Okay, I lied. I'm going to make Link talk sometimes. XD As much as I can play silent Link really well, I think it's necessary if I make him talk here and there. I'll especially make him talk to Midna most.
Oh, and like I said before, Ocarina of Time Link (Majora's Mask also) really is Twilight Princess Link's ancestor. It was confirmed on the Zelda version of Wikipedia, and it makes sense, no?
I'm still not sure about the Hero's Shade being the Hero of Time. But it's likely, right? I'll tell you why with what I found on the same site when they explained his character.
-His character name, Hero's Shade, is meaning that he was once a Hero and Shade basically means a ghost.
-His sword is a lot like the Gilded sword from Majora's Mask, only a different colour.
-Like Hero of Time Link, he's left-handed. (The Wii version of Twilight Princess was mirrored because the Wii Remoite is meant for the right hand)
-He said he once took on the role of the hero.
-When he's moving to attack, he moves like Link did when targeting an enemy.
-Four of the songs on the Howl Stones are from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask (Song of Healing, Prelude of Light, Requiem of Spirit and Zelda's Lullaby)
--
So now within the twilight-covered Faron Woods, we headed down the path to get to the spirit's spring.
As we got to the large clearing, the strange black pillars with the red markings came crashing down onto the ground, creating a barrier. I tensed, raising my haunches and growling.
The strange black void thing appeared above us, and three shadow beasts fell out of it and onto the ground. Okay, time to take care of these monsters and continue on.
The shadow monsters surrounded us, moving in as they were ready to attack us.
"Aww... We're penned again!" Midna complained from my back. "Pffffft! Who do they think they're dealing with? No need to take these little pests on one at a time, right? You can take them all at once!"
What did she mean take them all at once? How can I do that? Even a wolf to my understanding can't take on three of its prey at once!
"So... You can handle this by yourself, can't you? Good luck! 'Bye!" Midna floated off my back and went to wait for me nearby.
Midna! What are you doing?! I can't take them on by myself! Why are you leaving me here with them!?
I guess it was time to prove myself. I wasn't scared of these stupid monsters. I can take them on.
I leaped at the nearest one, sinking my teeth into its throat and lashing at it. Once that one was down, I went to the next one and did the same. Ha! I really can take them down myself, that's a relief.
But before I could get to the third one, it raised its head and let out a piercing, deafening screech. It was so loud and piercing that I was bent over on the ground, gritting my teeth.
To my horror, the other two monsters that I had previously taken down were getting up! The screech of the third one brought them back somehow! Now what was I going to do?! I'd have to be faster than a wolf in order to take them all down!
But I wasn't ready to give up.
I leaped at the monster nearest me and slashed at it with my teeth, knocking it down.
Just as I was going over to the other two, Midna suddenly plopped onto my back.
"What's the holdup?" She asked, sounding annoyed. "If you leave the last one alive, it's just going to use that shriek to bring the others back. Listen, let me help you out here! Just move like I tell you! You just hold down and I'll expand an energy field, so enclose all the enemies within it and release!"
I wasn't quite sure how that worked, but I decided to give it a try, since it seemed to be our only option.
We moved toward the other two monsters, and Midna raised her hair in the form of a hand high above us, and this black circular energy surrounded us. When I came to the two monsters, they were encased within it. Once I leaped toward them, I went at such a fast speed and managed to destroy them both practically at the same time.
They fell to the ground, and then dissolved into black squares, which dissolved up into the weird void up above us.
Once the barrier disappeared, we headed off to the spirit's spring. Above the water was a faint, golden mist. I stared at it for a second, and then approached it to see what it was. As I did, I heard a voice speak to us. It must've been the spirit, even with it's light stolen.
"...Please...be careful... These woods...have changed... The dark clouds of dusk cover this land... This drape of shadows is called...twilight." It had to pause often to gather enough strength to speak. "In this twilight, those who live in the light...become as mere spirits... It is a place...where the dark ones and evil creatures dwell... I...am a spirit...of light... Blue-eyed beast. Look...for my light... Retrieve the light stolen by the dark beasts...and keep it...in this vessel."
Something floated over to us, and I looked up to see what it was. It looked like a string of hollow grapes. Okay, so we had to gather the spirit's light with this, but how do we find it? How do we gather it? Where could we find it?
