![]() Chapter 10 Starlight…A Chapter by DreamerChapter 10
Starlight…
The group finished out the three weeks
with no more interesting diversions. G-Link began to learn his powers quite
well, and Selene, Aerica, and Sheik continued to improve as well. The group had
gained a bit of muscle thanks to the hard labor of fixing the damage from
Claire’s rampage. Everyone was saddling up their mounts preparing
for the trek back down Death Mountain. “Calhan do you know if my father still
has the medallions the sages gave him?” Gerad asked him while they made
preparations to leave. Calhan looked at him then dug in his
satchel. Gerad watched him in curiosity as Calhan finally got what he was
looking for out of the satchel. “I took the initiative that you would
need them and swiped them from the treasury.” Calhan handed Gerad a medallion. It was a circle no bigger than the size
of his palm. Around the edge were smaller circles in the colors that
represented the original six elements. Green for earth, red for fire, blue for
water, purple for shadow, orange for spirit, and yellow for light. There was an
empty slot between spirit and light. “You stole it from the treasury?!” Gerad
asked his voice getting higher with each syllable. Calhan put his hand over
Gerad’s mouth to shush him glancing around the room to see if the others had
heard. If they had they made no sign of it. Gerad was glaring at him as Calhan
sighed. Calhan shrugged, “Your father isn’t
using it.” “No one ever said that I would be the
next hero.” Gerad slapped Calhan’s hand away, “How do you know my father isn’t
still?” “All the other children are,” Calhan
rubbed his hand, “so it’s a fairly good assumption.” “Beside the point.” Gerad shook his
head, “What if my father needs them and he can’t find them?” “He never used them anyway? So he won’t
know the difference.” Calhan retorted. Gerad glared at him then sighed, “Fine.
On a different note where do I get the wind medallion from?” Calhan tapped his chin thinking. “That’s
a good question. It would make sense that the wind sage has it, we could ask
Meria.” Gerad glanced to where Meria was packing
her stuff with Sheik’s help, more, Sheik was trying to pack it and Meria was
repacking it. Gerad shrugged, “Sure why not.” Calhan walked over to Meria with Gerad
behind him. Meria looked up at them as they approached. She had traded her
usual orange skirt for darker orange pants but still wore the customary loose
white shirt and brown riding boots. “Meria, do you happen to have a round
pendant that has a strange symbol on it, which could possibly have been passed
down by some grandparent?” Calhan asked. “Oh that was tactful.” Gerad rolled his
eyes. Meria chuckled, “Yeah I do, why?” “Well back when Ganondorf was trying to
take over the world the sages gave the hero of time medallions that were
infused with their powers to help him. So…we kinda need it.” Calhan explained. Meria raised her eyebrows at this but
shrugged her shoulders and unclasped the necklace she had around her neck. It
was a black leather string and on it dangled a light grey stone circle. On the
circle was a broken sphere with two small squiggles coming out of the top
right. “It wasn’t actually handed down; mom
found it in some old trunk in the windmill on our farm and gave it to me.”
Meria said handing the medallion to Gerad. Taking it carefully in his palm, the
stone felt warm to his touch. Gerad took the stone off of the necklace and handed
the string back to Meria. Meria took it and refastened it around her neck; she
unconsciously touched the base of her throat feeling for the stone. Gerad carefully inserted the stone into
the slot between the spirit and light medallions. Meria looked on curiously as
Gerad rotated the pendant in his hand studying it. “Thanks Meria.” Gerad slipped the
pendant over his head. It hung there on his neck next to the necklace his
parents had given him on his tenth birthday. Gerad didn’t know what to expect, but he
did expect something to happen. To his disappointment nothing happened, there
was no sudden feeling of power or any glowing lights. The pendant just sat
there as innocent as his other necklace. “Did I break it?” Gerad asked Calhan as
he walked back to continue his packing. Calhan smiled, “Nah. What? Were you expecting
a whoosh or something?”
