Chapter 8: He Who Rides the Black Horse
Link was so excited to at last have gathered all three stones that he, atypically for him, pressed on toward Hyrule Castle even though night had fallen before he crossed Zora's River. After that, the storm clouds hovering over the castle, and a strong feeling of foreboding, drove him onwards. Navi sat, rigid, on his shoulders, as if she sensed the same thing. He ran for the drawbridge without thinking, even though he knew that he couldn't make it into the town with the drawbridge raised. He skilfully avoided the stalchildren as they popped out of the earth, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
He was almost to the castle, standing before the drawbridge flanked by its burning torches (itself unusual, even in the middle of the night). No stalchildren had assailed him for a while now, and he dared to hope that they had taken the point, and would now leave him be.
And then, to the crackle of thunder, and the pounding of lashing rain, the drawbridge began to pay out, and Link shivered from more than the chilly rain.
"Link, is this…?" Navi asked, in the smallest, meekest voice he had ever heard from her. She crawled under his shirt to guard herself from the cold. Link's rigid stance, frozen as if he'd lost all control over his body, told her all that she needed to know.
Even with the drawbridge only half-lowered, they could hear the heavy pounding of horse-hooves over the stinging rain and rolling thunder. The joint darkness of both nighttime and a storm made the entire world seem lightless and uninhabited, and Link thought of the primordial time, before the goddesses three had descended upon Hyrule.
As the drawbridge was still finishing its descent, a white horse galloped towards Link. It took him several moments to gather his wits enough to realise that they could scarce afford to turn aside, and to dart out of the way, turning back to look at Impa, who gave him a curt nod, acknowledging the relation to the dream he had told her about, and Zelda, who twisted her head to follow him with those same, wide, fearful eyes familiar from his nightmares.
But, there was more than mere fear there. The stubborn set of her face told him that she was about to do something, even before she pivoted, arm already arched back, to throw something behind him, while the horse was still traveling at a suitable angle. He heard whatever she had thrown land in the moat with a loud splash, as Zelda followed him with her eyes, as they rode out of sight.
He watched until they disappeared, too fast for belief—were horses that fast?
A shiver stole up his spine, a presentiment of danger, and he heard the breathy snort of a horse, behind him. He whirled around, to see a black stallion of impressive stature, wiry and lean, with a braided red mane, and fiery eyes, pawing at the ground. If horses could be evil, this one probably was. He bore his rider, who was scanning the horizon, and had apparently not yet noticed Link, with poise and calm.
"Arrgh. I lost her! What now?" said the man astride the great black stallion. He seemed undampened by the heavy rain, or perhaps his black armour protected him. Link's heart was thudding violently, unable to avoid comparing the man before him to Ganon. Well, for one thing, this one was young—much younger than Ganon. The man astride the black horse was perhaps in his early twenties, with burning orange eyes to match those of his horse. But, he was also somehow smaller, flawed, more human. He'd lost sight of the princess, after all. Perhaps, this man didn't have Ganon's intelligence, either, but Link wouldn't take any risks.
Then, the man's attention turned to Link.
"You there! Little kid! You must have seen the white horse gallop past just now…which way did it go? Answer me!"
His voice was clipped and brusque, imperious, but with none of the condescension Link was used to hearing. Strange that this evil man treated Link as an equal. He was smart after all, perhaps already aware of the conspiracy.
Link took a step back, away from the horse, and reached for sword and shield.
"Oh, I see. You think you can protect them from me, don't you?" said Ganondorf, in that familiar, smooth voice, with its deeper undercurrents of tainted wells and fallen kingdoms.
"Stay away from them!" Link cried, drawing the Kokiri Sword, and the deku shield from his back. If Ganondorf were acknowledging that he was himself a threat, then there was no point in continuing the ruse.
He felt safer with sword and shield in his hand. He'd never had them in his dream. Nor had he originally had Navi, who now braved the pouring rain that had already soaked Link's kokiri clothes, to flutter near his head, ready to glow yellow and guide Link's weapons at a moment's notice. "I won't let you follow them! I'll stop you here and now! I am Link Sylvanus, messenger of the Royal Family. And, you may have fooled the king, but the princess knew better! Your evil plans will go no further."
With that, the man threw back his head and laughed, an all-too-familiar, deep, coarse laugh, that sent shivers of dread throughout Link's whole body, head to toe. His fingers were almost numb from clenching his sword and the strap of the shield so hard.
"'You want a piece of me', eh, kid? Very funny. I like your attitude! You're a tough one. Well, then, how about I stop wasting my time on you, and continue on. I'll humour you, kid!"
He held up his left hand, which was the closer to Link, keeping right hand on the reins. A ball of energy appeared there, a ball of light, which traversed the colours of the rainbow, from violet to yellow, and Link knew that there was no point in running. This time, nothing would mute the pain; it would be real, and not some dream. He set his feet, bracing himself, and schooling his face.
The man flung the orb of light at Link, who tried to cut through it, and was knocked back for his efforts, hitting his back hard against the grassy hill near the drawbridge. His body burnt all over, white-hot pain flooding his senses, added to the crackling stinging of the electric charge of the attack. On top of that was the shock of the impact with the ground, the scratches and scrapes he'd gained in addition to the sourceless, distilled agony of Ganondorf's energy attack.
He had the strange sense that the man had perhaps toned it down, whether because he was in a hurry, and wanted to conserve time or energy, or because he was reluctant to show his full force against a kid, was impossible to tell.
Navi squealed, flying over to Link to check that he was still alive, and more-or-less conscious, before flying at Ganondorf's face. He backhanded her, with a heavy sound of flesh meeting flesh, and Navi landed in the dirt nearby, slowly pulling herself together.
Link, infuriated more than he had believed possible by this treatment of Navi (who, for all her quirks, had been a beacon of hope and support for him on his quest) dragged himself on still-spasming legs and arms to his feet, but Ganondorf sneered down at his efforts.
"Pathetic fool! Do you have any idea who you're dealing with? I am Ganondorf Dragmire! And soon, I will rule the world!"
Without a backward glance, Ganondorf kicked the horse's sides, and galloped off across Hyrule Field, as Link pulled himself to his feet, sticking the Kokiri Sword into the ground to help support his weight. He was truly in no state to be fighting such an evil man.
