The Secondary Saga

[Dark Link]

Chaotic and incoherent. That was the nature of the tune that the young Hylian managed to produce, an entirely expected result of attempting to play an instrument without the knowledge and experience to do so. Yet, in spite of this, the melody that came from the ocarina and spread over the misty land still managed to convey her sadness, her grief. It was almost as though the device in her grasp understood what she was trying to convey with her random motions and passed it on to the rest of the world.

That wasn't the only thing the instrument did. As she ceased playing, Lyra's pointy ears managed to perceive something unusual. Instead of going all over, the tune's subsequent echo trailed off into a specific direction....somewhere ahead. The girl wasn't certain, but it was almost as if the ocarina was guiding her, showing her the right way.

Turning her head, she looked once more upon the skeletal remains of the item's previous owner, the head still resting in its original position. Wiping the tears off her face, she uttered: "I....I understand now....Thank you." Facing the direction where her destination lied, the archer took a deep breath. With a newly-found resolve in her heart, she shoved herself from the rock as hard as she could and resumed her journey through the dead waters, her arms holding up the ocarina high.

The mire beneath her remained relentless in its attempts to pull her into it — the water was so high that the teen had to raise her head just to keep it above the surface. Every step she took was slow and heavy, almost as though she was wearing boots of iron. Her body trembled as she felt weak and helpless in the swamp's cold embrace, threatening to crush her at any moment. But the teen pressed on, unwilling to let fear chip away at her resolve and hinder her progress any further. She was determined to not cave in, to not let it end like this....to see the others again.

It took Lyra a moment to realise that she no longer had to hold up her head — the water's level had dropped to her chest. The muck that had been wrapped around her legs so tightly had begun to loosen its grip, making it easier to trudge onward. Bolstered by her progress, the thief continued to relentlessly push on.

Little by little, her wet and soiled body emerged from the dark liquid. Her movement became steadily faster, gradually going from a slow crawl to a speedy walk as the swamp's hold on her lost its effect. Then she finally saw trees emerge from the fog, marking the end of the deadened land she had been traversing. Panting and sweating, she broke into a sprint, covering the last remaining stretch. She almost tripped as she stumbled upon dry and firm land, finally released from her trial. But in spite of her exhaustion, the girl ran into the forest, looking for her comrades.

**********

For a while, Lyra could not feel anything but sheer, unadulterated joy. Reunited with Grobdum, Raw Onion, Klaud, Captain Crow and the others, she laughed and cried from relief as the thoughts that she would never see them again ceased to weigh down on her mind and heart. But her happiness was silenced all too quickly as it became apparent that not everyone had made it.

The girl sat quietly next to Klaud, acting as her support as the future mother allowed her tears to flow freely. The thief did not know what to say....but in truth, she was aware that it was best to say nothing. Having lost many people dear to her, she knew that words were entirely meaningless. When one was overcome by grief, the best way to help them was to give them a shoulder to cry on, to allow them to let loose and slowly come to terms with the passing of their loved one. Even though she wanted to do many things at that moment — encourage Raw Onion, comfort Captain Crow, confront Clayton about his misdeeds — she opted to remain by the general's side. At that moment, she felt that that was the place she needed to be.

As the soldier next to her continued to weep, the archer stared sadly towards the direction they had come from. Though it was nothing short of a miracle that so many of them managed to get this far, the losses they had suffered already felt like too steep of a price. As she pondered this, her thoughts wandered off to Grave. Even at that moment, she had trouble believing it. The idea that the smiling and confident Nephilim could succumb to the sadness....it was simply unfathomable. The girl felt teardrops running down her cheeks again....deep down, she wondered if poor Alice had made it out or if the dark, merciless waters took her as well.

**********

The thief was no less helpless as the rest of the group when the ghost girl showed up and pressed most of them into the ground. Hardly able to move, Lyra and the others continued to be the unwilling audience to the tragic tale of the two sisters that had been standing. After the exchange had concluded and 'Katia' vowed to bring about Christa's end, the archer struggled to speak up: "But....but if you kill her, you won't change....anything! It won't give you any happiness...or end.....you'll just be as sad and miserable as you are now!"

The others said nothing and the ghos had chosen to ignore her. Pushing against the gravity that was holding her down, the Hylian reached for her belt and grasped the item that was safely tucked away behind it....the wooden ocarina. After quite a bit of effort, she had somehow managed to bring it close to her lips. "If you really are Katia....if you really are her sister....then you'll help her....you'll show her the right path."

Lyra attempted to play the instrument. She hoped that its sound could help the two sisters the way it helped her....she hoped it would help show them the right way.