For a moment, the world around the crystal in which I, Impa, and Zelda stood was completely white. I began to wonder if the song Zelda had played on her Ocarina was the wrong song. After all, I knew from the few times I had watched Kaylee playing Ocarina of Time that different ocarina tunes caused different events to occur. I began to fear if Zelda had inadvertently done harm to us.

But then, slowly, gradually, blurry lines and colors began to fade into our surroundings. Below us, I could see a grey stone floor rising slowly to meet us – or rather, the crystal descending to meet it. As the crystal touched down, I began to see the walls of some vast room materialize, and, nearer at hand, five figures standing directly in front of us.

At length, the crystal dissolved, and everything came into clear focus. We were standing upon a Triforce symbol of polished grey stone, set in a white marble floor. The walls of the room, too, were of gleaming white marble, as were the columns on either side of it. At one end, there was a great wooden doorway, and at the other, a dais, upon which sat three large, faceted stones. Behind the dais, there was another room, but what it held, I could not tell.

Immediately in front of us were five humanoid beings, watching me, Zelda, and Impa expectantly. One was a massive, sandstone-colored hulk with large limbs and rocky spikes protruding from its head and jaw. Next to this colossus was an old man, tall and stocky, with a white topknot, sideburns, and mustache. He was magnificently robed, like a member of a royal court.

Before the two larger beings (who I'd guess were both men) stood three women of varying stature. One was quite small and slight – a child, to my eyes; she wore a green tunic, soft leather boots, and a leather band in her green hair (I kid you not, green hair). Beside her stood what appeared to be a cross between a human and an amphibian, clad in a scaly garment, with blue skin akin to that of a dolphin, fins on each limb, and a broad head. The last was a lady who appeared to be starting her thirties; she was also an odd-looking sort, with a copper complexion, a long, scarlet ponytail, and large, piercing eyes. Though ill-clad, what really struck me about her was the pair of long, broad scimitars crossed in scabbards at her back.

Zelda faced these five and said to them, "Sages, we have found someone to rescue the Hero of Time. This is…" she looked at me, obviously hoping I would finish the sentence for her.

So I did. "I'm Brian Glenn," I said. "I'm from Eugene, Oregon. So where's Link?"

The splendidly-dressed old man stepped forward, appearing to scrutinize me for a second. Then he said, "Welcome to Hyrule, Brian Glenn."

I nodded my acknowledgement to the man, before Zelda turned to me and said, "Brian, this is Rauru. He is the Sage of Light. He and the other Sages…" she swept her arm to indicate the whole gathering. "…have agreed to guide you throughout our kingdom."

Standing behind her, Impa added, "I hope, for Ruto's sake, that you can rescue Link quickly."

Curious, I asked, "Who's that?"

In answer, the amphibian spoke out: "I am. Link and I are married."

This bit of information did surprise me, as I had always thought that Zelda and Link were destined in every game to be married. Still, I wasn't too shocked; after all, being part amphibian wasn't keeping Ruto from being quite good-looking.

After pondering this for maybe two seconds, I looked at the whole gathering and said, "Then I guess I'd better get started."

Rauru nodded, and I and the other seven occupants of the great room exited via the great wooden doors.

The building sat near a towering castle built of light-grey stone. It was into this castle that Zelda, Impa, the Sages, and I entered. From its courtyard, we parted ways. I was instructed to follow Impa, which I did. Now it was her leading me through the corridors and stairways of the castle. Presently we came to a room which appeared to house an armory. Impa strode into the place, selected a fair-sized metal heater shield and a long, light sword in its case, and passed these to me. "This mission will probably involve some fighting," she told me. "It would be a wise idea to go armed." Gratefully, I accepted the weapons, and began to strap them on, before we left the armory.

As we walked back through the castle, I heard a bell toll once. I inquired Impa about the tolling, to which she answered, "We will have to relocate outside the castle. We will be accompanied by a company of Hylian knights. The bell was to call them."

"Where are we relocating to?" I asked.

The taller lady replied, "To a ranch several miles south of the town. It's built on a high rock in the middle of the plains, and serves as our army's headquarters in times of war. We will use it as our base of operations, as it is closer to where we believe Link is held captive."

As she finished this explanation, we came back out into the main courtyard of the castle. Zelda and the Sages had gathered there, as had twelve young men (the pointy-eared version of men, at least) in plate armor, swords already girded on. Without a single word, all arose and fell into marching order. And so we left the castle grounds and passed through the surrounding city.

The town around the castle was bustling with people, engaged in all manner of activities. We passed numerous shops selling a great many wares. The whole thing seemed too real to be a video game. The people in the streets moved aside at our passage, and most stood in reverence, of Zelda, I guess.

The city itself covered a large area as well, and it took our small troop a half-hour to get from the castle to the outer walls of the city. In the wall was set a rather small gateway, with a wooden drawbridge over a narrow moat. I realized these fortifications would do little to stop a determined attacker, and the moat seemed just a gesture, if anything.

Before the walls of the city stretched a vast, flat plain. There was a single dirt track, which immediately bent to our left (from the sun's position, I guessed it ran east). Our party began to walk straight across the soft, springy grass of the plain.

Up ahead several miles, I could see a rocky hill, upon which I could just make out what appeared to be a wooden palisade. This, I guessed, was the ranch to which we were headed. Remembering Kaylee's words of encouragement, Go get 'em, Brian, I took a deep breath as we continued on towards the hill.