Triforce of the Gods
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Zelda › General
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Category:
Zelda › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
8
Views:
2,101
Reviews:
6
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own any part of The Legend of Zelda, nor do I make any money from these writings.
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of The Legend of Zelda, nor do I make any money from these
writings.
Triforce of the Gods
Chapter Three: The Gerudo
THUNK!
Link, Cedra, and Colin looked up from the breakfast table in surprise, staring at the place whereZanna had dropped an enormous satchel.“Good morning, Zanna,” Helyn said casually, without missing a beat.“For goodness sakes child, what is all that?” Cedra asked, blinking suspiciously at the square-shaped sack.“It’s all my things,” Zanna replied lightly.“Well what on earth is in there? The library?” The old woman laughed a bit, her eyes glittering
with amusement.Zanna just stared blankly back at her. “Actually... yes.”Helyn hid behind her napkin, dissolving into a fit of giggles, and Colin was fighting a smile of
amazed humor.“Don’t you laugh at me, Impree Helyn,” Zanna commanded firmly, using Helyn’s full name.
Impree was their tribe. Zanna straightened her shoulders and held her head very high, trying to
appear dignified. “I only packed the tomes I may need. It’s not as if I’ll be able to come run
back whenever I wish, and I don’t want to be caught unprepared.”Helyn opened her mouth to make some sort of joke, but Link spoke first. “That’s probably a
good idea,” he said with a nod, managing to speak civilly despite the fact that he, too, appeared
somewhat surprised by the enormous bag.“Yes, well, I thought so.” Zanna said happily. She sat down, gingerly moving the bag to the
floor by her feet and then pulling out a beaten-looking scroll. “Actually, our first destination
ought to be a breeze,” she explained as the others ate. She herself was far too nervous to have
any kind of an appetite. “I mentioned last night that the most infamously winged tribe was the
Yerlli tribe, right?”Link nodded, his brow furrowing with attention. “Yes, I think so.”“Good. Well, there are only two of them still alive, unfortunately. One of them, Barlli, was
eighty-eight as of three years ago. My feeling is that he’s probably dead by now.”A frown settled upon the hero’s face as he set his fork down and leaned in a little. “But what
about the other? How old is he?”Zanna smiled wolfishly. “Actually, it’s a she.” Zanna grabbed the back of her chair and dragged
it around the table with a loud, obnoxious scraping noise, causing Helyn to cover her ears.“Zanna! That is no way to behave in front of a guest!” Cedra chided in exasperation, with a hint
of embarrassment.“It’s all right,” Link rushed to assure her, “I don’t mind.”“You’re much too kind,” Cedra smiled gratefully, sending Zanna a warning look filled with
poison.But Zanna was much too absorbed in her scroll. She scooted her chair between Link and Colin,
spreading the document out between them.“It’s almost absurd how easy this will be.” She pointed down toward the end of what appeared
to be a family tree. “The Yerlli messengers were the last tribe to be dismissed by the royal
family. When they finally were released, they were so dedicated to the royal family that they
decided to become ordinary soldiers!” She gestured excitedly, her elbow hitting Colin’s glass of
milk. Luckily, he caught it before it spilled.“Oops, sorry about that. Nice catch though,” Zanna smiled– distracted for only a split second
before she dove in again. “Despite the Sheikah’s incredible loyalty, however, the royal palace
saw the action as a gesture of disobedience.” She couldn’t completely hide the flicker of disdain
that touched her lips. “Hyrule was in the middle of a war on the Western border. There was a
