Chapter Eight: Fi
First he was falling down through the darkness, simply falling. He couldn't remember how he got here, or why he was falling. He could see nothing. But then he heard a voice. It was one he'd heard before. It was a soft voice, one that was young and metallic sounding all at the same time. He opened his eyes when he heard it.
"Link...?"
Above him he saw a bright purple light, and within that light he saw a girl. Or well, it looked like a girl. She seemed to be wearing a short dress that was mostly purple with a few yellow lines running through it and a blue gem on her chest.
She appeared to either have no arms, or have them completely buried within the sleeves on her arms that didn't even reveal hands. The right sleeve was purple and the left one was blue, and they were ruffled and floated a little like wings. She had black legs and shoes that appeared to have fish nets running down her legs.
Her most distinguishable feature though was her face, stoney and without emotion. It was blue like her shortly cut hair, which was cut into a pixie cut. She seemed to have no eyes, or well, she had the indication where eyes should go but they were the same color as her hair and skin, and her mouth was the same color. However when she next spoke, her lips moved and he heard the same voice.
"I am waiting for you," she said gently. "The time has come for you to awaken. You are vital to a mission of great importance. Link..."
Link stared at her for a long time, wondering what was going on. Who was she? What was she? And why did she apparently want him of all people? He wasn't that special, and he never had been. What mission was she talking about? However after he blinked the bright light was gone, and instead where she had been he saw Zelda.
Surprised he blinked again, and then the day around him grew brighter. He realized suddenly that they were falling through the sky. She was above him...no wait below him. She reached for him, scared and looking desperate. Why were they falling? Link couldn't remember but he didn't feel scared. He only knew he had to help her. He reached for her as well, calling her name but his voice seemed lost in the rushing wind. He heard her screaming as the world below came into view, a bright white nothingness. A dark shape loomed out of it, the monster he had seen in his dreams before. Its great mouth opened, revealing all of its teeth, and they were falling right into it!
Link jumped and opened his eyes. He sat up and found himself in his room, forcing his racing heart to calm as he thought about the dream. What had just happened? Then a soft voice came from the side and he jumped, looking to his left. He saw Gaepora in his room, looking worried and unsure for the first time in his long life.
"Ah," he said. "You're awake. When Balaen carried you back, you were limp and unconscious. I feared the worst. And he seemed very spooked. He wouldn't let us near you for nearly an hour! Fortunately you don't appear to have any serious injures. For that much we can be very grateful."
Balaen had carried him back? Suddenly the realization of what had happened hit him again. What had been with that tornado? And that wind? It was dark out now, and Link knew that it had been hours since everything had happened. And Zelda...she had fallen, of that he was sure. He looked away from the man, ashamed that he hadn't been able to help his daughter and blaming himself that anything had happened at all. He should have listened to Balaen!
"But, Link," Gaepora said, sounding nervous and asking the question Link didn't want to answer. "Where's Zelda? She was with you wasn't she? What's happened to my daughter?"
"There was this black tornado," Link explained. "I didn't even know they formed that high! When we tried to turn around it was like it was coming straight for us, and then she and Peleca both fell. When I tried to get her something hit me..."
Link trailed off, unable to look up at Gaepora. It sounded crazy, like something a little kid would make up to get out of trouble. He knew that Gaepora had no right to believe him, and while he had practically raised Link and would be happy to see him okay, he had every right to hate him for not having been able to help his daughter. However after a long period of silence, other than sounding shook up, he seemed to believe him.
"A black tornado you say?" Gaepora said, shaking his head worriedly. "That was no ordinary storm."
Link looked away, realizing that he once again had a headache. He ignored it though. He had to help Zelda, and it was his fault that any of this had happened. He swung his legs suddenly off the bed and pulled his boots back on so that they fit more snugly. They always had been a bit big for him. Gaepora gasped and turned around when he heard Link moving.
"Don't push yourself," Gaepora said worriedly. "You're still recovering! And after that fall from yesterday too...Just...here. Tell me, when you were with Zelda today. Did anything about her seem...off?" Link took a breath to calm himself, knowing that Gaepora wasn't going to let him out of his sight if he could help it. He cared too deeply for the boy than to do that.
"Yeah," Link replied. "She said she felt like someone was calling her, and started talking about what was below the surface...which reminds me. I've had some pretty strange dreams about the surface too, about a monster and this strange girl...she's not human, and she's always talking about a 'great mission'."
