Categories > Games > Zelda > The Switch of Fate
The Switch of Fate
By: USA Tiger
Disclaimer: The characters of The Legend of Zelda series belong to Nintendo.
Chapter 11
Link's eyes fluttered open the next morning, after a Sheikah healer bandaged his wounds and forced a healing potion down his throat Link had fallen asleep on the spare bed in Sheik's home.
"Link! You're awake!" Navi said as she popped into Link's view, making him groan and hold up a hand to block the light that the fairy emitted. She quickly landed on his chest, the light going out to show her form. "Sorry. I was a bit worried, you've been asleep for almost a whole day."
"That temple was much harder than what I went through as a child," Link pointed out, holding a hand out for Navi to crawl into so he could sit up. "What happen while I was out?"
"Nothing much, the Sheikah cleared out the rest of the woods of the more dangerous monsters so all that's left is the more normal bunch that's always wondered there," Navi explained. "I think the Kikwis were escorted home and the Parella were informed their lake is safe again. The Minish seems the same as always but I'm sure they are trying to invent new flowers for the woods."
"....I couldn't even see any Minish" Link said, the whole time he had been in the Kokiri forest, he had not seen any of the tiny little begins that strived to make people happy.
"Well you're an adult now Link," Navi said. "Adults are unable to see the Minish." Link sighed softly, he had forgotten about that.
"Link, are you awake?" Sheik asked on the other side of the room's door, knocking on it gently.
"Yeah," Link said. The other blond boy opened the door and smiled at the rumbled looking Kokiri raised boy in the bed.
"How are you feeling?" Sheik asked.
"Still a little sore, but I think that will go away soon," Link said as he turned to sit on the edge of the bed, Navi taking flight again. The teen picked at the flowing looking shirt he was wearing that would have come down to mid thigh if he was standing up. "What am I wearing?"
"It's one of my sleep shirts, you clothing was covered in blood and needed to be cleaned and repaired," Sheik said. "They are in the cupboard there if you want to change. When you are done come downstairs, there is someone who wants to meet you," The Sheikah teen instructed then closed the door.
Link stood and walked over to the cupboard, like Sheik said his Kokiri style tunic, under shirt and pants were inside. To the side of the cupboard was the Master Sword, his shield, his quiver and his belt with the magic pouch attached. The teen quickly dressed and armed himself with his weapons then headed downstairs.
There he saw Impa, Sheik's mother and the leader of the Sheikah Tribe, standing by the table in the middle of the room. Also there was Sheik, a teenage boy a couple of years younger than him that must be Kain and a third teenage boy who had shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes. It was the third boy who noticed him first.
"Oh!" The boy said. "You must be the Hero of Time they keep tell me about."
"Link, this is Llyr," Impa said. "He is younger prince of Calatia and the true ruler of Hyrule." (1)
"True ruler? Calatia?" Link asked. Llyr laughed softly and motioned for Link to sit at the table.
"Allow me to try to explain. My father Lir was my late Uncle Dhanphos's younger brother, he married my mother who was the princess of Calatia, the land to the west of Hyrule," Llyr explained. "After Zelda's mother died, Father and Uncle Dhanphos agreed that I would be Hyrule's heir instead of Zelda as she doesn't process our bloodline's scared powers."
"Of course no one foresaw that Zelda would stage a takeover as she did," Impa said.
"No," Llyr agreed. "I've trained under my Father for years so I could join the effort to take back my kingdom. As much as I can anyway, Impa refuses to let me join in on the raids against Zelda's forces."
"It is too dangerous your majesty," Impa said firmly. "With her control over the other temples, Zelda is far too strong. So you must allow us and the Greudos to continue our work while Link awakens the sages."
"The Greudos? You mean Ganondorf?" Link asked as he turned to look up at Impa. "What happen to Ganondorf? Last time I saw him was when he left Hyrule Castle Town with you and Sheik right behind him."
"King Ganondorf and his people have done their part to fight against Zelda as well as keeping the agreement he arranged with King Dhanphos to protect Arbiter's Grounds and the entrance to the Desert of Doubt to protect the Scared Pyramid and the Zuna tribe," Impa said. "It would be very bad if Zelda got into either of those places, it's bad enough she has control over the Desert Temple."
"So Ganondorf is fine then," Link said, smiling as Impa nodded.
"I am sure you will see King Ganondorf soon," Impa said. She looked Link over with a critical eye. "You are not ready to journey to the next temple just yet, your body is still healing."
"But... but we need to awaken the next sage!" Navi said.
"If Link is not fully healed and rested he could make a mistake and get himself either killed or seriously injured," Impa said. "Hyrule has waited for 7 years for the Hero of Time, it can wait for its savior one more day." Navi sighed knowing that she wouldn't be wining this fight.
"Come on Hero, I'll show you around the village," Sheik said as he stood, motioning for Link to follow him.
"Wait for me!" Kain said as he ran off after the two older boys.
"So that is the legendary Hero of Time," Llyr said after a few minutes. "He isn't what I excepted. But then again I excepted a older knight not a boy my age."
"At 10 years old, Link broke curses cast on the Deku Tree, the Goron's Dodongo cave and the Zora's guardian deity," Impa said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I sense his potential even then. He is young but Link does have the spirit of the hero within him."
"Yes, I can sense it too," Llyr said after a moment. "The scared power of my family is weaker in the males of our bloodline but I still have some access to the Goddess's power. I can feel Farore and Hyila's blessing in him... I think you are right Impa, Link will save Hyrule from Zelda."
**
"Wow... I had no idea this was here," Link said as Sheik lead him around the forest Sheikah village. At some point they had lost Kain who had run off to speak to his friends.
"There are Sheikah villages all around Hyrule, so we can better protect both the land and the royal family," Sheik said. "Kakariko was our main hidden village, our grave yard is very important to our people, but after the Hyrule Civil War mother decided to open the village to outsiders."
"I didn't see any Sheikah there last time I was there," Link said.
"Zelda ordered her army to hunt us down and kill all remaining Sheikah," Sheik said as he sat down on top of a fence post. "So we had to flee the village to keep the Hylains and Humans who live there safe. She had no desire to kill them as long as they did not stand in her way."
"She never tried to attack the Kokiri Village did she?" Link asked.
"Zelda did send her soldiers into the woods a few times but the village remained hidden from them. Only the weak monsters ever entered, trainees like Kain traveled to your village everyday to clear out what they could," Sheik assured him. "And now that the Forest Sage is awakened and your new Deku Tree is growing, the woods are safe again."
"So I just need to awaken the next sage," Link said as he started to look around again. He tilted his head to the side; over the top of the trees to the south east he could see a large statue though he could not tell what it was of. "What's that?" He asked pointing at the monument.
"It's a statue of the Goddess Hylia," Sheik said as he looked to where Link was pointing.
"Hylia? Like the lake?" The younger blond asked.
"The lake is named for her. Would you like to see it closer?" Sheik offered. Link nodded making Sheik smile as he hopped down from his seat and wrapped his arms around his friend, teleporting to the statue.
When they reappeared, they were at the base of the statue. Link looked up and had to take a step back.
"Wow, I didn't realize it was this big," He said. The statue was really old, there were vines and moss growing all over it. And there were places where the stone had crumbled, chipped or was worn smooth from the years and the weather. But the blond could still make out a winged woman with feathery looking hair. Link looked around then, they were inside some sort of pit, and behind them was a building that looked really old. "What is this place?" He asked, pushing at the door of the building. The door, old and weak, fell over with a crash.
"This use to be the temple of Hylia a long time ago," Sheik said as he followed Link into the old temple. "I don't know the whole story, you will have to ask one of the history keepers in the village."
"Do you know anything about it?" Navi asked, flying over to look at a tree growing off to the side.
"Only bits and pieces. There was an ancient evil sealed away outside and Hyila sent the Hylains to live in the sky," Sheik said. "Then one day the evil broke the seal and a hero came down from the sky with a sword. That sword was the Master Sword," He pointed to the blade on Link's back.
"Really?" Link said as he drew the Master Sword, holding it in front of him.
