10-07-2014, 08:39 PM
The Zora mask felt different. There was still a lifelike quality to its design; the scales glittered, the eyes moist and reflective, but his fingers tingled as he held it. A warmth spread from the mask despite the chill of the lake's water.
"Yes, I think it is," Link said, his mind overwhelmed and fatigued. So much had happened in such a short time. "Let's start with Malu. Who is he, and what happened here?"
<Malu is an extraordinary discovery,> the Hero's Shade said, taking steps out of the water and onto dry land. Link frowned. Did the grass bend beneath his feet?
"In what way?"
The Hero's Shade paused and looked into the dark tree line surrounding the lake. <What do you recall of The History of Hyrule?>
"The book I found in Dalaran's library?" Link looked into the lake's water, searching his mind in the black depths. "I read my history. It detailed everything from the day Navi joined me and I visited the Great Deku Tree until Zelda sent me back through time. And I read about the first Hero, who destroyed Demise."
<Indeed. Did you read beyond your own time?>
"No," Link said. "At the time, I was concerned about knowing my future. I didn't want to change anything that may have already happened." He paused. "That sounds odd, but you're my future self."
<I doubt foreknowledge will be problematic,> the Hero's Shade replied. <You possess the power to see all who are joined by your spirit. I have learned to weave through the walls that segregate time and space, and all I have discovered has not changed anything for the worse. Indeed, in my life I never visited this Omniverse, yet here you are.>
Link nodded. "I see that now."
<In any case, do you remember what I showed you while you were imprisoned? The battle on the ocean?>
Link felt goosebumps sprout all over his skin. "I'll never forget it."
<I do not know why, but after your time, a second time stream was created. The original is where we came from, and where I returned to, and journeyed into Termina. But that is a story for another day. In this second time stream, Ganondorf somehow broke the bonds set by the Sages and returned to Hyrule. However the spirit of the Hero did not return, and Ganondorf was left unopposed.>
"Ganondorf," Link muttered, an itch biting at his chest. "Is there any time where he is not a threat?"
The Hero's Shade turned his head, slowly, red eye bright. <The goddesses did not see it fit that he should conquer Hyrule uncontested. Instead, they flooded the land and created the Great Sea. You recited as much to me when you were there.>
Link took a deep breath and let it out. The memory was unsettling. "Yes."
<Before Hyrule was flooded, the descendants of the Sages searched for the Hero to battle Ganondorf. One Sage in particular found something the Hero of Time once held; the Triforce of Courage.>
Link's eyes widened. "No. I left it back in Hyrule?"
His skeletal future shook his head. <I do not know why the relic did not journey with you to the Omniverse. But the Sage took the Triforce of Courage, knowing it to be important. Yet before he could return to the Sacred Realm, something happened.> The red eye brightened. <He came to the Omniverse.>
"Here?" Link said. "I-I have to find him! Where is he?" A Sage in the Omniverse? And with the Triforce of Courage? This could solve everything!
<You are holding him.>
Link looked at the mask and went numb. "Malu ... Malu was the Sage?"
<The Sage of Water, descendant of Ruto.> The Hero's Shade couldn't make an expression with his skinless face, but Link sensed something stir in him.
Link fell to his knees. The water splashed against his thighs. "I was too late."
<It is not your fault.>
"What happened?" Link said, standing again. "Why did he vanish into the mask?"
<In Termina, I met some amazing people. They had died, or were close to death, and their essences were boiled into a mask. They gifted me with their spirit so I could save their land. Mikau, a talented Zora guitarist, passed his power to me in that mask you hold.> He went quiet and looked at the ground. <I do not know why his spirit does not inhabit the mask any longer. But it is no longer there, and that is why nothing happened when you first attempted to wear it in your prison.>
Link stared at the mask. A Sage's spirit was sealed in there? "What happens when I put it on?"
<Try it now,> the Hero's Shade said. <You will also learn why Malu died.> He looked away.
He swallowed a thick lump in his throat and brought the mask to his face. The inside glittered with silver scales. As it grew closer, Link sensed an invisible force reaching out for him, subtle but firm. This was crazy, but with so little explained, he knew sometimes it was best to just dive in and learn on the fly.
