CHAPTER THREE: COLD CASE
The time-warp deposited them back at the base of the Deku Tree. Taking out his Ocarina, Link played the Bolero of Fire, the melody that could take them to Hyrule's Fire Temple, and used his magic to slightly alter the path of the songs spell. The blazing red light engulfed them, and carried them away.
The song left them at the base of Death Mountain in the north, near the Death Mountain Range. Link and Zelda then continued north towards Snowhead, Zelda transforming and taking to the air for a better view.
It was about mid-day when it began to start snowing, tiny flecks of white beginning to speck down from the sky, and the ground they walked upon had been becoming more and more snow-covered. "Odd." Link noted. "It's spring; it shouldn't be snowing." The light snow continued for the rest of the day, but as the sun began to set, it began to snow heavier. And heavier.
Link saw that Zelda was shivering – her Fairy-clothing did little to keep her warm. He was starting to get a bit chilly, himself. Then, they saw a village up ahead, the houses visible against the snow-covered ground. Zelda promptly descended, returning to normal, and they hurried towards the village.
As they hurried into the village Inn, the elderly couple who ran the Inn were waiting for them with warm blankets and cups of hot chocolate – they'd seen them coming. "Oh, you poor dears." the elderly lady said. "Out in the cold at this hour? How dreadful!"
"You two were a bit of a surprise!" her husband added. "We hardly get any visitors anymore, what with this weather and all."
"It's supposed to be spring." Link said. "Do you have any idea why it's still snowing?"
"Oh, don't worry about it!" the elder lady said, smiling. "Come, and sit by the fire!" Then, the couple ushered them into the living room.
Soon, Link and Zelda were sitting in front of the fire, each draped in a blanket and sipping a cup of hot chocolate, as the Inn owners sat in their rocking chairs. "But as to the weather," the husband continued, "we don't really know why winter hasn't left yet, but there are...rumors."
"Rumors?" Link asked.
"Rumors that the highest mountain, Snowhead, is cursed." the lady said. "There's supposed to be a Temple up there, and evil is leaking from it. Regardless, most of the roads out here are snowed in, so we're stuck, and it's so close to the Carnival, too."
"It's an insult for us," the husband added, "but it's an injury to the colony of Gorons a bit further north, where the weather is worse; they're freezing, last I heard. And none of us here in the village can go help them because it's so cold that we'd freeze before we got halfway there! Plus, only Gorons can cross that path!"
"But that's enough talk." the lady said, smiling. "Why don't you two dears just take your pick of rooms? We've got plenty, and don't worry about the bill; after all, it is nearly Carnival time."
"Thank you very much." Link said, as he and Zelda retired to their respective rooms for the night, to rest up, and set out for the Goron colony in the morning.
The next morning, after saying goodbye to the Inn owners, Link and Zelda set out for the colony – now only two days remained before the Dragon Star struck. Luckily, it wasn't snowing, so they were able to make fast progress. Before long, they came to a large gap in the road, with a wooden jump-ramp over a deep gorge. "If I flew, I could cross." Zelda observed. "But I can't carry you; how would you cross?"
"I don't know." Link said, looking across the gorge. "And I don't see anything for my Hookshot to attach to." Then, he noticed a path to the left. "Maybe there's something this way." he added. Zelda nodded, and they headed down that path.
The path led them to a field filled with many gravestones; the sign above the iron gates read 'Goron Graveyard'. Link felt a chill as he walked into the Graveyard, Zelda staying close to him; this was no ordinary chill.
This was death's chill.
As Link walked over one spot in the Graveyard, the chill intensified. "I wonder..." Link murmured, as he took out a deep purple magnifying glass, with three eyelash-points on the top, with a slitted-eye lens, with one red side and one blue side; it was the Lens of Truth, which allowed any who looked through it to see the truth. Link looked through the red side of the Lens, gently motioning Zelda back...and he froze, for there, in the Lens, was a large, powerfully-built Goron, with muscular arms and legs, with a bit of a pot-belly, like all Gorons had, and a rounded head with white sideburns. A large scar was across his stomach, with a few tiny ones on his face, one just under his left eye.