"Voices?" Gaepora asked himself. "The surface? How strange...And you've been having dreams about a 'great mission'? How interesting..." He paused and looked up at Link's curious face. Obviously worried about pushing him more, he laid a hand on his shoulder. "Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought there for a moment. Yes, it's all very strange, but I doubt there's much of a connection between any of this. I'm worried of course for Zelda, but if she's with Peleca I'm sure she'll be fine."
"But I have to look for her," Link cried.
"No boy," Gaepora said gently. "You need to rest. We can't have you get hurt anymore either. There are a lot of people who've been worried about you all day. Either way, daybreak has yet to arrive. It'll be difficult to spot one girl and her bird in the dark, not to mention dangerous."
Link knew he was right, but it didn't make him feel any better. He knew something was wrong, and no amount of reassurances from Gaepora was going to convince him that he was wrong. Gaepora walked over to the door, obviously hoping to impress upon Link once again that he was to stay in bed and get some rest. He paused and turned back to Link, giving him a gentle and reassuring smile. Normally that would have been enough, but now it wasn't.
"Rest now Link," he commanded gently. "Zelda's going to be fine. She's out there alive. I know it."
With that he turned and left the room. Link sat there for a long while, just staring down at the ground and wondering what was going on. What kind of storm had that been? What had he been seeing? And what was going on? He heard the last of Gaepora's footsteps disappeared and paused. There was no sound in the entire Academy. It must have been late at night.
"Link..." a soft metallic voice called.
Link jumped and looked up towards the door. That voice? He'd only ever heard it in dreams before, but he knew that voice. He knew exactly what that meant, and he wasn't sure what it was doing here. Did that mean that girl was real? Did anyone else hear it? Maybe he was just going crazy. He heard another, unearthly sound as something passed by his door.
"Link...come to me..."
He stood and stared at the door, unsure what was going on. The voice was quiet, but it was bound to wake someone up right? Did no one else hear it? What about Gaepora? Did he hear it? Slowly he walked towards the door. He could hear someone or something outside of it.
"Link..." the voice continued to call as he drew closer.
There was some strange echoing quality about the voice, something otherworldly. Link might have been terrified to hear the sound, only he wasn't. He'd heard it several times before. Not only that, but he'd seen the bright purple light that came with her. It was a gentle one, one that made him feel completely unafraid. He'd already seen her as well before, and as strange as she looked, he felt himself more curious than afraid.
He ran to the door, and he heard the creature move back with an odd sound as he did so. He opened the door and peered out into the hallway. He couldn't see her, so he stepped out and closed the door behind him. He looked down the hallway and saw several students, both male and female, peering up at the staircase with terrified eyes. Pipit was staring at something as well, and he saw Fledge duck out of sight in terror. Link knew what she looked like, and he couldn't blame them. What the heck was she? And what did she want?
"Link..." a soft voice called.
He turned to look at the staircase, pausing as he saw her. She was floating rather than standing above the bottom most step, watching him silently with those eyes of hers. Her arms were by her sides, and it almost seemed as though every movement sent a shimmer of silver sparks flying along her back and feet. Link took a step forward, watching her.
"Link what are you doing?" Pipit gasped quietly, as if afraid of making her angry.
"You're the one," Link said, more to himself than in explanation. "the one whose been calling me in my dreams. I've seen you before."
"Follow me."
Everyone else was silent, surprised and confused, scared and unsure what was going on. However Link wasn't. He only hesitated a second before turning and walking right towards her. He'd seen her many times before in his dreams. He wasn't scared of her, whatever she was. Everyone else just watched with wide eyes as he jogged up to her. When he drew close she raised her arms a little like wings and flew back from him, leaving her small trail and making the same odd noise he'd heard before every time she moved.
Link didn't question why, and just kept his eyes on her face as he followed her up the stairs. She continued to back away from him, simply watching him and never having to look where she was going. She knew where she was going, and she wanted Link to follow her. Upon reaching the top of the stairs she waited for Link and then continued on her way. No one followed them.
No one on this floor stirred, and Link simply ran after her. As she reached the door she passed through it with a small ripple of purple light along it and her shimmering silver light dancing in front of him. Link pushed the heavy front doors open and stepped out into the chilly night. No one was out and about at this time, and Link would be the only one outdoors other than this strange girl who was leading him away after her. He couldn't help but wonder where she was taking him, and why he was going there, but he continued to follow as he shut the door behind himself.