The group, once packed and assembled
outside, was once more addressed by Darunia. He grinned at them, which was not
a sight for the faint of heart. He looked like a cross between an alligator and
a boulder. Since Gorons rarely show them not many people know what their teeth
look like, rocks being the Goron diet they had to have a strong set of teeth
and also, sharp. “We greatly appreciate the help you have
given us, both labor and heroics. We bid you fair journey and hope you will not
hesitate to come visit us again. I’m sure there will always be tunnels or
caverns aplenty.” Darunia gave a hearty laugh at this last bit; after he stopped
the group rubbed their ears trying to get the ringing to stop. Darunia turned to his son and held out
his arms to him. G-Link stepped forward and grasped Darunia’s arms just above
the elbows as Darunia grasped his. They bent their heads till they touched with
their eyes closed. The group waited patiently as their
embrace continued for five minutes. When another ten minutes went past Gerad
heard a snore from G-Link. The girls tried to stifle their giggles
as the guys rolled their eyes. Gerad stepped forward and poked G-Link. G-Link and Darunia startled awake, “Be
careful on your journey son and guard your friends well and they will do the
same for you.” Darunia said. G-Link nodded as Darunia continued, “Now
off with ya to Hyrule Lake; give my greetings to Ruto and Vespa for me.”
The group trekked down the same mountain
path they had used coming up here a month before. They had set out at dawn and
were making good time to arrive at Kakariko village just at midday. Aerica
looked up at her trees as they passed under them on their way. Birds were
already building nest in the branches. She smiled as they twittered at the
group as it passed. A brave sparrow dived at Bob’s head, and disappeared. A
feather stuck out from the corner of Bob’s mouth. Selene shivered and Gerad
made a face of disgust. G-Link patted Bob on the shoulder as he swallowed. The sunlight spilled over the mountain
basking the group in its warm embrace; unfortunately it also blinded them and
made it difficult to navigate the path, this slowed their pace considerably.
They finally dismounted to walk in front of their mounts to lead them. Selene dropped back to walk next to Dahrin and
Gerad moved forward to walk next to Aerica. Sheik and Meria took up rear while
G-Link and Lucius took up front. Calhan once again wore his guard uniform and
walked in the middle. Dahrin smiled shyly at Selene. She
smiled back and he lowered his head to stare at the ground. Looking forward but
occasionally stealing glances, Selene wracked her brain to find the right words
to start a conversation, anything to kill this awkwardness. Hesitantly
she spoke, stuttering slightly, “How are you today?” He looked back up at her, “I’m fine; and
yourself? You seemed worn out for a while there after our fight with
Claire.” “Yeah, trying to heal her took a lot out
of me. I’m still kind of tired.” She finished with a yawn. Dahrin smiled, “Well don’t fall asleep;
you might wander off the edge.” She laughed with him then they heard a
giggle behind them. She turned to see Meria blushing the brightest red and
Sheik laughing with her at something he had said. Selene smiled as she turned forward
again, “They’re so right for each other, don’t you think?” “Agreed,” Dahrin smiled, “After what he
went through, he needs some happiness.” “Yeah,” Selene nodded in agreement. The both of them lapsed into silence of
their own thoughts. Birds chirped over their heads as bits of conversation
filtered back to them from the front of the procession. “So what do you think of our adventure
so far?” Selene asked turning back to him. Dahrin thought for a moment as he pursed
his lips, “Not quite what I expected.” Selene laughed, “I don’t think it’s been
what any of us expected.” Again they lapsed into silence. Starfire
snorted and nudged Selene causing her to trip slightly. Dahrin reached out and
caught her about the middle. She thanked him as she regained her footing and
blushed slightly. They heard giggles behind them and glanced to see Meria and
Sheik conspicuously diverting their attention. Selene narrowed her eyes at her
friend while Dahrin jerked his arm back. “So, Dahrin,” Selene turned back
forward, “What do you think your powers are?” Dahrin grinned, “No idea but I can’t
wait to find out.” Calhan turned to face them, “You can
borrow the book and see if you would like. But I would suggest you be careful
and watch your step as well.” Dahrin shrugged, “Sure why not.” He stepped forward to reach for the book
as Calhan handed it back to him. He grabbed the book and handed the reins of
Desertstorm to Selene. Taking them she watched Dahrin flip open the cover of
the book to the first page. It was the author’s note:
“To the reader of this book; be wary of
the powers you find. They might kill you.”
Dahrin grimaced at the intro, “Morbid.” Selene chuckled at the sentence after
she read it. Dahrin flipped the page; the next one was the table of contents.
1.
Introduction-i 2.
Light-1-25 3.
Earth-26-57 4.
Fire-58-109 5.
Water-110-145 6.
