Desert Winds


The ground shifted beneath Link's boots. He wobbled, struggling to keep his balance as he sank slightly into the sand. The sky above was near-cloudless and pale, the last stars twinkling valiantly against the dawn light. Sand dunes stretched out as far as he could see, interrupted only by the occasional cactus or spindly bush, and a rock formation in the distance.

They'd set their sights on that formation as soon as they noticed it, doggedly marching towards it since they'd arrived the previous evening. So far, it was the only notable landmark they'd found. The only lead. If only Sheik were here. Link found himself wishing for the man's guidance. If anyone knew where to go, Sheik would.

He took another step up the dune, only to stumble and trip, falling face first into the sand. A second later, a hand grabbed around his wrist and pulled him up, and he carefully scrambled the rest of the way up the dune. Both he and Skully already fell several times on their way through the desert. Despite their limited need for sleep naturally, they were still exhausted, battered by the journey thus far.

But I have to keep moving , Link thought as he surveyed the land stretching before them. Everyone is counting on me.

"This sucks." Skull Kid broke the silence as he, too, reached the top of the hill. He brushed at his clothes, raining sand down around him. "And I thought the tunics were bad. This stuff is the worst! I can't believe we're out here in the middle of nowhere."

"You didn't have to come," Link reminded him gently. "I wouldn't have minded. This is dangerous, and I'd hate it if you got hurt… more." His gaze shifted to Skully's injured arm, but his friend just let out a disgruntled huff.

"And let you run off again, leaving me with no idea whether you're alive? No way!" He paused, scratching at the side fo his face. A few grains of sand fell loose from the gaps in his bark. "But still, I can't wait be home again. I miss the leaves and the grass and the gentle breeze and eating bugs and—"

Link cut him off. "Me too. I miss home." Yet, a nagging feeling itched in the back of his mind. After everything he'd been through, would he ever be able to relax again?

He didn't dare voice the thought; he didn't even want to dwell on it. But it still swirled in his head. Whispered in his ear.

"Hey guys?" Navi called from ahead. "I hate to bother you but I think we have a problem. Look ahead."

Link looked towards the fairy, then to the horizon. He could see dark clouds, visible against the brightening sky. Occasional flashes of light among the clouds suggested a storm was coming. Annoyance and frustration flashed through his mind. Just what they needed: foul weather. But it was hardly the trouble Navi made it out to be. Sure, they had no shelter, but it wasn't that bad.

Then he took a closer look and realized the real problem. A large, swirling cloud of sand stretched across the horizon, as far as the eye could see, pushed forward by the storm.

Alarm shot through Link's chest. He'd never seen a storm this big, and certainly never one that carried dust like that. Horrified, he watched as the storm swallowed up the distant rock formation.

"We don't have to go there, do we?" Skully whined.

"I'm afraid so," Link mumbled, shouldering his bag. "Come on, we better hurry."

"It already gobbled up the rocks," Skull Kid replied. We'll get lost before we ever find our way!"

"We should find shelter," Navi argued. But even as she said it, her tone made it clear she understood it was a lost cause. They'd seen no shelter thus far, and saw none now. The best they could do is push forward for as long as they could.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the storm to reach them. By the time the sun had fully risen, it was already blotted out as a strong wind whipped around them, [threatening to knock them off their feet.] Navi quickly sought shelter under Link's green hat, and he held tightly to it to keep it — and her — from blowing away.

Buffeted about by the wind and disoriented by the lack of visibility, Link soon lost track of what direction they were headed. He struggled on for a bit longer. But as lightning flashed overhead, revealing nothing but more sand, he realized continuing was useless.

"We have to stop!" he called over the wind. "We're gonna get lost!"

"We're already lost!" Skull Kid shoulder back. But he nodded, whipping his gaze back and forth before raising a hand to point. "There's something over there! We can stop there."

Link followed his gaze, barely able to make out something whipping about in the wind. With a nod, he turned and stumbled towards it, discovering a tall, sturdy, wooden pole with cloth tied to the top. A marker of some sort?

"We'll rest here," he decided, leaning against the pole and slumped to the ground, admittedly grateful for the break, as pressed for time as they were. Skull Kid flopped down beside him with all the grace of a falling boulder.

"Finally," Skully whined. "I was beginning to think we'd never find a place to rest.

"This isn't a good place to rest."

"Better than anything else."

