(Zgen) Evil’s Bane [T]

“This place will be very important for both of us someday. That's what I feel.”

- Saria

Mara walked over to Link, towering over him like a beacon of unmovable strength. Link could see that same power of mind slumbering within Mara, the kind of power that could inspire a country. Link could see Zelda within those pale, gray eyes, and it gave him hope.

The Lady gave Link a smile. Though the pain of loss was within her as well, she harnessed it, controlled it, and made the conscious decision that she would not let grief rule her. Reaching down with her hand, she offered Link the way up; the power of friendship being stronger than death.

Wiping the rain from his face, Link took her hand, gripping it tightly and let her lift him up.

“Gone, but never lost.” The Lady of Veritas said in encouragement. “Remember that.”

“What of this one?” Cale said, keeping his blade near Sir Ironside. “He’s still got some fight left in him, I wager.”

“Let him be.” Mara walked passed the fallen knight, hardly acknowledging his presence. “Ironside knows full well what is going on here. It is but his duty and honor that brought him, not his own personal choice. He’s no threat to us now. Staying here or returning to Ersatz, he’s as good as dead whatever path he decides to take.”

Mara stopped at the pulsating rune on the ground. “Coming, Link?”

Sheathing his fanged steel, the hero arisen moved to the Lady’s side, staring at the building whirlwind at his feet.

“Step onto the triangle, and you will find your way.” Mara placed a reaffirming hand on Link’s shoulder. “Do not worry. We won’t be far behind you. If what I fear is true, then the Empress is going to try and bring Ganondorf back into the world, the hilt of the Master Sword being the key. You have faced this evil before, I can see that in your eyes.”

Mara bowed away, Giving Link room to make his choice. “Goddesses protect you.”

Link started to place one foot on the rune when Ironside sat up, Cale placing his blade near his throat. “Wait!”

Link stopped and turned to face the Gerudo knight, the hatred that engulfed him moments earlier melted into absolution.

“The Empress is not herself. Do not trust her, lest she destroy you. Something has taken over her, poisoned her mind. I would plead for you to not kill her, though I know you will do what you must.”

“Why would you betray your own Empress?” Mara asked, folding her arms.

“That creature, that ghost, is not my Empress. I would have found out the truth sooner, but she constantly kept me out of the castle and in the wilds, blind to the happenings within my own country as I made war upon others. Only when it was too late did I realize, and by then I was already powerless to do anything to do about it.”

“They call you the butcher. The vanguard of death.” Cale didn’t remove the threatening shortsword. “I don’t have the stomach to kill you, but I wouldn’t trust you as far as I could throw you!”

“I’m not asking for your trust.” Ironside was losing strength. He knew he would die if he remained there much longer. “I’m asking you to set things right where I could not.”

“If you truly wish to set things right,” Mara stooped down next to the knight. “You would help us with more than words.”

“Believe me, my words are more powerful than my steel. I was at the edge of the grove when the Sheikah told the boy to go on foot from the bridge; a death wish. If you drive at the forefront of the city, you won’t make it past the portcullis. My men are too strong for you, even with the power of the Goddesses at your command. You would need an army to do this.”

“An army we have.” Mara stared deep into the knight captain’s eyes, searching for deceptions.

“No. It would be a waste.” Ironside gingerly laid back down. “Even with your shadow-work, they are too prepared. You must strike where they don’t expect it. There is only one weak point within Ersatz, one not even known to the Home Guard nor the Empress herself. Only I know of it, and I have kept it with me for all these years in case of something happening, such as this.”

“In case you decided to take over?” Cale asked.

“In case we were conquered and had to retake the castle.” Ironside moved his sight to the woodsman. “I may be a killer, as all soldiers are, but I am not without purpose and honor. I have done things that I now regret, but I take solace knowing that I can help set things right here.”

“Then tell us of it.” Mara was watching the moon as it slowly drifted through the sky. “But do not waste our time with hollow gossip.”

“You know the underground of Ersatz well, yes?”

Mara nodded. “Better than you know your own streets.”

“Then you know of the cisterns that lay to the east? The ones that were build in the old times in case anyone sieged the castle?”

“We call them the Hallows.” Mara could see where Ironside was going with this. “That’s where Veritas gets most of it’s water.”

Ironside chuckled a little, his side hurting from the stab wounds. “Yes, I know.”

Mara wasn’t sure if she believed that last statement, so she took it with a grain of salt.

“At the roof of the cisterns, there is a vaulted ceiling made of arched rock and brick. It is impenetrable in it’s current form, but if you were to remove one of the stones....”

“The roof would collapse.” Mara finished Ironside’s statement. “The entire eastern lay of the city would fall into the underground!”

“Causing the guards to abandon their posts to help with the wounded and to assess the situation.” Ironside smiled at the simplicity. “I know my men, and they are trained to put the needs of the city first before everything else. They wouldn’t care if a couple of scraps strolled into the city while the other half of it was in a deluge of sludge and stone.”

“How would we do this?” Cale asked. “The weight on the arch must be tremendous.”

“That I do not know.” Ironside coughed. “All I know is that would be the only way to draw some of the guard away from the front gate. The other option is to fight, and believe me, they are ready and waiting for you.”

Cale smirked. “No. There has to be a better way.”

“Cale....” Mara started.

“No!” The woodsman interrupted. “I’m sorry, but there’s no way that would work. A: we don’t know if it would even work. And B: even if it did, whomever did it would most likely be trapped under there, the entire city coming down on top of them. It’s a suicide mission!”

Mara breathed deep and turned her attention to the hero. “What say you, Link? You are the pinnacle of the events here. You are tied to each and every one in ways that I couldn’t even begin to possibly imagine. I think you should decide.”

Without hesitation, Link stepped onto the glowing rune, placing his feet evenly within the triangle of light.

“Then it’s settled.” Mara stood up, motioning to Cale to put his blade away. “I saw no lie in Ironside’s eyes.”

She turned to Link. “We will return to Veritas with all haste, and with the power of our people we will bring the upper city down. And as for you, Link, you storm that keep just try and stay alive until we can do our part.”

Link nodded, feeling a strange tingling sensation growing at his feet.

“Be careful, Link.” Mara stepped close, giving the boy a tight-lipped smile. “Give us time, and we’ll give you what you need to stop the Empress from doing whatever she intends to do.”

Link returned the smile just as he was wrapped in a cocoon of light and wind, his body disappearing into the moonlit sky.

“Are you sure about this, Mara?” Cale asked as the grove settled. “If we do this, Veritas could be crushed under the weight as well. Even it survives that, then you are at least destroying your main source of water.”

“There’s no stopping that now.” Mara placed a hand on Ironside’s armored chest. “So, Sir knight, would you stay here and die with your fellow soldiers, or would you fight against them?”

Ironside had the answer to that question before it was asked. “I would bring honor back to my people.”

Mara motioned for Cale and the other Highlander to help get Ironside to his feet. “Then let’s go.”

One by one, the four stepped onto the triangle and were warped away out of the ruins to some unseen destination. Taking Zelda’s body with her, Mara cast one last spell onto the grove as she passed onto the rune, the entire domain beginning to glitter in perpetual twilight.

“Let this place become lost, so none without purity of heart may tread upon it again.”

Mara gazed out one last time at the Pedestal of Time and the surrounding ruins, knowing full well she would never see them again. Letting the power of the wandering souls take her, the rune collapsed and snuffed into darkness, the wind blowing over the shapes in the dirt until they disappeared.

Ahh, Doran. I am glad to see your work beginning to tie up some of the lose ends. I am interested in learning what the stones do, although I think the answer may be obvious. Great work, you are a very talented writer and no doubt your book will be successful.

Now, with that out of the way, I do have to relay one thing. Link's persona has come to seem very dark. The things the embody him as the Hero of Time seem to be lacking. While this in itself isn't a bad thing, I believe it has more to do with your style rather than the story I think. Maybe it's just me, and that I just view it differently, but ultimately it comes down to how you best portray your ideas about Link's character. If that made any sense to you at all, then let me know, because I don't think I explained it quite clearly enough. Anyways, looking forward to more, as always.

Originally Posted by Layke

Now, with that out of the way, I do have to relay one thing. Link's persona has come to seem very dark. The things the embody him as the Hero of Time seem to be lacking. While this in itself isn't a bad thing, I believe it has more to do with your style rather than the story I think. Maybe it's just me, and that I just view it differently, but ultimately it comes down to how you best portray your ideas about Link's character. If that made any sense to you at all, then let me know, because I don't think I explained it quite clearly enough. Anyways, looking forward to more, as always.

I hear ya there. It wasn't until after I wrote all of this madness when I, too, realized that Link had become rather shadowy himself. It does conflict with the whole “his heart is pure” thing that I wrote in earlier, and had I not been half-drunk when I wrote the last couple of chapters I would have caught it.

To take claim of my own quasi-inebriated faults, yes, I’ve dropped the ball here. I’ve made Link into someone else entirely, rather than staying true to his given essence. I suppose I just wanted to bring Link down a notch, to show that he is fallible with chinks in the armor; to give him some respite from the gallant hero he is always portrayed as. I wanted to explore the idea that he does have a breaking point, and this was one of the worst things I could think to do to him. It doesn’t seem right, I know, but that’s just how I feel about it.

Besides, we need to ask how Link would truly react if something like this were to happen to him. Yes, my way is the dark way, antagonism and blind vengeance, but he’d at least twitch a little.

P.S. Just to inform everyone, this work is in no way, shape, or form, a tragedy. It is dark, twisted, depressing, and violent, but, as all Zelda stories go, things will come around.

Just a quick FYI, these remaining six chapters of Evil's Bane are going to be long, epic, deep, possibly violent , and hopefully not confusing as hell. I apologize if I don't accurately portray the message I want to get across, but if perchance I do, then I will feel it a job well done.

As usual, ANY feedback to be had would be immensely appreciated!

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy!


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“The Ocarina of Time opened the door. The Hero of Time, with the Master Sword, descended here.”

- Inscription in the Temple of Time

His mind awash with the blinding color of a thousand supernovae, Link fought the urge to faint as he tumbled and tossed through the ethereal plane of the wandering souls. He couldn’t tell what was happening around him, as all he could see was flying stars and streaking rainbows, but he had the distinct notion that he was traveling at a great speed. Like a falling star caught grazing across the heavens, he cruised the wrinkles of eternity, oblivious to the passing of time and space in his wake.

He felt as if he could travel this way forever, a blessed immortality of fire and light, seeking out new worlds and charting the cosmos. Never before had he felt so small, so insignificant, as if his troubles were but flecks of paint on the grand canvas. He knew the importance of his task, but failed to grasp the greater meaning. Content to take things at face value, he continued his pilgrimage throughout the nebulae and expanses of darkness at his feet, the power of the Goddesses propelling him across the void.

Then, as if snapping awake from a dream, Link found himself standing in the center of a great chamber, one made of shimmering fountains and columns of pure, unfiltered light. Surrounding him in a circular fashion were six colored pedestals, his own in the shape of the Triforce. He knew this place, almost as well as he knew the trees and the rocks of the Lost Woods.

It was the Chamber of Sages within the Temple of Light. He was in the Sacred Realm.

Link gazed in awe at the simple beauty of the chamber, noting the sleepless waterfall at his feet, pouring over the edges of the transcendental platforms as if the downward-rushing streams were holding him up. Nothing in the mortal realm of Hyrule even dared to contrast itself next to this hallow place, and yet, it seemed curiously deserted.

Gazing around at the pedestals of forest, fire, water, shadow, spirit, and light, his face bore concern over the fact that they were empty. Each and every one was without it’s accompanying sage, the chosen ones that helped seal Ganondorf within the Master Sword and bring balance back to Hyrule.

Link’s thoughts wandered to Saria. Where had she gone? Why had the six sages left the Temple of Light? Why had Mara sent him to this place, only to leave him there without means of escape?

“Link?” The high-pitched voice of a long-lost friend rang out into the chamber.

The hero looked beyond Rauru’s pedestal of light and saw a dainty little blur of blue rushing towards him. He squinted his eyes, not trusting what he was seeing.

“It is you!” The little fairy, Navi, said with a glee that only a child could command. “Link! I thought he was playing a trick on me!”

The boy couldn’t help but smile and raise his arms. He couldn’t believe it. He thought Navi was dead. The little fairy had taken the hit of a ball of dark energy back in Ganondorf’s tower and disappeared into the night, saving Link’s life in the process. It was a miracle that she was still alive, let alone in a place such as this.

“You lazy boy!” The fairy scolded in a reminiscing tone. “I thought you’d never come!”

Navi nuzzled close to Link’s left shoulder, the hero giving the fairy a gentle hug in return.

“Let me have a look at you.” Navi fluttered back a few feet and looked the boy over. “Well, you’re a little worse for wear, aren’t you? Been up to your old tricks again?”

Link chuckled and nodded.

“Well, I know you wouldn’t have it any other way!” Navi turned back to where she came from and started to leave. “Come on, let’s go! There’s someone I want you to meet!”

Link gave the fairy an awkward stare, seeing nothing but an immeasurable chasm at his feet and no way to cross.

“Oh, sorry!” Navi fluttered back. “I forgot you can’t fly. Here, take my hand.”

The Hylian blinked and his eyebrows arched. The fairy’s previous statement was better.

“Oh, for the love of Deku Nuts.” Navi flew in close. “Close your eyes...and no peeking!”

Giving the fairy a distrusting smile, Link relented and dropped his eyelids, dubious of what to expect. He thought for sure one of Navi’s practical jokes was in the works, but figured he’d let her have an easy one for old time’s sake.

“There, now do you see?”

Link’s jaw dropped. Even though his eyes where shut, there were streaking lines and circles that filled his mind. He could see the temple around him, immense and extraordinary, but within itself it had changed. Dressed in pale blues, whites, and grays, the bottomless crevasse had turned into glistening marble floors, arching staircases that climbed into the very heavens, and prodigious chandeliers of all colors of crystal. But the room wasn’t the only change to be seen.

