Chapter 10:
Link slept soundly and peacefully. His weary bones welcomed the small mattress stuffed with straw and the cozy warmth of the fire in the small alcove that Rauru had prepared for him. When his eyes finally flickered open, he had no idea how long he'd been asleep, but he was surprised to find Degu staring at him. He groggily rubbed his eyes and sat up.
"Master slept well, if his eyes do tell. Does he not dream of evils that he must quell?"
"Yes," Link said as he threw back his quilt and hopped down. "But in my dreams, my enemies are faceless. So I cannot quell what I have not seen."
"Many fear exactly that; things unknown in darkness black. But Master is different… he did not attack… even when met with a giant rat," Degu murmured.
"I looked into your eyes, and I knew you were not a threat. You seemed gentle," Link explained.
"Master is good, master is kind… a more noble hero, we could not find," Degu said.
Link chuckled. "It's nothing like that. I simply do not judge a creature solely on appearance. In the past, I've roamed the world as a beast. Many feared and hated me only because I looked wild or scary. I know that not all strange creatures are evil."
Degu's face contorted, and Link realized he was smiling. It was difficult to know with his rodent like face, but his wagging tail and gleaming, watery eyes revealed it. Link smiled back.
"Come now with Degu, during this repose, and he'll give you a much needed change of clothes." Link laughed and followed Degu out of his chambers.
Degu led him through more cavernous halls, all looking the same, lit every few feet by magical torches. They sloped upwards and downwards, came to many branches and forks, turning this way and that. Link tried to keep his bearings but eventually he realized that were it not for Degu, he would be completely lost. He stuck close to the creature. He also took note that the pain in his leg from the wound Faida had given him had subsided; he checked and found that the wound had been cleaned and dressed while he slept.
Eventually, Link heard the unmistakable sound of a water current. They emerged into a large underground cave and Link saw the source of the water; it flowed from a natural underground well sprouting from the cliff wall and collected into a makeshift reservoir that had been dug into the ground a few dozen yards away from the entrance to the cave. The trickle from the well in the cliff wall was slow but steady.
"Water in the desert is precious and rare… overindulge, we do not dare," Degu warned. Link nodded. They plodded over to the bank of the reservoir and Link found a set of plain but well tailored robes folded neatly. "Please don these robes, and if you do, Degu will wash the old clothes for you," Degu said.
"That's… you don't have to do that," Link protested. "You've been so kind to me already. I can wash them myself."
"Please, tis an honor for Degu to serve the Master… he does it so you may speak with the Light Sage faster."
"Ah… that's true. I do need to meet with him as soon as possible," Link admitted. "Alright then. Thank you very much, Degu." He bowed gratefully and began to change his garb.
"Think not on it, and take great care… many poor souls have been lost in there." He gestured towards the path leading back to the caverns.
"You're not coming? I don't think I can find the way to Rauru by myself," Link said.
"Tis simple, you'll see, the powers of Rauru resonate with thee. Your fates are intertwined, and so you shall find… search with your mark, and as it glows bright as day… it is lighting you the correct way," Degu said cryptically.
"My mark?" Link said, confused. "You mean… the mark of the Triforce?"
"None other, good brother," he replied.
Link stared doubtfully at his left hand and walked towards the caverns. As he reached the entrance, he held it high and suddenly, the magical golden glow of the Triforce appeared. He looked back to Degu. "You were right."
"Have faith, young one! The battle with the King of Evil is done… his vile plans frozen, but you are still Chosen."
Link, now clad in the simple red robes that Degu had provided, nodded and departed the reservoir chamber while strapping his blade to his back.
As he reached each branch and fork, he waved his hand at each path and waited for the resonance. The method proved quite reliable. After a few short minutes of travel, he emerged into the chamber in which he had first met Rauru. The old Sage rested comfortably in his armchair, but he rose immediately when Link entered.
"Welcome once again, Chosen Hero," Rauru said as he motioned Link towards a seat at the dinner table near the corner. "Please be seated. We shall converse over a humble dinner."
Link took a seat and began filling his plate. It was a small yet filling meal, consisting of boar meat, potatoes, corn on the cob, a jug of cold water, and pumpkin pie for desert. Link found himself quite hungry again and eagerly ate while Rauru chewed thoughtfully and watched him. Eventually, Link broke the silence.
"Earlier when you saw me, you said it was remarkable. What did you mean?" he asked.
"Though we've only recently met, your face is not unknown to me. Your countenance and your eyes… you truly are the Hero reborn."
"You knew a previous Hero?" Link said, intrigued.
"Yes, the Hero Of Time," Rauru replied.
"The Hero Of Time? I've never read or heard tales of him," Link said.
"Few in our time have," Rauru explained. "It is quite a long story, one I will share with you briefly."
