CHAPTER 17: DOMAIN IN DISTRESS
(unrevised)
_All of a sudden Link and Midna were no longer falling. They were unable
to find air, choked. A coolness had clouded over them, had crowded
around them. They were throttled by the force that bubbled and hazed
about their eyes. Link sputtered, fighting the transparent shield
against the air. Midna grabbed and writhed, trying to find which way was
up.
At long last Link felt a yank on a tuft of hair behind his ears, and both he and Midna were coughing up the droplets of water that had seeped into them during their struggle. Link held onto the shore side, Midna crouched beside him. After he had hawked up the sparkling and deadly liquid from within him, he pulled himself completely onto the solid earth. He passed a furtive glance at Midna, realizing what had just happened.
They had fallen from the bridge to land in a pool of water … and Midna, knowing that he could not swim so well as a wolf, had saved his life. She had done so without hesitation, which made Link assume, hopefully, that she truly did have humane interests, for saving lives was a human instinct.
Midna, however, seemed not to notice, sitting down to face the water, sneering. “Well, that was a close one. We’re lucky this puddle was here. If this is a lake....” She left her last thought incomplete and gathered herself up. “Well, you heard that soldier. There should be a spirit spring somewhere around here. Why don’t we take a look around?” She leapt onto his wet fur as he brought himself to his paws.
Looking about, Link realized that they had taken to a shore were three green lights emanated. Sniffing closely, he breathed in the smell of sweet fish. At a murmur’s level, Link could barely hear the lights speaking. “The drop in water has been faster than predicted....” the lowest glimmer judged.
“At this rate, Lake Hylia will dry up. It's a race against time....” another said with a wearied sigh.
“Yes, the lake will most definitely vanish if we don't somehow get water from Zora's Domain upstream,” the third agreed.
Link was inclined to listen further, yet past them in the distance, something caught his eye. There was a stubby man wearing a pink shirt that was too small to cover his plump belly, however; Link allowed himself no time to be amused at the sight, for the chubby man was running as fast as his short legs could carry him as he screamed, “MONSTER!”
Following close behind the man flew the largest bird that Link had ever seen. An archer sat atop its back, readying an arrow as the man lodged himself underneath a piece of equipment that sat on the wooden raft that housed what Link assumed was his shop. The archer released the shaft and it sailed straight for the ducked citizen. Link, having run to the aid the man, leapt up and caught the arrow in his mouth. The dark duo turned their attention on Link and Midna.
If his alter ego were capable, Link would have smiled at the fact that he had caught his enemy off guard, however; now was no time for such behavior. As Link fought, he heard the portly man behind him whimper and curse, “What is going on? Are the zoras upriver responsible for this, or is this a curse from that spirit that hangs around up there?” If the little man had said anything else, Link was unable to hear his murmurs, for his engagement with the winged beast took a great deal of his concentration. He wondered, for as long as he could allow himself the privilege, how odd it would be to find a beast attacked by thin air.
The wolf took advantage that the bird’s agility somewhat decreased seconds before the archer released a shaft toward he and Midna. When the dark bowman aimed its next weapon—Link just dodging the last—the wolf stepped out of his evade and leapt for the belly of the winged creature. He ripped at it wings, trying to climb up to reach the more threatening opponent, but when he sunk his claws into the bird’s chest again, it wailed and teetered. Its pained, twisting flight thereafter threw Link from its feathers and let out an awful screech.
Ignoring the bird and benefiting from its distracted rage, Link pushed hard upon the ground again with his hind legs and launched himself for the archer. The bird’s wings flapping downward as he sailed left a direct path toward his target, and he soared mouth agape. Crunching down upon his foe, Link snapped his jaws shut around the fiend’s neck and gave a jerk with his mouth as he descended back down to the ground, a limp body now in his maw.
Link tossed the corpse aside and felt another weight lifted. He looked to his side to see that Midna had slid from his back and was now gazing up at the bird creature. Curious, Link turned to follow her gaze. “It’s a kargarok creature, though, infested by the dark Twili magic,” she informed.
Unexpectedly, Link then heard a soft melody of alternating high and low pitches and was surprised to discover that it was Midna’s voice. The creature calmed slightly and lowered itself to a more manageable height. As Link watched Midna leapt into the air, trailed by the too familiar black, red, and green bubbled magic which seemed to define her very essence. She caught onto the kargarok and slipped into the seat from which the archer had just moments ago been stolen. At once, it reared, and Midna yelled. “Stop it! I am you new master now. Settle down!”
As soon as its failing wings died to a sustaining flap that was merely used to keep it suspended, Midna called down to Link. “We can use this beast to get us all the way to the water’s source.”
Link barked up at her. It was consent, but another chord had sounded within his alien voice, and strangely, Midna was beginning to hear the words he wanted to speak within this garbled speech.
“Hmm, you want to see the light spirit first, don’t you?” she said, scratching her chin. “Well, it is on the way, so why not?”
Commanding the kargarok to snatch Link up in its talons, Midna then steered her new ride up to the cave where the light spirit was said to dwell. Once at the edge of the opening, the bird lowered Link to the ground. He could already hear the sorrowful harmonic voice that he had come to associate with the lamenting spirits.
Looking back, he watched as the bird landed on the edge and leaned over to let Midna down. After ordering to wait for them, Midna followed Link into the spirit’s cave.
Inside the hole of the lakeside, darkness reigned. The glow of Midna’s arms and eye contrasted with the hard black of the cave, yet Link could still make out the overall shape of the grotto. But within moments, Link’s lupine ability mattered not, for the pair then stumbled upon the resting place of the distressing spirit. Its weak and splattered light gave off a weak orange tint that lit the walls, however, the dimness sustained Link and Midna’s normal vision.
A rasping sigh floundered from its unseen mouth. “I am … the last of the spirits of light … consumed … by twilight....” its light voice wept. “Hero … Chosen one of the gods.... You have … done well to make it this far.... Please, gather my scattered tears of light … that were stolen by shadow. Take this....”
Again, it was Midna who clutched onto the vessel when it appeared from out of the waters’ depths.
“I am sure … you know by now … the forms that these dark insects take … when they steal our light.... In this shadow realm of twilight … the insects are invisible … much like the humans of this world.... By collecting my stolen light … you shall lift the final cloud of twilight … that threatens to cover … all of Hyrule....” With another gasp the voice fell silent, submerging itself once more into its unnerving song of lamentation.
Link and Midna exchanged a silent glance. To think that they were so close to banishing the twilight from Hyrule. There remained only one last spirit to aid, and then the dark mantle that had engulfed parts of the land would be lifted. An evil curse set upon Hyrule by a tyrant king. Midna had not revealed much about him to Link, but he understood the tone with which she said his name. Zant. Clearly, a history swelled around Midna and the king of twilight, but Link had never pressed the matter. He had learned all he had needed to know at the moment, back in the mines of the Gorons. He knew that the memory of this king troubled her, but he would only ask of him again when the need for information would outweigh the careful distance Link had constructed to keep from hurting her.
Midna had lately become more than just useful to him, and he suspected that she saw him the same way now, for they had come to a bitter understanding after their battle with the darkened form of the Goron patriarch. He had learned that there was more to Midna’s selfish desires than self-preservation. There was a terrible past that lay deep beneath the thick skin that she had grown so fond of wearing. He saw the way that she glanced at him occasionally now, the furtive stare that spoke that she had a developing care for him as a person and not just a means to an end.
So, there they stood again, gazing into each other’s eyes again, the same thought passing through both of them.
Maybe. Just maybe … it was nearing the end of their journey. With the completion of the Fused Shadows, Midna and Link would be able to fight Zant on an equal foot. When that time came, it would be up to their skills to decide the outcome of the battle.
Heaving a deep breath, Link and Midna exited the chamber, the latter holding closely to the vessel that would hold the last of the tears of light.
The last leg of their journey before the battle that would decide the fate of Hyrule and so much more.
Once outside again Midna immediately mounted her new beast, which had taken up a perch on the adjacent bridge network. Without pretense, Link felt two taloned feet wrap around his midsection again, and he was uplifted. “Well, those Zoras said something about the source of this problem being upstream somewhere, so why don’t we just see for ourselves while we’re hunting?”
Her tone seemed uncaring, but Link had learned to disregard the melodies of her voice in most situations, for he supposed that it was a way of shielding herself. Keeping an eye out for the buzz of the insect thieves, Link relaxed in the kargarok’s grasp, enjoying the time to rest, even if it would be short-lived. As the bird sailed off, a coldness struck deeply within Link, and he was reminded that his fur remained wet from their fall. Yet, it was more than just his mess of hair causing the problem. A sinister chill seemed to infest the lake.
