Ocarina of Time Chapter 26
Chapter 26
Song of Storms
It had been a long trek back to the Kokiri grove. Their recent journey from the desert hadn't been kind to the Kokiri. Many were malnourished and suffering from a variety of ailments, from horrible rattling coughs to blistered and shredded feet that were infected. Moriko provided healing to those who needed it, while Link ended up carrying one girl who fell asleep as they neared the grove.
As Link approached the Great Deku Tree's grove, he saw Forenz perched anxiously amidst the lower branches of a tree. When he saw his approaching kin, Forenz gave an ecstatic whoop and clambered down to meet the others, who were just as pleased to see him. Link smiled upon seeing their tired but happy faces, the sight of their home revitalizing their weary souls just a little.
The celebration didn't last long. Some of the Kokiri soon settled down to sleep around the Sheikah's fire, while the others either made a fire of their own or simply found a niche amidst the knotted roots of the trees surrounding the glade. Before long, the clearing was quiet once more. The silence weighed heavily on Link, like a suffocating force pressing down on him. He should have felt a lot happier, but recent events still lay heavy upon his burdened mind, leaving him despondent. As Sheik and Rin retired to their tent, Link preferred to remain outside, listening to the crackling fire. He laid out his bedroll in the grass and settled down to rest.
Sleep did not come so easily. For the longest time, he simply lay there gazing at the sky, a torrent of thoughts and worries buzzing an incessant cacophony in his mind. When he finally did get to sleep, Link dreamed of the specter with those burning amber eyes, dreamed that it had killed Saria, its echoing laughter chasing him through an endless fog. The gentle sputtering of the fire became a crackling inferno, its roar drumming in his ears, consuming everything. He was in Castletown, pyres of flame all around him as the city burned. Oily black smoke filled his vision as he knelt beside the body of a small girl. Only she wasn't dead this time. She looked up at him, her eyes angry and accusing.
"Why didn't you help me?" she demanded. "You left me to die! What kind of a hero are you?"
"I'm sorry," Link cried out, stumbling back and turning to flee. He had to get away. From the smoke, from the flames, and the blood that ran thick along the corpse-strewn street.
He screamed and ran, desperate to get away. He didn't get far before he ran headfirst into Saria. He would have been relieved to see her if she hadn't been looking at him with a death glare that she never reserved for him (or anyone else for that matter).
"Why didn't you save her?" Saria demanded with stinging reproach. "You left her to die!"
Link stepped back. There was no warmth in Saria's face now, no smile, and her voice was anything but gentle. She stepped forward, and Link took an involuntary step backward. He heard a structure groan, the sound rising above the crackling flames. He looked to his left and saw a wall leaning dangerously toward him. The groaning intensified, and with a resounding crash, the wall gave way. Burning timber and blackened stone rushed towards him, slamming into him and sending the world into blackness.
Link woke, gasping for air, his heart racing frantically. It took him a moment to realize that he was safely within the confines of a Kokiri grove, and instead of flames, he beheld a star-speckled sky bathed in silver moonlight.
He shivered and then saw something out of the corner of his eye. Sheik was standing against the tree Link had chosen to shelter beneath. The moonlight cast a faint glow upon her face, revealing the concern in her red Sheikan eyes.
"Are you alright?" Sheik asked. "You were yelling like the demon king himself was after you."
"I'm fine," Link lied, looking up at the small forms of the Kokiri. Nobody else stirred. That surprised him; if his voice had carried to Sheik's tent, then they had surely heard him. Unless Sheik hadn't been sleeping. "I didn't mean to disturb you," he said, pushing away his errant thoughts.
"You did not," Sheik replied, looking up. "Do you need something to help you sleep?"
Link shook his head, looking towards the glowing embers of the dying campfire. "I hardly need encouragement."
There was no mirth to Link's words, despite his attempt at levity. For a time, both he and Sheik just sat there, each lost in their own thoughts. Link still pondered his dream, wishing he could get the dreadful images out of his head. Eventually, he decided to distract himself. He looked up at Sheik, her gaze still upon the distant stars.
"Can I ask you something?" he began, before nearly biting his tongue, wishing he'd found some better way to start off the conversation. They barely knew each other, and Link wasn't sure how comfortable Sheik would be if he asked about her past.
"You said your family died in Castletown?" he began again, swallowing as Sheik stiffened ever so slightly. Perhaps biting his tongue would have been a more sensible decision. "After everything that's happened, how did you learn to cope?"
Sheik didn't speak for the longest time; she just kept staring off into the darkness, and Link began to feel ashamed at his question.
Mentally berating himself, Link stammered an apology. "I- I'm sorry... I shouldn't have-"
"Your apology is not necessary," Sheik murmured as Link swallowed again. "It is not something I talk about much. Not even to Rin... it was part of the reason I wasn't sleeping."
Her fingers brushed against the knife that he knew was hidden beneath the folds of her Sheikah garments. Despite Sheik's unfeeling demeanor, it wasn't the first time that she'd seemed deathly afraid of someone attacking her.
Sheik glanced around to see whether anyone else was close enough to overhear their conversation. "Is this about what happened in the Forest Temple, when you thought you saw Saria die?"
That hit Link like a slap in the face. How did she know about that?
"How-" he began weakly before pausing and looking at Navi who hovered nearby. Her anxious, almost guilty, expression told him what he suspected. "You told her?"
Navi nodded. "I did."
A rush of anger seized Link. He felt betrayed. How could Navi divulge something like that to someone they barely knew?
He pushed the thought aside, casting his eyes away from Navi and Sheik. Vaspin would have let slip at any rate.
"I'm sorry, Link. It's just... I'm worried about you-" Navi's voice trembled as she sensed the tension between them.
"There's nothing wrong with me," Link replied testily.
