Under Kakariko graveyard
He'd already forgotten what warmth felt like. His memories of something other than the acrid stench of death and the sound of bone-chilling moans had vanished from his mind. Before them the great door leered down at them—the face carved there was grotesque, its eye sockets wide and empty and its smile broad and mocking, like a theatre performer's mask.
Beside him, Impa's feet were planted, her back straight, her jaw set. She hadn't yet said anything, and it made him nervous. That, and the eerie calls and cackles that somehow slithered in from beyond the door.
Link shivered involuntarily, trying to dismiss both the physical cold of the underground chamber and the emotional unease at being in such a horrifying place. The marble statue that was Impa finally stirred. Noticing his discomfort, she turned sharply and beckoned him to follow her to the cave's centre. The sparse forest of torches, long cold, surrounded them in a dizzying series of spirals.
She stepped onto the raised hexagonal platform in the centre, turning in a full circle. Link positioned himself just outside her wingspan, giving her space. He tried to ignore the dark stains that spattered the floor here and there, refusing to let his mind overanalyze them.
"On my mark," she said, preparing him. "Anything could happen."
She didn't wait for his answer. The zing of his sword sliding from its sheath announced he was ready. Navi hovered a few feet away, illuminating the corners that were too dark to see into.
Impa widened her stance on the platform, forming a tight fist with her right hand, crouching and pounding said fist against the platform in one fluid motion. Light bloomed from beneath her fist, arcing upwards to surround her in a dome of red-orange flames. Straightening, she flung her arms outward, sending the fiery magic in every direction. It passed over Link and targeted the unlit torches.
As she stepped down, a chorus of crackling flames greeted their ears. With each one alight, she turned expectantly towards the great door.
Before their eyes, the menacing mask dissolved, revealing the door's true adornment. A symbol Link recognized appeared: an eye with a teardrop clinging to it, ready to fall, and three small triangles above it. He'd seen it before, decorating Sheik's clothing.
"The symbol of the Sheikah," Impa explained, satisfied. "Now we may see what is hidden."
To his shock, she walked with a confident step towards the symbol—and passed straight through stone.
"Impa!" he called, panicked over her vanishing act.
"Come through," she commanded, her voice clear. "It is an illusion."
With some trepidation, he followed her example, unable to keep from wincing as he crossed the threshold. Finding himself unharmed on the other side, he looked up to see a nonplussed Impa, turning to lead him down the earthen corridor.
"Welcome to the Shadow Temple," she told to him.
He thought he detected mockery in her tone but didn't comment. She might detect his dirty look through the eyes concealed in the back of her skull.
"It gives me the creeps," Navi said, her voice trembling from cold.
"What is this place, exactly?" Link asked, watching his steps carefully. Impa needed no help seeing in the darkness.
"It is better if you do not know," came her chilling reply.
Before long they arrived at another wall, bearing the same grinning ghost's face. Link scowled at it, and Impa ignored it as if it weren't even there. Link stepped through the illusion after her with more confidence this time that a deadly trap or fatal fall didn't wait on the other side.
The chamber beyond branched off into many passageways on either side and was empty save for a ring of torches carved to resemble the heads of birds of prey. On the far side, a gargoyle head statue watched them, its jaws open, its tongue rolling out.
Impa halted in her steps next to the torches and withdrew an object wrapped in cloth from a pouch on her hip. Unwrapping it, she revealed it to be an object like a handheld mirror, although the glass was transparent and violet-red in colour.
Link took it when she offered, and he twirled it in his hands, watching the image of the Sheikah eye in the glass vanish and reappear as he did so.
"This is the Eye of Truth," she told him, her voice low. "It is a Sheikah heirloom of mine, and extremely valuable. It simply shows things as they are, reveals truths that are hidden and dispels illusions." The corners of her mouth tightened. "You will need it in order to explore safely."
Link frowned again, observing the reddish flash of the mirror. "This place feels full of magic," he said. "Are there other traps like the door?"
Impa's crimson eyes didn't blink. "This temple is not like the others, Link," she said softly. "Its original purpose was a prison for Hyrule's worst offenders and for those who used dark magic. It was also the site of the massacre of my people by Ganondorf."
