Chapter 5- A Door in the Darkness
(Author's note-I got a review recently concerning the name "Raven". I don't know if anyone else has read the Manga version of Oracle of Ages, but in it there is a character that the incarnation of Link from that time period meets named Lord Raven, who is supposed to be his ancestor. The thing is, he looks EXACTLY LIKE LINK FROM OCARINA OF TIME, and so I decided that maybe Lord Raven was Link on his travels after Majora's Mask. One more thing-I got another review about Doof and where he came from. I don't know if any of you have seen the old Legend of Zelda TV series from way back in the 80's, but there is a wizard who appears in episode #12, A Hitch in the Works, who tries to help out with the cleaning up around Hyrule Castle by making a magic robot. It ends up messing things up instead, and that's where the inspiration for the wanna-be-wizard Doof came from. He's also based on the old man from the first Zelda game. Now, back to the story…)
There was a red balloon on the ceiling. It was bobbing up and down. Tingle was hanging from it, snoring, hugging a teddy bear wearing an outfit just like his own. Error was curled up in a fetal position on the floor, sucking his thumb. Doof was upside-down on his bed, his feet on the pillows and his head underneath the covers. King Hagris and his family were enjoying a peaceful slumber. King Daphnes was shifting around in his bed, worried still about his daughter, who still, it seemed had not awoken.
The only person awake besides Link and Kirk, who were doing their early morning sparring, was Akunem. In his own room, he was sitting, cross-legged, upon a red mat on the floor. Candles burning incense were placed at the four corners of the mat. The sweet air rose from the incense, making the atmosphere heavy. Sunlight filtered through a stain-glass window, shining rays of golden light across Akunem's face. He was muttering a chant, while holding his hands before him, palms up, his eyes closed. He was deep in a trance. His blank eyes suddenly snapped open as a sudden message entered his mind. He cried out suddenly.
"Oh, great Gonassir!" he cried out, holding up his arms as if to shield himself. His arms were shaking like he was having a seizure. He began bowing rapidly, as an ethereal voice suddenly spoke in his mind.
Akunem…Akunem…my beloved servant Akunem…
"Gonassir! God! Please forgive me! I am not worthy of your presence!" he cried out, almost in fear, "Grant me strength! These people are resisting! I am trying my very best to teach them your ways, but even with all my fervor they still follow the Way of the Hero!"
Oh, Akunem, Ye of little faith, even in your own religion. I pity you. Even if you are imperfect, I will grant you strength. I will give you all the strength you need. Convert the people with the strength I give you. Let them see my love and my truth. Teach them the ways of tolerance, and above all else, tell them of the evils of the Way of the Hero. The Way of the Hero is a path that will only lead the people to the Dark World, from which they can never escape. I love all of my creations. I do not wish for any of them to be left behind. Convert them. Convert them all. I will send to you my plan. Take the first scroll you find, and the first quill you find. With them, draw out my plans. Bring the plans to the people and let them know my truth!
"Yes! Yes! I will do as you say! I will let the people know the truth and glory that is yours! Gonassir! With your help I will guide your people back to you!"
And with that, Akunem fell to the floor, and out of his trance. He stumbled up. God had spoken to him again, and this time he now had been granted the supreme authority with which to convert the heathens of the realm. He trembled with awe. Truly, Gonassir was the one true divine being! Without haste, he searched for the first quill and scroll he could find. Words and images began to surge through his mind, just as Gonassir had told him. He began to scribble them down as fast as they came to him, lest he forget and lose the words of God forever.
* * *
Within only a few hours, the message had gone out. There were scrolls posted all over Hyrule, all with the same words on them. In the village of Kakariko at the base of Death Mountain, the keeper of the local Inn and Tavern, the Dancing Dinofo, pulled one of the scrolls from his doorway, still in his nightclothes. The large man scratched his behind as he read:
Citizens of Hyrule! The work on a new temple is to begin soon in the Northern Forests. This new temple is to be a place of worship for the religion of Gonansim. All able-bodied men who wish to participate in the building of the temple are to register in Hyrule Castle City's marketplace near the fountain in the main square.