He could almost taste the lie.
Evidently, Navi could sense it too. "No, you're not," she retorted. "You can't lie to me, Link. I'm your fairy."
Normally, Link would have been grateful for her concern, but he did not want pity. Not now.
"Navi, I'm not even Kokiri-" he began.
Navi flew within an inch of his nose, her hands on her hips, and a scowl on her face. Link flinched at the fairy's sudden anger, certain that he could feel the heat radiating from her.
"I don't care if you're Kokiri or not! You're still my friend," she snapped before taking a deep breath and calming herself. "I love you, Link, and no matter what happens, I always will."
Link's cheeks burned at those words, and he was thankful the night almost hid his reddening ears. He turned his head away from her, shame gnawing away at his gut. It was wrong of him to be angry at her; she was just trying to help. If Saria was here, she would have had a long talk with him.
"I'm worried," Navi continued. "I want to help you. I don't want to see you tear yourself apart... not like you nearly did at that temple. Please let Sheik help you."
She landed on his shoulder, and Link swallowed as a lump rose in his throat; her look of concern almost made him look away.
"You must not feel ashamed for what happened," Sheik said. "You lost control, but given what happened, and that you believed your friend died before your eyes, your reaction was not surprising."
Given Navi and Vaspin's reaction to seeing him hacking the phantom's body into ribbons, Link wasn't sure he agreed with her.
"The main thing is that you do not blame yourself," Sheik continued. "Navi is right. You cannot bottle up everything that happens to you-"
"I don't just bottle everything up," Link muttered, finding it was easier to stare at the ground.
Navi made an irate noise. "No," she said. "You become an emotional wreck and make decisions you would not ordinarily make if you were a little more level-headed.
"Like what?"
"Like charging off into the woods and almost getting lost."
He knew she was right, but he couldn't help feeling angry with her. How could she expect him to be level-headed after everything they'd been through? It wasn't like anyone had prepared him for what he'd face after leaving the Temple of Time. No. He'd simply been told to go and find the Sages, as if wasn't a big task or likely to be even the slightest bit difficult.
He closed his eyes, breathing through his nose as he tried to direct his thoughts elsewhere. It was true; he'd been thrown into the deep end without being asked if he could swim.
"Do you recall that I told you my family died in the sacking of Castletown?" Sheik asked after a lengthy silence.
"I do," Link said quietly, pointedly not looking at Sheik.
She continued on regardless, her voice low enough to make sure her words wouldn't carry far. "I was only ten. The same age you were when the Master Sword sealed you away. You wanted to know how I coped? Well, truth is I did not cope well, not at first."
Link looked up in silent interest at this, which Sheik took as a prompt to continue. "Rin taught me something. How would your loved ones want you to live your life once they were gone? Do you think they would want you to move on and be happy or to tear yourself apart because you cannot stand the thought of living without them?"
Link didn't reply for some time; he knew the answer. Saria would want him to be happy. To move on. The Great Deku Tree would have wanted that; he had implored Link not to grieve for him after all.
"They would want you to move on," he replied quietly.
"That is the strange thing about loss," Sheik murmured. Link wasn't sure if she was addressing him or merely pondering aloud. "You tell yourself you cannot go on, the pain is akin to a grievous wound. Yet, it heals, in time. But you have to let it heal. Dwelling on it is like aggravating a wound so that it bleeds anew, and a wound that cannot heal will only fester."
Link cringed at the mental image this conjured. He turned his gaze to the leafless Deku Tree at the center of the glade, its lifeless limbs mostly hidden in shadow, standing as a testament to his first struggle and his first failure.
Sheik stared at him quietly as he sat there, staring blankly towards the dead tree. She must have sensed his distress because she wasn't content to leave him alone. Nor did Link think she would until they'd talked things over.
"I'm afraid," Link whispered. "In my dreams, I see the dead. Those I couldn't save. Now when I see someone bleeding, I panic. What was the Great Deku Tree thinking, Sheik?" his voice rose, wavering unsteadily. "What was Rauru thinking? I..."
He stopped, unable to continue as a lump rose in his throat.
"Only a fool has no fear," Sheik said. "There is no shame in being afraid. Fear cuts deeper than any blade ever can, but you can overcome it in time."
"I haven't overcome anything," Link muttered. "I don't feel courage at all, only fear."
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the ability to conquer it. You are the Hero of Time. You have that courage in you even though you may not believe it now," Sheik replied. "The Master Sword would not have chosen you to wield it otherwise."
"I wasn't courageous when I saw Rin kill a Gerudo," Link said, trying to block that awful memory. "I almost passed out." He gave a shaky, mirthless laugh. "Really, Sheik. How am I supposed to use the Master Sword if I'm going to faint every time I draw blood?"
Sheik sighed, leaning back against her hands as she gazed toward the starlit sky, "That is hardly unexpected given the circumstances that have been thrust upon you. You're a ten-year-old in a seventeen-year old's body. I had time to adapt, and as cold as that might sound, you have not."
"I know," Link sighed. He looked over at Navi, who was gazing at him anxiously. "Navi didn't have a chance to adapt either."
"It won't be easy," Sheik said, her face still impassive, "But I can train you."
"What?" Link asked, now meeting her eyes.
"I can help you learn to control your emotions, to focus in a fight, but it will take time," Sheik answered. "I won't be able to turn you into a trained Sheikan warrior overnight, but I can make a passable effort. In the meantime, get some rest. Are you sure I cannot give you anything to help?"
"No, it's fine."
He rolled back onto his bedroll. Navi still had not left his side and was gazing at him in silence.
"I'm sorry if I upset you, Navi," he began, turning over to see her. "It's just-"
"I know," Navi interrupted him. "It's alright. I don't blame you. Just get some sleep." She flew close to his hand. He held out his palm so she could land,and was surprised by how warm she was. "I won't be far away if you need me."
