This chapter is not so much action-oriented as insight to the world of Vesper, but it has a little story development, too. Also, it has a lot of fun with Link and Zelda, two characters I struggle to write. Everybody shines here. And serious as this chapter may be, expect a bit of humor, as usual.

Not ALL the secrets are revealed here. Just the most obvious background information, some foreshadowing, and a few brief history points. But what IS revealed is VERY important, and clarifies a lot of the confusion in the past chapters.

Basically, this is the chapter in which everybody realizes that they have bitten off more than they can chew.

DISCLAIMER:
I am a humble fangirl, or so I am told,
It is not my wish to lie indecently.
Link, sword brave and bold,
Zelda, wise, kind and free
Ganon, of darkness untold,
I do not own them, you see.
So those who do sue
go sit on a tack
Dr. Seuss will tell you
Get the fark' off my back.

CHAPTER THREE: FALSE LIGHTS

--

Link sat on the couch in the common room, feeling quite anxious. Fairies' magic usually worked straight away, resurrections immediate and perfect. But a fairy will only raise those of destiny from the dead. If it was truly your time to die, they were useless. They were the companions for heroes, a buffer against mistakes to make sure that in the end, the light triumphed.

Morrigan Rengard was not a hero, though. As far as Link could tell. He still couldn't get the image of Morrigan in the midnight clearing out of his mind; this was the girl that had threatened someone with a brutal beating. Yet, that threat had been an act of compassion, an act in defense of others… He couldn't make up his mind.

Morrigan Rengard was alive. But she hadn't woken up. She must have been faint of blood loss, but it was hard to tell- the girl seemed to be pale-skinned anyway.

"I don't understand it," Link frowned. "Fairies always wake me up…"

Zelda just sighed a bit, looking uncomfortably out the window at the dead lizalfos in the road. How long was this place going to be deserted? They had to leave before they drew a riot… "She doesn't have any natural magic. That must be why she's still asleep."

"Magic? Um, okay," Dizene wavered. "Damnit, Morri… wake up! Up, Flatty Mc. NoBoobs!"

"Ngh," Morrigan mumbled.

Dizene seemed to brighten at this. "Morrigan? Vesper to Morrigan? What are you saying?"

"Did I get him?" Morrigan asked quietly, with a hoarse voice.

"Yeah, you got him."

Suddenly, Morrigan sat up, blinking dazedly as if the confirmation lent her strength. "That's good. What happened after that?"

All of them stared. The transition was sudden, like she hadn't even been asleep. It then occurred to them that none of them knew anything about how fairy magic actually worked.

"Well, um, you see…"

"You died."

Ganondorf's single piercing comment from the other side of the room was swift and decisive. Morrigan bit her lip. "Makes sense; I did take a sword to the gut," she said as if it wasn't a big deal and happened all the time. "This is one helluva hell, though."

Dizene shook her head. "You're not in hell, Morri. You're not even dead anymore. A magic healing fairy brought you back to life."

"A magic healing fairy," Morrigan shrugged, once again probably less perturbed than she should have been. "After lizard-beasties, I'll take anything."

"Lizalfos."

"Lizalfos, call them whatever," Morrigan said, spying the person who had just corrected her. "But… what am I supposed to call you three?"

Zelda was looking deep into this new girl's eyes. They seemed frightening, her first impression told her. She had seen frightening eyes before (in a man that was sulking not ten feet from her) and she had initially feared a deadly ambition… but she had looked deeper, with the help of her piece of the Triforce. Into both of the girls.

Something in her told her these two were vitally important for something. For what, she did not know. But there was a feeling that they were not what they seemed to be at first glance: that they were connected to something.

Dizene was not just another pretty face- there was an inner strength of will that sat quietly beneath the surface.

Morrigan was not just a ruthless fighter- there was an inner honor and nobility that would have shamed some of her most faithful knights.

And Naryu was not taken to lies.

"I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule," she said. "Now that there's time for formal introductions."

"My name is Link," the blonde swordsman smiled, as if the princess's vote of confidence was as good as his own. "Some call me the Hero of Time. But I'm happy just to be Link."

"Well, Zelda, Link, I owe you one," Morrigan said. "And I don't do that often. Who's the sulk?"

Before anyone could cut him off, the 'sulk' turned his head and glared at them all with a withering look. "Ganondorf, King of," he said but paused a moment before he finished, "Thieves."