She was waiting on the path that led towards the Statue of the Goddess, simply watching him as she had done before. They were on the upper levels, and burning lamps kept the path only somewhat illuminated. Her form however kept it far more illuminated than it had been, and he continued to follow her as she retreated from him up the stairs towards the Goddess Statue.
However instead of going inside the main archway and to the statue, she went right and took a side path. Link leaped down a ledge after her, asking no questions. He followed her down a small path he'd never bothered to realize was there before, and she then dropped down. He paused and looked down at the drop beneath him to another level. It wasn't too bad, and it wouldn't really even hurt. Even so he couldn't help but begin to wonder if this was a bad idea.
"Link..." she called softly.
He leaped off after her, absorbing the shock of the impact in his knees. His injured ankle gave a little pang, and he grimaced, but he decided to continue following her. Again she backed away from him as another drop down appeared. He leaped down this one too, landing harder this time and shuddering from his hurt ankle. She continued to back away from him, and Link looked up in surprise. He noticed Mia on the path and groaned a little. He didn't want to hurt her with this sword, but he didn't want to get mauled by a Remlit at night either.
She heard him, and her large ears twitched as she awoke. Then she spun around with a yowl, her normally cute blue eyes flaming red as she attacked the boy she took such good care of during the daylight hours. Her tail bristled up and her fangs and claws grew longer as she snarled and leaped at him. He took at his sword and hit her once, then rushed past her. He hadn't even cut her, but he knew she'd be hurt and coming to apologize in the morning. She continued to make soft crying noises as he ran around her before she could recover.
The strange girl backed away again as they came to yet another drop, but this time she wanted him to climb across to the other side. He put his sword away again and grabbed the small ledge, edging his way across again. His arms began to burn as he made his way towards her again. She backed up again with her strange noise and light, silently urging him to continue following her. He did so and gratefully found ground beneath his feet again on the other side. His arms were more sore than he had thought. He glanced once towards Mia, sending her a silent apology before following again.
He followed her down an incline that led to an uphill that he'd have to run to go up again seeing how steep it was. He followed her up it and then paused at the top to catch his breath. A keez and a chu greeted him at the top, which he quickly killed and then looked up again. His silent guide continued to watch him as he followed her. Again Link paused and looked at her.
"We draw close," she promised. He stepped forward again.
As he drew close, she began to make her way up some rocks that formed a natural stairway. The first one was a bit of a jump, but he got a running start and pulled himself up on it. He leaped to the second one, then the third, and he looked up again. She continued to retreat away from him up the path, which soon became nothing more than thick vines growing down the side of a rock. He sighed but leaped onto them, grabbing them with his hands and ignoring how much it hurt as he climbed steadily towards the top of the rock.
It hurt, and he felt his fatigue from his ordeal earlier that he had yet to notice start to kick in. But he continued climbing up after her until he finally pulled himself over the top after several minutes. He collapsed a moment and breathed hard, simply staring up at the stars above him. The girl stood beside him, waiting quietly as he tried to remember how to make his tired body work.
When he finally managed to stand he looked up and realized that they had reached the back of the Statue of the Goddess. Surprised he looked up at the girl, but she simply backed away from him again and continued down a side path. He ran after her, and the grass became stone under his feet as he followed her along to the back to the statue. He continued to run after her as she turned and made her way facing forward now, sure he would follow her. She was right, and he was confused as he did so, running hard to keep her in his sights.
She stopped suddenly in front of a picture of the holy symbol of the Goddess, the Loftwing picture. She watched him, floating there, then backed up into it suddenly. He blinked and watched in surprise as again she faded through the wall, leaving nothing more than a pool of purple and silver light. He took a step forward as he looked at it. Then the symbol glowed blue suddenly and the stone disappeared to show a door that had once been sealed.
He ran inside after her, not even knowing there had been an inside to the statue. Once inside he saw four torches lit and burning as if to welcome him, and there was a stone pedestal with ancient words he couldn't read carved into them. A single hole in the middle had a beautiful sword sitting within it, and he couldn't help but feel his jaw drop as he stepped forward. He couldn't see the girl anywhere, and he was surprised by the sword itself.
It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, with a blue hilt looking like small upraised bird wings, a blue pommel that had a bird's talon at the end and a purple gem set into the hilt surrounded by a golden seal, and a long silver blade. It wasn't the color of steel, but beautiful starlight. Slowly Link stepped forward in surprise.
