Author's Note: I apologise if this story seems to be going rather slowly, as I can tell myself that we won't be getting into the main game for another few chapters. I'm sorry, but I need to get some of the beginning stuff out of the way so events later on in the game is easier to understand!
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but those who watch them without doing anything."
~Albert Einstein~
Shards Of Time
An Ocarina of Time FanFiction
Chapter 3: Revelation
~Interlude~
Everywhere was dark, so Link automatically assumed that something isn't right. Before him sood a large wall of rock, two large torches illuminating a large slab of wood embedded into the wall as well. He had never, ever seen something like this, and probably wouldn't in a place like the Kokiri Forest. Something definitely wasn't right, and things were surely about to get worse. A loud clap and a flash of light startles him, stopping his heart completely.
He spun around, trying to figure out what the flash was, as well as the grumble and shaking of the ground that soon followed. A massive creaking sound sent him whirling back around towards the wall of rock and wood, watching in shock as the wood moved downwards to form a bridge of sorts. He had no idea what was going on, but he was determined to find out. Beyond the wall seemed to be numerous large houses, much bigger than he had ever seen in the Forest.
The area beyond the wall looked even gloomier than where he was standing, which he was finding quite hard to believe, until he saw something in the distance that made the place beyond the wall a lot less sombre. There was some sort of animal rushing towards him, two people mounted atop of it. The creature was pure white, although seemed a lot less hairy and angry than a Wolfos.
Something certainly isn't right, but things couldn't surely get stranger... could they?
Before the animal could get too close and harm him, however, Link briskly jumped out of the way like he would do if Mido ever tried to swing a punch at him, even if that made the situation worse for me as he was dodging his swings. There was suddenly a ball of light above him, a Guardian Fairy, and that's when he knew for sure that something was definitely not right. He, in the waking world, did not have a Guardian Fairy; the only one. For that, he was at the centre of all jokes and pranks.
He caught a glimpse of the two people riding the animal. The taller figure had silver hair, yet didn't look ancient in the slightest, while the person they are clutching tight, protecting even, seemed to be dressed in white and pink, though their hair was covered completely. He watched them fly off into the murky distance, dark clouds consuming their figures before long, when another sound was sounded from behind him: the panting of the obscure animal once again, apparently racing after the two who had just fled from the town.
Link spun around, seeing yet another of that animal from before, however in jet black this time with fiery hair which suited the black-armoured rider. The creature reared back and the rider raised his tanned, palm; generating some sort of force within it. Link, scared over what the man was creating within a fraction of a second after stopping, rose his arms over his face, knowing that it wasn't going to be good; then something even stranger occurs.
"No!" He jolted himself out of his braced position to see a girl around his own age gliding in front of him, curved swords drawn. Her hair was as red as the uniform that she wore, and she took the impact of the force for him. She tumbled to the ground as the rider left the scene, rain pounding hard on them as both the young boy and the girl stared at each other for a few moments.
"Wake up...!" A pause. "Ugh, can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy boy?"
That's when he woke...
~Ciren~
My eyes scan the empty terrain around me, my arm back in front of my face to pull my cowl further down my face as the tiny sand grains attach themselves to my eyelashes. We haven't even been moving for that long, and it seems that I've already lost my ability to sense (let alone see) Nisah through the thick sandstorm that had sparked only a few minutes ago. Horror seeps into my system at the thought. "Nisah?!" I call out, choking on the sand that soon invades my system. "N-Nisah?!"
Luz whines, and I suddenly realise how long we must have been going for to make him so tired out. I can do nothing else but leap off of my stallion and help him out of the sand that has begun to consume his legs. Luz shakes his head at me violently, bowing his head from the sand attempting to lodge itself into his eyes, shoving me away with his nose; urging me away so I can live to see the sun rise tomorrow, but I won't have it.