"Yes and this temple use to be the Master Sword's resting place for a time," Llyr said from behind the pair, causing the other two to turn to look at the prince. Kain stood behind Llyr waving; he had been the one to teleport Llyr over. "My ancestor was said to be the goddess Hylia reborn and her descendents were blessed with a golden scared power that only the females of our bloodline can fully use."
"The Sheikah were always loyal servants of Hylia, when she was reborn we followed her and her children," Sheik added. "And when they became the Royal family, we because their loyal servants and protectors."
"When the Castle and the Town around it was build a new Temple of Time was built as well," Llyr further explained. "The sages of the past moved the Master Sword from here to the new temple to act as one of the locks to the Scared Realm where the Triforce rested."
"Is all of that true?" Link asked.
"Well, parts of the tale might be fudged; it was a really long time ago," Llyr said as he walked around the temple. "But a lot of it is true. You've been close by here plenty of time Link, nearby is Lake Floira."
"It is? I had no idea this was here!" Link said as he placed the Master Sword back in its place and held his arms out around him as he tiled his head back looking at the temple that was overgrown with vines.
"It's very well hidden," Sheik said. "We keep it that way, both for the temple's protection and our village."
"I'm sure if Zelda could, she would destroy this place," Llyr said with a frown, gently touching wall of the temple. "My cousin is... so evil. She disgraces the name she was given."
"What does that mean?" Link asked.
"Zelda was said to be the name of Hylia's reborn form, the royal family often uses it to honor her," Sheik said. "Come on, let’s go back to the village," Sheik said. Link nodded and let Sheik teleport them back while Kain did the same with Llyr.
"Hey! You forgot me!" Navi yelled out into the empty temple. She huffed and flew out in the direction of the Sheikah village.
***
"I have news from Kakariko Village," A Sheikah male said as he came in to report to Impa. It was late in the evening, Link had spent the whole day with Sheik in the village, exploring it in wonder and trying to find out more history about the land of Hyrule.
"What is it?" Impa asked.
"The village itself is safe but there is strange activity on Death Mountain," The Sheikah said. "A squadron of soldiers marched through the village yesterday up to the Goron city then came back hours later. A check showed at the city is deserted of Gorons barring only two. The rest are missing, even their leader.
"There have also been reports of strange activity coming from within the crater of the volcano," Impa hummed, tapping her fingers against her arm.
"This is troubling. What is Zelda up to?" Impa asked herself softly. "You are dismissed, report back quickly if anything changes or if you find out something more." The Sheikah bowed then teleported away. A little bit later when all the boys returned to her home, it was Link who noticed the look on her face.
"Did something happen?" He asked.
"Reports from Kakariko Village and Death Mountain," Impa said. "Soldiers were spotted in the village heading up to the Goron City and now the Gorons are missing."
"Death Mountain is where the next temple is correct?" Link asked, remembering the clues that Sheik gave him the other day. There weren’t very many places within Hyrule that counted as a 'high mountain'. "I'll head there tomorrow and see what happen then," he offered.
"That is agreeable, hopefully it will not be too late," Impa said.
"If Zelda has done something to the Gorons, we will hear about it before she pulls whatever she has planed off," Llyr said. "She'll want people to watch. I think we will have plenty of warning if anything happens before Link leaves."
**
Early the next morning Link and Navi, who had managed to return to the Sheikah village late in the afternoon the day before, were ready to go. Link was given a healing potion in one of his bottles and dry food and water given to the blond.
Sheik wrapped his arms around Link, teleporting his friend to the edge of the forest where Epona was waiting for her rider.
"I will see you when you find the temple Hero," Sheik said. Link smiled and nodded, grasping Sheik's arm gently. The red eyed teen smiled in return, pulled up his face mask and teleported away.
"How are you doing Epona?" Link asked as he patted the side of Epona's neck. Epona nickered softly in greeting, holding still as the Hylain teen climbed onto her back. "Let’s go." Link guided Epona out of the woods with his knees, kicking slightly with his heel to urge the mare into a gallop.
Link and Epona raced over the plains of Hyrule Field, the wind blowing in Link's strawberry blond hair. Navi clung to Link's tunic; the horse was running faster than she could fly. Death Mountain came into view as the sun reached the noon peak in the sky.
"That cloud looks even worse than it did the other day," Link said as he pulled Epona to a stop at the bottom of the stairs that lead to Kakariko Village.
"It's a sign, something evil is going on there," Navi said. Link nodded as his dismounted Epona and headed up to the village.
As Link passed through Kakariko, he could hear snippets of conversation from the people who lived there. They were talking about the soldiers who had marched by the day before. Link was worried and hoped that the Gorons were alright. No one paid much attention to Link as he ran toward the path that led up the side of the mountain so no one stopped the blond boy and his fairy partner.
The path was empty as Link jogged up it, only a teketite or two could be seen. Nowhere was there any Gorons to be seen. There was something new on the path, giant boulders were rolling down the side of the mountain, some would smack against the mountain side and break apart before they reached the village while he witness others rolling into the Dodongo cavern and wondered how much damage the cavern had now.
"Hey!" Link stopped as the ground burst open and a giant mole like creature popped out of the ground. "You're not going up to that city in the volcano are you?" The Mogma, a wave of black hair sweeping over one eye, asked in a slightly nasally voice.
"Yes, that is where I am heading," Link said with a nod.
"Man, you don't want to go there!" The Mogma said, waving his arms. "There is some crazy stuff going on up there! That crazy blond girl who calls herself queen did some mumbo-jumbo up there; you don't want to mess with all that!"
"I have too," Link said. "I can't leave the Gorons to whatever fate Zelda has for them."
"Well I think you're crazy," the Mogma said with a shake of his head. "But since you're set on going anyway, keep an eye out for my friends ya? They went up there to trade with the Gorons and they haven’t come back yet."
"Umm sure, I can do that," Link promised. The Mogma muttered about crazy humans under his breath as he popped back underground and tunneled away. "What was that thing?" Link asked, looking up at Navi.
"I think that was a Mogma, they live on the fair side of the mountain," Navi said. "They like to dig for rupees, because they are very shiny."
"He was very skittish," Link said as he started back up the path again. The pair reached the entrance to the Goron city near the top of Death Mountain not to long after, Link carefully stepping into the large cavern. It was deadly quite inside the city, there wasn't Goron to be seen or a sound to be heard.... expect one....
Link glanced over the edge of the pathway to the next level down in the city. There, rolling along the worn rock path, was a Goron curled up into a ball. It was much smaller than the Gorons he met seven years ago.
"Hey!" Link called, trying to get the small Goron's attention. The tiny rock person seemed to ignore him, or didn't hear over the rumbling noise its rolling around made. "How do we get its attention?" Link asked.
"Well I wouldn't suggest standing in front of it, you might get ran over," Navi said. "Hey... what about that Goron a few years ago that tried to roll down the mountain path with a bomb flower? He didn't seem hurt at all when it blew up, and neither did that Goron that was by Dodongo Cavern when you blew up the boulder that was blocking the entrance, I remember the bomb landing next to him.”
"I guess we can try it" Link said, carefully stepping onto a wooden hanging above the path below. He watched the Goron to see what path it took and how fast it went. Once he was sure he had the Goron's routine down, Link took out and lit one of his bombs, dropping it just as the Goron passed under him. The bomb exploded loudly, knocking Link down off his perch.
"AGGRR!" The Goron yelled as he was knocked out of rolling.
"Ummff!" Link grunted in pain as he landed on the ground.
"How could you do this to me?!" The Goron asked his voice muffled as he was still curled up into a ball. "You... you're Zelda's servant! Hear my name and tremble! I am Link! Hero of the Gorons!" Link pulled himself up off the ground as the small Goron spoke.
"Link is my name," Link said as he leaned down and gently laid a hand on the Goron's back. The Goron whose name was also Link made a surprise noise and uncurled form his ball, standing up to look at Hylain teen.
"What? Your name is also Link?" Goron-Link asked, shifting foot to foot excitedly. "Then... then you must be the legendary Dodongo Buster and Hero Link! My dad is Darunia, do you remember him?"
