Chapter Four:
A Foul Wind

Eli

They had to gather their things quickly and only the bare essentials. Mother did, however, take all the spell books she had locked away. She left all the others that had only contained the theory of magic. She took her staff too, which had been collecting dust in a distant corner of their house. Eli had never seen her use it before. He supposed it was something she had only ever needed during the previous war.

Still, it was an admirable object, made of ebony wood from the edges of Kokiri Forest. Embedded in it were swirling symbols of sterling silver, and at the top, tendrils of the black wood held in place a deep, blue sapphire. He had read that tools like these, staves and the like, were used to enhance a caster's channeling of mana. It kept the usage of mana down and helped them focus. Perhaps that was never really a concern during times of peace.

Dad gathered other things, like food, clothing, water, and other supplies. Mom muttered spells or motioned with her hands as they climbed into their wagon. She whispered another spell and light glowed around them, coming from nowhere in particular.

"If the Gerudo are around, won't they see us by this light?" Eli asked as Dad cracked the reins, urging the wagon forward.

Mother shook her head.

"This spell is a 'ghost light.'" she explained. "We're the only ones who can see it."

That made Eli wonder if his shadows were affected by it, and with a thought, they responded as if the light wasn't there. It seemed only true light kept the shadows at bay. Eli nodded but looked down, thinking about what kind of magic he was capable of casting. The necromancy was obviously not an option, but other than talking to shadows, he wasn't sure what he could do with shadow magic. He hadn't gotten far enough in Mother's books when he had been reading them in secret to Leita the past couple nights. He had been preoccupied looking for things he thought Leita would be able to cast, so he hadn't tried any shadow spells out yet.

He supposed he could be jealous that Leita was a mage while he wasn't. He had only two types available to him; one of which wasn't truly available at all. Mages might not typically dabble in death magic even though they could, but that still left all twelve other types for them to use and explore. Regardless, it was also a waste of energy to envy others for what he didn't have. He could better spend that time and energy learning how to use what was available to him to the best of his ability.

He looked out into the dark where the ghost light didn't reach. He did feel somewhat calmer than before. Leita wasn't sniffling anymore either. They were relatively safe for now, but that didn't change that they were on the run. The shadows told him that Mother had cast the spell from before over them and the wagon. The one that made them unnoticeable. The Gerudos would not be hearing or seeing them tonight; maybe it was yet another Illusion spell.

Eventually, hours later, Mom and Dad agreed they were far enough away from Lake Hylia to stop for the night. Once they found ground that was even enough for their needs, Mother cast the same spell from before to conceal them from other people's senses. It was different though, because it concealed the area in general rather than specific people or objects.

Dad had set to pitching their tent and digging out a small groove in the earth for their fire, and Mom lit the firewood with another wave of her hand. Unwrapping the dried fish and jerky, Father began to pass the food to Eli and Leita, but Mom had yet to sit down. Instead, she paced slowly, staring out into the dark, as if waiting for something to jump out at them.

Eli took the jerky but didn't eat it. Even though pain gnawed at his stomach, for whatever reason he didn't feel hungry at all either. Instead, he followed his mother's gaze as he stared out into the darkness when he felt Leita lean into his shoulder, sucking in a breath.

"I don't feel good," she whined, and suddenly he realized he felt it too; the nauseating ache growing deep in his lower abdomen wasn't hunger but a sickness.

He saw Mother tense before she whipped around with purpose, muttering more to herself, "Where is it coming from?"

She went immediately to the center of the circle near the fire, standing tall, her back to them.

"I conjure thee, by infinite power; a circle now around us stands. I trace the path between the worlds, a boundary line of gods and humans."

Her voice was strong, firm, as she extended out her hand, pointing her finger down toward some imaginary line in front of her. Her words were rhythmic.

"Once around I trace the path."

Mother turned in a circle, her finger tracing her line in the air though angled toward the ground.

"Twice it turns into a flame."

She traced the line a second time.

"Three times around, a wall of fire, within whose realm we will remain."

She traced the line a third time, and then Mother dropped her hand to her side.

"This ground is sacred, consecrated by the power of earth and air. We conjure fire to cleanse our hearts and waters deep to guard us here. In the name of Farore who watches, in the name of Din who stands, this circle bright is bound around us while Nayru works Her mighty plan. As above, from crown of heaven, now below it is revealed. Magic circle, 'O crystal fortress, by my words your power is sealed. By the Three, so mote it be."

He had been expecting something to happen, like flashing lights or a visible magic barrier. Yet, nothing happened when his mother traced an imaginary circle around them until Eli noticed that the twisting ache in his gut had vanished almost instantly, and that Leita had started nibbling her dried fish next to him. His stomach had also started to grumble with the normal pain of hunger.

