'Til the Sun Grows Cold and the Stars Grow Old

[Zeruda]

'Til the Sun Grows Cold and the Stars Grow Old  by Lady Norbert
livejournal | deviantart | fanfiction

This lovely fan fiction was provided by Lady Norbert. I do not claim this as my own, and I am posting it only with her permission.

Synopsis: Link has more than a few lifetimes of memories running through his mind, and they all lead him back to where his heart belongs. Will he be separated from her forever? MASSIVE SPOILERS for Twilight Princess. Link/Zelda.

(click to show/hide)

Chapter One: An Edict in Destiny

The earliest stories, the ones told by the aged grandmothers as they creep closer to the hearth and beckon their young descendants to draw near and listen, would have us believe that it was the goddess Din who had the idea to forge the land. Din and her sisters, Nayru and Farore, were indistinguishable from one another. All were tall and slender, with flowing silver hair and skin the color of starlight. (What color is starlight? one child was bound to interrupt and ask, and promptly be shushed by the others who wished the story to continue.) Only their vestments set them apart; Din was perpetually gowned in red, Nayru in blue, and Farore in green. On a morning near the dawn of time, Din spoke to her sisters of her wish to breathe life into a new world.

With her scarlet gown blazing in the light of a newborn sun, the goddess of power spread her arms and brought forth the land, and filled the crevices with seas. Then Farore softly pursed her lips and blew, and the wind that swept over the plains brought with it fields of grass, and tall trees, and soon the waters were filled with fish and the woods with animals. And they called it Hyrule.

"It is all very well and beautiful, sisters," said Nayru, "but what am I to do here? These creatures are innocent. They have no need of wisdom to govern their decisions; they know no evil."

At the behest of her sisters, Nayru poured her wisdom onto the newly-formed earth, giving the spirit of law to the land. Then Farore brought forth another living creature, which she called a human. "They will live and thrive and rule this land," said she, "and your wisdom will provide them with the right path. But they come imbued with courage too, and the knowledge of power, and we cannot ever know whether they will be good or evil. They have free will. But they are not without merit; for each of them has at their core a bright jewel called a soul, which -- so long as it remain untainted -- will help them on their way."

The goddesses, who you must understand are found everywhere and nowhere all at once, could not remain the whole of their time in Hyrule, much as they delighted in watching the cultivation of the world. They joined their hands together, and from their conjoined powers emerged the great Triforce. Three golden triangles, at once connected and yet separate, pulsed with the individual powers of the divine sisters. They housed this sacred emblem in the Golden Land, the Sacred Realm, and left it to govern in their stead.

This was the great folly of the goddesses, for the Triforce knew nothing of good or evil. It could not judge men's hearts; it could only grant their wishes, if they found the way to reach it. The Sacred Realm was sealed; but it was not a flawless seal, for even the goddesses are not without imperfection, and if the seal could not be breached at all, then the Triforce was useless as a tool with which to govern.

Nayru, in her wisdom, proposed the formation of keys to the Golden Land, keys so diversely scattered that there was little hope of anyone uniting them. First, three stones were forged by the goddesses, and concealed in different parts of the realm. Next, each of the sisters selected one of the human souls, and adhered to its core a hint of her own essence. Nayru picked the daughter of the King of Hyrule; Farore selected a boy who lived in the forests; and Din chose one of the Gerudo tribesmen who had taken up residence in the deserts. Only one of these would have the ability to breach the seal to the Sacred Realm, and only when they had in their possession the Sacred Stones. To identify these souls of destiny, the mortal body which housed each one bore on one hand a mark shaped like the Triforce.

It has to be admitted here that Nayru and Farore, who are basically gentle in spirit, do not always have complete confidence in their beloved sister Din. Power is too uncertain; few, if any, have been driven to extremes by a lust for wisdom or courage, but power can do strange things to a person. So between the two of them, they fashioned an extra pair of keys. One was a piece of music known as the "Song of Time," the knowledge of which was imparted only to Nayru's chosen disciple. The other was a master sword, the blade of evil's bane, which could only be wielded by Farore's chosen. Satisfied that they could not possibly have done any better, the goddesses departed once more.

-Z-

"Link...Link, can you hear me?"

"I hear you..."

"Listen...there is no time. And yet there is much time."

"No riddles, Princess, not now."

"The ocarina you found, my instrument...it is the ocarina of time. You have the Sacred Stones; now you must play the ocarina and open the secret portal. I will teach you the song."

-Z-

Despite the extensive precautions which had been taken, the near-impossible came to pass, and Nayru was particularly aggrieved by her lack of foresight. The gift of power had corrupted the core of the soul which bore it. Ganondorf, they called him. He coveted the greener pastures of Hyrule beyond the desert, and even more he coveted the Triforce. If he could lay his hands upon it, it would grant his wish...for everything.

How, it may well be wondered, did Ganondorf come to understand what needed to be done? He was a great wizard in his own right, even without the essence of Din; somewhere along his life's path he had found just enough clues to recognize what had to be done. He had haunted the young princess with dreams, warning her of his impending destruction, and she in turn had summoned their third counterpart. With the Song of Time and the Sacred Stones, the foolish boy had opened the door at the Temple of Time -- and Ganondorf had followed behind him.

All did not go entirely according to his plan. True, the devastation he wished to bring to Hyrule had been granted. But Ganondorf's heart was out of balance; he valued power far above wisdom or courage, and without a balanced appreciation for the three virtues, he risked corrupting the Triforce itself. In an act of pure self-preservation, the mystic triangle had shattered into its three sections. The Triforce of Power yielded itself to Ganondorf; the other two portions came into the possession of the innocents who housed the corresponding essences. This had saved the Triforce, but just as importantly, it was the only reason that Hyrule itself was not obliterated.

-Z-

"Waken, young Link..."

"Where...where am I?"

"This is the Temple of Time."

-Z-

Seven years passed, in which Farore's champion Link was kept in an enchanted slumber. He awoke, fully grown, able to wield the blade of evil's bane and fight off the would-be destroyer Ganondorf. Through the assistance of Nayru's princess and six other sages, Link was able to drive his nemesis into exile in the Sacred Realm, which had become tainted and known as the Dark World. The princess, who had hidden herself among the Sheikah people, was restored to her rightful person and position.

Something else had come to pass, which the goddesses did not intend but were not inclined to deny. The nature of their soul-cores and the strength of the ordeal they had endured left Link and Zelda with a powerful bond, as had been evidenced by their telepathic communications. This, combined with the more human desires of their mortal forms, could have only one possible result; they loved one another, with a purity and endurance few others could match, and determined to pledge themselves to each other.

The goddesses looked upon them favorably, but could not ignore the fact that so long as he lived, Ganondorf posed some threat to Hyrule and all living things. The Triforce of Power, which dwelled with him in the Dark World, had granted him a measure of immortality; he could be destroyed, but would not die of old age. He would simply bide his time until Link and Zelda had passed into the next world, then find a way to escape from his bonds.

-Z-

"I'm afraid it cannot be so."

"But Rauru, why? Surely there is no shame in it?"

"None, Your Highness. It is a match which even the goddesses themselves ordain as right. But bhe/b still lives, in some form. The world will always be in some form of danger from him until he has been destroyed for good and all."

"And for this reason we must be separated?"

"Farore and Nayru have decreed it so; I am but their messenger. Now, listen to me, both of you. You will die and be born again, many times over. The mark of the Triforce will always identify you. When your spirits are returned to new lives in this world, it will signify that dark times lie ahead. He must be stopped at all costs."

-Z-

So it was decided that Link would be returned to the youth he had lost, and kept apart from his beloved princess for the remainder of that lifetime. They would meet again, fight Ganondorf again. One day, the sage Rauru promised them, his defeat would be ultimate. The Triforce of Power would leave him and house its essence in another body, and he would threaten Hyrule no more. When that happened...when the world was truly saved...the faithfulness of their hearts would be rewarded.

Thus it was taught to me by my mother, and her mother before her, and handed down through many generations. His name is always Link, but he has other names. He is the Hero of Time, the Hero of Ages, the Hero of Winds. There are many stories of the green-garbed youth who would emerge from obscurity to fight a strange and formidable enemy. Always he is victorious. Always he swears his devotion to the princess -- and there is always a princess, and her name is always Zelda, and I never can remember why. And always he returns to the shadows of history without further incident.

I knew she didn't make it all up herself, though when I remembered my mother I remembered her as a spinner of stories. Some of what she said is true. There are scrolls in the great library in Castle Town which tell us of the Hero of Time and his exploits. They say that deep in the woods are the ruins of the Temple of Time, and that somewhere in their midst, the blade of evil's bane -- the Master Sword -- sleeps again until the hero returns. I knew that I was named in honor of a real hero, who really existed and who might even one day return. But I always believed she made up that part about the mark of the Triforce on his hand. I was sure she just didn't want the other children to tease me about my funny birthmark.

(click to show/hide)

Chapter Two: In War With Time

I am in the forest again. It is not the forest I know, the one in which I sleep and run and bathe in the waters of the spirit spring. It is another forest, completely unfamiliar to my mortal eyes, and yet intimately known by my heart. Sunlight filters through heavy tree cover, casting patches of brightness on a shadowy leaf-strewn land.

She is waiting for me.

I know her by sight, by sound, by scent. We have met here before, many times. Sometimes we laugh together, though at what I am never entirely certain; I only know that her laughter is musical. Her voice is musical, too, though I have heard that less frequently. Often we do not speak, and when we do, it is with a strange formality. Not stiff, not unfriendly, but chivalric. A knight and his lady, as of old.

I have felt the silky caress of her gloved hand in mine. More than that contact is forbidden, though I long to sweep her into my arms and feel her heart beating in time with my own. I have never seen her in my life, and yet I know -- I live for her.

Of late I see her often. As children, we met only rarely, and played together in these woods. The older I grow, the older she grows, and the more frequently we meet. Without ever putting voice to it, we both know that this is how it must be. This is how it has always been.

"The day is coming," she tells me, "when we will meet again."

"For the first time."

"Only the first time in this time." Always cryptic, my lady. "The darkness will come again, and we will be as one in our battle."

"Must it be so?" I know the answer, but it does not stop me from asking the question.

"Until the great work is finished at last, it must." She looks at me with her velvety dark eyes. "My soul grows weary of the fight, Link...I want it to be done. I cannot bear the thought of another lifetime without you."

-Z-

"You had that dream again, didn't you?"

Ilia's voice was not accusatory, merely concerned. I never understood how, but she could always tell; there must have been something in my face that gave me away. She watched me as I worked a snarl from Epona's tail.

"She's so real, Il," I said, trying not to look at her. Sometimes I worried that talking about the dream would hurt her feelings. It was generally assumed by most of the village elders -- not least her father, Mayor Bo -- that Ilia and I would marry one day. How much stock she put in this assumption, I really didn't know, but if she was considering it at all then it might be painful for her to hear me talk about the woman in my dreams.

"I know. You always seem so..." She hesitated, apparently searching for the right way to say it. "You're sad when you've been dreaming about her. And yet you're not sad at all. It's like you miss her, even though you don't know her..."

"...and yet I do know her," I finished. We'd gone round that before. "I don't even know her name. But I know her anyway." I tightened the straps on Epona's saddle and climbed up, then offered Ilia a hand. "Come on. I've got to get to the pasture; I'll give you a ride home."

Later, when the goats were stabled and the sun was making its way toward the horizon, I joined Rusl at the spirit spring and we went through another swordfighting lesson. Next to Ilia, Rusl was my closest friend; his son Colin was like a little brother to me. I couldn't talk to him about the dreams, but in most other respects he was a great confidante, and he in turn confided in me as well. He told me, as we sat resting on the spring's shoreline after our thrust and parry session, that he had a special commission. The royal family itself had had him -- our Rusl, our blacksmith -- prepare a sword and shield to their specifications. The weapons were nearly finished, and he was well pleased with the result.

There was a minor complication. Rusl's wife Uli was heavy with child, and Hyrule Castle was a lengthy journey from Ordon Village. Rusl was uncomfortable with the idea of leaving her for so long when her time was so close. "I hate to ask, Link," he said, "but would you deliver them for me?" Of course I would, and I said as much.

There was a strange sighing among the trees, then, as though the world had held its breath until I gave my promise to go.

-Z-

"Link...Link, help me..."

I awake with a start. The feminine voice is still ringing in my mind. "I am in the dungeon of Hyrule Castle..." I look around, wildly, but see nothing unusual save the figure of my uncle. In the low light of a guttering candle, I can see the gleam of his armor as he dresses himself as if for battle. Uncle, like all our family, is a descendant of the Hylian Knights, whose job was to defend the royal family. He orders me to remain in the house, then leaves.

I do not know how long I wait. Instantly, it seems, I am in the sewers beneath the castle, and my cry of anguish ricochets off of the walls as I spot my uncle. He lies on the stone walkway, nearing death. With his final breaths, he admonishes me for following, then tells me to take up his sword and shield and make my way to save her. "Zelda...is your..."

The fates take him before he can complete the sentence, but I know already what he meant. "Zelda is my destiny," I finish for him.

Now I am in the castle dungeon, though how I got here is anyone's guess. She is there, waiting for me. I open her cell and extend a hand to her. It is, and it is not, the same lady who meets me in the forest glade. She looks different, and yet her eyes...I would know her eyes anywhere. We make our way back to the sewers, hands tightly gripped, picking our way through a forgotten passage to a remote sanctuary where she will be safe from the master of evil.

Except she is not. I do not know how much time has passed, only that it has; a trio of colored pendants hang from my neck, and on my feet are strange blue boots that make me feel as if I can run forever. My hand is wrapped tightly around the hilt of a sword, but I am more concerned with the voice that once again calls to me. She is in danger, and I must return to the sanctuary with all haste to save her. Will I make it in time? The ground stretches out ahead of me for ages; I run and run and seem to get nowhere.

At last I fling open the sanctuary doors. I am too late -- the sage lies dying, just as my uncle did, and she is gone. I cradle the elderly man in my arms, only half-listening as he imparts some final words to me. It is all I can do to keep from crying out...

-Z-

"Zelda!!"

I sat up and looked around wildly. Sunlight was streaming through the windows of the house. Blood pulsed in my ears; icy sweat trickled down my bare back. The name was still fresh on my lips; I had all but screamed it, and woken myself in terror.

Zelda.

The princess? Had I been dreaming of the princess? That, I thought, was a new level of absurdity. I was forest-born, a peasant; even if the dreams had any basis in reality, and all this time I'd been pining for the princess, what chance in the world would I have of ever getting her to look in my direction?

If my mother still lived, she might have encouraged me. My father, on the other hand, would have advised me to get my head out of these dreams and back into the real world. I had a home in Ordon Village, and a life, and it was almost certain that I was being groomed to one day replace Mayor Bo as village chief. And there was Ilia, and she was real -- not like this fantasy princess.

I heard the shouts of the children outside, and opened the window to look down at them. Beth and Malo and Talo were there, badgering me to get up. They kept arguing amongst themselves about a slingshot being sold in Beth's parents' store. Colin was down there, too, but he stood apart from them as he usually did. I dearly loved that fair-haired boy, and it always troubled me to see how the others behaved toward him.

I was distracted as I walked through the village, still ruminating on my dreams. I set my hawk on a monkey who had stolen Uli's cradle, and cut down bee larva for Hanch, Beth's father. But it all felt false, somehow. Why, I wondered, was I more alive in my dreams? Why were they more colorful, more vibrant, more real to me than the things I did when I was awake? After a bit of fishing (and losing my catch to Sera's cat), I bought the slingshot and went home to amuse the children by practicing with it. At least no one seemed to be aware of my detachment.

"There's one of the monkeys!" Talo yelled suddenly. Before I could call out that they mustn't go into the forest alone, he, his brother, and Beth were chasing the beast. Colin and I exchanged uneasy glances, and I knew I had to go after them. I overtook Malo and Beth without much difficulty; they had grown winded, or fearful, and stopped short of the bridge. But Talo, foolish and headstrong, had continued to run. I crossed the bridge and found the path leading to the forest temple, wild and overgrown.

Suddenly I froze.

-Z-

"Help me! Won't someone please help me?"

I can hear the cries of what sounds like an elderly woman, and the hideous laughter of her inhuman attackers. I carry nothing but my wooden sword and shield, the ones with which I have practiced swordcraft, but I cannot ignore someone in need. I crash through the underbrush, slashing branches out of my way, and fling myself at the first Moblin I see. Soon the glade is cleared and the old woman is crouched on the ground, panting for breath and gasping her thanks. I give her a drink from my water skin.

"Who are you?" she asks. I tell her my name, and she nods. "You must help me," she implores, and begins her tale. Her name is Impa; she is the devoted nursemaid of the fair Princess Zelda. A monstrous being, a dark wizard, possesses a magic artifact called the Triforce of Power, and has abducted the princess in order to steal her Triforce of Wisdom; if he can claim them both, he will conquer the land. To prevent this, the Triforce of Wisdom has been fragmented and hidden in dungeons throughout the kingdom. A hero must reassemble the pieces and make his way to the villain's concealed lair, there to challenge him and save the princess.

Moments later -- or so it seems -- I stand before the entrance to one of the dungeons. The forest here is wild and unfamiliar, teeming with creatures of evil. A stone demon rises from the ground, and through its gaping maw I see the stairs which I must descend as I make my way to collect one of the fragments. Vines encrust the demon's eyes, obscuring them, and overhead the upper branches of the trees huddle together to block out the sun. The air is eerie and quiet, like the calm before the storm.

-Z-

I gave my head a violent shake as the image shattered. Zelda again -- and now the Triforce too. Of course I knew of the Triforce, if only from the legends my mother taught me in my boyhood, but that I would have any greater connection to it was hard to imagine. More to the point, were my dreams now not content with disturbing my rest? Must they now assault me by daylight too?

Clutching my slingshot, I made my way up the rocky path to the temple, my soft-shod feet making no sound. I could hear the wails of the monkey interspersed with those of Malo as I drew closer; a pair of purple-skinned creatures had locked them in a small wooden cage. Providence it was that I'd purchased a weapon with which to dispatch the beasts, and soon I broke open the cage to free Malo and his companion. He thanked me effusively, staring up at me with a kind of awe.

At the edge of the bridge we met Rusl, who had been summoned by Colin when I didn't return, and he and I sent Malo running home to his parents. "Well done, Link," Rusl said quietly. There was something in his expression which I could not quite read. Then it seemed to clear, and he added almost as an afterthought, "Oh, the sword and shield are ready to be taken to the castle -- you can be off tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe you'll even get to see Princess Zelda while you're there!"

I just smiled weakly. I knew I wouldn't have to wait that long.

-Z-

"You are not happy to see me?"

"I am always happy to see you, my lady." And I am.

She knows this, but she seems doubtful nonetheless. "You appear troubled, Link."

I sigh, and make my way to one of the broken bits of stone ruin that dot the landscape in this part of the forest. Sitting down upon it, I knit my fingers and regard them thoughtfully before I look back at her. "I know who and what you are. And I know who and what I am. But I am having visions...you are there and so am I, and we are ourselves and yet we are not."

"I have them too, Link." She seats herself beside me. "They are not visions. They are memories."

"I know. But what am I remembering? There hardly seems enough time in one lifetime for all of these memories..." I trail off as the meaning becomes obvious.

She smiles, seeing my comprehension dawn. "Many lifetimes. Always together and forever apart."

"Do I forget them, then, when my life begins anew? Do I forget you?"

"In your mind, a little. Never in your heart. There, we are as one."

"Do you forget them?"

"No. Not in the way that you do. Mine is the blessing of wisdom, and I carry the knowledge from one life to the next. Yours is the gift of courage; yours is the mighty heart that beats and bleeds for us both."

My next words come unbidden, as though issued by the heart of which she speaks so glowingly. "I miss you, my lady."

(click to show/hide)

Chapter Three: No Harbor in a Royal Heart

Ilia was very angry with me.

I certainly didn't mean for any harm to come to Epona. We'd been in a bit of a hurry; the goats had to be stabled before I could deliver Rusl's gifts to the castle, and I simply hadn't noticed the little nick she'd taken to one leg. She offered no complaints about it, at least. But sharp-eyed Ilia had seen it and given me a good scolding. Her father had been on the receiving end, too, when he attempted to defend me.

Fortunately, Colin was willing to intervene on my behalf. By the time I reached the spirit spring, he had told Ilia all about my previous night's adventures with Talo and the monkey. It seemed to soften her opinion of me, and she sighed as she looked at Epona.

"You still prefer your master to me, don't you," she mused. Looking back at me, she adopted a serious tone. "Fortunately," she said, "it looks like the injury isn't too serious. You two can go on together. But, Link...can you at least promise me this? No matter what happens on your journey, don't try to do anything, um, out of your league. Please. Just come home safely." Her gaze had grown soft.

I gave her a small half-smile, feeling slightly awkward. I did love her in my way; she was my closest friend, and if it weren't for the dreams I probably could have been very happy to make her my wife. But it was difficult to look into Ilia's eyes, warm and brimming with affection, and not feel a twinge of regret when I thought of the eyes of my dream princess, filled with an ancient longing and a wisdom that defied comprehension.

Before I could speak, however, Colin gave a cry of horror, and Epona screamed and fled the spring. The sky overhead seemed to be peeling back from itself, revealing a swirling vortex of black. Hideous creatures fell through this gap and landed on the ground before us. I moved to defend my friends, though even as I did I wondered what earthly good a slingshot was going to be against these monstrosities.

As it turned out...none at all. Before I could so much as pull the slingshot from my belt, one of the beasts had thrown me to the ground, and I knew no more.

-Z-

The King is missing. He has gone to meet with Duke Onkled, but never reached his destination. I set out to rescue him, at his daughter's behest, but...something happens to me. I do not understand what is happening or where I am. I have simply vanished.

Suddenly I am struck with, of all things, a hand mirror. As the glass shatters, it feels as though I am awakened from a deep slumber. Later, Zelda explains that I disappeared; some evil magic rendered me invisible. She has had to do it all herself -- combat our enemy, rescue her father, and by a lucky chance, restore me to my solid form. I am immensely proud of her. By the use of a magic relic called the Wand of Gamelon, she has sealed her father's captor inside of a magic book. It will not hold him forever; we know this. Our time has not yet come. But it will contain him for a while.

The King wonders what is for dinner.

-Z-

Well, that was...interesting, I thought dazedly as I woke. As the dreams went, it seemed somehow very anti-climactic. Not that I doubted Zelda's courage or strength; I knew full well that she was as capable of heroics as I was, possibly even moreso with her advanced wisdom. But there was something about the whole thing which felt decidedly off-balance, even false. Thinking a little more, I shook my head. That one was not a memory; it was merely a dream, and a rather silly one.

And then I remembered. Colin and Ilia -- the invading monsters -- I had to find them.

I was lying in the shallow waters of the spirit spring, but when my memory returned I jerked into a standing position, and gave myself a shake. Weighted down by waterlogged garments, I ran through the gate and looked about wildly. The bridge leading toward the forest temple had vanished; it was replaced with a great, alarming wall of the same glaring blackness as we had seen in the hole in the sky. I regretted having given my wooden sword to Talo; it wasn't much of a weapon, but it was better than nothing, and I felt very weak as I approached the wall with nothing more than a slingshot in my hand.

In the end, I needn't have worried myself on that score. I didn't even have time to scream as a giant astral hand burst out of the wall and wrapped its bony fingers around me. It yanked me into the black, and nothingness claimed my senses once again.

-Z-

The Great Palace of Hyrule was hidden, Impa has told me, by the powerful, wise, and courageous King who once ruled over all the land. He bore the entire Triforce, but knew that his son, the Crown Prince, was not able to carry its entire burden. So before his death, he fractured the triangle and concealed part of it in the Great Palace. He imparted the secret of its location only to his daughter, Princess Zelda, and counseled her to speak of it to no one, most particularly her brother. When she refused again and again to divulge the secret, the court wizard trapped her in an endless sleep. Her grieving brother bore her to rest in the tower of North Castle, and there she slumbers still. That no one might forget what befell her, he decreed that all royal daughters should henceforth be named Zelda, and thus the tradition continues.