No pain. That seemed better than calling himself the King of Evil. Internally he cursed himself for conforming to the wishes of higher powers, if only to spare his weak-willed self. But the truth was that he could barely cope with the pain any longer… it was causing him to sulk like this, avoiding contact or even thoughts. He was trying so, so hard not to think of the Hero of Time mangled and gory… not to think of delivering the final blow himself…

None of the others noticed him wince.

"You'll have to forgive him," Zelda said quietly. "Ganondorf… has not been our ally in the past."

Dizene looked at the ceiling with a ponderous look. "I've never heard of Hyrule, or the Hero of Time, or any of you. But you don't look all jumpy like liars. And you use… magic?"

"Yes."

"Well, this sets a new record in the books," Morrigan said, looking at Dizene with a surprised stare. She delayed slightly, squinting with evaluating eyes before she spoke again. "Do you three know where you are? You're not dressed… well, let's say that you aren't exactly out of the magazines."

Ganondorf looked away out the window, Link whistled innocently, and Zelda gave a slight flush of embarrassment. "We don't, actually," she said. "Could you even… start with the name of your world?"

"Our world? Wow, and here I thought you were from some island on the other side of the ocean or something," Dizene marveled.

Morrigan rolled her eyes. "Dizzy, it's not like the world is round. There isn't another side- when you get too close to the Hinterlands you fall off the edge of the map!"

"Hey, it could happen," said Dizene. "Anyway, this world is called Vesper. Ever heard of it?"

Zelda shook her head sadly.

"I guess I should explain more, then," Morrigan said. "Diz, in the backpack on my bunk is a rolled-up water-tube. Could you get it?"

It was done. From inside the waterproof tube, Morrigan pulled out a loosely- rolled paper and smoothed it on the small coffee table. "My sister draws all sorts of maps- mostly of the back alleys at home. But here's one of the world."

"This whole big blob is Vesper. The rest is the sea- duh," Dizene said, all three (even Ganondorf!) looking on with interest. "It's technically one big country, but there are three territories. These three just govern themselves, sort of like semi-autonomous states. We're in Central Vesper right now- in the northwest forest. Farther west is the Hinterlands, and if you go off of the map… you're off the world. Nobody has ever returned. The world ends at the edge of the map. It's been that way since ancient times. People stopped trying a long time ago. It's reality."

Morrigan pointed to the sea. "Same if you sail too far to the east, or journey too far north, or manage to cut your way too far in the jungle to the south. Our world is flat," she clarified, which earned some weird stares. "The other two provinces are Ciel and Karai. And there are tons of islands off on the sea to the east, but nobody cares about those."

"Dizene said you were a Karai," Link observed.

This earned a quiet simmering of somewhat disquieting laughter. "She would! Yeah, I'm a Karai," Morrigan confirmed. "I was born way up north. You may think it's a deathtrap of snow and cold, but under the ice we have some of the most valuable natural resources in Vesper."

"What?"

"Sure, we may have to farm all on the edges of our territory," Morrigan said. "But Karai is the only place to get workable-grade metal in all of Vesper. My people are the best smiths and metalworkers you will ever find."

Dizene stifled a snicker. "Almost makes up for not having a real government!"

"We do so!" Morrigan snapped. "We are a familial oligarchy!"

"Give it up, Morri- you barely even have laws up there," Dizene giggled. "Anyway, the other territory is Ciel, which is on this great big peninsula right here."

She pointed to the jutting tract of land to the southeast.

"Ciel's run by a mega-corporation named Eclipse Inc. People live very comfortable lives, thanks to Eclipse. It does everything from household appliances to games."

Zelda frowned. "That doesn't sound like a very safe balance of power. Businesses are usually only after money."

"Safe or not, it works," Dizene said. "My father works at Eclipse there. Not that I really care- I don't see him more than twice a year. We're in Central Vesper right now- it's sort of a buffer between the two. It's this big fat chunk in the middle."

Ganondorf, in the background, rolled his eyes. "Very informative," he scoffed. "But useless. There's nothing of note. You're missing the point- I've been sent here to do something and I want it over with as quickly as possible, kid."

"If you think it's useless, you had better fess up to why you are here. And where's Hyrule, anyway?"