Standing before him was a young woman, frighteningly beautiful, with the most intense crystal-blue eyes he had ever seen. She had azure-tinted blonde hair, a sparse dabbing of freckles around her dainty nose, and long, pointy ears, just like a Hylian. The look of a great fairy wrapped in seraphic garb stood before him, playing with his mind.

“Hey, I said no peeking!” The voice was Navi’s, but it came from this other form. “Now, take my hand.”

Link opened his eyes, the chamber reverting back to the room, and the Navi, he knew before. Unsure if it was a dream, he closed his eyes again, that sultry shape coming back into his mind’s view.

“Time may have no meaning here, but you haven’t even that to waste, Link.” Navi’s eyes were warm, but stern. “Come! You must hurry!”

Not one to argue with a fairy, let alone one that was as big as he, Link clasped the other’s wrist.

“Keep your eyes closed!” Navi’s face grew wild with excitement. “And hold tight!”

Link felt a strong pull at his arm, his feet lifting off the ground. Holding on to the fairy’s hand he felt the world rush him by as the two flew through the Chamber of Sages, rooms and chambers of indescribable beauty streaking by. Link wanted to see them all, but was helpless to stop Navi’s invisible wings as they flew.

Coming to a crystalline tower of opaque glass, Navi started to climb, flying higher and higher. Passing through beam after beam of life-infused light, the tower below looked like a glittering web, beams of rapturous brilliance being the master’s weave.

The Chamber of Sages left far behind, the roof of the tower slowly began to funnel until it reached it’s apex, a stair-less ledge and an archway awaiting Link and Navi’s entry close by. Letting Link down with surprising grace and gentility, Navi drifted through the arch, giggling, and beckoned Link to follow.

“Remember!” The fairy warned as she zipped away. “Don’t open your eyes!”

Breaking out into a sprint, Link pursued after Navi as she wound and bobbed through vaulted archways and around sky-scraping columns, barely missing white-hot torches and dangerous ledges. Leading him on a hearty chase, she finally brought him to a stop near the entrance to a grand hall, a slight wind picking up as they approached.

Link all the sudden was washed over by a feeling of dread, as if something sinister was lying beyond the threshold into the next room. He stopped just before the crack in the marble, not sure if he should cross or turn back. The lay may have been shut to his worldly eyes, but his instinct proved sharper than his perception.

“Link?” Navi came back and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Come on, we don’t have any time to dilly-dally.”

Link dourly gazed into Navi’s eyes, but saw no deception reflecting back.

Arming himself with courage, he stepped through the arch and found himself in a spacious rotunda, one of the largest he had ever beheld. Encircling the outer wall were fourteen stained-glass windows, tall and powerful like solemn knights holding evil at bay, each with lettering and design he had never before seen. The encompassing light passively filtered through the glass, creating slashing streaks made colorful by the miscellany of crystal.

Looking at the floor, Link could see the beams of light were creating intricate patterns with their soft touches. Each window a piece to the puzzle, they all overlapped and twisted amongst each other, creating a tapestry of heroic warriors and fabled weapons, the mark of the united Triforce clearly settled at it’s eye.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Navi said quietly, not wishing to disturb the spirits in their slumber. “This is the Hall of the Heroes. A monument to those who have been chosen by the Goddesses throughout the mists of time to answer the call to defeat evil.”

Standing in the back of the room, shrouding himself in the shadow of a column, the frame of a man shifted, causing Link’s awe to revert back to that sense of foreboding he felt before entering the room.

“Welcome back to the Sacred Realm.” A gruff, booming voice echoed around the exalted arcs of the rotunda’s roof. “I’ve been waiting for some time.”

Stepping out of the shadow and walking towards the center of the room, Link saw a cloaked man, tall, broad, and powerful looking. Dressed in white and gray robes, his outline glimmered as he stepped through the multitude of light beams, making the shapes on the floor shift and coalesce into one another. He couldn’t quite make out the man’s face, but the general shape seemed to be familiar in some way.

“As I was intended, you now know.” The man said. “With your heart, you gaze upon me in blind truth, your eyes no longer skewing the reality.”

Navi grabbed Link by the hand, as if to steady him for some blow. “Don’t be afraid. Go ahead, open you eyes.”

Doing as told, Link’s eyelids peeled open. The room stayed the same, as well as the light on the floor, but the pious figure before him was gone.

Standing before him, enveloped in that dark desert garb, was Ganondorf Dragmire.

Link jumped back and reached for his sword, the dark blade’s call ripping through the air as it was drawn. Breathing in the light of the Sacred Realm, it glinted and cast reflections all around the room, it’s ominous teeth ready to strike.

About to lunge, Link caught himself just as Navi flew in between him and the dark lord, barring him direct passage to his foe.

“Link.” The fairy said, trying to calm the boy down. “It’s all right. Just close your eyes.”

Unwilling to let himself become victim to Ganondorf’s dark scheming yet again, Link kept his eyes lidless and he moved to go around.

Herself just as stubborn, if not more so, Navi again placed herself in the middle of the two.

“Do you not trust me?” The fairy’s countenance seemed to droop just slightly. “After all this time, has that, too, failed?”

Relenting, Link lowered his blade and stepped back, but kept himself at the ready. He had trusted Navi from the very beginning. He had trusted her ability to help him through even the starkest times. Even unto the very ends of the world, he had trusted her. If it were to put himself in jeopardy at this moment, he knew he would trust her still if she were to but ask for it.

“Go on, Ganondorf.” Navi fluttered to the side. “Tell him what you told me.”

Link closed his eyes, the brightly-burning man in white again taking the place of the infamous dark lord.

“First, Link, I must thank you.” Ganondorf planted his feet on the bottom corners of the Triforce mark on the floor. “For giving me this one chance to see, unhindered, the choices I have made through my lifetime.”

The boy blinked. Ganondorf seemed different. Even when he saw him with his waking eyes, something about him had changed. He didn’t glean that sense of penetrating evil from him as he should. He seemed...noble.

Ganondorf clasped his hands behind his back. “Now, with clean eyes, I can spend what little time we have to tell you what you need to know.”

“When you sacrificed yourself to imprison me within the Master Sword, both me and you were trapped within it’s sacred blade. This is true. You also know that your shadow could not withstand the sword’s power, and so he was left behind. And I am sure that you also were told that my shadow is also loose in the world, causing havoc and destruction in his wake.”

Link nodded. Zelda had told him all about the shadows. He considered it nothing, but then the thought hit him.

“And so you now see?” Ganondorf smiled. “I am what I was intended to be. I am Ganondorf Dragmire, King of the Gerudo, and my soul is pure, just as yours.”

Link couldn’t believe it. He looked to Navi, who nodded in return.

“The Master Sword cast out our evil, leaving it behind while you and I were sealed away to await this fateful coming. Unfortunately, our shadows were also left waiting, wanting. This spelled trouble for the entire world while they were loose, shifting the balance of power in their favor.”

“My phantom somehow found a way to break the seal on the sword, causing the blade to rust and decay. Only the hilt proved far too powerful for him to destroy. You were able to escape, by a flit of chance, but I had to stay behind, here, in the Sacred Realm.”

“And from here I was able to ensure you and I would meet. Zelda’s daughter knew those Keystones could give anyone instant transport to anywhere their hearts desired, but she didn’t know they were shards of the Spiritual Stones of legend. She intended for you to go to the gates of Ersatz, but I was able to bring you here when you entered into the hands of the wandering souls. The alignment of the stars made this possible, as Hyrule now holds a direct connection with the Sacred Realm until sunrise.”

“Which brings me to why you are here.” Ganondorf took a couple of steps forward. “My phantom, impaired as he is, is seeking to reacquire his other half; me. Just as your shadow has done, he longs for the domination of his own.”

One of Link’s eyebrows arched.

“You know it to be true. You can feel it in your heart. Your shadow didn’t die when you struck him. He couldn’t die. As long as you are alive, so shall he be. It is the way of things. He is within you, now, coursing through your veins. You are complete again, Link, the power of light and dark at your command.”

“You suffered greatly at his hand, all those you know and love becoming lost in his tide, but that was a mere nuance to his true revenge. Once he broke your spirit, he was able to rejoin with you and again make you one. Shoving the tip of the Master Sword into his heart only made the meld possible, him transferring back into you like a poison that is drawn into a wound.”

Navi’s true form stepped in and put a hand on Link’s shoulder. “I saw it happen, Link. It’s true. You completely lost control over yourself after the fight. You became entrapped within the hatred, the sorrow, the want for revenge. You even summoned Tears of the Goddesses: the sign of ultimate pain. No one, not even Ganny here, has seen that happen since the forming of the world.”

Ganondorf took another couple of steps forward. “For a short while, you became evil. But, with the Tears of the Goddesses and the Power of the Triforce of Courage, you were able to contain the hatred within yourself. Fate has always smiled upon you, Link, even when it didn’t seem as such. You now hold the power over your own destiny. If you were to take up Evil’s Bane once more, you would remain whole, as your inner darkness was vanquished from within you, not from without. With your entire essence complete, you have become more powerful than any hero could possibly imagine.”

Link relaxed his taut muscles and placed his sword back in it’s dark scabbard. He felt he hadn’t the need for such a weapon anymore, now knowing that his shadow was forever gone.

“But, there still is the matter of my own phantom.” Ganondorf folded his arms. “He holds the hilt to the Master Sword and an entire army lay within his control. I am vulnerable in this state, Link. If he were to open up a gate to this realm, he could take me for his own. He is much stronger, much more perverse, than your shadow could ever be. I wouldn’t stand much of a chance against him in my current state.”

“When I was taken into the blade, the Triforce of Power stayed behind. That power was so entrenched within my own darkness that the good in me had no chance of clinging to it. It was stripped away, and as such my phantom is even more dangerous than he was when you battled him in the Forest Temple. Existing without one shred of good within him, and with the power of Din, he is evil absolute.”

“So what are we going to do about it?” Navi had heard this story already and was anxious to get to the point. “Link is here, your phantom is out there. There’s already a bit of a disadvantage.”

Ganondorf took in a deep breath. “You are going to have to kill me, Link.”

Navi first looked at the Hylian, then back to the Gerudo. “What, here? Now?”

“No, that is not possible.” Ganondorf unfolded his arms and took another couple of steps forward, now only a few feet away. “It will have to happen when the portal is open, when you can get us both at once. While we are apart, one will inevitably revive the other wether they choose to or not. We are tied to the same spirit, and as such we cannot be defeated separately. You will have to wait until just before we are joined. Only then is the weakness exposed.”

“But...you’ll die.” Navi had spent a long time with what was left of Ganondorf’s pure spirit, and feared she would never be able to speak to him again. “You are a good person. Link couldn’t kill you. Sure, you may have had a bad streak, but that’s over now, right? It isn’t you out there, now, trying to destroy the world! You’re past that!”

The Gerudo shook his head. “There is no other way.”

Ganondorf stepped closer still and placed both his hands on Link’s shoulders. Being so near, Link could see beyond the white glow into his face. He was the same man, only in balance. He wondered how the world might of been had the Gerudo King been able to control his lust for power. Maybe it was his surrogate mothers, the witches, that perverted him in such a way. He wanted to know, and all the questions he had were threatening to burst out, but knew that dreamy thoughts weren’t important now.

“If I could take back all I have done to Hyrule and the world, I would see it happen.” Ganondorf gave Link a warm smile. “But, the past cannot be changed. Only the future. See to it, Link. And, Goddesses willing, I will see you on the other side.”

Before Link could respond, his inner and outer sight was filled with a blinding white, the room and the floor vanishing from beneath him. He could feel Navi’s invisible hand gliding across his face as he left, but no words reached his ears as the tips of her fingers regretfully slipped away.

He wasn’t sure, as it was very faint, but he felt as if a single tear had fallen onto his cheek, sinking into his skin like a memory. He passed it off as naught but a fleeting trick of the mind, but knew that even if it weren’t true, he would treasure it always.

He felt relieved to know that even though so much had been lost, not all was forsaken. Perhaps there was a chance to save the good man that was locked away within Ganondorf’s soul. Maybe in doing so the world would become a better place and things could be set back into the balance that had long since been shattered.

Momentarily standing in the blanket of white, Link suddenly entered back into that streaking river of stars, gliding through space and time to the mortal realm. He knew he was returning to the dark, gaping maw of Ersatz, enveloping shadow growing legion as sunrise neared.

His sight coming into focus, Link could make out the distinct shape of Ersatz’s towers and walls, a hail of flaming arrows launching into the sky to halt his approach. Gripping the hilt of his sword, but leaving it in it’s scabbard, he readied his shield as his feet gently touched the ground.

Strength renewed, Link gazed up at the shower of glowing bolts coming his way, lighting up the night like the fireflies of summer. He knew that this would be the fight of his life. So much was at stake, and he was the only one that could save the people of this strange Hyrule from Ganondorf’s fiendish double. And with that in mind, he knew that if there was to be a battle this night, and if light were to fall to the coming darkness, it would be a victory that would not be given lightly.

I was shocked when I read this chapter. The reunion between Link and Navi is what I always wish to see in a future game but Im afraid they most likely will not continue the hero of times adventures.

I would have never thought it possible that Link would come to peace with Ganondorfs pure side but I am glad it did because it twists the traditional zelda theme.

So far Evils bane has been the most enjoyable read Ive experienced in ages. Keep up the good work my friend

ray

Originally Posted by rayburn

I was shocked when I read this chapter. The reunion between Link and Navi is what I always wish to see in a future game but Im afraid they most likely will not continue the hero of times adventures.

I would have never thought it possible that Link would come to peace with Ganondorfs pure side but I am glad it did because it twists the traditional zelda theme.

So far Evils bane has been the most enjoyable read Ive experienced in ages. Keep up the good work my friend

Thanks again for the boost Ray - it really helps drive quality and originality when you know someone is out there that wants to read more and is expecting a level of quasi-professionalism (pretentious, I know ). Honestly, if I wasn't getting the feedback and the comments that I have been getting here at ZU, this story probably wouldn't have gone past the first chapter.

So I guess what I'm trying to say here is thanks to everyone. Like being in rehab, it's friendship and honesty that wins the battle, not standalone individual achievement.

