Hello!

Finally the second chapter! I apologize it took so long, but now that I decided to replay the game, I should write more! I'll try to update this with Antumbra evey two weeks!

This will have many chapters, but they'll be fairly short.

Enjoy!

ii: Grounds

The winds were harsh as he fell, it hurt to keep his eyes open, but Link fought the urge to close them for he needed to see when and where he would land. He risked a glance up, his was loftwing nowhere in sight, and the clouds were finally starting to thin out after what felt like a whole minute. With Zelda's sailcloth already in his arms, he faced down again and waited for the right moment to open it, just wondering how the hell his hat did not fly away yet.

The horizontal position of his body helped break the fall, but he would need to stand upright in order to open the sailcloth, and already he could see green approaching from underneath, very fast. Link tried to lean back as much as he could and unfolded the fabric, keeping two ends in each hand in a firm grip so they would not escape, and jerked up as it slowed the fall. Once the boy realized it had worked, he let out a sigh of relief; Fi was truly right. Link looked downwards at his destination and held his breath as thick canopy entered his line of sight, but he was lucky enough to avoid all the branches and end up on what seemed to be a big clearing.

The landing was awkward. He lost his footing and stumbled sideways, hitting his left shoulder on the old fence that stopped him from falling into the pit below. In a second, Fi was before him, providing him with the information he needed while he stood with a wince and rubbed the tender spot. This was known as the Surface and where he stood now was just a part of it, the Sealed Grounds. There were trees on an upper level and broken pillars just where he landed, a bird statue similar to one he had seen in Skyloft; the next time, he should try to land closer to it to avoid more injuries.

Squaring his (sore) shoulders and heading down the path, he stepped back when a blue plant popped out of the ground and advanced, its mouth open and pointed sharp teeth ready to take a bite. "Woah!" The plant reached for him, missing his body by an inch, and retuned to its place, saliva dripping from the cavity. "What's this!?"

Fi decided it was time to show herself again, and so leapt out from his only weapon. "Deku Baba."

"What!?"

"This violent plant is widespread in wooded areas. It will attempt to bite anything that approaches it."

Link snorted. "Yeah, I've noticed!"

"Though it is covered in a tough out husk, the inside of its mouth is soft." The Hylian frowned; she was standing just beside the creature and it was not attempting to bite her at all. "I have confirmed the existence of two varieties: those that open their mouths vertically and those that open them horizontally."

Having said all she knew, the sword spirit returned to her resting place, leaving Link with the newly acquired information and a now very confused expression adorning his face. Aside from speaking so eloquently, Fi sounded like a walking – or rather, floating – encyclopedia. Professor Owlan would enjoy having her as companion, one could only imagine all the things she knew regarding the... Surface. Unsheathing his sword and holding it in his right hand, he wondered for a brief moment if she would feel anything as he tried to get rid of this Deku Baba before working out a way to slay it effortlessly: stun it with his shield and slash; then, the boy quickly took care of the other three that blocked the way.

With the path now clear, the Skyloftian went onwards, hopping to a lower level and coming face to face with a huge, but deteriorated, building and... Small birds. "They're so tiny," he commented to no one in particular, not really expecting an answer from his new acquaintance.

Link turned his back to the construction upon being informed that it was blocked with a seal, and examined the spiraling path that lead to a grassless spot below. From where he stood, he could easily see black patterns drawn on the ground and, oddly enough, they seemed somewhat familiar. The curious thing was that he could feel a dark aura emanating from said markings, so strong and so evil the boy unconsciously shielded himself from it as images of his nightmares flooded his mind.

It was then that the ominous scaly black creature emerged from within the circle, with three rows of teeth and a size so massive it left the boy at what a loss of what to do. Feeling his head hurt, so incredibly painful that he had to clutch it, Link watched as the monster rose above him, and though he reacted rather quickly reaching for his sword, nothing could be done as its mouth descended upon the youth, so he simply shielded his body again.

He felt nothing for the seconds that followed and so lowered his arms, seeing that he was safe and whole, standing just before the building, still he checked his limbs just to be safe. Approaching the edge to glimpse down at the center, he decided to inspect the patterns further in hopes they would help lead him somewhere. It was also the perfect opportunity to practice his landings, jumping from level to level with the sailcloth instead of following the path all the way down.

A carved stone was stuck in the middle of the circle, dark shadows wafting from where it met with the soil, and seemingly humming. He approached it slowly, with care, a soft frown on his brow and a shiver running through his body.

"...Young one..." The youth halted, and then looked about him, searching for the source of the mysterious, whispery voice. "Child of destiny descended from the sky..."

Link looked at the pillar and fisted his hands, knuckles turning white under the leather of his gloves, fingers tingling with a weird sensation.

"Raise the sword of the Goddess skyward..."

He did as told, slowly, lifting his arm and pointing the tip of his weapon to the heavens, feeling it charging with pure energy and light.

"Take aim at the evil aura and unleash its power..."

He swung his arm down.