She flew back towards the tree she had been resting in, leaving Link to his thoughts. Distantly, Link could hear the quiet strumming of a harp as Sheik strummed a peaceful yet lonely melody. Link found it vaguely familiar. His eyes grew heavier as the instrument lulled him off into a dreamless sleep.
~ 0 ~
True to her word, Sheik spent the next few days teaching Link to empty himself of his emotions. His lessons involved imagining a candle flame and feeding his emotions into it until his mind was clear. To focus his awareness inward until all he could sense was his breathing and his steady heartbeat, nothing else. In reality, he was achieving quite the opposite.
Each day, he and Sheik found a quiet spot in the forest, away from the curious eyes of the Kokiri. Rin had remained behind on this occasion, insisting that she needed to finish replenishing her store of potions.
By midday Link was not achieving the calm void in his mind that Sheik was attempting to teach him. The soft trills and warbles of birdsong drifting through the trees in an entrancing melody did not help him focus. They might have once, but that had been a long time ago.
"You are tense, Link. Try to relax and focus on your breathing," Sheik said.
"I'm tense," he muttered irritably. "What gave that away?"
"Your sarcasm, for one," Sheik answered. She remained sitting cross-legged, giving little indication she was perturbed by Link's petulance.
Another hour passed, and by this stage, Link was nodding off to sleep rather than concentrating.
Sheik gave an exasperated sigh and jabbed him in the ribs with a stick. "I did not give you permission to sleep."
"Sorry," Link grunted, opening his eyes and frowning at the stick he'd been prodded with. "That's not helping."
"Nor is sleeping," Sheik said. "Now, try again."
Closing his eyes once more, he tried to ignore the loud rumble coming from his stomach. He doubted Sheik would give him a break just so he could eat. Slowly breathing in and out, he focused on shutting out his surroundings until all he could sense was the rhythm of his heartbeat. Just when he thought he was making good progress despite the gnawing pain in his gut, a loud squawk brought him back to reality.
A crow was resting in a tree with a message tube attached to one of its legs. Its ruffled plumage was oily black save for one mottled wing.
"Sheik!" it squawked. "Sheik! Sheik!"
"How does that thing know your name?" Navi asked, distaste clear in her voice.
"It's Rin's," Sheik replied.
The crow called once more, and Sheik whistled in response. As if on cue, the bird swiftly flew down to her so Sheik could snatch the leather tube from it. Its errand finished, the bird flew from its perch and landed on the strap of Sheik's bag.
"Food!" it cawed. "Food! Food! Hungry!"
The crow cocked its head, one beady eye fixed on Sheik.
"Find your own," Sheik told it.
The bird looked at her, squawked once, and took off, but not before leaving a messy white present on Sheik's satchel. Then it disappeared into the trees.
"Rude animal," Navi muttered.
She was already opening the tube before Link could ask what it was. She pulled out a scroll, broke the seal, and flattened the parchment.
Sheik's lips pursed as she read the message. "Goddesses! IS Darunia's handwriting always this dreadful?"
Link couldn't judge; he could barely read or write. Malon had given him a few lessons during his prolonged stay on the ranch long ago. It didn't feel natural to him; the Kokiri didn't write. Symbols and pictures etched into stone or wood, or painted upon their bodies, were the closest the Kokiri came to a written language. Still, even he could tell that those huge scribbled words did not bear much resemblance to the neat scrawls he'd seen elsewhere.
"Bad news?" Navi asked as she perched on Link's shoulder.
"The Gorons are refusing to work for Ganondorf anymore, and they are threatening a rebellion," Sheik answered.
"The Gorons are working for Ganondorf?" Link asked. That didn't make sense. It was no secret that Darunia despised Ganondorf.
"Not by choice," Sheik explained. "Ganondorf has made them mine the tunnels in Death Mountain and the surrounding ranges for the last seven years... and if they refused, then they would be fed to the dragon. Volvagia."
"Volvagia? I thought he was dead," Link said, surprised. That name brought a torrent of unpleasant memories that threatened to come flooding back into his mind, but he pushed them aside, trying to ignore the nattering doubt that plagued him.
"What happened to him?" Navi asked.
"Darunia suspects some kind of mind control," Sheik answered. "It looks like Gorons lured the dragon into the catacombs within the Fire Temple and tried to seal him in. Now they mean to kill Volvagia before Ganondorf realises what they've done and punishes them. "
"If he hasn't realised already," Navi said quietly. "I mean, that bird would have taken time to find us."
"Let us hope not," Sheik said, her eyes still on the parchment. "But that raises another problem. Volvagia can be revived, even if Darunia kills him. It's been done before."
"It has?" Link asked, completely confused. "What do you mean?"
"There has been more than one attempt to kill Volvagia," Sheik said. "Each time, the dragon was revived."
"Wait," Navi hovered by Sheik's shoulder. "So, if Ganondorf can bring Volvagia back to life, how is Darunia killing him going to solve anything?"
"It would take time to resurrect Volvagia, and we have the means of preventing him from being brought back to life."
"We do?" Link didn't understand, but then Sheik looked up and stared straight at the Master Sword. It was resting against the trunk of a nearby tree.
Link quickly caught on. He was the only one who could wield that sword.
No, he thought, feeling the bottom drop out of his stomach. There is no way I can take on something the size of Volvagia.
Link was not under any delusion he could easily fight a fully grown fire breathing reptile. His last encounter with one had almost killed him and Navi. An encounter with Volvagia would likely end with him becoming dragon entree.
"I can't take on Volvagia," Link stammered. A part of it seemed wrong; Volvagia had saved his life twice. It was only thanks to the dragon that Link and Navi had escaped the Dodongo's Cavern alive, or even briefly evaded Ganondorf on his way to the Temple of Time.
