FicWad

Once Link left, I looked around and grabbed my shield and sword. I decided to apologize to King Zora bedfore I left, because we still didn’t thaw the domain completely. He accepted the apology and I explained to him that I needed to leave. My heart was heavy with worry, and I was worried about King Zora as well. He was all by himself.
I put Coffee bean back into her Pokeball and Lux followed me out of the domain. Once I got to Hyrule Field, I used my ocarina to call Lightning. He came to me in about two minutes as I sat in the grass and waited for him. I mounted him as soon as he came and Lux jumped up behind me and I had Lightning do a steady trot. I was still really sore from the battle before, so I didn’t want to jump right into training. Knowing the fortress though, I would most likely have to sneak my way in to do anything.
The journey wasn’t really that long, despite taking my time to actually get to the Gerudo Valley. When I got there, I noticed that the river had returned to its normal speed, which was in fact extremely fast. The thing that puzzled me was that the bridge to cross over was out, so I wasn’t sure how I would get over to the other side. I pondered for a second and decided that the best way was for Lightning to jump over.
I grabbed Lux and sat him in front of me and had Lightning walk backwards so, when he ran forward, he would get some momentum. I held on to Lux tight as I kicked my feet into Lightning’s sides and he took off for the bride. In one graceful, long jump, Lightning was able to reach to the other side of the broken bridge. I was utterly impressed as my heart was pounding. During the jump, I looked down to see the river, and it scared the shit out of me.
“Well, look at you,” I heard a deep, manly voice say. I looked over at where it came from and saw a man, the same man that yelled at the carpenters in Kakariko seven years ago. “Why don’t you come and join me and some others in this tent. It’s getting awful dark, ya know?”
“Uh, sure,” I said and gave a nervous smile. I dismounted Lightning and hung his reins up on a post. The man showed me into the tent, which was actually rather big. In the middle was a small fire and there were two other people. One looked like one of the carpenters from seven years ago and the other I didn’t recognize.
“Go on, sit down, girlie,” the man said. “I was just about to get started on some dinner.”
I sat Lux down beside me when I sat down. I didn’t want to sit close to the strangers in the tent, so I found a comfy spot for myself. The desert was getting colder as the day passed, so I was very comfortable around the warm flames.
“So, how about you tell us about yourself,” the carpenter said. “My name is Harold, by the way.”
“Well, my name is Ashley,” I said. “I’ve come here to enter the fortress and meet the Edge Master.”
“The Edge Master, eh?” the other man said. “I had to deliver a letter to him the other day. I was only in his presence for a short time, but he had a powerful aura about him.”
“Was he…nice?” I asked.
“Yes, to some,” the postmaster said. “He a very proud man and some people might take that as arrogance, but he’s done a lot. Now he’s older and just wants to teach people that are willing to undergo his training.”
“How about you tell the gal one of them stories you have about him,” the man said. “This guy here can sure spin a tale.”
The postmaster blushed and scratched the back of his head. “I suppose I can humor you all. Do you want to hear some stories, my dear?”
“Yes, I would love to,” I said with enthusiasm. I didn’t really get to sit down and talk to people since I began this whole adventure, but it would be too cold to go to the fortress right now, so I had time to kill.
“Alright, well, then I will tell you the story of the Edge Master,” the postmaster said. “The Edge Master was not born here in Hyrule, or even the Ninten Dimension. He was born in the Animus Dimension on the continent of Eurasia. No one knows which kingdom he was born into, but he was a brave warrior and had soul and spirit, which guided him through various battles. He took on the greatest warriors of his time, just to see if he could defeat them. His lone goal was to be the greatest warrior on the continent of Eurasia, but his goals soon changed.
“While teaching students in the Ling-Sheng Su Temple, one of his students, his brightest, went insane and began to kill everyone. There was much bloodshed, as this boy even killed his mentor. After the boy passed out, Edge Master realized why he went crazy. In the boy’s arm was a red shard that glowed red. When Edge Master grasped the shard, he felt an evil energy go up his arm, so he immediately dropped it. He knew that this shard alone contained enough evil energy to drive a man insane, so he wrapped it in a cloth and left the temple and the boy, keeping the shard in his pocket.