* * *
"What?" said Link, upon hearing these words. Kirk had just read one of the scrolls found by a guard who had seen it posted to one of the inner walls.
"It seems that Akunem is already to begin converting Hyrulians," said Kirk, folding up the scroll, "pretty quick to begin, isn't he? He's only been here, what, two days, and now he's ready to build a mission?"
"Well, whatever, I still think that it's a false religion," said Link, waking a swig from his water bottle. "I mean, just look at it, there's no evidence at all behind it, whereas, here I am, full proof that the religion of Triforcism is true! All there is to it are Akunem's words, and that's not very convincing, if you ask me."
"Yeah…hey, where did he get the approval to get a temple in the Northern Forest, anyway?"
"Not from the King," answered Link, "Even if he wishes to build ties with the Calatian Royals by letting Akunem run about preaching about Gonanism, I don't think he would go as far as to approve of the building of a temple for a religion that's the opposite of everything that the land of Hyrule has been built upon, the knowledge of the creation of our world by Din, Nayru and Farore!"
"Then who? Everyone knows that the Queen died during the imprisoning war when Ganondorf shot her with an arrow sometime after Zelda was born…"
A look of sheer horror suddenly crossed Link's face.
"Zelda!"
"What?"
"Zelda! She's the only one of the royal family who could have approved…but…that's not possible, because she opposes Gonanism just like me…"
"Unless she changed her mind, or she only did it to make up for yelling at King Hagris," said Kirk.
"Yeah, I guess…"
"Yeah, well, I gotta go. Time for my rounds." Said Kirk, waving and heading for the Castle walls.
"Yeah, see you," said Link. He watched Kirk go, and then he turned his head upwards to Zelda's tower. The window was open, letting in the morning air. Besides the curtains moving slightly with the wind, there was no movement from her window. That's odd, thought Link; Zelda always enjoys the morning breeze. And why hasn't she been around lately? She's supposed to have woken up yesterday!
"Ah! The young Master and warrior Link!" said someone entering the courtyard. Link turned to see it was Doof striding forwards, his blue hat tilted slightly to one side.
"Well, hello there, grand master of magic," Link joked.
"And hello to you, too," replied Doof, unmoved by Link's joke.
"What brings you to the castle courtyard?" asked Link.
"I have…a bit of a question," said Doof, "It concerns the business of this." He then pulled the scroll with the notice about the building of the Gonanite Temple.
"Oh, that?"
"Yes, I was told that Hyule is devoted to the single religion of Triforcsim, and yet a temple to this Gonanism thingy is being built. My I ask for an explanation?"
"To be honest, I don't know myself," said Link, "I don't even know how it got approved. The King didn't do it; he isn't about to change the beliefs of Hyrule, and Zelda's resting from a bump on the head."
"What about the Queen? The Prince?"
"The Queen's been dead for years, Doof, and the Prince, well…he betrayed the Royals and sided with Ganon when he was ruling over Hyrule. He died in the destruction of Ganon's Castle, along with Agnihm and General Onox."
"A puzzle, indeed!" said Doof, "But undoubtedly it will be figured out in time."
"Undoubtedly," Link agreed, his head lowered in thought.
"Oh, and one more thing, Master Link, I was told by Tingle that you are the wielder of the blade of evil's bane, the Master Sword. May I be permitted to see it?"
"Well, why not. You're not going to try to turn it into a frog, are you?"
"Good heavens, no!" said Doof, as Link began to unsheathe it, "I wouldn't turn it into frog, that's much too cliché. I want to turn it into a cow."
Link immediately put the sword back.
"I was just joking!" laughed Doof, throwing his hands up into the air. "I just want to look at it, run a few experiments! Oh, don't be such a prat, I won't bite your precious sword!"
"Hmm," grunted Link. He hadn't liked the joke that Doof had made. "Alright, but I'm going to supervise. I don't want you damaging it or anything, that's my pride and joy right there," he said, unsheathing the Master Sword again and handing it hilt first to Doof. He took it and ran a finger down the side. It rang wonderfully in the morning air.
