Inspiration: "Face On," from the Wolf's Rain OST (played this song on a loop it's awesome).
Shout Out: Captain America, thanks for reading (is that really you Cap? Lol).
Author Note: Part of this chapter was inspired by Neurotic Engineer, SuccessfulFailure, Katia0203, and Mitsuki-love13, and my dear dear Rosa Bella Mortiferum.
Word Count: 5,157
Chapter 22
One week later, a rare peek in the Heavens
The earth was changing. Hyrule was changing. There was suddenly a shift that had taken place in the lands down below. The seal that had been keeping the kingdom safe had abruptly waned. A collective energy field of bluish green light surrounded the planet, acting as its barrier. The ebb and flow was constant, and resembled a current of never ending electricity. The allocated energy of the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage was so strong, that space debris coming in close contact with it burned up immediately in its atmosphere. Even so, the cascading flux had slowed considerably over the last few days, with the closest celestial bodies witnessing it, more aptly the moon.
The isolated incident between two lovers had suddenly become a universal problem. What should have been a small incident of meaningless significance to the kingdom, was now an inter-dimensional issue. Why were Hylians so impervious? Why didn't they think beyond their own inherent lives? Why didn't they consider the overall greater good? Perhaps they didn't understand their own significance. Unfortunately, that action had extraordinary consequences… consequences that had to be mitigated. The testimony was capitulated to both finite and infinite cosmic entities of the past and present.
The heavenly tribunal was now in session, and the three goddesses Nayru, Farore, and Din were in conference. Currently, they were discussing the plight of the fourth goddess Hylia, who was at present away on an assignment investigating a disturbance on the moon. This turned out to be an ill-fated decision that the three goddesses would come to regret. Before Hylia's dispatch, the unspoken candor regarding her distorted history with the moon was all but known. There should have been a frank discussion then about the dangers of her taking on such a task. No one spoke on it. Though, they were all aware of it. Unfortunately, the result of such bale logic was that Hylia had now become seized by a dark force imbedded within the luminary's surface. This was the same dark force that had possessed her on occasions before and drove her mad.
The origin of the energy was believed to be an amalgamation of darkness channeled from the Triforce itself. The Triforce was capable of producing dark energy, because darkness was a byproduct of the light. This was why the Triforce of Power resonated with persons like Demise and Ganondorf. However, this was not to suggest the power was coming from within the relic itself. Rather, the power was harnessed around the hollowed center of the relic, almost like an inverted plane of space. This phenomenon was known as the Tetraforce. The Tetraforce could be likened to a complicated celestial singularity known as a black hole. Like a black hole, the Tetraforce was unpredictable and a product of pure distortion. Besides that, not much else was known about the Tetraforce, even the goddesses did not know.
Nayru, Farore, and Din admittedly feared the Tetraforce because it contradicted the purpose of the true golden triangle, the Triforce. Besides the existential disparities, it also gave Hylia personal disparity, with an extraordinary power beyond what was normal. The goddesses theorized that the darkness had an affinity for Hylia, because darkness itself had somehow separated from her in the past. During the battle against Demise, Hylia used an abundance of energy to protect her armies and the Hylians she sent skyward. It was believed during that event all the darkness within her was drained and encapsulated in an effort to defeat Demise. In the years that followed, Hylia as a result displayed more virtue and benevolence than the other goddesses. This was surmised because at the time she unequivocally possessed the most light. In like manner, the goddesses also knew that Hylia could become the most ruthless as well, but that was only if she ever succumbed to the power of the Tetraforce. Since Nayru, Farore, and Din could not destroy the Tetraforce, they found a way to harness its power and use it to act as a barrier around the Triforce itself. It was a risqué maneuver, but it was all the goddesses could do to control it.