"I'm sorry, Link, but there is no other way," Sheik said without inflection. "I'm not suggesting you wave your sword in front of Volvagia and offer yourself as a morsel, but you must find a way to kill him."
Her eyes never left Link, even as he got up and started pacing. This was insane. How could she possibly expect him to fight Volvagia?
"Sheik is right," Navi said. "Besides, you swore an oath to become a sworn brother, didn't you?"
"I did," Link said, nodding in agreement. "But I don't see what that has to do with Volvagia."
"Well, if I recall correctly, a sworn brother is supposed to come to the aid of his fellow brethren when they are in trouble." Link couldn't believe what he was hearing. Navi agreed with Sheik?
"You have made an oath of honor and obligation to Darunia," Navi finished.
Link opened his mouth to protest, utterly aghast that she agreed with the idea. Navi beat him to it. "You asked Darunia what was involved before you took his offer, didn't you?"
Link remembered that Navi had not been present the first time Link spoke to Darunia following his escape from the Dodongo's Cavern.
"Navi, a giant lizard had just tried to turn me into a roast. I wasn't exactly thinking at the time!" Link pointed out, irritated.
"But you never turned down his offer afterward," she pointed out.
"Whose side are you on?" Link asked, exasperated.
"If it helps, I can tell you Darunia already found the Fire Medallion. So at least you will not have to look for that," Sheik said calmly.
Finding a medallion is the least of my worries if I'm up against a dragon. Link rested an arm against the tree, burying his head against the trunk as he sighed, trying to loosen the tension that had been building inside for so long.
Navi wasn't wrong, he thought savagely.
"Have a little courage," Sheik said calmly. "You can defeat Volvagia."
"There's a fine line between courage and stupidity," Link struggled to maintain his temper. He stood with his back to her. Sheik couldn't possibly think that taking on a dragon was a good idea? It was suicide. He might as well ask the dragon to eat him.
"Who was it that did a suicidal run into a giant gohma queen?" Navi demanded, staring into Link's eyes.
"I took her by surprise-"
Navi wouldn't hear a word of it. "Then you took on a giant lizard-"
"-With your help."
It had been a stupid lizard anyway, dumb enough to jam itself in a tunnel barely wide enough to accommodate its girth and then swallow several Goron bombs.
"I was unconscious, Link. Remember?" Navi reminded him, "And Darunia told me you found the way out afterwards, through a tunnel that must have been a mile long."
"But-"
"You even tried to take on a Gerudo with nothing but a dagger... more than once! I bet you didn't think you could do that, did you?"
Link stepped away from the tree, gritting his teeth. "Things were different back then, Navi. Besides, it didn't end well when I tried to take on Ganondorf, remember?"
"You did what?" Sheik exclaimed. For once, she sounded shocked.
"Never mind," both Link and Navi said at once.
Both fairy and charge stared at each other while Sheik looked as though she was unsure where this was going.
"My point is, Link, you can do it," Navi persisted.
"No, I can't."
Navi made a noise of frustration. 'Yes, you can!"
Link looked at Navi stubbornly, which only infuriated the buzzing sprite. "Alright, fine! Why don't we just go and hand in your resignation to Zelda or the Goddesses? Or both even."
"That is not helpful, Navi!" Sheik scolded her, coming quite close to sounding angry. She took a deep breath and relaxed her posture. "Link, if you do not do this, the Gorons will die, and their deaths will not be the last if Volvagia escapes. I will help you in whatever way I can, as will Darunia, but this must be done."
"How do you expect me to take on a dragon?" Link demanded. "I can't, Sheik. Ever since I first left the woods, I've been told what to do, and so many times I've nearly died because of it! Not that I'd expect a Sheikah to care."
Sheik actually looked hurt then, and a deafening silence fell between them. Breathing hard, Link spun around, intent on walking off to find some solitude in the woods. Then Sheik's words stopped him in his track. "Did you know Darunia even named his son after you?"
Link froze and then slowly turned to face her. He should have just walked off, but surprise got the better of him. "He... he did?"
"Yes," her voice grew more determined then. "To honor the courage of a young boy who killed a giant dodongo, a feat he had thought impossible. Was he wrong?"
"I'm not that boy anymore!" Link retorted.
"You are, or else you would not have come back here."
He almost turned his back on her again.
"Listen," she persisted. "I know you're afraid, Link. We all are, but you would dishonor Darunia by not helping him. You would disgrace the name of the ancient hero whose sword you bear. If you do nothing, then all Hyrule will suffer for your cowardice!"
Those last words hit him like a slap. Link did look away this time, his ears burning as Sheik's words shamed him. He wanted to help Darunia, but he didn't want to die either. The thought sent an icy fear through him. Not helping the Gorons would be leaving them to their fate, leaving Hyrule to its destiny. Including the Kokiri. He couldn't do that. His throat grew tight, and he still didn't look back at Sheik. He could feel the heat of her red eyes boring into him. Navi was looking worriedly at the pair, no doubt wondering if she should intervene, even if it meant risking the Sheikah's wrath.
"Think about what will happen if you choose not to help now," Sheik said softly. "The Gorons will not be the last to feel Ganondorf's fury. You can't just back out now because you're afraid. I don't like this any more than you do... Please, Link. Don't abandon your duty now."
Damn it. Link didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to listen to any of it, her words boring into him. He clenched his jaw, feeling his frustration mount.
"There is a lot more at stake here than just your life," Sheik continued. "Darunia knows trying to stop Volvagia might cost him his life, but as long as it means protecting his people, that won't stop him. Saria risked her life to reach the Forest Temple, an act that would have almost certainly resulted in her death, had you not rescued her."
"Don't-" Link stopped himself. Something in those words cut a stinging blow, and deep inside Link knew she was right.