On Impa's command, I have departed from the Zelda I know -- my beloved, the one for whom I assembled the eight scattered fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom and defeated the monster who held her prisoner. I have traveled to six different palaces throughout the kingdom and battled the creatures inside, guardians commissioned by that long-ago King to stand watch, waiting for the Hero of Ages who could alone defeat them. I have placed a crystal into the forehead of a giant statue inside each palace, and with the placement of the sixth, the Great Palace's location unveils itself to me.

It is a perilous journey. The servants of my defeated nemesis await me around every corner, for they believe that only by spilling my blood on his ashes can they restore him to his former power. But at last I enter the palace and fight my way to its center. The furious Thunderbird is a powerful enemy, but the blade in my hands is sure and true and my sword stroke is powerful. The bird is felled. I pass its reeking corpse and enter the last antechamber, the hiding place of the Triforce of Courage.

I cannot take it yet, however, for another enemy presents himself. The light in the room flares repeatedly in muted colors, pink and green and blue, and now my shadow has taken on a life of its own. I am facing my own dark self, a challenge for which I am not certain I am prepared. My shadow self knows all of my strategies, my sword thrusts, my dodges. It is not unlike sparring with a mirror, except no mirror has ever, to my knowledge, tried to kill me.

How I overcome him, I am uncertain. But suddenly, with one final sword thrust, he bursts into a bright flame and vanishes. The way forward opens once again, and the golden triangle is in my hands, in my heart. The triple image on my hand burns -- not painfully, but vividly, as though rejoicing at having been reunited with that part of the Triforce which is a part of myself. As the brightness subsides, I am again in the North Castle, facing the dais which supports the Princess's bed, and I watch as she rises and descends to where I stand. For someone who has slept for at least a century, she appears curiously unsurprised by the events.

"My father foretold of your coming," says she. "He promised that if I kept his secret, the one who was to come would see to it that I was saved from whatever happened as a result of my silence. And now you are here, and you have the Triforce of Courage that you were destined to bear. You saved Hyrule, and you are a real hero." She moves forward then, and kisses me gently.

It is a strange kiss; I am sure that the touch of her lips against my cheek should send the fire of life coursing through me. I should grow warm, flush with pleasure. But I remain cool and polite, smiling benignly as she steps back. The slight weight of the Triforce seems to pulsate gently within me, the birthmark on my hand throbbing.

"I thank Your Highness."

Only now do her eyes betray a flash of surprise. Clearly she expects more of a reaction from me. Perhaps another warrior would drop to his knees before her, ask for the favor of her hand. Perhaps this is what she anticipates, even wants, and I feel the smallest pang of regret as I look at her. She is lovely and graceful and kind, brave and patient and self-sacrificing. She is, after all, Zelda.

But she is not my Zelda.

-Z-

Well, that made more sense...I think...

I groaned, lifting my head slowly. Everything felt so strange. I wasn't on the ground anymore, but lay sprawled on cold stone. The pads of my paws were recoiling slightly from the almost icy texture.

The pads of my paws?!

Yelping, I leapt to my feet, and turned around several times. I'd been transformed -- no longer Hylian! I was a shaggy black wolf. Strange magic was at work here. In hindsight, I suppose I handled the discovery with relative calm, but at the time I felt panicked. This feeling did not improve when I realized I was shackled to the floor by one leg.

Then there was a giggle.

"I found you! Well, aren't you scary!"

I whipped around and saw what could only be described as an orange-haired imp, grinning toothily at me through the bars of my prison cell. She -- the voice was decidedly female -- wore an odd headdress, but was otherwise nude. Wolf instincts came to me and I lowered the front half of my body, growling.

"Are you sure you want to be doing that? Snarling and growling at me?" In a twinkling she had darted through the cell bars; she seemed to disintegrate and reform at will. "Well, that's too bad. I was planning on helping you, if you were nice."

Helping me? This sounded vaguely promising. At least I could listen to what she had to say. I grew quiet, which pleased her enough that she broke the chain that bound me to the floor. Darting back into the corridor, she issued a taunting promise. "If you can get over here, maybe I'll tell you where we are."

It took some doing, but I finally found a bit of a gap beneath the cell bars, and tunneled my way to her side. She congratulated me on being "not completely stupid," then hopped onto my back. "Listen, I like you," she said casually, "so I think I'll get you out of here. But in exchange for my help, you have to do exactly as I say!"

I didn't really have much of a choice, so I started sniffing around and exploring the area. We seemed to be in a sewer system of some kind; fleetingly I was reminded of the dream from two nights previous, when I had helped Zelda escape through the sewers beneath Hyrule Castle. The wolf senses lent themselves to some strange discoveries, as I was able to overhear the commentary of what seemed to be spirits. Who were these soldiers? Did they die? How?

The imp guided me up to a window that led out to a roof. "Look, there's someone I want to introduce you to," she said, "but I'll need you to go to that tower to do it!" I hesitated on the windowsill, rain pelting my face as another vision swam over me.

-Z-

The forest, impossible as it seems right now, is still golden-green with sunlight.

She is there, and I can almost feel the sadness radiating from her. I move to kneel on the ground at her feet, looking up into her lovely face; her eyes illuminate her sorrow. "What is it, my lady?"

She sighs. "Darkness comes," she says. "I know it must be, in order for our fight to begin anew, but...it always grieves me so. The people suffer greatly."

"Zelda." It is the first time I have ever spoken her name in the dream-world. "I do not understand, my lady...the dreams that plague me...how can these things be real? How can they have happened?"

"They all happened," she says, her voice sad and musical. "But the world does not remember them all. Many years ago, when our fates were first entwined, there was a breaking of time known as the Great Cataclysm. Reality was split in different directions. Some of the things which you and I remember are things which happened to us in another reality. The people of this world never experienced them, but we did, and we know they are true."

"And what of this darkness that envelops us?"

"You will find me soon. Then you will know all that I know."

-Z-

"Wake up!" cried the imp. "Goodness. Are you sleeping where you stand? I need you to get to that tower."

Another spirit cowered on the rooftop, and I listened to him lamenting. "Look at our poor Hyrule Castle," he said, apparently speaking to one of his fellows whom I could not see.

Shocked, I gave a small whine. "Oh, have you figured it out?" asked my companion. "Good. Let's keep moving."

The route to the tower was fraught with danger; large birds (almost like the Firebird from the Great Palace) kept dive-bombing us, trying to knock me off the roof entirely. The wolf form didn't rob me of all of my fighting skills, however, and I managed to dispatch two of them before making a heroic leap through the window of the tower. At the imp's urging, I jogged up the stairs to the topmost room.

A fire crackled in the hearth, which surprised me. A bed, stark and empty but for a single blanket, stood in one corner. I looked around, sniffling warily, and turned my attention toward the window. The figure who stood there was cloaked in black, and stared morosely out at the rain. Impulsively I growled, which made the imp laugh. Then the figure turned, and I fell instantly silent.

"Midna?" asked a soft voice.

The imp tittered again. "You remember my name? What an honor for me!"

"So this is the one for whom you were searching." Dark eyes fell on the cuff and broken chain which still gripped my foreleg. "You were imprisoned? I am sorry."

At the urging of the one called Midna, the cloaked figure began to speak, explaining about the Twilight King Zant and how he had stormed the palace, demanding Princess Zelda's surrender in exchange for the lives of her people. She hardly had need to speak, however, for her mind seemed to reach out to mine, and I saw the whole thing as clearly as if I had been present. I saw the slim rapier fall from my beloved princess's hand as she sacrificed everything to save the people of Hyrule. I longed to go and put my long nose into her hands, to try and extend to her some comfort, but I did not quite dare.

"The people live, unaware that they have passed into beings of shadow. The kingdom succumbed to twilight, but I remain its princess." She lifted her elegant hands and pushed back the cowl of her black robe.

Zelda.

Some part of my mind had known her from the instant I saw the defeated slump in her shoulders. My princess, my angel of wisdom, my dream love. Did she know me in this form? Surely she must. Did she remember me, did she still love me?

There was, of course, no time for such questions even if I could have put them into words. "The shadow beasts have been searching for you," Zelda told Midna. "You must go -- quickly, before the guard comes." She cast one last hopeful look at me before I bounded out of the room. We raced down the stairs to the open window and back out into the rain.

Midna had a little proposition for me. She knew I was worried about Colin and Ilia, though how she knew that I really had no idea. "Do you want to save them? Well, in that case, little Midna would be happy to help you!" she cried. "But...well, you'd have to be my servant, and like a servant you'd have to do exactly what I say! Why don't you go back, take a little time, and give it some thought."

Abruptly, the castle rooftop disappeared and was replaced by the welcome sight of Ordon Spring. I was home...but not whole.

"Oh, that's right," said Midna languidly, "I forgot to mention one thing. Though you may have left the darkened realm, you haven't transformed back into your former self...and you won't anytime soon! See you later!" She giggled again, and vanished. With a lupine groan, I stretched out on the ground for a few moments' rest.

-Z-

It is a lengthy and difficult battle. The conjoined witch Twinrova -- really the sisters Koume and Kotate -- abducted Princess Zelda for a ritual sacrifice designed to resurrect their adopted son, the lord of evil. I disrupt the ritual and save my pure-hearted princess, so the desperate witches sacrifice themselves. As their hearts are impure, their "son" returns not as a worthy opponent but a sadistic, mindless killing machine. The dance of battle seems to go on forever, but at last my enemy is struck down and does not rise again. As we watch, his body seems to disintegrate into ashes.

"Is it done?" Zelda wonders.

"It seems to be...Farore knows, my aim was true with the killing-stroke," I say. "Certainly he has gone."

"Do you think..." She seems fearful in her hope. "Do you think...it's our time, now?"

I sheathe the sword and put my shield to one side. "I don't want to wait any longer, my Princess."

"Nor I." I extend my hands to her, and she moves forward, taking them in her own. "My Hero of Ages."

Smiling at that, I bend my head to kiss her. Our faces draw close; I feel her breath brushing my lips, see her eyes closing. My own slip shut once I am sure of my target.

The kiss is barely begun when she gives a cry of pain. My eyes fly open, and I catch her as her knees buckle. Protruding from her side is an arrow; her pristine white gown is turning scarlet fast, and already she stiffens in my arms. There is a cackle, and I look up in time to see a shadow bound away from the open window.

"Poisoned," she hisses.

"It was a minion...one of them must have survived. Someone!" I shout. "Call for the physician! The Princess is injured!"

"It's too late, Link." She sinks in my embrace, and I ease her to the floor. "I'm sorry."

"No. I can't lose you, not now...please, Zelda, hold on."

She gazes up at me, her face pale, her smile weak. "Find me again," she implores, even as the light fades from her glittering eyes. She sags against me, the last breath escaping her lips and dusting my throat in a faint farewell. I swallow a scream of anguish and clutch her to my breast, weeping into her bright hair.

(click to show/hide)

Chapter Four: Sacred and Sweet

I shook myself awake and gave a whine. How long had I slept? The sky overhead was still dark; on the other hand, all things considered, that might not mean anything. I let my mind roll back over everything that had happened, lingering only for a moment on the perfect face of my princess. At least now I had seen her in person; the way things stood, it might have to be enough. In my present condition, the most I could ever hope to be to Zelda was her pet.

Forcing myself to my feet, I started to jog out of the spirit spring. Almost at once I heard that peculiarly shrill giggle. The instant I set foot on the path to the village, Midna appeared.

"So what next?" she asked. "Did you think I'd disappeared?" She laughed. "Listen, there's one thing I forgot to tell you. Don't think you can just run off and save your friends, because you can't."

I tilted my head, looking at her curiously. She pointed at the strange black wall, which lay several feet from where we stood. "Last time," she said, "a shadow beast pulled you through there. If you want to go that way again, you'll need the cooperation of someone from the twilight...someone like me." She laughed again; the sound became less grating as I grew accustomed to it. "So," she concluded, "you really have no choice but to do what I say."

Her demand seemed small enough; she wanted a sword and shield. Those could be found in the village, if only I knew where to look. I wasn't keen on striking the bargain, but on the other hand, she had helped me escape from the prison. She had even brought me to Zelda, though I doubted she could possibly know how great a favor that actually had been. I jerked my head up and down in agreement to her terms.

"You do understand me, don't you?" She seemed altogether delighted. "Come on, hurry it up! While you stand here dawdling, the twilight continues to expand."

She did not sit astride my back again, as she had before, but rather concealed herself in my shadow. This was probably for the best, since I shortly discovered that the wolf's form offered a particularly interesting advantage. I could converse with the animals as easily as my normal self could converse with other people. There was no species that could not make itself understood to me, and from them I encountered an astonishing lack of hostility. As one of the tame cuccos explained it, "You stink like the guy from the ranch." They knew my scent, and trusted me.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for my human friends, who had no idea of my identity. Though I endeavored to keep to the shadows, and slink through the village undetected, I was unsuccessful. Hanch was standing atop the pillar near Jaggle's house, wailing over Beth's fate, when he saw me. Thinking I was the creature who had taken his daughter, he uprooted some whistling grass and sent a hawk after me. Midna emerged from my shade long enough to tell me to flee. "You're no match for that hawk!"

I crept close to where Jaggle and Mayor Bo were talking about the situation. Apparently Rusl had attempted to save the children, and gotten himself injured in the process. The shield he had crafted was at Jaggle's house; the sword was at Rusl's. I set about making my way to each of their homes, trying not to be spotted again, sneaking through holes in the floor and absconding with both weapons. Once I had them both, I all but crawled on my belly back to the path that led to my own home.

"Huh." Midna sounded amused. "Looks like you can actually be useful when you concentrate! All right. Nothing more we can do here; let's go back to the woods."

-Z-

I have left Hyrule. I find it too painful to remain, just now; Zelda and I are once again denied the privilege of being together, and though my love for her does not and will never wane, it is too difficult for me to stay in her realm at the moment. Instead, I decide to go in search of my fairy friend Navi, who has left me.

Epona and I journey through the Lost Woods and, indeed, get ourselves somewhat lost. We find ourselves in a place called Termina, beyond the borders of our own land. It is a fair realm, or so I think at first. That is before we are ambushed by a spiky-masked creature and a pair of fairies. They strip me of Zelda's Ocarina of Time and also of Epona herself, and flee into a cave. I give chase, but I scarcely get beyond the entrance when I am transformed by unfriendly magic into a small Deku Tree. After a few moments, however, one of the fairies returns to me. She apologizes for what she has done, and promises to help me find the means to release myself from the binding spell.

I have never been a tree before, so this will take quite a lot of adjustment.

-Z-

"Do you do that a lot?" Midna interrupted. "I've never seen someone dreaming like that. It's very annoying when we have things to do. Come on, let's get to the forest."

"Wait."

The voice was completely unfamiliar, and we both looked around. It called out again. "Come into my spring."

Midna made a funny noise, but offered no objection as I moved into the clearing at the Ordon Spring. The voice seemed to be emanating almost from the water itself. "You have been transformed by the power of shadow," it said, sadly. "Come to me..." Abruptly its tone changed from sorrow to a warning. "Beware! One of the shadow beings approaches!"

I looked up and saw that the hole in the sky, the one which had appeared when I was at the spring with Ilia and Colin, was still there. Another of those foul black beasts dropped through it and began to stalk me. Growling, I hunkered down, then leapt at it and wrestled with it until it shattered into what looked like small pieces of darkness. As if in response to the fight, a shimmer of luminescence began to take shape over the spring. I backed away slightly, and Midna promptly dove into my shadow again; it was too bright for her. The light stretched and expanded and shifted until at last it resembled one of the great horned goats from Fado's ranch, though far larger than any goat I had ever imagined.

"O brave youth," the goat greeted me, "I am one of four light spirits that protect Hyrule at the behest of the gods. I am Ordona. The black beast you slew was a shadow being. It had come to seize the power of light I wield."

Ordona then began to speak of the other light spirits of Hyrule -- Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru, each of whom stood guard over a spring just like the one in Ordon Province. The shadow beasts had already stolen the power of light from those spirits; but perhaps, if I traveled into Faron Woods and restored the light to the spirit there, I could be returned to my own body and find a way to stop the invading twilight. "The blight will not stop with Hyrule," Ordona warned me. "Before long, the entire world of light will fall into the hands of the king who rules the twilight."

I watched the figure until it had disappeared into the night again, then headed back out to the forest path. Midna seated herself on my back again; she had the shield covering her face, and slashed about wildly with the sword. I ducked my head repeatedly to avoid getting hit. "So these are the weapons you use in your world? They won't be of any use against creatures of twilight. I won't use these, so I'll hold them for you." She put them away; where, I had no idea. "All right! Faron Woods, here we come."

We'd scarcely crossed the shadow curtain when I heard the cries for help. I didn't know whose voice it was, but I set off like a shot for the north, Midna clinging to my neck as I ran. Abruptly I skidded to a halt when we crested a low hill; three more of the shadow beasts were there, and they at once fenced us in. While my imp friend ducked out of sight, I began dispatching them as I had the one at the spring. Imagine my horror when I had killed two of the beasts, only to have the third issue a keening wail that brought them back to life.

"What's the holdup?" Midna sounded bored as she came back into view. "Look, you can't leave just one of them alive, because its cry will revive the ones you killed. You have to kill the last two at the same time. You kill one of them, and then lure the other two in close range; I'll set off an energy field that will destroy them both."

I'd had my doubts, but Midna's plan was surprisingly effective, and we were shortly able to make our way into Faron Spring. "Blue-eyed beast," the weak spirit greeted me, "be careful...these woods have changed. Look for my light; retrieve the light stolen by the dark beasts, and keep it in this vessel." Faron presented me with a charm, and explained that the Tears of Light, which were almost like small jewels, could be carried in the vessel. I would need to use my wolf instincts to seek out the creatures -- Faron called them dark insects -- who each held one of the Tears. Once I had assembled them all, the spirit's power would return in full, and the twilight would be banished from Faron Woods.

I found some of them in the home of Coro, a forest-dwelling merchant who had given me a lantern. Poor man; I could see his spirit form crouched against a wall, trying to keep away from the dark insects. Others were tormenting the monkey I had saved from the cage with Talo. Willingly enough I destroyed them. They were easier to kill than the shadow beasts, being smaller and less able to fight back; more than anything they were wily about escaping from me, even going underground and forcing me to dig them up.

"That's the last one!" said Midna, who was carrying Faron's vessel. "I don't see what's so great about a world full of light, but get back to the spring. See you later!" She dove back into my shadow as I made my way to Faron.

Faron's form, which perhaps shouldn't have surprised me, was that of a large monkey like those who lived in its woods. "O brave youth," it said warmly, "in the land covered in twilight, where people roam as spirits, you were transformed into a blue-eyed beast. That was a sign. It was a sign that the powers of the chosen one rest within you...and that they are awakening. Look at your awakened form."

I didn't understand what that meant. I lowered my head to view my reflection in the water, and almost fell backward as I realized I'd been restored to my Hylian body. The clothes were different, however; in place of the simple forest garments I'd been wearing, I now sported a shirt of mail beneath a green tunic, belted at the waist, and long white breeches tucked into knee-high boots. A long green stocking cap sat on my head, and my forearms and hands were laced into leather gauntlets. The sword and shield which Rusl had made were on my back.

I had never seen these clothes before...and yet I had. With a start, I realized that they were the same garments I always wore during my dream-meetings with Zelda.

"The green tunic that is your garb once belonged to the ancient hero chosen by the gods. His power is yours. His is the true power that slept within you. Your name is Link. You are the hero chosen by the gods."

So the stories really are true, I thought, though I kept silent. I offered a silent apology to my mother for ever having doubted her. Faron continued to speak, explaining that in the forest temple could be found a dark and forbidden power. The light spirits had locked it away a long time ago, but I needed to recover it in order to have the strength to fight the king of twilight.

"So you're the chosen hero," Midna yawned, emerging from my shadow as I left the spring. "That explains a lot. You're going to the forest temple, huh? What a coincidence, I was thinking of going there myself." Her oddly-colored eyes twinkled mischievously.

"First, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a little rest," I said. "It's been a very long night."

"I suppose that makes sense."

We made our way back to Coro's establishment. He was surprised when I told him I planned to visit the temple, but gave me the key that would unlock the gate that led there. "If it wouldn't be too great an imposition," I continued, "I'd appreciate it if I could rest here for a little while before I go." I handed him five rupees, and he showed me a place where I could nap undisturbed. It was shady enough that Midna wouldn't be troubled by the invasive light, and it seemed I was asleep the instant my head touched the ground.

-Z-

The twilight hovers just beyond the forest glade, but has not yet managed to impede the sunlight which still brushes the ground here.

"My lady?"

I cannot find her, and a nameless fear claws at my heart. She has never failed to appear before this. Surely she is unharmed?

"Link."

I turn around and breathe a sigh of relief. She is with me. "I was afraid for you," I tell her.

"As I have been for you. Have you found the means to return to your true form?"

"I have."

"Midna is still with you?"

"Yes. A useful ally, in her own way."

"She struck me thus as well. Link...I hardly dare to hope, things are so bleak. And yet...I wonder if..."

"If this will be our last battle?"

"It has been so long...so wearying..."

"And you have had to bear so much. I am sorry that I cannot have helped you more."

"You have done all that you could. And you are worth whatever the cost has been."

-Z-

"I think it's time you were up."

I groaned, and opened one eye. Midna looked mildly concerned; I was extremely annoyed with her for pulling me away from Zelda, and had to remind myself that she hadn't done it on purpose. "Already?"

"You've been asleep for nearly two hours."

"Two hours? How can it have been two hours? I barely got to see her." The words left my mouth before I realized that I was speaking and not merely thinking.

"Oh, is that where you go when you do that? You see Princess Zelda?"

"How did you..."

"It wasn't hard to guess. I saw the way she looked at you." She seemed wholly disinterested in the matter. "We'd better get to the temple."

I thanked Coro for his hospitality; he still expressed doubt about my wanting to go to the temple, but didn't try to stop me. What did stop me, however, was the appearance of a wolf at the beginning of the path to the temple. It was like no wolf I'd ever seen; the very strands of its fur seemed to be made from pure light. I drew my sword, unsure of anything at this point, but I was unprepared for the animal's massive leap and how quickly I was pinned to the ground.

-Z-

I am in Hyrule in winter, it seems. At first glance I think I am alone; then I turn around and am confronted by a massive warrior skeleton. He is armed and armored, and appears to be spoiling for a fight. Something about his countenance, however, commands respect.

"You may be destined to become the hero of legend...but your current power would disgrace the proud green of the hero's tunic you wear," he mocks me. "You must use your courage to seek power...and find it you must. Only then will you become the hero for whom this world despairs. If you do find true courage, and you wish to save Hyrule from the horrors it now faces... Then you will be worthy to receive the secrets I hold!"

I draw my sword again, and the shade begins to teach me a movement he calls the "ending blow." It is a means of dispatching an enemy who lies on the ground, before they can get back to their feet. He invites me to perform the blow on him, to ensure that I have grasped it. He taunts me when I fail the first time, calling me a coward. The second time, I successfully execute the maneuver.

"I have other skills to teach you," he says as he rises. "They are only for one who carries the blood of the hero...the one whose spirit is that of the sublime beast. Grow powerful. Test your courage. A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage. Remember those words..."

-Z-

"Link!" Midna exclaimed. "Where were you?"

"What?"

"You...the wolf pounced you...and you vanished! I didn't know what to think, I thought you were dead!"