Link shoved the mask on. Instantly it latched onto his jaw line and made a tight seal around the rest of his face. Tiny tingling threads shuddered through his skin; even with his eyes closed, they penetrated his eyes and dug in. In a few more seconds the pulsing spread into his entire body. It didn't hurt, but it was intense and gripped him tightly. The pressure mounted as something alien grew from inside him, wrapped around his bones and expanded further. Link dropped to his knees, unable to feel the water any longer, and screamed.
He opened his eyes. He found himself lying on his side, half in the water. The immense pressure passed, and the tingling fizzled out. He put a hand down to stand and scrambled away from the sight. A panic clutched his chest and mind as he brought both hands into view. His pale skin was replaced with silver scales, his fingers webbed. He ran frantic eyes over his body, and the change was evident there too. Beautiful polished scales coated his body, now a little leaner, with two flippers for feet. His swords were still strapped to his back, but the shield was gone. Two knife shaped fins protruded from his forearms.
The Hero's Shade stared at him impassively.
"You!" Link shouted. "What have you done?"
<Calm down,> he said. <The first time is always jarring. You will become accustomed to the sensation in time.>
"I'm a Zora!"
<Do not panic. It is not permanent.>
"Are you sure?" Link experienced some unique and frightening things in his short life, but never anything like this.
<Yes. The spirit of Malu has bonded with you and added his strength to yours. You are capable of many feats a Hylian is not.>
Link rolled his arms, inspecting them. His frame felt lighter, and just having his feet in the water brought a comfort it had never done before. The fear in him subsided. "This is ... unreal."
<You also share the memories of Malu. Tell me.> The Hero's Shade waved a hand over the scene, where bodies in green tunics lay motionless. <What happened here?>
"I ..." And just as he knew the Hero of Winds, he knew Malu's life. He closed his eyes to focus. "Malu came to the Omniverse, summoned somehow. Oh." Link cleared his throat. "His best guess was that ... the Ocarina of Time brought him here." Link felt a stab of guilt. "When he arrived, he still had the Triforce of Courage. He travelled to Camelot, assuming that is where I would go, but Syla set upon him and captured him. They've been holding him in the lake using a magical barrier to seal him within. They were planning to sell him as a curiosity, a freak."
A cold wind rolled over Link's scales, but he barely felt it. "He was sure I was here. When I was captured by Syla and her leader, you went looking for me but found Malu. As a Sage ..." Link opened his eyes, staring at the Hero's Shade, "he recognised the spirit of the Hero."
The skeleton's red eye shrunk. <Yes.>
"He swore to free himself to pass on the Triforce of Courage, as you couldn't pass through the barrier. You pleaded with him to stay calm, that you would bring the true Hero of Time to him, but he was too desperate. He needed the Hero to return to Hyrule and pass back the Triforce of Courage, so he raged against the barrier and brought to bear his full power. He shattered the magical seal and attacked those who guarded him, throwing wave after wave of water from the lake. One ranger got away and informed Tralor, and Syla arrived with a new troop to quell the resistance. They were no match for Malu, but the archers found their mark. I turned up ... minutes after the fight ended." Link sighed. "Minutes."
<It is regrettable,> the Hero's Shade said. <But Malu's legacy lives on in that mask, and I know he is proud to give his life for the Hero of Time.>
Link nodded in agreement, hoping it to be true, but Malu's feelings swelled in his chest and he knew it was. Malu certainly wasn't dead. He gave a bittersweet smile, tears welling beneath his black eyes. "It is humbling that he would value me so much."
<All who value freedom and life value the Hero, Link.>
Link thought of a question, but Malu's knowledge gave him the answer. "And Malu could see you because he was a Sage, and they are innately in tune with the Hero's spirit. But why are you changing?"