"Stop it, Luz!" I hiss between closed teeth, grasping his reigns tightly. "I'm not leaving you to die here! If you're going to be stubborn about this, then I will be too!" He whines in obvious irritation and attempts to pull the reigns from my grip, yet I have none of it. I won't leave him to die out here alone, as he is one of the two people I can place my trust into fully; strangely enough. His dark eyes sparkle in woe, and I can't help but sigh as I rest my forehead against the bridge of his nose, knowing that are fate's have been written down in black and white now.
I need to go... I order myself, raising my head to solidify my resolve further, noticing the moon shimmering through the wild winds of the Wasteland. Now. When I try to move my feet, however, all I find is that I am struggling to move too. I shift my eyes downwards to discover that me being stationary for so long has cause for the sand to briskly pile up and submerge half of my shins. I break myself as much as I can out of the flood of desert biting at my legs, using Luz's reigns to help me further so that we can combine our weight and drag me out.
Holding my arm across my face, I chew at my lip. I'm alone in the Haunted Wasteland, without any way of seeing the Desert Colossus which used to be ahead of me. Nisah and her horse are still nowhere to be seen, and will most likely stay like that for the rest of the time that this storm howls into my ears, plus Luz as well as I are slowly sinking into the abyss of golden death. Holy Din, Nayru and Farore... I think to myself, clutching Luz's reigns tightly in fear. I am going to die.
I shouldn't have done this, but I did. Now I am paying the price for it.
I let myself internally sigh when I hear a cackle surround the area, halting any of my thoughts that threaten to surface at this moment. I look around for a few moments, my eyes widening as they lock onto a small floating figure in the distance. Begging that it is Nisah, my hope both dies and revives itself when I see the lantern that it holds lights up the sand, but surely not enough to guide me to the Desert Colossus. Nisah was not carrying a lantern, even if we should have through the fact that you can't predict storms, but if someone else is stupid enough than us to be here too; I'll find them.
"Who—?"
It giggles in good nature, cutting me off before I can . "I'll be your guide on your way!" It says loudly, although its voice is barely heard over the sound of the sandstorm. "but coming back, I won't play! I'll show you the only way to go, so follow me and don't be slow!" I watch in surprise as it floats gently up to me, holding my face with its free hand; even though I still cannot see the being. "Only one with the Eye of the Sheikah can see me here. What sorcery do you possess, my dear?"
I slap the hand out of the way in anger tingling deep within my bones. "I don't have any magic that you speak of!" I snap, sand spewing into my open mouth and causing me to cough harshly, panicking wildly to try and get my feet out of the sand. My voice suddenly turns into a rare tone of desperation, one that I am shameful to have but also joyful to hold at the same time because of this specific moment. "Just help. Please..."
"One with the Eye of Truth shall be guided to the Spirit Temple by an inviting ghost. Follow into salvation through your host!" It giggles before more, then taking off into the sand ahead. With a loud grunt, I strain around Luz to pull myself out of the deep sands again, swinging myself around and onto his saddles, the ghost using some form of magic to swirl the sand around Luz's feet away.
The ghost laughs creepily and flies of into the distance. I harshly kick Luz's sides, racing off into the distance before the creature can get away from me. Luz, in response to the creature, or my change in resolve, straight away kicks up a storm of sand himself as he racess after the obscure being, not wanting to let it out of his sight. I am not about to lose my chance of getting both Luz and I out of this alive, even if the Wasteland may just be messing with my mind to make me think this.
I pray to Din that it isn't just the Wasteland toying with me...
I don't know how long I follow this strange being for, and it takes even longer before I realise that I am delirious for trusting something that flies about and constantly rhymes. Nonetheless, I spot the creature in the distance once again, the light from the lantern thankfully helping to light the way. Luz has had next to no trouble in getting through the sand now, even breaking into a gallop for most of it.
From what the moon says, even if I can barely see its rays through the sandstorm that still persists, it must be going into the early hours of the morning, and which is a little worrying because we had set off before the moon reach its zenith, and we haven't reached the Spirit Temple. Yet I'm worried that Nisah hasn't had the help from this ghost like I have, and haven't made it to the Desert Colossus like I have the slim chance of getting into. I can't lose Nisah; nothing will be the same without her.