Scratching his head a little, Link wished that Navi were with him once again. Navi always knew where to go. It was frustrating- he was not stupid. But he was the sort of person that needed a goal. Three people stuck together with absolutely no goal was a disaster waiting to happen. "To you, Hyrule must be another world," he said. "We were sent here by the Goddesses to save… something."

Morrigan frowned. "Not very descriptive. Goddesses… are you sure we should believe you? You could just be three freaks."

"Morri, I think they're telling the truth," Dizene whispered. "I know it's crazy, but… there's something about them. Their hands…"

Link noticed the dark-haired girl sneak a look at all of their gloves in turn and then force a very annoyed scowl. "Dizene, you have the best intuition in all of Vesper. If you say they are clean, I'll believe you. But if you're wrong, I promise you won't be able to tell your eyeballs from your kneecaps when I'm through with you."

"You have my word as Princess," Zelda said. "We tell you no lies."

Link looked to the Lizalfos corpses outside. "Are monsters normal in Vesper?"

"No. Never."

"Then they must have been after us," the swordsman concluded. "I know for sure Ganondorf's not controlling them, so somebody else must have them doing their henchman work. We shouldn't stay here much longer."

"Oh? And go where?" Morrigan laughed quietly. "You have no idea where you need to be, or even how to get around Vesper. Face it, you're lost."

A withering glare flew from Ganondorf to Morrigan, but she didn't seem to notice. "We are not lost," he growled. "We just need to get our bearings."

"You are," argued Morrigan, bowing her head in a somewhat grudging apology. "So, why don't you take us along? We can't stay here, not after the Lizalfos. My father will throw a fit if I stay any longer than I have to in a war zone. And you need the guides."

Dizene looked horrified. "Morri! These people could be charging into danger- they just fought a small army of iguanas with swords!"

"Danger? Ha," Morrigan laughed. "I have no problems with danger. We've got a summer to burn, Dizzy. And I'm not sticking around summer camp to see what they're going to say to us when they all come back and find a bunch of dead lizalfos rotting on the lawn."

"That's pretty bold for somebody who died today."

"And I feel better than ever!" Morrigan countered. "Besides, we could do for a little adventure. Or are you just boring?"

"N... no!"

"Then it's settled! We're going!"

Zelda's eyes frowned and she opened her mouth to protest, but it was too late. Morrigan had exited the common room in a flash and furious sounds of packing were heard in the other dormitory. "But… we haven't…!"

"There's no point in arguing with her, Princess Zelda," Dizene sighed. "Once she makes up her mind, she'll stomp you if you get in her way. Morri, I hope you know what you're doing…"

--

"We're almost there," Dizene assured. The day had passed quickly, composed entirely of walking, as Morrigan had been unable to bring her motorbike. The initial protests had quieted as soon as they had started on their way, for the two girls seemed to know much about the new world they were in and even Ganondorf had to admit that walking into a trap was not the best course of action.

Dizene had even lent Zelda some of her clothes, so she could actually hike without tripping over the hem of a courtly dress. This earned big points with Zelda, and Link in turn. Though it really didn't matter what they looked like, Morrigan said, as long as they could travel. Strange dress was not uncommon, especially in the middle of the wilderness. They could pass for hunters or other eccentric travelers- who was around to judge them?

Ganondorf had no say. In fact, he had tried to leave on his own but hadn't made it far before the Goddesses caught on to him and had frozen him in his tracks.

Link was surprised at the efficiency of the two mismatched young women. Their bags contained the bare minimum of what was needed, leaving most everything behind. They had even left a note for the camp to find, reporting that they were not dead and would call their parents themselves later.

Actually, he was thankful for the lack of monsters. One person had already died today- he did not need for anyone to repeat the experience, and he didn't have an endless supply of fairies.

"Bacatta is right over this hill," Morrigan explained. "And believe me, you'll have no problems fitting in."

Zelda squinted into the distance, trying to discern the source of the growing noise ahead. "What do you mean?"

"Bacatta is on the outskirts of civilization for a reason," Dizene said. "It's an amusement city run by Eclipse. The noise never dies down here, so they had to put it where it wouldn't disturb random farmers…"

"You could run around naked there and nobody would even give you a second look. In fact, it's probably Dizzy, Zel' and I that will stand out- we're not in any kind of festive outfit. Besides, we were there today already; it's much faster traveling by motorcycle, but not all of you could fit."

