The Legend of Zelda

The Clan Wars: Rise of Dethl

Chapter 3: The Pantheon

Burning. Burning…all was burning…

Grand Farrow was aflame. The whole western side of the city was in ruins, and the border wall between the dark side and what little of Greenholme was left standing was beginning to crumble. The castle was being stormed by soldiers, bringing forth their bows and preparing their catapults. All aimed over towards the west, where the demon gorged itself and was laughing.

The queen was in her labors. She wept as her maidens carried her through what was left of the city. A few soldiers escorted her and her servants through the city to somewhere that they could be safe, all the while doing their best to defend what was left of their home. The queen wept not from childbirth, but from sorrow. No pain was greater than that in her heart, for she knew very well that her husband was as good as dead.

The soldiers charged upon cavalry at the monster, wielding spears and charging blindly towards their doom. Nightmare laughed at the sight of the puny insects running towards him like ants trying to defend their hill from the flames of a brushfire. With a mighty swing of his arm, half of the cavalry was gone; completely absorbed into his body. The other half fell from his powerful eye beams, completely disintegrated from his powerful magic.

Arrows and stones from catapults flew from the castle. Nightmare did not move or even flinch as they struck. However, all were surprised when he absorbed the weapons…and shot them back. Arrows flung through the air and struck out at those who tried to stand up against the beast, while stones flung from catapults returned to their senders and brought them down low. Few survived, and blood ran red like rivers across the city.

The few villagers on the opposite side fled for their lives. Those who were lucky enough to have left before this chaos and destruction were the ones who could honestly say that their lives were still intact, for even these villagers were not immune to Nightmare's wrath. Landslides caused by the beast blocked their paths; crushing many and leaving the rest stranded in Greenholme…perhaps for good. Nightmare roared in triumph and began to take out what was left of the walls, destroying all in his path.

"We must get the queen out of the country!" one of the maidens shouted, "We need to get her away before she releases the baby!"

"It's too late," one of the guards said, "The pass is blocked, and the only other way out is too rocky and steep for a woman about to give birth! We have to get her into one of the shelters!"

"The shelters were taken out by the monster when we launched the first salvo of arrows!" another guard shouted, "All is lost! We are doomed! Damned by the Goddesses…curse them all!"

The queen listened quietly to the men even in her weeping. She felt like cursing her creators herself, but she suddenly had an epiphany…even in the destruction, all was not lost. If there was a chance that she could save those she loved, her people…her family…she would do it.

"The-there is…" she hissed in pain between every word that she spoke, for the child was coming fast, "There is one place…Uhnnn!...that we can go. The castle dungeons run deep…aah!...into the bedrock. We must get everyone we can inside!"

"That's impossible, your highness!" the second guard said, "The castle is where the beast is! It'll be too dangerous!"

"No, listen to her!" the first guard shouted, "Would you rather want to die and leave this place in ruins?! Come, my queen! I shall lead you and your maidens there, and guard you with my life. You have my word."

The queen nodded her gratitude. Quickly, the three maidens and a few of the guards and surviving villagers made their way back to the castle. The one guard who doubted the Goddesses just stood there, unsure what to do, and unsure whether to follow or to just accept his fate.

He never had a chance to choose, for at that moment Nightmare had begun sweeping over the eastern side of the city, breathing fire and destroying all in his path.

The king made his way deeper and deeper into the Tower of Hera. The mighty structure had an aura of ancient proportions that seemed to seep through every stone and every crack in the walls. Carvings that seemed to indicate ancient times past and perhaps even future events lined the hallway that the king was walking through. Though he was naked, he found the temperature to be not too cold, and his discomfort of being without clothes and modesty was soon forgotten.

The inner depths of the tower were filled with ancient artifacts of all kinds. There were trinkets, baubles, busts, and carvings of every shape and size, each more beautiful and attractive to the eye than the next. There were carvings of great dragons with eyes made of gemstones and scales made of rubies, golden gems, sapphires, or even rock as black as the night. The king could not read the cryptic runes that he passed, but he could somehow understand the names of each creature that he passed, simply by looking into their eyes.

