Lake Hylia's calm waters were as opalescent as the inside surface of a seashell—a blurry mix of blue, grey and gold in the fading light. It had been—years?—a long time since Dark last gazed at the sacred lake, but the impression of peace and serenity was as strong as ever.

On her shores, the residents and guests of Zora's Domain were camped in temporary homes, as close to the water as possible. After the attack on their home, they were scattered and scared, but resilient and confident their home would soon be rebuilt. He'd always admired the Zora for their steadfast and adaptable natures. Facing the storms of life as easily as the calm, accepting that nothing stayed the same, and change was just on the horizon.

He'd come to expect and accept change, but he was more the cynical sort, having seen more storm than calm, it seemed. As he watched a gaggle of zora children laughing and splashing each other in the shallows, he tried to summon some optimism about their situation and came up with little. Any way he looked at it, things were a confused mess.

Dark turned away from his observation of the far shore and shot an exasperated look at the one zora he wasn't sure about. Next to him, Jeim sat on the edge of the island in the middle of the lake, dipping his finned toes in the water. By zora standards, Jeim was still quite young, so around his own age in Hylian years. They'd met in Hyrule's southern province during what Dark had come to term his wandering years and had become unlikely friends.

"You seem chipper," Jeim said, his brow wrinkling as he raised a nonexistent eyebrow. It made the dark blue tattoos inked from the zora's temples and along the sides of his headfin move like waves.

"There's a lot on my mind," Dark said, ignoring the curiosity in his friend's voice.

"That was clear when you showed up. But I know you didn't ask me on this little walk just to see how I was doing."

Dark sighed and tugged off his boots. Maybe Jeim had the right idea. He dropped his feet into the water, letting the lake's coolness soothe him. "I did want to see how you are. It's not every day you're attacked by a madman and nearly killed."

Jeim shrugged. "To be honest, aside from the fact I'll never get those shadow monsters out of my nightmares, the attack wasn't that bad. Sounded like it was worse for you." He frowned at Dark. "How are you after coming face to face with the madman? I can't imagine that was a good reunion."

Dark stared at the water without answering for a moment. "Part of me isn't surprised he survived," he replied. "The cynical part of me warned me he would come back someday. Now that the day is here?" He shrugged. "I thought I would feel this sense of heroic urgency, I guess, but mostly I feel tired."

Jeim's mouth curled up. "I think even heroes are allowed to feel tired of fighting."

Dark chuckled wryly. "I'm not sure I fall into that category. To be honest, with Alatar slinking off to his hideout, I'm more concerned with other recent events."

He'd filled Jeim in on the message from Nabooru about his mother being alive, and the other recent developments he could share since his return to Hyrule. The last month and a half felt like a year in his mind, with everything that had happened.

"You're still thinking of going to search for your mom?" Jeim asked now.

"Yes." Seeing his friend's mouth twist with doubt, he asked, "What?"

"It's just weird."

"What's weird?"

"This message from your dead dad…" he said carefully. "It's weird. It's just the timing of it. And as far as I know, the dead don't usually communicate that directly."

Dark frowned. Jeim wasn't the most spiritual person, even if he was a zora, who were in general a highly spiritual people, but his doubts scratched at the back of Dark's mind. "It was a message to the Sage of Spirit from my father's spirit."

"I'm not saying you can't trust the message's source, I'm just saying it seems off to me."

Dark had always known Jeim to be the sort of person to rely on impulse and the desires of the moment more than anything else, but his instincts had never proven wrong. The fact that his zora friend's words unearthed the doubts he'd been harbouring was also troubling.

"It does feel like there has been too many coincidences lately," Dark admitted. "Ever since I came back to Hyrule, it's been one thing after another."

"You're welcome to come back to the beach house," Jeim offered magnanimously, leaning back and stretching his arms above his head while a wide smile stretched his lips. The thought of the beach house, far on the southern shores of Hyrule, brought a smile to Dark's face. Years ago, when Dark had been a wandering vagrant, Jeim had opened his home to him. There were times he missed the simple days of living by the seaside with his friend.