Giving a quiet lilt of laughter at the new nickname, Zelda's eyes opened wide as the city appeared over the crest of the hill. The first sight was a glowing aura of radiated light and sound, giving way to a rambling fanciful web of garishly colored buildings and attractions. Music poured out in an impressive cacophony, and lighted signs on the roadway they were following pointed out exactly how far they had to travel before reaching the gates… down to the last millimeter.

"Ugh," Ganondorf frowned. "I've never seen such an absurd place in my lifetime."

Link quietly snickered, but stretched a small grin. "It's not any worse than your tacky floating castle, Ganondorf. At least it's not over a bed of lava this time…"

"Your damned rainbow bridge wasn't an improvement," Ganondorf countered, trying to cuff the Hero of Time with the only iota of violence the goddesses allotted him. Even so, he missed by a mile, which of course did nothing to improve his mood.

"Funny-looking or not, there are safe beds to sleep here," Dizene broke up. "In between the sideshows and overpriced food, I'd like to see freaky creatures find us in there. And even better, it's a major Hope port."

Squinting in the evening sun and the ever-growing glow, Zelda tried to process the last sentence, but could not understand it at all, even with the Triforce she possessed. "I beg your pardon, but… 'Hope Port?' This hardly looks a port city…"

"Oh, yeah," Morrigan frowned, smacking herself in the face rather violently. "You don't know, don't you? Hope is a game inside a sort of like a virtual or imaginary world. It exists in sort of an 'electricity space,' a special world within a computer… that's a kind of machine that takes coded orders and runs procedure from them. Computers can do a lot of things, like do math, and run special programs to make life easier."

"What sort of 'game' is 'Hope?' " Link asked, nodding slowly at the explanation. It seemed to make sense. If there was a machine to brush your teeth, why couldn't there be a machine that solved problems, too? "It doesn't sound like anything I've ever played…"

Dizene laughed out loud. "Hope is an adventure game. It's like a fantasy world you can play in and do anything you want. You can do things like fight simulated monsters and everybody interacts to make a sort of simulated kingdom. It's pretty neat. My father does a lot of work on maintaining Hope… even though Mom sent me away for the summer to force me to stop playing for a while!"

"It sounds an awful lot like reality," observed Ganondorf. "Is that really your idea of a game? Who would ever want to fight fake monsters? They must be even more useless than real ones!"

"You have to remember that before today, nobody has ever seen monsters before, aside from perhaps in ancient carvings… and those are probably myths to them, anyway," Zelda said.

Dizene yawned for effect, waving her arms as if to impress her point. "Yeah, it can get pretty boring sometimes… but the one thing bugging me is that we never finished that one dungeon, Morri! We were standing right in front of maybe the final boss of that jungle dungeon and Mom sent me away to camp!

Morrigan rolled her eyes. "It's not like she wasn't in cahoots with my father," she said. "And you're missing the entire point, Diz! We aren't going there to fool around- we have to get home!"

The confused silence spoke volumes.

"Sorry," Morrigan apologized. "Dizene's an addict. Anyway, you enter the world of Hope through certain terminals at designated places- called 'Ports.' But the really important part is that if you don't have a lock on which terminal you need to come back through, you can travel across the world using Hope- just by entering one Port and exiting one somewhere else. That is, if you aren't carrying any stuff. Which we aren't."

The gates to the town loomed overhead now, golden words emblazoned on the entry sign.

Welcome to Bacatta City: The Eternal Flight of Fantasy.

"Zelda," Link whispered aside, voice straining over the roar of merriment and music, "I think there is more to this adventure than misplaced monsters."

"Misplaced monsters are the least of our worries," the princess replied, sighing to the heavens. "I've seen storm-clouds in my dreams in the past, Link. This time, I think we may be the ones riding in upon them."

--

The weak, undead light of the stars overhead was no match for the ferocious urban glow above the amusement city of Bacatta. Even the crescent moon had a hard time penetrating the reds and blues of neon lights and signs. A rattle of muted sound clanked on below the balcony, the roar of jubilation muffled to a distant, ever-present warble.

"Come off it, Dizene. I know you're there."

Hidden on the roof of the hotel they had rented rooms in with credit accounts, Dizene winced. Morrigan's back was turned, there was noise down below, and there weren't even stable shadows to give her away!

