A/N: So here is the second chapter. It's a lot of back story and explaining, but I hope everything sounds okay.

Chapter 2: The Summon of the Sages

He stood next to Princess Zelda in the mirror chamber above the Arbiter's Grounds in the desert. It was only a few days after the three of them had defeated the Dark Lord, and Midna, the Twilight Princess, was about to leave for her home world via the Twilight Mirror.

"Light and Shadow are two faces on the same coin," Princess Zelda told Midna. "One cannot exist without the other."

Link watched as Midna walked to the edge of the dais that held the Mirror. She turned around and a single tear ran down her cheek. She looked at Link.

"As long as the Mirror exists, we may still be able to see each other," she said.

Midna took the tear and pushed it towards the Mirror. Link watched as the tear passed through it and tiny cracks began to form, spreading outwards. Midna walked up the translucent steps that had formed due to the activation of the Mirror causing a beam of while light to project itself from the Mirror on to a giant slab of rock in the distance.

Midna turned back towards Link and Zelda. She looked on last time at Link. "Good-bye," she said, and then slowly dissolved into black squares of twilight, which floated through the portal and into the Realm of Twilight.

As soon as she was gone, and before Link could take a breath, the Mirror of Twilight shattered. A thousand tiny glass pieces fell to the ground around the mirror's frame…

…"One cannot exist without the other…"

When Link awoke, he was laying on his back. He felt as though his whole body had been run over by a Goron rolling down from Death Mountain. His bodily pain however, was nothing compared to the ache in his heart. With the memory of that moment with Midna and Zelda at the Mirror of Twilight still fresh in his mind, he felt as though his heart was in the same shape of the Mirror: laying on the ground in a thousand tiny pieces.

Reluctantly, Link opened his eyes and he sat up. The room he was in, if it could even be called a room, was filled with a swirling white fog which obscured most of his vision. He looked down and saw that he was still wearing his Hero's Clothes and his sword and shield were lying next to him on the white floor. He shook his head as if he were trying to shake water out of his hair, trying to remember what had happened. He remembered placing the woman in the spring, which caused the water to turn purple. He remembered the woman speak to the heavens, something about being the great great grand-daughter of Veran.

"Veran," Link thought. "I feel like I've heard this name before. It sounds familiar to me, yet…it doesn't. As if the memories are from long ago."

"I believe we may be able to help you understand, Hero," a voice said, coming from what seemed like, to Link, the very fog itself.

Link stood up, picking up his shield and sword and placing them on his back, and looked around for the source of the voice. "Who are you?" he asked, turning in a circle.

"We are the sages of old," said another voice.

Out of the fog came six translucent and pale figures both male and female. All of them wore robes of pure white, and had bands of silver running around their heads, each with a different colored gem placed in the center. Above their heads three halo-like rings floated, symbolizing their position as guardians. The one with the golden gem spoke first.

"I am Rauru, Sage of Light," he said. "I know you have many questions, many of which we can answer for you, but you must be patient, for there is much we must tell you."

The next in line, a green gem in her band, bowed towards Link, and then spoke. "Hero, I am Saria, Sage of the Forest. You are standing in the Temple of Light, within the Sacred Realm. It is here, just after the beginning of time, that the three Great Goddesses, Din, Nayru and Farore, left the land of Hyrule. It has been a long time since you have been summoned to this sacred place."

Link looked at Sage Saria, confused. "I've never been here before."

She smiled kindly and answered, "One of your past lives, the one referred to as the Hero of Time in your legends, was sealed away here for seven years…"

She stopped speaking, and the next in line, stepped forward. Link was surprised to see that this sage was a Goron. "Hero, I am Darunia, Sage of Fire. A thousand years ago, the land of Hyrule was much different than the land you know today. A thousand years ago a Gerudo King, named Ganondorf…"

Link opened his mouth to question what the Sage was telling him. How is it that Ganondorf lived a thousand years ago? Was it the same person that we defeated two years ago? Sage Darunia paused to let Link ask a question, but continued when he did not.

"…came to Hyrule and had plans to attempt to break into the Temple of Time and take the sacred relic, the Triforce for himself. He tricked a young boy named Link into collecting stones from the different races of Hyrule in order to open the Door of Time in order to gain access to the Sacred Realm and secure the Triforce for himself. What Ganondorf did not know was that by doing this, allowing the young boy to pull the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time, he would cause the Triforce to split into its three parts: Power, Wisdom, and Courage."

Sage Darunia stepped back and allowed a tall Zora woman, to step forward and bow. "I am Ruto, Sage of Water. Ganondorf's greed and lust for power allowed him to gain the Triforce of Power while the other two pieces went to Princess Zelda and to you Link." Link lifted his hand and saw the faint yellow triangle symbol appear. "However, Ganondorf was allowed to reign over Hyrule for seven long years while your body stayed in Sacred Realm until you were ready to wield the Blade of Evil's Bane and face the Dark Lord."

The woman on her left stepped forward. Her white hair was a mirror opposite to the dark purple stone that adorned her silver band. "I am Impa, Sage of Shadow. Before awakening as a Sage, thanks to you, I was caretaker of Princess Zelda…Once you woke up and accepted the task before you as the Hero of Time, you set out to the five temples to rid them of the evil which Ganondorf had placed inside so that the sages were unable to hear the call of the Hero. Once you had the power of the Sages behind you, you set off to Ganondorf's black castle and faced him, one on one.