He remembered the milk he had won at Lonlon Ranch, which he'd heard in Kakariko was considered to have healing properties, wondering if this were true, if it could heal injuries, the way that the medicine of life could. He pulled out, and drank deep from, the bottle, and felt his body began to recover, energy seeping back into his bones.
He crawled over to Navi, who lay in a shallow hole in the ground. When he came close enough, he poured a little of the milk into his hands, and held it down for Navi to drink. She hesitated, but when she saw his expression, she sighed, and pulled herself up into his cupped hands, scooping milk from his hands into her own, and drinking a surprising amount of the stuff. He realised that her sparkle had dimmed only when it returned full force.
"Navi, are you alright?" he asked, as stalchildren began emerging from the ground.
Navi nodded, shaking.
"Link, I think I'd better go recover in the moat. You should follow me in. Remember that Zelda threw something into the moat?"
Link had forgotten this, in the moment, but now it came back to him, the way that she'd turned, wound her arm back, and thrown something heavy enough to settle and make a splash into the moat. As an added bonus, he could hold his breath for an impressive length of time now, and stalchildren couldn't enter deeper waters. He ran for its safety, and threw himself in, sinking under the water and rising back to the surface. Navi glowed green as she sank to the floor, illuminating something about twice the size of Link's hands, and blue. That was all that he could tell, with this light, and at this angle.
He dove down in, following Navi, and stared at the item under the water. It was a blue ocarina, with a silver band around the mouthpiece. This must be the legendary instrument, the Ocarina of Time….
As he brought it back to the surface, he felt the world around him fade out, and heard Zelda's voice reverberate inside his mind.
"Link, can you hear me…? It's me, Zelda…."
Now, he stood at the entrance to a high-ceilinged building. Navi wasn't here; he was all alone. It was strangely lonely; he hadn't realised just how accustomed he'd become to her presence. He stared around, at the checkerboard floor, and the grey brick walls, and at the black altar standing before a flight of steps leading up to a stone slab decorated with a circle with rays surrounding it, almost like the sun. Above that stone slab—set into an alcove, in a way that suggested that it was in truth a door—was a blackened triple triangle. The empty space in the centre of the three triangles was a dull white, bright only in contrast to the three black triangles surrounding it.
Before the altar, her back turned to him, was Zelda, in that ridiculous pink-and-white headdress and dress he'd almost always seen her in. She'd even been wearing that during her flight from the castle.
"Link, when you hold this ocarina in your hand," she said, turning to face him, eyes closed. "I won't be around anymore. I wanted to wait for you, but I couldn't stay and wait any longer. Ganondorf attacked, and…but there will be time to speak of that later, and you can hear what happened from others than me. I need to teach you a special song, a song of power. Even though we might never meet again, at least I could leave you the ocarina, and this melody. This song, the 'Song of Time', opens the Door of Time that stands behind me. Learn it well."
She lifted the Ocarina of Time to her lips, as Link ran towards her. The notes she played in the solemnity of the Temple of Time resonated through the air, as if sinking into the stones themselves. She played through the long, solemn Song of Time twice, and then disappeared. He could still feel her presence, but he could no longer see her. The Ocarina of Time was now in his own hands, somehow.
He played the song through, as slowly as she had, so that the notes ricocheted off the walls and filled the air. As the world faded out once more, he heard Zelda's distant voice.
"Link…you must go to the Temple of Time, play that song before the altar, and open the Door of Time. Draw the Master Sword, and get the Triforce, and defeat Ganondorf! You alone remain now to protect the Triforce! Good luck! Know that I am thinking of you!"
And, before he could even consider asking any more, he was standing before the lowered drawbridge to Hyrule Castle Market, with Navi swooping down to land on his shoulder, scolding him, as the sun rose in the east, driving away the stalchildren. What had just happened?
"Link, where did you even go?" Navi said, a bit calmer now. He quickly explained to her everything that Zelda had said, running across the bridge to town.
Inside, it was as disorienting as it had been the first time he had come here. How could people be dancing and laughing and chattering casually with one another when Ganondorf had betrayed the King of Hyrule, forced the crown princess to flee, and was plotting to take over the world? The shift in mood from the dire foreboding Ganondorf had left in his wake to this active, almost festive atmosphere was more than merely jarring. He stumbled quite a few times, trying to regain his more literal footing along with his figurative one.
But, as he walked, he overheard snippets of conversation. The old folklorist stopped him to ask if the woman riding the white horse could have been one of the legendary sheikahs. An old woman sensed danger, asking if she ought to leave town. He gave her an answer, but the question was rhetorical.
In the back alley where the entrance to the secret passages lay (exposed now), he found a guard, back pressed against the wall, clutching his side. The man's unfocused gaze rested on Link.
"You there, boy…are you the boy from the Forest? You must be…I can see the faerie…. At last, I've met you. I have…a message for you…from…Princess…. Ganondorf, he attacked the castle, killed the king…. Princess's bodyguard, the sheikah, Impa, sensed danger before it came…escaped with guards through secret passage…. I stayed behind, tried to draw off his attack…. As you can see, I was less than successful. Princess wanted to give you a message, and… special items, needed to stop King of Thieves. If you have it, hurry to the Temple of Time. It's…my last request."
"No!" Link cried, running over to the man, who spasmed and fell still. He turned to Navi, who bowed her head.
"Seems he's one of the uncorrupt guards…well, there's nothing we can do. He's dead, Link. Let's just…do what he asked of us. It's all we can do for him now."
"No one even comes back here," Link said, jaw set. "Such a man deserves a proper memorial. I'm going to tell his fellows about him."
Link moved to the opened passage, and shut it. Then, he wandered through market, looking for a member of the guard to tell about the deceased soldier. It took longer than he would have liked.
He paid his respects to the loyal soldier once more, and then wandered back into the bustling square. As the woman in the pale blue dress had told him to, the first time he had come here, he wandered off into the northeast corner of town, until he caught sight of her row of gossip stones.
"So, Link," said Navi, in a far too casual voice that let him know that she was trying to cheer him up. "I've been wondering…. I can't picture it. Can you describe the Master Sword for me?"