Link's eyes widened in shock, but Impa's remained hard as steel as she continued, "These caverns are haunted by the many souls who were tortured and killed here. It is a tomb."
She placed a hand over Link's where it gripped the handle of the lens. "Do not underestimate the power of the dead."
Link nodded, clutching the Eye in his right hand and reaching for the comforting hilt of the Master Sword with his left. At her instruction he held the lens high, holding it over every passageway. All but two were false, meant to lead someone astray.
Impa pointed to the branch to their left. "We'll start here," she ordered.
Without waiting, she walked off. Link drew in a steadying breath. He gripped tightly the Eye of Truth and followed the Sage into the shadows.
~oOo~
Hyrule Castle
The throne room of Hyrule Castle had been seldom used by its tyrant occupant. For over seven years, left largely ignored, its furnishings stripped, it had remained empty.
Sheik no longer cast his gaze to the high stone walls, the smooth floor, remembering its glory days when Hylian banners hung and carpets kept off the chill, when the windows beckoned in sunlight bright enough to fill the entire hall.
Sheik's eyes stayed with the man staring resolutely out the northern most window. Ganondorf's impressive height blocked most of the glass. His hair grew long and unkempt, and he hadn't bothered to shave. Yet he stood straighter, stronger than ever.
Dark magic coursed through the tyrant king's blood, lending him unnatural strength. Sheik felt it like a miasma that permeated the throne room, choking him.
"For all these years you have served me." Ganondorf spoke low, but his voice carried to Sheik's ears anyway. "Yet you and all my followers have failed to bring me one child," he sneered, "from the forest. Worst of all, you've failed in your promise to deliver the Princess Zelda to me."
Sheik showed no reaction as Ganondorf turned to pierce him with his glare.
"Kakariko still stands," Ganondorf continued with a growl. "And my two greatest enemies roam free. Imara will receive punishment for her failure, but I haven't yet decided what to do with you."
Sheik said, "My lord, I have information that Princess Zelda may be hiding in the desert, with your former commander Nabooru."
Ganondorf grunted and waved a dismissive hand. "Then your information is wrong. The traitor Nabooru is no longer a threat."
Eyes widening a fraction, Sheik asked, "My lord?"
"She has been dealt with. If you continue to disappoint me, Sheik, her fate will be yours."
Sheik bowed low. "Allow me one final chance, my lord. I know the whereabouts of the boy."
Ganondorf's gaze raked over him. "You've been a useful source of information for me, Sheik." He exhaled through his nose. "I won't grant you another chance. Use this one wisely."
"You're very gracious, my lord."
Ganondorf snorted. "Get out of my sight."
By the time the king had turned his back, Sheik vanished in a flash of light
~oOo~
East Lanayru province
Dark gave Epona's smooth neck a pat before climbing into the saddle, murmuring a few encouraging words. She was a fine-tempered horse, thank Farore, and strong to boot. In just a few days, they'd made remarkable progress.
After retrieving the mare at Lake Hylia, Link had warped back to Kakariko to assist Impa, entrusting Dark with Epona's safe return as bringing her along wasn't possible. Despite a clear preference for her master, Epona had taken to him. Dark liked to think it was due to horses being fine judges of character, but he assumed it his physical similarity to Link.
Traveling by day and sleeping in caves or the forest at night, Dark had so far avoided trouble of any kind. Though the red potion Link left him helped, he wasn't strong enough yet to fight off one wolfos, let alone a pack of them. And there was more than wolfos wandering around at night these days.
"What do you say we make it to the ranch by nightfall, hm, Epona?"
The mare snorted and tossed her head. Dark chuckled.
"Guess not."
The day's ride was thankfully quiet, and the setting sun forced Dark to steer his mount to the shelter of the woods.
A sharp pain sliced through his chest, like an invisible knife plunged into his heart. Dark gasped. Epona whinnied, rearing on her hind legs. Clutching the scar over his heart, Dark tried to calm Epona. Tendrils of inky blackness seeped from between his fingers, curling around his hand. Striking like a viper, it grazed the back of Epona's head.
Panicked, the mare reared, tossing Dark to the ground. Dark landed sharply, rolling out of the way of Epona's flying hooves. The shadow was ripping free; it felt as if his chest was cracking open.
