![]() Chapter 4 The beginning of something new…A Chapter by DreamerChapter
4
The beginning of
something new…
“And the
librarian didn’t raise any heck about you asking for “The Book of Fernaira”?” Calhan
asked skeptically. Gerad didn’t
answer as he, Selene, and Calhan passed over the drawbridge into Hyrule Fields.
Actually the librarian had fainted at the mention of the book but Gerad wasn’t
going to tell Calhan that detail. They had made the librarian swear not to tell
anyone that they had asked for the book on pain of losing his job. At first they
had threatened his life, or more, Sheik had, but he didn’t care as much for his
life as he did for his job. “Yeah he was
more than happy to show us where it was.” Selene smiled sweetly. Calhan narrowed
his eyes in suspicion but let the matter drop as he turned his attention to his
guarding. Their pace was slow as they headed east toward Kakariko Village. Calhan
was the only guard that accompanied them; Zelda had relented on sending a full
battalion. Despite the length of time they were going to be gone from home the
trio had packed light. Each one had their weapons, the clothes on their back
plus an extra set, a few days’ rations, and a bed roll with blankets. “There’s the
entrance.” Calhan stated pointing ahead of them. Gerad looked to
where he was pointing at a cut in the cliff face. Gerad and Selene followed
Calhan’s lead as they rode down the twisting canyon and came to Kakariko
Village. There was no fan fair to greet them, not to anyone’s disappointment, as
they stopped at the entrance to take in the sights. “Excuse me,
miss.” Calhan called to a young lady tending a flock of coucous, “Could you
tell me where we can find Impa of the Sheikas?” The young lady
blushed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, “Oh, howdy. Follow the path
into the village and take the first right. You should see a large house at the
end of the row.” She pointed in
the direction she was talking about and Calhan craned his neck to see. She
turned back toward him smiling sweetly as she finished her directions. Calhan smiled at
her, “Thank you, ma’am.” Nudging
Slaughter into motion the young lady never stopped watching Calhan till the
three of them turned the corner. Selene and Gerad shared a smile to Calhan’s
obliviousness. Catching sight of the house the lady had described they could
make out a figure in the distance. As they neared the residence they recognized
Sheik jumping up and down waving his arms with his mother standing next to him arms
folded. The trio stopped in front of the pair and dismounted.
Sheik was grinning ear to ear a stark contrast to his mother’s stoic
expression. Gerad and Selene bowed in respect to Impa and Sheik who returned
the greeting. “Fair morning,
Impa. Our mother and father send their greetings and
gratitude for your hospitality." Gerad straightened as he finished. Selene
thought she saw the tiniest of smiles crack Impa's face as she answered,
"It appears my tutelage of your mother was not completely in vain. Welcome
young prince and princess you honor us with your presence." Placing
her hand lightly on Sheik's shoulder she continued, "Sheik, show our guest
where they may keep their horses. Then bring them inside." Sheik
nodded, "Alrighty, follow me." The
three of them bowed to Impa then followed after Sheik to the barn. Sheik showed
them which stalls they could use for the length of their stay. Leaning against
the stall Sheik folded his arms, “How was the trip?” “Uneventful, and
short actually. I thought you lived farther away.” Gerad replied unsaddling
Artimus and giving him some oats and a good rub down. “Really what
made you think that I lived far away?” Sheik asked hopping up onto the rail in
between Artimus’s stall and Starfire’s. Calhan said
nothing as he passed by the three of them to a stall further down. Sheik
followed his path with his eyes and let out a small sigh of relief when Calhan
disappeared into the stall with Slaughter. “Well last time
ya’ll were at the castle Dahrin said that he had to travel with you the longest
when all of you came to the castle.” Selene said over Starfire’s back as she
rubbed her down. “Oh, yeah,
that’s because mom and me had traveled to Gerudo Fortress to do something for
politics or another important thing like that. So we were already there.” Sheik
replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Gerad nodded in
understanding, “Ah, makes sense. When are the others supposed to arrive?” Sheik shrugged
his ignorance, “I’d have figured G-Link would have arrived first, but your
guess is as good as mine.” Once their
horses were taken care of Selene and Gerad followed Sheik back to the house.
