Chapter Fifteen:
Triumph of Light
"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."~ John 3:19-20
"Sir… Do you see that?" Caine stared out over the charred remains of Hyrule Field, brows half-cocked and scaly lips tweaked in a bewildered grimace. Ameas lifted his great head from its resting place on the cobblestone of the square, and peered over the rooftops of Tarha.
Approaching over the crest of the northernmost hill, came what looked like an army. A force made up of footsoldiers, and lightly armored cavalry. They came in a cluster rather than the typical neat ranks, and scores of blades glinted in the dull moonlight. What was this? Did the king of Hyrule dare counterattack after that last humiliating defeat?
Ameas growled. "Dare they even…" He slowly rose to his feet, extending his vast wings above the city and giving them a few test flaps. Opening his jaws, he released a loud trumpeting sound, awakening the dragons that lay dozing about the city. "Arise! Arise! The king's forces approach from the north! Ready yourselves!"
Caine watched as dragon after dragon alighted on the roofs, wings spread and ready to attack. The entire village was crawling with the things; there was no way that these humans would survive.
"Rain fire upon them!" Ameas commanded.
The dragons at the edge of the city raised their heads and poured fire over what remained of the grass on the outskirts before taking to the skies. They circled over the approaching army like buzzards, and then began shooting balls of flame down among them.
Stripes of black zipped through the air at them, lighted by the firelight, and many of the dragons… fell?
"What?" Caine's brow lowered and his gaze darted about the field as dragon after dragon plummeted to the ground. "Are those… spears?"
"Hylians fight with spears?" Ameas studied the new battlefield with an intense gaze, his crimson eyes narrowed in concentration.
"Not usually… Unless…"
"Unless what?"
Caine scrutinized the enemy force. From this distance it was hard to see, but they seemed to be wearing very heavy clothing, and they wielded their spears expertly. The pointed staffs flew with accuracy, and most of the dragons were pierced in the chest, or the underbelly. "Unless… They're Gerudo…"
Ameas looked at him in confusion. "Gerudo? …From the desert?"
He nodded, never removing his gaze from the battle. "Yes… My f… The Hylian king must have called for reinforcements."
"A cowardly move. It only goes to prove his weakness."
Something deep within him flamed, but he doused it quickly. Now was not the time to start feeling loyal in any way to King Link.
"Gather the other troops. Attack from the ground. I'll take care of the aerial attack."
Caine nodded, and with a flap of his fibery wings, he leapt into the air and circled over Tarha. "To the fronts!"
~-LoZ-~
Link had never seen such a massive tunnel entrance. It loomed above them like the gaping mouth of a colossal monster, bathed in shadow, with crags of stone as jagged teeth. He stared into its depths, its lightless depths – he couldn't see farther than a few feet down.
"This is it," mutter Colin, quiet with awe. He glanced at Link. "Lead the way, sir."
Link cast him a glance. He managed a wry grin. "Thank you, Colin; that's very kind of you."
Colin smiled and patted his shoulder. Without another word, he fell into place behind him, and Link turned back to the ink-like blackness that awaited them. After one last moment of hesitation, he stepped into the corridor.
Link immediately felt as if he'd stepped into a void, and a chill raced up his spine. The only evidence that he was still conscious was the solidity of the rocky floor under his feet. There was no wall to feel along; and in a place like this, there was no hope for a sense of direction. They could only wander about until they, by God's grace, found something.
It could have been hours that they wandered that abyss. Even after Link's eye stopped throbbing, he could not see any kind of light in the deep darkness. It felt like they'd gone for miles in silence – no other creature besides them stirred. If they were out there, they didn't know they were here.
Finally, hope! A light up ahead! Link's pace quickened, and the glow came closer, and closer…
He stopped just before he dropped off a sheer cliff. Flailing for his balance, he instantly started sweating as a blast of blistering heat assaulted him. He staggered back, into Colin, nearly causing a domino effect that would have sent all of them toppling over. But thankfully, Colin steadied him, and they all peered down into the crag.
Magma bubbled far below, down the rocky crevice, and spires of flames shot up with great hisses. Link's dream return full force, and he suppressed a shudder.
"Well, this certainly wasn't the right way…" Colin muttered, squinting against the fierce heat of the place. Link stepped backward.
"All right," said he, "we'll head back, and find another tunnel.
After staring at the red glow of the lava, it took another long while for their eyes to dilate according to the blackness, and they wandered about the sunless pits for a good few more hours. By the time they caught sight of another light, Link was beginning to get sick of the blindness.
He rushed ahead once more, and paused at yet another cliff face. But this one didn't drop to a pool of lave. This one opened into a great cavern filled to the brink of…
"Treasure," breathed Colin, blue eyes wide.
"The dragons' hoard," Link added, scanning the glittering wealth that sprawled over the stone floor in mound after mound. Never before had he seen such plunder! Billions of rupees, and gold, and chests overflowing with jewelry of all kinds, and diamonds, and rubies, and all other sorts of precious stones and metals. All of it glittered in the light from a blazing chandelier that hung from the ceiling, and the cracks along the floor from which lava glowed red.
