Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour
By JoeMoron2000
Chapter Seven: The Fate of the Blessed
"Nabooru: stop dripping water in my room, please. Go change, and get Saria and Ruto. I think it's time we learnt something, and I think they should be here when we decide what to do next."
"But Impa–"
"I said 'go'."
Reluctantly, Nabooru left, but that only gave them a few minutes; half an hour, tops. Impa had noticed the disfigured sword that the stranger had dropped when he entered. If he could physically overpower a ninja-like fighting style in such a weak state, Impa didn't want to see what he could do full strength to her.
As she turned back to the man, it struck her how benevolent he seemed to be, but she didn't know why. Just because he had red eyes doesn't mean he's Sheikah! I think I would be able to tell if I were staring at a member of my own race! But she had to admit, having that shade and not being Sheikah was a rare combination. And she did feel something when she looked at him, but it was a different something; not the something of kinship, but of familiarity.
Behind her, she heard Darunia pick up the bent sword and easily straighten it again. Impa cleared her mind of wishful thoughts and turned her focus back to what needed to be done.
"Well then, mister, I think we should have a talk."
The stranger finished comforting Rauru, and slung the sword back over his shoulder. Slowly, he turned around and stood up, hands rubbing his arms where the vines had dug into his skin. "How long was I out?" he asked, and Impa was struck with the same sense of awe as Saria at his voice. Then he added, more to himself, "However long it was clearly wasn't long enough." The stranger wobbled unsteadily, and held himself up with the desk, almost knocking over Impa's amethyst crystal. "Argh, sorry about that, Madam Impa," he said, putting it back.
"Wait, how do you know my name?" asked Impa quickly.
"What, do you think someone who brea---agh!" he put a hand to his chest, and his knees gave out to his weight. Impa instinctively stepped forward, but the man held out a hand to stop her, and he caught his breath. He turned his head around to Rauru behind him, and said, "You know, you really shouldn't have touched it. But if I were you, I probably would have done the same thing, so I can't say I blame you. Kudos goes to you for curiosity, but you lose some for doing it anyway." Rauru's obvious look of confusion made the stranger sigh, and he strained to help the old man up and led him to the bed. "You need this more than I do," he said.
"Thanks," muttered the wizened Sage. "But who are you?"
"I'm a wanderer," he replied. "I have very little purpose now, except to help where I see fit. But I do what I can –"
"And you see it fit here? You see it fit now?" Darunia asked, and the man turned in surprise. Darunia was absent-mindedly twirling the sword in his hands, but was just as intent on understanding just what in Din's name the man was doing in the Sacred Realm as Impa and Rauru were.
The man furled his brow and said, "Tell me, when was the last time the Hero of Time visited your son, Link, the boy who was named after your self-proclaimed brother?" He turned to Impa. "When was the last time he paid tribute to your hometown, the strong and noble Kakariko Village?" Thirdly, he looked at Rauru. "And how long has it been since you last felt his strong spirit protecting the fair plains of Hyrule Field?"
Impa stepped forward threateningly. The man had done nothing but talk since he awoke abruptly, but almost none of it had made the slightest bit of sense. "You never answered my question. How do you know so much about us?"
"Being unknown by everyone has its benefits, and I feel they outweigh being known by everyone. I know all of this about you – and more, as well as having equally extensive knowledge about your three friends – Misses Saria, Ruto, and Nabooru – because I have time; lots of time. And nobody comes looking, because nobody knows who I am... not here… not anymore." As the stranger was talking, ignoring Impa's threatening posture, he walked over to the window, and put his ear to it, as if listening for something. He tapped his knuckles against it in several different places, after which he contentedly said "Hmm," and turned back to the Sages.
Impa watched carefully, ready to react in case he made a dangerous move, but he continued to appear completely harmless; instead, he gave a feeling much like a curious child. He looked at everything, never focusing on anything for too long, and always with the same bright-eyed look on his face. But as he looked at them again, she sensed that he was distressed about something.