Dark screamed in agony as the shadow's indistinct form finally wrenched itself from his body. Epona kicked out at the non-corporeal threat but it simply swarmed her, driving her mad with terror.
"Epona," Dark panted, trying to think of a way to draw the shadow's ire. "Go! Run!" He grabbed a handful of dirt and tossed it uselessly at the black form. "Go, Epona!"
The mare bolted, spraying dirt from under her hooves. As she raced away across the plain, the shadow returned to hover over Dark's prone form.
"At last," sneered Alatar's voice from the shadow's mass, as clear as if he stood next to Dark. "You won't escape me again."
Dark choked out a laugh. "Want to bet?"
The shadow dove through his body, tearing him into him so savagely Dark's brain rattled in his skull from the force of his struggles. He went limp with a groan, resisting the need to curl into a ball and sob.
"Do not test me, boy," Alatar growled. "Or the Shadow may kill you too quickly, and we have work yet to do."
Dark didn't care enough to reply. His vision blackened at the edges. Rolling to his belly, he reached half-blind for a weapon. The bow and hookshot Link had lent him were close by, just out of reach of his fingers.
Displeased, Alatar said, "Perhaps you'll be more cooperative after this."
Dark didn't have time to brace himself before the shadow struck him again. Flooding his entire body with white-hot lightning, Dark's teeth locked and he spasmed uncontrollably.
The shadow finally released him, and his brain mercifully shut down, letting blackness take him.
Dark woke in the cold grass, his face pressed to the hard ground. His head ached like an anvil had split it open.
Numb and stiff, he slid his hands underneath himself and lifted onto his hands and knees. The grass felt wet and sticky. Dark looked down.
His hands. His hands were painted with blood. It covered him from the tips of his fingers to his elbows. Clutching at his tunic, he saw with horror that it, too, was soaked in blood.
He ripped it over his head, spreading his hands over his skin to find it unmarked save for the ugly mark left by Alatar's blade. The blood wasn't his.
"What?" Dark panted, feeling panic rise in his throat.
He bolted to his feet to take in his surroundings. The woods—he'd ended up in the forest. With a sick feeling in his stomach, he took in the flecks of red in the dirt, thrown into sharp relief by the light of dusk.
Nearby, a small pale form, speckled with darker stains, hidden in the undergrowth. Dark knelt and pushed aside a branch. The blood-splattered corpse of a cucco lay in the dirt, its neck snapped.
Dark fell back on his haunches, shoving a hand over his face and through his hair. Remembering the blood, he pulled it back, shaking.
"Sweet goddesses," he whispered. "What did I do?"
He stayed in the rain-soaked dirt until the cold numbed him inside and out. His memory offered no clues. After the shadow's latest attack, there was nothing.
One cucco couldn't have produced all the blood on his hands and clothes. What else had he done? Who had he harmed? And Epona, had she escaped?
Dark shuddered as the rain started again, drizzling through the trees and misting his hair and tunic. When his teeth began to chatter, he finally moved, taking unsteady steps until he found a hollow tree to hide in.
Drenched to the bone, he had no cloak to keep him warm and his weapons were still missing. Dark leaned back against the inside of the tree, huddled close to its meager warmth. Outside, the clouds swallowed the last of the light, and the rain washed the forest clean.
Dark sat down and watched the water on his skin chase away the crimson, rubbing the rest away as best he could.
His eyes began to drift closed when he couldn't keep them open any longer and he slept in the shelter of the tree, unsure if he ever wanted to wake up again.
~oOo~
As Link and Impa descended further underground, the coolness in the air intensified. Goose bumps raised along his arms, his breath coming out in wisps of white as if the Shadow Temple were stealing away his soul, bit by bit.
The Eye lived up to its name, guiding them safely through trap doors, false walls and revealing hidden booby-traps in the walls, floors and ceilings. Unfortunately, it could not block out the other sights they came across.
Most rooms were empty and some partially caved in. In many there were cells, cages or posts and stocks with manacles attached, their skeletal occupants still dangling. Link sidestepped a dark stain on the floor, barely glancing.
Impa hadn't lied about this being a place of torture and death. A place where the worst of the worst were punished, interrogated...