"Well, you'll see soon enough, won't you?" Link said, voice flat with shock. He bent down, picking up a branch that had fallen in the grass, well aware that he wasn't good enough at description to explain the majesty of the sword to her.
He began to scratch a design in the bare dirt and grass. He started with the rounded pommel, continuing down the hilt to the winged guard, then leaving a space, to draw the two straight lines of the blade, then the other two diagonal lines that formed the point of the blade. He turned to the hilt to scratch out the (red) diamond that put him in mind of a sheikah eyeswitch in the centre of the guard. He finished with the much trickier ricasso connecting the blade of the sword to the hilt. And, all the time he was sketching the sword in the dirt, he was describing what he was drawing. At length, Navi stared at it, fluttering up high.
"It doesn't look that special," she said, and he frowned.
"It really is a remarkable blade, Navi," he said, unable to keep the reproach from his voice. "A mere drawing and description could never do it justice."
Navi raised an incredulous eyebrow, but made no comment, and they lay down near the gossip stones, and spent one last night outside the Temple of Time.
The next morning, after breakfast, they at last entered the too-familiar building. Link had seen this building already, in the vision Zelda had left for him. He stared around at its simple magnificence, in person this time, noticing the way the checkerboard tiling ran around the edges of the room until they reached the stairs. The stairs, and the rest of the floor not covered by the checkerboard, were made of grey bricks.
The black triforce looked downright ugly, situated as it was directly above the disc surrounded by rays (of light?). It was a sharp contrast.
There were tall windows, set high into the walls, through which dawn's light lazily streamed. But, Link ignored the light, and the beauty of the room, disregarding it after a few moments, to concentrate on the black altar before him, and its graven message: "You who own three Spiritual Stones, stand before the Door of Time, and play the 'Song of Time'."
He stepped onto the red rug before the altar, and pulled out the blue crystal ocarina, putting it to his lips, and beginning to play the same song that Zelda had played, seemingly in this very same spot, what felt scant hours ago. As he played, the Spiritual Stones appeared from nowhere, floating above his head, spinning around in a circle, before each settling in a different niche in the altar. The Kokiri's Emerald fell to the left. The Goron's Ruby landed in the central groove, and the Zora's Sapphire settled into the right-hand niche.
Link stared at the stones, as they rotated in their slots, but became distracted when the Triforce above the Door of Time gleamed golden, the white centre glowing, now. Then, the Door of Time began to roll sideways, audibly.
He stared, watching and waiting. When nothing else happened, he climbed the steps behind the door with some trepidation, slow and deliberate, walking around the altar, wondering if he should retrieve The Spiritual Stones, or leave them. Well, he was here very early…. Probably not very many people would come through here while he retrieved the Master Sword.
He headed through a short passage into a huge room, with a series of hexagonal platforms situated atop one another, forming something of steps leading up to a trapezoidal pedestal.
"Is that…?" Navi said, sounding stricken by awe despite plentiful forewarning. "It is, isn't it…it's that legendary blade…the Master Sword!"
She flew over to the trapezoidal pedestal to analyse the sword, while Link followed with respectful slowness, taking each step forwards with a measured pace. The Master Sword demanded and deserved respect.
The trapezoidal pedestal was located in the white space of the sign of the triple triangles—the Triforce, which was surrounded by six circles with different designs graven into them.
"Navi, what are these?" he asked, bending down to peer at the one directly between him and the Master Sword. This one was an inverted triangle surrounded by one formed by three dots. She fluttered down to look at it more closely, finger tapping her chin as she fluttered around it.
"Hmm…it's said that the ancient sages built this temple to protect the Triforce from evil. In the olden days, the people of Hyrule believed in six elements forming the foundations of reality. Each of the ancient sages was associated with a different element, and each of these elements was represented by a different symbol. This one is the symbol of shadow."
She continued, fluttering over to the next one, with three triangles pointing in to the centre, and three dots between them. It was the next one, in the clockwise circle, and lay to the left of the sword. "The symbol of light!"
She continued to the third, engraved with a design resembling a pinwheel. "The symbol of the forest."
Now she approached the fourth sign. It lay on the far side of the platforms from the entrance. "The symbol of fire. The symbol of water," she continued, fluttering over to the next one, a snowflake, with each of its points formed by a teardrop.
She continued to the last symbol, located to the right of the sword, and to the right of the first symbol. It had two elongated teardrops (the common depiction of souls, which reminded him of the blue balls of light of the Ghost Ship), bent into arcs, curling around each other, as if circling each other. "This one is the spirit sign," she finished.
Link suddenly had a very bad feeling about all of this. What did it signify, that the sign of the Sages who had shut the door to the Sacred Realm ringed the Master Sword? But, he needed to stop Ganondorf…surely, Zelda knew better than he.
"Link, come on. Just try to keep moving, alright?" Navi said, fluttering over to the sword.
The experience felt no less momentous than the first time. It was a solemn, ceremonial occasion. He stepped up to the trapezoidal pedestal, approaching the familiar sword. Its wings were fully spread, unlike the Master Sword he'd had to awaken to its full power. He could see that this one "sparkled with the power to repel evil". Indeed, it seemed to resonate with power. This sword was every bit the majestic blade, worthy of legends. Link resumed his slow approach, giving due ceremony.
He realised, belatedly, that he wasn't tall enough to hold the sword vertical and still pull it out of the stone. That was a bit of an oversight. He felt a bit less assured about the entire affair. But, despite that, he stepped forwards to the sword, studying it, seeking for any difference from the version he'd drawn in the chamber below the Great Sea. He saw none, except for its radiant, obvious power.
He braced himself with his right hand, and then reached for the most comfortable position his chubby, childish hands could manage, pulling as hard as he could with his left, as the sword stayed where it was, and then, with an abrupt smoothness to its motion, rose out of the stone.
A beam of brilliant blue light surrounded him, dragging him up, and up, making him weightless, emptying his mind, detaching him from the world, no matter how he strain to stay, to fight, to do as he had been bidden. Next, the world went dark, and empty, and in a world made of white light, he heard a man's familiar, cruel voice reverberating around the empty void, and saw his enemy's face. Ganondorf stood, arms crossed, grin triumphant as he stared Link down.