"We've hit the motherload," muttered some of the men, and Link cast them a harsh glance.
"We are not here for the riches, gentlemen. There are men and women laying down their lives as we speak. We're here to find the dragons' weakness."
"Well paint me green and call me a leprechaun…"
Link looked down to see Aveil climbing down the ridge, and striding across the piles of jewels. The Gerudo walked as if in a trance, her golden gaze trained straight ahead.
"Aveil?" Link called after her. "What on earth are you doing?"
"Would you look at that!" She gasped, and gestured further into the room. "Don't you know what that is?"
Link followed her gaze, and he caught sight of a grand pedestal, upon which sat one of the biggest gems he'd ever seen in his life. It had to be twice the size of the average man's head! It seemed to glow in the orange light, and its transparent face glittered alluringly. For a moment, Link could only stare at it. Those little twinkles… seemed like flirtatious winks. The stone was beckoning him, calling him. Come touch me, it said. And feel my power.
Something red flashed in front of him, and Aveil was suddenly staring quite sternly into his eyes. "Link!"
He ducked under her hand.
"Aveil! What-"
"Don't stare at it so long!" she growled. "That thing is nothing but evil, i'tis. And it'll try to lure you in."
Link frowned, glancing one last time at the lovely stone. "You know what it is?"
"Aye. That's a dragon stone – deadly powerful, and lethal in the wrong hands." Then she grinned and giggled giddily. "I'm thinkin' this Ameas fella ain't who he says he is!"
"How so?"
She tugged on his arm. "Come on!" Then she beckoned the others, and all of them clambered down into the treasure pit. Aveil led Link toward the glimmering gem on the pedestal. She gave him a good shove toward it.
"Without starin' at it, go, and crush it."
He whirled around. "What? Aveil, what on earth are you getting at?"
"Just do it! I guarantee it'll be worth it."
"Guarantee?" He eyed her. "How can you promise that?"
"Because I know, that's how." She folded her arms over her chest, leaning back casually and gesturing toward the stone. "Just do it."
He glanced at it again. "All right… Just tell me why first."
With a childish expression of frustration, she sagged her shoulders and gave an exaggerated sigh. "All right, fine. Like I said, a dragon stone is very powerful. Now, why would this Ameas fella have one on a nice, shiny pedestal, in the heart of his headquarters unless it was somethin' important?"
The gem attracted Link's gaze once more, and he studied it, only looking away when he felt the dark pull once more. "What does destroying it do?"
She gave him a wry look. "Come on! How else 'ill you find out if ya don't do it?"
He furrowed his brow, and turned toward the stone. It glinted so beautifully, there up on its pedestal, looking flawless in the light…
Lord, give me strength… He took a deep breath, and approached it, drawing the Master Sword from its sheath on his back. The shine of the blade distracted him from the gem, and he relaxed a bit.
His approach stopped when he stood a few feet from it. Carefully, trying to remain detached, he looked up at it. It glittered again, winking at him, and it seemed to whisper – Touch me… He gritted his teeth, lifted the Master Sword high, and with a harsh cry brought it down in a ringing arc over the jewel. The stone shattered like glass, and the sound reverberated over the caverns.
Aveil jerked her fist. "Yes!"
~-LoZ-~
Caine flew over the army, blasting Gerudo with flames, and scooping up Hylian soldiers in his claws to drop them from dizzying heights. All of this, he did mechanically – it had become routine by now, all this heartless killing. He felt nothing as he heard the screams of the women that burned alive, or the men as they plunged to their deaths…
Pain. Like a wall, he ran into it, and it overtook him, squeezing his chest and pressuring his very bones. He screamed, and clutched at his head with his claws, swooning in his flight wildly like a drunken sailor. He tried to steady himself, but his wings were weakening – they faltered, and didn't seem to be receiving the orders his brain was sending them… Another wave of sheer pain, and he shrieked. What had hit him? He searched his body, and found nothing. Then what…
"Gah!" He sunk lower, and his vision began to blur. Through the haze, he caught sight of Ameas. The great dragon was writhing violently over the battlefield, roaring in agony and clutching at himself. His wings, flapping irregularly, served him no purpose, and he plummeted into the battlefield. Soldiers ran for cover, but many were crushed under the dragon king's weight. What looked like phantoms of black began to float up from the black beast's body.
Stars swirled in Caine's vision. He couldn't see where he was going, but he knew he was still in the air. Black mist filled his vision, and he felt his wings stop – they just halted, no longer held him aloft. And he began to fall.
Then all was black.
~-LoZ-~
Nabooru pushed herself off the blood-stained ground, whirling to stare at the body of the great black dragon. It writhed and twisted like a dying snake, belly up, as wisps of black something began to waft from its scales. It roared in agony, and then was quite suddenly still – it moved no more. The wisps turned into clouds. Layer upon layer of black inky smoke peeled off its body, until the giant form was completely shrouded by the strange mist. The battle seemed to come to a halt as all stopped to watch the dragon king.