As they flew upriver—after having obtained a few tears in the immediate area—Link admired the beauty of the vast river. Although there was little water trickling down the gully, the great scale of the channel amazed Link. There were outcroppings along the edges, cut deep into the sides of the trench in the mountain that formed the great river. He had to wonder, however, how much of these formations were truly supposed to be underwater.
Halfway through the ride up the path, shimmers began appearing ahead of them. “There are insects through here,” Midna shouted down to him. With that declaration she leaned into the bird, and Link braced himself. In the next moment, the kargarok breathed its wings in close and shot straight for the dangling lights that had attached themselves to the ceiling of an underground section of the river.
On Midna and Link’s approach, the insects began to scatter, fluttering about in futile attempts to escape. With three well-placed snaps of his jaws, the bodies of the shadows deflated and dispersed into nothing, leaving the core of their shells to be scooped up by Midna tiny hand.
The threesome then began the climb upward, to reach the top of the river where the lands would flatten again. Upon a stiff grassy edge, the kargarok lowered Link safely. Midna leapt from the bird demon to regain her usual seat with a rather soft landing. He could feel her shiver against the air and his matted coat, but she tried to brush it aside. “Well, then. Where's the village of the Zoras? Let's look for it. But it's getting cold, so hurry up!”
Her voice snapped inside his head, and combined with the bitter sting of the rising cold, a quiver trembled down his spine momentarily. Shaking himself of the feeling, he caught a glimpse of another green form, sitting on disconnected stairs. He trudged over to a shack built into a hollow of the riverside shore and heard the woman’s voice as it shook in the cold. “…those Zoras up to, anyway?” he heard her ask. “The river's run totally dry.... Oh, I can't work like this.” With a soggy pout, she added, “I miss my fur coat.” She rubbed her arms then folded them tightly over one another. “Whoever thought renting out boats was going to be a good idea, anyway?”
She was silent for a moment, but screamed suddenly, and Link understood why.
A large glinting bug sprang out from underneath the brush beside her boat rental shop, and ran in a beeline form towards her. Before the woman had time to react, however, the bug had been stamped dead. “What? It’s gone?” Her voice trailed away as she jerked down her head to hide behind her warm hands and frazzled pouf of hair. With a shrug, Midna collected the blue light that rose from the ground.
Link approached the trench behind the woman, and—looking down—realization dawned that the ditch served as a continuation of the river, for there was a bridge of wood at the bottom that Link understood connected the opposite shorelines of the river. Though, without water, the floatation raft would not succeed in its intended purpose. What made the use of this bridge more necessary was the fact that Link could see a couple green sparks dotting the bank on that side. Now his curiosity about the river turned into an investigation. Returning the water flow to the region was now a foremost priority.
Link placed his paws carefully about the edge and slid easily down into where water should have been flowing. Searching for the direction toward what Link assumed would be Zora’s Domain, Link spotted the bend in the river to his left and followed the curving path past icicles and frozen spots of rock until he reached the mouth of the river.
They were within a deep hollow, perhaps dug deep in the side or top of a mountain. The enwrapping walls were lined with sharp edges, slopes, and paths which all wound up to the same place. At the highest point in the iced cavern there lay the actual source from where Link was sure the water normally spewed, for below the opening and hanging off of some of the rock walls and ledges dangled a stiff mass of ice, most presumably a frozen waterfall that had thickened over quite swiftly from a massive burst of frigidity.
“Hey, what’s going on here?” Midna asked throwing back her arms. “I thought it was getting colder, but this? Who would have thought that it would be all frozen? This is the Zora village, right? Well, why don’t I see any then?” She finished her line of rhetorical questions as she scanned the area over twice. “Well,” she craned sideways so that she could see Link’s face, “why don’t we go look for them?”
Although Link had begun to see Midna differently, he could always count on her way of speaking to him as a filthy peasant, for she had the air of pompous nobility that he had heard tell of in his bedtime stories when he was an infant. At least, she was not the one that had to freeze her feet. He could even feel that the water on the long tendrils of fur that danced below his chin had crystallized, and it was a chill that had reached his very bones.
At least, however, he had fur to keep him warmer. Midna’s ebony and ivory skin surely pained her by now, for the frigid air swirled about them and pulled his muscles tight. Breaking free of his rigid posture, he regained his flexibility as he moved, and as long as he remained in motion, he knew that his body would react well with the new climate.
He cantered ahead and began his long climb up the cavern, snapping at and pouncing upon the insect thieves as they spotted them. Soon, the tears that they had thus gathered nearly consumed the vessel of light. There were not many more to recapture.
At the midway point, Link could find no path to further his climb, and he only resigned himself to look at the drooping waterfall when he had made certain—thrice over—that he had indeed come to an apparent dead end. Reluctantly, he approached the edge of the cliff and gazed down and across at the silently sagging fall. Oddly, there were footholds that he would be able to utilize, though he feared sliding across the iced outcropping once he had made the jump to it. Yet, as he repeated to himself—just as Midna had reminded him several times on their ascent whenever he had slipped—that That is what your claws are for, he regained courage and lunged.
His sharp nails whimpered shrilly upon contact as he slid across the ice, but after a few inches he came to a halt. Retracting only his front claws, he leaned sideways to search for the next outcrop to which he could continue upward. Finding it, he reared back somewhat and pushed off, his claws catching onto the stiff water without falter.
Link continued in this manner for some time as Midna held her arms closely about his neck and her legs firmly around his body. Nearly upon the top edge of the waterfall, Link could not locate another suitable ice block upon which to land. He grew increasingly concerned when he knew that performing his former steps backwards to descend and find another route up would be more than precarious.
Yet just as he thought no chuck of ice appropriate in maintaining his weight, he spotted his only option. He shook each paw free of its accumulated ice particles and leapt for a colossal icicle that hung from the top of the westward cavern wall. As large as a temple’s column, Link dug his claws into the ice mass deeply. One of his back paws slipped at first, jolting Midna uncomfortably, but he soon regained himself and began to climb its length one paw at a time.
Nearly high enough to jump backward onto the icy ground aside the waterfall, the mass of crystallized rock and water began to crack under his mutilation. Pressured under Midna’s urgent calls, Link ascended the icicle leaping upward repeatedly with two paws at a time. The last time his hind legs crashed onto the iced pole, he kicked off from it turning himself about in mid-leap and landed firmly and safely onto the grassy ledge.
Midna watched the icicle break off completely and fell to the bottom of the deep well of the nonexistent river where it shattered in a chime that ricocheted off the walls, causing tinier icicles to plummet to their own disfigurements. “You know,” Midna said, relaxing her posture and turning to Link, “I think you’re getting too comfortable in that body.” Trying to kill the friendly smirk that curled her lip before it fully took over her visage, she straightened herself back up atop Link. “The Zora village should be nearby,” she said.
An unneeded statement, for Link had realized this some time ago, however, if she wanted to use this remark to remind herself of her obligations, then it was information well accepted. Link dug his claws into every step that he took as he approached the mouth of the river. He headed inside what appeared to be a cavern that had been constructed overtop the waterfall, Midna’s smirk fresh within his mind.
Inside, though, his vigilance paid off, for they were immediately attacked by a shadow beast. Link had begun to associate them with messengers that always seemed to bare ill tidings, for whenever he encountered these creatures, there always happened to be something needing fixed or someone needing saved.
Right away, Link ducked, crouching low enough for the long, sticky fingers to miss Midna as well. Turning to his foe, skidding on the ice, Link growled. The monster twisted its skinny body about, its lumpy joints flexing. It brought its head back in a whirl of motion, its thick, black tendrils of hair flaring about. Link did not wait any further for it to recover from his evasion, and he swooped in low, striking the creature in the midsection with a bash of his head.
The messenger floated back and slammed into the side of the cavern roughly. Ice dust coughed out from its landing and caught in Link’s nose. Distracted by the heavy sneeze that followed, the messenger was then upon him. Midna crawled out from under the restrained wolf and leapt onto the creature’s backside, pulling down two locks of hair as if they were the reigns of a horse. The black figure shrieked and let loose Link as it tossed its head. In the motion its hair passed in front of the wolf, and Link bit down hard on a group of three and yanked.
Another piercing cry lit Midna and Link’s ears to ashes, as Link scampered backward to a manageable distance, three black and lifeless fingers of hair trailing blood from his maw. With a triumphant yelp, Midna pulled back further on its hair, and the beast wriggled to achieve liberty. But its chest had been exposed in this arched position, and Link spat out the useless extremities and charged the beast, ripping and clawing across the monster’s breast.