"Yes, I met him seven years ago, we became sworn brothers," Link said with a smile.
"Dad named me Link after you, because you're so brave," Goron-Link gushed happily. "It's a cool name, I really like it. Link, you're a hero of us Gorons! I'm so glad to meet you. Oh oh! Please give me your autograph!" Goron-Link started to pat down his form, looking for a pen and paper. "Sign it 'To my friend, Link of the Gorons'."
"Maybe later," Link said. "Where is everyone else?"
"Oh... I guess it's not a good time to ask you this," Goron-Link said, a worried look crossing the small Goron's face. "Please help everyone!"
"What happen?" Link asked.
"My-my dad, Darunia, went to the Fire Temple. There's a dragon inside!" Goron-Link wailed. "If we don't hurry up, even my dad will be eaten by the dragon!"
"Whoa, calm down Link," Link told Goron-Link. "What do you mean eaten by a dragon?" Goron-Link sniffed, rubbing the back of his hand against his nose.
"Come on, I'll show you," Goron-Link said, grabbing Link's arm and pulling the teen down to the bottom level of the city to a room with a large mural on the wall. "A long time ago there was an evil dragon named Volvagia living on this mountain. The dragon was very scary! He ate Gorons!" The mural showed a crude paint of a long red dragon on top of a pointy mountain that Link guessed should be Death Mountain. In the dragon's clutches were little Gorons, one of them held up to the dragon's mouth. Goron-Link pulled Link over to the next wall with a different painting.
"Using a huge hammer, the hero of the Gorons destroyed it. This is a myth from long ago, but it's true!" Goron-Link said. The mural showed a large Goron with a hammer hitting the dragon in the mural on the head. "I know, because me and my dad are descendants of the hero!"
"So where were the other Goron's taken?" Link asked.
"Everyone was taken to the Fire Temple," Goron-Link said as they walked back out to the central chamber. "While my dad was out, Zelda's soldiers came and took them all away! All of them will be eaten by Volvagia! Dad said that Zelda has revived Volvagia as a warning to those who might oppose her. Zelda is going to feed them all to Volvagia!"
"Where is Darunia anyway?" Link asked.
"Dad went to the Fire Temple all by himself to try to save everyone," Goron-Link told the blond. "Please help, Link!"
"I will, don't worry," Link assured the other Link.
"I wish I could help somehow... wait!" Goron-Link ran off over to a doorway Link knew lead to a shop. The little Goron returned a few minutes later, a red tunic in his hands. "Here, I'll give you this heat-resistant tunic!" He handed the tunic to Link who ran a hand over his new shirt. "It's made out of Dodongo hide, it'll absorb the heat in the volcano so you can survive in there. Without it you'll die from the heat."
"Thank you Link," Link said. "How do I get to the temple?"
"There's a tunnel that leads to the crater at the top of the volcano next to the Great Fairy's cave," Goron-Link explained. "But I know a quicker way. There's a secret passage in our rooms, just move the statue in the back!" Link nodded in understanding and moved into the room where he first met Darunia. Like Goron-Link said, there was a giant statue in the same of a Goron in the back of the room. He grabbed onto the rings that hung on the front and with a grunt he pulled the heavy statue out of the way. Once it was far enough out to slip behind, Link looked down the passage. A wave of heat hit Link in a face, taking his breath away as he stumbled back. The heat was even hotter and ticker than Dodongo Cavern.
"Whoa!" Navi said as she felt the heat herself. "Good thing you got that tunic."
"Yeah" Link agreed, removing his sword, shield and the belt around his waist. The green Kokiri styled tunic was removed and placed in his magic pouch then the red one put on instead. It was styled similar to his green one but made out of thin red leather. The tunic even had a matching hat. After his weapons were returned to their rightful places Link stepped back into the passageway. The heat hit him again, breaking out in a sweat almost right away but at least he didn't feel like he was about to die now.
"Is it working?" Navi asked.
"Yeah... it's still hot but I think I can work through this heat," Link said with a nod.
"Good, let’s get to that temple then," Navi said, leading the way down the passage way to the volcano crater.
**
"Whew... it's hot in here," Navi panted, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Link peeked over the edge of the ledge they were on, below was a lake of lava that he would hate to fall into since it would kill him. "There's a bride up ahead."
"Looks like it's broken," Link said as they walked up to it. Part of the bridge was collapsed, the ropes cut by the soldiers when they left the crater. Above the bridge was a wooden pole, perfect for him to use the hookshot on. The hook sunk deep into the pole, hooking into the wood and pulling Link across. He stumbled slightly as he dropped down onto the bridge, it swayed under his feet but it held steady. Half way across the bridge, Sheik dropped out of nowhere in front of the other blond.
"Sheik!" Link said in surprise as he stepped back. "How are you not burning up in here?"
"Sheikah uniforms are made out of Dodongo hide," Sheik said with a chuckle.
"You're here to teach me the next song right?" Link asked.
"Yes then I will stay out here to help the Gorons get across the bridge," Sheik said as he took the Goddess Harp out from a holding place behind his back. "You know it's something that grows over time, a true friendship."
"Like me and Saria... or you and me?" Link asked. Sheik smiled behind his face mask and nodded his head.
"A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time," Sheik continued, gently strumming his harp. "The passion of a friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and you will know which way to go through it. Now listen to this song dedicated to the power of the heart, the Bolero of Fire."
Sheik plucked off the notes of the song while Link closed his eyes as he listened to the song and felt the magic behind it. Once he was sure he had the notes down, he repeated them on the Ocarina of Time. Then, like before, Link and Sheik were playing a duet on ocarina and harp. If the Minuet of Forest felt like the cool, calm forest and of home then the Bolero of Fire felt like a passion of heat that surround Link and played in time with his heart it seemed. It reminded him of the steady growing friendship he and Sheik had growing between then and of the brother hood the Gorons always displayed with each other.
"Ohhh" Link said as the song ended. "I wonder if that is going to happen every time you teach me one of those songs?" Sheik blinked in slight surprise.
"You feel the songs magic as well?" He asked. Link nodded as he put away the ocarina. "Very few Hylains can feel magic like that anymore. Your bloodline must have been strong."
"I wouldn't know," Link said with a shrug. "I only know what the Deku Tree told me and that was only that my Mother gave me to the Great Deku Tree to protect and raise."
"Hmm," Sheik hummed. "Be careful Link," He said as the other blond passed him. Link smiled at him over his shoulder then headed toward the entrance of the Fire Temple which led even deeper into the volcano.
***
Link finally reached the bottom of the ladder that lead to the temple. It was just as hot here as it had been in the open part of the volcano and the blond couldn't wait until he was done with this place as all he wanted to do was dive into a cool pool of water. He opened the door in front of him, entering the first true chamber of the temple looking around.
Unlike the Forest Temple, which had reminded him of a huge manor house, the Fire Temple looked a bit more like a temple. He could swear he could almost hear some sort of chanting in the background but it had to be a trick of the ear. (2)
In front of him, on top of a set of stairs, stood the familiar large form of the Goron Big Brother and leader Darunia.
"Darunia," Link called as he walked up to join his 'brother'.
"Err? Who's There?" Darunia asked as he turned, looking down at Link. The Goron's large purple eyes lit up after studying the young man for a moment. "Is that you, Link?"
"Yeah, it's me," Link said with a smile.
"Oh, it really is Link!" Darunia said with a booming laugh and a smile of his own. "You've grown so big since I last saw you!" The smile dropped from the Goron's face as he frowned. "I want to have a man-to-man talk with you, but now is not the time. Zelda is causing trouble on Death Mountain again! This time she has revived the evil, ancient dragon Volvagia! On top of that, she is going to feed both my people and the Mogmas to that evil dragon as a warning to the other races that might resist her."
"Yeah, your son told me. What do we need to do to stop the dragon?" Link asked.
"If that fire-breathing menace escapes from the mountain, all of Hyrule will become a burning wasteland so I will go on ahead to try and seal up the evil dragon," Darunia said, pointing to a door to the side of the room. "I'm concerned that I don't have the legendary hammer my ancestor used but I have no choice.... Link, I am asked you to do this as my Swore Brother: while I am trying to deal with Volvagia, please save my people and the poor Mogmas that managed to get mixed up into this mess!"
