wide as individuals or pairs or trinities. Were they all separate beings or divergent memories of the same deities, Link had never found an answer.

The floor was without seats or pews but had been buffed to a dazzling mirror sheen, making the light pouring through the high windows ripple like water. Indistinct figures were depicted in the stained glass of the windows, various heroes and legendary persons battling shadowy demons and fiery monsters. Link didn't know who those men had been but he noted a common theme, all of them wore green and they all wielded the same blade: the mythical Master Sword. Link himself had wielded that blade for a time but given it up to safeguard the world, for the Master Sword had been more than a blade, it was also a key.

The Temple of Time sat upon a nexus of the higher realms and was a doorway to spheres beyond the mundane world. Many domains, ethereal planes and times could be accessed through the Temple, making it as dangerous as it was wonderful. From here Link had stepped into a dark future, the Ocarina of Time and the Master Sword his ship and compass in the turbulent waters of history. Giving them up had been a bitter blow, but a necessary one, they were keys to realms sacred and profane and the doors to those dominions needed to remain shut. Here the dark sorcerer Ganondorf had been banished to a twilight existence, the cost of his exile almost too great to bear. Any attempt to unseal the barriers betwixt planes risked releasing him from captivity and that could not be chanced, not when he yet held the Triforce of Power. And here had Link last seen Navi, their parting a sorrow he would always carry.

Yes, the Temple of Time had played a pivotal role in the events that defined his life, and today it would do so again. Link walked up the aisle, his footsteps muffled by the rug and the thick stone walls blocking the sounds of the town outside. In here the noise of people living in the bustling town was absent, leaving only solemnity and respectful silence, making it the favoured place for rites of great significance. Link kept this in mind as he surveyed the pair waiting for him at the end: Princess Zelda and her father Delphna Nohran Hyrule, King of all he surveyed.

Flanked by two royal guards the King presented a commanding figure. He was tall and broad of shoulder with a stern face and hands calloused from a lifetime of swinging a sword in defence of his kingdom. No inbred court fop was he, but a warrior born, one who personally led his men in the field. His red robes were heavy with gold thread and he wore a white ruff around his neck and white breaches. His brow bore a doughty crown, one fitted for everyday wear and his beard and moustache were proud and bushy. Yet for all his splendour he could not hide the fact that he was getting old. His gut hung over his belt and his muscles were softening. The ruff could not conceal his double chin and his robes were just a little too big for his frame, as if he had lost weight. He looked a man far closer to seventy than sixty, yet his gaze remained firm and his manner commanding.

Link drew up before them and prudently bowed to the King. Delphna waited a few seconds then commanded, "Rise."

"Majesty," Link said as he rose.

Delphna snorted, "Save the titles for one who needs sycophantic flattery. I prefer to demonstrate my royal authority with a sword. Speak freely before me. So, you are the one my daughter has been waiting for. I am surprised you came back."

Link frowned as he inquired, "Pardon?"

Delphna stated, "I remember you, the little boy who came out of nowhere with a dire warning. You took one of the Royal Family's most precious relics and disappeared. Our Ocarina, passed down through generations, handed off to a simple boy from the forest. I expected you would sell it, or die in a ditch somewhere. The last thing I thought was you would come back."

Link was taken aback by his harsh tone and said icily, "I promised to return and I did."

Zelda spoke up then, "Father, this is the Hero of Time, future saviour of Hyrule. Show some respect."

Delphna winced slightly as he said, "There it is; more prophecy, more dreams. I tire of being told my future."

Link looked at him squarely and asked, "Is it not useful, knowing what will come to pass?"

In response Delphna growled, "I am not like my daughter. I do not trust dreams, nor hold to prophecy. I dislike the notion that I am no more than a game piece, to be pushed across a board by cruel Gods and indifferent Fate. I am my own man. Yet… I cannot deny my daughter's warnings are eerily precise. Her sense for looming danger has been most helpful. Several crises have been averted by her timely warnings, and yours."

"Ganondorf?" Link ventured.

Delphna sighed, "When the Gerudo warlock first came to me I respected his proud spirit but I did not grasp the peril of his ambitions. That he seized the Triforce of Power still horrifies and baffles me. Had it not been for the warnings of you and my daughter, he may well have claimed the totality and became a vile god. Since before history can recall my bloodline has protected the Triforce, the gift left us to us by the three Golden Goddesses. On my watch the guard faltered, a shame I must bear to my dying day. Do you… still have the mark?"

