Sweey: It sure has been a while since I've updated this bad boy! haha! Well, now that I've enjoyed my bread with some of Thorn's….. special paste on it, I'm ready to get down and dirty! Hahaha SO FINALLY! Here's the next chapter!
Chapter 5 Troubles in Termina
Link looked about the many festivities and preparations occurring throughout Hyrule Castle. He began to assume that Princess Zelda would be far too overwhelmed to take time to visit, but he had to try for Colin's sake.
Colin was dumbfounded by the complexity and architecture of the castle. He was unaware of what it had once been when Ganondorf sat upon the throne. Link's mind was filed with the memories of the monsters and debris that littered the halls and chambers of the great castle and the smell of the monsters' putrid stench and the rank of the rotting corpses that had been replaced by wreaths of the Hylian white rose.
One thing that perplexed the young hero the most was the absence of a solid theme. He couldn't seem to decide what exactly was being celebrated. Most carnivals and festivals had obvious themes. For instance, the festival of the moon where a globe filed with fairy spirits was hung in the chamber room. Another was the Carnival of Time where one chosen race or province would paint a giant clock which would afterwards replace the current one on the Clock Tower until the next festival, but the Carnival of Time was rarely celebrated in Hyrule. It was more of a Terminian tradition than a Hylian.
Link had been so occupied with the festival activities that he hadn't realized that they had walked right into the throne room, interrupting what seemed like an important meeting. Everyone was now staring at Link and Colin and the air smelled of awkwardness.
When Link finally realized what had happened, he wasn't sure what to do, and his ears turned red with embarrassment.
"I… uh…" Link stuttered.
Everyone gasped when he did so although he wasn't sure why. He was unaware of the traditions when speaking to royalty and had performed something very disrespectful towards the Kingdom of Hyrule.
"You irritable cretins! Don't you know you are not to speak to the princess unless spoken to! And to top that off, you were uninvited! But I guess you thought since you were the best swordsmen in your village you'd be accepted without dispute and get married to the princess and become the crowned king and what not! Fool!" He placed a stinging slap on Link's cheek and behind him, Colin gasped in horror.
"Chancellor Jerdin! How dare you strike the face of an ignorant man!" Another man said. He was obviously man of high authority and was dressed as a soldier. "Your ignorance is just as foolhardy as theirs! Why strike the face of one with as speck in his eye when you have a log in your own!"
Chancellor Jerdin's head drooped in shame and he slowly went back to his place.
"Thank you Captain Varden," Princess Zelda's gentle voice soothed the tension in the room immediately. "Now, it is most delightful to have this man in our presence. He being in fact, the Hero of Time." She curtseyed slightly to Link who was by now blushing from ear to ear.
Those around the room all gasped in delight and bowed to him.
"Now, let us hear what he has to say," as Zelda said the words, all eyes fixed themselves on the Hero of Time and the room grew silent as they waited to hear what he would say.
Link swore they could hear the loud drumming of his heart and see how red his face was but he had to say something!
"Princess Zelda, I was traveling nearby, so I decided to come and visit you and show my friend Hyrule Castle. He has never seen the castle or its grand halls. I am terribly sorry for interrupting your meeting."
It was a while before Zelda finally spoke, "No harm was done, but I am curious, where are you traveling to?"
"Actually I'm not sure. I will be getting the destination soon from a friend of mine." Link replied.
"So will you be here for the festival?" Her eyes glittered in hope that he would.
"Well," Link shifted his feet, "I wasn't planning to, but I will if you want me to. What festival is it?"
"The Festival of Freedom," Zelda answered, smiling. "It would be impractical to not have the Hero of Time and his steed Epona present!"
Link froze, "I'm afraid Epona won't be present. She was injured so I'm riding a temporary horse."
Zelda frowned with concern, "How badly was she hurt?"
"Well, not too bad, but she's not well enough to travel," Link explained.
"Oh, that's too bad. I hope she recovers soon." Zelda said as her smile returned.
"Princess, I am afraid that we must press on." Captain Varden whispered quietly into on of Zelda's delicate, pointed ears.
She turned to look, "I am sorry Link but I'll have to take my leave. The festival begins at seven thirty this evening. Meet me at the café at seven."
Link nodded, "Absolutely princess."
Zelda turned her gaze upon Colin, "It was nice meeting you Colin, perhaps we may visit again sometime on a day not quite so fickle."
Colin beamed at her and nodded as he was speechless.
Zelda smiled like only she could, then she floated away followed by Captain Varden and his soldiers.
Colin turned to Link, "What now?"
Link thought a moment, "Why not go ahead and meet with the Resistance and figure out my heading?"
Colin nodded and the two left the thrown room for Telma's bar.
….