"I've spent my time in recent years following our young friend, Link – the Hylian child, not your son – and observing him. One thing in particular that I noticed was his incredible luck, despite his being a brash child. He rarely strayed far from his home, and when I had errands, I trusted the Great Deku Tree to watch over him, which left me free to keep an eye on other things."
"Who, or should I ask 'what', are you, such that gives you the right to spy on us like that? You don't get to know this much just by stalking," Rauru whispered.
The stranger turned around and looked at him. "I've already told you, I'm a wan –"
"Yes, yes, you've said, you're a wanderer. But that's gotten old, and fast. You're trying our patience, young man! Give us a name!"
"You want a name? I suppose I can give you that, but afterwards, we must discuss more important matters." The man bowed his head to Rauru. "You may call me 'Hyre'."
"There we go, Newt. Are we feeling better?" Ruto asked, as Saria lay sprawled out on her bed. She filled a glass with water, and handed it to her friend. Saria smiled, took the glass, thanked her, and drank. In an instant, the glass was empty again, and Ruto refilled it.
"You know, you don't have to show off like that. We have plumbing… somehow," Saria pointed out, looking at a sink. Despite her comment, she still grinned as water seemed to appear from nowhere into the cup.
"Yeah, and you don't have to show off how thick-headed you are!" she said, tousling Saria's hair.
"Hey! What was that for?" Saria laughed, pushing her friend off her bed. Some water sloshed onto the grassy floor, but neither noticed, nor did they care.
"For being Miss Oblivious, that's what!" It was Ruto's turn to laugh, and she picked herself off the ground.
"What are you talking about?" asked Saria, and Ruto laughed harder, this time at her own joke.
"You've always got your head in the clouds, not really focusing on anything. What's up with that?"
Saria looked away. "I'm just… I'm just waiting for something."
"For what could you possibly be waiting? There's nothing that can… Well, not nothing, but…"
"Now who's Miss Oblivious, Ruto?" Saria quickly threw in, but her friend ignored it.
"Anyway, that guy; what was he like? Was he cute?" Ruto's eyes shone with excitement, and Saria gasped at her.
"Ruto!" she said, barely concealing a giggle.
"What?" Ruto replied, equally giddy. "It's not like we've had anything to gossip about in years, is it?"
"No, but –"
"So why not?" Ruto's grin was obvious at this point, and Saria pushed her back.
"Then if you're gonna go after him, then that means that Link's all mine!"
"I didn't say that!"
"Now you're just being greedy!"
"C'mon, just tell me what he's like! Did you speak to him? Is his voice soft? Tell me his voice is soft… Hmm…" Ruto trailed off, staring past Saria's head at nothing in particular.
"No, it's more… it's deeper, like the Great Deku Tree, but… different. There was something about him, though…I don't know if it was the way he talked or what he said, but there was something… different… about him." Like Ruto, Saria became lost in thought. He'd definitely had something exciting about him. But as alluring as he might have been physically, it was what he'd said that was most exciting to her.
Memories are precious things. They serve as reminders to one's history, one's loyalties…one's friendships. A single positive memory can make a person do wondrous things. Imagine what a lifetime of them can do.
She looked at her overgrown ceiling, thinking about the man's words.
The Hero of Time, with his heart full of love and kindness, set out to rescue this land. But the first thing he did, the first place he went, was home, to the Kokiri Forest, to visit you, because you, Miss Saria, are the most important person to Link.
"I'm waiting for you, Link," she whispered.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Nabooru burst into the room for the second time that morning. "Saria, Ruto!" she called. "Come on!"
"What? What is it?" mumbled Ruto, at the foot of Saria's bed. "Do we have to?"
"Get up, princess!" Nabooru shouted with disgust. She looked directly at Saria. "And be a bit more careful this time; we don't want him dead. He's awake, and in Impa's room!" With that, she turned around and stomped back onto the glittering pedestal and, with a whoosh, vanished.
