Hero of the Zonai

by bladeofthebookworms

A brutal war between the Zonai and Sheikah peoples sends ripples throughout the kingdom. In the midst of the violence, a young Zonai warrior discovers a mysterious ancestor, who urges him to see beyond the plight of his people. For peace is elusive, and Hyrule's greatest threat has yet to emerge. T for violence.

55. The Fall of the Zonai

Chapter 55: The Fall of the Zonai

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Link

"What f'th'Boars attack somewhere else?" Link asked desperately, walking next to Frokar around the second terrace, his heart clenching as he thought of Azrun and the rest of Lohsitho, defended by a single half-blind old man barely capable of distinguishing friend from foe. "The – th'villages wouldn't stand a chance –"

"Neither would we, f'we left Orthon," Frokar said heavily. "Th'Generals said we lost six f'our number for every Blood Wolf slain. Our force has been decimated, and all that the enemy has at this point are Blood Wolves. We don't have th'numbers anymore t'stand against them. And… it doesn't help much t'think about, but what's left for th'Boars t'attack? Mokhtis is theirs, f'course. Uhlenom is destroyed – has been for months. Orthon is all that's left, and we're here now – we can defend it for a decent stretch f'time f'need be."

"And what – what about th'villages?" Link repeated fervently.

"What would th'Boar Tribe gain from attacking them?" Frokar said, shaking his head. "From what I saw, they're looking for warriors t'turn t'their side. They shouldn't care about th'children and th'elderly in th'villages. Everyone capable f'fighting was already doing so."

Link winced, thinking of all those that had been slain. Dragons above… He still could not fully comprehend just how brutal the cost of their victory was.

"Y'want t'help Lohsitho," Frokar murmured, his voice grim. "I understand, lad – believe me, I do. It's my home, too. But we must trust that it's too insignificant for th'Calamity t'be bothered. As long as we're here, we're th'much greater threat."

Link nodded slowly, gritting his teeth. He didn't like it, but he knew that Frokar was right. There's so many little villages, little settlements like Guthtwin but without th'useful location.

And that thought brought another – Groose, driven to madness, held captive by Blood Wolves in his own workshop. He exhaled deeply, his hands clenched into fists. So much evil here – how can we stand against it all?

"Now… I'd wager th'Generals would be interested in anything y'could find out about how th'Boar Tribe is handling their defeat," Frokar said slowly, his tone thoughtful. "Y'and I both know that, f'there was something only y'could do out there, you're more than capable f'making it happen."

Link met the old shaman's stormy gaze. "I couldn't do much entirely on my own," he muttered. "Some things require an army. That's why I went t'th'Generals t'rally a force t'face th'Boars."

"I'll be more direct, then," Frokar said, lowering his voice. "I don't much like th'notion f'us hiding out here waiting t'be killed by some new abomination. Y'mentioned that Khanot, th'Gerudo King, is th'Calamity. I'd wager – no, I know for a fact – that there are plenty f'Gerudo with husbands in th'Boar Tribe. Loyal t'th'Boar Tribe – and loyal t'Khanot, th'Calamity. I'm worried about a Gerudo counterattack while we're sitting here. And sure, we can hold out for a while – that's what we've been doing. But what happens when our resources run low?" He shook his head, scowling. "I feel restless. We need t'be doing something. Sending y'out t'scout seems like th'most reasonable action right now, for a number f'reasons."

Link nodded grimly. "You'll help me convince th'Generals t'let me out, then?" he asked.

The shaman snorted. "Leave th'Generals t'me," he grunted. "I think, f'you're feeling up t'it, y'should go ahead and head out."

F'I'm feeling like it… Link grit his teeth, scanning through his body. His muscles were sore from the exertion of the battle; his body was bruised and battered. The intelligent thing to do, he knew, would be to wait at least another day. And yet… at the thought of waiting his heart felt tight with foreboding. Restless, as Frokar had said.