In fact, there was very little the triad could do to bind the illogical power, and most personages, if they knew of it, would admittedly find the goddesses solution shortsighted. However, the goddesses recognized the flaws and dangers of their set up, but there were no other alternatives. Unfortunately, those flaws had been realized on several different occasions in history. When the energy broke free and possessed Hylia, she wreaked havoc in Hyrule. Nayru, Farore, and Din worked hard to keep the apparent insanity of Hylia a secret, but Hylia herself made her madness known to certain followers of her in various sects. This created a division of those who wanted to serve Hylia as the goddess of darkness, versus those who wanted to serve her as the goddess of light. The damage to her reputation was substantial. There were some who only knew of her as the Moon Goddess. This was true in Lorule, Termina, and even certain factions of Hyrule known as the Interlopers. For a time, Nayru, Farore and Din didn't allow truth seekers to write about Hylia in her ill-fated state, wanting instead to protect their sister and her reputation. However, the three goddesses also realized they couldn't prevent the truth from being denied to members of the royal family either. Rather, it couldn't be denied from members of the royal family, particularly the princesses.
Every princess of Hyrule was a descendant from the goddess Hylia herself. Thus, her lineage was their lineage. With that lineage, was the recollection of Hylia's past and present life of the time. The princesses and queens were always aware of what was going on with the prominent goddess. Their thoughts were in line with hers, but only if Hylia made contact with them. This was rare, with only one of two princesses at best being actually able to speak with her. One princess even wrote of her experience, and recalled all the former and present accounts of Hylia's lifetime in detail. She then hid the book in the royal library hoping to finish it one day, but she never did. Unfortunately, over time a copy of this important manuscript was stolen. A rogue scholar had found it and was intrigued by it. The book eventually resurfaced in circles of learned men, women, and great thinkers who sought to know the truth of their world and its existence. The book was then dubbed: The Ancient Mysteries of Hyrule and it experienced limited circulation of about twenty copies. The book was afterwards published into wider circulation and rewritten several times over, with some information altered for the purpose of just the original few knowing the true knowledge of the original text.
Hylia's last stent of madness was recorded in one of the original copies of the book to keep an accurate accounting for those in the know. It was the tale of Majora. However, this tale was a horrible story of tears and destruction. The Moon Goddess was banished back to the moon where the darkness was once again purged from her essence. This purging was done by the hero dawning the Fierce Deity's Mask. The hero who donned this mask had no idea how far reaching his effects were. The mask was ironically a gift from the Moon Goddess to the hero, but her madness disavowed the fact that the goddess Hylia was the true creator of the mask. It was the reason the sun prince was able to summon the power of light to defeat her and not darkness. Thus, in that important moment in time, the Moon Goddess was defeated. Her, and her servant Majora.
In this latest incident, Nayru, Farore, and Din believed the darkness once more possessed Hylia and turned her into the Moon Goddess. However, the triad acted preemptively this time by creating a barrier to keep the darkness at bay. This was done by unifying the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage. The Triforce of Power could not be used in the unification process, because the agent needed to commence a seal would work inversely with the goddesses' plans. A threefold seal would have been ideal, but it was not practical. Even so, Nayru, Farore, and Din didn't anticipate there being disunity between the current bearers of wisdom and courage.
The Hero of Time and Sage of Time were the perfect vessels for this task, but their marriage was a ploy at best. As divulged before, the hero acted erroneously in his shortsightedness. He unknowingly worked with an agent of darkness and weakened the seal. The Moon Goddess was clever in using a vessel of her own to seduce the hero, a vessel he would find hard to resist. She used a woman he loved, and possibly created a seed of destruction. The seed was a child of light and darkness. The child's ambivalence would be sacrificed to the Moon Goddess on the night of commencement known as the Moonlight Crucible. The Interlopers were the most keen on this information, so it was safe to surmise that they would be the ones partitioning it. It was why the followers of that sect used the lunar calendar as opposed to the solar calendar like the rest of Hyrule. This latest event was why the three goddesses were now in counsel.
Farore was currently speaking.
"There is very little time," she said judiciously, "what must be done to keep the seal intact?"
Both her sisters stared at her with attenuated looks.
"The king and queen must stay together," Nayru replied, "it is as simple as that."
Din then scoffed.
"If it was that simple we wouldn't be in this situation," she replied, "the seal is waning because we trusted these flighty Hylians to have reason."