"I will, don't worry," Link assured him with a nod.
"The prisoners' cells are in that direction," Darunia said, pointing to a door that was on the other side of the chamber across from the one that the giant Goron was going through. "I am counting on you, Link!" Link watched his 'brother' leave the room through the first door then faced the second one.
"Well.... time to save the Goron butts again," Navi said as they headed deeper into the temple.
***
The next room Link entered was huge; most of the ground was covered in lava with cropping of rocks and platforms that moved back and forth with bursts of flames. Link could see Fire Keese flying over head and every now and then a Fire Bubble would leap out of the lava, bouncing around before going back under. Across the middle of the chamber was a bridge that was missing a section in the middle. Parts of the wood were scorched from the Fire Bubbles bouncing off of it so many times.
Link crossed the bride, slicing a Bubble in half when it got to close and squinted through the heat haze at the door on the other side.
"It looks like it's locked," He said.
"Well the key has got to be somewhere," Navi said. Link nodded and jumped down to the nearest out cropping of rock. He yelped as he slid on the crumbling dirt and rock to the lava surrounding it.
"Wow... this tunic really does the trick," Link said as he realized he was standing on top of the lava and wasn't hurt. He used this to quickly run to the side of the chamber where a door stood in an alcove. Above the alcove was a large blue block with an odd symbol that he had seen back in the Temple of Time. He had seen blocks like these before, in the Forest Temple. As Link entered the door, he noticed that the temperature dropped several degrees. It was still extremely warm, reminding him of the Dodongo Cavern. He stopped and listened for a moment, he could hear faint whimpers echo off the oddly green walls.
"Errr, would you stop that noise?" A slightly naylzed voice bounced off the walls. "It's not helping anything." Link walked down the hallway, coming up on a cage at the end. Inside was a Goron curled up in a ball and a Mogma wearing blue overalls and blue hair swept back glaring at his cell mate. "Man you are so annoy... AH!" The Mogma yelped as he turned and saw Link standing on the other side of the bars.
"Are you two ok?" Link asked, kneeling so he was on level with the Mogma. The Mogma leaned back so he was balanced on his tail, arms crossed over his chest.
"You don't work for the crazy lady do ya?" The Mogma asked. "Cause if you do, 'm not gonna tell you nutin'."
"I don't work for Zelda," Link said with a shake of his head.
"We're working against her," Navi said as she flew past the bars and got into the Mogma's face. "We're trying to get you guys out."
"Why didn't you say so!" The Mogma yelled excitedly. "Those guard guys stepped on some sort of switch to lock the bars."
Link looked around, spotting a switch on the floor. Pressing a foot down on it, the bars of the cell clanked then rose into the ceiling. The Goron noticed the noise and looked up.
"Ohhh, are we free?" The Goron asked as he stood. He squinted as he looked at Link before smiling. "OH! Brother Link, it is you!"
"Have your reunion later big guy, let’s get out of here!" The Mogma yelled as he took off down the hall way.
"Good luck Brother," The Goron said as he patted Link's shoulder then followed his cell mate. Link walked behind them and watched at the Mogma burrowed into the ground as soon as they were back into the large cavern while the Goron headed for the door at lead to the entrance.
"Well... that's one Goron and Mogma down," Navi said after they left. Link nodded as he dug out the Ocarina of Time, stepping back enough so he could see the block from before. He played the Song of Time, trigging a spell that had the block moved down next to him so Link could climb to the level above. There was another door there which Link entered. Like before, the temperature in the room dropped to a manageable warm level. "Link! Look out!"
Navi's warning came just in time for Link to bring his shield in front of him to block the flying piece of floor tile that had rose up and flew at him. Several more followed and Link grunted as each one hit, jarring his arms. After a minute or so the attack seemed to stop. Link peeked over the top of his shield, the room had a few spaces where the floor tiles had come from but no more seemed to be moving.
"Thanks Navi" Link said as he replaced his shield on his back. Link looked around the room, there didn't seem to be any prison cells within the room but he did find an odd Golden Skulltula on a wall. Link had run into the odd bugs before several times. Everything he killed one a golden skull shape token would be left behind. He didn't know what they were for though.
After Link killed the golden Skulltula he exited the room and headed back into the main cavern.
"Well, let’s see what's on the other side," He said, running across the lava covered floor to the other side of the room. There he found an odd looking piece of wall. It looked like a doorway that had been bricked over. Link took out a bomb and lit it, moving far enough away so he wouldn't be hurt in the blast. The bomb blew up the wall revealing door behind it. Link opened the door and saw another cell with just a Goron inside. "Hey, get up" Link called softly, wrapping his hands around the bars.
"Please.... don't eat me..." The Goron's muffled voice pleaded. Link sighed and look around, spotting a switch like before. Stepping on it, the bars rose up and alerted the Goron that he was free. "You... you're not going to eat me?" The Goron asked as he slowly stepped out of the cell.
"Of course not," Link assured him.
"Oh, Brother Link" The Goron said as he recognized the teen. "Thank you Brother. Here... I have something that might help you. I stole it from the guard." He held out a hand that had a sliver key in his palm.
"Thank you," Link said with a smile as he took the key. The Goron smiled and quickly walked off to get out of the Temple. Link looked down at the key in his hand then took off for the locked door he saw before; he was now had the way forward.
***
Link panted heavily as he pressed up against a wall, he was currently in a large room that was made up of wide passages that had giant boulders not unlike the ones rolling down the side of Death Mountain currently. At first Link wondered how in the name of Din the boulders could roll around like they did, some even stop and reversed their direction. It later occurred to him that it had to be some sort of spell, one he couldn't get rid of and had to live with the annoying boulders.
"Navi, fly up and see if you can find a way out of here," Link said, he was tired of almost getting crushed by rolling boulders. The only real break he had was when he found a false wall and let another Goron out. How he got out without being crushed was a mystery in its own.
"Alright," Navi flew straight up to look around the large chamber. "I see another cell with a Goron... some doors way above us we can't reach yet.... yes! There is another door out of here!" The fairy flew back down to Link. "Just keep going straight in that direction, here is a door at the bottom of that large column over there" Link nodded to show he heard then peaked around the wall to see where the boulder was. It was currently rolling away from him so the blond elf took his chance and dashed down the passageways.
"Whoa!" He flattened himself against a wall as a boulder rolled by, the giant rock just missing his lean form by a few inches. "Too close," He muttered as he started running again. The door Navi pointed out was just ahead, leaping and rolling forward to avoid another boulder, coming to a stop at the door.
"You almost didn't make it," Navi said.
"I know, don't remind me," Link said as he opened the door. In front of him was a narrow walkway suspended over a large open shaft. Link peaked over the edge to see where the shaft led to, he could see lava and part of a bridge below.
"Be careful," Navi said as she looked over as well.
"The walkway is wider than a rope or a tree limb," Link said as he carefully walked across it to the door on the other side.
***
Author Note: Like always, I like trying to blend the different games together so not only are the Mogmas, whom are my favorite race introduced in SS, included temple but I figured if the Sheikah had a village in the forest they would build it near the temple of their goddess.
Llyr is an original character who’s taking Zelda’s place as far as future ruler of Hyrule and the Sage of Time/Leader of the Sages goes but he does not have any pieces of the Tri-Force. As Zelda is adopted she doesn’t have any of Hylia/the first Zelda’s blood in her so the king had to make his nephew by his younger brother his heir.
Next chapter we finish up the fire temple!
(1) Calatia is a land introduced in the Legend of Zelda comics by Valiant Comics that was based off the cartoon. It was the home land of Link from the original game according to the comics but that isn't really canon. Calatia is more fanon thing but I've always gone with it since there's isn't any sort of back-story of for the Link from LOZ.
(2) In the original version of the Fire Temple background music there was chanting that supposedly had religious words in it. You can look it up on the net to see what they say the chanting meant. Later versions of the game had the chanting taken out.
Edit 7-28-14: Nothing much changed, just grammar and spelling mistakes fixed.
