The New Chronicles of Hyrule: Shadows Joined

It was already a bright day in the land of Hyrule. The sun had risen not long ago and was glowing softly; the beads of dew that had not yet evaporated gleamed like crystal in the morning light. Creatures of the land were awakening.. rabbits playing in the wet grass, butterflies fluttering along, birds soaring through the sky...

Elenna had never been so annoyed.

She had a pounding headache, she hadn't slept hardly at all the night before, and that heavy feeling in her gut indicated that something was going to happen. But she didn't know what, and it was driving her crazy. She left her Temple, moving silently through Kakariko Village, and up the mountain path with a determined stride and a nearly malevolent spark in her eyes. Violet eyes.. a mix of her mother's deep crimson and her father's vibrant blue.

The young Sage was like a ghost as she slipped through the Goron City, on her way to the entrance of the Lost Woods. Most thought she was just that.. a spirit. Even the people of the village she protected thought she was a myth, despite seeing her on various occasions. She was pale.. very pale, and usually wore clothing of a light grey color. Her hair, hip-length and flowing, contributed to the image, being a very light shade of grey, almost white, and with hints of silver.

There was no cause for her to be so secretive.. Elenna was quite welcome in the mountain city, being a friend of their great leader, Darunia. But today, she was in no mood to be sociable, and would likely snap at the kind rock-eaters. Then she would feel guilty, and only be more unpleasant. So she wasn't going to take any chances.

With a whispered sigh, she felt the magic tug at the pit of her stomach, pulling her from one place to another almost instantaneously. Beneath her bare feet, the dew-laden grass of the Woods sparkled in the early morning light, dusting the hem of her flowing gown with water. Not that she noticed, nor did she care. She went on with a determined stride, weaving her way through the labyrinth that was the precursor to Saria's true domain.

Elenna gave pause before entering the last area just before the secret forest glade. Long, slender ears twitched, listening for something. She could've sworn she felt someone, or something, watching her... But she simply shrugged, unaware of the crimson eyes that watched her from the shadows, and stepped through the gaping log end. Her gaze turned back to the front, only to be met with a solid wall of.. feathers? She uttered an 'oof' as the air left her, and stumbled back, falling flat on her butt on the floor of the log passageway. Irritated eyes swept upwards, until they met a wide, rapidly blinking blue pair above a hooked beak. This brought a bright grin to the young Sage's normally stoic facade.

"Kaepora!"

"Hoo hoo! Good thing you recognized me, child. For a second there I was afraid you were going to stab now, ask questions later." A soft hooting noise that sounded like chuckling was heard from the great Owl as he clacked his beak, waddling forward and extending a wing to the still-sitting Sheikah girl. Elenna gratefully grasped the offered appendage, letting Kaepora tug her up, and flipped her hair back away from her face.

"Oh, you know I wouldn't stab you, Kaepora. Even if I would, I couldn't right now anyway. I left my sword back at the Temple." Elenna's slender shoulders shifted in a shrug as she spoke, reaching to absently pat the fluffed-out chest feathers of her bird friend. But she looked up with a slightly puzzled expression as Kaepora gave that little hooting-chuckle noise again. "What?"

"Elenna, dear child, it is pointless to say you are without weapons." Kaepora clacked his beak again at the indignant expression on Elenna's face, before gesturing to the ground near her feet. "Not only can I see the dagger tucked in the front of your bodice, but the ones beneath your skirt, and the one up your left sleeve. The right fell when you did."

Elenna gawked at him for a moment, then looked down, and growled irritably. Sure enough, just as Kaepora had said.. a glimmering of steel shone from the grass near her right foot. She reached down and snatched it up, sliding it back into its little sheath, before she glanced up at the owl again. "How do you know about the others?"

Kaepora twisted his head upside-down, earning a little shiver from Elenna. It always creeped her out when he did that. "Contrary to your apparent belief, voluminous skirts and sleeves are not the best for hiding concealed weaponry. Especially when they're made heavier by moisture."

"..Moisture?" Elenna gave Kaepora another of her puzzled looks, before glancing down at the light material of her skirt and sleeves, and groaning. She'd been so wrapped up in her thoughts and irritation, and then the feel of eyes on her, she didn't even notice that the moisture rising from the ground had just about soaked through her sleeves and skirt, making them clingy.. and the outline of the weapons beneath very clear. "..The dew. Damnit. Oh well."