A gust of wind suddenly bites at my side again, almost sending me toppling off of Luz with a fright. The wind, however, dies down without much of a warning, and the horrific storms soon begins to break up after at least three hours. A small smile breaks across my face and Luz lets out a joyful neigh, speeding up without my command. The ghost's light carries on towards the end of the storm, and the wind keeps slowing down until I can finally see the night sky again.
I breathe a deep sigh of relief and almost collapse onto Luz's back when I realise that the winds have almost finally died out and the ghost's light has stopped. "My purpose has been fulfilled in leading you out of the sandy pool, but do not later choose be a fool!" The lights dips deeply, suggesting that it's bowing towards me, before spinning around and exploding into a mass of dark particles. I jerk backwards in surprise, and Luz rears a little. I stroke him lovingly in an attempt to reassure him, which thankfully works. I never saw what the ghost even looked like...
Leaning back up from Luz, I scan the area ahead with the wind now gone. Wedged deep into the sand is a wooden post, something I saw a few times in the Wasteland, with a long piece of frayed crimson cloth. From this, I leap off of Luz and lean heavily against it; feeling a little spent as I hold onto my horse's reigns to carry on further into what must be the Colossus. I don't permit myself more than a few moments of resting before I move out again, guiding Luz towards out goal.
My feet wade slightly through the silent sand, the rest of the Desert now strangely sient, clambering over large sand dunes and towards the gigantic stone statue ahead that has been the basis of our tribe since the very beginning. Despite my fatigue, I break into a run when I spot water ahead, allowing Luz rest and drink thirstily from the water in the small oasis off to the left of the decayed statue, taking the strangely pristine water into my hands and taking large gulps from the clean water.
"Ciren? Ciren?!"
I straighten at the sudden shout, breathing out: "Nisah..." She's alive! I pat Luz's neck lightly and whisper reassurance as I rise onto my feet and find my Purpura companion calling out my name from a small set of steps in front of the statue, walking towards a large stone arch before the statue in attempts to find me. "Nisah!" I sprint towards my friend at a pace faster than I would have expected for me to, crashing into her and sending us both onto the ground in a tangled heap. She looks up to see me on top of her, mouth breaking into a smile.
"Ciren, you're alive! When you weren't with me, I could have sworn that you'd..."
"You thought that I'd get eaten by the Leevers, I know." I tell her with a smirk, jumping away and dodging a kick that she pulls. I hoist Nisah onto her feet and look around. "Well, I'm alive and you're alive so—" A chill courses down my spine, and I turn to Nisah with a concerned glance. "Nisah, we need to get into the Temple and get out. We've all ready wasted enough time getting through the Wasteland, and we'll be caught if we don't return before sunrise. Our chance may almost be gone because of those bloody storms."
Both Nisah and I nod at each other, and we both find and tie up our horses at the entrance to the Spirit Temple. All my thoughts are distorted over Nabooru's cryptic words towards Xallia both in her chambers and at the entrance to the Wasteland, and the who idea of the King's secrets becoming a reality through the depths of the Spirit Temple. Either way, the exterior of the Temple itself takes my breath away, leaving both Nisah and I to stare at the sacred statue for a long time. "Come on." I say after a while, catching Nisah's attention. "We can't lose time."
Taking a deep breath, we walk straight into the Temple, underneath the insignia of the Triforce. Deep inside of me, I know that I shouldn't be here until I take my Carmesi Trial, and I can't go against the direct orders from my tribe like this. And yet, there's another side fo me that wants to know the King's secrets, even if I am taking word from a dream and a few words from my superiors. If I wanted to do this with anyone, then it would be Nisah, and I am thankful that she is beside me to experience such a place.
I can feel the Gerudo past flooding into my core as we step into the Temple. Our shoes click every time that we take a step across the rugged sand stone that the entire Temple is made up of, large torches dangling from the walls; lit recently. Two stone serpents stand on either side of the central set of steps, and I can't help but read what is carved into them. "If you want to proceed in the past, you should return here with the heart of a child." I translate, perplexed. "If you want to travel in the future, you should return here with the power of silver from the past."
