Ch. 5 Trial by Fire

The story So Far: On a summer camping trip, Ganondorf, controlling Lor with threats on her friends' lives and a nasty spell, gets her to bring Link to the ruins of the Goron City. There they find the Spiritual Stone of Fire… and a nasty ambush from the youngest member of the Black Rose Quartet, Dala Mast, whose magic can control plants. Unfortunately, when she gets angry, her powers go out of control and bring down the house… literally. Bound by vines, Lor forces Link to go without her, leaving her to her fate…

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the stuff I made up.

"Lor! Lor!! LOR!!!" Link screamed at the huge pile of rocks until his throat hurt. His wild blond hair was matted and dirty, his green tunic and cap were torn. Blood coated his lower legs, and if one looked closely enough, they could see little holes, the result of bloodthirsty vines. Blue eyes desperately scanned a large area that appeared to be the end result of a bomb-testing site. His knuckles, already scratched and bleeding from a hasty escape, were white from holding the Spiritual Stone of Fire and his sword so tightly. Trees and vines writhed over the devastated ruin like snakes. The sun was just beginning to creep over the horizon.

"Link?" Link turned at the mention of his name. Pasco was climbing up onto the ledge, accompanied by other pages armed with spears and bows.

"Link, what happened? There was a huge earthquake and you and Lor had vanished! Link, where's…?" Pasco trailed off, already knowing the answer.

"She's gone, Pasco. Gone forever." Link slumped onto the ground, jamming his blade point first into the dirt as far as it could go. "Why?!" he demanded at Pasco, "Why'd she have to be such a darned idiot?!"

"Link, be reasonable. We need to get back to the camp. There'll be time for mourning later…"

"Shut up! You've never lost anyone important to you! You've got no idea what it feels like!" Link yelled in his face. Pasco's eyes took on a cold fury Link had never seen in the laid-back page.

"I do know what it feels like. I live with the pain every day," Pasco replied in a low, even voice, "But I keep going."

"She… told me to take this back to the camp," Link said slowly. He stared dully at the red stone, turning it over in his hand.

"Then respect her final wish," Pasco replied, extending a hand. Link took it numbly and joined the patrol on its way back down the mountain.

#Fire#

Lorelei coughed. It was really dusty. And she couldn't see a thing. Had death, which she had eluded for so long, finally come for her? She could feel hard ground under her hands.

"You alright?" It was the deeper voice, the one before the cave-in.

"Wha-?"

"I said, 'Are you all right?'" A flame sprang to life.

Lorelei, called Lor by close friends, flicked some of her long blonde hair from her rose-colored eyes and stared around. The ruin's size had been significantly decreased from the collapse, but, miraculously, the very roots that caused the walls to collapse were holding back most of the boulders. After heaving a huge sigh of relief that she wasn't dead after all, she glanced towards the owner of the other voice.

He was tall. No, not tall, just, much taller than her, because he was a grown-up. He reminded her a lot of Link, in a dark, emotionless way. They had the same hair, long and wild, though this man's was dark red going on brown. His eyes were also red. But probably what made her think of her best friend at the time were his clothes. They were almost exactly the same, but all black. Black tunic, black hat, dark grey shirt and pants underneath, dark brown hunters' boots and leather gauntlets. A sword and shield at his back, and slung over his shoulder, the little girl enemy… dead? No, alive, but unconscious.

"Umm…"

"Hurry. Roots won't last long without Dala."

Lor followed close behind as they wound through passage after passage. Behind her, there was a shudder in the earth, followed by a puff of dust. The ruin was sealed for eternity.

Earth

Link and Pasco entered the camp, their spirits down. The rest of the morning went by in a blur. They explained what happened to the training master, who wanted to boot Link out of school, but the knight from Lakemere, still present and looking better, replied that Lor's death was probably punishment enough. He was pretty surprised to hear she was a girl, though. They kept the Spiritual Stone.

Soon, all the pages were packing hurriedly, rolling their equipment into pack and practically throwing them onto the horses. They descended the mountain at a near breakneck speed and galloped as hard as possible towards Castle City.

There was a sound like being inside a fishbowl when someone was beating on it, only magnified several hundred times, accompanied with an awful shudder. Link looked up. He saw a faint shape in the water above the protective dome. It backed up, and slammed full-force into it again. This time, there was a crack. The third time, the cracks spread across the dome like spiderwebs.

The fourth time, it created a huge hole. Magic dome dropped in pieces and vanished before it could hit the ground.

A monster dropped through, roughly dragon-shaped, and silvery-white, onto the plain that was Hyrule Field. Everything it touched froze, which was probably the only reason the whole ocean wasn't pouring in on them. Link turned Epona around to face it, sword drawn, followed by most of the pages. There were some knights and squires with business in Castle City. They, too, rushed out, armed with lances, halberds, and spears.

Hyrule's first battle against dragon in over a thousand years had begun.