At last the messenger heaved and fell over, inert. Its body shattered into dark shards and disappeared into the air.
Link looked to Midna, a violent yet radiant expression having overtaken her features. She returned his stare after a brief moment as she collected her breath. Link nodded his approval and thanks, but she simply turned to scoop up the vessel that had fallen from her cradling arms.
Finally, they were granted the chance to look about, and it appeared to only be a hollow in the mountainside, for there was nothing but ice. Yet with Midna’s words—“Whoa. Hey! Look down below the ice!”—he redirected his gaze beneath his feet. An intake of breath served as a gasp as he found to what she referred. Below them was a pool, frozen over by the same curse as the river, yet within its cylindrical form, were the bodies of at least a hundred Zoras, paused for who knew how long in their swimming strides.
“This is really strange. What in the world happened?” asked Midna. Then she rounded on Link, disapproving of showing her discomfort at the sight. “Hey! So, what do you want to do? We can’t just leave them like this.” She stroked a finger across her chin. “I think all we need to do is thaw them out.”
“Ah, I think there may be a way,” she affirmed. She raised a hand, and each of them began to break apart. But before Link’s body was jerked apart by her mysterious magic, his thoughts shifted back to the fact that she had finally included herself in the situation. Before she had only addressed problems with what he had to do to solve the trouble, but now, she was actually involving herself. And he took that as a good sign.
===============
When Link’s senses returned, he stood alongside Midna, though his surroundings had altered. Death Mountain rose up before them, the home of the Goron Mines. Link could not understand how Midna meant to solve the Zora’s problem with their new location. As convenient as it would be to take up a portion of the hot lava from the mountains to melt the ice, Link knew that carrying the molten rock was impossible.
As if sensing Link’s doubt, Midna giggled. “Don’t you remember that rock that nearly fell flat on top of you when the Gorons were taking you up to their elder?” she asked, pushing off from the ground as she faced Link. By the force of her strange magic, he hovered next to a large rock. “It’s been here for a while, but it’s still pretty hot.”
Without a second glance toward Link, she lapsed into concentration that seemed—by the twisting of her features—to be painful. Then the rock was enveloped by undulating red magic. Link closed his eyes as he felt his body yanked apart yet again, and when he opened them, he and Midna stood once more in the cavity that had been the icy Zora’s Domain. The hot chunk of rock that Midna had brought along impaled the ice and began to slowly melt the crystals back into water.
Link and Midna found a somewhat comfortable rock crevice to crawl into while they watched and waited for the boulder to perform its new function. Though, the rock had thickened the air with more heat, their surroundings were still rather chill, and noticing Midna’s single shiver as she sat down, Link stretched so as to nonchalantly shift closer to her. Without appearing to notice, Midna simply stared below the thawing ice at the frozen Zoras, lost in her thoughts.
Before long, larger pieces of the ice began to crack free of the whole. Link knew that their reprieve would soon be over, for now that the ice melted steadily, he and Midna would soon fall to their true task once more. “Who knew something so dangerous would come in handy,” remarked Midna, as she watched.
Twitching motions soon caught the Zoras, as the chill began to peel away from their bodies to renew its flow. The volcanic rock sank deeper and deeper still until, at last, it struck the bottom and lodged into the floor of the water source. The water’s current mostly restored, Link and Midna stood and searched about. Certainly they would find more of the insect thieves within the domain.
As Midna climbed onto his back, Link pranced around the steps that descended into the well where many Zoras were beginning to seek refuge as they glimmered in that unnatural green light. Link could hear their mumbles and coughs. “Was I unconscious?” one asked himself. “Are you okay?” one inquired of another. “What of those in the waterfall pool?” a warrior-like one said as he leaned over. “I wonder if the downstream areas are all right,” another reflected.
Link understood by most of these remarks that the people of Zora’s Domain would recover, therefore; he wasted no more time in reassuring himself of the fact and searched through the entire domain for the insects he hunted.
Throughout the area Link only encountered one such dark demon, and since it appeared that it, too, had been subjected to the layers of ice, its movements were stiff and was easily overpowered.
Their duties completed, the pair made for the exit as they took a last look about the now refurbished domain. Waterfalls were again falling from above into the pool, and the decorative etchings that defined Zoran architecture could now be glimpsed. With the Zoras now adjusting to their circumstances, Link and Midna steadily paced themselves as they exited.
“Wait!” a voice shouted, calm yet grievous in tone. Halted, Link turned about.
Above the waterfall pool, a form appeared. It was not like the greenish bodies of the other fish people; its figure rippled with an elegant glow. Before them hovered a female Zora, and by the ornamentation upon the attire that adorned her body, she was one of noble stature. The large tail-like fin that flapped down from her head swayed at the side of her body, as if to serve as a balance. Her fine hair tumbled down about her head in soft yellows and vibrant reds, and as it lay about her shoulders, it drew Link’s attention to the elaborate necklace that looped about her throat and chest. The only features that seemed without sparkle were her eyes, two vessels in which Link saw much pain and atrocity. Her eyes had bore the sight of much grief; of that, Link was already sure.
“Please,” she continued, noticing that they had turned, agreeing to give her ear. “You must allow me to thank you for revitalizing both my people and this spring, which is the water source for all the lands in Hyrule. In life, I was the elder of this Zora village and queen of my people. I was called Rutela.” Her voice remained gentle through her acceptance and declaration of her fate. It explained the nonexistence of any beams reflecting from her eyes, and it also clarified why she wore such stunning apparel.
Midna’s tone, however, was much less gentle. “Not to be rude, but we didn’t exactly do it for you guys.” Yet this statement, to Link, was rather contradictory, for had it not been she who had proclaimed that they could not have left the Zoras in their frozen state?
Rutela’s eyes darkened from their lifeless grey tint, her arms spreading out. She seemed to ignore the little imp as she continued, her beautiful gown swaying in her dimension of death. “The dark ones.... They raided this village and, as a message to my people, executed me before them.” Link could only imagine her past fears of knowing death would befall her so publicly. “Young man.... You who take the form of a proud beast....” she said. The fins trailing down from her arms twitched slightly as she fell into a silent trance. Upon awakening a mere second later, she focused upon the wolf again. “I have something to ask of you.”
Link perked up, listening closer.
“When the dark ones descended upon our village, I sent my young one, Ralis, to Hyrule Castle to inform Princess Zelda of our fate.” There once a quiet snuff at the latter name, which Link understood to have come from Midna. Rutela had either heard her and disregarded Midna’s reaction, or she had simply not noticed. Regardless, she continued on to her purpose, “But.... I fear danger followed him from this doomed place. I feel it.” A sorrow Link had never known overtook her voice. “His presence grows fainter to me over time.... But my time in this world has passed, and though I would give it gladly, I no longer have a life to risk in his rescue.” Her body began to falter in its form, fading slowly in its constant fluctuations. “Please, would you save my dearest Prince Ralis? If you accept, I will bestow upon you the protection of water, a power that will grant you the ability to swim and respire in very deep water as if you were a Zora.
“Please,” she said, eyes brimming with tears that would never splash upon the earth of life. “Save my son.”
Her body then became one with their surroundings, fading into the nothingness with which she had become one.
Midna’s condescending tone was the first to rattle Link from his blank stare. “So, if we help her, she’ll grant you the power to swim in the deep water like a Zora, huh?” She looked down to Link, her gaze breaking him of his rooted stature. “What are you going to do then, Hero? Oh, but I don’t suppose you should meet the prince as a wolf.” The giggle that followed was one that Link had learned to easily evade.
And with a sharp turn of his body, he departed from the elegant Zora’s Domain.
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Evening loomed above them, overtaking the already dimmed skies. Blinking away the cold, Link move to the edge were he had landed upon leaping from his climb up the icicle that no longer existed. In its place flowed a frigid waterfall. Actually, upon tossing a glance about, Link realized that it was not alone, for there were many falls where there had been clumps of frozen water.
The wolf chose the grassy path by which to descend, for now that the ice masses had been removed by the heat coming from Zora’s Domain, many more paths could be traversed. As they made their way down to the riverside, they caught bits of conversation from the many Zoras awakening from their strange sleep. “…attacks by the shadow beasts...” “…volcanic boulder in the throne room…” “…appears that the cave to Snowpeak is still frozen; we’ll have to wait a bit longer.” “…need to check to see if the places that take their water from here have been affected…”
As the minutes ticked by, Link finally managed to bring them to the bend in the tunneled waterway, and upon resurfacing to the evening light, he heard another more interesting discussion. Two Zoras stood upon the natural bridge which overlooked the river and another path in the water that Link had not before noticed. He supposed that it, too, had been mired by the crust of the ice.