"You mean...I wasn't dreaming?" I'd thought perhaps it was only a vision. "I...I met someone...he taught me...oh, never mind, it's not important. Let's get into the temple." Of course it was important -- I had the feeling it was far more important than I even really could guess -- but it didn't matter in the short term. What mattered was entering that temple and finding the dark power of which Faron had spoken.

Hours later, we emerged triumphant. For my trouble I had received a new weapon, the Gale Boomerang, which was inhabited by the fairy of winds and could be used to perform extraordinary actions. I also had one of the three pieces of the 'dark power,' something Midna called a fused shadow. We returned to Faron, who congratulated us but cautioned us not to think that our tasks were finished. Twilight was still encroaching on the other provinces.

"Head to the west," Faron counseled, "to the land protected by the spirit Eldin. There you will find those you seek." My heart leapt; the children were in Eldin Province!

We crossed Hyrule Field, according to the spirit's dictates, and once again reached the inky curtain of twilight. With Midna's aid I crossed the barrier, though once again I changed into the blue-eyed wolf. "You look much better like that anyway," Midna teased me. I somehow doubted that Zelda would agree.

After a few minor mishaps, including having to recover the bridge that led into Eldin Province, we reached the gates to Kakariko Village. They were locked, but I dug underneath them and stepped into Eldin's spring. The soft warm voice of the spirit welcomed me, as Faron had, with the request that I kill the dark insects who had stolen its power. Again I received a vessel. Again I went in search of the foul beings. "But be careful," Eldin begged me. "The darkness now hunts you."

I came across a handful of shadow people inside one of the Kakariko houses. It took me a second or two to realize who I was seeing -- it was Colin! And Talo and Malo and Beth, as well as a few people who were unfamiliar to my eyes. I bit back a whine when Colin expressed the apparently oft-repeated assertion that "Link is coming to save us!" To my surprise, Midna gave my neck a soft pat of sympathy.

"These kids knew you'd come to save them! What a hero!" she said, and her tone was not entirely mocking. "You are chosen by the gods, and only that keeps you from turning into a spirit or a dark monster when you enter the twilight." I craned my head around to look at her, and she gave me another pat. "Come on, my lonely little hero."

The search for the dark insects took us up to Death Mountain itself. A vision threatened to overtake me again; it had been a few lifetimes since I'd had to visit Death Mountain, but I suddenly and very vividly remembered placing a bomb next to the formation called Spectacle Rock, and blasting open the entrance to a dungeon where my beloved Zelda was a prisoner in shackles. I gave myself a shake. This was a poor time for a dreaming memory; the children were counting on me. Besides, the mountain was riddled with geysers that threatened to knock me off of the path, to say nothing of the fiery rocks that spewed from its depths and had to be avoided. It was a treacherous road to climb under the best of conditions.

What little remained of Eldin's power brought us directly to the spring as soon as the last dark insect was exterminated, and as Eldin assumed the form of a giant eagle, I myself assumd my human form once again. The twilight was banished from Eldin Province. "O great hero chosen by the gods," Eldin greeted me, "the dark power you seek lies in the sacred grounds of the proud mountain dwellers. But already those grounds have been defiled, draped in shadow and seeded with evil. You must go to those sacred grounds and cleanse them."

"Well, we'll just get right on that," said Midna as we left the spring. I ignored her, however, and started walking in the direction of the house where I had seen the children. Colin spotted me from the window, and I couldn't fight a laugh as he came hurtling through the front door, the others in hot pursuit. They flung themselves on me, all talking at once about how it had been a nightmare from which they couldn't wake up but everything seemed all right again.

"Colin -- where's Ilia?" For the first time, I realized she wasn't with the group.

"I don't know." He looked mournful again. "She wasn't with us; those things that grabbed us seemed to take her someplace else."

I choked on a sigh. "Well, we'll find her," I said, more confident than I felt. "I'm just glad you're all safe!"

The tall, proud man with black hair, whose demeanor had been so calm when they were in spirit form, was now gliding toward me. "So you are the one of whom the children spoke," he said. "Welcome. I am Renado, the shaman of this village. This is my daughter, Luda."

"The beasts took us and left us to die," Colin reported, "but Mr. Renado saved us."

Renado and I then had a talk about the Goron tribe, who inhabited the mountain. What he said seemed to confirm Eldin's comment about the grounds being draped in shadow; the normally peaceful Gorons had ceased their friendly relations with Kakariko Village, not allowing any humans on the mountain. He urged me to take the children back to Ordon, but to my surprise, the children were balking at the idea and pleading with me to do something about the Goron situation.

Before I could come to a decision about what to do, I heard a shrill sound and felt the ground shake. We all turned to see Epona -- my Epona! -- galloping into the village at breakneck speed, looking and sounding the very picture of terrified despair. A porcine creature, one of those which are called Bulbins, was astride her, but not for long. She managed to shake him off but continued to run around wildly. I motioned for Renado to keep the children back while I wrestled my poor horse into submission.

Perhaps something about my handling of that situation impressed Renado in some way. He suggested that he keep the children for a little longer, while I returned to Ordon Village on my own. I could take the news of their safety to the worried parents, and meanwhile consult with Mayor Bo. He was the only one who had ever bested a Goron in a fight, and if he could teach me how to do it, maybe I could convince them to let me into their mines and solve the mysterious problem. It was worth a try; I had to enter the mines in order to get the fused shadow.

-Z-

It all began because it was my birthday.

I live on an island in the Great Sea with my grandmother and Aryll, my sister, and it was my birthday. Aryll allowed me to use her telescope, and I could see the evil bird called the Helmaroc King flying into the forest. He had a girl clutched in his talons. I did not know where he was taking her, but I took my sword and ran to save her. Her name is Tetra, and she is a little pirate queen. The Helmaroc King has now captured Aryll, so Tetra and her pirates are helping me with my search.

But all is jumbled. Tetra is not Tetra at all but Zelda, wearing a piece of the Triforce of Wisdom on a chain around her neck. Our old enemy knows her. The Triforce of Courage lies in fragments at the bottom of the sea and I haul them up into my boat. There are elemental sages who do not know they are sages until I play music for them. Zelda's father is a talking boat called the King of Red Lions. I float on the wind with the leaf of a Deku Tree. Farore's Pearl and the Earth God's Lyric and Triangle Islands and Forbidden Woods and Prince Komali...

Was all of this before I played the Ocarina of Time, or did it come afterward? Or was it in one of the other realities of which Zelda has spoken? Has she split the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces that I must recover? When will the mask attempt to force the moon to crash into Termina? Who is Ezlo? I cannot keep it all straight anymore, I cannot, one lifetime is bleeding into another and I am bewildered by the flood.

(click to show/hide)

Chapter Five: That Wandering Knight So Fair

"Link! Link!"

"Huh?"

There was a splash of cold water on my face, and I jerked awake instantly. I looked around wildly; Renado, Colin, and Barnes the bomb expert were all peering at me intently, the other children somewhat in the background. Barnes was holding an empty bucket. I sat up, then slowly got to my feet.

"What happened?" Colin asked. "You seemed fine, and then suddenly...you passed out."

"Oh." I paused, thinking. "Oh. Oh, I think...I think it was just the heat." Being so close to Death Mountain, Kakariko Village was a very dry and overly warm location, so this was plausible. I was not about to explain to anyone that I'd just had a tumultuous vision of several past lives.

Trying to put Colin at ease, I gave him a reassuring smile. "Hey, you know what I've been carrying with me while I was searching for all of you?" From my supplies I extracted a fishing rod; he had made it just for me, shortly before I was supposed to deliver his father's weapons to Hyrule Castle.

The grin that split his face spoke volumes. "Have you fished with it?"

"A few times. It's kept me fed." I rumpled his blond hair and put the rod away. "When this is all over, you'll have to show me where to get the best bait." I turned to Renado. "I will go and speak with Mayor Bo, as you suggested."

"And I will care for the children until your return," he replied. "They will be safe here." He gave me a penetrating look that somehow reminded me of Zelda. "Journey swiftly and well, young hero."

-Z-

"There is little time."

"My lady?"

"Our time grows short. I fear our meetings in this fair wood will soon be curtailed." Already I can see some glimmers of twilight hovering in the distance.

"It will not be forever," I promise her. "Already I am beginning to fulfill the light spirits' request that I join the fused shadow. With this, the one who holds you prisoner can be vanquished." Daring more than I have ever been permitted, I lift a hand to her pale face. "Do you believe in me?"

"I always have."

"Then do not despair, my lady...I am coming for you."

-Z-

Midna, Epona and I crossed Hyrule Field and made our way through Faron Woods, which was so bright and green that it felt like a welcome embrace compared to the deathly dust of Kakariko. There was a commotion in the village as I entered; after all, I had been with Colin and Ilia when they were captured, and my friends had feared I myself might be dead. The relief and rejoicing in their eyes and voices was overwhelming, and doubled in strength when I assured them of the safety of Colin, Beth, Talo and Malo.

Bringing the news to Mayor Bo was harder. His daughter was the only one for whom I'd yet to account, and he took it hard. Still, he tried to remain pragmatic. "Renado's an old friend," he told me. "If the kids are in his care, then we can relax. But come inside; you look like you've got something else on your mind."

"That I do." We sat down, and I explained what Renado had told me about the Gorons and their situation; I quietly left out the part where I was given a task by the light spirits of Hyrule. "And Renado says that you are the only one who has ever bested them in a test of strength, so I should ask you to instruct me. Then they'll hopefully allow me to enter the mines and solve their problem."

"Ah. Renado told you about that, did he? Well, it's true...I did defeat them in a little contest of strength -- with some secret help," he admitted. "I'll help you, if you promise never to reveal my secret."

"You have my word."

"You always were a good lad. Come down to the basement; I'm going to teach you about sumo wrestling."

I felt more than a little ridiculous during our lessons, and it was hard not to be distracted by the even more ridiculous outfit the mayor wore when we wrestled. Finally, I bested him frequently enough that he declared himself satisfied with my progress. "But it's going to take more than that to beat the Gorons," he said. "Open up that chest over there."

Inside the chest were a pair of incredibly heavy iron boots. "You wear those, and it'll be easier for you to win. Just remember what I taught you, and use the boots to keep your position, and you'll be fine. But remember -- not a word to anyone. Especially Renado!"

-Z-

"We meet again. You have a little more of the look of a hero than you did before. Do you feel ready to earn your next skill?"

"I do."

"But before we begin, I must test you to ensure you have mastered the last skill I taught you...the ending blow. Now then, come at me!"

Our blades meet, and meet again, ringing clearly through the wintry air. After a few moments, I have him on his back, and the ending blow is executed.

"Excellent. It appears you are certainly capable of performing my lost art." I move back, and he rises to his feet. "Now I shall teach you the defensive maneuver which is the shield attack."

-Z-

"Link." Midna's voice came out of my shadow as Epona galloped back across the field. "Link, look...isn't that one of those things like the one that was on your horse earlier?"

I peered across the field. "I think it is...they're called Bulbins. Their leader is a wild thing called King Bulblin; looks like that might be him." He was directly in our own path, and I realized with some horror that he was heading toward Kakariko Village. "We've got to get there! Hyah!"

Epona exploded around the bend into the village just as King Bulblin wheeled around on his mount. In one piggish hand he gripped the collar of Colin's shirt; my little friend dangled there, clearly unconscious. Then he turned and rode off in the opposite direction, laughing as a handful of cronies joined him.

"Link!" Beth wailed. "You've got to save him -- he pushed me out of the way -- I'd be dead if it weren't for Colin!"

"Hurry, Link!" shouted Renado. "They headed north, toward the field!"

"I'll get him!" Spurring Epona into action, we raced through the village and out into the greener expanse. The Bulbins were heading for the Eldin Bridge; Colin was now tied to some sort of pole that was affixed to King Bulblin's mount. He kept looking back and taunting me, urging his fellows to take care of me. Epona was close to panic as we rode, dodging the flaming arrows launched in our direction.

"Get close, Link! Ignore the others -- hit the king with your sword!" Midna sounded halfway concerned. I broke away from the crowd and gave chase. As soon as we crossed onto the bridge, another Bulbin set fire to the wood stacked there at both ends; we were trapped. It would be a joust to the death. "Two hits should do it," advised my little companion. "The bridge sides are open; you can knock him into the ravine."

"Your confidence is overwhelming. Hup, Epona!"

We charged toward each other at top speed. At the last possible second, I veered to one side, lashing in the other direction with my sword. A chunk of Bulblin's armor went flying. We wheeled around and charged again. As Midna predicted, a second hit send him tumbling from the saddle, and I lunged to secure Colin lest the giant boar he rode follow after. Epona reared up on her hind legs in what could be described as a triumphal pose.

Colin remained unaware until we had returned to the village, where he woke in my arms. "You saved me, didn't you?" he whispered. "You...you can do anything, Link."

I blinked, trying to stem the tears that threatened. "You'll be all right, Col."

"You can help the Gorons in the mine, too, can't you?" He passed out again, and I allowed Renado to take him from me.

"We will keep him in the old inn," said Renado. "He should recover fully, with rest and quiet. I will watch over the children of Ordon, I swear it; they shall never come to danger so long as I breathe. Come, children."

Beth and Luda trailed after him, but Talo remained. "That was a really brave thing for Colin to do," he admitted. I sincerely hoped this would put an end to Talo and Malo giving Colin a difficult time. "But, Link," he continued, changing the subject, "could you talk some sense into Malo? He's in that boarded-up shop and said something about 'getting started.' I don't know what he's about."

Malo, as I found out when I entered the building, had decided to take over the abandoned general store. I could only wonder how many people were going to give him any serious business, given that for some reason Malo looked to be perpetually ten months old. "Every time you make a purchase, it helps the village," he informed me. "I can't be a hero, but I figure I can give people heroic business deals!" Partly to humor him, and partly because it looked like a good purchase, I handed over a small pouch of rupees in exchange for the Hylian shield on one shelf.

"That's a nice one," Midna commented. "Ready to take on Death Mountain?"

-Z-

Zelda is deeply concerned about the great seal, the one which she and the other six maidens placed on the wizard Vaati to keep him imprisoned. She has summoned me to the castle to guard the seven of them as they investigate whether the seal is in any danger. I have known Zelda all my life; my grandfather is the blacksmith and a friend to her father. We played together as children and I have loved her since I was very young. I would give my life for hers without question.

But as they open the portal to the Four Sword Sanctuary, I can sense at once that something is very wrong. It is my own dark visage emerging from that gateway; he takes the maidens and traps them in crystal, and I must wield the Four Sword to do battle with him. When I do, I will find there is much more to do, and a dark mirror must be located in order to put things right...

-Z-

"Really, I wish you'd stop doing that," Midna commented in a lazy sort of voice.

"I wish I could stop doing that," I replied, shaking off the vestiges of the vision.

We started up the dusty trail to Death Mountain. No sooner had I climbed to the top of a ladder than a Goron guard tried to scare me away. When this tactic failed, he turned into a rolling boulder and pelted toward us. The iron boots were hardly comfortable, but they allowed me to stay put while I wrested him to one side and sent him tumbling off the side of the mountain.

"Whoa, this place is dangerous. Is this the traditional Death Mountain welcome?" asked Midna with one of her giggles. It certainly seemed to be, since we had to fight our way past at least half a dozen other Gorons before we were in their arena. Mayor Bo had warned me about this location, and how I would have to face one of the Goron elders -- in my case, Gor Coron -- before I would be treated with any sort of respect.

"Young warrior," said Gor Coron, "you have a strong will. You have seen the mountain erupting without pause. When first it began to vent its anger, I and three of the other elders went with our patriarch, Darbus, to investigate its anger. We have a treasure which was entrusted to us by the spirits, and we must protect it." He spoke of the fused shadow. I nodded. "I believe you are not here by accident; the spirits have guided you here. Go to the aid of Darbus!"

"Everybody wants something from you, don't they?" Midna commented when we were alone. This far under the surface of the earth, she couldn't be troubled by the light. "Bring back the spirits' light and they turn you back into a human. Talk to the Gorons for the people in Kakariko. Go into the mountain and find a patriarch. What's a patriarch, anyway?"

"He's sort of the father of these people. Their village chief, I guess. And may I remind you that you want a few things from me too?" In spite of myself, I half-smiled at her.

"True," she admitted. "Only person we seem to have met who didn't ask you for anything was Zelda."

"I know. Let's go."

I lost track of time underground, and I also lost count of how many times I was burned by the hot magma churning inside the volcano. Using the magnetic properties of the walls around me, I was even able to walk on the ceiling. I found the other elders of whom Gor Coron had spoken, praying in chapels deep within the mines. They each gave me a portion of a special key, explaining that when Darbus had gone mad, they were forced to lock him inside. "It is for this reason," one of them told me, "that we have ceased to allow outsiders into the mines. Our relations with the villagers have always been friendly, but we feared for their own safety as well as his."

Elsewhere I encountered a hulking thing called Dangoro, who -- as Midna put it -- 'gave me some trouble about my credentials.' After I tossed him into the lava, however, he seemed to improve his opinion of me and allowed me to open a chest containing what he called the Hero's Bow.

"I remember this...I think," I murmured, running my fingers over it. "I threw it in the fairy fountain and the arrows turned to silver..."

"What are you muttering about?" asked Midna.

"Nothing. Let's keep going."

With the three key shards in place, I opened the chamber where Darbus was being held by a creature Midna identified as the Twilit Ignitre Fyrus. The patriarch looked so bewildered and exhausted from his ordeal, he couldn't even figure out how to say thank you. But the Goron elders, having heard the commotion, came to escort him outside, and their effusive gratitude more than made up for any lack. More importantly, at least as far as Midna seemed concerned, we had the second piece of fused shadow.

"You know, you've been very helpful so far," she said as I sat down to rest for a few minutes. "So as a reward, I'll tell you an interesting story. Zant."

"Zant?"

"That's the name of the King of Darkness who cast this pall of shadows over your world," she said in a low tone. "He's very strong. You would be nothing to him in your current state, that's why you need the fused shadows." With a kind of fierce dignity, she added, "But Zant will never be my king! I have nothing but scorn for his supposed strength. Not that your Zelda is much better."

I lifted my eyebrows. Midna was a friend, or at least she was close to a friend as someone from the twilight could possibly be, but she was flirting with dangerous territory. "Excuse me?"

"It still appalls me that this world of light is controlled by that princess," she replied with a shrug. "A carefree youth, a life of luxury...how does that teach duty?"

"Zelda is hardly what I would call carefree," I retorted, a bit heatedly. "You know nothing of the burdens she carries in her heart."

"But I suppose you do."

"I...it's hard to explain."

"Well, if you ever figure out the words, I'd love to hear about this. I guess I shouldn't begrudge her the circumstances of her life. She didn't choose it, after all. And I would never wish harm on her."

"Good to know."

-Z-

Gleeok, I think. It is almost certainly Gleeok on the other side of the chamber door, guarding the eighth fragment of the Triforce of Wisdom. I have faced down two of these foul dragons already and have come to learn their stench. Yet there is hope in my heart such as I have not known before this, for the longest part of my struggle is nearly at an end. With this final piece, the precious Triforce of Wisdom will be whole again, and will give me the guidance to find my way to where the princess is held.

I force the door. Yes, there it sits, this time with four heads weaving from side to side, spitting flames. The more I slash, the more the heads come loose and fly around the room. Cold dread grips my soul as I realize that I might not survive this battle...and if that is the case, Hyrule is surely doomed. Zelda is doomed.

-Z-

"Focus, please," Midna said irritably. "You're doing that more and more often. It's one thing when you visit her while you're asleep, but really."

"I'm not visiting her." I sighed. "I'll explain later. I promise."

We left the mountain, which had ceased its endless eruptions, and made our way back to Eldin Spring. Eldin complimented our efforts and urged us to turn our steps northward, into Lanayru Province. There we could find not only the third fused shadow, but "the one whom you seek." It had to be Ilia.

We returned the village to spread the word that the Gorons' troubles were over and they would soon resume trade with humans. I already felt reasonably satisfied about this, but my pleasure grew tenfold when I saw Colin running toward me. He tripped, however, and tumbled face-down into the dirt road. I hurried over to set him on his feet, grinning at him. "You look much better."

"I'm fine now," he said. "Remember what I told you back in Ordon, Link? I'm going to grow up to be just like you." I pulled him into a hug before he could continue. "Whenever I thought I couldn't hold on...I'd think of you and Ilia, Link. So you don't have to worry about me anymore! Go find Ilia."

Renado moved up to join us. "Young Colin has recovered well," he said, smiling. "Luda and Beth have been...very assiduous in their care of him." The amusement on his face gave me the idea that the girls had fallen into competition for Colin's attention, and I couldn't help grinning. More seriously, Renado continued, "Leave the children to me. I will watch over them, I swear it. Do not let their fates trouble you. Go to those who need you. In Hyrule, countless tales are told of the ancient hero...and your deeds bring them all to mind." He lifted a hand in respectful farewell. "May the graces of the great goddesses who shaped Hyrule bear you on your way."

I couldn't bring Epona with me into the twilight, though I also couldn't leave her behind in Kakariko. It would have taken too long to reach Lanayru Province without her. I found what I hoped was a safe enough glen near the curtain wall, told her she was a good horse, and set her loose.

Once in wolf form again, it was quick work to locate Ilia's dropped pouch. From this I was able to pick up the trail of her scent, which led me deeper into the twilight. Hyrule Castle was not far away; just knowing that I was that close to Zelda gave me strength.

I overheard some women gossiping about a Zora child, who had collapsed and been taken to a tavern in Castle Town. Zora usually lived much farther north than the castle, and I had to wonder about that. Meanwhile, there was apparently trouble with the lake; the water supply was being drastically reduced, but no one seemed to know the cause. Ilia's scent trail continued to lead me through the town, and I finally spotted her spirit form inside the tavern, along with that of a strange-looking boy -- it must be the Zora. The tavern owner, or at least I assumed that's who the woman was, assured her that someone had gone to fetch the doctor.

"Aw, what an emotional reunion! Yes, a girl and her wolf!" Midna giggled, and I growled softly. "Sorry, but you know how it goes! These folks can't see you, either."

We made our way to the blocked river, thanks in no small part to a bird we rescued through the destruction of another shadow creature. It was easy enough to spot the problem; the temperature was completely wrong for the season, and the Zora village was frozen. The faces of the Zora stared mutely through the thick ice, unable to communicate.

"We can't leave them like this," Midna fretted. I was surprised by her concern, but I had noticed that she was starting to act more like she cared about the people of Hyrule than she originally had. "Look -- there's a portal here now, we can warp around Hyrule. I have an idea."

From Death Mountain, we retrieved a large chunk of burning rock, and passed it through the twilight portal to the frozen river. Almost immediately the ice cracked and broke, and water started to flow down the waterfall and into Lake Hylia. Unable to offer any other form of congratulation, I barked and wagged my tail, which made Midna laugh. We turned to leave when a voice cried, "Wait!"

It was the spirit of a Zora in royal regalia. "Please," she said, "you must allow me to thank you for revitalizing both my people and this spring, which is the water source for all the lands of Hyrule. In life, I was the elder of this Zora village and the queen of my people. I was called Rutela." She explained that the creatures of twilight had raided the Zora village and executed her as an object lesson to the other Zora. But before she died, she had sent her son, Prince Ralis, on to Hyrule Castle to tell Zelda what had happened. He never reached the castle. "Young man...you who takes the form of a proud beast...I have something to ask of you. Would you save my dearest, Prince Ralis? If you do this thing, I will bestow upon you the protection of water. This power will grant you the ability to swim and respire in very deep water as if you were a Zora. Please...save my son."

"What did I say before?" Midna asked with a sigh as we left the queen. "Everybody wants something from you. But this sounds pretty good. What do you say, Hero?" She grinned at me. "Right, you probably don't want to meet the prince looking like this. Well, the water's flowing pretty swiftly now, so why don't we just let the current carry us down to the lake? We can reach Lanayru's spring from there."