"In the shadows of twilight...the dark insects are as...invisible...as normal beings are here..." The fallen light spirit continued. "Let me use the last of my power...to reveal the locations of the dark insects...that consumed the light... Find...the insects of darkness... The dark insects... They are the form taken by evil...once it has latched on to...our scattered light..."
Okay, so now we had to go on a bug hunt. With the help of the light spirit's remaining power, we were able to sense where they were.
There were two bugs near us, over in the tunnel leading out further into Faron Woods. I had to use my senses in order to see them. With the help of Midna's dark energy, we managed to slash them both at once. The bugs exploded into nothing, and then formed into blue orbs of light, with dripping falling from them, almost like tears. When we touched one of them, the light washed over us and then nestled into one of the vessels. Then we collected the other one and continued on.
Another one had made its way under the gate to Faron Woods, but there were a few more at Coro's house. Two were inside, and there was one outside on the wall of the house.
We went around to the side of the house, and with Midna's dark energy field, we got it down and killed it, collecting the light.
Getting inside was tricky. We couldn't use the door, even if we didn't have to worry about Coro seeing us. He was probably inside.
Going around the house to look for an opening, we saw an open window.
"Hm... Looks like we can get in there!" Midna said.
She floated to the window sill, waiting for me. I leaped after her and we went inside as she returned to my back.
Inside the house, it was empty, even if it was a mess. Coro was cowering in the corner, shaking.
"Wh-What's with these bugs? Those things aren't normal! They're so big... So weird... Creepy... C'mon, get away bugs... Shoo... Get out of here..." He said, trembling.
At this, two bugs crawled out from behind us. We leaped into action and took care of them, gathering the tears of light.
Coro saw the bugs suddenly die, although he couldn't see that it was us who killed them.
"Wh-WHAAAT? They just...died? Oh, boy, I have NO idea what's going on around here..."
Poor thing, he was really scared. Don't worry though, we're going to clear the twilight of this area soon enough. Everything will be fine. Zelda was right, people really did know nothing but fear within this curtain of twilight. We definitely had to get rid of all of it.
Since we were done in here, we climbed up the shelving and made out way out through the window where we came in.
We went to the gate leading into Faron Woods, and couldn't find a way to get through. The gate was locked, and even if we did have a key, I wouldn't be able to unlock the padlock.
Midna then pointed out to a small hole in the fence that I could dig under. So I dug through it and emerged on the other side. There were two bugs here now, so we took care of them and gathered the light.
We went through the cave, and with the help of my senses, I managed to get us through and there were no bugs in here.
Once we came out from the cave, I saw a foul-looking purple hazy mist along the trees. Something told me that going in there with it was a bad idea. But we had to get across because there were bugs further out, and even with the haze on a tree.
Two bugs were near us on the wall of the cliffside. So we went over and got them down with Midna's energy field, killing them. Once we gathered the light orbs, I went over to the edge near where the haze began, wondering what we could do to get across.
I perched on a small ledge, looking around to see if there was maybe some kind of stepping stone method we could use, when Midna looked over to a branch poking out from above the haze.
"Hey... Think we can cross over there?"
Midna floated over to it, gesturing to a small ledge that the branch had. I leaped over to it, then to a small ledge next to a tree, and then back onto the ground across from where we started.
We made our way up a small hill, coming to two pillars standing up tall from the haze, leading to a large walk-through on the tree ahead of us. Midna helped me leap onto them and over to the tree where we continued on hunting for the bugs. A couple of keese were flying around, but we ignored them and went past them.
Three bugs were around on the ground of the tree, so we took care of them and collected the light.
We continued going along the tree, sensing more bugs up ahead. It took a while, with Midna helping me leap across a few gaps, and then up between two trees, over some branches while all the while trying to avoid the twilit deku babas trying to snap at us, then over another gap with a strange, swinging object that would likely knock us down if we were hit by it, then over a few more rocky plateaus, and finally back safely on the ground.
There were two bugs near us. With my senses, I could see that they were burrowed under the ground. So I followed after them and dug at the ground to get them out, and we took care of them, collecting the light orbs.
We went through the gate and came up to North Faron Woods, where we were ambushed by three shadow beasts. We took care of them and a new void-thing opened up above us.
Near us, propped against the cliffside, was a bridge. What was it doing here? There weren't any rivers or gaps that needed to be bridged, aside from the one leading from Faron Woods to Ordon. Oh well, I guess maybe we'll find out sometime later. It didnt matter.
