I know, I know, this took double the time to post along with Chapter 10. What do you think? Should I do this one at a time or Ezlo/Link and Vaati's POVs at the same time? I'd like to know what people think. So,
in the last chapter...
Vaati had a nightmare about the Twilight Minish fighting over supplies, a nightmare that was a memory. The past was... returning to him? He had to face the waters of Lake Hylia in order to find a goron called Rhinestone, discovering within the memory of the flood about his brother, Vale. Meanwhile, over at Melari's Mines on Mount Crenel, Link wasn't feeling too good and Ezlo accidentally made it worse with his noisy yelling! With Link ill, Ezlo decided to help the mountain minish learn how to cook. They all heard Vaati's loud scream and Link felt his fear, making the two of them think about Vaati a bit. After getting Rhinestone to Goron's Cave, Vaati headed over to Castor Wilds, where he had some trouble getting Andesite, another goron, out of the swamp. Sadly, after all that trouble, there was absolutely NOTHING USEFUL in Goron's Cave, so Vaati decided on a Plan B. By now, Link was feeling better, so, back on his head, Ezlo thought about Link's crying out in his sleep, and the possibility of a ghost being connected with both Link and Vaati...
Chapter 9: Magic Lessons
"Don't abandon me..." a ghostly cry, coming once more, "Don't leave me behind! I can't lose you too, Va-"
Drowning.
Cold. Cold. Why this-
"BOY! WAKE UP!" yelled Ezlo. Link, now fully better, bolted right out of bed. Link put Ezlo back on, and then the two of them headed straight down to the bottom of Melari's Mines, where Melari was still fixing The Picori Blade with Felo and another apprentice- the sound of the hammers banging against the sword reminded Link of his grandpa's house. Poor Grandpa Smith would be worried about him and poor everyone else would always catch him in a bad mood... Up on his head, Ezlo was muttering things about 'theories' and 'ghosts'. Link didn't really get it.
"Are you both fully awake?" asked Melari, pausing his work. Ezlo and Link both nodded. "Great- you should have some breakfast before you head to the human mine, also known as Cave of Fire. That's where the Fire Element is, I believe. We'll fix this sword while you're at it!"
"Thank you for all your help." replied Ezlo.
After they'd had breakfast and Link had helped with the dishes, the two of them left Melari's mines from the west exit. Just outside was a magic amplifier that Ezlo used to make himself, Link, all of Link's items, and Link's clothes grow to their normal size (well, to Link anyway). After all, magic is a very precise thing. One has to be careful with runes... Nearby was another one of those exploding stones.
"Holder of the sacred powers, we grant you the power of wind..." whispered the voice of the stone.
"Hey! That stone marker exploded! And there's another one of those symbols!" Exclaimed Ezlo, "...You know, no matter how many times that happens, it still rattles me." After that, Link climbed up a nearby ladder, which led into the mine.
Inside, the first thing both Ezlo and Link noticed was that it was very, very HOT in here... Link was feeling a bit sweaty already and Ezlo was instantly feeling like he'd burst into flame any second from now!
"Wow! It's hot in here! come on! Let's not just stand around wasting time!" Nagged Ezlo, "Find that Element so we can get out of here!"
Link went through a doorway in front of him first, only to reach a dead end, so he backtracked and went through the door to his right.
Inside that room were six pots and four walking bombs. The walking bombs felt exactly like the slime-creatures, the rock-shooting creatures, the jumping-spider-like creatures, etc- like a few mini black holes of emotionlessness that seemed to suck up reality, as if they shouldn't be there. So Link whacked them with his sword. The monsters were made of metal, so this produced a few sparks, which in turn lit their fuses. This seemed to make the monsters run around at top speed and smash whatever was in the way, so Link hid in the doorway and protected himself with his shield (Random Story Fact: I actually did that in the game). One of them exploded near a loose wall, revealing a new room beyond this one.
Meanwhile, up on Link's head, Ezlo was thinking about Link's strangely powerful magic potential, and that odd magic which had protected Ezlo from falling all the way down the side of Mount Crenel. Obviously he wouldn't be able to teach him very much, but maybe he could teach Link the basics of magic... he sure did seem to learn things quickly. After all, he couldn't let that magic potential go to waste!
"After all, Boy, your potential can't go to waste!"
"Wow! Thanks Master Ezlo!"
"Nah... between you and me, I always hated that title. Just call me Ezlo."
"Okay... Ezlo! I won't let you down!"
...and look how THAT turned out. But... It was fairly obvious that Link wasn't like him. His aura was different. More accepting, adapting. He'd have really fit in at Vaati's old school. (Maybe if I take this second chance...) thought Ezlo, (I can be there for Vaati, too.)
A loud CLANG snapped Ezlo out of his thoughts. In the room the walking bombs had revealed, there were two blue turtle-like monsters with very spiky shells, and Link had just whacked one with his sword, only for it to have no effect on their spiky armour.
"Your sword can't make a dent in those shells!" yelled Ezlo, "Flip them over!"
Link put up his shield in response, and one of the turtle-monsters-
CLANG! SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!
Link and Ezlo shuddered at the sound of the monster's shell sliding across the stone floor. A few sparks flew... was that blue shell made of metal?! They spent a couple of seconds recovering before Link ran over to it and stabbed his sword through its soft underside, making it go poof in a bunch of white smoke and yellow sparks. Suddenly, Ezlo noticed the other one coming from behind him!