What would Saria think of you now? he thought. Maybe Mido had a good reason to call you a wimp.
Feeling ashamed, Link cast his eyes on the ground. He swallowed hard. Sheik was right. The Sage of the Forest had risked her life to save the Kokiri, and Mido had died trying to help her.
"I shouldn't have brought your friend into this. I am sorry," Sheik said heavily. "The way of the hero is a difficult path to tread. If I could take that burden from you, I would."
"It's alright," Link said quietly. He stooped down to wrap his hand around the Master Sword's hilt. "What you said... I appreciate it, but I wouldn't wish this burden on anyone. You're right. I have to do this, and I would be a coward not to try."
"You don't have to bear this alone, Link," Sheik said softly.
Those words meant more to Link than he could say, especially coming from Sheik. He resisted the urge to turn around and stare at her. Did she really care about him that much? He had been sure she was only helping him because she was obligated to do so. Her words made him wonder if he was wrong, and the Sheikah really did feel something for him.
Without another word, he slung the Master Sword behind him and led the way back to the village.
~ 0 ~
They left late that afternoon with just enough hours left in the day to make it to the edge of the woods before sundown. A soft murmur brushed through the trees as the wind ruffled the leafy canopy, and the only other sound was the soft thomp thomp thomp of the two horses. A band of Kokiri had found Link's black horse and returned the animal. The stallion bolted through the trees, following Rin's white horse. Both animals were laden with saddlebags. Link's sword and shield were tucked amidst his gear, hidden to avoid arousing the suspicion of anyone they passed on the road.
Link was not completely prepared for what he would find as he left the safety of the woods. The sense of leaving his home for the second time left him feeling just as uneasy as he had been on the first occasion. As he crossed the stream where he had said goodbye to Saria all those years ago, he gazed longingly at the bridge, as though hoping the Forest Sage herself might appear. The stream beneath the bridge was dry, nothing more than a narrow stone-studded gully.
Soon the trees were thinning. Link was sure they could not have reached the edge of the woods yet, and as they came to the edge of the trees, Link found himself at the edge of a sea of grayed and dry tree stumps. Broken bits of twigs and sticks lay strewn across the blackened ground. Bits of bramble and dead shrubbery lay tossed about as though ripped asunder by a violent storm.
"The Gerudo harvested the woods for their fires," Sheik explained, regarding the scarred land with a grim look of dismay. "Be glad the rest of the woods did not meet this fate."
Link recalled the phantom's words- the Hylians had burned the forest children's homes, leaving desolation in their wake. Was this how it had appeared? To Link's dismay, the Great Deku Tree's successor, the Deku Sprout, had affirmed the spectre's words. The thought that his ancestors had once viewed the Kokiri with such disregard made him feel ashamed to be a Hylian. At least until he thought that the Hylians had suffered enough since then.
An ugly scar of scorched earth, blackened and barren, now ran across the once vibrant hills. Tree stumps dotted the ravaged hillside, shredded branches scattered about them. The cold nipping deep into Link had little to do with the wind. He cast his eyes northward to where Death Mountain's tall peak peered over the treetops. That was when he first noticed the strange ring of glowing red clouds wrapped around the peak, almost as if the heavens themselves were burning. There was something else there too: a dark shape against the sky that was slowly growing in size.
"What is that?" Link asked, pointing towards the approaching thing.
"What?" Rin asked. She slowed down, drawing her horse's reins as she walked alongside Link's saddle.
He pointed to the odd figure. It gained more clarity as it grew bigger, forming a serpentine shape scintillating with millions of small rubies. Or at least that was Link's first impression. Then he spotted the black bat-like wings and realized what he was looking at.
"A dragon," Navi breathed in awe.
The dragon was diving, reminding Link of a bird descending towards its prey.
"There aren't any dragons in Hyrule," Sheik commented, her voice stiffening. "Except one."
Rin realized too. "Ride! Back to the trees!"
Sheik obeyed her mentor, and Link wrapped his hands around her for dear life as she spurred Blaze into a desperate gallop. Navi managed to take refuge in Link's pocket, and as they dashed for the cover of the trees, he almost forgot to breathe.
"If Volvagia escaped from the Fire Temple, something must have happened to the Gorons," Sheik called out to him.
Link realized she was right; Darunia would not have allowed Volvagia to escape. Not willingly. There was no more time to ponder this as the dragon bore down on its quarry.
Sheik rode deftly between the tree stumps, careful to avoid ensnaring Blaze in the underbrush or the thick tangle of tree roots. Riding as fast as they were, a tumble would likely be lethal. Rin covered their retreat, falling back, a blast of magic flying from her outstretched hand, a crackling sphere of energy that shot towards the dragon. Volvagia managed to dodge the attack and kept coming.
Link watched as the dragon tore towards them. Blaze was already beginning to tire, the saddlebags weighing him down. Link considered cutting the bags loose to help the horse, but they were almost at the forest's edge. Surely Volvagia could not follow them into the forest, not with the wards intact. That was when Link realized there was something on top of the dragon. No, not something, someone. They were wearing a mask. A mask in the shape of a skull.
"Navi, tell me that's just another phantom?" Link asked her, desperately hoping it was. As much as he dreaded the idea of facing another one, it couldn't be as bad as facing Ganondorf.
"What?" Navi asked, daring a peek out of his pocket. Seeing what he meant, she gave a frightened squeak and then said, "It's him... I'm sure of it. I can sense his power, even from this distance."
Link tried to swallow. That wasn't what he'd wanted to hear.
Another spell left Rin's outstretched hands and streaked towards Volvagia, missing by inches. Her mare, to Link's surprise, kept galloping on without flinching.
Volvagia swept past, diving for Link's horse, his claws bared as he prepared to rake them straight through Blaze's hide.
