Let's see, last we left off, Shaagos challenged Link to a duel to see if he could prove himself worthy to enter the Savage Pillar. Now that sounds fine, but... Shaagos is kinda really strong. So much so that he's worthy over half of the Gerudo's might all by himself. So yeah. It's gonna be pretty rough.

Chapter 23

Asagosh

Link was weary of his opponent at first. After all, he should be; Shaagos claimed to be worth more than half of the Gerudo's might, and he'll hold him to it. As such, he waited for Shaagos to move first, but that didn't appear to be happening. Shaagos was cautious as well, the two circling each other, waiting for the other to move. Apparently, Shaagos knew of Link's exploits, and took heed. Dealing with him would prove a challenge, one he feared he may not be up to...

As Link was contemplating, Shaagos struck, coming in fast with a vicious two-bladed blow. Link barely had enough time to fend off the powerful strike, which quickly transitioned to Shaagos spinning rapidly and striking Link's shield with an onslaught of powerful cuts. Thankfully, Petra's craftsmanship left little to be desired, as it held fast and fended of every single blow without so much as a scratch. Thankfully for Link, the Gerudo King appeared to rely more on speed than power, meaning he could keep the up for a long time keep him at bay until he tired himself out. However, Shaagos knew that was what he was thinking, and backed away for a moment before leaping high up and doing many flips on his way down as he brought both swords down onto Link's shield, knocking him back and opening him up for another attempted strike, but Link managed to fend the blow off with an attack from his own sword.

Shaagos nodded and stepped back, settling back into his fighting stance before wheeling around and slicing again with both blades, though Link responded by shield bashing the blow and staggering Shaagos, taking this chance to fit in an attack of his own, Shaagos ducking it and back flipping over the swing that followed. Link followed after though and rammed his shield into his chest, winding him for a moment and knocking him down. Link took the chance to leap up high and aim his sword point down, ready to impale the king, who rolled out of the way just in time, Link's sword getting stuck in the ground instead. Shaagos rushed in, taking a swing at Link while he was exposed, only for Link to free his sword just in time, simultaneously fending off his blow with the upswing, knocking him back.

Quickly putting his shield away, Link snapped his fingers, sending a large wave of fire at Shaagos, eyes widening as it approached. Even the guards gasped at the display of magic. However, the flames were dispersed when Shaagos swung upwards through them, sword now glowing white.

"I'm impressed, Hylian Voe. But not impressed enough."

Shaagos then swung downwards, sending a wave of light at Link, who barely dodged to the side, giving Shaagos enough time to close in and attack up close, blade still glowing white and releasing wave after wave at the bounty hunter. Link finally blocked with his own sword, using both hands to hold the sword away, Shaagos pushing the blade as hard as he could to try and push it down onto Link, but to no avail. Link took this chance to kick Shaagos in the stomach and winding him once again, slamming the pommel of his sword into his chin in the hopes of knocking him out, only to stagger him. Shaagos stumbled back rubbing his chin for a moment before drawing his other sword, the air now crackling with electricity, as too did Link's armor.

"Metal armor will get you killed in this desert, Voe," he said before the crackling got louder, clouds appearing overhead accompanied by the rumbling of thunder and flashes of lightning.

"Know the wrath of the desert," he said before swinging downward, a massive lightning bolt coming down from above right onto Link.

When the smoke cleared, Shaagos sheathed his swords, as he was positive that no one could have survived such an attack.

Up until he heard a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad that spell changes my clothes instantly..." Link said, now clad in his armorless Engineer's Clothes.

Shaagos frowned, angry. He then chose this time to draw his final weapon, the spear at his back with a forked blade, aiming the tip at Link.

"I stand corrected. You are impressive enough."

Shaagos proceeded to stab at Link several times with the spear, Link blocking each hit with his shield, though he noticed Shaagos to be hitting much harder than before, likely due to this new weapon being his strongest. Blocking again, Link veered the spear off to the side in the hopes of opening him up for a blow from his sword, only for Shaagos to instead use the spear's momentum to spin it around in the hopes of making solid contact with Link's neck, though he ducked and rolled around Shaagos, taking a swing at his exposed back, though he put his spear in the way and blocked it, throwing Link back.

Link regained his balance and raised his shield as Shaagos ran at him, though he stabbed his spear in the ground and pole vaulted over him, kicking him in the back of the head and landing, taking a heavy two handed swing at Link, who barely ducked as he stumbled away. Righting himself, he held his shield up again as Shaagos swung again, Link shield bashing the tip of the spear to buy a second to draw the Ruby Greatsword, swinging hard at the still-stunned King of the Gerudo, opening a wound on his chest and knocking him back.

