Chapter 11: A Long Ascent
Handing over the ocarina was almost too difficult to bear.
When the Mask Maker took the instrument and started unceremoniously chipping it into pieces with their chisel, Link couldn't watch. He left the room and waited for them to finish, wondering if this would even be worthwhile.
It was a wise decision, the Fierce Deity reassured him.
How do you know? And why are you acting so calm and helpful anyway? Link asked. Aren't you a god of rage?
I am still a god, boy, the Fierce Deity replied. Link noted to himself that the mask was younger than he was. And you have given me much to think about.
Well, I guess you don't have to stay angry forever.
You misunderstand. My anger will never end, nor will yours, but you have shown me that it does not need to define us.
Now that's the smartest thing you've said yet.
After several hours the Mask Maker called, and Link went back inside. They were once again wearing a mask, this one being slender with four eye holes in the shape of a clover and a single horn at the top. Sitting on the bench was another mask, sized for Link's face. It was stark white like all the others, with a simple inverted teardrop shape and two eye holes.
"A new face. A wonderful thing to have. Does it need it? To define. To focus. To exist," said the Mask Maker.
"I've heard that before," Link said, pulling their mask off again. "Is this the protection you talked about?"
"It is. It was made with the treasured item."
Link put it on his face. "I don't feel anything."
"It contains a powerful spell, but it will not be of use until your task is accomplished," the Mask Maker explained. "Its use will come only when you find part of yourself has escaped your control. Take caution in using it, that your original self is not destroyed."
"Right..." Link said, taking the mask off. "Well, thanks."
He put the mask away and left the chamber. Only one Dreamer seal left now, he thought. I'd better get back to the city.
No, said the Fierce Deity. You are not ready yet. I sense a presence far above us. Seek it out.
I'm taking orders from you now? Link grumbled. He looked up the chasm, which still continued for a considerable distance. Well, it's better than going all the way through Deepnest again.
As he climbed further up the chasm, moss began to appear in patches on the walls, followed by thorny vines, and the greenery soon grew to cover most of the surfaces. Lumaflies were drifting about, creating enough light for Link to put his makeshift lantern away. Near the top of the arduous climb were a pair of animated husks which were themselves overgrown with moss.
There was more scaffolding here, and he soon saw why. The floor of a building had been built across the top part of the chasm, and despite the added support, it had collapsed. He heard the buzzing wings of something flying in the room above, and peeked through the hole to see what it was. It looked like one of the young flying mantises, but instead of a stinger on its abdomen it had long foreclaws like those of the wingless adults. When it noticed him, it swung its claws and threw a blade of air at him, like the Mantis Lords had done. Link moved out of the way of the attack and shot it down with his bow, noticing that, unlike the other mantises, it was infected.
He climbed up through the collapsed floor and emerged into a large room with elegant architecture and ornate decoration. To one side, a floor-to-ceiling window looked out over an enormous, overgrown cavern filled with huge green flowers and drifting dragonfly-like bugs. To the other was a corridor. The room itself had a wide archway opening into the cavern, and the greenery had made its way inside. While things had certainly grown out of control, the plant life seemed less wild and more cultivated than in Greenpath.
Link went down the corridor, coming into a hugely expansive room, full of vines and flowers, but with an overgrown path winding through it. Must be some kind of garden, he realized, noticing that, while the plants had nearly completely overgrown their bounds, the path was flanked by sunken flower beds. This puts the garden behind Hyrule Castle to shame. Who had the money to build all this?
Finding his way around the masses of thorn vines, he climbed an elegant stairway, past some pointed, bone-like pillars, and rounded a corner to see a cluster of green tents filling the next room. More of the same flying mantises were hovering in the air, and between the tents were similar-looking wingless mantises. They were shorter than their counterparts in the Mantis Village, with bulkier frames and larger claws, and they had dark horns resembling those of the Mantis Lords. Link couldn't help but think they looked unnatural, like their proportions were all wrong.
As soon as the mantises noticed him, they attacked. The flying ones threw their blades or swooped down at him, while the grounded ones charged or leapt at him with their claws. Link drew his sword, charged it with magic, and performed a large and powerful spin attack, killing several of the grounded mantises and injuring the others. He ducked out of the way of the flyers' attacks, then raised his shield against a lunge from a wingless one and countered with his own, killing it. The others kept coming. He focused on the grounded ones while avoiding the attacks from the winged ones, cutting them down if they dove in too close. When he had killed all the wingless mantises, he drew his bow and quickly dealt with the remaining flyers. Like the first one, they were all infected.
The other mantises resist the infection. What happened here? Link wondered.
Perhaps they were tempted by the strength it grants them, suggested the Fierce Deity.