"I'm ready," he muttered, and Frokar chuckled.

"Figured y'would be, lad," he said. "Let's get t'th'Grafensted. I think that ladder is still lying around."

Link waited to transform until he had climbed to the tip of the great dragon statue's nose. He engulfed himself in spirit magic, twisting his limbs into the shape of the wolf. Then he bounded across the dragon's brow and into the mountains behind it, stones skittering down beneath his paws. He dropped down into the woodlands surrounding Orthon and loped steadily south, sifting through the musty scent of old damp leaves beneath the snow and the crisp, cold odor of frozen bark, on alert for the acrid stench of Blood Wolves.

He could detect the battlefield from a long distance away, the bitter tang of blood and open flesh. His mind turned to all those that had fallen fighting Khanot's evil – men whose bodies had not been reclaimed, because of the haste with which the gates had been destroyed. The Generals' decision to shut the Zonai armies inside the city still tasted sour on Link's tongue. He returned to the battlefield and howled the Song of Healing, walking from one corpse to another and giving the spirits rest before they could return as Stalfos. Fully aware that he could be seen from the wall, he gave his coat a light shake, letting the green spirit magic engulf his body.

I feel like Twilight would approve f'this, he thought sadly, traveling slowly through the carnage. Setting th'souls f'th'dead t'rest after th'battle, when our shamans are no longer capable f'doing so themselves.

It took him the better part of the day, and his heart felt heavy with grief as he saw each and every soldier that had fallen by the gates. Though he felt some peace in helping their spirits move on, the overall toll of the battle was nonetheless overwhelming. But his resolve to finish the task he had appointed himself only strengthened, especially as throughout the day he noticed many of the survivors standing up on the wall, keeping a vigil for their fallen brothers and sometimes joining their voices to his as he sang the Song of Healing until his throat ached.

When the last of the Zonai dead that he could see around the walls had been put to rest and the sun hung low in the sky, he retreated deeper into the woodlands, towards Guthtwin. He hadn't detected a single sign of the Blood Wolves thus far, a fact that brought him both relief and worry. It was undeniably fortunate that, after their expulsion from Orthon, the Boar Tribe was nowhere in the vicinity. But where did they go? T'just… up and leave like this… why would they do that?

The camp outside of Lohsitho was gone, the embers of their campfires long cold. With growing concern Link hurried to Guthtwin, which had barely a week ago been swarming with Boar Tribe.

He reached the village just as the sky began to burn with the raging red and orange of sunset. There was a faint taste of smoke on the air, something that made his nostrils burn ever so slightly, but he didn't catch a single whiff of Blood Wolves on his approach. The village was just as abandoned as the surrounding woodlands, except for the red flame raging at the altar atop the Grafensted.

Heart pounding and worry surging through his blood he sprinted to Groose's workshop, finding the door thickly barricaded by wooden planks and barrels in front of the door. Quickly Link returned himself to human form and grabbed at the first barrel, his battle-worn muscles straining at the weight as he heaved it away. "Groose!" he shouted, his voice echoing in the empty village. "Groose! Are y'in there?"

He heard a crash from within and his heart sank as he remembered that Groose had lost his mind and thought he was a chicken, but the voice that answered was clear and hopeful. "Link? S'that really you? By th'Dragons, I thought y'were dead!"

Link grunted as he shoved the last of the barrels aside and yanked forcefully at the planks across the door, tearing them from the wooden doorposts and tossing them aside. "It's a long story," he said, his voice weak with relief. "And I thought you'd gone mad! Last I heard y'were talking like y'were a rooster!"

"Oh," Groose said, sounding uncomfortable. "I… how'd y'know about that?"

"I snuck int'th'village a while ago," Link answered, tearing the last plank free. "I overheard y'talking with th'Blood Wolves keeping y'here." He pulled the door open and found his childhood friend standing there, looking a bit leaner but otherwise no worse for wear, his crimson hair sticking straight up as always. Groose grinned widely, seeing him.

