Chapter 11

"Ordeal tragic will he face,"

Link was in a forest, the densest, greenest forest he had ever seen. Little sparks of light, like he had seen at Nayru's Solace, floated around carelessly. A rich pine smell hung heavily over the trees, making Link feel serene and calm, while at the same time making his eyelids droop lazily. This was a place that he could live happily forever. There were no worries here.

Music. A sweet, upbeat melody found its way to him through the dense foliage. The tune, so happy, made Link smile joyously. He wanted to sing; he wanted to dance; he wanted to laugh.

So he did. Skipping and giggling like a child, he followed the merry tune through the trees. Link felt carefree for the first time in a long time. What did Ganon matter? Right here, right now, he was happy. Nothing bad could happen here.

Pushing through a thin layer of branches, Link emerged into a small meadow. The melody was coming from a child sitting on a flat stump in the middle of the clearing. A girl. She was playing a wooden ocarina. Her hair was green, a lush green that spoke softly of grass and trees, of budding life. Her clothes were also green, although a slightly darker shade, like that of evergreens, or the damp moss on a fallen log.

Link's joyous laughter was rejuvenated at the sight of her. In a cheery manner, Link danced exuberantly around the meadow, jumping and twirling for fun. He didn't know how long he danced, time seemed to have no meaning. It could have been minutes, it could have been days. It didn't matter. He never got tired, never got hungry. The music seemed to live within him, supplying him with unending energy and life.

Thunder suddenly ripped through the air, disrupting both the joyful tune and Link's vigorous dance. Link looked towards the sky curiously. Night seemed to be descending upon the heavens, but much too fast. Billowing black clouds appeared in the east, then in the west, then in the north and south. Horrible dark clouds were approaching from every direction at once, convening in the sky right above the meadow.

Link could only watch in wretched fascination as the clouds continued to move in, shrinking the lone patch of blue sky between them. The thunder grew louder and louder as the clouds got closer and closer and the blue sky became smaller and smaller. Louder, closer, smaller.

The clouds met, closing the hole in the sky.

Without warning, a high pitched scream rent the air. Link spun around in alarm. Just as before, the girl was seated on the peculiar tree stump, but something was wrong. The ocarina that she had been so cheerily playing rolled out of her unclenched hand, falling silently to the suddenly ominous forest floor. A moment later, the child followed, collapsing into a limp heap on the ground. On her back was the charred remains of clothes and bloody skin melted together into a grotesque mass. Link gasped in horror, having to suppress vomit at the sight.

Without the girl's erupting vitality and the song's cheerful countenance, the clearing took on a much darker feel. It now felt oppressive rather than joyful, despairing rather than merry.

Out of the darkness created by the thick trees on the other side of the clearing strode a tall, menacing figure. His red hair and green tint skin was familiar. Ganon! Link realized with a jolt. The man wore different clothes than when Link had seen him in Din's trial, but even more confusing were his features. His face seemed narrower, younger, less wrinkled; his shoulders less broad; his arms more powerful. But it was still Ganon.

Flash

The forest was burning around him, rich trees crumbling into glowing piles of ashes at every turn. The smoke was stifling, making Link's eyes sting and water painfully. Coughing violently, he fell to his knees, vainly trying to find some oxygen to ease his screaming lungs.

Around him, trees were popping as the life within them was seared away by the inferno. Link barely managed to roll out the way in time to avoid a blazing tree branch falling upon him. The red hot leaves whipped him in the face as he rolled, causing him to cry out in pain, but there was no one to hear him. His face blistered, and his mind reeled. In desperation, he crawled along the ground with his eyes closed, hopelessly searching for some sort of relief.

As he crawled, his hand brushed against something soft. He opened his eyes in surprise and squinted through the smoke. It was the body of the girl, even more mangled and grotesque than before. Her once green hair had shriveled into a stringy mass atop her charred head, and much of her burned skin was peeling off from the fire.

Link yelled in horror and rolled away from the body. Heart beating, he drug himself across the ground until he collapsed from exhaustion and oxygen starvation. I'm going to die here!