There was a slight flash of light, and the strange sound the girl make. From the light she twisted and twirled and then appeared, bowing to him with her arms stretched wide as she did so. Then she looked up at him with her emotionless face.
Link jumped at this display but held his ground and looked at her in confusion and some wariness. She was a Sword Spirit, which explained her looks. She was the soul of an ancient blade. There were few of those, and the blades they accompanied were powerful. That's why she was within the Statue of the Goddess.
"The one chosen by my creator," she greeted in her oddly formal voice. "I have been waiting for you. You will play a role in a great destiny. According to your social customs, I should provide you with my personal designation. Fi is the name I was given."
"Fi?" Link asked. "How did you know my name before? And why are you here?"
"I was created for a single purpose," she answered instantly. "long before the recorded memory of your people. I must aid you in fulfilling the great destiny that is your burden to carry." She looked behind her at the sword. "Come, Link. You must take up this sword. As the one chosen by my creator, it is your destiny."
"Destiny?" Link asked, taking a step back. "What destiny? Who made you?"
"These strange dreams troubling your sleep," she said instead. "My sudden appearance. Uncertainty surrounding the fate of one you hold dear. Under the circumstances it is only logical that you would exhibit some apprehension"
Link just stared at her, unsure what she wanted or what was going on. He wasn't even sure how she knew so much about him. She'd seemed to know his name, what had been going on, and even called to him in his dreams. The fact that she seemed so logical and detached only made him more nervous to be around her. However he didn't move and simply watched her.
"To minimize your uncertainty," Fi suddenly said. "allow me to share some information. My projections indicate that this information has a high probability of altering your current emotional state. The one you seek, honorable Zelda, is still alive." Link couldn't help but gasp in relief. "And this spirit maiden...the one you call Zelda...is another chosen one fated to be part of the same great mission. Therefore, should you wish to meet with your friend, I highly recommend you take up this sword before you set out to search for her."
Link paused, watching her. He still didn't know what was going on, but he doubted she was evil in any way. Her sword had been sealed here within the Statue of the Goddess, so she had been placed here for a reason. Did that mean she had been created by the Goddess herself? If so, then why was he here? Of all people why had he been chosen to help the Goddess, why Zelda? Then again, he supposed he had always been strangely special. Balaen for example, and the fact he was still alive after two close encounters with death. Gaepora had once told him that the Goddess had plans for everyone. Was this her plan for him?
"Does that information invigorate you?" Fi asked. "Are you ready to accept this sword?"
Link gritted his teeth and then ran forward. Hardly perturbed by this, Fi simply floated above him and peered down at him when he paused and looked down at him. The look on her face hardly seemed to change, but he could almost swear that he heard something else in her voice.
"It seems that further persuasive measures will not be required," she said. "In the name of my creator, draw the sword and raise it skyward."
Link walked carefully forward to the sword, taking a deep breath. Fi said she'd help him find Zelda, and for whatever reason both he and she were stuck in this mess. Well he needed to find her and make sure that she was safe, as well as find out why they had been chosen. He gripped the hilt tightly with both hands and pulled up hard. It caught once in the stone, but then seemed to slide out with the soft singing of metal easily in his hands.
Nearly instantly it seemed as though light shone down from somewhere above him. Confused he turned his gaze to Fi, but she didn't move. He raised the sword directly above his head into the light, and within a few moments the sword seemed to sing with a beautiful note as blue light surrounded the blade completely, starting at the tip and sliding down to the hilt. He held it aloft and admired the glint of the blade. It was just the right size, just the right length with a hand and a half hilt. It was thin and longer than any sword he'd used. It just felt right.
"This is the Goddess Sword," Fi explained. "Its blade is bathed in divine light from my creator."
"I've never seen anything like it," Link said in awe.
"Recognition complete, Master..." she said to his surprise. "Link, my master."
Link was surprised to hear almost a sigh of relief or acceptance from her lips. She seemed so foreign and cold, and yet he realized something. This blade was sharp and showed no signs of age. Even if it had been here for thousands of years, a blade like this had never seen battle. It was meant to be the holy symbol of the Goddess who created it, a righteous blade. Now he held it in his hand, with Fi calling him her master? He supposed she never had ventured beyond these walls. He lowered it and looked at it as the light faded then from the blade.
"Link," someone gasped from behind him. He whirled around in surprise to find Gaepora walking in, staring at Link and the sword, and at Fi. "I've had my suspicions, but until now I wasn't sure. Yet here we are in the Chamber of the Sword, the very place where it was foretold the youth of legend would one day appear."
