Chapter 15: M'Lord
Week eleven, Friday 2:19pm
Nohansen Library
"I could be taking a nap right now... Or playing video games... Maybe eating a snack..."
Vaati pulled a book from the shelf and used it to whack Link on the top of the head. "Quit complaining," he said, ignoring his roommate's offended exclamations and reshelving the book. "You're the one that agreed to help me."
"Yeah, but I thought it'd be something more exciting than looking through a bunch of books." Link stared sullenly at the stack of books in his hands, various titles on topics like 'myths of Hyrule', 'Hyrule castle through the years', 'swords of myth', and 'sacred places of Hyrule'. "When you said, 'we're going to look for the Four Sword Sanctuary', I thought you meant, like, actually going somewhere."
"I already told you we're not going on any field trips. We have to research the most likely places it could be before we go looking for it." Vaati added another book to Link's stack. Then he sighed. "We'll start with these."
The blond Hylian stared at the books, then up at Vaati. "We have to read through all of them...?"
He only got a nod in reply before Vaati was already walking back to their table. It wasn't like Link ever used his weekends to study, and Vaati had already finished his week's homework, so he didn't know what there was to complain about. He grabbed his notebook and started writing out a few preliminary notes.
Link deposited the books on the table and flopped into his seat. Halfheartedly he flipped through a book on Hyrule Castle. "So, why'd you change your mind?" he queried. "I thought you said looking for the Four Sword was a waste of time."
Vaati paused, considering whether or not to tell Link the full truth. He'd hit a dead end with his other research—truthfully, he'd been grasping at straws for quite a while now. Searching for the Four Sword seemed far-fetched at best and risky at worst. If the sword really did exist, and they found it... The idea terrified him, frankly. But it was the only new lead he had.
He pulled the castle book away from Link. "It probably is, but I decided to give your idea a chance. Now. Less talking, more reading."
His roommate finally quit talking after that, and they spent several hours looking through the books, Vaati taking careful notes, Link somewhat diligently scanning the pages and fetching more books. There weren't a lot of scholarly sources referencing the Sanctuary; most information was found in mythical accounts. Vaati noted it all down anyways.
He took a deep breath and set down his pencil to take a short break, glancing at his watch. Already after six. Four hours; he hadn't expected Link to last that long. Vaati glanced over at his friend, only to find that Link was no longer reading but was in fact napping with his head on an open book.
"For the love of..." Vaati muttered, shaking his head. Not that he'd expected Link to be of much help, he reminded himself. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered having Link help him out; hadn't he once declared that he could figure things out with his own power? But apparently there was something that came with being friends with the blonde—helping each other and encouraging each other, even if it wasn't exactly all that helpful… Well, it was a lot nicer than being alone. Vaati had given up on fully understanding his relationship with Link.
He jabbed Link in the side with his pencil, causing the blonde to startle awake, eyes darting around before blinking at Vaati. "Uh, I fell asleep...?"
"What do you do at night instead of sleeping?" Vaati asked flatly.
Link's eyes slowly drifted away, and he smirked slightly. "Oh, you know, run reconnaissance, prank strangers, get woken up by a certain someone with nightmares... things like that." He looked pointedly at Vaati on that last one. "You talk in your sleep, did you know?"
An unfamiliar sensation made Vaati's stomach squirm slightly, and he looked away for a moment. So, he talked in his sleep when he had that nightmare? It had been coming to him more often lately, almost every other night, always the same sequence of nothingness, seeing Link, and then the return to nothingness. Just thinking of it made his palms sweat.
"What kind of nightmare is it?" Link queried, smile gone, and eyes fixed on Vaati's face. "And why am I in it?"
"Who said you were in it?!" Vaati snapped, unreasonably annoyed but unable to filter it.
"Uh, you did. Like I said, you talk in your sleep."
Rather than answer, Vaati stood and gathered up his notebook, pencil, and a few of the books he hadn't gotten to yet, packing them into his backpack. "I'm going to get dinner." He slung his backpack over one shoulder and marched out of the library. Link trotted after him, but he ignored him.
Like he would tell anyone about his nightmare. Link would just tease him about being afraid of the dark or some such thing, not to mention what he might think about Vaati seeing a child version of Link. It was only a nightmare. Vaati didn't believe in the meanings of dreams. It was strange that he'd dreamed of Link before they had ever met, but it could only be explained as a strange coincidence. It didn't have anything to do with his quest for magic or the Four Sword, so he wouldn't bother trying to figure out the meaning behind it.
Link kept pace behind Vaati all the way to the cafeteria, humming random tunes. That guy seemed unable to stay silent for more than five minutes. As they passed through the cafeteria doors, he suddenly called out, "Zelda!"
Vaati turned his head to see the blonde girl sitting at one of the tables, looking slightly startled but quickly smiling when she saw who was calling out to her. "I'm gonna eat with Zelda," Link told Vaati quickly. "Catch ya later!" He ran past him, greeting Zelda happily.
For one moment Vaati watched the two of them. Zelda's smile was more relaxed than he had ever seen it; even Vaati could tell how close the two had become.
"Hey, I saw Link and Zelda getting off a train together on Tuesday."
Vaati snapped his gaze away and marched off towards the cafeteria kitchen. So what? Even if Tiv told him something like that, as she had on Wednesday, whispering it in his ear during class, it wasn't like he would care whether Link and Zelda were in some sort of relationship.
"Oh, he said he was visiting his sick grandmother? But it was a 'false alarm'? I have to wonder about that...!"
It wasn't any of his business. He'd told Tiv as much. So, he did his best to ignore the growing sense of irritation that was causing him to scowl subconsciously. Vaati grabbed a few things to eat and then found a table far away from Link and Zelda.