"ANSWER MY PROBLEM." The Goddess' voice exploded in his head. He swung his head around wildly, searching for the source of her words. Above him, a giant branch snapped, falling off of the tree. White hot fire trailed behind it as it plummeted toward Link.

He screamed and threw his arms above his head as the flaming mass of wood neared his body.

Flash

He was in a town. It seemed like a page out of a storybook. All the buildings were wood and had thatched roofs made of tightly woven bundles of thatch. People walked around him hurriedly, each with someplace to go, but every one of them with a bright smile on their face.

All of the town's occupants had, in Link's opinion, curious garb. Most of the women had ankle length skirts of various browns and greens with cotton blouses wafting languidly in the breeze. The men, on the other hand, wore loose pants that only came down to their calves, cotton shirts, and most had donned leather or wool vests. Many also had on some sort of straw hat to keep the sun from their eyes.

Link could only spy a few dozen houses, but regardless, the area was bustling with activity. Running freely around the dirt road between people's legs were little chickens that Link recognized as cuccos. Occasionally somebody would trip over one of the small birds, inciting uproarious laughter from both the victim and the townspeople around him. Looking up into the bright daylight sky, Link was surprised to see a barren mountain looming over the town. Thick smoke periodically found its way out of the top of the peak, only to dissipate into the blue sky.

The townsfolk didn't seem perturbed at all by the imminent threat that an active volcano posed on their lives. Perhaps it wasn't a menace after all.

A few yards away, a vendor began laughing with a patron about the crop season. Somewhere else in town, a girl began singing in a bright voice. Yet another voice of laughter joined the medley of sounds at the sight of a plump old lady chasing a group of boys around the square. She wielded her broom like a sword, yelling after them for some trivial misdemeanor. All around him, Link could hear sounds of merriment and communion. Never before had Link seen so many people so happy together.

Flash

Dust blew across the now abandoned town. Doors hung open, fragments of shattered windows littered the ground, and the vendor's stalls were smashed into heaps of timber. What happened?

In the grey sky above Link, the volcano spat out a handful of red hot magma.

Suddenly, the eerie silence was broken by a woman's scream. Down the street before Link, a lady burst out of a small house, quickly followed by two monstrous figures. Link's eyes widened unbelievably; they were covered in scales. They were the size of a large man, and stood on their back legs, but they looked more like giant lizards than men. The front of their faces jutted out sickeningly into a slimy mouthful of jagged teeth. Long tails hung behind them, and a long line of off-white spikes ran up their backs. Each scaled hand only had three fingers, but the long, claw-like fingernails could only be made for ripping through the flesh and bone of their victims.

A high, screechy noise escaped their mouths, pitch jumping up and down unintelligibly. It had a familiarity to it. Was it laughter?

Still screaming, the woman tore down the street toward where Link was standing. She didn't seem to see him though; her manic eyes slid right past him. Behind her, the scaled monsters leapt forward with inhuman strength, jumping off of ground and building alike in their chase. Link could only watch in dread as the woman ran right past him, her eyes closed tight and face twisted in absolute terror.

The woman did not make it three paces past Link before her flight was halted abruptly by a heavily muscled wall. Opening her eyes, she looked up and squealed. Ganon stood before her, dangerous and commanding as ever, sneering impatiently as the woman was grabbed roughly around the arms by the monsters that had been pursuing her. She gasped in pain as their long claws cut rivets into her pale skin.

Turning away, Ganon made an absent gesture with his hand. "Take her and put her with the others." The power in his voice was not lost on the monstrous lizards, and they rushed to obey him.

Others? Link looked around uneasily. Oh, Goddesses… Behind him, where he hadn't before noticed, the townsfolk were chained together in a ragged line. Many of the women held tightly to children, and most of the men were limping or clutching injured limbs. Between each prisoner was a thick iron chain that rattled ominously with every movement.

They were deathly silent, each with a lost look on their face as if the vitality had been sucked out of them. Why aren't they resisting? Link wondered unpleasantly. They don't even look defiant. What happened to them?

Toward the end of the line, one of the elderly men collapsed into a miserable heap. Immediately, the two scaled beasts sprang upon him, tearing into his body with their long teeth and dagger-like claws. Those chained to him cried out in horror as they were splattered with bloody flesh and desperately tried to get away from the gruesome sight.

