Chapter 02: Mido and the Tower of spirits

Author's Note: Okay, so just to clarify, this Hyrule is a mixture of all of them, including elements such as Kokiri forest (Oot), Ordon village (Tp), the Tower of Spirits (Spirit Tracks), etc. It will also have some of my temples and regions, but for the most part, it won't. Also, I've been giving out short chapters, but I'll try to lengthen them. Now, without ado, let's go!

Mido and Link both drew their swords and bowed respectfully to one another before beginning to fight.

Ever since the two boys had entered the Dojo, they'd been rivals. It wasn't that Link had anything against the Kokiri, but he and Mido hated one another fiercely. They had both waited for this day. The winner would graduate from the Dojo, while the loser would have to keep training. Link was determined to win. Normally, he would win fights with little or no effort. Unfortunately for him, so did Mido. And they were just about evenly matched. But Link had something in this battle that his opponent did not: a crowd to cheer him on.

"Ready to lose, Princess' pet?" Mido asked, smirking.

"At least I don't have a fairy who screams at me 24/7," Link replied.

"It's a Kokiri tradition! We don't find their 'Hey! Listen!' obnoxious. They're just honoring the most annoying fairy of all, Navi," Mido shot back.

"Thanks for the history lesson that I didn't need," Link smiled coolly.

Mido slashed at him carefully. Link jumped aside, feeling the cool air rush across his bare upper body. He was, for once, glad that neither of them wore shirts in the Dojo. It was getting really warm in there.

He slashed carefully at Mido, but missed. Mido stabbed, but Link parried and feinted to the right. Mido of course put up his sword to stop him, but Link had a trick up his sleeve. He pulled his sword away at the last minute and aimed for Mido's exposed side. Link's admiring crowd cheered as Link drew first blood. Thankfully, he could already tell that the cut wouldn't be bad. But it would be painful for Mido. And it would make him mad.

Indeed, he slashed angrily at Link now. Link parried as best he could, but Mido managed to stab his right arm, thankfully the one that he didn't fight with. Link collapsed in pain, nicking his opponent's ankle with his sword. As soon as he rose, he stabbed quickly.

The battle got pretty fierce from there. Link and Mido were both very badly injured, but kept going at one another for hours. After about five hours had passed, Mido finally managed to slash Link across the cheek. Link gasped and heard Zelda scream as he almost fainted. However, just as he hit the floor, he slammed Mido over the head with the hilt of his sword. Mido crumpled, stunned, almost immediately. Link, miraculously, managed to stay conscious. He tapped his left hand, feeling power surge through him. As a matter of fact, he felt his urge to faint lessen slightly. The symbol of the triangle there surprised him, but it sure was useful.

"Winner: Link!" shouted master Swiftblade. Link smiled at his supporters and stood up, using all the stamina he had to stumble over to Renado. Thankfully, he had a poultice on hand to apply to the cut. Link pulled on his shirt, dabbed on the ointment, and sauntered out of the Dojo for the last time.

"Where are you going?" Zelda asked.

"Tower of Spirits," he replied. "I feel relaxed there."

At the Tower of Spirits, was greeted by his usual feeling of comfort.

"Hello, Link," Anjean, guardian of the tower, said with a smile. He had no clue how old she was, but he found her interesting. She was the queen of the Lokomo guardians, and besides Rael, she was the only one that didn't make Link feel… odd. The rest were rather wimpy.

"The usual, please," he requested. Anjean pulled a lever, and Link found a set of stairs leading downwards. He'd been leaving the exploration of this find for today. As he leapt down the stairs, he was stunned to find the room he was in.

It looked like an ordinary room, but it was filled with cobwebs. Link killed all of the spiders and continued the exploration. In the center of the room, he found a pile of wood, which he set on fire to bring more light into the room. When he found the sort of room he was in, he was shocked at the beauty.

On a central platform, five statues stood. Nearby, another platform revealed another figure. And on the walls, there were vivid paintings and mosaics, the likes of which had rarely been seen in Hyrule.

At the central platform, Link examined the first of the five statues. It was darkly colored, but otherwise could've been his brother. The figure had grey hair and glowing red eyes, but Link could see that he wasn't wicked. Something about his posture. Then, he turned carefully to face the second figure.

He looked just like Link, but with an oddly determined expression.

The third figure didn't have the same unsettling resemblance, though he looked similar. He was slightly shorter and slimmer, and his hair was longer, but just a little. He was smiling and appeared to be telling a joke or something.