Impa stopped so sharply in the next room Link bumped into her back. A whoosh of air tickled Link's nose and blew out their lanterns.
Rigid with tension, Impa warned, "Do. Not. Move."
Link froze, allowing his eyes to take in the large, stone-reinforced chamber. It was completely empty. Another unseen wind hit his face. Slowly, Link took a step back, raising the Eye to look through it.
His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach with a sick lurch. The wasn't empty. A massive statue of a cloaked man, invisible, dominated the room. In the statue's hands a scythe was held, whirling counter-clockwise and awaiting anyone foolish enough to enter and be beheaded.
Impa summoned fire to her palm, relighting their lanterns so they could see again. "Carefully," she muttered, slinking to the floor on her belly. Link followed her example.
Inch by inch, they crawled across the floor, using the Eye of Truth as a guide. Some of the stones laid in the floor were revealed to be illusions—a drop into the void.
After navigating to the other side of the deathly room, Link released his held breath. The tension in Impa's shoulders stayed.
"There is something ahead," she murmured, glancing at their way out. "I am not certain what it is, but it is very dangerous."
Link's hand closed over the hilt of the sword on his back. "I'm ready."
A ghost of a smile flickered on the Sage's face. "Allow me to carry the Eye of Truth and use it to help you. You won't be able to fight while using it."
Link obligingly passed it to her, and they entered a cramped, cave-like space. Six thin, white pillars thrust upwards from the dirt, ending in irregular flares. Their surface was mottled with red spots, maybe lichen. The air was thick and rotten.
"It's here," Impa announced. Her voice sounded muffled, as if the room had swallowed the sound. "Hiding from us."
Navi shivered on top of Link's head under his hat. "It won't appear until it catches some prey," she told him.
Link and Impa moved closer to the white pillars, Eye and Master Sword clenched in their hands. The one nearest to Link swung towards him with unnatural speed, reaching out to snatch at him.
Recoiling, Link realized with revulsion that the pillars weren't pillars at all, but long, pale arms with sickly hands that grabbed at him. Out of their reach, Link watched in horror as they clawed blindly.
"Let them grab you," Impa said.
"What!?"
"It will make the creature surface. I'll distract it until you're free."
Reluctantly, Link inched close enough that one of the creepy hands could clamp down on his shoulder. Dirt erupted in a torrent in the centre of the circle of arms, revealing a hunched, ghoulish figure. Shuffling in place, the monster swung impossibly long arms that ended in severed stumps. It had a pear-shaped body, as pale as the arm that held Link, speckled with reddish marks.
As it turned, it lifted its oblong head, showing pits for eyes and an obscenely wide maw, filled with five-inch long teeth.
The monster moved slowly towards Link, its head bobbing on an unnaturally long neck and its jaws opening even wider.
"Impa!" Link shouted, wrenching his shoulder from the hand's grip. It tore the sleeve of his tunic and strained the muscle, but he scrambled away as fast as he could.
Impa was already on the move, shooting the horrific creature with a small dart. It lowered its head to the tiny projectile in its flank, ripping it free without emotion. Then it turned soulless eyes on the Sage.
Before Link could react, it let loose another torrent of earth from its mouth, aimed directly at Impa. She braced her forearms before her, but the attack consumed her completely. When it dissipated, she had vanished.
Fear threatened to paralyze Link. The dead hands swiped at him so he dodged, rolling closer to the ghoul. Seeing he was no longer caught, it lumbered away, head lowering so its hunched back protruded.
"Not so fast," Link growled, slashing the Master Sword across its back.
It let out an ear-splitting howl, its deformed body crumpling. Moving at a pace that belied its appearance, it charged back towards Link, calling more of its eerie hands from the dirt to latch on to his arms.
With Link unable to get away, the creature swooped, chomping down on Link's shoulder.
He cried out, launching his foot into the thing's midsection. When its hold loosened and it retreated, Link sliced at its exposed neck, hoping the Master Sword could kill what was already dead.
The ghoul's head wailed, even unattached, dropping before its heavy body. The hands shriveled like plants starved of sunlight where they stood, withering into dust.
Link fell to one knee, checking the injury to his shoulder. Badly bruised, with small lacerations from the thing's teeth. At least it wasn't his left arm.