"WATCH OUT BEHIND YOU, BOY!" screeched Ezlo as Link dodged, spinning round and slashing the monster on its underside all at the same time. A locked door to the side of the room opened, and Link carefully went through it. Now he was back at that room with the dead end, but now on the other side of the dead end. Six green rupees sat innocently on the floor. Worried about Zelda, Grandpa Smith worrying, and everybody else having to worry about a very grumpy grandpa, Link ignored them and walked down the stairs behind them, and past the stairs were more walking bombs. He defeated them -made them blow themselves up- again.
"Hey, Boy!" yelled Ezlo, slightly less loud than usual. Link noticed that he wasn't annoyed- in fact, he was positively excited! "I can teach you a bit of magic, if you like! I can't let your potential go to waste!" Link nodded excitedly, nearly making Ezlo fall off his head again. "Boy, next time could you answer with YOUR VOICE?!" asked Ezlo, annoyed again. Link giggled. His noisy hat friend's antics were funny! "What's so funny?!" asked Ezlo. Link didn't answer.
(Y-You.) he thought, smiling as he continued down a dark passageway. Ezlo decided to start talking while Link continued through Cave of Fire, up some more stairs, and following the old mine cart tracks. It was clear that the place was deserted.
"There are five main types of magic, called primary magics." explained Ezlo, "They are- transformation, turning one thing into something else, summoning, bringing objects from far away- OBJECTS, Boy, NOT people- and you have to know WHERE something is to summon it, focus, shifting or moving magic through yourself or magical items, passive, magic which speeds up natural healing processes and gives extra energy, and offensive, pure forms of magic used for self-defence or defending others. GOT THAT, BOY?!"
"Y-yes." said Link, not wanting Ezlo to fall off his head. Link was standing right next to a mine cart. Ezlo noticed it.
"This must be what the humans who built this mine used to get around here. Maybe we should hop in." suggested Ezlo. Link looked a little doubtfully at the rickety mine cart. Then it seemed as if his vision was focusing as he stared at it for a second or two- it was safe, sort of. In Link's mind, half in, half out of reality, the nails of the mine cart held tighter, stronger, so the mine cart wouldn't fall apart.
(Riding it could be fun!) thought Link. Ezlo got the wrong idea. Secretly, HE felt rather scared.
"Hm? What? After all this, you don't expect me to believe you're scared! There's nothing to be afraid of here! Come on, let's go! I'm not scared!" Link felt Ezlo's fear and knew he was lying. He hopped into the cart and grabbed on tight to Ezlo's rim with one hand and the side of the mine cart with the other, the cart whizzing along really faster than anything Link had felt before, and it was the most exciting thing he had ever done in his life! He really liked moving so fast, in such a rush...
"WHAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" squealed Link in excitement.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Ezlo, feeling motion sick and terrified he was going to fly away.
Link thought it was awesome! Ezlo hated it.
When they reached the end of the track, the cart buckled, sending Link and Ezlo flying. Link instinctively flipped and landed on his feet without even wobbling. Ezlo felt sick and dizzy.
"Sweet jumping jellyfish, that was awful..." groaned Ezlo, flopping down and seeing Link's giddy smile, "Hey, kid, what are you smiling about? I knew it was madness to risk our lives in that rickety human contraption!" Link gave him a look. However, he knew Ezlo had been terrified. "From now on, let's stick to our feet! I mean... your feet."
In front of them, there was a doorway. There were also minish-sized passageways to Link's left and right. Link went through the door in front of him, defeating two red slime-monsters and a walking bomb along the way. Though the next doorway were even more monsters and a blocked-up passageway. Meanwhile, Ezlo decided to continue his magic lesson.
"Each individual person has a particular affinity for one of the primary magics." Explained Ezlo, now recovered, "Your magic depends on YOU, YOUR PERSONALITY, and WHO YOU ARE. Magic is closely linked to the inner spirit and as such will always connect with who you are and how you change. The magic you have an affinity for is called your skill. Now... ARE YOU LISTENING, BOY!?"
BOOM!
"..." Link had been listening. He'd also just blown up the blocked wall using a bomb. Through said wall was four red, round, metal-masked bird monsters.
"Oh, good. Target practice." commented Ezlo, "Now... let's start with summoning magic. It's not too hard. See that rock over there?" He turned towards a very large rock over at the left side of the room.
"Y-yes." said Link.
"Open a hole above the rock." instructed Ezlo, "Trace your magic past the very air, over that rock, and remember to do the same over one of those monsters!" Link sort of got it. He traced two circles into the air with his left forefinger, and a black hole tore open above the monster and the rock. The rock went though one hole and out the other, squashing the monster and effectively 'poofing' it. The holes closed as the rock went through them.
"Hmmm... Good, my boy, but that's clearly not your skill... Let's try transformation magic next. See that rock you summoned? See past its surface and see all the tiny dots it it made of. Now, use your hands and move all those little dots into a new shape. GOT IT, BOY?!" Link did get it. He was already seeing all those small dots, and twisting them, moving them. The rock was turned into a wheel of the same material, which rolled down the slope in the room, squashing another monster in the process.
