The Legend of Zelda
Quest for the Hidden
A quiet night settles over the land of Hyrule. Overlooking her dominion, Queen Zelda steps out onto the balcony extending from her room. She casts her blue eyes to the sky, gazing long upon the pale face of the moon.
She smiles placidly. With her left hand, she brushes a lock of her beautiful blonde hair from her face. Her other arm supports a bundle of white garments which she wields with extreme care.
A single tear rolls down her face, a lone drop of happiness. Without any provocation, her right hand begins to softly glow a golden hue from beneath the bundle she supports.
The Queen smiles again with great joy. The Queen does not need to view her hand to know that the symbol of legend, evidence of a Triforce bearer, is active.
Queen Zelda removes the royal veil from the face of her baby. She strokes his cheek lovingly, another tear rolling down her face.
Zelda: The circle will be complete with you. You are a child of destiny.
As the young Queen and mother weeps with joy over the child, a small shower of red energy sparks passes over head.
Zelda looks up to the sky, and there discovers the source of the shower. Three objects resembling shooting stars blaze slow, steady trails across the sky. One of the three is blue, another red, a third green.
The Queen takes a deep gasp when she recognizes the travelling objects. She steals one quick look at her child before calling for her husband.
Zelda: Link....
The Queen receives no response.
Zelda: Link, come here! Quickly!
Link: Yes?
Zelda’s husband, the Prince Consort Link, legendary Dodongo Buster and Hero of Time, throws back the thin curtain and steps out onto the balcony.
Link wears a royal blue and grey garment with the insignia of the Hyrule royal family upon its left sleeve. He drapes his arm around his wife, pulling her and his child closer to himself.
Link: What is it, dear?
Without saying a word, Zelda points with her free hand toward the sky.
Link reads the look of amazement in her face and stares at the heavens as well. When he views the three traveling lights in the sky, only one thought comes to his mind.
Link: The--the goddesses. From—
Zelda: From the legend.
Link: Din. Farore. Nayru.
Zelda: This is an omen. Our child is more than even we anticipated.
Link: Truly, he is a child of destiny.
Zelda: Yes, and it is time we gave him a name.
Link: If he is to be a hero, then his name should be Lance.
Zelda: In the form of his father, I assume?
Zelda’s expression quickly changes into a comical appearance upon making this remark.
The Prince reads her expression and begins to decline his request.
Link: Well, if you’d rather name him something else, I’d be glad to listen.
Zelda: No. I can’t think of anything else I would rather name my heir than a word in the semblance of his father’s name.
Link: So be it.
Taking a slight hold on his wife’s other hand, he gently shortens the distance between them, taking care not to harm their child.
In the light of the moon, the stars, and the three goddesses of Hyrule, Link and Zelda seal their affections as spouses and parents with a kiss.
In the sky, at the mention of the child’s name, the three traveling lights draw forward to one distant point on the horizon, leaving the land of Hyrule once again.
------------------ sixteen years later ------------------
Queen Zelda sits upon her throne in the center of a small raised platform at the rear of a long room lined with tapestries. A red carpet extends from the foot of her throne to the great doors at the opposite end of the room. Guards line the walls, standing at perfect attention.
A man half her size and from appearance, a young child, dressed in green bows before her and presents two baskets full of the ripest berries and fleshy fruits from the forest.
Zelda: Thank you, Mido.
With a wave of her hand, Queen Zelda dismisses the governor of the Kokiri. Mido exits through the door to the Queen’s right quickly. The announcer in the doorway at the front of the room proclaims the next visitor bringing tribute to Hyrule.
Announcer: Nabooru, Highness of the Gerudo.
In through the doorway walks a tall, dark-skinned lady in the harem dress of the west.
The Queen smiles at the sight of her old, who comes bearing a satchel full of quivers, arrows, bows, spears, knives, and scimitars. When Nabooru comes to a halt before the throne, the Queen rises from the chair.
Nabooru lays the satchel down by her side. Queen Zelda steps forward, moving in on the Gerudo female. The Queen and Nabooru embrace warmly as friends who have not met in years.
Zelda: It is great to see you again.
Nabooru: Majesty, I---
Zelda: You don’t have to call me by that title.
Nabooru: But you are the Exalted Ruler of all Hyrule----
Zelda: Yes, but you knew me before then. As a fellow Sage, you can call me by my name.
Nabooru: Thank you, Zelda. It has been long.
Zelda: Nearly 20 years. The realm continues peacefully. The last vestiges of Ganondorf’s reign are removed. You should be commended for the work you’ve done with your people. Gerudo make great guards and workers around the palace. Your people will take the place of the Sheikah of old.
Nabooru: I know. I’m sorry.
At this, Nabooru breaks embrace with her friend. Zelda wipes her eyes gently with her gloved hands.
Zelda: It’s all right. I’ll recover.
Nabooru: Impa was your closest companion for so long. I know her passing has left a great void in your life.
Zelda: Yes, but I will live. I’ve got a lot more to be mindful of, and much more to be thankful for.
Nabooru: I know what you mean. Lance is becoming more like his father every day. He’s a great warrior already. He’ll be a great hero, too.
Zelda: Nabooru, is something wrong?
Nabooru: Yes.
The Gerudo captain takes two steps toward the left wall, turning her back toward Zelda. She speaks slowly and deliberately, conveying the gravity of the situation.
Nabooru: Zelda, you know how the Gerudo live. We are a strict society of all females.
Zelda: Yes. A Gerudo male is born every hundred years or so. Ganondorf was the last—
The Queen pauses, realizing what she is saying.
Zelda: Nabooru, are you worried that your people will die out, like the Sheikah?
Nabooru: No, it’s much worse.
Nabooru turns to face the Queen. Her face remains void of concern, a solid Gerudo feature.
Nabooru: A new Gerudo male has been born. He was three seasons ago. We have hidden him from the rest of Hyrule because of fear.
Zelda: How mature is he?
Nabooru: He has not aged one day past his second birthday. Our mystics have worked to discover this secret, but we have nothing.
Zelda: Where is he located?
Nabooru: We’ve kept him under close supervision in the Spirit Temple by our Gerugran. No creature can enter that sacred place without raising the attention of our guards.
Zelda: A wise decision.
The Queen’s attention is quickly diverted to the front of the room. In the great doorway, a struggle of sorts plays out. An old man with a long face argues endlessly with the announcer.
Old man: I tell you, I must see the Queen. Is urgent matter to discuss!
Announcer: Unless you have tribute to bring, you must return to the end of the line!
Old man: I’ll not return to the end! Not again!
With that, the Old man rushes into the room, ignoring the banter of the doorman. He kneels before the Queen, presenting a package of fish submerged in a green solution wrapped in thin clear paper before the Queen.
Old man: Queen Zelda, I am the lake scientist of Lake Hylia. I come to present you with this.
The Queen draws away from the man, repulsed by his offering.
Zelda: Okay. Thank you, my servant, I guess.
Queen Zelda waves her hand toward the man, dismissing him from her present.
Old man: No, you must hear me. This is not just a fish. This is what I have worked on for years on end.
Zelda: Okay. Go on with it.
Old man: Over the years, I have drawn the natural oils from fish and other creatures of the lake. Now, I have discovered the correct combination of chemicals within the oils. I am pleased to say, I have discovered the formula for returning to youth.
Zelda: And how much experimentation would have to be done to produce a mass quantity of this formula?
Old man: I’ll need scores of young men who will catch the fish and perform my mutilation for me.
Zelda: Your offer sounds terrible.
Old man: What?!
The old man jumps up from the floor, nearly dropping his fish package.
Old man: I can make many Hylians young again. I----
Zelda: Lake Hylia is a beautiful place and a monument to the Imprisoning War. I will not have it ransacked and converted into a laboratory!
