Chapter Six: The Hero and the Heretic
Link kicked Epona's side as she darted through the mess of trees in pursuit of general Mygar. The hero had lost sight of his old enemy when he entered the forest, but Link could still hear the demon taunting him.
"Don't fall behind," Mygar laughed still obscured by the trees. Link did not respond. He was too busy determining where his foe was to be worried about speaking back. Link rode through the woods for nearly twenty minutes without so much as catching a glimpse of Mygar, but the Siragon general continued to taunt him to reassure the Hylian that he was still nearby. It was not until Link stumbled upon a set of horse tracks that Mygar finally fell silent. Due to the snow, which covered the mountainside, Link had no trouble following the tracks. He trailed the imprints to a large rock formation, where they went right up to the face of large cliff and then suddenly stopped.
Link was a bit confused at first until he realized the distance between the hoof prints indicated the horse was still running when it came to the cliff face and their were absolutely no signs that the steed had attempted to stop. Link then kicked Epona's side and charged the cliff. As the hero expected when he came to the cliff wall he passed right through and found himself in a well-lit cave. The wall was no more than an illusion.
"I bet this is why no Siragon encampments have been found," Link said to himself, "They probably have them all hidden using similar tricks." The floor of the cave was composed of solid rock and was not covered by any snow, so there were no longer any tracks to follow, but the cave was little more than a tunnel, with no offshoots, meaning Mygar could have only gone one way. Link slowly made his way through the cave, half expecting a legion of Siragons to ambush him, but no ambush ever came. Link spent about a half-hour making his way through the tunnel. Many parts of the path were on an extremely steep incline and rather than continue to ride Epona, Link dismounted and led his trusty companion up the mountain path.
When Link finally came to the cave's exit, He found a pitch-black horse with no rider. As Link left the cave he looked all around for Mygar's tracks, but found nothing. It was not until he actually stepped several feet out from the cave that he noticed a pair of large gashes in the trunks of a couple trees. The same marks were found on more trees close by, which seemed to form a trail. Link guessed the gashes had been made by some sort of sword and he decided his best bet to find Mygar was to follow the slashes.
Link once again mounted Epona and made his way through the forest, carefully following the marks on the trees. The warrior followed the path for another ten minutes until he saw a clearing. The clearing extended twenty feet to the edge of a tall cliff where the ground abruptly dropped off. Link sighed as he approached the clearing. He thought he had lost his quarry that is until Mygar suddenly jumped down from of one of the trees and kicked him off Epona. Mygar then smacked Epona's side with the broad side of his sword. The mare reared back on her hind legs and then darted off back into the woods.
"At last, we finish this," Mygar growled as Link got back on his feet. "I have been waiting for what feels like an eternity for this."
"As have I," Link said as he drew his sword and shield. As the two enemies crossed swords, Link noticed the Siragon's eyes no longer glowed with the demonic red light that they had been burning with not an hour previous. Link ignored the slight change in the demon's appearance and prepared to fight.
"It is a shame it has to end like this," Mygar said coldly, "You are the closest thing I have ever had to an actual opponent." Mygar then swung one of his blades at Link, but the hero easily turned it aside. The Siragon looked at Link for a few moments without moving and though his face was completely covered, Link could tell he was grinning underneath his helmet. Then Mygar suddenly unleashed his onslaught. His blades became a blur and Link found himself being pushed back towards the edge of the cliff. Link knew he could not continue to lose ground, so he pulled out his hookshot and fired it at a tree branch at the edge of the clearing. Within seconds the hero was back in the trees, leaving Mygar near the drop off. Link then charged the demon and Mygar in turn charged at the Hylian. The two met in the middle of the clearing and began to exchange ferocious blows.