The next chapter, tentatively titled "Backslide", is almost finished and just needs some tightening and cleaning up before it's post-ready. I'm hoping to get to it tonight, but if not you will most definitely get it tomorrow morning/afternoon.

“You are a courageous boy....”

- Impa

Reacting by instinct, Link threw his shield over his back and ducked, running towards the castle’s massive stone and iron gate as the barrage of fire arrows whistled to the ground. Some striking off his shield, some firmly planting near his feet, they scattered all across the field, catching some of the yellowed grass ablaze. Noting one laying flat, he saw it’s barbed tip glistening in the firelight; the shape of a scorpion cut in visceral twists and hooks.

The castles’ massive drawbridge was raised to it’s end, barring all passage into the city. Seeing no other means of entry up front, let alone with the archers above letting loose all their defensive fervor, Link skirted the edge of the moat, looking for some weakness in the outer wall.

Seeing the river to be deep and murky, Link dove into the water and swam towards the bottom, arrows whizzing past and sticking in the muddy sediment some fifteen feet below. Lucky for him, the arrows were stirring up a flurry of mud and rock, clouding the water even more so Link could pass across unseen. Random arrows still dropped down from the narrow murder holes up above, but without a target most chose to conserve their munitions.

As Link neared the bottom, he could see little dragons writhing in the sludge: Water Drakes, burrowing holes and making nests. He thought it strange that Drakes would be here, down out of the mountains, as he thought they were only in New Kakariko. If only Ersatz knew of the treasure that lay at their feet, a veritable well of life and healing, they would be even more of a force to reckon with then they already were.

As Link started to drift downstream, no portholes or waterways present as he had hoped, the Drakes took notice of him and began swirling about. Long and sinewy, their blue bodies glistened in the faint moonlight, and they all began moving in a single direction: back upstream.

Curious, Link made a unseen trip back to the surface to take in a subtle gulp of air, and then sank back down. Following the little dragons, they led him to a particular spot in the mud and swam around in little circles. As the hero neared, he saw what looked like undistinguished rotting tree limb, protruding from the soggy earth like a raising arm of a skeleton.

Reaching out for the stick, Link felt around in the mud and soon found it to be a marker, an iron ring and a grate under the sludge being it’s target. Taking hold of the ring, he planted his feet and pulled with all his might, but the grate wouldn’t budge. He tried again and again to make it free, but he just didn’t have the strength needed. The gate looked as if it hadn’t been opened for centuries, judging by the thick growth of rust on it’s gritty iron surface.

Nearly giving up on the attempt, Link again quietly surfaced for a brief moment and took another large breath before sinking back to the grate. This time however, the top layer of silt removed, Link caught eye of a lynch pin at the base of the gate; he had been pulling on a locked door. Shaking his head at his own silliness, he removed the thin bar of iron and pulled up again, this time the grate slowly creaking upwards, allowing him passage.

It was a tight fit, Link’s shield barely fitting through the narrow square at an angle, but he managed to squeeze through and dropped into what looked like an underground waterway that led beneath the city. About four feet in height, comprised of ancient stone and brick arches, Link wound his way about the branching aqueduct, searching for a way up into Ersatz.

It was a maze in the watery underground. Link barely able to see, every corner and arch looked exactly like the last. He didn’t know if he was heading in the right direction, or if he was swimming in circles.

His breath was giving out. After a few minutes in this claustrophobic catacomb of water, even the largest of lungs wouldn’t last long. Becoming desperate, he looked behind him for the way he came in, wishing to return to the surface, but couldn’t see much past his own circle.

Swimming harder into the dark, the oxygen in his veins failing, Link began to feel light-headed. His mouth struggled to remain closed, as if his body were tying to force him to breath against his will. Rounding column after column of analogous rock, he was on the verge of collapse when he saw something in a near corner.

Moving to the huddled mass, Link saw the remains of a Hylian, lying in the water as if he had fallen asleep there. Presumably once a man, the entire body was starved, no flesh left to speak of, but a scorpion-tipped arrow protruding from the chest spoke of his ill-fated demise. Dressed in what remained of a gold and blue tunic, one that looked as if it could have been royal of some sort, the body held a sense of honor and duty, as if he had given his life to sneak into the castle. Or perhaps he was trying to escape? He didn’t know, and at this moment he didn’t think he would get the opportunity to find out.

Fate again shining upon him, Link looked at the man’s face and saw exactly what he needed. Fortuitously waiving in the water like a flag, a bastion of hope, was a black Zora mask.

Link quickly pulled the fabric from around the man’s skeletal jaw and held it up to his own, breathing sweet air into his strained lungs. Holding still there for a moment, letting his body return to a normal state, he took in a deep breath and then removed the mystic fabric so he could tie it around his face properly. Ensuring it was tight and secure, he looked back at the corpse that lay before him, searching him for clues about why he was there.

Fumbling through the man’s shredded clothing, Link didn’t find anything of value. There was a crumpled piece of parchment gripped in his bony fist, but it was long since destroyed by the rushing waves, it’s ink faded and smudged. It almost looked like a layout of the underground waterway, but it was too far smeared and fragile to be of any value.

Knowing himself short of time, Link let the body be and pushed away, heading back to his search for an exit. Frantically moving down wall after wall of the labyrinth, he was about to backtrack to the beginning when he felt the water push against him, a wave flowing through the current. He was unsettled by the wave, as that meant he wasn’t alone.

Sticking close to the outer barriers of rock, Link moved in what he thought was the northern direction, keeping an eye out for any sign of movement in the dark waterway. Stopping in what seemed to be a central room, four possible directions at his feet, he spied something writhing in the distance. Squinting his eyes in the waving water, he saw the blue and silver scales of a Water Drake.

Link thought it close, like one of the small dragons he had caught in his cup back in New Kakariko, but when he realized that it was actually far away his eyes grew wide and he put an unsure hand on the hilt of his sword. This Drake had to be at least forty feet long.

The creature twisted and swooned in the murky liquid, seemingly content in it’s water-weaving dance, but came to a stop when it saw the intruder within it’s sacred lair. It’s eyes flashed orange and it’s jaw came to a close, bubbles flowing from it’s nostrils like smoke from Death Mountain.

Serpentinely rippling through the water, the Drake darted towards Link faster than any dragon in air could have possibly imagined. Like the screaming shaft of an arrow, a piercing shriek and howl filled the waterway, causing Link’s eyes to blur and his mind to soften. It was like a murderous song, enchanting in the shrill notes, bidding it’s target to surrender to it’s ravaging thirst.

Barely able to keep himself together, Link barrel rolled to the side just as the Drake coursed by, nearly missing it’s streaking claws as it gripped at him. Not waiting for the gargantuan beast to recoil, he pushed on towards where it had come from, a faint light cutting down through the water and illuminating the ground.

Enraged at the boy’s presumptuous escape, the Drake wheeled and swam to it’s right to turn around, winding around columns like a thread through fabric. It’s feral screech continued to flutter through the waterway, Link barely able to stay ahead of it’s numbing harmony.

Nearing the patch of blueish light on the aqueduct floor, Link turned his head behind him to look for the Drake, but it had disappeared. Not stopping to ponder the thought, Link pushed on, legs churning.

Moving into the faint moonlight, sky being visible up above, Link spied a long vertical shaft that was barred with another grate. Moving towards it, Link despaired when he saw that the strips of iron were set directly into the rock; no possible way of opening it.

Link sank back down to the bottom of the waterway, planting his feet on the slick rock floor. Keeping his sword readied, he looked about for the aquatic dragon.

And there it was. Dashing towards him, the Water Drake’s jaw split wide, seeking to swallow the Hylian whole if it could. Waiting for the perfect moment, Link crouched and shoved upwards with his feet, shooting into the tunnel and towards the grate. Bracing himself in a corner, sword pointed downward and close to his body, Link awaited the beast to follow.

Follow it did. Shooting into the tunnel with furious expedience, the Drake barely missed Link and his barbed sword, slamming through the grate and into the upper level of the waterway, it’s shriek growing even more rancor.

The dragon slipping by, Link took hold of it’s tail and gripped it tightly, being drawn along faster than the owl flies.

Unwittingly shooting out of the water and onto a solid surface, Link and the Drake found themselves in the main square of Ersatz, near where Link was nearly killed those few nights ago. Rolling away from the Drake, Link crouched underneath a table and readied his shield, unsure of what was going to happen next.

Unlike it’s miniature counterparts, this Drake seemed to have no problem being out of water. It’s gills ceased to flutter and what appeared to be lungs started to heave and bellow out smoke. It’s howling shriek filling the streets and alleys, the shouts of men and the pounding of armored feet echoed in return.

Link backed away towards a near wall as knights and infantrymen flooded the square, pointing their hooked blades, spears, and axes towards the massive Drake. Staring down at the minuscule men in armor, the Drake’s wiry body stood up and stretched out it’s neck, standing taller than some of the nearby buildings. It’s paralyzing call rang out in the open air, the ear-splitting tone traveling louder and wider that it could in the waterway.

Most of the men cowered in fear, but one, a knight captain burnished in golden armor, stood firm and raised his sword in defiance. Calling out to the high tower wall, a volley of arrows were unleashed into the fray, their entangling barbs deflecting off the Drake’s hardy scales as if they were but blunt splinters of wood.

The city guard distracted by the Drake, his own presence gone unnoticed, Link slipped into a near alleyway, clinging to the shadows as he went along. Stopping in a far corner, he gazed up at the impenetrable tower standing firm in the escaping moonlight. Jutting out from the tower was that balcony, the one that he saw the Empress on before, nearly ten stories up from the ground. Squinting his eyes, Link could see that she was there again, leaning over the railing to gaze upon the Drake at her feet.

Gazing around the city, it almost seemed deserted. All that was roaming the streets were soldiers, no civilians to be seen. Link wondered where everyone was as his eyes scaled the outside of the tower for some sort of way to surmount it. Biting his lip, the powerful stone surface granted nothing; it was solid, flawless. He would have to take it from the ground.

Moving around to the rear of the tower, his weary eyes locked on the distant figure of the Empress, Link was nearly struck by an arrow, it’s scorpion tail cutting across the bridge of his nose. Jumping back against the outside of the curved wall, a slight trickle of blood coming down his face like tears, he crouched in the shadow and held his shield in front of him, blade at his side. If it weren’t for the archer’s poor marksmanship, Link, in his stupor, would have certainly been hit.

Shaking the pain and his haughtiness away, Link slowly moved along the curvature of the stone, keeping his eyes lidless for the would-be-assassin. Seeing him on the outer wall, another arrow strung and ready, Link’s eyes dropped to the ground level, the archer now being the least of his problems.

Shoulder to shoulder, shield to shield, was an entire platoon of swordsman barricading the entire street, ready to charge. Melodramatically chuckling at the absurdity of his disadvantage, Link scrambled and ran back towards the square he had come from, the soldiers breaking ranks and giving chase close behind.

Flying back into the commons with reckless abandon, arrows and javelins following at his feet, Link charged into the fray. The Drake having already dispatched some twenty men, their bodies horribly mangled and strewn about the square, he threw himself at the unsuspecting soldiers, knowing that this was going to be the place in which he had to hold his ground. He hoped that Mara and the Highlanders were going to be able to do their end, else the battle in the streets would outlast the night.

Dragon's teeth and men with steel; time's edge bleeds deeper still.

 “I don't know what it is...I have this feeling of dread.”

- Saria

Ironside, Cale, Mara, and her one remaining inarticulate bodyguard made their way through Ersatz’s rat-infested underbelly, traveling silently in the frugal light. The air stale and clammy, Cale and Ironside found it difficult to breath, coughing up wet dust and mold from their lungs along the way. In contrast, the Highlanders were accustomed to such facets of their clandestine life, but found breathing to be difficult when topside.

They had entered the underground by way of the western catacombs, warping in very near the concealed entrance that was a few hundred yards away from the city. Mara wanted to get in closer, as time was short, but decided it too much a risk. A risk, it seemed, that might have been a better choice. Somehow, Link hadn’t warped in with them. He went first, and as such he should have been right at the entrance to the caves, but he wasn’t. The Lady thought that maybe he had went on ahead, charging the keep without hesitation, but doubted it. Something had taken him out of the stream, or redirected him elsewhere. There was someone else playing the strings that night, and Mara didn’t like it.

Moving as fast as sure feet would take them, the four went in a single file line, Mara in front and the other Highlander in the rear, winding through the indirect passageways and random changes in elevation. Mara’s kind knew these passages by heart and could move through them at breakneck speed, but the two others in tow wouldn’t be able to keep up, let alone find their way if they got lost. The old underground was layer upon layer of past joining present, and not even the most clearly written of maps would be of any help in such a place.

Passing through the crypts, the resting place of the kings of old, the group came to a stop at the entrance to the cisterns, the smell of standing water filling their nostrils. Cale walked in first and put his hands on the railing, looking over into the nearest basin and gazing in awe.

Four in all, clustered in a massive square formation, the cisterns were a marvel of ingenuity and foresight, giving Ersatz enough water to easily outlast a siege for months, if not years. Encased by domed ceilings of hand-set brick and stone, it was nearly a four story climb to reach the dank arches, and one not done easily. Now lost to the memory of time, the city having no real enemies to speak of for so long, the basins sat unused for centuries until they were discovered by the Highlanders. By redirecting a small aqueduct, Veritas had secured it’s own ability to sustain life in such stark circumstances.

Mara bit her lip. This plan they were following was to be the rubicon of this chain of events. If the cisterns were buried, and if the city did fall, Veritas, in time, would also succumb. This one choice, this one doom, was to be for all, not just for a scant few. It was either going to be victory and the emergence of the Highlanders back into the upper world, or Ersatz simply adding another layer to the twisted caverns of rock and earth.

Ironside moved passed the others, spying something drawn on the nearby wall. It seemed to be a picture drawn with chalk, three persons being the subject. They seemed like happy people, warm smiles on their faces as if they were captured in the time when they were most content. It was two men with moustaches; one tall and thin, the other short and bulky; and a young woman standing between them. Behind their faces was an etching of the sun, filled in with a faded yellow tint.

