II

The Anomaly

"Break off into groups of two and search for survivors!" ordered the leader of the squadron. Blue robes lashing about, he turned around and made a sweeping gesture with his hand to the rest of the town.

"Yes, sir!" barked the group of six apprentice mages. With a quick bow, the group split off into three pairs. San had immediately gone with the woman to her right, who happened to be her best friend from the Az'Rindai Citadel, Iantha. Though there were a few years difference in their ages, the two had grown close over their years training. Moving off through the town, the two began to search for survivors.

The remnants of fires still burned on, their warm embers glowing in the settling night. For a fairly large town, there was an unsettling silence that hung in the air. Since the place was settled relatively close to the western border of Hyrule, the scouting party of mages had been sent from the Citadel to confirm whether the spread of the Demon Horde had reached this far in yet. They came...and those suspicions had been confirmed within the second. The mark of the Demon Horde, their blight, was slowly spreading across the land, consuming the once beautiful town and transforming it into an abomination that would be used for the demons.

"How could there possibly be any survivors in this place?" questioned Iantha as she pushed away some overhanging rubble from a burnt house. Whether by desertion or destruction, the town now felt completely empty. As far as they could tell, there was no sign of life anywhere. Even the very air around them felt cold and dead. To her side, San merely shook her head. Seeing all this...it was beginning to unsettle her stomach. "Is this what we should come to expect from the Demon Horde?" Iantha twisted her face in disgust as they passed a house where the smell of decay reached their noses.

"I think...we should expect worse," coughed San before raising an arm to her face to block the stench. Her gaze travelled from one area before them to another, looking for any signs of survivors. Part of her hoped there were none, for she did not want to imagine the sorry state those that lived would be in. "Hey, look at that!" San tapped Iantha on her arm and then pointed over to a grain silo. Crates of grain littered about it seemed as dead as the area around them...or rather, worse. The blight that clung to the land was strongest around those crates. The two mages dashed forward to investigate.

"Don't get too close," warned Iantha, holding out a hand to stop San. "What's...wrong with the grain?" she then questioned.

"It looks...infected," murmured San, rising up on her feet as high as she could to get a better look inside a crate that was opened. "Does this mean the Demon Horde' tampering with our food supplies?"

"We can't be certain if this is cause or effect," sighed the older mage.

"Take a good look, Iantha!" San pointed to the area around the crates. "Would it really be that bad if it was an effect? While I doubt it's the only cause for all this, I'll bet anything it's a factor. And look! The Hylian seal is on those crates... What if a shipment of infected grain has already been sent out? It could be the Demon Horde's strategy to weaken as many places as possible before sending in troops of their own!"

"San! Don't jump to conclusions!" barked Iantha, placing her hands on San's shoulder to calm the young mage down. "We'll report this in when we're done searching. It's...all we can do..." Sighing, she lowered her arms back to her side and shook her head. "Let's hurry and finish our searching."

San pursed her lips together, knowing her friend was right. There was nothing else their scouting party could do at the moment. Nodding, the two hurried back in their search for survivors. "Over there!" exclaimed San, pointing to a side of a relatively-intact house. At the base of the wall lay a woman who, at least at first glance, looked liked she could be alive. While most bodies they saw were almost beyond recognition of being Hylian, this woman was still intact. Quickly, the two rushed to her side. Iantha knelt down and placed a hand on the woman's neck.

"She's still breathing!" gasped Iantha in amazement as she rose back up. Moving closer to San, she then asked, "How do you think we should move her? I doubt it would be a good idea to use magic in her sta―"

"Watch out!" shrieked San...but it was too late.

Iantha's eyes went wide. She opened her mouth to speak, but only blood dribbled out. A guttural growl rose up from behind her, sounding more like a death rattle than anything else at that moment. The older mage looked down and saw a rotting hand with sharp, black claws had pierced through her chest. As she stared at it, she felt cold death sinking in on her. No...not quite death... It was burning...spreading throughout her body...destroying her living form and changing it into something perverse.