Dark laughed. "Maybe after we avert the world-ending catastrophe?"

Jeim sighed. "Fine. You can come visit after you do the hero thing."

"It won't be me doing the hero thing. But I am going to get to the bottom of all these recent mysteries. Including whatever really happened to my mother."

"Hey, despite the slimy feeling at the back of my neck, I am hoping you find her."

"I know." It was Dark's turn to sigh. "I haven't figured out yet how to tell Link. Or how to ask Silas to come with me."

As always when he brought up Silas' name, Jeim's expression shuttered.

"I would ask you to come too, if I thought it was fair," he assured Jeim.

Jeim snorted and leaned back on his elbows "What? It's unfair to ask me to help my friend because I'm not a handsome, charming, sword-wielding behemoth? That's fine; I'd rather stay here and swim anyways."

Dark waited until Jeim looked at him again. The zora dropped his head back with a theatrical groan. "What?"

"I am asking for your help. I figured you'd want to avoid the more dangerous parts, though."

Jeim's brow wrinkled again. "Are you saying it's going to get dangerous?"

"It might."

Jeim blew out a breath. "Then at least you'll have someone else there who cares enough to save your stupid life when you inevitably rush into danger."

Rather than deny his observation, Dark fought a smile. "I'll promise to be careful."

Jeim looked as though he only half-believed him. "How is Silas, by the way?"

Dark shrugged. "Fine. Probably wishing by now he didn't stubbornly insist on coming with me back to Hyrule." At Jeim's incredulous expression, it was his turn to ask: "What?"

"I see you're still blind as well as stupid," the zora muttered.

"What do you mean?"

Jeim glanced at him as if he'd just admitted he didn't know how to add two and two. "You and I both know why Silas came with you. And why he'll agree in a heartbeat to help you look for your mom."

Dark let out a groan. "Not this again."

"You should probably tell him how you feel before you die saving the world."

"I'm not going to die, and there's nothing to tell him," Dark insisted, ignoring the mocking words in his head he was sure came from Kai, his shadowy inner self.

Jeim shrugged, pillowing his hands under his head. "Fine. Ignore my instincts and my advice, see how far you get." He shot him a devilish grin, his seafoam green eyes bright with amusement. "It'll be fun to watch you make an ass of yourself. Although most people get to watch that show every day for free."

Dark kicked, splashing him, but since water was as natural to Jeim as breathing, he ripped up a hunk of grass and sprinkled it over Jeim's wet skin so it stuck.

"I should go before you make more asinine observations," Dark said, pulling his feet from the water and bending to grab his boots. "Besides you need to wash off."

Picking at the grass with distaste, Jeim sat up. "Wait, before you go, take this." He lifted his hands and lifted the necklace he wore over his head. He handed the seashell pendant to Dark. "If you're serious about asking me for help, call into it. I'll hear it."

Dark took the necklace, feeling it hum with magic as soon as it touched his fingers. "Thanks," he said, meeting Jeim's now serious expression. "Really."

Jeim shrugged, returning to his devil-may-care smile. "Sure. What are friends for? Now hurry up and leave so I can go for a swim."

Dark glanced at the blue shorts Jeim wore, which he'd normally take off to swim. "Yeah, it would be a first if you're waiting for me to leave so you can strip. My retinas are permanently burned with the image of you naked."

Jeim grinned. "You're welcome." With that, he shucked the shorts, baring everything, and leapt into the water with a laugh.

Dark smacked one hand over his eyes and lifted the other to wave in Jeim's direction, seashell in hand. The sound of the zora's laughter echoed in his ears as he used a warping spell to bring him back to Castle Town.

Hyrule Castle

Lymira blew through the doors of Princess Zelda's study, agitation sweeping in her wake like a strong wind. She began to pace in the hallway, not even waiting for the door to close behind Silas before she began to curse audibly, uncaring if her royal highness heard.

"Everything okay?" Silas asked in his infuriatingly calm voice.