By: USA Tiger
Disclaimer: The characters of The Legend of Zelda series belong to Nintendo.
Chapter 11
Link's eyes fluttered open the next morning, after a Sheikah healer bandaged his wounds and forced a healing potion down his throat Link had fallen asleep on the spare bed in Sheik's home.
"Link! You're awake!" Navi said as she popped into Link's view, making him groan and hold up a hand to block the light that the fairy emitted. She quickly landed on his chest, the light going out to show her form. "Sorry. I was a bit worried, you've been asleep for almost a whole day."
"That temple was much harder than what I went through as a child," Link pointed out, holding a hand out for Navi to crawl into so he could sit up. "What happen while I was out?"
"Nothing much, the Sheikah cleared out the rest of the woods of the more dangerous monsters so all that's left is the more normal bunch that's always wondered there," Navi explained. "I think the Kikwis were escorted home and the Parella were informed their lake is safe again. The Minish seems the same as always but I'm sure they are trying to invent new flowers for the woods."
"....I couldn't even see any Minish" Link said, the whole time he had been in the Kokiri forest, he had not seen any of the tiny little begins that strived to make people happy.
"Well you're an adult now Link," Navi said. "Adults are unable to see the Minish." Link sighed softly, he had forgotten about that.
"Link, are you awake?" Sheik asked on the other side of the room's door, knocking on it gently.
"Yeah," Link said. The other blond boy opened the door and smiled at the rumbled looking Kokiri raised boy in the bed.
"How are you feeling?" Sheik asked.
"Still a little sore, but I think that will go away soon," Link said as he turned to sit on the edge of the bed, Navi taking flight again. The teen picked at the flowing looking shirt he was wearing that would have come down to mid thigh if he was standing up. "What am I wearing?"
"It's one of my sleep shirts, you clothing was covered in blood and needed to be cleaned and repaired," Sheik said. "They are in the cupboard there if you want to change. When you are done come downstairs, there is someone who wants to meet you," The Sheikah teen instructed then closed the door.
Link stood and walked over to the cupboard, like Sheik said his Kokiri style tunic, under shirt and pants were inside. To the side of the cupboard was the Master Sword, his shield, his quiver and his belt with the magic pouch attached. The teen quickly dressed and armed himself with his weapons then headed downstairs.
There he saw Impa, Sheik's mother and the leader of the Sheikah Tribe, standing by the table in the middle of the room. Also there was Sheik, a teenage boy a couple of years younger than him that must be Kain and a third teenage boy who had shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes. It was the third boy who noticed him first.
"Oh!" The boy said. "You must be the Hero of Time they keep tell me about."
"Link, this is Llyr," Impa said. "He is younger prince of Calatia and the true ruler of Hyrule." (1)
"True ruler? Calatia?" Link asked. Llyr laughed softly and motioned for Link to sit at the table.
"Allow me to try to explain. My father Lir was my late Uncle Dhanphos's younger brother, he married my mother who was the princess of Calatia, the land to the west of Hyrule," Llyr explained. "After Zelda's mother died, Father and Uncle Dhanphos agreed that I would be Hyrule's heir instead of Zelda as she doesn't process our bloodline's scared powers."
"Of course no one foresaw that Zelda would stage a takeover as she did," Impa said.
"No," Llyr agreed. "I've trained under my Father for years so I could join the effort to take back my kingdom. As much as I can anyway, Impa refuses to let me join in on the raids against Zelda's forces."
"It is too dangerous your majesty," Impa said firmly. "With her control over the other temples, Zelda is far too strong. So you must allow us and the Greudos to continue our work while Link awakens the sages."
"The Greudos? You mean Ganondorf?" Link asked as he turned to look up at Impa. "What happen to Ganondorf? Last time I saw him was when he left Hyrule Castle Town with you and Sheik right behind him."
"King Ganondorf and his people have done their part to fight against Zelda as well as keeping the agreement he arranged with King Dhanphos to protect Arbiter's Grounds and the entrance to the Desert of Doubt to protect the Scared Pyramid and the Zuna tribe," Impa said. "It would be very bad if Zelda got into either of those places, it's bad enough she has control over the Desert Temple."
"So Ganondorf is fine then," Link said, smiling as Impa nodded.
"I am sure you will see King Ganondorf soon," Impa said. She looked Link over with a critical eye. "You are not ready to journey to the next temple just yet, your body is still healing."
"But... but we need to awaken the next sage!" Navi said.
"If Link is not fully healed and rested he could make a mistake and get himself either killed or seriously injured," Impa said. "Hyrule has waited for 7 years for the Hero of Time, it can wait for its savior one more day." Navi sighed knowing that she wouldn't be wining this fight.
"Come on Hero, I'll show you around the village," Sheik said as he stood, motioning for Link to follow him.
"Wait for me!" Kain said as he ran off after the two older boys.
"So that is the legendary Hero of Time," Llyr said after a few minutes. "He isn't what I excepted. But then again I excepted a older knight not a boy my age."
"At 10 years old, Link broke curses cast on the Deku Tree, the Goron's Dodongo cave and the Zora's guardian deity," Impa said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I sense his potential even then. He is young but Link does have the spirit of the hero within him."
"Yes, I can sense it too," Llyr said after a moment. "The scared power of my family is weaker in the males of our bloodline but I still have some access to the Goddess's power. I can feel Farore and Hyila's blessing in him... I think you are right Impa, Link will save Hyrule from Zelda."
**
"Wow... I had no idea this was here," Link said as Sheik lead him around the forest Sheikah village. At some point they had lost Kain who had run off to speak to his friends.
"There are Sheikah villages all around Hyrule, so we can better protect both the land and the royal family," Sheik said. "Kakariko was our main hidden village, our grave yard is very important to our people, but after the Hyrule Civil War mother decided to open the village to outsiders."
"I didn't see any Sheikah there last time I was there," Link said.
"Zelda ordered her army to hunt us down and kill all remaining Sheikah," Sheik said as he sat down on top of a fence post. "So we had to flee the village to keep the Hylains and Humans who live there safe. She had no desire to kill them as long as they did not stand in her way."
"She never tried to attack the Kokiri Village did she?" Link asked.
"Zelda did send her soldiers into the woods a few times but the village remained hidden from them. Only the weak monsters ever entered, trainees like Kain traveled to your village everyday to clear out what they could," Sheik assured him. "And now that the Forest Sage is awakened and your new Deku Tree is growing, the woods are safe again."
"So I just need to awaken the next sage," Link said as he started to look around again. He tilted his head to the side; over the top of the trees to the south east he could see a large statue though he could not tell what it was of. "What's that?" He asked pointing at the monument.
"It's a statue of the Goddess Hylia," Sheik said as he looked to where Link was pointing.
"Hylia? Like the lake?" The younger blond asked.
"The lake is named for her. Would you like to see it closer?" Sheik offered. Link nodded making Sheik smile as he hopped down from his seat and wrapped his arms around his friend, teleporting to the statue.
When they reappeared, they were at the base of the statue. Link looked up and had to take a step back.
"Wow, I didn't realize it was this big," He said. The statue was really old, there were vines and moss growing all over it. And there were places where the stone had crumbled, chipped or was worn smooth from the years and the weather. But the blond could still make out a winged woman with feathery looking hair. Link looked around then, they were inside some sort of pit, and behind them was a building that looked really old. "What is this place?" He asked, pushing at the door of the building. The door, old and weak, fell over with a crash.
"This use to be the temple of Hylia a long time ago," Sheik said as he followed Link into the old temple. "I don't know the whole story, you will have to ask one of the history keepers in the village."
"Do you know anything about it?" Navi asked, flying over to look at a tree growing off to the side.
"Only bits and pieces. There was an ancient evil sealed away outside and Hyila sent the Hylains to live in the sky," Sheik said. "Then one day the evil broke the seal and a hero came down from the sky with a sword. That sword was the Master Sword," He pointed to the blade on Link's back.
"Really?" Link said as he drew the Master Sword, holding it in front of him.