"Blood Wolves?" he grimaced, scratching the back of his head. "Well, that certainly fits. I saw that nasty flame f'theirs." He shuddered, a dark look passing over his face. "They wanted me t'make weapons for them – something capable f'tearing through stone. I went along with it at first – not that I managed much; I didn't invent th'firearm in a single day, after all, or even weeks – but when I heard that they attacked Orthon…" He sighed deeply. "That didn't sit right. So I started… pretending. Made them think I was losing it, little by little. Eventually they penned me up in here, mostly just t'keep an eye on me t'see f'I would get over it. Then last night they just… left."

Link shook his head slowly, clapping a hand to Groose's shoulder. "I'm glad you're alright," he said grimly. "It's been… a terrible week for us. And… th'Boar Tribe really just walked away? D'y'have any idea why?"

Groose snorted. "A calling from their 'Great Boar,'" he answered. "Not that I ever saw any Boar. Lots f'flames, but no real Boar god. No, last night they got some sort f'call and now they're all just gone."

Link felt a chill creeping down his spine. Khanot is calling th'Blood Wolves somewhere else. Zelda has to know about this. "Can y'travel?" he asked. "We need t'get out f'here. Th'rest f'us are in Orthon."

Groose nodded. "I'm fit enough for anything," he grinned confidently. "A walk t'Orthon's nothing. Let's get going."

They started back through the lonely village, but Link paused when they reached the Grafensted with Khanot's flame burning at the top. "One moment," he said solemnly, waving a hand in Groose's direction and jogging up the ancient stone steps. At the top he held his hand out to the inferno, exhaling deeply and calling upon the power of his ancestors. He could feel Khanot's hold over this sacred place, just as it was over Skeldon, and he fought against it just the same, unleashing his own power like a great tidal wave breaking against a cliffside. Sweat dripped down his face as he pressed the attack, throwing all his might against the barrier until at last it crashed through. Heaving for breath, he sent his own spirit magic across the Grafensted until the evil flame before him vanished, and he could feel that the flames within the crypt had returned to their natural green.

Wiping the sweat from his brow he descended back to the path through the village, where Groose was waiting, open-mouthed.

"You – y'just – destroyed th'evil flame," he gaped. "Th'flame of – f'Dohmos himself! How… how…?"

Link let out a shaky breath, giving his friend a crooked grin. "I've been practicing spirit magic," he said. "Er… quite a lot."

Groose chuckled. "Well, it shows," he muttered, staring at the top of the Grafensted in awe. "Thanks for doing that. I… I feel better leaving, knowing that my ancestors t'least are free."

They left the village behind, walking into the thick woodland. The sun set, but the moon was bright, lighting their way as they traveled. A few hours before dawn they stopped and slept the rest of the night.

The smell of smoke hung heavy in the air when Link awakened, the forest grim and gray in the dawn. He remembered, his heart lurching, the brief whiff of smoke he'd smelled while in Guthtwin. So it wasn't my imagination.

"Something's burning," Groose said quietly as he awakened, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Link…?"

"I'm going t'try and see what's going on," Link said, his voice tense. He jogged to the nearest pine and grabbed the lowest branch, pulling himself up with a grunt. Though slender, the branches of the pine tree held fast as he climbed higher up through the crown of the tree. It seemed as though the scent of smoke strengthened by the second; his eyes were stinging by the time he reached the top and gazed out beyond the dark boughs, scanning the skies in every direction, looking for whatever column of smoke was drifting in their direction. He felt at once as though he had been kicked in the chest by a lynel.

The forests of Faron were burning. There was not a column of smoke, but rather a vast wall, dark and orange, rising up above the trees to the south perhaps a mile or so from where they were. He could see, even from the distance, great tongues of fire billowing up from the forest – fire the color of blood, intermingled with licks of magenta. The burning trees danced and writhed as if driven by a mighty wind, waving back and forth as they were consumed.