There was a brief moment of silence as the two girls looked at each other, and – "I'll race you!"
Saria scrambled out of bed, jumping on Ruto's head in her scramble to get through the portal.
"Oh, no you don't!" shouted Ruto, and the two of them disappeared in the shining of the portal. Ahead, Nabooru could be seen disappearing in a purple glow.
"Okay, then, Hyre. It's nice to meet you. Now, will you kindly tell us how in Din's name you got here?"
Hyre sighed, and said "Well that was anticlimactic."
"W – What?" Impa asked, dumbfounded.
"That! Your method of questioning, you don't have any sense of build-up, any sense of drama!" The man was gesturing wildly, and Impa took a step backwards.
"What… excuse me?" she asked again, regaining her composure.
"Going right to the point?" Hyre said loudly. "That's not the right way to do it! You – you're supposed to ask where I'm from, why I'm here… I don't know, ask what superpowers I have or something, and then ask how I got here!"
Nabooru appeared next to Darunia, and froze. "Clearly, I have missed something," she said. Saria and Ruto materialized behind her, squabbling with each other.
"I was here first, Iketh!"
"Shut up, Newt, I'm ahead of you!"
"That's because you're bigger than I am!"
"I'm still here first!"
"Would you two shut it?"
"Sorry, Nab…"
"You," Impa shouted, and she pointed at Hyre. The man had wasted enough time.
"Me," Hyre responded, innocently, pointing at himself and looking around as though Impa had the wrong man.
"Damnit, Hyre! Why are you intentionally being so difficult? How… did… you… get… here?" she said.
At the mentioning of his name, Saria and Ruto turned to each other and mouthed it. 'Hyre'? What kind of name was that?
"I got here the same way that you did – through the door."
Impa resisted the urge to smack him. "And how did you manage that? That door's been locked tight by a powerful enchantment for three years," Impa snorted. She didn't like anyone trying to be clever when it wasn't called for, but that was all this man was doing. Multiple times in the past ten minutes, she'd considered conjuring up a pit into the abyss to swallow him, but she felt that they would simply return to their drab lives as the Sages, and nothing would really be done. But the longer he spoke, the more tempting it felt.
"I assume you haven't tried it yourself, then, Madam Impa. Is that right?" Hyre asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That is correct. I haven't personally tried to open it, but I've seen how futile the attempts of everyone else had been, and decided to spare myself the disappointment."
"Well, that was your mistake, then, wasn't it?" asked Hyre, once again paying attention to something other than Impa.
"Will you at least look at me when you talk?" Impa burst out. "It's very rude looking at something else, you know!"
"Why?" The intruder frowned. "I already know what you look like, why must I keep focusing on you? Unless there's something you want me to see, that is…" Despite having been weakened to the point of collapsing just minutes before, he seemed to be ready and willing to be stubborn.
"It's common courtesy, that's why. And what happened to your 'more important matters'? All you seem to be doing is goofing off!"
That caught his attention. In an instant, his entire demeanour changed to a more sombre appearance. "You have my apologies, Madam Impa. And I extend those apologies to all present, as well. It has been far too long since I have seen a… reality," Impa noticed he stressed the word rather strongly, "that has fascinated me so. But, as I have said, there are more important issues at hand than the glittering gemstones and other curiosities that now reside here."
"Such as…?" Impa inquired.
"The Hero of Time is missing."
"Say what?" shouted Saria. "What happened? Where is he?" Saria ran forward, but Ruto grabbed her collar and restrained her.
"Not so fast, Newt: don't attack him twice in one morning."
Saria wrenched her shirt free from her friend's grasp with a "humph," and looked back at Hyre. "What do you mean 'missing'?"
"That is why I am here," the man slowly responded. "I do not know where he is. I lost track of his whereabouts three years ago, and have not been able to find him since then."
"I can answer that for you," Darunia grunted. "Zelda and her magic sent him back."
