Updated: 30.01.2022
Chapter 12
Link stood at the ready, shining blade held up in defence. He had just passed the hole that had held the demon's obsidian sword. The ram-headed monster roared and spit, drifting backwards, shunning his radiant weapon.
Now that Link had put enough distance between Auru and himself, he could risk fighting it. Below his feet, he felt Midna detach from his shadow and race to the chamber outskirts where his leader, mentor, and responsibility lay crumpled before a pillar, injured, possibly dead. Link angled his sword and lifted it for a first strike when, suddenly, the spirit monster before him veered off to the left and dashed across the chamber – right to where Auru had fallen.
"Goddesses!" Link breathed, charging after the demon with every ounce of speed he could muster. It had all been a ruse, and he'd fallen right into it.
The black sword was extended, ready to cleave Auru in half. Link managed to slide in between just in time, the Master Sword horizontal before him, and buckled under the broadsword's powerful impact. Behind him, he heard Midna's frightened squeal as she whizzed out of the way.
Straining its twisted neck, the demon spun around to face her.
It's following her! Link thought, being once more completely ignored. The Master Sword in his left hand cast its blue shimmer at the walls like lightning as he ran for the chamber's centre, made them flicker with each of his strides. He felt his arm surge with power.
"Midna, over here!" he called, already angling his blade in anticipation of the demon's arrival. When it turned with another of its hurricane shrieks, it paid attention only to the shadow scurrying across the floor towards him.
The Master Sword cut a first gash across its spectral body, and it turned its fire red eyes on Link, jaw hanging open at an unnatural angle. Its teeth forked out of its mouth like bare branches, crooked and grey.
"Fight me, demon!" Link roared in Ancient Hylian, sword at the ready. A quick glance at the pillar showed Auru's curled form, still unmoving.
Farore, please let him not be dead!
He felt Midna's presence cling to his calves cast into shadows by a nearby brazier, and the ram-headed demon gave another deafening shriek.
"I'm sorry!" Midna called from below him. "I didn't know it would follow me. I just wanted to help Auru."
As much as he wished to comfort her, he had no time to be tactful. "Help me by luring it to the other side where I can easily fight it!"
The demon was already slowing, its outline dimming and flickering. Link felt the Master Sword pulse with light and warmth, a pure and total contrast to the black blade that was still swung towards Link's head in the hopes of landing a blow. But as Midna jumped from brazier to brazier, taking refuge in the shadows cast by the oil pans, the demon twisted and snarled, searching for her. Link felt ashamed of how easy it was to fight the spirit now that it was distracted. But as long as the demon roamed free, Auru was still in danger. And if it could sense Midna's presence, who knew what it would do to her if it touched her shadowy hiding spot?
He aimed for its back and sunk the blade in between its ribs, and the demon flailed. Its spectral body began to smoke and fade, bony hands all but dragging the black broadsword across the floor towards Midna. As it finally dissolved into nothingness, the weapon clanked heavily onto the tiles, still glowing a faint crimson. A ghoulish howl persisted, driving chills down Link's spine.
In the back of his mind, Link heard the Wolf's whispered words – or was it the skeleton of the woods? – like an afterthought: Seal the Imprisoned.
He drove the Master Sword through the death sword's ringed pommel and into a gap in the tiles where it was kept upright. The howling finally stopped.
Midna crawled out from beneath her brazier, the firelight reflecting off her glossy black and white skin. "Is it gone?" she asked, looking around.
Her presence, and the broadsword's lack of a reaction, were answer enough for Link.
"Did it hurt you?" he asked. When she shook her head, he spun on his heels and raced to the back of the room.
The Resistance leader lay in a twist by the pillar, unresponsive to Link's calls. His forearm which had taken the initial hit had a nasty gash in it, with other parts of it heavily bruised. Link recalled the angle with which the black blade had struck him, and found more torn fabric and bruises on the chest and ribcage. The worst of them was a long cut on the leader's left hip that leaked blood into the gritty sand.
He reached for his belt, and froze. "Midna, my first aid kit!"
She came running not a second later with her hands curled around the white linen bundle of cloth that contained his medical supplies. "I picked it up when you dropped it."
Link was too nervous to fully acknowledge her help, already fishing out the small shears from the bundle and aiming them at the hem of Auru's black leggings.
A firm hand grabbed his wrist, followed by the croaked words "Better not." Link's free arm reeled backwards in an instinctive attempt to shield Midna from view until she had disappeared. The shears tumbled from his hand and dropped into the dust.
A dead silence befell the only living beings inside the old execution chamber.
Slowly, Auru drew himself up to a sitting position and leaned against the pillar, grimacing and frowning as if he was paying very close attention to his body's inner workings. A few sucked-in breaths betrayed deeper aches, the arm was scrutinized with particular care, the torn bracer lamented with nothing more than a short sigh. When he finally looked up it was to inspect the room, wide eyes searching for the demon who had sliced through a solid scimitar cross-guard without even leaving a scratch.
It was only when those wise blue eyes caught the glint of the Master Sword, still stuck through the broadsword's pommel, that they clouded over and a daze came to Auru's wrinkled face. With another sigh, he let his head plonk against the pillar.
"I've seen that blade so many times, on a mural in the Temple of Time, painted onto the old parchments of our ancient historians, a stained window in the castle's Sanctuary..." He paused and heaved a quiet chuckle. "Coloured glass does it no credit."
Finally his eyes landed on Link. The youth waited, his face creased with concern, noting the ashy complexion taking over the older man's cheeks and forehead. He had to stem the blood flow, and soon, or the hydra that was the Hyrulean Agency would soon find itself without its largest head. And that would have been his fault.
"Sir, you're hurt," he said, hoping the older man would just remove his death grip on Link's wrist and let him work.
But Auru answered with an odd move instead, half crouching, half folding together until his injured side was squished by his upper body and Link could see the laceration glistening on the back of Auru's head. The posture looked unnatural and subservient.
"Chosen hero," Auru muttered.
Link's blood went cold; Auru was bowing to him.
"No, Sir, no!" he called with more force than he intended as he reached out and pulled Auru back into a sitting position. "Stop this, please."
"If I'd known who you were… Forgive me, I feel like such a fool. The way I spoke to you–"
"Sir Auru," Link hissed, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. His hard eyes sought the other Hylian's, and the Resistance leader looked back at him like a child being scolded for breaking a pot. The level of submission with which he held himself made Link wish he had left his commander alone under the sumac trees after all; to see his deference now, while he already shook with effort just to keep himself upright, made abandoning him back at camp seem like an act of mercy.