Selene had called to Calhan but he replied he’d catch up. The sun was making its
laborious journey across the azure sky. Glancing up Gerad guessed it was
roughly an hour before noon. Sheik showed them to inside the house, playing the
dutiful host. “Want anything
to drink?” Sheik offered as they passed through the kitchen, “Or eat?” Both of them
shook their heads as they studied the small kitchen. Being royalty they hadn’t
really been allowed in the palace kitchens, Selene guessed she’d spend more
than ample time in this kitchen making up time. Coming through
the doorway they met Shief, Sheik’s dad, and Impa in the living room. Gerad
could definitely tell the two were father and son, Sheif looked almost
identical to him, except for the blue hair and indigo eyes. “Ah,” Sheif
grinned, “speak of the little devil now.” Sheif had an
easy smile and relaxed manor. Gerad could only marvel at the works of love.
Sheik grinned back at his dad as Sheif ruffled his spikey white hair. “Where is your
guard, Calhan?” Impa asked glancing past them, “I had wanted to debrief on the
trip over.” “Debriefs can
wait, my dear,” Sheif replied, “Sheik, show them to their rooms please.” “Sure, dad.”
Sheik nodded and waved for the two of them to follow leading up the stairs. “The boys will
be in one room,” Sheik narrated over his shoulder to them as he walked ahead of
them up the flight of stairs, “Girls will be in another. House rule: no
opposite genders in the rooms after nine o’clock. You don’t want to know what
happens when you break the rules.” “Note taken.”
Gerad grinned over his shoulder at Selene. Sheik pointed to
a smaller room, “That’s the girls’ room. Since there’s going to be more boys we’ll
have a bigger room.” “Understandable.”
Selene nodded as she walked past to put her pack on one of the beds, “Quick
question, where’s the bathroom?” Sheik grinned, “Downstairs,
past the stairs, last door on the right.” Selene nodded as
she passed the boys headed in the direction Sheik had said. Gerad followed
Sheik down the hall a little to a bigger room. Putting his pack on the bed
Gerad sat next to it with a sigh. “Where’s your
room?” Gerad asked looking up at Sheik leaning against the doorframe. Sheik grinned, “The
girls are using it. Mom figured I can bunk with the guys.” Impa’s voice
called the two of them down. Following Sheik out the door Gerad felt a sudden
chill go down his spine. Turning around he didn’t see anything but sunshine
streaming in through the windows. Shrugging he turned and headed out the room.
Outside the window a crow with a silver collar peered from a branch.
Impa, Selene,
Calhan, and Sheif were waiting for the two of them along with Dahrin. Sheik
grinned from ear to ear at the sight of his good friend. Gerad shook Dahrin’s
hand in greeting also pleased to see the desert prince. “Long time no
see.” Gerad grinned, “How was the trip?” “Not bad,”
Dahrin replied his amber eyes gleaming, “had a bit of rain, but other than that
it was fine.” “You rode by
yourself?” Selene asked. Dahrin shook his
head, “No, the guards turned back once we reached the canyon entrance. I had
told them they could stay and return tomorrow but-“ Shrugging Dahrin let the absence
of the guards speak their answer. “Come on,” Sheik
clapped Dahrin on the shoulder, “I’ll show you where to put your stuff.” “Alright.”
Dahrin shouldered his pack and followed Sheik and Gerad up the stairs. Sheik went over
the rule again as he led the way down the hall. Dahrin set his pack on the bed
farthest from the door and sat down next to it with a sigh. Gerad perched on
his bed leaning his head on his arm. “How’re things
in the desert?” Gerad sighed as he laid completely down on his bed, “Anything
new?” “Nah,” Dahrin
replied pulling his sword belt off, “just more training and politics.” “Sounds like
fun.” Gerad yawned, “wonder when the rest are gonna show.” Dahrin shrugged
as he tied his hair back into a short pony-tail, “I’d have figured I would be
the last to arrive.” “Yeah,” Sheik
piped in, “you sure did arrive fast, what did ya’ll gallop all night, or something?” “No, we just set
off really late.” Meria chuckled from where she leaned against the door, “Aerica
and I just got here.” “Hey,” Sheik
grinned at Meria, “how was the trip?” “Fairly
interesting,” Meria replied, “I’ll tell ya’ll about it on the way down. Impa
wants all of you.” The boys got up
and followed Meria down the hall, collecting Selene and Aerica as they passed
the girls’ room. “What do you
mean interesting?” Sheik asked as they descended the stairs. “Well first
Eyona wanted to run the opposite way I was headed.” Meria replied over her
shoulder. “And then when
she joined up with Meko and me some psychotic Duku scrubs tried to pelt us to
death with Duku nuts.” Aerica finished as they entered the living room. They all sat
down in the different chairs and couches of the living room, the girls all sat
together on one couch while Gerad and Dahrin took the two chairs. Sheik perched
on the arm rest of Dahrin’s chair. “Definitely
sounds interesting.” Gerad grinned. “If you can say getting hit by a Duku nut
that’s going faster than you can fly is interesting.” Meko spat crossing his
tiny arms and landing on Aerica’s shoulder. Gerad chuckled,
“Well no, I wouldn’t call that interesting.” Meko glared at his sarcastic tone. “Alright
younglings dinner is in four hours ya’ll have the rest of today off so enjoy
yourselves, there are some rules, Sheik I expect you to tell them and to follow
them yourself.” Impa came in from the kitchen carrying a tray of what looked
like cookies and glasses of milk. “Thanks mom.”