They were the Spirits; the guardians of the world. Mighty Demigods in mortal form, they were. Each of them was awe-inspiring to behold, even though they were merely carvings and busts that depicted them. Shrines stood proudly in the hall and in the separate chambers, proclaiming each and every Spirit that was known to the religion of the Hylian people, even those unknown to them.

There was the Great Deku Tree, leader of the people of the Forest. He who guarded the sea of green, who stood taller than the highest pine and broader than the thickest oak. Beside him, placed in row upon row, were two different groups of seeds that had been carved into the likeness of two different races. The first was child-like, very detailed and built out of green hazelnuts; fresh and ripe and still as full of life as they were when they first dropped. The second was wilder in appearance; strange, gangly things that looked more like imps, but still retained a childish appearance. They were carved out of walnuts that were old and worn; though the smell that wafted from them revealed a sense of oneness with nature, as if the walnuts were almost ready to release the seedlings within.

The next was a creature called Lord Jabu-Jabu. It was depicted as a creature that was half whale, half shark. One half of the mighty creature was calm, joyous to behold, and seemed to represent the calmness of the water on a clear summer day. It was covered in scales made of fresh sapphires, and had robes of scarlet all across its body. The other half was more bestial; shark-like, like a creature ready to strike or defend whenever the situation calls. Though it still retained some shape of its original, it had sharp teeth of diamonds that were curled into a snarl, and its eye was made of a ruby that seemed to flash like fire. It was covered in scales of turquoise that were sharpened and dangerous to touch. Two other races were standing beneath its mighty fins; on the beast's left, on the shark side, were carvings of a nasty-looking fish race with green scales and sharp, jagged teeth and claws. On the other side, next to the great whale, were a race of creatures made of very bright blue gemstones, which seemed to be calm and had with them a very graceful beauty across their smooth bodies.

There were many other Spirits that the king had passed. Some of them he recognized, like the Spirits of Light; who stood side by side in a row and carried bright gems made of quartz that seemed to shine even in the dark light, without torches or any other form of light to aid them in their mighty glow. Others he did not recognize, but could understand their significance, such as a mighty serpentine dragon covered in red scales made of rubies, and had an ebon helmet with horns like a ram's. The king knew that, right then and there, he was gazing upon a pantheon of Spirits, who were each equals to one another in their own right, and as powerful as the elements themselves.

Finally, the king reached an even greater chamber. In this one, great statues of silver, bronze, and platinum were erected to represent the lesser Gods. One of these silver statues was in the shape of a horse; a mare with a gentle face, rearing up on her hind legs. The king recognized her at once as Epona, the great horse that had brought him to this sacred place, and he bowed low to the mighty statue.

The eyes seemed to gleam. The king suddenly felt a tingling feeling across his waist and down to his upper legs. He looked down and saw that he was suddenly clad in the lower half of a tunic, which covered his groin and hindquarters and gave him the modesty that he, though ignored at the time, greatly missed.

Yet another great gift that puts me even more in your debt, the king thought. When I return, I'll be sure to have my priests permanently add you to the pantheon of our religion.

The king gazed upon the other statues, each of them twice as large as he was. Some of them depicted frogs; one of them wielded a conductor's wand, while the other held a staff that had a carving of a cyclone in full gale at the end. One bronze statue depicted a beautiful woman who sat cross-legged upon a pedestal of what could only be described as sand. She seemed to have an air of pride surrounding her person, though her face was like that of a kind mother. However, the cobra sitting upon the headdress that covered her hair, which was made of rubies, seemed poised to strike at anything that crossed her. The king gulped and decided to bow to this deity as well, knowing that it may be a disgrace to her otherwise.