"Sir Auru," he repeated, softer this time. "Whoever you think I am, I'm not. I do not deserve your reverence, nor would I ever demand it of you. Please, just sit still and let me bandage your wounds."
Auru finally seemed to regain some composure, for his eyes took in his cuts and bruises with renewed lucidity. Quietly, he allowed the youth to lift his shirt and dab away the blood around the injured hip.
Link worked as fast as he could, bandaging the side first, then the arm. He inspected the lacerated scalp last, not quite sure if cleaning and bandaging it would be enough. He had no idea what damage such a blow to the head could cause. How he wished Uli was with him now to give advice.
Despite the pain written across his face, the leader remained quiet. His body betrayed his uncertainty only whenever his eyes darted towards the Master Sword, again and again. Several times his lips parted as if to say something, but each time he closed them again. Under normal circumstances Link would have been glad for the silence, but the longer it lasted, the more he wished Auru would just revert back to his graceful, talkative, confident self. Anything to prove he had not been permanently damaged by Link's foolishness.
When he finally spoke, however, Link realized Auru had lost none of his sharp perception. "Who... Who is Midna?"
Link squeezed his eyes shut. He had half hoped his call to Midna had gone unnoticed. But of course Auru had heard him, heard her as she had whispered to Link urgently. Lying to Auru would be pointless; it had not worked before – after Link's flight from the training hall or their encounter in the infirmary – and it would not work now. All Link could do was try to placate him once again, which seemed to have yielded at least a small measure of understanding before.
"I can't tell you, Sir, I'm sorry."
As a reply, Auru averted his eyes and looked to the side, seeking the owner of the unknown voice that had rung out next to him just moments before. The leader leaned forward slightly, forcing Link to pause in his treatment.
"I won't hurt you, Midna, I promise. You can trust me. Please, let me look at you."
There was no suspicion within Auru's tone, only kindness; as if he was speaking to a small child hiding from an adult. With his head wrapped in white gauze and his arm in a makeshift sling, he looked frail and old, such a stark difference to his former, distinguished self.
Link found himself glancing at his shadow as well. His mind swarmed with uncertainties, urging him to try and lead Auru's attention away from his secret companion; she was part of the enemy, a member of the very race the Resistance was unknowingly opposing. Even if Auru decided to spare her life, he would see the potential in her knowledge, perhaps even force her to give up secrets to gain an advantage. Link had a vague idea of the procedures used by the army to gain information – the nail bombs came to his mind, and he shuddered. Would Auru threaten her? Bribe her? Torture her?
And yet, his heart looked into Auru's calm expression and saw no ill will within those deep blue eyes. Link found himself thinking not of the problems a revelation would cause, but the solutions it could bring – for one, Midna's physical condition was still precarious, and having access to medical advice would lift a major worry from his heart. But was it his right to force this exposure on Midna? She had always been the one to insist on anonymity.
Auru stretched out a hand towards where he presumed the hidden figure stood, behind Link's back. It was a gesture that sought trust – yet did not demand it – directed at Midna as well as Link, who felt himself relax a little. Auru seemed to notice the tension leave Link's posture, for his eyes met the youth's, a silent plea within them.
Link steeled himself against that look. It was Midna's choice, and he would not force her into the light against her will just because he saw benefits to it. However, with his eyes never leaving Auru's, he placed his palm onto the ground where Midna's shadow touched his knees. It was their established gesture that connected them, gave courage, and assured mutual support. Their gesture of trust.
Whatever you decide, I'll stand by you.
He could not help his twitch of fright as, just a few seconds later, she materialized behind him. Her tiny black hand reached around Link's upper arm, and one wide, sunset-coloured eye regarded the Resistance leader carefully. Before them, Auru stifled a gasp.
For a long while they observed each other in silence.
"Does my appearance frighten you?'' Midna finally asked, her controlled voice holding a slight hint of defiance.
It took Auru a few seconds to answer. "A little," he said, and Link admired him for his sincerity. "I hope you will not take offence in it. I have never seen anyone whose body carries these proportions, these colours. Tell me, are you..." He paused, reconsidering. "What are you, exactly?"
Treading on dangerous ground here, the Wolf cautioned. Link tensed; he couldn't help it. "She is not your enemy," he answered, his voice low and threatening.
"I'm a Twili," Midna said, tapping on Link's upper arm to calm him. "I'm part of the race that has invaded your world. The one who is behind all the attacks and the invasion has usurped my queen's throne. I seek to remove him from power, by all means necessary."
Her words, spoken bravely yet in Link's opinion a little naively, incited more nervousness within him. I hope you know what you're doing.
Doubt played on Auru's face, his eyes hard with distrust. Link stretched a few inches taller as if trying to overshadow the leader.
"If an enemy force decides to defect, they tend make themselves known to their desired allies," Auru answered, glancing at Link nervously. "Yet you've remained hidden, and Link made no mention of you."
"I am not going to betray or harm you, Sir Auru," Midna continued. "I've been hiding in Link's shadow to avoid misunderstandings because of the way I look, not because of my intentions. Link is not to blame for keeping me secret from you. It was my wish. If you must retaliate for having been led astray, direct your anger towards me."
Stop making it easier for him! Link thought, giving Auru his fiercest try and die look.
To his surprise, Auru began to chuckle. "My dear friend, I am sitting injured in an ancient prison. I have no means whatsoever to make any judgement over you or Link. And even if I felt the need to punish you for your deception, I'm sure Link would not hesitate to strike me down, with the way he's glaring at me."
Midna glanced up at where Link knelt and drove her elbow into his arm. "Link, be civil," she hissed. "You're embarrassing."
"I'm keeping you alive, like I promised to do," he shot back.
"He just told you he can't do anything to us."
Link narrowed his eyes, seeking to rekindle his initial feeling of trust that the Wolf's base instinct seemed to be throttling. After a moment, his mind once again projected its spectral, furry body into the room where it was pacing around Auru, twitching every time the leader moved. He tried calming it, but he had trouble concentrating.
"You needn't fear me, Link," Auru answered. "I can see you are very protective of her. However, perhaps I might bother you for an explanation? It is not every day a humble Resistance leader comes face to face with a being who can vanish into thin air. And..."
He glanced at the Master Sword, his eyes clouding once again with awe. "The Blade of Evil's Bane. That's what it is, right? Of course, there is no mistaking it. Your remarkable battle skills, your ability to see spirits… It all makes sense now. And I treated you like a servant, a child who has no idea what he's doing. Sweet Nayru, if only I'd known… Surely you had your reasons, but if you'd told me who you truly were, I'd…"
A bout of tiredness hit Link like a rolling wave. "You'd have worshipped me?" he asked, balling the hand that bore the triangular mark.