As Link looked at the Mygar while they dueled, he thought about how the demon was responsible for the destruction of so many nations and the deaths of thousands of individuals and an intense anger began to swell within him. He started attacking faster while still managing to block both of Mygar's swords. Eventually, Mygar found himself backing up and before long he was mere feet from the cliff. Link saw his opportunity and charged at the demon in an attempt to knock him of the cliff, but Mygar was too fast. The demon dropped low to the ground and swung his leg around, tripping Link and causing him to crash onto the ground and to drop his sword. Mygar tried to run the hero through with one of his swords, but Link managed to roll away before the stoke fell. Mygar plunged his blade in the snow and frozen earth, but before he could pull it out, Link was back on his feet with his sword in hand. He swung at the demon hoping his blow would find its mark with one of Mygar's blades stuck in the ground, but the demon blocked Link's attack with his second sword.
Link then realized he would never get a decent kill stroke in unless he got at least one of the swords away from his enemy. The hero then started to attack in a way that forced Mygar to use only the blade in his right hand. Link kept attacking in that manner until he finally managed to drag his sword across Mygar's right elbow. The cut was not deep, but it was enough to cause the demon to drop one of his weapons.
"Well played," Mygar growled as he backed away panting. Link too backed up a little, in hopes of getting a little break before the battle resumed. Once Link had rested a bit he held up his sword in order to start attacking again, but before he did he noticed the blood that was on his blade was not blue as he expected it to be, but instead, it was red. Link looked at Mygar confused, but the Siragon only laughed.
"Yes that is correct," Mygar said, "I am not one of them. I am a Hylian like you."
Link shook his head for a few moments until he finally managed to utter the words, "That can not be true. If you are Hylian why do you aid the Siragons and why would those demons follow you?"
"You still know so little," Mygar chuckled. "Why do still call your enemies the Siragons? It is time you call them by their proper name. The Ulgerons." Link knew he had heard the term Ulgerons before, but he could not recall from where.
"You can not honestly tell me you do not know about the Ulgerons," Mygar continued. "I suppose it does not matter anyway. I will soon have your soul and your Triforce piece and by that time it won't really matter what you know."
"How do you know of my piece of the Triforce?" Link asked. He had suspected since his run in with Mygar in Carthor that the general knew about his connection to the Triforce, but Link wanted to know how he found out.
"I think you would be surprised by how much I know about you," Mygar said. "In truth, I would bet you would be surprised by how much you know about me."
"What are you talking about?" Link yelled. He was becoming frustrated; he was greatly confused by what Mygar was saying.
Mygar laughed a bit at Link's lack of understanding. "You are a man of honor, Link," Mygar said. "Before I take the Triforce of Courage, I want you to know why I need it and what I intend do with it. Rest assured it will be used to save this world from the Ulgerons, not destroy it.
"You lie," Link growled.
"No," Mygar said, "at last you will be able to see past the lies and the truth will finally be revealed to you." Mygar then removed his faceplate and took off his helmet. The lower half of his face was wrapped in a long black cloth and the top of his head was covered with a black bandanna. It was at that moment that Link realized he had never actually seen so much as an ounce of Mygar's flesh, so it was entirely possible that the Siragon was actually a Hylian.
Mygar then grabbed the top of the cloth that covered the lower half of his face and pulled it down. The instant he did so, Link was struck with disbelief as he looked upon the deathly pale face of an old enemy he long supposed to be dead.
"Ormek?" Link said in shock. "How is that possible? You died back in the pits of despair, back in Tyfiria. I saw you die."
"Did you really?" Ormek asked rhetorically. "All you saw was a sudden eruption of acid. When your view was no longer impeded, I was gone. I only needed a second to escape. The eruption allowed me to jump through a false wall that I created before hand, similar to the one you encountered earlier, and on to a safe landing. You of all people, Link, should know not to count someone as dead unless you get a good solid look at their cold lifeless body.
"Yes, Link you failed to finish me off, in fact you walked right into my trap back on that day. Did you not notice that I was significantly slower during our duel in the pits?" Link thought back to the day he thought he had defeated Ormek and remembered that the Tyfirian had seemed much weaker than the two times he had fought him before that.
"Not only did you fail to defeat me three and a half years ago, you also failed to accomplish your main objective."
"It can not be," Link said under his breath as he began to realize what Ormek was about to say next.
"It is so," Ormek said as he held up his right hand and the symbol of the Triforce appeared. Link then watched in horror, as the usually empty upside down triangle in the middle of the Triforce began to glow.