"Yes and this temple use to be the Master Sword's resting place for a time," Llyr said from behind the pair, causing the other two to turn to look at the prince. Kain stood behind Llyr waving; he had been the one to teleport Llyr over. "My ancestor was said to be the goddess Hylia reborn and her descendents were blessed with a golden scared power that only the females of our bloodline can fully use."
"The Sheikah were always loyal servants of Hylia, when she was reborn we followed her and her children," Sheik added. "And when they became the Royal family, we because their loyal servants and protectors."
"When the Castle and the Town around it was build a new Temple of Time was built as well," Llyr further explained. "The sages of the past moved the Master Sword from here to the new temple to act as one of the locks to the Scared Realm where the Triforce rested."
"Is all of that true?" Link asked.
"Well, parts of the tale might be fudged; it was a really long time ago," Llyr said as he walked around the temple. "But a lot of it is true. You've been close by here plenty of time Link, nearby is Lake Floira."
"It is? I had no idea this was here!" Link said as he placed the Master Sword back in its place and held his arms out around him as he tiled his head back looking at the temple that was overgrown with vines.
"It's very well hidden," Sheik said. "We keep it that way, both for the temple's protection and our village."
"I'm sure if Zelda could, she would destroy this place," Llyr said with a frown, gently touching wall of the temple. "My cousin is... so evil. She disgraces the name she was given."
"What does that mean?" Link asked.
"Zelda was said to be the name of Hylia's reborn form, the royal family often uses it to honor her," Sheik said. "Come on, let’s go back to the village," Sheik said. Link nodded and let Sheik teleport them back while Kain did the same with Llyr.
"Hey! You forgot me!" Navi yelled out into the empty temple. She huffed and flew out in the direction of the Sheikah village.
***
"I have news from Kakariko Village," A Sheikah male said as he came in to report to Impa. It was late in the evening, Link had spent the whole day with Sheik in the village, exploring it in wonder and trying to find out more history about the land of Hyrule.
"What is it?" Impa asked.
"The village itself is safe but there is strange activity on Death Mountain," The Sheikah said. "A squadron of soldiers marched through the village yesterday up to the Goron city then came back hours later. A check showed at the city is deserted of Gorons barring only two. The rest are missing, even their leader.
"There have also been reports of strange activity coming from within the crater of the volcano," Impa hummed, tapping her fingers against her arm.
"This is troubling. What is Zelda up to?" Impa asked herself softly. "You are dismissed, report back quickly if anything changes or if you find out something more." The Sheikah bowed then teleported away. A little bit later when all the boys returned to her home, it was Link who noticed the look on her face.
"Did something happen?" He asked.
"Reports from Kakariko Village and Death Mountain," Impa said. "Soldiers were spotted in the village heading up to the Goron City and now the Gorons are missing."
"Death Mountain is where the next temple is correct?" Link asked, remembering the clues that Sheik gave him the other day. There weren’t very many places within Hyrule that counted as a 'high mountain'. "I'll head there tomorrow and see what happen then," he offered.
"That is agreeable, hopefully it will not be too late," Impa said.
"If Zelda has done something to the Gorons, we will hear about it before she pulls whatever she has planed off," Llyr said. "She'll want people to watch. I think we will have plenty of warning if anything happens before Link leaves."
**
Early the next morning Link and Navi, who had managed to return to the Sheikah village late in the afternoon the day before, were ready to go. Link was given a healing potion in one of his bottles and dry food and water given to the blond.
Sheik wrapped his arms around Link, teleporting his friend to the edge of the forest where Epona was waiting for her rider.
"I will see you when you find the temple Hero," Sheik said. Link smiled and nodded, grasping Sheik's arm gently. The red eyed teen smiled in return, pulled up his face mask and teleported away.
"How are you doing Epona?" Link asked as he patted the side of Epona's neck. Epona nickered softly in greeting, holding still as the Hylain teen climbed onto her back. "Let’s go." Link guided Epona out of the woods with his knees, kicking slightly with his heel to urge the mare into a gallop.
Link and Epona raced over the plains of Hyrule Field, the wind blowing in Link's strawberry blond hair. Navi clung to Link's tunic; the horse was running faster than she could fly. Death Mountain came into view as the sun reached the noon peak in the sky.
"That cloud looks even worse than it did the other day," Link said as he pulled Epona to a stop at the bottom of the stairs that lead to Kakariko Village.
"It's a sign, something evil is going on there," Navi said. Link nodded as his dismounted Epona and headed up to the village.
As Link passed through Kakariko, he could hear snippets of conversation from the people who lived there. They were talking about the soldiers who had marched by the day before. Link was worried and hoped that the Gorons were alright. No one paid much attention to Link as he ran toward the path that led up the side of the mountain so no one stopped the blond boy and his fairy partner.
The path was empty as Link jogged up it, only a teketite or two could be seen. Nowhere was there any Gorons to be seen. There was something new on the path, giant boulders were rolling down the side of the mountain, some would smack against the mountain side and break apart before they reached the village while he witness others rolling into the Dodongo cavern and wondered how much damage the cavern had now.
"Hey!" Link stopped as the ground burst open and a giant mole like creature popped out of the ground. "You're not going up to that city in the volcano are you?" The Mogma, a wave of black hair sweeping over one eye, asked in a slightly nasally voice.
"Yes, that is where I am heading," Link said with a nod.
"Man, you don't want to go there!" The Mogma said, waving his arms. "There is some crazy stuff going on up there! That crazy blond girl who calls herself queen did some mumbo-jumbo up there; you don't want to mess with all that!"
"I have too," Link said. "I can't leave the Gorons to whatever fate Zelda has for them."
"Well I think you're crazy," the Mogma said with a shake of his head. "But since you're set on going anyway, keep an eye out for my friends ya? They went up there to trade with the Gorons and they haven’t come back yet."
"Umm sure, I can do that," Link promised. The Mogma muttered about crazy humans under his breath as he popped back underground and tunneled away. "What was that thing?" Link asked, looking up at Navi.
"I think that was a Mogma, they live on the fair side of the mountain," Navi said. "They like to dig for rupees, because they are very shiny."
"He was very skittish," Link said as he started back up the path again. The pair reached the entrance to the Goron city near the top of Death Mountain not to long after, Link carefully stepping into the large cavern. It was deadly quite inside the city, there wasn't Goron to be seen or a sound to be heard.... expect one....
Link glanced over the edge of the pathway to the next level down in the city. There, rolling along the worn rock path, was a Goron curled up into a ball. It was much smaller than the Gorons he met seven years ago.
"Hey!" Link called, trying to get the small Goron's attention. The tiny rock person seemed to ignore him, or didn't hear over the rumbling noise its rolling around made. "How do we get its attention?" Link asked.
"Well I wouldn't suggest standing in front of it, you might get ran over," Navi said. "Hey... what about that Goron a few years ago that tried to roll down the mountain path with a bomb flower? He didn't seem hurt at all when it blew up, and neither did that Goron that was by Dodongo Cavern when you blew up the boulder that was blocking the entrance, I remember the bomb landing next to him.”
"I guess we can try it" Link said, carefully stepping onto a wooden hanging above the path below. He watched the Goron to see what path it took and how fast it went. Once he was sure he had the Goron's routine down, Link took out and lit one of his bombs, dropping it just as the Goron passed under him. The bomb exploded loudly, knocking Link down off his perch.
"AGGRR!" The Goron yelled as he was knocked out of rolling.
"Ummff!" Link grunted in pain as he landed on the ground.
"How could you do this to me?!" The Goron asked his voice muffled as he was still curled up into a ball. "You... you're Zelda's servant! Hear my name and tremble! I am Link! Hero of the Gorons!" Link pulled himself up off the ground as the small Goron spoke.
"Link is my name," Link said as he leaned down and gently laid a hand on the Goron's back. The Goron whose name was also Link made a surprise noise and uncurled form his ball, standing up to look at Hylain teen.
"What? Your name is also Link?" Goron-Link asked, shifting foot to foot excitedly. "Then... then you must be the legendary Dodongo Buster and Hero Link! My dad is Darunia, do you remember him?"
"Yes, I met him seven years ago, we became sworn brothers," Link said with a smile.