The Hero's Shade nodded. The tufts of grass bent beneath his feet despite his translucency. <The more I visit this realm, the more I belong to it. I believe that our identical spiritual identity is pressing this Omnilium into me by degrees, giving me power to return to this plane of my own free will. I theorise that the Ocarina of Time is no longer needed to summon me.>
This world was incredible. The power Omni must wield to craft it may even rival the Triforce itself. "Oh, the Triforce of Courage! Where is it?"
<I do not know. But I'm sure Malu does.>
He did. Link remembered. "Before Malu visited Camelot, he travelled somewhere to stash the Triforce of Courage in case he was captured. He hid it in the verse he was summoned in. It's ... a cold place. Ice everywhere. I can see glaciers." It put him in mind of Zora's Domain after Ganondorf ravaged it in his world. "I don't know where that is. But ..." Link concentrated. "Malu remembers how to get there. And now so do I."
The skeleton nodded. <Excellent. Once we have procured the Triforce of Courage, we can then find a way to recharge the Master Sword and rid the Omniverse of Ganondorf for good.>
"Funny you should mention that," Link said. "Malu knows how to do that, too. But I still have one more question."
<And I can see it in your mind. Very well.> The Hero's Shade faced him. <The event in the prison, where you travelled into the future to see the Hero of Winds battle Bellum. I do not know how, although I have my speculations, but you have received a power beyond anything I ever knew. When you were trapped in that space between time, when you felt every Link in every era connect with you, it was more than a simple affirmation of the eternal battle. Your spirit is anchored to every Hero that has gone before you, and all those after. Link, you can see their worlds, fight their foes, learn what they know and become stronger. You can create replicas of their weapons and items from Omnilium. Such a power is unprecedented. You are the link between worlds.>
More unbelievable news. "There are no words to describe."
<Indeed. I believe this connection has played out subconsciously already, such as your accidental summoning of a Loftwing, belonging to the Hero of Legend, and the easy crafting of your clawshots, which you have never seen before.>
Link caught on. "And perhaps that's why I don't fear heights anymore. The first Link did not."
<Yes. Such a remarkable boon.>
"We can explore that in depth later," Link said, whistling. His Loftwing fluttered over and he mounted. Even in his Zora form, the bird did not flinch. "First, let's get the Triforce of Courage back."
"Yes, I think it is," Link said, his mind overwhelmed and fatigued. So much had happened in such a short time. "Let's start with Malu. Who is he, and what happened here?"
<Malu is an extraordinary discovery,> the Hero's Shade said, taking steps out of the water and onto dry land. Link frowned. Did the grass bend beneath his feet?
"In what way?"
The Hero's Shade paused and looked into the dark tree line surrounding the lake. <What do you recall of The History of Hyrule?>
"The book I found in Dalaran's library?" Link looked into the lake's water, searching his mind in the black depths. "I read my history. It detailed everything from the day Navi joined me and I visited the Great Deku Tree until Zelda sent me back through time. And I read about the first Hero, who destroyed Demise."
<Indeed. Did you read beyond your own time?>
"No," Link said. "At the time, I was concerned about knowing my future. I didn't want to change anything that may have already happened." He paused. "That sounds odd, but you're my future self."
<I doubt foreknowledge will be problematic,> the Hero's Shade replied. <You possess the power to see all who are joined by your spirit. I have learned to weave through the walls that segregate time and space, and all I have discovered has not changed anything for the worse. Indeed, in my life I never visited this Omniverse, yet here you are.>
Link nodded. "I see that now."
<In any case, do you remember what I showed you while you were imprisoned? The battle on the ocean?>
Link felt goosebumps sprout all over his skin. "I'll never forget it."
<I do not know why, but after your time, a second time stream was created. The original is where we came from, and where I returned to, and journeyed into Termina. But that is a story for another day. In this second time stream, Ganondorf somehow broke the bonds set by the Sages and returned to Hyrule. However the spirit of the Hero did not return, and Ganondorf was left unopposed.>
"Ganondorf," Link muttered, an itch biting at his chest. "Is there any time where he is not a threat?"
The Hero's Shade turned his head, slowly, red eye bright. <The goddesses did not see it fit that he should conquer Hyrule uncontested. Instead, they flooded the land and created the Great Sea. You recited as much to me when you were there.>
Link took a deep breath and let it out. The memory was unsettling. "Yes."