"Yes, I knew that, however… Ugh, this would be a lot easier if I could just – Madam Impa, may I borrow that for a moment?" Hyre asked, pointing to Impa's amethyst crystal.
She raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What are you going to do with it?"
"Show and tell."
"What do you mean?" Impa's agitation grew.
"Visual accompaniment would help immensely right now."
"Hold on, how do you even know –" she started, but Hyre ignored her. Once again, the man acted with an enthusiasm that seemed wildly inappropriate, given the situation. "Well then, go right ahead!" she added sarcastically.
With much more motion than seemed at all necessary, Hyre returned to the nightstand, picked up the crystal, and plopped himself down on the floor. He closed his eyes, placing his hands on the orb. His breathing slowed down, and he seemed to be absorbed by whatever it was he was doing. The Sages watched, some with confusion, others with irritation, and the rest with awe.
"What's he doing?" Saria whispered to Ruto, who shrugged.
"Don't look at me," Ruto answered, shaking her head. "It looks like he's trying to use it, you know, like we do…"
The man twitched, and a light flickered somewhere. "This thing doesn't like me, does it?" he muttered to himself.
"Alright, mister," Impa said, stepping forward. "I've had enough of your shennani—WHAT THE --!"
Before her, the orb suddenly burst with a violet light, and shadowy, translucent objects began appearing around the room with them. She watched in fascination, her impatience with Hyre gone. For a few seconds, she was immersed in a scene of incredible beauty. Crystalline structures surrounded a great hall, at the end of which sat a handsome man in plain, but clean, clothes, eating what appeared to be a cucco sandwich. His face bore a familiar semblance, but nobody had enough time to get a closer look.
"No, that's not it," muttered Hyre, eyes still closed, and the figures flickered and morphed into something else.
"Who was that?" asked Nabooru, wide-eyed, but Hyre ignored her.
"There we go."
Saria and Ruto gasped, and Darunia dropped the sword. Impa stood up in surprise, and even Rauru managed a "By the Goddesses…"
"But… that's me!" Saria said.
Suddenly, the seven of them were surrounded by a dozen tall, straight trees. The violet 'ceiling' above them gave way to a cool, olive-green glow, and occasional bright lights flashed around them. Through the centre of the room, a rope bridge connected two large, decaying logs. In the middle indeed stood Saria, sad-faced and looking at one of the logs. Soon, a second figure appeared onto the bridge.
"Yeah, and that's Link," Ruto added, stating the obvious.
"What's going on?" Rauru asked, astonished.
Saria the Sage stepped forward, slowly at first, but realized that the floor was still in fact there; they were only watching an illusion. She walked up to the figure of herself, and reached out. Her hand passed through the image of herself with a flicker, and the Forest Sage retreated sadly. "Oh, Saria…" she whispered.
"This is the best I can do," Hyre said. "And it figures – Sanctuary of Shadow and all…" They watched as the figure of Link hurried away, and the voice of Saria spoke, younger-sounding, and more distant than now.
"Oh, so you're leaving…"
The projection of Link stopped, and turned around in surprise. Slowly, he walked towards Saria, who continued. "I knew… that someday you would leave the Forest… someday… because you're different from my friends and me…. But that's okay, because we'll be friends forever. Won't we be?"
Saria the Sage turned away. "I have to go, I can't watch this." The reminders were too painful, too powerful. And how was Hyre able to bring this memory, which had happened so long ago, to full view of everybody? She hugged Ruto tightly, but the scene continued, unaware of the pain it caused.
The younger Saria pulled something out of a pocket, and handed it to Link. "I want you to have this Ocarina. Please take good care of it." Link fumbled for words, but was unable to say anything. Tears began forming in his eyes as he looked at his long-time friend, and then at her cherished Fairy Ocarina.
"When you play my Ocarina, I hope you will think of me, and you'll come back to the Forest to visit me." Link, having not said a single word the entire time, turned around and ran, leaving Saria, and her fairy, alone.