“Intrigued by its power, Edge Master began to travel the continent of Eurasia to get more information about this shard. He heard tales of an evil sword called Soul Edge, which drove men insane for its power and would consume the souls of men just so the blade itself could take over the man’s body and use it as a host to feed itself of other souls. Edge Master realized the danger this sword posed, so he went to find the sword. While trying to find it, he realized that other men had the same idea, but they all had their different goals. Some wanted it for the power, others wanted to prove a point that they could tame the blade, and some wanted to destroy it to protect their families and friends. Edge Master wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with this blade, but he knew he needed to find it before someone else did.
“There are many different conclusions to what Edge Master did. Some say he’s still searching for the blade, but in different dimensions. Others say he found the blade, but was too late because it already took the soul of a young man. I’ve also heard that the Edge Master buried the blade deep in a temple, so no one could find it. I don’t know which is true, but all I know is that he is here today in the golden land of Hyrule, taking on our greatest warriors and teaching our noble people the ways of different weapons.”
Harold and the man, who was now cooking, clapped and I joined in. Lux was even clapping. After a pause, I asked him this: “So, is this true?”
“Well, I don’t know,” the postmaster said. “As you can tell, there are a lot of different stories about the Edge Master, but it is true that he came from a different dimension and pursued the truth of Soul Edge. Being a postmaster, I hear so many different stories from a lot of different people, however at least the beginning of Edge Master’s story has been consistent between tales I’ve heard. It’s just the conclusion that differs between people.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Postmaster, but I didn’t quite get your name,” I said.
“Yes, my name is Dmitri,” he said.
“Oh, and mine is Lyle, girlie,” said the man who invited me into the tent. “Here, come and get yer dinners.”
I stood up as soon as he said something about food and sent over to him. He cooked some fish over a fire. I wasn’t really that into fish, but it was something to put in my stomach. When I made myself a plate, I sat back down by the fire and shared some with Lux.
“It’s starting to get dark outside,” Harold said. “I reckon we should probably call it a night soon.”
“You’re right,” Lyle said, “but, to set the mood for the night, I think that Dmitri here should tell us another story, one about Hyrule this time.”
“After I finish eating,” Dmitri said and with that there was a long pause so we could eat. The only sound you could hear was the fire crackling and silverware trying to get a piece of fish on the plates. It didn’t take long for us to finish our food. Lyle finished before all of us and watched for when we finished so he could take our plates. Once all the plates were gathered, Lyle brought out some camping blankets and dimmed the fire a bit. Then he went and blew out all the lamps and all that remained was an eerie light from the fire.
“Now then, Dmitri,” Lyle said, “I’m curious about the story that you have about the bottom of the well in Kakariko Village.”
“Oh, yes, that story,” Dmitri said. “I’ve heard many different tales about that particular one, but there’s only been one story that I feel is what really happened in the past. That tale was told to me by a woman who actually lives by the well. I delivered some magic powder to her and she began to ramble about the bottom of the well. It’s a rather frightening story, so are you sure that you want me to tell it in the dead of night?”
“Yeah,” I said with a smile. “I’d personally love to hear about it.”
“Very well, then,” Dmitri said. “Long ago, when the Shiekah inhabited Kakariko Village, there lived a musician named Bernard. Bernard wasn’t a Shiekah, but his talent on the drums entertained the Shiekah, so he was the only Hylian allowed into Kakariko Village. Bernard would play his drums every day and, as a pay for his performances, he would get a room, meals, and hospitality. However, Bernard wasn’t only in Kakariko Village to play his drums. What Bernard was interested in was the well that the Shiekah kept dry. The well was kept dry because the Shiekah didn’t really feel that they needed to use it. Bernard found a way for him to use it.
“Deep down in the well were rooms. They were huge rooms covered in gunk and moss because of the moisture. A small stream of water still went through the well. The Shiekahs couldn’t find any use for the well, so they never used it, therefore no one was ever down there to check on it. As we were told, Bernard was a talented musician, but he wasn’t a very kind soul. He had the thirst to torture people; torture them until they died. The well was the perfect place to carry out his addiction, so he secretly set up torture devices in the different rooms. At night, he would perform outside of Kakariko Village to attract attention and then ask a viewer to come back with him because as he said, ‘I’ve found something incredible. You should come and see it with me.’