"You must be… forgive me… you must be quite old, to have known a previous Chosen One. Isn't the cycle hundreds of years old?" Link asked, amazed.
"Millennia old, to be truthful," Rauru revealed. "Older than anyone truly knows. Far older than I am. I do not deny that my years far exceed my looks, but even I was not present for the beginning of the legend. Only one of its many chapters, and now a new one as it unfolds."
"There is so much I wish to learn," Link said as he bit into a slice of pumpkin pie. "I should… hey… this pumpkin pie – it's from Ordona! I'd know that pumpkin anywhere!"
"Indeed!" Rauru said jovially. "Ordon Village grows the best pumpkins of any land I've ever known. I do miss them so. The few I'm able to retrieve here in my sanctuary make a rare treat indeed."
"You've been to Ordon Village before?" Link asked, intrigued. "I've never seen you there before. How long ago was it? I should think that such an important and wise man would leave a lasting impression."
"I did not just visit," Rauru explained. "I lived there for many years. I left when you were just a boy. But I did not reveal my true nature." As he spoke, he saw the confusion in Link's eyes. "I believe you already know the answer to this riddle, dear boy."
Link was at a loss. Then, for the first time, he noticed the small design sewn into Rauru's majestic robes. It was a golden decagonal pattern, with two sets of three shapes laid on the outer rim, alternating. One was a circle with three triangles, and one was a triangle cloven into three separate triangles. All at once, the truth of it hit him and he lurched forward.
"You're Baylin! That was your crest adorning the weapons that the lizalfos carried!"
"It's true," Rauru said quietly.
Link leapt up from the table and drew his Ordon Sword. "You're in league with the enemy!"
"That's not true," Rauru replied.
"I know that the army of beasts never went to Ordona, so how else could they have been supplied with weapons marked by your crest?" Link asked in a steely voice.
"If you will sheathe your blade and sit, I will gladly explain all that I know," Rauru said softly. "It won't do for us to have it out here in my chambers. Keep in mind that the crest I bear is the crest of the Light Sage. I am sworn in service to the great Goddesses of our land, and aiding them and their vassals is my only purpose in life. Have I not shown you kindness and hospitality? Could I not have cut your throat while you slept in my dwelling?"
Link hesitated a moment, and then accepted the truth of his words. He sheathed his blade and returned to the table. "I leapt to conclusions… forgive me," he said.
"It was a very logical conclusion," Rauru said. "But as I'm sure you know, things are not always as they seem. And so it was with my identity as Baylin the smith from Ordon Village. But I should start from the beginning. There is much history I wish to tell you. Some history that yet is written in reality, and some history that came to pass and was then undone."
"It sounds like quite a tale," Link said.
"Indeed. The likes of which has never been heard by another human ear in this world, until now. It begins centuries ago, in this very same land you now protect. The adventures of the Hero Of Time spanned seven years, but they began when he was just a child. He was called upon by a great Guardian Spirit to prove his worth and claim the ultimate defense against evil, the Blade of Evil's Bane. And he did so, valiantly. But unbeknownst to him and everyone else involved, it was a trick, orchestrated by a certain Gerudo who had plotted and weaseled his way into a favorable position in Hyrule's court. He was the King of Evil himself… Ganondorf."
"The same Ganondorf I vanquished over a year ago?" Link asked with great interest.
"The same," Rauru answered. "The fiend is long lived, and like you, even when he dies, another is chosen to take his place."
"There's a comforting thought," Link said wryly.
Rauru laughed. "Fear not, young one. Where Ganondorf is concerned, methinks your destiny has been fulfilled. Surely he, or one like him, will come to threaten our world once again… but certainly it shall not be until after an age of golden peace."
"An age we yet fight for," Link replied. "This is all very interesting, but how does it concern our current enemy?"
"Patience, Hero," Rauru said. "In due time, I will make that clear." Link nodded and again focused his attention to Rauru's story. "Now then, as I explained before, the Hero Of Time claimed the Master Sword, which then rested in the Temple Of Time. But little did he know that the Master Sword also functioned as a seal on the Sacred Realm, the resting place of the fabled Golden Power. Ganondorf was simply waiting for him to draw the sword… and I was too late to stop him. When he drew the sword from the Pedestal Of Time, he was suspended for seven years until he was old enough to fulfill his destiny. And the vile Ganondorf seized the opportunity to enter the Sacred Realm and claim for himself the Triforce. However, his heart was impure, and he was only able to claim a third of its power. Yet with it, he plunged Hyrule into an age of chaos and misery."
"I've never heard of such an age," Link said. "Is it not recorded?"
"Of course not," Rauru said simply. "It never happened."
Link began to say something, but Rauru held up a hand to silence him. Link settled back down.