<Before Hyrule was flooded, the descendants of the Sages searched for the Hero to battle Ganondorf. One Sage in particular found something the Hero of Time once held; the Triforce of Courage.>
Link's eyes widened. "No. I left it back in Hyrule?"
His skeletal future shook his head. <I do not know why the relic did not journey with you to the Omniverse. But the Sage took the Triforce of Courage, knowing it to be important. Yet before he could return to the Sacred Realm, something happened.> The red eye brightened. <He came to the Omniverse.>
"Here?" Link said. "I-I have to find him! Where is he?" A Sage in the Omniverse? And with the Triforce of Courage? This could solve everything!
<You are holding him.>
Link looked at the mask and went numb. "Malu ... Malu was the Sage?"
<The Sage of Water, descendant of Ruto.> The Hero's Shade couldn't make an expression with his skinless face, but Link sensed something stir in him.
Link fell to his knees. The water splashed against his thighs. "I was too late."
<It is not your fault.>
"What happened?" Link said, standing again. "Why did he vanish into the mask?"
<In Termina, I met some amazing people. They had died, or were close to death, and their essences were boiled into a mask. They gifted me with their spirit so I could save their land. Mikau, a talented Zora guitarist, passed his power to me in that mask you hold.> He went quiet and looked at the ground. <I do not know why his spirit does not inhabit the mask any longer. But it is no longer there, and that is why nothing happened when you first attempted to wear it in your prison.>
Link stared at the mask. A Sage's spirit was sealed in there? "What happens when I put it on?"
<Try it now,> the Hero's Shade said. <You will also learn why Malu died.> He looked away.
He swallowed a thick lump in his throat and brought the mask to his face. The inside glittered with silver scales. As it grew closer, Link sensed an invisible force reaching out for him, subtle but firm. This was crazy, but with so little explained, he knew sometimes it was best to just dive in and learn on the fly.
Link shoved the mask on. Instantly it latched onto his jaw line and made a tight seal around the rest of his face. Tiny tingling threads shuddered through his skin; even with his eyes closed, they penetrated his eyes and dug in. In a few more seconds the pulsing spread into his entire body. It didn't hurt, but it was intense and gripped him tightly. The pressure mounted as something alien grew from inside him, wrapped around his bones and expanded further. Link dropped to his knees, unable to feel the water any longer, and screamed.
He opened his eyes. He found himself lying on his side, half in the water. The immense pressure passed, and the tingling fizzled out. He put a hand down to stand and scrambled away from the sight. A panic clutched his chest and mind as he brought both hands into view. His pale skin was replaced with silver scales, his fingers webbed. He ran frantic eyes over his body, and the change was evident there too. Beautiful polished scales coated his body, now a little leaner, with two flippers for feet. His swords were still strapped to his back, but the shield was gone. Two knife shaped fins protruded from his forearms.
The Hero's Shade stared at him impassively.
"You!" Link shouted. "What have you done?"
<Calm down,> he said. <The first time is always jarring. You will become accustomed to the sensation in time.>
"I'm a Zora!"
<Do not panic. It is not permanent.>
"Are you sure?" Link experienced some unique and frightening things in his short life, but never anything like this.
<Yes. The spirit of Malu has bonded with you and added his strength to yours. You are capable of many feats a Hylian is not.>
Link rolled his arms, inspecting them. His frame felt lighter, and just having his feet in the water brought a comfort it had never done before. The fear in him subsided. "This is ... unreal."
<You also share the memories of Malu. Tell me.> The Hero's Shade waved a hand over the scene, where bodies in green tunics lay motionless. <What happened here?>
"I ..." And just as he knew the Hero of Winds, he knew Malu's life. He closed his eyes to focus. "Malu came to the Omniverse, summoned somehow. Oh." Link cleared his throat. "His best guess was that ... the Ocarina of Time brought him here." Link felt a stab of guilt. "When he arrived, he still had the Triforce of Courage. He travelled to Camelot, assuming that is where I would go, but Syla set upon him and captured him. They've been holding him in the lake using a magical barrier to seal him within. They were planning to sell him as a curiosity, a freak."