“The people he took with him were chosen at random, regardless of gender or age. Once he got them down to the well, he would torture them slowly, until they took their last breath. He did this for about a year, but no one in Hyrule could sniff him out. Kakariko Village was very distinct in who they let in, so no law enforcement of Hyrule could get into the village to investigate. Bernard’s plan was perfect and he got to do his two favorite things every day: play music and kill innocent victims.
“There was one night however that Bernard over looked his new victim. He was unaware that his victim was still alive. The victim that day was a child and the pain of torture made her pass out. Bernard didn’t bother to check her pulse, so he left that night to go to his room above the surface.
“The next morning, screams and yells could be heard from the well and the Shiekahs went to investigate. There they found the girl, tied to a long poll. She was bleeding profusely and was in so much pain, but she could speak and she described the man who took her to the well. The Shiekahs, after getting the description, knew who was killing the innocent people of Hyrule. The male Shiekahs immediately went up to the surface and grabbed Bernard. They dragged the man down to the well and tied him to a post while the females of the village took the girl and nursed her back to health.
’What should we do with him?’ one man asked.
‘We should torture him, but use our magic to give him an immortal life,’ an older, wiser man said. ‘We should make him a monster. We shall put him in the Shadow Temple, so he can suffer forever.’
“The Shiekah men all agreed that that was the best thing to do. The first thing they did to Bernard was cut off his legs. Then they cut off his arms. They waited to cut his head off last, so that Bernard could see what he did to everyone that he killed and, since Bernard was made immortal, he got to feel pain all over his body. Finally, with a huge axe, the strongest man cut off the head of Bernard. The wise, old man then used his black magic to make Bernard huge. They transported him to the Shadow Temple and placed a huge drum in the room. They also gave him floating hands, so he could forever play the drum while he suffered from being alone.”
There was a long pause and all I could think about was Link. He would be going into the Shadow Temple and, if Dmitri’s story was correct, Link would have to fight Bernard. “Wait, is Bernard still there?” I asked. “In the Shadow Temple?”
“Yes, he is,” Dmitri said. “However, he gained a new name: Bongo-Bongo for the Shiekah said that, if you listen real closely, you can hear Bernard pounding his drum and chanting an ancient language, singing to lure someone in so he can torture them.”
Oh boy, I thought. I was definitely worried about Link, and I guess it was evident that I was nervous by the look of my face.
“What’s the matter, girlie?” asked Lyle. “You look a bit worried.”
“Oh, nothing’s wrong,” I said with a small smile.
“It seems that these stories are making the girl worry,” Harold said. “I think we ought to get to bed.”
I nodded and cuddled up with Lux who shared the camping blanket with me. I closed my eyes and drifted into a good night’s sleep, which I hadn’t got for a long time.

The next morning, I woke up and smelled eggs and saw that Lyle and the boys were already up. Dmitri was eating while checking his mailbag. He would have to leave soon to deliver the mail all across Hyrule.
“Good morning, Ashley,” Dmitri said with a smile. The other two looked back and repeated the same thing.
“How’s about you stay for breakfast and then get on yer way,” Lyle said.
“Yeah, sure,” I said with a smile. I really wouldn’t mind staying there a couple of days. I missed just sitting around and sleeping at night. But, I knew I had a job to do, so I had to do it.
“Oh, and before you leave, I have a favor to ask of ya,” Lyle said and the plopped some eggs on a plate and instructed Harold to hand it to me. I took the plate and a fork and began to eat.
“What do you need me to do?” I asked between bites.
“Well, there’s a reason why this bridge hasn’t been built,” Lyle said. “In fact, it’s been out for a week now and Dmitri here hasn’t been able to mail a week of letters.”
“I’m no carpenter, unfortunately,” I said, assuming he needed help to build the bridge.
“That’s not what I need you for, actually,” Lyle said. “I need your help to save my carpenters. They’ve been captured because they decided to be idiots and hit on some Gerudo women. I told them not to a thousand times, but now they’ve been locked up for a week now. I can’t save them myself, but I think that a swordswoman like you would be able to do so.”