For several moments, all Kaepora could do was stifle his laughter, noting the sudden widening of crimson eyes from the shadows of the passage behind Elenna, as the Sage simply.. ripped off her dress, revealing that she wore her usual training ensemble of very short grey skirt and tight-fitting grey corset top beneath, and carelessly tossed the now-ruined grey linen garment aside. "..Child, were I man and not bird, I would prostrate myself at your feet and beg to have the honor of fathering your offspring."

"Kaepora, considering you're, what, several hundred years old, and probably the closest thing to a father figure I have, that would be a little bit weird." Elenna gave one of her rare giggles, and gracefully stepped around Kaepora, making her way to the log passageway that led to Saria's meadow. "I'm on my way to see Saria 'bout something. Come with?"

Kaepora snatched at Elenna's flowing hair with his beak as she passed, but missed of course. The girl was like mist, and could easily evade his slow movements. Then he had an idea, and waddled forward, clipping her on the back with a wing before launching into the air, and calling two words down to her. "Race you!"

"Hey, no fair! You can fly! And I have to worry about those damn Moblins!" But of course, Elenna let forth a whoop of excitement, never one to back down from a challenge, and dashed through the log, her eyes flaring with the thrill of it all. Kaepora was going down.

Just before she set foot into the log that would take her to the Sacred Forest Meadow, Elenna heard the distinct sound of something scuffing against wood behind her. She whipped around and just caught sight of dark blue material disappearing into the shadows. Naturally, she took off after it, her hair flowing behind her. "Hey, wait!"

By the time she got into the previous area, there wasn't a sight to be seen, besides the normal everyday activity in the Lost Woods. As she knelt to examine the ground, she saw there weren't even footprints in the dewy grass. This made her frown, wondering if she was losing her mind. Until she saw the scrap of white cloth, what looked like part of a bandage, laying on the floor of the log. Puzzled, she picked it up and looked it over, but it yielded no further clues. She would just have to do a more in depth examination later, so she tucked it into a small pocket sewn on the inside of her skirt, and headed back to the Sacred Forest Meadow.

Being the Sheikah she was, even if only half-blooded, Elenna had no problem slinking through the maze. Even the Moblins, irritating as they were, didn't hinder her too much. She simply lurked around the corners where they couldn't see her, and with the dagger from her bodice in hand, she leaped and stabbed them in the back as soon as they turned; even as the bodies faded in flickers of green flames, she was moving on to get the next one out of her way. Even the Chief Moblin at the top of that small stone stairway proved no match for her; she nimbly dodged the attacks sent by its massive club, leaping from side to side and even pushing off from the walls until she reached it. The bigger they are, the harder they fall, and it too crashed to the ground beneath her blade.

A bit sweaty and more annoyed than before she'd begun her little trek, Elenna made her way into the small walled-in meadow before the entrance to the Forest Temple. There sat Saria on her stump, ocarina held in her lap, while she conversed with Kaepora, who was perched on the dead tree next to the broken stairway. When Elenna came into view, he turned his attention to her, clacking his beak in amusement before he spoke. "You're late."

"You're a cheater. You don't have to deal with the Moblins. And I got a bit distracted." Saria and Kaepora both looked at her with bewilderment plain on their features. She just waved them aside, sitting on the seal of the Forest Temple and wiping her dagger on the grass, then tucked it back down the front of her corset. "It's not important, I'll tell you about it later. What I came here for is much more interesting."

"What is it, Elenna? Kaepora said you had something to ask me, but he didn't say anything more." Saria was concerned, taking in Elenna's appearance. The girl was normally distant and outwardly apathetic; the fact that she was showing any emotion at all, let alone to this extent, was somewhat troubling. Saria had a duty to keep an eye on the younger Sage; not only because they had a duty to each other as Sages, but because of the promise she had made to Impa.

"There have been more creatures in the Temples lately, and they're more active than I've seen them in years. And someone has been tending the Graveyard." Elenna paused, unsure if she should include the last little tidbit. Yet even as she pondered this, the forceful stares of Saria and Kaepora assured her she couldn't keep anything from them. They'd just find out later, somehow. "..And I can.. do things."

Saria and Kaepora exchanged a look, then Saria scooted over on her stump, patting the space now cleared beside her. Elenna, though warily, stood and moved to the spot, sitting next to her Kokiri friend. "What kind of things?"

Elenna frowned and looked down at her gauntlet-clad forearms. Her hands were worn from training, her fingers calloused from years of fighting with blades and bow; her body was muscular, toned and lithe, and covered in scars. It was the body of a warrior. She was a fighter, not a damned sorcerer. So she reluctantly mumbled a response. "Magic."

