Chapter 38: Where Legends Rise

…

"Link! Link, get up!"

"Link, ya 'ave t' see this!"

"Link! Link! … Who's Link?"

"Yeah, who's Link?"

The cacophony of voices roused Link out of what he could vaguely describe as a slow dream. Some small part of him was troubled by it, but he was glad to have not woken up screaming.

He pulled the thick blanket over his head, trying to ignore the shouting aimed at him. His mind kept telling him that it was too early in the morning.

"Go ge' 'im!"

"Wakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup!" Link felt pushing and pulling on the blanket, and he covered his head with his arms to avoid taking an incidental strike to the face.

"Knock it off! Go away!" Irleen shouted, having been roused by the commotion. When the room settled, he could hear her fluttering near his head. "You okay, Link?"

Link sat up, pushing away the blanket to reveal his blond hair had been horribly ruffled. His half-open eyes located Irleen. "Whas goinon?" he asked through a mouth that felt like it was full of cotton.

"I don't know, but everyone's excited about something." Leaving him with those words, she disappeared out the doorway to investigate.

Link pulled himself out of the blanket to sit on the edge of the bed for a moment. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Then he stood to examine the room. Leynne and Luggard had already stepped out, Luggard leaving clothes discarded next to the doorway. Link's step was slow as he walked out into the kitchen/dining room. Luggard's mother had left their clothes clean and folded on the edge of the table. Well, Link's clothes were there; Luggard and Leynne appeared to have already dressed. But no one else was in the room, the pot on the stove left to simmer on its own. Link's eyes eventually found the front door, blocked off by what he took to be Leynne's back. One hand raking at his messy hair, he made his way in a slow, half-sleepy pace.

When he stepped outside, his immediately covered his eyes from the bright light of…

A… rising… sun?

Link slowly moved his hand away from his face, revealing that the area around him shone with a brilliance that could only be produced by a heavenly body almost a stranger to this land. People filled the dirt streets of Library Town's southern residence area, all with varying forms of bewilderment and awe as their eyes stared at the eastern horizon. As Link's eyes adjusted, he pulled his hand away further to reveal a large storm cloud hanging in the air far above them. He put his hand up in comparison. It looked about as large as his palm and even less threatening than he remembered it now that it hung in a bright blue sky. The Undying Storm… He could just barely make out the Dawn Line leaving it.

Light invaded the left side of his face, and he turned in response while keeping his hand up. The sun formed a bright outline of his hand as he avoided looking at it. It seemed almost strange to him, having the warmth of a rising sun greet his skin. And at the same it… nostalgic. He was reminded of days when he would rise for his morning shift on the Grand Sails just to watch the sun rise on the endless horizon, alone in the light as the new day began. He could hear his heartbeat against his eardrums. Somehow… somehow, he knew this day would be different from the rest.

"Goddesses above…" Link heard Elle breathe. He looked to his right and found her standing next to an equally stunned Luggard. "'Ow…?"

Murmurs floated around the neighbors, but no one said anything clear enough for Link nor the person standing next to them to hear. Everything just stopped. No one moved, and even less dared to breathe lest it turned out to be a mistake. Link could understand their confusion; where a haze had been over the realm for a very long time, now was nothing but blue sky adorned with a storm and a sun. Not a trace of the haze existed on the eastern horizon. Realizing this, Link turned around to look towards the west. He remembered Luggard's reasoning about the haze coming from the Lost Woods because of how thick it appeared there.

Nothing.

He heard Luggard and Leynne turn and glanced to his left at them. They returned his confused stare. Then Link saw Luggard's eyes widen further in understanding of something which he had only worked out in his mind.

Irleen, hovering above his head, was the one to put voice to it. "Link… y-you don't suppose… you did that… do you?"

"Me?" Link replied.

"Tha' bug ya killed…" Luggard said. Then he started and looked around. As if deciding that talking in the open was dangerous, he grabbed the front of Link's borrowed shirt. Link silently stammered as he allowed Luggard to drag him back into his house, Irleen trailing behind. Intrigued by the sudden change in the nearby tone, Elle and Leynne followed.

Luggard released Link and spun, leaning forward to look him in the eyes. "Link… I think ya 'ad somethin' t' do with this."

"What do you…?"

Luggard grabbed Link's shoulders and shook him. "Think! Tha' 'uge bug in the Los' Woods! Don' ya r'member 'ow much mis' it threw ou' when ya was fightin' it?"

