The Sacred Temple

I was going on day two of being sober. Out of respect to the shaman and the king I had avoided the alluring song of the alcohol. Instead I filled it with the crawling pace of Renado's modulated voice as I listened with half-moon eyes and a clustered mind. We spoke very little of anything as we trekked across the frozen tundra to reach Castle Town. Luda chatted freely and complained frequently as the night hours turned to day. The menacing howl of the wind had slowed and a small glimmer of sunshine could be seen peeking reticently over the gray clouds.

We reached the castle gates a little after daybreak. Imperial guards rushed to our side immediately upon arrival. Before my boot had even touched the snow protected earth, a stable boy quickly grabbed the reins of Epona before taking her to the stable courtyards. Renado's luggage was carried away by a throng of maidens, along with his daughter. The tense irritable aura of the guards had disappeared, only to be replaced by a frightening sense of urgency, and the gut wrenching hollow of an unknown disaster. The usual formalities were made in an abrasive, hurried manner as we moved from room to room in upbeat bounds of speed.

The maids filled our grumbling bellies and tittered around like little birds as they watched us anxiously as we ate our food. Renado looked very at ease as he followed orders instinctively and matched the hurried quick steps of the faculty with an immeasurable amount of poise and refinement. I had entered the castle with a half-clear mind and an odd sense of sanguinity. As the day's events pressed on, the morose, languid feeling came crawling back and settled itself deep within the depths of my mind. The thrilling high of a potential adventure was crushed by the talk of politics and medical procedures. Even though I had been appointed to be Renado's official guide, it was he who was escorting me around all afternoon. I felt more like he's intern than his mentor after waves upon waves of people swarmed about us like ravenous wolves, hungry for information.

Renado spoke for me and put up with my pessimistic, blasé mood for the entirety of the day. It wasn't until we had reached the king's quarters that I decided it was best for me to leave, my welcome had run dry. I had originally intended on staying longer. After almost a day's worth of riding I had managed to build a façade of danger and wonder around the situation at hand. I was anxious to see the king, hear his words of reassurance and astuteness. I found myself fantasizing of the moment when we would enter the king's quarters. I expected to see some sort of divine oddity of epic proportions waiting for me in the den.

Instead, I found myself feeling rapidly nauseous when we walked down the long serpent like hallway to the king's room. It felt as if a vice was being pulled tightly against my abdomen. My chest was tight and felt pinched together. My lungs struggled to take in the simplest of breaths and I had nearly toppled over. Renado's orderly, prim behavior quickly disappeared as he hurriedly clutched my tumbling body as I swayed dangerously close to hitting the floor. I dismissed myself hastily before a fuss could be made. The king's door was open slightly ajar. I caught a glimpse of a black ashen corpse hand before turning abruptly.

In a panicked stupor, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, out the door. I passed through the halls clutching my chest tightly as I gasped for air. The black, deathly knot in my stomach remained and didn't release me from its grip until I had reached outside. The brisk air ate away at the gnawing pit in my stomach as I breathed in cleanly as my lungs relished the open oxygen. Then, as if it had appeared out of thin air, an idea came to me. I had to go to the Sacred Temple.

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In the middle of a snow white field, there stood the gray stone building of Hyrule's most beloved temple. The shrine stood about twenty men tall and the walls were thicker than three bulbos smashed from side to side. The tomb was primarily rectangular with high arched windows and a tall slanted roof that curved up towards the heavens. The symbol of the Triforce was embedded into the stone with deep hollow etchings that had slowly lost their sharpness from the trials of time. Bits of debris and small pieces of rubble had fallen from the once perfectly shaped boulders and onto the freezing ground below. Cracks and hairline crevices gave the building an ominous abandoned feel to it. I gulped dryly and second guessed my decision to come here.

Epona's ears twitched nervously as I slowly slid down from her backside. Her hooves stamped the snow tetchily as I made my dismount. My boots hit the snow with a defiant crunch. I patted my mare gingerly and made soft whispering noises under my breath. Her usual unperturbed stature had disappeared. She felt rigid underneath my touch and snorted haughtily when I tried to soothe her. Wisps of arid smoke rose from her nostrils and dissipated into the winter air. I squinted my eyes and peered in at the temple entrance. It was shrouded in a veil of black shadow, untouched by sunlight. The wind whistled freely in and out the entrance as it created a portentous sort of wail.