He was clearly a veteran Goron warrior.
The Goron looked up, saw Link, and arched one eyebrow, as if to say, 'You lookin' at something?' Link then remembered the full extent of the Lens' power: it had two sides. Looking through the red side allowed one to see the truth.
But looking through the blue side...allowed one to reveal it.
Link flipped the Lens around and looked through it; at once, the Goron became visible to the naked eye, and Link noticed the death-pallor in his skin, replacing the normal earth-brown. Zelda let out a tiny cry of surprise as she saw the Goron, calming quickly. "Where did he come from?" she asked.
The Goron's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait...you kids can see me??" he exclaimed. "Then, please, follow me!" With that, the Goron began to run to the back of the Graveyard, towards a cave, and Link and Zelda followed. For such a large Goron, he was incredibly athletic – Link was just able to keep pace with him, but couldn't overtake him, and he was in good shape or better! Zelda had to transform and fly to keep up with them! The Goron entered the cave, and Link and Zelda followed.
The interior of the cave was quite warm and well-lit; Zelda had no trouble staying in her Fairy-form. The Goron stood by a single grave in the cave, and Link had a feeling about whose grave it was. "Who are you?" Link asked. The Goron just gestured to the grave, and Link read its inscription aloud: "'Here lies Darmani the Fifth, Hero of the Gorons, Pride of the 65th Hyrule Battalion.'"
Zelda gasped. "You're Darmani?!" she exclaimed. "You fought in the Hyrule-Ikana War! Your prowess, skill, and strength are legendary!" Then, her face fell. "But...if that's your grave...then you're..."
"...a ghost." Darmani finished. "And I am." He fixed a gaze on Zelda. "Do I know you, miss? I feel like I've seen you before..." Then, his eyes widened. "Why, you're Princess Zelda!" He lightly bowed. Then, he turned to Link. "So, you must be the kid who pulled out the Master Sword...defeated Ganondorf and Vaati, eh? Not bad, kid – you've got potential. You'll do great – take that from someone who's seen his fair share of fighting."
"Wow...thanks, sir." Link said, smiling sheepishly, noticing the smiles of loving pride Zelda was giving him.
"But...what happened?" Zelda asked. "How did you die?"
"I was on my way to Snowhead, to discover why winter lingered here." Darmani replied. "I was caught in a blizzard on the way, and I got blind-sided by a little imp with a strange face."
"Majora." Link muttered.
"And when I regained consciousness...I was like this." Darmani finished. "If nothing changes, my people will soon join me, because I failed. Because of this, my soul cannot rest." He turned to Link. "Lad, you must have magic powers, else you could not have seen me. Please, I beseech you – restore my life with your magic, so I can help my people!"
"I'm sorry, Darmani," Link said sadly, "but I know of no magic – save that of the Triforce – that can restore life to the deceased."
"Then please," Darmani pleaded, "if you can...heal my sorrows. Any way you can...just heal my sorrows."
Link lightly smiled. "That I can do." he said, as he took out his Ocarina, and played the Song of Healing.
As the Song's magic swept over him, Darmani felt his sorrows slip away. In his mind, he saw all his Goron friends, cheering for him, despite his failure; they still believed in him. He still had a job to do.
Slowly, Darmani's spectral form began to disintegrate, leaving behind a mask of a Goron's face – the Goron Mask. As Link picked up the Mask, he heard Darmani's voice call out to him: "I entrust my spirit to you, lad. Whatever skills I have, make use of them, and save my people! Before you leave here, you may want to move my grave to the side; my fellow Gorons may not have noticed something as they put my gravestone in place." Slowly, Link put on the Goron Mask, and felt a surge of energy wash over him.