"Yeah, it almost made itself invisible," Link answered, still unsure where the conversation was going.

"Link, what if that has been the source of the mist this whole time?" Irleen asked. She buzzed around his head. "Think about it! The mist disappeared when you killed it, right?"

"The mist it spat at me, yeah," Link said with a nod.

"No, think about it. What, besides that, has changed in the realm in the past two days?"

"But that's just it. I killed it two days ago! Why would the sky clear up now?"

"It isn't as if the envihonment could so quickly change, Link," Leynne pointed out. "It would take some time foh a noticeable change. Without a souhce, the haze above would've been blown away with some of the prevailing winds in the sky above, possibly to the nohth."

Luggard gave him a confused look. "'Ow do ya know tha'?"

"I've flown kites into the haze to gauge the wind at those altitudes. Not entihely easy, of couhse."

"This is amazin'!" Elle said. "We 'ave t' tell someone!"

"Ah—No, no!" Link said, waving his hands around. "I-I mean we don't have any proof that I had anything to do with it!"

"We've got all the proof we need!" Irleen said, circling his head in excitement. "When Cale gets better, he can give his report to Madame Seilon, and we can see if she draws the same conclusion."

"All the same, then," Leynne said.

"Oh, wha'!" Luggard said to him, flapping his arms in annoyance.

"It may be best not to go around bragging that Link was the one who got rid of the mist," Leynne explained. "Aside from sounding as if we ah tooting the hohn of a braggaht, we cannot exactly guarantee ouh credibility."

"Why?"

"Well, what kind of proof is theah that Link defeated this bug?" Leynne said, one finger held up as if to illustrate his point. "Following that, what proof is theah that the creautuh's death is the cause of the loss of a mist that has plagued the Forest Realm foh decades?"

"Ya's sayin' we can' prove Link did it?!" Luggard asked, one fist raised as if to strike Leynne.

Leynne held his hands up as if to exude his calm demeanor. "I'm saying that we should hold out on the bragging until we have something moh tangible. We can credit Link all we want, but unless we all want to look like some soht of monsteh-killing frauds, we should wait foh the facts to present themselves to the public naturally."

Luggard glared at him for a moment longer. Then he dropped his fist. "Too bad. I's a'ways wantin' t' be associated with a 'ero."

"Theh's still the possibility, Luggahd. Just not now."

"Link," Elle said, shoving past Leynne to put her hands on Link's shoulders. "Why don' ya go ge' changed? I'll 'ave breakfas' ready in a minu'e."

"Indeed," Leynne said with a nod. "We have a long day ahead of us, especially if we want to find that aihship befoh the evening."

"Go, go," Elle whispered, nudging him towards the room. "Luggard, ge' yar brothers in 'ere!"

Link heard Luggard blow a raspberry as he scooped his clothes off the table. He disappeared into the bedroom and changed. He took a few moments to examine himself. Elle had done an amazing job of getting the creature blood off his clothes, leaving his tunic the same shade of green he had seen it when Princess Zelda had first given it to him. Princess Zelda…

He realized that it had been a long while since he last saw her or his crew. He wished he knew what had become of them, realizing that the last he saw of them was merely a dot on the horizon before the Island Sonata was shot to pieces beneath him. Just thinking about them gave him a new form of dread. Even if it was unlikely… what if the second ship that crashed turned out to be the Horizon's Eye? Could he stand to see the bodies of the crew? Could he… see his crew or the princess with the knowledge that he could not do anything for them? Link felt tired, and he slumped against the wall. He assumed he had given a lot of thought to the theory that the second ship might have been the Horizon's Eye. Somehow, he had missed the implications. If he managed to return to the sky, to Castle Island, what would he tell Governor Lore? Or the King and Queen of Hyrule? Would he have to tell them?

"Link?" He looked up to find Irleen wandering into the room. She looked over at him and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Irleen…" he said, turning so that his back rested against the wall. "What if it is the Horizon's Eye?"

"What, the second ship?" Irleen asked. He nodded, and she fluttered closer to him. "But you said it couldn't be a Sorian ship because it's too far north."

Link covered his face with a hand. "I know what I said. It's just… what if I'm wrong?"

"Then you're wrong," Irleen said with a matter-of-fact tone. "Look, Link, I don't know what's got you scared about this, but there's only one way to know for sure. We have to find that ship as soon as possible. You can figure out the implications once you've found what you're looking for."