"Brilliant, my boy, but that's obviously not your skill either, that is obvious to me. Hmm... Perhaps passive magic is more your style. Now, focus on yourself or me- NO, YOURSELF, BOY!- Think about where you need healing... In fact, try fixing that cut on your hand!" Link looked down. Sure enough, there was a cut on his hand. Link just hadn't noticed when it got there; maybe it was from the mine cart. "Focus on healing." Link did, and he watched as the cut closed itself up, a scab forming and falling off very quickly. It wasn't hard, but he had to concentrate hard to do it.
"Hmm... Nope." Ezlo thought about offensive magic.
"When will I learn to use attacking magic? When?"
"When you learn that it is NOT to be used irresponsibly and in self-defence in DIRE situations ONLY."
"Aw... How come?"
"If you are not careful, you could kill someone."
"...I don't want to kill..."
...But was it safe to teach Link it now? Ezlo thought so.
"Try offensive magic next- PUT THAT SWORD AWAY, BOY!- you need to use anger, or protectiveness..." instructed Ezlo, "...but anger works better, to release magical energy in it's purest form. Release that emotional energy at one of those monsters!" Confused, Link tried to be angry. But he wasn't angry, couldn't be angry. So he tried protectiveness instead. A shaky little ball of magic the colour of everything flew out of Link's palm and smashed into one of the monsters, defeating it.
"No! No! You're TERRIBLE at that, Boy! Next try- LOOK OUT, BOY!"
Link grabbed his sword and focused magical energy within it before releasing said energy through the sword into a spin attack, whacking the monster's mask, spinning it around, and whacking the monster behind the mask, defeating it instantly.
"EXCELLENT!" announced Ezlo, "My boy, I should have guessed that focus magic was your skill from the beginning!" Just then, a magic amplifier appeared in the centre of the room. "How interesting! So there was a magic amplifier hidden away in here, hmm? Let me know when you want to shrink, boy!"
Link hopped onto the portal, and Ezlo fiddled with the runes in order to shrink them both. Focus magic can be used in many different ways, and now Link's strength, fast-runing and learning, usage of magic items and understanding of magic all made sense. However, something so basic wouldn't usually work to that degree of accuracy...
He couldn't help but look back to that day Vaati had transformed a cushion into his favourite (and only) teddy bear. That had been far more advanced than turning a rock into a wheel-shape due to all the different materials involved (the cotton, fabric, string and buttons), and Ezlo had gotten annoyed because he wouldn't turn it back again. Ezlo's skill being more of the summoning kind, he couldn't really undo something more specific to advanced transformation magic...
While Ezlo was thinking about this, Link was going through a minish-sized door, and running past some now-gigantic monsters, running through more doorways. He was excited about learning magic, and hoped that Ezlo would teach Zelda once she was safely de-stonified. She would really like that! Link was actually not so scared of this place, which was so much like a dungeon. There were scarier things in the nightmare. Wondering about how Ezlo knew so much despite being a hat, Link simply kept on running through the minish-sized passages until he reached a room filled with incredibly hot fire and even hotter lava. Now it was obvious why everybody had left this mine... Taking a deep breath, Link leapt downwards, landing next to a portal and several burning piles of rubble.
"YUCKY! You're all sweaty!" complained Ezlo, "And I feel like I'm going to burst into flame!" Link ran across some huge rocks, which were floating in the lava. They sank behind him. "Oh my!" gasped Ezlo, "It looks really, REALLY hot in that lava! Trust me: Falling into that would be a bad idea. I'm sure you agree."
Link pushed a button before continuing across the lava, to the now-open door. Through it, the next room was absolutely covered in deep lava- Link took out one of his water bottles and drank a lot of the water; all this heat was making him thirsty. "HEY!" yelled Ezlo, "I want some too!" Link poured the rest of the water on top of Ezlo, which made him feel a lot less hot and a lot more sloshy. "Thanks, Boy..." said Ezlo. Link put the empty bottle back in his bag.
Floating on the lava was another large rock, this time moving across the lava thanks to the currents. Link got on it, then got off it once he reached the other side. There, there were a lot of deep holes and odd metal bugs. They felt like nothing, neither animal nor monster. How odd. Link tapped one carefully with his sword, and it curled up into a metal ball. He then used it to fill up a hole, then did the same with the others.
He found 50 rupees in a treasure chest nearby, then went up some stairs. There was a closed door blocking the way forwards, and also some rocks which were immovable from Link's side, though there was a treasure chest on top of a pillar beyond them. Link walked over to two torches which were lighting the place, and just below the edge of the floor was a whirlwind above all the lava.
"Look! A whirlwind! You're not going to jump, are you, Boy? ...BOY?!" commentated Ezlo. Link grabbed onto his rim and jumped. The whirlwind combined with the hot air kept Ezlo expanded, and they flew across the lava, reaching the other side of the immovable rocks from earlier. Pushing a button near the pillar opened a door, then Link pushed the pillar into a large hole in front of it. The pillar filled the hole, leaving only the treasure chest. Inside it was a small key. Link put it away. As he went through the door, Ezlo decided to resume his magic lesson. Link was now back in the room with the cart, and he stuffed Ezlo into his bag, surprising Ezlo. Inside the bag, Ezlo shivered. It seemed that this bag had been given the properties of a food-storage area... Both dry and wet at the same time, perfect for storing anything food-ish. That boy had lucked out, as the properties of a dimensional hole were always totally random.