"Gaepora," Link said, blinking at him. "You know about this place?"
"It is said that this place was left to our people by the goddess herself," he explained. "The very knowledge of this room's existence is a secret passed down to a select few in each generation, along with a handful of words..."
Slowly Link turned to face Gaepora, holding the sword kind of awkwardly and glancing at its blade. He supposed that if it was a secret then it was no wonder why he'd never known it was here, or that Fi had existed. But she could have been watching them all this time, especially if she had been created and set here a long time ago by the Goddess herself.
"When the light of the goddess's sword shines bright," Gaepora quoted. "the great apocalypse will wake from its long slumber. Do not fear, for it is then that a youth, guided by my hand, will reveal himself in a place most sacred."
Gaepora stepped forward, his eyes shining with curiosity and pride as he looked down at Link. Link wasn't sure what else to do but stand there and hope that some of his many questions were answered. The man looked down at Link and gave him a reassuring smile, but Link was all too aware of the strange sword that was resting in his hands.
"It started days ago," the man explained. "The sword that I've kept secret for all of these years... It began to give off a faint otherworldly light. At first I was sure I was seeing things, here alone with this sword. There was simply no other explanation. I never dreamed the prophecy of legend would come to pass in my lifetime. The words I have sworn to keep secret are coming true before my very eyes."
Gaepora looked up at Fi then, who was silently watching the man as well. She obviously didn't feel threatened by his presence and seemed to know him. He seemed to stare at her a while as Link relaxed his hand and simply held the sword in his left hand by his side, careful to keep the blade from touching the ground beneath him.
"The youth will be guided by one born of the blade," he continued to quote. "one who is youthful in likeness yet wise with knowledge immeasurable."
"Ah yes," Fi said simply. "the oral tradition, one of the least reliable methods of information retention and transmission. It appears that critical sections of the passage have been lost over the generations."
Link and Gaepora turned to one another, blinking in surprise. They had forgotten something over these long years? They supposed that this could definitely be true, but that then brought up the question of how old Fi and the Goddess Sword really was. They turned to look at her again as she lowered herself to about their height and straightened from a slight bow.
"The youth who draws forth the guiding sword shall be known as the goddess's chosen hero," Fi continued to quote for them. "and it is he who possesses an unbreakable spirit. He shall be burdened with the task of abolishing the shadow of apocalypse from the land. Such is his destiny. With the spirit of the blade by his side he will soar over the clouds and plummet below... And united with the spirit maiden shall bring forth a piercing light that resurrects the land."
Spirit Maiden? He knew that he'd heard Fi call Zelda that earlier. So he needed to find Zelda to fulfill his destiny as the goddess's chosen hero? But what was this shadow of the apocalypse? What was this piercing light? And what would he and Zelda have to do? Resurrect the land? So there definitely was something beneath the clouds, something that he had to save? None of this was making much sense, but he knew that Zelda was stuck in the middle of it, and he needed to help her.
Some of father's old text talk of a place called the surface, he remembered Zelda saying just earlier that day. The old tales describe a whole world down there, far more vast than Skyloft!
"Master," Fi explained farther to Link. "you must embark on a great journey beneath the clouds to the vast realm of the surface. It is only through this journey that you can fulfill the mission set before you by my creator, the goddess. It is also the only method available to you to reunite with the spirit maiden, honorable Zelda."
"This is no easy task, Link," Gaepora gasped, sounding like a worried father. Link though already knew what he had to do. Even if it hadn't been a mission from the goddess, he would have followed Zelda to the surface. "The world below is a forsaken place, and to reach it you must pierce the cloud barrier below. In living memory, no one has ever done this."
Fi and Gaepora simply watched Link for a long moment. The surface? It had always held a different kind of terror for Link, the thought of the terrible end that his parents met down below. He doubted there was any way they could have survived a fall like that, and though the barrier kept the Loftwings up here, anything falling would pass right through it. His old fear came back, until he remembered the Sailcloth. He could use that to land safely, and he would find Zelda.
Fi could see the determination on his face, and she seemed satisfied with it. She raised her arms towards him suddenly and looked down. A bright blue light appeared suddenly between them, and something spun out of that light. She summoned what looked to be a tablet with a green diamond in the top most corner. It was only part of it, and appeared to have a map etched into it. She then sent it to him, and it floated in front of his surprised face.