Shadow-146-200 7.
Wind-200-222 8.
Spirit-223-267 9.
Evil-268-347
“Why does light have the least number of
pages?” Selene asked looking over Dahrin’s shoulder. “Actually, Wind has the least number of
pages.” Dahrin pointed out to her. Selene looked again, “Oh ok.” “It isn’t as thick as I thought it would
be.” Dahrin mused flipping to the Spirit section. “What, did you expect it to be as thick
as your arm from elbow to wrist?” Selene asked raising an eyebrow. “No just a tad thicker than this.”
Dahrin replied flipping a few more pages, “Why how thick did you expect it?” Selene smiled as she faced forward again,
“As thick as my arm from elbow to wrist.” Dahrin chuckled as he shook his head and
began reading the intro:
The Spirit sage
is able to absorb the essence of the things around him; such as animals,
inanimate objects, and also imagination. He is then able to project a
manifestation of the object to use as he requires, for example: a shield to
block attacks or shovel to shovel dirt and so on. The sage must be
careful for each manifestation takes a toll of energy from him. He can also use
this as an attack; this is where the imagination comes in. The sage can delve
from a person’s mind their deepest fear and project it to them. The more the
opponent is weaker in spirit the more real the illusion. This attack is
called ‘Spiritalios’.
“Interesting.” Dahrin said as he read
on. His reading was interrupted when Selene
suddenly grabbed his arm and jerked him away from the three foot hole he was
about to step into. He tripped sideways trying to catch his balance. He
accidently knocked Selene off balance and she grabbed his arm again. Since he was already overbalanced he
fell with her to the ground. Training took over as he curled his shoulder and
tugged Selene over himself, using his body to break her fall. She landed on top of him chest to chest;
they looked into each other’s eyes as they both realized how close the other
was. “Um…” Was all Selene could manage before
turning bright red. Dahrin’s complexion was just behind hers in the color
range. “Need some help?” Meria asked trying to
hand the reins of her horse to Sheik who was too busy laughing. Selene and
Dahrin both turned redder. Selene tried as politely as possible to
scoot her legs up to get to her knees as she used Dahrin’s chest to push
herself up. Dahrin lay still till she was up. He started to rise and a hand was
offered to him. He looked up the hand to Gerad’s grinning face. Dahrin took the
offered hand and got to his feet. “Well that was fun.” Gerad laughed as
Dahrin dusted himself off. Selene turned redder if it was possible
and Dahrin was silent. Still chuckling Gerad walked back to where Aerica was
waiting with Artimus. Calhan picked up the book and offered it
back to Dahrin, “Care to try again?” Dahrin scowled at him, “No thanks, I’ll
just keep track of my feet from now on.” Calhan laughed as he put the book away.
The sun had risen enough for them to be able to see where they were going so
they all remounted and continued on. They arrived in Kakariko village at
noon; Impa and Sheif were there to greet them. Sheik dismounted before the rest
and ran to greet his parents. They smiled fondly at their son as he
remembered his etiquette and stopped to bow. Impa and Sheif bowed back then
walked the distance between them and their son to embrace him. The group dismounted and bowed to Impa
and Sheif who bowed back. “Come stable your horses and eat lunch
with us.” Sheif said after they had straitened back up. The group smiled in
agreement as they headed for the stables.
After lunch the group reclined around
the table, tummies satisfied. Sheik sat next to Meria who was leaned against
his shoulder. He sat with his arm around hers and gently stroked it as they
listened to his father tell of what had happened since they had left. Selene and Dahrin sat as far as possible
from each other and avoided each other’s gazes. Gerad sat next to Calhan and
Lucius and listened to Sheif. Aerica sat next to Impa and G-link across the
table feeding Meko bits of food. After a while they all heard the sound of
snoring. Locating the origin of the sound Lucius poked G-Link who snorted but
remained asleep. “Well I didn’t know I was that boring.”
Sheif laughed with the others. Impa stood and stretched, “I’m getting
too old to sit in one position for very long, come Sheik take a walk with me.
And anyone else who wants to join us can.” Sheik smiled and stood to his feet and
helped Meria up. The rest watched them walk out. Sheif looked at the rest of
them, “Would you boys care to see the schoolhouse, we finished it a few days
after you all left.” He rose to his feet as did Lucius and
Calhan, G-Link slept on. After they had walked out Gerad looked from Selene to
Dahrin then to Aerica who met his gaze and smiled. Gerad smiled back and they
both stood and left; Meko comatose on Aerica’s shoulder. Selene came out of her thoughts to find
herself alone with Dahrin. He came to the same realization and their eyes met.