San stood frozen in spot by fear. While her mind was telling her to run, her body would not respond. Her friend... What would become of Iantha? The woman they had thought to still be alive was anything but that. Faster than physically possible, she had risen up behind Iantha and torn through her with a hand that was a cruel mockery of life as though the mage were parchment. For a moment, it felt as though to San that she had been attacked too, but she was safe...for now. Her azure eyes were locked on the face of the woman. The side they had seen as they approached looked normal enough, but now that all of it was revealed, San felt so foolish for thinking anyone was still alive here. The other side of the woman's face was rotted, becoming like death itself. And the eye that rested on that side of the face was black...inviting all those that looked at it into the void that they would soon be joining.

"R...run, San..." mumbled Iantha. San gasped lightly as she looked back to her friend. Before her very eyes, Iantha was becoming like the undead that had attacked her. "Fool...run... Run!" Torn from her fear, San found her footing and ran as fast as she could away from her friend and the ghoul. It was not a moment too soon, either. As her feet nearly slipped on the blighted ground, she saw other bodies that they had thought dead rising up.

She felt her chest tightening up. Already regret was taking hold of her for leaving her friend like that, to become one of these ghouls. Skidding to a halt, she turned around. There was still time, right? She could still save Iantha. Whether that was done by reversing what had happened to her friend, or killing her, San did not know. She began to turn around to do something when she froze again.

A person clad in dark robes could be seen in the distance, a staff with a skull at its head standing as tall as the person. As soon as San lay eyes on this person, she felt a wave of dark magic lash out at her. So strong, she nearly fell to her knees. This presence...she had felt it only once before in her life...years ago. Fear gripped her again, but this time, he allowed her to flee faster rather than freezing her in spot.

"Commander! Commander!" she yelled out, nearing the place their scouting party had started out at.

"What is it?" asked the mage as he reached San. Holding her by the shoulders, he was all that kept her from falling to the dead ground. San shook in his grip, her breathing erratic. "San, breathe... You are safe now."

That made San shake her head frantically. "Infected food...ghouls...undead...necromancers..." she managed to explain with each breath. Never before could she remember being so unable to function. "Iantha...Iantha's dead!"

"What...?" breathed the commander in disbelief. At that moment, cries from a few of the other mages that had been scouting pierced through the air. Cursing under his breath, the commander looked back to San sternly. "Return to the Citadel as fast as you can!" San stared at him with confusion, not expecting that reaction at all. She nearly crumpled to the ground with the commander removed his hands from her shoulders. "That's an order!"

"Y-yes sir!" San finally managed to utter out. Bowing quickly, she cast a spell without an incantation and transported off to the edge of the town in a few jumps. Travelling such short distances with the transportation spell was often called a Blink. Continuing on in that manner, San only stopped when she felt she was a safe distance from the town. Looking over her shoulder, she felt a wave of despair wash over her as she stared at the town. If that was only a fraction of the Demon Horde's power...she did not want to see what else they were capable of. Closing her eyes, she prepared to Blink away again...

...and woke with a gasp.

Breathing hard, the young mage ran a hand through her sapphire hair. Such dreams of those times were nothing new to her...but that did not make her like them any more. Her first encounter with the forces of the Demon Horde, though they had been lower than their footsoldiers, had not been a pleasant one...nor would it be one that she would forget any time soon. Silently cursing under her breath, San slammed a fist against the hard red scales of Valkoraz, and quickly regretted doing so.

Gripping her hand, she waited for the pain from the blow to pass. Dragon scales were immensely tough, and her action had caused more harm to her than her Master. In fact, she bet that Valkoraz had not even felt the blow.

What troubles you, little one? came the concerned thoughts of the great dragon. While he may not have felt her punch, he had been more than able to sense her distress.

Still gripping her sore hand, San shook her head and stared up to the night sky. They had been flying for quite some time now. Just some memories...She sighed softly.

Of the Demon Horde?

Aye.