The king was suddenly clothed in a white sash of the finest cotton and silk. The sash came down to his tunic piece and went up and draped across his right shoulder, and felt very soft to the touch. He silently thanked the great Goddess of sand for her gift, and continued admiring the other statues.

In the end, he felt that it would be a disgrace to leave the room and not give each of the deities their proper credit. He bowed to each of them in turn, and was suddenly bestowed upon by gifts; some large and some small, but each extravagant and beautiful in their own rights. One of the frogs granted him a tunic shirt that was bright green and seemed to breathe in the wind. The other granted him a shirt of chain mail, which fit nicely over his tunic piece and was fit just underneath his cotton sash. A multi-limbed Goddess with beautiful hair and the radiance of a star granted him a scabbard of fine leather and solid metal, while a great dragon God gave him a set of pants as white as snow that went well with his green tunic. The final of this small pantheon, a fairy-like creature that stood just above the doorway leading further into the tower, gave him the greatest gift of all; a golden crown that sat upon his head.

A gift fitting for a king of kings and a great warrior, a voice seemed to whisper in his ear.

"I must say," the King piped up, "these gifts are beautiful, though I feel that I am not worthy of any one of them. Why do you bless me so?"

You have done what many others refuse to do, the dragon God seemed to whisper. And it is also something that only our respected peoples have only just done…you grant us respect.

It is something that many seem to forget to grant their creators in these ages, the multi-limbed Goddess said. It is especially common in times of great prosperity, followed by great destruction. Whenever the land is beautiful, or the times are pleasing, mortals often forget us. And when darkness falls swiftly over the land and there is much suffering…we are the ones blamed first…

It is a very depressing fact, the two frog Gods said in unison. One is more likely to hear a mortal curse his God or ignore the pleas of the faithful than to say a single word of gratitude that they are even alive when times go bad.

But not all mortals are this way, the Sand Goddess said. Those who are the true faithful are the ones most blessed, especially those fallen upon the hardest of times. Even when the darkest corners of the world come rushing in upon them, and hopelessness begins to bang upon death's door, they still believe and still pray for our guidance and aid. It is they who are the most blessed, for even when all is lost they still believe…

The great fairy spoke again. You who were raised in a society where only the highest are acknowledged and where many are willing to spit at our temples for the dark evils that have descended upon the land are one of these blessed, for not only do you believe truly in the faith of your own Gods, but you are also willing to acknowledge respect to those beings who, though of lesser importance, are also tied to this world. It is for this reason that we bless you, and it is also for this reason that you have been chosen.

Chosen? "What do you mean?"

We cannot answer that, the dragon God spoke. Our mothers are the only ones who must speak with you of this matter. Pass on, through these doors, and your questions shall be answered…

The room suddenly became very quiet. The king could tell that he was alone now. The statues lost a bit of their luster, meaning that the Gods and Goddesses had left him to his own. Now clothed and covered in beautiful gifts, he made his way deeper into the tower, climbing up great stairs and passing through extravagant halls full of stone carvings, silk tapestries, paintings of great design and shape, and more busts and statues of beautiful creatures and Gods of ancient times.

The king made his way further up the tower. Stair after stair, he climbed. His physique could handle it, though he didn't know how much further he had to go. Was he to continue climbing up these great stairs until he reached past the heavens and touched the moon itself? However, he soon found that his questions would soon be answered, for he reached the last of the stairs.

The chamber was enormous. It was a tremendous room that was large enough to fit all of Grand Farrow Castle and still have room. It likely took up a large part of the tower, and though it was made of plain stone it seemed to carry an ambience that was as holy as if standing before a Goddess. Of course, the King paid no attention to the room, for he believed he was standing before a Goddess…three of them.