They hastily stared back at their plates. Selene pushed her food around on her
plate trying to think of something to say. She was about to say something when
G-Link gave a loud snort. Dahrin grinned as did Selene. He looked
at her then got up and moved to her side. She watched him approach with a
smile. He held his hand out to her wordlessly. She looked at the hand then took it. As
he helped her to her feet she couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was.
From his burnt orange hair to his amber eyes, straight nose just long enough
but not too long. His chin strong but not overly, his face was thin. He was
lean muscled not built like an ox like most men were. His hands were soft
despite the calluses of swordplay. His olive toned skin was beautifully
healthy. As she was admiring him he was doing the
same to her. He always felt something beyond friendship for her, ever since his
eyes had met the emerald green of hers. He loved everything about her, her long
brown hair, the stray strands always getting in her eyes; her short cute nose
that he longed to touch with the tip of his finger; her lips slender but still
enticing. Her body was strong but femininely so. She had strength but also
grace and you could see it in the way she walked, her hips didn’t sway as much
as most girls and he loved it. She had all the right curves in all the right
places. They stepped back from each other.
“Would you care to go for a walk?” Dahrin asked her quietly. Selene smiled as she hooked her arm in
his, “I would love to.” They walked in silence out the door of
the house leaving G-Link to sleep. They enjoyed each other’s company in silence
for a time. They rounded the corner of the house and headed towards the Coucou
Lady’s house for lack of a destination. Dahrin wrestled with his thoughts trying
to get them in order. Selene watched some butterflies twirl past, a small smile
on her face. Dahrin started and stopped a number of times as they continued
walking. They stopped next to the well, Selene picked a wild flower growing
next to the well and tucked it behind her ear. Dahrin finally plucked up the courage,
“Selene?” She looked at him, “Yes?” “Uh…Do you…uh…do you…” Selene waited patiently for Dahrin to
find his courage again. He took a deep breath and took the plunge. “I’VE ALWAYS LOVED YOU EVER SINCE I LAID
EYES ON YOU AND WAS WONDERING HOW YOU FELT ABOUT ME IF YOU DON’T FEEL ANYTHING
I QUITE UNDERSTAND AND HOPE THAT THIS OUTBURST OF MY FEELINGS HASN’T HAD A
DAMAGING EFFECT ON OUR FRIENDSHIP I JUST REALY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW YOUR
THOUGHTS.” Dahrin gasped for breath as Selene
looked at him with her eyebrows raised and a smile on her lips. Dahrin finally
got his breath back and looked into her eyes. The wait for her answer was
torture and Dahrin was beginning to regret his outburst. Selene smiled softly at him, “I feel the
same.” Moving closer she embraced him leaning
her head against his chest. Dahrin was a
bit surprised but recovered by wrapping his arms around her. Dahrin released
her then took her by the hand and they set off once more. Dusk was falling and they found they had
traveled up to the windmill. Dahrin and Selene sat on the grass and watched the
sun bathe the canyon valley in its last rays of light. Watching the villagers
slowly disappear into their homes, husbands to wives, children to parents.
Selene leaned her head on Dahrin’s shoulder as the sun slowly sank beyond the
canyon walls. Dahrin looked at Selene in the dying
light and noticed he could see her quite clearly. She glowed with a soft white
light like a star. Selene looked up at him and he caressed her cheek. “You glow.” Dahrin whispered not wanting
to break the moment. Selene looked at him puzzled then looked
at her hands; they did indeed glow. “Hmm…” Selene rubbed the back of her
hand gently, “That’s new.” Dahrin took one in his hand gently, his
fingers tingled where they contacted with her skin. “You’ve never glowed
before?” “No, I wonder why I started now.” Selene
raised her eyes from her hands to his face. He was smiling at her again; she
couldn’t help but smile back. Slowly Dahrin leaned forward and kissed her
gently on the lips. “You glow like a star.” He whispered
caressing her cheek, “My star.” © 2014 Dreamer |
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Added on July 6, 2013 Last Updated on October 4, 2014 Author |