"You still have the Triforce of Knowledge?" Link said in utter disbelief. "How did you get it back, the gate to the secluded part of the Sacred Realm was locked forever when I used the Talon of Soarlec to return the Triforce of Knowledge there."
"True," Ormek admitted, "you did permanently seal off that part of the Realm, but you never returned the Triforce of Knowledge there. When we fought in the pits of despair I did not have the golden power with me.
"After king Talrid was released and the Tyfirians turned on me, I knew I had lost my chance to destroy Cyntir. I was also aware that so long as my enemies knew I was alive, they would never stop hunting me. So I decided to fake my death. I planned to return to Cyntir and destroy it after I was presumed dead, but I know how resilient you are Link and I knew you would not stop your pursuit of me until you thought you had returned the Triforce of Knowledge to its place. I decided to separate myself from it and hide it away. I would not risk losing the only thing that could guarantee my revenge.
"Once I had rid myself of the Triforce I regained the ability to use magic. I created that fake wall and cast a spell on myself that I had discovered while I still had possession of the Triforce of Knowledge that would react with the Talon of Soarlec if its magic were used on me. The spell was designed to make it appear as if it the Talon had worked and it also would destroy the Talon.
"Still I hoped that I would be able to defeat you and take the Triforce of Courage from you in the pits. Even though I did not have a piece of the Triforce to counteract yours, but you proved too powerful, yet you thought you had defeated me and that was the thing I truly sought. Though now I wish you had caught onto my plan and truly killed me. For I escaped to bring the horror of the Ulgerons back to this world.
"Your failure and my anger have brought back an ancient evil and the Ulgerons now seek to finish what they started thousands of years ago." Link was speechless; he still could not believe that Ormek was alive let alone that he still possessed the Triforce of Knowledge. He was also very confused by what Ormek was saying about the Ulgerons. Ormek could tell by looking at Link's face that he did not understand.
"How much do you know about the Triforce of Knowledge Link?" Ormek inquired of his enemy.
"I know that it is not safe in your hands," Link retorted.
"Allow me then, to shed some light on the origins of the relic," Ormek said coldly. "The Triforce of Knowledge was created by the god of knowledge, Sokor. He was the brother of the three goddesses who are accredited with creating this world."
As Ormek spoke, Link began to recall the things that Kaepora Gaebora had told him three and a half years ago, right after Ormek first stole the Triforce of Knowledge. Nevertheless, Link felt compelled to let the demon general continue.
"Sokor valued knowledge above all other things in existence," Ormek proceeded. "He dedicated his existence to acquiring new information. With the knowledge he obtained, Sokor created many worlds and many of those worlds he populated with beings that were also of his making. He conducted horrible experiments on those creatures, he tortured them and mutilated them, all so he could gain more knowledge and increase his understanding of this universe.
"Sokor's sisters were greatly saddened by his disrespect for his own creations. In an attempt to show their brother the error of his ways, they created this world to show their brother that while knowledge was important there were other things of equal if not greater value, such as wisdom, courage, and the power of the heart. The goddesses' world was full of beauty and peace, two aspects that all of Sokor's worlds lacked. Still, Sokor was not convinced. He mocked his sisters' creations and then in an attempt to show how great his knowledge was, he tried to create a world with greater splendor than that of his sisters', but he failed.
"He tried time and time again to replicate the peace and the beauty, but he could not. Eventually Sokor realized that he could not match his sisters' work, but Sokor would not allow his sisters to best him. The god could have easily conquered this world by himself, but he thought is was beneath him to fight with the beings his sister's made, so Sokor brought the Ulgerons, one of the races he created while trying to replicate his sisters' world, here.
"The Ulgerons immediately began their war. They fought with all of their might and killed many people, but the civilized races were united against their common enemy and drew their strength from the Triforce that the goddesses had left behind. Sokor realized that the Ulgerons could not prevail against the other races as long as they possessed the power of the golden power, so he created the Triforce of Knowledge and infused it with a portion of his spirit. He then united his piece with the rest of the Triforce. The other golden triangles were corruptred by the Triforce of Knowledge and the alliance of races lost a great deal of their strength as Sokor's triangle drained the Triforce of its power and transferred it to the Ulgerons.