Farore raised a brow.
"Flighty Hylians?" she repeated.
Din had no qualms about her comment.
"That's right," she replied.
Farore crossed her arms over her chest.
"And what would you have suggested?" she challenged. "Another male Gerudo?"
Din narrowed her eyes slightly at the bait.
"Say what you want about my former Triforce bearer, but he was the embodiment of power," she replied. "He wasn't foolish enough to allow his 'feelings' to cloud his better judgment. He was a man of action."
Nayru didn't let that slide.
"He nearly killed both of our bearers and almost destroyed Hyrule," she reasoned. "What's the point of having power if you have nothing to rule?"
Din sat back in her chair and raised a brow. She was dismissive for now.
"A point well taken, he should have learned from that," she said, "but I think it also should be said that forcing two Triforce wielders to marry was an ill advised… thing."
Nayru merely shook her head.
"They are still together and the seal is still intact," she replied quietly, "this method works. Pragmatism will be the victor here Din. Stop being an instigator."
Din smirked.
"Will it?" she asked. "Was it pragmatism that told the beguiled hero to go off with the dark maiden and make love to her in disguise? Ugh, he is beyond a simpleton."
Farore cut her eyes to the fiery goddess.
"I would be careful in how you say that Din," she warned, "last time I checked that 'simpleton' was the King of Hyrule, and he is still alive today. Try to do a better job with your Triforce of Power when you seek another wielder next time."
Din didn't take too kindly to that.
"At least Ganondorf understood what it truly meant to wield such power," she snapped, "he wasn't beguiled by peasant girls that altered his destiny."
Now it was Farore's turn to be offended.
"Ganondorf is also now residing in the seal Din," Farore corrected, "if he was so powerful he would be the rightful king of Hyrule right now." She gave her sister a once over and looked at her with mild disgust. "How can you defend such a violent and oppressive man?"
Din was silent for a long moment and looked away.
"You may not like what I have to say, but he got the job done," she said finally, "oppressive or not, he was a worthy wielder of my Triforce. He understood his destiny."
Nayru, listening quietly, then raised a brow.
"Which is why we can't have a threefold seal," she added, "you tend to allow tyrants to play with your trinkets Din."
Din groaned.
"I don't have the luxury of having a pretty little princess constantly wielding mine like you do Nayru," she rebutted, "fate is much harder on me than you two, don't judge."
Farore rolled her eyes.
"Spare me Din," she said, "stop trying to rationalize your terrible decision."
Din cut her eyes to the goddess of courage.
"I'm not," she said, "I'm merely speaking the truth."
Nayru twirled one of her blue locks thoughtfully around her forefinger.
"Careful Din," she teased, "you're sounding like an apologist. The people would hate to know one of their goddesses actually supported Ganondorf."
Din narrowed her eyes.
"I wouldn't be so self righteous if I were either one of you," she said, "your wielders aren't exactly saints."
Nayru didn't reply, but her expression showed she obviously didn't agree. It did seem unfair that both Farore and Nayru were picking on Din. However, Din loved mischief and was known to rake the coals when she should just let the embers die. Even so, Farore looked between her two sisters and wanted to end the petty dispute they were having. There was too much at stake to be worrying over such things like past mistakes.
"Enough," she said, "we're going in circles. This is not what this counsel is for. We are better than this."
Din rolled her eyes and looked away, while Nayru glanced over at Farore and grinned. Nayru had a way of acting serene, when she really wanted to provoke the situation. In this case, she settled for an armistice.
"You are right of course," she said, then looked over at Din, "I'm sorry sister."
There was a brief silence between the three of them, where Din muttered something under her breath, then cut her eyes back to Nayru.
"I forgive you," she said unconvincingly, then added, "and… you are both right about Ganondorf. I misjudged his character. I'm sorry too."
Farore looked between both her sisters with a bit of renewed confidence.
"I apologize as well," she said, "my words were harsher than I meant them to be."
Din and Nayru simply nodded and Farore smiled.
"Perfect," she said, "let's move on."