The Gerudo heard another shriek, and turned in the right direction. Another, much smaller black dragon was fluttering about the sky like a scrap of paper, whipped by the wind, its scales glinting dully in the pre-dawn light. Black smog surrounded it as well, but cleared away much quicker. Hovering in that small black dragon's place sat a slender black-haired boy!
"What in the name of…" Her eyes widened as she realized what these effects were. Good golly, this army had a dragon stone! And by the looks of it, it had been destroyed! She pumped her fist into the air. "Way to go, Link!"
The boy began to plummet. For a brief moment, Nabooru frowned, and wondered how on earth he was going to survive the fall. But, as she should have expected, one of the many dragon troops – the stupid ones; these were the real ones – swooped in and caught him just before he hit the ground.
She snapped her gaze back to where the big one had been. The black mist was dissipating leaving behind…
The small – well, small compared to what he had been as a dragon, anyway – form of a man appeared amidst the black tendrils, lying still on the battle-bloodied earth. The sudden absence of all that mass of flesh and scales also revealed the many soldiers he had crushed in falling to the ground just moments before. Many good Gerudos and Hylians, brave and bold… She bowed her head for a brief moment.
The dragons that still buzzed in the skies like giant hummingbirds sent up a chorus of shrieks, and they began scrambling about. One scooped the strange man off the ground, and the draconic forces lifted away from the battlefield, followed by hundreds of little black specks that came up from the nearby city. They were panicking! Nabooru couldn't suppress a wry grin.
"Yes, you better run, you wee cowards! Now that your fiendish master has shown his true form! Ha!" She watched as none looked back, and they lifted off the ground like reversed rain and flew for the south, as fast as their wings could carry them. She lost sight of the two what-looked-like-Hylian leaders – both black dragons had previously led the assault on their army.
"We are victorious!" shouted one of the Hylian soldiers, and the forces of light shouted in triumph. They shook their weapons at the fleeing dragons, and many jumped for joy.
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow," someone sang out.
"Praise Him all people here below." Many joined in, lifted their voices in loud praise.
"Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen…"
The song dissipated to more shouts of victory. Nabooru leant back for the moment; she knew that in a few minutes, the mood would not be so light, not as they scrounged the battlefield for the dead and wounded, but these people – particularly the Hylians – needed this moment to briefly celebrate their feat.
She frowned as a Hylian man broke through the crowd, and came stumbling toward her. Sweat trickled down his pale face, and by his wide eyes, one would have thought he'd seen a ghost.
"C-Commander Nabooru…" he panted, giving her a shaky salute. She returned it easily, looking at him with concern.
"At ease… What's wrong, soldier?"
The man glanced back from whence he came before taking a deep breath and staring after the draconic forces. "Did you see the boy?"
"From a distance…" She frowned, confused as to where this was going. "Why?"
"He… At least I-I think he… I mean, I thought I saw…" He shook his head at himself, swallowing his stutters before continuing. "What I mean is… I saw his face – as he fell. And I recognized it."
She cocked a brow, silently prompting him to go on.
"A-And…" He looked rather confused himself, his rough brow furrowing. "I think… it was Prince Caine."
~-LoZ-~
Link stared in awe at the brightening skies as hundreds – if not thousands – of dragons flew southward at incredible speed. They were running from something, that was for sure. And he couldn't help but notice the absence of the great Ameas Night. Perhaps… he had been slain?
Colin grinned as he stood beside him, and the men on the deck gave a brief cheer. Even Link himself couldn't keep down a smile. A victory after so many defeats truly was a feeling to be relished.
"Do you think it had something to do with that stone you crushed?" asked the Ordonian, casting Link a glance. He looked to Colin, and lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
"I don't suppose we'll ever know… It isn't like they'll tell us."
Aveil laughed from the lower deck. "Well, ya never know. Maybe someday you'll meet a dragon, and get to interrogate him. Then you can learn all about what happened at the Retaking of Tarha!" She threw her fists into the air, emphasizing the last phrase, and the others joined her in her shout of triumph. Link smiled.
It was truly a miracle, one that he thanked God unceasingly for. Had they been defeated, he did not know if his soldiers would have had the hope to try again. They had been discouraged as it was, and to go home conquered once more… He shook his head; it might have broken them.
But thank the Lord for His grace. They had won today. Dawn had come, and was slowly chasing away the darkness.
He stared at the sliver of sun that decorated the horizon. It showered the skies with hues of gold and pink and orange, making the wispy clouds glow and drowning out the steady twinkling of the stars. He let its warmth splash over him, and inhaled a deep breath of the ocean air. The ever-growing ball of light reflected its beauty on the waves; one rose up, while the other eased downward. Yes; dawn was such a beautiful sight.