"The tide of the war had turned and the Ulgerons began to conquer the races one by one until only the Hylians and the Sheikah remained. Before they could be utterly destroyed, the last two races retreated to a fortress that was built by the goddesses themselves, Ulron-Chi. The Hylians and Sheikah managed to hold off the Ulgerons for years, but the demons never stopped their siege. In the final battle of the war, the Ulgerons managed to make it all the way to the fortresses keep. Before they could take the keep, Soarlec the phoenix, a former servant of the goddesses, came to the Sacred Realm and removed the Triforce of Knowledge from the other pieces and sanctified the rest of the Triforce. Without the Triforce of Knowledge siphoning power from the other pieces, the Ulgerons withered and the Hylians and Sheikah managed to force them back.
"The phoenix then took the fourth piece to a secluded part of the Sacred Realm and formed a protective barrier around it, leaving only one passage to the Triforce of Knowledge, the entrance to which was hidden in our world.
"Sokor was angered greatly by the phoenix's interference. In his fury he attacked Soarlec. Sokor tried to seal Soarlec in the gap between the dimensions, but in the process he was dragged down into the abyss as well."
"I have heard this legend before," Link growled, "Though I had forgotten the fortress where the Ulgerons suffered defeat was Ulron-Chi. Now I understand why the Ulgerons want to conquer the fortress."
"You have not yet begun to understand!" Ormek yelled. "While the Ulgerons like the prospect of succeeding where they have failed in the past, they have larger goals in mind.
"For the past three years they have been looking for certain objects that were left behind after the battle between Soarlec and Sokor. These objects are like keys, which will open the gate where the god and the phoenix were sucked into the nothingness.
"All of the Ulgerons past conquests have been for the purpose of obtaining these keys. Eight keys are needed to open the gate, seven dark stones and another object of great power. The demons have six of the keys, the seventh they have tracked to Ulron-Chi and the eighth they have not yet discovered the location, but they will not rest until they find it. Once they have all of the keys they will release Sokor from his dark prison and begin their conquest again, but Sokor will leave nothing to chance this time. He will not seek to enslave the races of this world as he did before. He will call for their extermination. He will not sit idly as the Ulgerons wage their war this time, this time he will fight along side them and their will be no way to defeat him.
"This Sokor's power can not match that of the golden goddesses," Link replied. "They defeated him once before they can defeat him again."
"The goddesses can do nothing," Ormek said as he shook his head. "They have been imprisoned in the abyss as well. Before Sokor descended on this world, he enclosed his sisters in the gap between dimensions. He did not want them interfering with his conquest of their world. He thought that by sealing them away he would have no one to rival him. However he did not count on Soarlec's loyalty to them after they were gone.
"You lie," Link growled, "you are nothing more than a common heretic."
"Am I?" Ormek asked grimly, "If the goddesses were still around they never would have allowed me to bring the Ulgerons back. Face it Link. There are no all-powerful beings looking after us anymore, we are all on our own. Listen to the Triforce of Courage, it will testify of Farore's absence." For some reason at that moment, Link could feel that Farore was in fact gone. He did not know about Din and Nayru, but he was certain Ormek had told the truth regarding the goddess of Courage.
"If everything you are telling me is the truth, why are you telling me at all?" Link said confused, "Revealing your plan to unleash Sokor only increases your chances of defeat."
"Precisely," Ormek smirked, "We can not allow Sokor to be freed."
"Then why have you been aiding the Ulgerons all this time?" Link inquired.
"After you beat me at the pits of despair," Ormek said, "I recovered the Triforce of Knowledge from its hiding spot and slipped out of Tyfiria. I planned to return to my home once I had developed another plan to destroy Cyntir, but before I could, I started to hear a voice inside my head. The voice told me that it could help me destroy my enemies, but it also said that the evil in this world was not concentrated solely in Cyntir, but it was scattered all over the face of the earth and for that reason the world must be cleansed.