When the energy was gone, Link now looked quite different. He now inhabited the body of a Goron, identical in height and build to Darmani, with the same white sideburns. He still had his green cap, his gauntlets, and his boots, with a green kilt about his waist.
Navi darted out of Link's cap. "Wow, Link! You're a Goron, now!" she squeaked. "You're a lot stronger in this form. You can't use any of your weapons, but I bet your punch could level a wall! Plus, you can roll into a ball and pound the ground, and bowl over any nearby foes. Not only that, but you can roll around very quickly, and since you have magic, if you stay rolling long enough, your body will sprout spikes, making you move a lot faster, as well as flattening any monster dumb enough to get in your way!"
"I guess we can cross that gap, now." Link said, now using Darmani's throaty, grumbly voice. "But let's see what Darmani's friends missed when they put up his gravestone." Then, Link put his hands to the stone and pushed; slowly, the stone slid to the side slightly...enough for a bright green Stray Fairy to dart out. "Oh, thank you, thank you!" she squeaked. "I was taking a nap when some Gorons put that big stone over my napping place, and I got stuck! Thank you so much! My mistress lives up on Snowhead; if you bring me there, I'm sure she'll reward you!" Then, the little Stray Fairy joined in orbiting Link's head with Navi, as Link and Zelda left Darmani's tomb.
As they exited the tomb, Link saw a couple of Gorons heading towards the tomb. As they saw Link, they stopped in their tracks. "D-Darmani?!" the leader cried. "But...but you died!"
"Uh...I got better." Link said, thinking fast.
The second one spoke up. "I knew the great Darmani wouldn't stay down! I knew it!" he said. "I bet he's come to break the curse at Snowhead!"
"Uh...yes." Link answered truthfully. "I was just heading there, now."
"Darmani, before you go, could you help us?" the first Goron asked. "The Elder has gone missing somewhere around here, and we can't find him! Could you please help us search for him?"
"Of course!" Link replied.
"Great!" the Goron said. "We'll keep looking out here. You head back to the Goron Shrine; maybe we missed something on the way!" Then, the two Gorons headed on their way. Link then rolled into a ball and rolled towards the gap, building up speed, until his body sprouted spikes, giving him traction. He zoomed over the gap, landing and unrolling on the other side. Zelda easily flew across to join him, changing back as she touched down. Then, they continued on their way.
The path ahead was fairly clear, leading through a small valley. After a while, they came to an enormous snowball, which blocked the path ahead. From within the snowball came a muffled cry. Link drew back, and, with one mighty Goron-punch, smashed the snowball, revealing an old, wrinkly Goron, with long white hair draped over his eyes: the Goron Elder.
The Elder looked at Link. "D-Darmani?! You're alive? How..?" he murmured, then shook his head. "No! The cold must be getting to me! You're not real!"
"Yes, I am real." Link said. "Your people are worried about you."
"My people...my...son..." the Elder murmured. "Have I been gone long..?" To Link he added, "Darmani, be you ghost or figment of my imagination, I no longer care. I will begin to head home. I want you to go ahead and check on my son...and if he is crying...gently sing him to sleep with this song." The Elder sat down, took out a small drum, and began to softly tap out a soft, sleepy, soothing melody. He repeated it once, making sure Link got it. "That's all I can play – my hands are so cold." he added. "Now, go; I'll be fine." Nodding, Link headed onwards, and Zelda followed.
Before long, they reached a fairly large, multi-domed building: the Goron Shrine. Link and Zelda headed in, but not before Link removed the Goron Mask, not wishing to deceive any more Gorons. The instant they entered, their ears were assaulted by a loud wailing: a child's cry. All the Gorons were covering the sides of their heads, trying to block out the noise. "What is that?" Link asked one Goron over the noise.
"It's the Elder's son." the Goron replied. "Ever since the Elder left to try and break the curse on Snowhead, his son has been inconsolably lonely. Nothing we do to calm him works; the poor child just won't stop crying, and it's driving us all crazy!"