"Hehhehheh! Well done, kid. As I thought, you held the keys to the Door of Time! You have led me to the Sacred Realm! Oh, yes, well done indeed! I owe it all to you, kid!"
And, as all feeling and energy drained from the world, he was left with Ganondorf's lingering, horrid laugh.
He awoke to a world made of whiteness. There was nothing else to be seen, or his eyes had yet to adjust, which meant it must be bright indeed. He opened them, slowly, after squeezing them shut tight, and looked out on a brightly-coloured world. He stood, to his surprise, looking at an old man wearing a simple, plain brown robe. There was something oddly familiar about the way he held himself, that peculiar moustache that he occasionally twitched, the cadence and timbre of his voice as he spoke.
"Wake up, Link," the man said, without preamble. "I am Rauru, the Sage of Light, one of the Ancient Sages who built the Temple of Time to prevent the unworthy from entering the Sacred Realm. This is the Sacred Realm, the last bastion against Ganondorf's evil forces. We are standing in the Chamber of the Sages, in the heart of the Temple of Light, the true last stronghold against his Power.
"These are troubled times. Ganondorf, the Evil King of Thieves, has conquered Hyrule and laid it waste. He has invaded the very Sacred Realm itself. The Master Sword was the final key to the Sacred Realm, which you unlocked when you drew it from the protective barrier, the Pedestal of Time. Link…don't be alarmed…look at yourself…!"
Link strove to master his hazy mind, as Navi landed on his shoulder. She was a lighter weight than he was used to, which was unsurprising, given the other differences. He found that he was wearing different clothes, first—he wore a tunic of green, now, over some sort of close-fitting white coverings for his arms and legs. The pointed tapering hat and kokiri boots remained, but they'd been joined by plain brown leathern gauntlets, probably of the same material as his boots. He stared, noticing how much further away the sign of the Triforce that he stood in the middle of was from eye-level than he might have expected.
"You grew up! I think you're about seventeen," Navi said, her voice and expression unreadable. "But, kokiris don't grow up."
Indeed. Link's hazy mind was spinning, churning, struggling to take in the sudden, drastic shift in his circumstances. He'd opened the way to the Sacred Realm, albeit by accident, and Ganondorf had entered. That must mean…he must have the Triforce! Link's head snapped up, all other thoughts sacrificed, set aside for the moment, to pursue the current. Meanwhile, he heard Rauru continue speaking, but his voice sounded strangely distant. White noise.
"Though you opened the Door of Time to stop him, Ganondorf used the opportunity to conquer all of Hyrule, which now suffers under his cruel reign. Seven years have passed since Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm, and obtained the Triforce of Power. With the power of that piece of the Triforce, he was able to conquer Hyrule. Now, he seeks to crush the last vestiges of resistance. But, there is still hope. The power of the Sages remains. And, also….
"The mythical Master Sword is a holy blade, which evil beings cannot wield or even touch without being injured by it. It yearns to be wielded by a true Hero. Only a man whom the sword chooses, worthy of the title of 'Hero of Time', can pull the sword from the Pedestal of Time."
Link tensed, despite himself, struggling not to consult with Navi. It felt rather as if he were drowning, with water closing over his head. What, what, what?
"But, when you drew the Master Sword, you were too young to be the Hero of Time. Instead, your spirit was sealed in the Sacred Realm for seven years, until you were old enough. And, now that you are, the time has come for your awakening as the Hero of Time!"
It was too much. It was just too much. Rauru couldn't possibly mean…. He turned to Navi, crying out without meaning to, as he felt his knees give out from under him. Impossible.
"Navi!" he cried, desperate for any reprieve. He didn't know what to do, what to think, what to feel. This couldn't be happening. He found himself recalling his thoughts on the Great Sea. He'd had little occasion to think about them of late, too occupied with his quest to gather the last two Spiritual Stones. But, now—!
Now, what could he think? What could possibly be true?
"As the Hero of Time, you—"
"Shut up!" Navi cried, rounding on Rauru. "Can't you see he's in no proper state for your grand lecture on destiny and duty? He only just woke up!
"Seven years have passed; he's grown up, but you won't even give him just a minute to come to terms with how he's changed? You saw that he was awake, for barely even a few seconds, and what did you do? Immediately start lecturing him about responsibilities he never asked for—as if his sudden shift in circumstances isn't trial enough! No, straightaway you just load him down with information and tell him that now he has to go save the world! And all but blame him for what happened, while you're at it!
"He's just learnt that he's not what he always thought he was—you know that kokiris don't grow up usually—but do you give him a minute to get a grip on that? No! Why not give him a mythology lesson on the Sacred Realm and the temple of whatever instead! What do you think he is, an object? He's just had everything he believed turned on its head! Give him a minute! Give him a chance to get his bearings before you start dumping information and responsibility on his shoulders!
"To hell with that! We're not dealing with you, right now! He's my charge, which means his well-being comes first. We can listen to your all-important lecture, later. For now: just leave! Now! Go away, and leave us alone! I'll call you when we want to talk to you again, and you'd better not eavesdrop, or return before then! Do you hear me!"
Rauru blinked, as if stunned, vanishing in a yellow beam of light, but Link was barely aware of it, barely aware of even Navi's impassioned scolding, or the way she fluttered down to land on his shoulder. Such a light weight, now.
"Navi," he said, licking his lips. They seemed incredibly dry. Perhaps, it was the way that light danced in ripples across the blue floor of the Temple of Light, as it did on the waves of the Great Sea.
Oh, Goddesses Three. The Great Sea…. His mind was all a muddle, now. Rauru had just told him that he, Link Sylvanus, was the Hero of Time, the legendary figure who was his ancestor. Or perhaps, merely the ancestor of some stranger into the future who shared the same name? Or worse, some figment of his imagination, a non-existent, more successful Hero of Winds, who didn't yet exist, nor ever would? What was he to think?
"Navi," he began again, unsure if she had said anything, unaware that he was interrupting her attempts to help him, focus narrowed to the ground upon which he knelt, clutching the edges of the platform on which the symbol of the Triforce was engraved. "Was it real? Is this real? Is anything real?"