Link took in a deep breath and nodded. Still, even after he stepped into the dining room and joined the rest for breakfast, he found his mind still wandering towards the idea of finding his crew deceased. It bothered him enough that he fell into silence at the table. No one tried to speak to him about it as banter bounced back and forth between Luggard and his family. He barely noticed Luggard leave from the table early, not even hearing him explain to the rest that he had to go see the modifications put on the Seventeen before they left for the Snow Realm. Moments later, Elle shooed her two youngest boys out the door. Leynne, having been abandoned by anyone who would have a conversation with him, left after them.

Elle closed the door behind him, turned with her arms crossed, and addressed Link, "Well. Wha' 'bou' ya?"

Link looked up from the table. "Huh?"

"Ya's been starin' a' the table for a lon' time, Link," she said. "Somethin' wron' with me cookin'?"

Link glanced down at the half-eaten potato and scrambled cuckoo's eggs in front of him. "N-no, no, it's fine."

"I know tha' much," she said with a huff as she approached him. "I go' five sons, Link. I know when there's somethin' on a boy's mind. Now ou' with it. Wha's the trouble?"

Link shook his head. "I'm sorry. I ju—… There's… something that occurred to me earlier. About the second airship Leynne saw."

"Ya think ya know 'o it is?" she said.

"I'm afraid I do. I… I think it might have been the ship that the rest of my crew was on. And, if it is…"

"Now, ya don' know if they's dead ye', Link," she told him in a stern tone. "Ya can' jus' si' 'ere 'n worry yarself 'bou' wha' migh' 'appen.

"Link. I go' a 'usband workin' in the Fire Realm 'o could die in those mines any day. Me middle boy, Larrin, 'e wen' ou' tha' same way t' join 'im. I don' know if 'e made it there or no'. The floodin' in the Ocean Realm could take Paul 'way from me any time. An' Luggard! Well, it only takes one o' 'is crazy idea t' derail 'im. I can si' 'n imagine them dyin' all kinds o' ways, bu' it don' do me no good. Wha' 'appens 'appens. Sure, if ya find yar crew dead, ya'll prob'ly drop t' the ground cryin' 'n such. Bu' do it when ya know, no' when ya think. Ya jus' migh' be surprised."

Link gave her a somber nod. "I'm sorry. I…"

"Oh, don' go worryin' 'bou' me; I go' me own t' care for. Now." She smacked the table near him, causing his fork to rattle against the plate. Link looked up in surprise. She flashed him a smile before putting on a scolding frown. "Tha' breakfas' be'er be finished in the nex' minu'e, youn' man, or I's gonna throw ya on yar ass withou' any food!"

Link's mind was caught up in the mad dash started by his heart. He didn't have the time to tell if Elle was kidding or not. He quickly picked up his fork and plate and started shoveling food into his mouth as fast as possible. Elle gave Irleen, who was hovering just to the left of her head, a wink. Irleen replied by doing a mid-air twirl. Link finished his food, announcing it by slamming the plate back to the table. "Good!" Elle snapped. "Now ge' ou' there 'n impress us some more, Captain!"

Link knocked over his chair in a mad dash to leave, snatching up his cap from the table. Irleen chased him as he sprinted down the dirt road leading back into Central Library Town. It did not occur to him why he was rushing until he reached the fountain in the middle of the town, and even then, he did not care. He suddenly had a job to do.

…

~~Day 14

~~It's been so long since I last thought about the crew of the Island Sonata. Now I find that any thoughts about them fear for their eventual deaths when the second ship fell from the sky. I find myself horrified to realize that I've been looking at my compass the wrong way for years. As it turns out, what I once thought was 'north' is called 'south' down here. I didn't think about it until Irleen pointed out the direction the sun had risen from. I don't know why she hadn't corrected me when I said that both the Island Sonata and the Horizon's Eye were both traveling south before; maybe she just thought that the directions I claimed made sense to me. So it is entirely possible that the Horizon's Eye had fallen after my ship. But that still leaves a couple of questions. If it is the Horizon's Eye, why did it take so long to fall?

~~And… if I'm still getting these nightmares from Captain Koroul, could that mean that not only is he still alive, but part of my crew as well? Maybe even… Princess Zelda? Irleen and Luggard's mother, Elle, are both right. I can't jump to conclusions now, and I can't keep mourning for them when I don't even know if they're dead. I'm trying to keep all that in mind, lest I drive myself nuts believing that I'll have to explain my actions that lead to their deaths. I suppose I'm looking a little too far ahead at things. For now, we just need to get to the crash site.