"Doesn't the blade ignite into blue fire?" asked Doof, attempting to swing it enthusiastically. Link backed away to avoid being hit.
"It's supposed to when it's fully charged or when there's evil around." Said Link, ducking to avoid having his head lopped off.
"Oh, really! I can test that, I have a bottled Poe in my pocket!" he said, rummaging in his robes.
"Uh, no, really, that's okay, you don't need to test that…" said Link, wanting to avoid another possible incident with the wanna-be-wizard.
"No, I insist!" he said, finding the bottle. It had a tiny purple flame with yellow eyes inside. "Hmm? The cork won't come off…"
Doof dropped the Master Sword and began to yank on the cork of the small glass bottle.
"No! Wait a second, don't!" yelled Link. But it was too late. The bottle suddenly flew out of Doof's hands in a wild attempt to pull the cork, and it shattered on the ground a few feet away. A ghostly figure carrying a lantern emerged. It giggled maliciously before charging at Doof. Right on cue, the Master Sword's blade suddenly transformed into blue flames. Link dove, grabbed the Sword, rolled out of the way, and at the same tine kicked Doof off of his feet to knock him over, and in the process preventing him from being hit by the attacking Poe, which flew right over him as he lay flat on the ground, dazed temporarily. Link bounded, and with a falling vertical slice, brought the Master Sword into a clean slice that cut the ghost into two halves. The two halves flew apart, and then each burst like shattered glass, each shard of the monster burning in blue flames. Link breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and then he went over to Doof.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked.
Doof mumbled a response, getting up. He looked at the blade of the Master Sword.
"Is the Poe still around? Your sword's still glowing!" he said, looking around wildly for the ghost.
"What? No, I killed it already…" Link looked at the Master Sword. It was still burning with blue fire, just as Doof had pointed out. After a few seconds, though, it suddenly extinguished, and the fire turned back into a silvery-blue blade again.
"That's strange," said Link, sheathing the Master Sword.
"Very odd, indeed! Apparently, there was still some essence of the Poe remaining in the air before it disappeared. That would explain the sword still ablaze."
"Pretty smart for someone who calls himself Doofadoris Archibald Dookie-Dookie-Doo," said Link, helping Doof up.
"I do not call myself that, it is my name," He said, brushing off his robes, "and have some respect for a powerful being! You being the Hero and all that would make you know that!"
"Whatever, Doof," said Link. He made his way to the doorway back into the castle, when Akunem suddenly emerged, blocking the way in.
"Akunem?" said Doof, dumbfounded.
"Doofadoris. We meet again," said Akunem, nodding.
"Wait, you two know each other?" asked Link.
"You…you stay away from me!" said Doof, backing away, his arms up defensively. "It's my hat, you hear?" he began to adjust his pointed blue hat on his head. Akunem extended a withered blue hand forwards.
"Give back what's rightfully mine, Doofadoris."
"It's mine! It's mine! It's mine fair and square!" he yelled, and then he bolted out of the courtyard.
"Wait, what? His hat?" asked Link.
"THEIF!" yelled Akunem, "What are you waiting for, you egg!" yelled Akunem at Link.
"Who are you calling an egg?" said Link angrily.
"Just catch that thief!" yelled Akunem.
"Right, right, don't get your tunic in a tangle," said Link, dashing across the courtyard after Doof. Doof was exceedingly easy to find. Link found him standing on top of the fountain in the garden, imitating a statue. Link managed to scare him down so that he landed in the water, and then he grabbed him by the collar and dragged the soaking wanna-be-wizard back to the courtyard. Doof was kicking and screaming like a child in a tantrum the whole way.
"You imbecile! You spawn of distorted frogs! You…you…uh…public accountant!" he yelled.
"Hey, don't even go there," said Link, pulling harder, as he picked up Doof and dropped him right in front of Akunem. Doof, sitting in his puddle, looked up to see Akunem's white eyes. Akunem raised a hand, and Doof squinted as the red-clad priest snatched the blue hat off Doof's head, revealing his bald spot.
"Nooo!" he cried, "My source of power!"
"He stole that hat from you?" asked Link, still a little confused about what was going on.