Link took Ezlo out again once he was off the rickety ride. "WHAT was THAT for?!" Shouted Ezlo.
"Sorry..." apologised Link, "B-but since you h-hate that r-ride so much, I thought it w-would help."
"Well, that DID help." admitted Ezlo, "I didn't even realise you rode one of those things! But next time, TELL me Boy, won't you?" (What a kind and considerate boy.) thought Ezlo, (What is it about him that makes me feel safe, somehow?) Ezlo could never really understand why, but Link's random acts of kindness and how much he knew the boy already, Ezlo found himself wondering about things. Discovering things. Thinking about things that shouldn't be able to be. The way he seemed more connected with dreams than reality... The way Ezlo had seen a version of Vaati sitting next to him the other day... There was something about that boy called Link which made him wonder if it really was all just Crazy Theorist talking... Then he remembered. Said BOY'S grandpa was going to FLIP when he found out that Link had stepped one toe in here!
Meanwhile, Link had crossed the tracks and hit a switch, changing the direction of the mine cart tracks. He then went back to the cart and said, "E-Ezlo, I'm going on a-a mine cart." before putting Ezlo into the magic bag again. Ezlo appreciated the warning, though he was back out of the bag in less than three seconds. Link found himself back in the room with the blue-shelled turtle-monsters again, but now that he wasn't minish-size, he could go through the door that led up ahead, into the next room.
Just through the door, Link fell into a convieniently-placed hole as a trap clinked just above Ezlo's head, nearly clipping a little bit of his loose threads off. After that, Link easily climbed back out of the hole. The room had some traps at the edges, and to Link's right, there was an up-side down mine cart. Though Link tried, he just couldn't get a good enough grip to flip it up the right way so he just walked on the tracks, much to Ezlo's relief.
Along the tracks, over a lot of lava, there were two doors. The one on the right wouldn't open unless Link was on a mine cart, but he could go though the left one. Link did so. Through the door was a pathway, which led to a pit. Against Ezlo's very loud advice, Link leapt straight into it, where they were instantly surrounded by eight metal-spiky-slime-monsters. Ezlo wondered if Link would beat them all with that football again. Instead, he took Ezlo off and threw him to the side of the pit, before drawing his sword and shield in a 'ready and steady' position, as he liked to think of it. Link was feeling a challenge. there was something guiding him from his heart in that moment and using the football, while it would have been perfectly sensible, didn't feel quite right.
Ezlo could only watch in astonishment as Link slashed away at all those monsters, left eye electric-blue, right eye his normal black. Link concentrated magical energy into his sword... and spun, spinning into the air and spinning down again, landing right back on his feet, sword pointed downwards. Every single one of the monsters went poof at once. As for where in Hyrule he'd learned that one? Answer- Vaati. Link had been paying attention when Vaati had pulled it on Mira, and had simply imitated it. Link watched things, then found ways for him to do the same. That was something beyond magic, yet so simple it was invisible to everyone. Ezlo's brain was completely and utterly boggled. He knew they'd be back, but for now a chest appeared in the centre of the room, just behind Link, who turned around and opened it as Ezlo hopped over to see what he'd found. Inside the chest was a long, wooden rod with a curled tip. On top of it was a note.
'This is the Cane of Paaci [Pah-kee], a magical item which flips things over. How to use: Channel magical energy through wherever you're holding it (straight end of cane recommended) and point the curled end at whatever you want to flip over. Be warned, THIS IS NOT A TOY! Flipping people onto their heads may seem funny, but that CAN BE FATAL! So don't do it, even if your companion is very noisy, annoying, and pretty much glued to your head!'
(Th-that sounds like E-Ezlo.) thought Link.
Luckily, there was a door in the pit which had opened as soon as Link beat all the monsters. Link put Ezlo back on and went through the door.
"Where did you learn to DO that move, Boy?" asked Ezlo.
"V-Vaati." replied Link.
"WHAT?! Well, anyway, next time, DON'T THROW ME TO THE SIDE LIKE THAT, BOY! I don't want to get torn to pieces!" complained Ezlo. (ARRRRGGGHHH! I really need to stop that ATTITUDE!)
In the next room, there was a large rock with four great big stalagmites rising from it. Link wouldn't be able to stand on that, so he tried using the Cane of Paaci to flip it over- and it worked. The large stone flipped over, revealing a very much flat underside that Link used as a stepping stone to get across the lava and to the large, conveniently-placed hole next to a very flat wall. Ezlo noticed it, and got an idea.
"Hey, kid! Why don't you take that Cane of Paaci and fire it at that hole?" he suggested, "I mean, you'll never know what'll happen 'till you try, right?" Link though that sounded like a fun idea, so he did, and hung on tightly to Ezlo's rim as he jumped into the hole and the magically-charged energy (as opposed to magical energy- there's a difference) sent him spinning upwards. Link flipped over several times on the way up, landing on his feet up on top of the higher ground, above the wall. He next pressed a button. Ezlo was very dizzy... A door just in front of them opened, and they were right back at the room with the upside-down mine cart. Link flipped it the right way up using the Cane of Paaci before putting Ezlo into the separate dimension in the magic bag again.
