OH MY FREAKING COW! It's an actual update! Can you believe it?

Sorry for the, err… 'delay'. See, I got this account at deviantArt, and it's just been demanding ALL my attention. There's a link in my profile. I'm getting better with drawing… sort of. Granted, it's much better than what was on my old art website. Before the dA obsession came into full swing, I had a forum to tend to. Now I've got moderators for that. Well, staff. I've appropriately staffed the forum, yup.

I bet you're not interested in the least about what I'm saying right now. I bet about half of you skip this whole note. Well, shame on you. Don't my feelings count at all? …Maybe not. Aw well. Go read the chapter.

Chapter 8: Trials

The sound of glass shattering came next as the Crest of Water broke free of the blue orb that encased it. Maris stood at the center of the light, palms up from where she had been holding the sphere. The wave shape that was inside glowed brightly about her hands, radiating light, and attached to the girl's chest like a tattoo. The pigment dissolved, leaving no trace of its presence besides memories. The unbearable brightness faded with it.

"Is that it?" Maris inquired skeptically. Lurias scoffed. "Hardly. If you believe that light was the extent of the trials, you are quite sadly mistaken," he informed aloofly. He then turned and departed, leaving his son without a word.

"That was some language you used on Dad!" River chuckled. Maris smiled, receiving a raised eyebrow from her brother.

"Just where did you learn to talk like that?" he inquired curiously. His younger sibling giggled and started towards the door. "I just listened to Aine," she replied, masking the despair from her voice at the mention of her deceased guardian.

River gasped and followed after the Hylian child. "Maris, wait! The trials! Don't you remember?" he called, beckoning for her to return. The girl turned on her heel and smiled. "Personally, I think your father just made up the trials to try to scare me away. I'll be fine," she explained. Zephyr groaned at his younger sibling's ignorance. On their way to Lurais' home, they had passed an extensive graveyard. Lurais himself said that many had lost their lives to the trials, yet still Maris remained unfazed.

"My foolish sister… What are you getting yourself into now?" he said under his breath, following River to the exit.

The three gathered outside the chief's house to discuss their next course of action. Zephyr was convinced that they should stay at least for the night for when the Crest finally presented its trials to Maris. The Chosen in question merely rolled her eyes and proclaimed adamantly that there were no trials to be presented. River stood to the side quietly, despite his normally boisterous nature. A grim expression was painted onto his face.

"River…? Something wrong?" Zephyr inquired upon noticing his companion's unusual demeanor. The young prince smiled brightly. "Nah, nah, it's all good," he assured as he continued after Maris. Zephyr, unsure of the Zora's behavior, followed closely.

The trio soon ran into Doroki, who was seated upon the beach with his face buried in the sand. Lielu stared at him with a look of befuddlement in her eyes. Maris poked the rocky skin curiously and Doroki snapped backwards. He immediately locked gazes with the girl.

After a period of silence, the Goron proclaimed, "My lady Maris, your eyes shine with a new power. Now excuse me while I eat the ground." With that, Doroki returned to his former position. Maris raised an eyebrow.

"Doroki, do you know anything about the trials?" Zephyr asked. Doroki's head moved slightly, causing the sand to undulate. His response was muffled.

"We can't hear you, Doroki," the Hylian boy said with a sigh. The addressed pulled his head from its sandy encasement. "My apologies, my lord Zephyr," he grinned. Sand escaped the corners of his mouth.

"I said that the trials are a series of tests. The name of each most likely begins with 'the Trial of' and then states the nature of the trial. I also conclude that these trials are very hard to pass, but if you can do so, something good will happen."

"In other words, you don't anything about it," Zephyr groaned. Maris scoffed. "He doesn't know anything about it because they don't exist," she persisted. Her brother growled obstinately. "He doesn't know anything about it because he's an idiot!" he corrected, gesturing to Doroki as the Goron slammed his head into the sand repeatedly.

River turned his gaze upon the sky, lost within the workings of his mind. The sun was high, but it was beginning its descent from the heavens. "We still have a few hours before the sun even starts setting," he mumbled to himself. Zephyr perked his ears and faced the prince. "Yeah, we do. Whaddya wanna do for all that time?" he questioned in a friendly tone. River replied with a despondent smirk, which received a puzzled expression from his fellow Chosen.