She knew what he meant, and he sent a quiet prayer to Farore as thanks for her very existence.
"I stand by what I said before," Navi murmured, as if Rauru might be listening. "I think it was real. You told me all sorts of things a kokiri couldn't possibly know. And, you described and drew the Master Sword, which none have seen millennia gone. I believed you then, and I believe you now. But…this does change things."
He gave a terse, rough laugh. "That's quite the understatement, Navi." Now, he noticed how different his voice sounded—deeper than it had ever been on the Great Sea—if that had even been he. He had to adjust to a new voice all over again. A new body, a new form, a new voice. At least he had some experience with the substance of being seventeen, whatever its origins.
"Who am I, Navi?" he asked, pulling himself to his knees that he might rest his head in his hands, crushing his cheeks with the unfamiliar soft leather of the kokiri gauntlets. "Who am I? Am I what Rauru said, the Hero of Time? Am I that boy who traveled the Great Sea, vanquishing Ganondo—Ganon's minions, to save my sister? Who am I?"
Navi sighed, taking flight to hover before his face, her own turned away to the side, as if thinking. "I don't know, Link. That's something you have to figure out on your own. I'm sorry. We can talk it over later. I know you'll need to talk about this. Quite the shock to wake up to, isn't it?
"Perhaps, the Hero of Winds is your reincarnation…and you received a vision of your own future. But, you might be able to make use of anything you learnt on the Great Sea, regardless. We'll figure this out, together. I promise. No matter who it turns out that you are, know that I will help you. But, if you're ready, for now, let's humour that old man. He's a bit like Kaepora Gaebora, isn't he?"
Link gave a tight, strained smile to her, in response. He bowed his head, bracing himself on his hands, resting on the sign of the Triforce. The Hero of Time, according to the legend, had possessed Courage. Could it mean that he (if that was the proper pronoun) had possessed the Triforce of Courage? Link's own previous experience suggested that that was the case.
Hero of Time…that would take more than a little getting used to. He stared fixedly at the floor. "I'm ready, Navi," he said, taking a deep breath.
Navi's glance in his direction was full of concern and warmth, and he took comfort in it despite his inner turmoil. He needed a prolonged dungeon trek to work through his thoughts.
"Rauru! Get back in here, old man! Go over that stuff you already said, and go slowly this time, alright? Apparently, we've both been asleep for seven long years."
The man in the brown robe reappeared, and Link managed, at least, to pinpoint the familiarity of that broad moustache. Kaepora Gaebora, the owl, also long-winded, also all in brown.
"Are you an associate of the owl, Kaepora Gaebora, by any chance?" Link asked, without stopping to think. The man cocked his head at what Link thought was probably at least a forty-five degree angle.
"The owl that has guided you on your quest is my earthly avatar, my reincarnation in the world below."
Oh. Reincarnation was, for the moment, a topic Link wanted to avoid.
"Ah. Well, how about you tell us again what my responsibilities are. How can I save Hyrule? Where's Princess Zelda?"
Rauru nodded his head. "Seven years have passed since Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm, and obtained the Triforce of Power. With the power of that piece of the Triforce, he was able to conquer Hyrule. Now, he seeks to crush the last vestiges of resistance. But, there is still hope. The power of the Sages remains. And, also….
"The mythical Master Sword is a holy blade, which evil beings cannot wield or even touch without being injured by it. It yearns to be wielded by a true Hero. Only a man whom the sword chooses, worthy of the title of 'Hero of Time' can pull the sword from the Pedestal of Time."
"But, when you drew the Master Sword, you were too young to be the Hero of Time. Instead, your spirit was sealed in the Sacred Realm for seven years, until you were old enough. And, now that you are, the time has come for your awakening as the Hero of Time!"
He bowed his head to Link, and continued. "As the Hero of Time, you have the responsibility of awakening the other Sages, who live in various locations throughout Hyrule. Ganondorf conquered Hyrule by corrupting the purity of the Sacred Realm, poisoning the five earthly temples, and filling them with monsters. These evils spilt from the temples into the physical world. Monsters worse than any ever seen flooded the fields and open places of Hyrule, and especially the Temples.
"But, there is still hope! We Sages still have the power to stop him! When all of the Sages are awakened, the Sages' Seal will bind the Evil King and seal him away here, in the Sacred Realm. Nothing of sanctity remains here now, bar this sacred Chamber of Sages, and the Temple of Light. I am the first of the Sages: Rauru, the Sage of Light. As you awaken the other Sages, their strength will be added to yours, and to the Master Sword. Your ability to join forces with the Sages makes you the Hero of Time, chosen by the Master Sword!
"Now, take this medallion, the Medallion of Light, and return to Hyrule. As long as you carry this medallion with you, my spirit and power will be added to yours. Awaken the other five Sages, and save Hyrule!"
Rauru thrust his arms over his head, and a ball of yellow light formed, solidifying into a shining coin with the familiar sign of light engraved into it.
Rauru made a pushing motion at it, and the medallion arced over to Link's hands, raised to mimic Rauru's movement. He stared at the symbol graven into it, which he had asked Navi about what seemed mere hours ago. Seven years? He could hardly comprehend the idea.
As he stood there, the medallion hovering over his hands—about the same size as his hands—the world began to fade into blue light, which sprang up in a beam around him.
He quickly sent the medallion to his inventory, as the blue beam of light lifted him up. Then, he was standing in darkness, the darkness of the ceiling of the Chamber of Sages, but below him, far below, he could see solid ground. Except that it was all grey, and, as he could see when he came closer, made out of stone bricks. And wasn't that a set of hexagonal steps, leading up to a trapezoidal pedestal…? Oh. He was back in the Temple of Time.
The light set him gently down before the Pedestal of Time, and he stared at it, amazed all over again at how far below him it now stood.
"Well, Link. I think perhaps we should set aside some of the items meant for children to use. Some of the things in your inventory won't work for you, now that you're an adult. Have seven years really passed? They must have. Well, let's get out of here, and find out what's happened!"