"When seven years had passed, the Hero Of Time awakened in the Sacred Realm where he rested, and I - for it is and always has been my sacred duty to guard that holy place - found him there, confused and shaken. I explained to him what had transpired and tasked him with awakening five other sages, whose power we would need to seal Ganondorf away where he would no longer be a threat. After many trials and tribulations, he was successful. Five sages were awoken to their true nature, and they - along with myself and the Princess Zelda of that age, the seventh sage - used their divine powers to bind Ganondorf into the Sacred Realm after he was defeated in combat by the Hero Of Time."
"You sacrificed the Sacred Realm?" Link asked incredulously.
"Realize that it was an act of desperation. It was the only way we could be sure he could not do further harm to Hyrule, or lay his hands on the other two pieces of the Triforce, gaining ultimate power."
"This is making less and less sense," Link muttered. "The Ganondorf I know was sealed in the Twilight Realm."
"Ah, but my tale is still not over, young one. For you see, all was well in Hyrule after Ganondorf was banished, but Princess Zelda was not satisfied yet. She was a loving and tender girl. She used her powerful magics to send the Hero Of Time back to his childhood, to the time just before he drew the Master Sword, so that he could regain his lost years."
"So that's how it happened… everything done in the seven years was instantly undone," Link said incredulously.
"That's correct, Hero. And of course, the Hero Of Time - now no longer the Hero Of Time, but a Chosen Hero nonetheless - used his knowledge of the future to bring Ganondorf's plans to ruin. He refused to draw the Master Sword, and he exposed the thief for what he was. A grand and earth shattering war ensued, but that is a tale for another time. You know the history from that point onwards. Ganondorf was tried as a war criminal and found guilty, to be summarily executed. But the execution failed, and instead he was sentenced to banishment in the Twilight Realm, but not before the spirit of a sage - no longer awakened to his physical form - was murdered."
"Everything is beginning to fall into place… that's what they meant by one like them, but not like them. You are a sage, just like they are, but you are a man and they are spirits. Why is that so?"
"As you know, I am old. I was awakened long ago, centuries before these events took place. I am the last remaining member of the ancient sages, one of the original group, tasked with protecting the Sacred Realm. The sages you know are descendants of my brethren."
"There's one thing I don't understand," Link said. "If the seven years of Ganondorf's dark reign were erased from reality, how is it that you know of them?"
"To understand that, you must first understand this… the Sacred Realm is a golden land, blessed by the Goddesses and saturated in divine bliss. Much like the Golden Power, it is beyond the laws and boundaries of the mortal world we inhabit. There, time has no root and reality has no anchor. They are as whimsical as the wind. During my long years inhabiting the Sacred Realm, I began to understand and master the art of seeing things beyond our own perception. Understand that although those seven years have been wiped from our world, they have not ceased to exist. There is a time and a place and a reality, somewhere in the great void of the universe, where those years are still very real and the effects are still felt."
"I… think I understand," Link said, not very sure of himself.
Rauru chuckled. "It is no matter. Regardless, after the young Hero Of Time returned to his own time, he did not draw the Master Sword, but the seal to its resting place was still broken. Rather than reseal it with the same method, I magicked the Temple Of Time to a new location, very carefully chosen. I communed with the Goddesses through the Sacred Realm and learned where the next Chosen Hero would emerge. I brought the temple near there, and moved myself as well to continue guarding it."
"So that's why you lived in Ordon," Link said. "You lived there all those years under the guise of a smith to keep watch on the Master Sword."
"Yes, but that was not the only reason. I wished to stay long enough to see the birth of the new hero, and to make sure he grew up safe and happy, and that he would grow up strong and ready to fulfill his destiny."
"And did I meet your expectations?" Link asked, grinning.
"My boy, you shattered them," Rauru answered, grinning back.
"I wish I could remember you… you must have left when I was still a very small child."
"Yes, once I was satisfied that you were truly the hero and that you would rise to your destiny, I departed for the desert, to live out my remaining years in exile and to keep watch over the Mirror Of Twilight, where I knew Ganondorf was sealed. Alas, he was as conniving as ever, and when he returned, it was not through the mirror. The beast generated his own portal through his own power, siphoned from the Twili. I was powerless to stop him."
"And the weapons you made with your crest?" Link asked.
"The ones I took with me were all donated to the royal family," Rauru explained. "Every single sword, every last shield. I knew that a war was coming, so I gave them where they would be needed most."
"But they didn't end up with the Hylian Guard…" Link said.
"No, they did not. It seems they were supplied to the monsters by someone in the castle. I suppose not everyone in the royal court at Hyrule is as loyal as they would appear. Much like Ganondorf, whom earned the trust of the king, it would seem history is repeating itself."
"And I have one last question about your story. How in the name of the Goddesses does it relate to the threat we face now?"
"Ah…" Rauru said ominously. "Now we come to the heart of the matter. And there is a very interesting explanation, indeed, Chosen Hero. Very interesting indeed."