They are gone now, little one. You have nothing more to fear from them. We are nearly there, so worry not.

Smiling softly, she sent her thanks to Valkoraz. As painful as the memories may be, all of that was in the past now. And, as she knew from experience too many times over, there was nothing they could do to change the past.

:::

Carrying the lantern before him, Link lead the way through the cave. An extremely unamused expression was across his face. For all the time they had spent in here already, there was nothing for their efforts. Not even the sorcerer Vaati showed any inclination that he had found what he was searching for in this dreary place. Each second that passed made Link more and more agitated. The one thought that kept him from abandoning Vaati on his seemingly pointless search was that he wanted to get paid. He only hoped it would be worth it.

"Ah, almost there now," commented Vaati from behind.

Link bit the inside of his cheek to keep him from turning around and punching the sorcerer across his face. After squeezing through a tighter area of the cave and moving to the side, Link froze. When Vaati emerged, he gasped in amazement.

What lay before them in the cave had been what Vaati searched for.

Nearly dropping the lantern, Link stared at it in amazement as the sorcerer began rambling on to himself. Whatever it was, it was made of pure magic in its rawest and most powerful form. It pulsated all the colours of the rainbow and more in the air, as though it were alive. Wonder filled Link as he watched it. For a moment, he felt at peace, which eventually began to unsettle him, for it was because of magic. It had to be a trap, it just had to be. Something so beautiful was surely just a ruse to lure people in. The mercenary began to grow weary of this phenomenon and wanted to leave as fast as possible.

"Amazing...amazing!" breathed out Vaati, Link finally paying attention to what he was saying. "I can't believe this is it!" Laughing, the sorcerer headed towards the raw magic. As he did, Link felt dread sink in on him... Such dread...he had not felt it this badly since the end of the war.

"D-don't get any closer to it!" shouted out Link, reaching back to grip the hilt of his sword instinctively. It did not take a master of magic to be able to tell whatever was before them was bad. Vaati let out a scoff and continued on, so close to his goal. So close...

A shock wave of power sent the sorcerer back and forced Link to a knee.

"What did you do?" questioned Link, rising back up. What had once been an unimaginable display of colours was now limited to a range of red, oranges, and yellows. Immediately, Link knew that meant danger. A new weight sunk in on his shoulders, as if the very air around them had grown heavy. Then, a sort of static began to grow in that air, but Link knew it was no normal electrical static. Crying out in surprise, he barely rolled to the side in time to dodge a bolt of the raw magic. It crashed into the cave wall behind where he had been and destroyed a good portion of it.

Heart racing a mile a minute, Link looked up in time to see Vaati turning to head back the way they had come, his sleeve singed. When the sorcerer neared the mercenary, he grabbed Link by his collar and shoved him towards the raw magic.

"Deal with it!" ordered Vaati before escaping through the passage.

"Hey!" shouted Link in surprise, stopping himself from stumbling further towards the raw magic. Several more bolts of the magic lashed out at the cave. Cursing under his breath, Link turn and ran after the sorcerer. When he passed through the tighter section of the cave, he looked behind him and saw the magical entity expanding, making him attempt to move faster. "Get back here!" Running as fast as he could through the cave, Link caught up with Vaati before he got too far. Reaching out, he grabbed onto the sorcerer's cloak. "Just what did you do?" he demanded.

"You fool! Let go of me!" Vaati tried to release himself from Link's hold, but the mercenary stayed firm.

"I'm the fool? Look who's talking! This thing is your fault!" He barely had time to register the fear in Vaati's eyes before he turned around. The magic he had seen expanding before had breached the cave walls and was continuing towards them, nothing hindering its path. Link let out another curse as he released Vaati from his grip, and the two tried to flee.

But it was too late.