"Just peachy," Lymira bit out, turning to stalk down the corridor, needing a longer track on which to pace. "Just great."

The pair of them, so summoned by Princess Zelda, had been informed of the true nature of Link and the Sages and their history with Alatar. Then, they'd had the absolute gall to inform her not to worry, that they would be taking care of his threats. Over Lymira's dead body. Alatar had been her enemy first, and he would perish by her sword and hers only.

Correctly guessing the source of her agitation, Silas remarked, "You don't like being left out."

"No. I don't like being dismissed," she growled. "And no matter what she says, I am not going to stay out of it." She added, jabbing an accusing finger at the study door. Inside, Zelda, Link and the two Sages, Impa and Nabooru, were still talking.

Silas smiled, which piqued her ire further, until he said: "Of course you won't."

Her irritation ebbed. "Damn right," she agreed. "As soon as I figure out a way to drag him out of whatever shadowy world he's hiding in, I will take care of him myself."

A strange look crossed Silas's face, then it flickered back to a warm smile as he stared over her shoulder. Turning, she saw Dark striding up the corridor towards them, dressed in black pants, boots and a form-fitting leather tunic that hugged the contours of his torso, accentuated his wide shoulders. Lymira's inner voice let out a scoff and gave her a mental shake.

"How are the zoras?" Silas asked, when Dark reached them.

"Fine," Dark waved a hand. Drawing next to them, he took in their facial expressions, a wry smile twisting his mouth at seeing Lymira's pinched brows. "I take it you've been brought into the loop finally."

"And summarily dismissed." Lymira crossed her arms. "Apparently the big bad heroes don't need our interference."

Dark shrugged. "They've said as much to me, though I'm glad they finally listened to me and spoke to you both."

"It seems unwise to not use our help, given everything that's happened," Silas remarked. "And His Majesty is still recovering. Princess Zelda and your brother are stretching themselves too thin."

Dark sighed. "I agree, but like most younger brothers, he doesn't want to hear it from me."

"Well I don't plan to listen, either," Lymira said again. "They can't stop me from tracking down Alatar myself."

"He's hidden himself in the Dark World. Since I'm not sure where, it would be difficult to attempt a search, especially by myself," Dark explained, looking at Silas.

Lymira frowned in confusion. "How would you search the Dark World?" Her eyes lit with hope. "You know a way to cross over?"

Dark glanced at her, clearly having forgotten that she didn't know about his unique abilities. He cast a look around the corridor, making sure they were alone. Aside from the guards posted outside Zelda's study, they were.

"Maybe we should—"

"This way," Lym interrupted, grabbing both their hands and leading them further into the castle.

A few turns later, she dragged them behind a thick, heavy curtain that concealed a small alcove and window overlooking the gardens. Pulling them inside, she closed the curtains, cutting off anyone's view of them and muffling the sound of their low voices.

Dark looked at Silas, who nodded encouragement. He looked back at Lymira and explained his affinity for Shadow, and his ability to not only pierce the veil and enter the shadowy realm in between, but also to enter the Dark World at will.

"The Sages know I can do this. They hope I can use it to find Alatar," Dark continued. "Of course, it would be helpful for us to strike at him first wherever he is hiding, but I didn't think I could bring anyone with me when I moved between the veils, until I tested it with Link in the tunnel of ages yesterday."

"The tunnel of ages?" Silas asked, surprised. "You were there?"

Dark frowned. "Yes. We were looking for clues—"

Lym cut him off again. "What did you see?" she asked urgently.

Dark glanced between them again. "The mural. It showed new images of the Demon War and a dark, tainted Triforce. And when I managed to bring Link with me into Shadow, it was still changing, before our eyes…"

Lym shifted guiltily but said nothing. Their shared concern was amplified in the small space, smothering them.

"It might not mean anything," Dark supplied lamely. "Shadow is the element of change. It could be warning us of only one potential future."

Silas shivered. "Still creeps me out."

"If you can bring someone with you, shouldn't you be able to bring someone with you to the Dark World, then?" Lym asked. "Then we could find Alatar and finish him before he can carry out his plans."