~~Luggard's almost done with the modifications he needed to make to the Number Seventeen. But he says that, even when we reach the Iyuk Mountains on the northern border, we won't be able to take the Seventeen into the mountains because there aren't any tracks going that far north. Leynne explained this to me, and he also bought a few more supplies to help us trek into the mountains. Somehow, despite being almost rupee-less when we met him, he has had money to throw around ever since we returned to Library Town. What he brought in that bag must have been some really valuable stuff.

~~I visited Cale at the clinic earlier. He's still not feeling well, but I let him know what we were going to do. His journal is still on the Seventeen, so I told him that I would keep an eye on it for him.

A train whistle blew as Link closed his journal. He looked up in time to see the green supply train, looking more like a ground-bound garbage scow with its two cars full of spare parts, pull forwards away from the Seventeen's office car. His eyes looked over the Seventeen. The cab was covered by a fitted roof with sliding windows. A metal plate had been attached to the smokestack at the front of the engine, likely to keep rainwater from flooding whatever mechanics were accessible through there. Another plate was fitted over the coal tender, much closer to the top of the tender with a little open space between it and the cab's roof. Link guessed that this probably allowed the heat from the firebox bleed out of the cab; he could imagine how hot the cab might be if it was not exposed to open air as the Seventeen usually was.

Now, with the sun in the sky, Link could guess the time to be just about mid-morning. Not having much to do since visiting Cale earlier, he had sat on the train platform to watch Luggard and a couple of men from the supply train attach the extra parts Luggard had said that they would need in order to run the Seventeen through the forever-raining landscape of the Snow Realm.

"Oi, Link!" Link glanced down the platform as Leynne approached, waving a tube over his head. He stood and dusted himself off. Leynne told him, "I might've an idea of wheh that ship crashed."

"The northern mountains, right?" Link said.

"Yes, I know I said that much," Leynne said, popping the top off the tube. "We still have to go to the suhvey point I found on the nohthehn bohdeh, but I thought I would show you about wheh I think it landed." He pulled out a map and unrolled it, careful to keep the tube in his other fingers. Link moved over to look at the map. "Heh," Leynne said, using his thumb to trace along the top edge of the map. "This is the Iyuk Mountain Range. The tracks come close, but we may be looking at a long trek inside."

"What's this here?" Link asked, pointing. While the tracks, a pair of black double lines running crisscross over the map, appeared to just barely touch the depiction of the Iyuk Mountains, Link saw that one pair of lines jutted just north of the east-west rails south of the mountains.

"I'm not suh," Leynne said with a frown.

Luggard, who had approached from Leynne's other side, took hold of an upper corner of the map to angle it where he could see better. "Oh, tha'?" he said, pointing to the same rails as Link had. "I think I know tha'. Some kinda construction the Good Travels Comp'ny was doin' 'bou' a year 'go. I think they's tryin' t' put a station in the middle o' those mountains so people don' go'a walk over them. Lo' o' good tha' did; they canceled the projec' jus' after it go' started 'cuz the rain made it bad t' build there."

"It's spotty at best," Leynne said, "but I wondeh if that pahticulah piece of track might be close to the crash. If so, it would be a good place to stop, right?"

Luggard shrugged. "It'd keep the Seventeen off the main line, bu' I can' guarantee it'd be close."

Leynne allowed the map to roll up. "Then we'll make it ouh meeting point. Once we reach the Iyuk Mountains, it may be a few days befoh we retuhn. You can meet us at that line when we've hopefully an answeh as to the ship's origins. What do you think, Captain?"

Link started when he realized that Leynne was referring to him. "Uh, yeah, sounds good."

Leynne shoved the map back in its tube. "Right then. Let's go."

Luggard pointed a finger into the air and made circle. "All abooooooard!"

Leynne followed Luggard into the cab. Link, with Irleen silently hovering near him, stepped into the office car and closed the door. He dropped his journal on the desk and double-checked that his sword and shield were still fit. Finding that there were still smears of Skulltula blood on the sword, Link used the sleeve of his freshly-cleaned undersuit to wipe it off. He had his back to the berths.

So he did not see the stranger's face as it slid back under the covers.