"Yes. Years ago. It seems Gonassir is on my side today, bringing this little charlatan to me. I expect he will be given proper punishment for his actions?"
"I did not steal that hat!" yelled Doof from his puddle. "I…I won it in a game of dice! I won it from him fair and square! He cheated, but I won!"
Akunem glared at Doof fiercely.
"How dare you. I am a man of God. I would not steal or cheat. It is against Gonassir's law to do so. Your attempts to escape the hand of justice only prove to show your guilt."
"Uh…I'll see to it he gets a cell in the dungeon or something," said Link, grabbing Doof by the shoulders so that he wouldn't escape, which was difficult considering the fact that he was wet all over still, and as slippery as a fish.
"Hmm. See to it. I shall take this hat to my room," he said, placing the hat in the folds of his robes and departing from the courtyard.
"Wait a minute!" called Link after him, but he was already striding through the door back up to the castle without even a thank you.
"You are possibly the weirdest little man I've ever seen, and if ever I've seen someone who could change roles so quickly, you would win the solid-gold kewpie doll!"
"I am telling you I did not steal that hat! I am a man of the mysterious ways! I did not steal the hat! It's mine! I want it back!" he pouted. He began bawling like a baby. "Waaaaaah! I want mama Doof!"
"HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEE!" giggled someone maliciously. Looking up, Link saw Tingle, who was still holding his teddy bear dressed exactly like him in one arm. He bounced up and down with his balloon.
"And as for you, it was your idea to stay here in the first place!" Doof screamed, pounding the ground.
"Stupid cheating Doofy!" laughed Tingle, "Mr. Fairy! Poke the Doofy in the eye!"
"Erorrrrr!" yelled Error from his window.
"Mayonaise!" yelled Doof, shaking his fists to the sky.
"STOP!" Link yelled, and everyone complied. "You three are giving me a headache! No wonder you're called the Brothers Weird!"
"I DO BEG YOUR PARDON?" yelled Doof angrily, "We are called the Brothers Weird because my great-grandfather was named Jude Dukory Weirding!"
"Yeah, sure," said, Link, grabbing Doof's robes and dragging him along to the dungeons. Link shook his head. After this, he was going through the labyrinth. He had to get out of the castle before he went mad!
* * *
Meanwhile, Akunem had taken the blue hat up to his chambers. Closing the door and locking it behind him, he placed the hat upon the table, then he drew the curtains halfway. Opening a sack he had beneath the table, he withdrew an old black book from it, and laid it on the table next to the hat. Pulling up a chair, Akunem pulled an eagle-quill pen from his robs, dipped it in an inkwell, and then opened the book and began to write inside the words that had appeared in his head. He wrote:
And thus said Gonassir, find the palace in which you will convert the heathens of Hyrule. The Way of the Hero will bring them to ruin, and I wish for none of my children to suffer the cruel fate of the Dark World. Nay, only when Dies Irae shows his face will I punish the two who are the cause of all evil, The two who succumbed to the temptations of the three demons of greed, lies and dark persistence. I will draw to my palace on earth, and there, they will be cast into the Dark World. But all of my loving children will be spared. They shall come to the palace not to be punished but to release their spirits into my world of light. My servant will point the way. And so it shall be written: My servant will find the three that will open my palace's gates, and with them unbind the chains that keep me from entering the world of mortals. It is because of the impurities of mankind that keep me from entering, for I am perfect in all ways, and your evil would taint my robes so. To my servant, listen closely, and listen well. The three that I require are the cover of night stolen from my servant, the dagger that slew the first beast, and the water from the river of destiny. Bring these to me when Dies Irae comes forth, and my children will be free.
Akunem breathed a long, happy sigh. He had found the first one. There were two more left to find…
* * *
"Hunger Strike! Hunger Strike! I refuse to eat any food until you release me!" yelled Doof from behind the bars of his cell. "I am innocent! If anyone is guilty of any crime, it is that man Akunem! But don't tell him I said that, he's scary."
