Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour
By JoeMoron2000
Chapter 3: The Secret of the Pendant
Sleep.
That was the one thing that seemed the most pointless to Impa, sleep. The Sheikah were there to protect, to watch over Hyrule, not to rest while evil ran its course. And yet, special though they were, the Sheikah were also Hylian; they were mortal, and they were fragile. Sleep was an integral part of the cycle, the link that brought the end full-circle to the beginning.
Begrudgingly, she let her mind drift into an uneasy sleep.
If sleep itself was unnecessary, then surely dreams were doubly so. Every night for the past three years, it was the same thing, flashes of red and green, but nothing ever made sense. Her dreams rarely did, and today's were no different. Their level of sense remained firmly at zero, but their urgency seemed to increase with each passing night.
But when Impa awoke, she knew something was different; she knew something was off. The pendant was singing again.
Impa awoke abruptly to a strange music. It wasn't a melody of the legendary Ocarina; it was more of an ethereal tune, played by a distant, unfamiliar instrument. And yet she recognized it somehow. It was as if a whole orchestra was playing a long-forgotten sonata just for her, taunting her.
"Impa!" shouted a nearby deep voice, and the song was lost, scattered into the wind by the daily scrambling of the war. She strained her ears, hoping to catch the mysterious melody again, but the ruckus outside was too distracting.
"IMPA!" Once again, the voice called her, and she leapt out of bed. Today was an important day, and she knew it. Impa hastily threw on her Sheikah armament and only had a moment to register that her pendant was slightly warmer than anything else was.
"IMP— there you are, woman! Din's fire, what have you been doing?"
Impa kneeled before King Daphnes, King of the Hylian race.
"I give you my apologies, Your Majesty. It won't happen again."
"You're right it won't, Impa! I need you here! Here! Protecting us!"
"I understand, Your Majesty."
"Now, Impa", Daphnes said, in a much softer tone than before, "I have given you and your people a chance to prove your loyalty to the Royal Family. The height of our war is upon us, and on the other side lays a new, prosperous beginning for Hyrule – an age of peace. You cannot let the Gerudo block our path to victory. You cannot let our defences fall.
"You are being given a task of the utmost importance – the protection of the Royal Family and the birth of its heir. Now go!"
"I thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty, and I understand," Impa said, bowing her head and hurrying outside.
The storm of the previous night had passed to the southeast, and puddles riddled the roads.
"Good morning, sleepy-head," came a familiar voice, and Impa smiled. "You got enough rest?" Yrma chuckled, and the two girls hurried to the drawbridge which protected Hyrule City. Together, they would continue to protect their fellow soldiers, aiding their side in the war at whatever cost.
They passed by many of their friends, and the pair began to wonder. Would they find Riaku, the brave, but foolish hero? Would Gabrielle, the wife of the dying Knight Xaviel, and their infantile son ever reach safety? Would the mysterious Lanayru succeed in what was probably a suicidal attempt at stemming the flow of battle? They may never know the answers. Silently, they ran onwards.
As the two Sheikah cast their defensive enchantments, Impa heard it again; the mysterious music and she faltered – and so did Yrma. The sweet tune filled the air and all else faded away, save the pair. A distant memory of a long-forgotten land of prosperity filled their minds and gave them courage, gave them wisdom, and gave them power. Impa felt warmth growing on her chest, and touched the pendant, and instantly knew that it was the source of the music.
As abruptly as it began, the sound stopped short, and the notes were lost in their minds. The drawbridge across the moat had been lowered and the soldiers, weary from the battle, returned home. But there was one amongst them who did not enter.
A man covered in a dark cloak stood still, gazing within the city, directly at the castle. Impa crouched defensively, but Yrma stood still, staring back at him. Slowly, the man crossed the bridge and Impa stopped him.
"Halt. Identify yourself."
"So she has arrived," the man said, sight still fixed firmly on the castle. There was something odd about his voice, but Impa couldn't place it.
"What? Who has arrived? What are you talking about?"
The man looked at Impa and it frightened her. She took a step back, but the man merely said, "So she is born – the Lady of Destiny. And Hyrule will never be the same again."
Without another word, he turned around and vanished.
Even stranger still was that that was the day that the War ended.
Despite her years as Zelda's protector, and despite her unrestricted access to the Hylian Library, and despite all the stories she had been told, the pendant had always remained a mystery to Impa. The diaries of the Sheikah often mentioned the item as an heirloom, passed to the firstborn of the owner, but having no particular purpose on its own. Nobody knew its origins, either.
Neither were there records of the song. She had checked every book of melodies ever written, but none matched. Eventually, she wrote it off as her imagination.
But there it was, clear as ever, the symphonic sound that escaped her, that danced in her mind, daring to be captured. Impa let it soak in.
Minutes passed, and the song continued. Curiosity getting the better of her, and having dressed for the day, she reached out and touched it.
Impa was instantly filled with a sense of urgency unlike any she had ever before felt. There was danger, and it worried her. Something was inside the Sacred Realm. Someone was inside, and it was wrong, and she had to act. She pulled her hand away, causing the pendant to fall, and to crack sharply. The music stopped.
"Din's fire, I don't have time for this!" she said angrily. She picked it up, and noticed, sticking out of one of the cracks, was a leaf of parchment, yellowed with age. The crisis momentarily forgotten, she slowly slipped the page from the pendant, careful not to rip it. It was remarkable that it had survived as long as the pendant had, and even more so that it had gone unnoticed for as long. The unfolded image was a disappointment, however.
She was mistaken. It hadn't survived. Age had taken its toll on the sheaf, and the image that had once been discernable had all but faded away. Only a light silhouette remained of the image. Impa turned it over, and was startled to see, written in Ancient Hylian, a sentence that was remarkably still clear as day.
It said, "To Hyrule: Good Luck."
She put it down on her table and entered the portal taking her to the Sacred Chamber. Someone was in danger. Impa intended to find out whom.