Three mighty statues of gold stood at the far end of the room. They were tall enough to reach almost as high as the ceiling above, and each when standing from side to side were not more than ten steps away from either sides of the walls. Each looked similar, and yet they had their own differences. One had hair made of what could only be described as whole strings of rubies, and had a much stronger physique than the others, like a proud woman in her prime of life. The one in the center had a more gentle face, with hair like sapphire and a kinder disposition, like a motherly figure. The one on the right had hair of emeralds, and looked wilder and almost stronger than the other two; full of life, and courage.

The Golden Goddesses, the king said to himself.

The king was so awed by the three that he bowed low. Upon his knees he went, his body bent low until his face was kissing the ground. He said a silent prayer of thankfulness and awe, for he was stunned, mesmerized, and terrified being in the presence of the three creators of Hylia.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps. They were soft and dainty, like the footsteps of three young virgins who were both frightened and yet courageous; the life of innocence still in their breasts. The king looked up, and was shocked to find that he was not alone.

Three young women walked forward from in the darkness. Each had the appearance as if the had only just come of age, with beautifully fair skin and bright eyes that were filled with the woman spirit. They were attractive in the eye, and if the king was not already married and had a wife with child he would have fallen madly in love with all three of them. They each looked like sisters; indeed, they bore the same skin and the same shine in their eyes, and they could have easily been triplets; but each were much different.

The first, who had walked forward from Din's statue, had hair as red and as glowing as the Goddess' herself. Her eyes glowed brightly like fire, and she stood proudly like a woman of great power and prestige. Her body was covered in red, thin robes, and she moved about like a dancer; indeed, she was not simply walking, but dancing upon the floor. Her right hand held tightly to a large rod, which had a red gem on the top and vines encasing from the gem down to the base.

The second was a fair maiden that came forth from Nayru's statue. She had beautiful hair the color of the blue sky, which flowed like the maiden to the left. Her eyes shown bright blue, like the depths of the great Lake Everglass, and though she stood frail she bore the aura of someone wise beyond her years. She wore a beautiful dress of the brightest blue silk, and a sash of ocean blue cotton. Her voice was pure; in fact, she seemed to be singing even though her mouth was closed. She carried a lyre carved of the finest elm wood, with gold and ornaments acting as the bases holding the strings.

The third maiden was fair, though she was dressed much differently than her sisters. Her hair was also fair, and emerald green, but it was set up into a headdress that was similar to two giant mushrooms of green. Her eyes were like the beautiful leaves of a forest with the sun shining through. Her dress was yellow green and was rather short; having frills both at the base of the dress and the sleeves. She bore the aura of a courageous woman, and her eyes seemed to hold many secrets in the depths of her mind. She bore a strange book with green binding that seemed almost alive, as if it was full of the magic of life.

The three maidens stopped in their tracks as they got within ten feet of the bowing king. Suddenly, they began to glow brightly, as if the door to the deepest and darkest cave had just suddenly opened up. The king covered his eyes as the flash of light was followed by a great explosion, which seemed to rock through the tower and rip through the very fabrics of reality.

When the king opened his eyes, he gazed around in shock. He was no longer in the temple, but floating in what could only be described as the abyss that was space. A great, golden light seemed to shine from somewhere beyond the blanket of stars, and the very objects themselves seemed to float about near where the king was flying. He got up and stood up, finding that there seemed to be some kind of floor where he stood. The three maidens also stood in their exact positions, and were no longer glowing…though the king was no longer gazing upon them.

The golden statues had morphed. No longer where they gold, but they were now the three Goddesses in their true forms. Silken flesh that was fair to gaze upon had replaced the gold that was their likeness in the mortal realm, and their bodies did in fact seem to glow brightly in the color of gold. Din bore beautiful robes as red as her fair hair, while Nayru bore a dress as blue as her eyes. Farore was covered in neither of these; instead, she was covered in a dress of leaves, and her whole clothing was full of the life that she had bore upon the world. The king could not help but feel drawn to this great Goddess; not because of her lack of what mortals defined as clothing, but mostly because he felt a motherly feeling towards the Goddess of Courage, for indeed he knew very well that she was the creator of all life on the world that was Hylia.