A couple more bugs were up ahead, at the entrance of the strange, large tree trunk where I had rescued Talo and the monkey from earlier on. We ran up the pathway leading to it, and saw the spirit of the same monkey from before, cowering in fear on one of the plateaus.
We killed the bugs, just as the monkey noticed that they had died somehow, even if she couldn't see us.
"Someone... Someone helped me?" She looked around to make sure the bugs weren't anywhere to be seen, and sighed in relief. "Boy, lucky for me... Ever since the boss went funny in the head, there've been scary monsters everywhere... Those village kids got led through the woods for some reason... The whole forest is so weird now... What's happened?"
I wasn't sure what she meant by the boss, but somehow I could see that there was something beyond the spider web blocking the entrance. Poor monkey, even the animals of the forest were scared because of this twilight curtain and the monsters.
We collected the last two orbs of light, which filled the vessel. Once it was full, we suddenly found ourselves back at the spirit's spring.
The vessel of light floated out toward the spring, and then disappeared into the water. The twilight cleared away, and the light was brought back to Faron Woods.
Midna floated over to the water, in her shadowy form.
"Aww, but it was so nice here in the twilight...What's so great about a world of light, anyway? Ee hee hee! See you later!" She then disappeared.
Jeez, Midna. I can understand you're not used to the world of light, but that doesn't mean it's not so great. I do agree that the twilight looks beautiful, but it just didn't belong here in our world.
Well, at least we managed to save Faron from the twilight. It would surely slow down the king of the twilight. But I still didn't know where the kids were. Maybe the spirit would tell me where they were.
And what did Midna mean earlier, when she said I had to gather things for her? And if what Zelda said was true, about how people became spirits once they passed through the curtain of twilight, why did I become a wolf and not a spirit like the rest of them?
The water then lit up, as did the rocks surrounding it. The orb of light arose from the spring, rising up above the water. The light spirit appeared, taking the form of a monkey. Its hands held the light orb while it's extra long tail curled up and over its head.
It looked over at me, speaking with its golden voice.
"My name is Faron. I am one of the spirits of light who dwell in Hyrule. By the order of the gods, I protect this forest. O brave youth... In the land covered in twilight, where people roam as spirits, you were transformed into a blue-eyed beast... That was a sign... It was a sign that the powers of the chosen one rest within you...and they are awakening. Look at your awakened form..."
I was puzzled at this, but then suddenly took note of what I was wearing. Surprised, I looked down at my hand, which I saw was now wearing a gauntlet. I had a green tunic, brown boots, a white undershirt, white tights, chain mail underneath, and on my head was a funny shaped floppy green hat in the shape of a cone. I had a belt on around my waist and over my shoulder, which were supporting the Ordon sword and Ordon shield that I had on my back. I gasped, inspecting my new clothes and looking at my hands. What did this mean? How did I change clothes in the form of a wolf? Weren't these the clothes that the Hero of Time once wore?
"The green tunic that is your garb once belonged to the ancient hero chosen by the gods..." The spirit explained as I was looking at my new garb. "His power is now yours. His is the true power that slept within you. Your name is Link. You are the hero chosen by the gods."
Needless to say, I was absolutely shocked. Was I really the hero chosen by the gods?
Rusl was right. The Hero of Time was my ancient ancestor, and his power was passed on to me, which explained the mark of the Triforce on the back of my left hand. The Hero of Time bore the same mark on his left hand, as the legends spoke. It all made sense now.
I couldn't believe it. But it was true.
"Brave Link..." The spirit went on, snapping me from my reverie. "A dark power rests in the temple deep within these woods. It is a forbidden power. Long, long ago, I and the other spirits of light locked it away. Because of its nature, it is a power that should never be touched by any who dwell in the light. But this world weeps beneath a mantle of shadows, and so there is no choice... You must match the power of the king of shadows. If you would seek this forbidden power, then proceed to the temple in the forest depths."
The light spirit faded, and its bright light shone in sparkles and then was gone.
So there was a dark, forbidden power within a temple in the forest, where no light being could touch it, and yet I had to go and get it, in order to help match up to the power of the king of twilight?
...Is that what Midna meant when she said I had to gather some things for her?