Old man: But, Queen----
Zelda: I’m sorry. You’ll have to find a less painstaking way of producing your formula.
Old man: I cannot produce it unless I have plenty of fish!
Zelda: Then I’m sorry. Your offer is rejected.
The Queen folds her arms, a scowl passes across her face. The old man sneers in return.
Old man: Fine! I will see your kingdom reduced to rubble, you hag!
Zelda draws back another step. The guards about the walls each draw their weapons. Nabooru grabs the old man by the collar and scowls at him.
Nabooru: Get out of our presence at once. You have no respect and no honour!
The old man from the lake stumbles as he flees from the Gerudo captain. Nabooru returns to the side of the Queen, content.
Nabooru: I don’t think we’ll be hearing from him for a while.
Zelda: Thank you, Nabooru.
Nabooru: It wasn’t a problem. What was his story?
Zelda: He’s a scatterbrained scientist. From what Link tells me, he’s been there for a long time. I think he’s been alone for too long.
Nabooru: Do you think he may have found the secret of eternal youth?
Zelda: Possibly. I really wouldn’t take it if it were. What good is eternal youth?
Nabooru: I see what you mean. To be forever young while everyone you love withers and fades. As Sages of Time, our lifespans have been considerably lengthened, but still, we are not as young as we once were.
Zelda: Yes, old friend. The only one of us who will endure the passage of time is Saria, Sage of Forest. The Kokiri: there’s eternal youth.
Nabooru: I was visited by Darunia and a herd of Gorons last month. There are a people who love to feast! Do you ever hear from Ruto?
At the mention of the name, a troubled look inhabits the Queen’s countenance.
Zelda: Only remotely. She is now Queen of the Zora, and they remain faithful to the Hyrule Royal Family. Ruto has not been seen in these parts since our marriage.
Nabooru: Oh, I see.
Zelda: She sends messengers and servants, but she never makes an appearance. The word from Zora’s Domain is that she rules fairly, but with a burdened heart.
Nabooru: She really takes it hard.
Zelda: I’ve apologized, and she’s issued a statement of forgiveness to me, but still she continues in her present state.
Nabooru: I wish I could sympathize, but my people have only one male every hundred years. There is no marriage among the Gerudo.
Zelda: Poor girl’s heartbroken. That’s one feeling I’d never want to experience, nor would I ever wish it on anyone.
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Link: Now, son, be careful. Reel in slowly.
A tall figure in light, multi-colored raiment instructs in a smaller figure in green attire, complete with cap, on the finer points of fishing. Lance heeds the instruction of his father, reducing his rate on his fishing rod’s reel.
Lance’s line thrusts to and fro throughout the lake near the shore. At intervals, a large fish leaps from the water, further fighting its advance to capture.
The youthful lad keeps his eyes fixed on his prize. The fish continues to struggle, at one point making a great thrust outward from Lance, jerking him toward the lake with all its strength.
Lance stands his ground, though a wild glare comes to his eyes.
Link: Uh, son?
Lance’s eyes ignite with a responsive fire. The youth casts his rod behind him and takes a firm grip on the line itself. He yanks the line repeatedly with both hands alternating in a wild frenzy. His prize nears the muddy banks of Lake Hylia quickly.
Link takes his son’s prize by the throat, keeping it from injuring either of them with its sharp fins.
Link: Yeah. That works too, son.
Lance: Thanks, dad.
Link: Now, this is even more important. Make sure you have a strong grip, like this. Take the hook with your fingers and twist it out slowly.
Link applies this trade to the three-barbed hook, which makes its exit from the creature’s mouth without trouble. Link hands the fish to his son, who places it in a small container filled with icy liquid.
Link: I tell you, it’s a great day to fish!
Fisherman: Yeah, but don’t mind me. I’m just a lonely fish shop owner trying to make a living. Go ahead. Fish in the lake all you want. Don’t mind me.
Link and his son’s attention is drawn across the narrow inlet of water to their left, where a grey-bearded old man closes rises from his chair. He enters the door of the Lake Hylia Fishing Range, slamming it shut behind him.
Link’s eyes widen quickly. He slaps his forehead when the realization hits him.
Link: Well, Lance, we did it again.
Lance: We’ve got to remember to go there instead of here. It would save that man a lot of pain.
Link: Yeah. I remember when that guy had hair on his head! He must be so lonely.
Lance: Hey, dad! We didn’t notice them before. Who are they?
Lance points to the one island in the center of the lake, where a host of Zora are clustered around the Triforce tile. In the center of the tile, standing directly on top of the insignia of water, stands the tall figure of a female Zora. The lady’s shoulders are equipped with ornamental crests, each bearing three long, pointed objects extending upward.
She stands with her right arm raised. In her hand is a long golden sword slightly bent in the center.
One by one, male figures approach the lady and kneel before her. The lady drops her arm, bringing the sword to the Zora’s head and there stopping. She turns the sword sideways, resting it for a moment upon the male Zora’s cranium.
When she takes her arm to her side, the male Zora rises and returns to the crowd behind him.
Link views this and the female Zora figure with a look of complete shock on his face. He turns on his heels, bringing his back to the scene.
Link: Son, those are the Zora, the aquatic people loyal to us.
Lance: Who’s that lady Zora?
Link: That is Ruto, their Queen.
Lance: She’s beautiful.
Link: That she is son. I knew her when I was younger.
Lance: What?
Link: Yeah. She was once engaged to be my wife.
Lance: Do what?!
Link: Well, it was the fault of that Zora’s Sapphire. I had to collect it to enter the Door of Time, but it was the Zora Princess’s engagement ring. I didn’t understand it at the time. When I proposed and married your mother, she was heartbroken.
Lance: Is marriage between a Hylian and their race possible?
Link: I don’t know. That wasn’t the problem. I just never felt anything for Ruto. Poor girl. Son, take my advice. Don’t lead the women on. It always hurts someone in the end.
Lance: Okay, dad.
Link: Let’s head home. Your mother must be done with all the tribute ceremony by now.
Lance: It’s too bad mom doesn’t get to go with us on these excursions very often.
Link: Yeah. I’d stay with her, but I’m only the Prince Consort, not the King. Being the monarch is hard work. You would be wise to pay attention. One day you will wear the crown of Hyrule.
Lance: I know, dad.
Having finished their conversation, Link and Lance mount their horses, which are awaiting departure anxiously.
Epona rears back on her hind legs, letting out a great whinny before bounding off through the pass from Lake Hylia to Hyrule Field. Lance upon his horse, Nightshade, follow closely behind them.
As they ride through the pass, the two horsemen nearly trample an old man on his way to the lake. The old man rolls over on his side and avoids the horses.
He rises to his feet, shaking the dirt out of his robe. He realigns his small hat on top of his head carefully.
Old man: I declare! What has the Royal Family come to?
The man continues through the pass, stomping along and muttering wildly his new hatred of the Royal Family.
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The company of Zora raise their hands when the last male Zora receives his knighthood. The entire company cheers; several of the younger girls play their stringed instruments in praise.
Queen Ruto turns her back to her people without being noticed. She drops the golden sword at her side; it clangs when it strikes the solid floor beneath. Ruto clutches a fist with the hand that held the sword, struggling to fight back tears of grief.
Then she hears the braying of a great beast from across the lake. Looking across the waters, she eyes the Prince Consort and the young Prince ride through the pass.
A single tear brushes past the rim of her left eyelid. She keeps her gaze fixed on the elder rider.
Ruto: Link?
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The old man throws open the door to his house on the lake-shores. He storms into the main room, which he converted into a makeshift laboratory so long ago.
He slams the door shut behind him, the light of the torches mounted onto the walls around him his only light.