As much as I wanted to turn around, something was beckoning me into that entrance. The same clutching feeling from before bubbled forebodingly deep from within. My muscles tensed in apprehension as a ghostly shiver ebbed down my spine. The nauseating feeling lurched with such a force I nearly keeled over. My knees locked and buckled beneath the weight of my torso as I felt a hard squeeze engulfing my inner organs. My eyes shut tightly closed as little black spots danced in front of my pupils. A searing white pain shot through my forehead as I clutched my throbbing head in agony.

Epona snorted furiously as she cast a wary glance towards my direction. She did not run away from me, but she did not hesitate to keep her distance. I saw her four long legged limbs backing away from my huddled body. Her eyes looked wild as she gazed at me with the intensity of struck lightening. I grabbed at my stomach as the knot twisted, flipped, and folded over the contents of my innards. Just as the pain was starting to become unbearable, it subsided. A soft shimmering glow from the birthmark on my hand pulsed lightly, feeling like nothing more than a tickle compared to the previous encounter.

I blinked twice and slowly slid my arms out from around my stomach. I took a clean breath as I glanced around in amazement as to what had just happened. The temple still stood coldly in the snow. The ominous building's shadow engulfed around me and I heard the wind whispering my name.

Link…

Liiiii—nnnnnkkk…..

Come here

Little wolf…

I won't bite

In a trance, I felt my legs growing stronger as I propelled myself up once more. I saw myself dusting loose snow from my shoulders and knees but could not remember feeling the motion. I wanted to look back at Epona, to see her wild stare, but I couldn't turn my head around. I was walking towards the temple's entrance. A howl of wind blasted my face and blistered my skin, but yet I was taking off my riding gloves.

I watched with a nonplussed expression as I saw myself removing the thick leather gloves. The first one fell into the ground and submerged into the snowfall. I saw myself flexing the free, pale, bare fingers of my hand as my strides continued to grow in length. I couldn't look back at the glove despite the strong desire to retrieve my belonging. Instead I watched as the other glove came off just as easily. It fell in the snow along with its partner and was quickly lost in the drift.

The Triforce lit up instantaneously as an electrical surge pulsed through my veins. My blood felt warm and charged with a strong sense of stability and invincibleness. The heavy soles of my tattered riding boots hit the cobblestone in sharp measured clunks. The temple was empty and poorly lit. A long wooden torch blazed dimly in the distance. I blinked at it, and then blindly made my way towards the light.

I felt panicked, yet very serene. I couldn't panic; I was frozen by some sort of odd soothing entity. My mind raced, yet felt numb as I watched myself from a third person view from above. I saw myself grabbing the torch from its metal hanging. The rod felt stiff and coarse between my fingertips as I sturdily grabbed it by its hilt. The fire danced from above and cast odd demon shadows on the adjoining wall. I didn't look back, only at the blackness that lay ahead.

My footsteps synchronized with the fast pounding drum of my heart. My eyes were wide and felt strained as the ghostly out of body wonder continued to make its path down the temple. I wasn't scared, I wasn't questioning what I was doing, and I couldn't make myself stop. The pull continued to gravitate me towards the end of the dark looming path.

Come here…

A hissing voice, similar to the sound of trickling water resounded off the walls that enclosed me and attacked at every angle. The noise rang through my ears and vibrated through my skull. I smiled as the voice hissed again and felt a wave of pleasure wash over me as the thing called my name.

Link…

There it was. There was the Triforce. A metal holster jutted out from the grimy stone wall and I cautiously placed the scorching torch in the empty space as my eyes fixated upon the golden deity that was swallowing up the room. It wasn't golden anymore. Instead, it was as black as night.

The golden triangles were dimmed and covered in a smoke like bubble of noxious gas. Black smug rolled and fumigated around the triangle's edges and rolled upwards towards the temple's ceiling. The levitating symbol bobbed up and down in a sluggishly slow stride as it turned in torsion and twisted ever so slowly in a clockwise motion. The black smog rose to the ceiling and colored the walls in an pasty, ash like grime that looked to be about a half an inch thick.