"It's possible," Dark agreed. "But it's still dangerous. The Dark World is not somewhere I would choose to go, especially since Alatar will have the advantage."

At his last statement, Dark's expression became hooded. Silas shot his friend a sympathetic look. Another silent message had passed between them. Lymira frowned. What weren't they telling her? Was it about the curse on Dark?

"I don't like waiting for him to strike at us again," she grumbled. "It makes my sword hand itch."

"We don't have much choice," Dark said, a grim line tightening his mouth. "Our best chance is here, where he will be weaker and we can use all of our power and the power of the Sages together."

"That's if we convince them to let us help," Silas said.

"I'm working on that," Dark said. "In the meantime, I don't want to wait around for Alatar to show himself, and I…need your help with something else."

"Anything," Silas said. Dark gave his friend a small smile.

"With everything that's happened, I haven't had a chance to tell you about Nabooru's message…."

By the time Dark finished revealing this new bombshell, Silas' eyes were wide in disbelief.

"Your mother is still alive?! How is this possible?"

Dark shook his head, having trouble believing himself. "I'm not sure, but she seems very certain. Or rather, the ghost of my father does. But I have no idea where to even begin looking. He didn't exactly leave me a map. He just said she was in danger from Alatar and that we had to find her."

"Alatar must know where she is," Silas assumed.

"Or he's the one imprisoning her," Dark said, fury flashing across his face. "Either way, I plan to start searching for her. If it leads me to Alatar, too, then so be it."

"I want to come."

Both men turned to Lymira.

"Before you idiots even think of telling me no, just remember that I have a very sharp knife in my boot, and I enjoy using it," she warned. "Besides, you need my help to find your mother."

Dark, confused, asked, "How can you find someone when you don't know where they are?"

"Do you know the last place she was seen?" Lym asked, idly reaching into the collar of her shirt to retrieve the pendant from around her neck. Pulling it out from between her breasts, she saw both their gazes riveted on her chest. She rolled her eyes. "You two are impossible. I mean this," she shook the pendant for emphasis. The two men exchanged a wry look but dutifully examined the necklace she held in front of their faces.

"When Silas and I visited the tunnel of ages, I used it to try and find clues, as you did. I…accidentally uncovered images that had long been buried or painted over. That is the mural you saw. This pendant's magic uncovered it."

"What is it?" Dark asked, now looking at the pendant with interest and awe.

"My mother gifted it to me. It has been guarded by the Talus clan for centuries. We call it an 'essence of time'. It allows me to look into the past."

Hope flared in Dark's eyes. "If we can trace my mother's last known whereabouts, we might be able to follow her trail then…"

"That's what I'm saying." Lym stored the pendant back inside her shirt. "Do you know where she disappeared?"

"Not precisely," Dark said. "Unfortunately, I was separated from her, but I know she ended up somewhere near the Lost Woods. From there, I'm not sure."

"We'll need to try and narrow it down more."

"Is there anyone left alive who knew your parents?" Silas asked. "We can ask around."

"I don't want to involve Link just yet," Dark hedged. "I haven't told him about my plans. Other than him, there's Impa and my uncle, and I doubt he'll help me."

"Your father was a soldier, right?" Silas asked. "Surely there's someone still alive who might have known him. We can ask Lillian."

"It's worth a try," Lymira agreed.

Dark gaze passed back and forth between the two of them, cautious hope warring with gratitude in his expression.

"Thank you," he murmured. "Truly."

Lym smiled. "What are friends for?" She patted Dark's arm. "Come on, let's go find Lillian. Unless you two have something better to do."

She pulled back the curtain, beckoning them to follow. The two men exchanged one last wry look before following her down the corridor in the direction of the soldiers' barracks.