supply fort in a valley that Hyrule desperately needed to capture, so they used the Sheikah
soldiers to go in and conquer it. Ultimately they succeeded, but the battle was basically the royal
family’s scheme to get rid of the Yerlli once and for all. It cost over 3500 lives to secure the
fort– at least three-fourths of which were Sheikah. It was almost genocide.” Zanna took a deep
breath, preparing to elaborate. “The interesting thing about that battle was that Hyrule actually
need to advan—““I’m sorry,” Link interrupted, putting one gauntlet-clad hand on top of Zanna’s. “That’s
despicable, what the royal family did to the Sheikah. But... what does this have to do with the
living descendent of Yerlli?”Zanna was stricken for a moment, staring at Link almost as if he had startled her. She blinked,
then sighed. “It... well... nothing, I guess,” she muttered sulkily.“I don’t mean to be rude...” Link said apologetically, unsettled by her suddenly quenched fervor.Zanna shrugged. “You weren’t. I guess I was getting a little off-track. The point is, though, that
two families decided not to join the Hyrulean army. They became merchants, but they preserved
their Sheikah blood and maintained a small community in Castle Town for over one hundred
years. It’s actually only recently that they’ve wheedled down to their very last descendent, and
luckily for us she still runs a shop in Castle Town! It doesn’t get any simpler than that.”She beamed proudly, and for the first time Link actually looked very pleased with Zanna’s
information. “That’s perfect!” he exclaimed. “We’ll be able to contact her immediately. Who
is she?”Zanna pointed firmly at a single, isolated name– far down toward the end of the scroll. “Right
there,” she declared confidently. “Fanadi.”“Fanadi?” Link exclaimed, eyes widening.“You know of her, Link?” Cedra asked, pleasantly surprised.“Well... yes, I guess so. Anyway, she’s read my fortune a few times. I never would have
expected her to be a Sheikah, though. She does palm readings for ten rupees a piece. It doesn’t
seem like she could be the winged Sheikah that Zelda is so worried about finding...” he said
uncertainly, rubbing the back of his neck.“But she is the descendent of Yerlli,” Cedra pointed out wisely. “And things are not always as
they appear.”“I think Grandmother has a point,” Zanna said thoughtfully. “Maybe Fanadi doesn’t seem like
the kind of person Princess Zelda would be interested in hunting down, but if it’s a wing crest
you’re looking for, Fanadi is definitely your best bet. The Yerlli used wings as their crest
consistently for more than two centuries, and she’s the only one left.”Link nodded pensively, rubbing his chin. “All right then,” he said finally, his eyes filling with
light and determination. “We’ll depart as soon as you’re ready.”
XoXoXoXoX
The five of them left the village just as the sun had reached its highest point in the clear, greysky. They waved as the village slowly became smaller and smaller, the huddled mass of white-cloaked figures gradually blending in with the snow.Zanna sighed, turning to face forward again in her saddle. She was leading the group, followed
by Link, then Colin, then Resha and Rowan.“I still don’t see why you have to be in the front,” Rowan muttered angrily.“Because,” Resha shrugged. “I’m bigger than you are. It doesn’t make sense for me to be
hanging on to you now does it?”“Yeah, but... I’m still the man...” Rowan protested weakly.Resha laughed heartily, elbowing Rowan so hard that he nearly tumbled off the horse. “You
can’t be much of one if your pride is so easily dwarfed,” she snickered.Rowan was speechless. “Now that is–! I am not–! I’ll have you know that I am very–““OKAY, that’s enough!” Zanna called back at them. “I don’t think we need to hear any more of
that.”Rowan and Resha’s conversation dissolved into a murmur of bitter muttering and laughter.