My arm pulsed in an eager like fashion as the muscles in my arm flicked and twitched as my veins coursed with the demon like euphoria. The Triforce was glowing with a fierce, blinding white light as its thin edges pulsed and palpitated against my skin. It wasn't just the Triforce of Courage glowing this time, it was the whole triangle. Wisdom, courage, and power. A deep red glow burned and scorched the skin on my hand as the Triforce of power surged angrily beneath the membrane.

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My ears twitched involuntarily as the hissing noise resounded throughout the barren hallway. I heard a giggle that sounded so painfully familiar that it nearly snapped me out of my dazed like state. I only knew one person who had that impish, coy, laugh. Why was I hearing it now? I was going crazy. My eyes burned with the intensity of hot coals as I tried to take my eyes away from the Triforce and focus them down the blackened hallway. I wanted to scream her name. I felt her here. Where was she?

Instead I saw my hand pulling forwards. The Triforce was so bright and intense that it was impossible to look at. It blinded the eyes and hurt to look at. My fingers twitched anxiously as I felt the cold icy feeling of the black smog twisting its way around my fingers. It grabbed onto my index finger and I felt it trickling down to my knuckles. It hurt, and stung like a poisonous insect as it crept its way down to the bottom of my palm. The sensation felt like ice cubes and smoldering coals as it latched on to two more of my fingers. I watched with a blank stare. Something inside of me screamed to get away but all I could do was watch.

The smog rolled and shot out like a swarm of gnats as it finished covering the entirety of my hand. My palm was as black as soot and looked corpse like in the iridescent burn of the torch light. It was beginning to hurt. It felt like tiny needles were poking at the nerves inside my hand and infecting the tiny pores that made up my hand. The Triforce burned with a robust power that nearly brought a tear to my eye. I bit my lip furiously as I watched the smoke linger around the edges of the golden deity. There was an eerie pause of uninterrupted silence as a black succubus like tentacle awakened from the smog and crawled towards my arm. The tentacle poked upwards and swayed back in forth as if it were looking at me. It crept away and crouched backwards as if it were ready to pounce. I wanted to run, but why couldn't I? It was going for the Triforce. Where was my sword? There was a sharp grab at my shoulder and I felt an unknown source dragging me back away from the chaos.

"What are you doing?" A voice hissed in the background.

I gasped as the trickling black soot recoiled violently and blew away in a scattered whirlwind of ash. It took me a moment or two for me to regain my senses. My pupils dilated as pixilated dots blurred and centered back into focus. I stared at my palm languidly as I watched in a dream like trance as the last of the blackness drifted away into dark. After the darkness retreated it was then that I started to regain my memory. I breathed in deeply, thankful that the blackness had not taken over me and glared at the now completely harmless triangular deity. The Triforce had stopped oozing the thick tentacle like smoke and resumed the slow rotisserie like spin like it had always done before. The black smog continued to rise up but in now smaller puffs that billowed into clouds that rose and disappeared into the ceiling. The soot was no longer aggravated and I felt a chilling silence engulf itself in its place. Had I been dreaming?

I rubbed the formerly agitated skin on my palm and forearm. The skin felt cool to the touch but left no other evidence of being previously maimed. I sighed and the bravado of my voice carried through the empty chamber and echoed back to my lonely ears, except, I wasn't alone.

My head felt frazzled and the imagery of what had just happened was a bit hazy. It felt as if someone had taken an eraser to my forehead and nearly wiped clean my memory. After inspecting that everything on me was intact and functioning, I was able to remember that I had heard a voice in this seemingly deserted temple. I placed a trembling hand on the hilt of the Master Sword as I slowly pivoted and turned to face whatever was behind me.

"Link?" an anonymous voice rose from beyond the clouded room. I nearly jumped out of my skin. The sword immediately became unscathed as I pulled it menacingly and raised the blade stiffly at the ready. I growled deeply from the back of my throat as my mind struggled to comprehend where I was and what was going on. I spun around and bellowed with anger; specks of spit flew past my lips as I huffed loudly like a rabid animal. The faint drop of a pebble rolling across the cobblestone was all it took for me to lunge into the darkness. My breathing heaved and collapsed on itself when I saw the pale ghostly figure of Rusl standing a few feet away. His face was frozen in an unfathomable expression of terror. His jaw stood slightly agape and sharp beads of sweat trickled down his brow line despite the bitter cold of outside.