Well, they are tougher than the others, but they're not much more dangerous. They don't have any discipline.
He continued up, past a winged variation of the moss-covered bugs from Greenpath, and found a stag station. After paying the toll to open it, he rang the bell, and the Stag soon arrived.
"Ah, Link. Before you rang the bell, I'd almost forgotten this station existed," the Stag said. "It was not often used by the common bugs, being a well-guarded retreat for our late Queen."
That explains where the money came from, Link thought. "So this is pretty much a royal vacation home?"
The Stag nodded. "Even as overgrown as they've become, these gardens are still beautiful after all this time. I'm sure the Queen would be happy to know that."
Link wasn't particularly concerned with the Queen's feelings. You said the presence you felt was above us. Is it nearby now? he asked the Fierce Deity.
No, it is much higher still, came the answer. However, now that we are here, I do sense something else. It is weaker, but very intriguing.
Alright. "I don't need a ride right now, but thanks for the info," Link told the Stag.
"You are most welcome," the Stag answered. "You and the other traveller have opened many of the stations now, and I can again travel the breadth of this kingdom. I am remembering much I had forgotten. Perhaps I will soon remember the way to the Stag Nest where I was born and raised. I would like that very much."
"Good luck with that," Link said.
The Fierce Deity led him further up through the gardens until they reached a narrow tunnel blocked by a wall of Void. The barrier was seemingly being produced by a pair of round black stones embedded in the floor and ceiling. Link shot one of them with a light arrow and the barrier disappeared long enough for him to pass.
You could have donned the mask to pass through, said the Fierce Deity.
I already told you I don't want to wear it, Link replied.
He heard the sounds of fighting echoing faintly from above, and, curious, followed them. When he got closer, he recognized Cloth's voice among the hissing screams of some creature. He hurried to where the sound was coming from, arriving at a pavilion on the edge of a wild cavern. Inside, the Knight and Cloth were both engaged with a huge mantis, with the corpses of more scattered around them. The mantis was attacking relentlessly, and while the Knight was holding its own, Cloth's movements were too slow.
Before Link could reach them to help, the mantis impaled Cloth on one of its massive claws. She grunted in pain before shouting triumphantly and swinging her club down on its head, cracking its shell and breaking one of its horns. The scene was still for a brief moment, then they both fell to the ground, dead. The Knight, seeing this, left without the slightest indication of concern.
Link was stunned. He plodded slowly into the pavilion, littered with corpses, and sat beside Cloth's motionless body. "Well... You faced your fears, like you said you would," he said.
Moments later, her body began to glow with Dream Essence, and her ghost appeared, standing proudly over her body. "Link! Did you see?" she said excitedly. "Now that was something! A true battle of mighty warriors. So intense. So climactic. It's really everything I could have ever hoped for."
"You realize that you're dead, right?" Link asked.
"Aye, but I accomplished what I set out to do. I'd once've stayed well clear of this traitorous tribe, but your actions showed me the truth of it. We must face down our fears or be defeated by them."
Link looked back over the battlefield. "You did a good job."
"Thanks for all your help, my friend. You set a valiant example. I don't know if we'll meet again, but I wish you luck wherever your journey takes you." She let out a deep, contented breath. "Be on my way soon. Nola is waiting and I'm done down here. Just savoring the moment a little longer."
"I'll... leave you to it, then," Link said. He stood up and walked to the edge of the pavilion, looking back once before following after the Knight.
She did what she wanted, said the Fierce Deity. You do not need to burden yourself with her death.
I know, it's just... sometimes I forget not everyone needs to be protected.
At the other side of the cavern, glowing white roots were growing out from the wall and floor, much like the ones around the Wyrm's corpse, though these were much thicker. He followed the roots down a tunnel and reached a small chamber. In the center was a globe of knotted dark roots, from which the white roots seemed to burst out at different points. A white-shelled bug with a feminine figure was sitting against the globe, dead, with a pile of dead mantises before her.
Next to the dead bug, there was a narrow hole leading down into the globe. As Link approached, the Knight crawled out of the hole and left back down the tunnel. Getting a closer look, Link noticed that its nail looked completely different, like dozens of metal strands curled together. It was elegant and beautiful, but looked incredibly sharp as well.
The presence is inside, said the Fierce Deity.
Link bent down and squeezed himself into the hole. I won't fit through here in seven years, he mused.
After a short distance, the hole opened into a passage which was only slightly less cramped. It dropped straight down until it was well underground, then led forward. More glowing white roots grew up through it, weaving in and out of the walls. At the end, it opened into a more spacious chamber.