Sheik blushed slightly as Impa set the tray down on the low table, “I’ve
already told them the one about the rooms.” Impa nodded, “Good.
See ya’ll at dinner.” With that Impa
turned on her heel and headed back to the kitchen. Calhan emerged from the same
door a few seconds later munching on a cookie. He walked over to their group
and stood on the edge of the circle. “Ok so what’re
the rules?” Dahrin asked looking up at Sheik. “Oh, just that
we can’t go into the royal cemetery since that’s where the shadow temple is,”
Sheik replied shrugging, “Oh and no messing with the cuckoos.” Gerad shrugged
his shoulders, “Wasn’t planning on going to any cemeteries.” “Come on, I’ll
show you around the village.” Sheik hopped down from his perch and snatched a
cookie. “But, this is a
perfect time to test some of your powers.” Calhan said around a mouthful of
cookie. “We can learn
later when G-Link and Lucius get here.” Gerad replied standing up, “We should
acquaint ourselves with the feel of the place first, don’t you think, Lore
Sage?” The others got
up and followed Sheik and Gerad out the front door. Calhan drained a glass of
milk and followed after everyone.
“So this is the
well that Bongo Bongo was trapped in?” Meria asked trying to peer through the
water that shone clear and enticing. “Yeah up until
Ganondorf let him out and Mr. Link killed him.” Sheik leaned against the well. They had taken a
tour the first day, G-Link and Lucius both showed up a day later at different
times. Now a week later they knew the layout of the town intimately. The first
few days they were still getting used to the feel of the place, Impa had taken
mercy on them and let them get acquainted with rising early before setting them
strenuous chores to do. The girls on the
fifth day were assigned to cleaning the house while the boys helped the
carpenters with building a new schoolhouse for the children of the village.
After the first day of cleaning the girls were so sore they could hardly move the
next morning. The boys were in no better shape, but none of them complained
about the work and set to it again and again. Weekend had come and all were
taking a well-deserved rest by the well. “So what exactly
is in the Shadow temple?” Gerad asked suddenly from where he sat in the grass. Sheik stiffened,
“Nothing but death.” “Ok little
warriors, time for your first power’s lesson.” Calhan’s voice floated to them. Looking his way
Gerad had to stifle a laugh. He was dressed in a brownish orange robe and
carrying the power book. At their quizzical expressions, Calhan glanced down at
his attire with puzzlement. “Out here in the
open?” Gerad asked. “Why are you
wearing a dress?” Sheik asked at the same time. “No we have to
find somewhere secluded, where we won’t be bothered,” Calhan replied ignoring
Sheik’s question, “Do you know of any such place where we can train Sheik?” “A few.” Sheik nodded
slowly. “Any good ones?”
Calhan asked. “Only one really
good one but we’re forbidden to go there.” Sheik replied. “Heh, you mean
the graveyard, don’t you?” Dahrin asked. “Yeah it’s the
only place no one ever goes. Except the grave keeper, who wouldn’t bother or
report on us anyway.” “I’m confused
why can’t we go-wait that’s where the Shadow temple is, isn’t it?” Calhan
asked. “Yeah.” Sheik
said with no enthusiasm. “Hmm that does
present a problem.” Calhan tapped his chin with his forefinger. “Why would it?”
Selene asked. “Well in the
book it says to practice away from areas that have a high potential of having
monsters, ‘cause the monsters are drawn to the energy that the powers create.
The Shadow Temple is still probably full of monsters as are the others.” Calhan
explained going into lecture mode. “What’s this
about the Shadow Temple?” Every one jumped
at the sound of Impa’s voice. “Oh nothing we were just discussing what we had
learned about the…the…the layout of the village.” Aerica smiled an over
innocent smile like the rest of the group. Meko had fallen off his perch with a
squeak and landed in the well. “Uh-huh.” Impa crossed
her arms and looked at the group with an eyebrow raised in disbelief. Meko dog paddled
to the edge and pulled himself out; Selene tried to suppress a giggle at his
appearance. Meko glared at her as he attempted to shake out his soaked wings. When no
information was forth coming she turned to Calhan, “So, Calhan, the graveyard
should be fine to practice in as long as you don’t go to close to the Temple.
