Chapter Twelve: Memories upon the Mountains

Almost six months had passed before I arrived at the foot of the Himalayan Mountains. The journey to get here had been hard enough, but once I saw just how gigantic this mountain range was I nearly lost hope. But just as quickly, I remembered why I had to cross them. So I could retrieve the final shard and return to my friends. I missed them all so much. I had been hoping that I have not worried any of them too much. When I got back I would have to explain why I haven't been able to contact them. But until then, I continued on into the cold and intimidating shadows of the mountains.

Just walking through the mountains was difficult. There was hardly any flat terrain, and most of the ground was covered in bitterly cold snow. It was fortunate that I still had the cloak that Kalena had given to me back in the desert; otherwise I would've succumbed to the cold almost instantly. I had kept moving for nearly two weeks, and yet it didn't seem like I was even halfway across yet. One night while I was climbing up one of the small mountains, a fierce blizzard started blowing. I tried to force my way through it, but the wind was really strong, and the ice shards hit like broken glass. Fortunately, near the top of the mountain, there was a small cave. I decided to take refuge within it until the storm passed.

I sat down near the cave wall, close enough to the entrance that I could still see the storm blowing, but far enough that it wouldn't hit me. This was bad. Not only was I being delayed in my quest, but I was also really hungry. Though I could usually go for a while without food, I knew I eventually had to eat something. Before, I would usually find something in the wilds to eat, mostly insects. While that may seem to be gross, it was better than eating nothing, and surprisingly, they're better than they look. But there wasn't anything to eat here.

Even with the storm blowing, I was still able to see the stars in the night sky. I had always liked gazing up at them before, but now I did so even more. Not only did it make me feel content, but whenever I looked at them I always thought of… her. I missed Starfire so much. I was actually surprised that I still remembered her name. I then remembered that gemstone that I had in my pocket, the one that had formed for some reason after I had unintentionally caught one of her starbolts. The spirit gem. I pulled it out and held it in my hand.

It looked just the same as when it had first formed. It was a clear spherical gemstone that had two lights inside, a blue one and a green one, circling around each other. Just holding it made me feel better, almost as if Starfire was right there with me, and I think I now knew why. I think her starbolts may hold some of her spiritual essence within them. And when I caught it, it reacted with my spiritual essence, possibly due to my spirit's blessing or something, and the two essences fused together. For what reason, I still had no idea? But whenever I held this gem, I felt safe. As I looked at it, I wondered…. if she still remembers me?

When morning came the next day, the blizzard had stopped, and I was able to keep going. The terrain was still very difficult to travel across, but I kept going without relent. About three days later, I came upon a gigantic cliff-face that blocked my path. There didn't seem to be any way around it, so I had no other choice. I had to climb to the top. I found a part of the wall that I could grab onto and began what would be a very long and difficult climb. As I kept climbing, I felt like I was getting weaker. I wasn't sure if it was from the stress on my muscles, or the thin air around me, but that wasn't going to stop me.

About halfway up though, some of the rocks I had gripped to climb came loose. With nothing to hold onto, I started to fall. It was a long way down, and if I didn't do something, I would perish. Thinking quickly, I took out my sword and thrust it into the side of the cliff. I skidded down a few feet, my sword soon anchored itself into the rock, and I hung onto it for my life. I had fallen down quite some distance, but at least I had prevented myself from being broken apart on the rocks far below. I continued my climb, using my sword like a pick-axe to prevent another fall. After about two hours I finally reached the top, and to my surprise, someone held out their hand to help me up.

"Nice to see you again, Link." A familiar voice said.

I looked up to see just who I thought it may have been. It was Kalena again!

"That was quite a fall you took earlier. I hope you're not hurt." She said.

"I'll be alright. But what are you doing out here?!" I asked her. "This is the third time we've come across each other. Are you following me or something?"

"I guess we are just going in the same direction." She told me while giggling slightly.

"Oh. Well…. Thanks, again." I told her.

I pulled out my compass to see if I was still going the right way. To my surprise though, something really weird was happening with it. The compass needle was spinning like crazy in random directions. What was going on?

"My compass is acting strange! I can't determine which way is east!" I said out loud.

Kalena had heard me, and she came and took a look at it.

"It must be because of the area we are in. Many of these rocks have magnetic properties in them, so a compass is practically useless here." She told me.

"Well that's just great!" I said sarcastically. "Now how am I going to get through these mountains?!"

"I think I can help. I know this area quite well. I can help guide you to where you need to go." She said.

That was great, but how did Kalena know the way through here? I guess it didn't matter much; after all, she seemed to be full of surprises. I accepted her offer and the two of us continued onward.

Several hours passed, and the air around us was really cold. I could feel it even with my cloak on, but Kalena didn't seem to mind it at all. I offered to let her use my cloak for a while, but she told me that she was fine. She was fine? In this bitter cold? Who or what exactly was this girl?

"So where are you headed to?" she asked me.

"To an area that is over these mountains and across a sea beyond that. I was told that is where I could find the fourth light spirit." I told her.

"Hmm… judging from that description, I'm guessing that you're heading for Japan?" she asked.

"Japan? Uhh… I guess so. Ordona never told me what the name of the area was." I answered.

About half a day later, we finally reached the other side of the mountains. Now all I could see was grassland for miles, but compared to the rough mountain terrain, crossing this area would be a piece of cake! My compass was working again as well, and I was able to pinpoint which direction was east.

"When you reach Japan, I would suggest that you head for Tokyo." Kalena said.

"Tokyo?" I asked.

"Yes. It is the largest city in Japan, and if there is any knowledge of where the spirit you are looking for is, it would probably be in Tokyo." She told me.

"Then I guess that's where I'm headed next." I said. "Thank you for all of your help."

I bid Kalena farewell as I headed off into the grassland. Now I had to reach the sea, and from there, Japan.