Inside was what looked like a giant cocoon. The white roots were growing out of some of the sides, where they seemed to have broken free of the cocoon's wrapings, but most grew like hair from the pale head at the top. The creature's face was serene and calm, with its eyes closed as if it were asleep, but they opened when Link got near. They were clouded, almost blind.
"Another arrives!" the creature said with a soft and gentle feminine voice."I do not see well, I'm afraid, but I sense you are a stranger to this kingdom. You are not here to plunder the ruins, that much I can tell, but I also feel something at once familiar and foreign... Who are you, and what has brought you to such a place as this?"
"I'm Link, from the kingdom of Hyrule. If you're asking why I'm in Hallownest, I got here by accident and I'm trying to get back, but if you're asking how I found you..." He paused, trying to decide how to explain it, then decided to just be straightforward. "Well, I have a sentient mask that can sense your presence. I'm guessing that's what you're feeling."
"Oh? It found me, despite how my power is diminished? An impressive feat, that," said the creature.
"So then who are you?" Link asked.
"Did Dryya not inform you? It was she who allowed you to pass. Was it not?"
"You mean the bug outside? I'm sorry, but I think she's dead."
"Truly?" the creature asked, saddened. "Small wonder why she has not visited in so long then. She was a loyal knight, and stood guard over me for so long... Ah, but that does not concern you. Forgive me for troubling you with my own sorrows. I am called the White Lady by some, and I was once the Queen of Hallownest."
"Oh," Link said. If she's as godly as the King was supposed to be, that explains why the mask could sense her, he thought. "What are you doing here? I thought the King disappeared along with the palace and everyone in it."
"We separated from each other by choice, though it was not an easy decision to bear. It is long, long that we have been apart, compared to the short time we spent together, and I have grown very weak, but there is some shame I feel for my own part in Hallownest's perpetuation, and this method guarantees it cease," said the White Lady.
"You mean what you did to your children?" Link asked.
"So you have seen into that place? I am not surprised," the White Lady said with a pause. "Yes, indeed. Despite the disgust I feel at my own actions, only through these bindings can I ensure they are not repeated. I still feel that urge you see. I always will. A voracious desire to spread seeds upon the land, to propagate myself, to breed."
"Sorry I asked," Link remarked.
"But I understand now the familiarity I feel. It is the darkness of that place. To bring such a power here at a time when the Vessel's strength is fading cannot be a coincidence. What is it you intend to do?"
"Well, from what I've been told, my best shot at getting home is to stop the infection."
"Surely you do not mean to take the Vessel's place? Only a being without a mind could accomplish that. In fact, it is my hope that the one that was just here will do so."
Link shook his head, then remembered that she was blind. "No, I mean that I'm going to try to defeat the being causing it."
"To destroy the Radiance..." the White Lady said, contemplating. "That would be a most acceptable turn of events. It is possible that one of my spawn could do it too, of course, but the chance is so slim that I had placed no hope in its coming to pass. It would require that the entirety of the Void be united under one will."
"So I've been told."
"Do you understand what such a thing would entail? The Void must be made to serve one will, and one will only. Even the shades which inhabit my remaining offspring would need to be subdued."
"What would that mean?" Link asked.
"It would mean that their physical forms would expire. The possibility of replacing the vessel would be no more. Failing to destroy the Radiance would then doom this kingdom to fall completely under her rule," said the White Lady with a serious tone.
"So, you're saying it's very risky," Link said.
"Yes, but I would not try to stop you, even if I were able. The reward for succeeding would be great, and while the price for failure is high, it has in many ways already been paid. Hallownest will never return to the shining times of old. Do as you will, traveler. It is no longer for me to decide this kingdom's fate."
Do you still wish to go through with this? asked the Fierce Deity, when he had climbed back out of the cocoon.
I never wished to in the first place, Link replied. But I'm still going to.
He climbed a bit higher through the gardens and found himself back in Greenpath, in an area he hadn't been to before. He walked along the shore of an acid river until he reached a particularly large chamber, where he noticed a house perched on a high ledge. He used his hookshot to reach it.
Inside, giant nails and the faces of huge beasts were propped against the walls, while in the center was a low round table at which two large bugs were sitting. Link recognized one of them as the Nailsmith from the city. The other had a black body with red shell plating and a bony white head with three horns. It was wearing a red headband and a gray cloak attached to a fur mantle. Both of them were bent over the table with figures of other bugs in their hands. Not far away, there was an easel holding a painting of the Nailsmith's face
"Hmm?" said the Nailsmith, looking up. "Oh, hello Link. How strange that we should meet again in a world as vast as this. Sheo, this is the traveler I spoke of, whose nail inspired me so."
"Well met, and welcome to my home" said the other bug, bowing his head to Link. "I am Sheo."