This time, Ezlo tried to take a look around while he was in there- and saw all of Link's food supplies, a small key, the gust jar, the Cane of Paaci, that map of Deepwood Shrine, the bomb bag, a sleeping bag, an old bike helmet, Link's giant butterfly net (HOW can such a small boy even CARRY that?!), four giant packets of pansilla seeds, a spare belt and tunic, a green bottle, a blue bottle, a red bottle, a violet bottle and a black jar lablled C.H.S.M.S, two spare hammers, a large collection of pink hair ties, a spare pillow, that football, a spare pair of boots, the picnic rug, two old notebooks, three pencils, a pencil-sharpener, a bunch of colourful dried flowers, a tea spoon, a pair of scissors, thirteen bottles of water (one of them was empty), a very clean green hairbrush that looked like it had never been used, a jade-green watering can which was not-quite filled with water, three packets of the medium-sized packets of special flower fertiliser, and Link's single blue rose in a pot. Naturally, Ezlo wondered what in The Human World could have possibly possessed him to pack all these things! Okay, so SOME of them were perfectly logical. But hair ties? And a HAIRBRUSH?! One LOOK at that rat's nest on his head and you'd think he didn't know what a hairbrush was! Link's hand just came in out of nowhere and grabbed Ezlo, taking him out of the bag again.
Link, after putting Ezlo back on his head- Ezlo thinking abut what in the world Link could do with PINK hair ties- ,pushed another pillar into another hole and opened another chest, getting another small key. Link, pulling another bottle of water out of his bag and drinking it, was really hoping to be able to get out of here soon... Ezlo was too. Link put the -now empty- bottle away.
Next, he opened a locked door which was back in the room where he'd flipped over the rock and went down the stairs beyond it. There, there was another up-side down mine cart and a magic amplifier. There, Ezlo made them both shrink. Past some humongous, sharp, spiky traps, Link found a minish passageway, and past that were a lot of rocks, and some harmless-seeming red flowers. However, at the end of the passage, Ezlo made them both big again using a magic amplifier, and the red flowers, now with sharp blades, attacked the two of them when Link ran through the path designed by all the rocks. He then went over to the up-side down mine cart, flipped it over, put Ezlo to safety and rode it. After the cart reached the end of the tracks, Link put Ezlo on his head again, as usual.
"I'm tired of going round in circles... And I'm burning up and YOU'RE SWEATY! HURRY UP, Boy, I'M BORED!" complained Ezlo, "You know what? I'll teach you about gifts next!"
"W-Wait." said Link, hitting a switch, putting Ezlo into the bag and riding in another mine cart.
Once he was back on Link's head, he continued talking while Link continued filling holes and unblocking the pathway. "So, a gift is a powerful magic ability that varies with the person involved. Only people with the very highest of magic potential are born with gifts. However, rare and powerful gifts come with a corresponding price, for example, your gift, the gift of sharing souls, has the price of being incapable of feeling a certain influential emotion, which can ondirectly split an entire group of emotions. Your particular gift allows you to feel what I feel, for example if I'm cross at you, you can feel that cross-ness. However, if you held eye-contact with me, you would feel who I am deep down! If you were to develop your gift, you might be able to understand my innermost fears, goals, etcetera! But be warned! The more you develop your gift, the higher its price goes. Be careful not to develop it too much, or you have a risk of not being able to feel powerful emotions... such as love."
Link found all this extremely interesting, but it was a bit frightening... At long last, it was time for lunch. Yes, lunch. Ezlo hopped off Link's head as soon as he saw that Link was taking more of his grandpa's sandwiches out of his bag. The two of them just sat there thinking while eating sandwiches. Neither of them spoke a word.
Link wondered what Vaati was up to now- he had ideas about the mysterious purple sorcerer. To be honest, the more he thought about Vaati the less he believed that Vaati was really a bad person. Link could not forget the loneliness, or the strange ache of being different from everybody else... Besides, once this was all over, Link was sure Vaati would apologise after he'd found whatever he was looking for, and maybe they'd all be friends! The thought felt so much nicer than the fear, worry and anger the grownups felt. If he ran into Vaati, Link decided to try and solve the problem and help him out of it, and in the process he was certain Ezlo would feel better too! It was clear the two of them had once had a strong bond of sorts- even though the bond seemed a bit one-sided. In the nightmare, Link was sure now that the little brother was Vaati. That feeling of fear and those marks underneath his eyes were undeniable proof... so what did it all mean? How had Vaati met Ezlo in the first place? How confusing...
Ezlo was thinking about Link's nightmares and the ghost he could be hosting, still not sure if the theory was Crazy Theorist talking or not. Hmm... Well, if Link was hosting a ghost he'd KNOW he was hosting a ghost. Yet Link didn't seem to know at all. Maybe he'd tried to help years ago but forgotten? Nah, THAT one had to be Crazy Theorist talking! Then there was Vaati. Ezlo had a plan for if they ran into HIM. It would be simple. First, he'd tell him off. Vaati being Vaati, he'd probably ask if Ezlo was going to waste his time all day. Then Ezlo would apologise for not being there and ask wholeheartedly if Vaati would come back home with him- after fixing the princess and apologising to Link and everybody else of course. Even if he didn't want to, Ezlo would support his decision and help him learn more about the human world. Who knows, maybe he'd end up being friends with Link and Zelda. Ahh, what an unlikely fantasy... But hey, why not try? He couldn't just give up on him now!