Lillian was in her office, speaking with one of her lieutenants when Dark, Silas and Lymira came in. Although she wasn't able to provide much help, she did give them the names of several retired soldiers who may have known Dark and Link's father, Naron. Without knowing where they lived and if they were still alive, however, they couldn't do anything with the clues. Lillian pointed them in the direction of Lord Baxtry, Elena's father, who had also served in the Hylian army in his youth and may have connections they could tap. He had also been a close friend of their mother's family at one point.

The three of them made a detour to Lymira's room at Hyrule Castle so Dark could write a short letter asking to meet with Lord Baxtry. After summoning Dagan, who would ensure it was delivered to Lord Baxtry's home as soon as possible, they gathered in Lymira's sitting room to discuss their plans. Unfortunately, Dark was realizing, it was time to do the last thing he wanted to do, which was involve Link.

Even if they tracked down someone who had known either of their parents, they still weren't sure where their mother, Shaiya, had disappeared. According to Link, he'd been told she brought him to the Lost Woods and asked the Great Deku Tree, the guardian spirit of the forest, to watch over him. She had then left the Lost Woods and was presumed dead. Their first problem was not knowing where she had left the Lost Woods, and so where to begin their search. The second problem was not knowing whether Lymira's pendant would be able to find Shaiya at all in the distant past, let alone follow her without a starting point.

"Maybe we can track her from farther back," Silas suggested, after Dark brought up this issue. "When did you last see her?" he asked, with a sympathetic look Dark interpreted to mean "sorry to bring this up."

"It was the night my father was killed," Dark said, pushing aside a rising tide of emotion to focus on the task. He flicked through his memories of that night, treating them as a slideshow of potential clues instead of a replay of some of his worst nightmares. "She was carrying Link. She tried to get me to go with her to the barn, but I wanted to turn back and look for dad…" he trailed off, closing his eyes to try and remember.

"We lost each other in the chaos, but I think she reached the barn. She must have gotten on a horse."

"It's possible we could find her if we search the village," Lymira said. "It's a smaller area to search at least."

"The village is gone," Dark sighed. "Completely. Only the graveyard is left, and I don't know if I would recognize where our house used to be."

"It's worth a try at least," Silas said, trying to be encouraging. "If you're up to it," he added quietly.

Dark looked first at him and then Lym. Their concern for him was touching, but this was their best lead so far.

"I'll be fine," he assured them. "I can warp us there so we don't lose time."

Standing, he held out a hand to each of them. Silas took his left and Lymira grasped his right. Magic flooded his veins, zinging up his arms and over his heart before zooming back into his fingertips to interlock with theirs with invisible strands. For them, the warping spell was over in a blink. For him, it allowed him a few endless seconds to look at the two people, now connected to him through his own magic as well. The warm green energy that suffused them made Lym's eyes glow even brighter than normal. They added shards of emerald and teal to Silas' normally blue ones. For a suspended moment, the three of them were attached to nothing, floating in space, holding on only by their hands. Then, they arrived in a meadow of tall, waving grasses, the shape of Death Mountain watching them in the distance.

A small wood waited nearby, the whitewashed bark of bare trees standing out amongst dried and brittle grass. The wind didn't howl so much as murmur, skating through the lonely landscape on its way to another place.

"This is it?" Lym asked, surprised.

"There's nothing left," Dark confirmed. "Just some gravestones over there." He jerked his chin towards the trees.

Lymira shrugged and tugged her coat closer, pulling out her necklace to hold it in her palm. She walked over to the neat rows of white headstones, each one bearing a name and short prayer for the departed souls. Each one was a villager who had perished in the attack so long ago.

More memories clung to Dark, threatening to drown him in another revisit of that night, but he focused on his present. The white headstones. The white trees. The lonely wind.

Silas read the gravestone bearing his father's name. "He was barely older than you when he died," he remarked, frowning. "Why would the Gerudo attack this village? It seems strange."

"It was my father," Dark explained. "Ganondorf met him on the battlefield during the war, and because of a prophecy he'd been told years before, he thought the dark-haired solider who'd bested him would be his downfall. So, he followed him here and killed everyone in the village."