Speaking of Morrigan, aside from the harsh words the girl hadn't moved an inch. She simply stood on the very edge of the balcony, head turned to the sky that danced with polluted colors. Dizene had never seen the phantom lights that were fabled to dance in the skies of the far north, but she couldn't help but feel that this fake imitation brought the Karai before her to a separate playing ground… one of nightfall and soft darkness that she, a Ciel, had no place in.

"You know, that's really creepy," Dizene frowned, "how you can tell where I am all the time. I've never been able to hide from you."

"It's a talent," Morrigan said. "I know, radical that I have one, but still. Can you blame me for being hyperobservative?"

"More like paranoid."

Morrigan did not turn as Dizene approached closer, standing abreast on the balcony. But she did give a sharp, stern glare to the heavens. "This is the second time this week, Dizene. You are not a night person. You like to rise with the sun and go to bed at crazy nutso early hours that aren't fun at all. You are not nocturnal like me. It takes a lot to keep you from sleeping."

"Why did you do it?"

Morrigan furrowed her brow. "… Do what?"

"It was right out of the blue. You didn't even know these people. But… you said, 'let's go on an adventure' and ran away with me, with them. I want to know. Why did you do it?"

The noise seemed to quiet a bit as they stared to the addled, hodgepodge sky for a minute before Morrigan spoke once more. "Instinct, I guess."

"I don't understand."

"I didn't think. It was like I was waiting my whole life to give the word," Morrigan said. "I really don't know why I did it. But… there's something about them that makes you do that. You said something back there… I know you can feel what I mean. Something about those guys just takes you, like heavenly intervention making your decisions helter-skelter and out of control."

"I know. They're just so… impossible, but… it's like they're some characters out of Hope. But they are real, more real-feeling than most of the world. I just get a feeling from them…"

"I don't know why I did what I did," Morrigan said, "but it felt right. Like it was something I was supposed to do. I can't place the sensation. Don't ask me to."

Dizene nodded slowly, frowning. "I know… I can't shake the hunch that we're getting mixed up in something very big. But also I just can't help but be worried for the future."

"I have a question for you, now, Dizene."

"Oh?"

"Why do you trust them?"

"What sort of question is that?"

Morrigan shook her head. "You are very naive, Diz," she said. "I may have jumped the gun and all, but I don't even think… that was me thinking at the time. I don't trust them, not yet. All you usually get for trust outside of your own family in Karai is a nice gaping hole in your spine. I'm going to be sleeping with a knife tonight, Dizzy. You probably shouldn't wake me up tomorrow- I might stab you by accident if you do."

"Look, I know you don't trust others, Morri. But like I said," Dizene sighed. "I just have a hunch. There's something about them, like you just told me. It's like an aura. It says… have faith in us. It's too uncanny, if you think about it."

"Everything about them is uncanny," Morrigan said. "I don't know what they are, but they aren't normal people. They aren't even your everyday sort of skilled people. They're on a whole other level. Almost a divine level. It's kinda unsettling to me."

"…divine?"

"Come on, Diz. I know you weren't been born and raised on the other side of your mother's fists like I was, but you play around in Hope enough to recognize a good fighter when you see one. And these people aren't just good, they're too good."

Vaguely, Dizene recalled a flash and tumble of blades and a great whip of dark magic at her throat. She shivered in the night air, the scenes replaying in terrifying repetition. Morrigan falling dead over and over again. The mysterious fairy raising her from the cold embrace. "I… I know."

"Zelda, The Princess, whatever," Morrigan started, "is not just a pretty face. Not only can she hurl balls of light at you, but… did you see her practice archery when we stopped for lunch?"

"No. I was too busy eating."

"She took out a sparrow flying in the sky. With a single arrow. At over two hundred feet. That's better than anyone should ever be. Plus… when she walks, she doesn't make a sound. She tries to hide it, but she knows a thing or two about stealth, I can tell you."

Dizene gawked. "When did you notice this?"

"When you were stuffing your face," Morrigan retorted. "Like I said, I'm hyperobservative. And Link… I can't even say. I won't say I'm any good, because I'm not, but Mom has showed me a fair bit of the traditional blade arts. And you know Karai is renowned for it's swordcrafting and other historical weapon masteries, Dizzy. But even I can tell that boy is probably the best swordsman in a thousand years. Did you see him fighting? He can vault backwards- from a standstill!"