Telma's bar was located on the southern side of Castle Town, set apart from the busy market place that bustled with merchants selling their produce. They always had several different barrels of apples and Link could never decide which one looked the sweetest.
Link had expected that the bar would be empty, save for Jovani and the occasional visit from the mailman. But today was different. The bar was filled with people and overflowing with chaos. There were people from all over and many were races even Link had never seen. There were plantlike people and furry creatures with antlers as well as many others. Several fierce redheaded women in purple clothing and veils watched him with sharp eyes as he passed by.
Link and Colin weaved through the people to reach the far table, cut off from the rest of the bar by a huge, elaborate, red-orange curtain.
In the center of the table was an old worn map of Hyrule. As usual, Auru, Shade, and Ashei were gathered around it discussing various subjects. Auru's dark eyes were the first to notice Link and Colin. A wide smile spread out across his face as he recognized his comrade.
"Evening Link! Glad you're finally here!"
Link smiled, nodding. "Colin and I stopped by before we head out to the festival."
Auru dipped his head, "It's a fine day for celebration." His dark eyes shifted to Colin, "Nice to finally see the face that matches the name!"
"Did Rusl give you our message?" Shad asked.
Link nodded. "I'm here to do whatever it is you want me to do. Do you have any answers for me about the bulbins?"
Shad shook his head, "Sadly, no. We've come up with absolutely nothing!"
"Perhaps the bulbins are regrouping for a rebellion. I hear that more are gathering at the Hidden Village again. I'm heading there after the festival to clear them out with a few soldiers at my back." Ashei addressed.
"That simply would not do!" Shad declared, "Bulbins can barely operate uncomplicated machinery let alone form a rebellion! It's their natural instinct to group in a pack."
"Shad does have a point," Auru admitted, "But we won't know for sure until we take action."
Ashei nodded, "What about the problem in Termina? We still have yet to decide about that. Edoywen and Skuttle have been waiting patiently for us to discuss the matter."
It was at that moment that Link and Colin noticed the peculiar fellow and his companion seated at the table where Rusl was regularly seated.
The man, Link guessed was Edoywen, was in a strange attire. His garments were mostly colored in different shades of gray and a dull green and dark brown. He had two light scares over his right eye and on his naked, right shoulder was a foreign tattoo of a dragon. His boots were lined with gray fur and he had a thick, charcoal-gray, tattered cloak that was unevenly mottled with a dark, dull green color was thrown over his broad shoulders. A deep hood that was now currently cast off sat on the back of the cloak, bunched up around his neck. A black trident protruded from his back, pointing to a painfully torn right ear that had probably happened years ago.
Edoywen's hair was long, ragged, and pulled back from his face. A few locks of hair held together by strange beads framed the left side of his face, complimenting his robust, gruff features.
There was a bald spot that began just above his right temple then followed the natural part in his hair, stopping until it completed a crescent. At first glance, one would assume it was due to old age. This assumption could be backed up by the color of his hair, which was silver at the roots and as it grew out, faded into a dark charcoal-gray. But at this close a distance, Link could see a faint scar of a past burn that had caused his hair to cease growing.
One thing for sure, Edoywen was an veteran warrior from a foreign land and knew exactly how to use that strange weapon of black iron.
Edoywen's companion was equally as strange, in fact, possibly even more strange. The fellow only stood a total of about three feet. He was every meaning of the words organic and leafy. His skin for one thing was rough like wood and his hair was made up of leaves and vines. He had a large archer's hat that arched up at the end, with an eccentric, feathery leaf in its band. Vines wrapped around his body in the form of a tunic and he wore a pair of bark, fingerless gloves. Around Skuttle's neck was a yellow-golden scarf and a small pouch was tie to the vine that wrapped around his waits. His two orange-yellow eyes glowed with curiosity and his mouth was more of a hole than a mouth. Link was curious to hear the two travelers' story.
"Why not send Link with them?" Shad suggested.
Link blinked a few times in surprise. He had been so focused on the two foreigners' attire that he had stopped listening to the conversation. He looked at Auru with a hazy expression.
"Doze off did you?" Auru grinned. "Well. You see, Edoywen and Skuttle are from Hyrule's neighboring eastern Island country, Termina. It's not far from the Lanayru Province."
Link nodded, "What's wrong in Termina?"
"Well, honestly, you may not believe this…" Auru began, "But everything in Termina has been turned upside down."
Link's head tilted in confusion.
"You see," everyone's attention fell upon Shad, "There is a temple in the Termina known as the Ikana Ikia Konkana, or the Stone Tower. Apparently, the people of Ikana who built this temple had discovered an amazing deity who the power to literally turn the world upside down and defy gravity itself. The legend goes that Ikna-kia, a great dragon spirit, allowed the Ikanian people to house his power. To the naked eye it would have seemed that the Ikanians could manipulate gravity and walk up walls and walk upon the ceiling like it was nothing abnormal, though in reality it was Ikna-kia's power that gave them such supernatural abilities."