“Who’re they?” Cale turned and faced the mural, leaning back on the railing, elbows up on the iron bars.

“Nobody knows.” Mara answered. “No tale, no writing, no song ever speaks of them; their story is lost to time. But here, within this drawing, we think of them as immortals.”

Cale softly smiled. “They look...happy.”

“I’m sure they were.” Ironside had been in dark situations before and knew exactly what was going on. “We’re stalling, and time isn’t something that is readily available. If we’re going to do this, we should do it fast.”

“Quite right, captain.” Mara turned and faced the others. “So...how should we do this?”

Ironside gazed up at the dripping vault of the first cistern, seeing how all the supporting columns wound up to their peaks and back into a central pillar of solid rock that lay at the rooms eye. As thick as the largest of trees, it looked as if it wouldn’t give way easily.

“Dropping one wouldn’t do. The others would just hold the weight and make it even more difficult to accomplish the goal. We need to destroy that center column.”

“How?” Cale was quick to protest. “That thing is thicker than a castle wall. There’s nothing that could cut through that.”

“Maybe not cut...” Mara signaled to her guard to come forward. “But we have something that might be able to do the job.”

Both Ironside and Cale were entrenched in their skepticism.

Reaching into the folds of his cloak, the imperceptible Highlander produced a cloth bag, something bulky and odd-shaped inside, and handed it to Mara.

“We found this some years ago, deep within one of the western tunnels. There were three of them at one point in time, but the others were used to help with the city when we needed to...increase usable space.”

Unwrapping the parcel, Mara produced something that neither Ironside nor Cale had ever seen before. It was triangular shaped, boxy with sharp edges, and had the general look of a mouse to it.

Thinking the device almost comical, it was all Cale could do to keep from laughing at it.

“What is it?” Ironside was still doubtful.

“This, my friends....” Mara had a proud smile on her face. “Is the solution. We didn’t know what they were for the longest time, until one was accidentally set off. It ran off on it’s own, as if it were possessed by some spirit, and when it came to a stop it destroyed an entire chamber of solid rock. Turned the very ground to glass.”

“It’s a bomb?” Hope came to Cale’s eyes. “You mean, all we got to do is plant that thing, run like fear, and boom! Down it comes?”

“Well, that’s the problem.” Mara didn’t want to have to be the bearer of bad news. “This one doesn’t sit still once you awaken it. You have to have the timing just right and aim it towards your target from a distance. If you let loose too early, it will go off before it reaches it’s mark. Too late, and it’ll climb right up the wall and along the ceiling. Frighteningly random it seems, and none of us were ever really able to figure them out.”

Ironside reached up and rubbed his hand across the stubble on his chin. “You say you found them in the west?”

Mara nodded. “Deep. Almost to the desert.”

The knight captain rapped his knuckles on the wall and started pacing. “When I was a boy, I remember an old man telling me the story of the Bombchu: a race of fire deities that resided within the bodies of desert mice. He said that when someone would make it mad, it would scurry along the floor, winding back and forth like a snake with legs, and explode, completely destroying anything and anyone in it’s path.”

“Bombchu, eh?” Cale folded his arms. “Well, I guess there’s no time to argue, if we are set on doing this.”

Mara walked to one of the crossing pathways, one that gave a straight shot to the imposing column. “So, here’s the plan. We drop the Bombchu and let it run to the column. We run for safety through the way we came, and pray that the rest of the caverns and tunnels don’t collapse with this one.”

Mara looked to the other three, wanting a collective agreement for what was to be done. No quarrel was given, and so the Lady gently set the apparatus on the ground, aiming the nose towards the pillar and opening a small hatch on it’s back. Removing a bit of stuffing, cotton strips to keep the item from setting off randomly, a simple switch became visible.

“Just one thing, before we let it go.” Mara looked to Ironside. “If you knew we were siphoning water, why didn’t you stop us?”

“You’re not the only ones with problems.” Ironside started to back away towards the tunnel, ready to bolt for his life. “I don’t kill without reason. And until that night, those few days ago, you hadn’t done anything to us. I figured let it be until it became a concern.”

Mara gave a warm, tight-lipped smile. “Then I guess we owe you our lives, Sir Ironside. Let us hope it wasn’t a mistake.”

Ironside returned the kind gesture with a simple nod.

“Okay. Everyone ready?”

Mara was about to throw the switch and bolt when a familiar voice filled the cavern, making her freeze in her tracks.

“I wouldn’t do that, Mara.” Loud and arrogant, the voice reflected off the water’s surface and around the arching domes. “That would cause quite a mess.”

Mara would know that voice if it were drowned in sand. “Jarilo.”

“You guessed it.” Stepping out of the pillar, wisps of smoke at his feet, the second in command of Veritas entered the room with three other shadow-Hylians in tow. “I can’t let you do this, Mara. You’ll destroy everything.”

“Only everything worth destroying.” Cale said. “Ersatz has been moonlighting for long enough.”

“Silence, day-spawn!” Jarilo seemed on edge, as if some great weight was upon him. “Any more talk from you and I’ll rip out your filthy tongue!”

“Step aside, Jarilo.” Mara stood to her feet and hovered over the Bombchu, shielding it with her body. “You know this must be done.”

“And doom Veritas to darkness and thirst? You would destroy our city, our people gone with it, and for what? To knock down a wall? Ersatz can’t be conquered in such a way. And even if it could, you’d kill us all in the process.”

Ironside gripped the hilt of his sword, Cale did the same.

“You know what?” Jarilo stepped to the side of the pillar. “Go ahead. Drop the roof on our heads. I care not. But....”

The shadow reached into his cloak and retrieved a small red orb, it’s surface swirling with liquid fire. “Before you do, perhaps you should consider this.”

Jarilo lazily tossed the trinket into the water. Sinking towards the immeasurable bottom, it soon began to pulsate and glow, seemingly expanding as it fell. Then, in a flash of light, the four cisterns became fully illuminated, something hidden underneath the stagnant exterior becoming visible.

Encased in crystal spheres, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of people in the water, frozen in a wakeless slumber. However motionless, they still looked alive, suspended in some kind of dark magic. Stepping to the edge of the basin, Ironside’s eyes flared with rage. It was his people, the citizens of Ersatz, all brought to the underground as insurance.

“You see?” Jarilo had a rush of power flood through him. “If you destroy the cisterns, you take all these people with it. Have what it takes, my Lady? Do you have the resolve to murder all these people just to throw a stick at a bear?”

Mara gritted her teeth. “How have you done this, Jarilo? Why have you done this?”

“Oh, it’s not me.” The shadow held his hands together like a saint. “I have done nothing, save ensure the survival of our people. It is you that have brought this fate upon the innocent.”

Ironside stepped in front of Mara, staring down the shadow. “You will release them. Now!”

“Oh look! It’s Sir Ironside!” Jarilo chuckled as he said the name, his companions doing the same. “Your Empress thought you to be dead after she sent you into the Creydo. Pity, that her plan didn’t work. The boy was supposed to kill you, his rage and power beyond control. And yet here you are. Must have gotten the upper hand, eh?”

“The Empress?” Mara could see the pieces all falling together. “Zelda...the Sheikah...it was you!”

The realization cut deeper than any war-wound. Mara knew Jarilo to be hotheaded, but didn’t think him capable of betrayal. Up until this very moment, her trust in him was immovable.

“Oh, don’t be so modest, Mara.” Jarilo put his hands on his hips. “I’ve done only what you were unwilling to do. We had that chance to take the city, hundreds of years of planning and secrecy put to work, but then you had to go and bungle it all up by pulling us back.”

“It would have been centuries again before we would have had another chance as good as that one. I, for one, would rather come up to the surface now, rather than later. I’ve earned it. I deserve it. Even if it has to be as a servant to our enemy, it beats breathing in mold for another age.”

“You will pay for this in blood and spirit!” Ironside was livid, well beyond consolation. “If you harm one innocent on this field, you will suffer with not only with the last of your life, but within your death as well!”

“Me?” Jarilo felt he had total control, and he was loving every moment of it. “I’m not going to do anything. If you destroy this cavern, then it will be you that perform the culling. My hands are clean.”

“As clean as a Bublin’s rear end!” Cale remarked. “Treachery will only go so far, Jarilo. Let’s see you put your hands to work instead of just your rotting mouth!”

With a cocky grin, Jarilo raised a hand. Rushing into the cavern, a platoon of dark-armored soldiers filled the bridges and byways, archers lining the upper walls with arrows strung.

“I guess I have to say it, don’t I?” Jarilo leisurely propped himself against the pillar, thinking himself completely safe behind the power of Ersatz. “Your path ends here.”

I just got to read this chapter last nite and it really left me wanting more. I grabbed one of my old choose your own adventure zelda books from elemtery school but it didnt give me the the same thrills as evils bane but thats the fun of storie telling I suppose, always leave em hanging.

Im looking forward to the next un, so until then

Yea, I dunno what it is with me wanting to leave all the chapter endings in such a state. I suppose I'm just a romantic dramatist. That, and I think that watching so many movies makes me think that this is the way it's supposed to be done; episodes like these. My stories are very cinematic in my mind, even down to camera angles and styles of music.

Concerning the next installment: I am working on it, but it' slow going. I don't know what it is, but the words just aren't coming out like they were before. It's actually become quite difficult! I guess this is what some would call a "writer's block", though I'd be more inclined to label it as "writer's nausea". The story is there, it's just not flowing as good as normal. I'm sure it's just a mental thing, like I'm afraid to finish it, the end of something beautiful, or perhaps I am afraid that the coup de grâce won't be as good as I want it to be.

On top of that, I'm changing departments in my job and going back to the graveyard shift in a couple of weeks. I'm stressing about that a little bit, as I'll be going from managing four people to thirty, but I'm sure it'll all work out in time.

So anyhoo, I better get back to work. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter within a few days. If not, Sunday for sure (day off).

Whoa, this is a long one! I'm trying something new, structure-wise, with this chapter. Questions, comments, and/or complaints appreciated!

Sorry this last post has taken so long to get out - lot-o-crap going on right now within my meager existence. Hope it was worth the wait!


***********

“If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish, it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity. If someone with an evil mind has his wish granted, the world will be consumed by evil.”

- Hylian Folklore

Link merged in with the soldiers who were desperately trying to bring the towering Water Drake down, causing chaos within their already fraying ranks. The other platoon from the side streets flowing into the square, the bedlam furthered even deeper, giving him some time to formulate a plan to get into the tower as the focus shifted from him to the scaly blue dragon.

The main tower had only one known entrance, it’s already impassable iron-wood doors made even more so with a portcullis of reinforced black steel. In hindsight, getting within the inner cloister of the city was the easy part. The taking of the keep was going to be the real problem.

Noisily entering the skirmish from the southern alleys, a group of horse-mounted knights galloped at the Drake, lances in their grips. Charging fast and straight, striking one by one in a train, their elongated lengths of wood and steel failed to penetrate the thick hide, glancing off or shattering entirely. Men on the ground hacked and jabbed at the monster’s legs and underbelly with daring courage, only to be crushed by the emaciating talons as they tromped.

The Drake seemed impervious to the little splinters, only growing more agitated as the mass of men increased. It’s nostrils began frothing and smoking, the very air seemingly beginning to feel cooler as it reeled.

High upon that upper balcony, the Empress looked to be amused. Link caught her dancing around credulously, entertained with the havoc and death at her feet. Spinning in throes of delight, a childish laughter echoing off the ramparts as her long black cape fluttered and swooned in the air, revealing the crimson red interior as she went. Jumping onto the railing, she appeared to glide as she moved, the ground paying no heed to her drifting steps.

Having it’s fill of pokes and pricks, the Drake inhaled a deep breath into it’s lungs, the resulting pressure change in the air making all the men’s ears plug and ring. At this point all the fighting ceased, the square turning as quiet as a graveyard as all looked up at the dragon with an unknowing anxiety. Friend and foe alike were captivated in fear for their own lives. Even the Empress stalled in her promenade, keeping a watchful eye on the beast as she moved towards the safety of the doors.

Using the distraction to his advantage, Link carefully skirted the outsides of the square, taking cover behind a short wall. Unsure of what was going to happen, he held his shield in front of his body, curling tight just as the dragon unleashed it’s fury onto the guard.

Dropping down to it’s front legs, lowering it’s head close to the ground, the Drake exhaled a blast of water, mist, and ice, freezing man and beast alike into petrified statues of winter. Swords shattered, shields buckled. The very hair on the men’s bodies turned stiff and broke off like kindling. The entire square turned from it’s pleasant warmth of summer into a veritable frozen waste, the Drake playing the part of the besieging deity.

The ice stopped just short of Link’s feet, his Sheikah shield frosted with little jags of crystalline water protruding from the edges. Brushing the chill off his tunic, he slowly stood up and looked around the corner into the square; a deathly garden of blue and white grown dark by the snuffed torches.

The Drake’s rage erupted in a fiendish brutality, swinging wildly at the frozen soldiers and horses, shattering their bodies with ease. Shrieking into the air, the beast raised up straight and howled it’s victory over the frail and the foolish, looking for more destruction to be had.

Seizing the opportunity, Link dashed for the gate of the tower, bringing the Drake’s gaze along with him.

Spying another still alive, and the one that brought it here out of it’s cavern no less, the Drake did not hesitate to take in another deep breath, it’s head staying lined up with the sprinting boy.

The entire square slick with ice, Link found himself more skating and sliding rather than running, and found it hard to keep his balance. Twice stumbling, he launched to his feet with all the speed he could command and threw himself at the portcullis of the tower, clasping the frigid steel as tight as he could for stability. Turning to face the Drake, he raised up his sword in defiance to ensure it would take the bait.

Roaring as it dropped again to the ground, it’s sundering weight making the icicles on the ground crack and dance like a spider’s web, the Drake expired another arctic blast, Link rolling away just as the freezing liquid hit it’s mark.

The strips of steel on the gate shuddered and clenched, the sound of scraping metal filling the air. The door behind faired little better, it’s facade turning brittle and it’s hinges failing.