"We should hang out at my dad's place," he suggested cheerfully. "We can crash there, and he's got a hot spring in the back."

Maris turned her head at this comment. "I've always wanted to try a hot spring!" she exclaimed, grabbing Doroki's hand and attempting to drag him along. The task proved more difficult than it seemed at face value. They eventually convinced Doroki to follow with promises of real rocks as opposed to the sandy substitute. Before long they were back at the Zora chief's home. River guided them through the many chambers until they emerged into a large yard with many bright, fragrant flowers. In the middle of the area was a round pool, steaming with natural heat and encircled with a decorative barrier of smooth stones. Doroki immediately sat down beside those stones and shoved one into his mouth, crunching it happily.

"The water's hot!" Zephyr observed, mystified. River laughed as he submersed himself in the bubbling pool. "Well, duh, genius! That's why it's called a hot spring!" he smirked. Maris gazed wistfully at the heated lake, then stared at her clothes. "Do you have something I can change into?" she inquired with a smile.

River jumped up. "Oh! Yeah! My deepest apologies, Lady Maris! I'll get you guys some towels! I hope that'll do," he said as he started off into the house, returning moments later with a pair of pale blue towels. He tossed one to Zephyr and placed the other in Maris' waiting hands. "I guess I'll… yeah," he chuckled as he turned around. Zephyr and Maris wrapped the plush towels around their childlike frames and immersed themselves, River joining them shortly after.

The air was soon filled with laughter as the children played, their games enduring through the evening twilight. When the night grew old and stars speckled the infinite darkness, they hauled themselves from the waters and garbed themselves in light sleeping clothes. Before heading inside for rest, they ventured to the highest point on the island and perched themselves there to observe the heavens.

"Sister, don't the stars seem kinda… special?" Zephyr whispered sleepily. Maris nodded her assent. "They always have, though I can't place why," she replied.

"You know, this was a long, long, long, long time ago, but there was once this lady who was said to have received the blessing of the heavens," River said with a tone of reverence. "In fact, some people say she's still alive today. Others say she was killed in the Changing. No one knows for sure what ever happened to her."

"Oh, I've heard that legend," Maris commented. "Wasn't she one of the Gerudo?"

"I thought the Gerudo were all killed in the Changing," Zephyr interrupted. The prince nodded. "They were. This happened a long time before then. I think the legend says she was raised among the Gerudo, but she was really one of seven Guardian Spirits that watch over Hyrule," he explained.

Maris stood and headed for the house. "We should get some sleep, shouldn't we?" she suggested. River gave his assent and led his companion into the chief's home, beckoning for Zephyr to follow. The boy rose and glanced at the stars again before proceeding inside.

"Guardian Spirits… If they're really watching over Hyrule, then why is all this stuff with the Monastery happening? And why does no one know about the woman from the legend if she really existed?" He shook the thoughts from his head and went inside.

Maris was roused from her slumber from a bright light. She opened her eyes and found herself drifting amongst an infinite nothing. The source of the light was a small girl with pale blue skin, short azure hair, and a simple blue dress. Her cerulean eyes were teeming with what looked like crashing waves, and fins like a Zora's flowed from her arms.

"Maris, Chosen of Water, you have accepted my trial, the trial of Acarsis, one of the remaining Guardian Spirits," the girl explained in an ethereal voice. Maris gasped.

"So the Guardian Spirits really are real?" she asked eagerly. Acarsis closed her eyes in contemplation. "Were real," she corrected. "The Monastery has successfully destroyed many of my fellow Spirits. Only one other remains apart from myself. I eluded them merely by blending into the sea that encased the land. However, the Monastery failed to take into account the fact that the Spirits cannot die. They have already been reincarnated."

"And that's why the haven't been able to do anything about the Monastery," Maris murmured.

Acarsis cleared her throat. "If I may continue," she said. Maris waited in reverent silence. "Thank you," the Spirit smiled. "My trial is of three parts, one to test your courage, one to test your power, and, my personal favorite, one to test your wisdom. If you've no further queries, the first trial will now commence."