#Fire#

Lor stood on a tall cliff, watching in horror as the ice dragon fell through the dome. The man next to her (Dark Link, he was called) swore angrily. But what scared Lor the most was that her friends were out there fighting it, with not even the tiniest chance of winning.

"Need more time!" Dark Link muttered, setting Dala down beside the rock.

"Please, my friends are out there, fighting that thing. How can I help them?" Dark Link turned and looked at her. He seemed to be thinking.

"Something on this mountain called Din's Fire. Heard of it?" he asked. Lor nodded enthusiastically. Pasco had spoken a lot about it.

"Find it. Gives ability to create and manipulate flame."

"But…! I can't… I'll burn!" Lor stammered.

"You grabbed a torch flame first. Fire won't hurt you. It can't hurt you. Understand?"

"But…"

"Hmph. Such a crybaby," Dark Link groaned, rubbing his forehead. He handed her something made of red cloth. "Wear this. Fireproof."

Lor unfolded it. It was a red tunic, but adult-sized. She pulled it on over her ragged clothes and refastened her belt around it. It fell past her knees, and the sleeves were very long on her arms. She pulled it up over the belt until she felt she could run properly, then risked a glance back at the battlefield. The Sheikah had been sent out, too. Hyrule Field looked like it was winter, and warriors were constantly being dragged off the field. The ice dragon was merciless.

"Uugh…" Dala was stirring. She blinked up at Dark Link, then at Lor. "Where…? What…?"

"You lost control," Dark Link explained, "Nearly killed us all. Dragon broke through. Gotta find the Fire."

"Don't you ever use complete sentences?" Dala asked him, already crying.

"Sometimes. When I feel like it." Dark Link turned back to Lor. "Wall with writing on it, somewhere up here. Got the little red crystal," He drew a teardrop shape in the air with one finger, "then you can get in."

"How do you know about…?" Lor gasped, her hand flying to her necklace, a gold chain with a teardrop-shaped red crystal. The mention of it caused her to remember it was there. She wore it 24/7, and if she ever needed it, she used it, but if she didn't, she forgot about it, and nobody else seemed to notice, either. Except Dark Link.

"Irrelevant," he replied. With one hand on Dala, they both turned completely black and seemed to melt into the shadows, then vanished, leaving Lor staring.

A wall with writing on it… possibly ancient writing… which means it will be weathered and filled in… Lor ran her hand over the cliffside, searching for anything that felt like a form of writing.

Earth

Link dodged another blast of icy breath. He had gotten separated from most of the pages in the rush to attack, and was now the main attention point of the creature. People in dark blue… Sheikah, is that what Zelda called them? were on this side of the monster as well, sending sparks of fire magic at it. It melted where the fire touched, but the ice quickly was replaced, and their sparks were not enough to do lasting damage. His own sword was only an annoying fly bite to the creature.

If only Lor were here, Link thought, the ache in his chest growing more painful with the thought, she would find some way to make a big explosion that could melt it down in seconds. Lor was always good with fire… A white tail flew up out of nowhere. Link raised his shield, but the tail hit it with the force of a battering ram, driving him onto his back in the snow. Within seconds, the dragon's giant, freezing head was looming over, casting a cold, dark shadow on his defenseless form.

#Fire#

Lor ran her hand over the wall. It was smoother than the rest, and scored every once and awhile with a letter or two that she barely recognized. It had to be that wall Dark Link had told her about. Her fingers found a teardrop-shaped impression on the wall. She pressed her necklace into it. Almost at once, the markings that she hadn't found, along with the ones she had, lit up with a purple glow, and the wall opened up like double doors. Lor ran inside, wincing as the doors slammed omniously shut behind her.

Earth

A fireball slammed into the monster's face. It roared, a sound like grating glass, and lashed out at one of the Sheikah. Link got to his feet again. The dragon spread its wings and took off, breathing frost down onto the ground. Suddenly, it was blasted to one side by a gust of wind. Its own shadow rose up like a black snake and grabbed its leg. The Sheikah weren't the only ones with magical powers. Some of Link's year-mates were accomplished mages as well.

The shadow pulled harder. The dragon landed, folding in its wings so the wind didn't snap them off. Fireballs continuously attacked its head. Knights charged up with lances. Fire arrows stuck in its back. But the sheer size of the monster rendered this new assault as ineffective as the last. Without something to engulf the entire creature at once, the battle would remain a stalemate.

#Fire#

Lor ran towards the red light. Suddenly, the tunnel widened out to reveal a small cave. In the middle of this cave was a small pillar-like pedestal draped in red cloth. It was the item lying on it that the red light was emanating from: a piece of crystal, rather plain, except for the glow of flame in its center.

"This has to be Din's Fire. Now I can save everybody!" Lor grabbed it with both hands. It began to glow red, the light getting brighter and brighter until Lor finally closed her eyes. Even then, she still saw the shape of the crystal. Just when she thought she couldn't stand it any longer, the light faded away. Perhaps it had been a test? Lor slowly opened one eye, then the other. The light had faded back to a pinprick of fire again.

