Man it's been a while! Sorry again guys, this should be the last time there's such a big gap between chapters. I went on a cruise over spring break and finished chapters up through 10, and I'm gonna start putting aside an hour a day to write. I should be able to go back to a chapter a week now, and I plan to be finished before summer.
As always please read and review! Thanks a ton for those of you who have already taken the time to help me improve my writing, it really helps!
Chapter 7
"Goddesses three made the world: Nayru, Farore, Din,"
"Here we are," Sheik said softly, heaving open a decrepit door. A fetid stench wafted out of the opened corridor, making Link want to gag. Behind the door, damp stone walls were covered in mold and mucus while decaying vines and old spider webs hung haphazardly from the ceiling. "It's through here," Sheik continued. Link grimaced; it was revolting.
After leaving the Temple of Time, Sheik had led Link through the forest for hours, never once turning or seeming to lose her way. Finally, just when Link had almost convinced himself that they were never going to escape the dense foliage, they burst through the underbrush into a wheat field on the outskirts of the city.
Hylia. Link had never been so happy to see the towering skyscrapers and shiny office buildings. The entire city was built around a fast river, and looming over the cityscape was the mountain that had come to be known as the country's trademark. Link was excited to finally be back in society, but as Sheik led him into the heart of the metropolis, Link realized that the city felt alien to him. All those people living out their lives, unaware of the magical history surrounding the land that they called home, unaware of Ganon, unaware of the ever growing threat that he posed upon their lives.
It wasn't the knowledge that truly set Link apart from the people in the city, the ones driving to work or walking to get a cup of coffee, it was his pain. He had been branded like cattle, branded by suffering and heartache, set apart through his brother's death and the sudden loss of Malon. He no longer belonged with these people, they were strangers to him.
It was with this feeling of detachment that Link had followed Sheik through the maze of streets that made up downtown Hylia. He cared little when the pair of them received strange stares from passing businessmen, or when mothers hustled their children into a shop to avoid walking past Link and the Sheika on the sidewalk. Sheik, in her strange garb, attracted most of these malevolent and prejudiced stares, but Link could feel the eyes on himself as well; cold eyes, calculating eyes, eyes that saw his torn, muddied clothing and hated him for it.
In the middle of the city, Sheik had led Link down into the old subway tunnels. Link could remember riding those rails with his parents as a child. Occasionally, Link's mom would take him and Sam downtown to visit his father where he worked as a federal lawyer. They would take a bus to the tracks, and ride the subway to the office building where they would meet up and go out to lunch at a nearby pizza restaurant as a family. Now the situation was much different. Now there was no more family to go visit.
The two of them had traveled through miles of maintenance tunnels and service ducts before finally stopping here, in front of a nondescript, rotting old door. The rank tunnel inside didn't have any electrical lights like the hallways they had been venturing through, instead, unlit torches were set in brackets along the moist stone walls.
"What is this place?" Link asked, eyeing the rats scurrying away from the florescent light shining through the open doorway.
"Just as the physical representation of the legendary triforce, the Goddesses are three in one, each a part of the whole that is our sacred deity," Sheik began, turning to face Link. "Apart, they are merely ideals, but together they are eternal. However, it is that very bond that sets them apart."
Link raised a questioning eyebrow. "How?"
"The Goddesses fit together perfectly, no part of them overlapping. They are each perfect, but each different in their divinity," she explained. "In the same way, their sacred shrines must also be placed separately, each portraying different truths." Sheik took a few steps into the corridor and waved her feminine hand over the nearest torch, causing it to magically burst into flame.
"This is Din's Sanctuary," she finished, walking off and disappearing into the darkness.
Link, nervous about being left alone, quickly followed, grabbing the bright torch off the wall before making his way down the putrid tunnel. It was tough going, the slimy floor made walking too fast dangerous, and he constantly had to stop to swipe away cobwebs that blocked his way.
"Sheik?" Link called down the dark corridor when he didn't catch up to her after a few minutes. His voice reverberated off the walls, echoing ominously back to him. It doesn't even look like she came down here, he realized. Link gazed nervously around him, suddenly feeling like the walls were closing in on him.
He took a deep breath. "Alright Link," he said softly, trying to calm himself. "Just keep moving forward; this is for Malon." Slowly, he forced first one foot forward, then the other. His eyes continued to dart around nervously, but he found that his anxiety faded as long as he kept walking. Ducking around a low hanging vine, Link continued down the tunnel, silently cursing the Sheika for deserting him. He hated being underground.
The perpetual slap of his shoes hitting the floor seemed to hypnotize the youth, and soon enough his thoughts began to drift. Images of his brother's death flashed through his mind, making him wince in emotional pain. Link's thoughts turned to Sam's killer, the shadow, a dark version of himself. A shadow Link.
It frightened him, but at the same time, he hated it. Every particle of his being loathed it, desired its death. But if what Sheik said was true, then it was just a tool, a dog on a leash, and at the end of that leash was a demon.
Link's blood ran cold at the though. Ganon. If the legends were true, then he could level entire countries with a single word, even control the dead themselves. It was said that his eyes burned with the black fires of hell, and venom dripped from his teeth. He was a monster, the very essence of evil.