“Do you think Prince Ralis passed through here?” one asked.
In reply, the other said, “He must have. This is the only waterway that connects to Hyrule Castle. Come. Let’s follow this path to search for him.”
Assenting, the first Zora nodded, and they dived into the river, their swishing fins carrying them out of sight.
Link pushed away the urge to follow them, for in his state, he would be of no help to the prince even if he were able to locate him. There was a more vital matter at hand, first. The restoration of light to the region needed to be completed.
Remembering the dark insects that he had seen on the opposite bank, Link quickly crossed the floating wooden bridge, and crouching down upon his stomach, he prepared to pounce upon his first victim.
Teeth met the sensitive skin of the insect’s wings before it had time to escape, and with Link’s second bite, he rendered it lifeless. As Link moved on to his next and last target, Midna swiped up the glowing blue tear that floated up from its dead host. Midna grabbed a fistful of Link’s fur as he leapt onto a slope in the bank, snapping his jaws down upon his prey. Though, this one had buzzed away just in time to only suffer a minor injury to its feeble leg.
Quick in his reaction, Link retaliated by stamping his paw down upon its wing. Trapped, it bit and stung at his limb, but Link did not relent, for its attempts at freeing itself proved futile. He clamped his maw over the head and ripped the tear free. Midna collected its light, and her voice conveyed her uncertainty. “I thought that would be the last of them, but there’s still one missing. We’ve searched everywhere.” She broke through her doubt, however, and leaned up against the fur of Link’s head where she could feel him panting. “I guess it’s back to the spring, huh? Maybe the spirit will have a clue.” Her eye slanted as she grinned, her pointed tooth peeking out of her lips. “Or do you need more time to catch your breath?”
Growling underneath his quick breaths, he looked down the steep river which would lead them back to the spirit spring. At this angle however, he spotted of a small overhang that he had not before noticed. Upon the grassy extension there rested a rather familiar stone. Strutting up to it, he recognized the dirty, broken appearance of an ancient statue. Reading the melody engraved upon the harmonic lines, he etched the notes into his throat and sang.
The wolf howl that emanated from his vocal chords did not dismay him, however, he seemed to fall deeper into the melody, swaying his head with the music. When he blinked the river had disappeared. Remaining was the protrusion upon which he had stood, but all else had become dark, stormy. The brightness of white that he had expected could be seen in no crevice of the countryside that he overlooked. The familiar castle of Hyrule slept wearily below him, fissures of fire raging behind it in the mountains.
His attention snapped to a sudden luminescence above him, where he discovered the golden wolf who—sitting on a higher protuberance—gazed down upon him with those blearing red eyes that had seen already so much violence in the world. Expectant eyes.
Realizing, Link again howled the melody that had been imprinted into his mind. When he repeated the tune, the majestic voice of the golden wolf sang with him. The moon above twinkled and it was then that Link sensed a distinct memory of desert shine within him, though; since he had never seen the renown Gerudo Desert, he supposed that the recollection had drifted upon the music from the other wolf, the shade of an old kingdom.
When their duet died upon the frozen air, red eyes bore into the twin oceans of Link. “Let teachings of old pass to you,” the golden wolf spoke, though his mouth uttered nary a syllable. “Take sword in hand and find me.”
The darkness swallowed the wolf as it leapt away from the illusion. The surreal world ripped itself apart, caving in upon itself, sending Link away in the coil of fracture.
When Link regained himself within the real world, night had been set upon the land. He did not grace Midna with a glance to respond to her questioning gaze, for she had not appeared with him in that other dimension. Her only signal to clutch his fur tautly was his body’s inclination toward the river.
Once again they plunged into the cold of Zora’s River, the current carrying them back to Lake Hylia. The quick flow of the river deposited them at the middle of the lake, where the force of the waterfall crashing down from the waterway lost its power. Astonishment reigned within Link as he gaze about the refilled lake. The plump man who had been attacked by the monsters now settled upon his raft which was connected to the land by a short wooden bridge. There was also now a direct path from the surface of the water so that they could reach the spirit’s cave.
Paddling toward the opening, a reflection on the water caught in his eye, but when he turned, the gleam no longer presented itself. Puzzled, Link swam over to the broken planks of wood which surrounded the location where he had noticed the reddish purple twinkle. However, any sign of its presence seemed erased. Perhaps, he concluded, there had been no gleam at all. So, he started back for the spirit spring.
That is when a buzz invaded his ears. He twitched, trying to eliminate the harsh sound, but upon tilting his head to scratch away the noise, he saw it. The gleam had turned into a whirl of pulsating red and violet sparks which circled about some invisible force. The variations in the color reminded him of the insect creatures. Cautiously, he paddled toward the humming, fractured lights. He sniffed at the oddity as he climbed aboard one of the shattered rafts. When the shimmers dove at him, he dove out of its path and turned to recognize its true identity.
Four eyes sharing the same blazing green hue, the dark insect fluttered above Link and Midna. An enlarged body spawned from its smaller form, having a bloated slug-like appearance. Six pustules erupted from the balloon of its lower body, these spots spouting forth and elongating into flabby tentacles that danced with the strange energy. Four thin yet strong wings enabled the creature to hover above them.
It rained down upon them again, but this time Link leapt onto it and bit at its soft spots. The tentacles drew his attention, and therefore, he snapped at one of them. Putrid smelling pus and blood trailed from the wound, and the bug reared, knocking Link from its belly. Angered, it dove back into the water, its violet hues shattering the surface of the lake. This, Link surmised, was what had caused him to falsely accuse the water of its former reflection. When it whipped about and drove straight toward him, he bounded away onto another plank of wood.
Immediately, the parasitic beast splashed from the water and hurled itself toward Link. Dodging, Link hopped onto its backside. The parasite reeled, trying vainly to shake Link from its fleshy back, but this only succeeded in giving Link the leverage to topple onto the beast’s front once more. Digging his front claws into the spongy belly, Link clamped his jaws over two more of the flexing appendages. A growl bubbled from the bug’s chattering mouth. It snapped at him, but Link crawled up its chest and heaved himself past the long, barbed legs that had also lunged for him. Once at its shoulder, Link gashed two of its wings with a thrash of his claws.
At once, the insect battled the gravity that pulled at its opposite wings, which fluttered ever more quickly in the attempt to compensate. Its effort in vain, the parasite and Link dropped and crashed into the water. It had landed upon its back, however; and though it tried to escape, Link seized the opportunity and clambered down its length. Avoiding the barbs, he ripped through the last of the dangling extremities and then dealt with the true master. With a swift pounce, Link tore its head, and its flashing green eyes oozed.
It then lay limp in the water.
But then its body began to sparkle and Link descended into the water as its burst into nothing, leaving behind a bright ray that cast off Midna’s doubt. She grabbed for the tear from atop Link’s wet back and settled herself against his coat.
The last of the tears had finally been collected.
Link swam to a raft and grappled on with his paws, letting his body sway in the now peaceful waters of Lake Hylia. He stared at the entrance to the spirit cave and found himself in a daze.
His humanity would soon be his again. Yet, he had begun to ponder on the notion of being a human. Every time he returned to his birth state, it felt less natural. The feel of the skin tight around him had begun to feel constraining. Whatever this new feeling really was, Link was unsure, yet he did not take pleasure in every change that had been brought upon him by the shroud of the twilight.
He wanted to reassure himself that his humanity was his identity. Yet, though his human appearance had been set upon by his birth … was it still his natural self?
At long last Link felt a yank on a tuft of hair behind his ears, and both he and Midna were coughing up the droplets of water that had seeped into them during their struggle. Link held onto the shore side, Midna crouched beside him. After he had hawked up the sparkling and deadly liquid from within him, he pulled himself completely onto the solid earth. He passed a furtive glance at Midna, realizing what had just happened.
They had fallen from the bridge to land in a pool of water … and Midna, knowing that he could not swim so well as a wolf, had saved his life. She had done so without hesitation, which made Link assume, hopefully, that she truly did have humane interests, for saving lives was a human instinct.
Midna, however, seemed not to notice, sitting down to face the water, sneering. “Well, that was a close one. We’re lucky this puddle was here. If this is a lake....” She left her last thought incomplete and gathered herself up. “Well, you heard that soldier. There should be a spirit spring somewhere around here. Why don’t we take a look around?” She leapt onto his wet fur as he brought himself to his paws.