"The voice told me the hearts of all the civilized races were corrupt and must be destroyed for the crimes they had committed against each other. I tried to ignore this voice at first. I thought that it spoke only lies, but the voice persisted. At first I only heard the voice once every few days, but as time lingered on, I heard it more frequently, until finally I could not go one hour with out hearing its prompting. Still, I resisted, I would not be the instrument of the destruction of this world, but the presence had other tricks.
"Do you remember Link, how I told you that the Triforce of Knowledge showed to me all the injustices that were done to my people, back when we fought in Cantarus?"
"I remember," Link nodded.
"Soon after I took back the Triforce of Knowledge the visions began again, but this time it showed me all the horrors that ever took place in this world. For days on end I saw nothing, but hatred, greed, lies, and corruption. Eventually I was convinced that the inhabitants of the earth must be brought to justice for their crimes, just as the voice said. I swore to the presence inside me that I would help destroy the civilized races. The voice then revealed itself to be none other than Sokor.
"I immediately began to do his will. With his directions I managed to revive the Ulgerons and begin collecting the keys needed to release Sokor as well as many other powerful relics created by the Ulgerons thousands of years ago. For two and half years I diligently executed my orders, but as I did, I realized the Ulgerons' hearts were filled with more evil than those I sought to destroy. Still, I remained resolute. I would not stop my conquest until the earth was cleansed. As I continued to collect the Ulrian relics, Sokor ordered me to do many dishonorable things. I started ignoring my orders and began acting according to my own conscience. Sokor became furious with me tried to control me through the portion of his spirit that resided within the Triforce of Knowledge.
"I managed to fend him off at first, but the longer I possessed the Triforce of Knowledge, the stronger Sokor's spirit grew. Before long I could not hold the god at bay, until I discovered that the souls I had taken could provide me with a mental barrier that would shield me from Sokor's mind control attempts. Even after all this, my thirst for revenge still had control over me and I continued to seek the release of Sokor and the destruction of this world. But no longer will I aid the god or his Ulgerons."
"What finally caused you to have this change of heart?" Link asked suspiciously.
Ormek stood silent for several seconds as if he didn't know how to respond. "I have… my reasons," He finally said, "They are of little importance to you."
"You can not expect me to believe this," Link said with a half smile. "I do not know what you are trying to accomplish with these lies, but I will not believe them. If you were sincere in your claims why do you still fight on the Ulgerons side?"
"I hold a very influential position in Siragoth, the land where the Ulgerons reside" Ormek answered, "I can do more damage within their ranks, but as of late I have been having trouble maintaining my cover. Sokor and many of the Ulgerons are starting to suspect I am no longer on their side. And that is where you come in Link.
"Sokor's soul is still growing stronger and I need more souls to fend him off, but I am having trouble acquiring the amount I need to hold him back. However, with the Triforce of Courage at my disposal I would no longer need so many souls. I would be able to silence Sokor's voice and destroy the Ulgerons from the inside."
"Why tell me all this?" Link asked.
"You are a man of great honor and a remarkable warrior. You could be a great asset to me in my fight against the Ulgerons," Ormek answered. "I want to offer you a chance to join me. Give me the Triforce of Courage and we can destroy the demons of Siragoth together."
"You must think me a fool," Link said with an angry look on his face. "I have seen all the things you have done to the people of this world. You can not possibly expect me to believe your lies."
"I have told you only the truth," Ormek replied somberly, "but I do not blame you for not believing me, I did not think you would. I have done many terrible things and few people know of the atrocities I have committed better than you do. If I were in your position, I would be distrustful of my words as well, but I swear to you on my grandfather's grave, every word I have spoken is true."
"Prove it," Link said, "give up the Triforce of Knowledge. Give me the power to defend the civilized races and come back to Ulron-Chi with me. Teach the garrison there how to create and use your weapons. You do not need the Triforce of Knowledge. There is more than one way to defeat the Ulgerons."
Ormek seemed stunned by Link's words. He looked at the symbol of the Triforce on his hand uneasily. "I will not go back to the ignorance I once knew," he said, "I will not give up my knowledge!"
"Just as I thought," Link said, just loud enough for Ormek to hear.
