Chapter 3: A Desperate Plan (by Richard Higinbotham)
I sat down on the hard, cold earth of the Hyrule plains. I tried to work out a plan in my mind, but it seemed as if the one and only substance to grasp was a thick and endless fog.
The only clear thing I could think about was the horrifying image of Link. Link being smitten by a Darknut. I thought about how it shouldn’t have happened. It couldn’t have happened! Link was supposed to be the invincible Hero, chosen by the goddesses!
Almost regretfully, I looked down at the Triforce symbol on the back of my hand. It was still glowing strongly. I stared at it for a few minutes, hoping to somehow receive a message from something, anything. But I soon realized it was to no avail. The painful thought worked its way into my mind and twisted my innards.
I had nowhere to go.
I glanced in the general direction of the Avenging Army. With Link gone, they were retreating into who-knew-where. Apparently, their business was done. Zelda was dead, and they had successfully avenged Ganon’s death.
A sharp pang of guilt and remorse hit me as strong as a the Master Sword could ever strike any living thing. I thought back to the events with Zelda being vaporized into blackness. Trying desperately to clear the fog in my mind, I remembered what had caused her downfall.
Ganon had summoned a power, something I did not yet know about. It came in the form of shadow, yet in the form of flames at the same moment.
I should have taken the flames, I realized. I should have thrown myself in front of her and taken the blow. Then Zelda might still be alive.
Weeping softly, I again eyed the symbol of four triangles on the back of my hand. It was now but faint, glowing as dim as the fog in my head.
I brought the palm of my hand to my forehead with an audible “SLAP.” Think, Deucalion, THINK! What would Link do in this situation?
A large part of my mind replied, “Nothing. He is dead. He would not do anything, he would not be able to do anything, and he is nothing to you. Don’t base your decisions on what he would do. Look where it got him! He is dead. You unless you are a fool, you do not want that for yourself.”
But the smaller portion of my mind, the part with the faintest glimmer of hope, the section of my mind that still believed I could be of some use to Link, refused to listen. As my head battled it out, I realized that I had no choice. I had to go forward. I had to do something. I knew that you could not bring back someone who was dead, but what was true death?
I decided then and there that I would do everything I could ever possibly do to retrieve Link and Zelda, if it was at all possible—and I truly hoped it was.
I needed a plan. I wasn’t about to wander off in a random direction and hope to find a generous fairy, or a weapon of some type.
A weapon! Again I was hit by the sheer power of thought. I had nothing to battle with—my only dagger had been stolen by a Gerudo prior to the events of the battle between Link and Ganon. I had no means of traveling safely to the Gerudo Desert, so attempting to retrieve my only weapon would be useless.
But where else could I obtain a means of offense? Nothing immediately came to mind. All the near armories had been raided and sabotaged by the Avenging Army.
…The Avenging Army! THAT was the answer. They had weapons of unspeakable power that would prove useful in my quest. If only I could get one somehow….
I decided that I would follow the Army to their camp. While they slept—IF they slept, but I would worry about the “if” later—I would steal a suitable sword. Then I would have at least accomplished something of worth.
“For Hyrule,” I whispered. “And for the legacy of all things to come.”
My quest had begun.