"What?" Nisah asks, jogging up to my side. "What the Hell is that supposed to mean?"
I shrug, unsure of what to say in response because she is right. Talking about the flow of time and the "power of silver" like they are trivial things is something that I can't understand nor feel a connection to. "It doesn't matter." I reply after a while, shifting away from the statues. "We have a job to do, and it doesn't concern that." I make my way up the stairs, my fellow Purpura right at my side. The red carpet at the top of the steps has been worn and damaged over time, sand grains embedded into the fabric.
Nisah tilts her head at my side, kneeling down before the carpet. I part my lips to question what she sees, though she rises after a few moments of inspection, twisting her body to the open doorway to the right. "Someone has been here recently. I'll give you three guesses who." I breathe out a laugh as she nods her head to the corridor. "I remember Aveil telling me once that something had always blocked that way, but I suppose Nabooru, Xallia, or the King, had the tools to get through. Come on."
As one, we take out our throwing knives and proceed down the open way, the other side of the Temple is nearly unaccessible because of a small gap that we probably couldn't climb through. We follow the patterns of Gerudo insignias and up a tiny set of steps, sliding past the Blade Trap that patrols the room. There are three doors to go through, though the door straight ahead is left open and begging for our attention. Jumping over the Trap, Nisah moves on ahead in a low battle stance, urging me on through a single glance.
This leads into another corridor, although is far colder despite the numerous torches dotted about the walls. Jars line the right side of the corridor, different sized bricks stacking high above us. "So, Ciren." She queries as she moves forwards, ready for any of the traps within the Temple, even if Nabooru, Xallia, or the King may have dispelled them as they made their way through the Spirit Temple. "How did you—?"
"Nisah, watch out!" I cry, shoving her out of the way as two of the jars in the room levitate into the air and fling themselves at us. We both duck with wide eyes as the pottery smashes on the wall behind us, painted clay showering us. Leaping back onto our feet, we share a bout of laughter at how the scene must have looked. She picks up a green Rupee that must have inside of one of the pots, throwing it at me. I catch it with a grin and stuff it in my bag. "At least we got something out of this."
She shakes her head, still unable to surpress her grin as she moves on ahead. We switch places, myself taking the lead as the room ends abruptly, standing at the bottom of a tall brick wall that we could easily climb. Sheathing my knives, I take on the climb first, checking my footing every now and again as I clamber up the wall. "So, I'll ask again now that we aren't attacked by pottery." Nisah repeats with a smile. I grunt in response, both from the climb and her question. "How did you get through the Wasteland?"
"You wouldn't belive me even if I did tell you."
She laughs. "Try me. I've all ready seen enough tonight."
I drag myself over the edge, catching my breath as Nisah follows suit after a few moments. "There was a Spirit in the Desert." I clarify. She raises a brow straight away. "Told you. Whether it was a figment of my imagination or not, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for it. Wait," I add before she can say anything herself. "I still don't know how you got through the Wasteland, and ahead of me. What happened?" She taps her nose, a secret to everyone, and I glare at her.
"Oh, come one, Ciren. If we get out of here tonight, then I might just tell you." She rises to her feet and walks underneath a highly decorated arch and into the next part of the Temple. A large mirror stands in the centre of the room, shaped again like serpent. The moonlight filters in through a purpose built hole in the wall opposite the door, sun designs attached to the wall; two on each one. Shrugging, I stand before the mirror, noticing that some of the sand grains have scarred my face and body a little.
But none of that compares to when I see something in the mirror's reflection behind me.
"Nisah..." I whisper, drawing my knife. It's a dark fragment, shifting in twisted ways in the corner of the room. I manage to catch her attention, although I stare only at the mirror and not at her. "We need to leave... really quietly, all right?" I notice her eyes narrowing in concern, and she starts to move over to me. "Don't come closer. Just... go and I 'll come after you." She doesn't listen to me, drawing her knife so quickly that it catches the attention of what is in the corner of the room; it rushes at me.