Old man: I can’t believe it! She flat rejected me! Not just eternal youth, but restoring young what was once old!
In anger he flings the package containing the fish submerged in the liquid solution. The package slides across the wooden counter and comes to a stop.
The old man spring into action, unrapping the package and mutilating the creature within.
Old man: Well, if she doesn’t want my offer, I’ll just have to be a law-breaker!
One of the torches on the wall behind him burns with a red flame. From within this flame, a pair of dark eyes peaks out into the room. By the side of this torch, another torch burns, its flame blue. A pair of eyes accompanies the ones within the red flame.
The old man works with his back to the door and the wall behind him. He cannot see the two spirits watching him.
Old man: I’ll make you pay, Zelda of Hyrule. I’ll return to my youth, then I will make you pay!
---------------------------------------------
Lance opens the thin wooden door to his spacious room in Hyrule Castle. He removes his cap from his head, revealing his blonde hair covering his ears in much the same way as his father’s had so many years before.
The moment he tosses his cap to the nightstand at his immediate right, fifteen lamps scattered throughout the room spring to glorious light. Several figures appear in the light of the torches, many holding wrapped gifts.
Lance: What? You didn’t----
His father and mother approach him with their gifts in hand. Both embrace him with the answer he seeks.
Zelda: Son, we didn’t forget your birthday.
Link: No. It’s not everyday that you turn 16. I was sixteen once, twice, three times, no five, no seven, no—oh. I lost count.
Zelda: Don’t worry, Lance. You won’t have to shift back and forward through time like your father.
Lance: All these gifts are for me?
Link: Of course. We’re proud of you son. We’re also very excited about this gift.
Link motions to a tall blue Zora standing against the wall to his right. The figure bows before the Prince and offers his request.
Zora Messenger: Your Royal Highness, Queen Ruto of the Zoras extends to you an invitation to her court during the Season of Cleansing festival at the end of this week.
Lance: Zora’s Domain? I am there!
Zelda: We knew you’d want to go. Such an adventurous soul-just like your father.
Link: We’ll make plans to go later. You need to open your gifts first.
Link and Zelda both extend their gifts. Lance takes both quickly, brushing the hands of his parents as he snatches the presents from them. He moves his hand around the boxes carefully, but stops short before untying the ribbon.
Lance drops the two gifts unexpectedly. He stands there gripping his right hand with his eyes shut tightly and his teeth grit.
Zelda: Lance?
Link: Son, what’s wrong?
Lance: My hand—burning—
The two parents move in on the youth attempting to help. Zelda takes his hand, but feels no burning sensation from it. Link restrains Lance from his attempts to scratch the back of his right hand.
The youth struggles for only a moment. From the back of his hand there appears a mark similar to the ones which frequent his parent’s hands. The three-triangled Triforce appears in its golden splendour, yet does not exude light from any particular piece.
From the midst of the Triforce marking, in the vacant triangle between the three principal pieces shines a brilliant blue light.
Zelda and Link stare at the new mark with a strange wonder.
Zelda: I don’t understand.
Link: Another piece? How can this be?
From the crowd of people behind the three, Gerudo captian Nabooru steps forward.
Nabooru: Zelda, Link, I think it’s time we took Lance to the Temple of Time.
Zelda: Nabooru?
Nabooru: The explanation may lie there.
Zelda nods silently. Lance just stares into the mark on his hand without saying a word.
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Old man: Yes. Almost--
The lake scientist wrenches the fish’s heart, forcing its life essence into a tiny vial. When the blood mingles with the chemicals therein, the contents of the vial become a clear solution.
Old man: I’ve—I’ve done it!
Jubilant, the old man flings the heart away from him like trash. He raises the vial above his head, laughing without restraint. The two torches behind him extinguish.
Two flames materialize in front of him, one red, the other blue. Two sets of aged eyes stare at him from the hearts of these torchless fires.
The old man stops his laughing.
Koume: So much anger. So much intelligence.
Katake: Such a one has great potential.
The old man nearly faints with shock.
Old man: Who--what do you want?
Koume: The answer is simple.
Katake: We like your research.
Koume: You foster a hatred for Zelda and Link, Rulers of Hyrule.
Old man: That witch! She doesn’t know a breakthrough when she sees it!
Katake: You would like to make her see?
Old man: Yes!
Koume: You would like to see her and her kindred suffer?
Old man: I want to see her writhe in pain!
The two torchless flames look at each other agreeing.
Koume: We can help you, but you must help us.
Old man: What is your proposition?
Katake: Bind yourself in servitude to the new Gerudo king.
Koume: Keep this formula, but produce a new one.
Old man: New formula?
Katake: We will give you the equation.
Old man: What will this formula do?
Koume: That is not important at present.
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Link forces the solid stone door open as it creaks in protest. Cobwebs quickly fill the opening to the Temple’s interior. Some part of the ceiling dislodges itself from the rest, spreading a small pile of rubble at the foot of the opened door.
Link steps through the opening first. His wife follows him, trailed by Nabooru and Lance.
Nabooru: What on earth has happened since I’ve been away?
Zelda: Well, the priests vacated the Temple nearly a year ago.
Link: People are afraid to come here.
Nabooru: Why?
A high, shrill note fills the air.
Link: That’s why.
Zelda: The Temple Ghosts have gained quite a reputation around these parts.
The party walks down the long corridor of the main chamber. Pale sunlight creeps in through various cracks in the ceiling. Cobwebs hang limply from the rafters. The altar at the forefront of the temple lies in a heap of rubble. The once proud Temple of Time has fallen.
At length, Link and the crew approach the great stone door behind the altar. White spirits fly around them, voicing their shrill cries with malice.
Lance: Dad, mom--
Zelda: Come, Lance.
Link and Zelda place their hands upon the great door. Their Triforce symbols on the backs of their hands shine with all their might, the representations of their individual pieces standing out.
Lance puts forth his hand. The symbol on the back of his hand appears again. The blue center of Lance’s Triforce symbol shines, mingling its light with the gold hue of the other symbols. Lance rests his hand on the door.
When the three hands touch the door, the Song of Time begins sung by the voices of spirits about the room.
The great door becomes a solid glory of golden energy that disperses into a million particles. The symbols cease their luminance at the open way before them.
Slowly, solemnly, the four pass through the corridor into the back room. This once lavish chamber also lies waste, walls covered with ivy. The upright walls have collapsed slightly due to neglect. A small crack in the wall lets in a narrow shaft of light where once a slender window resided.
A octagonal marble step, rising three inches from the floor, eight feet in diameter, occupies the very center of the room, the only thing left untouched by the years.
A small stone pedestal sits atop the step, housing the point of the sacred sword of evil’s bane, the Master Sword.
Link: Lance, my son, this is the legendary weapon with which I fought Ganon.
Lance: Incredible.
Nabooru: The spirits—I can feel—there is a convergence within this room!
Zelda: I fell it too. Lance.
Instinctively, the youth approaches the legendary blade. As soon as he places his hand on the sword’s hilt, a white burst of energy seals the point of the weapon within the stone pedestal. Lance finds himself repelled by some invisible field surrounding the sword. He rejoins the others in front of the marble step.
Blue ribbons of energy draw themselves into the hilt of the Master Sword, all converging upon the weapon’s Triforce mark. The gold of the symbol radiates its brilliance. A blue light from the center of the symbol joins the golden radiance.
In a high male voice undefiled by organic components, the Master Sword speaks.
Master Sword: Welcome back, Link, Hero of Time. Welcome Zelda and Nabooru, Sages of Time. You, Lance. Your title will not be revealed at present, for your purpose is not yet known.
Link: The Master Sword can speak?
Master Sword: I can speak when my voice must be heard. Within me dwells the spirit of a light warrior. That is why I repel evil.