Link stared with a fierce ache in his chest, watching as his homeland was devoured by Khanot's flames, burned to ash that even now tumbled from the sky like flakes of snow. He at last managed to breathe again, coughing at the intensity of the smoke hanging heavy in the air. He noticed with a jolt that the flames were traveling quickly, leaping eagerly from treetop to treetop with insatiable hunger, much faster than a man could run.

Heart hammering, he scrambled down from the tree and dropped to the ground. He grabbed Groose's arm. "We need t'go!"

"What? What'd y'see?" Groose exclaimed, running alongside him as the sky above darkened with smoke and ash.

"It's – it's burning," Link managed, his throat tight. "Everything."

He saw the color drain from Groose's face and he stopped short. "Burning?" he echoed numbly. "A… a forest fire?"

Link grabbed his friend's arm again, pulling him onwards. "Yes, and not a natural one, either – it's coming our way, fast, without th'wind! Run!"

He noticed with growing horror that the smoke was only thickening, descending over the doomed woodlands like a deathly veil. Coughing, fighting sharp cramps in his sides, he sprinted with Groose down the road towards Orthon, ash drifting down on them and dusting their hair and shoulders. He felt an unnatural warmth rising in the woods, entirely unlike the heat in his body from exertion. There was a low roar in the distance, like nothing he had heard before – no beast or abomination of the Sheikah. And the temperature only rose as they raced onwards, gasping and coughing.

Link spotted a bear through the trees, heading in the same direction as they were, lumbering way from the inferno. Only a few moments later a herd of deer bounded through the trees, their shapes twisted and obscured by the thickening smoke. It was impossible to tell where the sun was – the sky was gray and dark, the wilderness bathed in a sickly orange half-light.

"Dragons, Link!" Groose groaned breathlessly, doubling over and coughing. "I… I'm not as… I can't keep up with you!"

Link glanced behind them and his heart gave a panicked lurch. There was an ominous red glow between the trees in the distance, and the dull roar growing steadily louder sent chills racing down his spine. "Yes, y'can!" he snapped, grabbing Groose's shoulder and pulling him forward. "Th'flames have caught up with us! We have t'get t'Orthon; th'fire can't get through stone walls!"

There was a sudden deep thundering of hooves and a herd of elk burst from the trees around them, the whites of their eyes reflecting the orange of the flames, their ears laid back flat against their skulls in their terror. Link quickly pushed Groose against a tree as they passed, his heart pounding hard in his chest as thoughtless pounding hooves tore up the woodlands around them, trampling everything in their path. Once they had all passed Link pulled Groose forward again, coughing in the thick smoke, his throat feeling as though it was tearing open with the action.

The heat quickly intensified. Embers joined the ash drifting on the air, a few of them landing on the ground and swiftly bursting into flame, despite the snow-damp undergrowth. Link thought of his shield, made from the icy scale of Naydra, and hurriedly slipped it from his back and onto his arm, holding it between himself and Groose. "Stay close!" he panted, grimacing at the burning cramps in his chest. "It'll keep us cool!"

The flames overtook them, fortunately not burning the road itself – hot as Khanot's fire was, it couldn't set dirt ablaze. But the trees all around them were swiftly engulfed in angry red, spitting sparks across the ground and sending everything that could burn up in flames. The air was thick, almost stifling. Smoke hung heavy all around them, obscuring all but a few yards in front of them, though of course the piercing magenta glow of the flames was visible everywhere, surrounding them in a vortex of destruction.

"Lerkin hell!" he cursed, stumbling as a fierce wave of heat drifted over him. It was worse than the volcanic levels of Trial of the Sword – so much worse. "Dragons – Dragons above –"

We – we're not going t'make it out f'here – too hot – th'fire, everywhere – !

