Prologue Concluded: The Breaking of Time
In the Tavern of Hera"In an age before recorded time, the Goddess Hylia and her valiant knight had battled the greatest evil to walk the Earth. Demise, the Arch-Demon of the underworld, had coveted the Power of Gold and attempted to take it by force. That heroic knight had been the only mortal to ever wield the Triforce."
"His wish had been for the Triforce to destroy Demise utterly, which it had done. Yet here, within this mortal: Gannondorf, festered the lingering power and hatred of the Demon King. Here, somehow, Demise still existed. As time stood still, the relic was brought into conflict with itself: To obey the Goddesses' command, it had to surrender its power to Gannondorf; the mortal who claimed it. Yet, the presence of Demise's essence left the knight's wish unfulfilled. Gannondorf had to be destroyed to fulfill its first holder's command; but the Power of Gold could not kill its own master." Explained the Elder.
"The perfect disaster..." muttered Ulric aloud.
"Y-yes, you are absolutely right." chuckled the old man. "The power of the Goddesses: confused and unable to satisfy its law. It is a very dangerous thing to imagine."
The dark swordsman sat up in his chair, and folded his arms in front of his chest, "So what happened? How did the Golden Power decide what to do?"
"Ahh... that is difficult to answer Master Ulric. What is known, is that the Triforce's power goes beyond the understanding of mortals. Even the Goddess Hylia herself could not see all things the Triforce was capable of. Only the power of the Great Goddesses of Old could over-match that of their creation." the old man replied, "What is not known, is what would happen if the Triforce was ever brought into conflict with itself. If some paradox were created that its consciousness could not satisfy, what would happen to Hyrule or its people? I am afraid no mortal man knows the answer to this question, young master."
Ulric remained silent, but his eyes narrowed into a deeply suspicious look. He sensed the old man was hiding something; some small detail that he didn't want to reveal.
The tension in the room quickly rose as he continued to glare at the old man, who now shuddered and shrank from the swordsman's fierce gaze. Renju, who busied himself cleaning the inn tables while listening to his grandfather's tale, now discreetly working his way behind the intimidating traveler and gripped the large knife he kept under his apron.
He could still remember the day the King's advisor had accused his papa of spreading heresy and commanded that his ear be taken as punishment. The bitter anger that smoldered inside of him, blazed with renewed fury when Ulric pressed for the forbidden tales. He would not allow this stranger to threaten his grandfather's well-being.
The innkeeper quietly began to wipe down the table behind his newest guest and gradually worked himself to within an arm's reach of the man's back.
He released the rag, and slowly lifted the knife; tensing himself to strike. "I will stab him through the back of the neck, killing him instantly." He reasoned, "It will be a quick death, without a struggle!"
Just as the timid innkeeper began to hold his breath to attack, Ulric suddenly shouted, "So! Life carried on!" and slapped his hands upon his lap.
The entire room jumped at his sudden exclamation. Renju - in the moment of shock - expected the man to whirl around with that brilliant sword and slice off his head. He stumbled backward over an empty chair, and crashed onto the floor.
The dark traveler slowly turned around on his seat to smile at the embarrassed innkeeper. "Y-y-your pardon Master Ulric, you startled me sir!" He babbled as he quickly scrambled to his feet and straightened the table and chairs he had just knocked over.
"Oh, I am full of surprises Master Renju! Don't ever forget that!" He jeered as he tossed the knife back to his host.
The innkeeper caught it, and stared down at it in complete bewilderment. How had the stranger gotten hold of his knife? A sudden bolt of fear shot through his heart as he looked up to see Ulric grinning broadly at him. "How does he know my name?!"
Ulric's smile only widened at the man's shock. He was immensely pleased with himself, and very much enjoyed sipping and savoring every ounce of their fear. "Now, why don't the rest of you head to bed hmm? This old tortoise and I have much more to discuss and I'm sure you are all becoming very tired." He offered. The men around the hearth absently set their mugs upon the floor and trudged their way upstairs without hesitation.
Inexplicably, Renju was overcome with a panicked desire to obey; to flee upstairs and not be near the dark stranger. For an instant, his legs began to carry him toward the staircase too… but a terrified whimper from papa… rooted him in place.
A faint glimmer of courage sparked up and began to take form. His mother and father had passed years ago from a fever and his sister lived far to the south, in the capitol. Renju was the only one that papa could rely upon – and he very much needed to rely on someone. He was quite old now, and growing frailer by the day. His eyesight was so poor, he could hardly make out the buildings of the village – even under the brightest sunlight.
He could not leave him, helpless and afraid of this dangerous swordsman. Despite the stranger's menacing influence, the innkeeper forced himself to remain in place, and folded his arms in defiance of his order.
Ulric's smile faded into an angered frown. He glanced back at the whimpering old man to find him leaning back on his stool with his hands raised to shield himself. The elder was panting very hard now and his clouded eyes were darting back and forth, desperately trying to find the coming attack.
The traveler carefully considered his options. He still had not found what he was searching for and if the old wiseman had a sudden attack; the knowledge he sought would be lost forever.
With a deep sigh, he commanded Renju to sit beside his grandfather. "If only to keep him steady." he added, muttering under his breath.
The innkeeper returned the knife to its sheath and brought a chair to sit beside his grandfather. The poor old man was badly shaken and quickly grasped at Renju's tunic. He reached over and wrapped his arm around him, "Shh, it's ok papa. I just tripped over a chair. It's ok now, there is nothing to worry about."
The elder was relieved that his grandson was alright, but the old man could sense the venom building in Ulric's voice. With every delay and interruption, the swordsman drew closer to violence.
"I-I'm sorry my boy..." he whimpered, "I should never have brought this upon you."
"Shh, hush now papa! It will be ok!" The grandson soothed as he gently squeezed his papa's shoulders, "All will be well."
The traveler watched all of this with complete apathy. He needed the wiseman's information and the old man had to live long enough to give it to him – that was all.
"So, Old Tortoise," He began again, "How did the Triforce decide?"
The elder shivered at the nickname, "N-none know, M-master Ulric. The thief obtained the Golden Power, and began the invasion. That is all that is written."
"But WHY?!" he shouted back, "How did the Triforce solve its confusion?!" The swordsman's eyes were - once again - wide and fierce with madness.
Though the elder could not see Ulric's face clearly, he could feel the grip of his grandson's hand on his shoulder – and he knew Renju was terrified. "N-none know, g-good sir," he stammered, but as his guest drew an angry breath through gritted teeth, he quickly added, "P-perhaps the command of the Goddess outweighs the command of a mortal master?"
The traveler calmly sighed and considered this theory. It was absurd of course. The Triforce's command to obey its mortal masters came directly from the Golden Goddesses; so, one command could not supersede another. Likewise, the command to never kill its own master, lest it be the master's direct wish to be killed, also came from the Goddesses.
After a few, quiet moments of consideration, he drew a long, deep breath, and slowly exhaled. "Well... it matters not," he began, returning to his soft non-threatening voice, "the great thief obtained the Golden Power."
The frightened old man, still clinging to his grandson, just stared at the blurred form of Ulric in silence. "Continue, please" He encouraged with another smile, "I wish to hear more of this legend."