Seeing a miss, the Drake kept it’s feet on the ground and started to run at Link’s nimble frame, giving chase right at his back. Circling the square, Link let the beast pursue him across the frigid grounds, leading it back to the door just as he had in the waterway.

Sliding to a stop again right in front of the portcullis, Link turned and faced the charging Drake, holding his shield outward. Waiting for the dragon’s teeth to be at his chest, Link dove forward underneath it’s belly, using his shield as a sled to fly past to the other side.

Unable to stop, the ice on the ground unforgiving, the Drake’s jaw snapped shut just as it slammed right through the portcullis and it’s adjoining archway, giving a clear shot at the tower’s concealed interior.

Link got to his feet and moved for the entrance, guardedly keeping his shield and sword ready. To his relief, the Drake wasn’t moving. It was still alive, it’s lungs heaving and mist coming from it’s nostrils, but it was unconscious and docile.

Looking up to the sky before he entered the keep, Link saw the moon disappearing just over the western wall. Sunrise was near. The shouts of more soldiers entering into the square, he gingerly moved around the bloodied talons of the fallen Drake and entered the tower.

For some reason or another, he knew that he wouldn’t be followed. Something truly sinister lived within this citadel, and not even he would have wished to pass through it’s arch.

Keeping his shield raised, eyes level, Link buried his trepidation and headed into the maw.

--------------

Cale, Ironside, Mara, and her unspoken bodyguard all huddled close, back to back, creating a protective circle around the precious Bombchu on the ground. If they could somehow find a way to spare the lives of the innocents, they would do it. But Mara knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that sacrificing them to stop the Empress would perhaps be the only way.

Link was hopefully in that upper level now, fighting for his life as well as for hers. Mara could feel it in her soul that he was still alive and well, and could only pray that he stayed that way for a little while longer.

“Make your move, my Lady.” Jarilo’s tone was callow, detached. “If you surrender now, I’m sure I can...arrange something to suit all parties.”

Mara kept a stern lip.

“What, are you going to wait for your friend?”

Mara’s fondness for Link betrayed her, her eyes lifting and growing soft.

“He’s dead, Mara.” Jarilo took his weight off the pillar and stood up straight, his arms still folded. “Even if he survived getting into the city, the guard and the Empress would make short work of him. You knew that when you sent him into that deathtrap. And for what? So you could destroy even more innocent lives with this foolhardy plan of yours?”

“And if his inevitable death wasn’t fact enough, sunrise is just a few moments away. There’s no chance for him; for you; for Veritas. She will succeed in bringing the great hero back. And then, with Ganondorf at her command, there will be no stopping her by any means. We must yield while we can, or we will all perish. Help me save what is left of us!”

Jarilo filled his demeanor with insincere goodwill, hoping to sway the Lady in his favor. “Even if you did bring the city down, what good would it do? It’s folly, Mara. There’s no army to invade, no distraction to be had that could help. The fortress is without weakness. It’s guard is too strong to let it fall. Sure, you may make a big hole in the wall, but the army within would still be without equal. Not even us shadows at full strength could take the city as it is now.”

Mara was finding it hard to keep her will intact. She didn’t believe Jarilo, when he said that Link was dead, but something within her was shattered all the same. She had fought so hard for so long, and her grip on the situation was gradually degrading to the point that she almost wanted to believe anything that Jarilo had to say.

Looking up to the archers on the balcony up above, their jagged bolts aimed at her heart, Mara was beginning to feel the despair growing within her.

The traitor walked forward, slowly edging towards the small cluster. “It doesn’t have to be like this, Mara. Just come with me and we can come up with a plan. The Empress isn’t without enemies. We can overthrow her, beat her at her own game. All we need to do is let her think she has this one victory over us and then we can strike! We can take the city, you and I, and free our people to rule the overworld as gods!”

“You’re deranged.” Ironside commented. “You give that virago one inch and she’ll take two. You’ll be dead before you even know it!”

“Come with me, Mara.” Jarilo ignored the other, keeping his cold eyes on the Lady as he inched closer. “Link is gone, lost to the tide. There’s no need for any of this irrational destruction now. Take my hand and we can make this work. Do it for Veritas and your people.”

Seeing Mara was about to break, her eyes looking away, Jarilo reached out a hand and delivered the final gambit. “Do it for your mother. Think of what she would do.”

Fighting it as long as she could, Mara’s resolve crumbled. She knew, deep in her heart, that Zelda would never endanger the life of an innocent to further her own goals. A tear came to her eye as she relented to the inevitable demise of her kind. She slowly began to raise up her hand, ready to take the other’s and save what she could. Maybe he was right. Maybe there would be another chance down the road to free the Highlanders from the stifling underground. Maybe things would get better.

Cale also could see that she was at her wit’s end. “Mara...”

“No, Cale.” The Lady interrupted, pained strings in her voice. “He’s right. We can’t take this on alone. Not now.”

“You’ve made the right decision.” Jarilo’s forged smile turned wicked in his triumph. “Do this for me and all will be set right in time. I promise.”

The last statement bringing her back from the abyss, Mara’s eyes hardened. She had convinced herself that Jarilo, even in his corruption, had the best interests of Veritas at heart. Had he not told her to do it for him, she might have taken him up on the offer and looked on to fight another day. But now, decidedly knowing his purpose to not be genuine, she made up her mind.

Staring him down for a moment, she lurched forward and violently took Jarilo by the wrist, drawing him close.

“Not for you.” Mara whispered harshly into his ear, teeth bared. “For Link.”

Setting into motion events that now could not be stopped, Mara unsheathed a small dagger from her hip and plunged it into Jarilo’s heart with an upwards motion, the man gasping in both pain and shock as the cold steel ripped into his body. Pressing the blade up to the hilt, the shadow’s dark blood slowly trickled down the grip and across Mara’s hand, softly pattering onto the cold, mossy stone below.

Jarilo’s lip trembled as his eyes darkened. A frothy mixture of blood and saliva grew to the corners of his mouth as he uttered his last breath, knowing himself to be doomed.

“Forgive...me.” Jarilo strained to find redemption in Mara’s eyes.

No remorse left for the man she thought she knew, Mara kept a firm grip on the dagger and shoved Jarilo back, the blade tearing free form his body.

Crumpling to the ground, lifeless, the Highlander’s eyes were frozen with that same dolorous glare. All his wants, all his wishes, growing dark as quickly as the life in him escaped.

The entire scene lay quiet in astonishment. Mara stood back and took in a deep breath, letting her anger flee from her and escape into nothingness. Link, by his own actions back in the grove, had taught her that no matter how bad things could get there was always hope.

Letting the bitter rage go, she turned her overcast eyes to the other treacherous shadows in her midst. She didn’t hate them as she thought she would, but instead knew that no matter how dark and crooked they became, they were still of her own and deserved the mercy that their new ruler would not impart.

Link may have been killed, fact or fiction, but the fight in the underworld was far from over. If it needed be, Mara was prepared to go to any lengths to ensure that Ersatz would be brought to it’s knees. Wether by Link’s hand or hers, this night the city would fall.

Seeing the fatal consequences of their actions, one of the other dissenters near the center pillar took a step back, the other swallowing his fear and standing firm.

Mara looked at them with pitiful eyes, wondering what would drive men that she knew and trusted to lose hope in such a way as to try and destroy their own kind. She tracked their eyes down to her hand, the bloodied dagger still trickling with the blood of it’s initial victim. Flicking the dark material onto the ground, she looked to her companions to ensure they were ready and at her side.

“For Link!” She yelled as loud as her lungs would carry and charged, dagger at the point.

Following suit, the other three moved to attack, weapons drawn and courage radiating. Cale, his mind still alert, snatched up the Bombchu and cradled it in his off hand, shortsword in the other as they rushed towards the center column.

The offensive nearing the pillar, the two deceitful countrymen desperately signaled to the archers above to release a volley, which they did with lightning speed. Reacting as a shadow should, all four heroes moved into the pillar, phasing through the stone as easily as a sharp blade cuts parchment.

Mara gawked in amazement at Ironside entering the Eventide. Gazing at him as he stood with her inside the solid rock, sigh of relief escaped her lips. She thought he was going to be a dead man for sure when those arrows were loosed.

“What?” The knight responded nonchalantly to the wide-eyed shadow. “You didn’t think that I’ve been around this long and didn’t learn a thing or two about you?”

Mara gave him a smile before leaping back out into the open, slashing at her fellow Highlanders. They defended themselves bravely, trying to contour to the surrounding terrain, but fell short of Mara’s skill and speed. Cale, Ironside, and the other coming close behind, the renegades were quick to be overpowered, their bodies overturning and splashing into the dark cisterns below, sinking towards the bottom.

Seeing their commanders slain, one of the overworlders stepped forward, sword drawn, and yelled to the archers. “Volley!”

To his dismay, nothing came.

“Volley!!” The voice yelled again desperately, this time glancing up at the upper catwalks.

To his horror, lining the rows and walls were the bodies of the archers, each and every one slumped over dead.

“By the Empress!” The man cursed as he fell back into rank, shield to his face. “Take cover!”

Coming down from the upper levels like bats swooping from the cavernous rock, the few remaining Highlanders from Veritas descended upon the dark-armored platoon of Ersatz, their dusky forms hardly visible in the bleak light.

Mara suffered indebtedness to the powers that be. With Jarilo here, villainy’s mantle shed, she thought the rest of the city either turned betrayer or taken captive. It was a sweetly-taken solace to her, knowing that some were still loyal to the cause, ready to take up the fight.

Not waiting for another instant, her faith renewed, Mara flew in to join her fellow underworlders, Cale, Ironside, and the nameless one close behind. If Link had indeed fallen to the blade of evil, then they would do his memory honor and shake Ersatz to it’s very core.

--------------

Link worked his way to the center of the tower, a winding staircase of red-carpeted stone firmly rooted in the eye. No windows to speak of, the entire climb was dimly lit with flickering torches, each seeming as if it were breathing it’s last against the cool gray-stone walls.

Spacing the torches were oil paintings of a frightful sort, each twisted, dark, disfigured. Encased in black and read streaked frames of metal, some in odd patterns and design, strange landscapes, black-burning stars, and creatures of unimaginable horror stood in affirmation of the wickedness within the tower. Every few circles up the flight there would be a small table against the inner wall, simple white flowers in ornate vases it’s only companion. Link thought the juxtaposition strange, something natural and beautiful within this perverted spire, but ignored it best he could and kept his thoughts on each ascending step.

Link cautiously moved up the curling rise, keeping his eyes, shield, and serrated edge at the forefront. He could smell something sickly sweet on the air, a thick, musky perfume of sorts, nearly gagging his breath. It had something else mixed within the scent, a fleeting memory that he couldn’t quite grasp. It was faint, hidden deep within the layers of essence, and it bothered him that he was unable to determine it’s individuality.

Curiously, there were no guards to be seen anywhere in the tower. Link thought for sure that this place would be the most fortified of Ersatz’s grounds: the inner sanctum of their sovereign. Left vacant, there was no presence, no track, no breath on the wind to be seen or heard. It was as if no person had ever set foot in this place. Deathly quiet, it seemed abandoned, haunted. The uneven emptiness of it intimidating, it was all Link could do to keep his mind from wandering into dark speculations.

Reaching an open archway, the stairs coming to their end, Link’s body felt prickly, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. The archway’s leaden door of iron wide open, he could see into a circular room, it’s floors empty save one feature.

Laying on a crumbling sandy-colored pedestal was the shattered hilt of the Master Sword, wrapped devilishly in a tan scarf: tattered fabric painted with the sharp emblems of the desert people. The grizzled edge of the scarf spoke to it’s age, possibly hundreds of years.

Accompanying the scarf was a faded red cord, tied to the hilt and gently swaying off the side of the pillar. The woven cord also looked to be quite old, time making it frayed and dry.

Seeing no other soul present, Link gingerly moved into the room. The chamber was large, the full breadth of the tower, and was surrounded by fourteen windows, each veiled by heavy curtains of blood-red velvet. One other door lay at the rear of the room, bolted and shut. Link assumed that it was the door that led to that upper balcony, the Empress on the other side.

Eluding memory, the room seemed ominously familiar.

Moving towards the pedestal, he noticed the cord dangling from the hilt not to be of rope, but of braided hair. Red hair. Exploring it with his Hylian eyes, he immediately knew of whom it once belonged.

Sorry for the long wait between posts - I seem to have fallen ill. Pretty much all of this chapter was written with a high fever. I'm sorry if it got a little...skewed. Hopefully the quality isn't too degraded.

As usual, and probably more so in regards to my current state, questions, comments, complaints, and criticism are most welcome!

P.S. Only one more chapter, and perhaps an epilogue, is left to go! Even though I'm feeling like I'm getting poked all over my body with needles, the excitement is without bounds!


***************

“And now, finally, the day of destiny has come!”

- Deku Tree Sprout

Surrendering his fear, Link moved to reclaim the hilt of the Master Sword, his heart and head pounding. Down at the base of the tower he could hear men’s voices, raucous and boastful as they swarmed over the Drake, oblivious to the fact that it was still alive and could possibly rise again.

Link was glad the Drake was no longer rampaging in the city, but now felt the situation to be even more perilous. With the beast incapacitated, now only he was the target.

He reached up and wiped the beading sweat off his brow. The upper level was remarkably warm, growing even more so as he climbed. In contrast, the stairs coming up the tower were cool, almost chilly, but the crown felt as if it were standing under a midday sun, not just nearing dawn.

Link was near the pedestal now, the hilt within arms reach. Sheathing his sword to give him a free hand, shield still at the ready, he extended downward and stretched out his fingers.

To his surprise, no hit or assassin struck. He had convinced himself that taking the sword would set in motion some trap or warning sign, but the room stayed as empty as before. Relieved, he pulled the hilt close to his chest cradling it tightly.

The piece of Gerudo cloth wrapped around the sword tore and fell to the ground, gently swaying until it crumpled into a tattered pile. The braid gently swung against Link’s arm, it’s fibers prickly to the touch.

Link sighed to have the familiar grip of the blade back in his hands. Thinking himself lucky to have found it unprotected, he moved back towards the stairway, ready to run for the safety of Veritas.