Auru seemed hesitant, and Link instantly regretted his remark. Looking once more at the Hylian's injuries, he reminded himself that it was his fault Auru had been hurt in the first place. Though he did not like it, the revelation of his identity was a small price to pay if it meant protecting Auru from a demon of Darkness.
But the reason he'd kept his identity a secret was such a very selfish one; fear of judgement, of failure, of religious fanatics. Hardly traits a weathered battle master, scholar, and Hyrulean general would expect in the hero chosen by the goddesses.
"I'd have helped you," Auru answered softly. His words rang with nothing but compassion. The breathless reverence from earlier had vanished. "Without a second of doubt, and certainly without the attitude. You came in here for a reason. You kept, errr... Midna's presence a secret from me, from the group, for a reason. You know what is really going on, don't you?"
Despite his multiple injuries and a fight with a spirit demon, despite having met a creature he'd never seen before, despite coming face to face with the very hero chosen by the goddesses, Auru was as objective as ever. It brought a smile to Link's lips.
"I do, Sir. But as I already told you before, it's difficult to explain, and even more difficult to believe."
Auru shook his head and made a dismissive gesture. "Tell me everything you know. I'll believe you, no matter how improbable it sounds. You have my word."
As Link opened his mouth to reply, however, Midna stepped in between. "Sir Auru, we are here to find what my people call the Mirror of Twilight. It was once used to banish us to the Twilight Realm. Do you know where it might be?"
Auru hesitated, once more glancing at Link and Midna in turn with a dubious face. Link could see in it the desperate desire for more knowledge, held back only by his newly established respect for Link.
"You mean the Arbiter, the name giver to this facility. Yes, I've heard of it. As far as I know, it's at the very top surrounded by the coliseum above the prison. We shouldn't be far from it."
Link and Midna exchanged a look, and Link hastily rolled up his first aid kit. "Can you walk, Sir? I'll help."
Link slung Auru's arm over his shoulders, and together they made it as far as the exit. Midna tagged along holding the kit, and the sight of her bare feet swirling up dust and long dried blood flakes – in plain view of Auru, of all people – seemed to Link like a scene from a dream. Auru, too, was glancing at her every now and again, and Link could all but hear the leader's mental cogs rattling.
At the exit, Link unhooked himself and ran for the Master Sword. The black broadsword jolted angrily as it was once more freed, but the stone door they locked on it held it at bay. Despite all Link had heard about spirits before, clearly they could not go through walls.
A long flight of spiralling steps stood before them, and Midna once more merged into Link's shadow. Link buckled as Auru craned his neck to where she had disappeared.
"Where did she go?" Auru gasped.
"She likes to leave the walking to me and hides in my shadow when she's tired."
"How did she do that? Is this a special kind of magic?"
"I'm the wrong person to ask, Sir," Link replied, grinning. "I've never quite understood how she does it, and I've been with her for months now."
Auru contemplated the answer. "And you're sure we can trust her? Has she ever asked you for favours in exchange for information?"
"She can hear you, Sir."
The trip up was finished in deadly silence. Auru even quietened his panting until they reached a large, broken doorway. Cool night air whisked at their sweaty hair. The star-covered sky already showed the first dark blue hints of the coming dawn.
They emerged inside a vast, round courtyard surrounded by archways and pillars. A walkway went around the entire area, flanked by an array of columns, and offered a stunning view on the moon-lit desert expanse. Wind had swept its brush across the sandstone, carving claw-like marks and smoothing the decorative bevels to nothing more than a memory of frescos past.
In the centre chamber, Link could just make out a massive black slab of what seemed to be granite, the only rock hard enough to withstand the grinding wind. Its surface was rough and jagged as if hewn out of the bedrock with picks. At first he could not make sense of the strange way it sat on the ground, for it cast a much too small, wedge-shaped shadow. Then he saw the massive chains wound around the granite that kept it half-suspended on pulleys between too enormous columns. Only a tip of the slab touched the sand-covered ground.
To the left – nothing but an outline – he saw the black shape of a podium.
"No..." Midna said from beneath them, making Auru jump with fright. She peeled herself from Link's shadow and broke into a wobbly jog.
"Midna?" Link called, glancing at Auru apologetically as they hurried forward after her. Her sudden scream made him freeze.
"No! Zant, you fool!"
"Go, quick," Auru hissed and slipped out of Link's arms. As Link ran up the steps, he found her on the podium, hands pressed to the vertical surface of a jagged, curved shape as large as a table top. The object seemed to be made of five inch thick, darkened glass and carved with countless lines, markings, and letters. It sat inside a rounded brass frame, facing the granite rock.
"Midna, what is it?" he asked, but then he noticed the odd angle of the shape, the carvings stopping at the jagged edge. The Mirror of Twilight was nothing but a broken shard.
"He destroyed it..." Midna breathed, tears flowing down her face. "He shattered it. The only way back to my home..."
She slumped to her knees before the Mirror Shard, her small nose dripping tears onto the sandstone platform that absorbed the moisture greedily. Link was still piecing together the meaning of their find when she collapsed to a crouch and dissolved into sobs. He slid to his knees beside her and pulled her to his chest until her cries were muffled. Gently rocking back and forth, he let her weep.
Auru came into his line of sight, his pale face shining with sweat in the moonlight. He was staring at the remains of the Mirror, one hand combing through his hair, grasping at wisps of silk as if trying to catch an answer hiding within them.
"Hylia above, what kind of power destroys a relic from the goddesses?"
His eyes fell on Midna, and Link could see genuine pain within them. Midna's distress had at first shocked him with its intensity, but the look of sorrow on Auru's face finally rammed home the true meaning of her plight; she was locked out of her home world, forever.
He held her against him, wishing he could take away her pain. "I'm so sorry, Midna," he whispered, squeezing her tighter.
A breathless call from Auru made him look up. The leader stood slouched with pain by the podium base, his face staring skyward. As Link followed his gaze, he saw a white light appear on top of the highest pillars stretching into the night sky. Each column was topped with Hyrule's winged crest holding, between its splayed ailerons, one of the six regional emblem he had seen in his history books. He knew them by heart; the three circling leaves, symbol of the forest; the two spiralling orbs with their shooting-star tails, sigil of Hyrule's shadow folk; the raging flame, power of the eastern tribes. On each of them, a white light was forming, expanding, growing into a humanoid shape.
Only one pillar remained dark; the crystalline flower, heart of the water people, was missing a jagged chunk of stone. Like the Mirror it sat in its pedestal, lifeless and broken.
"Can you see them?" Auru asked, limping closer.