"Soon, the foreign land Garotis grew curious of the Ikanians' strange powers and sent in spies to investigate. Their spies were the skilled ninja warriors known as the Garo Robes of the mysterious Garo tribe. When they were discovered, the king of Ikana, Igos du Ikana, declared war on Garotis, thus the Great War broke out and King Igos placed Captain Keeta in charge of his army. The king's military leader, Captain Keeta lost a great battle loosing control of the Stone Tower Temple which had served as a fort for them. The Garo went in and built onto it, giving it a flipside where they could enter instead of the upside down one that only the Ikanians could go in. Ikna-kia found favor in their ability to seemingly maniputate gravity like he did (though they were merely very acrobatic) as well as their masked master who he soon befriended. Thus Ikna-kia abandoned the Ikanians for the Garo. Much bloodshed occurred between the two warring tribes until they fought to their final breaths. Ikna-kia soon felt guilty for causing such a ignominious massacre, so he restored the Ikanians and Garo to the living, but once someone is dead, they are dead forever. Therefore the Ikana Canyon where the kingdom lies placed with a dreadful cursed. The Garo Robes are still spying on Ikana and there is secret, unseen warfare and bloodshed going on between the two kingdoms and it has been struck with eternal famine as there is no reason for the undead who linger there to eat. They are stuck in their own pasts and shall never be restored, stuck forever in the undead world. Doesn't that simply chill your blood my good boy!" Shad exclaimed as he finished the tale.
"You forgot to mention the torn heart of Ikna-kia…" Edoywen surprised everyone. He hadn't spoken once since he'd arrived. His voice was deep and unexpectedly smooth.
"I-well, er…" Shad stammered as he scratched his head.
"Ikna-kia's heart was split for his warring peoples. One side for the Ikanians and the other, for the Garo, so he sliced himself in two different spirits: Ikna and Kia, also known as Twiniknakia in Termina. Each spirit resided to dwelling in one part of the Stone Tower. Ikna is the deity of the Ikanians' upside down world and Kia is the deity of the Garo, who are forced to stay on the ground." Edoywen's lips pressed in a thin line as he was satisfied that he had said enough.
Shad pursed his lips, "Ah yes, that is right. Forgive me old boy, my memory failed me there a moment. I did more study on Hylian history and legends than on Terminian."
Edoywen made no effort to reply.
Shad shrugged; satisfied that he had made his point.
"So basically the problem is… it's upside down?" Link was still a little more than slightly confused.
"It's not just that, people are loosing their very minds!" Skuttle spat. His lisp was difficult to get past.
Link nodded in understanding, "So what is my purpose?"
"Your purpose is to go to Termina, travel around and try to figure out where the source of the problem is. Since in fact, we aren't exactly sure what that is, you get to find out. I'm sure no one knows of you being the Hero of Time but they for sure know about the Hero of Time and his legend." Auru glanced at Edoywen for assurance. The gruff man merely grunted in agreement.
"So, do you accept the request?" Skuttle asked.
Link thought a moment, "When do we set off?"
"As soon as possible," the little creature replied.
"Alright, count me in."
He was accepted by wide grins from all who circled around the table. Skuttle scurried up and shook his hand energetically and Edoywen brushed passed him and left. He looked after the gray-cloaked Terminian.
"Don't mind him. He'll get used to you eventually," Skuttle encouraged. Link couldn't help but smile at him.
"Colin, you will join us in our own quest to see what we can do about these bulbins," Auru said.
Colin nodded. He did want to go with Link, but he wasn't sure he was ready to leave Hyrule so suddenly on such a mysterious quest, especially one that involved the living dead. He knew the best way to help Link was to assure him that Hyrule would be safe while he was gone.
Link smiled at his friends then turned to Colin, "I think it's time we go to the festival."
Sweey: Well that was lovely. I love Edoywen already. :3 Course you don't realize how far I am in the story! Hhaha :) you'll also be meeting some curious new OC's of mine and some familiar faces from some of the past Zelda games…. :3 specifically Majorah's Mask. It's kinda like Twilight Princess Link meets Ocarina of Time/ Majorah's Mask Link's world. Haha so anyways, I'm gonna be so awesome for you guys and go ahead and at least START typing up the next chapter. :) I got some crazy stuff going for you guys! Haha oh and here's the link to where I got the info for the Great War of Ikana! I am NOT making this up people! Haha
.com/wiki/Great_War_of_Ikana
Well enjoy and please review! ^_^