The magic had caught up to the two an engulfed them within a second. Link opened his mouth to cry out in pain, but no sound escaped. Every inch of his body felt like it was on fire, outside and inside. Each cell was being torn apart from the other, breaking him down to the most basic of components. His mind, somehow, still managed to hold on, transferring each of the senses so he knew what was happening to him. After his body was broken down, he could feel the magic starting on his mind. Before that, too, was consumed, he felt as though he were being transported. Where, though, he could not say, for the last thing he remembered was his consciousness breaking apart.

:::

Smoothing down her jacket, San glanced over her shoulder after the surge of magic passed. Valkoraz was gone, and, once again, Veknor had returned. The sombre mage nodded towards his protégé before passing her and heading towards the cave entrance. San stood for a moment longer outside, studying the entrance. No...not the entrance. There was something else in there... Something she could not begin to describe.

"Come along, San!" called out Veknor from within the cave.

Startling back to attention, San quickly called out, "Yes, Master!" and hurried on into the dark cave. Each step she took, she felt a presence rising in the back of her mind. Swallowing nervously, she clasped her hands together. It was a presence she had never felt before. She was only relieved slightly by the fact she could now be certain that, whatever this was, it did not deal with the Demon Horde. Far from it. Whatever this was...it had a very different feel, and was much more powerful.

"There are others here..." murmured Veknor, slowing in his step. The orb of light he had created glowed on before them, lighting their way.

San's brow furrowed lightly. "Other people?" Sure enough, when she honed her senses some, she too could tell the presence of two people. Mentally, she scolded herself for not noticing them until now. So caught up with the other looming presence, she had not sensed anything else. "One does not seem to use magic while the other definitely does. Most likely a mage, and a powerful one at that, for his level," she rattled off the information as if by second nature.

Ahead of her, Veknor nodded, as though she had given the correct answer to a test question. Silence fell between the two mages as they headed deeper and deeper into the cave. Every second, San tried to analyse the presence she felt in this place. Not only powerful, but it felt...old, as well, as though there was an agelessness to it. One that did not seem to be possible for this world.

The further they travelled in, the more the presence began to affect her more and more. It was like a pressure building up inside of her mind, trying hard to break out. Wincing, she raised a hand to her head, trying her best to build a defence to protect her mind. Then, without warning, the intensity of the pressure increased and became more violent. Crying out, she fell to her knees and clutched her head. With speed not matched by a human, Veknor went back to his protégé's side.

"Just...what is in this place?" questioned San, reaching out to grip Veknor's arm. Such power...it did not belong in their world. The sombre mage merely shook his head slowly. Even he did not know exactly what rested here, only that it was related to the Goddess of Time calling out for aid. Azure eyes shot open as San looked up to her Master. "It's...it's coming!" she panted out. "It's not safe here!"

"San. San! Calm down." For a rare moment, Veknor broke out of his normal sombre expression. Panting erratically, San stared at what was coming for them. It looked like a wall of pure magic. All she could do was helplessly watch as it engulfed them.

The young mage was terrified and yet fascinated at the same time. The pain was terrible, but the side of her that wanted to learn more magic was entranced by the power and the complexity behind the magic. She only wished she had more time to analyse it. Time...time... It always came down to time...

:::

Head pounding, Link rolled onto his side. Never before had he felt so sore. Every inch of his body ached. At that moment, he thought he would never be able to move the same.

"What the...hell was that...?" he murmured, forcing himself to sit up. A groan escaped him for his body protested every second he moved. Thinking back to what happened, he began to grow sick. All that had been caused by magic. He hated magic. It had been the worst thing he could think of happening to him, second only to dying. Link blinked several times to clear his vision. With his head swimming as it was, he did not trust himself to stand.

To his side, Vaati stirred. Looking over, Link focused on the sorcerer, and anger rose within him. That was all he needed. Reaching back, he drew forth his sword, which he was momentarily thankful for still being there, and found the strength to pin Vaati back down before he even got up. Blade held firmly at the sorcerer's neck, Link glared down at the man.

"Give me one damn good reason why I shouldn't jam three feet of cold steel down your throat!" he growled.