Link threw up onto the sandy ground in front of him, revolted. They were eating the old man alive, his screams muted by the grotesque sounds of the monsters devouring his flesh.

"ANSWER MY QUESTION." Nayru's voice returned, not quite drowning out the sounds coming from the horrifying feast. Link, reeling inwardly at the scene playing out before him, found it difficult to concentrate. Somewhere behind him, he heard Ganon's faint laughter.

Ganon! His hatred for the demonic man was thrust to the forefront of his mind.

"He needs to be stopped!" Link yelled, vainly trying to yell over the ever more piercing sounds of the monster's meal. "Make it stop!" he was on his knees now, both hands tight to his ears.

"HOW?"

Flash

Around Link stretched a vast field. The lush green grass sparkled in the sunlight and colorful flowers dotted the landscape. In the distance to his right was a small hill with a ranch atop it. Far to his left were the high stone walls of an archaic castle. Long flags flapped along the battlements, and every so often Link caught the sparkle of the sun reflecting off of an armored sentry.

A gust of wind blew through the open field, folding the tall grass into wide waves of beautiful greens and golds, and launching dandelion spores into the air to dance majestically through the sky.

Link raised his arms and twirled around gaily, as if controlling the spiraling wind.

"HOW CAN GANON BE STOPPED?"

Flash

Link was in the same field, and through it blew the same wind. Instead of bright sunshine though, the sky was now filled with faded stars. In the distance, the small light of the castle's main gate twinkled out as the drawbridge was shut for the night. The full moon provided Link with only enough light to see faded outlines of the field around him, and his eyes darted around nervously, adjusting to the darkness.

He jumped at a small movement from the direction of the ranch. His heart beat faster as a figure appeared out the darkness. Should he run?

Link breathed a deep sigh of relief when he recognized the figure as being a little girl, maybe twelve years old. It was difficult to tell in the dim light, but Link thought that she looked almost as nervous as he felt. She carried a basket at her side full of what Link assumed were milk bottles, and cowboy boots peeked out from under her skirt.

Obviously trying to settle her rising nerves, the girl pursed her lips and began to whistle a merry tune. As the pitch rose and fell, even Link's anxiousness melted away into nothing. However, his unease soon returned. Why was such a small girl out so late?

She screamed, the shrill girlish voice resonating throughout the dark field. It looked as if she'd snagged her foot on a weed. Whimpering, she tugged wildly at her leg, but all she succeeded in doing was pulling the plant out slowly by the roots. It didn't let go, and the roots stretched further and further. The more she tugged, the more of the plant emerged, until almost three feet of the odd weed stretched behind her.

Link gasped as the earth exploded outward where the plant had been grasping the ground. Out from the disrupted soil burst a humanoid monster. As the dirt fell away from its frail body, white bone began to show. It was a horrifying scene, dark leathery flesh clung to ivory bone that made up the creature's body, and the front of its skull jutted out into rows and rows of small teeth.

The stench itself was intoxicating. Death and decay wafted freely from the animated corpse with more potency than Link could have ever imagined. It was as if the skeleton was still rotting.

Screaming uncontrollably, the girl collapsed onto the ground, trying vainly to free her leg from where the creature's skeletal fingers had grasped it. Her eyes grew wild as she thrashed back and forth, but it was no use.

Silently, the skeleton began to tow the girl back toward the hole it had emerged from. The child's screams ceased as she slid over the soil, her face contorted sickeningly into a look of pure horror.

Link found tears running down his cheeks. Why is this happening?

"HOW CAN GANON BE STOPPED?" Nayru's voice asked. Link fell to his knees helplessly as one of the girl's legs disappeared beneath the soil. Her bleeding nails dug into the ground, desperately trying to escape.

"I will stop him!" Link yelled, burying his face in his hands.

"YOU ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH," the Goddess' voice intoned as even more of the girl was wrenched underground. Soon, all that was left of her broken body was her face and arms. Link cringed at the look in the girl's eyes. They were filled with unimaginable horror. Her chin sunk into the dirt, then her mouth, then her eyes.