The counsel proceeded forward, with Nayru speaking up first.
"I sent the queen another vision," she said suddenly, "she was already able to relay it to the king."
Farore nodded.
"Good," she said, "I may have to do something similar; a confidence speech or something. I don't think he truly understands his role in all this."
It was then Din suddenly chuckled, but didn't reply.
Farore raised a brow.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
Din ran a hand through her vibrant red hair and shrugged nonchalantly.
"It's nothing," she said.
Farore gave her an obvious look.
"Now that's isn't honesty," she replied, "what is it?"
Din chuckled again and decided to be more forthcoming.
"I couldn't help but think that Link does know his role now," she said with a hint of sarcasm, "especially with all things considered."
Farore pretended ignorance.
"What things are those?" she countered.
Din raised both her brows.
"Come on…" she trailed.
Farore narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Tell me," she replied.
Din stared at her sister for a long time with a semi smile, but then threw caution to the wind when she saw her countenance didn't change.
"Alright fine," she said, "I know I said I was past this, but I have to ask. Seriously Farore, how could you have agreed to the terms set for the hero in marrying the queen when you knew he was in love with another woman? Did you not see this disaster coming? Did you not see his face when he was making love to that girl? He was like a thorough bred stallion. He could have easily gone on for another few hours with the way he was saucing that quim of hers. He was endowed like one too."
The other two goddesses were shocked at her speech. Nayru blushed and closed her eyes, while Farore stared at her sister in pure shock and embarrassment.
"Din…" she trailed, "are you serious?"
Din fanned off both their discomfiture.
"I'm dead serious," she said, "don't either of you try that coy act with me. You were watching the two of them go at it just as much as I was. We all could see from how he was acting with that other girl that he wanted her. He was more enthralled with her. He expressed more love to her, and… he put his mouth in places he normally wouldn't. He went home and kissed his queen with those lips."
Nayru turned red and seemed to sink in her chair.
"Oh dear," she whispered.
Farore's eyes widened.
"Din!" she practically shouted.
Din then whipped her head back and laughed at their expense.
"Oh stop being such sticks in the mud," she said, "we're not immune to sex, we created it, and I'm glad he enjoyed it. I just think that a man who clearly has a divested heart should not be a stuck in a marriage he does not want."
Farore didn't have an answer that would be satisfactory for her. However, Nayru took offense to her notion.
"He will get used to the idea," she said, "marriage is not always about what we want, but what is right."
Din rolled her eyes and put her arms behind her head.
"You think the decision you made was right?" she challenged. "You purposely had your bearer keep the hero away from his true love."
Nayru's eyes widened.
"He was with the queen for many years before the former Forest Sage decided she didn't want to live her life as it was destined to be any longer," she replied. "How is that my bearers' fault? Why should she not have the man she has been in love with for years because of… a problem?"
Din was quiet for a long time at her reply.
"Do you truly believe that?" she asked.
Nayru nodded.
"Indeed," she said, "the princess has a right to her hero."
Din snickered.
"Her hero?" she repeated. "Now I know why the queen is such an icy charlatan, look who she has guiding her."
Nayru looked at Din stunned.
"Excuse me?" she demanded.
Din merely laughed again and Farore then got up from the table and slammed her hands on the surface.
"Will the both of you stop this?!" she demanded. "This is getting us nowhere. You're both right in your own ways, but this is vacuous!"
Both sisters were silent for now, with Din grinning and Nayru pouting slightly. Farore shook her head at their behavior, thankful the people didn't see how much they squabbled over silly things. It was then she decided to answer Din's question directly.
"I agreed to the terms because Link was the only one who could do what needed to be done," she explained. "Link is not perfect, but he was worthy of my Triforce because of his courage. You saw his deeds. You saw how he vanquished Ganondorf and freed the peoples of Hyrule. Need I remind you that he did that when he was only a child."
Din raised a brow.
"You think that justifies keeping him trapped in a bond he can never be free of?" she countered.
Farore was annoyed by Din's needling, but she did have a point.
"If it means saving Hyrule… yes," she replied.