After about an hour of travel, they reached an inconspicuous cave entrance. Zanna hopped off
her horse and approached the cave mouth confidently. It was very small, and seemed to be close
to collapse. Certainly the horses would never fit, let alone enter of their own volition.“What is she doing?” Colin asked Link, bringing his horse up beside the hero’s.“I don’t know...” Link replied uncertainly.They watched as Zanna planted her feet in front of the mouth of the cave, held out her hands and
closed her eyes. After a split second, a sparkling purple fog began to swirl out of her palms,
creating a large whirlpool parallel to the cave entrance. There was a gentle flash of light before,
suddenly, the tiny hole in the side of the mountain became an enormous doorway, wide open to
what appeared to be an underground road.“Woah!” Colin gasped.Even Link seemed amazed. “What is that?” he asked Rowan and Resha, twisting around in his
saddle.“Oh, that’s just the road to Castle Town,” Resha shrugged. “You have to use sorcery to see it, so
only Sheikah and Gerudo can pass. It’s twice as fast as the highway.”Zanna swung back up onto her horse, grinning wolfishly at Link. “So?” she asked. “What do
you think?”Link shook his head, at a loss for words. “It’s... very... I wish I would have known about this a
week ago. It took me three days to get to your village!”Zanna laughed. “Hylians are so silly. You spend all your time coming up with great big
buildings and clever gadgets, but you never bother to learn basic sorcery. It comes in handy, you
know.” She kicked her horse and headed into the massive cavern. Link hesitated for a moment
but eventually followed, and soon the party was all safely inside.The cavern was so huge that two horses could easily walk side by side with room to spare. The
ceiling was twenty feet above them, with large, wet stalactites hanging down. Magically lit
lanterns lined the walls, giving the whole road an eery glow, and every mile or so there was a
small, room-like area off to the left or right, where one could pull off the road and set up camp
for the night.“This is incredible!” Link exclaimed next to Zanna, his head craned back to see up into the dark,
craggy ceiling. “And this was all built by sorcery?”“Sure!” Zanna shrugged, although she was inwardly very proud of the accomplishments of her
people. “Took over one hundred years to carve, but I think it was worth it.”“Yeah,” Link sighed in awe. “I’d say so.”Zanna watched him while he was busy staring at the ceiling, her large, dark eyes obviously
smiling despite the fact that the rest of her face was hidden by a scarf and a hood. Link’s
appreciation for the road made her feel... warm. His piercing blue eyes were wide, his
cornflower hair framing his strong but angular face. He possessed a strange balance of ferocity
and purity, Zanna thought to herself. Of strength, and sensitivity... Link noticed her staring, and
Zanna quickly looked away– blushing heavily. Thank goodness for her scarf!Meanwhile, Rowan and Resha were singing an old Sheikah folk song to entertain Colin, who
was enraptured despite the fact that the pair seemed to be singing in two different keys.“And then the warrior left for good,his duty last fulfilled.But he left his wife a-weeping therealone upon the hill.“Warriors may triumph,and sorcerers may shine.But not a soul can outsmart Deathwhen it comes his time.”Colin applauded enthusiastically, smiling at the two Sheikah. “That’s kind of a sad song,” he
said, pushing his golden hair out of his eyes.Rowan nodded. “It is. The Sheikah have always had a fascination with death, and a great
respect for it. Nobody ever lives in a Sheikah legend,” he smirked.“Not even the heros?” Colin asked.Resha snorted, shaking her head. “Especially not the heroes. You take on a special quest as a
Sheikah and you’re just asking to be killed off in battle.”Colin looked back and forth between the two of them, squinting a little. “So... that means before
we finish our adventure, both of you are going to die in battle?”Resha and Rowan blinked at one another before looking back at Colin. “Do you want us to
die?!” Resha asked sharply, glaring.“Er– no!!” Colin exclaimed, eyes wide with alarm as he looked up at the towering woman.
“That’s not what I meant!”“Then how’s about you stop calling it an ‘adventure,’ eh? You’ll jinx us!” Resha demanded, her
yellow Gerudo eyes virtually glowing with danger.“Oh– right. Sure. Sorry,” Colin placated, looking somewhat mortified.There was a brief pause. “Wanna hear another song?” Rowan asked cheerfully.“No!” Colin begged. “I mean– uh– not right now.”Rowan sighed. He leaned toward Colin and jerked a thumb in Resha’s direction. “She gets a
little witchy now and then.... She’s actually a Gerudo,” he whispered. “Talk about a temper!