Link spotted a hulking shape coming through the smoke towards them and he tensed, a hand flying to the hilt of the Master Sword, until he saw that it was a bull elk from the herd that had passed them earlier, now walking around in a panicked, confused circle, doomed and disoriented by the smoke. Struck by a sudden desperate idea Link rushed towards it with his hand flaring green, reaching deep inside himself for some semblance of calm and sending it towards the creature. I know th'way out – I can help you. I need your help.

His hand reached the creature's shoulder and he felt a tremor pass through its body as it regarded him with wide, terrified eyes. There was a great crashing from above as a burning limb broke free from a tree and crashed to the ground. The elk danced away, head held high in a panic, and Link gripped its shoulder, moving beside it.

"Link, what're y'doing?" Groose demanded hoarsely, stumbling closer as Link climbed up onto the creature's back, ducking beneath the antlers.

"We're not fast enough, but he is," Link answered, his voice weak and trembling with fear, holding a hand out to his friend and helping him up behind him. "Hold on!"

The elk did not need any encouragement to run. It needed guidance – guidance that Link gave through his right hand glowing green, tightly gripping the thick fur on its neck and keeping it more or less on the road. He could almost smell its fear, could feel it mingling with his own as the forest burned all around them.

The fire roared, almost deafening, sparks blowing across the road and drifting across his skin and hair. The heat around them was so intense that his sweat evaporated instantly and his skin burned where it was exposed; he bit back a pained groan. "Go, go, go!" he growled, fruitlessly urging the elk faster. Groose was clinging to his waist, coughing hard, his iron grip keeping Link from breathing freely – or, as freely as he could manage in the inferno.

The flames were everywhere, towering writhing torrents brighter than the lava pools of Death Mountain. Link's eyes stung from the thick smoke, so thick that he could barely see the road. And even as the elk bounded through the woodlands the fire billowed closer and closer, great whirling clouds of flame on either side of the road. "Lerkin run!" Link roared, his heart in his throat as the elk sprinted forward, running through a searing tongue of flame reaching across the road that had him crying out from the pain.

"Gah!" Groose shouted, twisting violently on the elk's back; Link felt him nearly slide off and his stomach lurched even as, with his shaking left hand, he let go for a moment to pat down the embers across his armor.

"Keep your head!" Link shouted through gritted teeth. His entire body was trembling violently. He clung urgently to the elk's thick mane. His heart was pounding so hard that he felt an almost physical pain and wondered if it would burst. His breaths came in frantic, rasping breaths. "Lerkin hell!"

There was nothing but fire in every direction. Fire and dancing sparks. Everywhere, all over the ground, consuming the undergrowth and the trees and everything in between. Frantically he glanced all around, struggling to make any sense of their surroundings as the elk bulldozed through the wilderness, heeding nothing but its own fervent instinct to run. Road – where's th'road – we need t'get on th'road!

He spotted a slight break in the flames and urged the elk towards it. And then all at once the walls of Orthon rose up before them and the elk skidded to a stop in surprise, rearing its head back. Link laughed breathlessly in relief, his shoulders sagging even as his throat stung from the smoke. Almost there! Almost safe! He led the elk alongside the walls, searching for the front gate, for their salvation. He couldn't know if they had already passed it, if they were heading in the right direction. The smoke hanging heavy all around made it impossible for him to orient himself.

A dark shape loomed out from the smoke and coalesced into the great carved dragons framing the entrance into the city. Link exhaled shakily, his heart lifting in incredible numbing relief –

And then he saw the chunks of stone and boulders piled up between the dragons, and remembered that the gate had been destroyed to keep the Boars out. His heart lurched.

"No," he whispered, horror filling him like a terrible black void. "Lerkin no!" He looked up desperately at the walls, bare of any sign of life. "Help!" he screamed, his throat feeling as though it was splitting open. He doubled over, coughing violently, sagging on the elk's shoulders as it looked around in confusion. "W-we're out here! Let us in!"

