The Downfall Timeline
Book 1
Chapter 24: The Grey Phantom
Mid-Day, January 31, 610 GK, The War of Imprisonment, Day 199
The Temple of the Forest, Lost Woods
The shadowy Kokiri pushed the great stone doors closed behind Link and crawled deeper into the temple. Though the boy did not believe that his companion had any violent intentions, he could not help but feel unsettled by the dark appearance of the temple interior.
Nearly all of the windows had become overgrown with ivy and allowed very little light to enter. The floors were dirt covered and many of the paintings and tapestries along the walls had faded or rotted away into nothing.
The temple was built like a fortress, with layers of bottle-necks after the initial entrance, to allow defenders to resist a large assault. A series of chambers opened and closed one after another along a long central hallway, which the two followed.
Soon, Link began to feel that this structure was not a temple at all - at least, not originally.
"Where are the Kokiri?" he asked, disappointed that no one had met them at the doors.
"This way." answered Mido impatiently.
They traveled for several more minutes through the empty structure, passing dimly lit chambers and overgrown courtyards, until they reached the main hall at the back. Mido pushed open a badly rotted door and entered, waving for Link to follow him.
The room was massive; tall, with stained glass windows near the ceiling, and shaped like a perfect octagon -eight sided. From the north, south, east, and west: four separate staircases descended to a polished stone floor in the center. The pair had entered from the southern entryway.
Link's companion quickly scampered down the stairs and crawled to the middle of the room. At its center, lay a large, square hole cut into the floor. In the gloom, the squire could not guess how deep it was, but it was certainly wide enough for a man to fall inside.
Remaining at the top of the stairs, he slowly scanned his surroundings. Something was wrong... No one had greeted them or challenged their arrival. Where were the Kokiri? Where was this 'Lady of the Forest'? Why did this 'temple' have such an ominous feel to it? Anxiety quickly replaced his curiosity and hope.
"Where are the Kokiri?" he asked his brother firmly, resting a hand on the hilt of his sword.
"They are here child." answered the voice of a woman.
Mido crouched on his haunches, hands splayed on the floor in front of him, as he faced his brother from the center of the room. Faintly, beside him, the spectral image of an old woman came into view – quickly brightening, until she was nearly as real as the ashen Kokiri.
She seemed to be made of a smoky, silver light - that steadily pulsed brighter and dimmer, like a slow heartbeat. Her face was lined and serious and her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, but she wore a soft, silken dress - like a robe, which was made of the same silver light.
She hovered only a few inches above the ground, even though she possessed the body and limbs of a Hylian woman. The boy was startled by her unexpected appearance, and gripped his weapon even tighter.
"Are you the 'Lady of the Forest'?" he asked with a shaking voice.
After studying him for a moment she replied, "I am the warden of this temple."
Link was unsettled by her evasive response, but she quickly spoke again, "What is your name child?"
He hesitated and glanced at Mido for some guidance, but the yellow-eyed creature just stared straight ahead and said nothing.
"I am Link." he replied quietly.
The silver lady's light seemed to pulse brighter as he revealed his name. Her eyebrows raised and her mouth hung slightly open in mild surprise.
"You... you drew the Master Sword, did you not?" she asked.
Link was stunned, "How... How do you know that?" he stammered.
The specter turned to look down a Mido, who inclined his head slightly.
"You have done well." she said to him, "I will inform the master of your obedience."
The glow in creature's eyes seemed to intensify and he muttered, "Thank you… my lady."
The young hero's heart began to race as a sudden rush of fear came over him.
"What master? What are you talking about? Where are the Kokiri?!" he demanded.
The ghost ignored his questions and curled her lips back into a wicked smile.
"It is good that you are here child! The Great Lord of Darkness will be pleased that you have come to us!"
Link swiftly drew his sword and crouched into a fighting stance.
"You serve Gannondorf!" he shouted as he slowly backed his way toward the door behind him.
The silver lady let out a shivering cackle as the image of her face seemed to melt and twist into one of a fanged skull.
"All serve the God of Darkness child!" her shrill voice echoed around the hall. "Bring him!" she bellowed as Mido lunged forward and quickly climbed the steps at Link's feet.
On the Forest Road
Lord Alfon and Captain Corin looked up at the ominous form of the Forbidden Forest. For years, all of Hyrule had warned its children to never pass under its boughs, lest the wolves or vengeful spirits there would eat them alive. Now, with the forest blacked and ruined, the feeling of dread seemed to have grown tenfold.