Then, acting outside the realms of reason, the braid bit him.

Link yelped as the strands of hair latched on to his forearm like a leach, blood running freely from the puncture. Invisible teeth rooted themselves firm as he swung his arm wildly, trying to dislodge the snake-like weave.

The pain was immense. Nothing like the sting of an arrow’s barb or the hew of a sword’s cut, it seemed to bleed Link down to his very core, making him feel nauseated and light headed. It made his mind churn and smelt, his memories and nightmares becoming indescribable from one another. He felt as if he had entered into another world; a world of pain and illusion.

Then, after having it’s fill, the braid began to burrow into Link’s wrist. Forcing itself under his skin like an invading parasite, it wound and wriggled up his arm and across his chest.

Link fell to the ground, no longer able to hold himself up as the pain began to build. He lost his grip on the Master Sword, it’s decayed surface falling back onto the pedestal with a loud clatter.

Circling around Link’s heart for a moment, soaking itself in the rich, plentiful red, the weave twisted upwards and went down link’s shield arm, coming to a stop near his wrist. Bulging up as closely as it could, it pushed with all it’s strength and exploded out of the arm, blood spraying across the pedestal. Little red droplets ran down the length of the Master Sword’s hilt, staining it with that of which it had never tasted; the blood of an innocent.

The braid fell upon the hilt, wrapping itself fiendishly around the blemished rust and smearing blood across the grip and pommel. It seemed to sneer at Link as it curled, acting as if it were protecting it’s treasure.

Link nearly fainted from the sudden surge of pain through his system, but stuttered out a sigh of relief as the worst of it passed. He lay there, on his back, staring at the arched ceiling with empty eyes. For a moment there, when the agony had reached it’s cruel apex, he almost wished death to have mercy upon him.

“And again, history repeats itself.” A slightly accented female voice came from the direction of the pedestal. “Time after time, you have been given the chance to turn the tide in your favor, and yet you had not the cleverness to see it.”

Link’s tear-streaked eyes looked to the pedestal, no shape or form, save the hilt and braid, present.

“Had you but hid, or even taken your own life, none of this would be.” The voice seemed to float in the air, the speaker invisible to the naked eye. “So, in your own quaint way, by fighting me you have, in fact, aided me in my design.”

The voice seemed to stop right above Link’s face. “The last piece is here at last. For it is not the blood of the maker that we need, that would be useless to me now. Only the blood of the destroyer can open the gate.”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t make it at first, those pesky Sheikah trying to keep you hidden, but after we ferreted you out I was fully confident. The blundering fools that protect this city are just that, blundering fools, but at least they can follow orders. I see one skimmed your nose, just as I asked.”

Link scoffed at the notion that he was just another pawn to be used.

“Oh, come on now, little boy. Didn’t you think that if I truly wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have let you escape when you were reawakened from the sword?”

Link was ready to fight this apparition, with what little strength was left in him, but knew that without being able to see what he was fighting he was powerless to do anything. Suddenly the thought occurred to him. He entered into the Eventide, but kept himself within the room, only to use the power’s ability to give sight beyond sight.

Floating directly above him was the Empress, her face only an arm’s length away. Finally seeing her up close, she had very distinct Gerudo traits about her; dark skin, large eyes, a long nose; but what was different from the Gerudos that Link had known in his time was that she had brown hair, instead of red, and her eyes were a peculiar shade of crystalline green.

“What?” The Empress said with a jaded smile. “Don’t you like this new form of mine? I wasn’t sure of it at first, as what good is a half-blooded Gerudo woman when you are to be King of the world, but it hasn’t been without it’s...advantages.”

Link began to think of the man he had met back in the Sacred Realm. The man who called himself Ganondorf; all the good that was left in him. Remembering how he had to see with his heart instead of his eyes, Link gently let his eyelids close, blinding him to the world. Letting all the walls, lies, and consequences pass through him, he at last got a good look at whom he was facing.

Phantom Ganon.

Still clad in that dark Gerudo armor, his face was that of a skull, long bull-like horns protruding from his forehead. They pointed menacingly at Link’s face, burning yellow eyes exhuming all evil from within himself as he hovered in the air.

Link had defeated this being before, back in the Forest Temple on his quest to try and save Saria. It seemed just yesterday that he laid this shadow in his grave, and yet here he was; Ganondorf’s darkness in the flesh.

“So, you can see me as I am.” Phantom Ganon leered with a skeletal grin “Seems to me that you’ve met up with my other half.”

The shadow pulled away and dropped to his feet, towering over Link with that muscular build. “Well, I guess there’s no sense in waiting. Dawn is upon us! The alignment is perfect; the Sacred Realm within my grasp! All I need now is but lift my fingers, and both worlds will join and perish!”

Link pushed to his knees, blood still flowing from the holes in his wrist. He reached up for his sword, but his hand wouldn’t grip it. To his horror, all the strength and control in him was gone.

Phantom Ganon laughed. He knew what he had done to Link and that now, after all these centuries of waiting, he was about to take back what was his.

Lifting his right hand into the air, curling it into a fist, a purple ball of dark energy culminated in the shadow’s grip. Growing it larger and larger until it was nearly the size of a man, he hurled it at the pedestal and the bloodied Master Sword, the resulting explosion blowing Link back against the wall.

Link propped himself up against the warm stone, holding his shield in front of him best he could. He couldn’t parry a thrust from a sword, but at least he could defend himself from flying debris.

The fiery discharge in the center of the room soon pulled in upon itself, glowing brighter and emitting a charring heat. Streaks of purple darkness rippled through the air like banners in the wind, an electric charge making Link’s hair stand on end.

“Come to me.” Phantom Ganon raised his arms as if he were lifting a great weight, his fists glowing with energy. “Come to me!”

The Triforce of Power began to glow brightly on Phantom Ganon’s right hand. Wether it was his intent or not, the power of Din was taking over.

Link steeled himself against the storm as it reached it’s apex, the very air losing it’s sound. The entire room became deathly silent, though the power still raged strong as it tore the room apart.

Stone, wood, and mortar all easily succumbed to the building tempest.

Link nearly tumbled off the side as the wall behind him gave way, the entire crown of the tower ripping off into the sky. Falling onto his side, he could see men on the ground, ten stories below, all running for their lives to escape the city. The tail of the Drake was right where Link had left it, but now there was a greater terror loosed upon the city.

Phantom Ganon curled his fists to his chest and then flung them towards the fury, electricity escaping his fingertips. The bolts wrapped around the vortex, caressing it with their power as they were drawn inside.

“Now, watch as I bridge this world and the next!” Phantom Ganon rose into the air, floating high above the chaos. “I command you, Din: give me my desires!”

Reaching it’s climax, the vortex burst outwards in a blinding array of light and dust, waves of darkness following in it’s wake. And then, in the center, a crack of white light appeared. At first it seemed like a trick of the mind, as there was nothing solid there to break, but then it spread across the space like a feral spider’s web. Hauntingly random, the streaks of light coursed through the air until it began to cave in, pulling small pieces of rubble with it.

Link grasped the edge of the tower, the slight feeling of him being pulled by his feet coming to him. He hadn’t the strength to hold on for long, but hoped it would be enough to stay himself against the draw.

The cracks spread within itself and pulled back until a white hole appeared at the center. It was small at first, fine enough that you couldn’t pass your hand through it, but it soon spread until it was nearly the height of the room that once contained it, and as wide as four men.

Link could see what was happening. Phantom Ganon had done it; he had made a permanent link to the Sacred Realm. The Master Sword, the three Spiritual Stones, the Ocarina of Time; keys were no longer needed. All the work, all the blood and sacrifice by the ancients to seal away the Sacred Realm in order to protect Hyrule, was ripped apart within moments.

“Come to me, Ganondorf!” Phantom Ganon couldn’t contain his poisonous laughter, his aim near. “Come to me!”

Link stared into the whiteness that threatened to spill out into the world. In it he could see a small shadow, something emerging from the Sacred Realm.

It was a hand.

Phantom Ganon remained in his lofty position and outstretched his own hand, invisible magics gripping the other from afar. Then he pulled, trying to bring Ganondorf’s purity out into the mortal realm.

The hand coming from the white soon grew to a wrist, a forearm, an elbow, and then to an entire arm. Then, fighting to remain on the other side, Ganondorf’s head emerged, his face wrought with both determination and apprehension. The blinding light that his aura radiated seemed to diminish as he crossed the plain, like water fleeing from the open air.

Link knew that if he was going to do something he was going to have to do it fast. He tried to stand, but the loss of blood was too great. Slumping onto his back, his breath was short. He couldn’t even carry his own weight anymore, and he had an overwhelming desire to drift off into a deep sleep.

But then, just as he was about to give in to his longing for repose, a small blue light appeared above his face. At first he thought it to be Navi, there to save him as she always had before, but then he noticed the light didn’t have wings. Soon, other lights joined: one red, one yellow, one orange, one purple, and coming up last was one that was green.

Six in all, they hovered above Link, staring down on him like the Goddesses in the heavens. Beginning to swirl about, they flew in close to one another like a centrifuge, spinning faster and faster until they formed one single bead of whiteness.

The bead slowly drifted down and brushed against Link’s cheek, it’s mystique warm to the touch. It stayed there for a moment, content to stay close to the hero, but then lifted back into the air.

“The power of many.” A voice echoed in Link’s head, sounding like many voices put together. “The power of one.”

The light plummeted back to the ground and into Link’s chest, nesting firmly in his heart. The hero gasped and convulsed, his muscles tensing painfully as the power surged through him. He spread his arms wide, hoping the entity would escape his body, but it was firmly rooted within him. Gritting his teeth, he screamed out to the universe as he was taken over.

Phantom Ganon took note of the happenings, slightly relaxing his grip on his counterpart.

Ganondorf was stuck half way in each world, but at least he could hold himself from entering further into the Mortal Realm as long as his shadow was distracted.

All the pain gone, Link sat up and pushed to his feet. The weakness in his veins replaced with the feeling of ultimate power, he took in a deep breath and looked towards Phantom Ganon, his eyes still closed.

“What is this?” The shadow was stunned to see him on his feet after losing so much blood. “Still got some fight left in you, huh? You want a piece of me, boy?”

Link opened his eyes. Phantom Ganon reeled; shocked by the look of them.

They were completely white.

For the first time, Link could clearly see everything. Not just physical and spiritual essence, but the very fabric of time itself was laid out before him. He could see past, he could see present, he could see future. The very eternities were stripped bare of their veiling, the dawn and setting of time standing disrobed against a backdrop of ageless stars.

Silently, Phantom Ganon dropped to the ground, his eyes wary of whatever this being was that had entered into his circle. Holding his hand out to his side, a vicious spear with jutting blades materialized, it’s dark metal glinting in the light of the Sacred Realm.

Link reached up to his sword and slowly pulled it from the scabbard, raising it high in the air. Looking upon it, the dark serrated edge slowly began to melt into the empty grooves, making the blade whole and solid. The dark hilt shuddered in his grip and faded to white, all evil deeds done by it’s edge melting away into memory.

Phantom Ganon felt a shred of fear graze across his mind at the sight that was before him. He took a step back and readied his weapon, unsure of what to expect.

Link gazed at the flawless blade, in awe at the way it had changed from the infamous dark weapon of evil into this pure instrument of good and light.

The Master Sword had been reborn.

"But there is still hope.... The power of the Sages remains."

- Rauru

Link stood there, motionless, brandishing hope rekindled. He didn't know how, he didn't know why, but the everlasting fire of the Sages burned within him. He could distinctly feel every one of the chosen few, from Darunia to Ruto, layering him with their strength. Even the wispy air of Saria's ocarina flowed through his very core, feeding this growing hunger to spare the world from the approaching mantle of darkness.

The Sages were a buffer, a shield against Phantom Ganon and his power. Blessed with the authority of the ancients, they added their power to Link's, letting him take them as his own.

Link wanted to see them, hear their voices, take up arms with them as he did in the imprisoning war, but he knew that their mortal forms were long since parted. As powerful as they may be, to Link they were just the ghosts of time, sent to help him in his time of absolute need.

Even with that force rushing through his veins, he still felt alone.

Phantom Ganon quaked in his step, that ethereal glow from Evil's Bane-reforged dancing across his face. His lidless yellow eyes burned hotter, deeper, the rage from within him culminating in that eternal hatred for all things pure.

"It's too late, boy!" Phantom Ganon snorted. "It doesn't matter what you bring to the table, you're still one step behind!" The skull-faced creature started to circle around the room, Link keeping pace and Ganondorf between them. "I have...something else that might sway you in my favor. For you see, I am not without my own tricks."

Reaching behind him, Phantom Ganon retrieved a long piece of rusty metal, it's cancerous face stained red. He held it out so Link could see it clearly.

But a few moments before, Link would have thought it nothing more than a strip of the shattered Master Sword. But now, his peerless eyes keen, it had become so much more.

It was the piece that took Zelda's life. But something was different about it. Link looked beyond the physical, passing through layer after layer of dust and time until he came upon it.

Hidden deep within, there was a faint presence, nestled firmly in the core. At first it seemed very weak, almost nonexistent, but looking deeper in it Link could sense an overwhelming force.

The truth caught him in his breath. Princess Zelda, albeit without her mortal form, was trapped within the shard. Her spirit had somehow been drawn into it, trapping her just as it had him and Ganondorf.

"Yes...you can see it now, can't you?" The fiend began to gloat. "I had one of my lieutenants pick it up for me after those wretched underworlders had left for the cisterns. A good lapdog, that Jarilo, but I am afraid that he won't make it out of that cavern this night. Not with Mara and Ironside against him, anyway."

Link felt as if his wrath should explode at any moment, but to his surprise he remained firm and tempered. He almost wished it, to release that anger upon the shadow as he did to his own, but was denied. His own imperfections were stripped clean, the Sages and the blade making him again pure. Divine justice was now his command, and no thought nor fear could break him from that immortal kinship.