"I don't need your help anyway," Ormek said with a scowl. "So what do you say hero?" The false demon said with a sudden change in his tone of voice, "How about we finish the duel we started back in the pits of despair. We each get one weapon; winner gets the loser's Triforce. However, this time, I will allow the use of magic."
"Why?" Link asked suspiciously, "The Triforce of Knowledge prevents you from using any magic that is not contained within the triangle."
"Quite so," Ormek said. "Back during the first war of the Ulgerons, the demons created several items which allowed them to extend the power of the Triforce of Knowledge. I have located many of these Ulrian relics, but this one here is my favorite." Ormek then pulled out a ring made of plain steel from a pouch attached to his belt.
"This is the ring of souls," Ormek pointed out, "This is the relic that enables me to take the souls of others and add their knowledge to my own, but it will also allow me to extract the Triforce of Courage from you along with your soul. It may not be a very useful magic power in a one on one battle, but I want to make sure we have a level playing field." Ormek then slipped the ring over his right index finger. As soon as he did the hellish red light returned to his eyes.
"Now, let's finish this," Ormek said in a familiar metallic voice that Link had heard him use in Tyfira. "Kal teth ulkor," He then said in the Ulrian tongue.
"Bring it on," said Link confidently as he put away his shield and raised his sword. Ormek sheathed one of his swords and picked the other one out of the snow. He shot an angry glance at the Hyrulian and attacked.
"Where did Link go?" Zelda mumbled under her breath as she rode her horse through the forest. She had been following Link ever since he chased after Mygar into the woods. She followed Epona's tracks to a large rock formation, but the tracks suddenly stopped once they reached the rock wall. Zelda had spent the last half an hour riding around the cliff, but she could find no other trace of Link.
"I give up," Zelda said to her horse as she dismounted to stretch her legs. As she walked around, she slipped in the snow and fell forward. The princess tried to catch herself on the rock formation, but as she reached out to stop herself, she passed right through the illusionary rock. She fell, face first into the hidden cave and hit the ground with enough force to knock her helmet off. Zelda picked herself up and looked around the cave in a daze. It did not take her long to realize the wall she had fallen through was just a magic trick. She then quickly left the cave, remounted her horse, and then entered the cave once more.
She made her way through the cave just as Link had done before, but when she finally emerged she discovered Epona standing at the exit with out her rider. Zelda tried to approach the horse while still a top her own, but as she got close, Epona darted off into the woods. Zelda followed Link's horse to the clearing near the cliff and found her friend locked in battle with another Hylian dressed in Siragon clothing. Zelda started to wonder why Link was fighting the stranger, but as she watched she noticed that Link was stuck defending himself as the Hylian in black continued to attack.
The princess was not about to watch her friend suffer defeat. She then dismounted her horse drew her sword and charged into battle. She was within striking range when Ormek drew his second sword and blocked her attack before she could do any damage. It was not until Ormek blocked Zelda's blade that Link realized the princess was there. He looked at Zelda in terror as if to ask, what are you doing here?"
"Sorry, this is a private session," Ormek said with a smile, "we're closed." Ormek then swung one of his swords at Zelda. He fully expected that the woman would be unable to defend herself, but he was stunned when, Zelda countered his attack and knocked the sword out of his hand. Ormek quickly pulled back as both Link and Zelda started to attack him.
"Get out of here!" Link ordered Zelda as they fought beside each other. "You do not know what you are getting into."
"I know that I can help you beat this guy," The princess retorted, "That's all I need to know." Link did not say anything more, he was not sure if he could beat Ormek on his own, and though he was worried that Zelda might get hurt if she continued to fight, he was even more concerned that Ormek might defeat him and steal the Triforce of Courage.
While Ormek managed to defend himself from both of his attackers, he was forced to expend all of his energy blocking the swords of both his enemies and ended up falling back towards the edge of the woods where Zelda's horse was. He was tiring quickly, but he was not about to give up.