You prevailed and struck down the Dark Lord. Afterwards, Princess Zelda chose to send you back seven years, allowing you to mature as nature had intended. Once again though, you set out from your home and met Princess Zelda, and you warned her of Ganondorf's plans and the danger he posed to Hyrule."

She stepped back into line with the previous four sages. The final sage, a woman of a race Link did not recognize, stepped forward. "I am Nabooru, Sage of Spirit. I sense that you do not recognize what I am, Hero. Am I correct?"

Link nodded and said, "That is correct, I know of the Kokiri, Zora and the Goron, but you of you, I do not."

Sage Nabooru closed her eyes for a brief moment, a look of pain, of loss, crossed her face. "I am a Gerudo. We had made our home in the desert near what is now known in this age as the Arbiter's Grounds; however, my race chose to leave the land of Hyrule after Ganondorf made his plans known to us." She paused for a moment and then continued the previous story.

After warning Zelda and the rest of Hyrule of the danger of Ganondorf, he was arrested and held through magical means that even he could not resist. He was put on trial and eventually sentenced to death."

Sage Nabooru stepped back in line. Sage Rauru spoke once again. "The story after his sentencing you already know, having had it told to you when you first visited the Arbiter's Grounds and the Mirror Chamber."

"Why are you telling me of this, of my past life?" Link asked. "Does it have to do with that woman, Mael? The name she mentioned…Veran…it sounds familiar, but I don't know why."

"Shortly after Ganondorf was banished into the Realm of Twilight, you were summoned back to the Temple of Time," Sage Impa said, "because two other worlds were in danger of falling to old minions of Ganon, Ganondorf's most powerful form. Through the power of the Triforce, you traveled to the land of Holodrum and saved the Oracle of Seasons by defeating the General of Darkness, Onox. Shortly afterwards, you were transported to Labrynna. It was there that you travelled back and forth through time to defeat the Sorceress of Shadows, Veran, and saved the Oracle of Ages.

Unbeknownst to the Sages at the time, the evil witch twins Kotake and Koume, known also as Twinrova, had devised a plan to try and bring Ganon back to the world of Light by lighting three torches, known as the Flames of Destruction, Sorrow and Despair. By defeating Onox and Veran, the Flame of Destruction and the Flame of Sorrow were lit."

"Through treachery Twinrova managed to capture Princess Zelda and light the Flame of Despair," Sage Rauru said, taking over for Impa. "Ganon was unable to be fully resurrected and you were able to easily defeat him, sending him back to the Realm of Twilight.

Sage Rauru continued on and told Link about how no one had known Veran had given birth to a child, much less had any more descendants. He told him of how Veran had acquired her dark powers by standing at the top of the Black Tower in Labrynna and by some divine prank, her wishes were granted. She became the Sorceress of Shadows, which allowed her to posses the Oracle of Ages. "If it hadn't been for your interference, Veran would have gained enough power to pass from Labrynna and into the land of Hyrule. For you see, the lands of Hyrule, Holodrum and Labrynna don't exist in the same realm. They are separate worlds, much like the Realm of Twilight is to the land of Hyrule and the only way to travel between these worlds is at specific locations in each."

Sage Impa began to talk again. "As a descendant of Veran, Mael gained her power from ascending to the top of the Black Tower and speaking Veran's name to the heavens. Afterwards, she cloaked the land of Labrynna in Shadow and, not being content in holding control over one world, came to Hyrule. As you know, she tricked you into taking her to the Ordon Spring, by tricking your mind in thinking she was an injured, helpless woman. Over the last three weeks, Mael has covered most of southern Hyrule in Shadow."

"Is that how long I've been unconscious?" Link asked.

"That is correct," Sage Impa stated. "Your body materialized here shortly after Mael's attack on you and Fado in order to make sure that you survived."

"What about Fado," Link asked. "And everyone else in Ordon Village?"

Sage Rauru stepped forward. "They are lost to the Shadow for now. The only way to restore them is to push Mael's Shadows back and return Light to the world. But the only way to make sure that she won't return is to follow her and find the source of her Shadow power. Only then will everyone be safe.

Now that you have awakened, you must return to Hyrule. In the chaos of Mael's attack and appearance of the Shadow, the races of Hyrule have grown untrustworthy of each other and civil war is possible."

The sages started to dissolve into the white fog. "Princess Zelda is waiting for you in Hyrule Castle. An old friend is waiting for you there." Sage Rauru said as the six of them vanished.

The white fog began to swirl around Link. "Look out for the man with the dragon tattoo. He will be your greatest ally in the coming war," Sage Impa's voice rang throughout Link's mind.

As her voice faded, the white fog dissipated and Link found himself standing outside the South Gate of Castle Town. Many things were passing through his mind as he digested everything the Sages had told him. He wondered how many other past lives he had, and if they had also fought a past life of Ganondorf.

As he thought of these things, he slowly made his way into town and towards Hyrule Castle in the distance.

A/N(2): I know there is a lot of debate on the timeline of the Legend of Zelda series, especially when it comes to the split timeline and the placement of games, specifically the gameboy games. For the sake of my story here, the order of games goes: Ocarina of Time - Oracle of Seasons - Oracle of Ages - Twilight Princess, with the Oracle games taking place a few months after Ocarina. I altered the storyline at the end of the two games so that it made sense with Ganondorf being send to the Twilight Realm.

NOTE: Mael is pronounced May-el.