"Yes," Link said, feeling Midna straighten and join his upward stare. By now, the figures' contours had sharpened enough to reveal robes, folded hands, and sorrowful, glass-like faces. Link could not truly distinguish them from each other. They looked, in a way, rather similar to the Poe Master he had seen in the cell block.
"A dark entity lurks in the Twilight... It houses an evil power..."
Thus were the words that drifted from the pillar of Forest. Link shuddered at the voice, a tone like the wind howling woefully across a deserted plain.
"Blessed Sages," Auru said, hand on his heart, and bowed. The figures high above him inclined their heads, a move performed with slow, mournful grace. Then, they all turned in unison to face Link.
More light creatures, the Wolf muttered in the back of his head. Should be wary. The last ones tried to sacrifice me.
Link cocked an eyebrow at that. Not wrong.
"You who are guided by fate, you who possesses the crest of the goddesses, hear us..." the sage atop the emblem of Fire said.
"We have been awaiting your arrival," the sage of Light continued. His crest showed a perfect triangle flanked on each of its equal sides by a large circle – the goddesses' symbol of equality. "We are the Ancient Sages, counsellors to the royal family and the heroes of old, keepers of wisdom and judges of fates. At the command of the goddesses, we have guarded the Arbiter since ancient times. You know it by another name: the Mirror of Twilight."
The sage of Forest continued. "Yet we fear your journey is not yet ended. You sought it, but the Mirror has been fragmented by mighty magic."
"Zant," Link answered, fisting his hands. To his surprise, however, all five sages shook their heads in unison.
"The one who calls himself king of the Twilight was merely a pawn," the sage of Shadows answered. "He sits now, trapped by his own making, in the purgatory of his ancestors. Even with the forbidden power in his grasp, he cannot leave without his master. The magic that broke the Mirror is a dark power that only he possesses..."
The sages slumped in unison as if pressed down by a weight only they could feel. Together, they hissed the name with loathing and despair. "Ganon."
Link's eyes grew wide as his vision exploded. The sky was no longer ultramarine. A wall of fire burned the horizon and tainted the firmament in the colours of misery. Before it stood a massive horse mounted by a midnight-black rider. It neighed and reared to its full height. Flames soared and roared higher at a wave from the rider's hand.
"He was the leader of a band of thieves who invaded Hyrule in the hopes of establishing dominion over the Sacred Realm." The sages' echoing voices drifted into Link's mind, nearly drowned out by the storming flames. "He was known as a demon thief, a magic wielder renowned for his ruthlessness..."
The burning horizon was doused in rain. Blue light contrasted with the rust red of the inferno, a shining blade at the epicentre. Link stared at it, tried to make out its wielder, but his vision was obscured by fog. A desert replaced the vast field with arid emptiness.
"But he was blind... In all of his fury and might, he was blind to any danger, and thus he was exposed, subdued, and brought tojustice."
He was back at the Mirror chamber, but it was broad daylight. The granite rock had been freed from its chains and lowered to the ground. Those chains now held the black rider tethered to it, and for the first time, Link saw his face.
He recoiled with horror; it was a face he knew. A face from his deepest nightmares.
Dark, greenish skin stretched over a square jawline and prominent nose. The forehead was topped with red Gerudo hair that had been laced around a golden crown. His eyes were as white as bones. Two small beast fangs reached out from his lower line of teeth as the man sneered at his captors. The chains held his arms splayed open like wings, the shackles drawing blood at the wrists.
He was surrounded by people. Hylians dressed in the uniforms of their ranks, from servants to lords, were stationed around the large rock and mingled with prison guards and Hylian soldiers. But facing him directly was a contingent of royal inquisitors, distinguishable by their dark blue surcoats and blood red tunics beneath. Presiding them was none other than the king himself, sparkling in his similarly coloured attire and the golden crown resting on his snow white hair.
Link looked at his monarch in awe, but the profile was wrong; this was not King Gustaf. The man who stood before the one in chains, holding a large scroll encased in a cylinder of gold, was stockier, the nose not as prominent as on the ink-drawn picture of their ruler Rusl had shown Link a few years ago.
The vision muffled the king's voice to a dull background noise, nothing but a detached murmur speaking to the gathering. Link's focus was brought to the glowing white figures of the six sages that stood directly before Ganon in a crescent moon shape. On a stone table in their midst lay a sword of pure white light, filigree and slender, a weapon made in the sages' image.
The king lifted his hand, and his sombre expression suggested the gesture was final. The sage of Water stepped forward, two hands folded across the weapon, while the other sages stood with their arms lifted towards the sky and chanted incoherently.
Link shuddered when he finally realized the meaning of this assembly: he was witnessing an execution.
The sage of Water stopped, sword raised to the sky, and stabbed the blade right into the shackled man's abdomen with a scrunch so piercing that Link recoiled in shock.
"And yet, by some divine enigma, he too had been blessed with the chosen power of the gods," the sage of Spirits lamented.
Ganon's lifeless body began to twitch and shift, tremors firing through his hands and neck. The gathered people flinched back, exclaiming in confusion and fear. As Ganon laughed out, his right hand clenched, and presented to the sages a flaming golden triangle with its top part brightly lit, the king yelled at his soldiers to attack. One spear after the other was driven towards the Demon Thief, and each point broke off cleanly before it even grazed the man's chained body.
The stronger the triangle pulsed, the harder Ganon strained against the chains, until with a screech they snapped and whipped against the granite block. Several soldiers were swept off their feet and catapulted against the surrounding pillars. In the same heartbeat, Ganon dashed forward and grabbed the sage of Water by the throat. The other sages backed away, moaning and trembling. Then, with a wispy snap, the sage of Water's neck collapsed beneath the mighty claw of the Demon Thief.
Link watched, eyes wide, how Ganon pulled the golden sword out of his own abdomen and brandished it before the cowering sages and the king's panicked staff. His lips contorted into a wide gape. A roar that was more beastly than human spilled from his lips, so loud Link's skin prickled with the sound.
The king drew his sword and stepped from the platform, pointing at the circular object resting behind him. Link realized what it was even as one of the sages lifted a hand, the others following suit. The Mirror of Twilight flared with brightness at the sages' command. Like a beam of moonlight it projected the patterns engraved onto it across the chamber until they hit the granite rock. Ganon began to grunt and squirm, bending under the strain of the Mirror's pull as if it were a storm threatening to blow him over. His pitch rose to an ugly screech when suddenly he and the shining sword in his hand dissolved into thousands of black specks. They whirled and quivered for a few seconds until, finally, the black void conjured by the Mirror swallowed him into oblivion.
