"The provinces known as Lanayru, Faron, Eldin, and Ordona bear the same names as they did in the Era of the Goddess Hylia. They are protected by the Light Spirits who share their names."
-Hyrule Historia, vol. 58
Chapter Eleven: Two Months Later
"I'm writing to you Lydia as it seems that your son's condition grew worse since coming here. He hardly eats, barely speaks, and even became more prone to getting hurt as he would trip over his own feet, pass out randomly, and even hurt himself when his seizures occur. Dr. Osfala Lux is in charge of him, but I fear that he'll need your support to get better. Especially since the nurses have to give him injections for him to take any medication."
"Impa Kaji, one of my closest confidants and bodyguards, has been keeping tabs on him. I heard that you two met about two months ago after an incident in the mountains brought your son to come to Hylia City. She's quite trustworthy and I've given her charge to give you updates on Link's condition. I'll go and see him as I'm a patron of that hospital and will have to attend an event there."
"But please, call him or send a letter or something. I fear if you do not, he'll never get better. And please, don't wait until it's too late. I speak from experience."
"Sincerely…Ganondorf Dragmire VIII, Emperor of Hyrule…and your good friend."
7 Fado 1015, 6th Era of Water, 1st day of the week, Hylia City...
In an all-white, enclosed room of the medical institute called Sunnyside sat Link, in white fatigues, Impa, and a white-haired man in orange and red robes. Impa and the man were in chairs while Link was dazed, sitting on the floor. The room itself was sparse, only containing a cot covered with white sheets and a pillow, a desk and lamp on top for writing, and a door that led to a small bathroom.
The old man had a writing pad and pen in hand and Impa watched as she saw the gaunt Link jump and look around in confusion. He seemed to be at a loss and asked, without a stutter, "Where...Where am I? And who are you two?"
"Link, I'm Dr. Osfala Lux, remember? And this is Impa Kaji, the woman who's your caretaker," the man, Dr. Osfala, explained.
Link kept his stare and said, "Impa…? Osfala…?"
"Yes. That's our names. And yours is Link, correct?" Osfala asked.
"Link...? Oh...The boy..." Link said, his voice suddenly deepening.
Osfala looked to Impa and, worried, asked, "You're...'Raven', aren't you?"
"Yes. But, why am I still here?" "Raven" asked.
"You're here because Link's mother wishes for him to be here, for him to get better," Impa told him.
The persona gave them a suspicious glance and asked, "What do you mean by 'get better'?"
"She means that she wants 'Link' to gain control over you all, his differing personalities, and his epilepsy to cease," Osfala replied.
"Raven" still didn't seem to understand and asked, "So, I am to disappear?"
"If Link is to get better, yes," Impa said.
He seemed sad, turning away from their gaze. Moments later, his head fell, as if he had fallen asleep. Osfala was alarmed and asked, "Link? Or 'Raven'? Are you there?"
Impa sensed a shift and Link's eyes opened again. He looked lost and stared as his blue eyes weren't focused on the two. Osfala started taking notes and asked, "Did you see all this while in Aboda Village?"
"Yes. But I'm afraid what I've witnessed was far worse. His Majesty would do well to fund his treatment as it seems that he carries great power along with those…personalities," Impa said.
Link suddenly shook his head and asked, "Where...Where am I? Who are you again?"
Impa refused to lower her guard, staring at the boy and asking, "Now which one are you?"
"Huh?" he said.
"I've met 'Raven' already. So, which one are you? What is your name?" Impa asked, a hand still on her weapon.
She nearly gasped as she saw his eyes, formerly blue, then red, turn an emerald green. He kept glancing around in fear and said, "I'm...I'm Ravio. Where am I? It looks like a cell or something."
"You're in a place where you can get better. And when I mean you, I mean your true self, Link," Impa told him.
"Link? Um, is that the guy those twins mentioned? Because that's not my name. It's Ravio," "Ravio" said.
Impa shook her head and said, "This is getting nowhere."
"Why does she hate him so much?" "Ismali" asked, sitting in Elder Aginah's home for another therapy session.
Elder Aginah sighed, saying, "We all thought that the girls had coped with Sigmund's death. But apparently, that's not the case. Aryll compensates for the lack of positivity in the home by being quite…insufferably positive about any situation. While Agitha's taken a more cold approach to life, blaming the source of her misery on Link."
"That doesn't seem fair," "Ismali" said, folding his arms.
"We've tried to explain that to her, but once she's made up her mind, it's hard to change it. Perhaps continuing therapy would help," Elder Aginah told him.
"Ismali" shrugged and asked, "Why doesn't she take therapy too?"
"Well…we need to focus on you and the 'others' first," Elder Aginah told him.