As much as Link wanted to argue, he couldn't. He wasn't prepared for the vast emptiness of the desert. And a small part of him wished he'd never come.

Then he pressed his hand against the damage from Ganondorf's attack, and reminded himself why he came. This was for Sheik. For the sages. For the forest and everyone he'd ever known, and for those he'd never met.

He couldn't let himself fall to despair.

Navi poked her head out from under Link's cap. "I think this might be a good time to go over the song again. Do you remember it?"

"I think so," Link answered, shifting to reach for the ocarina. He brought it up to his mouth, thinking for a moment before playing the short, haunting melody Navi had taught him. Thunder rolled overhead as the last note rang in the air. He glanced up, unable to see Navi, but feeling her.

Navi let out a relieved sigh. "You've got it. I think we're as ready as we're going to be."

"We have to be ready for anything ," he said, tilting his head towards the sky. Occasional flashes of light flickered beyond the sand, and a few sparse, heavy drops of rain fell, mixing with the sand making it and clinging between the cracks of his bark. He reached a hand up to poke at Navi. "Is there anything you can tell us about what we're getting into?"

"Not much, I'm afraid," she replied. "It's like Rauru said. It was too dangerous to properly research the desert. We don't have much beyond a name, but..."

"But...?"

"Well…" Navi's hesitance formed a pit in Link's stomach. "We... may have reason to believe the last sage is currently working for Ganondorf."

Link swiped the hat from his head, taking Navi with it. The fairly yelped, and he could feel her wings beating against his hand. Oh no, he hoped he hadn't hurt her! He held it out in front of him, so he could peer inside.

"Please tell me you're joking." But Navi's guilty expression told him everything he needed to know, so he continued. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because we're not certain about it," Navi answered. "Everything we know about Nabooru is second hand, and there's no guarantee the information is right."

"I don't know, I think I'm with Link on this one," Skully interjected. "I think it's important to know whether the person we're looking for might try to kill us, don't you think?"

"Well, yes," Navi stammered, "but we really don't have any knowledge one way or the other. I'm sorry, I wasn't sure how much to say. Sheik would have known but—"

"It feels like you don't trust me!" Link cut the fairy off by closing the top of his hat, not bothering to put it back on for the time being. Hurt flashed in his chest, followed by guilt. Maybe he was overreacting, but this added a whole new wrinkle to the situation. What if Nabooru didn't want to be a sage? what if she refused to help, even after he awakened her with the song? If he'd known about this sooner, he could have prepared. Maybe.

Doubt clouded his mind, and he desperately wished he could talk to Saria. But he couldn't — he doubted she would understand. And this didn't feel like something he could confide in Skull Kid on. So with a sigh, he just leaned back against the wooden pole, watching the flashes of light overhead.

No one spoke for a while. Both Navi and Skullly seemed to understand he didn't want to. Not after all that. And he was thankful for the silence in some ways, but in others he hated it; it only allowed worry to further cloud his mind. But he understood that he couldn't let it stop him. There was too much at stake to give up on the off chance that it was all for nothing.


Link didn't know how long they sat there, waiting for the storm to pass. Sand periodically accumulated on his legs. He'd stand, brush himself off, shake the sand out of his eye sockets, then return to his previous position, staring out into the sandstorm. But eventually, the wind died away, and the storm clouds moved on, leaving only a sunny, empty sky.

Carefully, Link stood, offering a hand out to Skull Kid and pulling him to his feet. Only then did he return the hat to his head, releasing Navi. The fairy mumbled an apology but said nothing else for the moment.

As he dusted himself off, he took a long look at his surroundings. The landscape had changed dramatically, with some dunes now towering high and others swept away entirely. A twinge of panic crossed him as he realized he could no longer see the rock formation. He dashed off as quickly as the damp sand allowed and scrambled up the nearest dune.

The view left him speechless. There, in the distance, he could just make out the form of a giant woman, parts of her glistening in the sunlight as the sun beat down on her and the surrounding stone. "Navi?" he asked reluctantly. "Is that the place?"

He felt the fairy shuffle beneath his hat before poking out. "It's got to be. It's the only thing around for miles, and it resembles the description Sheik gave me..."

Link's grip tightened on his bag strap. "Then that's where we're headed," he said with a solemn nod.