The sight of another Hylian did not ease my mind. Our eyes locked and the stone pallid expression of Rusl remained unchanged. My breathing was still rough and I had the Master Sword raised high above my ahead still ready to strike. Rusl stared at me with a bittering coldness and an indescribable shame swept over me when I realized that he had been watching me. What did he see exactly?

I hesitantly lowered the sword despite the aching instinct to arm myself. I still didn't feel safe in the temple and Rusl's presence was more unnerving then it was welcoming. However, had he not been here, what would have happened to me? Rusl's stone grey eyes watched my every movement meticulously as we stared at one another in the silence. I hadn't realized that Rusl had been arming himself as well. In his right hand, Rusl was carrying one of his prized swords loosely by the hilt.

"What are you doing in here?" My voice trembled with rage as I jumped backwards at the sight of Rusl's sword. "Are you trying to fucking kill me!" I roared as I swung the blade around in a haphazardly pattern as I stared at Rusl with burning eyes. Rusl shook his head in slow measured pulls before releasing the item in his right hand. The sword faltered and then clambered to the ground. The sharp noise of metal hitting stone caused me to wince before being devoured into another bought of eerie silence. Rusl watched his weapon fall to the ground with brooding eyes, and then with no warning, he fell to the ground too.

Quickly leaving my anger behind, I sheathed my weapon once more and quickly scrambled to get Rusl off the ground. I attempted to pull him back up, but with a brunt force he shoved me aside. His body felt rigid and ever y muscle in his body was tensed. I picked up his sword warily just in case. I had just been attacked and somewhat possessed by soot, I wasn't going to take my chances in here. It was then that I heard whimpering. At first I thought that I was hearing voices again, but then realized that it was Rusl who was making the wailing noises. Feeling incredibly awkward I nudged Rusl with the toe of my boot in hopes that he would stop.

Rusl jerked and quickly wiped the stray tears that stained his flushed cheeks with the back of his hand. His dirt covered fingers trembled as he motioned for his sword back. I didn't oblige but instead stood frozen while I watched his huddled body rise into his usual standing position. "Why was your sword out?" A burst of black smog wafted out of the Triforce's center and snaked its way around me before dissipating into the ceiling. I took a wary step away from the deity while trying to keep both of my eyes locked on Rusl.

"I heard a woman screaming." Rusl spoke so low that I could barely hear him, even with the fact that we were standing in a deserted stone building. He kept his head bowed low to the ground and shook his foot nervously as he seemed to struggle with some sort of internal thought.

"You heard it too?" my face brightened instantly and I felt a genuine smile beginning to play off my lips for the first time in nearly a year. "You mean it's not just me?" I queried eagerly as I childlike state of euphoria washed over me. Rusl stopped his shaking and met my gaze with tired eyes.

"W-what did you hear?" he stammered as he gripped me tightly by the shoulder blades. I could feel the hard calloused fingertips pressing deeply past the fabric of my clothing and grabbing my skin as Rusl pushed all his weight into me.

"I heard her too Rusl. She's here! She's really here. We have to go help her. I think she's in trouble. She needs us! Rusl we have to help her. I knew she was going to come back. I'm not crazy…" I mumbled off. "You heard her too."

Rusl stared at me with the emotional capacity of a statue. His fingers retracted and he awkwardly placed his hands back to his sides. "Link…she is dead." He said slowly as his eyes caught gaze of the demonic stature of the Triforce. The deity hovered and bobbed slightly as it continued to twist and turn in its final resting place. I huffed in disbelief and shoved Rusl's sword back into his hands. Rusl only stared at his weapon with discontent as he lowered it back into the scabbard.

"I don't understand. You said you heard her screaming. She was laughing Rusl, she said my name but not even a few minutes ago. I know she is here. We both heard her. How do you know she's dead?" I began to pace in an uneven matter as the hard soles of my boots resounded throughout the chamber. I could feel the repressed feelings of anger and regret bubbling deep within the pit of my stomach as my anxiety began to grow. Too many thoughts were rushing through my head. Had I been too late to save her? Is she here, alive, now? How does Rusl know her?