-Z-

"You are so close, and yet so far from me."

"It has to suffice, my lady. Just knowing that you are so near gives me courage."

"Your friends are all right?"

"They are."

"And you?"

"I live but for you. So long as you are alive, I can endure anything."

-Z-

"Ugh, aren't you awake yet?" asked Midna, giving me a small shake. "Look! We washed all the way down to Lake Hylia, and the spring is just over here. Well, let's go! Snap out of it!"

She dived back into my shadow, and I stepped into the twilight-poisoned spring. The weak voice of Lanayru rose to me over the rocks. "Hero...chosen of the gods...you have done well to make it thus far." The spirits, I know, are neither male nor female, but Lanayru struck me as possibly the most feminine of the four. In a way it seemed to remind me of Zelda. Again I was charged with the task of filling a vessel with the stolen tears of light, and I set out on this next phase of my quest.

It was by far the most challenging insect hunt I had yet experienced, and I thanked the goddesses that it was the last. The insects who plagued Lanayru were much more widely scattered than those who had robbed Faron and Eldin of their light. All around me I could hear the murmurs of the spirit-people who were frightened by the chittering beasts. Midna had to warp me to Lake Hylia to catch the last one, it had eluded me at such a distance.

"You make sure to get that last fused shadow, now!" she said with a giggle as we returned to the spring. "See you later!"

Human again, I gazed up at the golden spirit; I couldn't quite identify the form it bore. "Your efforts, O hero of the gods, have restored the light spirits to Hyrule. Now you seek the dark power concealed in a temple in the bed of Lake Hylia." The voice was firm. "You must bear witness to something, and never forget it."

Lanayru spoke to me about the days of chaos, when the three goddesses had forged the land and seas. Before they departed, they gave power equally to all who lived in the light; but a long time after they left, some of the people of Hyrule began to covet the power said to exist in the Sacred Realm. I knew this story, dimly, from my childhood; it was the great war. Now Lanayru explained what part the light spirits had played in the resolution of that conflict. "We sealed away the great magic the interlopers had mastered. You know this magic; it is the fused shadow. O hero chosen by the goddesses, beware. Those who do not know the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it."

"The lakebed temple, huh?" asked Midna, once I had left the clearing. "Sounds like a swim...hey, didn't the Zora queen promise you the ability to swim if you rescued her son?"

"You're right. Let's get back to that tavern -- between the Zora prince and my friend, it's our best first stop."

(click to show/hide)

Chapter Six: A False-Heart Traitor

My reunion with Ilia could have gone a lot better, I thought.

It seemed that when Ilia was first taken, she had been shot with a magic arrow, and although she'd healed from her injury well enough, she'd lost her memory. She remembered nothing of Ordon Village, or the other children, or me.

"Poor lamb can't even remember her own name," clucked Telma, the tavern owner. "Bless her heart. You know that girl, don't you?" When I nodded, she shook her head sadly. "She found this poor boy collapsed in the road and did all she could to save him -- which is more'n I can say for that doctor," she added, glowering in the direction of the departing physician. "Says he doesn't know how to care for a Zora. But I recollect there's some kind of shaman over in Kakariko who knows how to tend to Zora and Gorons and the like; if we could just get him there, he'd be all right."

"Please," Ilia added, looking imploringly around at the Hylian guards who were milling about in the tavern, "please, help us take him there."

"Inadvisable! Too dangerous!" said one.

"But on the other hand, we can't ignore a pretty girl in need either," another one said.

"We'd better escort you," said a third.

"Well, isn't that nice!" said Telma. "To get there, we have to cross two plains which are infested with beasts, but we should be safe n--come back here, you cowards!"

There was a cacophany of clanks and shoving as the guards practically fell over each other in their rush to get out of the room. "Cowards! Don't ever show your faces here again!" Telma roared. She sighed, and shook her head again, then glanced at me. "So we're left with just one young swordsman, are we?"

"I'm afraid so, ma'am. But I'll escort you to the village. The shaman is a friend of mine."

"May I ask your name?" Ilia whispered.

My heart sank a little. My oldest and dearest friend in the world -- dearer to me than anyone save Zelda -- and she had to ask me my name! "It's Link."

"Link?" she repeated, sounding puzzled. "Link, I will never forget your kindness."

Telma put Ilia and the prince into a covered wagon for the trip, with some provisions, and I rode Epona alongside. We formed a very strange little caravan, but at least without the entourage that the guards would have formed, we thought we stood a decent chance of arriving in Kakariko unnoticed. We were wrong, of course, but the logic was reasonable. After all, who would have expected that King Bulblin would have survived his fall into the ravine, and come to challenge me again?

I heard Ilia scream as one of the flaming arrows struck the wagon canopy and set it alight. By the time I had driven the marauders off, most of the cover had burned away. "Is it still driveable?" I asked Telma, pulling the exhausted Epona to a halt.

"Should be. We're nearly there anyhow."

Renado was more than a little surprised to see me again so soon. Carefully he lifted Prince Ralis from the wagon, and peered at him. "You have gotten him to me just in time," he said. "We will take him to the inn; I believe I know the remedy that will best suit him."

Ilia, meanwhile, was somewhat flummoxed by the way the children pressed around her, crying out how happy they were to see her. She ducked behind Epona, her large eyes frightened at being recognized by so many unfamiliar faces.

"Is that my name?" she asked me timidly. "Ilia?"

"Yes. And these are your friends -- you and they, and I, are all from the Ordon Village, south of here," I told her. "This is Beth, and Talo, and Colin. And that's Luda, the shaman's daughter. Luda, could you show Ilia where she can rest?" I gave my friend a gentle pat on the shoulder. "It'll be all right, I promise."

"Poor lamb," Telma clucked again as the two girls walked off together, Ilia still looking uneasy.

I took Epona and Telma's wagon horse to the stable which adjoined one of the abandoned houses. There was water there, and dried sweet grasses the horses could eat; after the recent misadventure, I felt they deserved a rest. By the time I joined the rest of the group at the inn, Renado reported that Prince Ralis was making progress.

"He has come through the worst of it," he said. "As long as he rests, he should come through it in due time. Do you know anything of the fate of his mother? He keeps mumbling about her, her welfare consumes him."

I nodded, gravely. "The Zora village was overtaken by the same sort of monsters that have been plaguing other areas of Hyrule. They made an object lesson of the boy's mother." I refrained from revealing the source of my information; Renado would almost certainly have understood, but I wasn't so sure about Telma, and I didn't want to frighten Colin, who was also within earshot.

"I'll stay with him until he gets better!" said my little friend. "No matter how long it takes!"

"Is that so? Thank you, Colin." Renado laid a hand on the boy's blond head, smiling.

"Link? Is it true...about Ilia?"

"It's true."

"Yes, she has lost her memory. But I think if we give her enough time, young Ilia will find her heart again." Renado looked very seriously at Colin. "So I would like you to remain in the village until she does. It is our turn to show the courage that you have already displayed."

"I think that's a very good idea," I said, hiding a smile at the look of happy pride on Colin's face. "I know I'll feel much better about everything, knowing that you're here with her."

-Z-

"We meet again. It appears your efforts have begun to return some vigor to Hyrule, but it is far too early to relax. Do you feel ready to earn another hidden skill to steel yourself for the forthcoming battles against more powerful foes?"

"Yes." The winter air is refreshing after the stifling heat of Kakariko.

"Very well. Let the back slice be hewn into your mind!"

Again and again we fight, this ancient shadow of a hero and I. "You carry yourself well," he compliments when we finish. "It appears you are certainly capable of performing my lost art. We shall meet again..."

-Z-

Telma decided to stay in Kakariko a little longer, though she urgently pressed me to visit her tavern again in the future. "It's actually kind of a safe house for some friends of mine," she confided. "There's a secret passage that leads to the castle." I filed that bit of information away for later.

Before we could leave the village, however, the apparition of Queen Rutela made herself known to me again. "This way," she said, guiding me to an obscure graveyard. "You have my thanks for saving my son, and have done well to bring him to Kakariko. This place is sacred to us; it is where the Zora go when they die."

There was a tomb in the graveyard which the spirit identified as being that of her late husband. He had crafted the Zora armor for the hero who was to come, and though it made my skin crawl in a way that nothing else had done, I opened the grave as she bid me, and retrieved the armor.

"Tell my son, when he is well, that his mother loves him without end," she said. "Farewell, brave hero."

"So," said Midna, coming out to take a look at the prize, "you found all your friends and got the nifty Zora armor. It's kind of ugly. But you're not forgetting the fused shadow, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Good. Because even if you went back with everyone now, the whole mess would just keep repeating itself. We need the fused shadow in order for you to stand a chance against Zant. What are you waiting for?"

-Z-

"Do you know this place, Link?"

"The forest glade? We have always met here."

"But do you remember it from life?"

I look at her, curious. "Should I?"

"It lies in the heart of Faron Woods. You have been here many times, although it looked different from one life to another. I wondered if you might remember."

"I am sorry, my lady, but it does not seem altogether familiar. My heart knows it only as the place where I have always found you."

She smiles tolerantly. "It is a great deal more than that, beloved hero. The time is coming when you will return to this place in your waking hours. You will not find me here then, but know that I am with you nonetheless."

-Z-

The waters of Lake Hylia were very cold, and without Queen Rutela's gift, the third fused shadow would have remained an impossible dream. In a part of my mind where I could dwell on such matters, I wondered at the good fortune I had experienced thus far. The goddesses, I thought, must be guiding me in the right path. They wanted us -- Zelda and myself -- to emerge victorious. The thought gave me an abundance of hope.

One of the Zora approached me as I reached the depths, his expression one of incredulity. "Sir, you wear the garb of the hero in my people's legends. Are you...?"

I had to smile. "So it would seem."

"Well met, dear hero, well met!" He showed me the entrance to the magnficent temple of the Zora; they had sealed it shut. "Once it was sacred to my people, but now it has been overrun by monsters. We could not defeat them; we merely sealed the door so that they might not bring darkness to others."

"That sounds vaguely familiar," Midna said with a giggle. "Sort of like what the Gorons did to their patriarch."

-Z-

I cannot stop to gain my breath, for Zelda is in mortal peril. I rush through Hyrule Castle, ignoring the guards loyal to the wizard Agahnim, racing against time itself to reach the room where he has taken my princess. His men mortally wounded the sage who guarded her in the sanctuary and seized her, bringing her back to this place. Zelda is one of seven maidens descended from great sages, and in her bloodline is the seventh and final key to breaking the seal between the world of light and the world of darkness.

"You are too late, hero," he cries as I burst into the room. "Behold, the ritual!"

An energy barrier holds me in place at the doorway, and I can only watch in mingled fear and heartache as the unconscious form of Zelda slowly rises, doll-like, to hover in midair. An orb of light grows around her, glowing brighter and brighter until at last I must shut my eyes. When I open them again, Zelda is gone.

-Z-

"Link, come on! What is it?" Midna seized my arm and shook it roughly until I snapped out of the vision.

"What? Oh -- sorry, Midna."

"All right, look. Fused shadow or no fused shadow, I'm getting kind of tired of these little mental side trips of yours." She sat down on a piece of statuary. "You promised you'd explain it sometime, and I've decided that it's sometime now."

I heaved a sigh, idly running my fingers over the pommel of the sword. "I'm not sure I understand it all myself."

"Try."

"It's like this. Zelda and I are...old. Really old. Not our bodies, but our souls. We were...well, back when the world was made, and the Triforce...you know what the Triforce is, right?"

"I've heard Zant mumbling about it from time to time, yeah. It's a gold triangle, right?"

"Right." I unlaced my left gauntlet and pulled my hand free. "Well, when the goddesses made the Triforce, they picked out three people to bear its different attributes, in case anyone ever had any grand ideas about stealing it. See? I'm one of the three, and so is Zelda."

"Huh." She studied my birthmark curiously. "Okay, go on."

"Some time back, someone did try to steal it. He was the third soul picked by the goddesses, and he tricked Zelda and me into helping him. But all he wanted was power, he didn't care about wisdom or courage, and so when he touched the Triforce it broke. He got the power part, and I got the courage and Zelda got the wisdom. Now she and I are on an eternal quest to keep him from getting our portions of the Triforce and taking over the world. When we die, we're born again into this world to continue the fight."

"What does all this have to do with you dreaming while you're awake?"

"It's...kind of strange." I laced up the gauntlet again. "It used to only happen when I was asleep. Zelda says that I'm remembering my other lives, the other fights to defend Hyrule and the Triforce."

"And when you're sleeping, you visit her?"

"I've done that since we were children, since long before I knew about any of this. She's just always been there. We fell in love centuries ago, and it keeps carrying through from one life to the next. But we can't be together until we vanquish our enemy."

"Who is your enemy? What's his name?"

I looked at her and shook my head. "That's the part I can't seem to remember. I don't know who he is."

"Huh," she said again. "All right, I guess I understand it now. Come on, the fused shadow is waiting."

-Z-

"You must wake, my princess," I beg her. "Please, hurry, let the spell cease..."

Zelda has been turned to stone by the dark wizard Vaati, and I have just dueled him with a Picori sword imbued with the power of four elemental stones. The building around us is beginning to crumble. It is dangerous to remain, but I will not leave her.

She transforms to flesh, and tumbles forward into my arms. We rush from the building before it collapses, and make our way to the safety of an elemental shrine, where I must face Vaati again. "I have the power of a god," he cries. "How can a mere child like yourself possibly defeat me?"

-Z-

"The last fused shadow!" Midna crowed. "I'll just take that, thank you."

"Hey!"

"Now, don't resent me for all I've put you through," she said. "I need this thing. We've got to go do something about the usurper Zant, who calls himself the King of Shadows. Let's head back to Lanayru's spring."

"How are we going to find him?" I asked her, watching her dive into my shadow as we entered the clearing. "Isn't he in that other realm?"

"Uh...no." Midna came rushing back into visibility. "Zant!"

I spun around and stared with some shock at the hooded apparition which confronted me. "Did you honestly mean to take an ancient and withered power like this and turn it against me?" he asked in a cold voice. I thought he was addressing me, but he continued, "You are a foolish traitor, Midna. Why do you defy your king?"

"My king?!" she spat. "You, who do nothing but abuse the magic of your tribe? You must be joking!"

"Are you implying that my power is our old magic?" He scoffed. "This power is granted to me by my god! It is the magic of the King of Twilight, and you will respect it!"

I might have been a spectator for as much as I had anything to do with what was happening. This was all between Zant and Midna, and I could only watch. Really, I felt as though I'd been struck dumb as Zant continued, "My Midna...did you forget? That beast" -- he pointed at me -- "is one of the light-dwellers who oppressed our people! No matter how much you may desire otherwise, you cannot consort with their kind!" His voice took on a different tone then, wheedling in a way, almost seductive; his full focus was on her again. "But if we can make their world ours, Midna, light and darkness will meet at last. Our tribe will take back their realm, and sweet darkness will blot out this harsh light! I need you, Midna. Not just for me, but for all of our people. Lend me your power."

For half a second, I honestly thought she might capitulate. There seemed to be something of indecision wavering in her eyes. It vanished, however, only to be replaced with steely resolve. "Never."

"So be it, then...I will return you to the light world you covet!"

Lanayru's light suddenly flared, brightly; it was trying to intervene on our behalf, but Zant's Twilit powers were greater than I'd imagined. As I watched, helpless, light began to encircle Midna. Brighter and brighter it flared, turning her into what I can only liken to a small sun. Then the orb burst in an explosion of fire, and with a parting, mocking laugh, Zant left us both sprawled on the ground. I was in my Twilit wolf form, and Midna...

The exposure to so much light in such a short time had taken a dreadful toll on the little imp. Where most of her body had been colored black, she was now a sickly, ghostly shade of white. She twitched, slightly, and groaned. I got to my feet and gave myself a shake, then moved to nudge her gently.

"Zelda," she mumbles. "H-hurry...to...Zelda..."

"Hero of the goddesses," said Lanayru, "you must make haste. Bring her to the princess in the castle; she alone can unlock you from your shadow form. I will give you what aid I can, but you must hurry."

-Z-

I have no time left. My search continues -- for the White Sword, the Magical Sword, the Picori Sword, the Kokiri Sword, the Giant's Knife. I need a sword and I need it now. Hyrule is on the verge of destruction.

My lady, my princess, lend me your aid!

-Z-

Lanayru's power deposited us in Castle Town. I couldn't think what to do; I needed to get to the castle, but it was so heavily guarded that I couldn't think how to manage it. I trotted through the town, Midna groaning as she clung to my back with what little strength remained to her. "Hurry..."

"Hey!" I paused, and looked around. "Hey, what's wrong with that thing on your back?"

It was a brown cat. "That Zora kid looked just as bad when they brought him here -- maybe you should take that thing you're carrying to Telma's bar too!"

Telma's bar. This made me remember -- Telma had said there was a secret passage which led from her tavern up to the castle. I raced through the streets, following the faint scents of Ilia and Prince Ralis which still lingered there, but a Goron at the door caused me to check my progress.

"You there," said a soft voice. I moved to the side of the building, where an elegant white cat sat on the windowsill. "You're Link, aren't you? I thought as much. I'm Louise, you may have seen me when you were here as a human. Why on earth do you look like that? Oh, never mind, I see you've brought us another patient."

"Pr-princess...Zelda..." Midna was fading, and my alarm was increasing.

"Through the window -- quickly! This way!" said Louise. "Go up to the attic; you'll find a passage up there that leads to an unused waterway, it runs under the palace. If anyone can help that...thing...on your back, it must be Princess Zelda. Good luck."

Louise's directions were accurate. The ancient waterway enabled me to reach the palace roof, and from there it wasn't hard to find my way back to the window that led to Zelda's tower prison.

"Link!"

It was the first time I had ever, in my waking life, heard my name ringing on Zelda's lips. She looked up as I burst into the room, and surprise drew the exclamation from her mouth. I trotted forward and whined; overjoyed as I was to see her, and to know for certain that she was well, Midna had to come first. Zelda helped me to ease her to the floor, where she lay gasping.

"Please," she begged softly. "Please tell me...how do we break...the curse on this one? You need him...to save your world! That's why... Princess, please, you must help Link..."

I gave another whine. If wolves could weep, I would have had tears in my eyes. The little scamp cared about me. I looked at Zelda, whose beautiful face was more solemn than ever. She placed her ungloved hand, the one bearing the Triforce birthmark that matched my own, gently by my head. After a moment, she shook her head; her power was of no use here.

"What binds him is a different magic than what transformed him when he first passed the curtain of twilight," she said. "It is an evil power. But where there is darkness, there is light to banish the darkness as well. Head for the sacred grove that lies deep within the lands guarded by the spirit Faron." She gave me a significant look, and I remembered; she had spoken of Faron Woods in our last dream-meeting. "There you will find the Blade of Evil's Bane...the Master Sword."

So that legend was true as well. The Master Sword, according to the stories, was a holy relic, a sword that nothing evil could ever hope to touch. Zelda explained that the evil which had transformed me would wither and die in the presence of the blade. It was the only chance I had of returning to my true form.

"Link..." Zelda ran her hand over my ears in a lover's caress. "Hero, sent by the goddesses. I too have been granted special powers. And the time to use them is at hand."

"Link...you can get to the woods...on your own...right?" We looked down at Midna again. "Princess, a last favor...tell him how to find...the Mirror of Twilight."

Zelda bowed her graceful head. "Midna," she said, "I believe I know exactly who and what you are. Despite your mortal injuries, your concern is for us; all that has happened is the result of our deeds, yet it is you who reap the penalty." She looked at me, then back to Midna. "Accept this now, Midna...all that I have to give."

She took Midna's tiny hand in her own. I looked intently at my small companion, who was glowing again; her color was restoring to normal. She looked at me, horrified. "Link, stop her!" But in a flash, she was standing beside me...and Zelda was gone. I walked in several circles, looking about the room frantically.

"Zelda!" Had the cry come from my own throat and not Midna's, it could not have held more despair or pain. It was all I could do not to howl and attract the attention of the guards. "Zelda...you gave me all that you had...though I didn't want it."

We gazed at one another sorrowfully, but shortly Midna's face adopted the same steely resolve as when she faced down the usurper king. "Let's get to Faron Woods." She vaulted onto my back and I made good our escape through the window. I was deeply grateful to her for her insistence that we move forward; the loss of Zelda had left me so crushed that I wasn't entirely sure where I found the strength to stand.

We crested the hill, making our way south, when we paused to look back at Hyrule Castle. A luminous golden diamond was sliding into place, encasing the entire palace within its confines. "I don't know what that means," Midna said, "but I don't think we're getting back inside any time soon." She squinted up at the sky. "We have a few good hours of daylight left. Come on -- for Zelda."

(click to show/hide)

Chapter Seven: My Heart Doth Tremble to Unfold

While I had little enough reason to be fond of anything which had used them to enter Hyrule, I nevertheless had to admit that the Twilight portals were very useful. Midna was able to make use of them a number of times, propelling us to the distant corners of the kingdom with barely a thought. Where it might have taken me a day or more to run to Faron Woods in my wolf form, our return there from Hyrule Castle was swift; it was also much safer than the overland journey might well have been, considering how likely it was that my fearful visage would have invited attacks.

I knew Faron Woods well, or so I thought, and I was not a little surprised to think that the Blade of Evil's Bane slept within its confines. Not that I doubted Zelda -- how could I? -- but it did make me wonder how it was that I had never before come across it. I couldn't share these thoughts with Midna, so I pondered them alone. It must all be connected with the ancient destiny, I reflected; there must be some sort of magic which diverted me from entering that part of the forest until the time was right.

I could remember, dimly, other instances in which my other selves had drawn the Master Sword from its place of rest. Often I'd had to acquire three sacred objects before I could make the attempt -- stones, jewels, medallions, keys of some sort -- one object for each of the three goddesses. It was their way of testing me, reinforcing to themselves and to me and to anyone else that I was truly the one they intended should wield it. It was encouraging, and distracting, to realize that I was starting to remember things of my own free will, rather than having them force themselves upon my consciousness.

We'd not gone far into the trees when I heard screeching of a somewhat familiar sort. Around a bend in the path we encountered the monkey -- the self-same monkey who had shared a cage with Talo at the mouth of the forest temple, and later led me through its mazelike depths to rescue her fellows. I couldn't help my sense of bewilderment at her plight, however; she was being attacked by what looked for all the world like a child's wooden toys. These apparent toys were themselves very nearly as large as children. They danced madly, their painted faces contorted with madman's glee. They outnumbered her and were giving absolutely no quarter, as she cowered by a tree with her paws over her eyes. I was spoiling for a fight, to release some of my pent-up grief and anger at the loss of my love, so I set upon the demon puppets and shattered them to splinters.

"Did you save me?" the monkey asked, uncovering her eyes and peering at me. "Th-thank you!" She loped over to my side and studied me curiously. "Listen...since you're so nice, I'll tell you a secret. Over this cliff there's a really pretty wooded area. I was trying to go there when those guys attacked me -- if you go, be careful." She tilted her head to one side and then the other.

"Thank you for the advice."

"You seem so familiar...your smell seems familiar," she mused. "I know. It reminds me of a human prince who was dressed in green, who once saved my life."

She called me a prince. A compliment of the highest order to be sure, and yet in light of what befell my princess, the word struck me almost like a blow.

-Z-

"We meet again. ...There are but a few hidden skills left for me to teach you. I have warned you of this before, but if you fail to execute the hidden skill I am about to teach you, your life may be forfeit... Do you still wish to master this skill?"

"I do."

Why I am humoring this shade, I really do not know. What can he teach me now that will be of any real use? My grief is affecting my skill, and he is deeply displeased.

"What ails you? Coward! I thought you were worthy of my tutelage! Come at me again!"