Looking about, Link realized that they had taken to a shore were three green lights emanated. Sniffing closely, he breathed in the smell of sweet fish. At a murmur’s level, Link could barely hear the lights speaking. “The drop in water has been faster than predicted....” the lowest glimmer judged.
“At this rate, Lake Hylia will dry up. It's a race against time....” another said with a wearied sigh.
“Yes, the lake will most definitely vanish if we don't somehow get water from Zora's Domain upstream,” the third agreed.
Link was inclined to listen further, yet past them in the distance, something caught his eye. There was a stubby man wearing a pink shirt that was too small to cover his plump belly, however; Link allowed himself no time to be amused at the sight, for the chubby man was running as fast as his short legs could carry him as he screamed, “MONSTER!”
Following close behind the man flew the largest bird that Link had ever seen. An archer sat atop its back, readying an arrow as the man lodged himself underneath a piece of equipment that sat on the wooden raft that housed what Link assumed was his shop. The archer released the shaft and it sailed straight for the ducked citizen. Link, having run to the aid the man, leapt up and caught the arrow in his mouth. The dark duo turned their attention on Link and Midna.
If his alter ego were capable, Link would have smiled at the fact that he had caught his enemy off guard, however; now was no time for such behavior. As Link fought, he heard the portly man behind him whimper and curse, “What is going on? Are the zoras upriver responsible for this, or is this a curse from that spirit that hangs around up there?” If the little man had said anything else, Link was unable to hear his murmurs, for his engagement with the winged beast took a great deal of his concentration. He wondered, for as long as he could allow himself the privilege, how odd it would be to find a beast attacked by thin air.
The wolf took advantage that the bird’s agility somewhat decreased seconds before the archer released a shaft toward he and Midna. When the dark bowman aimed its next weapon—Link just dodging the last—the wolf stepped out of his evade and leapt for the belly of the winged creature. He ripped at it wings, trying to climb up to reach the more threatening opponent, but when he sunk his claws into the bird’s chest again, it wailed and teetered. Its pained, twisting flight thereafter threw Link from its feathers and let out an awful screech.
Ignoring the bird and benefiting from its distracted rage, Link pushed hard upon the ground again with his hind legs and launched himself for the archer. The bird’s wings flapping downward as he sailed left a direct path toward his target, and he soared mouth agape. Crunching down upon his foe, Link snapped his jaws shut around the fiend’s neck and gave a jerk with his mouth as he descended back down to the ground, a limp body now in his maw.
Link tossed the corpse aside and felt another weight lifted. He looked to his side to see that Midna had slid from his back and was now gazing up at the bird creature. Curious, Link turned to follow her gaze. “It’s a kargarok creature, though, infested by the dark Twili magic,” she informed.
Unexpectedly, Link then heard a soft melody of alternating high and low pitches and was surprised to discover that it was Midna’s voice. The creature calmed slightly and lowered itself to a more manageable height. As Link watched Midna leapt into the air, trailed by the too familiar black, red, and green bubbled magic which seemed to define her very essence. She caught onto the kargarok and slipped into the seat from which the archer had just moments ago been stolen. At once, it reared, and Midna yelled. “Stop it! I am you new master now. Settle down!”
As soon as its failing wings died to a sustaining flap that was merely used to keep it suspended, Midna called down to Link. “We can use this beast to get us all the way to the water’s source.”
Link barked up at her. It was consent, but another chord had sounded within his alien voice, and strangely, Midna was beginning to hear the words he wanted to speak within this garbled speech.
“Hmm, you want to see the light spirit first, don’t you?” she said, scratching her chin. “Well, it is on the way, so why not?”
Commanding the kargarok to snatch Link up in its talons, Midna then steered her new ride up to the cave where the light spirit was said to dwell. Once at the edge of the opening, the bird lowered Link to the ground. He could already hear the sorrowful harmonic voice that he had come to associate with the lamenting spirits.
Looking back, he watched as the bird landed on the edge and leaned over to let Midna down. After ordering to wait for them, Midna followed Link into the spirit’s cave.
Inside the hole of the lakeside, darkness reigned. The glow of Midna’s arms and eye contrasted with the hard black of the cave, yet Link could still make out the overall shape of the grotto. But within moments, Link’s lupine ability mattered not, for the pair then stumbled upon the resting place of the distressing spirit. Its weak and splattered light gave off a weak orange tint that lit the walls, however, the dimness sustained Link and Midna’s normal vision.
A rasping sigh floundered from its unseen mouth. “I am … the last of the spirits of light … consumed … by twilight....” its light voice wept. “Hero … Chosen one of the gods.... You have … done well to make it this far.... Please, gather my scattered tears of light … that were stolen by shadow. Take this....”
Again, it was Midna who clutched onto the vessel when it appeared from out of the waters’ depths.
“I am sure … you know by now … the forms that these dark insects take … when they steal our light.... In this shadow realm of twilight … the insects are invisible … much like the humans of this world.... By collecting my stolen light … you shall lift the final cloud of twilight … that threatens to cover … all of Hyrule....” With another gasp the voice fell silent, submerging itself once more into its unnerving song of lamentation.
Link and Midna exchanged a silent glance. To think that they were so close to banishing the twilight from Hyrule. There remained only one last spirit to aid, and then the dark mantle that had engulfed parts of the land would be lifted. An evil curse set upon Hyrule by a tyrant king. Midna had not revealed much about him to Link, but he understood the tone with which she said his name. Zant. Clearly, a history swelled around Midna and the king of twilight, but Link had never pressed the matter. He had learned all he had needed to know at the moment, back in the mines of the Gorons. He knew that the memory of this king troubled her, but he would only ask of him again when the need for information would outweigh the careful distance Link had constructed to keep from hurting her.
Midna had lately become more than just useful to him, and he suspected that she saw him the same way now, for they had come to a bitter understanding after their battle with the darkened form of the Goron patriarch. He had learned that there was more to Midna’s selfish desires than self-preservation. There was a terrible past that lay deep beneath the thick skin that she had grown so fond of wearing. He saw the way that she glanced at him occasionally now, the furtive stare that spoke that she had a developing care for him as a person and not just a means to an end.
So, there they stood again, gazing into each other’s eyes again, the same thought passing through both of them.
Maybe. Just maybe … it was nearing the end of their journey. With the completion of the Fused Shadows, Midna and Link would be able to fight Zant on an equal foot. When that time came, it would be up to their skills to decide the outcome of the battle.
Heaving a deep breath, Link and Midna exited the chamber, the latter holding closely to the vessel that would hold the last of the tears of light.
The last leg of their journey before the battle that would decide the fate of Hyrule and so much more.
Once outside again Midna immediately mounted her new beast, which had taken up a perch on the adjacent bridge network. Without pretense, Link felt two taloned feet wrap around his midsection again, and he was uplifted. “Well, those Zoras said something about the source of this problem being upstream somewhere, so why don’t we just see for ourselves while we’re hunting?”
Her tone seemed uncaring, but Link had learned to disregard the melodies of her voice in most situations, for he supposed that it was a way of shielding herself. Keeping an eye out for the buzz of the insect thieves, Link relaxed in the kargarok’s grasp, enjoying the time to rest, even if it would be short-lived. As the bird sailed off, a coldness struck deeply within Link, and he was reminded that his fur remained wet from their fall. Yet, it was more than just his mess of hair causing the problem. A sinister chill seemed to infest the lake.
As they flew upriver—after having obtained a few tears in the immediate area—Link admired the beauty of the vast river. Although there was little water trickling down the gully, the great scale of the channel amazed Link. There were outcroppings along the edges, cut deep into the sides of the trench in the mountain that formed the great river. He had to wonder, however, how much of these formations were truly supposed to be underwater.
Halfway through the ride up the path, shimmers began appearing ahead of them. “There are insects through here,” Midna shouted down to him. With that declaration she leaned into the bird, and Link braced himself. In the next moment, the kargarok breathed its wings in close and shot straight for the dangling lights that had attached themselves to the ceiling of an underground section of the river.
On Midna and Link’s approach, the insects began to scatter, fluttering about in futile attempts to escape. With three well-placed snaps of his jaws, the bodies of the shadows deflated and dispersed into nothing, leaving the core of their shells to be scooped up by Midna tiny hand.