Link and Zelda headed to the upper levels of the Shrine, where the crying was coming from, and found a small Goron child, with a small tuft of white hair on his head, clad in diaper-style pants, sitting in a cradle, crying his eyes out. "WAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!" the Goron child bawled. "Daddy, where are you?! Daddy! I'm cold, Daddy!" Then, he just kept crying.
"Oh, the poor little thing..." Zelda said. "He misses his father..."
Link took out his Ocarina, and played the song the Elder had taught him. Slowly, the child's tears subsided. "Hey...w-wait a minute..." he murmured, "...that's the song Daddy plays for me when I can't sleep...but it's missing a part. I'll sing the next part." The Goron child sat up and sang the melody, adding a few more notes at the end, completing the melody – the Goron Lullaby. Then, Link began to play the Lullaby, and Zelda joined in, melding her beautiful siren voice with the music, creating a beautiful lullaby.
As the song ended, the child's eyes began to get heavy. "It's like...Daddy's right here beside me..." he murmured, "...good-night." Then, he fell asleep.
Link turned to Zelda. "We'd better get to Snowhead, now." he said. Zelda nodded, and they left the Shrine, and found a path marked by a sign that led to Snowhead. They took the snowy path, and headed for Snowhead.
By the time they reached Snowhead, night had fallen, but they were there. Snowhead Temple stood at the far end of a long, narrow ice-path, overlooking a deep gorge. As Link and Zelda headed for the path, a sudden gust of wind blew them back. The wind blew again, in a clear pattern, like...
...breathing.
Acting on a hunch, Link took out the Lens of Truth and looked through its red side. There, sitting in their path, was an enormous Goron, guarding Snowhead Temple, his back to the towering snow-and-ice spire of the Temple. Link had a feeling that the Goron Lullaby would put him to sleep, but with the Ocarina, the tune wouldn't carry far enough. Donning the Goron Mask, he took out the Ocarina, which changed into a set of Goron bongo drums. Link then played the Lullaby on the drums; at once, the large Goron fell asleep, curling into a ball, and rolled to the side. Link changed back to normal, and he and Zelda headed across the frozen bridge, standing before the cave-entrance of the Temple. Suddenly, the green Stray Fairy perked up. "My mistress' Fountain is nearby! Follow me!" she squeaked, and she flew around to the side of the Temple, leading Link and Zelda to another cave, in the side of the spire. The Stray Fairy darted in, and Link and Zelda followed.
The Stray Fairy led them into an underground Fairy Fountain: a vast, shallow pool of water, glowing with an ethereal green light, covered by a white stone dome, supported by six stone columns. The Stray Fairy flitted over to the pool, and circled it. "My Lady, I'm here!" she squeaked. "These travelers rescued me!"
Instantly, the glow of the pool intensified, and a tall, elegantly built woman, with gleaming emerald skin, and short, shining green hair, with translucent fairy-wings, clad in a shimmery gown rose from the pool – she was a Great Fairy. She smiled at them. "The Hero of Time...and our Queen's granddaughter..." she cooed. "Thank you for rescuing my helper. I have kept something hidden here, something that the masked evil one would covet, if he knew it were here. I wish to entrust this item to you, Hero of Time. Take it!" With that, she gestured, and something began to rise up from the pool, and floated to Link.
It was a cane, about the length of Link's arm, curled in on itself at its tip, the entire cane a rich brown, with a light blue gem embedded in the tip. As Link took it in his hand, he felt a shock of magic flow through his arm. There was no doubt about it.
This was a powerful magical tool.
"This is the Cane of Sumaria." the Great Fairy explained. "It was crafted in the ancient land of Sumaria, long ago. It was given the power to convert magical energy to matter, and matter back to energy, as well as control energy. With it, you can convert magical energy into solid blocks, which you can use for many things; you can make small blocks for depressing switches, or larger ones to use as stepping stones. You can also convert these blocks back into energy, and use that energy as deadly magical projectiles, or detonate the blocks in powerful explosions of magic energy. Use it wisely."