Zelda: Please tell us. What evil threatens our world?
Master Sword: It is a rebirth of an old evil. The Gerudo Witches Koume and Katake are in the world as spirits of flame. They are working to revive their old master, the great Ganondorf Dragmire, by giving him the new Gerudo male child.
Nabooru: But Ganondorf is sealed within the Evil Realm.
Master Sword: The Gerudo Witches are not. The seal may be broken from this side.
Link: How can I stop them?
Master Sword: You will not. Your task was completed years ago when you defeated Ganon. This task belongs to Lance.
Lance: Why me? Why all of this?
Master Sword: As direct descendant of both a Sage and the Hero of Time, you have a special place in Hyrule’s history. These mysteries will be revealed as you complete your task. Do you accept this challenge?
Lance: Yes, but I’m a little confused.
Master Sword: You should be at this point. I will guide you along your quest. You must retrieve the three Tablets of the Sheikah. Written upon these stone fragments are secrets of Hylian history. These will tell you what you wish to know. The first tablet lies far north of here in the midst of Shadowmire.
Lance: I will leave at once.
Master Sword: Do. My voice will return to you once you possess the first Tablet. Every hero must wield a blade. Unfortunately, fate demands that you will never hold me. But fate does not leave you weaponless. I give you Basteleron, the Blade of the Stars.
A white upheaval of energy consumes the Master Sword, the pedestal, Lance, and the rest of the monumental stage. The vertical blast subsides within three seconds, leaving Lance unharmed. The young man finds a blade of metal hovering in midair three feet above the Master Sword.
The blade extends four and a half feet from a black handle. The blade curves twice, terminating in a two-pointed hatchet-like end. A smaller blade shaped like a butterfly wing surrounds the black handle.
Lance takes the blade by the handle. As the weapon leaves the air, a blue light encases it and its wielder.
Nabooru: Basteleron.
Link: Never have I seen such a blade.
Zelda: A new legend is hereby written.
Lance: I know what I must do. I do not know the way to Shadowmire. Would you please direct me toward my destiny?
The queen bows her head, remembering something from long ago.
Zelda: Impa once told me of the vast marsh north of the palace. If you consult the guards, they will direct you to the passage in the rear of the dungeon. I must warn you, Lance. The tales I’ve heard have not been pleasant.
Nabooru: Yes. Warriors who have entered that swamp have returned as wraiths.
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A warm, sullen night settles over the Desert Temple. The giant carving of a desert goddess, the Colossus, the entrance to the Spirit Temple, seems painted eighteen different overlapping shades by the changing of the sky’s colors.
At last, the darkness envelops the sky. Innumerable stars dot the sky, regal jewels in some divine atmospheric bedding.
A black-robed figure approaches a small opening cut into the side of the Desert Colossus. Two Gerudo guards extend their hands, halting the figure’s progress.
Guard1: Stop. Identify yourself, stranger.
Guard2: What business have you at the Colossus, at this hour?
Guard1: How came you upon the Colossus?
Figure: Questions. Questions. Isn’t getting too late for this sort of game?
In a flurry of motion, two aged arms whip out from the sleeves of the robe. The cloaked villain hurls two handfuls of purple powder into the guards’s faces. The Gerudo guards fall over, rendered unconscious.
The old man removes his hood. The two flames appear hovering before him.
Koume: Don’t think that was the end of it.
Katake: This place is literally crawling with guards.
Koume: This corridor leads you in a natural descent down to the Watcher’s Abode.
Old man: Will I find the Gerudo child there?
Katake: Yes. Of course, the Geru-gran stand watching his chamber.
Koume: Do you have everything you need?
Old man: I have mixed the formula according to your instructions.
Katake: Good.
Koume: You are fortunate here.
Katake: We once lived and operated the Gerudo system.
Koume: We will help you reach the king’s lair.
Katake: Corulim. . .
Koume: Havrathim. . .
The two flames momentarily expand, then burst open in smoke puffs. Two dark violet streams of energy whip around the old man’s body. They orbit his form, travelling faster and faster until he is completely covered by darkness.
The lake scientist continues into the corridor, unseen by any further interruption.
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Lance’s feet trudge through ankle-deep slop, a thick muddy slough extending as far the eye reaches. He surveys the dreary mire, visibility reduced because of the thick-settled fog.
Turning, he searches for the iron gates leading back to the Hyrule Castle grounds. Even though he set out from those gates only thirteen minutes ago, he cannot find any trace of the castle.
So he runs forward. Nothing but stale air meets him in his trek through the mire, a foreboding spirit of death. A blast of cold air strikes the back of his neck.
Lance whirls around, but finds nothing. A menacing breathy shriek comes from somewhere to the front. Lance brings Basteleron to ready, his right hand clasping the handle with the butterfly-shaped blade outward.
Lance: Stand silent. Lance, Prince of the Hylia and heir to Queen Zelda’s throne, commands you to identify yourself. Be you friend or foe?
A gaggle of thirty or so shrieks answer, but all segue into harsh ululations, wraith laughter. Lance brandishes his weapon, his face a hard scowl.
Lance: Foes, stand down and serve Hyrule’s heir! By the authority of the Sages, the Hero of Time, the Master Sword, and in the name of the Power of Gold, I command you. Desist, villains!
The youth’s eyes blaze like some fierce deity’s. At the mention of Hyrule’s sacred relics, the laughter stops. A pale light pierces the mist-cover ahead. A patch of dry ground, just enough to accommodate one traveler, appears from beneath the slough once the thick mud parts.
Lance strides boldly forward, into the light. More than a dozen semi-formless figures line his way as if to salute their captain, their lord.
Lance: The faithful dead. Shadowmire. This must be where the souls of the Sheikah come to reside after departing their bodies. We remember them in Kakariko Cemetery, but they linger in this place, to guard us from beyond the grave. They pay homage to their liege, to me.
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Link stands beside the pedestal in the center of the triforce symbol.
Link: I never thought I would be here again. In this room, I mean.
The Queen joins him at his side. Nabooru steps around the outside of the dais, in tune with something far outside the room.
Zelda: But the last time you stood here, you were fighting as the Hero of Time. Now, our son shares the legend.
Link: Yes. We’re just passing the torch along.
Link draws Zelda to himself. The two embrace.
Zelda: And yet, I wonder what dangers he will encounter. Stone giants, poisonous plants, fire-breathing serpents—
Link: Yeah. Lucky dog.
The Queen gives him a reprimanding glance.
Nabooru: Something is wrong.
Link: Excuse me.
Nabooru: There’s been a breach. I can sense the patterns of the Gerudo from across space. Something’s not right.
Zelda: Nabooru. What’s been breached?
Nabooru: It’s not the standard fortress guard. It’s the Gerugran.
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Lance steps up to the altar at the front of the cavernous room. Vines hang from the ceiling; lichens, moss, and fungi possess the walls.
The ivory altar at the forefront of the temple is the only piece of room left untouched by the local flora. The smooth, white surface holds up a single stone tablet.
Lance takes the tablet and examines its writing. The strokes form letters, but he cannot decipher it. As he stands in front of the altar, the doors of the temple slowly shut. The clanging of the doors and the lowering of the room’s light brings his attention around.
The vines hanging from the ceiling descend into the center dais and form one conglomerate creature. Vines twist, forming some sort of central trunk with many appendages. A bud opens at the top of the creature, forming only a single eye and a scooping, duck-bill mouth.
Lance’s face goes white, for his foresight reveals this creature’s name.
Lance: Inkvine.
In a flash, Basteleron springs from its sheath. Lance grasps the weapon and leaps to the side to avoid a crashing blow from a vine-arm. The boy somersaults and slashes a vine-arm from Inkvine’s main body.