I do not wish to play this game any longer. And yet...and yet it is almost as if she is beside me, urging me on. Do not despair...do not give up... For her sake, I must keep fighting.

"Better," grunts the shade. "You are already endowed with the strength required of the hero. Do you not already feel the courage granted by this strength as it guides you step by step toward your true enemy? Believe in your strength."

-Z-

The lost woods. Oh, yes, I remembered the lost woods. One step in the inappropriate direction, and you became hopelessly turned around. The only way to navigate them successfully was to keep your chosen destination firmly in your mind at all times, and rely on instinct to guide you on the true path. I had walked these paths, circling endlessly, in many of my old lives. One path led to a now-crumbling graveyard, where a man who lived under a headstone had once gifted me with what he called the Magical Sword. It is supposed by many of our historians that the Magical Sword and the Master Sword are the same, but none have ever known why, on that particular occasion, it had been concealed in a grave. Even I, the chosen one who wielded the blade, have never known the answer.

I heard a chittering sort of noise in the underbrush, and bared my teeth. There was something familiar about the sound. Even Midna seemed unnerved by it; she tightened her grip on my fur just slightly as I moved forward. I was walking slowly, half expecting something to launch itself at me...but nothing did. After what felt like hours of gradual advance, I checked on the threshold of a cave. I didn't recognize it; I wondered if we were going the right way. On the other hand, mist was rolling in around us -- more than that, mist mixed with fragments of twilight. Going back had ceased to be an option.

"What's that?" Midna's voice echoed off of the cave walls as I stepped into its mouth. She pointed off to one side, where an oddly shaped stone seemed to have been deliberately placed. I honestly did not know what it might mean, but it did feel as though there was some significance to its appearance, so I moved over and started to sniff at it. It was emblazoned with my own birthmark emblem -- the Triforce. With a lupine yelp, I jumped backward as music started to play, radiating out from the very heart of the stone.

-Z-

"Now, mind me, Link...I am going to teach you a song."

"What is it, Impa?"

"This is a very important tune. We call it Zelda's Lullaby. You need to learn to play it on your ocarina; it will help you in the days ahead."

"A lullaby? How will that help me?"

"It serves as more than a simple tune to lull a child to sleep, my boy. It is a sign that you have acquaintance with the royal family. And the tune itself is said to have power." She gazed at me with her wise expression. "It is connected to the Triforce. Remember that."

-Z-

"Steady, Link." Midna gave my neck a pat. "What do you think that was about?" Of course the question was rhetorical, since I was in no position to answer her, but if my memory was true then I knew what was expected of me. I moved back into position and faced the stone squarely; then, lifting my head, I started to howl. The wolfen sound of Zelda's Lullaby crescendoed through the cavern.

The results were less than spectacular. The chittering sound returned, and from the depths of the cavern I saw a lamplight draw near. Out of the shadows burst a creature the likes of which I'd not met in six or seven lifetimes; in appearance, it resembled a sort of wooden scarecrow, very much like the swordfighting target which stood watch over my abandoned house in Ordon. It carried a lantern in one hand, and its expression was frighteningly cheerful. It was known as a Skullkid, a once-normal creature which had become trapped in the lost woods until madness had driven it into an entirely new state of existence. One of its ilk had transformed my long-ago self into a Deku Tree, in another cave.

The Skullkid put a long flute of some sort to its lips and began to play music. Noise began to rattle the cave walls as dozens more of those wooden puppet creatures rushed into the area, and the Skullkid laughed maniacally before dashing down a passageway.

"Forget these! Follow him!" Midna shouted over the commotion. "He must know the way forward! Just look for his light -- hurry!"

The light of the mad child's lantern was little more than a pinprick in size, but I galloped after it for all I was worth. I'd made a shift in my thinking; Zelda had given her life to save Midna's, and that meant that Midna's life was now one of my highest priorities. Had I been alone, I might well have lain down and allowed the puppets to end it for me, help me to start afresh. But if I let myself be killed with Midna still on my back, then she would surely die, either at the hands of the little wooden beasts or through capture by Zant -- and if Midna died, then Zelda would have died for nothing. If I didn't want Zelda's sacrifice to be in vain, I had to see the imp through to the end of the quest. For the sake of my princess, as well as that of my little friend, I put my whole heart into the chase.

We emerged from the cave into a wide open area, circular in nature and with no exit save that through which we had just come. The walls had an odd look to them, like something from a devastated palace. The Skullkid danced about insanely. Growling, I circled, and leaped; he disappeared from the spot and, instead of knocking him to the ground, I merely landed there myself. Some of the puppets had followed and were starting to join in the battle, leaving me hopelessly outnumbered. I tried, again and again, to attack the Skullkid, but each time he would vanish and reappear elsewhere.

Finally, I had a stroke of luck, although how it came to pass is anyone's guess. As I leaped into the air, one of the puppet creatures happened to move between myself and the Skullkid. My strike hit the puppet first, and this somehow made it impossible for the Skullkid to disappear. I slammed into the pair of them and we tumbled. The remaining puppets scattered as the Skullkid and I shook ourselves off and stood up. It looked at Midna and myself, and laughed again.

"Bye!" it cried, and dashed into the forest. Beyond where it had been standing, a new entrance had opened up in the ruined wall. Sweet Farore, was that some sort of test? Bewildered, I ambled in this new direction.

In the next 'room,' for lack of a better description of the area, I could see a sealed door flanked by a pair of stone statues. They were carved with symbols of an unknown purpose; their faces were covered in tentacles, and each held a long upright axe in its right hand. On the ground before me, I saw once again the image of the Triforce. The lullaby had served once; having no better ideas coming to mind, I howled it for a second time.

The carvings on the statues began to glow a bright, almost sinister shade of blue. I gave a yelp of alarm as portions of the ground dropped away, revealing a series of squares with gaps between them. There was no chance of reaching the sealed door now, even if I had possessed the means to open it. In ancient voices, the statues began to speak in unison.

"We are the guardians of this land," they declared. "Guide us to where we once stood. Only then can you enter the true Sacred Grove, beast who speaks to our hearts."

How? I wondered, baffled, and studied the squares of land. Two of them were marked with a circular pattern. Uneasy, I jumped forward to land on one of the squares; the statues jumped accordingly. I jumped to the left, and again they mirrored me.

"They're imitating your movements," Midna said thoughtfully. "You've got to keep jumping until they land on the right squares. What a lot of work!"

It was. I don't know how many times I must have jumped left and right, forward and back, trying to steer the statues onto the correct spots. More than once I was half ready to give up; it seemed impossible. But suddenly, as I took a leap back onto the patch behind me, they both jumped onto the marked squares. The light which illuminated their mismatched carvings spread through the stone bodies until they had turned solid blue. "Go now to the sacred place, beast," intoned the voices. "We yield passage to the Sacred Grove." The door, which I saw was marked with the royal crest of Hyrule, now swung open.

No sooner had I crossed the threshold and started to climb the stairs than a vision assaulted me. The very stones and ground seemed to be speaking; a thousand voices or more swirled around me, ringing with history.

-Z-

This is the Temple of Time

Temple of Time

Seven years

The Master Sword

Temple of Time

The seal is broken

Seven years

Hyrule falls

He is coming

Temple of Time

Passed into the Sacred Realm

Golden Land

Sacred Realm

Hero of Ages

Hero of Seasons

Hero of Twilight

Hero of Time

-Z-

Filmy sunlight shone lazily through the thick branches overhead. There were bits of ruined stone scattered here, and felled trees. I knew this place, just as she had told me I would; it was here that Zelda and I found solace in loving one another through dreams. But there was another element present, one which I had never seen in any of the dreams, though it may have been that I was too distracted to look. In the center of everything was a pedestal, and fused into its heart was a magnificent sword.

The Blade of Evil's Bane began to glow, detecting the presence of the evil which bound me in wolf form. I reached the pedestal and reared back suddenly as the light reached a blinding intensity; Midna lost her grip on my fur and sailed through the air until she caught herself, hovering nearby and watching. I wasn't sure why I was doing it; perhaps it was the influence of the dark magic which still held me, or perhaps instinct was telling me to assert my authority to the sword. In any case, I lowered my body to the ground and bared my teeth, snarling. The brightness filled the grove and overtook me; there was a clink and a clatter as something fell from my body and landed on the pedestal.

Slowly, the brilliance subsided, and I stood as a man once again. I glanced at Midna and she smiled, clearly relieved. Then, as I had done in perhaps a dozen lifetimes or more, I approached the sword and wrapped my fingers around the hilt. The Triforce mark on my hand seemed to burn -- not painfully, but with definite warmth -- and the similar etching on the blade seemed to appear in sharp relief. With deliberate slowness, I eased the sword upward until it came free of its trappings. Hefting it respectfully in my left hand, I pointed it skyward and raised it in a salute to the heavens. All of the mist and twilit fragments which had gathered around the temple ruins dissolved as the Master Sword acknowledged me once more.

"The sword accepted you as its master." Midna's voice was subdued, almost amazed. A small chuckle escaped my lips and I twirled the blade, executing a few slashes and swipes. The sword responded almost more to my thoughts than my movements; we were indeed old friends. Meanwhile, she swooped over to the pedestal and collected the object which had abandoned me.

"What about this thing?" she asked. "It embodies the evil of the spell Zant cast on you." She studied the trinket thoughtfully. It was black, of an irregular diamond shape, and adorned with orange carvings that bore little resemblance to the Twilight markings on Midna's body or anything else from that realm. "No, this is definitely different from our tribe's magic. Don't touch it -- you'll turn back into a beast. It might be best if we leave it here...although..." She gave me a toothy grin, much like the one she had worn on our first meeting. "If we kept it, I could turn you into the wolf whenever you wanted!"

I considered that. "You know, that might just be helpful."

"I think so. When you're a wolf, you can warp. Yes, I think that since Zant was kind enough to give it to us, we should keep it and use it as much as possible!" She giggled, and tucked the trinket out of sight. "I want to keep a low profile," she added, "so when you're human, I'll keep on hiding in you shadow. But you can talk to me whenever you want." Adopting a more serious demeanor, she whisked over and leaned companionably on my shoulder, folding her tiny arms as she peered at me.

"I want to ask another favor of you," she said.

"What's that?"

"Will you come with me to find something called the Mirror of Twilight? It's hidden somewhere here in Hyrule."

"What is it?"

"Our last potential link to Zant."

-Z-

The woodland glade has been besieged by the twilight. I am still in human form, however, and I am searching frantically through the trees and crumbling ruins.

She is not here.

I call her name, again and again, without answer. My heart -- she called it so mighty -- is breaking under the strain of the truth that my mind is yet resisting. It cannot be, simply cannot, but I do not know what else to believe. Hope eludes me.

She is not here.

-Z-

"Link...Link, wake up, please wake up."

I woke with a start, eyes opening quickly. After I had consented to help Midna find the Mirror of Twilight, we had left the temple ruins and returned to the forest proper, and found a sheltered spot where I could take some rest. How long I had slept, I didn't know. I lay very still on the ground, staring up at the sky; I felt as though I had run for miles, and was breathing hard. Midna sat beside me, her eyes on my face.

"You were crying," she said, quietly. "You were crying in your sleep. I...I never saw someone do that before."

I lifted a hand to my cheek; it was wet. I wiped at my face with the end of my stocking cap, and sighed. "I couldn't find her, Midna...I went to the place where we always meet in the dreams, and she wasn't there. She's...she's gone."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want her to..."

"I know, Midna. I'm not blaming you. This was her choice. I just...I can't believe she's dead."

"Then don't."

I looked at her, startled by the suggestion. "What?"

"Don't believe it. I don't believe it. There's more to your princess than I ever would have guessed, and I don't think we've seen the last of her."

It was a faint nugget of hope, but I seized it with all my strength remaining. "Really? You think she's all right?"

"I think she needs a hero. How fortunate it is that I happen to have one with me." She grinned.

-Z-

Whatever else I can say about her, I do love the way Malon laughs.

I live and work with Malon and her father, Talon, at the Lon Lon Ranch. We care for horses, and one -- Epona -- has become our mutual especial favorite. She is named for "Epona's Song," a piece of music which Malon's mother taught her when she was young, and she has taught it to both myself and the horse.

Fairy boy, she calls me, with an affectionate smile. Her father likes to joke that when we are grown, I should marry his daughter. I am not entirely comfortable with this; Malon is my dear friend, but to think of her as more is something I have never managed. Not when I know there is someone else, someone I meet in my dreams sometimes. I do not yet know who she is, but she has a hold on my heart that I cannot begin to describe...

-Z-

I woke from this second, easier dream feeling contemplative. It explained a few things that I had never quite understood; when first I bought Epona, I had named her without knowing where I'd heard the name or why it seemed familiar. The dream caused me to wonder something as well. I knew that Zelda and I had always been Zelda and Link, born again and again. But I wondered -- could those around us have known us in the other lives as well? There was such a resemblance in spirit between Malon and Ilia. Before I could give it further thought, however, the regional postman came running through the forest. He paused in his rounds long enough to hand me a letter before sprinting away again.

It was from Telma. "She's returned to her tavern," I said, "and wants me to come there and meet some powerful allies. What do you think, Midna?"

"We might as well. I'm not sure where to start looking for the Mirror," she admitted, "so that's as good a place to start as any."

After I breakfasted, Midna transformed me into the wolf again, and we used the nearest portal to return to Castle Town. Telma's welcome as I stepped into the tavern was effusive and warm. She promised that she had left my friends well, though Ilia's memory was still failing her. "But you remember I mentioned some friends who use this place as a meeting-house? They're here -- well, most of them -- and I thought they should meet a brother hero." She brought me to a table where two men and a woman sat conversing quietly. "Folks, this is Link, the young man I've been telling you about! Link, honey, this here's Shad, and this is Ashei, and this is --"

I interrupted her, recognizing the third figure. "Rusl?"

"Link! It's been a long time!" He laughed and stood, clasping me in a fatherly embrace. "I have word from Uli -- I've been to see the children in Kakariko. I must thank you for your help, especially with Colin."

"You know what Colin means to me. But, Rusl, what are you doing here?"

"I've been troubled by my own inaction," he admitted. "I wanted to help the cause. These friends here...I have a long connection with them." He nodded at Shad and Ashei. "Shad's studying an ancient race called the Oocca; he's an intense scholar. Ashei the warrior woman is more concerned with how matters stand in Snowpeak, and as for me, I'm still gathering information. I'll let you know if I hear anything that might help with what's been going on. Meanwhile, you should go to Lake Hylia and speak with Auru. He's another member of our little resistance group, and he's gone there to investigate a situation concerning the Gerudo tribes."

I nodded. "If you think I can be of assistance to him, I'll certainly go."

"Before you do, though..." Rusl lowered his voice a little. "There's someone else I think you should see. One of the sages -- the old wise men, you know. His name is Sahasrahla."

-Z-

I open the doors to Sahasrahla's domain. I have been sent here by Zelda, as part of the quest to stop Agahnim from breaching the seal between our world and the Dark World. He is there, waiting for me; he knew I would come. Wordlessly he approaches me, and I am slightly fearful of the wisdom in his lined face. He still does not speak, but reaches out and grips my left wrist lightly and yet firmly. Pushing back the sleeve of my tunic, he examines the mark on the back of my hand and nods, smiling.

Raising his eyes to my face, he speaks at last. "I welcome the Hero of Time."

-Z-

"Link?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, just remembered something. Anyway -- Sahasrahla? You've got to be mistaken, Rusl. He would be long dead by now."

He gave me a keenly searching look. "You know the name, do you? It's a family name, actually. There've been a few sages called Sahasrahla over the centuries, they're all descended from one another."

"How do you know this?"

"The one I'm sending you to see is my uncle."

The strangest part was that I was completely unsurprised.

"So my nephew has sent me the Hero of Ages," said the sage when I presented myself to him. "I am only the third in my line to personally advise you; I am honored."

"I have to admit, I'm not completely sure why Rusl sent me," I confessed. "Not that it isn't a pleasure to meet you, but he wasn't very forthcoming about his reasons."

"He had none." Sahasrahla smiled. "I told him long ago that if he met a youth of your description, dressed in garments like your own, he should advise you to come and speak with me. Ever since the coming of the Twilight I have awaited you. Tell me of what you have endured up until now."

I outlined my adventures to him, though it was hard to speak of Zelda's sacrifice without emotion. He seemed unconcerned by Midna's refusal to show herself. "Any advice you can give me I will gladly take," I concluded finally.

He clasped his hands behind his back, considering his words. "Your grief does not serve her," he said gently. "It is a cloud which will obscure your purpose." I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. "You received a promise, several lifetimes ago, that you would someday emerge victorious from the ongoing struggle. Do you recall the sage Rauru?"

I thought a little. "He...he told us...we could not wed," I said. I closed my eyes, touching a hand to my forehead as I tried to sift this particular memory out of all of the others. "The goddesses decreed we must be apart until...until..."

"Until the Triforce of Power selects a new servant." Sahasrahla nodded as I opened my eyes and looked at him. "We call Rauru 'he who speaks for the goddesses.' Of all sages in Hylian history, he alone has been selected to deliver their own words to people. His coming is surely as imminent as your own."

"He lives?"

"Rauru does not live; Rauru never dies. He is a divine acolyte, who comes and goes at their bidding. He is bound to their will even more than yourself or Princess Zelda. You will know that your victory is complete when Rauru comes to you again."

"So there is hope."

He looked surprised that I had to ask. "Of course there is hope, my son. There is always hope. So long as you and Zelda are in the world, we can never truly lose hope. Where do you journey now?"

"To Lake Hylia, to speak with a man named Auru about a situation concerning the Gerudo. It seems to have relevance to the Twilight Invasion."

-Z-

"At last...the time is now. This is the seventh and final hidden skill that I can pass on to you. This forgotten skill is the ultimate secret technique, and it tests the true courage of the one who wields it. Do you wish to master this final hidden skill, which can be earned only by the one true hero?"

"I do."

"You have come far; you have learned much. Now let the last of my teachings be hewn into your mind...the great spin!"

It grieves me, in some vague fashion, to know that this is the final time I will meet this ancient shade. He is another aspect of myself, I know that now. When the lesson concludes, I bow to him.

"You who have marched through countless foes, each mightier than the last...you, who now gaze to the future with vision unclouded...surely you can restore Hyrule to its stature of yore as the chosen land of the gods." He raises a hand to salute me as he begins to fade; with his knowledge imparted, he is now free to continue his journey into the next world. "Farewell! Go and do not falter, my child!"

-Z-

"It is Link, isn't it?" The bearded man had, I noted, a Triforce emblem on his armor. "I am Auru -- I have heard all about your great deeds from Telma. Tell me, courageous youth, you have heard of the strange happenings in the desert, yes?"

"Er...no."

"No? Allow me to explain. The Gerudo Desert houses a prison which was built to hold the worst criminals this world has ever known. Those who were condemned to death were sent directly to the underworld by a cursed mirror that was kept in the prison. Now the prison is condemned, and even the road leading into the desert is impassable." He shook his head. "The desert at world's end."

A cursed mirror... Could it really be that easy? From the depths of my shadow, I could feel Midna stirring as if to tell me we needed to go there. "Perhaps the situation should be investigated."

"Do you mean to go there?"

"I do."

Auru nodded. "These old bones know that the evil currently plaguing Hyrule is somehow connected to that wicked place." From the folds of his cloak he drew a piece of paper. "You see Lake Hylia below us? Down there is a man named Fyer; he runs an amusement ride. I saved his life once, and he can refuse me no favor now. Give him this; he will know what to do to help you reach the desert prison. Good luck, young hero!"

(click to show/hide)

Chapter Eight: In Me Thou Seest the Twilight

I reached Lake Hylia and entered the establishment known as -- and I can't even write it, let alone say it, with a straight face -- Fyer and Falbi's Watertop Land of Fantastication. As Auru had described, it was basically a sort of amusement ride on the lake.

"Auru, eh?" Fyer squinted at the message when I handed it to him. "Hrm. Well, guess I oughta do what the old coot says. Oasis flight's not available to the general population, but you get a one-time free ride."

I was not overly enthused (to put it mildly) about this mode of transporation, which largely amounted to my being shot out of a large cannon. However, it was impossible to deny the effectiveness of it, for once I had landed, I found myself at the entrance to the Gerudo Desert. It probably would have been impossible to reach without Fyer's "bit of fantastication," as he called it. I started to search for the path that would lead to the prison.

"Wait, Link."

Midna emerged from my shadow. Her expression was downcast. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Before we go on...there's something I want to tell you." She sighed. "Do you remember what the spirits said about the fused shadow?"

"Yes?"

"Well, what do you think happened to the ones who tried to conquer the Sacred Realm?"

"According to the legends, they were banished into another realm by the goddesses."

"Right. Another world entirely -- the antithesis of Hyrule, where the sun shines bright. Eventually...it came to be known as the Twilight Realm, and from it, no one could ever return to the world of light. They were doomed to live in the twilight, mere shadows of Hyrule. This is the history of the Twili as it has been handed down through generations." She finally looked at me. "Do you understand, now, what I am?"

"You're...you're from that other world?"

"Yes. I'm a descendant of the tribe that was banished to the Twilight Realm! It was a peaceful place...until Zant took control of the Twilight Realm and transformed all of the Twili into shadow beasts."

"Oh, goddesses...those monsters I've been destroying were your people."

"You didn't have a choice. It's clear to me now that Zant somehow gained a great evil power previously unknown to our tribe. Anyway, I was sent from there; I'm trapped here in Hyrule, I can't go back to the Twilight Realm without his power. But there's another story, Link."

"Another story?"

"It's said that while the goddesses forbade my people to return to the light, they did leave behind one link between the light and the darkness. It's called the Mirror of Twilight. It was given to the protectors of Hyrule, and it's the only way we can reach the Twilight Realm. We have to get there, Link!" Hovering in front of me, she lifted one delicate little hand to my face. "Will...will you come with me?"

I felt such a surge of pity for her then that, even if I hadn't already come to regard her as a friend, even if she were not under my protection, I could never have refused her. "Yes, of course. Whatever we have to do, Midna."

She smiled, reassured, and darted back into my shadow. "Well, then, let's go. If what that guy at the lake said is correct, the Mirror of Twilight must be in this desert prison."

It would be a while before we could investigate this matter, however. It took hours of desert travel, to say nothing of another encounter with King Bulblin and his riders, before we were even within sight of the prison.

"This place gives me the creeps," Midna admitted. "Where are we?"

"They call it the Arbiter's Grounds. It's where prisoners were sentenced to their fates." Grimly, with a firm hold on the Blade of Evil's Bane, I entered the fortress and began to descend.

Many of the enemies I encountered in those depths were familiar from my bygone lives, particularly the animated skeleton warriors called Stalfos. Many of the rooms were filled with quicksand. I was approaching a state of exhaustion by the time we reached the lowest level. The floor was littered with the bones of some gigantic creature, which I was grateful I would not have to battle. With fervent relief I leaned against the doorframe, trying to regain my breath and strength.

"You still live?" asked a chilling voice. Midna and I turned slowly as Zant emerged from the shadows. "How astonishing," he admitted. "No wonder some call you 'hero.' But this is a truly bittersweet reunion, for I have no doubt that it will be the last time I see you alive!"

From thin air he caused a sword to materialize. With a strangled sort of chuckle, he plunged the blade into the skull which lay on the floor. The bones began to animate.

"It's a Stallord!" Midna yelled over the commotion. "Look out!"

-Z-

I feel almost as if I have been tricked, somehow. Rauru has explained that, though they favor the union, the goddesses will not permit me to wed Zelda. Not until our foe is vanquished for good and all.

"I fail to see the connection," I tell him. We sit alone in the Temple of Time, he and I. Light streams through one of the stained glass windows and makes a multicolored halo around his aged head.