A ghostly, heart-wrenching moan brought Link's attention back to the sages. They knelt by the Mirror's pedestal, crystal faces lowered, shaking with disbelief. In their midst lay the lifeless form of the sage of Water. The king and his followers stepped forward, pale-faced and silent, staring at the remains of the fallen sage. Their visible shock caused a clump to form in Link's throat.
When next he blinked he was sitting on the ground flanked by Auru and Midna, who were both looking at him with concern.
"Are you okay?" Midna asked, her hand on his shoulder.
Link tried to speak, but his throat still felt strangely constricted.
"You went stiff, I thought they had... I don't know," Auru muttered, glancing up at the sages. They had all assumed the same posture, faces buried within their spectral hands, bodies turned towards the lone pillar with the broken crest.
"Gan... Ganon killed the sage of Water," Link croaked, speaking with difficulty. Finally the feeling subsided, freeing his throat from its tightness. "I saw how it happened. They sent him through the Mirror, or he would have killed them all."
Midna blanched at his words, her red eyes wide with anger. Auru did not answer either but took a moment to contemplate the broken emblem above their heads.
"His abiding hatred and lust for power turned to purest malice," the sage of Light said after a long while. "And the False Twilight King became a vessel to that hatred. He came here, intent on destroying the Mirror. But only the true ruler of the Twili can forever break the Arbiter. His power was a false one, and could only fragment it."
"What did he do with the fragments?" Auru asked softly, hand once more on his heart in silent reverence.
Each sage turned towards him, and he withered beneath their golden eyes. "He cursed them, and rid himself of them in the remotest places of Hyrule," the sage of Forest answered. "We can still hear their whispers, but they have grown faint and distant."
All sages stretched out their arm and pointed at the horizon, chanting their next words in unison. "One is on a cold, vast mountain range..."
The arms changed direction and pointed south. "... one is surrounded by sacred walls..."
Finally, all arms lifted towards the dawning sky. "... and one is in the heavens."
They began to fade, the gaining dawn causing their contours to evaporate.
"Blessed Sages, we have more questions in need of answers," Auru urged, but their outstretched hands silenced him.
"Our bodies have been confined to the night, the final act of Zant's vengeance," the sage of Shadows said. "We are cursed to shun the goddesses' glorious sun, just as we once condemned his ancestors to a similar fate."
"You who have been sent by the goddesses, you must be prepared, for a dangerous power resides in those fragments," the sage of Light warned. "Now, we have said all we could."
With this, they dispersed into nothingness, leaving their crests blank and unadorned.
After a long while, Auru turned around to face the desert expanse, his expression troubled. Casting furtive glances back at the tall, crested columns, he limped towards the chamber's outer rim and sat down on the low battlements. He looked more tired than Link had ever seen him.
But Link's main concern was his Twili companion, who sat silent and brooding by the Mirror's podium. He crawled towards her and took her into his arms. The gesture startled her at first, but she soon relaxed into his embrace, allowing herself a moment of comfort. Link gave it happily; the closeness was something he could understand, something which had a predictable effect. The vision, the encounter with the sages, the realization that he had made this entire trip for nothing, endangered and injured Auru needlessly, had drained him of much energy. Her small, warm body gave him something to hold on to, something that made sense.
When Midna looked up at him, her eyes were once more filled with shame. He had no idea why, but that look formed another tight clump in his throat.
She made a noticeable effort to compose herself. "So, we got more fragments to collect. No big deal, right? We've done it before. And the sages even gave us the locations. Vague locations..."
"Not as vague as you might think," Auru said from his seat by the columns, startling them. Even at this distance, Link could see his hastily applied bandages leaking blood in large, dark patches, a sight that once more brought his priorities into focus. Beckoning Midna to follow, he walked over to the Resistance leader.
"I don't know yet about the other two, but they spoke of a cold mountain range for the first piece," Auru continued.
"There are many of those in Hyrule though," Link answered, leaning over the wall to gaze at the Moblin camp down below.
"Yes, but did you pay attention to where they were pointing? To the north-east. And that can only mean Snow Peak Mountains. It's cold, vast, and completely desolate but for a couple settlements at the border to Zora's Domain. A perfect hiding place for an unwanted Mirror Shard. I would bet my left pinkie toe that the Mirror piece is up there.
"But first, we have to get out of this blasted prison," he continued, more sombrely. "And fast. The sun is rising, and without water or food we won't last long up here. In order to leave, though, we'd have to make our way through hordes of Stals and Bulblins. Hmm."
"And you're injured, Sir Auru," Midna answered.
"True, friend, and does it smart indeed. Let's see: the room directly below us had a mad demon in it, and after that there was a large room filled with Stalfos. I'm sure I can retrace our steps once I'm there–"
"No need for that," Link replied from below them. "There are steps leading down the side here. It looks like they go all the way to the bottom."
"Well, how nice of our predecessors to include a fast track to their banishing grounds," Auru said cheerfully. "I presume the ground entrance is hidden. Wouldn't want to make it too easy for infiltrators, now."
Link held fast to Auru's arm for support and guided them down the heavily eroded staircase. During the strenuous hike, he became aware of the Master Sword's gentle pulse. The more he focussed on it, the more he felt his energy and motivation return. He realized just how much he had longed to finally carry it close to him. He was a chosen hero, and now that Auru knew about it, his former inhibitions had fallen blissfully silent. There was no need to hide any more. That thought filled him with a strange urge, one he had surely felt before but never acted on; the desire to swing his weapon in the face of an entire army of monsters, and make them run.
The staircase spit them out on the lower prison battlements at the same height as the entrance. Link could see the entire camp from their raised position, and quickly pulled Auru to a crouch behind the wall when a Bulblin on top of a watchtower stopped and looked their way. One would have thought they'd use the lower battlements to oversee the camp instead of going through the hassle of building watchtowers that were at the same height. But then, Auru had told him that Bulblins were counted among those monsters with the lowest intelligence. Without a Moblin King to supervise them, they'd amass their troops in loose groups of ten and just start building; no logic could be expected from a Bulblin camp.
Link shook his head with a grin, feeling the Master Sword on his back hum with power; mindless fodder for his sacred weapon, that's all they were.
"This doesn't improve our predicament much," Auru whispered, peeking over the wall. "We set foot on that staircase below the entrance and every watchtower will sound the alarm."
"That won't matter," Link assured, reaching back to feel the Master Sword's warm, supple grip. "They'll all be looking at me while you sneak away."
"What are you planning?" Midna whispered. "There are too many down there for you alone."
"Link, she's right. You can't take on that entire camp by yourself." The Resistance leader's face was creased with insecurity.