After lunch, Link went down a wide corridor- which ended in a humongous room absolutely filled with lava. There were floating rocks flowing and moving with the lava in front of them, hot blasts forming whirlwinds above them, and an endless hole of liquified heat swirling beneath Link's feet, the solid rock they were standing on just being cool enough not to melt into the waves of heat burning Link and Ezlo in this place filled with fire, seemingly blazing from the lava itself, said liquid glowing, lighting up the whole place, Ezlo feeling as if he were being burned inside out, as if he would spontaneously combust right there and then. Link promptly pulled out another bottle of water- and poured the whole thing on Ezlo and himself. It was a huge relief to both Ezlo and Link, the freezing water keeping them the right temperature in this horribly hot place. Neither of them cared about being wet at this moment in time. Link put the empty bottle away.
Link carefully stepped on the floating rocks, moving from rock to rock as they floated across the lava, Link and Ezlo's weight making them sink just as Link kept on going. Ezlo stayed quiet- one misstep and the two of them would be nothing more than a pile of ashes! That was not a very pleasant thought, so Ezlo just worriedly wondered how in the world this kid wasn't freaking out like he was.
The simple fact was, Link wasn't paying attention. He was just going along the pathways, flipping rocks with the Cane of Paaci and not bothering about the lava, but he was still glad about Ezlo being quiet for once.
He soon reached a corridor going up into the deepest parts of the mines. This place was filled with rocks and holes that Link easily got around, while Ezlo decided to keep an eye out for monsters. Luckily, there weren't really any around here. That's when they reached another conveiniently-placed hole just in front of a whirlwind. Link used the Cane of Paaci to send the cane's magic into the hole, before jumping into it and being flipped into the air, straight into the whirlwind, the swirling air inflating Ezlo as the two glided down to the corridor far above the rubble.
Across the corridor, there was another whirlwind, which Link and Ezlo used to glide over the lava in the gigantic, overheated room. Link could feel it again, that rush of excitement mixed with fear, that powerful feeling he liked so much... Landing on a burning patch of land nearby, Link barely managed to avoid being burnt! Ezlo tried to blow the flames out, and it worked- a little. Link used a hole near a wall to get to the next whirlwind. Above the lava, the hot air keeping Ezlo expanded again and Link leaning left, right, forwards and backwards, occasionally spinning at a few whirlwinds, landing at a large 'island' in the centre of the room, stretching high above the liquid fire. In front of them was a very large chest. Link opened it, and inside was a massive key half the size of Link- who was very relived. Last time, the giant key had meant the end of the dungeon-like shrine. Now, it was the end of the dungeon-like mines. Link jumped directly back onto a floating stone, which took him back to where he'd entered the room.
Past there, Link found the giant door with the giant lock for the giant key. Unlocking the door with no difficulty whatsoever, he went through it. Inside was a massive hole leading straight down. Link walked over to the edge and looked into the lava lake surrounded by land below, eyes sparking, smiling an adreniline-fueled smile... Ezlo looked down- and one look on Link's face and not even EZLO could not notice what that boy was planning now.
"Oh... No... DON'T EV- AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Screeched Ezlo just as Link leaped over the edge, taking a deep breath on the way down, and the world, to Link, seemed to be shaking, moving, all around him as he used Ezlo as a parachute, landing right in front of the lava lake- face-to-face with a rather cross-looking lava-dragon, it's head the size of Link and the rest of its body proportionally large, which had a long, white, blue and red neck reaching out of the lava, very sharp teeth, and a spiky, rocky shell over its humped back which protected a tough-looking amber on the top. Link and Ezlo looked at the monster, a completely blank look on their respective faces. The monster roared in said faces, loud enough so that the entire room shook, and Link had to grab Ezlo's rim to stop him flying away. The monster's breath smelled like nothing, as if it wasn't really there.
"I TOLD YOU THIS WAS A HORRIBLE IDEA! LISTEN NEXT TIME, WON'T YOU BOY?!"
Link found it hard not to listen when Ezlo was yelling louder than the monster's continuous roaring directly above his ears. Link vaguely wondered if extremely noisy hats could make you deaf. He then remembered he was stuck in a room with a non-friendly and non-nice monster the size of his house and sensibly tried to run away, not bothering to screech because one, Ezlo was screeching and two, there was nobody around to hear Link's hypothetical screeching. The monster opened its mouth, leaping, uncontrollable flames bursting from the depth of its body and flaming several places near Link- setting the back of said boy's tunic on fire. Link suddenly panicked, running every which way and trying to find a bottle of water from his bag, Ezlo stoping his useless screeching and starting his somewhat useful blowing on the fire. Link managed to find the watering can and sprinkled it all over the fire, putting it back once the fire was out and continuing to run around dodging all the fire at the same time as trying to figure out what to do. Ezlo noticed that the monster's rocky shell was rather loose...
"USE THE CANE, BOY! USE THE CANE!" screeched Ezlo at the top of his voice. Link instantly drew the Cane of Paaci and shot it right at the monster- but it hit its head, not its shell, and nothing happened except for the monster to start shooting fire again. "THE SHELL!" howled Ezlo, "USE IT ON THE SHELL!" Link got the idea and kept on running, shooting the magic out of the cane and onto the monster's shell. The shell flipped over, the sharp spikes suddenly breaking on the monster's weaker back. It roared again and its neck and head collapsed onto the edge of the lava, creating a bridge for Link to run across.