"I saw her die Link. I thought I was going mad when I heard her voice coming from this temple. I have not come to pay my respects to the goddesses in quite some time." Rusl's eyes stared at a dark patch on the wall. A small ghoma skittered into a small hole, returning to its web. "I recognized Epona outside and I knew you were in here. I was surprised that you were in such a place. That's when I heard the voice. I knew it couldn't have been here. I haven't heard her voice in years…I grabbed the sword because I thought there was going to be trouble." Rusl gasped and placed a withered hand on his chest as a stray tear fell down his face. "I see now that it is only evil." He spat as his eyes locked onto the blackened Triforce.

"Rusl…What do you mean you saw her die? How do you know of her?" My mind began to race once more as I thought of Midna. Was she using me? How did she know Rusl? Who else knew about our connection? Who in Hyrule even knew that she existed? I thought it had just been me and Zelda, Rusl was proving to me that I was mistakenly wrong.

Rusl sighed heavily and refused to meet my gaze. "I suppose you were going to ask this question someday. I am surprised that it has taken you this long to be truthful." Rusl scratched the back of his neck as he gritted his teeth in a tight scowl. He shifted about awkwardly and I could see only imagine the gears churning about in his head as he struggled to come up with an answer.

"How do you know about Midna? Where is she?" I demanded as a surge of anger pulsated deep within with the intensity of molten lava. Rusl stopped scratching and caught my gaze. His lips were pulled tight but I could tell that he was suppressing a smirk.

"I'm afraid we are speaking of two different women." He said slowly, his voice rose in tenor and he began to sound more like his stoic self. His eyes flicked back to the smog and then darted back to my own eyes. "That thing," he gestured at the blackness and scowled in disgust, "is not something the likes of you and I are able to comprehend. We best be going before anything else happens that we won't be able to control."

"I heard her Rusl!" I roared angrily as I stamped my foot into the ground. The firelight in the back wavered and flickered as a gust of wind blew through the temple entrance. "She's here…" my voice tapered off as I looked at the blackness that surrounded me on all four sides. It was all dark, maybe she wasn't here. These were not the type of shadows I wished to be seeing.

"I saw you Link." Rusl grumbled defiantly as a knowing look glinted in his eyes. "Whatever you are chasing is not here. Had not I have showed up, where would you be right now? Hmmm? Don't let the darkness swallow you. There is still light in you, I sense it." Rusl grabbed the only lit torch in the room and turned away from me and towards the exit. Not wanting to be alone in the dark with the smog I followed suit.

"How the fuck would you know…" I sneered rhetorically as I quickened my pace in order to keep up.

Rusl chuffed and a small smile appeared through his gruff features. Nearing the light of the day I could see that Rusl was not in his peak condition either. He hadn't shaven in a few days and was sporting a massive attack of five o'clock shadow. "You and I aren't so different." He said assertively as the first rays of light began to come into view. "I advise you not to go back in there. Something is wrong with that Triforce. It shows us our desires Link. We are lucky to have not been ensnared by the demon's trap. That is not the work of the goddesses in there. Whatever that thing is, it is not our friend anymore."

"Rusl what did you hear?" I asked. The snow trodden valley of Hyrule field was in view. I smiled as the familiar scenery replaced the dark innards of the temple's chamber. Epona was still where I left her, nibbling on small patches of grass like nothing had happened. That's the funny thing about the world, is that it keeps going even when you stop. Rusl placed the torch back onto the metal hanging of the wall and didn't look back into the temple upon doing so.

"A long lost love." Rusl whispered quietly as stepped out onto the snow. He shook his head sadly at an unknown memory and then peered up to the sky. He kissed his fingertips and then blew the kiss upwards to the glowing orange sun before bowing his head respectfully. He called for his steed and straddled the stallion with the ease and grace of a nobleman. I had always wondered why Rusl did not join the royal knights of Hyrule.

"Are you coming?" he nudged in a playful voice as he nodded his head towards the direction of Castle Town. I shook my head in slow agreement as I took on last look at the temple. I heard the laugh again…Come home to me please.