The fourth figure looked extremely angry. At what, Link didn't know. He was the biggest of all of the statues, his bulk pure muscle. His hair was cropped shorter. It barely showed beneath his cap. Link found him to be a little menacing.

Finally, he turned to face the fifth and final figure on the platform. This one was one to fear. Link could sense that in a battle, he'd be most wary of this one. His expression was calm and thoughtful, but Link could sense something in his eyes. A sort of glint that let you know that this one wasn't one to be taken lightly. He was lean and muscular, as though he trained extremely hard. His hair was a similar length to the third one's, but a little longer. Link was fascinated by this figure. He had a sort of… handsomeness that was clearer than the others. Link could tell that this one would be a good ally.

He was the last of the figures that didn't scare Link. The other one on the other platform just terrified him. His expression and appearance were similar to that fifth one, but instead of having that glint of authority, his eyes held a gleam of madness. Instead of a mouth set in a neutral position, it was curled into a frightening smile. Link turned away from this one quickly and started to look at the paintings.

The first one depicted three triangles, close together, surrounded by six people that Link knew to be the sages of legend.

The man who looked slightly like a king was labeled 'Rauru, sage of knowledge.' Link was amused. He hadn't known that there had to be a sage of knowledge. He thought all of the sages possessed that quality.

The small girl who appeared to be a Kokiri was labeled 'Saria, sage of Forests.'

The goron that Link was sure was an elder was labeled 'Darunia, sage of Fire.'

The Zora girl that Link was sure should think more about clothes was labeled 'Ruto, sage of Water.' Link knew that this was his least favorite. Who would pick a sage who didn't wear anything?

The tall, formidable-looking Sheikah woman was labeled 'Impa, sage of Shadows.' Link didn't relish the thought of meeting her in the Shadows. He would probably emerge with a lump on his forehead.

Finally, the Gerudo woman who Link was sure was the prettiest Gerudo he'd ever seen was labeled 'Nabooru, sage of Spirits.'

But then, another picture caught his eye. This one was much more recent and showed six people surrounding a monster with a yellow body and purplish tentacles. He hadn't heard of them, the 'guardians'. Oh, he'd heard some of their names, but not in this context. He read their labels as well.

One of the men who's determined expression surprised Link upon reading the name was 'Linebeck, guardian of Oceans.' He'd heard of Linebeck, who was remembered for chickening out on the hero at random moments.

A girl who Link knew to be his sister had the name 'Aurora, guardian of Islands.' Why didn't she sound familiar?

Another boy, this one with a bow drawn, had the title 'Karola, guardian of warriors.' Link found this one funny. He was dressed in what appeared to be a long robe, and had very long hair. He should've been the guardian of magic.

A girl who Link knew to be Karola's sister was known as 'Heole, guardian of magic.' Now they were really messed up. She was dressed in combat armor and had shorter hair.

A girl with long brown hair who looked as though she were the leader of them was named 'Vasilia, guardian of chivalry.' Link was sure that besides Zelda, he'd never seen anyone so beautiful.

A boy who looked barely older than Link himself and looked like Vasilia's brother was named 'Selaya, guardian of light.' Like his sister, he had an extremely determined expression.

Finally, Link turned to the final painting depicting people and was sorely disappointed. Only one person was in it. He looked Minish in body type. However, unlike any Link had ever seen, this one had glowing red eyes and grayish skin. He was named 'Vaati, one of three guardians of darkness.' Link knew his story. He'd terrorized Hyrule for awhile, but had then joined the side of good, after reverting to his original, adorable form. However, his evil was still sealed within the 'four sword,' the sacred blade wielded by the four heroes.

He barely had time to puzzle over the other two empty places when he heard a voice whimpering "Help… me…"

He turned around to see an absolutely tiny individual, about the length of one of his arms. She was shivering, and her eyes were closed. Link raced over in concern, and picked up her limp body. When he could barely feel her heart and her shivering lessened for a moment, he feared she was dead. Then, her large, yellow eyes opened for a moment. They seemed to be begging Link.

And why wouldn't they be? She was obviously beginning to submit to hypothermia, and she was an unnatural pale color. Even her hair was that pale-ish color. Link examined her, finding no trace of injury, but he could feel her tiny hand was almost frozen off from being down in the basement for so long.

"Please…" she whimpered again.

"Who are you?" he asked, upon finding strange, glowing markings on her arms.

"Twilight… Princess… Midna…" was her faint reply.