The threesome then began the climb upward, to reach the top of the river where the lands would flatten again. Upon a stiff grassy edge, the kargarok lowered Link safely. Midna leapt from the bird demon to regain her usual seat with a rather soft landing. He could feel her shiver against the air and his matted coat, but she tried to brush it aside. “Well, then. Where's the village of the Zoras? Let's look for it. But it's getting cold, so hurry up!”
Her voice snapped inside his head, and combined with the bitter sting of the rising cold, a quiver trembled down his spine momentarily. Shaking himself of the feeling, he caught a glimpse of another green form, sitting on disconnected stairs. He trudged over to a shack built into a hollow of the riverside shore and heard the woman’s voice as it shook in the cold. “…those Zoras up to, anyway?” he heard her ask. “The river's run totally dry.... Oh, I can't work like this.” With a soggy pout, she added, “I miss my fur coat.” She rubbed her arms then folded them tightly over one another. “Whoever thought renting out boats was going to be a good idea, anyway?”
She was silent for a moment, but screamed suddenly, and Link understood why.
A large glinting bug sprang out from underneath the brush beside her boat rental shop, and ran in a beeline form towards her. Before the woman had time to react, however, the bug had been stamped dead. “What? It’s gone?” Her voice trailed away as she jerked down her head to hide behind her warm hands and frazzled pouf of hair. With a shrug, Midna collected the blue light that rose from the ground.
Link approached the trench behind the woman, and—looking down—realization dawned that the ditch served as a continuation of the river, for there was a bridge of wood at the bottom that Link understood connected the opposite shorelines of the river. Though, without water, the floatation raft would not succeed in its intended purpose. What made the use of this bridge more necessary was the fact that Link could see a couple green sparks dotting the bank on that side. Now his curiosity about the river turned into an investigation. Returning the water flow to the region was now a foremost priority.
Link placed his paws carefully about the edge and slid easily down into where water should have been flowing. Searching for the direction toward what Link assumed would be Zora’s Domain, Link spotted the bend in the river to his left and followed the curving path past icicles and frozen spots of rock until he reached the mouth of the river.
They were within a deep hollow, perhaps dug deep in the side or top of a mountain. The enwrapping walls were lined with sharp edges, slopes, and paths which all wound up to the same place. At the highest point in the iced cavern there lay the actual source from where Link was sure the water normally spewed, for below the opening and hanging off of some of the rock walls and ledges dangled a stiff mass of ice, most presumably a frozen waterfall that had thickened over quite swiftly from a massive burst of frigidity.
“Hey, what’s going on here?” Midna asked throwing back her arms. “I thought it was getting colder, but this? Who would have thought that it would be all frozen? This is the Zora village, right? Well, why don’t I see any then?” She finished her line of rhetorical questions as she scanned the area over twice. “Well,” she craned sideways so that she could see Link’s face, “why don’t we go look for them?”
Although Link had begun to see Midna differently, he could always count on her way of speaking to him as a filthy peasant, for she had the air of pompous nobility that he had heard tell of in his bedtime stories when he was an infant. At least, she was not the one that had to freeze her feet. He could even feel that the water on the long tendrils of fur that danced below his chin had crystallized, and it was a chill that had reached his very bones.
At least, however, he had fur to keep him warmer. Midna’s ebony and ivory skin surely pained her by now, for the frigid air swirled about them and pulled his muscles tight. Breaking free of his rigid posture, he regained his flexibility as he moved, and as long as he remained in motion, he knew that his body would react well with the new climate.
He cantered ahead and began his long climb up the cavern, snapping at and pouncing upon the insect thieves as they spotted them. Soon, the tears that they had thus gathered nearly consumed the vessel of light. There were not many more to recapture.
At the midway point, Link could find no path to further his climb, and he only resigned himself to look at the drooping waterfall when he had made certain—thrice over—that he had indeed come to an apparent dead end. Reluctantly, he approached the edge of the cliff and gazed down and across at the silently sagging fall. Oddly, there were footholds that he would be able to utilize, though he feared sliding across the iced outcropping once he had made the jump to it. Yet, as he repeated to himself—just as Midna had reminded him several times on their ascent whenever he had slipped—that That is what your claws are for, he regained courage and lunged.
His sharp nails whimpered shrilly upon contact as he slid across the ice, but after a few inches he came to a halt. Retracting only his front claws, he leaned sideways to search for the next outcrop to which he could continue upward. Finding it, he reared back somewhat and pushed off, his claws catching onto the stiff water without falter.
Link continued in this manner for some time as Midna held her arms closely about his neck and her legs firmly around his body. Nearly upon the top edge of the waterfall, Link could not locate another suitable ice block upon which to land. He grew increasingly concerned when he knew that performing his former steps backwards to descend and find another route up would be more than precarious.
Yet just as he thought no chuck of ice appropriate in maintaining his weight, he spotted his only option. He shook each paw free of its accumulated ice particles and leapt for a colossal icicle that hung from the top of the westward cavern wall. As large as a temple’s column, Link dug his claws into the ice mass deeply. One of his back paws slipped at first, jolting Midna uncomfortably, but he soon regained himself and began to climb its length one paw at a time.
Nearly high enough to jump backward onto the icy ground aside the waterfall, the mass of crystallized rock and water began to crack under his mutilation. Pressured under Midna’s urgent calls, Link ascended the icicle leaping upward repeatedly with two paws at a time. The last time his hind legs crashed onto the iced pole, he kicked off from it turning himself about in mid-leap and landed firmly and safely onto the grassy ledge.
Midna watched the icicle break off completely and fell to the bottom of the deep well of the nonexistent river where it shattered in a chime that ricocheted off the walls, causing tinier icicles to plummet to their own disfigurements. “You know,” Midna said, relaxing her posture and turning to Link, “I think you’re getting too comfortable in that body.” Trying to kill the friendly smirk that curled her lip before it fully took over her visage, she straightened herself back up atop Link. “The Zora village should be nearby,” she said.
An unneeded statement, for Link had realized this some time ago, however, if she wanted to use this remark to remind herself of her obligations, then it was information well accepted. Link dug his claws into every step that he took as he approached the mouth of the river. He headed inside what appeared to be a cavern that had been constructed overtop the waterfall, Midna’s smirk fresh within his mind.
Inside, though, his vigilance paid off, for they were immediately attacked by a shadow beast. Link had begun to associate them with messengers that always seemed to bare ill tidings, for whenever he encountered these creatures, there always happened to be something needing fixed or someone needing saved.
Right away, Link ducked, crouching low enough for the long, sticky fingers to miss Midna as well. Turning to his foe, skidding on the ice, Link growled. The monster twisted its skinny body about, its lumpy joints flexing. It brought its head back in a whirl of motion, its thick, black tendrils of hair flaring about. Link did not wait any further for it to recover from his evasion, and he swooped in low, striking the creature in the midsection with a bash of his head.
The messenger floated back and slammed into the side of the cavern roughly. Ice dust coughed out from its landing and caught in Link’s nose. Distracted by the heavy sneeze that followed, the messenger was then upon him. Midna crawled out from under the restrained wolf and leapt onto the creature’s backside, pulling down two locks of hair as if they were the reigns of a horse. The black figure shrieked and let loose Link as it tossed its head. In the motion its hair passed in front of the wolf, and Link bit down hard on a group of three and yanked.
Another piercing cry lit Midna and Link’s ears to ashes, as Link scampered backward to a manageable distance, three black and lifeless fingers of hair trailing blood from his maw. With a triumphant yelp, Midna pulled back further on its hair, and the beast wriggled to achieve liberty. But its chest had been exposed in this arched position, and Link spat out the useless extremities and charged the beast, ripping and clawing across the monster’s breast.
At last the messenger heaved and fell over, inert. Its body shattered into dark shards and disappeared into the air.
Link looked to Midna, a violent yet radiant expression having overtaken her features. She returned his stare after a brief moment as she collected her breath. Link nodded his approval and thanks, but she simply turned to scoop up the vessel that had fallen from her cradling arms.
Finally, they were granted the chance to look about, and it appeared to only be a hollow in the mountainside, for there was nothing but ice. Yet with Midna’s words—“Whoa. Hey! Look down below the ice!”—he redirected his gaze beneath his feet. An intake of breath served as a gasp as he found to what she referred. Below them was a pool, frozen over by the same curse as the river, yet within its cylindrical form, were the bodies of at least a hundred Zoras, paused for who knew how long in their swimming strides.
“This is really strange. What in the world happened?” asked Midna. Then she rounded on Link, disapproving of showing her discomfort at the sight. “Hey! So, what do you want to do? We can’t just leave them like this.” She stroked a finger across her chin. “I think all we need to do is thaw them out.”