Blaze galloped swiftly to safety, a thick sheen of sweat upon his coat. Link notched an arrow to his bow and took aim. His first arrow went wide. So did the second one.
"Sheik! He's catching up!" Link warned.
"We're nearly there!" Sheik yelled back.
Link was really contemplating loosening the saddlebags now. It would mean ditching their provisions and most of his gear, but at least they would still be alive.
A blur of trees entered Link's vision. Sheik slowed down, turning Blaze around as both she and Link looked back at the dragon.
"He can't follow us, right?" Navi asked.
As if in answer, a burst of fire erupted from Volvagia's mouth, slamming into a tree that exploded in flames. Volvagia followed, another column of flames belching from his mouth. This time, it was directed at Rin.
"RIN!" Sheik yelled as the other Sheikah vanished behind the wall of fire. They heard her horse whinny in fright, but there was no horrible scream of a wounded animal. At least that meant that Rin was alright, or so Link hoped, and he focused his attention on Blaze's path.
Link was still sure the wards would stop Ganondorf. At any moment he and Volvagia would be forced to turn back. Only they kept coming.
Volvagia broke through the trees, crashing through the canopy and diving towards Blaze. Chips of wood, sticks, and branches rained upon the forest floor. The horse broke into a gallop. A large branch slammed into the earth, barely missing Blaze. A few metres to the left and they would've been nothing more than a stain on the forest floor.
"How did he break through the wards?" Link exclaimed.
"Same way as last time?" Navi asked, her voice weak with fear.
Acrid smoke filled Link's nostrils, and suddenly he was back in Castletown, watching it burn around him. Only it was not the capital of Hyrule that was burning now. It was the Lost Woods. His home. Bile rose in his throat, and he nearly gagged as he forced the vile acid back down.
Now really isn't a good time for that, he growled to himself, hoping Sheik was so busy keeping control of her mount that she wouldn't notice.
Blaze galloped through the woods, nostrils flaring and hooves pounding against the earth. That was when Link realized they were leading the dragon right towards the Great Deku Tree's grove. Before he could scream a warning, or consider luring Volvagia away, Blaze broke through the thickets and into the clearing. Several Kokiri were fleeing in the direction of the Great Deku Tree, looking back over their shoulders just long enough to glimpse the crackling inferno that erupted behind them.
Link unleashed another arrow as Volvagia burst into the clearing, sending a cloud of splintered wood in front of him. Another column of fire streamed towards them. Sheik rode behind the girth of another Deku tree as Volvagia's flames scorched its trunk.
"We're too exposed!" Navi yelled. "We need to find cover!"
Link looked back to see that not everyone had fled. Forenz was yelling at several Kokiri to run towards the Great Deku Tree's meadow, ushering them on as fast as he could. A strange cacophony of sound alerted him to something else approaching, and he stared up towards the canopy. A swarm of screeching birds descended from the treetops, diving towards Volvagia, shrieking and cawing. Birds of all different sizes dove towards the dragon, snapping and clawing at its hide, tearing at eye and flesh. The sudden frenzy took the beast by surprise. Volvagia snapped at his attackers, but still, they came on.
A voice boomed above the frenzy, and a pulse of energy seemed to wash through the air, chilling Link. As one, Volvagia's attackers withdrew. A burst of fire crashed into the stragglers, sending them plummeting to the earth in a spiralling column of smoke and burnt feathers.
Volvagia looked none the worse for wear, and nor did Ganondorf, but the effect had been enough. No Kokiri remained in the glade.
They must be headed for the tunnels, he thought, hoping the gohma hive was still intact.
Link caught Sheik's eye. She was scanning the trees frantically, thinking of some way to get out of this situation. They were clearly outmatched. It would have been sensible to flee, but this was not a fight they could run from. Not now.
Without waiting for Sheik, Link leapt off Blaze, bow in hand, and dashed behind one of the surviving treehouses.
"Link! Have you taken leave of your senses?" Sheik yelled after him. "Get back here!"
"I'm not letting him get near the others!" he hollered back, just before another tendril of flame nearly struck Blaze's flank. Sheik cursed, steering the horse out of danger as Volvagia peeked around the side of the tree and unleashed a deep-throated growl.
As they fled in different directions, Volvagia went after Sheik. She was too quick, dashing out of reach of the dragon and its tongues of fire. Desperate to draw Volvagia away from Sheik and the others, Link notched his bow and took aim. He spotted the wound on Volvagia's side, the one caused by the giant dodongo long ago. It was now a long jagged scar.
Link was about to let his shaft fly when a second dragon burst through the clearing. Its scales scintillated an emerald green and its wings could have sheltered a dozen horses when fully extended. He was so distracted by this sudden change in fortune that is shot went wide, missing Volvagia completely.
Another dragon? Link stood gaping in astonishment, right before common sense took over. He could just as well be food to this enormous predator. Except it didn't seem to be after him, and as he spotted Moriko nearby, he guessed she was behind its appearance.
Moriko stood beside one of the trees, her eyes fixed on the emerald dragon as she directed it to attack. How she had summoned the creature, or if it was just a conjuration of some ancient earth magic, Link had no idea.
Moriko's dragon roared a deafening cry that nearly made Link's ears bleed. It lunged forward, teeth snapping shut on Volvagia's neck, sending thick droplets of blood splashing onto the ground.
Moriko's eyes never left the dragon she was somehow controlling.
"My magic may not be enough to stop him and his power repels even the mightiest woodland spirit," she said, her voice loud and clear in Link's mind. "I will need you to help me."
Link nodded, understanding what Moriko meant. Gripping the bow tighter in one hand, he watched in horrified fascination as the two dragons grappled each other.