The creature flails another arm around, slashing Lance with a sharp tip. The boy grasps his neck and feels blood oozing from a cut extending from the bottom of his neck to the bridge of his nose on the left side of his face. Something about the wound throbs, as if a foreign agent were introduced.
Lance: Poison!
With a force of fury, Lance thrusts upward. Another arm snaps off. The creature flails, but cannot find the fleeing youth.
Lance jumps from ledge to ledge, turning cartwheels in air, slashing off more vines. He leaps from a ledge behind the creature and plunges the leading edge of Basteleron through the creature’s eye into the central body.
Inkvine falls limp at the blow. The remaining arms lift toward the ceiling as the creature dissolves into green air.
Lance finds himself standing in the center of a now clean shrine formed entirely of ivory. The raised platform beneath him exudes a blue light. He finds that he stands in the center of a great triforce symbol, just like in the Temple of Time.
He falls into a trance and sees nothing but white light on every side. A voice speaks to him from across the void.
Master Sword: Lance, son of Link, you have fought well. But you have completed only a small part of your quest. Sail southward from Lake Hylia and you will find the Island of Ill Portent. Another temple stands there. Another tablet rests there. Make haste, young hero. Only when you have the three tablets will their truth be deciphered.
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Upon a flat rock shelf, a fish-woman sits. Water pours around her. Two braziers stand on either side of her, and a horde of fish-men scurry about the chamber attending on their Queen Ruto.
A single, thin Zora approaches her.
Zora: Majesty, a youth has entered the region of the Lake.
Ruto: Say?
Zora: He is approaching the Triforce dais, with his gaze fixed south.
Ruto: South? But there’s no—who is this youth?
Zora: The son of Queen Zelda, Lance.
The Zora queen rises from her seat with resolve in her eyes.
Ruto: Prepare the barge.
Zora: Majesty, the royal barge travels far too slowly for us to intercept the lad from here.
Ruto: I meant the Lake Barge.
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The water of the lake rolls calmly. A few birds call from the tree near the Triforce dais at the island in the center. Lance reaches the island and faces the south.
Lance: The way is shut. Nothing but rock walls surrounding the lake.
A rustling behind him makes wheel around. He finds twelve Zoras standing, armored with weapons ready. He readies Basteleron, but the Zora at the head of the party waves it off.
Zora: Let your weapon sleep, young Prince. We do not mean you harm. We are Queen Ruto’s royal guard. It is on her account that we have come.
Lance: Go on.
Zora: You seek the southern passage. We the Zora know the seas well. The way is here. We keep it hidden. An evil as ancient as the world itself sleeps on the Island of Ill Portent. Ancient writings also speak of dark secrets hidden in the island. Many of our people have explored the island; none have returned. We have shut the way. Now, fate has declared that we open it again.
Lance: Thanks. I wil—
Zora: Transport. Yes, we know. The flow of water brings us news of many things. Queen Ruto has given you leave to use the Lake Barge.
Lance: What barge? There’s nothing—
Zora: Look again, young sir.
Lance turned around. He found a stately sailboat moored to a dock previously unseen against the island.
Lance: Where did that—?
Zora: We the Zora are keepers of many secrets. Take the Royal Barge and sail due south. The way will open for you.
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A cloaked figure enters the Sanctuary of the Geru-gran beneath the Desert Colossus. The cavern glows from the sheer amount of gold in the room. Huge statues of gold compose the four walls of the cavern. The floor is paved with solid gold. The altar in the center of the room is white, but white gold.
A ring of Gerudo guards surrounds the altar, upon which rests perhaps the ugliest baby in the world. The guards do not move, even when the cloaked figure raises both hands.
Balls of energy appear in the cloaked figure’s hands, each one growing with every second. The balls die and shortly after, the hands release a series of electric shocks. The Gerudo guards fall away from the altar, dead.
The cloaked figure approaches the baby upon the shelf. He throws back the hood, his ugly elongated face standing out in the light. Two flames appear on either side of the baby.
Koume: Look, Katake. He is the spitting image of him.
Katake: Yes, Koume. He can break the seal.
Scientist: Wait! What is this seal?
Koume: Why, the seal that holds the great Ganondorf Dragmire.
Scientist: I did not intend to release that beast. I only want revenge on Zelda and the Royal Family.
Katake: You swore fealty to us! You will do what we require. Only then will you have any of your revenge. The child is the key, Agahnim. Not just to releasing the great Ganon, but to your place in fate as well.
The lake scientist casts one long gaze at the child. It giggles and flails its appendages happily.
Koume: Now, Agahnim. Take the potion!
The scientist removes a vial from a fold in his cloak. He raises it high, takes another look at the child, then again to the vial.
The flame-spirits become long, trailing streams of energy that begin to hover and revolve around the altar. The fabric of space around the altar begins to bend and sway as Agahnim uncorks the vial.
In one fluid motion, Agahnim brings the vial to his lips.
_________________________________________
Wind fills the great sail of the Zora barge. Lance sits in the hull of the boat, the wind whipping his hair. The boat moves forward from the small island, cutting the water of Lake Hylia like a knife.
The barge approaches the great rock wall that rings the Lake. When the boat nears, a symbol on the sail glows, the symbol of the Zora. The wall splits in two and opens like a gate. Light escapes the opening, nearly blinding Lance.
The wind picks up, hurtling the barge through the rift in the wall to the vast ocean on the other side.
Lance: The Ocean. The Great Encompassing Ocean. Only bards and legends tell of it. Only prophets have ever seen it.
Before his wonder can overwhelm him, an island comes into view. The barge slows and runs aground on the sandy beach.
Lance steps onto the sands, finding the island all sand. A single tree rises from the soil, shielding a dark hole in the island’s surface. Lance peers over the edge. A hot breath of wind assaults him. He feels a hand, but finds none, grab him and push him into the opening.
Lance tumbles headlong into an endless vertical corridor, black as night. He somersaults as he ceaselessly plunges.
__________________________________________
Nabooru gasps for air on the floor of the sanctuary. Link and Zelda help her to her feet.
Nabooru: My guard! My highest guard!
Zelda: Nabooru.
Nabooru: We are no longer safe, Queen.
A Gerudo warrior drops from the ceiling. She smiles, bows, and takes a step toward the group.
Gerudo: Highness, the ones guarding the child have fallen.
Nabooru: I know. Tell me the extent of the damage at the Colossus.
Gerudo: The gold remains, the Colossus undisturbed. The entire squadron of Gerugran is dead. The other guards at the Colossus are also reported dead. The child has been taken, and I only am escaped alive to tell thee.
Nabooru: The child. . . Did you see the intruder?
Gerudo: Yes. He was an old man whose body had long been warped by the ages. Two flame-spirits accompanied him. They identified themselves as Koume and Katake.
Nabooru: The hags. It is clear then.
Gerudo: Highness, there is more. The spirits identified the man as Agahnim, and he drank from a vial that transformed his body.
Zelda: The Lake Scientist! He is seeking his revenge on me.
Nabooru: The spirits of the hags are filling his mind with hate and evil. Our hope is now in Lance and the Tablets of the Sheikah.
Link scowls and stalks off to a corner of the room.
Link: Where did I stow it?
Zelda: Darling? What are you doing?
Link tears away the scattered remains of one wall and claws at the floor.
Link: I know it is here.
_________________________________________
Lance: Island of Ill Portent, my eye! Other than falling, there’s no real threat here.
Another hot blast assaults him. A bunch of hands grab at him, but in the dark, he sees nothing.
Lance: Spoke too soon.
Lance brings out Basteleron. The metal glows in the darkness, but fails to illuminate sufficiently.
In the distance, a fold appears in the darkness. The fold rises, revealing the ivory-white of a massive eye. A blue cat’s eye pupil rolls into place.