The marshal carefully studied the path before them as Corin nervously kept watch.
"Do you see anything, My Lord?" he whispered, keeping his sword ready.
The knight slowly ran his fingers over the icy path and felt the small impressions made by Epona's hooves.
"Thank the Goddess!" he thought to himself, as he nodded to Corin. "He passed this way... within the last few days." Alfon replied.
The old soldier turned and looked down the trail - farther into the forest. "What in the blazes would drive that boy to go into the Forbidden Forest?"
The Marshal hesitated for a moment, then answered, "He is looking for a friend... or lost family member, I believe."
"Poor lad," continued Corin, "He won't find anyone alive in there."
The knight quickly climbed back onto his mount and spurred it forward to a trot.
"Maybe not... and... maybe," he muttered to the captain as he passed, "If I should not return, tell the Princess to choose a new Marshal and to carry on the fight!"
"Go with the Goddess, my lord!" the elder cried after him.
He kept his horse at a brisk pace as they wandered down the forest road. Deeper and deeper, it ran into the ruined wilderness, over a rope bridge, until finally opening into a wide clearing. Several small wooden structures lay burned and ruined around the glade, with one or two still standing upright.
It looked like a small village had been here, but all of the houses were too small for Hylians. The warrior thought back to Link's stories and remembered that he had been told of the 'Kokiri' tribe: a group of forest children that never grew up.
"So this was his village..." muttered Alfon to himself, "This was his home."
A twinge of pain gripped at his heart, seeing such a secluded sanctuary ruined by his enemy; especially the thought of terrified children being burned alive. But the marshal shook his head and forced himself to focus, he did not have time to grieve for Hyrule's lost children! He had to find his missing ward!
Once again, he dropped down from his mount and scanned the ground for any sign of Link or Epona's passage. He found several tracks moving around the village, but always returning to one of the standing houses. Inside, he discovered the remains of a recent campfire and the hulls of several nuts upon the floor.
"He was here!" Alfon realized, "But where has he gone?!"
In the Temple
His squire ran for his life back through the temple. The shrieking cackle of the silver woman seemed to echo after him as Mido doggedly pursued him down the long passage. Link retraced his steps toward the front of the temple, but the rooms seemed to shift and change on their own. What was once a straight corridor, now became a dead end.
Fighting panic, the boy began to shift and change his course, turning this way and that to throw his stalker off the trail, but all the while, becoming more and more lost within the giant stone mansion.
After what seemed like an eternity of running, the fleeing hero suddenly burst out into a courtyard that he had never seen before. He quickly slammed the door behind him and desperately searched around for an escape.
This part of the temple seemed to be an immense garden, now horribly overgrown, with brambles and ivy covering the walls and grounds. But in the corner opposite Link, stood a large stone well with a pail-rope still hanging from the windlass. The squire dashed forward and - seizing the rope - leapt inside.
The rope creaked and strained dangerously, but held firm and he was able to carefully lower himself deeper into the well until he was certain he could not be seen from above. After only a few tense seconds, Mido's menacing yellow eyes appeared above, searching the blackness for his prey.
The boy's hands strained on the rope as he held his breath - trying to remain as silent and motionless as possible. The creature narrowed its eyes at the blackness of the well and hissed - it knew its victim was very close.
Link's heart pounded against his ribs and his fingers burned with strain against the coarse rope.
"You don't see me... you don't see me!" he silently plead to himself.
Slowly, the ashen monster reached a boney finger out and plucked the rope like a harp-string. His eyes blazed with sudden fury as the tension revealed Link's presence below.
With no escape above and no desire to kill his old friend, the squire quickly lowered himself further and further down into the darkness. As the kokiri hissed and snarled above, he continued downward, expecting to find a pool of water, until his feet hit a hard stone floor.
Releasing the rope and groping his way in the darkness, Link found that he was now in a long stone tunnel - with a small trickle of water flowing down its center. Keeping his sword in one hand, he followed the stone wall with his other as he carefully fled down into the tunnel.
His attacker's hissing and grunts faded behind him as the boy found several turns in the underground aqueduct. Soon, a dim light came into view ahead as he approached the bottom of another well.
This one was encased in vines and brambles which had stretched their way down searching for the water below. The young soldier quickly checked again for any sign of pursuit, then sheathed his sword and hauled himself up.
The well opened into another overgrown courtyard, but this one had several small cages placed near the door to the temple. As Link pulled himself over the stone edge and got to his feet, he caught sight of their captives.