But as they once again began their march, Link couldn't help but feel apprehensive. For all they knew, this entire journey could be for nothing. If Nabooru truly worked for Ganondorf, what hope did they have of getting help from her? And if they couldn't get her help, what would become of Sheik?

And then there was the issue of Navi. Why was she still hiding things like this form him? Didn't she trust him after everything they'd been through?

He felt a twinge in his chest, and swore he heard a dark whisper, telling him that she didn't.

He hoped it was only his imagination.


Travel still went slow. Even with the rest, Link still felt exhausted beating him down, and he figured Skully felt the same. To make matters worse, sections of the sandy hills proved difficult to walk across. Still, as the sun continued its steady march across the sky, bringing blistering heat, the temple came closer and closer, until finally, just as the sun started to set, the trio reached the colossal statue.

The figure of a woman stretched high above them, carved deep into the rock. Her eyes stared coldly into the distance, and her terse frown gave her an air of seriousness. Her hands lay at either side, palms up. Link thought that if he could get up there, he could stand on them and see far across the vast desert. Were they supposed to be some sort of lookout post?

Below her, steps heralded their approach to the temple entrance, an ornately decorated opening in the cliff that descended into darkness. Even with the sun shining in, Link couldn't see very far.

The trio came to a stop just outside. "This is the place, right?" Link asked.

Navi gave a confirming nod. "Yes, it lines up with what we were able to find in our research. This is a place of worship for the Gerudo, though I've heard that it's fallen into disuse since Ganondorf's rule started. Only the most faithful still come here. I doubt we'll find anyone here."

"Are you sure about that?" Skully raised a hand to wave the two of them off to the side. "Look here." He pointed down at a pile of charred sticks, stacked near the entrance. As Link looked closer, he realized that a set of footprints led from the pile and into the temple.

"That... does look recent," Navi admitted. She shook her head and waved her hands to brush a thought away. "We'll just have to be careful and keep an eye out."

"Maybe they're friendly?" Link suggested. "They might be able to point us in Nabooru's direction. Or maybe it is Nabooru."

"Maybe," Navi replied. But at the same time, Skull Kid made a disgruntled face.

"No way. Almost everyone has been terrible in these places. Why would it change now?"

He did have a point. Link's body ached at the thought of another fight. But he forced himself to stand tall and turn towards the temple entrance. "Doesn't matter," he said firmly. "We still gotta go." Then, without waiting for the others, he marched into the darkness.

After a very short hall, the temple opened up to a large room, only lit by the sunlight leaking in.

Link's gaze swept over two large stone monuments on either side of the room, inscribed with writing that he (obviously) couldn't read. Between them, a stairwell led up to a higher floor, though anything beyond the stairs was difficult to make out.

More footprints dotted the floor. Along with the remnants of a campfire. To Link's alarm, this one still smoked, clearly only put out recently.

He turned away from it, and instead made his way up the stairs, footsteps becoming muffled as he moved from stone to carpet. As he made his way up, his eyes began to adjust to the darkness, and he could only see one logical way to go — to the right.

Navi and Skully followed as he passed into another hall. As they began to explore, it quickly became clear just how dilapidated the temple was. Though the outside was near pristine, the inside clearly had seen better days. In several places, the ground had fallen away, with only a metal mesh remaining to let them reach the other side. In another room, almost the entire floor had collapsed, save for a winding path that weaved back and forth around the room. Link shuddered as he inched his way across, the room far too dark to see what lay below.

And still, they continued to see signs of life: footprints, ashes, and even a still-burning torch.

"I don't like the looks of this," Skull Kid grumbled as they passed the torch, letting out a shuddering rattle.

Link couldn't help but agree. Nothing they'd seen thus far really screamed danger… but the complete lack of life, save for the occasional sign that someone had been here or small droppings of some unidentifiable animal, put him on edge.

"Me neither, but we have to finish this," he insisted, slipping past his friend and into another hall. Still, after a second of hesitation, he drew his sword, stepping slowly and lightly.

He passed down a long hall, surrounded by darkness. No natural light reached here. And yet, flickering light shown at the far end, bright enough to create a dancing pattern on the floor, but too weak to fight against the overwhelming dark. He paused, listening for movement, but heard nothing, save for Skully's steps.

Satisfied, he crept forward until he emerged into a wide, open room. A dozen or so torches lined the wall, illuminating barred windows and a handful of weapons that decorated the walls, leaving almost no spot barren. A handful of pillars, engraved with pictures and with glyphs that Link could not understand, spread evenly across the room.