The other girl gulped. The reality was sinking in. What had they done? Who were these people? What had they gotten into?

"And Ganondorf…"

"He's huge."

"He scares me, Dizene," Morrigan said. "You know I was born with a pair of psycho eyes. But when that man looks at me… I… I'm a kid again, Diz. If I am fierce, he is fiercer. If I am strong, he is stronger. I like to think myself one of my Lord's guard like my mother: A Noble Beast. But if I'm a beast… he… he's the freaking Beast God, Dizzy. And…"

Dizene was beginning to be scared. Morrigan rarely admitted to fear. It was against her creed. It was a weakness. Morrigan did her best to put up an ice shield and freeze her fears solid. Dizene had heard her admit fear only once or twice before, and if Morrigan feared something, it was fearsome indeed. Her fears were reserved for her parents' wrath and for the future. It was never for anything physical. But if this man, this real man, sleeping in the room next to theirs could make Morrigan tremble, he was a force to be reckoned with.

"And his strength… I saw him try to sneak away earlier, Dizene. He could not, for some reason that I don't get at all, and freaked out into some sort of crazy rage."

"Crazy rage?"

"Yeah. And not the normal kind of frustrated fit. This man… uprooted a massive oak tree with his bare hands and snapped it like it was a matchstick. He took a boulder in one fist and pulverized it to sand. I don't want to be on the wrong side of that monster strength, Dizene. He scares me. But I can't help but respect him, and all of them. I've never stood at the gates of the world above, but I bet this is how it feels."

Dizene closed her eyes and took her best friend by the hand quietly. Morrigan had an awful view of the world- that everybody was going to claw and fight and murder to get to the top. The fact that Morrigan trusted Dizene at all to reveal her secret, frozen-over weaknesses was incredibly huge. Inside, Dizene was honored.

"Yeah, they are big," Dizene said. "And yeah, I guess we're sorta small. But I think that's just something we're going to have to deal with. They may be big, but they are completely lost right now. And what they need are some small people who can show them the way. They seem nice enough. Even if that Ganondorf is a little scary, I don't think he can do anything to us with the other two around."

"That's just it. I won't trust them until I know for sure," Morrigan said. "So I can think of only one solution for now that is totally failsafe."

Dizene gasped when Morrigan finally turned to her, the twice-false phantasmal lights burning in the depths of her silvered eyes. The look she gave was absolutely serious, with a frightening undertone of cunning that certainly didn't ease Dizene's apprehensions.

"What?"

"There's no helping it," Morrigan said. "If we have to play with the big boys, we have to get bigger. We probably won't ever be able to reach their level, but if we can at least touch it, even for a moment… to taste that sort of power… I can promise you that I'll level anything that gets in my way."

"You aren't going to even try to trust them?"

"I don't give faith to strangers, and until they aren't strange they won't have my faith either," Morrigan said. "I'm going to figure out our leverage. The moment things turn ugly I'm blowing this crazy train. Into multiple pieces if I need to."

"What do you mean, 'leverage?' "

"I've got the stinking suspicion that you have a brain under that hair, Diz. And I know for sure you can swing a pair of knives well enough," said Morrigan. "You can lock me up and throw away the key for a thousand years before I forget how to push my weight around and tease open all the cracks."

"You're cracked."

--

Princess Zelda of Hyrule sat serenely at the table in the hotel room, hands clasped over her breast. She very well could have taken direct action, and she very well could have sneaked out to gather information. But there were others able to do that, she knew, and she knew the fact that she had other talents like the back of her hand.

In a literal sense.

Wisdom was quite a fitting name for the power she wielded. It did not make her smarter by any means- she was quite intelligent enough already. Intelligence and wisdom were not the same at all, she pondered. Any farmer's son can have the intelligence to shame the king's advisors. But those same advisors, though they may know every nuance of the world and it's workings, will act like fools in the face of crisis.

Zelda knew many things, but it was what she did not know that the Triforce of Wisdom brought to light. It knew everything passed through the ages. And anything it had never encountered before, its true nature was found easily. It was like cheating. She could guess motives before anyone spoke a word. She could glimpse the future in her dreams. She knew names from the distant past that had crumbled to nothing.