"Hail, Aidan, last king of Greenholme," the three Goddesses said in unison, "Hail to thee, for you are blessed among all men, and all descendants of thee are equally as blessed."

"Blessed?" the king asked in confusion, "How is it that I am blessed? Am I blessed because there is an evil at the doorstep of the world? Am I blessed because I released a demon, who even now is ravaging my people and the place that I call home? Am I blessed because my name should be cursed for all eternity as the man who released the beast called Nightmare?!"

"You are blessed for those reasons and more," Nayru spoke up, "for it is for those reasons that we have brought you here upon this grave our, and it is also for those reasons that we bear upon your shoulders…a task."

A task? The king thought.

"No thoughts are secret to us," Din said proudly, "Yes, you are borne upon you a task. It is a task unlike anything, for you are the first to ever be amongst those of the Hylian race to ever be called upon by us when your people, and all the world, are in mortal peril."

"The creature that you face is a monster from a time long forgotten," Nayru spoke in a calm and clear voice, "It is a creature we long thought had been destroyed; an evil that existed far longer than this world has ever seen. It is an evil that feeds off of all that is our creation, but cannot exist in the open air of the sky, where my power runs free…not without severe forms of protection."

"The beast that has formed in your land had learned to absorb the energy and intelligence of the creatures I bred into this world," Farore said with a sense of urgency, "It is without a doubt that it could absorb other forms of energy as well, and use it to its advantage. That is how it managed to take a blessed and sacred relic as one of the Light Arrows, and use it to keep himself in physical form. It is why our magic could not stop him."

"Then why don't you stop him, if you don't mind my asking?" the king asked, "You are the creators of Hyrule; our masters, those who are proclaimed to be fully deserving of our love. Why do you not pass judgment upon this monster?!"

All three Goddesses lowered their heads in shame, and it was enough to almost cause the king to weep for them; for saying such harsh words. He did not, however, and kept his ground.

Nayru broke the silence first. "Alas, we cannot. We are guided by a binding law of my creation that was forged under the extent of a great mistake. When Hyrule was created, and when its sister worlds were formed and when even the greatest of all enchantments was woven into place, we three agreed that we would never intervene with the lives of mortals. Instead, we would watch from afar, and leave the duty to lesser Demigods and Spirits; those who could watch the whole of the world with better care, and would be more than able to focus more upon all the details in such a little time in speed that even we could not accomplish."

"Such an act was folly," Din said angrily, "For not only has it parted us from the world of our creation, but it also has granted more evils to come in the form of either chaos or the bitter temptations of greed or desire to come forth in our absence. Our only means of being capable of descending upon this world is to do so in mortal forms…forms that are much more contained, and strictly following the guiding path that is Nayru's Law."

She beckoned down to the three girls with her right hand. As if to prove Din's point, the maiden directly in front of her waved her own right hand in the exact same fashion.

"Such a burden like this shall end today," Farore said, "for now we have a solution to this crisis."

"The beast known to you as Nightmare goes by another name," Nayru said, "This name is Dethl. It is a creature formed of chaos, back during a time where emotion, righteousness, good, and evil did not exist. This beast is a powerful creature, and its magic is strong and alien to you and your kind. Even worse now is he is empowered by the Light Arrows, and will continue to cause rampage and destruction for as long as he sees fit, and we will be unable to stop him. However, he does have one weakness."

Suddenly, all three Goddesses pointed their right fingers at the king. There was a powerful flash of light, and three bolts of pure energy surged through his body. The king did not feel pain, though the energy that surged through him did cause his body to convulse and writhe as if it were in terrible pain. He did not know how or why this was being done, but before he could ask, he saw something come out of his body.

It was a glowing sphere. It shone with a supernatural light. The king did not know what to make of it, but he did know that it was important. As he was carefully lowered back down, the Goddesses maneuvered the object with their hands and placed it in the middle of the three maidens, who encircled the object.