"This was just over ten years ago," said Hyre, "just after the Great Deku Tree sent Link on a mission that would change our land." Around him, the figures changed, and now Link could be seen approaching Hyrule Castle. "Link's mission was simple: to take the Kokiri Emerald to the 'Princess of Destiny', or Princess Zelda, heir to the throne. There, he was given greater insight into the plan of Ganondorf, and was told of a way to stop him. He had to collect the remaining two Spiritual Stones."
As he spoke, the castle changed to Zelda herself, followed by the three Spiritual Stones. Ruto and Darunia instinctively motioned towards their respective jewels after such a long time, but realized that it was just a projection; it wasn't the actual gem.
"Time went on, and I followed Link on his missions. I didn't interfere with him directly, but I had a friend following him, giving him advice when he needed it –"
"Why not? Why didn't you do anything? You just let Ganondorf take over!" Darunia said, picking up the sword again, and attempting to wield it. His attempt was futile, however, as it was clearly much too small for his bulky hands, but he tried anyway. "Why did you let everything we loved get destroyed by that maniac?"
The images of Link, fighting against monsters, turned to Ganondorf as Hyre's thoughts shifted to the King of Thieves.
"I didn't have a choice. Don't get me wrong – I love this land just as much as you do. It's become my home just as much as it is yours, and I do not want to lose it. But by the time Ganondorf registered to me as a threat, it was too late." Hyre shrugged. "I'm certainly not perfect, and I don't pretend to be. I wouldn't have been a match for him, not without help. But I had faith that the Goddesses would help, that they would come to our rescue. I'll get to that shortly." Darunia begrudgingly accepted the answer for the moment, and put the sword down.
"As I was saying, I was following Link, helping him when he needed it. Slowly, he overcame the barriers that stood between him and this kingdom's salvation, and acquired the three Spiritual Stones. It was at this time that Ganondorf successfully overthrew King Daphnes of Hyrule Town, and our land plummeted into seven years of darkness…"
Nabooru interrupted. "Hey, wait a minute!" she said nervously. "I know I met him before he killed those demonic witches."
"You mean Twinrova? Yes, I'm getting to that, don't worry."
"Hmm," Nabooru said, returning to her corner, and Hyre resumed.
"Desperately, Link entered the Temple of Time and grasped the powerful Master Sword – and vanished. When I followed him into the chamber just minutes later, he was gone, but the Master Sword was still in its pedestal. Instead, there was an echo of an ancient melody in the room, and so, on a whim, I followed it. That melody was the Requiem of Spirit." At his words, the cloaked, shadowy figure of Hyre pulled out an instrument they had never before seen, and played a solemn tune, at perhaps a rather higher key than appropriate, but it was cut short, for it was Impa's turn to interrupt again.
"This is a fantastic story; really interesting. But you said that you had something important to tell us. From what I've seen, for the last fifteen minutes, you've done nothing but show us how good of a memory you have – you've yet to get to anything that needs urgent action."
"That's because I have been interrupted three times thus far, Madam." He twitched, trying to maintain control over both himself and the projections around them, but it was clear that it wasn't easy. The orb flickered slightly.
"You wouldn't be interrupted if you actually got to the point! And why do you keep calling me 'Madam'?" Impa, too, was losing her patience. They had never seen her get angry before, and Ruto backed away slightly. For the first time since he sat down, Hyre opened his yes and looked directly at one of them, and the light from the amethyst faded altogether.
"It is how I was raised to address those with whom I am not yet familiar. And I may not have gotten to any noticeable point yet, but I can assure you, that everything I am saying, and why I am saying it, will make sense, shortly. I tell you all of this because I want you to understand the incredible history that surrounds Link. You have each partaken in a separate chapter in his life. I am giving you the full story as I have witnessed it."