The youth sighed and said, "Okay…But it seems she needs some too. Like I would if I found out my dad died in a horrific way."
Elder Aginah opened his mouth to say something but shut it seconds later. If only Link realized, if only…
Two days later, 9 Fado 1015...
"So, I'm here with an old geezer and a Sheikah," Link said, staring at Impa and Osfala in annoyance.
Impa was disturbed by his recent personality change. It called itself "Nyx", and spoke very gruffly and with the accent of those from Labrynna. It also hated whenever Osfala tried to call him "Link", his actual name. It seemed very prideful and xenophobic, which Impa believed was tied to any feelings of fear of others that Link had. Osfala took notes and it greatly annoyed the persona.
"What are you writing, geezer?" "Nyx" asked.
"I'm not a 'geezer' and I'm writing my observations of you. Impa here is to witness and report everything back to your mother," Osfala said, telling half of the truth.
"My mother? What? That blonde lady that kept calling me a demon?" "Nyx" said.
Osfala scoffed and asked, "Well, are you? You seem to be very hateful of Impa, despite her not doing anything except help you."
"'Help me'? I never needed it," "Nyx" told him.
Osfala took more notes and Impa saw the words, "Max dosage of purple potion injections needed. Personalities of the child out of control."
"Can you just let me outta here?" "Nyx" asked.
"No. Link's mother, your mother, wishes for you to stay here. You must get these 'others' under control so you can be a productive member of society," Impa told him.
The persona rolled his eyes and Osfala said, "I believe that's enough for today. Impa, shall we?"
"What? You're leaving already? What? You got better things to do?" "Nyx" asked.
"Yes, we do. We'll be back in the morning," Osfala said.
Impa and he left, shutting and locking the door behind them. Once in the hall and a few feet away from Link's room, Osfala told Impa, "I fear it's getting worse and we've made no progress. Where did you say he was from?"
"He's from the Snowpeak province, his hometown being Aboda Village," Impa answered.
Osfala nodded and said, "And they would've treated him with traditional methods. And who did you say his mother was?"
"Dame Lydia Nodor, widow of Sir Sigmund Nodor," Impa replied.
"So, he's the son of Hylian knights. So, the empire should pay for his treatment here as I fear that he will have to stay here much longer than he wants," Osfala said.
"I've already told Heika of the situation and he's agreed to pay for it, in honor of his best friends," Impa said.
Osfala went deep into thought and said, "I wonder if he's doing this since he has no child to speak of."
"What do you mean?" Impa asked.
"He has had no children since the incident and refuses to remarry. And besides, it is rather odd that a Gerudo would care for Hylians, given our bloodied history," Osfala told her.
"So, you think he's trying to use the boy to replace his child? That's a bit far-reaching, even for you," Impa said.
Osfala shrugged and said, "I guess, but I wouldn't put it past him. He's done the same with those children that didn't make it into the Shadow Corps."
"How do you know such things?" Impa asked, her red eyes glowing.
"As a psychologist employed by the emperor himself, I'm privy to a few things. But not as much as you, Lady Impa," Osfala replied.
That night, Impa's chambers...
Tired mentally and physically from observing Link's rapid persona changes as his original persona had not returned for two months, training some recruits and privately reporting to His Majesty, Impa fell onto her bed face first. She paid no attention to the fact that she was still in her black and blue Sheikah garb, which was dirtied from training. Nor did she pay attention that she had tracked in some dirt in her immaculate, white bedroom within the palace.
She groaned as she was frustrated at Osfala and her lack of progress on curing the boy's mental state. Impa started to believe that the promise she made Lydia was a lofty one as Link's condition was critical. She had never seen such a thing, where nearly 15 personalities spawned within two weeks of arriving at the hospital. Then another 10 after another week passed. And then the eating stopped after about a month. And then the violent seizures that caused him to injure himself after nearly two months.
The Sheikah started to believe that maybe her old friend was right and that he was possessed by something. Or cursed, but what kind of curse as she couldn't think of any that would produce alternate personas.
'But if it was a demon or a curse, it would've made itself known by now. So, what is it...?' Impa thought, her face buried in her bed's white covers.
"Lady Impa? Lady Impa?"
Impa rolled onto her back and said, "Yes?"
Someone jumped from the shadows in the ceiling and Impa sat up. With a small, tired smile, she said, "Hello there, Midna."
Midna, one of the ones who failed the recent Shadow Corps examination, had a scowl on her face and hands on her hips. Her usual black leotard was covered with a red poncho and a black hat was on her head, covering some of her long, red hair. She pouted and said, "Lady Impa, aren't you gonna let us make up that test? I could've passed if that stupid witch Megara Poe didn't leave me for dead."
