Chapter Twenty-Four: What One Will Do for Power
"I recognize you. I knew you would come down here eventually. You're the one I've been looking for," said Majora.
"What do you mean?"
"I felt your presence when you entered my temple four years ago. I knew immediately that you were the only one that could help me."
"Help you with what?"
"I have been wrongly imprisoned here. Seventeen centuries ago, I was the chieftain of the most powerful tribe in the Forest of Gormoth. One of the other tribe members grew jealous of my power though. He attacked me one night with his enchanted sword. We battled for hours before I was attacked from behind by a group of men in my tribe. I was imprisoned within this mask and they built this temple to house me inside of it. For seventeen centuries, I have hung here, waiting for the one capable of freeing me."
"And that's me?"
"Yes."
"Why me?"
"You are the only one yet to enter this temple that could wield the only power able to break through the charms that have me bound to this wall. Will you do it?" asked the mask hungrily.
"Well, it isn't fair for you to be trapped here when you didn't do anything wrong. So of course I'll free you. What do I do?"
"Lay your hands upon me. I need to infuse you with a part of my power. Then you will be able to break through the charms and release me." When the girl did not move, the mask snapped. "Hurry! I've been confined here for hundreds of years! I will not wait another second to be freed!"
For the first time, the naïve Nylania grew suspicious of the mask. Despite his anger, she still felt that he was telling the truth and deserved to be freed, so she approached Majora and slowly lifted her hands up to rest them on the mask's multi-colored, wood exterior. As she was about to place her hands upon the mask, it began to hiss. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Hurry. Take this ability I am giving you and use it to free me from this accursed temple." Just as the mask muttered "temple", the adolescent girl planted her hands over Majora's captivating eyes.
She felt a rush of warmth flash through her hands, down her arms, and into her chest. She began to shudder violently and her pale white skin began to glow red like freshly lit charcoal. The pain was too much to handle, so she tried to lift her hands away, but they were stuck to the mask even harder than a pair of iron boots is to a magnet. She lost consciousness thirty seconds into the transference. Not long after, the process was complete and she was free to sink to the floor, her hands no longer glued to Majora.
Majora waited until she began to stir to speak again. "I have given you my greatest power. Once you have freed me, I will take it back. But for now I need to teach you how to use it. All you will have to do is close your eyes and imagine darkness, a darkness so great that not even the brightest ray of light from the sun can pierce it. Imagine it leaving your body and spreading outward in a twirling whirlwind. The longer you can concentrate on just this darkness, the farther it will spread. I discovered this power when I was barely older than you are now, before I was chieftain of my tribe. I named it Gualxcere in our ancient tongue. This would translate to Twilight in today's speech. It is truly the greatest ability one can achieve in this world."
"What does the Twilight do exactly?" asked Nylania, finally able to stand up and speak again.
"How can I explain this so a child can understand? Well, this is the best way to describe it, I suppose. As the Twilight grows from your body, it absorbs the portions of the world that it passes over. Once the world is under the Twilight you have created, it no longer obeys the laws set forth by the gods when they created this world. The world within the Twilight is no longer in their dimension; it is in your own dimension. It will follow your laws and no one else's. In other words, you can do whatever you want while in the Twilight. All you have to do is think about it, and it will happen. The possibilities are limitless. Let me tell you what you're going to do with it though. You will think about the darkness I told you to think about for only twenty seconds. This will expand the Twilight enough to absorb me and this wall I am fixed to. You will then think very hard about dispelling the charms that have been placed over me that both hold me in place and keep me from using the Twilight myself, and then I will be freed."
"How do you get rid of the Twilight once you're done using it?"
"You don't. I never bothered to learn that ability. The only way the Twilight will recede is if the one that created it is weakened by another. Now, enough with the questions! Free me!"
"What are you going to do once you're free?"
"I said enough with the questions!" shouted Majora impatiently.
Taken aback, the girl said, "I was just wondering if when I free you you're going to help people with your powers, cause that's what I want to do with mine."
"Yes, of course I will," lied Majora. "Now free me!"
"For someone who says they plan to do good, you get angry an awful lot."
"You foolish, stupid girl! If you don't free me immediately…"
"Stop yelling at me! I had planned to help you, but now I'm not so sure. You sound like you want to hurt me."
"You have no idea! If you don't free me, you have no idea what I can and will do to you!"
"I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I suddenly feel that you're not being completely honest with me about yourself."