I cry out as a large, dark hand flies out and towards the light, wrapping its body tightly around me. Nisah stares, dumbfounded. It's a Floormaster from the legends, something that I thought was nothing but a myth. Nonetheless, it catapults me to the ground and punches me once in the stomach, leaving me to graon softly in the corner as my knife falls from my hand. I wrack my brain for answers sure that someone spiked one of my drinks from earlier today, my train of thought locking onto how the Hero of the legend defeated such a thing.
The mirror, the light; it makes sense. "Nisah!" I cry as she continues to watch me get flung about the room. "Turn the mirror towards me!" She stands there for a moment, frozen, but another shout from me snaps her into motion. Discarding of her knife, she grabs the bar of the mirror and turns it in my direction, the moonlight bouncing off of the crystalline surface and directing itself straight at the Floormaster that continues to pound against me. The light smashes into it, encasing it in light for a moment before it crumbles to nothing.
Breathing heavily, Nisah drags me to my feet with eyes glittering in shock. When she allows me to take my knife back, her going to do the same, she confronts me. "Ciren... how did you see that?" I turn to her, as confused as she is as she adds: "I didn't see what you had until I shone the light onto it. Floormasters are myths, though not any longer I guess, and how did you see it and I couldn't?"
"I..." I begin, only for my voice to fade out. How did I manage to see it when Nisah couldn't? And why are myths coming true, dark ones at that? "I have no idea..." I pause for a long time, the silent breathing of the wind all that can be heard until: "Well, um, we should... we should get out of here before another one of those things appears."
"Agreed. One of your better ideas."
We shuffle through the room, then push open the door ahead of us, begging that nothing like that happens again tonight or ever again. Still a little shaken, I try without avail to clear my thoughts, even if I stop dead in my tracks at the sight of the next room. The room is the base of the Gerudo culture. Everything in here seems to have some sort of symbolism, no matter what it seems to be, even the brickwork of the walls is covered in Alma, Ancient Gerudo, that speaks of the very birth of our existence that is too long to explain from between the time when the blazing sun rises and sets into the chilling night.
Ahead of us is a set of steps, the sides barricaded off by metal spikes sharper than any scimitar that we've ever owned in our tribe. A dormant Armos sits off to the right before an overhang that opens out into what seems to be the main room of the Spirit Temple, the fact that an extinct creature is here freaking me out a little afterour little run in with the Floormaster. In the more open part of the room is a gigantic statue of what the very first Gerudo may have looked like: wearing thick armour around their breasts and shoulders as well as vibrant material across their legs.
Still, what I don't believe was a part of their garments in their time is the incredibly large cobra wrapping itself around the statue's waist and up to the crown of their head, though is a major symbol for our resillience. Beneath the statue, the one that seems rather similar to the eroded one outside, is a small platform with an unlit torch on either side of it; feeling like it is awaiting for the flames of destiny to light the room of mysteries. I stand in a little bit of shock of the beauty of the room, unable to form a response before we're moving again.
Nisah and I creep up the steps in front of us, the former rolling her eyes when I can't resist the temptation of dragging my fingers across the stone, watching intently as the tiny grains of sand fly off at my touch that brushes through the cement holding these bricks together. This leads us up to the highest point of the room where a single torch sits by a door blocked off by thick metal bars.
From this vantage point, we can see the entire room and everything that goes on here; or what is about to occur. There is a long moment of silence where nothing happens, my senses tingling from the history lingering in this place as I drink in the thick scents of the incense that must have been burnt in here before we got here. Some of the Whites must have been in here earlier praying or something, I suppose. I didn't even think that Ganondorf would even let the Corajes in here now that—
I suddenly hear a door opening from below us, and we all peer over the edge to watch as the King himself enters the room through a door that I couldn't have seen because of the structure of the room, wearing thick black armour trimmed with gold. The room turns cold at his presence, and it takes all that I have not to question it aloud. Naisah holds a finger to her lips, knowing what I am thinking as she crouches onto the ground, and I follow her silent order without hesitation; watching on from above.