"Yeah, yeah, shut up in there," said a royal guard named Brutus who had just entered the cellblock. He carried a wooden bowl of hot soup in his hands. Another guard was sitting on a stool in front of Doof's cell, reading a book on one hundred and one ways to keep a prisoner quiet. He had already read it five times, but the particular chapter he was on, which was about dealing with crazy prisoners, was going to come in handy with this prisoner. He banged on the cell's bars as Brutus approached.
"Yo, what's-your-name…Doof, right? Master Link says you need to be fed, even if you are a thief, so pipe down and eat the crud, okay?"
"I will eat no crud that comes from you!" yelled Doof, kicking a pile of dust that was sitting on the floor. A fine cloud of the dust hung in the air around Doof as Brutus shoved the bowl of soup through a hole in the bars.
"Wha…? Pea soup? Oh, all right. But this is the last food I'll eat until you release me! Um, unless you have shrimp puffs…"
"What's the book say, Kaz?" asked Brutus.
"Um, let's see…" he said, flipping through the pages, "um, yeah, uh…Oh, here it is! If a crazed prisoner…"
"I heard that!" yelled Doof.
"Shaddup!" yelled Brutus.
"Continuing, if a crazed prisoner asks for more food then he needs, the proper response may vary, if the prisoner is mentally challenged, it may be necessary to explain why he does not need it, using words he understands. Doing so may help the prisoner to realize his problems and will put him on the path to being normal."
"Is that really what it says?"
"Um, I'm paraphrasing. I don't want to use the real words because they might confuse and upset the prisoner. That's on page eight-twenty, in case you need to look it up."
"I demand one message to be sent out!" shouted Doof, soup dribbling down the sides of his mouth, "I want my one message! Gimmie my one message!"
"Cool it pops, you'll get your message. Just one moment, okay? You got visitors coming."
"Visitors? Maybe they'll bail me out!" he yelled. He danced around excitedly as Error and Tingle walked in.
"Oh," said Doof, his face falling, "It's you."
"Doofy's in a birdcage! Tweet tweet!" laughed Tingle. Error suppressed a giggle.
"Stop that!" yelled Doof, "Or I'll spill my soup on your head!"
"Now boys, settle down, we don't want a fight in here, okay?" said Kaz.
"Eror-ror-ror-ror-ror!" howled Error.
"Error is needing his teddy bear!" said Tingle, "And Doofy has taken it from him!"
"What? You mean you're not here to bail your poor teacher out?" asked Doof.
"No! Error needs his teddy! Tingle cannot concentrate on maps with Error yelling 'error, error, error'!"
"ERRORRRRRRR!" bawled Error louder.
"Mayonaise!" yelled Doof for the second time that day.
"What is it with all the weird people today?" asked Brutus.
"The weather must be getting warm," said Kaz, "you know, sometimes the heat makes people go crazy?"
"Must be," said Brutus.
* * *
Twenty feet below the cell block in which the Brothers Weird were arguing and yelling random condiment names, Link was wading in shin-deep water through an ancient, wet, and dark passageway, holding an oil lantern in one hand and his map of the castle's passageways and a compass in the other. It was totally pitch black in the tunnel save for Link's lantern, which emitted a warm, orange glow on the roughly hewn rock walls. The murky water sloshed and splashed as Link followed the passage. The air was close with heat, making it humid. It was also a bit smelly from mold that had been growing on the walls for some time. A Skulltula skittered up the wall. Way out of the castle or not, this passage was weird! After wading around for some time in the darkness, he came up to a solid rock face. Odd, there was supposed to be a passage here. He consulted the map again. He decided he had taken a wrong turn somewhere, and doubled back a few paces. Despite all the weird and creepy things in the labyrinth tunnel, or perhaps because of them, Link was having a good time. He was in his element, exploring a dark and mysterious dungeon. The entire thing hadn't even been fully mapped out. The excitement helped him to forget the stresses of his confinement to the castle and having to deal with the annoying Brothers Weird, and most of all, Akunem.
