Chapter 2

There were a few more occurrences over the next months and Link was starting to get used to them. It wasn't often, only once every two or three weeks, but it always seemed to end with him facing down a group of monsters. The times of day (or night) varied, the locations ranged across Hyrule and there seemed to be no correlation between the types or number of monsters he encountered. The only constants were the fatigue that accompanied a life-or-death battle and the fact that there would be monsters of some variety involved.

The reoccurring memory loss with no discernible external cause supported his theory that this was a by-product of the Shrine of Resurrection. Whether or not it was supposed to happen was something he needed to discuss with Purah the next time he was in Hateno- a meeting he was not looking forward to. He may not know anything about the ancient technology aside from how to use what little of it was in his possession, but he didn't see how the researcher could fix this without Link himself being put back into the Shrine once more. And the only thing he could think of worse than waking up in a strange place with no memory of his previous life would be willingly entering that place, knowing that would be the outcome.

At present Link was tracking a boar in the forest east of the Woodland Tower. He'd been heading there when he'd stumbled across the fresh tracks and his stomach eagerly reminded him how long it had been since he'd last stopped for a meal. His mouth watered at the thought of succulent meat roasting over an open flame- or perhaps made into a stew if he backtracked to the nearby stable and made use of their communal cooking pot. The tower wasn't going anywhere; it could wait a bit longer while he filled his belly.

He'd been tracking the boar for the better part of an hour when he finally caught a glimpse of it through the trees. The gray fur along its back lay flat as it grazed, white markings around its large black eyes visible as it raised its head before continuing to eat, unaware of the danger lurking nearby.

A smile of anticipation pulling at his lips, Link carefully reached for his bow. Between one blink and the next he was suddenly somewhere else, jerking in surprise as everything around him abruptly changed. The boar was forgotten as he tensed reflexively, fingers tightening around the metal hilt suddenly in his hand while he scanned the area for enemies not yet slain.

The mid-afternoon sun was obscured by a thick fog filled with softly glowing motes that moved gently in the breeze, the light illuminating the haze and giving the woods an otherworldly feel. The mists swirled and curled lazily around trees very different from those Link had seen only a moment ago. Short and squat, each tree was thicker than the knight was tall but only a few times his height. Very few dead leaves adorned the skeletal branches, soft green moss covering the bark and hanging off the limbs. Long gray grass carpeted the forest floor, looking like it was dead and dry but feeling very much alive. What was most disconcerting, however, was that when viewed from the right angle each tree seemed to have a face.

Curved gouges in the wood made up the eyes, not level but close enough that the resemblance was uncanny. The mouths were below that and stretched halfway around the enormous trunk, a number of them open with a cavity inside large enough for Link to stand in. Chunks of wood and bark, jagged and broken, lined the mouth like old and rotting teeth. Other trees' mouths were mostly closed in a parody of a toothy grin, the hollow trunk visible through the gaps in the teeth. It almost felt like the entire forest could come to life at any moment.

Deciding he wasn't in immediate danger from any nearby monsters (or, he hoped, the creepy trees staring at him from all sides) Link relaxed his stance. The weight of his sword felt off and he looked down at it, sighing heavily when he saw the glimmering blue shards of the blade lying at his feet. Several larger pieces were embedded along fresh gouges in the trunk in front of him, removing any doubt of how it had been destroyed.

This was the third weapon he'd broken during his memory gaps. Without access to a blacksmith, he had no choice but to scavenge what weapons he could as he traveled across the land. It wasn't surprising when the soldier's broadsword he'd found in some ruins had snapped, or the forked boomerang taken from some lizalfos. However he'd hoped the blade procured from a Guardian Scout in the last shrine he'd activated (and made from the same ancient technology that had produced the Sheikah slate) would be more durable. Unfortunately, it seemed to break just as easily as everything else.

Dropping the now useless hilt to the ground, Link pulled the slate from his belt and tapped the screen. He glanced over the map that appeared on it, noting the pulsing arrow that marked his current position was in the middle of a blank area some distance north of the Woodland Stable he'd stayed at the previous night. The tower wasn't too far from the stable, which meant he probably wasn't more than an hour or two from where he'd started. That, at least, was good news.

Depressing one of the stylized swirls to the side of the screen replaced the map with grid, the squares numbering five columns across and two down with one lone box in the third row. All but four of the boxes had a small picture of a weapon in them. After looking over his options, Link tapped on a single-sided blade. It disappeared from the screen, glowing blue tendrils coming out of the slate itself and solidifying into a life-sized version of the same. The knight swung the eight-fold blade a few times, familiarizing himself with its weight before attaching it to the harness on his back.

Another button brought up the log of everything he'd done since awakening in the Shrine, as well as any tasks he'd agreed to help with but had not yet finished. There were no new entries, which wasn't surprising as the only thing he had pending in this area was activating the tower- something he clearly hadn't done as evidenced by the empty region on his map. He tapped on the icon to add a new entry, recording the pertinent details of the latest gap in his memory.

Returning to the map, he pondered his next course of action. While he wasn't terribly far from his last position, it would probably be better to head back to the stable for now. The complete lack of sunlight or landmarks made navigation difficult, even with the slate. This place was better left alone until after the tower was activated and the section of the map filled in. Turning until the arrow on the map was pointing toward the stable, Link returned the slate to his hip and started walking.

While numerous, the trees were somewhat spaced out, allowing the swordsman to travel more or less in a straight line. Although a faint breeze ruffled his bangs, the forest was eerily silent. No birdsong filled the air, no critters scrambled through the brush. It was just Link and the trees, all smiling mockingly as if they were privy to some secret that he was not. The entire forest seemed to be holding its breath, waiting for something.