Shaagos looked up in wonder, holding a hand to his chest to try and stop the blood flow, holding his hand forward, looking at the blood on it, using his spear to remain standing.

"You are... much more than impressive, Voe," he said, clenching his fist, blood dripping from it. "Perhaps I need to take things seriously."

With that, he reached up to his cloak, undoing the clasp and tossing it to the side where it was caught by one of his guards, revealing even more of his toned muscles. He then snapped his fingers, a fiery red aura encompassing his form, likely another magic of his. However, Link wasn't about to let him cast yet another spell, and rushed forward before bringing the Ruby Greatsword down hard, only for Shaagos to catch it in his bare hand, throwing Link away.

"As King, I hold a power akin to that of a god. This is the power of my people."

As he said this, his nails grew exponentially longer and sharper, as well as turning black. Hair slowly sprouted from his arms as well, slowly coating his whole body, and his frame grew, back hunching and legs bending like that of a hound. But the most noticeable change was his eyes; they became sharper and an even deeper gold, both staring right into Link's eyes.

"This is Asagosh."

His aura subsided, revealing that even his face had twisted to that of a fierce lupine beast, mildly similar to a wolf.

Link didn't care. Between a Queen Gohma, Scaldorm, and Stalicus, this was nothing new to him. He was ready for things like this by now.

Shaagos merely stood, waiting for Link to approach, which he did. He did so slowly however, not wanting to be caught wrong by the King's spear, which had grown with him, likely being much stronger than it was before. As he had thought, he was greeted by the spear once he got close, veering the blow off of his shield and readying his Antares Edge, cutting at Shaagos' shins a few times before dodging back, Shaagos trying to stomp on him with his now massive frame. Link snapped his fingers and lay a wall of Flare at the King's feet. Shaagos shook his head before simply releasing a mighty breathe, dispersing the flames, only to find that Link wasn't there anymore. He looked around, not seeing him, only for a sword to become stuck in his back, the pain knocking him off balance for a moment before he turned around, seeing Link sliding underneath him at the last second, Ruby Greatsword drawn. He tried to turn to catch him, but he was too slow in doing so, and a huge blow came unto the sword in his back, driving it in further. He spun around violently, his tail catching Link, who barely managed to catch himself before falling off the plateau they were fighting on. Regardless, he was up quickly and back in the fight.

As little as the guards liked this Voe, they had to commend him on how well he was doing.

"He's very skilled..."

"He's pushed our king this far...?"

"He carries many weapons, how does he do that?"

"A sword and shield of gold and silver with a blade of crystal... I wonder if he has anything else?"

"He's very elusive... His Highness can't seem to land a good hit on the Voe."

"But when he does..."

"...This will all be over."

Shaagos was quick in clawing at Link, who basically danced through the attacks, being too quick to hit. Though stronger, Asagosh wasn't as quick as Shaagos, making it more of a chore to hit Link.

Growling, Shaagos lowered himself to all fours and made a mad dash towards Link, bringing his spear down on him once he was upon him, Link meeting it with his own Ruby Greatsword, blade burning bright thanks to his Meteor Mitts.

"You're much stronger than I could have ever anticipated, Voe..." Shaagos said, pressing down and pushing Link to his knees, "but strength is not all in this world. You must know what to do with that strength."

"I know," Link said, pushing back and rising to his feet. "I'm going to save my sister. Whether you're in my way or not!"

With a roar of effort and a mighty push, he rolled beneath Shaagos' legs before running up his back and slamming the flat of his blade onto the pommel, jumping high off of his head while he reared back in pain. Grabbing his Channel Orb from his pouch, he threw it as hard as he could halfway through his descent, driving the blade all the way through Shaagos' chest, the tip coming out the other side. Falling to his knees, Shaagos was helpless as Link landed, ripping his sword out of the Gerudo King and leaping down off of him, Shaagos falling flat to the ground.

"I met your challenge," Link said, breathing hard and sheathing his sword. "I believe I've earned the right to go to the Savage Pillar."

Reverting to his normal, Gerudo form, Shaagos sat up and looked around at the awed faces of his guards. Some even had dropped their weapons in shock. After all, he, Shaagos Ramil, King of the Gerudo and 217th heir to the sacred power of his people, had lost to some... Hylian. But how? Unless...

"You're no... ordinary Voe, are you?" Shaagos asked as he propped himself up with his spear, barely standing even with it.

"I could say the same about you," Link replied, crossing his arms.

"My power is, for a male Gerudo... Rather standard," he said, clearly in pain. Blood was even running down his lips and forehead. "It has long been true for the male Gerudo to possess power beyond that of the females. I am no exception."

"I believe you now owe me something," Link said. "I have things that need to be done."