But he kept his eyes on his mother. He had never seen her cast something like that before. The shadows couldn't even tell him what it was she did. It was the first time they failed to respond. They always seemed to be able to tell him when she was casting the normal magic. However, Eli remembered reading about something like this before. It was a blessing, a protective circle. She turned to face them, standing over the fire. Her face was tense in serious thought, the fire casting more stern shadows over it.

"Amaya?" Dad asked, his own brow furrowing.

"There is... a foul wind," she began, seeming to try to find the words herself. "A taint… a blight is blanketing us like a fog."

"Blight?" Dad asked again. "What sort of blight?"

"The kind that slowly seeps into your soul," replied Mother. "It is a corruption of what already lives in the shadows of our consciousness. This blight stirs and aggravates it. I just don't understand …"

She folded her arms across her chest and glared into the fire. "I don't know precisely what its source is or what would even cause something like this to happen on such a grand scale. It's as if... as if it is coming from the very earth and sky."

Eli managed to sleep, but it was restless. A sleep where he felt as though he was half-awake the whole night. He had flashes of vague dreams including images of his grandfather and a black ring with a glimmer of purple in it. He rolled awake, feeling painful aches in his back from sleeping on the ground instead of a bed.

Leita and Dad were still asleep, but Mother was nowhere to be found in their tent.

Eli laid there for a moment, thinking about what he had asked the shadows that night. Mom said she didn't know where the "blight" was coming from, so he asked them, since the darkness was widespread during the night. This was the farthest he had ever asked the shadows to look, but they hadn't been able to respond. It seemed his question wasn't specific enough for them, and he didn't know the right question to ask. Or perhaps it wasn't something in their realm of knowing. He wasn't sure.

This wasn't the first time the shadows couldn't answer a question. Upon discovering the ability and learning it wasn't a derangement of his mind, Eli had set to testing its limits. His shadows couldn't tell him what people were thinking or feeling directly. They could tell him if they were smiling or frowning, but that was just the physical outward expression that wasn't always the inner truth. They could tell him when mana was being used in a spell and what kind of effect it had in general, and yet they couldn't tell him with what or how Mother cast that protective circle last night.

The last observation was more of a puzzle to him. It had seemed like a very elaborate and long casting, though it had not used Spirit words but plain Hyrulean. It hadn't seemed like it did anything except make him feel less sick to his stomach. He still didn't know why he had felt ill like that to begin with. Did it have something to do with the blight Mom spoke of? Many new questions, new limits to understand. He would have to ask Mother about it.

It was barely light outside now, so Eli asked the shadows what Mom was doing, and they replied, letting him know she was sitting by the fire pit again, casting. She was casting, but they weren't able to tell him exactly what kind of spell she was casting. Another odd occurrence. So he crawled out of his bedding and peeked at her through the tent flap. She was sitting with her legs crossed, her staff laid over her lap with one hand holding each end. Her eyes were closed, and her face was smooth and calm like the surface of still water.

He watched her for a few moments before a smile stirred her lips.

"Eli, you don't always have to watch from the shadows. If you're so curious, then just come and ask me."

He sighed, wondering how it was that she still had the attention span to notice him lurking while also casting. Mother was one of the few people who still managed to surprise him. Eli crawled out of the tent to sit by her. The fire pit was still glowing with red embers which warmed him in the chill of the morning.

"Well?" he asked.

She kept her eyes closed. "I'm scrying, to see what state Castle Town and Kakariko are in. I've also checked on Lon Lon Ranch."

Eli nodded. He knew what scrying was. She was using a spell to see places that were far away, but he had read that most casters required a magic mirror or even a cleansed water in a basin at least as a channeling medium to cast such a spell. Mother just had her eyes closed.

"And?" he inquired further.

Mom sighed. "Lon Lon appears fine. It hasn't been attacked by Gerudos yet. Kakariko Village appears to have been hit but recovering, unlike Castle Town."

"What became of it?" Eli realized he probably could have asked the shadows this very question last night. So much had happened, and he had been tired. Though perhaps that was just an excuse.

Mom opened her eyes now and looked over at him, searching his eyes for a moment or two. "Anyone who didn't make it out... is dead."

Eli looked down at the glowing embers. He thought of the Agnis. They lived in Castle Town. Were they dead or had they escaped? He had never wished them ill, and if anything he hoped for his family's morale that they were as well as can be.

How had the Gerudo done this so easily, when they had lost the last war after struggling for years? It was like they had won overnight. He had heard things about how terrible the Gerudo had been during the Gerudo War, but he never thought it would be like this if they attacked again.

"We'll head to Kakariko," Mother said. "It may have been hit, but it seems the most stable place to go in Hyrule as of the moment."