Of course, it was so dark Lor couldn't see a thing except for the tiny glow. Tightly holding Din's Fire in one hand, Lor squeezed her eyes shut again and concentrated on calling a little fire to her other hand. She opened her eyes, surprised to see how easy it had worked. A spark of flame danced above her open palm, lighting the path back out. She jogged cheerfully towards the doors and the outside.

Earth

"Link!" Pasco called, breathless. Link turned to his friend, surprised to see him holding two identical daggers. He had never seen Pasco use blades before.

"Yeah?"

"I don't really know how to say this, but… Lor's alive. I can feel it," Pasco replied, jumping to avoid the tail swinging towards them.

"Pasco, we both saw the rubble. There's no way anyone could…" Link began, even though he could feel a faint hope rising in his chest.

"Survive it? Of course people can survive a cave-in. They do it all the time. What we didn't see was a body, actual evidence, y'know? So all I'm saying is, keep on the lookout towards Death Mountain, okay?"

#Fire#

When she reached the abandoned campsite, Lor was a little annoyed to find that the pages hadn't taken her horse along with the others. Double Take snorted and trotted over to her in no time, because of his unusual speed. Well, she thought, mounting her blue roan stallion, at least I won't have to walk. They set off at a gallop down the mountain. The wind really felt good against her skin-- it was very warm out.

She stopped at the top of a steep slope that would take her down to the field. Lor had no desire to ride through the city; there were too many people, all of whom probably believed she was dead, which would result in many stops and explanations. By the time she actually got to the battlefield, it would be much too late for any use. Besides, it was hot enough without all the stone and crowds of the city adding to it.

The ice monster below screeched in annoyance. Lor noted that the Sheikah fireballs were doing damage, but at much too small of a scale. She couldn't light up the grass, though. It was soaked by frost. There wasn't any wood around, or she would have built a bonfire. No wood, no oil… only… Lor could have smacked herself. Why hadn't she thought of it earlier? Din's Fire could easily melt it into a giant puddle; she just needed to get close enough for the plan to work.

She drew her sword, holding it high. The sun glinted off the blade. Lor gripped Din's Fire tightly as she tapped into its power…

Earth

Link backed away from the creature. It had virtually no weak point besides fire. Weapons couldn't hurt it…

"An angel! An angel has come to save us!" one of the younger pages shouted, pointing towards the mountain. A glowing figure, astride a silver horse, held a flaming sword aloft. The angel's steed reared and charged down the mountain at an unbelievable speed, sparks flying from its hooves as they struck stone. The angel slashed down with its sword as it passed the dragon. At first, it seemed as though nothing had happened, then a large portion of the creature's wing crashed to the ground, sending up a spray of snow and dirt.

The angel and its horse turned sharply. Link could barely make out the features of the angel through the bright red glow. It was definitely female, younger than him, with long glowing hair and wearing a red… dress? No, a tunic, just much too large for her, and she was barefoot. It's horse appeared more blue-ish than silver up at this close range. But it couldn't be, no matter what Pasco said…

The angel turned sharply, then rode at the dragon again. This time, she stood on her saddle, and as the horse passed the dragon, she leapt off, clinging to an arrow buried firmly in its back. Her blazing sword plunged deep into its body, melting a large rift in the ice. She continued to hack at the same place over and over. The dragon whirled and snapped at her. The sword flew out of her hands and buried itself blade first into the soggy ground.

#Fire#

Lor raked one hand across the dragon's face, her fingers curled like claws. Flame gouged large wounds on its snout. She thrust her other hand, closed around Din's Fire, into the other gash, which was already freezing over again. In an explosion of flames, the dragon fell, a very large hole blasted through its body.

Lor lost the last of her strength and toppled off of the dragon, landing face first in the snow. Even though it was very cold, she still felt unbearably warm. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the dragon stagger back onto its feet. Lor did the same, supporting herself with a broken pike. Flame once again blossomed in her hands and shot towards the monster. She focused all her attention on making them bigger and hotter, until they could melt the monster faster than it could regenerate itself. Soon, it was gone for good.

But the flames wouldn't stop. The snow under her feet melted, the mud dried to dirt. The grass started to catch fire. She was losing control… just like Dala. She couldn't stop the magic, not even slow it down. Lor squeezed her eyes shut in concentration. The magic rebounded upon her, engulfing her body, threatening to eat her alive… she fell over, but didn't feel herself hit the ground.

Earth

"Lor!" Panicking, Link ran towards his fallen friend.

"Link, look out!" Pasco yelled, pulling him back. At almost the same moment, a crushing wall of freezing salt water poured down in front of them in the same place Link had been a moment earlier. The dome was flooding. The thing that had once protected them from the water was going to become their tomb.