Link reluctantly revealed his hand and Delphna gasped, "The Triforce of Courage, you truly bear it. As my daughter does Wisdom. The Triforce has shattered, which must make you the Chosen Hero. Few indeed have claimed that title through history, and each has gone on to become a legend."

The emphasis he put on 'Hero' was not complimentary and Link dared to say, "I have never thought myself special, but I try to put my sword to good use. Defending the helpless, protecting the weak, what less can a righteous man do?"

Delphna snorted, "Humph, well said. Such is my way. I care not for the affairs of Gods and Sages. I have fought all my life, through invasion and civil war, to protect those under my rule. My father taught me how to make my sword a power for good rather than ill. For all their supposed might and justice I have yet to see any God turn up on a battlefield, it falls to us mortals to make things right."

Link smiled wryly as he said, "I have oft wondered why that is."

Delphna eyed Link warily as he stated, "I see you have an honest tongue and a brave heart, but that doesn't mean I will hand over my kingdom to you."

Link was put back and said, "I… I don't follow."

Delphna scowled at the Princess as he said, "For years I have been trying to cement my legacy through marriage. But my daughter rebuffs all the lords I bring to court, and their sons too."

Zelda didn't betray the slightest hint of resentment as she declared, "I have dreamt of my future husband and it was not them. Link shall be my consort and I will inherit the rule of Hyrule, after he leads us to victory in this war."

Delphna spat testily, "See what I mean, how can any suitor compete with a dream?! Well, if you are this Hero my daughter prophecies, then winning the war shall be no bother to you."

Link swallowed in trepidation as he said, "I shall fight as best I can, but I cannot win a war single-handed."

Delphna grunted, "At least your head isn't so big it eclipses the moon. Very well, here is the situation: the Gerudo have rampaged across my lands and this is an insult I cannot ignore. I have a thousand heavy Knights at hand and five thousand spears in my levies, enough to make a start. More are coming, from the borders of my realms come my sworn vassals and they bring three times as many men with them. Once we unite we shall be unstoppable, but I am not willing to wait and let the enemy run free. My people suffer and it is my duty to march to their aid. We shall confront the Gerudo in battle and send them running with bloody noses."

Zelda added, "Thanks to my foresight we are well stocked, our allies are reluctant to leave their holdings but our friends the Gorons send explosives and the Zora people send mountains of dried fish to feed our armies. Even the Kokiri have extended tentative assistance, by supplying us with Lesser Fairies."

Link nodded as he commented, "That will hearten the men, soldiers fight better with a full belly and for knowing a healing power stands at their back."

"Ha!" Delphna snorted, "I see you are no stranger to a battlefield. But will you serve me in the field?"

Link bowed his head and said, "I will serve however I can."

Delphna accepted this magnanimously and said, "I am not turning my army over to an unproven stranger, you can serve among my Knights for now. Yet know this is my last war, unlooked for and unwanted, but it came nevertheless. If you can prove your mettle in the field I shall revisit the matter of your station. Now give me your sword."

Link drew his blade and handed it over hilt first. Delphna hefted it and examined the metal saying, "There is magic in this sword."

Link had commissioned the blade to be an imperfect copy of the Master Sword. Finding a shaman with the skill was a tale in itself but he only said, "It suffices for my meagre abilities."

Delphna mused, "Perhaps there is more to you than I expected. Now, kneel."

Link knelt on the cold floor and the King placed the blade on his shoulder as he proclaimed, "Swear before all Gods and Goddesses that you shall be the shield of the helpless and the sword of justice. Swear to defend the people and lands of Hyrule from enemies within, without and beyond. Swear you will never flee from darkness and hold your life cheap in the quest for light and peace."

The words came naturally to Link, "So I swear."

Delphna continued, "Swear to obey my commands and stand against all who would threaten my house. Swear to protect the Triforce and the secrets of the Royal family from all who would abuse the legacy left to us by the Golden Goddesses."

Link answered, "So I swear."

"Then rise, Knight of Hyrule and take up your sword."

Link stood and reclaimed his blade as Zelda proclaimed, "This moment I have foreseen in my dreams and so shall the rest come to pass. We march to victory; it is inevitable. The first blow shall fall at the town of Kasuto. I have seen that in five days a Gerudo army shall launch an attack, but we shall throw them back and thus take the first step towards winning the war."

Delphna uttered, "Then there is no time to waste, it is four days hard march to Kasuto, we shall depart this very day!"

Link sheathed his sword and held his head proudly. He was now a Hylian Knight and would march under the banner of Hyrule. As it had been prophesied so had it come to be, it seemed all was proceeding as Zelda had foretold. Surely the army of Hyrule would win the day; it could not possibly be otherwise.