Before Maris could utter a word, the inky darkness swirled around her and became a dazzling array of colors. The brightness faded until what remained was a drab cave. In the center was a large pit, and over the pit dangled Maris' brother. Sleek, black serpents coiled up from the depths of the hole and poised themselves around Zephyr.

Not only was Maris afraid of heights, but she also feared snakes, particularly those of the massive, shadowy, and overall evil sort. One of the snakes lunged and clamped its jaws around Zephyr's leg. The boy cried out in agony.

"Brother!" Maris called. She raised her arms, stretching her hands towards her sibling. She closed her eyes and concentrated all the power she could muster into her fingers. Soon she managed to extract moisture from the air. She froze the droplets into little ice needles and hurled them at the snake that still had its fangs lodged in her brother's flesh. Many of the serpents coiled down into the abyss, writhing in pain. Two remained, and they locked their crimson eyes upon Maris fiendishly. Hissing furiously, they turned their attention away from the limp form of their former prey and focused on their assailant.

Maris yelped in shock and fear and took a few steps backwards. The snakes seemed to grow larger in response to this action. The girl shook her mind free of self-doubt and planted her feet firmly upon the ground with a look of pure determination upon her face. She held her hand palm out towards her foes, preparing herself to blast them with everything she had.

Suddenly the serpents shrank until they were the size of slugs. Maris flinched in surprise. She leaned over the creatures and poked one. They wiggled away fearfully, and Maris' attention was called away from the fleeing beings by the soft groaning of her brother.

"Don't worry, Brother! I'm going to come and get you!" the girl shouted. She walked backwards until her back was against the wall, then she ran forward as quickly as she was able and leapt from the ledge. She caught the rope from which her brother dangled and cut it. They were soon falling into the darkness. Zephyr's form disintegrated from Maris' arms as they descended. Her plummet slowed until she floated in the black mist. Acarsis appeared before her, wearing a pleased smile upon her lips.

"Very good, Chosen of Water," she congratulated. "I'd expect no less from their daughter."

"Wait, whose daughter?" Maris interrupted curiously. "Do you know my parents?"

Acarsis sighed in exasperation. "How many times must I ask you not to interrupt me?" she lectured. Maris lowered her head shamefully. "You have completed the Trial of Courage. If you found it too easy, then fear not. We're only getting started."

Acarsis grinned devilishly, and Maris' eyes widened in alarm.

Ah, Acarsis. I bet you thought you'd never see her again. Props to whomever can guess who the other spirit is that eluded the Monastery. It's really simple if you think about where all the spirits lived. If you never read the Tomes of Hyrule trilogy, you have no idea what I'm talking about. Or maybe you're just that smart and can figure it all out with nothing but this chapter to go on. Doubtedly.

As I was saying before… UPDATE! Whoooo! Yeah, I actually do believe in updating. But, uh… Don't expect another any time in the immediate future. Mr. Brown (creative writing teacher) has promised us a very busy week ahead. Tonight I have to type an extra credit essay for history. Luckily, spring break is in two weeks and I'm going to be LOVING it. I can't wait until it's summer again… Then it'll be my one year anniversary on FFnet. And I'll be able to write all I want. Hmm… I wonder if I should take Spanish III in summer… That would be so awesome. I love Spanish.

Story… right… The reason I can't write a lot now is because I'm not in a place I enjoy writing… I want them to get to a certain place, but I have this whole list of places they'll have to go first. And I don't like it one bit. In order to make it more interesting for myself, I'm liable to end chapter after chapter in cliffhangers. This is because I, even as the author, want to see what happens next when it ends in a cliffhanger.

However, since I already know what's going to happen next, this is basically null… But it's kind of become habit to end with cliffhangers. Ah well.

It's a proven fact that getting lengthy (and good!) reviews will motivate me to write more faster. I kid you not. So, to get my lazy butt in gear, please please please PLEASE review! Oh, and those of you who don't review (even though I have anonymous reviews ON), thank you kindly for taking the time to read this story. Shame shame for not reviewing, though. Nah, I'm kidding.