Smiling, Link gave Midna a wink. "I won't be alone, Sir. Just focus on getting to the first dune without any of them seeing you. Once you're there, find shelter and wait for us."
Midna remained silent until Auru had snuck out of earshot. "How am I supposed to help you? I can't use any magic, in case you've forgotten."
"You lured that demon where I needed it to defeat it. You can make things disappear, like the Master Sword, my shield… Weapons…"
She finally caught on. "I see."
"Follow my lead, stay in the shadows, and work your magic on those clubs and bows. If we work together, you can cause chaos while I strike them down one by one. Just like we did in the chamber with the demon. Good work, by the way."
"Thanks," she said. "I guess there's no harm in trying. You got your nifty sword, and I got the shadows."
Nodding with a grin, Link took a running start and jumped off of the stone wall, aiming for the closest watchtower's platform. Midna merged with his shadow in the same moment.
The Bulblin grunted with surprise, claws reaching down for the horn at its belt. Link watched the cornet disperse into black specks, drawing utter confusion from the monster. Grinning, he drew his sword in a pirouette flourish, severing the monster's head and parts of its shoulder from its body. In the same move he leaned over and picked up its bow lying on a nearby crate. The next watchtower he pelted with a monster-made arrow, silent and deadly. Before any other watch beasts could give the alarm, they were marked, targeted, and struck down as if the shadows themselves had pounced at them.
"Make sure they lose their clubs," he whispered to Midna, and watched her shadow sweep across the sand into the distance.
With the rosy light of dawn at his back, Link slid down the watchtower ladder and faced the army, shuddering with anticipation and bloodlust. The first monsters who had been woken by the commotion were already waddling towards him, their primitive clubs raised, cackling like mad geese.
And Link welcomed them, the Master Sword ready by his side. He felt its raw power suffuse his entire body like raging sunlight swathing him with heat.
The first monster pair was met with a horizontal slash that sent them flying. He laughed out in delighted surprise, the sword's grip firm and perfect in his palm. The next line he picked off one by one, sidestepping or simply jumping over their heads to land their death blows to their backs. His shield came out for the third row, unbalanced pair after pair before they were gutted or decapitated.
The Master Sword was so light, so responsive. Each strike he performed was accompanied by a deep sense of exhilaration. He couldn't get enough of it. They came at him from all sides, but every blow directed at him he sensed with a minuscule foreshadowing, knowing where the rake or club or knife would strike before it was even raised. He parried left and right, sent arms flying back and weapons swirling into the air. The shadows coiled around his legs, fed him strength that reached into the very fabric of his muscles. Bulblin after Bulblin he mowed down as if their flesh was just a bundle of wheat on a field. There was so little resistance that he began hacking down several of them with one strike, shield-parrying their pathetic blows and returning every last one of their attacks to sender.
The general disarray of Midna's interference helped greatly. When a pair would attack with too much distance between them, her finger snap made their raised clubs fragment into blackness, and Link just had to swing once to end their confusion. In a large group the Bulblins were too numerous for her to disarm them all, but the Twili timed her steals well. While Link was busy on the left, she would disarm the monsters on the right and toss rakes and clubs out of the shadows at regular intervals like a farmer tossing his seed onto a field. And while the monsters were busy scrambling for their weapons, Link stabbed them in the back.
Bulblin blood soon coated him in a layer of droplets, but he gave it no mind. The more they advanced, the quicker they died. Piles of bodies were amassing around the watchtower bases, but Link simply stepped over them towards a clear spot he could fill with more corpses. And dim-witted as they were, they came readily to meet their end at the tip of his radiant sword.
It was only when the first arrows began flying that Link became more cautious. He had to watch out for the archers shooting from afar and give Midna time to pick them out one by one all while keeping the footmen from crowding in on him. His shield proved its value in gold there, its bevelled surface more than strong enough to withstand shot after shot. Some arrows had been dipped in oil and lit on fire, which resulted in his shield to be coated in the oil spray and become a flickering beacon of light to the shadows of dawn still surrounding him. He was glad for his arm protections keeping the heat at bay.
But he was beginning to tire. The sun had finally reached over the tallest dune, soaking the sand in firelight and causing sweat to run down his temples. And with the light's appearance, another problem began to manifest. He was startled when he saw Midna materialize on the battlefield outskirts, running from two Bulblins that immediately homed in on her. She quickly found a spot beneath a watchtower to hide in, but the issue was clear: because of the sun, Midna could no longer dart across the camp.
And he was more than fifty feet away, with the majority of the army between them.
He had barely finished the thought when an explosion made him spin in the deep sand, and he crouched behind his shield just in time before the shrapnel tore through the Moblins surrounding him. He quickly identified the bomber, and his heart stood momentarily still.
No! Not you!
A Moblin King had appeared on the battlefield near the prison fortifications. Grinning and taunting, it reached into a barrel by its side and retrieved another of Auru's nail bombs, the double fuse sliced to break up the chain. Its fat green body heaved with beastly laughter as the Bulblins surrounding Link took the opportunity in the window his shock had opened. Two landed a strike on his back, and a third sliced across his forearm as he stumbled forward.
"Link!" came Midna's desperate call from the tower.
He looked back at the ogre, and felt a jolt of frustration; this was not the monster who had kidnapped his friends. Still, it had to be brought down. Once that thing died, the remaining Bulblins would be leaderless.
"Stay there, I'm coming!" he shouted, and started running. He twirled the blade to dispatch of the Bulblins in his way and make room for his approach. The sun was blocked by another thrown bomb, and he ducked behind the shield as the shrapnel wave came soaring towards him. This time he was not as lucky, and two nails buried themselves in his left shoulder, too small to be stopped by his chain mail. With a grunt he staggered back.
The ogre laughed out once again; the sound made Link's blood boil with fury. Angry pushes came from within the Wolf's cage and made him stagger. Pain erupted from the nails lodged deep inside his shoulder. He was so close he could see Midna standing in the tower's shadow, one hand stretched out towards him. Already, several monsters had turned and were advancing in her direction.
Hide, dammit! He tapped into the wolf's strength to give himself a burst of speed, and finally the cool shadows of the watchtower engulfed him in brief safety while another shrapnel blast tore through his dim-witted pursuers.
"I got you," Midna called and reached a hand from the shadows to squeeze his.
"Did they hurt you?"
"I'm okay. What do we do?"
"Give me the crystal," Link panted, stretching out his hand at her.
"But you're hurt! What if–"
"Now, Midna, quick!"
The black arrowhead formed in his palm ready to use, and just after the next explosion sounded, Link dropped his weapons and shoved it into his chest even as he started running.