"You mean to say," he replies with a gentle smile, "that you feel as if you are being punished."

"To be truthful, yes, I do."

He nods, and looks thoughtful, as though part of his mind is asking the goddesses how to justify their position. "You love Princess Zelda. She loves you. This will never change."

"Then why keep us apart?"

"Because your time in this world, young Link, will come to an end, as it does for all mortal beings. But when your time ends, it also will begin; you and Zelda will be reborn, and reborn again. Your enemy is immortal now, you understand this? He will not be reborn again; he will exist for all time, until the Triforce of Power elects to take his life." His eyes are sympathetic. "For this reason, you and Zelda must be sent back to Hyrule as many times as it takes to see that this happens. He will escape; that is surely foreseeable. When he does, he will hunt the pair of you wherever you are, for he knows that only you and Zelda have the power to stop him for good."

"I still do not understand, Rauru." Am I dense? Or is he too cryptic for my mind? "Who knows how many millennia may pass before he breaks the seal and escapes? Must we be apart for all time?"

"It may feel so, but I do not think you will have to wait as long as that. But you and Zelda cannot wed until then. Do you still not see? Your soul will be bound to her soul, irretrievably, and when you die, you will depart the world together. You will no longer be reborn, because your souls will no longer be separated. Then, if the King of Evil still lives, he will seize his opportunity. Only you and Zelda can defeat him, Link. That is why the goddesses decree you must be kept apart -- otherwise, the world is doomed."

And I understand, now. "Then...then it must be," I say, with a sigh.

"Take heart, champion of the goddess Farore." He puts a hand on my shoulder. "Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever. I have no doubt which you share with Zelda."

-Z-

I don't know how long I battled the Stallord. It felt like a few years. To the best of my memory, I had never in any of my prior lifetimes fought against a resurrected demon, and more than once I was sure I was not going to survive the encounter. But finally the animated skeleton was again lying still and silent on the floor. My whole body felt like rubber, and I leaned against a wall for support.

"You did it!" Midna crowed. "All right, Link, let's go! We're close to the Mirror of Twilight!"

Stifling a groan, I sheathed the Master Sword and ambled after her. She led me up the stairs and into the circular execution grounds; it looked like a great stadium, suitable for horse races or other events. There was no ceiling; a thousand stars glistened overhead, oblivious to Hyrule's plight, and centered directly over the chamber was another Twilight portal. Great stone eagles with outstretched wings, the emblem of the realm, were mounted to the apexes of the great pillars which adorned the wall; from these, giant chains descended to the ground. I wondered at their purpose. In the center of it all was a massive statue of the goddess Nayru, giver of the law; she was crowned with a massive platform on which the Mirror of Twilight resided. A spiral staircase surrounded the statue, leading up to the crown. For Midna's sake, at least, I was glad that we had found it, and with as much strength as I still had remaining, I followed her up the stairs. I had just cleared the top step when she gave a strangled sort of cry, darting forward to the Mirror's pedestal.

The Mirror was destroyed.

She stared at the place where the relic should have been; only the pedestal stood there on its platform, a few shards of the Mirror proper still clinging to the frame. She hovered around in circles, mouth open, eyes wide with shock as she tried to make sense out of it. Then, with a heartsick wail, she flung herself down onto the platform, hammering the surface with her tiny fists. "No no no no no!"

"Midna..." I began, and stopped. Something was happening. Slowly, we both raised our eyes to the pinnacles of the columns, where bright lights were beginning to take shape. Unnerved, Midna picked herself up and moved back to my side. The lights took on an almost human form.

"A dark entity lurks in the twilight," they chorused. "It houses an evil power."

"Who are they, Link?" Midna whispered.

"The sages...the sages." I'd all but forgotten. "They were the ones who would hand down judgment in this place, and determine who would die for their crimes or be banished to your world."

"You who are guided by fate, you who possess the crest of the goddesses...hear us," said one. As if it knew it was being mentioned, the birthmark on my left hand throbbed briefly.

"At the command of the goddesses," said another sage, "we sages have guarded the Mirror of Twilight since ancient times."

"You seek it, but the Mirror has been fragmented by mighty magic. A dark power that only he possesses."

"His name is...Ganondorf."

This time, the visions came at me so rapidly that I actually dropped to my knees. A piglike creature, invisible until I struck him with my sword, then brought him down with a silver arrow...encased in crystalline ice and shattered by a blow...his foster mothers tried to resurrect him using Zelda's pure heart...sealed within the Sacred Realm...the Triforce of Power adhered to his soul...Ganondorf.

My ancient enemy. The name I could not remember...until that moment. Ganondorf, or simply Ganon.

"Link, please get up..." Midna tugged at my arm until I got back to my feet. The sages were explaining Ganondorf's past -- leader of the band of thieves who tried to conquer Hyrule and the Sacred Realm, the evil wielder of magic who was blinded by his own thirst for power. It was he, lifetimes ago, who tricked Zelda and myself into gathering the keys which allowed the Sacred Realm to be opened. He had touched the Triforce and caused it to break, the three essences binding themselves to the three of us. He had been condemned to death there at the Arbiter's Grounds. The sages had impaled him with a massive, magic blade, almost equal in strength to the Master Sword. Then they had sent what remained of him into the Twilight Realm. Of course he was still alive; he couldn't be truly killed so long as the Triforce of Power acknowledged him as Din's acolyte. My own continued existence was proof of his.

"By some divine prank, he, too, had been blessed with the chosen power of the gods. His abiding hatred and lust for power turned to purest malice. Perhaps that evil power has been passed on to Zant."

"You mean you're just now figuring out where Zant got his power?" sassed Midna. "It's a little late for that."

The sages ignored her. "Only the true leader of the Twili can utterly destroy the Mirror of Twilight...so Zant could merely break it into pieces. Once broken by magic, the Mirror became fragments, which even now lie hidden across the land of Hyrule." They counseled us as to where we might find these scattered shards -- one was in the snowy mountain heights, one in an ancient grove, and one in the heavens. "You who have been sent by the goddesses should be able to gather the three pieces," they told me. "But you must be prepared, for a dangerous power resides in those fragments."

The light of the sages' spirits faded into nothingness on this final admonition. Midna and I looked at one another in some perplexity. "We don't really have a choice, do we?" I asked.

"I'm afraid we don't."

-Z-

I still cannot find her, although this fact does not torment me quite as much as it did previously. Something of my lady's essence pervades my understanding; her gift of wisdom reaches out to me, faintly, as though to assure me that when the time is right we will find one another again.

I am in our grove, which is and is not the same as when last I left it. She is not here, and yet I find strength here to renew me. She is not missing; she has merely gone ahead of me to wherever it is we will meet. Perhaps she cannot hear me, but I am compelled to speak nonetheless.

"I love you," I tell the empty air. "I will find you."

-Z-

Back in Castle Town, I again consulted with my friends at Telma's tavern. Auru was heartily pleased to see me return safely from the desert, and inquired after my experiences. When I told him about the sages, half expecting him to call me a lunatic, he simply nodded. "Those sages were the ones who first told me of the accursed mirror," he confided. "They used to serve the royal family, actually; they were the tutors of the young Princess Zelda." I swallowed the lump which came to my throat unexpectedly, trying to appear nonchalant as he continued, "Have you seen the sad state of our poor Hyrule Castle? Our little group is trying to restore peace to the kingdom as quickly as possible."

Ashei, I noticed, was missing from the company. According to Telma, she had left a few days earlier to travel to Snowpeak, to investigate problems developing there. Rusl, meanwhile, had returned to Faron Woods. I needed to confer with each of them in turn, but since I knew for certain that there was a Mirror shard in the snowy mountain heights, I decided to look for Ashei first.

What I found was unsettling. Snowpeak bordered on the Zoras' domain, and they were complaining of invasions by a beast. Ashei showed me the sketch she had made of the creature; it was, in her picture, carrying a reekfish, a kind of fish that, according to the guards, only Prince Ralis had ever managed to catch. To learn more about this matter, I traveled to Kakariko, where the prince was making a splendid recovery.

"My mother came to me in a dream," he informed me, "and showed me your image. She told me of the one named Link who would save our domain and steer my fate." He was healthy, but sad. "I am so unlike her...so unfit to rule."

I showed him Ashei's drawing, and he nodded. "Here, take this. It's a coral earring; reekfish don't respond to regular bait." He looked at me thoughtfully. "I get a sense, now, of what my mother would want. I will return to my village. Meanwhile, you can find the reekfish near the Mother and Child Rocks, in the waterfall basin."

"If we can catch one of these reekfish, maybe it will give us a clue," Midna commented.

The Snowpeak adventure, for I have no better name for it, was one of the most tedious portions of my entire quest. Once I caught a reekfish of my own, I headed back to the wintry heights, where I encountered the shaggy snow-beast from Ashei's sketch; Yeto was his name. He spoke to me quite cheerfully of the "pretty mirror" he had found, and invited me back to his home to see it for myself. His wife had fallen ill, and he was using the reekfish to make soup to heal her. The hunt for the Mirror shard throughout the mansion was a regular scavenger hunt, and ended with my being attacked by the sickly wife.

"She looked into the shard," Midna explained afterward. "It transformed her into a Twilight beast. I'm so glad you didn't have to kill her...I feel so sorry for what she's had to endure." Yeto was cradling his wife in his arms; with the shard no longer in her possession, her sickness was fading and she had no memory of being a monster. Midna looked at the fragment. "Let's hurry and find the other two pieces...I don't want anyone else to have to go through what she did."

In Faron Woods we found Rusl, who seemed to have been expecting me. "Do you know about the far side of this gorge?" he asked. "Some say there is an ancient temple deep in the woods that guards a sacred power."

"Been there, done that," Midna muttered from the depths of my shadow.

She was right, in a way. The temple to which Rusl was referring was, of course, the Temple of Time. But it was different this visit, as we discovered once we finally reached the place. A pedestal stood in front of the ruins, much like the one from which I had drawn the Master Sword. Curious, I inserted the blade into the opening, then removed it again. The guardian at the door of the temple vanished.

"Careful," Midna told me. "Something feels a little off about this place."

We moved to enter the structure, and I was reminded why it was called the Temple of Time. There was another pedestal inside, and I repeated my earlier action; it was much like using a giant key to unlock the building. No longer in ruins, the Temple of Time now towered eight stories overhead, and goddesses only knew how many years into the past we had traveled. It was all very familiar; I saw the stained glass window beneath which I had once discussed my fate with Rauru.

"Goodness! Just a moment, young man!"

I looked around, bewildered. A golden...thing had followed us into the past and was watching us keenly. "Could it be...could you be the hero?" it asked me. "I thought so! Just as I suspected! I am Ooccoo." She was oddly birdlike, with a somewhat disturbing humanoid face that bore a perpetually blank expression. "I have to tell you, my son and I have been looking for something. We can't return home until we find that thing."

What Ooccoo needed was a piece of ancient technology created by her people, something called the Dominion Rod. I found it, but neither she nor I could make sense out of it; it seemed to be useless. Still, I tucked it away in my pack, for something told me it would serve a purpose later. Bow and arrows in hand, I faced down the Armogohma, which to an extent I found vaguely amusing; I remembered battling Gohmas in prior lives. With only one piece of Mirror yet to be recovered, Midna and I left the Temple of Time, emerging to find ourselves back in the time from whence we had come.

"Link...you saw how nasty that monster was, right?" Midna seemed subdued. "The evil within the shards is more powerful than you can imagine. You know we could be assembling something truly terrible here. It could be something that we'll ultimately have to destroy."

I paused mid-stride, and looked at her. "I thought the sages said that only the true ruler of the Twili could actually destroy it."

"Well, yes, but anyway. Let's hurry and collect that last shard! We have to find a way to get to the sky!"

-Z-

"Rauru?"

"I do not appear to you quite as I once did, do I, young Link?" He smiles.

"Not entirely, no."

"I am sent by Farore." He bows his head briefly in respect at the mention of her name. "It is her desire that her champion be assured of her continued favor. He has served her faithfully and well, and he shall yet be rewarded."

"I am on the right path, then?"

"There was never any doubt that you would find your way, Hero of Ages."

-Z-

My next destination was Kakariko Village. This was not my own decision, but rather the result of so much encouragement to go there that it would have been impossible to ignore. A letter reached me from Renado, advising me of Ilia's unchanged condition. Back in Telma's tavern, both she and Rusl commented that Shad had gone to Kakariko, to continue his studies of the ancient Sky Writing, and none too subtly suggested that I should go and speak with him.

I did find Shad in the village, but I was more concerned with Renado's report on my friend. "I have learned this much," he said. "When she was rescued from those who kidnapped her from your village, Ilia heard someone talking about the rod of the heavens, or something of that sort. The Goron elder Darbus has come into the village to lend his aid, and he believes we must piece together the fragments of her memory by working backward. Please, take this message to Telma at her bar; since she was the last one to tend Ilia before you brought her here, she may know something."

"Rod of the heavens?" came the comment from my shadow. "Now why does that sound familiar?"

Before I left, I went in to visit with Ilia for a few minutes. Her luminous eyes were deeply apologetic. "I regret that a total stranger like yourself got caught up in all of this because of me. I'm so sorry." It pained me not to correct her on the subject, to tell her how very far from being a stranger I was, but I held back. Shocking her would do her no good; she needed to remember me in her own time.

If I thought I was on a scavenger hunt in the Yetis' Snowpeak mansion, it was nothing to what I was about to do. Telma said that a Doctor Borville had been the one to bring Ilia to the tavern, and sent me to see him with what turned out to be his staggering bar tab. He was deeply flustered, and angry because he thought I had been sent to strong-arm him into paying his bill. In his agitation he mentioned a wooden statue which had been in Ilia's possession when she was found. He had intended to sell it, to get the money to cover his tab, but had spilled a foul-smelling medicine on it; when he put it outside to dry, someone stole it.

Midna turned me into the wolf, so that I might find the statue by scent. Telma's cat Louise came to lend a hand, confessing that she was the one who had taken the statue with the intent of returning it to Ilia. "But then," she said, "I was attacked by some sort of skeletal dog beasts who took it from me. I don't know why these beasts were after her statue. I thought it likely that she was in a dangerous spot, though." She told me I could find the creatures by the south gate after nightfall.

They were Stalhounds, according to Midna, but she was as much at a loss to explain why they would want the statue as either Louise or myself. Back in my normal form, I returned to Kakariko to show the statue to Ilia. She looked at it thoughtfully, then brightened.

"I remember something!" she cried. "I was confined somewhere, and I was saved by whoever was confined with me. And when that person set me free, they gave me this statue. Yes, yes, I remember that much! But that means...that person is still in trouble!"

Gor Coron, who had come into the village with Darbus, was able to shed more light on the matter. "I recognize this!" he exclaimed, peering at the statue. "This belonged to the tribe that once protected the royal family of Hyrule. They lived in secret, in a lonely, forgotten place."

"If Ilia's recollection is correct, then we need to find that person in the hidden village," said Renado. "Perhaps that person holds the key to unlocking her memory."

With the Gorons' assistance, I was able to pass the rockslide which had blocked the path into the hidden village for so many years. Darbus grunted, sniffing. "This scent that has been burning in my nostrils is the scent of evil," he told me. "There is one powerful creature I have seen, but under that beast are many minions who attack and plunder like a pack of hyenas. At most, 20 of them are ahead, probably just a small band of survivors. If that is all there are, little human, then you alone are more than enough for them. Before you go, I will tell you the secret to besting them: destroy them all before they spot you!"

Darbus was right; the creatures were very much like hyenas. They were thin and wasted with hunger, and it might have been some sort of mercy killing as I dispatched them with comparitive ease. Only when the final howl had faded into nothingness did a door open. The woman who emerged was almost certainly one of the Sheikah tribe, whom I had first encountered in the time before the Great Cataclysm. Fleetingly I remembered "Sheik," the warrior who had turned out to be my own Zelda in a carefully crafted disguise. As I looked upon the last of the Sheikah, she stared at me in a kind of wonder.

"The savior," she said, slowly. "It's -- it's you, the savior! Oh, please forgive me for not opening the door." She introduced herself as Impaz, the last resident of the hidden village. "Is your name Link?" she asked, and I nodded. "I knew it. So you saved that girl, did you? When she was here, she would cheer me up by saying that you would come. Sweet girl; she wanted me to escape with her. By royal order, I can't leave this place until a certain person arrives, no matter what." She shook her head. "I have a favor to ask -- would you help me return this to her?"

She held out a curiously carved wooden charm. It vaguely reminded me of my old ocarina, for some reason. "That dear girl deserves her charm back," said Impaz, "and please tell her that this old biddy was very gratef--oh!" As I opened my pack to tuck the charm inside, Impaz caught sight of the other contents. "Is that...oh my heaven, is that the Dominion Rod?"

"You know it?"

"You are the messenger to the heavens! Among the legends of my clan, there is a story from the time when the Oocca still maintained contact with the royal family. It is said that a mysterious rod, the Dominion Rod, was handed down from the people of the sky. It was only to be carried by the messenger to the heavens when the royal family needed to communicate with the Oocca."

"I...suppose I am." It amused me, in an offhand fashion, to add 'messenger to the heavens' to my string of titles.

"From generation to generation, my ancestors have guarded the book that, by royal decree, was to be given to the messenger to the heavens." She hastened into her house and returned with a tome. "This is that book. Please, take it. This book is written in the ancient language of Sky Writing."

Back in Kakariko, Ilia identified the wooden charm as a horse call.

"I...I think I'm starting to remember," she said. "This feels familiar. You feel familiar. You were always there...Link...this was for you. I meant to give it to you before you left for Hyrule Castle. It works just like the horse grass; you can play Epona's song on it."

"You made it for me?"

"Yes." She smiled, then; the first clouds were lifting from her mind. "You don't need to worry about me any longer, Link. Whenever you return, I'll be waiting for you." I felt a twinge of guilt, then, for I wasn't entirely sure that I would return.

Downstairs, Shad was in the basement, examining a statue which looked more or less like an owl. "What's this?" he asked as I handed him the book from Impaz. His bespectacled eyes widened. "Where in blazes did you get this? It's Sky Writing!" Excitedly, he turned to the statue and uttered the ancient incantation as inscribed in the book...but nothing happened. He was far from discouraged, however. "Thank you, Link -- you have brought me one step closer to solving this puzzle. Here, take the book; I will go and try that word on the other statues." He chuckled. "I've visited them so many times, I know their locations by heart! Give me your map, I'll mark them for you in case you ever get curious."

As Shad walked up the stairs, looking pleased with himself, I heard a strange sort of humming from my waist. Midna darted out of my shadow, and from my pack I drew the Dominion Rod. It was glowing with an eerie, unearthly light.

"The writing in the book was a spell that imbued the staff with magic!" she said, peering at it. "Hmm...maybe we should pay a visit to those other statues he mentioned."

Using the Twilight portals, she moved us through the kingdom, and at each of the owl statues I found a new piece of writing. It turned out that the book was incomplete, but by the time we returned to Kakariko, I was fairly certain all of the missing characters had been restored. I was looking forward to Shad's reaction to the new lettering.

"What? There's more writing in here?" He took the book from me, bewildered. "Link, this is amazing! This must be the word we need -- let's try it immediately!" He rushed back to the statue in the basement and uttered the new spell. As we watched, the statue changed form somewhat. "Look at that...now it looks just like the other statues! Blast it, this has me thoroughly confounded."

He wandered upstairs, muttering that he needed to cool off. I pulled out the Dominion Rod; I was pretty certain I knew what to do with it. Sure enough, the statue came away from the wall, revealing a hidden alcove. Midna was halfway to examining the contents when we heard footsteps running down the stairs, and she dived back into my shadow just in time to avoid being spotted.

"How did you move the statue?" Shad demanded, coming to join me. "What's this...amazing. This must be the Sky Cannon I read about in my father's journals! Just think -- if we could get it to work, we could reach the City in the Sky! What...what do you plan to do with it, Link?"

"What else? Take it to a cannon expert," I said.

It cost me three hundred Rupees, but Fyer was able to repair my "bit of fantastication." I'm not sure how she found me, but just before the cannon fired me skyward, Ooccoo joined me in the barrel.

"We made it back! Welcome, adventurer -- this is the Sky City of the Oocca!" she cried, breathing deeply as we landed.

"We've got company," said the voice from my shadow. A horrible flapping noise sounded overhead, and I ducked sideways out of sight. "That's the Twilit dragon, Argorok," Midna informed me. "Far, far more disastrous than any regular dragon has the right to be. I think you know what that means."

"He has the shard?"

"He must."

"We'll get it."

It was easily the worst battle I'd had up to that point. An ordinary dragon would have been bad enough; I'd faced down Gleeok, and Aquamentus. But this...this was a living nightmare, undoubtedly sent by Zant -- or Ganondorf -- to destroy the city of the Oocca. Its appearance was more than slightly demonic, and its scream was deathless. At long last, with a final shriek, it crashed to the ground and moved no more.

"Link, you did it! It's the last shard!" Midna seized upon our prize. "That's all of them; we've got to get back to the Mirror Chamber. Do you remember what the sages said, about how only the true ruler of the Twili could destroy the Mirror? Zant couldn't -- this is proof of his false kingship." She seemed happier than she'd been in days. "Let's hurry. After all, a fake is a fake, and no matter how you dress it up, the real thing always wins!"

Her cheery demeanor lasted all the way back to the Arbiter's Grounds, but started to fade as I watched her reassemble the Mirror. The relic seemed to come alive instantly, opening a strange portal into the darkness beyond my sight. Subdued again, Midna glanced at me.

"Some call our realm a world of shadows, but that makes it sound unpleasant," she said. "The twilight there holds a serene beauty. You have seen it yourself as the sun sets on this world. Bathed in that light, all people were pure and gentle. But things changed once that foul power pervaded the world."

"It was all our doing."

We turned at the sound of multiple voices. The shades of the sages were among us again -- not atop the pillars as before, but on the crown of the statue with us. They half ignored me, casting their sorrowful gazes fully on Midna.

"We overestimated our abilities as sages and attempted to put an end to Ganondorf's evil magic," intoned one. "I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive our carelessness... O Twilight Princess."

(click to show/hide)

Chapter Nine: Unto the Prince's Heart

I stared at the sage who had addressed Midna, then at Midna herself. Twilight Princess... Of course. It actually made a great deal of sense, and explained much of what she had said and done up until that point -- her resentment of Zelda's position, her comments about destroying the Mirror, her story about being banished. Midna was the true ruler of the Twili, the one whose throne had been usurped by Zant. My Midna, he had called her. I wondered what they had been to each other, once upon a time, and whether that had anything to do with the curse he placed on her.

"So you knew?" Midna looked mostly surprised, and shifted uneasily. "As a ruler who fled her people...I'm hardly qualified to forgive you. But Link..." She looked at me guiltily. "I hope you can forgive me."

"For what?"

"Well, you see...in our world, we've long believed that the Hero would appear as a divine beast. Your wolf. That's why when I found you, I thought I could use you, Link. And I only cared about returning our world to normal... I didn't care what happened to the world of light, not at all." She bowed her head, shamefaced. "But after witnessing the selfless lengths that Princess Zelda and you have gone to, the sacrifices you've made -- not least each other -- no, I know now in the bottom of my heart that I must save this world too. I'm...I'm sorry for deceiving you."

"I think I understand why you did, Midna." I reached out to lift her chin. "And I forgive you."

"If we defeat Zant," she said, a fierceness returning to her voice, "the curse on me will dissolve. And we may be able to revive Zelda. Come with me, Link, into the Twilight -- for Zelda! And for all of this world!"

"Try and stop me!"

-Z-

My mind is flurried by the recent discoveries. Zant is the puppet of Ganon -- as Agahnim was, as I sometimes thought Vaati could have been.

I remember him...the first time...