"We should get out of here," Navi said, her anxiety making her wings flutter like a hummingbird's.
He scanned the space but saw no exit. He tried not to panic when he remembered Impa had the Eye. There was no way to see the traps now.
On the ground, the monster's body twitched, and Link yelped. The severed head began to sink into the dirt, followed quickly by its body. Calming his thundering heart, he knelt to sift his hand through the earth, loose like quicksand.
Without warning it seized him and pulled him down, a pebble in a drain. Link was spat out the bottom a few moments later, heaving in a shocked breath. Wherever he was now, he was even deeper underground.
Coaxing more magical fire into his lantern, Link straightened to take stock of his new surroundings. His store of magic was getting low, but he couldn't chance moving around in the darkness.
He'd landed in a sewer corridor, luckily on the platform that ran along one side and not in the less than friendly looking water. In fact, it didn't appear to be water at all but fog, flowing downstream as if drawn to some unknown source. The tunnel stretched several metres above his head and across, its slimy stone walls kept lit by torches of green fire, giving the whole place an eerie look.
A shadow shifted to his right, and Link was startled to see an enormous grey ship gliding along the river. Silent as a wraith, it halted in front of him, waiting patiently. Gritting his teeth together and stilling the trembling of his lantern-bearing hand, Link boarded the wooden boat.
After a heavy pause, the ship resumed its journey, lifting and swooping as if it traveled on waves and not air.
"Let's hope it takes us to where Impa is and not...somewhere else," Link muttered.
As he traveled down the river, the torches became few and far between, sometimes lighting the way and revealing passages that branched off, other times leaving him in the blackness. Link heard the low, growling moans echo in the tunnel and those beyond. His head jerked to the left, and his skin prickled when he spotted the gaunt bodies of dozens of ReDeads, perfectly still, watching him from the river's edge.
They had no eyes to see, but they sensed him somehow. The presence of a living, breathing soul—what they longed for.
Link shivered harshly, wrapping his arms around himself for warmth though it agitated his wound. The ReDeads were nothing more than reanimated corpses, aching for they no longer had. Nonetheless, the sight and sound of them chilled him with stark terror.
Just as suddenly, the ghost ship lurched to a silent stop. Taking that as his cue, Link climbed down and onto a stone ledge. Confused, Link turned back, but the ship had disappeared.
Steeling himself one more time, Link walked ahead until the light of his lantern peeled back the black surrounding an ancient stone well. Link paused, examining it. Identical to the one in Kakariko village, without doubt.
The back of his left hand itched. Trying not to think about his decision too much, Link began to climb down.
The ladder ended before he reached the bottom. Cynically thinking he would fall to his death, Link let himself drop. He landed, and immediately bounced back up, flailing to get his balance.
Something big and weighty struck the ground near Link, bouncing him in the air again. In disbelief, Link raised his lantern high, then brushed his fingers over the floor. It wasn't dirt, nor stone, but hide.
A drum.
Torches flared to life all around him, allowing him to see the colossal drum he'd landed on. Outside the lights' reach, something moved.
Link secured the lantern to his belt, arming himself with the Master Sword and Hylian shield.
A dark, leathery body uncurled from above, hovering over him. It had a small head compared to its large body, but a smooth, featureless face. Its arms extended from its sides, missing hands.
"Is every creature in this awful place handless?" Link asked himself, distracting himself from the fear.
A steady drumbeat sounded, jostling Link. Shocked, he stared at the shadow creature as it played with unseen hands. The skin of its head slicked back, showing it to be not a head but a single, crimson eye that stared intently where its phantom hands struck the surface of the drum.
Unseen hands...Link watched the drum's surface—where twin shadows hovered above it, enlarging and shrinking as the beast's invisible hands moved. Link grinned.
"It's a shadow beast named Bongo Bongo," Navi reported, floating next to Link's ear. "If you can paralyze its hands, you can get close enough to strike its eye before it hits you back."
"Sounds easy enough." Link retrieved the fairy's bow and notched an arrow.
Without the Eye of Truth to see where Bongo Bongo's hands were, he would have to guess. He let the arrow fly. With a cry of pain, Bongo Bongo reared back, its left hand becoming visible and, for now, stunned by Link's arrow.