Near the back of the room, where a large, barred door stood, sat a stone throne. A figue sat atop it, clad in heavy armor and perfectly still. In one arm, it held a large, two-headed axe, taller than Link and wider than his torso. Unease churned in his pit, and he couldn't decide if it was necessary. Link wasn't even sure the imposing figure was a person; for all he knew it was just some statue.

Before he could do anything about it, Skully scampered towards it, poking an arm.

"I don't think it's real," he reported, turning his back.

Link started to nod, then froze. Did the fingers just twitch? His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword as he took a cautious step back. "Skully...?"

It took Skull Kid a second to pick up on Link's unease. In that time, the figure had shifted and stood, armor clanking, and picked up the axe in both hands. Skull Kid took one glance back, yelped, and scrambled back towards Link, hiding behind him and peeking over his shoulder.

"Very real VERY REAL!"

Link stood stiff as the figure approached, sword tight in his grip. Fear threatened to overpower him as he struggled to come up with a way to fight; his enemy was clad from head to toe in heavy armor, with no clear weak point.

Almost before he had a chance to process it, the figure stopped, raising the axe high overhead. Link dodged at the last second as they brought the axe down, tip catching on and ripping the hem of his tunic before striking the ground with a loud thunk.

A cloud of dust and debris blossomed into the air as Link scrambled to put space between them. He heard the clank-clanking of the armored enemy approaching once again. As the dust settled, Link caught sight of a deep gash where the axe struck the ground. He involuntarily shuddered, imagining what a strike like that would do to him.

"Navi!" Link whined, dodging out of the way of another wild swing. "What do I do?"

The fairy poked her head out of the hat, yelped, then took to the air, out of range of their attacker. "Okay, okay give me a moment to think." She buzzed about overhead, all while Link continued to narrowly dodge strike after strike.

All Link could focus on was his attacker. He'd lost track of Skull Kid already, and now he had no clue where Navi went. For all he knew, he was on his own as he danced around the armored figure.

Suddenly, his foot caught on something — he'd stepped into one of the gashes left on the floor. He stumbled, flailing, then tumbled to the ground, barely avoiding skewering himself on his own sword. Panic set in as he struggled to get up, his ankle aching and protesting. He scrambled backwards as his attacker loomed ever closer, raising the axe overhead...

He saw only a flash of orange, then his assailant stumbled back, nearly dropping their axe. As Link struggled to his feet, he could see them stumbling about, trying to reach back to swipe at Skull Kid, who clung tightly to their armor, screeching and laughing.

But the distraction was short lived. Skull Kid's wild cries abruptly cut off as the armored figure slammed against one of the pillars, crushing him as a light shower of dust and debris rained from overhead.

"Skully!"

Link stumbled forward as his friend slumped to the ground, unmoving. No, was he— he couldn't be—

The figure turned back towards Link, slowly approaching. As they passed the fallen axe, they kicked the handle upwards, snatching it up in one fluid motion.

Panic tore at Link's mind, warning him to run, run, run. This was a battle he could not win.

But he couldn't just abandon Skull Kid.

But what could he do?

Just as he threatened to give into despair, Navi zipped back to him. "Link, I think I have an idea. But you're going to have to trust me."

Could he trust Navi? Did Navi trust him?

There was no time to think about it. He nodded.

"Follow me." Navi zipped away, leaving Link to limp after. He groaned but forced himself forward. And the armored figure followed, in no rush. Like it was toying with him. Like it knew it already won.

Navi led him to one of the pillars and stopped. "Wait for my signal."

Link stood deathly still, waiting, nerves threatening to fail with every second that passed by, but he forced himself to be strong as the figure crept closer... closer... raised it's axe to bisect him...

"NOW!"

At Navi's word, Link dove out of the way, nearly struk as the axe head came swinging. Instead, it crashed into the pillar, tearing it apart it in a cloud of dust.

There was long, uneasy pause as more dust sprinkled from above. then the eerie sound of cracking. Both Link and the armored figure looked up.

And then the wall collapsed above them.

Link scrambled out of the way just in the nick of time, as a chunk of ceiling crashed where he'd been a second prior. But the armored figure was not so lucky, struck in the head by another chunk. More debris rained down as Link struggled to avoid them, nearly getting crushed himself. A cloud of dust rose up, obscuring his vision and forcing him to scramble blindly.