As she turned to leave, Majora screamed, "This is your final warning! If you leave now, if you do not free me, I will turn your life into the greatest nightmare you can ever imagine." Nylania ignored him and crawled out of the room through its only exit. "No! No! No! Don't leave! How dare you! How dare you steal my greatest power from me and leave me imprisoned here! I see your plan now! You came here to take it from me, didn't you?! Well, you will pay! You will pay! One day I will be freed from this temple and woe betide you and this entire world when I am freed! I shall destroy the world with one fell swoop! I shall consume all! You haven't seen the last of Majora, the most powerful being to ever walk this earth!" Suddenly the room became silent and Majora began to utter an enchantment. Because he had given Nylania a portion of his abilities, he could not directly harm her. But he had a plan still…
While Nylania was dealing with Majora, Astralose was taking a much-needed nap. Towards the end of his nap, a dream suddenly popped into his head as if summoned from some distant place. It showed a magnificent palace on top of a grassy hillside, overlooking all of Hyrule. The palace doors opened wide and within it stood a grand throne room. Astralose was shocked to see himself sitting on the most luxuriant throne he had ever seen, and sitting next to him was his daughter. He had an exquisite crown on top of his head and was laughing merrily. He had never seen himself happier.
Suddenly darkness gathered outside. The throne room became dim and a booming voice resonated through the chamber. "With her newfound power, this can be yours. Use her. Force her to help you, and you can achieve your wildest dreams as King of Hyrule. She will be unwilling, but you can bend her to your will. This is your greatest opportunity." Astralose looked up and saw the moon through the great windows that lined the walls near the ceiling. It was clearly not a normal moon though. It had fierce red eyes and a gaping mouth, as if it wished to do nothing less than consume the entire world. "This is your greatest opportunity," the voice repeated. It quickly became clear that the voice was emerging from the moon itself. Astralose nodded and turned to his daughter.
She looked at him with a smile and said, "Yes Father. I want to help you. I really do. When you ask me to help you though, I'll say no. This isn't my fault; I can't help it. You can make me help you though. Do whatever it takes. Don't be afraid to hurt me. If you can do this, then all you see here will be yours." Astralose nodded once more and then he awoke.
Nylania hurried away from Majora's chamber as fast as her small feet could carry her. She floated back over the lavafall and then raced back to her father's room. She had expected him to be asleep, but was surprised to see him sitting upright, apparently waiting for her. "Where have you been? Did you find anything interesting?" he asked in a strangely hungry tone that disturbed Nylania. She had never heard him speak in that manner before.
"Yes actually. Just wait until I tell you about it."
"I already know," he interrupted.
"How could you already-?"
"Silence! What is the new power you've learned?"
"I didn't learn a new power," whimpered Nylania. She was beginning to become very frightened of her father.
"Don't you dare lie to me! I know that you learned a new power! Now, you can either tell me what it is or you can face the consequences."
"Well, I met this-."
"I didn't say tell me how you came by the power. I want to know what it is, what it does. Tell me now!"
Not knowing what else to do, Nylania told Astralose all about the Twilight and what it could do. "Perfect," said Astralose with a wicked smile. "Then the dream wasn't a lie. With that power, I surely can take over all of Hyrule."
"What? No. You can't. That's why I refused to help my mothers. That's what they wanted me to do."
"And that is what you're going to do."
"But you told me I wouldn't have to. You told me I could do anything I wanted. I wanted to help people. I wanted to be good," she cried.
"I don't care what I told you before. Circumstances change and I now need you to help me. It is my soul's greatest desire. Will you help me?"
"I wasn't going to help my mothers and I refuse to help you!"
"Your mind will be changed. I know that it will. I saw it in my dream. I will do whatever it takes to make you help me, because I know that you will. You refuse now, but a few weeks in a pitch-black hole in the ground may change your mind." Astralose stood up violently, knocking over the chair he had been sitting in. He rushed over to his daughter and grabbed her forcefully by the arm. When she tried to resist, he lifted his left hand and backhanded her across the face. She immediately fell unconscious.
When she awoke, she was in darkness. She could not even see her own hand when she waved it inches in front of her face. She felt around and noticed that rock walls completely enclosed her; she was wedged into an only three-foot wide gap between these rock walls. "Father!" she screamed hysterically. She heard footsteps and saw a crack of light appear twenty feet above. A trapdoor was opened and she could see Astralose's head poke over the hole that had been hidden beneath it.
"Where am I?" she cried.
"I found a perfectly suitable hole for you. You will stay in here until you change your mind. Enjoy." He went to close the door, but a shriek from Nylania stopped him.
"Wait! Are you going to feed me?"