He got the idea and ran across to its back, before smashing, slicing and stabbing the amber on its back as much as possible. Cracks spread out across it, and the monster began to sink into the lava. Link, holding the Cane of Paaci in his right hand and his sword on his left, ran as fast as he could back across the monster's huge neck and leapt from its head, just about not burning to a crisp. Ezlo gulped. Link's mind drifted, and again he saw the world from a third eye, seeing what he should do vs what he'd actually do. He then changed the actually into the should.
So to Ezlo's great surprise, Link ran to the edge of the room just as the lava lake grew at an alarming speed and rubble fell from the sky. It was as if Link could tell where each individual rock was going to fall, Ezlo noticed. The rocks broke to pieces as they landed all around the boy and the hat.
"Ahhhh! Watch your feet!" yelled Ezlo, "Such an inhospitable monster this is!" He wasn't helping much.
After a couple of minutes, the rubble calmed down and the lava lake went back to its original size- and the monster, its shell fully re-formed, burst from the lava, glowing red with some sort of protective heat as it blasted continuous flames at Link, who ran around it. The fire even set some of the rubble on fire! How was that even possible?! He attempted to blast its shell with the Cane of Paaci again, but the red-heat-barrier stopped it from working.
Once the monster cooled down, Link managed to make its shell flip over again, and once again Link ran across its neck and sliced, slashed and stabbed the amber, this time succeeding in smashing it. He ran off the monster as fast as his legs could run just before it threw its head in the air and gave out one, long roar, before exploding in a massive, great big POOF, similar to that massive slime thing from Deepwood Shrine.
With the monster gone, the temperature in the entire room dropped as something red was propelled into the high roof of the cave, and the lava hardened into -somewhat lumpy- stone.
Link and Ezlo watched the element gently float down from the sky, and from it they felt great warmth and even greater light, holding such uncontrollable, passionate flames which could both sear the skies and hide deep within the heart. Link carefully picked the element up.
"Flames bring light to darkness and warmth to all..." said Ezlo, once again filled with awe at the element's majestic power, "the Fire Element is the embodiment of that power..."
A portal appeared, and Link stepped into it. A second later, they were back outside the mines and in the fresh, cool air of Mount Crenel in the early evening, after all, Ezlo had woken Link up early today.
"Oh, that was hot! So hot I thought my fibres would catch fire! Ah, but its over now!" sighed Ezlo in relief, "I suppose we should go back and speak to Melari." Link nodded and went over to the magic amplifier, Ezlo shrinking them to minish size.
When they got down to Melari, Link saw that the sword was fixed, and more sacred-looking than ever. "Wow! That was fast work! But not so fast that I didn't finish your sword!" announced Melari, grinning from pointy ear to pointy ear, "Here, take a look! I call this new blade the White Sword!" Link and Ezlo could both see why. Its blade was a pure white that seemed to glow with the faded echoes of the colour of everything, sparkling with light, and its handle gleamed citrine-jade, though it held sparks of deepest sapphire, fiercest ruby and brightest amethyst within it too. It truly was a beautiful blade, and was clearly extremely, deadly sharp. Link picked it up, extremely carefully, by its flawless handle and put it in his bag. The room seemed just that little bit dimmer.
"Once you infuse it with the power of the elements, it will become a sacred blade!" explained Melari, "The forest elder no doubt told you about this part, but... if you want to infuse the blade, you must go to the elemental sanctuary. The sanctuary is a strange realm, trapped within two worlds. It is the bridge between The Minish World and The Human World. The doorway to the sanctuary only opens once every hundred years! You'll find the door within Hyrule Castle. Once the blade has been filled with the power of the four elements, you should be able to break the curse on your princess. I know you can do it. After all, you made short work out of that human mine. Let me tell you about a shortcut you can use to get down the mountain. You'll find it right infront of the entrance to the mine you just explored. Just follow that, and you'll be down in no time. Good luck!"
"Thank you for all your help. We are very grateful." thanked Ezlo, "Well, let's get going, Boy! You don't want to keep your grandpa waiting!"
Of course not! Link wouldn't want him to be worried and cross at everybody for too long. Link ran right outside, growing before getting a good hold on Ezlo before heading down the mountain at top speed, ignoring all the monsters which had come back again. After all, true monsters could never really be killed. They would always re-form somewhere else, such was why the hero had sealed them in that chest in the first place!
When Link got tired and slowed down back at Trilby Highlands, he saw a violet-lilac stone in the sandy pathway. He stopped and picked it up, dusting it off a little bit. It was the left half of a violet-lilac kinstone. Kinstones were usually green, blue, and very rarely red, but Link had never even heard of a purple one. All kinstones had a feeling attached to them, but the feeling coming from this one was... a familiar loneliness, in fact, it was Vaati's loneliness!
Ezlo took one look at that kinstone and instantly realised just what that particular kinstone was! The minish made kinstones back in their world, and now Ezlo knew where the mystical stones went when they were fused in The Minish World. Minish everywhere used to believe that they simply flew to the sky then exploded, before a researcher known as Paaci discovered that they didn't explode, but travelled, and now Ezlo knew where they went- The Human World. This kinstone alone was proof!
"Come on, Boy! We're making kinstones today, and you're putting the emotion in! Remember, kinstones change colour depending on what emotions you infuse them with."
