Chapter Thirty-Seven: Hyrule in Twilight
A hot and dry gust of wind blew across the once fertile but now desolate plains of Hyrule. Halfway across this field, which had once been the heart of one of the greatest kingdoms that anyone could remember, the wind was deflected as it struck a strange bubble that seemed to be dark yet glow at the same time. It wrapped around this massive, pulsing object all the way to its southernmost tip, where the breeze was finally unobstructed and able to flow in its normal southeastwardly course. A half mile later, however, it met another, smaller obstacle. It was a man, gazing intently towards the northwestern horizon, watching the mystical bubble that the wind had paid so little regard.
The mysterious stranger felt a chill pass through his body as a breeze blew across his exposed skin. "I'm too late," he muttered quietly as he turned away from the Twilight that had consumed all of northern Hyrule, including the castle. He headed east towards the forests that blanketed that end of the kingdom. A few minutes later he passed under the boughs of the imposing trees and into a realm that few dared to enter: the realm of the mischievous forest guardians, the Kokiri, who according to many tales slew and ate any unwelcome trespassers into their lands. This man was not intimidated though. He knew for a fact that these tales were only made up to keep out any that might seek to harm the forest. The Kokiri were no more likely to tear a person apart limb from limb and eat them than the fun-loving terriers that once upon a time had roamed Hyrule Castle Town's alley ways. It took only a few more minutes of contemplating the true nature of the Kokiri before he found himself in the midst of their ancient village.
He saw a few of the eternal children staring at him, almost certainly wondering who their visitor was. He did not pay them too much attention though. He was looking for the Forest Sage, Saria. He entered her home without knocking (nobody ever knocked in Hyrule) and saw her sitting in the middle of her floor with two fairies fluttering beside her. One was her own and the other was named Navi, the famed companion of the Hero of Time. The green-haired girl stared at this new entrant into her home, inquisitively waiting for him to introduce himself. However, he merely stood there, apparently nervous because he kept opening his mouth in an attempt to speak only to immediately shut it again. It was Navi the fairy who first spoke.
"It can't be," she whispered. "It's not- You're not- Link?"
The blonde-haired man adorned in the finest armor ever seen in the Kokiri Forest nodded his head, unable to speak.
"You're alive!" the fairy shrieked. She flew over to her old companion faster than an arrow leaving a bow. Link, expecting some fairy version of a hug, was shocked when she flew into his face in an outright attack. "How dare you just ditch me for thirty years! Do you know what you've put me through?!"
"Navi, I'm sorry-," he started, but the fairy interrupted.
"Thirty years Link. Thirty years. What have you been doing all this time? And why did you have to do it alone?"
"There'll be plenty of time to talk about that later. Right now, we don't have time. I need to know how long Ganondorf's been back."
"Oh no you don't. Don't come in here demanding information. There's plenty of time for you to explain yourself. So start explaining. What were you doing?"
"Training," he muttered.
"Training for what?"
"Combat. I wanted to be ready for Ganondorf for when he came back. I traveled far and wide looking for the greatest trainer alive today: Orca the eleventh. I'm sure you've heard of him. Each of his forefathers was a combat trainer and they were all named Orca. Their legacy has been around for centuries and will probably continue for centuries more. I knew that only someone with that much knowledge of combat could prepare me for the King of Evil. And I didn't tell you or anyone else about this because I knew you'd try to stop me. What I was doing had to be a secret. But I did find him far away from here and we prepared for twenty-three years. If I can't stop Ganondorf now, then no one can."
"I can't believe you did this Link. I thought you understood that it's hopeless for you to stop Ganondorf. It's up to the next bearer of the Triforce of Courage to do so."
"And where is he? Has he appeared yet? It certainly wouldn't seem so. All it takes is one look at what used to be Hyrule Castle to prove that."
"We don't know if he's come yet. The Twilight appeared six months ago. It consumed the castle, the city, and the Temple of Time in only a matter of hours. At that point, nobody had even attempted to claim the Master Sword. And there's no way to check if the next hero has come and taken it yet or not. We don't even know if Ganondorf is in there or not. Nobody has dared to enter the Twilight since it appeared. And the people that were caught within it haven't come out since."
"So for all we know, the next wielder of the Triforce of Courage might not even exist. If that's the case, then it really is up to me to stop Ganondorf and the Twilight before it spreads."
"You can't go in there Link. Mark my words. If you go in there and face Ganondorf, he will kill you."
"I love you and respect you Navi, but there's no way you're going to stop me. I'm a grown man now and I know my responsibilities. And I'm prepared to do this. I've been preparing to do this for all my life. I'll stop Ganondorf, since nobody else is going to do so."
The glowing fairy sighed and said, "Fine then. If I truly can't stop you, then I guess I'll come with you. I might be able to help you as I have in the past. It seems I don't have much of a choice."
"Let's go then. We don't have any time to waste." As he turned to leave, he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. He saw Saria still sitting on the carpet quietly. He had forgotten her during the excitement of his conversation with Navi.
"Were you going to leave without even saying goodbye?" she asked.
"Of course not. I'm sorry." He walked over to the sage and looked down at her.
"It's been good to see you again Link, all grown up and all. I thought you'd left us forever. And if this is our final goodbye, then I'm at least glad that we got a final goodbye, because we sure didn't thirty years ago."
"I'm sorry I left Saria, but I had to-."
"Don't apologize. You have the heart of a hero Link. And I understand why you did what you did and why you have to do what you're going to do. I wish you luck." The Hero of Time smiled, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. "I love you Link. I always have. You've always been my greatest friend."
"And you've always been mine Saria. I love you too." He bent down, parted her wavy green hair out of her eyes, and kissed her on the forehead. "Goodbye." He turned and left the home of his best friend without another word, Navi fluttering over his right shoulder.
On the way to the Twilight, Navi attempted to start a conversation with the clearly depressed but still persistent Hero of Time. "So will you try to reclaim the Master Sword, if it hasn't already be taken?"
"No. I wouldn't be able to pull it out anyway. The gods are apparently against me."
"Don't you think you should at least try?"
"No. It's pointless to even try. I have a plan anyway," he declared in the now incredibly deep voice he had that Navi didn't think she would ever be able to adjust to.
"What plan?"
"Just trust me Navi. I'd rather not talk about it right now. Just trust me." She remained silent by his side the rest of the trip. A half an hour later, they were standing in front of the fluorescent wall of Twilight that was slowly expanding in an effort to encompass all of Hyrule. "This is it. Let's just hope that Ganondorf is in there and it isn't just Nylania." Without any further hesitation, they passed into the Twilight Realm.