Lymira stood up from where she'd been kneeling next to a gravestone. "How awful," she said, placing a sympathetic hand on Dark's arm. "I know that doesn't mean much," she added, frowning."

Dark gripped her fingers in his. Her hands were icy, so he used a small amount of magic power to infuse his own with heat. "It means a lot from you," he assured her. "I know you lost your family to similar senseless violence, too."

"Senseless is one word for it," she agreed, looking around at the graveyard.

"It was all in vain, I guess," Silas said, boots crunching as he walked through the dry, frozen grass. "Ganondorf's end was brought about anyways, by another dark-haired fiend." He shot Dark a wry grin.

Dark snorted softly. "I'm not sure I can take any credit for defeating him. I'm sure the Sages told you the whole story."

"They did," Silas said. "With Link throwing in your due credit."

Dark shook his head, hiding a smile. How like his brother.

"Maybe we'll be able to see a glimpse of her if we search here," he said, turning to Lym now. "I know you won't be able to see much but we can start at this spot and fan out, try to find where the buildings used to be."

Withdrawing her hands, Lym pulled out her pendant. In her palm, the magical object began to glow, enveloping the area around them in bluish light. The very energy in the air around them changed. Beyond the pendant's aura, the wind still disturbed the grass, but within and around them, all was still and quiet.

The circle of magic wasn't large, but it thrummed with effort, as if it was trying to reach farther, explore the memories imprinted on the physical space in different times. Lymira began to walk, taking the circle with her. It passed right over Dark and Silas without effect, but the magic was still visible to them.

Around Lymira's feet, the grass became green and full of life once more, twisting in different directions, spinning, hopping with insects and then decaying and dying once more before bursting back to green in a dizzying cycle. Seasons sped by with such speed it was difficult to tell whether Lymira was directing the pendant or whether the pendant was in control of their journey into the past.

Seemingly understanding its silent direction, Lymira wandered further west, away from the trees and back towards where the village of Tellura had once stood. A stone structure erupted into existence—a well, weathered with age and then less so, with a woman in plain clothes reaching to grab the bucket. Behind it came more buildings—houses, barns, silos, sheds, fences. And then people, animals, children, music, laughter.

All around Lymira and her pendant, the past had been restored. The essence of the village, the people who had once lived there remained still, caught in the mysterious flows of Time. And Lymira had unearthed it for them to see.

"She did it," Silas breathed. "I wasn't sure it would work…"

"It worked in the tunnel, didn't it?" she snapped back, proving she could both hear them and concentrate on her task.

"The tunnel of ages is deeply connected to the flows of Time," Dark said, "It's no wonder it responded as it did to your pendant. But out here, it's a little different."

So saying, the images began to grow fuzzy and indistinct. Their connection to the past was just a short window.

"I'll try to focus on your family specifically," Lymira said. "But I'll need you to come here. Take my hand," she instructed when Dark walked closer. He did so, allowing the pendant's seeking magic to find him as he summoned every thought he could remember about his childhood and his family.

Immediately, Lym walked further into the village, taking Dark with her. The images reformed, clear as day, then dissolving and reforming, showing them new shards of the past.

A young blonde Hylian woman sat on a rocking chair on the porch of a white house, holding an infant in her arms. Singing softly.

A black-haired boy played on the shore of the nearby river, trying to catch frogs with his bare hands.

The blonde woman ruffled the boy's hair, holding another baby in her arms.

A man wearing a Hylian soldier's uniform walked into the house's yard, his arm bandaged in a sling. Shaiya came running from the house, joyfully throwing her arms around the man and laughing, then chiding, when he stooped to pick her up and swing her around.

Shaiya and Naron working in the garden, the baby asleep in his sling across Shaiya's chest. A young Dark watched his father work, laughing at something he said.

"He looks just like you," Lymira said, breaking the spell of watching the memory.

Dark studied Naron's smiling expression as he glanced down at his young son. They did look remarkably alike. Less so now, thanks to the curse, his inner voice added bitterly.