"Speak up Elenna, we can't help you if we can't hear you." Kaepora flapped his wings, leaning in close and tilting his head. The glares from Saria and Elenna both were ignored.

"I said.. magic."

"Really? Well let's see it!" Saria practically pounced Elenna, prodding the girl almost roughly. If what Elenna said was true, then this could be a wondrous thing! Or a very, very bad thing, depending on what the reasons behind this sudden development were.

"Fine, fine, just stop poking me." Sighing, Elenna rose from the stump and walked over to the seal, ignoring the watchful eyes of Saria and Kaepora on her back. When she reached the center of the seal, she turned to face them, only to close her eyes and become very still. The small meadow seemed to darken somehow, though the sun was still high in the sky and there was hardly any cloudcover. Abruptly, a flickering dark purple aura sprang up around Elenna, twisting as though blown by the wind, though there was none to be found; her hair did the same, swirling wildly in the nonexistent gale.

Kaepora and Saria gazed on in wonder as the aura brightened and blossomed outwards with the movement of Elenna's hands, which rose from their positions by their sides to press palms-together in front of her. The symbol of the Shadow Medallion flashed bright purple in front of her joined hands, then coalesced into the aura, before the whole mass seemed to converge in front of her hands. Without warning, it shot forward, in the form of a snarling wolf's head, and crashed into the Stalfos that had been in the process of bringing its sword down onto Saria.

Elenna wavered slightly as her hands fell back to her sides, and she crumpled to the ground, wiping sweat from her forehead with a shaky grin. The other Sage and the Owl gazed at the disintegrating bones of the Stalfos, then back to Elenna, who was watching them impassively, awaiting their verdict.

Saria spoke first.

"I think we need to have a meeting of the Sages."

--

Between that little display of her growing abilities and the meeting, the days seemed to pass slowly to Elenna. She spent the time huddled away in her hideaway at the Temple, arguing with the small scrap of bandage she'd found in the Lost Woods. There was magic still in her Temple, and Elenna thought that if she could just manipulate it correctly, it would tell her who, or what, had left it behind. Much to her frustration, no such thing occurred. So she abandoned the venture, and occupied her time by fighting the creatures that were milling about in the Temple.

The summons came a mere three days later, a dove with a scroll clutched in its beak landing in front of her as she sat at her parents' graves. Elenna was surprised it came so soon, yet she went without hesitation, running through Kakariko in plain sight of everyone and dashing down the stairs, to leap onto the back of Melantha and take off for the Castle. Had she been more sure of her budding magical abilities, she would've tried the little transportation spell everyone else seemed to have mastered. But fear that she would leave a body part behind, and a genuine love of riding, had her galloping through the Castletown and up to the Castle itself.

Leaving her faithful equine companion in the care of one of the Castle's trustworthy stablehands, Elenna trotted through the courtyard to the doors of the Castle itself. The sight that greeted her there brought a beaming grin to her face, and had her closing the distance at a run, yelling in delight. "Link!"

The Hero of Time caught Elenna with a laugh as the Sage threw herself into his arms, spinning her around as they hugged tightly. It had been months since they'd seen each other last, and the reunion was a joyful one. Amused golden eyes watched the embrace, until it was interrupted by the clearing of a throat.

"What, no hug for me, 'Lenna?" Elenna pulled back from Link, and turned to see Nabooru. She rushed from him to hug the Desert woman, then blinked in utter confusion as her brother and godmother came together, Nabooru's arm linked intimately through Link's.

"..Link? Nabooru?" Hero and Gerudo exchanged a look, and Nabooru winked at Elenna, leaning in to speak to the younger girl in a conspiratorial whisper.

"Don't tell anyone, but Link has agreed to be my husband." Elenna's lips formed an 'o' of surprise, and she looked to Link for confirmation. His blue eyes twinkling with happiness, he nodded in confirmation, and laughed at Elenna's delighted squeal.

"That's wonderful! Congratulations, you two." Attaching herself to Link's other side, the three made their way through the Castle, to the throne room, then through a door at one side into Zelda's personal library. The other Sages, and Kaepora, were already waiting for them. Zelda sat at a large table with Saria and Rauru, the three conversing idly. Darunia leaned next to a window, looking at the guards practicing outside. And Ruto stood stiffly away from everyone, her fins twitching irritably. The tension in the room heightened to an unbearable degree as Ruto saw the trio enter, and Elenna fought back the urge to hiss at the Zora.

It was going to be an interesting day.