I didn’t really mind helping Lyle out, but I was a little hesitant. I didn’t want to deal with perverted men, but that bridge needed to be built and I needed to sneak around anyway, so I had time. I nodded my head and agreed and finished up my eggs. After I was done, I gave Lyle my plate and began to suit myself up; buckling my sheath and sword across my front torso and then hooking my shield to that. I picked up my hat and shook Max out, who was still sound asleep, so I just put him back in my hat and laid it on my head.
“Now, you be careful, you hear?” Lyle said as I walked out the door. “Those women are real nasty bitches.”
I winked and said, “Don’t worry. I’ve dealt with them before.” And Lux followed me out of the tent. I decided to keep Lightning where he was because bringing him into the fortress probably wasn’t the best idea.
I walked passed some canyons and saw the Gerudo symbol carved on a sign that was hanging from a rope. I now knew that I was in Gerudo territory. I looked down at Lux and put my finger up to my mouth. It sounded like there was some heavy duty training going on at the fortress grounds, so I wasn’t too cautious. I sauntered over to some boxes that were by the flag that served as gallows seven years ago and stayed crouched to watch the action.
It wasn’t very hard for me to figure out who Edge Master was. In front of me, I saw several Gerudo women all bunched up in a line. One woman was fighting the Edge Master with her naginata, which is a pole arm with a thin blade at the tip. It didn’t take long for the Edge Master to pin her down. He laughed as she laid on the ground below his foot.
“Now, who wants to take me on next?” he asked with his booming voice. The Edge Master looked rather old, seeing as he had a white beard and wrinkles, but he looked extremely healthy for a man his age. He wielded a red staff in his right hand as he awaited the next challenger.
Another woman stepped up and was taken down in less than a minute. This happened several times before I became extremely bored and restless. I didn’t want to blow my cover, but I didn’t want to stand there all day and watch a bunch of women get defeated by some old fart. However, I waited for my chance.
“Now ladies,” Edge Master said with a stern face, “to save some of you the pain and trouble, I have to ask if there is anyone who believes they can beat me now?”
There was a long pause, and I found my chance, so in my best, boisterous voice, I said, “Mr. Edge Master, I’d like to take you on.” I unsheathed my sword and pointed it at him and he looked over and put on a sly smile. The Gerudo women weren’t too pleased.
“There’s an intruder,” one woman shouted, but Edge Master just put his hand up.
“Ladies, please, stay calm,” he said. “Let this outsider have a chance. After all, I am a legendary warrior. She at least has the guts to challenge me.”
“Sir, I’m terribly sorry, but it’s against our code,” a Gerudo woman in a blue suit said. “Girls, get her.”
A couple of the women started to walk towards me, but the Edge Master put his staff in front of them. “It might be against the code, but maybe we can make some exceptions,” he said and he looked at me. “Young lady, unfortunately you are not welcomed here, however, I say that if you beat the best Gerudo warrior here, you should be allowed to challenge me.”
“I can do that,” I said with a smug smile.
“Well then, come to the battle area then, my dear,” Edge Master said and he turned around. “Ms. Second-In-Command girl, please find your best warrior to go against this young lady.”
The Second-In-Command girl thought for a second and then said, “Very well. Girls, one of you go and get Freda.”
“Now, young lady,” the Edge Master began, “if you would like a chance to back down, now is your time.”
“Nah, I think I’ll stick with this one,” I said with a smile and waited patiently for the Freda woman that I had to fight. It didn’t take long for her to arrive and she wasn’t pretty.
Freda must have been a special kind of fighter for the Gerudo women. She was a bit bigger and carried two thick swords. She also had a veil over her face and she must have had breathing problems, because she was breathing rather hard. To say the least, she was a bit bigger than the rest of the girls.
“Ah, well then,” Edge Master said and he smiled at me, “my dear, this is your opponent, Freda.”
“Yeah, I got that,” I mumbled and gulped. This was going to be a doozy, I just knew it.