Din stared at her while she tapped his forefinger on the surface of the table.
"And you two claim I'm irrational," she said sarcastically.
Farore immediately took offense to that.
"Well, what would you have done?" she demanded.
Din shrugged.
"I would have let him marry his peasant girl," she replied, "it was clearly the path he wanted."
Nayru the chimed in.
"At the expense of Hyrule?" she countered.
Din cut her eyes to the goddess of wisdom.
"It didn't have to be the only way," she said, "you made it that way to appease your princess."
Farore went to defend her decision.
"I have watched him his whole life," she said, "he deserved to be the King of Hyrule! He sacrificed so much. He has so much valor."
Din went to challenge that too.
"Did he want to be the King of Hyrule?" she asked. "You speak of what he deserved, when he willingly broke his vows to the queen and acted on his impulses. That's hardly a testament to valor. He wanted to be with that peasant girl. Why couldn't you let him have that?"
Farore looked at her sister at a loss for a moment and did not know what to say. It was then Nayru chimed in again. She lost her composure in a rare moment of anger. She seemed to have had enough.
"What's done is done Din," she snapped. "Stop going over hypotheticals. If you don't have a solution other than criticizing, then your thoughts are not needed here."
Din then cut her eyes to Nayru and gave her a blank expression.
"Hmph," she groaned, "guess I touched a nerve."
Nayru looked the goddess of power over in frustration.
"You speak of fairness when your Triforce wielder oppressed people!" she shot back. "How can you say anything when Ganondorf was willing to destroy Hyrule?! Stop being a troublemaker when you know you come off as nothing more than a hypocrite."
There was a tense silence between the three goddesses now, with Din staring at Nayru. Farore was still contemplating some of the things her sister said, but she tried to keep her expression nondescript.
"We've… we've gone and quarreled again," Farore said quietly after a few minutes. "We have said some things that may have more truth than we rightly want to acknowledge. Perhaps we haven't been exactly fair to our wielders. Perhaps we have exacted a more iron hand than we should have. Perhaps the future for them will be bright, I don't know, but I have to live with my decision."
Nayru then looked Farore's way, but Farore didn't meet her eyes.
"Sister…" she trailed, "we did the right thing."
Farore was silent.
"Now… now I'm not so sure," she more to herself than to the others, "but as I've stated before, I have to live with my decision."
Nayru looked at Farore taken aback, while Din simply smirked.
"It seems we have plenty of food for thought," Din said softly.
Nayru cut her eyes to Din.
"Now see here-" Nayru tried.
Farore then raised a hand to stop her.
"Enough," she interrupted calmly, "we shouldn't be at each other's throats. We should be looking for a solution to solve this problem, right?"
Nayru stared at Farore for a long time before reluctantly nodding. Din too nodded.
"Right," Din replied.
At that, Farore then changed the subject.
"Exactly, so let's focus," she said, "we all know that Hylia has once again slipped into madness due to the Tetraforce. What we must do now is exact a plan of action."
Farore looked over at Nayru who appeared less enthused due to the previous conversation. It seemed she had more to discuss, but decided to leave the matter alone. She then agreed with her sister with caution.
"How are we to do that without intervening in Hylian affairs?" she asked. "We made that law due to the consequences of Hylia herself. Her own intervention has caused her to be driven mad at certain points in history."
Farore understood the point all too well.
"That was because she was initially involved in the entire world conflict," she explained, "we won't have too much of an effect if we decide to intercede at smaller points in time."
Nayru was still not convinced.
"How?" she challenged.
Din then had a suggestion.
"I know how," she said, "why don't we kill the dark maiden and not worry about the sacrifice taking place at all?"
Both Farore and Nayru looked at Din like she was crazy.
"Will you be serious?" Nayru asked.
Din shrugged.
"I am," she said, "if we kill her before the night of the crucible, the ritual cannot take place."
Farore raised a brow.
"We cannot kill Din," she said, "you know that."
Din smirked.
"We could always use someone else," she said.
Her two sisters looked at her perplexed.
"Who?" Nayru asked.
Din's smirk widened.