"Dad named me Link after you, because you're so brave," Goron-Link gushed happily. "It's a cool name, I really like it. Link, you're a hero of us Gorons! I'm so glad to meet you. Oh oh! Please give me your autograph!" Goron-Link started to pat down his form, looking for a pen and paper. "Sign it 'To my friend, Link of the Gorons'."
"Maybe later," Link said. "Where is everyone else?"
"Oh... I guess it's not a good time to ask you this," Goron-Link said, a worried look crossing the small Goron's face. "Please help everyone!"
"What happen?" Link asked.
"My-my dad, Darunia, went to the Fire Temple. There's a dragon inside!" Goron-Link wailed. "If we don't hurry up, even my dad will be eaten by the dragon!"
"Whoa, calm down Link," Link told Goron-Link. "What do you mean eaten by a dragon?" Goron-Link sniffed, rubbing the back of his hand against his nose.
"Come on, I'll show you," Goron-Link said, grabbing Link's arm and pulling the teen down to the bottom level of the city to a room with a large mural on the wall. "A long time ago there was an evil dragon named Volvagia living on this mountain. The dragon was very scary! He ate Gorons!" The mural showed a crude paint of a long red dragon on top of a pointy mountain that Link guessed should be Death Mountain. In the dragon's clutches were little Gorons, one of them held up to the dragon's mouth. Goron-Link pulled Link over to the next wall with a different painting.
"Using a huge hammer, the hero of the Gorons destroyed it. This is a myth from long ago, but it's true!" Goron-Link said. The mural showed a large Goron with a hammer hitting the dragon in the mural on the head. "I know, because me and my dad are descendants of the hero!"
"So where were the other Goron's taken?" Link asked.
"Everyone was taken to the Fire Temple," Goron-Link said as they walked back out to the central chamber. "While my dad was out, Zelda's soldiers came and took them all away! All of them will be eaten by Volvagia! Dad said that Zelda has revived Volvagia as a warning to those who might oppose her. Zelda is going to feed them all to Volvagia!"
"Where is Darunia anyway?" Link asked.
"Dad went to the Fire Temple all by himself to try to save everyone," Goron-Link told the blond. "Please help, Link!"
"I will, don't worry," Link assured the other Link.
"I wish I could help somehow... wait!" Goron-Link ran off over to a doorway Link knew lead to a shop. The little Goron returned a few minutes later, a red tunic in his hands. "Here, I'll give you this heat-resistant tunic!" He handed the tunic to Link who ran a hand over his new shirt. "It's made out of Dodongo hide, it'll absorb the heat in the volcano so you can survive in there. Without it you'll die from the heat."
"Thank you Link," Link said. "How do I get to the temple?"
"There's a tunnel that leads to the crater at the top of the volcano next to the Great Fairy's cave," Goron-Link explained. "But I know a quicker way. There's a secret passage in our rooms, just move the statue in the back!" Link nodded in understanding and moved into the room where he first met Darunia. Like Goron-Link said, there was a giant statue in the same of a Goron in the back of the room. He grabbed onto the rings that hung on the front and with a grunt he pulled the heavy statue out of the way. Once it was far enough out to slip behind, Link looked down the passage. A wave of heat hit Link in a face, taking his breath away as he stumbled back. The heat was even hotter and ticker than Dodongo Cavern.
"Whoa!" Navi said as she felt the heat herself. "Good thing you got that tunic."
"Yeah" Link agreed, removing his sword, shield and the belt around his waist. The green Kokiri styled tunic was removed and placed in his magic pouch then the red one put on instead. It was styled similar to his green one but made out of thin red leather. The tunic even had a matching hat. After his weapons were returned to their rightful places Link stepped back into the passageway. The heat hit him again, breaking out in a sweat almost right away but at least he didn't feel like he was about to die now.
"Is it working?" Navi asked.
"Yeah... it's still hot but I think I can work through this heat," Link said with a nod.
"Good, let’s get to that temple then," Navi said, leading the way down the passage way to the volcano crater.
**
"Whew... it's hot in here," Navi panted, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Link peeked over the edge of the ledge they were on, below was a lake of lava that he would hate to fall into since it would kill him. "There's a bride up ahead."
"Looks like it's broken," Link said as they walked up to it. Part of the bridge was collapsed, the ropes cut by the soldiers when they left the crater. Above the bridge was a wooden pole, perfect for him to use the hookshot on. The hook sunk deep into the pole, hooking into the wood and pulling Link across. He stumbled slightly as he dropped down onto the bridge, it swayed under his feet but it held steady. Half way across the bridge, Sheik dropped out of nowhere in front of the other blond.
"Sheik!" Link said in surprise as he stepped back. "How are you not burning up in here?"
"Sheikah uniforms are made out of Dodongo hide," Sheik said with a chuckle.
"You're here to teach me the next song right?" Link asked.
"Yes then I will stay out here to help the Gorons get across the bridge," Sheik said as he took the Goddess Harp out from a holding place behind his back. "You know it's something that grows over time, a true friendship."
"Like me and Saria... or you and me?" Link asked. Sheik smiled behind his face mask and nodded his head.
"A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time," Sheik continued, gently strumming his harp. "The passion of a friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and you will know which way to go through it. Now listen to this song dedicated to the power of the heart, the Bolero of Fire."
Sheik plucked off the notes of the song while Link closed his eyes as he listened to the song and felt the magic behind it. Once he was sure he had the notes down, he repeated them on the Ocarina of Time. Then, like before, Link and Sheik were playing a duet on ocarina and harp. If the Minuet of Forest felt like the cool, calm forest and of home then the Bolero of Fire felt like a passion of heat that surround Link and played in time with his heart it seemed. It reminded him of the steady growing friendship he and Sheik had growing between then and of the brother hood the Gorons always displayed with each other.
"Ohhh" Link said as the song ended. "I wonder if that is going to happen every time you teach me one of those songs?" Sheik blinked in slight surprise.
"You feel the songs magic as well?" He asked. Link nodded as he put away the ocarina. "Very few Hylains can feel magic like that anymore. Your bloodline must have been strong."
"I wouldn't know," Link said with a shrug. "I only know what the Deku Tree told me and that was only that my Mother gave me to the Great Deku Tree to protect and raise."
"Hmm," Sheik hummed. "Be careful Link," He said as the other blond passed him. Link smiled at him over his shoulder then headed toward the entrance of the Fire Temple which led even deeper into the volcano.
***
Link finally reached the bottom of the ladder that lead to the temple. It was just as hot here as it had been in the open part of the volcano and the blond couldn't wait until he was done with this place as all he wanted to do was dive into a cool pool of water. He opened the door in front of him, entering the first true chamber of the temple looking around.
Unlike the Forest Temple, which had reminded him of a huge manor house, the Fire Temple looked a bit more like a temple. He could swear he could almost hear some sort of chanting in the background but it had to be a trick of the ear. (2)
In front of him, on top of a set of stairs, stood the familiar large form of the Goron Big Brother and leader Darunia.
"Darunia," Link called as he walked up to join his 'brother'.
"Err? Who's There?" Darunia asked as he turned, looking down at Link. The Goron's large purple eyes lit up after studying the young man for a moment. "Is that you, Link?"
"Yeah, it's me," Link said with a smile.
"Oh, it really is Link!" Darunia said with a booming laugh and a smile of his own. "You've grown so big since I last saw you!" The smile dropped from the Goron's face as he frowned. "I want to have a man-to-man talk with you, but now is not the time. Zelda is causing trouble on Death Mountain again! This time she has revived the evil, ancient dragon Volvagia! On top of that, she is going to feed both my people and the Mogmas to that evil dragon as a warning to the other races that might resist her."
"Yeah, your son told me. What do we need to do to stop the dragon?" Link asked.
"If that fire-breathing menace escapes from the mountain, all of Hyrule will become a burning wasteland so I will go on ahead to try and seal up the evil dragon," Darunia said, pointing to a door to the side of the room. "I'm concerned that I don't have the legendary hammer my ancestor used but I have no choice.... Link, I am asked you to do this as my Swore Brother: while I am trying to deal with Volvagia, please save my people and the poor Mogmas that managed to get mixed up into this mess!"