Link beheld the Cane for a few more moments, before putting it away. "Thank you." he said to the Great Fairy. "I promise, I will use the Cane to defeat Majora and his evil." The Great Fairy nodded, and then returned to her pool. Link and Zelda then left the Fountain, and headed into the frozen spire of Snowhead Temple.
Within the icy Temple, it was cold, even without the blowing winds. Link and Zelda headed through the first door, and came to a suspension log-bridge, over a pool of lava, with a large gap in the bridge, with a ramp leading over it; a ramp for Goron-rolling. Link donned the Goron Mask, rolled into a ball, and rolled across the bridge, gathering enough speed to sprout spikes, and flew over to the other side of the bridge, landing and changing back. Zelda then changed to her Fairy-form, and flew across to him, landing and changing back; it was too cold to stay in her sparkly Fairy-outfit. The two then headed into the next room.
The next chamber was composed of grey-white stone tiles, with glowing blue tiles interspersed across the floor. Suddenly, out of one of the tiles, rose a short, spindly humanoid, clad in blue robes and a broad-rimmed hat. "Link, that's a Wizzrobe!" Navi exclaimed. "It uses those tiles to teleport around the room! Watch where it goes, and attack it when it stops! If you can knock it off its tile, it'll be vulnerable!"
The Wizzrobe vanished, and reappeared over another tile, firing a blast of ice magic at Link, who rolled aside as the Wizzrobe vanished. Link drew the Cane of Sumaria as Zelda transformed, taking to the air. Link focused, concentrating; he possessed the Triforce of Courage, which enabled him to sense evil. He used that ability now on a much finer tune than before, to track the Wizzrobe's path...
The tile in the far-left corner!
Instantly, Link turned and pointed the Cane at the tile in the corner on the far-left side, conjuring a large, orange block on top of it, just as the Wizzrobe began to materialize there. Link focused, and the block exploded in an impressive blast, damaging the Wizzrobe and knocking him off his tile. Link instantly put the Cane away and drew the Master Sword, the sacred blade emitting a fine shing as it cleared the leather of its scabbard. Link closed on the Wizzrobe and unleashed a leaping slash, just as Zelda cast a spell, sending a deadly blast of enchanted fire at the Wizzrobe. Both attacks connected at the same time, and the Wizzrobe yelped, retreating back to its tiles.
Now the Wizzrobe began creating copies of itself, which began to dart around the room; its own evil magic was fueling the duplicates, making it harder for Link to track its path. And so he didn't try; instead, he looked around the room, looking for one Wizzrobe that was doing something that the others weren't doing. Then, he saw the Wizzrobe to his right begin readying a spell, while the others remained in motion. Link drew the Cane again, and conjured a smaller block, then converted it into a small, concentrated ball of energy, sending it flying at the Wizzrobe; the ball connected in a deadly flash of energy, blasting the Wizzrobe off the tile, dissipating its clones. Link drew his Sword and leapt to the attack, and Zelda cast a bolt of enchanted lightning; both of their attacks struck as one, utterly annihilating the Wizzrobe. The blue tiles vanished, and a door to the next room appeared, and opened, allowing Link and Zelda to go through.
The next room led them onto a circular, large stone pillar, at the bottom of a tall, tall room – the interior of the main spire. Link and Zelda walked onto the pillar, and Link spied two switches – both were too large for him to weigh down on his own. Link took out the Cane of Sumaria, and conjured a large block on one switch, which weighed it down. Then, he put the Cane away and donned the Goron Mask, rolled up, rolled onto the switch, and pounded it down. At once, the pillar began to rise up, with them on it. They could now see the next door, but they couldn't reach it; the pillar had been raised too high, and was blocking the path. Finding a circular path leading back down built into the wall, Link rolled down it, as Zelda simply flew down to meet him, and they both stopped as they came to several blocks of ice built into the pillar.