Link returned the gesture, then spoke to the Nailsmith. "Why are you here? I thought you were trying to create a perfect nail."
"And I did!" said the Nailsmith. "Not long ago, in fact, and I daresay I managed to surpass even your splendid weapon. The old cracked nail of that little wanderer had more potential than I gave it credit for."
"Right. I saw that," Link said. "So I guess you were satisfied enough to stop working?"
"Oh, more than that. I believed my life's work was accomplished and I had nothing more to live for. I asked for the little one to let me feel the nail's edge strike, but it simply left. I was irritated at first, but I soon saw the wisdom in that decision," the Nailsmith answered. He chuckled. "The world is made of more than metal and weapons. I set out exploring and found my way here."
"He was quite distraught," Sheo added. "On his own quest for a new calling in life. We talked, and found much in common, so now we make art together! You see, I was a Nailmaster in a previous life. Yes, the only thing that drove me was becoming stronger and honing my skills with a nail. I imagined it was my one calling in life, but that feeling faded over time. Mastering the art of creation—painting, sculpting—these things speak to my soul and bring a different kind of pleasure. Stay and join us, if you like."
"That sounds fun, actually, but I don't have time," Link said.
"Mmm. Are you more interested in Sheo the Nailmaster? I can take the time to teach you, if you insist."
"I'd appreciate that."
Sheo nodded, then stood up. He donned a paint-stained apron, then moved over to the easel and removed the painting of the Nailsmith, placing it carefully on the table. He put a new canvas on the easel, readied a few small pots of paint, and produced a brush. Soaking the brush liberally in the paint, he made several large, decisive swings. The paint splattered haphazardly onto the canvas, but when Sheo stepped back, it bore a series of images depicting a figure with a nail in various positions.
"Study these figures carefully," Sheo said. "With discipline and focus you can draw more strength from the structure of your body. Footwork and form are of crucial importance when fighting with a nail, more so than bladework."
Link had hardly had any formal instruction in swordplay. He learned the basics from signs in Kokiri forest, and he'd received some training from the cowardly swordsman in Clock Town, but most of what he knew he had learned from experience. He was honestly surprised he'd even survived long enough to build up the skill he had, and he had never thought about how the mechanics of his movements might be lacking.
He studied the painting closely, then spent some time trying to imitate the positions depicted. Sheo—having gone back to working on figures with the Nailsmith—corrected his positioning as he worked.
"You will need to continue working," Sheo said after he had been through every image, "but you have already improved quite a lot. Continue these exercises and you will draw vastly more power from your strikes."
"Thank you," Link said, and he meant it.
"The wielding of a nail, the wielding of a brush... these things are not so different. We cut into the world so that we can peer deeper inside. For now though, I have nothing more to teach you. My brothers focused on other areas of our master's teachings, and they can help you further if you find them. One dwells in the cliffs above and the other at the bottom of the ash swept grave on the other side of Hallownest. Whether you seek them out is up to you. Your path forwards... only you can see it. Good luck."
"Thank you," Link said. He nodded to the Nailsmith and left.
Following the Fierce Deity's sense, he continued up through Greenpath and found a small tunnel, tucked out of sight of the main path, which took him out through a small crevice to the base of the windy cliffs over which he had first entered Hallownest. He was somewhat annoyed by the thought that he could have avoided climbing the cliffs if he'd known about this passageway.
We are close, said the Fierce Deity.
We'd better be, Link replied. There's not much higher I could go.
The second time climbing the cliffs was easier now that he had the mantis claws. The Fierce Deity guided him to a particular ledge where a small cave opened in the side of the cliff. He went inside, past two metal posts, and found the corpse of a fat six-legged bug wearing a red hood and a shoddily-sewn mask.
This is the presence you felt? Link asked, now even more annoyed.
Yes and no, the Fierce Deity answered. This being's mind is a gateway connected to that of another being, a very powerful one. That being is the one you need to find.
You can sense all of that?
Only because I am similar to that being. I am a god born from anger; it is a god born from fear.
Why do I need to find a god of fear? Link asked.
I have come to realize that you will not master anger until you first master fear.
I had the Triforce of Courage once, you know. I think I've got the fear thing under control.
No! said the Fierce Deity, with sudden force. You may have overcome your fear of enemies, and even your fear of death, but you have not mastered them. And you have not overcome your fear of yourself. You refuse to wear the mask except when absolutely necessary because you are afraid of what you may become. You must cast that doubt aside and be willing to take the power that you need.
Maybe I just like to stay in my own body, Link retorted.
Is that so? Open this bug's mind, and we shall see where your fears lie.
Fine, Link said, and drew the Dream Nail.