The feeling of eyes watching him settled over the knight like a blanket of ants, raising the hairs on the back of his neck as goose bumps ran down his arms. Movement to his left had him spinning, sharp eyes landing on a dark shape solidifying through the gloom. The fog enshrouding the area thinned enough for Link to make out the gnarled branches of an old tree before the breeze shifted, allowing the curling mists to obscure it once more. He lowered his hand from his sword's hilt, glad no one was around to see him literally jumping at shadows. He quickened his pace as he continued walking, eager to leave this place as soon as possible.

The woods seemed to stretch on endlessly, the trees never thinning and the fog never lifting. What he could see of the scenery didn't change much, even after close to an hour of walking. Even the colors seemed to be muted, shades of gray and green covered in the faint blue haze from the glowing motes floating all around him.

That was probably why his eyes were immediately drawn to the vivid splash of color in the otherwise drab landscape- a bit of orange, bright enough that it almost seemed to be glowing, at the base of a large tree. Link's eyes widened in disbelief as he drew nearer, recognizing the broken hilt of the guardian sword he'd cast aside earlier. He was right back where he'd started.

Pulling out the Sheikah slate, he checked his position. The marker looked to be in about the same spot although the missing details in that portion of the map made it difficult to tell for sure. Everything in the forest itself looked the same, so it was likely he had just gotten turned around somehow. Re-orienting himself he set out again, checking the map frequently and changing direction as necessary. The lack of landmarks on the map made it difficult to tell if he was making any progress but, after another hour or so of walking, he found himself staring down at the orange hilt once more.

On impulse Link took off running in a random direction, partly to test a half-baked theory that had just occurred to him and partly in a desperate bid to escape. It didn't take nearly as long to be returned to the tree this time, chest heaving from the lengthy run as he fell to his knees next to the broken sword. His eyes wandered over the grinning wooden visage in front of him, lingering on the fresh gouges with bits of the blade still sticking out of them and suddenly understood why he had shattered his weapon attacking the tree. Being stuck in some sort of forest maze was bad enough, but with the trees themselves laughing and mocking at every turn, it was downright maddening.

His stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him that he had [apparently] not eaten the boar he'd been hunting hours previous. Pulling the slate back out, he slid his finger across the screen until he found the inventory, glancing through the ingredients he had on hand. A bit of raw rice, rock salt, a few apples, some Goron spice, a variety mushrooms...but no meat. Link let out an irritated huff as he replaced the slate at his hip and started gathering wood for a fire, wishing he remembered what had cost him the boar just so he could curse it properly. It looked like mushroom skewers were on the menu...again.

The last several months on the road made the knight quite proficient in the fine art of fire building and it wasn't long before the mushrooms were roasting over the open flames. Link bit into an apple as he waited, the fruit just as crisp as the day he picked it last week. The mechanics behind that were as much a mystery to him as how a pack mule's worth of cargo could be contained within something barely larger than his hand, but he was grateful for it all the same...especially now when even the land itself seemed to be against him.

After he'd finished eating, Link sat back against the tree as he stared pensively into the flames. It was obvious something didn't want him to leave, but whether for good or ill he knew not. Was this another type of test left for him by the monks who built the shrines? Or was the maze meant to protect some sort of treasure? Maybe even a hidden civilization that supposedly vanished long ago? Perhaps the ancient Sheikah whose lost technology he was using were alive and well, cut-off from the outside world that persecuted and scattered them 10,000 years past...

Link chuckled at the ludicrous thought, staring at the floating embers being carried away from the flames by the wind. He watched them for several minutes, idly making sure no additional fires were started, before he realized something. The cinders stretched out almost directly to the right of the fire, as if being moved by a strong wind. The only problem was the breeze was barely enough to ruffle the tall grass all around him...and it wasn't blowing in the same direction.

Grabbing a stick, he held it to the flames until the end lit before standing and using his body to shield it from the wind. It made no difference, the glowing ashes trailing in the same direction as if pulled by some unseen force. Curious to see what would happen, Link stood and followed them. Twelve steps in the embers shifted abruptly, turning sharply to the left.

The swordsman hesitated, looking between the fire behind him and the stick in his hand as the ashes from both headed in different directions. Could this be the trick to navigating the woods? It would be easy enough to follow with any sort of torch and not intuitively obvious to anyone who wasn't supposed to be there. Quite an ingenious defense- if Link's hunch was right. If not, well, he supposed he'd end up back at this tree anyway. Decision made, he quickly put out the fire and set off with his impromptu torch.

The passage of time seemed non-existent in the woods, the ambient light never fluctuating although Link knew the sun must have set. The Sheikah slate confirmed that, showing the time as approaching eleven pm. He did the math in his head, surprised to find he'd been wandering the woods for anywhere from five to eight hours. Even subtracting a generous two hours for dinner, it hadn't felt nearly that long. Was his sense of time really that far off or was there something else in the forest wreaking havoc on his senses?

Distracted by his thoughts, Link didn't notice the trees around him gradually changing back to normal as the mists receded. What he did notice was a large hollow log in front of him with moonlight visible on the ground just out the other side. He hurried forward, eager to finally be out of the maze. An ancient path, overgrown but still visible, led him to a clearing with a large triangular stone platform in it. A smaller, introverted and upraised triangular pedestal sat in the middle of that, with a sword embedded in the very center.

The white blade seemed to glimmer in the moonlight, not a spot of rust to be seen despite having been exposed to the elements for the last several decades at least. The dark purple guard was spread out like wings, oddly reminiscent of the Hyrulean royal crest and the green leather bands wrapping the hilt looked new, as if they had just been added that day.

While Link had no memory of this weapon, he knew it better than he knew his own name. He had finally found it, the sword with just many titles as he himself. The Goddess Blade, the Sword that Seals the Darkness, the Blade of Evil's Bane. The Master Sword.

To Be Continued

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