Walking over to one such block, Link gave it a mighty Goron-punch, knocking it clear out of the pillar, shortening it. Link did the same for the remaining ice-masses, and saw that now, from the top, they could reach a new door. Heading back up, Link and Zelda walked across the pillar's top, and went through the door, and found a staircase, which took them up to the next level, leading them to a ramp that spanned a vast gap, with a large door on the other end. Link rolled up and rolled across at top speed, soaring over the gap, landing before the door, before taking off the Goron Mask and becoming normal once more. Zelda flew across the gap, joining him, and they opened the door, heading through.
The last room was very small, and filled with ice. Link drew his Bow and fitted a Fire Arrow to it, firing at the ice, as Zelda used her fire-magic on the ice; the ice began melting rapidly...revealing a huge, four-legged mechanical monstrosity, with a mechanized bull-like body, complete with horns, and a human face. The beast let out a deafening roar, shattering the rock walls behind and ahead of it, revealing the room as some sort of circular race-track, before taking off. "Link, that's Goht, the Masked Mechanical Monster!" Navi squeaked. "He has magic-proof armor; Zelda won't be able to hurt it until that armor gets knocked off! The armor is pretty weak to physical attacks, but you can't move fast enough to catch up to it!"
"Not in this form." Link said. To Zelda, he added, "Just stay here for a moment, Zel; I've got a plan."
"Okay." Zelda agreed. Turning, Link donned the Goron Mask, and began rolling after Goht, soon sprouting spikes and rolling at full speed. In seconds, he'd caught up to the mechanical beast, and began slamming into it, his spiked body shredding Goht's magic-resistant armor. Goht roared, and began running faster, but Link kept pace with him, and launched off a stone ramp, landing on Goht's back, his spikes utterly destroying Goht's armor.
By then, Link had returned to where Zelda was waiting in the nook in the wall, where the door was, removing the Goron Mask and returning to normal. "Zel, fly in the other direction and freeze the floor so he'll slip! I'll set a couple of blocks with the Cane; when he trips, I'll detonate them, to make sure he doesn't get up before we finish him!" Zelda nodded, and, once Goht had passed again, Zelda flew out and began freezing the floor, as Link took out the Cane of Sumaria, creating two very large blocks at the end of the icy patch Zelda had created. As Goht ran by, he slipped on the ice, sliding right into the blocks, where Link detonated them, sending Goht sprawling. Once Goht had fully stopped, Link used his Time Magic spell of Speed-Up, moving swiftly, closing on Goht. Zelda let fly with a deadly blast of enchanted lightning, electrocuting Goht. Link took advantage of Zelda's magical assault, running up Goht's leg onto his mechanized form, leaping up and driving the Master Sword into Goht's skull. Goht roared in agony, and got up, running away, his mechanical body breaking up as he did, his gears and components flying off, explosions sparking inside his hull. Then, with one large blast, Goht was no more.
Link and Zelda walked to where Goht had fallen, Zelda returning to normal. All that remained of Goht was the mask of his face – Goht's Mask. As Link picked it up, the Mask released a tiny light – the second giant was free. Instantly, a bright light engulfed them all, carrying them away.
Link and Zelda now stood upon another stone pillar, in a sea of snowy white-blue clouds, tinged with sunset red. Through the clouds, they could see the outline of the newly-freed giant. "What...are you, exactly?" Zelda asked.
The giant let out his low, mournful voice-call, and Navi translated. "'Guardians.'" she squeaked.
"Guardians?" Link repeated. To the giant, he added, "You – all of you – are protective spirits?"
"But...what do you guard Hyrule from?" Zelda asked.
The giant said nothing, but conjured a sky-blue-and-red key and sent it to Link; the key to the second locked book. Then, the light engulfed them again.