As it was, her current dilemma was far more troublesome. She was trying to divine exactly where the magic of the world had gone. And she had made some very startling discoveries.

"Princess?"

At the voice, her eyes snapped open out of the trance, but she was not very disturbed at all. In fact, she was expecting it any moment now. "Good evening, Link. You're up late tonight."

"You're not one to talk, Zelda," Link said, shifting uneasily in the doorway. "I've been out gathering information. I was wondering if you had any advice on the situation."

"How about we make a swap, then?" Zelda said, motioning to the other chair. "Come on, sit down. You don't have to be courtly around me, you know. I've been hardly active in my duties as a princess this past day."

Link laughed softly, recalling a time when he laid eyes upon her again after his few years adventuring in Termina, taking a place by her side as her personal guard. He could not marry her, due to her station and his lack thereof, but they were so close they could have been family. Thus Zelda ruled as a sovereign queen and Link took her hand as Captain of the Hyrule Guard.

Not that either of them had much in the way of political duty lately. There wasn't even much of a Hyrule left that Link could find to guard.

"As you wish, my Princess," Link said with a slight teasing undertone. Just because he was supposed to be her right hand didn't mean that he couldn't kid around on the job. "Do you want to go first?"

"I think it would be better if you did, Link."

The Hero of Time gave a small cough and his face fell slightly, a faint frown on his handsome face. "There's more to this world than just the territories of Karai and Central and Ciel. There's some terrible history, and much of it's recent."

"Such as?"

"Maybe I should start with the two territories themselves," Link sighed. "Lady Dizene said that Ciel is managed by a super-corporation, Eclipse, correct?"

"Yes."

"I found out that… Eclipse started a war a hundred years ago," began Link. "A hundred years ago Eclipse was apparently far more tyrannical than it is today. The Central Territories didn't exist- Ciel stretched all the way up to the Karai border. It needed materials to fuel its campaigns…"

Zelda's eyes darkened in horror. "I… I understand. Karai is the only source of metal in all of Vesper… they started a war over resources…"

"Exactly. It was brutal, and many lost their lives. It eventually ended after a host of Karai troops broke through the lines and made their way to the Capital City in what's now Central Vesper- south of here. They burned it to the ground. More than a thousand people died that night. The Karai slaughtered the city, with no mercy given even to women and children."

The princess's horrified face was frozen for a moment, appalled at the atrocity committed. But then she closed her eyes and laid her hands to her breast once more… and calmly regarded Link once more. But this time it was an expression of sadness and pity. "The Triforce tells me… it was because Ciel and Eclipse greatly wronged their people, that the Karai flew into such a rage. The workers of Eclipse toiling in Karai mines… were ordered to murder the Karai children. It was retribution that spilled blood that night, or so I am told."

"Funny, nobody told me that," Link said. "But not surprising. The people here are of Central and Ciel decent. None of them would see their own horrors. They only see the enemy, which is terrible."

"It is lucky for us to be guided by the Goddesses, then," Zelda said. "Or we would be fitted with the same blinders as they do bear."

Link nodded in understanding, but then looked to the window. "So it really all makes sense. Why that boy looked at Lady Morrigan with such contempt, why he called her a 'city burner' of all things. Morrigan, she is hated."

"But not by Dizene, of all people. Her father works for Eclipse, remember," reminded Zelda. "It's actually more remarkable that Morrigan doesn't hate Dizene, for Eclipse maybe killing her would-be uncles and aunts."

"But what do you think of them, Zelda? They seem… normal, or as normal as a pair like that can be."

The Princess of Destiny frowned, but then sighed, shaking her head in puzzlement. "You know, I really don't know, Link. I can't help but get the feeling that maybe one of them doesn't trust us entirely, but I can't ask for their trust at all. Not after riding in on some Lizalfos! For all they know, we sent those beasts!"

"But, they don't seem to be too bad with handling them," Link pointed out. "You know, for normal people. Dizene hesitates, but I bet she can really put a knife to use if she would focus. And Morrigan… I haven't seen anybody fight with that fury since' I had to duel Nabooru!"

"In speaking of the Gerudo, have you seen Ganondorf lately, Link? I think he's figured out what I have by now, and I tell you, it's not going to be easy for us…"

--

"Achoo!"