What he needed to focus on was the Four Sword. He was wary to chase what could end up as a total rabbit trail, but Link had had a point: finding the sword and the Wind Mage was probably the best way he could solve one of the mysteries surrounding him and his magic. Not only could he prove all those idiots wrong, but he may also just find more clues to unlocking his magic.
"I even heard one rumor that says you are the Wind Mage. Link almost punched me for saying that."
He would be lying if he said he'd never wondered about the possibility before; maybe he was the reincarnated Wind Mage, abandoned at birth to live out a miserable life as a second punishment for his past life's misdeeds. The first time someone at the orphanage had accused him of that, he had sent them flying with a blast of wind—only driving the belief down further. Coming to the Academy, Vaati thought he had escaped from those rumors. Now it looked like things were going to repeat themselves, with Link caught up in it.
Admittedly, he felt a bit pleased to hear that Link had almost punched Tiv for it. So even that happy-go-lucky guy got angry sometimes. Tiv certainly deserved it; she'd been not-so-subtly trying to taint Link's reputation with him with all these whispered comments, but he didn't buy any of them. Link, despite his flaws, was the one person he knew was on his side.
Vaati scowled. Why was he thinking about Link again? He scarfed down the rest of his food and got out of the cafeteria as fast as he could.
As he was walking, his phone vibrated.
Link: are you going back to the library?
He was about to reply 'yes' but stopped. Link would probably follow him back, a scenario Vaati was less than enthusiastic about at the moment. So, he lied and typed out, No, I'm going to the dorm. That would hopefully give him an hour or two of quiet alone in the library.
The diversion apparently worked; Vaati returned to perusing books and taking notes, without any texts from Link, or the blonde showing up. By the time eight o'clock rolled around, Vaati was confident he had enough information to begin narrowing down the location of the Four Sword Sanctuary. He sat down and reread through his notes. The places that stood out the most were Hyrule Castle and the Temple of Time. The very original location of the Sanctuary had been hidden within Hyrule Castle, with a door that only opened once every hundred years. Later accounts stated that the sword's final resting place was somewhere southwest of Hyrule Castle; the most prominent holy place in the area was the Temple of Time. However, that was also one historic location of the Master Sword, which made Vaati skeptical; it was unlikely that two legendary swords were ever enshrined at the same location. The only other holy place he could think of in the southwest was the Eastern Abbey. Unlike the Temple of Time, which was now only a historical attraction, the Abbey was an active place of study and worship for the monks and nuns living there. Once in middle school, he had gone there for a field trip; he recalled feeling uncomfortable the entire time, and how the monks regarded him strangely.
Vaati circled 'Hyrule Castle' and 'Eastern Abbey'. These were the most likely places. The Abbey was easy enough to get to, whereas the castle would take a bit of work to get permission to enter. Satisfied with the day's work, he shut his notebook and stood—
—Only to find himself looking into the dark eyes and pale face of a man he'd never seen before. He nearly cursed aloud in his surprise.
"Hard at work trying to find the Four Sword?" the tall, thin man said without any preamble. White hair covered one of his dark eyes, the other side cut short to highlight the rhombus earring on his pointed ear. His clothing was strange: a white bodysuit with diamond cutouts on the arms, legs, and chest, a red cape draped over his shoulders. Forget strange—his appearance bordered on absurd. He placed a hand over Vaati's notebook and leaned forward, a confident smirk stretching his lips. "Your dedication is admirable! But I can make this much easier for you. Since I know exactly where the Sanctuary is."
The young man willed himself to calm down. He had no idea who this strange man was, but he radiated a dangerous atmosphere. Those black eyes were sharp and intelligent, too keen for him to lie. Vaati chose his words carefully. It was best to tread carefully until he could figure out why this stranger was speaking with him. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
He gave him a smile that was decidedly unpleasant; there was no friendliness at all in his eyes. "Oh, where are my manners? You are quite right; you have not had the pleasure of making my acquaintance. I am Ghirahim." He swept his arms to the side and bowed gracefully. "I much prefer to go by my full title, Lord Ghirahim, but I'm not fussy."
This 'Lord Ghirahim' lifted his hand and pointed at one of Vaati's notes: Eastern Abbey. "Now that the pleasantries are done with, allow me to show you where the Four Sword lies: It's hidden deep underground, in a wonderfully dark stone vault, protected by thin layers of magic. Or rather, it was protected."
Why was he telling him this? Vaati didn't believe in auras, but he couldn't shake the feeling of darkness and power that surrounded Ghirahim. His reasons for helping Vaati were only bound to be twisted.
"How do you know where it is?" Vaati asked slowly.
To that, Ghirahim's smirk widened, and he tossed back his head, running a finger through his bangs. "How, you ask? I broke into the Sanctuary myself, so of course, I know where it is." His fingers curled into a fist and his proud expression changed to pained frustration. "Can you imagine my disappointment when I found it was empty—gone—barely a trace left? Ah, I was furious! Outraged! I felt that my years of work had come to nothing, absolutely nothing!"
Vaati tensed; there was something wild and dangerous in Ghirahim's eyes. "What was gone—the sword?"
"No no, the sword is there, decaying deliciously. What I was looking for—what I have been searching for all this time..." The man lifted a slender finger and pointed it at Vaati's chest. "...is—"
There was a loud crash to their right, cutting off Ghirahim and causing them both to snap their heads towards the source of the sound. Several chairs were knocked over and a stack of books had fallen to the ground. Standing in the midst of the mess, panting slightly, was Link. Vaati's breath caught for a moment when he saw his roommate's eyes: hard, narrowed, and fixed on Ghirahim, they were the same eyes as the time he'd been attacked, the same eyes that Vaati always saw in his nightmare. Eyes like a fierce wolf, ready to fight.
"Vaati," Link enunciated his words slowly and carefully, "get away from him."