Don’t take it personally.”Colin nodded, and the boys smiled knowingly at each other.“We’re on the same horse, Rowan. I can hear you.”Rowan burst out into nervous laughter, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Oh... right.”They continued traveling for many hours, talking lightly amongst themselves. Zanna convinced
Link to tell some stories about how he’d defeated Ganondorf, and Rowan was snoozing soundly
against Resha’s back. When they began to get hungry, they pulled off the road and set up a
campsite.“We should probably get a little bit of sleep before we continue on,” Zanna said as Rowan
magically lit a fire in the empty pit and began passing out the dried food they’d packed. “We’ll
still be there by tomorrow morning,” she added with a glance at Link.He sighed, nodding. “You’re probably right. Some rest would do us good.”It didn’t take long before they’d all eaten and pulled out their bedding. Rowan and Colin slept
side-by-side in one corner, while Resha slept close to the road so she could wake up if any
Gerudo approached. Link and Zanna remained awake, close to the fire with their backs against
the far wall.“So you told me about how you defeated Ganon,” Zanna said, stretching her legs out in front of
her. “But what ever happened to your friend, Midna?”“Hmm...” Link said, smiling despite the sadness that had crept into his eyes. “That’s a good
question, I guess. Once Ganondorf was defeated, she went back to her own dimension. And for
safety’s sake... she destroyed the mirror.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against
the stone wall behind him, then laughed humorlessly. “I know it’s stupid but I still look for her
sometimes, when I’m not thinking. It’s like I know she’s gone but at the same time...”“She’s still there,” Zanna finished for him.He looked over at her, mildly surprised. “Yeah,” he said. His expression was filled with
questions, but he couldn’t find the proper way to ask them.Zanna noticed, and sighed. “You wouldn’t know this,” she said slowly, “but Rowan actually had
a twin brother once.”“Really?” Link asked curiously. “What... happened?”“It was a stupid accident,” she said bitterly, trying to laugh but unable to force it. “His name was
Caell. I love Rowan, don’t get me wrong, but... Caell was the best friend I ever had. He was so
smart, and caring, and funnier than anyone I’ve ever known.” A sorrowful smile illuminated her
face. She wasn’t sure why she felt comfortable telling these things to Link, but somehow his
presence was very reassuring. She wanted him to know. She wanted to share Caell’s memory
with someone.“We were out on the mountain one day, just... throwing snowballs, making snow-birds, all kinds
of silliness. By ourselves. We weren’t paying attention; we were just sixteen. We were
foolish.” Zanna drew her knees up to her chest now, the memory as vivid as if it were yesterday.
“I was hiding from him behind a tree, and he was trying to find me. I was so busy trying not to
laugh I never heard the wolfos that came up behind me. It swiped me twice on the back– hard. I
still have the scars,” she said with more than a hint of disgust. “I hate those despicable creatures.
Anyway... Caell heard me scream. He came running and neither of us were very good sorcerers
at that point. All he had was this little dagger.” Zanna used two fingers to show how small the
blade was. “And he... he...” The words choked her; she couldn’t finish without crying.“He defended you?” Link asked, eyes full of sympathy.“Yeah,” Zanna whispered, now laughing a bit for real. “He killed the bastard, too. My coat is
made from the pelt of that damn wolf. But he... He didn’t make it. Not even back to the village.
I still have... dreams about it.” She shut her eyes, fighting off visions of the long journey back to
the village, leaving a trail of blood in the snow, Caell’s battered body slung over her shoulder as
his breathing grew fainter and fainter in her ear. His hair– once long and splendid– tainted red
and blown in her face by the winter wind.“Every time I see Rowan...” Zanna murmured.“It’s like you forget Caell even died?” Link supplied, his expression empathetic and knowing.Zanna smiled through the tears that were beginning to fall, and laughed a little. “Yeah.”
Embarrassed, she reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes. “I must look like a real idiot...”
she muttered.Link caught her hand, frowning. “Not at all. You shouldn’t be embarrassed for crying about
something like that. I’d cry too.”Zanna looked at the heroic hulk of a warrior in front of her and laughed. “I’d like to see that!”
she chuckled.“Yeah, well, stick around. You never really know when I’ll bust out the water works,” he
smiled. He watched as Zanna laughed and wiped her tears with the back of her hands, trying to
keep him from seeing that she was trembling. The sight was oddly distressing for him, and he
felt like he had to do something to make her feel better. He moved closer to her, then pulled her
into a careful hug. “I’m sorry about your friend,” he said softly.Zanna’s eyes widened in surprise, but she gradually let her tension melt away, and she returned
the gesture. When was the last time someone other than her family had embraced her? She
couldn’t even remember. “Thanks,” Zanna whispered at last. “I’m sorry about Midna.”“At least we have something in common,” he said, deadpan.Zanna smiled and pulled away from his embrace, standing so that she could stretch. Somehow,
she felt as if a small burden had been lifted from her. She crawled into bed with a sense of
security– not fearing nightmares or prophecies or bitter memories. She was freer than she’d
been in a long time. Before she drifted off to sleep, she made sure to murmur, “Goodnight, Link.