The light deposited Link and Zelda outside the Inn at the mountain village. It was morning, on the last day before the Dragon Star hit; the blizzard was over, with patches of greenery popping up among the melting snowdrifts. As Link and Zelda looked around, the couple who ran the Inn walked out. "Oh, hello again!" the elderly lady called. "We're glad to see you're both okay! Isn't it a lovely day? Winter is finally over!"
"I bet the path to the Castle Town is clear!" her husband said. "We can head down to the Carnival, now! This thaw came just in time!"
"Yeah." Link said, and he looked to Zelda; they both knew that, as things were now, Hyrule would never see another Carnival of Time. They had to fix that, for all of Hyrule's sake, including their two new friends.
"I bet those poor Gorons are happy about this, too." the lady added. "Well, I suppose we'd best get ready to leave. We'll see you two at the Carnival!" Then, she and her husband headed back into the Inn.
"They're such a wonderful couple." Zelda said.
Link smiled. "Who knows? We could be like them, some day."
Zelda lightly gasped. "Um...what do you mean?" she asked.
"Uh...well..." Link began, "...I wanted...to ask you..."
"Link!" Navi squeaked, darting out of Link's cap. "There's only one day left! We don't have a lot of time!"
Link cleared his thoughts; Navi was right. Saving Hyrule had to come first. Then, once Hyrule was safe, he could propose to Zelda; he had no right to ask her to spend the rest of her life with him if that could only last three days. "You're right, Navi." he said. To Zelda, he added, "We'll talk about this, later."
"Okay." Zelda agreed.
"Now," Link continued, "I believe we should pay a visit to the Library, and learn more about the occupants of the Temples." Then, taking out his Ocarina, he played the Prelude of Light, transporting them away.
After arriving at the Temple of Time, Link and Zelda headed to the Library, and headed to the back, finding the four locked books. Zelda took the second key and unlocked its matching book, opening it and reading it. "This book tells of a time eons ago, before Hyrule even had a Royal Family, or a King; back when the people were tribes. It tells that a large rock from the sky threatened to fall and annihilate Hyrule. The people knew it was coming, and began to despair, but in the last hour before it fell, four giants appeared: one rising from the southern swamps, one from the frozen north mountain, one from the western seas, and one from the eastern sands. Together, these giants halted the meteor and cast it back into space, so it would never harm Hyrule again, so that every year, the people of Hyrule would rejoice in their new life; that they would celebrate a year's passing with the passing of the meteor which nearly slew them all, which now passed the world, alight with dragon's flame."
"The Dragon Star..." Link murmured. "That's the meteor that nearly fell...and we need their help to stop it again."
"Wait...there's more here." Zelda observed. "It tells that, after their task, the giants sought the counsel of...the Fairy Queen, Epheremelda...my...grandmother..." her voice trailed off, then continued. "She advised them to build Temples in their realms and go to sleep. The giants returned, constructed their Temples and returned to their slumber, to wait for when they were needed again. Once the giants were asleep, Epheremelda left Hyrule...but not before leaving behind one of her powerful magical artifacts, to be used by her heir."
Link smiled. "Sounds like your grandmother left you a present."
Zelda looked stricken. "Link, I don't know..." she murmured. "I...know so little about my grandmother. What if she wanted one of her daughters, my Aunts, to have it? What if she rejects me? What if...she doesn't want me as her heir..?"
Link took Zelda by the shoulders, gently holding her. "Zel, your grandmother would love you." he assured her. "You're the most wonderful woman in the world. She'd be thrilled if you were her heir."
Zelda smiled. "Thank you." she cooed. "But...we have to save Hyrule. How can we search for it at the same time?"
"I think I could manage the next Temple while you go search for your grandmother's relic." Link assured her. "This is your chance to meet your grandmother, Zel; you should take it. Just be sure to find me again before three days go by. I promise, I will not go back in time without you."
Zelda smiled, happily embracing him. "I'll be sure." she promised. Link smiled, and, taking out his Ocarina, he played the Song of Time, summoning the time-warp, taking them back, and preserving the good they'd done.
Two Temples remained.