"Hear me now, Hero of Time." Phantom Ganon twirled the shard in his fingers, weaving it around his digits superlatively. "Ganondorf was allowed to pass through to the Sacred Realm by nothing short of my mercy. He has had eons to ponder the meanings of existence and his own meager life because I have willed it. Am I not a merciful god?"

"It was quite simple, really, as the Master Sword is the vessel in which the spirit can travel the stars, the Sacred Realm being the destination of all the victorious dead. All I had to do was let him pass and off he went, onto a presumed eternity of immortal bliss."

Phantom Ganon stopped pirouetting the shard and held it in his right palm. Letting that dark magic flow to his hand, the purple fire engulfed the shard, bathing it in darkness.

"My only mistake was to underestimate your power and the power of the Sages. Taking that into account, the poor Princess doesn't look like she's going to receive the same treatment as the Gerudo, I'm afraid. Unless, of course, you yield to me."

Link tightened his grip on the Master Sword. If anything that was escaping Phantom Ganon's forked tongue was indeed truth, he would have to hear of it, lest something foul happen to Zelda once more.

"I could make her suffer." The shadow's tone was chilling. "You think that death is pain? No...pain is just a word. One that is insignificant on the grand weave. I'm not talking about the pokes and pricks; small discomforts to the living. I am talking about anguish, affliction, agony. If I were to will it, I could very well end Zelda's continuance altogether!"

Phantom Ganon gripped the shard in a fist and held it up, the Triforce of Power burning. "Have a taste."

Dark waves started to ripple from the creature's fist, drenching the sky in their glow. Ganondorf, still trying to keep his hold on the Sacred Realm, seemed to shudder as the rush passed over him, the power of darkness absolute slowly wearing him down like water upon rock.

Link, at first, wasn't sure what was happening, but then a sharp, piercing pain hit him in his gut. His peerless eyes could see it, in all it's grim detail, the torturous sting of grief and sorrow. What made the barb even more cruel was that he could also see that the pain was not his own.

Deep within that prison that housed her, Zelda's spirit was engulfed.

Link fell to a knee, the pain almost too much to withstand. Everything he had suffered in his lifetime, every last drop of innocent blood that he had seen shed, was immaterial in this scope. It wenched his heart even more so to know that the pain belonged to another, and that what he was feeling was most likely not but a trace of the true pain.

Seeing the wound inflicted, Phantom Ganon eased his grip on the shard, the energy sparking off and dissipate into the warm air with an audible crackle. "Do you see it now, boy? I am no longer just some petty ghost of a fallen king. I am a god! The only god! Now that the Goddesses have abandoned this rock, the very control of life itself is mine to command! Even you, standing there as you may, will inevitably fall!"

The shadow folded his arms, holding the shard close. "I think I like you in that pose, on a knee before your new master. Be my sword, administer my justice, and no harm will ever come of the Princess. I swear it."

Ganondorf, awkwardly caught between the two worlds, turned his head and bravely stared his other half in his skeletal face. "If you were truly a god, the power of Din at your bidding, then what would you need with the Sacred Realm? That place holds nothing that you can control!"

"Exactly, brother." The phantom answered, his eyes still on Link. "I cannot enter that space as I am. But if I were to reclaim that portion of myself that can enter unhindered...."

Link could see it all clearly now. He thought that Phantom Ganon wanted to reclaim his other half as a mere gesture of his will to dominate, but there was a darker substance lying underneath. If he rejoined with Ganondorf, adding in that speck of purity, and used the power of Din, he could very well enter. Only the Goddesses could tell what kind of destruction he could cause if he were loosed upon a place such as that; the resting place of holy armies long since laid to rest.

The shadow tucked the shard in his belt and tapped the butt of his staff on the stone floor, small fizzles of electricity flowing over the floor with each rap. "Enough of this indolence. It's time to finish this and birth this world anew!"

Phantom Ganon rose back into the air, taking position high above Ganondorf and Link. Stretching out his hand once more, he gripped the Gerudo with those invisible hands and ripped him out of the Sacred Realm entirely, tossing his body to the ground with a feral violence.

The portal remained open, a curtain of shimmering light into the other world that lay across the stars, inviting any to enter and partake in it's glory.

Ganondorf gritted his teeth and pushed himself up, looking over to the white-eyed Link. "The power is in you now, Link. The power to end this once and for all. Have faith in that you will know what to do."

"Yes, let's see it!" Phantom Ganon unleashed a bolt of electric fire from his staff and hurled it towards the two on the tower.

Both Link and Ganondorf rolled away from the blast, narrowly missing it's singeing bite. The section of stone floor underneath the portal crumbled and gave way, creating a gap that opened up the core of the tower; the eye of the winding staircase. Link caught a glimpse down below and could see a pile of armored skeletons, piled to nearly the brink, the smell of rot and decay rushing into the open air.

Phantom Ganon threw another bolt down the shaft, dousing the corpses in his wild power. "Behold a new army before you! One, not weak to the sword, one not hindered by pain, one that can claim this Sacred Realm for my own!"

The skeletal warriors all lurched and stuttered to life, climbing their way out of the eye and onto the tower. Yellow eyes glowing like fireflies, they were all equipped with aged weapons and armor, some that hadn't been seen for centuries. Many of the arms looked so antique that even Link thought them to be ancient; beyond his own time. Some were probably the bodies of soldiers from the great war that happened before Link was born.

"Go, my soldiers!" Phantom Ganon pointed to the portal. "Invade the Sacred Realm! Kill any and all that would stop you!"

Like ants sprawling from their hill, the undead fighters filled the entire space, surrounding the two mortals in their sight. Link and Ganondorf both scrambled to their feet and huddled close together near the portal, back to back, keeping the entrance blocked.

Ganondorf looked up to his other half. "These are creatures of darkness, Shadow! Nayru's laws that bind these worlds would not allow them to pass through!"

"Bah!" Phantom Ganon scoffed at the notion. "Weren't you paying attention? Look at their armor and tell me that again!"

Link quickly glanced to the undead and noticed that they all had small streaks or spots of red upon them. Some of it looked fresh.

"The blood of an innocent, the Hero of Time no less, is plenty enough to gain passage!" Phantom Ganon dropped to the ground with immense force, cracking the stone below him and tossing some of his soldiers over the edge and to the city below. "All the work that the ancients did to keep this place from people like me was in vain! Had they the foresight, they would have destroyed the Sacred Realm altogether!"

"And what of the portal?" Ganondorf kicked one of the undead square in it's bony chest and took it's heavy blade for his own, ready to fight to stay separate from his other half at all costs. "Once sunrise comes, it will collapse. You'll be trapped there with no means of escape."

"Which will give me enough time to make it my new home and build me an army worthy of destroying this world. When the time is right, I will return."

"Now, my soldiers!" The phantom bellowed to his troops. "Kill them! Kill them both!"

Without hesitation the flood of white bone and steel surged towards the portal, swinging their variety of edged weapons at the two defenders. Crouching low, Link pushed forward into the storm with his shield, hacking and cutting with the Master Sword like a scythe in wheat.

The skeletons all swayed and fell as the white blade sung through the air, the power of it tossing them aside before the blade could even reach them. Waves of light-infused wind sundered them at their feet, pushing them back in a widening arc. Many were thrown over the edge of the tower, tumbling down to the ground with haunting shrieks.

Ganondorf, too, fought with all the strength he could muster, using but brute force to smash and pulverize the wasted remains into dust. Infected with darkness they may be, but they still carried a physical form that could be destroyed and dismembered.

Try as the two did, no matter how many of the undead they destroyed, more gushed from the gap in the floor. It was as if the shadow had dug a hole into the very heart of the world, bringing forth every last fallen soldier that had ever graced the field of battle. Hylians, Sheikah, Goron, Zora; all the races of the world could bee seen obeying whatever command Phantom Ganon would issue.

Concentrating solely on the skeletons, Link and Ganondorf were both caught by surprise when the shadow entered into the fray. Swinging his cruel spear with reckless abandon, Phantom Ganon sought to cause confusion and rampant chaos within the battle, hopefully driving the divine power of the Master Sword away from the portal and tearing away any defenses the two could summon.

Leaping towards Link, he dropped the spear downwards like a hammer, the Hylian barely glancing it off with his shield before it hit. Link moved to the side and used the Master Sword to parry Phantom Ganon's spear and make him lose his balance, giving him a little more breathing room and time to come up with a plan.

Hundreds of swings and jabs were coming from all sides, little nicks and cuts appearing all over Link and Ganondorf's bodies. Both were competent swordsmen, better than most, but against an onslaught such as this they were nearly powerless.

"Hah!" Using both hands, Phantom Ganon thrust his spear at Link, nearly catching him in the gut. "You'll have to be faster if you want to defeat all of us!"

Again and again the spear's triple blades came deathly close to Link's body, tearing at cloth and skin alike. His senses were keen, stable, and omniscient, but this was well beyond any mortal's ability to counter.

"Then try this!" The shadow thrust hard and charged, Link sidestepping into the thicket of steel and bone.

Having been the plan all along to get Link out of the way, Phantom Ganon quickly moved to overpower Ganondorf, swinging around to his back and taking his heavy sword from him. Holding the blade to his throat, the shadow breathed a wave of dark energy across Ganondorf's face, turning a portion of his red hair grey.

Phantom Ganon grinned. "Welcome home, brother."

Without further hesitation, the shadow pulled the blade to the side and mercilessly slit Ganondorf's throat clean through, deep crimson flowing down his white robes and pattering onto the ground.

"And me."

Tossing Ganondorf's body aside, his phantom plunged the stained blade into his own heart. Gasping at the surge of mortal pain, he fell to his knees, keeping a firm grip on the hilt.

Link moved to intervene, but was cut off by the horde of undead. Pushing them away best he could, he curled himself tight and swung his sword in a wide circle, focusing energy into the blade. The powerful spin attack cleared off nearly the entire tower, giving him a few precious moments to collect his thoughts.

Steadying himself after the spin, he rushed over to a pile of rubble that was near the now-missing tower entrance. Gripping a large block of stone, he shoved it over to the den of the dead, sealing them off temporarily. It wasn't strong enough to hold them off for long, their bony arms jutting through the cracks, but perhaps it would give Link some time.

Turning his attention back to the twin spirits, he was horrified to see that both the bodies of Ganondorf were in the air, a couple of feet off the ground. Being held by unseen hands, their limp forms were moving close to one another, each turning translucent and hazy. Link rushed in to stop the joining, but was too late.

An agonizing shriek cut across the night sky, Ganondorf contorting and writhing as he was again made whole. The base of the tower shook as the power melded, electric branches arcing off from his hands and feet. The stone beneath him charred and drooped, the heat and energy melting the very rock, shifting it's properties unnaturally.

Now almost as one, Ganondorf Dragmire opened his eerily bloodshot eyes and stared down his archenemy. A baleful smile came to his lips, teeth bared as the invisible hands gently let him down to the ground, his final act to secure power nearly finished. The phantom was commanding the physical form, but didn't have complete control just yet.

Link could still see the good in Ganondorf fighting to escape, fighting to break free from the evil form that held him hostage. It was deep in his soul, like the far-reaching roots of a tree, but it was still there. Occasionally, Link could see that spirit trying to abscond, faint wisps of spirit reaching outwards, begging for help. Like seeing a ghost that was desperate to flee it's body, Ganondorf was embattled within his own self.

"You are mine!" Ganondorf said, falling to a knee as the struggle raged. "You will yield!"

"No!" A seemingly different voice came from the same tongue. "You...can't...have me!"

"You will join!"

"Will...not!"

"Yes!"

The pure side mustered all the strength he could and cried out. "Now...Link!"

Ganondorf looked up just as Link jumped, dropping the blade downwards like a sheet of rain; heaven's punisher. Driving the edge into the ground, the close proximity of Evil's Bane and the sheer force in which it was swung exorcized Phantom Ganon out of his mortal shell, the possessed Empress' body falling limp and to the ground. A wave of white light struck out from the point of impact, igniting nearly the entire city with near-daylight brilliance.

Soldiers below, some being attacked by undead that had fallen from the tower, all cowered under the light. They didn't know what it was, and they couldn't see what was happening on top of the tower, but all knew without a doubt that it wasn't good. Many dropped their arms and fled the city, running for their lives out into the wild. Those that stayed remained constant in their misguided belief that the Empress would be victorious over the Highlander and that Ganondorf would save them once again.

Without physical form to fully command the Triforce of Power, Phantom Ganon staggered backwards, his appearance becoming hazy and his eyes shifting from yellow to red. Now with three enemies upon him; Link, Ganondorf, and the lack of a body; the shadow thundered and shook. Unable to retain all his power, he released his hold on Ganondorf, letting the Gerudo escape his hold.

His lust for power made him think it better to cling to the Triforce. Climbing into the air, some ten feet above the tower, he brandished his spear and made his last stand.

"No!" Phantom Ganon couldn't understand. "How can this be?!? This cannot happen! I will not allow it! You belong to me!"

Link tore the Master Sword away from it's nest, a spray of light and pure energy discharging from the white blade and flying at the displaced shadow.

Phantom Ganon swung his spear to deflect the blast, but could only repulse so much in his weakened state. His dark spirit seemed to react violently to the sudden infusion of light, making him shudder and screech.

"Not this day!" He created a large mass of electric energy at the end of his spear, flinging it at Link with all his might.

"Yes, this day." Link whispered to himself.

Catching the dark magic with the tip of the Master Sword, Link infused all the power of the Sages into the edge and spun with everything he had, streaks of electricity shooting all over the white sword. When Link came back around to face Phantom Ganon, he released the power in a single stream, aiming the edge at his intended target. A scorching beam of light, dark magic, and divine justice shot out into the night, enveloping the shadow entirely.

Phantom Ganon howled as the stream slowly tore him apart. Piece by piece he dwindled and evaporated, his darkness drowning in the propensity. Exploding into the night, little flecks of dark matter fluttered to the ground like ash; the subtle remains of such a dark countenance.

The Master Sword grew calm, the surrounding air feeling lighter as all the energy dissipated and returned to it's cradle. Link was about to exhale a sigh of relief when the crest of the morning sun broke from across the eastern forests, catching his breath.