He drew his bow taut again and loosed an arrow. It missed the wound, bouncing off the red scales. Volvagia pushed the green dragon back, sending it slamming into a tree, which snapped with a loud crack. The emerald dragon roared. The red hissed and beat the emerald one with a savage swipe to the side. The emerald fell, whipping its barbed tail towards the more powerful red. The barb struck Volvagia's left eye, cutting through it and sending a bloody mess of fluid gushing from the wound. Volvagia roared in agony and stepped back, his head twisting as he writhed in pain.
Link turned back to the Great Fairy. She had slipped out of Ganondorf's sight, but Link could still see her. Her eyes were closed, her face was set in a tight grimace and sweat beaded on her brow. She was struggling.
The two dragons came tumbling and crashing closer to Link's hiding spot. Sheik joined him, keeping a tight hold on Blaze's reins as she rode up to him."
"Link, get on. We need to move back!" Sheik shouted. Link could barely hear her over the duelling dragons, a sound that was getting far closer as Ganondorf drove the other dragon back.
Sheik extended a hand to Link, but he had another idea.
"What about the Master Sword?" he asked. Another swipe from Moriko's dragon slashed across the membrane of Volvagia's wing. "You said we only need that to kill Volvagia."
"You can't face Ganondorf yet, and if he didn't harm you, you would be crushed!" Sheik sounded aghast at the idea. "Hurry up and get on."
Resigned, Link grabbed Sheik's hand, letting her pull him up, before they dashed for cover, riding for another tree near Moriko.
As the battling dragons rampaged closer to her hiding spot, Moriko didn't run. Link wondered why before realizing that it was probably taking all her strength to maintain the spell. She couldn't run. He had to help her and fast.
Even though Volvagia was bleeding badly, and didn't look like he could take much more of a beating, Ganondorf was unscathed. He looked annoyed. Just annoyed, nothing more. Blaze reached the trees, and Link turned back to face the battling dragons. He didn't even have time to notch his bow before a sharp sickening crack sent a jolt down his spine.
He gasped. The emerald dragon's head hung loosely in Volvagia's maw. A faint, horrible gurgle erupted from its mouth, and the emerald beast went limp, falling to the ground with a thump that sent a tremor through the earth.
He heard Moriko cry out. The Great Fairy was clutching her head, body braced against the tree as though she were too weak to stand. Moriko fell to her knees, gossamer wings drooping. It was as though the thread between her and the dragon had also been snapped, injuring her.
Before Link could even scream a warning, a jet of magic shimmering an eldritch blue left Ganondorf's outstretched gauntlet.
"Mother!" Navi screamed.
Moriko barely had time to see what was coming. She shrieked as the spell hit her, engulfing her in a twisting pyre of purple flame.
"No!" Navi screamed. She started flying towards Moriko's body, watching as the smoldering corpse that had once been a Great Fairy slid to the ground.
"Navi... wait!" Link called. "NAVI!"
Link dismounted and caught up to Navi in a quick stride before she could fly into Ganondorf's sight. He closed his hand around her, trapping her, and quickly darted behind the wide girth of the Deku tree. Navi's wings beat madly against his hand, but he didn't dare release her.
"No! Let me go this instant! Let me go!" she screamed.
Her shouts ended in a hysterical cry, and he exchanged a glance with Sheik. Her red eyes were like fire.
"Link, I know what you are thinking, but you cannot face him yet," Sheik warned him.
"I know," Link said. The Forest Temple had taught him that, but to leave now would be to betray the Kokiri. They were like family to him, and he wouldn't abandon them to Ganondorf's mercy.
"Is there nothing we can do?" he asked Sheik.
"There is, but it's more likely to harm us than him," Sheik said.
Sheik regretted her choice of words as a flicker of hope showed on Link's face.
"It's still a chance," he said, taking her words like a lifeline."
"I-"
"I know you are hiding, Hero of Time!" came Ganondorf's mocking call. "They call you courageous, but you hide like a coward! Face me, or I will kill every last one of the Kokiri and I'll make sure you hear when I do."
Link left his refuge. Sheik called him back, but he ignored her, releasing Navi who took a moment between her sobs to realize what was happening.
Ganondorf sneered as Link stepped into the open. "Always the noble hero," Ganondorf sneered. He drew his sword, red cape rippling behind him as he strode towards Link.
"I won't let you harm the Kokiri!" Link yelled. "You have caused them enough grief already."
"Just how do you plan to stop me, Hero of Time?" Ganondorf asked, mockery dripping like venom. "You seem to have forgotten your blade. Without it, you are just another man, and you will die just as easily."
There was a rush of movement from behind Link as Sheik dismounted and dashed to his side. She was gripping the Master Sword, still held within its sheath, which she tossed to him.
"You?" Ganondorf paused midstride, his eyes widening in surprise. "I thought I killed you and your kin." Ganondorf sneered then, regaining his composure. "No matter. I'll deal with you as I dealt with the others, as I deal with all who defy me."
"You have no right to call yourself King of Hyrule. You murdered the rightful king and heir!" Sheik yelled. If Sheik was afraid, she gave no sign of it. Link swallowed, drawing his sword and gripping it tightly in his hand.
Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to conquer it.
Fear cuts deeper than any blade.
He tried to focus on Sheik's words, tried to shut out the torrent of fear that threatened to overwhelm him. Before he could do anything, Sheik sent a bolt of lightning arcing through the air. Something flickered on the back of Sheik's left hand, but before Link could work out what it was, he was forced to look away as bright tendrils of light crackled towards its target, the air alive and trembling with ethereal energy. Sheik's spell hit Ganondorf square in the chest. He screamed, and Link took the cue to dash forward, intending to plunge the Master Sword into the Gerudo king's heart. He saw a flicker of yellow out of the corner of his eye. He dashed to one side, falling onto his belly as the burst of flames rolled above him, its blistering heat searing his skin.