The sorcerer tried to twist out of Link's grip on him, but was in no condition to do so. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Vaati regained his composure and stared coolly back at the mercenary. "Who else would be able to get you back?"

Clenching his jaw, Link reluctantly withdrew his sword and pushed Vaati back harshly as he rose up. It made the mercenary sick and angered, being forced to continue to rely on this damned sorcerer. "You better be able to get us the hell back, or else―" Link was unable to finish his imaginative threat, for blades were then at his neck, along with Vaati's. Several curses escaped Link under his breath for not noticing the group of soldiers sooner.

"Is this the location for the disturbance?" asked a man walking towards the mercenary and sorcerer.

"One of the two places, yes, sir," responded one of the people who had a blade to Link's neck.

The man Link assumed to be the commander of the group eyed the two of them for a long tome, studying them carefully. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

Link rolled his eyes for a second before tossing his head in the direction of Vaati. "Ask him." Looking over, the mercenary barely had time to catch the smirk on the sorcerer's face before crying out, "Bastard!"

With the fastest of incantations being chanted, Vaati was there one second, and then gone the next.

"Dammit! A magic wielder!" cursed the commander. "You two! Search for him!" The two soldiers he gestured to quickly saluted before rushing off to try to find Vaati. Muttering something under his breath, the commander then switched his attention back to Link. "You don't seem to be able to use magic..." Link merely gave a flat stare at the commander for the comment. As if he would ever use magic. "Cuff him and take him into holding!"

Grunting, Link tried to free himself from the grasp of the soldiers, but it was to no avail. Sighing, and his hopes falling, he looked out towards the horizon of this new place. Freedom was surely out there, and more importantly, a way home, but now he could not reach it.

"Blasted sorcerer..." he spat.

:::

Grass. There should be no grass in a cave. This could not be the cave. Blinking slowly, San tried to piece together what had happened. Such intensity behind that magic. She swore it had torn apart every inch of her being, body and mind alike. Before her mind had been completely broken down, San thought that the magic had felt somewhat akin to a transportation spell. Only it could not have been. No transportation spell could be that strong. Why, had she not known it to be impossible, she would have guessed that whatever had occurred had been strong enough to transport through time itself.

Slowly, for her body still ached, San sat up. She squinted since at the moment the light from the sun was far too bright for her eyes. Something...something was wrong. Keeping a hand raised to cast a shadow on her face, San quickly surveyed the land. What she had sensed was verified by her sight.

She was no longer in the cave, nor the land surrounding it...nor even Hyrule.

Breath quickening for a moment, she wondered where she could now possibly be. A groan not far from her pulled San from her thoughts. Looking over, she saw Veknor was also with her. Stumbling over to his side, she tried to help him sit up.

"Master, are you all right?" she asked once his eyes opened. Concern for her teacher rose up in her. Never before had he looked so pale. This was not right, either. Dragons were not meant to get sick! What could she do to help him? Her skills in magic were hardly good enough to help a dragon yet.

Resting his head on a hand, Veknor nodded to San. "I will be fine, little one."

San sighed, her shoulders drooping for a moment. It had been a silly question, she realised. Even had something been wrong with him, Veknor was not the sort of person to admit that. Grunting, she supported the dragon-mage as they stood.

Looking out across the rest of the land she could see at the moment, San let out a gasp. Off in the distance was the grandest city she had ever seen. A castle rose up near the center, taller than any of the other buildings. Made of the purest white stone, it shone like a sun. Not only was the castle made of that material, but so was the rest of the city.

"What... How..." San fumbled to find the right words to ask. She had never before seen such a place. A city like this...even before the war, she had known of no kingdom that could construct one so. Hyrule castle was a blotch of dirt in comparison. Even the Az'Rindai Citadel, which in her mind was the most beautiful structure she had even seen before, paled when in contrast to the city that lay before them. After the war, however, any thought of ever constructing something as grand as this was gone for they were still occupied with rebuilding.

Wherever they now were, it was far from any land they had ever been to before, or even heard of.

"Just where are we?"