"Curse you, Zelda! Curse you, sages! Someday, when this seal is broken -- that is when I will exterminate your descendants! As long as the Triforce of Power is in my hand..."

He knew. He knew that as long as he had the Triforce, he could not truly die. He has waited for this day. As has my lady. As have I.

-Z-

Once we had passed through the Mirror's portal, Midna asked if she could continue to hide in my shadow. "If my people saw me and knew that the only one who was here to help them was this hideous little imp...well...don't you think they'd feel let down?" As she spoke, I looked around at the shadowy figures who moved past us as though we were invisible to them. "They're not enemies...they're my people." She sounded heartsick, like Zelda describing how the people of Hyrule became creatures of shadow without realizing it.

Between her help and the favor of the goddesses, I was able to retain my human form for quite some time. Soon, however, I was surrounded by a Twilight curtain which left me again in my wolf body. Midna assured me that she could change me back at any time, but cautioned me that I was safer in the wolf's guise for the time being. "This fog is created by Zant," she explained. "It's what has turned the peaceful people of this realm into shadow beasts."

There was, she told me as we walked, one thing which could fight the darkness -- a souce of light. "It's an orb, called a Sol," she said. "It's a bit like the sun in your world. It's pure power and the source of life. There are two of them, and they belong at the Palace of Twilight. I think...I think if we can find them...it will lead us to Zant."

Following her directions, I made my way to an obscure tower, where she restored me to my human form in order to fight my way through the rooms. I checked on the threshold of the final room, seeing Zant inside.

"No, Link, it's a copy! Easier to destroy than the real thing!"

She was right, although if that fight could be reckoned as easy then I wasn't sure who would come out best in the fight with the actual usurper king. Once the shade of Zant had dissolved, we turned our attention to the Sol, which sat on a raised platform. "It looks like a giant hand," I commented.

"It is. And it's guarding the Sol." She squinted. "If you hit it with your sword, grab the Sol and run...I think we can escape. The light from the Sol will make your way tolerably clear."

Outside, I had to stop running in order to avoid colliding with one of the transformed Twili. It made an odd sound, staring at the Sol in my hands, and slowly the shadow beast form melted into what could almost pass for a human being. Midna gave a little gasp from the depths of my shadow, and I, excited at what this could mean, ran around to every other beast I could see in the vicinity, restoring them to their true selves.

"It won't work for you?" I asked, placing the Sol into its rightful position on the ground by the Palace of Twilight.

"No. This is different, the form I wear; Zant cursed me. I refused to have him as my consort and he cursed me. Your enemy Ganondorf must have helped him, somehow...normally, Zant's power could never have triumphed over mine." Her voice was dark and quietly angry. "Let's go find the other Sol."

Something happened, then, which neither Midna or I expected. As I emerged from the second tower with the second Sol firmly in my hands, and eased it into place beside its fellow, a humming sound seemed to erupt from the scabbard on my back. Bewildered, I drew the Master Sword and stared at it as the blade began to glow. It grew brighter and brighter, infusing itself with light power from the Sols. I lifted it high above my head, and the brilliance emanating from the sword drove off the remnants of shadow fog which hovered in the air around the Palace of Twilight.

Midna, having emerged from my shadow in a state of shock, hovered before me with a dazed look on her face. "The power of the Sols has been transferred to your sword," she breathed. "The guardian deities of my world are on our side as well as the goddesses of Hyrule! You really are the chosen hero, Link!" She darted toward the Palace, then paused and looked back. "Come on -- there's no way you can fail to stop Zant!"

I chased after her, and she led me through the Palace of Twilight -- her own rightful home -- to where the usurper sat perched on her throne. He was evidently waiting for us, to judge by his lack of surprise at our entry. "Zant. Isn't this ironic?" Midna asked him cheerfully. "Here we are, alive and well, and it's all thanks to the dark magic curse you placed on Link."

He sneered. "You speak of magic?" he asked in his unsettling voice. "You speak of magic? Still your tongue for a moment, whelp. The people of our tribe, who mastered the arts of magic, were locked away in this world like insects in a cage. In the shadows we regressed, so much so that we soon knew neither anger, nor hatred, nor even the faintest bloom of desire. And all of it was the fault of a useless, do-nothing royal family that had resigned itself to this miserable half-existence! I had served and endured in that depraved household for far too long, my impudent princess. And why, you ask? Because I believed I would be the next to rule our people!" He stood, staring coldly down at us -- or rather, at Midna, for once again I was all but an afterthought.

"But would they acknowledge me as their king?" he continued. "No! I was denied the magic powers befitting our ruler -- powers that instead descended to you. Oh, my Midna...that too, I could have borne. I could have endured you being chosen over me, if only you had shared it with me. I offered myself to you, the one member of our tribe who had ever seemed to feel anything. But even you turned me away. It was then, in the thrall of hatred and despair, that I turned my eyes to the heavens...and found a god." He smiled, chillingly. "Ganondorf. His power was housed in me; whatever I wished, he would grant, in exchange for my servitude. Here was a master worthy of my obeisance! Together, he and I took back the light realm that had been so long denied us." He finally looked at me. "Only the Twilight Princess and the Hero of Time stood in our way. But not for much longer."

The world around us began to shift, and Midna, frightened, dove back into my shadow lest we become separated. Zant proceeded to lead me on a hunt through all the parts of my quest that I had already seen. I was obliged to chase him through my own memories, from the Forest Temple to the Goron Mines, from the Zoras' realm to Snowpeak. He threw every enemy I had ever known into my path, trying to slow me down, but the Sol-infused Master Sword cut through them all like a breeze through a meadow, and they melted back into the shadows they truly were.

He returned us, finally, to the Palace of Twilight, where he manifested himself as a great bladed cyclone, whirling on the spot with swords extended. But the Blade of Evil's Bane would not abide him, and his ruined form dropped to the stone floor. "You traitors," he howled.

"Traitors!" spat Midna, appearing once again. "Do you know why none would call you king, Zant? We could see the lust for power burning in your eyes! Or did you really think our people would forget that our ancestors once lost their king to so much greed?"

"Foolish...foolish little princess," he rasped, hauling himself back onto the throne. "Your curse can never be lifted, my Midna. It was placed upon you by my god. Do you think you have defeated me? He will resurrect me, again and again, as many times as it takes. The power you held as leader of the Twili will never return! So long as my master Ganon lives, I will never die!" His mouth parted vacantly, and he began to laugh.

Midna growled, and I instinctively took a step to the side as she stared him down. Without warning, she exploded with power -- a massive red stream of pure magic power burst from the top of her odd headdress and flew forward, impaling Zant to the Twilight throne and reducing him to ash. Abruptly, her attack ceased as she stared at his remains in shock.

"I...I did that...with just a fraction of my ancestors' power," she whispered, eyes wide. "I used just a fraction of the power that's in me now! I couldn't take the evil power that Zant wielded, but I still have my ancestors' magic!"

"Are you all right?" I asked.

She shook her head, and looked at me intently. "I'm fine. Link, now is the time -- we have to save Zelda! I can give her back her own power now, I can give her back to you. Let's head back to Hyrule!"

-Z-

It is a recurring thing, in more than one of our lifetimes. Ganon captures my princess and seals her in crystal. Agahnim sealed her in a crystal inside Turtle Rock; Ganon sealed her in a crystal during the saga of the ocarina. He has done it again...only this time, all of Hyrule Castle is locked inside of a golden diamond. She is the jewel within a jewel.

-Z-

"So Ganondorf was just using Zant to help him return to the world of light," said Midna, as we emerged from the Mirror portal inside Arbiter's Grounds. "I guess now we know the true nature of that barrier over Hyrule Castle. He's in there, I'm sure of it."

"Do you think Zelda's in danger?" I was already running as I spoke.

"Probably. Where are you going? The warp portal's right here!"

We reached the castle, and I rushed at the barrier which was keeping us out. With a roar of frustration I slammed against it.

"Calm down," Midna told me. She had the fused shadows adorning her tiny body, and motioned for me to stand back. As I watched, the Twilight powers both within her and without began to merge, causing Midna to shift and grow. She was expanding, additional limbs springing from her dark form to smash against the diamond. It shattered beneath the force of her insurmountable power, shimmering like golden rain as it dissolved before my very eyes. Midna crumpled with it, collapsing in on herself and reducing in size until she was the imp I knew, plummeting toward the ground. I darted forward, dropping to my knees as I caught her unconscious form.

She woke in my arms after a few minutes, and smiled blearily at me. "Not bad, huh?"

"Not bad," I agreed.

She turned her head to stare up at the castle, now accessible. "She's waiting for you, Link...for us. Let's go." Summoning her strength, she moved from the cradle of my embrace and started forward. She almost yelped with shock when, out of seemingly nowhere, King Bulblin once again managed to materialize.

"I have come to play!" he announced.

"I do not have time for this!" I bellowed. Zelda could be dying, for all I knew. I may have snapped; the days of strain and worry had finally caught up with me. All I knew was that I had no interest in 'playing' with this bovine monstrosity. I launched myself at him, over and over, furious that he dared to keep me away from Zelda even a second longer than necessary.

"Enough," he said abruptly. "I follow the strongest side; it is all I have ever known." From somewhere on his person he extracted a key to the castle, and dropped it to the ground.

"He spoke," said Midna, dazed, staring after the departing figure.

"We've got bigger problems," I said. "Company!" I had to dive out of the way before a winged attacker could come at me with a sword. Before I had even regained my feet, however, something like a cannon blast took it out of the sky.

"Not keeping all the fun for yourself, are you, Link?"

"Rusl!" I scrambled upright. "Ashei -- Shad -- Auru -- how on earth did you...?"

"We saw the diamond dissolve," said Shad, excitedly, "and we headed into the secret passage as quick as possible." Auru just smiled.

Rusl, who had fired the portable cannon mechanism, was crouched on the ground, but stood up as I approached. "Don't you have a princess to save?" he asked mildly. "Leave all this to us; you get inside."

Ashei was smoothing the feathers of her tame hawk. "Head for the chapel," she advised. "Something's happening in there, although I'm not sure what."

"So where are we going?" Midna called as we raced through the castle corridors.

"The Chapel of the Triple Goddess," I shouted back. "Most sacred part of the whole castle -- there's a massive statue of the Triforce in the arms of the goddesses. If Ganon's going to hole up anywhere, it's most likely there."

She reached the doors ahead of me and flung them open with her magic, staring down the sapphire carpet. "This isn't good." One of the elegant marble goddesses' heads lay broken on the floor before us. High overhead, the golden copy of the Triforce was dimmed. Suspended within the center of the three triangles was...

"Zelda."

I couldn't take my eyes off of her still, silent form. Was she dead? Under a spell? I had to get her down to see if she was all right. I started forward, but Midna flung out one tiny arm to stop me. In an instant I understood why; while my eyes had clung to my princess, she had seen what I had failed to notice. Seated at the base of the statue was my green-faced nemesis, the red-haired nightmare who had pursued me across a dozen lifetimes. He smiled at us, his chin pillowed on one thick fist. "Welcome to my castle."

"So you're Ganondorf. I've been dying to meet you," Midna said.

"Your people have long amused me, Midna," he said. He began to speak of how they had fed his fury, how his soul had feasted on their anguish and hatred. "Your people had some skill, to be sure, but they lacked true power...the kind of power that those chosen by gods can wield. He who wields such power would be a suitable king for this world, don't you agree?"

Midna was snarling, gathering her power. "I will risk everything to deny you!"

"Shadow has been moved by light, it seems." He smiled again. "How amusing. Very well...try to deny me!"

He vanished, dematerializing into Twilight. "Come on, Princess," Midna muttered, levitating up to hover in front of Zelda. "Link...Link, something's wrong!" Even from where I stood, I could see that Zelda's porcelain skin was changing, becoming laced with the intricate Twilight symbols. Her eyes opened suddenly, and the deep midnight blue had been replaced by a sickly yellow. A blast of energy rushed from her body, catching Midna off guard and sending her hurtling to the floor.

I ran to her aid, but before I could reach her, the room was ringed with a wall of golden light, much like that which had comprised the diamond. I heard the soft thump as Zelda hit the floor behind me, and I spun around as she stalked toward me. "Both of you, faithless fools who would dare to take up arms against the king of light and shadow!" There was hatred in that beautiful face, and I had to remind myself that it wasn't truly Zelda. "So you choose. And so you shall feel my wrath!" Her slim rapier was suddenly in her hand, and she rose from the floor to hover in midair. She -- or I should say Ganon, for he was using my princess as his tool -- began to stalk me around the enclosed space.

Now he had done the unthinkable, the thing that I would never have expected even from my enemy of a thousand years. He was forcing me to make the impossible choice: kill my beloved princess, or be killed by her.

On the surface, it was not a difficult decision; there was never an instant in any of my memories when I would have hesitated to give my life for Zelda's. But if -- as Midna had urged me to believe -- Zelda still lived, this meant that she would be returned to the control of her body only to discover that it had slain me. To allow Ganondorf's puppet to destroy me would, in turn, destroy her. I couldn't allow that to happen, not if there was the slightest chance my lady was alive.

I had to fight back, in a fashion that would save my own life while at the same time wresting control of her pallid form away from Ganondorf. As I watched, she raised her sword, then brought it down in a swift stroke, leveling a ball of energy at me. I held the Master Sword at the ready and, at the last possible second, struck the ball with a volley that sent it back at her. It struck home, and I heard an inhuman screech.

"That weakened him!" Midna said. "If you can hit him a few more times, I should be able to drive him from her body with the fused shadow."

I lost count of how many times it took. Everything about the situation seemed wrong; never, in all our lifetimes together, had I been forced to take up arms against Zelda -- my Zelda -- and it was a sheer test of will that I kept going. I had to believe I wasn't hurting her. Suddenly a howl of frustration echoed through the room. The golden barrier vanished, and Zelda dropped onto the seat at the base of the statue. She was hissing, and her skin had assumed a sickly greenish color. Summoning the power of the fused shadow, Midna pinioned her to the chair; I was grateful to the shock that kept me where I was. Then Midna retracted her power. Zelda's chin dropped to her chest; she was still and silent once again. The Twilight marks had left her body, and except for the part where I wasn't sure she was breathing, she seemed perfect.

"He's out of her," said Midna. She drifted over and leaned companionably on my shoulder. "We make a pretty good team, Hero. And a good thing too, because this isn't over." She pointed at the door, beyond which we could hear a sound I can only describe as a mixed squeal and roar.

A massive boar with flame-red bristles crammed itself into the doorway. "That's Ganon," I said. "I recognize this form. We'll have to wrangle him. Can you change me back into the wolf? I've got an idea."

As the wolf, I stood my ground when Ganon charged me. Midna, seated on my back, would use her Twilight magic to grab him by the horns and force him to the floor, as I'd done on a number of occasions with Fado's goats. Then she would quickly change me back into myself, and I would attack with the Blade of Evil's Bane. He screamed, recognizing the feel of the sword that had defeated him so many times. I was dizzy with exhaustion, and still he kept coming. He was going to kill me, and then he would kill Zelda and probably Midna too. Still he kept coming. Even the Master Sword, like an extension of my own arm, seemed to be weighted down with the effort. Still he kept coming. Still I kept fighting back.

The boar screamed again, and crumpled to the floor by the door. As Midna and I watched, it slowly disintegrated into a green mist that floated out into the atmosphere.

"That's...he's gone." Midna sounded confused and I couldn't blame her.

I stabbed the point of my sword into the floor and used it to support myself as I went down to one knee, trying to regain my breath. "Thank Farore...that's over..."

"Nice work, Hero," Midna said placidly. She had turned around and was eyeing the dais where Zelda sat immobile at the altar. "Now if we could just...what..."

I looked up at her, startled by the puzzled note in her voice. She moved closer to Zelda, studying her intently; I rose and followed, sheathing my blade. "Midna? What's wrong?"

"I'm not quite --" Abruptly she broke off, and gasped a little. I couldn't understand exactly what was happening, but there seemed to be a faint, misty something passing between the two of them. "Link," Midna exclaimed, "she was here all the time! She didn't just give me her power -- she put herself into me. Ganon never had her at all."

How is that possible? I wondered, though I just shook my head. Only Nayru's acolyte could possibly have done such a thing...but did it work? I watched Zelda, fearful, and my heart lifted as I saw color seeping back into her fair skin. Slowly she blinked, and got to her feet.

Midna exhaled softly. "Princess," she said in an awed voice, "I..."

"Say nothing, Midna." Zelda's eyes were on the little imp, and they were gentle. "Your heart and mine were as one, however briefly. Such suffering you have endured...I understand it now." Then she turned to me. For the first time in our waking lives, Zelda and I looked into each other's eyes as we had done so often in dream-meetings. I was overwhelmed by a dozen warring impulses -- to throw myself at her feet, to take her in my arms, to beg her to never leave me again.

We had no time for any of them. A terrible shaking began to rattle the castle around us, and through the front door came an explosion of heat and power and twilight. Ganon wasn't dead; I began to fear he would never be destroyed. The air whipped past us in a frenzy of evil as yet another form of the beast propelled itself into the Chapel of the Triple Goddess.

"This ends now," growled Midna. The glimmering darkness luminated her being, and as we watched in shock and fear, she began to rapidly grow in size. The Chapel was filled almost to capacity with the presence and power of the King of Thieves and the Princess of Twilight. I reached blindly to grip Zelda's hand, determined to defend her against anything Ganon might try to do; then, dimly, I realized that Midna meant to confront him herself, and I started to move to her aid.

Before I knew anything else, I was standing alone with Zelda in the middle of the soft expanse of Hyrule Field. Puzzled, I turned to ask Zelda whether this was her own doing or Midna's. Before I could frame the question, however, the earth beneath us quaked, and we whirled around as a brilliant light began to form on the horizon. As we watched with horrified eyes, Hyrule Castle erupted in a cloud of black smoke.

Slowly, as if moving in one of my dreams, we could see a figure emerging from the great plume of darkness which spiraled up from the castle ruins. It was massive, and moved forward at an almost ritualistic pace. Then it turned, and we could see Ganondorf sitting astride the most dreadful black stallion I have ever seen; a Twili horse, perhaps. Ganondorf appeared to be laughing, and he lifted one arm so that we could see the object he clutched between massive fingers. Even outlined against the billowing smoke, it was only too easy to identify the peculiar dual horns of the little shadowy headdress.

"Midna..." I wasn't entirely certain whether it was Zelda or myself who spoke. It may have been her; my throat was so thick with grief that it would have been hard for me to say anything. As we watched, he tightened his grip until the helm crumbled in his grasp. Then he raised his terrible sword and began to charge us. Behind him, emerging from the very air, came a small army of ghostly riders, similarly attired and equipped for battle.

There was no time for tears. I pulled the Blade of Evil's Bane from my scabbard; it was too late to save Midna, but I could at least try to protect Zelda.

Oddly, she stopped me. I glanced to where she had laid a gently restraining hand on my sword arm, then raised my eyes to meet hers. She looked at me, her beautiful face radiating great sorrow and determination, and gave a single nod. Releasing my arm, she lifted her hands in supplication.

"Spirits of light!" she implored in a ringing voice. "Wielders of the great power that shines far and wide upon the lands of our world...in my hour of need, grant me the light to banish evil!" Ganondorf was bearing down upon us, but I spared him not a glance; I was transfixed by Zelda's prayer. In the instant before his blade could have cut down either one of us, we were pulled away from the scene of battle.

Looking back, I suspect we may have been transported to the Sacred Realm. Certainly we were safe, wherever we were, and the land was filled with light. I could see the animal forms of Faron and Ordona, of Eldin and Lanayru; they soared faster and faster around Zelda, coalescing into orbs of pure essence. She opened her arms, and into her embrace the spirits deposited their gift -- the Arrows of Light. Then they were gone, leaving us alone in the ether.

Head bent, she studied the arrows for a moment before slipping them into a quiver at her waist. Her eyes were closed as she did, but once she had finished she opened them. They were as deep as I had always remembered, and filled not only with wisdom, but exhortation, and the love that I knew so well from our dream-meetings.

"Link," she said, "chosen hero...lend us the last of your power!"

She lifted a hand to her breast and, to my utter astonishment, bowed at the waist. Bowed to me.

"Zelda," I began, but again my throat constricted. Who was I that the Princess of Light should bow to me? Did she still not know, after all these centuries, that everything I was and everything I had was hers to command?

"I will do whatever it takes," I managed at last. "For Hyrule, and for Midna. But most of all, for you." Trembling just slightly, I extended my hand to her -- my left hand, the one which bore the mark of the Triforce. She straightened, and took it with her own left hand, meeting my gaze once again. "Whatever happens," I added quietly, "I will always love you."

"Until the stars grow old," she replied.

(click to show/hide)

Chapter Ten: My Crown is Called Content

Though we both would have liked to linger in that moment, it was over in a heartbeat and we were again standing on Hyrule Field. Ganondorf's ghostly companions had vanished in the light of the four spirits, but he himself was still charging around on his nightmare horse. It was not immediately clear how we were going to overtake him.

I did the only thing I could think to do. From my pouch, I drew the horse call Ilia had given me, and put it to my lips to summon Epona. She must have been closer than I realized, or perhaps we were receiving a bit more help from the forces of light; in any case, the song had scarcely died on the wind when she came pelting across the field to us. I hauled myself into the saddle and pulled Zelda up behind me.

"Keep Ganondorf within your sights," she said, "and I'll try to slow him down. Between my arrows and your sword, we should be able to weaken him."

We then began to race Ganondorf across the field. He was in an awkward position; he was trying to draw near enough to us that he could strike me with his monstrous blade, and at the same time he was trying to ride in such an erratic fashion that Zelda could not get a clear shot. He would turn at abrupt angles, jerking his horse's reins and making it shriek, attempting at all costs to throw us off balance. Twice his blade struck home, though connecting with only my shield, and I was sent flying from the saddle.

His greatest efforts were for naught in the end, however, for one of Zelda's arrows caught him squarely between the shoulder blades in a small explosion of energy. It slowed him down enough that we could overtake him, and the Master Sword sent him hurtling to the ground even as his mount collapsed. He tumbled several feet and lay still for a few seconds, but we both knew it wouldn't be as easy as that. Slowly, Ganondorf got to his feet, using his sheathed blade to support himself, and laughed. I kept a firm grip on the Blade of Evil's Bane, pointing it in his direction, waiting for him to make a move.

"An impressive blade," he drawled. "But nothing more." He slowly drew from its scabbard his glowing sword; the wound in his chest, where the sages had attempted to execute him, seemed to glow more brightly as well. "Would you hear my desire? It is to take this foul blade and use it to blot out the light forever!"

I dismounted at a distance and moved toward him, my sword drawn. Suddenly, he and I were ringed by the same impenetrable, translucent wall which had blockaded me during my duel with Zelda's body. She and Epona were trapped beyond it, where she could not aid me and I could not protect her. I had no time to fear for her, however, and only allowed myself the comfort of knowing she was still astride the horse; if things went badly for me, she had a chance of escaping.

We circled each other, neither quite daring to make the first move. At length, however, he apparently grew tired of waiting, and launched himself at me. Whirling in circles, I heard the repeated clang of two indestructible blades making contact with brute force. Ganondorf's cape whipped in the wind generated by the duel as he went into a series of heavy overhand blows that I could only dodge. I dropped into a forward roll, then leapt up into a spin attack which caught him somewhat off guard.

What happened next I can't begin to explain. I shifted the shield on my right arm, and my free hand for some reason closed on the fishing rod Colin had made for me. I hadn't meant to pull it out, I could imagine no purpose that it might serve in this battle, but out it came.