Four small creatures, much like Mido, cowered and shivered within their little prisons. One, the nearest to the well, grasped at the bars and stared intently at him. Her deep blue eyes were filled with sadness and fear.
The squire stepped toward her, reaching out a hand, but her eyes suddenly widened and she frantically pointed behind him. Link could only turn and see the flash of Mido's vengeful yellow eyes before a heavy stone knocked him unconscious.
The caged Kokiri whimpered and gasped at their chieftain's vicious actions, but they dared not speak to him – they had already learned what happened to those who resisted. Mido glared at them for a moment, before slowly dragging their hero back to the central hall.
The boy drifted back to consciousness with a throbbing pain above his right eye. He was on his back, laid onto the cold stone floor of the temple's hall, beside the opening in the center of the room. Mido crouched close by, keeping watch over his victim and holding Link's sword in his ashen hands.
The squire tried to sit up, but his head was swimming and his eyesight was badly blurred. He felt sick to his stomach and was sure he would pass out again soon.
"Troublesome brat!" came the eerie voice of the silver phantom, "Our master will enjoy devouring you!"
Even through his closed eyelids, Link could make out the grey glow of the evil ghost that Mido served, hovering on the other side of the pit.
"M-Mido..." he groaned, "Don't do this..."
The shadow quickly shuffled over to him and hissed in his ear, "Quiet you!"
But the squire opened his eyes and looked right into his brother's face.
"I should have been better to you... Mido... I should have been... your friend."
The lost Kokiri blinked and leaned back away from him; the menacing glow, again, dimmed slightly.
"...'friend'?" he echoed softly, confused.
"Enough!" Shrieked the ghost, "Push him in! Feed him to the master!"
Far below them, a bubbling growl echoed up from the pit and rippled through the hall. The ruined Kokiri shuddered and quickly placed his hands onto Link's side, preparing to roll him into the hole.
"Mido... I'm sorry." whispered his brother.
The boy believed that he was about to die, but he wanted to make amends with his old rival before he left. They had fought each other terribly for the attention of Saria and the Deku Tree. Time which could have, and should have, been spent in friendship.
Mido's ashen hands trembled slightly as he hesitated. What was happening? Why… why was he feeling this way? H-how… did he get here? What had he done?!
With a slight shiver he answered, "...me too...", as he slipped one hand behind himself and grasped the Kokiri sword.
"Do it!" shouted the phantom, bringing his eyes up to her.
Weakly, the red-haired, freckled little boy… broke through the dark fog… and wandered back over the happy years the Kokiri had spent together in the forest. The games, the summer bonfires, the joyous feasts, even chasing fireflies together through the forest.
They had such a happy life and… he had always been so cruel to Link. Always, he made sure that "the outsider" was not having as much fun as the other children. It was because of the Deku Tree! He had ordered them to accept a Hylian child into their family. Mido always resented how the Spirit of the Forest seemed to favor the boy, but – even then - he knew that he was being unfair. Link's mother had died right in front of them, begging the Guardian of the Forest to protect her child... what could they have done?
He closed his eyes and struggled to remember the last words the Deku Tree had said to him, the morning before Link departed the village:
"You have great anger within you, child. You must beware that anger, as evil will find a way to use it." the Deku Tree paused and breathed deep, "I can foresee that you will have a great choice before you: to follow your anger and hatred or to choose mercy and love. Always remember my son, you must choose the side of light. Love and protect your family always!"
The lost child's eyes began to water as he began to realize what he had become.
Black tears streaked down his face and dropped onto the cold stone floor as the last of Ganon's evil light finally faded from his blue eyes.
"No..." he croaked at the ghost, "I will not hurt... my brother."
The phantom screamed in rage and cast both of them against the far wall.
"Then the both of you will die!" she screamed, as she dove down upon them.
Gallantly, the kokiri chief tried to cover Link with his own body and slashed the sword out at the ghost. The phantom easily dodged to the side and began mercilessly clawing at Mido's face.
A terrible roar bellowed up from below as the squire struggled to roll away from Mido and his attacker.
"The master is coming! The master is coming for you!" the ghost jeered as she hacked away at the boy's body.
"Soon, he will-" but a sudden whistle and flash through the air stopped her.
The phantom froze, still hovering over Mido, with a twisted look of shock on her ghastly face. A brilliant, silver-tipped arrow stuck out from her neck and a small trickle of glowing white blood dripped onto the floor beside the boys.
"Your master will die, ghost. Just like you." came a deep voice from the doorway.
Lord Alfon had found his squire.