Link smiled as the warm rays cut through the chill of daybreak, caressing his dirtied face like a mother's sweet lullaby. It was perhaps the most beautiful sunrise he had ever seen, streaking rays of white and yellow gradients stretching outwards to bid good morning to the realm of Hyrule.

His eyes faded from that pure white back to their original blue, the power of the Sages leaving him and returning to the Sacred Realm. He felt the weight of his body once more come upon him, the immense strength and power fleeting.

It felt good to be himself again. Sheathing the Master Sword, he nodded to himself. His task was done.

Link turned to Ganondorf, his body lying still on the scarred masonry. Moving towards him, he placed a firm hand on the man's shoulder, shaking him gently.

No response. Link knew what the Gerudo had told him to be true, that one side couldn't exist without the other. His form was lifeless, vacant. He was gone.

Link fought the tears that welled up in his eyes, tucking them away for another.

On the other side of the tower, the Empress sputtered out a breath, breathing for the first time in years under her own governance. She sat up, clinging to her chest as if a great pain that once abided within her had suddenly vanished, her being unable to believe that it was truly gone.

Link rose to his feet and moved over to her. Reaching out his hand, his body shining with the light of dawn at his back, he stood there like a mountain of power in front of her eyes. The man that had freed her from her mind enslaved. The man who lifted that veil of darkness, bringing the light back into the world. The man who was the true hero of old.

Hesitating for a moment, the Empress took his hand, letting him help her to her feet.

Link glanced over to the boulder that lay over the chasm, half expecting those haggard soldiers to still be fighting to take the tower. But to his relief, the pit had fallen silent as well. Whatever power they contained must have been hushed, giving again peaceful rest to the living dead.

"Look!" The Empress walked over to the open portal, her crystalline green eyes wide in amazement. "There's someone there!"

Link gazed into the portal, it's edges seeming to fluctuate and tremble. He could see Navi, standing there plainly in her true form, blue hair gently swaying. Her smile couldn't be mistaken for anything but high-spirited. Standing next to her were two individuals, each shimmering brightly.

Link squinted to make out the persons, his own heart soothed upon recognizing them.

It was Zelda and Ganondorf.

They both stood there, beaming with warmth and immortal gratification. Released from their prisons, they were set free into the wild hereafter, heroes that would join their kin amongst the wandering stars. Taking their places in the Sacred Realm, they slowly faded as the portal started to shrink.

Just before the last bit of white could escape, Link caught Navi giving him a playful wink, her face disappearing as the stars moved out of alignment. The link to the Sacred Realm closed with a slight glitter of light and sparks, the apex of the roofless tower now standing quiet and alone in the growing daylight.

"Thus, peace will once again reign in this world...for a time."

- Princess Zelda

Link and the Empress stood there tranquilly, breathing in the fresh wind that was blowing up from the south. It tasted sweet, like a thousand flowers baring their redolent petals for the world to partake.

The two caught each other's eyes, simply standing there reading each other's thoughts, emotions, and dreams. It was a blissful encounter without any threat of danger or fear, the first either had savored in a long time.

But then there was a rumble. Starting deep and low, small pebbles gently quivering against one another, it soon grew to a resounding deluge of crashing rock and thundering waters.

Link gasped.

Mara.

The eastern wall of the city began to sink, slowly at first, but then quickly as it descended into the cisterns below. Following close behind, the streets and buildings inside the city also fell, rushing to fill in the now vacant space underneath them.

The tower creaked and winced, it's edge starting to tilt towards the sun.

Link reached out to the Empress, who took his hand without question.

Keeping her close, Link rushed down the spiral as fast as steady feet would carry, avoiding falling rock and toppled flower stands as they dashed.

The tower falling as one, holding together firmly, Link and the Empress soon found themselves running along the inner wall like a corkscrew as they neared the base, nearly tripping on each other's feet as the cylinder fell.

Bolting out into the foyer, Link saw the Water Drake still sitting there, blocking the exit.

It was awake, staring straight at them.

To Link's surprise, the beast motioned them to take hold of it's tail, which the two did without question, holding tightly to the blue and white spines.

The dark presence that held to the Empress also was affecting the Drake, hence why it had grown so large and combative. The shadow gone, it had reverted back to that gentle beast it was intended to be. One that could sense when people were in trouble and what to do about it.

Launching out into the air, the Drake miraculously being able to fly without wings, the three soared into the sky, leaving the city as it crumbled and fell. Each and every tower, all the buildings, every street, all cascaded into the earth, which swallowed it whole until there was nothing left but rubble and dust.

The entire fortress had been destroyed.

The Drake flicked it's tail upwards, causing Link and the Empress to fly forward and land on it's neck, just above it's arms. They both clinched tight as the Drake spun and plummeted into a dive, heading straight for the ground.

Link's heart sunk down into his stomach as they plunged, fearing the solid ground that they would hit below. The Empress, too, looked up at the hero, uncertainty in her eyes.

But then, just before they reached the ruins of Ersatz, the Drake exhaled a breath of ice and water, blasting a hole in the pile of rubble wide enough to pass through. Narrowly shooting through the gap, the three swooped down into the cisterns, their waters apparently not completely buried underneath the fallen rock.

Diving deep, searching through tunnels and waterways that lead to almost any place imaginable, the Drake caught hold of something and returned to the surface.

Bursting from the water, lying low to the ground to let Link and the Empress drop from his shoulders, the Drake released his catch and then jumped back into the water in search of more.

It was Mara.

Both Link and the Empress rushed to her side, the Highlander coughing up water and dust. Link propped her up, pulling her wet hair away from her grey eyes.

"Link?" The Lady of Veritas thought it a dream, reaching up and touching his face. "Is it really you?"

"And me." The Empress took Mara's hand in hers. "He's gone."

Mara let her head relax against Link's chest, gentle tears of elation hidden in the streams of water dripping off her face.

The Drake exploded from the water again, drenching both Link and the Empress thoroughly as it landed. Dropping two more finds, it curled and dove back in.

Sitting up, rubbing the darkness from their eyes, Cale and Ironside began laughing incessantly.

"Ironside!" The Empress ran to her Knight Captain. "You're alive!"

"Hardly!" The burly man thundered. "If I didn't know any better, I would have thought myself reborn a fish!"

The Drake rescued more and more of the Highlanders that had fallen into the cisterns, those few who had survived the battle and the cave-in.

Soon, the Drake even started bringing up soldiers of Ersatz, their armor shed into the claiming deep. Mixed together, huddling close for warmth in the rising sun, they all stood as one, the descendants of Hylian and Gerudo alike.

Cale, when the fight had become it's most dire, set the Bombchu at the pillar and let it go, thinking they would all perish under the collapsing roof. To his relief, no one had lost their lives in that underground, as all dove into the waters to escape the tumbling arches.

With help from Cale and Link, Mara rose to her feet, feeling the warmth of the sun on her face. She reached up and put her hand to her cheek.

It was warm.

"How..."

Mara was about to ask why she suddenly felt the seed of shadow within her melt away. All the Highlanders were amazed as their gray hair, pale skin, and ashen eyes shed from them and color came to their bodies. Feeling came to their fingertips. Sight came to their dark-ridden eyes. Life came to their souls.

The tears flowed graciously down Mara's cheeks as she stared into the sun, an emotion she had never before had the chance to savor.

Link stood next to her, just as sopping wet, an amiable smile on his face.

Mara looked to him, taking in all the feelings that now pulsed through her. Never before had she felt so alive, so overflowing with vitality. She, and her people, had been set free.

Just like her mother, as brilliant as the clearest of waters, her eyes were blue.

And so the people of Veritas left their darkened home, emerging into the light of the overworld. With the Empress at their side, together they rebuilt from the ruins of Ersatz and Veritas, the two races becoming one, living under a single banner.

Mara yielded her position to the Empress, wishing to spend her time living her newly-given life rather than running a country. A choice that the Empress and all the Highlanders celebrated.

A great festival was held soon after the new city was completed, one to commemorate all those lost in the war and to remember why it was fought. Former shadows and soldiers alike drank as brothers, joined together in an era of peace, progress, and blooming friendships.

To honor the land long since parted, the fledgling country took upon themselves the name of High Rule. Though Link still argued the spelling of it, he couldn't convince them to change it.

Ironside reclaimed his seat as Knight Captain, using his ability to command to help organize and rebuild the city. Having his position and his Empress back, he lived out the rest of his years in unadulterated military bliss.

New roads were built through the mountains, connecting New Kakariko with High Rule. The few Sheikah that survived the attack on the village had rebuilt, just like the rest of the realm, and they resumed their role as protectors to the royal family.

Mara soon left the city, choosing to explore a world she had never known. Cale tagged along as her forest guide, also wishing to see the lands beyond the Creydo forests.

And as for Link, well, that everlasting thirst for adventure never really ebbed.

He traveled to the south, Mara and Cale accompanying him through the long, winding canyon that passed through the remains of Lake Hylia. It stretched for miles, the river cutting it's path through rock and time, until it came upon that silver line that Link had spied so many times before, but had never seen up close.

Rolling waves of blue and white crashed upon the rocky shores, the smell of salt filling the adventurers' senses. The boundless call of the ocean beckoned to the three; a land never before traveled.

Loading up a large boat, setting those bleached, swelling sails for the growing horizon, Link, Mara, and Cale shoved off into the immortal beyond, adventure at their feet and the wind at their backs.

And for the first time, no longer a shade of doubt in his mind, Link knew he wasn't alone.

The End

Well, folks, that's it. Here we are, some six months later, and Evil's Bane has finally reached it's presumable close. It's been a struggle, and there's been many ups and downs, but in the end I feel that I have become a better writer because of it. Pretentious, I know, but I've learned so much from this work. Probably more than I could ever possibly imagine.

For those of you interested in stats, here's the breakdown:

121 Pages

1831 Paragraphs

4790 Sentences

64171 Words

292800 Individual Keystrokes

Quite a lot, I must say. And this is only a novella! I look forward to resuming work on my full-length epic novel, of my own design no less (not a fanfic), which is going to be freaking awesome, to put it bluntly.

I'm not much for words, ironically enough, so, with that, I'll just say thank you to all who have read and to those who have given me your support and criticism over the past few months. I hope you feel it was worth it! Final ratings and overall reviews would quite possibly be the coolest thing that anyone could do for me right now. This work may be concluded, but it is in no way a masterpiece. Helpful hints would be appreciated!

This is the first substantial work I have ever finished, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. In my mind, finishing this tale is my passage, me earning the right to author another story. That may sound silly, but it's the way I see it.

Thanks again, Goddesses bless!

- Jake McBride AKA Doran_Bladefist

Hey, Jake. Ahh, finally the story is complete. I have to say, a great read. I really enjoyed this fan fic, and it is definitely one of my favorite Zelda stories told so far. You really are a great writer, and I can't wait to see your original work, "The Golden Box".

Now, to add a little constructive criticism. I know you intention was not necessarily an authentic Zelda story, but I couldn't help feel it wasn't quite Zelda. Your style was very dark and I think the characters could have had some more depth. For example, Jarilo seemed thrown in at the last minute. Overall, I felt it as a nice off shoot of OoT. It was definitely unique, which is why it is one of my favorite stories.

Hope this review helps, great job on this piece, and good luck with your future endeavors!

Originally Posted by Layke

Hey, Jake. Ahh, finally the story is complete. I have to say, a great read. I really enjoyed this fan fic, and it is definitely one of my favorite Zelda stories told so far. You really are a great writer, and I can't wait to see your original work, "The Golden Box".

Now, to add a little constructive criticism. I know you intention was not necessarily an authentic Zelda story, but I couldn't help feel it wasn't quite Zelda. Your style was very dark and I think the characters could have had some more depth. For example, Jarilo seemed thrown in at the last minute. Overall, I felt it as a nice off shoot of OoT. It was definitely unique, which is why it is one of my favorite stories.

Hope this review helps, great job on this piece, and good luck with your future endeavors!

Thanks Layke. You've been around for this whole fiasco of mine that we call writing, and I appreciate every bit of advice you have given. I wholeheartedly agree with you, about my characters being a little base, and that is my main focus for improvement for my novel. I wrote this piece with the intention of learning how to write better, cleaner and simpler, though I'm afraid the characters were lost in the process.

Thankfully, in my next work they all have backgrounds, histories, motivations, connections, and a plethora of seemingly unimportant information that is almost too much to keep track of!

Yes, I warped the Zelda canon to the nth degree for this one, pulling away from the classic feel (well, at least it wasn't another Link and Zelda high school romance ). I suppose I'm just too stubborn to try and recreate what others have done. If I can't make it my own, then I get bored really easily.

And as for the other issue, about things being a little rushed, I'll take a hit in the arm for that one. I admit that my head wasn't fully into this, as my book was always hovering about, dangerously tempting, tickling my brain. To counter that distraction, another goal of mine is to craft a more tightly-wound piece; and one at a time (hopefully). One that has strings upon strings, plans within plans, and a well-portrayed and thought-out story that is both entertaining and meaningful.

Stepping stones; the first of many.

to amazing for words im kinda sad that zelda died..... ... after all it is The Legend of Zelda

Originally Posted by sviper88

to amazing for words im kinda sad that zelda died.....

Thanks for the boost. Sometimes even the simplest of comments can brighten someone's day.

It was really hard for me to write that part. I almost didn't. I was guilt ridden for a few days after, as if I had committed some unforgivable sin, a crime most heinous. By far, it was one of the most difficult things I have ever penned.

I nearly brought her back, desperate to bring some light into this shadowy tale, but held firm against it. It would have been too easy, too cliché. In a sense, I had written my own epitaph with that fated chapter; there was to be no turning back.

The one thing that Link needed to learn on this adventure is that the past cannot be changed, no matter how badly he might want it; only the future is without bounds. He may be the Hero of Time, but in truth he never really returned to the past. He was always moving forward, even if being separated by seven years.

And let's not forget that Zelda isn't gone forever, lost to some void of nonexistence. She has passed on to the next world, her millennium-long life in the mortal realm having reached its destined apex. Goddesses willing, I am sure her spirit will still remain a key part of things to come....