“Ah, I think there may be a way,” she affirmed. She raised a hand, and each of them began to break apart. But before Link’s body was jerked apart by her mysterious magic, his thoughts shifted back to the fact that she had finally included herself in the situation. Before she had only addressed problems with what he had to do to solve the trouble, but now, she was actually involving herself. And he took that as a good sign.
===============
When Link’s senses returned, he stood alongside Midna, though his surroundings had altered. Death Mountain rose up before them, the home of the Goron Mines. Link could not understand how Midna meant to solve the Zora’s problem with their new location. As convenient as it would be to take up a portion of the hot lava from the mountains to melt the ice, Link knew that carrying the molten rock was impossible.
As if sensing Link’s doubt, Midna giggled. “Don’t you remember that rock that nearly fell flat on top of you when the Gorons were taking you up to their elder?” she asked, pushing off from the ground as she faced Link. By the force of her strange magic, he hovered next to a large rock. “It’s been here for a while, but it’s still pretty hot.”
Without a second glance toward Link, she lapsed into concentration that seemed—by the twisting of her features—to be painful. Then the rock was enveloped by undulating red magic. Link closed his eyes as he felt his body yanked apart yet again, and when he opened them, he and Midna stood once more in the cavity that had been the icy Zora’s Domain. The hot chunk of rock that Midna had brought along impaled the ice and began to slowly melt the crystals back into water.
Link and Midna found a somewhat comfortable rock crevice to crawl into while they watched and waited for the boulder to perform its new function. Though, the rock had thickened the air with more heat, their surroundings were still rather chill, and noticing Midna’s single shiver as she sat down, Link stretched so as to nonchalantly shift closer to her. Without appearing to notice, Midna simply stared below the thawing ice at the frozen Zoras, lost in her thoughts.
Before long, larger pieces of the ice began to crack free of the whole. Link knew that their reprieve would soon be over, for now that the ice melted steadily, he and Midna would soon fall to their true task once more. “Who knew something so dangerous would come in handy,” remarked Midna, as she watched.
Twitching motions soon caught the Zoras, as the chill began to peel away from their bodies to renew its flow. The volcanic rock sank deeper and deeper still until, at last, it struck the bottom and lodged into the floor of the water source. The water’s current mostly restored, Link and Midna stood and searched about. Certainly they would find more of the insect thieves within the domain.
As Midna climbed onto his back, Link pranced around the steps that descended into the well where many Zoras were beginning to seek refuge as they glimmered in that unnatural green light. Link could hear their mumbles and coughs. “Was I unconscious?” one asked himself. “Are you okay?” one inquired of another. “What of those in the waterfall pool?” a warrior-like one said as he leaned over. “I wonder if the downstream areas are all right,” another reflected.
Link understood by most of these remarks that the people of Zora’s Domain would recover, therefore; he wasted no more time in reassuring himself of the fact and searched through the entire domain for the insects he hunted.
Throughout the area Link only encountered one such dark demon, and since it appeared that it, too, had been subjected to the layers of ice, its movements were stiff and was easily overpowered.
Their duties completed, the pair made for the exit as they took a last look about the now refurbished domain. Waterfalls were again falling from above into the pool, and the decorative etchings that defined Zoran architecture could now be glimpsed. With the Zoras now adjusting to their circumstances, Link and Midna steadily paced themselves as they exited.
“Wait!” a voice shouted, calm yet grievous in tone. Halted, Link turned about.
Above the waterfall pool, a form appeared. It was not like the greenish bodies of the other fish people; its figure rippled with an elegant glow. Before them hovered a female Zora, and by the ornamentation upon the attire that adorned her body, she was one of noble stature. The large tail-like fin that flapped down from her head swayed at the side of her body, as if to serve as a balance. Her fine hair tumbled down about her head in soft yellows and vibrant reds, and as it lay about her shoulders, it drew Link’s attention to the elaborate necklace that looped about her throat and chest. The only features that seemed without sparkle were her eyes, two vessels in which Link saw much pain and atrocity. Her eyes had bore the sight of much grief; of that, Link was already sure.
“Please,” she continued, noticing that they had turned, agreeing to give her ear. “You must allow me to thank you for revitalizing both my people and this spring, which is the water source for all the lands in Hyrule. In life, I was the elder of this Zora village and queen of my people. I was called Rutela.” Her voice remained gentle through her acceptance and declaration of her fate. It explained the nonexistence of any beams reflecting from her eyes, and it also clarified why she wore such stunning apparel.
Midna’s tone, however, was much less gentle. “Not to be rude, but we didn’t exactly do it for you guys.” Yet this statement, to Link, was rather contradictory, for had it not been she who had proclaimed that they could not have left the Zoras in their frozen state?
Rutela’s eyes darkened from their lifeless grey tint, her arms spreading out. She seemed to ignore the little imp as she continued, her beautiful gown swaying in her dimension of death. “The dark ones.... They raided this village and, as a message to my people, executed me before them.” Link could only imagine her past fears of knowing death would befall her so publicly. “Young man.... You who take the form of a proud beast....” she said. The fins trailing down from her arms twitched slightly as she fell into a silent trance. Upon awakening a mere second later, she focused upon the wolf again. “I have something to ask of you.”
Link perked up, listening closer.
“When the dark ones descended upon our village, I sent my young one, Ralis, to Hyrule Castle to inform Princess Zelda of our fate.” There once a quiet snuff at the latter name, which Link understood to have come from Midna. Rutela had either heard her and disregarded Midna’s reaction, or she had simply not noticed. Regardless, she continued on to her purpose, “But.... I fear danger followed him from this doomed place. I feel it.” A sorrow Link had never known overtook her voice. “His presence grows fainter to me over time.... But my time in this world has passed, and though I would give it gladly, I no longer have a life to risk in his rescue.” Her body began to falter in its form, fading slowly in its constant fluctuations. “Please, would you save my dearest Prince Ralis? If you accept, I will bestow upon you the protection of water, a power that will grant you the ability to swim and respire in very deep water as if you were a Zora.
“Please,” she said, eyes brimming with tears that would never splash upon the earth of life. “Save my son.”
Her body then became one with their surroundings, fading into the nothingness with which she had become one.
Midna’s condescending tone was the first to rattle Link from his blank stare. “So, if we help her, she’ll grant you the power to swim in the deep water like a Zora, huh?” She looked down to Link, her gaze breaking him of his rooted stature. “What are you going to do then, Hero? Oh, but I don’t suppose you should meet the prince as a wolf.” The giggle that followed was one that Link had learned to easily evade.
And with a sharp turn of his body, he departed from the elegant Zora’s Domain.
===============
Evening loomed above them, overtaking the already dimmed skies. Blinking away the cold, Link move to the edge were he had landed upon leaping from his climb up the icicle that no longer existed. In its place flowed a frigid waterfall. Actually, upon tossing a glance about, Link realized that it was not alone, for there were many falls where there had been clumps of frozen water.
The wolf chose the grassy path by which to descend, for now that the ice masses had been removed by the heat coming from Zora’s Domain, many more paths could be traversed. As they made their way down to the riverside, they caught bits of conversation from the many Zoras awakening from their strange sleep. “…attacks by the shadow beasts...” “…volcanic boulder in the throne room…” “…appears that the cave to Snowpeak is still frozen; we’ll have to wait a bit longer.” “…need to check to see if the places that take their water from here have been affected…”
As the minutes ticked by, Link finally managed to bring them to the bend in the tunneled waterway, and upon resurfacing to the evening light, he heard another more interesting discussion. Two Zoras stood upon the natural bridge which overlooked the river and another path in the water that Link had not before noticed. He supposed that it, too, had been mired by the crust of the ice.
“Do you think Prince Ralis passed through here?” one asked.
In reply, the other said, “He must have. This is the only waterway that connects to Hyrule Castle. Come. Let’s follow this path to search for him.”
Assenting, the first Zora nodded, and they dived into the river, their swishing fins carrying them out of sight.
Link pushed away the urge to follow them, for in his state, he would be of no help to the prince even if he were able to locate him. There was a more vital matter at hand, first. The restoration of light to the region needed to be completed.
Remembering the dark insects that he had seen on the opposite bank, Link quickly crossed the floating wooden bridge, and crouching down upon his stomach, he prepared to pounce upon his first victim.