I looked down at my left hand, my sword hand and the hand that bore the mark of the Triforce, the power of the Goddesses, it seemed. I knew what I had to do.
My ancestor once braved the dangers he faced in saving Hyrule, and now it was my turn, as his descendant, the now chosen hero, to do the same.
I came out of the spring and started to head toward the tunnel leading to Faron Woods, when Midna popped out of my shadow and hovered before me.
"Well, well... You're chosen hero and all that, huh? So THAT'S why you turned into that beast! What a shame... I mean, maybe you'd rather just wander as a spirit like the rest of them, totally unaware of what was happening all eternity...right?"
Yes, a part of me did want to be free from the responsibility as the hero, but now I realize that it's just not an option. I wouldn't be able to just sit there while Hyrule and the rest of the world succumbed to the twilight.
"Ee hee hee! So... What do you want to do? Do you want to head to that temple? Well, isn't that convenient! I was about to head there myself. Hey, look...You want to help your friends, right? The way I see it... Maybe they're in that temple, waiting for you to rescue them... Well, good luck Mr. Important Hero! Ee hee hee! See you later!"
As helpful as Midna was, she was really getting on my nerves. I still wasn't sure if I could trust her or not. For all I knew, she could be in league with the king of twilight, playing the role of a double agent.
Then again, I had no other option. I just had to go with my instinct. I had to go to that temple in the forest. Maybe my friends were brought in there and were waiting to be rescued. But what if they weren't? What then? I still had no leads, and I was getting more and more worried about them by the second.
I remembered that the gate leading to North Faron Woods was locked, and I wasn't sure where to get a key.
I noticed Coro sitting in his usual spot in front of his house. Hmm, maybe he could help me out.
Going over to him, he looked at me with surprise.
"Hunh?!" Coro studied me for a minute, not recognizing me. Then he lit up with recognition. "So...It's the Ordonian! You seemed familiar, but then your clothes seemed kinda different, so I got thrown off for a second! Listen... Things have been a little rough around here lately, so you should watch your step, OK, guy? There are so many monsters now...I got kinda scared and closed off the path to the temple."
If he meant the same temple that the light spirit Faron was talking about, I had to get there. As a wolf, I was able to dig under the gate. But I couldn't do that now.
"I need the key to the gate." I said. "I have to go back there."
"But... You, guy... You wanna get back there, huh? You sure look geared up for it... So here you go!"
Coro reached into his pocket and handed me the key to get to the gate leading to the temple.
"Oh yeah... The woods on the other side of this cave are covered in really thick fog, so make sure your lantern is full!"
I thanked him for the key and then refilled my lantern, and then sent us on our way.
We came to the gate and I unlocked it with the key, allowing us to get through. With the lantern in hand, we were able to properly navigate through the cave. A few keese and deku babas attacked us, but I slashed at them with my new sword, and a few pellets from my slingshot.
We came outside to the other side of the cave. The purple haze was still covering the area, and since I was a human it was going to be impossible getting across.
Great, so now what?
As I walked around, holding my lantern so I could see, I heard squeaking and my lantern was snatched from me!
The monkey from before hoped away from me, holding the lantern on the end of a branch. She went to the end of the dock, then waved the lantern around above her head. As she did this, some of the haze surrounding her cleared away!
She turned back to us, beckoning us. She wanted us to follow her!
Before I had time to react, Midna popped out of my shadow.
"Hey, what's this monkey's problem? You idiot! While you were staring off into dreamland, your lantern got stolen!"
I glanced at the monkey. She was still beckoning for us to follow her.
"I think she's trying to help us." I said to Midna. "She wants us to follow her, and she seems to know how to get us across safely. I think it's our only option."
"But..." Midna began, and then sighed. "Oh, whatever. But don't come crying to me if that monkey makes off with your lantern!" She disappeared back into my shadow.
I rolled my eyes and followed after the monkey. Sure enough, she led us through the weird fog, waving the lantern around so that we could walk safely ahead. We ran into a few keese and those deku babas which she left me to take care of.
Before long, we made it safely across and the monkey went on ahead, dropping the lantern onto the ground. It was out of oil, but at least we made it across safely.
We came to North Faron Woods, where a couple of those purple monsters I'd seen while going to rescue Talo were waiting for us. I took care of them with my sword and continued on.
That bridge was still there, and although I continued to wonder what it was for, I just went along.