"The Shadow Corps examinations are only once every two years. You'll have to wait for another two before we can test you again," Impa said.
"But those girls cheated!" another said.
A girl of thirteen years with short, blue hair entered the room and was also scowling. In a similar fashion to Midna, she wore a leotard, blue in color and covered by a white poncho. Ear muffs covered her ears and glasses were over her eyes. Midna nodded and said, "Yeah, those Poe sisters and Cubus twins screwed Fiona over too. Like I found her in one of the cells at the well's bottom. They tied her up and left her to die to a Skulltula."
"And Ghira didn't find me. He said if anything happened that he'll find me," the girl, Fiona, told Impa and sounding ready to cry.
Impa shook her head, remembering how vicious the new recruits were to each other. Out of the group of five that she personally trained, Fiona's brother, Ghirahim Manjhi, and Lord Ezlo's son, Vaati Cipori, were the only ones that passed. Ghirahim used his cunning to take out one of the Cubus twins after wooing her. Vaati, however, used his strong Wind magic to subdue Beth and Sue-Belle Poe, trapping them in a room with a Dead Hand.
Among the ones who "survived" the test were Ghirahim Manjhi, Vaati Cipori, Megara and Amy Poe, and I-no Cubus. Those that failed included Midna Notti, Fiona Manjhi, Sheik Yoichi, and Beth and Sue-Belle Poe. Due to the viciousness of those who won and some who failed, Impa considered having them retake it. But Chancellor Cole and others forbade it.
She tried repeatedly to explain that to her students, but they wouldn't hear of it. They really, really wanted to join the Shadow Corps, the empire's elite forces used in some of the more...questionable missions. The Sheikah wondered why they would want to join as some of the missions she went on when she was younger nearly made her question her humanity.
"Well, I really want to join for the perks. Like you get free health care and can get better housing. Or at least that's what Ghira said," Fiona said.
She looked to Midna and said, "I just want to find the ones who killed my family. I don't care to do anything else."
"Even if the empire asks for you to assassinate someone?"
Sheik stepped out of the shadows and the in-traditional-Sheikah-garb-wearing teen looked at the three with her visible ruby red eye. Her long, blonde hair, an oddity among Sheikah, cascaded down her back instead of being tied up in her usual ponytail. Her face was obscured by a mask, but Impa already knew what her face looked like. She folded her arms and asked the question again, to which Midna said, "I-I'll just...I'll just treat the missions like stepping stones."
Impa's thoughts returned to poor Link and she wondered what else could be done to help. She doubted giving the boy more purple potion injections would help. And talking with him while he was under the influence of other personalities proved fruitless. Moments later, Midna said, "Sounds like some kind of weird curse or something."
"What curse? Who's cursed?" Fiona asked.
"A child that Heika has me looking after. He...He's suffering under the influence of many personalities. His mother believes that he's possessed, but if he was, the evil spirit would've made itself known by now," Impa said.
"Uh...But it sounds like it...or they have...Raven, Ravio, Nyx, Ismali, Kishin...Link...Wait...His name is Link?" Sheik said.
Realizing that she read her mind, Impa thought to keep her defenses up as she wasn't sure if the girls were loyal to her anymore after their failure in the test. Sheik let out a small chuckle and said, "That's really a small trifle to suddenly betray you or anything."
"Yeah, like we're not mad at you or anything. I'm more mad at Meg...trying to kill my dreams..." Midna said.
"On killing...which is a morbid aspiration to have..." Sheik muttered.
"And are you okay? It's never this easy to read your mind," Fiona said, paying attention to Impa.
Impa sighed and told the girls as much as she deemed necessary about Link. After telling them of his malady, Midna said, "Yeah, that sounds like a curse, a really vile one."
"So, I have a proposition for you all," Impa said.
The girls listened in and Impa told them, "I want you all to research this curse. I need to know its name, any incantations and what to do to exorcise it out of him."
"Okay. But where can we find something on curses like that?" Fiona asked.
"We could try the library, but I doubt we'll find anything as the last pontiff of the temples asked for the emperor's great-grandmother to destroy books on that," Sheik said.
"Then you three are going to have to be resourceful. That is one of the things that the Shadow Corps is known for," Impa told them.
The three agreed to do so, leaving the room the way they came in. Once alone, Impa headed for a small desk across her bed. Taking off her boots and socks, relieving her tired feet from the boots' confines, Impa pulled out some paper and a pen. She started writing, addressing the letter to someone in Hytopia.
And there's the new and improved chapter 11. So, Link's getting worse and Impa and the others are trying as much as they can to help. But will it work? Stay tuned!
-miano53