"The deal is off Link," Ormek said while still trying to defend himself, "This is no longer a duel and I will no longer constrain myself to one weapon." Ormek then kicked some snow in the faces of his opponents, they were blinded for less than a second, but it gave Ormek enough time to start a series of back flips, which quickly carried him away from his enemies. In the middle of one of his flips he tossed one of his grenades towards his adversaries. The grenade rolled a few feet past them before it exploded. Both of Ormek's enemies tried to jump away from the explosive before it detonated, but it was no use. The force of the blast knocked both Link and Zelda back. Link collided with a tree and hit his head on it, knocking him out cold, while a piece of shrapnel cut through Zelda's left thigh. Another piece of shrapnel tore right through the mid-section of Zelda's horse and the steed collapsed uselessly on the ground.
"You are a brave, woman indeed," Ormek said as he approached Zelda with his right arm outstretched ready to capture another soul, "but also very foolish."
"Oh really?" Zelda said with a smile. "She then placed both arms in front of her and began to chant. Before Ormek could reach her, an orb of white light formed and slammed into the general knocking him back ten feet. Ormek let out a cry of surprise mixed with pain as he hit the ground.
At this moment, Link regained consciousness. He awoke in time to see Zelda hold out her right hand and watched in horror as she revealed the symbol of the Triforce of Wisdom to Ormek.
"Behold," Zelda said triumphantly, "I am the keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom."
Ormek's eyes widened as he heard those words and a large smile came across his face. "If I did not already know the golden goddesses were sealed in the abyss, I would say they were smiling upon me." Ormek said and then jumped back on his feet and rushed toward Zelda, picking up his second sword off the ground as he did so. Zelda fired another burst of light at the Tyfirian, but he threw himself to the side and evaded it. By that time he was in striking distance. He jumped high up in the air and was about to bring both of his blades down on the princess, when Link stopped both of Ormek's swords with his own.
The two then reverted back to a duel as Zelda watched in awe as she saw how swiftly they were swinging their swords, but as she watched she quickly realized Link was retreating back towards the cliff. She began chanting again as she formed another orb of light, but she waited until she had a clear shot at Ormek to fire. As she fired, Zelda felt drained of all her energy and knew she could not help Link any further. Once the princess's burst reached Ormek, he immediately became aware of the new danger. He managed to dodge the orb, but in doing so he ended up balancing himself on the edge of the cliff. Link immediately took advantage of the situation and swung at the general. Ormek blocked the blow, but he lost his footing and started to fall, but he managed to plunge one of his blades into the cliff wall before he fell too far.
Link did not expect Ormek had fallen to his death, but he knew he was too tired to protect both himself and the princess from the general. The cut in Zelda's leg was fairly deep. She was unable to stand and was losing a large amount of blood. Link knew he had to get away, he could not allow Ormek get either the Triforce of Courage or Wisdom, so he whistled for Epona who quickly made her way over to him. By the time Link managed to get Zelda up on Epona's back, Ormek had already lifted himself back on top of the cliff. Once he saw Link was trying to escape he called for his horse as well.
Link mounted and kicked Epona's side before Ormek's steed arrived. Epona bolted into the woods immediately. Link wanted to make his way back to the hidden cavern, but as he was looking for the markings on the tree that would lead him back there he heard the sound of Ormek's horse galloping towards him. Link pointed Epona in a random direction and kicked her side.
While Epona could have easily out raced Ormek's steed in normal circumstances, she was slowed considerably by the burden of two riders. Before long, Ormek could see his quarry through the trees. As Link was trying to escape he noticed that Zelda was starting to lose consciousness.
"She is losing too much blood," Link thought to himself, "I need to bandage her wound, but I can not do so until I lose Ormek." Less than a minute later, Link came to a narrow bridge of ice, which extended across a large chasm. He rode Epona over the patch and then dropped a bomb behind him. When the bomb exploded, the ice bridge collapsed and stopped Ormek's pursuit immediately.
"Blaaaaaaast!" Ormek screamed at the top of his longs as he watched his prey ride off into the distance. He then pulled the black cloth over the lower half of his face and then replaced his helmet, which he had picked up while waiting for his horse at the clearing.
"I will not let you get away that easily, old friend," Ormek said under his breath as he stood at the edge of the chasm. "There is too much at stake.