"Ah, yes..." Shaagos said as he stood up straight, putting his spear at his back. "You wish for lawful passage to the Savage Pillar. But I cannot do that right now, this isn't exactly a formal area to conduct such things. Return to town, meet at my throne, we will talk there."

Link nodded and tossed Shaagos a red potion, the king looking at it for a moment before smirking and drinking it, tossing the empty bottle back.

"I'm glad I met you, Voe," he said as one of his guards brought him his cloak. "I feel you may make a much larger difference in this world than I could ever imagine."

Link nodded and turned back to the guards who had taken him there, only for them to stare in shock as he walked by, heading back to town.

"My Lord..." one said, though he held up his hand such to call for silence.

"The voe who just walked away was no ordinary Hylian. With his skill and abilities, there is no doubt in my mind about his identity."

The guards looked on in earnest as he took a deep breath, looking up.

"He is the Goddesses' own Chosen Hero."

OOO

Some time passed between the time Link returned to town and the return of Shaagos, giving his a chance to do something he had wanted to do ever since he had entered the town.

Walking into a shop, he saw a large Gerudo woman look at him in surprise from behind the counter.

"Eh? The voe? Who let you back in?"

"Shaagos," Link said, walking up to her. "I'm not here for much longer before I have to speak to him again, so I figured I'd spend it doing something worthwhile."

"And what might that be?"

"Can I get the Spa Plan, please?" Link said as he held up a paper that had several resort options on it, among them the famous Gerudo Spa Plan, known Hyrule-wide for its soothing massage, baths, and atmosphere.

"Um..." she said, surprised. Normally, voe asked where they could meet woman, but this was the first she'd heard of a voe asking for that. "Why?"

"I've been in the desert for the past day, and I have cracked skin everywhere," he said, removing his gloves and revealing the multiple dried cracks in his skin from dehydration. "Plus, I have sand in so many places that I learned I have extra places..."

"I see..." she said, looking through her appointment book. She was actually free at the moment, so... "Ah, why not. As long as you can pay then I have no objections. Disrobe and lay on that table there, and use this towel."

Handing Link a towel, he smiled went behind a curtain, using Changeling to remove his clothes before putting on the towel, laying on the table before him. That action alone made more bones crack than he thought he had, a contented sigh escaping his lips.

"No matter how much this costs, this'll be worth every Rupee," he said as the owner began rubbing his back, finding knot after knot in his toned physique.

"By the Seven you're tense. What do you do every day to make you like this?" she asked, genuinely curious. She'd worked with plenty a Gerudo before, yet none of them could hold a candle to what was wrong with Link's back...

"I'm a jack-of-all-trades now, really," he said as she worked. "I started off as a thief, loath as I am to admit it, but that taught me several useful things like how to pick locks and pickpocket. I don't do the latter anymore though, it's disgraceful."

"Why were you a thief?" she asked, rubbing his shoulders.

"My parents died when I was young, leaving me to care for myself and my younger sister. It was rough until I was trained by Kain Borne to be a bounty hunter. Wonderful man, by the way."

"Oh, you poor thing," the woman said as she continued. "What's your name, Voe?"

"Link Valion," he said. "What's yours?"

"Haluja," she replied. "So, tell me more. What else do you do?"

"Well, there's monster hunting, adventuring, bounty hunting, thievery, I worked in a shop once, as well as standard maintenance..."

OOO

"...So he tries to get a crowd to kill me and my friend, gets called out for it, then tries to blame me," Link said, continuing his tale about the knight, Virtus.

"No," Haluja said as she washed Link's hair, though he nodded.

"Oh yeah. He went on and on how the work that bounty hunters do is for the knights alone to his superior, only to get mess hall duty. A member of the Royal Guard! On mess hall duty! Can you believe that?" he said, finishing his story.

"Serves him right," she said, massaging his scalp. "After all he did, that's the least he deserves. I would have done worse than that though... No offense to you, but Voe are simply imbecilic."

"No, I totally agree," Link said. "We're hardheaded and arrogant most of the time. I can't blame you for noticing that."

"You're a bit different though," she said, smiling. "You're the kind a voe a vai can talk to. I like that."

"Well I'm glad you're a good listener, Haluja," Link said. "So how much is this going to cost me?"

"The normal rate is 80 Rupees, but since this is a rare occasion, I'll only charge 20. You have made my day, after all."

"Are you positive?" Link asked, Haluja nodding.

"I don't mind. I get plenty of business, so losing 60 Rupees is easy to cover."

Link sighed, closing his eyes. "You're divine, Haluja."

She smiled. "I know."

And with that, Link leaned further back, just enjoying his time there.