Someone must be speaking of me, Ganondorf remarked bitterly to himself as he crept along the stairwell once again back to his room. He wasn't called the King of Thieves for no reason; he could steal away with little trouble to wherever he wished.

Goddesses permitting, of course. He cursed his foul luck for being under such a crippling curfew.

But really, he wasn't any less than satisfied with himself.

He had thought it odd, that two odd maidens had, out of the blue, decided to aid them on their 'quest' of sorts. There wasn't any logical reason, and he knew his logic backwards and out. He would know.

Thus, upon eavesdropping, he felt much enlightened. The Karai girl may have been talented on picking out Dizene's presence, but she was not quite skilled enough yet to call out the King of Thieves. Her little bit of treachery even had made him laugh. She truly believed she could approach his level one day? Her ambitions were quite adorable, he admitted: like a Wolfos pup growing in it's first flesh-teeth. Thus, learning her fears and her apprehensions, he knew exactly where he stood.

Right in the middle of a great, sloppy mess.

Yes, he was quite flattered that he was one of the things that the seemingly fearless Karai feared most, but that was not so much on his mind as his own predicament.

This world was magic-dead, he felt. That was what it felt like on the surface. There was no life-magic, true, but there was none of his brand, either. The Light and Dark were one mixed, muddy, muddled grey that had been then wiped clean off the face of the world.

Only in part, he now knew. And from the warm throb inside his glove, he knew that Zelda had divined the same conclusion.

For in that moment when the two had left the balcony, he had seen it. Morrigan's gaze had been looking blankly in his direction, unknowing of his presence due to his invisibility magic, but looking straight at him all the same.

She had stopped. So had Dizene. For a moment, he had thought they had seen him, which was impossible. And it was, for they had not.

But there had been… a pulse.

That was the only word to describe it. His Triforce's power and his innate magic had been greatly weakened and restrained lately, but even he could feel the tremor through the air and through the earth. He could feel it through the golden symbol in his glove, and the golden symbol etched onto the black thing that was his heart.

As they had looked at him, something, somewhere, had unlocked. He gritted his teeth. It was like, within them, dead hearts had begun to beat with renewed strength. He had held out his hand, bright light hidden, and seen through the Triforce of Power.

He had seen the world's power, dead, chained down like a captive animal, doomed to die in a cage. He had seen it pinned down, at great points of curse-work far, far away. The illusion of a dead world was sustained only that the magic was gathered all together, at places well distant from himself. He had seen, truly, sincerely…something that had never happened when he had but stolen his great triumph without permission.

It was somewhat unnerving to him, but his composure did not break. In fact, a hint of disgust had blessed his face with a scowl.

This world, it was fighting and had been fighting for a long time. It was a dead wasteland, it's people starving and driven to madness and cold machinery in the absence of the natural magic laid down by cruel nature and the Goddesses above. It had become a desert, devoid of all but the survivors and the broken.

It was then he finally remembered what his excuse had been, all those ages ago.

Those long centuries ago, he had claimed to be a 'savior' of his people. He had angled to take the Gerudo out of the dry desert and into the green fields of Hyrule. Not that that was his true intention. But either way, it angered him to see such a world crippled, to see green fields soiled.

This torment was his job. These were his monsters. Somebody had decided to, in his absence, steal his glory away. The Goddess Din had changed his face and body to demonstrate he no longer held the station that he once coveted. He had never dreamed that she was merely demonstrating the truth of the world to him. Din was not the one who had stolen his face, his life, and his pride.

This nameless, magic-eating force had. And as King of Thieves, it was just not proper to steal from him.

I'll drive out these pretenders, he told himself. I'll go along with the Goddesses' foolishness for now. And when this disgusting offense is gone…

Hyrule and Vesper shall be mine.

--

Aaand... thus the chapter draws to a close. And a rambling one it was. Why is it when I try and fill a chapter with action it ends up a hodgepodge mess, but when I write a chapter solely of dialogue and insight, it ends up a RAMBLING mess? Mess! Mess! Mess!

Anyhow, this was fun to write. Next chapter the story really begins to pick up, and we have more action. I can promise you...

The Difference between Fantasy and Reality, non-magical time travel in a distressingly mundane sort of way, new characters to be met, scary circumstances, and Things that You Never Found Before.

Ta'. Review if you wish!