Once again, Lance hears a name in his head, and a trance gives him the monster’s identity.
Lance: Vrolokin, the spirit of perpetual darkness.
The eye closes. A thousand hands grab at Lance. Basteleron releases a quick burst of light and illumines the hands.
Lance slashes at one of them. Two new ones grow in its place.
Lance: Okay. That wasn’t right.
Basteleron points itself straight upward. Lance finds a small sack floating in the air above him. The hands grasp at him as he tries to reach it.
Finally, he clasps the bag and takes a handful of its contents.
Lance: Powder?
The hands rush him again. Lance thrusts the powder into the air. As the hands contact the powder, they shrivel and dissolve. Further dustings eliminate all of the hands.
The eye appears again. It shakes from side to side and turns a blood red. It vanishes, appears again behind Lance, and multiplies itself in a circle around the boy.
Lance: One is quite enough, thank you. Now which one is the real one.
Basteleron glows intermittently. Lance grows impatient. Enraged, he swings Basteleron in a wide arc, slicing through all of the images. Nothing happens.
Basteleron glows and attracts the boy’s attention. Something within the small sack reacts with the blade’s light. Thinking for a moment, Lance inserts the blade into the sack. The blade comes out sparkling, a think layer of the powder clinging to the metal.
Lance sweeps the blade in another great arc, trailing a stream of stardust behind the blade. Basteleron strikes the real eye, an image at 3:00 on the circle, dead center. The multiple images vanish as the eye shakes violently. It disperses in a flurry of red sparks.
A shaft of light beams from above surround Lance. A stone fragment floats down and hovers in front of Lance.
Instinctively, the boy takes the previous fragment from his back pocket. It joins perfectly with this one, only a single piece missing.
His body draws upward, back toward the surface. Another trance featuring the Master Sword in its pedestal comes over him.
Master Sword: Lance, heir of the Hero and the Sage, fortune shines upon you. The second of the Tablets is in your hands. Only one piece remains. You have done well against Inkvine and Vrolokin. Shadowmire and Ill Portent are yours, and you have seen the Great Encompassing Ocean. Your last challenge awaits you in the clouds far above, in the ruins of the sky kingdom Everlight. Go, young man, and may fortune reward you.
_____________________________________
The light shaft drops Lance in the prow of the Lake Barge. Lance pushes off from shore and brings the boat around. He attempts to return to Lake Hylia, but the wind has other plans. A gust sends him in another direction.
His speed increases until the barge rises from the surface of the water.
Lance: This is weird.
The boat continues to rise with no destination in sight. Lance approaches a gathering of clouds. Two of them part like gates, in much the same manner as the Lake Wall, when he nears. A complex set of ruins rests on the surface of the clouds.
The barge comes to rest on a soft cumulus puff. Lance disembarks, finding the cloud firm enough to support him.
__________________________________
Zelda and Nabooru crouch beside Link as he continues to toss rubble around the room.
Zelda: Darling, what are you looking for?
Link: I know it’s here. I placed it here.
Zelda: Darling! What?
Link: Do you remember that merchant who owned a mask shop in Hyrule Castle Town.
Zelda: Ugh, yes! He disturbed me.
Link: You and me both. But his masks helped me an awful lot on my early quests. Do you remember the story I told you about the world of Termina, the Skull Kid, and the adventure to retrieve Majora’s Mask?
Zelda: Darling, let’s not think of such things. Alternate dimensions, worlds within worlds, magical masks—
Link: It’s all true, dear. Those masks were very beneficial on that quest. I returned to the merchant often before his death and borrowed of the masks many times. He bequeathed the entire stock to me upon his death. I have kept them hidden, because I have little use for such things these days. But I kept two very special, very powerful masks in a sack here in this room.
Link’s hands clear away debris to reveal a burlap sack. He dusts the sack and scoops it up enthusiastically.
Link: Yes!
Zelda: Darling, which of the old masks are kept here?
Link: It is the first of the two that I need now. It is a sacred treasure of the Sheikah, the Mask of Truth.
___________________________________________
Lance passes the ruins of two upright columns, massive pillars of what looks like granite. A remnant of a paved courtyard spreads before him on the other side of the columns. A well, or fountain of sorts rests in the center of the courtyard.
As he nears the fountain, three pillars of flame erupt in front of him, one red, one blue, the last green.
Lance: Ye gods!
Lance stumbles away from the fires. To his surprise, they speak in unison.
Flames: Correction.
The flames lift, revealing thin golden, feminine bodies beneath them. The fires serve as hair, burning wigs of sheer power.
Lance stands fixed to the stone floor, in sheer awe of such power and immutable beauty.
The blue-flamed goddess is the first to speak.
Nayru: Welcome to Everlight, young Lance, heir to Hyrule, offspring of the Hero and Sage of Time.
The red-flamed goddess joins, followed by the green.
Din: This is the final challenge for the final piece of the Ancient Sheikah Tablets. The fragment you retrieve here will make complete the writing of the ancients and will tell of a very great secret.
Farore: The secret is one that even we have bound to the service of Fate. Only twice in history will we ever speak of it. The first is now.
Lance gulps as the Din and Nayru move behind Farore and begin humming in eerie pitches, harmonically.
Farore: We the goddess, patrons of creation, are but the physical extension of a universal being. Her likeness is carved in stone in the midst of the desert, there named Colossus. It is unlawful for any mortal to utter her name, thus we refrain from speaking it. Colossus you know; Colossus we shall call her. When our essences combine, the visage of Colossus will be revealed. We are in her, and we speak for her.
Lance: Kinda freaky.
Farore: Hush, young one. It was Colossus who ordained that this void be formed and filled with life. It was she who determined the boundaries thereof and hung the plate upon the table of heaven. It is she who moves Fate, and Fate is her slave. In the hand of Fate are mighty weapons. Your father and mother are of them. So you, their son, will take your place. No Hero of Time are you, young one. You are the Tool of Fate, the restorer of the broken, the mender of the rent. Hear you now of the Triforce and the nature of divine power.
Farore steps back, the others raising their arms over her. A well of white energy surges up around them. In the tide of the well forms an image of a golden triangle, with a single piece missing from the center.
Farore: We the goddesses left the Triforce here upon creation, a symbol of our presence, a testament to our power. It is imbued with the power to grant he who touches it one wish. The Triforce does not know good or evil; it simply grants the finder’s intent. If the wish be pure, justice and righteousness will favor the land, if the wish be evil, the realm will fall into chaos. But the Triforce is incomplete, at least as you know it. There is a force that binds the three elements in tight harmony, a hidden piece that balances good and evil. Its absence renders the power of gold ambivalent, servant to either good or evil. But the Hidden can restore and mend.
Lance: A fourth piece? It’s not a Triforce?
Farore: Strictly, no. In practice, yes. The Hidden has never joined the other three pieces. It has not been needed, and will only be needed one more time in the history of this world, at its annihilation. The power of gold works with three pieces, thus the name Triforce. Only when the Hidden joins does it become the Tetraforce, the power to restore. As we speak, the Twinrova Koume and Katake are channeling the soul of the great Ganondorf into the infant Gerudo male. This would effectively break the seal that we have placed on the King of Thieves and would allow evil unprecedented control of the Triforce. The great Colossus has ordained a great history for this world. We will not allow the seal to break in this generation. We have chosen you, Lance, to be Fate’s tool, to vanquish this threat, and to balance the power of gold.
In a flash of golden lightning, the three goddesses vanish. The three voices come down from the sky, in unison again, harmonically.
Goddesses: You will see the Hidden and handle its power. Go forth, Lance. Take the final tablet. The Sheikah Tablets will give you the words to summon the Hidden. With the Balancing Power in your hands, you will vanquish Ganon, sealing him in the Evil Realm for generations to come.