Link cursed beneath his breath. The nerve of that guy-calling him immature? Why, he'd done things that some men older then him wouldn't even dream of doing! Link hacked away some weird tree roots that had managed to grow into the tunnel with the Master Sword and continued. Sheathing the sword he approached what was supposed to be, according to the map at least, a way up to the surface. However, apparently the map was an older map, because a large rock had jammed itself into the tunnel. Link couldn't risk blowing it up with a bomb or moving it at all for that matter, the entire castle rested on top of this labyrinth. Any movement of the stone walls would possibly result in the destruction of the entire castle. Scanning the map again, Link found that there was another possible way, but that went through a water-filled cavern, and swimming through the dark water was not something he was going to do, unless he had his Zora Mask, then he would be able to morph into a Zora and swim underwater while using his electrical barrier to light the way. But he had left that at the Happy Mask Shop to be left under the care of the store owner. There was only one other way out-an uncharted route that led due north. Link guessed it ended somewhere in the forest. It was the only path left, so he turned around and made his way for the northern passage.
There were more obstacles here. Some parts of the tunnel were a very tight fit and Link had to suck in his stomach in order to get through one. Some parts were so vast and expansive that Link ended up accidentally going around in a circle in one of the chambers. After almost an hour of exploring, however, he found the end of the passage, the part where the map cut off. There was a pile of rubble at the end of the passage covering a hole big enough for someone the size of Error to pass through. Since he had to be somewhere beyond the castle's border already, he grabbed one of the stones blocking and made the entire pile fall over, sending a crashing noise throughout the labyrinth. Link hoped that no one had heard that and then looked into the chamber just beyond the rubble. He gasped in amazement. The chamber was only about the size of Link's room, but the walls, ceiling, and floor were covered in glowing red, blue and green crystals! Upon closer inspection, they were rubies, sapphires and emeralds!
This must be where the ancient sages found the precious stones used to make the Kokiri Emerald, the Goron's Ruby, and the Zora's Sapphire from, thought Link. There was a gigantic pile of shards of the valuable stones bunched up against the wall just opposite of the way Link came in. Link began to dig through it curiously. The wall that the shards had been covering began to emerge as Link scooped more and more back. Soon enough, the entire wall was revealed. But it was a wall and nothing more. The passage had led to something interesting all right, but it had not been the way out of the castle he had been searching for. Then something caught Link's eye. It was a line of silver traced into the wall. Link put his oil lamp down and began brushing away the dust on the wall with his hand, and an intricate design began to invoke itself into being before Link's very eyes. When all the dust had been cleared away, Link looked at the design.
It was in the shape of a door. A door that seemed eerily familiar. It had a picture of the moon above the world, and from the moon fire was raining down, punishing the land. Link had seen a design like this before, but completely the opposite. It was like…like the Door of Time in the Temple of Time, only the door there had had the design of the sun shining light upon Hyrule. What was this? Link checked the moon symbol. He ran his fingers along the edge of the moon. Suddenly, it began to glow purple, and then the crescent began to move out of the wall towards Link. Link backed away, wondering what he had just done. The moon stopped moving outwards after it had extended an entire foot away from the wall. Link cautiously approached the door again, and looked at the shaft the moon had created. There were three hollows in the shaft. It was just like the three hollows in the altar in front of the door of time. What was this? It seemed to be like…like…
A sudden chill shot up Link's spine.
Link grabbed the moon and pushed it back into the wall, then nabbed his lantern, map and compass and ran for his life out of the chamber. There was something about that door that reminded him of something he had felt before, long ago, as a child. He didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit. He fled up and out of the Labyrinth, up the stairs and into his room in the tower. He slammed the door behind him, and fell onto the bed exhausted after all the running. He tried to force the image out of his mind, but the door in the darkness would not leave his thoughts. It was there, both in his mind and down, far below. It was begging him to look at it, pleading. It glowed seductively, playing with Link's thoughts. Link knew it was more then just a door. It was like a mouth, a mouth wide open, waiting for its prey to enter and be gobbled up the way a goron does with stone. The door was evil. And it was the only way out of the castle. There was no way he was ever going to leave.
Far away, something began to stir. It was waiting for it's time to come. And when it did, the entire world would know it. It was Dies Irae incarnate, and it was hungry for blood.