"This tablet will illuminate a path through the clouds to the land below," she explained. "Take it and place it within the alter behind me."
He silently took the tablet in his hands, which was a lot heavier than it looked. He was unsure where he was supposed to put it in the altar. He couldn't see anywhere that could be counted as "inside" it. He looked over the tablet again. It appeared to be the bottom right corner, and the rest of the tablet itself seemed to be missing. It was jagged and broken. However Fi, seeing his confusion, looked down at the sword he was still holding.
"Master," she said. "the first thing you must do is hit the crest sitting in this room with a Skyward Strike. These blasts are formed of pure energy that charges within your blade when you lift it skyward. Once you have charged your blade, face the crest and swing your sword to send out a powerful Skyward Strike."
Gaepora looked enthralled to be able to see such a display from Link and his strange new ally and sword. He offered silently to take the tablet away from him so he could do this properly. Link felt like he was oddly on display and handed over the tablet. He felt oddly self conscious now under the eyes of Fi and Gaepora. He walked forward and faced a floating dark purple crest like the one of the bird shape that had been on the door.
He reached a small platform and raised his sword again, hearing that beautiful sound as the light encased the sword and then he swung it down. The light radiated out of the end of it and struck the crest, making it rise a little a spin, shining all the more brilliantly because of it. Then suddenly it rose and the circular stone it floated above did so as well, revealing a hollowed out altar underneath. Link took back the tablet and placed it in the appropriate place, stepping back.
To his surprise, the gem seemed to glow a little, and he heard what sounded like the ringing of a deep throat bell. When he glanced towards the entrance he saw a flash of green light in the sky. He turned to look at Fi, who nodded at him to tell him that a path had been opened for him down to the surface. Link pulled off the practice sword and put the sheathe laying on the ground next to the altar on his back instead, a simple brown one with blue lines running through it. Then he slid the sword back into its sheathe.
"Master Link," Fi told him. "It is done. Until now, a cloud barrier created by the goddess has separated the world you know from the one below. The tablet you placed in the altar has opened a small rift in the barrier. You can use it to travel through the clouds to the realm below. I have recognized you as my master, and so it is my duty to follow you, wherever you may go. I reside within your sword and will accompany you on your travels. Simply call to summon me whenever you require my assistance."
With that being said, Fi leaped up into the air and turned into a small blue ball of light. To Link's surprise she zoomed forward and disappeared silently into the gem on the hilt of the sword. Gaepora was just as surprised, but stepped forward in the silence and looked down at Link as he turned to look at him as well.
"Link, listen a moment," Gaepora said. "The nature of the great apocalypse mentioned in the old texts is a complete mystery to me. But whatever it may be, it seems that you and Zelda both have big roles to play in the destiny of this land. If what this Fi says is true, then Zelda is alive, and coming to terms with whatever plans the goddess has for her. Should you heed the call of destiny...I don't know you what you may face, especially down there...But if you do go, please bring Zelda back to us."
"I will," Link promised.
"What we've seen here today defies explanation," the man sighed. "But it is only the start of your journey. Please see it through to the very end and prove the legends true."
"Okay," Link said, trying not to betray the anxiety he was feeling.
"You do your people proud, Link," Gaepora said with a laugh, shaking Link's hand like he was his own age. "Dawn draws near. It has been a long night for the both of us. But even if destiny calls, I don't want to send you out there just yet. You must prepare, I must inform the others, and your body is weary from what you've already faced. Remember Link, should you need us, we will be here for you."
Link simply nodded, knowing that he did indeed feel very tired. Gaepora raised his arm and took the boy's shoulders under his hand gentle, carefully leading him outside and around the Goddess Statue by a route that he knew well. The route Fi had taken Link was a good one to hide from prying eyes, but the damage had already been done, and Link was about to be known throughout Skyloft as the goddess's chosen hero whether he liked it or not.
The sun was rising again, but when Link got back to his room and laid the Goddess Sword down carefully he just curled up in bed and went back to sleep.
And that was the end of chapter eight. I'm going to add a bit before I send Link down to the surface world, mostly because I've already injured him and as this is a more realistic story, I'm going to have him rest as we would do and gain his strength back. It won't be very long, but he'll be getting prepared for his journey. Also I am going to have Gaepora tell the whole Skyloft of the prophecy and Link and Zelda's parts in it, mostly because it's a tight knit community and I doubt they would just hide it in that case. It's kind of hard to hide Fi when the entire Academy knows that she now exists.