And... thanks.”The hero smiled.
XoXoXoXoX
Zanna couldn’t have been asleep for more than a few hours when she was shaken awake. Hereyes fluttered open to reveal Rowan stooped over her, his sharp, green gaze the only way of
recognizing him behind his scarf. But, oh, how well she knew that gaze...“Zanna, snap out of it,” he commanded, shaking her a little harder.“I’m awake!” she hissed, propping herself up on her hands. “What is it?” Zanna scanned the
campsite hazily. Link was up and armed with Colin by his side, and they both were near Resha,
who was standing in the middle of the road. The music of a single, sad, violin met Zanna’s ears,
and she gasped.“Gerudo,” Rowan nodded, before Zanna could even say anything. “They’re coming way faster
than usual, and it sounds like just a single caravan. Resha’s got her hood off already.”“Right,” Zanna said firmly, standing up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She went to wait
with the others. Resha stood far in front of them, her high, red ponytail shining in the lamplight.
She was truly beautiful in her own way, Zanna couldn’t help but think. Tall and slender with
rich mocha skin and a profile that was both breathtaking and strong. Zanna would never be as
gorgeous as Resha– not in a million years....“You didn’t tell me she was a Gerudo,” Link said, snapping Zanna out of her thoughts.“Oh,” she grinned, shrugging. “I guess I had almost forgotten myself. We tease her all the time
about being so big, but... we think of her as just one of us.”“You could say she was... adopted,” Rowan added, folding his arms over his chest. Even behind
his scarf Zanna could see that the young Sheikah was completely red. He was always flushed
when Resha had her scarf off. Zanna suspected that, on some deeply subconscious level, Rowan
was in love with her. Or at least found her to be extremely attractive.“You look a little hot under that scarf, Rowan,” Zanna said wryly. “Maybe you should take your
coat off. Or Resha’s coat for that matter...”If possible, Rowan got even redder. “Don’t even start!” he exclaimed. “That’s completely out
of line, Zanna, I would never... It isn’t like that, all right?!”Resha reeled around, glaring. All four of them shirked under her gaze, which burned like cat’s
eyes in the dark. “All of you, be quiet!” she commanded. “They’re coming.”Slowly, becoming clearer and clearer in the murky light of the cavern, a Gerudo wagon rounded
the corner. The wooden “desert schooner” was old and rickety, with a painted cloth top showing
images of dancers and merriment. There was a large hole right in the top of the canvas which
had been clumsily patched with black fabric, and the wagon was drawn by a tired old donkey
who had certainly seen better days. Interestingly, no other wagons followed. It was not a
caravan, but just a single wagon.The Gerudo who was driving the schooner pulled the donkey to a stop, and hopped off the
wagon. The violin music ended suddenly, and four more Gerudo crept cautiously from behind
the wagon. All of them were barefoot. They looked worse for wear, even by Gerudo standards.
Their glorious ponytails were rumpled and oily, their faces were dirty and the matching purple
skirts they all wore– usually flamboyant and cheerful– were torn and stained in several places.The head Gerudo was dressed slightly better, but she looked no less exhausted. The jewel on her
forehead was crooked, and her dancing belt of coins was missing several pieces. She wore a
dark green scarf on her head, which indicated her leadership.“Sister,” she said to Resha in a deep, resonant voice. “You are dressed as one of the
tribespeople. Why do you travel this way?”“I could ask the same of you,” Resha pointed out. “I became a Sheikah long ago, when I was
separated from my family. But what about you? Where’s the rest of your caravan?”The young Gerudo sighed, and rubbed the dark circles under her eyes. “We have been traveling
for two days without sleep just to escape them,” she said miserably.Resha’s eyes widened. “Why? What happened?”The woman looked warily at Resha’s travel companions, then lowered her voice slightly. “They
have fallen desperately ill,” she said nervously. “Sister, if I were you, I would turn around now.