"I will, don't worry," Link assured him with a nod.
"The prisoners' cells are in that direction," Darunia said, pointing to a door that was on the other side of the chamber across from the one that the giant Goron was going through. "I am counting on you, Link!" Link watched his 'brother' leave the room through the first door then faced the second one.
"Well.... time to save the Goron butts again," Navi said as they headed deeper into the temple.
***
The next room Link entered was huge; most of the ground was covered in lava with cropping of rocks and platforms that moved back and forth with bursts of flames. Link could see Fire Keese flying over head and every now and then a Fire Bubble would leap out of the lava, bouncing around before going back under. Across the middle of the chamber was a bridge that was missing a section in the middle. Parts of the wood were scorched from the Fire Bubbles bouncing off of it so many times.
Link crossed the bride, slicing a Bubble in half when it got to close and squinted through the heat haze at the door on the other side.
"It looks like it's locked," He said.
"Well the key has got to be somewhere," Navi said. Link nodded and jumped down to the nearest out cropping of rock. He yelped as he slid on the crumbling dirt and rock to the lava surrounding it.
"Wow... this tunic really does the trick," Link said as he realized he was standing on top of the lava and wasn't hurt. He used this to quickly run to the side of the chamber where a door stood in an alcove. Above the alcove was a large blue block with an odd symbol that he had seen back in the Temple of Time. He had seen blocks like these before, in the Forest Temple. As Link entered the door, he noticed that the temperature dropped several degrees. It was still extremely warm, reminding him of the Dodongo Cavern. He stopped and listened for a moment, he could hear faint whimpers echo off the oddly green walls.
"Errr, would you stop that noise?" A slightly naylzed voice bounced off the walls. "It's not helping anything." Link walked down the hallway, coming up on a cage at the end. Inside was a Goron curled up in a ball and a Mogma wearing blue overalls and blue hair swept back glaring at his cell mate. "Man you are so annoy... AH!" The Mogma yelped as he turned and saw Link standing on the other side of the bars.
"Are you two ok?" Link asked, kneeling so he was on level with the Mogma. The Mogma leaned back so he was balanced on his tail, arms crossed over his chest.
"You don't work for the crazy lady do ya?" The Mogma asked. "Cause if you do, 'm not gonna tell you nutin'."
"I don't work for Zelda," Link said with a shake of his head.
"We're working against her," Navi said as she flew past the bars and got into the Mogma's face. "We're trying to get you guys out."
"Why didn't you say so!" The Mogma yelled excitedly. "Those guard guys stepped on some sort of switch to lock the bars."
Link looked around, spotting a switch on the floor. Pressing a foot down on it, the bars of the cell clanked then rose into the ceiling. The Goron noticed the noise and looked up.
"Ohhh, are we free?" The Goron asked as he stood. He squinted as he looked at Link before smiling. "OH! Brother Link, it is you!"
"Have your reunion later big guy, let’s get out of here!" The Mogma yelled as he took off down the hall way.
"Good luck Brother," The Goron said as he patted Link's shoulder then followed his cell mate. Link walked behind them and watched at the Mogma burrowed into the ground as soon as they were back into the large cavern while the Goron headed for the door at lead to the entrance.
"Well... that's one Goron and Mogma down," Navi said after they left. Link nodded as he dug out the Ocarina of Time, stepping back enough so he could see the block from before. He played the Song of Time, trigging a spell that had the block moved down next to him so Link could climb to the level above. There was another door there which Link entered. Like before, the temperature in the room dropped to a manageable warm level. "Link! Look out!"
Navi's warning came just in time for Link to bring his shield in front of him to block the flying piece of floor tile that had rose up and flew at him. Several more followed and Link grunted as each one hit, jarring his arms. After a minute or so the attack seemed to stop. Link peeked over the top of his shield, the room had a few spaces where the floor tiles had come from but no more seemed to be moving.
"Thanks Navi" Link said as he replaced his shield on his back. Link looked around the room, there didn't seem to be any prison cells within the room but he did find an odd Golden Skulltula on a wall. Link had run into the odd bugs before several times. Everything he killed one a golden skull shape token would be left behind. He didn't know what they were for though.
After Link killed the golden Skulltula he exited the room and headed back into the main cavern.
"Well, let’s see what's on the other side," He said, running across the lava covered floor to the other side of the room. There he found an odd looking piece of wall. It looked like a doorway that had been bricked over. Link took out a bomb and lit it, moving far enough away so he wouldn't be hurt in the blast. The bomb blew up the wall revealing door behind it. Link opened the door and saw another cell with just a Goron inside. "Hey, get up" Link called softly, wrapping his hands around the bars.
"Please.... don't eat me..." The Goron's muffled voice pleaded. Link sighed and look around, spotting a switch like before. Stepping on it, the bars rose up and alerted the Goron that he was free. "You... you're not going to eat me?" The Goron asked as he slowly stepped out of the cell.
"Of course not," Link assured him.
"Oh, Brother Link" The Goron said as he recognized the teen. "Thank you Brother. Here... I have something that might help you. I stole it from the guard." He held out a hand that had a sliver key in his palm.
"Thank you," Link said with a smile as he took the key. The Goron smiled and quickly walked off to get out of the Temple. Link looked down at the key in his hand then took off for the locked door he saw before; he was now had the way forward.
***
Link panted heavily as he pressed up against a wall, he was currently in a large room that was made up of wide passages that had giant boulders not unlike the ones rolling down the side of Death Mountain currently. At first Link wondered how in the name of Din the boulders could roll around like they did, some even stop and reversed their direction. It later occurred to him that it had to be some sort of spell, one he couldn't get rid of and had to live with the annoying boulders.
"Navi, fly up and see if you can find a way out of here," Link said, he was tired of almost getting crushed by rolling boulders. The only real break he had was when he found a false wall and let another Goron out. How he got out without being crushed was a mystery in its own.
"Alright," Navi flew straight up to look around the large chamber. "I see another cell with a Goron... some doors way above us we can't reach yet.... yes! There is another door out of here!" The fairy flew back down to Link. "Just keep going straight in that direction, here is a door at the bottom of that large column over there" Link nodded to show he heard then peaked around the wall to see where the boulder was. It was currently rolling away from him so the blond elf took his chance and dashed down the passageways.
"Whoa!" He flattened himself against a wall as a boulder rolled by, the giant rock just missing his lean form by a few inches. "Too close," He muttered as he started running again. The door Navi pointed out was just ahead, leaping and rolling forward to avoid another boulder, coming to a stop at the door.
"You almost didn't make it," Navi said.
"I know, don't remind me," Link said as he opened the door. In front of him was a narrow walkway suspended over a large open shaft. Link peaked over the edge to see where the shaft led to, he could see lava and part of a bridge below.
"Be careful," Navi said as she looked over as well.
"The walkway is wider than a rope or a tree limb," Link said as he carefully walked across it to the door on the other side.
***
Author Note: Like always, I like trying to blend the different games together so not only are the Mogmas, whom are my favorite race introduced in SS, included temple but I figured if the Sheikah had a village in the forest they would build it near the temple of their goddess.
Llyr is an original character who’s taking Zelda’s place as far as future ruler of Hyrule and the Sage of Time/Leader of the Sages goes but he does not have any pieces of the Tri-Force. As Zelda is adopted she doesn’t have any of Hylia/the first Zelda’s blood in her so the king had to make his nephew by his younger brother his heir.
Next chapter we finish up the fire temple!
(1) Calatia is a land introduced in the Legend of Zelda comics by Valiant Comics that was based off the cartoon. It was the home land of Link from the original game according to the comics but that isn't really canon. Calatia is more fanon thing but I've always gone with it since there's isn't any sort of back-story of for the Link from LOZ.
(2) In the original version of the Fire Temple background music there was chanting that supposedly had religious words in it. You can look it up on the net to see what they say the chanting meant. Later versions of the game had the chanting taken out.
Edit 7-28-14: Nothing much changed, just grammar and spelling mistakes fixed.
Sign up to rate and review this story