He could barely even hear himself over the roar of the flames.

All at once the grip around his waist loosened and he heard a faint moan and then a thud from behind him. His heart lurched and he glanced over his shoulder, finding Groose collapsed and unconscious on the ground. He swallowed thickly, fury and terror and helplessness warring for control in his soul. "By th'Dragons," he whispered shakily, slipping down from the elk's back, careful not to catch his chin on the antlers. It bounded away only a few steps, scrambling halfway up the boulders, pressing itself up under the archway with its eyes wild and terrified.

Link grabbed Groose's limp hand and slung it over his shoulder, heaving the much larger, heavier man upright with a grunt and dragging him closer to the gateway. With Naydra's scale, perhaps he could keep all three of them from burning up until the fire had run its course.

A sudden crash from behind had him glancing over his shoulder with a hammering heart, and his blood ran painfully cold as he saw a massive cloven hoof stepping out from a curtain of flame on the edge of the field, easily as tall as the walls of Orthon themselves. Link's breath caught in his throat as he craned his neck upwards, peering through the thick veil of smoke above. Another colossal hoof crashed free from the inferno, and the flaming head of the great Boar he had seen before at Skeldon pierced through the thick smoke. Link swallowed thickly, staring up at it, dragging Groose faster towards the gateway.

His heart froze at a chilling realization. That thing could step over th'walls f'Orthon! Th'fire will destroy everything!

He heard a low, dark chuckle, although the Boar did not speak. Link gasped and dropped to the ground, pain erupting in his knees as they met the burning earth, as its jaws parted and it sent a raging pillar of fire towards him, searing heat billowing through the air just above him. Heaving for breath he left Groose where he was and scrambled back to his feet, holding his shield protectively in front of him, hoping it was enough to protect him from this monster. It seemed much more solid than before, he noticed as it lifted a massive hoof and took a step closer across the field towards the walls of Orthon. And f'it's solid… maybe…! He drew the Master Sword and held it out at his side, his heart pounding desperately as he fought the coughs itching at the back of his throat and mustered his courage.

He darted into the blazing field closer to the beast, raising his sword high and waving it around. "Khanot!" he shouted, hoping to get its attention. "I'm over here, y'lerkin blundering oaf!"

Slowly the Boar turned its great head towards him and shifted his body to face him – not the city. Link swallowed thickly, his mouth dry. Th'blade f'evil's bane. Surely it can do something!

The Boar raised its hoof and stepped towards him, its jaws parting and fire burbling up from its throat. Link dashed towards the creature, well aware that he couldn't do anything from so far away. The fire burst forth and he brought up his shield, catching the blaze on the surface. There was a sharp hissing sound and clouds of steam billowed around him but Naydra's scale kept the flames from fully engulfing him. The fire breath died down and Link continued his approach, coughing painfully in the smoke.

With a deep growl the Boar swung its tusks at him and he dropped to the ground as they whooshed over his head sending a wave of unbearable heat passing overhead once more. Wincing, he picked himself back up from the ground and raced forward as it swung its tusks once more; he darted under its chest at the last possible moment. At once he saw its knees bending as it attempted to crush him and he sprinted to the side behind its foreleg, diving the last few feet and springing to his feet out in the open again, choking on the stifling air.

Gritting his teeth he slashed at its foreleg, carving a gash that glowed a fierce magenta that seemed to scald his eyes, and the Boar flinched back, sidestepping slowly out of reach. It lifted its hoof out of reach and began turning to face him again; Link dashed under its belly to its other side, his stomach cramping painfully as he gulped down desperate breaths of mostly smoke. His vision blurred and smeared and he nearly collapsed, overwhelmed by the heat surrounding the creature. Realizing his danger he staggered away from the Boar, desperate to find somewhere that wasn't quite so hot. It felt nightmarishly like drowning – his lungs desperately working, frantically trying to get air when there was none to be found.

I… I can't keep this up!