"What about the royal member who has a vendetta against the Moon Goddess?" she asked.
Nayru's eyes widened slightly.
"You mean Hilda?" she asked, than added. "Absolutely not, that is preposterous. She would never do it."
Farore was quiet for a moment, thinking about her sister's suggestion.
"You know… Din has a point," she said, "we could recruit Hilda since she owes us a favor, and she still has that curse placed on her and her people because of the Moon Goddess. She may want a little revenge."
Nayru stared at Farore shocked.
"What?" she replied.
Din then balled her fist enthusiastically.
"Exactly," she said, "we could help her get it. She deserves a little retribution for all that she has gone through."
Nayru looked truly dumbstruck, while Din only got more confident.
"Why shouldn't she be the one to give the deathblow to the servant of her most hated enemy?" she asked.
Nayru then interceded.
"Because we don't promote death," she argued, "if we suggest death, then how are we any different than the Moon Goddess?"
Din cut her eyes to her sister.
"Sometimes death is necessary," she explained, "we created it in the life cycles for Hylia's sake! This is an emergency."
Nayru rolled her eyes, while Farore looked between her two sisters.
"I… I don't think we have a choice in this matter," she said carefully, "this may have to be our course of action."
Nayru looked disappointed immediately, while Din smiled again.
"Since it was my suggestion, I would be glad to recruit Hilda for the task myself," she said.
Farore nodded, but Nayru shook her head.
"I still think this is a mistake," she said, "we cannot ask a poor destitute woman to enact such a heinous crime."
Din chimed in.
"She is a princess whose kingdom was overrun by the evil that the Moon Goddess has allowed to run rampant in her world," she said, "I think it is more than reasonable for her to have a little revenge than not."
Farore glanced over at Nayru again, waiting for her to answer. There was none to be had.
"Well, I think then the decision has been made," Farore said, "Din you can dispatch the message to Hilda, but remember your contact with her must be minimal at best."
Din fanned off Farore's concern.
"I'm a goddess," she said, "I'm not new at this."
Nayru was decidedly quiet now. She was not happy with this course of action, but like any tribunal, she agreed with the overall decision. With the plans made, the divinities got up from their respective seats and went about going over their assignments. Din was off to the lands below to recruit Hilda. Nayru returned to the oracle to continue her private meditation for the queen. And, Farore retired to her personal quarters for a moment of reflection before she went and spoke with the hero. Farore stared down at the lands below for a long time, thinking about the fate she decided for her Triforce wielder.
Was I presumptuous? she wondered suddenly. Did I unintentionally hurt him?
Farore was never a goddess to doubt a decision she made, but in this instant she felt the weight of her decision. She wanted her wielder to be happy, but had she taken that way from him? Did she unbeknownst to him ruin his life? Then, of course, there were the actions he took. How could he let his guard down and not recognize who the dark maiden was?
Farore then verbalized her thoughts out loud.
"What were you thinking great hero?" she whispered to herself. "Why could you not see? He cannot fail again, not when something so important is nigh."
After a minute decision, Farore left her standing place and went over the cloud's edge to look down at the lands below. She stared down at the seal still in place. The aquamarine layer was ebbing and flowing constantly, but the oscillation was waning. Before she made her descent, Farore watched as her sister Din leapt off the summit to the clouds below. The fiery goddess had a perfect aerial dive. Din was always impetuous. Farore admired Din's gumption. She wished she had more of it herself, but that was also what made Din reckless at times. However, when Farore looked up, she saw her other sister, Nayru, meditating deeply. She too admired her sister's serenity.
"Two deities with two very different personalities," she whispered to herself, "and yet we all seem to get along somehow."
Farore's moment of reflection was cut short when she once again focused on the task at hand. She had to encourage her Triforce wielder. She got ready to dive herself, but made sure to keep her visit short so as not to disturb the balance of the Hylians. She didn't hesitate a moment longer when she suddenly dove to the surface below.
Link, it's time you met the goddess who looks out for you, she thought, it's time you met the oracle of destiny.
The next chapter will be up soon.