Link nodded, heading for the still uncovered passage leading back to the altar. He was almost to the door when he heard a muffled noise, as something light falling onto stone. He whirled around, drawing the Master Sword from the new sheath at his side, and the hylian shield from his back, anticipating Ganondorf being there to welcome him upon his return to Hyrule…and consciousness.
Instead, he saw a stranger standing in front of the Pedestal of Time, where Link had stood to draw the Sacred Sword. The figure was about his own height, with straw blonde hair mostly covered by some gauzy wrap, perhaps bandages. Brilliant red eyes calmly appraised him, calling attention away from the strip of thick cloth covering the newcomer's lower face. The stance was somehow both relaxed and ready, arms crossed, legs spread apart, braced for flexibility, and to absorb the impact of an attack, whilst leaving mobility enough to counter. A warrior's pose, if a warrior at rest. But, how had that figure come to be there? The room had been empty when the blue light had deposited him before the pedestal.
"I've been waiting for you, Hero of Time," said the figure in tight blue clothes, and something about that voice…and something about that posture, made him think that things weren't quite as they seemed, although his mind was still a bit muddy.
"I am Sheik, survivor of the sheikahs. And, I will be your assistant on your quest."
The voice, although pitched lower than that of any woman he had heard before, lacked the timbre and resonance of a man's voice. That was a woman, standing there, who had somehow slipped past them, into the inner sanctum of the temple. He had to hand it to her. She must be tough, and skilled.
And, that disguise…it was very well done. He found himself thinking of Tetra, and cocked his head, but gave a small smile, regardless. Probably not a foe, if she hadn't attacked yet. Still, what an uninspired name. "Sheik" of the sheikahs? Either her parents had lacked originality, or….
Link abandoned that path of thoughts for the moment, fixing his concentration on Sheik, examining her as he suspected she was examining him.
"As I see you there, holding the legendary Master Sword, you really do look like the legendary Hero of Time. I'm quite impressed."
Link looked down at the ground, considered sheathing the sword, decided against it, even as he continued to watch Sheik, who hadn't budged from the Pedestal.
He walked slowly towards her, still with sword and shield drawn and ready.
"When evil rules all, an awakening voice shall sound from the Sacred Realm, calling those chosen to be Sages, who reside in the five earthly temples. One in a deep forest…one on a tall mountain…one under a vast lake…one within the house of the dead…one inside a goddess of the sand…. Joined by the Hero of Time, they will seal the evil away, and return light to the land. That is the legend of the five temples, as told by my people, the sheikahs.
"If you believe the legend, you should head to the Sacred Forest Meadow. There, the first of the Awakening Sages waits for you. She is a girl whom I believe you must know. But, because of the evil pervading Hyrule, she cannot hear the awakening voice. If you believe the legend, then you should go help her….
"But…you can't even enter the temple equipped as you currently are. There is a relic of oldentimes that lay buried beneath Kakariko Village. It came into the possession of the gravekeeper years ago. It will enable you to enter the temple. You should head there first. I will wait for you. You will find me here, if you return, until you have defeated the boss of the Forest Temple and awakened the Forest Sage. I will know. Well, do what you think is best, Sylvanus. I have offered my advice."
Link backed up, keeping Sheik in sight. She made no move to attack, merely watching him. That most of her face was covered hid any response she might be having to his odd behaviour. He replaced shield and sword at their respective locations on his back, and at his side.
"Why are you helping me?" he asked, trying not to sound overtly suspicious or hostile. Mostly, he questioned why anyone would fight on the losing side of a war.
"The sheikahs are the loyal allies and servants of the Royal Family of Hyrule. Ganondorf does not command our regard."
She nodded to him, and he turned to Navi, biting his lip, before turning back to face Sheik. "The Royal Family? Then…do you know Princess Zelda? Did she send you?"
Sheik bowed her head, looking down and away, in the direction of the Medallion of Water. "You might say that," she said, after a prolonged pause. Link's heart rate quickened at the thought of someone standing near who was living proof that he hadn't failed everyone that fateful night. Perhaps, the Princess of Hyrule had survived.
He ran towards her, stopping at the base of the steps, curbing the impulse to come closer, lest he frighten his only informant off. "Then, how is she? Is she safe? Ganondorf hasn't got her, has he? Please tell me she survived, that she's still well."
Sheik's protective head-coverings didn't hide the way her eyebrow rose at the sudden inquisition.
"Fear not. The princess still lives. Hyrule is not safe for her, at the moment. But, when the last of the Sages has been awakened, you might yet meet her again. I am surprised you show such…loyalty…to the woman who caused you so much suffering."
He cocked his head, brow furrowed, lost for a moment in the idea of Zelda, the girl he had met seven years ago, as a grown woman, older than either of his selves. Then his mind caught up, and he folded his arms before him. "Hey!" he said. "You can't speak of the Princess that way! She hasn't caused me any suffering, and even if she had, she didn't mean to…. I know her!
"Whatever your personal quarrel is with her, let me tell you this: she's my friend. Of course, I'll stay true to her. No matter what may have come as a result of her good intentions, I know that her intent, at least, was good. She's less to blame than I for what happened, but this…everything that happened. This is the work of Ganondorf. Don't go laying blame on her! This is on Ganondorf's head, not ours, and I won't have anyone speak ill of her!"
Her eyes widened, fluttering open and closed rapidly, taking in the new information.
"Forgive me. I have been very rude to you. I meant no offence…only, others than you might be…angered…at the loss of seven years of their lives, and a dreary, hopeless destiny to rescue Hyrule. Truly, it is a daunting task that faces us. Perhaps, you will change your mind about the damage she has wrought in even your life, once you have seen what remains of Hyrule, and attempted to live in it."
Link gritted his teeth, but had to concede that Sheik had a point: he hadn't seen yet what had become of Hyrule in his absence. He bowed his head in acknowledgement. If Sheik were truly on his side, he couldn't afford to alienate her.
"Then, I will go to Kakariko Village," he said, bowing to her. "Thank you for your assistance, Sheik."
She gave him a curt bow in return, leaving him to make his way back out of the Temple of Time in peace.
Outside, the world was covered in dusky twilight. A ring of fire gleamed around the summit of Death Mountain. Debris was clearly visible from here, with no sign of the former keep of Hyrule Castle; instead, a tall tower soared into the sky.