"NO!" Link cried out as the rest of her face was pulled under. All that remained were her thrashing arms, and soon even those went still and disappeared.

Flash

Clouds blew past Link, chased by the cool wind. He was in the sky, closer to the bright sun than he'd ever been before. Far below him he could see the ocean tossing and turning like an untamable beast, but what did it matter? Up here, the sky was life.

Whoosh. Past him soared a giant bird. Link's breath caught in his throat; it looked more like a man than a bird.

Whoosh. Another flew past, and another. A closer look revealed them to actually be wearing clothes. And were those arms and legs beneath the feathers? It was as if men had suddenly grown wings and taken to the sky!

More and more of the bird-people appeared until dozens of them dotted the sky, flying in circles around Link and performing dazzling flips and dives in the air. The aerial dance was breathtaking, and Link quickly lost track of the time watching the beautiful display. Not once did one of the performers collide or lessen their speed. They were dancing to a song that only they could hear.

A deafening gunshot rang out through the air. To his right, one of the flying people exploded in a burst of blood and feathers. Somebody screamed and in a frenzy of feathery bodies, the flock took off in every direction, trying futilely to escape the unending gunshots that filled the air.

Bang! An explosion of feathers. Bang! Another. Soon, the bodies of a once beautiful people fell through the sky around Link like red rain, showering him in carnage.

"I need to protect them!" Link screamed at the sky, desperately pleading with the Goddesses.

"YOU COULDN'T EVEN PROTECT YOUR OWN FAMILY," Nayru replied.

Flash

Link didn't need more than a moment to realize where he was. He was home. Smiling, he gazed around himself at his foyer, happy to finally be somewhere that he recognized. From the direction of the kitchen, Link could hear the sounds of somebody singing, somebody familiar. Sam?

The doorbell rang. "Just a minute!" Sam called out. "I'm coming!" Wiping his hands dry on his apron, Sam emerged from the kitchen and walked past Link to open the door.

It's Sam! He's alive! He's— Sam opened the old door, and in walked Link. "No…" Link whispered realizing where and when he was. "No! Sam, that's not me!" he yelled as Sam returned to the kitchen, followed by the dark version of himself. Link ran in after them. "Sam!" he screamed, but Sam couldn't hear him. None of them could hear him. He was a ghost, forced to witness these unimaginable horrors over and over.

Cutting celery, Sam talked to the dark Link for a minute before moving over to the fridge. "No," Link murmured helplessly as the creature walked over and wrapped his hand around the knife that Sam had been using. "Sam…" The shadow plunged the knife deep into Sam's back, piercing all the way through his chest.

Link couldn't close his eyes; this wasn't a dream; he wasn't going to wake up. The tears in Sam's eyes as he died, the smile on the dark Link's face; it was all real.

You couldn't even save your own family, the Goddess' words echoed through his mind.

"No!" Link cried out. "I'm stronger now!"

"NOTHING HAS CHANGED."

Flash

Stone walls, a thick fur rug, a high backed chair in front of a roaring fire that warmed the cold night air drifting in through the open window. In the chair, a massive man adorned with a regal red robe and an ornate golden crown. On the rug before him sat a little girl gazing into the fire. Her white dress and long blonde hair seemed vaguely familiar.

Suddenly, a knife in the darkness, a scream for help, and a surge of blood leaking out from the already crimson robe.

Link gritted his teeth. How much of this could he take? Every tragedy that he faced cut him deeper and deeper. He wanted to help them; he wanted to save them, but Nayru was right, nothing had changed.

Link held his hands to his head, trying to calm his throbbing mind. For them I need to be more.

Flash. A mail carrier with both his legs bent backward, writhing on the grass. Flash. A dead horse and it's rider rotting in the desert. Flash. A man screaming in pain on the torture table.

With every new scene, Link felt a deeper and deeper pain. He tried to block out the horror, but he couldn't. It didn't just disappear.

Flash. Flash. Flash. Link grunted. For them I need to be more. Flash. Flash. Flash. Link screamed.

"For them I need to be the Hero of Time!"