Edge Master had us set up about ten feet from each other. I guess he wanted us to do a little staring contest first, because it felt like forever before he spoke again. When he did speak, he said this: “Ladies, you will fight each other, but whether it’s to the death is up to you. Once someone has given up or died, the battle is over and the victor will get special training from me. And-“
“Uh, wait,” I said and Edge Master looked sharply at me, “uh, hold on one second. The training is a nice…gift, however, I promised someone that I would come here today and retrieved four carpenters who are being held as prisoners here. Can I have them if I win?”
Edge Master smiled and winked at me, “You can have both.” And the ladies suddenly got angry, but the Edge Master just held up his hand. “As the guest, I should be allowed to speak and, with her being a guest, she should be given whatever she asks for, especially since she has to go through trials to get the carpenters anyway. Now, what was your name again, young lady?”
“Ash, Ash Brandt,” I said.
“Alright Ms. Brandt,” Edge Master said, “you two may begin.” And with that, Edge Master stepped back to watch the action.
As soon as I turned to face Freda, she was already coming at me with those two swords of hers. She was quick, despite being a bit bigger, but I held the blade of my sword in front of me to shield myself from her attack. That second sword threw me off, however, as I felt the blade around my hip for a split second. I reacted and grabbed the right hand of Freda and then swung my blade around to hit her other sword and, with one swoop, I was able to get her sword away from me by slashing it outward.
I jumped back to give myself room, but she was already in the air, ready to rain a huge blow down on me. I rolled out of the way quickly and saw her back, so I kicked her and followed with a slash, but she but her sword behind her so my blade was unable to get her flesh. She turned around quickly and came at me with several blows, but I was able to reflect every bit of them. I then saw her go for my legs, but I quickly jumped in the air and felt my feet actually land on the blunt side of her blade. For a millisecond I was on that blade, but I jumped off and I landed right on top of her head.
She collapsed below my feet, but she wasn’t done quite yet. Since she was on the ground, she went for my feet again, but I didn’t notice, so I felt her blade slash me right above the ankle. It stung and I fell back, but I knew I had to carry on, so I went at her again while she was beginning to stand and kicked her in the face. She grasped her nose in pain and I kicked her backwards and then stepped on her chest to pin her down. With my foot holding her down and her swords behind me, she had nowhere to go.
I heard the Gerudo girls gasp as I held the tip of my blade to her throat. Her eyes were full of fear and were welling up as I stared her down.
“Fortunately for you,” I said to her, “I’m not here to kill today. If I took your life, it wouldn’t be justified. Here, get up.” And after that, I removed my foot from her chest and helped her up. The orange veil on her face was now turning red with blood, so I took it off and instructed her to hold it up to her nose to try and stop the bleeding. I sheathed my sword and picked up both of her swords and gave it to the Second-In-Command.
“Very well done,” Edge Master said. “One of you ladies, please retrieve the carpenters.” One of the girls followed his command and went to get each of the carpenters. After an awkward pause, he finally spoke up. “For a young lady, you seem very skilled.”
“I suppose I am,” I said with a smile.
“You also seem very big headed,” Edge Master said sternly, “but where I come from, that’s the kind of attitude that most fighters take. Especially young ones.”
“I can’t say I disagree with you,” I said smoothly, “I’ve been known to make some people angry with how I act. But, it’s all just head games and it also helps me relax a little.”
“Just don’t let that attitude get to your head,” Edge Master said. “Ah, it seems your carpenters are out.”
I looked over to see four carpenters, each looked extremely terrified. They were carried out in handcuffs and looked around nervously.
“Alright you guys,” I said with a smile, “I need to take you back to Lyle.” I looked over at Edge Master.
“Once you return these men to their owner, stop by the Gerudo training hall and I will talk to you further. I can teach you how to use any weapon.”
“So I have heard,” I said but didn’t make eye contact because I was watching the carpenters being set free. “I’m here on a mission, but I will discuss that with you before you train me.”
“Aren’t we all?” Edge Master said. “I’ll be waiting.” And with that he walked away and entered the fortress on the right, into what was the training hall.
The carpenters followed me, scared to death, as Lux followed me. I was eager to get them back and start my training. Not only would the Edge Master teach me how to use a weapon, he would teach me what was in my soul.