Lance takes an uneasy step forward, the words of the goddesses troubling him. He enters the castle gate, and something behind him thuds shut.
He turns and finds a stone wall barring his exit.
Lance: So much for an easy one.
The wall to his left moves inward and stops. Lance approaches the wall, and the north wall moves as well.
Lance: What the mess?
Soon, all the walls move, at random times, stopping and moving again. Eventually, Lance is trapped in a narrow crevice. Scowling, Lance takes his bag of magic powder and thrusts his hand therein.
Lance: Please tell me you can work this way.
The boy throws the powder on his feet as he leaps up. The powder performs as needed, propelling the youth more skyward than physically possible. He lands on the edge of one of the walls and forces his footing. The walls close shut underneath him, forming a more walkable pathway.
A tower in the distance boasts a single golden fragment, which Lance assumes to be the final Tablet.
He runs toward the tower, finding the way much shorter than he expected. A pillar rises from his path and blocks his way.
Lance: I don’t have time for this.
The boy leaps up and lands on top of the stone pillar. It cracks beneath him, its base on the makeshift path shattering with it. Lance falls, but grabs on to the broken edge of the stone path.
Lance: Not exactly what I intended.
The voices of the goddesses come down from above again.
Din: Power alone cannot prevail.
Farore: Courage, young heart.
Nayru: Wisdom will lift you up.
Lance: Why can’t sages, prophets, and goddesses ever talk normal?
The segment of the pathway upon which he clings cracks. His face goes white as the piece breaks off. Lance plummets to the great ocean beneath, shutting his eyes and awaiting the inevitable.
The goddesses repeat their words from above.
Farore: Courage, young heart.
Din: Power alone cannot prevail.
Nayru: Wisdom will lift you up. Trust. . .
Lance becomes aware that he still grips the sack of magic powder. He has held it all this time. He takes a handful of the substance and shrugs to himself. Awkwardly, he thrusts the powder into the air in front of him.
The dust spreads and wafts all around him, hiding him in a strange fog. He emerges from the other side with two great white wings.
Lance: Ha! Is there anything this stuff can’t do?
He slings the magic powder sack onto his back as he soars heavenward. The boy soon rises to the ruined kingdom, racing toward the glint of gold on the high tower.
In one swift motion, he arcs upward, snatching the fragment from the tower, and hurtling straight upward.
He takes the joined fragments from a pocket and combines it with the last piece. Now completed, the Tablet releases blinding golden light that swallows Lance and the entire kingdom of Everlight.
_____________________________________
Link: Lance. Lance. Son. . .
Lance opens his eyes. He finds himself standing on pure white light.
Link: Congratulations, son.
Lance’s father stands before him, or at least what looks like his father. A strange mask covers Link’s face, a white mask with a huge red eye dominating the face.
Link: I apologize for my appearance. The Mask of Truth is one of the Sacred Artifacts of the ancient Sheikah. With the Mask, I can communicate with you across the veil. You have combined the Tablets of the Sheikah and will know soon the mystery for which Fate has called you. Your mother and I are proud of you, son. But I know that in each movement of Fate, a great battle must be waged. I know that you have a large fight ahead of you, and I wish to lend my assistance in the only way I can.
Link raises his right hand, which holds a small sack similar to Lance’s. He removes from the sack another mask, a likeness of his own face, yet with white bang-strands and stripes of paint under the eyes.
Lance: Dad! That’s not—
Link: Yes, son. It will give the strength of a god, the power of legend. I give it to you to use in your final battle. You will stand your ground well against whatever Fate has for you.
Three puffs of fire appear to the left. The goddesses form from these and speak to the individuals.
Din: Stand your ground you will, young Hero. Take your father’s mask and wear it with pride.
Farore: It was brought from the world of Termina, a spoil of war in the great battle fought there. It has powers here as well.
Nayru: Young heart, the Tablet.
Lance: Oh, yes.
Lance takes the completed tablet from his pocket. It floats in the air as the strange letters exude a golden light.
Din: Hero of Time, you have served us well.
Farore: But this is your son’s fight.
Nayru: Leave us, you must.
Link: I understand, dear goddesses. May fortune reward Lance in his quest.
Lance’s father vanishes in a blue flash of light.
Nayru: The words, young Lance. You can read them.
The boy stares at the letters. Strange characters, his eyes have never seen strokes in such patterns or at such degree. Not even the Hylian script of the Temple of Time bears any resemblance. Stranger still, Lance’s eyes deduce the translation, as if completely natural.
Farore: These are the words of the Ancients, the ones who were born of our breath at creation. They passed from this world, having achieved purity of spirit and body. They have transcended this realm of existence. The Sheikah descended from the Ancients, and these are the words of their heritage. Speak them, Lance. They will call the Hidden from its hiding place, and all will be made whole.
The syllables making little sense when uttered, Lance verbalizes the words of the Tablet. The writing ceases to glow, and the Tablet returns to Lance’s hands.
Confused, Lance turns to the goddesses. Before any of them can say a word, the atmosphere becomes black.
Lance: What is happening?
Din: It is the seal. The enemy is already attempting to release Ganondorf Dragmire.
Lance: Then I must go.
Nayru: Yes, young heart. We will send you to face the newly apprenticed wizard.
Farore: Have Basteleron at ready, Lance. Agahnim is no longer a simple scientist. And he is aided by the Gerudo hags, Koume and Katake. If he succeeds in releasing Ganon, his power will increase a hundredfold.
Lance: I am not afraid.
Din: Yes. You have the courage of a stallion. We have given you the wisdom of the ages. We give you the power of gold. If the wizard or Ganondorf attempt to call the power of the Triforce, call the Hidden. It is the only power that can restore the world again. Go in might, young Hero.
__________________________________________
A stocky figure stands upright in front of a stone altar.
Two puffs of flame, one blue, the other red, hover in midair at either end of the altar. A hideous man-child lies on the stone slab.
Agahnim: You were right. I can feel this child’s power. It is beautiful, and enticing.
Koume: The transformation is complete within you, Agahnim. Now the incantation.
Katake: As we taught you, Agahnim. Say it.
The robed figure bows his head and mumbles words quickly.
A pillar of light deposits Lance behind the wizard against the wall.
Lance: Gerudo hags, your power ends here!
The twin flames leave the altar and assume positions on either side of the wizard.
Koume: We are the keepers of a secret fire. We are not hags!
Katake: And it does not matter. The incantation is complete. You are late, fool.
Koume: The spirit of the great Ganondorf Dragmire inhabits the child’s body.
The baby on the altar wails horribly.
Agahnim: It is all right, Twinrova. I can handle this.
The two flames disperse, vanishing. The tall figure spins, his cloak swishing dramatically. Lance faces the figure, a tall stocky man with a youthful, malicious face and white hair. The figure’s cloak bears strange symbols, curses in ancient tongues.
Agahnim: You are the one the goddesses chose to end this? You are so young, and so late. The task is complete. Fate is overturned.
Lance: I’m the Tool of Fate. I will decide what transpires here.
Agahnim: Those are brave words, young one. But in the end, that is all you have. Just a couple of words.
The wizard assumes a fighting stance, energy orbs pulsating in the palms of his hands.
Agahnim: And for you, they will be your epitaph!
The wizard hurls the orbs of energy toward the boy. Lance steps to one side and ducks, dodging both of them. He resumes his upright stance, moves a hand behind his back, grips a firm handle there, and brings Basteleron to ready.
Agahnim: Fancy blades will not avail you, boy!
The wizard hurls a flurry of bolts. Lance dodges three, whacks the rest away with the edge of his blade, and manages to deflect one of the bolts back to the wizard.