Teeth met the sensitive skin of the insect’s wings before it had time to escape, and with Link’s second bite, he rendered it lifeless. As Link moved on to his next and last target, Midna swiped up the glowing blue tear that floated up from its dead host. Midna grabbed a fistful of Link’s fur as he leapt onto a slope in the bank, snapping his jaws down upon his prey. Though, this one had buzzed away just in time to only suffer a minor injury to its feeble leg.
Quick in his reaction, Link retaliated by stamping his paw down upon its wing. Trapped, it bit and stung at his limb, but Link did not relent, for its attempts at freeing itself proved futile. He clamped his maw over the head and ripped the tear free. Midna collected its light, and her voice conveyed her uncertainty. “I thought that would be the last of them, but there’s still one missing. We’ve searched everywhere.” She broke through her doubt, however, and leaned up against the fur of Link’s head where she could feel him panting. “I guess it’s back to the spring, huh? Maybe the spirit will have a clue.” Her eye slanted as she grinned, her pointed tooth peeking out of her lips. “Or do you need more time to catch your breath?”
Growling underneath his quick breaths, he looked down the steep river which would lead them back to the spirit spring. At this angle however, he spotted of a small overhang that he had not before noticed. Upon the grassy extension there rested a rather familiar stone. Strutting up to it, he recognized the dirty, broken appearance of an ancient statue. Reading the melody engraved upon the harmonic lines, he etched the notes into his throat and sang.
The wolf howl that emanated from his vocal chords did not dismay him, however, he seemed to fall deeper into the melody, swaying his head with the music. When he blinked the river had disappeared. Remaining was the protrusion upon which he had stood, but all else had become dark, stormy. The brightness of white that he had expected could be seen in no crevice of the countryside that he overlooked. The familiar castle of Hyrule slept wearily below him, fissures of fire raging behind it in the mountains.
His attention snapped to a sudden luminescence above him, where he discovered the golden wolf who—sitting on a higher protuberance—gazed down upon him with those blearing red eyes that had seen already so much violence in the world. Expectant eyes.
Realizing, Link again howled the melody that had been imprinted into his mind. When he repeated the tune, the majestic voice of the golden wolf sang with him. The moon above twinkled and it was then that Link sensed a distinct memory of desert shine within him, though; since he had never seen the renown Gerudo Desert, he supposed that the recollection had drifted upon the music from the other wolf, the shade of an old kingdom.
When their duet died upon the frozen air, red eyes bore into the twin oceans of Link. “Let teachings of old pass to you,” the golden wolf spoke, though his mouth uttered nary a syllable. “Take sword in hand and find me.”
The darkness swallowed the wolf as it leapt away from the illusion. The surreal world ripped itself apart, caving in upon itself, sending Link away in the coil of fracture.
When Link regained himself within the real world, night had been set upon the land. He did not grace Midna with a glance to respond to her questioning gaze, for she had not appeared with him in that other dimension. Her only signal to clutch his fur tautly was his body’s inclination toward the river.
Once again they plunged into the cold of Zora’s River, the current carrying them back to Lake Hylia. The quick flow of the river deposited them at the middle of the lake, where the force of the waterfall crashing down from the waterway lost its power. Astonishment reigned within Link as he gaze about the refilled lake. The plump man who had been attacked by the monsters now settled upon his raft which was connected to the land by a short wooden bridge. There was also now a direct path from the surface of the water so that they could reach the spirit’s cave.
Paddling toward the opening, a reflection on the water caught in his eye, but when he turned, the gleam no longer presented itself. Puzzled, Link swam over to the broken planks of wood which surrounded the location where he had noticed the reddish purple twinkle. However, any sign of its presence seemed erased. Perhaps, he concluded, there had been no gleam at all. So, he started back for the spirit spring.
That is when a buzz invaded his ears. He twitched, trying to eliminate the harsh sound, but upon tilting his head to scratch away the noise, he saw it. The gleam had turned into a whirl of pulsating red and violet sparks which circled about some invisible force. The variations in the color reminded him of the insect creatures. Cautiously, he paddled toward the humming, fractured lights. He sniffed at the oddity as he climbed aboard one of the shattered rafts. When the shimmers dove at him, he dove out of its path and turned to recognize its true identity.
Four eyes sharing the same blazing green hue, the dark insect fluttered above Link and Midna. An enlarged body spawned from its smaller form, having a bloated slug-like appearance. Six pustules erupted from the balloon of its lower body, these spots spouting forth and elongating into flabby tentacles that danced with the strange energy. Four thin yet strong wings enabled the creature to hover above them.
It rained down upon them again, but this time Link leapt onto it and bit at its soft spots. The tentacles drew his attention, and therefore, he snapped at one of them. Putrid smelling pus and blood trailed from the wound, and the bug reared, knocking Link from its belly. Angered, it dove back into the water, its violet hues shattering the surface of the lake. This, Link surmised, was what had caused him to falsely accuse the water of its former reflection. When it whipped about and drove straight toward him, he bounded away onto another plank of wood.
Immediately, the parasitic beast splashed from the water and hurled itself toward Link. Dodging, Link hopped onto its backside. The parasite reeled, trying vainly to shake Link from its fleshy back, but this only succeeded in giving Link the leverage to topple onto the beast’s front once more. Digging his front claws into the spongy belly, Link clamped his jaws over two more of the flexing appendages. A growl bubbled from the bug’s chattering mouth. It snapped at him, but Link crawled up its chest and heaved himself past the long, barbed legs that had also lunged for him. Once at its shoulder, Link gashed two of its wings with a thrash of his claws.
At once, the insect battled the gravity that pulled at its opposite wings, which fluttered ever more quickly in the attempt to compensate. Its effort in vain, the parasite and Link dropped and crashed into the water. It had landed upon its back, however; and though it tried to escape, Link seized the opportunity and clambered down its length. Avoiding the barbs, he ripped through the last of the dangling extremities and then dealt with the true master. With a swift pounce, Link tore its head, and its flashing green eyes oozed.
It then lay limp in the water.
But then its body began to sparkle and Link descended into the water as its burst into nothing, leaving behind a bright ray that cast off Midna’s doubt. She grabbed for the tear from atop Link’s wet back and settled herself against his coat.
The last of the tears had finally been collected.
Link swam to a raft and grappled on with his paws, letting his body sway in the now peaceful waters of Lake Hylia. He stared at the entrance to the spirit cave and found himself in a daze.
His humanity would soon be his again. Yet, he had begun to ponder on the notion of being a human. Every time he returned to his birth state, it felt less natural. The feel of the skin tight around him had begun to feel constraining. Whatever this new feeling really was, Link was unsure, yet he did not take pleasure in every change that had been brought upon him by the shroud of the twilight.
He wanted to reassure himself that his humanity was his identity. Yet, though his human appearance had been set upon by his birth … was it still his natural self?
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REVIEWS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
~Zantillia Dec 25, 2007 Amazing! The detail and the personalities of Link and Midna at this point are as perfect as can be! I love Twilight Princess and I'm happy to say this does it justice! If this gets published rest assured I'll definatly be reading it!
~Rapndash May 19, 2008 Your story is making me wanna watch my tape I made of myself playing. I've beaten the game at least 3 times fully and taped myself playing it once so I could watch it casually. It's 4 tapes long as it is, lol.
*Howling-Wolf Jul 18, 2008 Oh my god, this is absolutely wonderful! A beautiful rendition of TP. You're an excellent writer, and I can't wait for the rest (whether through published book or this site). That last bit with Link's thoughts on his form is interesting, and I like it. That inner conflict IS very important, and I would be disapointed if it wasn't included. It'll be interesting to see his thoughts on it when he can transform freely.
~Xcoinic Mar 15, 2011 I like how you're having Midna and Link starting to question whether they just need each other for their quest, or if they actually care for each other. Also, nice touch with Link having difficulty questioning whether he was Wolf or Human. That would be a plot point later on.
~Rapndash May 19, 2008 Your story is making me wanna watch my tape I made of myself playing. I've beaten the game at least 3 times fully and taped myself playing it once so I could watch it casually. It's 4 tapes long as it is, lol.
*Howling-Wolf Jul 18, 2008 Oh my god, this is absolutely wonderful! A beautiful rendition of TP. You're an excellent writer, and I can't wait for the rest (whether through published book or this site). That last bit with Link's thoughts on his form is interesting, and I like it. That inner conflict IS very important, and I would be disapointed if it wasn't included. It'll be interesting to see his thoughts on it when he can transform freely.
~Xcoinic Mar 15, 2011 I like how you're having Midna and Link starting to question whether they just need each other for their quest, or if they actually care for each other. Also, nice touch with Link having difficulty questioning whether he was Wolf or Human. That would be a plot point later on.