Normally I wouldn’t let you go even in the graveyard but since the stalfos
attack I’ve been a little worried that they wouldn’t be able to handle the next
attack on them should it occur.” Impa said looking at each of the dumbfounded
faces in turn. “So I’ll make an exception this time and I’ll write to all the
others to tell them what to expect when you arrive in a few weeks from now.” Calhan blinked,
“How did you know?” “Well the robe
gave it away but it was really the letter your grandfather sent me before he
had died explaining that you were taking his place.” Impa’s stoic face faltered
slightly at the mention of Rauru. “So we can
really practice?” Sheik asked. Impa looked at
her son, “Yes, but only on the weekends. ‘Cause you still have chores to do and
reports to make. I will have no slacking and no using your powers in front of
other people unless it’s to save them.” “Understood.”
The group answered with mock salutes that Impa smiled at. She left them to it
and continued on her way. “Well now that
we have permission lets go check out our training area.” Calhan said motioning
his hand for Sheik to lead the way. Sheik sighed and started walking leading
them to the graveyard. “What’s wrong
Sheik? You seem depressed.” Meria asked him when they were away from the
others. Sheik jumped and
gave a small smile, “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Ok Selene,
since you were the first one to use your powers let’s start with you.” Calhan directed
from his seat on a cemetery bench. Shrugging Selene stepped forward into the
clear patch of grass in front of Calhan. They had arrived at the cemetery
without encountering anyone and had chosen a training area away from the
entrance but also away from the Shadow Temple. “What do I do?”
Selene folded her arms waiting for Calhan. “Well the book
says that it’s based on feelings, so can you conjure up the feelings you had
when you first used your powers?” Calhan asked looking at Selene. Thinking
for a moment Selene slowly nodded. “Ok now focus
those feeling at the rock.” Selene did but no matter how much she stared at the
rock they had picked out for the target nothing happened. After about ten
minutes and with Selene red in the face Calhan sighed. “Ok let’s try something
else.” He stood up from
his seat and walked toward Selene. She looked at him with a quizzical expression
as he stopped in front of her. Calhan raised his hand and swung it toward her
face attempting to slap her. Selene reacted without thinking and blocked his
arm then struck him in the stomach with her palm, when her palm connected with
his stomach a white light emanated from the point of contact. Calhan flew back
twenty feet from the force of the light. Selene stared at her palm as Calhan
climbed to his feet. “Very good, now
we know what needs to be done. Ouch.” Calhan said as he hobbled towards the
group. “Are you
alright?” Gerad asked him failing to suppress a smile. “Yes, nothing
permanently damaged, but more importantly, Selene, what did you feel when I
tried to hit you and you defended?” “Fear, anger,
and confusion.” Selene replied. Calhan nodded
his head, “Ok now focus those feelings and strike the rock like you had struck
me.” He said motioning with his hand to a boulder near the bench he had been
sitting on. Selene shrugged, she stepped up to the boulder dredged up the
feelings that she had just felt then struck the boulder. Nothing happened. “Hmm.” Calhan
said tapping his finger to his chin. “Did you feel anything else?” he asked
looking at her. Selene shrugged,
“It’s hard to describe, but it was sort of a calm rage. I know that sounds
dumb.” Calhan nodded at
this then backed up behind Gerad and the others. They stared at him, but he
ignored them. “Ok strike the
rock again this time dredge up that feeling mmk?” with that Calhan ducked
behind Gerad. Selene raised an eyebrow at him, shook her head, and closed her
eyes. Selene thought back to the stalfos attack. She dredged up the feeling
that had emerged when Gerad and the others had been hurt. Everyone gasped
as a white light surrounded Selene. Selene opened her eyes and struck the rock.
The boulder shattered into pieces of white fragments that shot everywhere. The
others ducked and dodged out of the way of the fragments. Selene closed
her eyes again and exhaled. The white light faded and she raised her head.
Looking around she saw the others on the ground with their hands over their
heads. Calhan stood up and clapped. “Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.” Selene looked at
him quizzically, “What? Did I break the rock?” Gerad laughed,
“I’ll say you did.” He stood up and took a fragment off his shoulder. He handed
her the fragment she took it in awe. “Now we know it
can be done without a life and death situation.” Sheik said with his goofy
smile. Calhan rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Alright who
wants to try next?” Calhan asked looking to the rest. Near the group,
under the ground in the temple something long left in sleep, awoke.
© 2014 Dreamer |
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Added on June 28, 2013 Last Updated on October 4, 2014 Author |