"The Hylian Spirit," Farore said, "It is something that I made to ensure the survival of your particular mortals as a whole. Though it is unique in its own right, it does have a twin in the north, though the spirit of Man is much more rugged and more built for his own survival. The Hylian Spirit is laced with honor, compassion, and the desire to do what is right. It is a representation of all that is good…the very opposite of evil. Dethl does not know this magic, and he hates it, which is why he intends to crush the Hylian Spirit by destroying all in his path."

"But a weapon made by such spirit," Din said, "will be a weapon unlike any other in all of the cosmos; a blade that would be the bane of all that is evil. Time shall not destroy it, and even if the most powerful enchantments try to weaken it, the weakness will be for only a short time."

"This blade shall have no equal in the entire known universe," Nayru said, "There will be others that will act with a similar purpose, but even they will have only a fraction of power or a fraction of skill or similarity when compared to the might of this blade. It shall be forged from the essence of pure Hylian spirit, and all evil will fear its name!"

The glowing sphere stood still and unmoving. The king watched in fascination as the three Goddesses raised their hands over the three girls. Bolts of lightning shot down, and the maidens were suddenly possessed. Their eyes glowed brightly in their respective colors of fiery red, shining white blue, and flower yellow-green.

The rod in the red maiden's hand suddenly began to change. The gem became a multi-colored hammer, and seemed to glow with all the power of the four seasons. The lyre in the blue maiden's hand suddenly formed a large staff-like end, and the wood suddenly solidified and formed flattened and hardened edges. The green maiden's book began to form a shaft of vines that suddenly became a stave, extending from the bindings of the book, and the book itself began to seal over to protect the pages.

"Thus," the three Goddesses spoke in unison, "we, the Golden Goddesses, shall forge this mighty blade. It shall be the master of all evil, and so Master shall be its name. We grant our divine powers into this mighty sword, forged of the Hylian Spirit. We shall call it, henceforth, the Blade of Evil's Bane!"

The three maidens suddenly began to hammer the glowing sphere with their individual tools. Thunder and lightning shook the air, and light flashed with each strike upon the bright orb. The king covered his eyes, but the light pierced through even the flesh and bones of his arms, and all he could do was watch.

Each strike was like the strike of a gong. All three maidens took their turn in slamming their tools upon the sphere, which slowly began to take shape. The elements began to slowly churn from their tools and pass on into the object, and with each strike a little more energy was put into the weapon being crafted. Glowing lights of red, blue, and green flashed in turn, and though they had been toiling for what seemed like hours, none of the maidens ever dropped so much as a single droplet of sweat.

Suddenly, the sphere had formed itself into the shape of a glowing sword. With each new strike, a piece of the sword suddenly took definable form, and revealed the beautiful, powerful blade that was being created. Slam! Bash! Clang! The three tools continued their monotonous tones. The three Goddesses above began pooling in their energy into the blade, and the glowing weapon began to shine from a purplish glow to bright red, to bright blue, to bright green. Finally, the weapon began to glow pure white; a white so powerful, that it almost threatened to blind the king, though he dared not look away.

At last, all three maidens twisted their tools into the air. With a final cry from each, they struck the blade a final time, the ends of their staffs pointed straight up towards their respected Goddesses. Like lightning rods, the three staffs absorbed the last of the energy shot from the fingertips of the deities, transferring it into the mighty blade that began to almost sign with its first few moments of creation.

At long last, the ritual was over. The three maidens backed away, their staffs transforming back into their original forms. The three Goddesses lowered their hands, and the maidens' eyes reverted to their original respective colors. The blade rose into a vertical position, rising higher until the hilt was just at the height of the king's shoulders. The blade's glow dimmed, though the shine upon the sword was still there. The king could only gaze at it in wonder and awe as the blade hung there in the stillness of space.

