Chapter Seven
Link awoke seconds later. Somehow, he was still miraculously breathing, but he was on the ground, lying face down. He pushed himself up onto his knees: all of his wounds seemed to be gone. He stood up, blinking, and stared around him.
Recognition hit him like a Ball and Chain: the strange, ethereal wind, the cloud-like surroundings…all that was missing was –
"The White Wolf," rasped Link, wheeling around anxiously. Sitting several feet away from him, with a patient, serene look on his face, was a golden colored wolf. With a howl, he turned into an armored skeleton. "I thought you…" Link was startled to find himself here; words were escaping him at the moment. "…but didn't you say? Weren't you supposed to be – I mean, aren't you – isn't…aren't you dead?" he finally got out, hating the awful bluntness of the words. He warily eyed the skeletal warrior, who smiled at his question.
"Dead? Ah, yes. I died long ago, but the Three Goddesses did not think my fate was complete. My destiny was to teach the ways of the warriors to the lineage that would vanquish Ganondorf, but, ah…some circumstances twisted that destiny."
"There's not an eighth Hidden Skill, is there?' asked Link tiredly. The human incarnation of the White Wolf did not laugh.
"No, there isn't," he replied. "You, too, have somehow twisted your destiny. Your death should not have occurred."
Link was quite alarmed to hear this information. "What? So—so I'm dead??"
"You did indeed die." The man was very calm when he spoke, as though Link's brutal murder did not trouble him. "But now you're not dead, as you can tell. I have taken you out of time and placed you here, in this other plane with me, to tell you something you mustn't forget."
"Yes?" urged Link eagerly.
"The Senvivanes cannot die by your means."
"The – what?" asked Link, trying to find that name in his memory. He decided to guess. "Do you mean the things that killed me? Those undead – are they Sen-vee-vanes?"
"Yes," answered the warrior. "They cannot die by your mortal terms. However, they cannot move without feet, nor can they harm without hands. Clean through the wrists and ankles. Do you understand?"
"Of course," replied Link, smiling slightly. "Perfectly. Thank you."
"I will return you to approximately ten seconds ago," the skeleton told Link, "right when you hit the ground and before a Senvivane ran you through. As you can tell, all of your wounds have healed, and your energy has been restored. If you roll out of the way, you will not die again. And – " the scene was beginning to fade before Link's eyes – "humans are no threat to the Senvivanes – but they cannot stand attacking the divine beast that helped their land."
He was gone, and Link was back on the floor of Arbiter's Grounds, surrounded by bloodthirsty Senvivanes and startled Bulblins.
Without a second thought, Link rolled sideways as a jagged blade rent through the place he had died moments before. He felt revitalized, full of strength and energy. He drew out the Master Sword and swept it in a full circle, cutting at their bony ankles. He easily sliced them, through flesh, muscles, and bones. Two Senvivanes tumbled and fell, waving out their hands in despair; Link took advantage of this moment to leap to his feet and chop through their wrists, with bone seen clearly beneath the skin. Sickeningly, their hands dropped off, blood spurted, and the beings were left to writhe miserably on the ground, moaning incessantly.
The other Senvivanes hesitated; Link did not. He made an invalid of another Senvivane and quickly plunged his necklace between flesh and cloth. The cold Twilight Gemstone knocked against his chest, and he transformed.
The corpses stared at the boy-turned-wolf, too startled to move. Link bared his fangs and growled threateningly. When they did not back off, he leapt towards one, claws bared, and latched on, burying into its skin. He dug his teeth into its neck, again and again and again, until it threw him off and he tumbled backwards, taking care not to smack his head against the stone. The Senvivanes then turned and fled, sinking back into the sand pit, dragging along their wounded.
Link returned to human. "The Mirror Chamber," he rasped before any of the Bulblins could get a word in otherwise. "They come from the Twilight Realm, I know it!"
"How do you know it?" asked King Bulblin suspiciously. "If they are, then they should've sided with Ganondorf and Zant, like most denizens."
Link shrugged. "I don't know. Because they think they're the strongest side? Come on; I can get us to the Mirror Chamber." He pulled out his Spinner and took it across the sand; then he employed his Clawshot tactic, pulling across the Bulblins with his weapon. With King Bulblin, he had to wear the Iron Boots.
They made their way into Stallord's Room; it was exactly the same as when Link had left it. he got on his Spinner and rode over to the edge.
"Don't think that's good idea – " called King Bulblin warningly, but Link had already plunged downwards, terrifyingly free until he latched onto the Spinner tracks. The spikes had disappeared, it seemed, and Link easily rode his way to the top of the giant stone pillar. When he reached there, he used the Clawshot yet again to bring over the Bulblins, and he led the way across the stone bridge and up to the Mirror Chamber.
It was around noon now; Link had been unaware that so much time had passed. They reached the Mirror Chamber: Link was prepared to see the Mirror of Twilight, whole and functioning…but that was not so. He concealed his disappointment and looked around, hoping for a clue, eyes seeking some hint of Twilight.
"You are searching for the Mirror of Twilight, aren't you?" asked a sad, otherworldly voice. Link and the six Bulblins looked around to see the blazing white Sages floating in front of them, looking very grim.
"Yes," replied Link boldly. "It's imperative that we enter the Twilight Realm. Somehow, former residents have leaked into here, the Light Realm, and now we must put a stop to it."
The Sages exchanged glances. "That is true, and it is the fault of the Twilight Princess."
"What do you mean?" asked Link, his heart quickening at the mention of Midna.
"That knowledge is not ours to know. However, she did something wrong, and the Mirror was not completely destroyed. She broke it into two pieces and sent them to different peoples."
"Who?" asked Link urgently. "Who now has those pieces?"
The Sages spoke their eyes and spoke as one. "First piece, to the red-haired women, who use it to corrupt; second piece, to the sacred race, who are corrupted by its use."
"Can't you say something that's not cryptic?" shouted Link irritably, taking a step forward.
"The sand…the hidden," they whispered, and disappeared.
I plan on including the White Wolf again, and some ideas I have about him.
The "red-haired women" and the "sacred race" are both two peoples from Ocarina of Time. It might be easy to guess; I have no clue (I think the first one is pretty easy). Feel free to guess.