Agahnim stumbles under the blow, temporarily winded.
Agahnim: Well played. But not well enough.
The wizard scowls and vanishes. Lance steps forward, uneasily, Basteleron held perpetually ready.
He hears a soft pat behind him. Reflex brings Basteleron around in a horizontal slash, deflecting another energy bolt back to its source. Annoyed, the wizard vanishes again.
Lance finds him with another successful deflection, and another, another, and another.
Agahnim: All right, boy! This ends!
The wizard spreads his arms. The palms produce energy orbs again, these ones growing with each second. Eventually, the orbs die, and twin bolts of pure lightning shoot forward from the wizard’s hands.
Lance falls to his knees, the pain wracking his body. He raises Basteleron, but it does nothing. In desperation, he brings out the sack of magic powder. He coats the blade with a layer of powder, as before, and makes another mad slash with the blade.
The lightning brings Agahnim to his knees. He lurches forward, falling on his face. His flesh loses its youthful, pinkish hue. Lance rises to his feet, the child’s wailing attracting his attention.
The two flames reappear at the head and foot of the altar.
Koume: Foiled again, Katake?
Katake: It would seem presently, Koume. But we have tricks left yet.
Koume: Release the spirit of Ganon!
Katake: Sacrifice the child!
The two flames circle around the altar in the form of energy ribbons. Eventually, the ribbons converge on the child, setting the child ablaze in a black conflagration. The child screams for a moment, when the cry is cut short by a deep guttural laugh.
Two red eyes appear in the midst of the flame.
On the ground, the gravely injured wizard moves an arm forward. The black flame leaps forward and seeps into the injured body.
Agahnim rises from the ground, his eyes burning red. He turns to one side with both hands waving. The entire scene warps and becomes a plane of blue and white swirling light.
The hands blur as they hurl hundreds of energy bolts toward the boy. Twirling basteleron, Lance deflects the bolts, but is pushed a great distance from his opponent.
When the barrage ends, Agahnim cackles. He spreads his arms wide. His skin darkens to obsidian with horns sprouting on his head. He bulks up a bit, somewhat of a cross between the creature form of Ganon and Agahnim’s body. He manifests a long, curved sword of diamond in his left hand.
Lance takes an item from his pouch. He twirls the facemask in his hand challengingly.
Lance: My turn.
He grasps it by the chin and snaps to his face the Fierce Deity’s Mask.
Lance’s body bulks up, assuming the height of a young man in his early twenties. Basteleron mutates as well, another blade sprouting from the butterfly-bladed handle and twisting around the main shaft. The mask in essence becomes Lance’s face, its white hair-strands identifying the young man in his new form, Oni-Lance.
The Ganon creature roars loudly and swings the curved diamond sword.
Oni-Lance raises his own weapon. The two metals clash in air with a fury of sparks.
The titans exchange blows, each matching the other’s strength, speed, power, and stamina. Ganon-Agahnim, or “Gahnima,” pushes Lance back with his free hand. The monster’s hands blur in a flurry of waves and gestures.
Gahnima releases a torrent of energy bolts toward his opponent.
Oni-Lance can do little more than raise Basteleron and hope the bolts will pass by. As if to respond, three golden pellets revolve around his form, keeping the bolt-storm at bay. The voices of the goddesses speak to him from the revolving energy pellets.
Din: This is the hour, young heir.
Farore: The evil one has resurfaced, in this his new form.
Nayru: His destiny is bound to the Triforce, as is yours.
Din: We will assist you here.
Farore: We will repel the evil power.
Nayru: Strike with your blade, Hand of Fate!
The pellets tighten their orbit and release a golden pillar of light. The pillar moves outward, forcing the bolt-storm back to its source.
Gahnima receives each and every bolt that he himself produced, caught in a surge of bolt-energy which works much like a light arrow on Ganondorf Dragmire.
Oni-Lance seizes the opportunity. He leaps forward, plunging the Sword of the Stars into Gahnima’s forehead.
The beast writhes beneath the blade, shrieking a blood-curdling inhuman wail.
Oni-Lance: It is done.
A pillar of light consumes Gahnima and the entire scene.
Lance reverts to his normal form, the blade reverting with him. With nothing but pure energy, light itself, visible, Lance hears the noise of heavy, belabored panting directly before him.
Eventually, a slumped form materializes, the form of the beast Gahnima. The beast raises his hand, and a yellow Triforce emblem appears with the top triangle piece highlighted.
An amalgam of the goddess voices, speaking as the Master Goddess Colossus, speaks into Lance’s ear.
Colossus: The beast calls for the power of the Triforce from here, the Sacred Realm. Now is the time, Lance. Recite the line on the Tablet and summon the Hidden, the balancing power.
The boy takes from his pouch the Sheikah tablet. With a Triforce mark of his own glowing on his hand, he reads the line aloud.
Lance: Ecrof irt ehtot dael o reh eht foyaw eht yam!
He tosses the Tablet high above, finally recognizing its shape, an inverted triangle. The Tablet glows an eerie blue, and transforms. It becomes the Hidden.
Gahnima gasps in shock as a golden triangle escapes his body. Two other triangles materializes and join with Gahnima’s, forming the Triforce. The Hidden rotates wildly before hovering toward the golden emblem. When it joins with the Triforce, a series of blue explosions rocks the area.
Gahnima shrieks again, his body convulsing. The completed Triforce strikes the beast with a golden lightning bolt. The body of the lake scientist separates from the body of Ganon and is lost in the light.
________________________________________
Lance remains in the Realm, the completed Triforce hovering before him. His mother and father materialize to either side of him. The three goddesses materialize behind the emblem of golden power.
Link: Way to go, son. You saved us all.
Din: Lance, the Hand of Fate, Agent of Destiny, you have balanced the power of gold and restored the Triforce to its original glory.
Farore: You have secured your place in the Destiny of this world, but the task does not end here.
Nayru: The power of the Hidden has completed the Triforce, but it will not last forever. One day, Ganon will take back the Triforce of Power, and will launch his assault on this world again. This will continue until the Hidden is summoned to complete the Triforce, and the Triforce annihilates the King of Evil for all time.
Din: That will take place at the end of this world’s existence, when the inhabitants therein will either come with us into New Everlight, or perish with the destruction of Evil.
Farore: At the end of time, Lance, you will be called for again.
Lance: And what will I do until then.
Farore: You must rest with us in Everlight until that time. Your fate is sealed with this world, as is your father’s and your mother’s.
Zelda: Lance, whatever you must do, you must do. Do not think of the life you leave here.
Din: Another heir will be born to your mother. Come now, Lance. Touch the Triforce, and sleep until the end of time.
Hesitating, the boy steps forward. He places both his hands upon the golden power and shuts his eyes. He vanishes in a flurry of gold sparkles.
The Triforce vanishes as well.
Link: What about us? What should we do until then?
Farore: Evil has cursed the land of Hyrule. What once was blessed has become desolate. We cannot permit this land to continue.
Din: We have decided to flood Hyrule, so that Evil will not claim it again. The deluge will begin immediately.
Zelda: But the people of the land, they will be killed!
Nayru: Do not fear. We are sending the rain gradually over the next hundred years. You and your dominion will have plenty of time to escape. Build yourselves boats and retreat to the highest peaks.
Farore: Yes. We will make islands of mountains, and even raise new islands for the population. It will be a new world.
Din: We will keep the Temple of Time protected. That is all that will remain of this land. The future is still yours, as is your place in this world’s destiny.
The goddesses vanish in a flash.
Link and Zelda turn toward each other. Link shrugs. Zelda falls into his arms.
Zelda: I am sorry, darling. I am frightened.
Link: I know, my dear. But destiny awaits us. And the land is still ours.
THE END