But finally, silence fell, the dust settling soon after. Link's eyes flickered rapidly as he tried to calm himself. The danger, for the moment, had passed.

His gaze shifted and landed on a bundle of orange and brown, just on the edge of the debris pile.

"Skully!"

He stumbled forward, reaching out for his fallen friend. His arms hovered over him, afraid to touch him, for fear of Skully's condition. He wasn't moving, his eye sockets empty and lightless.

No, no please be okay . Skull Kid couldn't be hurt. Or worse, was he... No, he couldn't be! That wasn't bad enough to kill a Skull Kid. Right?

This was all his fault. He never should have let Skull Kid follow him. It was too dangerous. He—

A slight shift in the form below. A twitch, then a tremble. Then a whole body shudder and a groan. Slowly, Skull Kid uncurled, wincing and whining with every movement.

"I am not doing that again."

Link couldn't help himself. As soon as Skull Kid was in a sitting position, he threw himself onto Skully, wrapping his arms around him in a massive hug.

"Ow. Ow. Link. Squishing. Too sore." Skully flailed his limbs, shoved Link away, and crossed his arms. "I'm fine, see? Just a little dusty." A pause as he tilted his head, giving himself a look over."Okay, maybe I have a crack or two."

"You don't look fine," Link replied, pointing out a few spots where Skully's bark cracked, oozing with fresh resin. "Don't scare me like that!" And yet, he couldn't help but giggle. They'd survived, they were okay, and Skully was in better humor than Link had seen him in days.

"Don't scare you?" Skully continued, climbing to his feet. " You shouldn't scare me. I thought that thing was gonna get you for sure." He leaned against the pillar for support. "But we're fine. Never better. Now come on, we gotta get out of here."

Relatively relieved, Link nodded, turning his attention to Navi. "We need to go through that door, right?" He pointed to the barred door, sitting unopened beyond the throne.

"I think so," Navi answered. "That's my best guess, at least. That... thing, a dark nut, I think, was definitely guarding this place for a reason. We need to find a lever, or some other form of hidden switch to open the door."

Link nodded in agreement, then turned away to explore the room. Now that he wasn't running for his life, he could appreciate the intricate art of the remaining pillars, and was surprised by how well kept this room was, compared to the previous ones.

But he couldn't find anything out of line, anything amiss that could release the door lock. And a glance back at Skull Kid suggested he, too, was having no luck.

His gave shifted to the rubble pile, hoping it hadn't been buried. Then to the dark nut. Then he started to look away, only to do a double take.

The armor seemed to vibrate intensely, sending out a rattle that caught everyone's attention. Link, Skully, and Navi all stopped and stared as the the rattling intensified. Then, all at once, the armor exploded into dust, leaving an unconscious woman pinned beneath the rubble.

Skull Kid broke the silence. "Uh... okay. That was weird, right?"

Link nodded numbly, taking a stiff step forward, only to freeze as the woman shifted, groaned, and slowly lifted her head.

She blinked blearily, mouth hanging half-open. "Where am... I was... Who are you?"

Link pointed at himself.

"Yes, you," the woman grunted. She pushed herself up, only to pause and look back, grunting as she realized her legs were still pinned in the debris. When she turned back to Link, her expression was defiant, but there was something else in her eyes. Fear? "You're not one of Ganondorf's, are you? Help me out here!"

Link shook his head, and Navi answered, "No, not at all! Quite the opposite!"

Skull Kid limped into view, crossing his arms. "We should be asking who you are. You're the one that attacked us!"

"I..." The woman's gaze turned to Skull Kid, then Navi. There was a long pause as she stared, scrutinizing, before speaking slowly. "I... think I have not been in my mind as of late. It sounds like we got off on the wrong foot. If you'll help me out, I'd be happy to help you in turn."

Her attention turned back to Skull Kid. "My name is Nabooru. I hail from the Gerudo tribe and consider myself a rebel against Ganondorf. And, judging by what you said, I have reason to believe I've been under a curse for some time now."


A/N: Happy Tears of the Kingdom week yall! I've been having plenty of fun with it, but work on the fic hasn't stopped. In fact, I am currently in the process of writing the final chapter. If things go according to plan, then I will be releasing a new chapter two weeks from now, and then aan additional chapter every week after that. Looking forward to it!