Groaning he forced himself to run faster away from the Boar, where miraculously the air was a little cooler, a little less stifling. It sent another stream of flame from its maw towards him and he crumpled to his knees, hunkered down behind his shield as the blaze raged all around him. His knees stung fiercely, badly burned by now. He pushed himself back to his feet when it was over, wincing, quickly reaching the end of his strength.

He noticed, dismayed, that the gash the Master Sword had left wasn't slowing the creature down at all. It was massive enough that even the legendary blade of evil's bane was a mere thorn in its side, not quite enough to deal substantial damage.

But… but it's th'only thing I can do!

There was a deafening clap of thunder and a blinding flash of light. The Boar recoiled with a deep grunt and Link flinched, blinking the spots from his eyes. When his vision cleared, he stared in numb awe at the great creature spiraling gracefully down from the heavens towards him through the billowing smoke. Green and gold scales shone fiercely in stark contrast to the raging black and red and magenta of the inferno as the Spirit of Lightning descended, its head encircled by green orbs nearly the same color as the spirit flame.

And unlike Dinraal and Naydra, Farosh's violet gaze burned with fury, and its face was twisted into a ferocious snarl. Link felt the overwhelming force of its spirit crash down upon him and his knees buckled as he found himself all at once somewhere else entirely.

A battlefield that reflected the sky... a sky that was black with smoke, or storm clouds. A terrible demon stood before him, black as the night with scales rimmed with red and flames instead of hair. The demon's eyes were a malicious red, its teeth pointed and thirsting for blood.

Dohmos. Demise. The Demon King.

Link raised the Master Sword high, and the clouds above growled with thunder. Lightning struck the blade, but instead of harming him it merely danced eagerly around the edges of his sword. He thrust it forwards and it shot out towards the Demon King –

Farosh's presence withdrew and Link slumped forwards with a feeble groan, his mind whirling dizzyingly from the intensity of the encounter. Then he heard thunder rumbling above and remembered what the Dragon had shown him. With a grunt he pushed back to his feet and raised the Master Sword skyward, just as the Boar opened its mouth again. Lightning struck, engulfing the Master Sword in dancing green sparks the color of spirit flame. Gritting his teeth, Link thrust the blade forward and the lightning arced towards the boar, striking it squarely between the eyes.

An explosion of fierce green sprayed from its brow and an unearthly screech echoed from its maw and it reared back, as if in pain. Link heard the thunder again and raised his sword once more to the heavens. He caught Farosh's lightning and sent it from the blade of evil's bane into the Boar's fiery body, sending it staggering sideways as spirit flame splashed from the point of impact. It seemed smaller, Link noticed with a jolt, his spirits lifting.

But with its smaller size came greater mobility. It lumbered towards him, much faster than before, and with his heart in his aching throat he ducked beneath it at the last second and lurched to his feet with the Master Sword held high, just barely long enough that it grazed across the Boar's belly, tearing another brightly-glowing gash in its flesh.

It skidded to a stop and turned around, facing him again with fiery eyes blazing with hatred. Thunder rolled out above the battlefield and Link raised his sword to catch the lightning. He sent the sparking energy towards the Boar and it stumbled backwards with its head bowed low, green fire licking at its brow and side, warring with the wicked magenta.

Link exhaled heavily, his legs trembling as he fought to stay standing. With a howl of rage the Boar bounded towards him, more than half its original size and plenty more than twice as fast, rapidly closing the distance between them on the fiery battlefield. Link held his ground, his heart racing painfully fast as he held the Master Sword skyward a fourth time. Lightning struck. Link delved deep into his own spirit, calling forth his magic and sending it down the length of the blade to feed Farosh's own power. He plunged the sword deep into the Boar's chest even as its flames raged all around him and he screamed, engulfed by the inferno. Spirit flame erupted from the Master Sword's point of impact in the Boar's body and Link's consciousness faded into black, searing heat.