With break-neck speed he propelled his transforming body through the thunderstruck hordes surrounding him, pounced off of a barrel just as his canine hind quarters replaced his Hylian legs. The resulting lunge catapulted him ten feet into the air and straight for the Moblin King. Link opened his jaws as wide as he could.
With a sickening crunch, they snapped shut around the ogre's throat.
0
Auru Nahamani, perched on top of the closest dune, was witness to the remains of the Moblin army turning tail and running for the northern mountains. The dust cloud they swirled up could surely be seen all the way in Ashinon; at least that's what he hoped. Furthermore, this astonishing victory once more reminded him there were always other ways to reach one's goal, and explosives weren't the answer to everything.
Most monsters ran for the mountain range that separated the desert from the rest of Hyrule. Some, however, fled east instead, into the canyons where Link and Auru had set up camp. He ducked under when they spread across the sandstone in disorganised groups. The Bullbos they were riding made small layers of sand dislodge from his dune; he could feel their tiny hooves as they shook the earth.
He caught sight of a large grey canine running among them that soon disappeared behind the rock formations, and the sighting made him frown; Wolfos so far west were practically unheard of, but after what Auru had witnessed today, he was willing to believe anything. At least the wolf monster seemed to run northward of his position, pulling the others with it, and Auru chanced a glance back at the prison to see if he could detect Link.
Hylia forbid something happened to the boy! Chosen hero aside, he is Rusl's son, and I made a promise.
Auru was too high up – and his eyes were not what they used to be – to make out any distinct shapes within the camp. If he'd had his Hawkeye with him, it would have been a different matter. But reaching his horse hidden within the canyon walls was not an option, especially now that each of his steps had turned into a limp. And he could perhaps defend himself against a couple Bulblins even with his injuries, but if that Wolfos came any closer, he was done for. He felt nervous even from that distance.
"You can take your bombs back if we get your horse to carry them," a voice rang out behind him, and he spun around. Link was leaning against the rock, heaving breath, one hand pressed to his shoulder. Blood and sand coated him like a strange pomade.
"Bless you, lad, I thought I had lost you!" Auru hobbled forward, not even trying to make sense of Link's sudden arrival, but stopped two feet before him, eyes once more lured to the purple hilt peeking over Link's injured shoulder. He gulped, backing down the sand hill just enough to appear slightly shorter than the youth.
"Of course I never doubted you," he added promptly. "I've seen your skills first-hand. What happened to your shoulder? An arrow?"
"Nails from one of your bombs," Link replied, his voice carrying a hint of gloom. At first Auru mistook the tone for general disapproval of his shrapnel explosives, but he was too perceptive to miss the underlying, personal unhappiness in the voice.
"We have to get the shrapnel out, or it might fester. Let's get you back to camp. I hitched my horse close by."
When they arrived in the small recess where the caramel stallion waited, Auru was once more racked with uncertainty, and stood in a half-crouch by the animal already aiming at offering the stallion to Link instead of getting on himself. His young companion gave him a look so uncompromising that Auru's throat turned instantly dry. His better judgement got him into the saddle, but watching Link trundle in front of the horse, his posture slanted with pain, made Auru feel like he would rather forever rot in the underworld than forcing the chosen hero to walk.
At their camp, he made the most of his chance to be helpful. The two nails in Link's shoulder were lodged in so deeply that Auru had to bring out his lockpicks to pry the torn skin apart. They did not have any numbing agent for the pain, so Link was forced to lie as still as possible while two pointy metal rods were shoved into his flesh to search for the shrapnel. It was during this painful operation that Auru was once more reminded of a fact he had foolishly forgotten, or perhaps ignored after the fateful revelation: Link might have been chosen as the wielder of the Blade of Evil's Bane, but he was still a sixteen-year-old boy who would scream and weep when pain became too great to endure silently. His tears brought Auru out of his fanatic daze and back to the harsh reality; here was a hurting boy in need of comfort.
It was Link's Twili friend, however, who managed to calm him enough for Auru to finally yank the first nail out. Her words of comfort worked wonders, soothing Link with a measure of compassion even Auru couldn't have summoned up. It made him wonder just what kind of relationship they had to prompt that level of intimacy.
With Link busy listening to her words, three of his fingers clasped in her smaller hand, the second nail came out without even a twitch. And Auru found it in himself to praise the youth in the manner of a parent to a child, and not a devotee to his messiah.
He had no luck persuading Link to get some rest while Auru would take the first watch, and so he was forced to retire into his tent. His sleep was fitful, constantly broken by the thunder of mounted Bulblins that raced past their hidden camp with alarming frequency. He could hear Ashei's stallion stomping and snorting, repulsed just like him by the nauseating stench of monster sweat that permeated the air. Eventually it quietened down, however, allowing Auru some more prolonged sleep.
It was night when he woke again. Exiting his tent, he took a moment to soak in the black sky, to absorb the countless silver dots sparkling like raindrops above his head. A strange thought came to him; Darkness was the birthing force of all monsters, but the black night sky covered in stars was so wonderful to look at. Was combining the two – Light and Darkness, night and stars – the answer to its beauty? Or was the interval crucial to the appreciation he held for it? Perpetual daylight, perpetual night, could not work; one would miss the other, remove all artistry from the perfect balance they created, together, in equal shares.
Balance, that was it. Auru smiled to himself. The goddesses had created the Light, and the Darkness, because they balanced each other. But unlike the night and day, who could work together to form a harmonious passage of time, Light and Darkness were two opposites that shunned each other, and aimed at overthrowing their counterpart by all means necessary. That was why the goddesses had created guardians to keep the Light – the giver of life and keeper of peace – dominant. Stars and their ruler, the moon, watched over the night and prevented a plunge into complete blackness. The Light Spirits kept a constant watch on their lands, and ensured that Darkness was kept at bay. The Ancient Sages, beings sprung from common people and ascended to immortality, were the arbiters tasked with judgement. A difficult but vital responsibility that unearthed Darkness's many more subtle creations.
Today, he had witnessed the magnificence of another guardian, the only one that could tip the balance between Light and Darkness even when all other guardians had failed. The hero would stand before Darkness itself, unfaltering, unperturbed, and drive It back into oblivion. Thus it was foretold, and thus it would unfold.
And Auru knew now that the chosen hero was just a child, buckling beneath the weight of the world, as uncertain and fragile as himself. A child who sat beneath the same sky, and admired the same stars as Auru had just moments ago.
He found Link perched on a rock, one knee raised to his chin, the other leg dangling listlessly. The imp creature was nestled into woollen blankets at his feet, fast asleep. As Auru approached, he saw this scene from an outside perspective, and felt like an intruder invading an intimate moment. The feral mistrust within Link's blue eyes was tempered only partway by recognition and a tightening of his brows betraying a deeper unrest.