Continuing the beat one-handed, Bongo Bongo remained focused. Link aimed again but missed as the shadow beast dodged to the side, agitated. The second shot was true, and Link charged forward as the great red eye zeroed in on him.
Link slashed at Bongo Bongo's eye, earning a shriek of agony and fury. But the phantom hands had revived and sent Link sprawling backwards. Landing hard on his back, the breath seized in Link's lungs. Another blow nearly crushed him, but he managed to backpedal in time.
Wheezing, Link raised the bow once more, but Bongo Bongo shifted incessantly, enraged by the attacks. It moved too swiftly for Link to land a hit, but its glowing red eye continued to be drawn to the drum's smooth surface.
Seeing this, Link switched tactics and prayed it would work. Kneeling, he tapped the nock a few times, testing the sound, then began a slow, sonorous beat.
Captivated, Bongo Bongo's hands resumed their pounding, matching the beat Link set. The red eye blinked.
Grabbing two arrows with his free hand, Link released them with quicksilver speed, catching both hands within moments of each other.
Stunned, Bongo Bongo's eye swivelled wildly in its socket. Link raced forward, sword lifted high. He drove his weapon into the eye's centre, straight to the hilt. A screech sounded in his ears. The shadow beast convulsed and went limp, its huge body crumbling into ash.
Yanking the sword free, Link stumbled and let himself collapse with a sigh.
Right on time, ethereal blue light shone through his closed eyelids. Link took another deep breath. He was more than happy to leave this place.
When he arrived back in the Chamber of Sages, the Sage of Shadow awaited him, a smile curving her thin mouth.
"Well done, Link," she praised him. "I am sorry I could not be of more help."
Link returned her smile. "I'm glad you're all right. What happened to you, anyway?"
Impa shrugged. "I was held in another prison within the Temple. When you defeated the shadow beast, I was freed." She inclined her head, fist held over her heart. "You have my thanks."
Link bowed his head. When he met her eyes again, she watched him expectantly. Trying to keep the guilt from his face, he opened then closed his mouth.
A smirk played at the corners of her mouth. "I know you have questions," she said, rightly guessing his thoughts. "Ask them."
Link lifted his chin. "What happened seven years ago? At Hyrule Castle?"
The Sage's eyes clouded with memory. "When the ambush came, Zelda tried to reach her father, to warn him of the threat Ganondorf posed. But he feared for her safety and tasked me with taking her out of his reach."
"Ganondorf mistakenly believed that Zelda held the keys to the Sacred Realm. The three Spiritual Stones of Hyrule's people and the treasure passed down through generation of the Royal Family—the Ocarina you bear."
Impa paused, her nostrils flaring. Her arms crossed over her chest, her left fist tapping idly against her forearm in habit.
"Hyrule Castle was forced to surrender, and Ganondorf killed the King of Hyrule. He tried to corner Zelda and I as we made our escape, and he told the poor girl of her father's fate."
Impa's eyes flickerd closed briefly, her forehead furrowed. "We escaped, but Ganondorf knew victory was close at hand, and gave chase. I was able to ensure Zelda's safety, and fulfill my duty as her guardian."
Link might have imagined it, but he heard the notes of emotion in her voice. She never called Zelda by her royal title in front of him. He felt certain that Impa viewed her charge as more than just mere duty to the Royal Family.
"And after?" Link pressed, voice hoarse. "What happened to her?"
Impa's expression didn't change, but he sensed her hesitating. "We spent several years in hiding," she explained at last. "Zelda was anxious to do more to help her people. I, of course, refused. She was too young, and it was far too dangerous."
Another smile flashed and was gone. "But she is a stubborn girl. Eventually, we went our separate ways." At his earnest look, she added, "I am sorry, Link, but I do not know where she is now. But trust me that she is alive, and she is safe."
Appeased, but disappointed, Link nodded.
"You have become a fine hero, Link. I can see how the prophecies of my ancestors will soon come to pass." Impa uncrossed her arms, lifting them above her head. "Take this with you, and when you see her again, protect Zelda on my behalf, won't you?"
Link's outstretched fingers caught the Medallion of Shadow. "I will," he promised.
Always...