Hyre did not raise his voice, but his sternness was noted, and Impa backed off again, and resorted to tapping her foot in impatience, waiting for the story to end. He closed his eyes, and the inside of the Temple of Time returned around them.
"I played the Requiem, one of a dozen tunes with unique properties. Each of them is tied to a platform, and playing the tune will bring the one who plays it there. Well, that was how the plan was laid out – supposedly. Half of them don't even exist, or have never been found, but I digress.
"The Requiem of Spirit is bound to a platform in a location the Gerudos call the Desert Colossus, just outside of the Spirit Temple." He nodded in the general direction of where Nabooru was supposed to be lurking, and continued. "I was plagued with curiosity as to how he learnt it, but I would wait a long time to come up with an answer to that question.
"I did not follow him into the temple. This was his journey, and I was not going to interfere. I knew he was too young and too weak-bodied to overcome all of the challenges that were likely to await him, but the young boy surprised me. He overcame the first half of the Temple with ease, but the Twinrova – Kotake and Koume – found Nabooru, and imprisoned her, distracting Link from his mission.
"Link returned to the Temple of Time using another of the twelve melodies – the Prelude of Light. I followed him back, and watched him grab the hilt of the Master Sword, and vanish, once again. But this time, there was no echo of music. There was only the distinct absence of the boy who was touched by Fate. Hours passed, Link did not return. In the end, I surrendered myself to the possibility that he would not return. And so Ganondorf was left unchallenged, and he wrought destruction upon us.
"Again, I did not have a chance to stop Ganondorf, either before his rise to power, or after. Such an attempt would have been foolhardy on my part, as I was not capable of penetrating his Tower's barrier – believe me, I had tried. But do not think I sat idly by, waiting for some semblance of help to arrive. I did what I could, slowly whittling away his forces."
The shadowy figures in the room matched his words, telling the same story, but they also gave the full effect of his talk, depicting the horrors of the plains of Hyrule Field, and the nightmare that had befallen the Hyrule Market Town.
"But then, one day, three years ago, our prayers were answered." The Temple of Time, behind the shadowy figure that was clearly meant to be Hyre, shone with a bright white light, and, for a moment, a horrified look of recognition formed in Rauru's eyes. "Link returned. The Temple of Time, in all its magnificence, demonstrated an incredible power – it brought the gifted boy to full maturity. I did not need to see him arrive. I could feel it.
"One by one, I watched as the Hero of Time, empowered by time itself, overcome increasingly challenging tasks. Phantom Ganon, Volvagia, Morpha, Bongo-Bongo, and Twinrova – Ganondorf's strongest and most trusted allies – all fell to the youth's godly Courage." At the mentioning of each monster, a corresponding projection formed, and the Sage whom it terrorized felt a shiver traverse his or her spine. "Each of you, save Rauru, was witness to one sixth of the most unlikely overthrow of power in recorded history. And after he'd successfully awakened you as Sages, he completed his seven year mission – with you six as his aides, he entered Gannon's Tower and defeated the King of Thieves, destroying his tower in the process.
"Then he disappeared. There was not a trace of him anywhere. However, I was lucky enough to chance upon a very good-willed and, admittedly, drunk, former Hylian Knight named Xaviel."
Impa coughed impatiently, and Hyre opened his eyes to look at her again. She had not stopped tapping her foot for the past ten minutes, and Hyre took that as his cue.
"But Xaviel isn't important right now, I'll tell his story a bit later. Long story short, all trails that I followed finding him stopped dead about two and a half years ago. The reason I have shown these images to you, the reason I have taken the last half hour of your day, and why I have interrupted your lives so abruptly at all, is that I need you to understand what we face. The Hero of Time, the boy who overcame challenges posed by time itself is missing. We have to find him, for if we don't, I fear that what Rauru saw will come to pass." The images around them disappeared, and the features of the Sanctuary of Shadow returned.
"What did he see?" Saria asked.
Rauru looked at Hyre, and slowly turned to Saria, before answering, "The destruction of Hyrule."