Some disease has taken my kin, and they no longer recognize us. They’ve lost their minds–
they’re attacking everything that crosses their path. You must turn around immediately.”“We aren’t turning around!” Zanna called out, hands on her hips.Rowan elbowed her hard in the ribs, shocked. “Shut up, Zanna!” he hissed.But Zanna just shook her head, approaching Resha and the Gerudo leader. The Gerudo woman
narrowed her eyes, her right hand falling to a place on her skirt that doubtlessly hid a dagger.“You are not a Gerudo, Sorcerer. This business does not concern you,” she growled.Zanna did not relent. “That’s exactly right,” she exclaimed. “I am a sorcerer, and so are my
companions. We can heal your caravan if we come across them. Isn’t that what you want?”“Do you think we are so primitive?” the Gerudo spat, her tired face glowing with fury. “Of
course we tried to heal them! You are not the only ones capable of petty magic! There is
something foul about this illness; I don’t know what it is. But if our great healers fell victim to
the curse, I severely doubt that anything more could be accomplished by a group of mountain
simpletons! I’ve warned you. If it’s death you want, keep going!”The angry Gerudo hopped back onto her wagon as the four other women clambered in through
the back, and then with a flick of the reigns they were off again. Link and Rowan had to pull
Colin out of the way as the wagon passed, revealing the frightened stares of the four women
within. Zanna and Resha watched the wagon clamber out of sight before speaking.“What the hell was that, Zanna?” Resha rounded on her, furious. “You scared them away before
I could even get any specific information from them!”Zanna wasn’t listening, however. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she watched the
space where the wagon had been, and her pupils were shrinking and growing erratically.“Did she say her caravan had fallen ill?” Link asked Resha gravely.Resha just nodded. “Why?”Link’s face was very somber as he too now turned to stare down the road. “I think... I think this
is the beginning of the curse Zelda was worried about.”“What do you mean?” Resha asked, alarmed.“The winged Sheikah is supposed to be able to stop a curse that’s come over Hyrule. And the
curse is... a plague. An illness that takes over people’s minds.”“And she’s sick!” Zanna gasped, her eyes still fixed but unseeing on the place where the wagon
had been. Everyone stared at her uneasily, unsure of what she was saying. “She’s sick,” Zanna
repeated emphatically. “I can feel it through my empathetic bond. That Gerudo caught the
illness and she knows it– that’s why she’s so irritable. She’s trying to get those four women out
of the cavern before she falls ill. And she’s– she’s so afraid,” Zanna said, trying to gesture
something with her hands that could express the tremendous fear that the Gerudo woman was
feeling. “I’ve never sensed anything like it– she’s terrified.”“Zanna is an empath,” Rowan explained to Link, who looked utterly lost. “She senses what
other people are feeling. It’s kind of... her specialty.”Link nodded slowly, warily looking at Zanna’s wide, unfocused gaze. “But... what does that
mean for us? Should we follow her?”Zanna shook her head forcefully, snapping out of her trance. “No. We can’t afford it. I’ve
never felt anyone so afraid in my entire life. If it’s true that only the winged Sheikah can stop
this curse, then we need to locate her immediately. We’ve got to keep going.”The group exchanged nervous glances, and Rowan put his hand on Colin’s shoulder. “What
about the infected Caravan?” he asked, looking worried. “We won’t be any good if we catch the
disease ourselves.”“I don’t think that’s the problem,” Resha interjected. “I can put up a barrier around all of us that
should be able to keep out disease. What we should be worried about is whether or not this
caravan is going to be violent.”“Right...” Link said. “They probably are violent. And if they were violent enough to drive away
their own family...”Zanna nodded. “It’s going to be pretty bad. And we can’t kill them because they’re just sick,
not evil. Depending on how many there are, we might not be able to make it through...”“We don’t have any choice,” Link said firmly, drawing his sword. “We have to stop this evil
before it becomes an epidemic, which means we have to find the winged Sheikah as soon as
possible.”“He’s right,” Zanna said, feeding off of his rush of courage. “We can’t turn back now.
Everyone ready your horses and your weapons– we’ll leave as soon as we’re packed!”...(Review if you liked it... or if you hated it! You made it all the way through the chapter, so why
not take the 15 extra seconds to drop me a line?? ^^’)