"That sounds fun, but who do you think would fuse with me?"
Ezlo hadn't quite heard his ten-year-old apprentice's slightly lower tone of voice.
"Well, I'll fuse with you! Now, come on, Boy!"
He'd looked a bit disappointed with Ezlo's answer, now that Ezlo looked back a bit. Had been hoping for something else?
Ezlo and Vaati mixed the simple recipe in a large bowl, and when the kinstone halves were done, they were violet-lilac.
"Purple? How unique!" Ezlo had commentated.
"Different..." Vaati had whispered.
"Well, let's fuse, my boy!"
They did. And now...
...here was the left half of that very same kinstone, right there in Link's palm. He seemed intrigued by it for some reason. Perhaps because it was purple? The boy then put it away extremely carefully, a soft little smile on his face.
After that, as the sun was really setting, Link went back though Hyrule Town and found another explosing stone along the way.
"Holder of the sacred powers, we grant you the power of wind..." Whispered the voice of the stone again before exploding to reveal another one of those symbols.
"Hey! That stone marker exploded! And there's another one of those symbols!" Exclaimed Ezlo, "...You know, no matter how many times that happens, it still rattles me." Link thought it was funny that the hat had said exactly the same thing as earlier that morning. He then went through North Hyrule Field, and to Hyrule Castle. "Are you sure I look alright?" asked Ezlo, "I never know what to wear for formal occasions..."
"Y-You're a hat." pointed out Link, going inside the castle while Ezlo processed that the kid was right. Somehow. It was like he was saying a lot of things at once... How bizarre. Ezlo remembered the way to the sanctuary because that was where he'd come in, so he jumped in front of Link and called,
"HEY BOY! Follow me! I know where the elemental sanctuary is!" Link followed Ezlo to the courtyard at the centre of Hyrule Castle's underground floor one, where Ezlo pointed out a huge, glowing doorway at the end of it. "Look! See how that doorway glows, Link? That is the door that leads to the sanctuary! Nobody in the castle seems to see it but you and me... let's go! QUICKLY! It's getting late!"
Link could only gasp at the beauty of the crystal-lined hallway. The large crystals shone with light, which reflected off the emerald flooring and the jade-diamond-crystal walls. Through a large doorway, which closed behind them, were four statues of four faceless heroes, holding their swords up almost like an archway. Beyond them was the pedestal for the sacred sword, and in the four corners of the area were the four cylindrcal pedestals for the four elements. All of this was carved in a strange, ever-changing material which was every shade of blue at once... yet not blue at all, which neither Link nor Ezlo recognised.
"This is the elemental sanctuary! Then... this is where we can infuse your blade with the power of the elements... Yes, there seems to be a pedestal for your sword right in the middle there." observed Ezlo.
Link went to the sword pedestal, and placed the White Sword inside of it. As he did, the Earth Element and the Fire Element floated out of his bag, and flew to the pedestal behind Link's right, and the pedestal behind Link's left respectively. A beam of amethyst light came from the Earth Element, and a beam of ruby light came from the Fire Element, both beams directed straight onto the White Sword.
As the beams hit the White Sword, the handle seemed to glow a brilliant gold, brighter than the sun, and the blade seemed to glow the very purest moonlight white with sacred power. Next, the handle of the sword turned brightest amethyst, then fiercest ruby. The beams faded, and Link drew the sword, holding it up to the roof of the sanctuary. "The power of Earth and the power of Fire have infused with your blade!" announced Ezlo.
There was a bit of shaking, and when Link turned around to look, a wall with ancient writing on it was blocking a passage leading deeper into the sanctuary. It was written in an ancient dialect of minish that Link couldn't read. Luckily, Ezlo could.
"Hmm-hmm... Let's see if I can't read that tablet for you..." said Ezlo, "'Fill your sword with power and walk over the glowing tile...' Hmm... Perhaps it refers to those flashing spots on the floor around you." Link understood. Those multicoloured squares were similar to an ancient power he'd read about in 'Legends of the Picori'. "Well, what are you waiting for? Try it, Link!"
Link focused his power into the sword and walked across the tiles. When he did, a ghostly clone of himself appeared for a split second. Ezlo noticed this power- one that could reveal one's personality by splitting oneself...
"Whoa! You just split in two! So this is the power of the White Sword! I guess you can double yourself anytime you see those panels..."
Ezlo was no fool. He knew that it took a lot of magic power to handle such a magic. For Link to be able to properly use such magic and still be intact... it was nearly impossible alone. The tiles helped, but they activate it, not hone it. Ezlo had not lent Link his power as he was greatly handicapped right now... Someone was there... perhaps the ghost?
Link had felt it- a presence from his heart which had allowed him to wield this great magic, a certain someone who had lent him their power from the moment Link had split... Link used some other panels in the room to press two buttons at once, open the door, and leave the way he came in. The clone quickly disappeared.
After that, Link headed straight out of the castle, running as fast as he could -so fast he could barely see where he was going- and holding onto Ezlo tightly. He ran that fast through North Hyrule Field for a second before-
"YOWCH! Look where you're going, kid!" grumbled a very annoyed, very familiar voice. Quick as a snap, Link clamped Elo's beak shut and held him behind his back so the very familiar person, who was getting up and brushing his cloak down, wouldn't see him. Link looked somewhere near his eye.
Standing right there...
was Vaati.