"Why, of course. You're no use to me dead. You will get leftovers from one of my bountiful feasts once a day along with a flask of water. I'll throw your daily ration down to you later. I want you to get a little hungry first," he grinned spitefully. Without another word, he threw the trapdoor closed, leaving Nylania alone in the darkness once more.
"I'm not going to tolerate this," she mumbled as she stood up. "Not when I have the Twilight." As she was about to attempt to cast her spell for the first time though, a scary thought came to her. What if I'm just playing into his hands by creating the Twilight? Maybe he knows more about it than I do. Maybe he'll steal it from me. No. I can't do it. I'll just have to wait this out. I'm sure this is only temporary. He's never been like this before. Why would he suddenly go mad like this? Maybe this is just a test. Yes! That's it! This is a test! He just wants to see how long I can last in a difficult situation such as this! I won't fail you Father. I'll last a long time. I knew he couldn't be mad.
The trapdoor opened once again as Nylania sat quietly, anxiously awaiting her daily meal. She had finally grown used to being in her hole. She played many games to occupy her time. They usually involved multi-colored balls of fire that she would create and send spiraling into the air. She had also learned many new magical abilities during her time in the pit and finally felt that she had fulfilled her mothers' goal of turning her into the most powerful witch of all time. When her father's now gray-haired head appeared, she waited for him to toss her food down, but there was none coming.
"I no longer need you Nylania. You've been in here for twenty-three years. For twenty-three years you have ignored my request. Now, it is too late. I finally discovered your brother. Why didn't you, Koume, and Kotake tell me that I had a son? I honestly don't know. But he has come to me now. And he plans to take over Hyrule also and his plan is brilliant. A boy is about to open the path to the Sacred Realm; all he has to do is follow him in and then seize the Triforce. When he has done this, all of Hyrule will be ours. So, needless to say, you are now worthless. This is goodbye my daughter. You will not see me again. May your period of starvation not last too long."
Nylania suddenly became desperate. She didn't want to die. She wanted to use the magic that she had spent so many years learning, not just throw it away. "Wait Father! I'll help you now! Please. Don't leave."
"Hmm. I don't know. Do I really need you now? That's the question." He stood still for a moment, pondering the issue. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to have the Twilight to aid us, just in case," he said finally. "Get me a rope!" he ordered to an unseen person. A moment later the end of a rope was placed in his hand. "You must promise to aid me. You will do whatever I tell you, and if I'm not present, you will do whatever Ganondorf tells you. Do you understand?"
"Yes. I promise."
"Good. Then grab a hold of this." He lowered the rope down quickly and pulled her up. His face cringed when he saw her. "Look at what twenty-three years has done to you." The young girl he had once known was now tall and lanky; her skin was now hideously pale from her years spent away from the sun. Her hair grew down past her kneecaps and was knotted and greasy. The only thing unchanged was her piercingly blue eyes. Otherwise, her appearance was closer to a vampire than a human.
Her eyes grew wide when she looked around and saw the largest mass of monsters she had ever seen. Astralose saw her shock and said, "How do you like my army? I've been building it up ever since I first put you into that hole. Ah, and I think you remember your brother."
The mighty, intimidating Gerudo that was Ganondorf approached purposefully and stared maliciously at his sister. "So I've heard that you are finally capable of doing something worthwhile." She did not reply. "You will stay here while me and Astralose go to the Temple of Time. If we should need you, we will come back. If not, then you'll have plenty of time to get to know my Moblins." He guffawed brutally.
"Shall we leave then Son?"
"Yes. It is time. Time for the end of Hyrule. That Kokiri boy is about to open the Door of Time. I can feel it. We must leave at once. Nothing can stop us now." Ganondorf turned and left.
Astralose turned to his daughter and said, "I'm glad you've finally come to your senses, but we probably won't need you anyway. If Ganondorf can seize the Triforce, Hyrule will be no match for him and we will reign supreme. If he should fail though, it's onto our second plan."
"What's that?" she sighed.
"We will use our army to defeat Hyrule's and then use you to imprison all of Hyrule in Twilight, so we can do whatever we want within it. For now though, I must go with your brother. Good day Nylania."
"Good day," she said emotionlessly, not expecting to be needed since there wasn't a doubt in her mind that Ganondorf would be successful in taking the Triforce from the Sacred Realm. If only she had known about the Hero of Time and how he would put an end to Ganondorf's reign seven years into the future, she might have been a little more nervous about what she might have to do in the coming months. As it was, all she could think about was how much potential she had had to do great things and how Majora and Astralose had ruined her for eternity. All that she had now was Twilight and there was nothing she hated more in the world.