I went to Trill's little stand to refill my lantern so that I could save the oil I had in my bottle for later. I paid the money and then continued on.
We came to the pathway, but then I stopped.
There was a golden-white wolf sitting there, blocking our path. It had one red eye. As I approached, it raised its haunches and growled at me. I drew my sword, ready to fight it.
The wolf suddenly leaped at me, and before anything happened, I blacked out.
--
I finally awoke, and stood from the ground.
As I opened my eyes, I suddenly realized that I wasn't in the forest anymore. It looked like some kind of a frozen wasteland. I walked a few steps, looking around.
Behind me, I heard panting. I tensed, and then the panting stopped. I turned around, and there was a skeleton monster standing a few yards away from me. They were known as stalfos, who were the ghostly spirits of people after they died.
The stalfos was dressed in armor with a helmet, and had a sword and a shield. Like me, it was left-handed.
It raised its sword, and held out its shield before it, taking a few steps but not moving toward me. It wanted to fight, to challenge me. So I approached it and swung my sword at it. It blocked with its shield and hit me with its own sword, sending me flying and landing on my back.
"A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage." The stalfos said.
I stood up from the ground and relaxed, since now I could see that it wasn't a bad guy. If it had been, I think I would've been dead a long time ago.
"You may be destined to become the hero of legend..." The stalfos continued. "but your current power would disgrace the proud green of the hero's tunic you wear."
I stared hard at the stalfos spirit. "Then tell me what I should do." I challenged.
"You must use your courage to seek power...and find it you must. Only then will you become the hero for whom this world despairs." The stalfos explained. "If you do find true courage, and you wish to save Hyrule from the horrors it now faces... Then you will be worthy to receive the secrets I hold!"
Well, it seemed that this stalfos was going to help me out in my quest. I could use some help anyway. I wonder what secrets he has.
"Let us begin your training. I will teach you the first hidden skill: the ending blow." Said the stalfos.
We stood a few yards apart, and he began explaining his first secret.
"Enemies that are filled with energy will quickly recover and attack again even when stunned by a powerful strike. The ending blow is a secret technique you can use on stunned enemies to end their breath before they spring back into action. When an enemy lies collapsed on the ground, stunned, leap high into the air and deliver a final strike. Now, try it on me!"
We held out our swords and touched the blades together, it was apparently a custom I learned from Rusl when two swordsmen were training.
Ready to strike, I moved in and attacked the stalfos with my sword. He fell back and landed on the ground, stunned. I could see that he wasn't damaged, since he was a ghost. I then leaped into the air and brought my sword down through his bony torso. I leaped backward and landed a few feet away. The stalfos then rose to his feet, unscathed.
"Hmm." He said thoughtfully. "That was a pinpoint strike. Never overlook your opportunity to finish! The first hidden skill, the ending blow, has been passed on!"
I nodded, and then performed the ending blow as confirmation. I flipped back and stood up, twirling my sword in my hand and sheathing it into its scabbard. It was a trick I learned from Rusl when he trained me before.
"There are still six hidden skills for you to learn." Said the stalfos. "Those are only for one who carries the blood of the hero...the one whose spirit is that of the sublime beast. Grow powerful. Test your courage. And when you find that you need another skill to overcome the threats that face you... Search for the statues that howl to the sound of the wind. Seek the sound that calls to the spirit of the beast to awaken me again."
I nodded.
"A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage." He repeated from what he said to me earlier the first time he spoke. "Remember these words... Farewell!"
The world around us then faded away, and I found myself back in Faron Woods, near the path that led up to the forest temple.
Midna popped out of my shadow as I stood up from the ground.
"What happened?" She asked. "That wolf just jumped at you and disappeared, then you were lying there for a few seconds! What was up with that wolf?"
"It was a ghost." I explained. "A stalfos who seems to know the ways of the sword. He taught me a hidden skill that's apparently meant for the chosen hero, the ending blow."
"Really. Well, let's see it."
I nodded and drew my sword, demonstrating the ending blow that I had learned only moments before. If an enemy had been beneath me, it would've been dead.
"Ee hee hee! Well, so you're learning something useful with that sword!" Midna laughed. "Come on, hurry it up! We have to get into the temple!"
I rolled my eyes and nodded, sheathing my sword as Midna disappeared back into my shadow.
It was time to go into the temple and retrieve the dark power that Faron spoke of.