A cold wind rolled over Link's scales, but he barely felt it. "He was sure I was here. When I was captured by Syla and her leader, you went looking for me but found Malu. As a Sage ..." Link opened his eyes, staring at the Hero's Shade, "he recognised the spirit of the Hero."
The skeleton's red eye shrunk. <Yes.>
"He swore to free himself to pass on the Triforce of Courage, as you couldn't pass through the barrier. You pleaded with him to stay calm, that you would bring the true Hero of Time to him, but he was too desperate. He needed the Hero to return to Hyrule and pass back the Triforce of Courage, so he raged against the barrier and brought to bear his full power. He shattered the magical seal and attacked those who guarded him, throwing wave after wave of water from the lake. One ranger got away and informed Tralor, and Syla arrived with a new troop to quell the resistance. They were no match for Malu, but the archers found their mark. I turned up ... minutes after the fight ended." Link sighed. "Minutes."
<It is regrettable,> the Hero's Shade said. <But Malu's legacy lives on in that mask, and I know he is proud to give his life for the Hero of Time.>
Link nodded in agreement, hoping it to be true, but Malu's feelings swelled in his chest and he knew it was. Malu certainly wasn't dead. He gave a bittersweet smile, tears welling beneath his black eyes. "It is humbling that he would value me so much."
<All who value freedom and life value the Hero, Link.>
Link thought of a question, but Malu's knowledge gave him the answer. "And Malu could see you because he was a Sage, and they are innately in tune with the Hero's spirit. But why are you changing?"
The Hero's Shade nodded. The tufts of grass bent beneath his feet despite his translucency. <The more I visit this realm, the more I belong to it. I believe that our identical spiritual identity is pressing this Omnilium into me by degrees, giving me power to return to this plane of my own free will. I theorise that the Ocarina of Time is no longer needed to summon me.>
This world was incredible. The power Omni must wield to craft it may even rival the Triforce itself. "Oh, the Triforce of Courage! Where is it?"
<I do not know. But I'm sure Malu does.>
He did. Link remembered. "Before Malu visited Camelot, he travelled somewhere to stash the Triforce of Courage in case he was captured. He hid it in the verse he was summoned in. It's ... a cold place. Ice everywhere. I can see glaciers." It put him in mind of Zora's Domain after Ganondorf ravaged it in his world. "I don't know where that is. But ..." Link concentrated. "Malu remembers how to get there. And now so do I."
The skeleton nodded. <Excellent. Once we have procured the Triforce of Courage, we can then find a way to recharge the Master Sword and rid the Omniverse of Ganondorf for good.>
"Funny you should mention that," Link said. "Malu knows how to do that, too. But I still have one more question."
<And I can see it in your mind. Very well.> The Hero's Shade faced him. <The event in the prison, where you travelled into the future to see the Hero of Winds battle Bellum. I do not know how, although I have my speculations, but you have received a power beyond anything I ever knew. When you were trapped in that space between time, when you felt every Link in every era connect with you, it was more than a simple affirmation of the eternal battle. Your spirit is anchored to every Hero that has gone before you, and all those after. Link, you can see their worlds, fight their foes, learn what they know and become stronger. You can create replicas of their weapons and items from Omnilium. Such a power is unprecedented. You are the link between worlds.>
More unbelievable news. "There are no words to describe."
<Indeed. I believe this connection has played out subconsciously already, such as your accidental summoning of a Loftwing, belonging to the Hero of Legend, and the easy crafting of your clawshots, which you have never seen before.>
Link caught on. "And perhaps that's why I don't fear heights anymore. The first Link did not."
<Yes. Such a remarkable boon.>
"We can explore that in depth later," Link said, whistling. His Loftwing fluttered over and he mounted. Even in his Zora form, the bird did not flinch. "First, let's get the Triforce of Courage back."
![[Image: illidansig2.jpg]](http://www.cytokineindustries.com/chevereto/images/2017/07/07/illidansig2.jpg)