Ganondorf stopped his assault. The fishing rod, that simple gift of love, had the lord of darkness mesmerized. Baffled, I moved it around a little, and he followed it with his eyes. It seemed rather unfair to take advantage of such a strange and glaring weakness, and I tossed the fishing rod aside. The second it reached the ground, Ganondorf's eyes were back on my face. By that time, however, it was too late; I was on the offensive now, making the most of his incomprehensible distraction, and with a number of fierce slashes I drove him backwards until he toppled onto his back. Calling the lessons of my spirit mentor to mind, I sprang into the air and, with a banshee wail, flung myself onto him in the ending blow.

He lay on his back, pinned to the ground by the sword, his mouth open and gagging and his eyes rolled upward in pain. An inhuman roar of agony tore from his throat. Finally, when he had stopped twitching, I moved backwards, away from his body. The wall around us disappeared, and I heard the steps as Zelda dismounted and ran to stand behind me. As we watched, our enemy once again forced himself to his feet. He was weak, but not yet gone. Nearby, the horse he had ridden in the earlier part of the battle clambered up from the ground on two legs, and shifted forms. It was Zant.

"You think this is the end?" he rasped. It was a little odd, listening to someone who had a sword buried in his midsection. "The history of light and shadow will be written in blood!"

He gave a small, pained cry, and I understood why. The birthmark on my hand, the emblem of the Triforce, was burning; Zelda stripped off her glove to show that hers was burning too. As we watched, the matching emblem on Ganondorf's hand flared...and then extinguished. The Triforce of Power had abandoned him at last. The pale figure of Zant watched us blankly for a moment; then, with a sickening crack, his head rent to the side, his neck broken. Ganondorf groaned, and the light died in his eyes; without the Triforce, he had been unable to resist death's claim on him. Still his body remained upright, uncertain just how to fall after so many centuries.

I took a step nearer, not entirely daring to believe. Behind me, Zelda -- ever merciful -- was praying. She prayed to the goddesses for the long-lost soul of Ganondorf, asking them to grant him some measure of pardon for centuries of corruption.

Light began to emanate from the east, and we turned toward it almost involuntarily. There, outlined in the sky, bright as suns, we saw the Light Spirits -- Ordona, Faron, Lanayru, and Eldin. They regarded us placidly, even proudly, if such celestial beings may feel something like pride. As they started to fade from view, they all turned their gazes down to where a small figure hunkered against the horizon.

"Midna," I breathed. Could it be true? Could our funny little friend really have survived her ordeal?

"Go to her," Zelda urged me, and I ran. Maybe she was only injured, and we could still save her as she had saved us. As I crested the hill, however, I slowed my pace, for the figure before me was not at all impish. I drew as close as I dared and then stopped, waiting.

The figure gave a small shudder, then seemed to grow upward and turn, its Twilight markings sliding down on its body to form a cloak held in place with an ornate headdress. Vivid orange hair cascaded around her slender neck, and a pale torso was framed by elegant dark garments of foreign style. Her high, proud forehead bore a silver knotwork coronet, and catlike red eyes regarded me impudently. She was altogether lovely, in an exotic fashion, and it brought a fresh measure of joy to my heart to know that Midna's curse had been broken at last.

"Well? Say something!" she demanded, though her eyes danced as she watched a smile break across my features. With an almost coquettish tilt of her head, she asked, "Am I so beautiful you've no words left?"

"Come and meet Zelda," I told her.

We walked back to where Zelda waited near the fallen body of our mutal enemy. They exchanged no words, the Princess of Light and the Princess of Twilight, but looked at one another with profound understanding. Suddenly, Midna gasped, and I felt again the mark burn on my hand. She lifted her own hand, staring at it in shock as the Triforce emblem seared itself onto her skin.

"What is it?" she cried.

Before either of us could answer, there was a great cracking sound, and we looked up to see the heavens peeling apart. No Twilight portal appeared this time, however, but rather a shaft of pure white light rained down on the ground near us. A wizened figure was emerging from it, smiling beatifically. He seemed very familiar, though I could not place him at once.

Zelda, however, could. "Rauru?" she asked in a tone of astonishment. "Can it be you?" Of course -- Rauru the sage, he who speaks for the goddesses. It was he who had charged us with our destinies many lifetimes ago, when my heart and Zelda's had first turned toward one another.

"You have done it, my children," he said, moving forward. "The goddesses have sent me; they are well pleased with you. The struggle of centuries has ended, and the Triforce of Power has at last chosen a new bearer."

"Me?" Midna was incredulous. "But..."

"You've nothing to fear," he assured her. "You were the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom for a time, to keep it safely hidden from Ganondorf. It has returned to its true carrier, but you will forever have some protection because you carried it within you. Yours will not be the fate of Ganondorf; you will not know power without wisdom. Had he prized all three elements equally, the Triforce would have yielded to him entirely; but had this been possible, there would have been no need for a wise princess or a courageous hero. Now there is the powerful Princess of Twilight, champion of the goddess Din, and you are assured of her favor in this world as well as your own." He looked from Midna to Zelda and myself. "The days of waiting are over."

I helped the princesses to mount Epona, and together we returned to the ruins of Hyrule Castle, where the people were emerging from their homes to survey the situation. The Triforce of Wisdom seemed to be imparting understanding among them, and our arrival in Castle Town was hailed with great excitement. By some incomprehensible generosity of fate, the town and its people had been spared the devastation which had destroyed the castle.

With Zelda on my left and Midna on my right, I entered what had once been the front gate. We stood there for a long moment, staring at the smoldering cinders that would take several lifetimes to rebuild.

Rauru, however, had followed us. "Join hands, the three of you," he said. "You are the united Triforce."

Dimly understanding what he meant, I extended a hand to my counterparts; they likewise joined their free hands. As we watched, what little smoke remained vanished on the wind, and the broken foundations became engulfed in a golden glow; when this light faded, it left the palace restored to its former glory.

Before the day was out, nearly everyone who lived within sight of the castle had wedged themselves into the Chapel of the Triple Goddess. Midna stood to one side of the altar, bearing witness as Rauru took Zelda's hand and placed it, at long last, in mine. The shining surface of the Triforce statue behind us caught the last rays of the setting sun and framed them around our faces as I kissed my bride.

We left the celebrants, Zelda and I, and went with Midna to the Mirror of Twilight. Though the favor of the goddess enabled her to stand in the light, she insisted that it was time she returned to her people. She had abandoned them too long, she said. The Triforce of Power would follow her; the Twilight Realm was not so detached from Hyrule that the separation would devastate either realm. In fact, Rauru assured us, it would help prevent the rising of another Zant.

"I guess this is farewell, huh?" Midna mused, looking at the Mirror. "Light and shadow can't mix, as we all know. But...never forget that there's another world, bound to this one."

"Light and shadow are two sides of the same coin," Zelda said gently. "One cannot exist without the other. I believe the goddesses left the Mirror here because they intended for us to meet."

Midna inclined her head, apparently thinking that over. "Your words are kind, Zelda, and your heart is true," she said at last. "If all of Hyrule is like you...then maybe you'll do all right. Thank you." She looked at me, and I felt a pang. True, she had been little more than an irritant to me in the beginning, but I had grown very fond of my cheeky little companion. "Well, the princess speaks the truth -- as long as that mirror's around, we could meet again."

A single tear leaked from one of her jewel-bright eyes and solidified, and she brushed it from her face with one hand, batting at it gently. "Link...I..." She hesitated, watching the tear draw nearer and nearer to the Mirror. Abruptly she grinned. "See you later," she said, as she had so many times. She whirled then, and ran up the astral staircase to the swirling vortex. Her airborne tear struck the surface of the Mirror and it splintered into thousands of tiny fragments. I looked at it, and then at her, stunned.

For the rest of my days, I don't think I will understand that action. The legend was true; only the chosen ruler of the Twili could destroy the Mirror of Twilight. But why had she done it? Now we could never see her again, unless there was another jointure between the two worlds. Perhaps it was for our protection -- to keep someone like Zant from ever trying to conquer the world of light again. Perhaps there was another reason. As Zelda and I watched, Midna dissolved and blew into the portal. The Mirror then burst along its endless seams. We stood in silence for several moments, looking at the spot where our friend had been.

"Let's go home," said my wife.

There were many tasks to be done in the months following Zant's Invasion, as the event came to be known. We were spared the expense and exhaustion of restoring Hyrule Castle, thanks to the benevolence of the goddesses, but the kingdom extended well beyond those walls and there were things which simply had to be accomplished. Zelda ordered the temples to be scoured and the forests purged, not wanting to leave the slightest trace of Ganondorf's influence anywhere in her realm; I was awarded the task of rebuilding the Hylian Army to undertake this order.

Meanwhile, I wanted to see with my own eyes that the children of my village had returned home safely, and see for myself how my old friends took the news of recent events. There was more than a little wonder expressed at the report, which reached them ahead of me. Zelda, Princess Regnant of Hyrule, had taken for her Royal Consort the one known as the Hero of Time -- and he was none other than their own ranch hand. Only Rusl seemed entirely unsurprised, coming to greet me with his new daughter in his arms. I offered to make him a captain, but he demurred, saying he'd grown too old for such things. "But," he added, "when Colin's a little bigger, I'll send him to you. He's developing talent with a sword. For now, I'd like you to meet someone." He carefully handed me the infant. "The entire village pretty much insisted on what we'd name her, my son most of all. Say hello to Linka."

I was a little hesitant about meeting Ilia now that I was married, not wishing to hurt her. But the loss of her memory seemed to have done a kindness in this direction, for though she remembered me as her very dear friend, any warmer emotions she had perhaps once felt were wiped from her heart by her weeks of amnesia. She greeted me effusively, offered gracious congratulations on my victory and marriage, and expressed her hope that I would not be a stranger to Ordon just because I was now a Prince.

I journeyed also to Kakariko Village, to pay my respects to Renado and see how Malo's enterprises were faring. I was saluted like a brother by the Gorons, some of whom accepted my invitation to join the army. King Ralis and the Zora likewise gave me a royal welcome. I met up with the Resistance members, and installed Auru and Ashei as captains in the Hylian forces; Shad accepted a post as court historian and linguist. After several weeks of travel, I returned home to Hyrule Castle, and was present in the chamber when my first child was born.

"A girl," I said, admiring the sleeping infant. "Of course, the law states that her name has to be Zelda."

"I have something a little different in mind," said my wife. "The law states that her name has to be Zelda...but it doesn't say that it has to be her only name."

We swathed our baby in vestments bearing the royal emblem, and in the Chapel of the Triple Goddess it was proclaimed that she was the right high, right mighty, and right excellent Princess Midna Zelda, heiress to the throne of Hyrule. The bloodlines of Farore's champion and Nayru's disciple were blended in one who carried the name of Din's chosen. The gold of the Triforce gleamed in her hair, and the breach of time which had resulted from the Great Cataclysm was sewn up in her smile.

Though the chief of our time is spent in the palace, sometimes we visit other parts of the kingdom, to make sure that all is well. Our trips almost always conclude with a stay in Ordon Village, where Zelda and I put aside the trappings of royalty and indulge in the luxury of being ordinary people. Linka teaches Midna how to summon hawks with whistling grass, and to gather bee larvae and pumpkin seeds. I fish with Colin, and take Epona out on the pasture to herd the goats with Fado, and walk with Zelda through the sunlit forest that we once shared only in our dreams.

Both of my princesses were with me when I traveled to Faron Woods, where the Master Sword had to be returned to its resting place amid the ruins of the Temple of Time. I kept it for a few years, as we put the realm in order, but finally we agreed that the time had come to bid it farewell. Zelda stood behind me, our daughter in her arms, as I slid the Blade of Evil's Bane back into its stone. There it sleeps, now and hopefully forever, as the new age of peace and prosperity blankets the kingdom. Our little Midna will take the throne someday, well versed in the history which led to her own birth, and revering in equal part the virtues of wisdom, courage, and power.

For my own part, my lifetimes of battle have begun to wane at last, and the dreams which haunted me for so long have faded in the light of my reality. The promise of ages has been fulfilled; the Hero has his Princess. I ask for nothing greater.

This chronicle is thus set down by Link, Prince Consort of the Hylian Court, in the month of Nayru in the seventh year of the Fourth Age of Hyrule.

(click to show/hide)

Those of you who are familiar with my LXG fanfic will recognize the purpose of this last chapter. This is where I cite my references, acknowledge those who have helped along the way, and answer any questions that I think might be lingering in your minds (or which have actually been presented to me by people who read the story as it was written). To those of you who are big fans of the Zeldaverse, some of this stuff might be pretty obvious, but I know I'll have at least a few readers who aren't as in-the-know about it, so I just want to make sure everything's clear to everyone.

Part I: Questions, questions, questions.

What makes you think Twilight Princess is the last game?

Chronologically, it's my opinion that TP comes last because of the fact that the Triforce of Power abandoned Ganon. I could be wrong. There are dozens of different Zelda timeline theories out there, some of which are extremely well-written and plausible. This is mine. Please don't try to argue with me about it, because I'm not into the whole timeline debate scene; I just wanted to tell a story.

What is the "Great Cataclysm" that Zelda mentions?

Essentially, and this has been confirmed by the makers of the games, time split off in two different directions following the events of Ocarina of Time. See, at the end of that game, Zelda returns the adult Link to his youth seven years earlier, so he can live out his childhood like a normal person. When he returned to that time seven years before, he went and warned Zelda about what Ganon was going to do. So from that point on, Hyrule existed in two different realities. In one, Link had warned Zelda and Ganon never took over Hyrule; in the other, Link and Zelda defeated Ganon after he did conquer the realm. Some of the games are set in one reality and some are set in the other. I do not claim to know which is set in which, so I tried not to get too specific in any of Link's flashbacks.

How come you left out the Cave of Ordeals?

Because the story was already getting way longer than I'd expected, I decided to shelve a few of the things in Twilight Princess that aren't required for the plot. This included not only the Cave of Ordeals, but the fishing, Agitha and the bugs, and the Poe quest. I think they're all worth doing when playing the game, but my story was ultimately about Link and Zelda, and those things aren't really connected to that. A lot of the action and events that did get included are also relatively disconnected from the core of Link and Zelda, but I felt they were needed for plot development, especially for those readers who are unfamiliar with Twilight Princess.

In the flashback that references the conjoined witch Twinrova, who killed Zelda?

I didn't credit the death to a particular minion; the important thing was that she died the way she did, in Link's arms. Really, it was done just because they were trying to be together in spite of the fact that their destiny hadn't yet been fulfilled. The death scene has absolutely nothing to do with the games Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons; it was all my doing and does not happen in the games.

What is this Wand of Gamelon nonsense?

Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon was one of three games which resulted from an agreement between Nintendo and a company called Phillips. They were only playable on a system known as CD-i. Wand of Gamelon and Link: The Faces of Evil were animated, while Zelda's Adventure was done using live actors. All three were so bad that Nintendo has officially declared them to not be a part of the Zelda canon. I've never watched Zelda's Adventure, but the opening and closing animations of the other two are available on YouTube, and I highly recommend looking for them if you're ever in a really unbreakable bad mood. They look like they were animated by fourth-graders and the dialogue is even worse. (Yes, the King actually does say "I wonder what's for dinner.")

So if it's not official Zelda canon, why did you include it in the story?

For comic relief. I happened to write the chapter in which it appears on the day that I saw Wand of Gamelon for the first time ever, and I almost killed myself laughing. I decided to include it -- not as an actual flashback, but as a dream that Link decided was way too phony to ever have genuinely taken place.

When Link and Midna enter the Temple of Time, you have a list of words and phrases that almost read like a timeline. Is that what you're trying to show, your timeline?

(Thanks to "ambivalentlight" for this question.) Those phrases are not supposed to be in any particular order. I was trying to illustrate the fact that Link was hearing dozens of voices from his past that were reiterating different memories at him. So no, it's not a statement of my timeline beliefs. :)

Why does the flashback with Sahasrahla seem so familiar?

It should, if you've watched the fake Zelda movie trailer that was produced by IGN! For those who may not know what that is, the company IGN produced the trailer for a Legend of Zelda movie, heavy on effects and really quite believable in presentation (I thought). It turned out to be an elaborate April Fool's Day joke. If you haven't seen it, you seriously ought to check it out. Anyway, Link's flashback to meeting Sahasrahla is almost exactly like the scene in the trailer when those two characters meet, and that's because I included it as a little shout-out to the makers of the trailer. I don't expect any of them to actually read this fic, but just in case any of them do -- I loved the trailer and thought it was the best prank ever.

Why did you compress some parts of the story and not others?

It was really hard to know where I should and should not compress the game plot. Did you know that winning Twilight Princess requires a minimum of sixty hours of game play? I only planned out ten chapters for the story, plus this FAQ chapter, and it soon became apparent that the game was longer than I had ever appreciated. So some things, like certain battles and the hunt for the Mirror fragments, got broken down to their bare bones just to make things move faster. Like I said in another answer, my story was really about the bond between Link and Zelda, and also to a lesser extent about the friendship between Link and Midna. I needed to make room for the dream-meetings and his flashbacks and the ending and whatnot. Also, as exciting as it is to play out those things, they weren't nearly as interesting to describe.

Why was Ganon so fascinated by Link's fishing pole?

I have no idea. But from multiple accounts I've read, this is an actual facet of the game -- if you pull out the fishing rod during the final confrontation, Ganon will stop attacking you and become somewhat mesmerized by it. I'm not sure if it's a glitch or if it's by design, but either way, you can apparently get in a few good blows while Ganon is distracted in this fashion. It struck me as such a funny thing for the King of Evil to do that I just had to include it in the story.

What was with that part about Zant being Ganon's horse? I don't remember that...

Yeah, that was something I made up. See, I couldn't understand how Zant got out there onto Hyrule Field; he just seemed to appear out of nowhere and break his neck. At the same time, there was really no explanation for where Ganon got the horse or what became of it after he fell off, so I thought I would explain both things by merging them together.

The Triforce of Power didn't adhere itself to Midna!

No, it didn't -- at least, not as far as we know. That's just one possibility. I mean, it's indisputable that the mark left Ganon's hand, and so it stands to reason that this means the Triforce abandoned him. I figured it had to go somewhere. Why not Midna? Since Zelda had given Midna the Triforce of Wisdom for safekeeping for a little while, I thought it made her a reasonably safe candidate. Plus it allowed her to hang out in the light world for a little while longer, and I really wanted her to be there for Link and Zelda's wedding.

Have you played/beaten all of the Zelda games?

Oh, no. I've actually only beaten the original Zelda game and A Link to the Past; I have also played Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and, of course, Twilight Princess. My information on the games I've never played comes from lots and lots of research. Before I get lambasted too harshly, let me clarify that I would love to play all of the Zelda games, but I have lacked the necessary consoles. I've only ever owned the NES, the SNES, and the Wii. (I'm told that GameCube games will work on my Wii, though, so I may be acquiring Ocarina of Time before much longer.) For whatever it's worth, I have been a Zelda fan since the original game first landed in my grubby little twelve-year-old hands back in 1988.

-Z-

Part II: Acknowledgements and appreciation

First of all, it must be stated that all of the characters and locations mentioned in this story, all of the games referenced either directly or via flashback, and the vast majority of the plot belongs to the amazing gang at Nintendo. I don't own Link (the hoard of images on my hard drive notwithstanding), Zelda, Midna, or anything else you recognize. The only things I could claim as my own, really, are the way the games were all tied together through the reincarnation device, the bit about the goddesses each choosing a champion and Nayru and Farore not quite trusting Din, the nature of the relationship between Midna and Zant, and everything in chapter ten that didn't happen in the game.

The titles of all of the chapters are taken directly from various plays by William Shakespeare. The story title is also attributed to Shakespeare, but I can't find the context in which it was used.

The flashback with Sahasrahla is, as I previously stated, almost directly nicked from the delightful fake trailer at IGN's website. It was not borrowed for purposes of copyright infringement or anything else that might get me sued; it was just my way of saying 'I thought it rocked.'

I thought about listing which game is being referenced in which flashback, but the list started to get kind of chaotic, especially concerning those flashbacks that are jumbled memories of different lives. The basic plot is, clearly, that of Twilight Princess; I'll let you have the fun of sorting out which game is being referenced where. The flashbacks include The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, TLoZ: A Link to the Past, TLoZ: Oracle of Ages, TLoZ: Oracle of Seasons, TLoZ: Ocarina of Time, TLoZ: The Minish Cap, TLoZ: Majora's Mask, and TLoZ: The Wind Waker.

This story would not have been possible without the use of a few websites, all of which were kept open whenever I was writing. FFN has such goofy rules about links, though, that I really can't provide the urls. Suffice it to say that if you plug the terms into your preferred search engine, you should be able to find exactly what I'm referencing.

Neoseeker was my source for the game dialogue that appears in the story. Someone on their site posted the entire script to Twilight Princess, and that made it so much easier for me to quote the game.

GameFAQs is my favorite resource for game walkthroughs, and I used one of those to make sure I was writing everything in the right order.

The LiveJournal user "uscathena" very graciously shared a mammoth gallery of screencaps from the game, which were incredibly helpful when I was trying to describe something that I myself haven't yet seen while playing my own game.

More than anyone else, I need to thank my fellow contributors at the Zeldapedia, whose collective knowledge about all things Zelda made writing the flashbacks not just easy, but possible. (If you search for the Zeldapedia online, click on the one that has the word "wikia" in the url.) I became a Zeldapedian while trying to research the timeline theories, and these guys know their stuff.

In addition to these fine folks, I need to thank the members of the "heroxprincess" community on LiveJournal, where this was first posted. They gave me lots of help and encouragement.

I want to give a nod to my friend Jaclyn. My reincarnation theory concerning Link and Zelda was partially influenced by her novel-in-progress, and she assisted me in fleshing out the details of that aspect of this story. My best friend Jessica, my goddaughter Kristie, and my friends Kerri, Lyn and Ella also get thanks from me for their encouragement.

Finally, thanks to my husband Kevin, who not only encouraged me to keep at it, but treated me to Super Smash Bros. Brawl just because he's lovely that way. And thanks to all of you who have read this!

[OOTFan98]

i just finished reading chapter 1 and its great! i love how the story is told easily enough for young kids to understand but its still really magical and legendary. i gotta keep reading!!!

[LadyNorbert]

Thank you very much!

And Zeruda, thank you for such an excellent job of posting it.  I wasn't expecting to see links to my different profiles and whatnot!

[Saphine]

That was lovely!

I really enjoyed the way you wrote, especially lines like this one: "Still his body remained upright, uncertain just how to fall after so many centuries." Your details are simple and to the point, but they hold a lot of significance in their meaning. I also really liked how you had made references to most (if not all) of the Zelda games. The fact that you poke fun of the CDi games made me laugh, and the random fishing-pole moment was funny, too.

Personally, I didn't get much Zelda x Link romance (if at all) from Twilight Princess, but the way you interpreted it was very well-thought and interesting to read. It even makes me want to root for the pair in this game ever so slightly.  ;) I never thought of this particular game as being the last game of the series, either, but with the way the ending (especially on Ganondorf's part) had taken place, I can really understand it, and rather enjoy the idea, too.

I have always loved the idea of love spanning over many lifetimes. It's part of the reason why I enjoy Link and Zelda's relationship so much. Even if they could not be with each other, I imagined that they could still love each other -- and it's that aspect that makes their relationship, for me, bittersweet and wonderful. I've also always loved the idea that they would finally, after all their struggles, be together in the last game of the series... as classic as a fairy-tale ending should be.

And you did just that in this story. :) You gave them a happy ending, and I enjoyed reading this very much.

[Zeruda]

I just finished reading Chapter 4, and I must say that I'm quite impressed with this fanfic. It's definitely keeping me interested, and the dreams are very unique. I like the idea of their love lasting through many lifetimes, and I intend to keep reading!

[Klarithis]

I haven't finished reading all of this yet, but I've been working on it. I'm actually quite taken with this idea of love lasting through many lifetimes and alternate realities. I can tell that you put a lot of effort and thought into your story, Lady Norbert, and I must say that I'm impressed!