The sword had a beautiful blade. It was not entirely silver, instead having a kind of bluish tinge to it; like the color of metal bathed in a bath of solid ice just after it had been tempered. The mighty blade bore blue markings that did not seem to have any meaning other than adding to its unique and beautiful design. The crossguard of the blade was not exactly made of wood, though it was still beautiful to behold nonetheless. It was a purplish, dark-blue in color, and had a solid, golden gemstone of an unknown metal in the exact center where the blade was attached to the hilt. The actual hilt was made of some kind of unidentifiable leather, and had a similar yellow gemstone at the pommel, surrounded by the same purple material as the crossguard.

The blade slowly began to move closer towards the king. The mighty weapon seemed to shine brightly as it made its way closer, as if glowing in anticipation of being held by its destined master. The king could only stare at the blade, admiring how perfect his reflection stood out in the metal; almost like a blade made of the clearest water. The king slowly began to raise his hand, and as he did, his fingers began to grasp the hilt, until he finally held the hilt in his hand.

The blade suddenly shone with a beautiful white light. It seemed to sing like when two metal swords clash together in battle, except it didn't sing like poorly crafted metal, but sung almost like an actual creature was releasing its voice to the world. When the display was over, the blade's light dimmed, allowing the king to hold it high into the air without being dazzled by the spectacular lights.

"You are now destined to wield this sword," Nayru said proudly, "Carry it forth, Aidan son of Archinore, and save the people you so proudly lead."

"Be forewarned," Din warned, "This beast's magic is strong. Dethl had absorbed the energy and forms of many creatures in the depths of time. You must know that, though his forms may change, he is still as vulnerable as he is as his true form."

"Do not be faint of heart as you face this foe," Farore said compassionately, "Look to the sword for guidance, and fight only for the sake of righteousness. However, do not assume that your kingdom can return to its former glory, even if you defeat the beast; for though you will have defeated Dethl, he will not give back that which he takes until his final end, which has yet to be decided."

The air around him suddenly began to fade. The depths of eternal space seemed to warp and writhe, and the king suddenly realized that he was being taken away from this place. The three Goddesses raised their right hands in unison, holding them out in a gesture of farewell.

"My steed, Epona, shall guide you home," Farore's whisper reached his ear, "She has always enjoyed the company of mortals, and thus the company of mortals she shall have. Let her aid you in the coming battle."

"Now," all three Goddesses said in unison, "Go forth, and vanquish the evil that is Dethl. Defeat the evil that is Nightmare!"

The three maidens each blew a kiss to the king, as if granting him one last farewell. And then, as sudden as he had arrived, he was gone.

To be concluded…

Kerian: How many of you are excited that this is the second to last chapter in the whole story? I know I am. This story has taken up a bit of my time, but the good news is that it's short...so, hopefully, everyone will be able to enjoy this success of a story!

Alright, this chapter has a bit of a lesson. I'm kind of a religious man, and I got philisophical with this chapter. Something that many people do is blame God for their troubles, or turn aside when they are doing good in life. I just thought I'd point that out because, regardless of religion, it's a sad fact of life. I'd go on, but I'd probably get this story taken off for preaching, and I certainly don't want that to happen...lol.

Now we see the origins of the Master Sword...I bet you guys liked how I introduced the Oracles from the Oracle of Seasons/Ages games and The Minish Cap. They are going to have quite an impact when the actual Clan Wars fanfic comes out. Since their names are similar to the names of the Golden Goddesses, I wanted to give them a unique origin, the same way I made a unique origin with Epona. However, I'm not going to delve into how they become what they are today until the Clan Wars fanfic, so we'll just have to wait on that and see where it goes.

So, now that the king (I couldn't last without giving him a name, so I decided to flash one out just because) has the Master Sword, a great horse, and some clothes and a will to kick some butt...All in all, a great chapter. Now, all we need to do is see it get finished...until the final chapter, me out!

-Kerian