The images changed abruptly. The idyllic scenes were drenched with darkness, bloodshed and fire as the past sped forward to the night of the attack. Lymira hurried to keep up with events as the images blurred and shifted. They caught a glimpse of Shaiya's bright hair at the back of the house. Clutching the baby to her chest, she searched frantically in the dark. Arrows thudded into the ground around her. She was being pursued. With one last desperate look back, she fled. Moments later, they saw another image of her on the back of a horse, galloping for the woods on the far side of the meadow.

The three of them chased her ghost across the meadow, but it vanished into the trees without a trace. The pendant stopped thrumming, the magic fading away until it lay dormant once again.

"We lost her," Lym said unnecessarily, frustration clear in her tone.

"She must have ended up at the Lost Woods somehow," Silas mused. "Though they are far from here."

"The Lost Woods don't obey the laws of reality," Dark said. "She might have ridden through here and ended up in the Lost Woods without realizing before it was too late." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "It's no use. I'll have to ask for Link's help."

Lym and Silas glanced at each other. "I know you're hesitant to," she tried. "But it's worth it, isn't it?"

Dark sighed. "He's not going to like my plan."

"Well, the Sages want us to mind our business and let them handle Alatar," Silas offered. "This way everyone is happy, right?"

Outwardly, Dark would agree. But his inner doubts kept him on tenterhooks during the short warping trip back to the castle and the walk to Link's office. He'd asked Silas and Lym to let him speak to Link alone, not that they would have asked to intrude.

He hesitated at the door, knocking lightly and taking a breath before opening it when he heard Link's assent to come on.

His brother stood at his desk, which was littered with haphazard stacks of reports. When he lifted his head, his lips breaking into a smile so like their mother's it froze Dark in place, he considered not telling him at all. But that would tear at the recently healed rift between them, and Dark didn't want to distance himself from what could be the last living member of his family he cared about.

So instead he went straight for the truth.

"I've found a way to find our mother."

Link's smile withered. "What?"

After Dark's explanation of Lymira's pendant, Link's expression was cautiously hopeful, but also held other, hidden emotions.

"I need to know how to find the entrance to the Lost Woods," Dark went on, already thinking of how to overcome any of Link's objections. "She must have gone through there, if she did survive. If we can find her, we can follow her to wherever she is in the present." He paused. "Or at least find out what happened to her so we don't have to wonder anymore."

Link's eyes fell to the scattered papers on his desk. "Part of me still thinks this is a hopeless mission," he admitted. "Or, worse, another of Alatar's tricks."

"If it is, we will draw him out of hiding then," Dark said.

Link glanced up at him then, and it struck Dark how tired and anxious he looked.

"I'll go with you," Link offered.

"No."

"Dark."

"You need to stay here, and we both know it. You're in danger. More importantly, Zelda is in danger, and she needs you here with her," he added, knowing the appeal would work.

Link sighed. "I don't like it."

"I'm not asking you to like it. I'm asking you to do what you do best and stay here to do the hero thing."

"Are you taking Silas with you?"

"And Lymira," Dark confirmed. At Link's surprised look, he shrugged. "I couldn't stop her from coming if I tried."

"At least you won't be alone."

Another unnamed emotion flickered across Link's face. Dark crossed the room to his brother's side.

"Have you slept at all?"

Link waved off his concern. "I'm fine. And I know you're right, but I still don't like it."

"You know if you need me, I'll come back. No matter what."

Link met his gaze. "I know. But it may be a good thing that you'll be out of Castle Town for a while."

Dark nodded at the discarded reports. "My shadowy copy again?"

Link sighed heavily. "It seems so. And now rumours are spreading through villages, into Castle Town and the court. I'm doing my best to keep you out of it but—"

"It doesn't matter," Dark interrupted, gritting his teeth. "I don't care what the court thinks of me. Focus on what's important."

Link lasered him with his gaze. "I am. But I will keep investigating all of this and keep looking for Alatar. If I hear anything, I'll let you know."

Dark didn't ask how Link would relay messages to him. He was engaged to one of the most powerful magic users in Hyrule. Surely, she would know a way.