Our King walks up to a small platform at the very base of the statue, creating a orb of crimson fire in his palms and lighting the torch to his right before creating an orb of blue fire and lighting the torch to his left. "What the—?" I breathe, only for Nisah to cover my mouth before we can get noticed. She stares down intently, unable to even look at me with a scowl. The statue's core glows with the two colours of the flames flickering shadows onto his face. It is only after a few moments of silences dragging its finger straight through my core that two figures appear with a burst of cackles. My eyes widen when the torches reveal who exactly they are.
The Demon Twins from the legends of the Gerudo tribe: Kotake and Koume.
They were from a Desert tribe long formed before the basis of the Gerudo tribe was created, becoming the two people who started our very tribe and the curse that it holds. Yes, they began out as normal human beings before they became what they are now, the complete opposite of what they are now. The two were ordinary sisters who became incredibly close in their early age, raised in a tribe that was loving and caring to them. Koume, the older of the two, soon became immersed in the art of magic, dark magic, and grew apart from her younger sister; who had just gotten married and was pregnant with a child.
Koume was said to have grown jealous of her sister, as it was known for the eldest to get married and conceive a child first. As she wanted the power, Koume had used her powers of darkness to kill both the child and Kotake's husband, blaming on her miscarrying and a group of bandits killing her husband. Kotake had begged Koume to teach her the art of dark magic so she could avenge her husband's death, becoming a student in the art of dark magic with Koume being her teacher.
The Goddesses, fearing the chaos that they would spread across their blessed land, cursed the two and altered their state so they were withered Witches. And yet, they knew that their tribe which they had grown up in had the potential to create more people like Kotake and Koume, they cursed the tribe, making sure that only one man was born every one-hundred years. However, I'll never understand why the Goddesses did this, and history has covered why the truth on their actions.
The two Witches float in the air, held up only by their magic and wooden brooms. Ganondorf gestures to the Witch on the right, who wears a black robe decorated in red designs, a ember coloured jewel embedded into her head that connects to her hair-band that tames her fiery hair. "Koume..." He then gestures to the Witch on the left, who bears the same appearance as the other witch, except for the fact that all of her garbs are blue and she has icy hair instead. "Kotake... it is an honour to return to you once again."
They aren't even supposed to be alive now, I think to myself, realising that Nabooru has moved her hand away from me now. The Gerudo race was born thousands of years ago, and no witch has survived that long... "Gracious Ganondorf..." The Witch on the right, Koume, bows her head as she greets him. "We have finally created the spell needed to gain full dominance over our tribe. All you need to do is gain the trust of Hyrule's King and of his daughter, and only then can we join together to invade the Sacred Realm once and for all!"
They all chuckle in delight at their plan while Nisah and I raise eyebrows at each other, confused over what their plan will entail for us as a tribe. "When we finally have that sacred power of the three Golden Triangles, then nothing will stop us in our revenge over the paths that destiny has carefully set out for all of us." Kotake muses quietly, clearing without the confidence of her sister. Another pause is sounded where no one speaks, until Kotake's eyes widen and she suddenly says: "There are more here. They are unwanted..."
I gasp before anyone, even myself, can stop me; listening as it echoes around the room and alerts them to our presence. The Witches, the King included, snaps their gazes towards us, barely missing us as we drag ourselves away from the edge. Nisah and I stare at each other in alarm as the two Witches disappear in a burst of magic, the King immediately rushing towards the exit of the Spirit Temple to find us; caught. As soon as the door slams shut, my Purpura companion hits me hard in the stomach before grabbing my uniform.
While we don't know the actual layout of the Temple, we can't flee any faster. We race back through our past, and we take no time to take in what we had seen before in the Temple, thankfuly not meeting the King's presence nor any more monsters that choose to get in our way. We make it out before the King does, mounting our horses and fleeing the Temple, braving the Wasteland together before anything else can happen to us. I pray that we do not lose each other in the Wasteland again, though that is the least of our concerns right now.
Farore, Nayru, and Din... we're in trouble; in more ways than one.