He ran past the row of gossip stones, and skidded to a halt in the charred, broken remains of the market, now swarming with redead. He pulled out the Ocarina of Time, which no longer dwarfed his hands, but sat comfortably in them. He hastened to play the Sun's Song, and the monsters, thankfully, froze just as they had before, in the chamber beneath the graveyard.
Which was fitting for a reminder, for that was whither he was heading now.
He found the exit to the market, running across the old causeway connecting the drawbridge to the marketplace, thence across the broken drawbridge to a still bright, sunny Hyrule Field. Perhaps, it was all a nightmare.
"Well, what do you think of Sheik, then?" asked Navi, as if they were only now out of her hearing. Link paused, looking around the ordinary-looking Field. He shrugged.
"She seemed sincere enough to me. She didn't try to attack us, at the very least, and she claimed to have been sent by Zelda—"
"'She'?" Navi repeated, and he turned to cock his head at her, inquisitive. "You mean Sheik was a girl?"
Link blinked at her several times. "I would think that you, being female yourself, might have recognised that fact. I mean, it's a good disguise, and I understand why a woman might want to conceal that fact in troubled times, but…."
"Hmm. Well, since it's slipped your mind, maybe I should remind you of something, Link," Navi said, settling on his shoulder again when she saw no pressing threats. "We can check at least part of Sheik's warning."
He frowned, turning to face her as best she could, but this was unfortunately hard to do with her sitting on his shoulder. He glanced in the direction of Death Mountain. What point was Navi trying to make?
She sighed, crossing her arms, and huffing. "Saria taught you a song, enabling you to keep in touch across great distances."
Link slapped his forehead, as the knowledge came to him. He'd had so many things to think about since he'd last contacted her….
He withdrew the Ocarina of Time, sitting down on the remains of the guideposts for the drawbridge, and began to play the lively melody of the forest.
"Link? Is that you? You're safe! Oh, thank goodness! When you didn't return, seven years ago, I feared the worst…. Things have been hectic in the Forest since you left, but recently, I was playing my ocarina in my special place, and the forest spirits were begging for my help, so I went into the Forest Temple…but it's full of monsters. Please help me, Link!"
Her voice abruptly cut out, and, regardless of who it might turn out that he was, he couldn't deny the sudden clenching in the region of his heart at the thought that she might have been harmed. He resisted the urge to reopen the connection, trusting that if she'd been in any immediate danger, he would know, and the best he could do to help her would be to hurry and acquire whatever item Sheik had been talking about.
With renewed determination, he put away the ocarina, and stood.
He turned left, heading for the bridge across Zora's River, to Kakariko Village, turning over Sheik's odd behaviour and guiding words, as he sensed that Navi was also doing. For now, he had to focus on the task at hand. Otherwise, the entire situation would drive him mad.
He arrived in Kakariko Village at dusk, which was just as well. It enabled him to pass unnoticed through the much grander, larger town, filled with new buildings, including the Shooting Gallery from the market, and several apothecaries that claimed to be closed until morning. That he was able to withdraw the still clucking cucco from his inventory suggested that time passed differently in his storage room, or perhaps not at all, and thus, his seven-year-old milk was still good, which was a very strange thought. He wondered what had become of Lonlon Ranch, and resolved to stop by there once he had saved Saria. He owed it to Kokiri Forest, perhaps the place where he had been raised (he was unsure of everything, anymore) to save it, first.
He headed for the graveyard, and didn't see Dampé making his rounds. He did, however, see a few poes patrolling the cemetery. He'd assumed, before, that their appearance was the result of a grave being disturbed but…perhaps, Ganondorf's power enabled them to walk the land outside of punishing trespassers.
He walked down the rows, looking for Dampé's name. Finding it, he pulled aside the triangular stone slab, to reveal a deep passageway underneath.
The yellow beam of light set him down in the entryway to a maze, where a familiar figure floated near the entrance.
"Welcome, young man! Heh…you seem as if you'd be fast on your feet. How about a little race! If you can keep up to me, without falling behind, I'll give you my keepsake! How about it?"
Without waiting for Link to answer, off he floated, through the entrance to the maze, as Link ran after him to keep up. Flames fell from the torch the dead gravekeeper held in his hand, which Link had to dodge, in addition to trying to keep up with the surprisingly fast gravekeeper. Occasionally, they would pass through a doorway, and it would close behind him, showing what Dampé meant by "keep up". In one distracting chamber, the low, eerie moans of redead filled the air, and despite himself, Link stopped. But, he shook himself, and pressed on, not daring to take the second it would require to withdraw the Ocarina of Time to play the Sun's Song.
Eventually, however, Dampé led him up a steep ramp bounded by a wall to the left, and a bottomless pit to the right, to a door flanked by two torches. Despite still having to dodge those flames, Link made it to the door as it was starting to close, but he took a moment to pause at the other end, before running further into the tiny chamber that lay beyond. Beyond that point, a narrow shaft led downwards.
"Ah, well done, young man! You certainly did keep up well. Feel free to visit me anytime. It gets lonely down here! And take my stretching, shrinking keepsake, as well!"
He reached into his pocket, and tossed a familiar item to Link. This was the hookshot, all right. It was just as Link remembered it, at least at first glance, but it was shinier, less rusty, and the chain was much shorter. Still, he knew the blue handle, and the spinning wheel, at once.
"It's the hookshot," he told Navi, who nodded as the ghost disappeared in blue flames. "I…. He…. Is there anything…?"
He frowned, hands on his hips, unsure of what he even wanted to say. "I probably don't know how to use this, either," he at last decided to say, as he continued down the shaft, which emerged into a cylindrical area with a rotating…thing…in the middle. The thing was made of wood, and thus Link aimed the hookshot at it, turning the knob to spit out the chain, and letting the hookshot carry him to the wooden spinning pole. He could see that there was a disc for a base, endlessly rotating beneath him, as he fell onto it. It was spinning so slowly that Link wasn't concerned about getting off.
On a plank of wood over against a wall, a man with a phonograph on his back turned the winch to work it in a constant strain. He glowered at Link as Link approached.