"All is quiet, Sir," he said. "They've abandoned camp."
Auru limped forward, sitting down on a rock close by. The old prison sat still and lifeless in the open mesa, a monument of silence so inconsiderable to the naked eye. The high columns bearing their timeless crests reached into the sky like the spikes of a latticed crown.
"I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Sir," Link muttered, returning his gaze to the star-lit horizon. At his feet, Midna gave a quiet sigh and snuggled deeper into her blanket.
Auru thought of a few replies he would have given Link prior to his revelation, but presently he found his mind empty. Link's eyes clouded over, a sign he had noticed Auru's inner conflict. Yet he remained silent, hair billowing in the warm breeze, nose buried in his sleeve.
"Please, do not concern yourself with my well-being," Auru finally said. Seeing the youth so forlorn had loosened his tongue a bit, allowing him to somewhat overcome his reticence. Still he chose his words carefully, erasing from them all manner of wittisicm that could be mistaken for vanity. "My sole priority was to see you safe, as I promised Rusl."
"Because of my stupidity, you got hurt," Link cut in. "You took that demon's initial hit because I was too afraid of showing... of drawing the sword, of..."
He huffed and returned to his unhappy contemplation. "Even now there are things you don't know about me, but I can't decide whether it's better to tell you or not. It feels... so cowardly."
Because Auru was looking directly at Link's face, he witnessed the strange way the boy's eyes unfocussed, as if he was listening to a passing thought. He had seen that expression multiple times before and had simply dismissed it as part of Link's enigmatic personality. Now, Auru suspected there was much more behind that lapsing concentration than a mere blanking out.
The more apparent plea within Link's words – albeit unspoken – gave Auru enough hints for him to conquer his restraint, and dare a more direct approach.
"Why did you keep your identity secret?"
"Why do you keep your Agency secret, Sir Auru?"
Auru lifted his brows. "Because the fewer people know, the easier it is for us to make lasting changes. People can be, for lack of a better word, unwise."
Link nodded. "Or ignorant, or misinterpreting everything they see and hear. Do you see this mark, Sir?"
Auru had to lean forward to make it out. He had never seen Link's left hand uncovered, and now he knew why. On the back of it sat a discoloured birthmark with a very unlucky shape, one that would have been much too easy to misinterpret as a symbol of the Greatest Power, the Triforce. He couldn't help but stare at it. The Chosen One, bearing that symbol, threw everything he thought he knew of their old legends out of proportion.
"I've had it since I was born, and didn't think much of it," Link said quietly, contemplating his hand. "One day, though, an old man came to Ordon and saw it. He was a priest, I think, or a pilgrim. He screamed at Rusl and Uli, called them blasphemers, bigots, child branders. He threatened to send the royal inquisition after them for what they had done to me. I'd never seen Uli cry like that before. Ever since that day, I've kept the mark hidden or covered with dirt unless I knew I was alone. And when the Light Spirit Faron told me I was a chosen hero, fated with defeating the King of Twilight who had invaded Hyrule, I couldn't help but picture that old pilgrim again, following me everywhere I went, worshipping me. I was terrified of what would happen if I didn't manage to defeat that king, if I failed. And that's why I never told anyone. I know it is selfish, and stupid, and cowardly... But I just couldn't."
He pulled his glove back on and contracted even further into his crouch. His next words were so quiet that Auru's pointy Hylian ears barely made it out. "Do you think me presumptuous for keeping it secret, Sir Auru?"
"I would never think this of you–"
"And if I wasn't a hero, if the goddesses hadn't chosen me to be their champion? If I was a simple sixteen-year-old goat herd from Ordon, would you still have condoned my behaviour?"
Auru found himself lapsing, as well, for a brief moment in which his eyes unfocussed to bring order to his turbulent thoughts. He remembered a conversation he'd had with Millie, decades ago, when the world had still made sense. She had always been devoted to Hylia's teachings of virtue and evaluation of personal choices. Her words still rang clearly in his head:
Sometimes you find yourself at a crossroad and you need to choose a path to walk on. Which path resonates most with your conscience? Which choice will bring you closer to our Blessed Mother Hylia?
And Auru understood which choice he had to make. It was the choice Link wanted him to make, needed him to make, the one his conscience would approve of; to treat the Chosen Hero not with a radical devotion to his every action, thought, and word, like Auru had been compelled to do, but like a young man in need of trust and guidance. Like a friend, not a saviour.
"Yes, Link, I would have condoned your behaviour, because there is no shame in feeling afraid of people's judgement. And I will keep your secret for as long as you wish me to. But you should remember that, despite this terror you feel about people learning who you are, you put it all aside to save my life. And that is what makes a true hero, the ability to overcome those fears when other people need you most."
He grinned, feeling the last bit of uncertainty break off of him like pieces from a heavy armour. Inclining his head in the manner of knights, he placed his right hand over his heart.
"To Link, the young Ordonian goat herd, son of a very dear friend, I offer my allegiance and my support, as a superior, a teacher, a companion, a friend. I shall keep his secret to the end of my days, and give nothing but the truth, untainted by prejudice or veneration."
He watched how Link blanched with shock, but Auru was far from through with him.
"Link of Ordon–" He winked cheekily, " –who happens to be the wielder of the Blade of Evil's Bane, I shall adequately punish you for losing twenty pounds of explosives to the enemy, for lying to a superior, and for mounting an unauthorized infiltration into monster-infested territory. This shall be reduced by your honourable conduct in said territory, in which you rose to the defence of your superior and likely saved the miserable sod from certain death. However, the sentence shall be further aggravated by you withholding crucial information about the enemy and harbouring a fugitive – who voiced intentions to defect – of said enemy. Lastly, you earned the right to be officially nominated for a medal of bravery after saving your miserable sod of a superior once again by single-handedly defeating an entire Moblin squadron and thus making the initial mission a blazing success. After weighing out each offence and achievement, I have come to the following verdict: you shall return to Hyrule with your sod, errrr... superior, and upon arrival in Castle Town, earn a compliment or two in your favour. What say ye to this verdict?"
Link said nothing, still shocked into complete silence.
"Just say I accept and be done with it," Auru grunted.
Finally, the youth broke out of his stupor. His face practically radiated with happiness. "I accept."
Thinks he's off the hook already, huh? "And now, Link of Ordon, we have all night to break camp and make our way back to Ashinon, so I expect a full report of every last detail concerning the attack on our kingdom and your involvement in it, as long as it conforms with your level of comfort."
Chuckling, Link straightened his back and placed his hand on his heart. "Yes, Sir."
000