"There's something else," Link said, irritation now furrowing his brow. "The Sages want me to ask you if its possible to use your powers to enter the Twilight Realm and attack Alatar wherever he is hiding."

"We both know it is. I brought you with me into Shadow in the tunnel of ages."

"We both know it's dangerous and foolish," Link argued. "I'm not going to tell them about our little experiment."

Dark blinked in surprise. "You're going to lie to the Sages and tell them I can't do it?"

"If they ask you to risk yourself by creating a portal to the Dark World, we both know you'll do it to ensure Alatar's defeat. I won't give them a reason to ask you."

At Link's hard stare, Dark raised an appeasing hand. "I would do it if I thought there was no other way. But believe me, it's not my preference."

"Good. Then don't say anything and let me deal with the Sages."

"As your older brother, I feel I should say something about the wisdom of this decision," Dark remarked.

"And as your younger brother, I feel I should ignore any advice you might give me," Link replied, smirking.

"This younger brother attitude doesn't suit you."

"Says you."

Dark chuckled. "Fine. I agree to keep my mouth shut. Now tell me what I need to know."

An hour later, Dark, Silas and Lymira were gathered at the outskirts of the Faron Woods, in the southeastern province of Hyrule.

Far from Castle Town, this was a short trip to test whether their theory about Shaiya's whereabouts was correct.

The sun was slipping dangerously low, causing the temperatures to plummet even lower. The indigo and pink-hued sky stained the forest with deep shadows, offset by the brightness of fallen snow. They were far from any main roads here, isolated from any villages. But it was here Link had said to go, to find the secret entrance to the fabled Lost Woods.

As directed, they walked for nearly an hour into the trees, right until the forest grew thick and overgrown. The thick blanket of snow muffled what little sound there was, until it seemed they had been plunged back into the soundless past Lymira's pendant had shown them.

"This should be it," Dark announced, looking for telltale landmarks Link had told him to watch out for. A tree with a limb bent just so. A large hollowed out log cutting through the undergrowth.

From his pocket, Dark pulled a carved wooden object. The ocarina was smooth from use, but the Kokiri leaf designs remained, giving the instrument a whimsical look. Link had claimed it would help them find the exact spot they needed. All Dark had to do was follow a simple, strange instruction: Follow the music.

Lifting the ocarina to his mouth, Dark tested it. It produced a soft, sweet sound that echoed hollowly from the wooden instrument. Slowly, Dark moved his fingers over the carved holes, playing the short, playful melody Link had taught him. He played a few verses to the silent woods, waiting for its response.

After breathless moments of waiting in the chill air, an echo of the same melody drifted back to them from somewhere in the trees.

"I don't believe it," Silas murmured, eyes wide.

"This isn't even the first magical thing you've witnessed today, and you find it unbelievable?" Lym teased.

"Somehow a magical pendant that can transport you to the past is more believable than an old, sentient forest that sings to you."

"Shhh," Dark admonished, straining to hear where the music was growing louder.

He walked through the hollowed-out log, following the notes where they seemed to originate. Just beyond the log was a perfect, circular clearing in the dense undergrowth. Here, the music echoed softly from all sides.

"Try the pendant," he instructed.

Lym pulled it out, letting the magic wash over the clearing. Instead of images flickering in and out, the memory they sought was yanked from the past straight into the present.

A woman stumbled out of the trees, bleeding from a wound in her side, staining her clothes and hands. She was so disheveled and bloody she was barely recognizable. It looked as though she'd crawled through the forest on her hands and knees.

She observed her surroundings through distant eyes, dazed and disoriented by her situation. She pressed her hand against her side, blinking at the blood staining her fingers. Shaiya dropped to her knees in the middle of the clearing, looking around, scratching at the grass beneath her. Her expression was so distressed, so mournful, it was heartbreaking. Her shoulders shook violently, and she began to sob, crumpling in on herself.

Dark watched the scene, his heart at once tearing in two and soaring with hope. She was alive.

She was alive. And now they could find her.