But Ganon was the source of his pain, the author of Sam's murder. If Link was to truly have his revenge, then he would need to face Ganon. No, Link told himself harshly. That's none of my business. I just need to find Malon.
A little voice inside of him refused to be quieted. This is your brother's true killer! How can you not confront him? Are you really so scared that you will run and hide instead of face your foe? If you had truly loved Sam, you would not cower in the shadow of his murderer.
Arguing with himself, Link hardly noticed when he stumbled upon the end of the corridor. He came out of his reflection with a start, gazing with wonder upon the great oak doors that stood before him. They stretched at least a dozen feet above him, and their warm, elegant beauty provided a stark contrast from the damp, putrid tunnel that surrounded him. There was no door handle, nothing except the decorative iron bars that ran horizontally along each door, holding the wood together.
Except for the occasional drop of murky water hitting the stone floor, Link approached the doors in silence. Cautiously he held his right hand upon the wood. Warmth trickled through his fingers, filling him with radiance and basking his soul in what could only be described as pure virtue.
Suddenly renewed in vigor, Link leaned heavily into the giant doors and gave them a mighty push, managing to swing them open just enough to walk through.
He gazed in awe at the cavern he found himself in. It couldn't be much bigger than his old school gymnasium, but the space felt enormous. Brightly colored crystals hung from the ceiling in tight groups, shining iridescent light down upon the room. Link dropped the torch to the stone floor; he didn't need it anymore, the light from the crystals was more than enough.
Looking around in silent wonder, Link drank in the beauty of the room. Even the rough cave walls had a natural beauty of their own, stalagmites and stalactites crisscrossing in a dazzling dance of power and elegance.
In the center of the room, so small that he almost missed it, stood a small little statue. Nondescript except for the dull red orb that the figure held in the air in front of her, Link felt somehow that it fit perfectly, like a puzzle piece, into the strange cavern.
Intrigued, Link walked closer. As he drew near, he realized that it was a life-size statue of a young girl. Her long straight hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and behind each of her pointed ears were an array of feathers that were made to look like wings. Sculpted around her body was a simple dress that Link supposed could have been called pretty. However, it wasn't the feminine statue that drew his eye, it was the dull red orb in her hands. Face raised, she seemed like she was offering the sphere to the heavens, praying for them to accept her gift.
The orb seemed to absorb the light around it, as if it desperately wanted to burn as bright as the stars in the sky. On the outward face of the orb was an odd symbol that reminded him strongly of the marking on the dais in the Temple of Time. It was amazing to him that everything that had happened so far seemed to be connected. At every turn, he saw something new, but it could always be traced back to the Temple of Time, and beyond that, the Cycle of Eternity. No, I'm not the bloody Hero of Time!
Suddenly, a bright red light exploded out of the orb, showering the room in warmth. Just yards away, Link was knocked onto the ground, vainly trying to protect his eyes from the blinding flash.
As suddenly as his had began, it stopped, leaving Link lying on the ground with spots in his vision. Slowly his eyesight returned, and he noticed that the orb was now brightly glowing, illuminating the air around it.
"LINK." The word seemed to come from everywhere at once, reverberating deafeningly around the room. It was louder than thunder, yet Link was nearly drawn to tears by the mere beauty contained within the voice. It was neither deep nor shrill, but it was a woman's voice nonetheless. "WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE?" The world seemed to rock on its hinges, bending reality around him. Link couldn't believe the waves of euphoria crashing through him. There was so much power in her voice. Power…
"W-who are you?" Link managed finally, still lying on the floor.
"I AM POWER," the voice continued. "BUT YOU KNOW ME AS DIN." Link's eyes widened and his mouth hung open in shock. "AND THIS IS MY SANCTUARY." With every one of the Goddesses words, the orb would pulse, illuminating the cavern. Link was speechless. His mind was reeling, unable to comprehend what was happening.
"LINK, WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE?" Din asked again. She didn't sound impatient, or angry, or irritated. In fact, Link couldn't hear any emotion in her voice at all.
Finally, he remembered why he was at this place, why he had traveled miles through a creepy tunnel, why he was talking to one of the very Goddesses that created the world. The spark that had begun to dim flashed brightly inside him once again, igniting the youth's resolve.
"Malon," he whispered, no longer terrified that he was in the presence of a deity. He had to do this; there was no turning back.
"YOU WISH TO SAVE HER." It was not a question.
"Yes," Link replied softly. Raising his voice he added, "I need the Master Sword."
"YOU DESIRE A SACRED BLADE MEANT ONLY FOR THE CHOSEN HERO OF COURAGE," Din replied. "YOU THINK YOURSELF POWERFUL ENOUGH TO WIELD SUCH A SWORD?" This time it was a question, but Link had the feeling that she already knew the answer.
"I have to be," Link replied stubbornly. Insecurity nagged at him, but he refused to listen to it. "There's no other way!"
"THEN YOU MUST OVERCOME MY TRIAL AND EARN MY BLESSING," Din continued, orb pulsing with her words. "ARE YOU PREPARED?"
"Yes."