"You! I can't believe you show your face here again, after what you did to the Windmill, seven years ago!"
What? Now, Link was mystified.
"What…I did to the windmill…are you sure you're talking about me?"
The man huffed, scowl deepening. "Of course! You played that song on the ocarina, and sped up the windmill…now it's almost no fun anymore. I'll never forget that song. Maybe this will jog your memory."
He began to crank out the melody on his phonograph, a swift, somehow mysterious melody, which echoed all around the room as if it were a song of the land. Another song of power.
Link pulled out the Ocarina of Time, and the man crowed, "Aha! See! I knew it was you!"
Which meant…something. Perhaps that he, as the Hero of Time, would someday be able to go back in time, to play this song, speeding up the windmill, and upsetting this man (although why he would do such a thing, he had no idea). But…this man, he had taught Link the song…but only knew that song because Link had taught it to him, by playing the song here in the Windmill, seven years ago….
Every part of the situation was a colossal headache. Link settled for following along with the melody on the ocarina. That a miniature thunderstorm started, indoors, as he played the tune, lent an idea for a name for the song to him—the "Song of Storms". The soaked phonograph-player leveled a fierce glare at him, and Link raised his empty hands in a gesture of helplessness, backing out the door.
Now that he had the hookshot, he had to decide how to return to the Lost Woods. It was inevitable that he return to the Lost Woods, and Kokiri Forest, first. That was the home of a Link, at least. Perhaps, it was even his home, which was a strange thought, as all his recent thoughts seemed to be.
If he climb Death Mountain to Goron City, he'd feel obligated to assist the gorons in whatever troubles faced them, before returning home. There was, further, no way of knowing if the old path up the mountain, or the tunnel leading to the Woods, were even still accessible. Zora's River was a much more strenuous and lengthy trek which faced much the same problems.
He knew that he must return, someday, to Goron City, and to Zora's Domain, but also felt that he had to start, once again, in the Lost Woods, as Sheik had said. For one thing, he hadn't checked on his home in seven years and he knew that Impa was right—if he didn't go back, he would be thinking about it. It was, in a way, his fault that they faced these threats now, as it was. After all, if he'd saved the Deku Tree a bit sooner….
That vein of thought would lead him nowhere. The point was, his best option was to return home via the long route.
As he decided this, he had already descended the stairs, and crossed the long courtyard near the entrance to town, as if he'd decided even before he'd made his decision. Navi and he shared a pensive silence for a few minutes, as they took a moment to in silence ponder what might have become of the clock soldier of Kakariko Village, who had once announced the time, and told them where to find the graveyard. Slain in Ganondorf's coup? Fled to another town? Retired, or with a change of occupation?
Link spent the night in the courtyard, where the carpenter's son had once rested all night under the lone tree in the courtyard's heart.
"Say, Link," said Navi. "Have you decided who you are yet?"
Link took a moment to appreciate how strange that sentence would sound out of context. Outside of plays, people rarely had an opportunity to choose their own identities. Then, he shook his head, looking away from his cooking fire, which was working on cooking a cucco egg.
"It is a bit overwhelming, I suppose, but you'd best decide soon. You won't have forever to come to terms with this new destiny either way. You need to understand yourself before you set to trying to understand the threats that lie before you. Was there something that gave you particular pause?"
It was as if she knew—but then, he had told her the shortest version of the island legend. "It's the entire thing. The Wind Waker—if I am not he—went on a quest to defeat Ganondorf, because the Hero of Time—who I may or may not be—failed to contain him, despite gaining the reputation for it. If I am the Hero of Time, and I am not the Hero of Winds, then my descendant's suffering is because of my own failure. If I am the Hero of Winds, and not the Hero of Time, then I am living someone else's life, and fulfilling someone else's destiny—and setting the stage for the creation of the world I know. And, if I'm both—the only other plausible option—well, isn't that just a tangle on its own? I'd be my own descendant, and ancestor, with nothing else said."
"Well," Navi said, choosing now to be her most sensible. "There's nothing to say that you aren't the descendant of another Hero of Time, in another world, and came to be the Hero of Time in this one."
He was shaking his head before she finished. He'd known all along that this was his own world. He'd hedged around the thought of them being multiple worlds, but shied away from the idea of them being disparate times even more, sensing, in whatever subterranean chamber of his mind already knew the truth, that this was his own familiar world. But, this was Hyrule, the Land beneath the Waves, spoken of in legends. This was the world that the Goddesses Three had drowned. He'd known, almost from the very start. He just hadn't wanted to admit it to himself.
It was just the same as that trek across the Great Sea…and he still hadn't told Navi about that, had he?
"There's something else I didn't tell you, before. It was too much, on top of everything else. But…when I (or he) was traveling the Great Sea, there were times when he (when I?) thought he might be the reincarnation of the Hero of Time. But, he thought it was just vanity, just vainglory, just arrogance. There couldn't be any real weight to the thought, nor merit. It was just a fantasy. But….
"What we're saying—it would mean that he (that I—that we) were right, despite the odds. If I am both. But, I might be only the Hero of Time. The one who failed."
"You know," Navi said, slowly turning the thought over, drawing it out as if tasting it for herself, first. "Mightn't it be possible that this experience on the Great Sea was a prophecy, a premonition, a warning, to show you what would happen if you fail to defeat Ganon properly? Then, you could prevent tragedy and an apocalypse by your actions now. Doesn't that strike you as a better way to move forward? You could take strength from the assumption that you can help save the world from becoming what you saw…."
"But, to make up an entire life history, an entire life, that, and that of my (his?) family—no, I think there's more to it. I think it's inevitable, and perhaps even the best outcome, where the worst is Ganondorf's world conquest, and his crushing all hope by obtaining the full Triforce. Perhaps, you're right, Navi. Perhaps, I can ensure that Ganondorf is defeated here, once and for all, that he never become the Ganon who ruled the Great Sea. But, what if I fail? What if the reason 'The Hero did not appear' is because I returned to my own time?"
"Then, you come back as the Wind Waker, and save the world again. I'm sure, however, that no matter what is true, you did your best."
Such discussions were not conducive to good restful sleep, but at least nightmares of lowering drawbridges and riders on horses did not return to him.