No sooner did the fiery blast subside than Link pushed himself back onto his feet. Ganondorf was kneeling, one hand clenching his chest, the other his sword. He was breathing hard, and there was shock in those eyes. He looked up, fear on his face as a second brighter blast of magic soared through the air. He rose his hand from his sword, erecting a translucent shield in front of him. The lightning crashed into it, and the barrier rippled.
"The darkness... will prevail!" he hissed. "Don't think you've won, mage. You've only delayed your doom."
Just as Link dashed forward, a ring of purple light surrounded Ganondorf and Volvagia. The lightning stopped. Ganondorf regained his feet and stepped towards the rapidly forming vortex.
He was getting away.
"No!" Link screamed.
A wall of fire erupted around the vortex, and Link skidded to a halt, barely avoiding the flames. He was cut off from the Gerudo king. Ganondorf glanced up at Link through the wall of fire. "The Sheikah will not protect you forever, boy. As a punishment for your defiance and theirs, I will revive this dragon and return it to Death Mountain, to the temple where it's power is strongest. Each day I will feed it one Goron... Perhaps, you can make it before one dies."
With that, Ganondorf disappeared into the shimmering vortex, and the wall of fire vanished. The only trace of their existence was the blackened circle of earth, the grass that once occupied it reduced to ashes. Whatever Sheik had done to him, Ganondorf had escaped.
Link turned back around to ask Sheik what she had done. Only she wasn't standing next to him, she was on the ground. Pale and listless.
Fear choked him then; Sheik was far too still for his liking. He screamed out Navi's name, but the fairy was sitting on the tree root beside Moriko's broken body. She did not leave the Great Fairy's side, still too stunned to react to the sight of Sheik's limp form.
Link did not want to be alone again, not now. He fell to his knees beside her.
Oh Goddesses, please no! Sheik, please don't be dead!
Whatever animosity he had felt towards the Sheikah after waking up in Ordon was gone now. He did not want to be alone, and she had just saved his life.
Remembering what Saria had taught him long ago, he managed to remove one of his gauntlets and pressed a finger against her throat. At first he couldn't feel anything, and he started to panic.
Oh no... no. He searched again for a heartbeat.
After a moment's frantic searching, he finally felt something, slow but rhythmic. A heartbeat.
Link's relief flickered and died faster than it came. Sheik's pulse was slow and far too weak.
To his relief, Rin burst through the clearing. Her face went white at the sight of Link kneeling beside Sheik.
"Where's Ganondorf?" she asked, dismounting from her mount and striding quickly over to Link.
"He got away," Link answered. "Volvagia too... Sheik's hurt-"
Rin was already kneeling by Sheik's side, one hand placed upon the younger Sheikah's brow.
"Is she-"
"She will live," Rin said softly. "But I will need to tend to her now..." she looked up at him, before her gaze shifted to the burning forest. Some of the trees that had survived the sacking of the village were aflame, and only the deku trees seemed relatively unharmed. "Boy, pass me your instrument."
"What-" Link said blankly, his mind racing so that collecting his thoughts was like struggling against a fast-flowing current.
"Your ocarina!" Rin said, her voice snapping Link to attention. "The one the princess gave you!"
He complied without a word, handing the instrument to Rin. No sooner had she begun, Link felt something shift in the air, as if something unseen had rushed past, disturbing the wind in its passage. To Link's utter astonishment, storm clouds began to drape the land in shadow. A soft breeze whipped his hair and rapidly the wind rose into a billowing tempest. Within moments, tendrils of lightning were crackling across the sky, and fat raindrops descended from the heavens. A distant hiss erupted from the fire, and plumes of steam rose into the air, thick sheets of rain threatening to drown the land below.
Rin carried Sheik into the refuge of a nearby house; Link could almost forget that he was getting soaked as he watched the water descend from the sky.
The Ocarina of Time can do that?
Navi was forced to retreat from the fallen Great Fairy's body and into the shelter of Link's tunic. To their surprise, flames began to flicker across the emerald dragon's body. It quickly enveloped its body, and Moriko's apparition was gone, reduced to a pile of dust and ashes. The wind carried the creature's remains while thick sheets of rain washed the rest away.
Rin lay Sheik down on a bed, and Link joined her after the brief spectacle with the dragon. As Rin continued tending to Sheik, she stirred briefly, her eyelids fluttering open.
At that moment, Sheik spoke a single word- a name Link recognized. Then she closed her eyes again, drifting back into unconsciousness. Recalling what Rin had said about the ocarina just a few moments earlier, he almost gasped.
"How did you do that?" he asked Rin instead, gesturing towards the thundering gale outside.
"It's called the Song of Storms," she answered. "It was well known amongst my people."
Rin didn't look up from Sheik. The woman's face was ashen, her breathing barely discernable. Water dripped from her blonde hair and tunic from the sudden burst of rain.
"Will Sheik be alright?" Link asked.
Rin nodded. "It was a close thing."
It took Link a moment to form enough words to explain what had transpired. During that silence, he looked out the door as the fire sputtered and died beneath the deluge that befell it. He explained quickly, remembering what Ganondorf had threatened to do should Link not fight Volvagia.
Each day, I will feed it one Goron.
There was no way he could make it there in one day.
Next Chapter
Reviews
   Lord Darth Yoda chapter 26 . Oct 17, 2014 |
Ganondorf riding Volvagia is now the most awesome thing I've ever heard! Awesome actionin this chapter and it was a fun read. :D
And hopefully Link puts two and two together about Rin/Impa. He seemed to write Sheik saying Impa off as mishearing too easily. I assume it was the stress of the moment but he isn't that oblivious is he?
SunPraiser31 chapter 27 . Jan 18, 2017
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