OOO

After his time with Haluja was over and he paid his 20 Rupees, he readied himself to meet with Shaagos again. Donning his Engineer's Clothes, he headed back to the palace, the guards letting him pass. Shaagos himself sat bandaged upon his throne, waiting for him.

"Ah, Voe. I'm glad to see you're rested. We can't get much work done if you're tired from yesterday."

"I visited Haluja," Link said, hands on his hips, "there's no way I could be any more energized. Now, I do believe you owe me something."

"Yes," Shaagos said, nodding, "passage to the Savage Pillar. You may travel there as you wish, not only as the one who bested me, but as a friend of the Gerudo."

"That's very kind of you," Link said, offering a bow. Sassy as the bounty hunter may be, he at times needed to be respectful. Now was one of such times. However, there was more to his visit.

"Before I go though, I need something else," he said, though Shaagos rose his hand to silence him.

"You need armor that will let you survive the heat of the desert, no? I anticipate these things. During our fight, my guards got a decent estimate as to the size of your clothing. From there it was only a matter of adjusting the size of some of my armor to fit you, as well as make your personal adjustments. A hooded cloak and a mask, am I right?"

"Uh, yeah actually," Link said, taken off guard. Shaagos was smart, Link knew, but not that smart.

A warm smile spread across Shaagos' face. "I wonder, is wolf to your liking? Consider it my gift to you; it is my personal mark as King. As long as you wear it, you will be granted access to my home, as well as the Pillar. Now hurry, try it on, I wish to see if any adjustments need to be made!"

"O-Oh, yeah," Link stuttered, accepting the neatly folded clothes and golden armor from nearby guard. "I'll be quick."

Link hurried to the other room, using Changeling to remove his clothes to begin donning his new armor.

"Oh Hylia this stuff is soft," he muttered to himself, as the silk the clothes were made of were absolutely luxurious, fit for royalty.

Exiting the room back into Shaagos' throne room, he nodded approvingly at his new equipment. Similarly to Shaagos, he bore baggy crimson pants tucked into cloth-wrapped boots made to evenly disperse his weight when walking in the sand such to prevent hindering his movement, said boots also having sapphires embedded into them. Truly a masterful Gerudo invention. Around his waist was a bandage wrap that went midway up his abdominals such to his some of his scarring, which Shaagos learned of from some of his guards that Link was exceedingly battle-worn, as well as golden plates that covered his hips and upper thighs. For his right arm was a sort of sleeve that strapped around his chest that was the same crimson as his pants, upon it a golden pauldron with matching gauntlets on either arm, each with embedded sapphires included. Upon both arms were traditional Gerudo wrappings like Shaagos had. He also had a golden band upon his left arm emblazoned with the Gerudo Royal Crest on one side, and the Hylian official seal on the other such to signify both parties. He also had a plain golden collar around his neck. And finally, the personal touches Shaagos mentioned. First of all, he had a hooded crimson cloak that both helped to hide his face as well as keep the desert sandstorms from blinding him. The cloak mostly covered his right side though such to free his left side to accommodate the way Link wears his weapons. Regarding his mask, it was a golden plate that covered the lower half of his face with teeth-like designs encompassing a red plate. And finally, draped around his shoulders was a wolf pelt Like Shaagos had, though his was pure white.

"Ah, I see it all fits well, Voe. Wonderful!" Shaagos beamed, clapping to himself. "Gerudo tailors are very skilled, and having armor of mine on hand must have made it all the easier for them. They work wonders, do they not?"

"This fits really well," Link said as he examined his armor. Straps were tight, boots were comfy, his gloves weren't chaffing, honestly the entire thing was perfect. "This helps with desert heat, right?"

"Yes it does. The sapphires embedded into your armor harness the power of ice to keep you cool when the sun burns. Gerudo are resilient, but nature is harsh. We had to learn how to ward off nature's ruthlessness," Shaagos explained.

"I have to thank you again, Shaagos," Link said, strapping his weapons to his back. "This will be a great help, potions and hydromelons are good and all but they don't last forever."

"I'm glad to hear that, my friend. But I must caution you, this will protect against thereat, but not much more. the plating is sturdy and resistant to electricity, but it only covers so much. Please be careful on your way. The bandits are pathetic alone but numerous," Shaagos said, his smile fading. "I'd accompany you, but I cannot leave so soon after getting back."

"Don't worry," Link said, adjusting his sword. " A few idiots are nothing I can't handle."

Shaagos' smile returned. "I like you, Voe. You will do great things."

"I'm not here for greatness," Link declared as he turned to leave.

"I'm here to save my sister."

Hope y'all didn't get used to life without me.

You'll never be rid of me till I'm all done, and we've got a waaayyys to go before that's the case.

OniHelix is back, baby.