Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend of Zelda: The Ballad of Fallen Angels ❯ Nabooru's Advice ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 2: “Nabooru's Advice”

Despite the heavy rain that had saturated everything the night before, strong winds blew enormous and deadly storms of dust and debris throughout the Phantom Wasteland. The black-robed form of Saetoushei trekked through the desert, following the marker flags that had been placed there long before his birth.

Tael was nestled on his shoulder, hidden under the cloth to protect his frail form from the winds. Before they had departed that morning, Saetoushei had made it perfectly clear that he wanted silence, and that Tael was not to speak to him or anyone.

The pair reached an octagon-shaped rock structure. The structure had stood for several centuries before now. A winding pathway led to the top of the structure. A ladder reached far below into the depths of the ground.

Tael could no longer control himself. “Li-, I mean, Saetoushei, why are we here? The way to the castle is the complete opposite way out of the valley.”

The young man turned aggravated blue eyes on the little purple fairy. “I know that! Don't you think I know what I'm doing? I haven't even agreed to go to Termina yet. Just be silent!”

The fairy trembled as Saetoushei climbed the path to the top of the structure. He strode over to the edge of the structure, where the sand lifted to over almost a second level of desert. Saetoushei reached into his robes and withdrew what appeared to be a purple magnifying glass with a design of an eye in it's center. Saetoushei held up the lens and looked through it.

Directly in front of them was a ghost, a Poe more specifically, floating in the air in front of them. Without looking through the glass, it appeared that nothing was there at all.

It cackled, “Well, you again? You're the only one who ever seems to come this way anymore.”

Saetoushei did not laugh in return. “Of course I am! I'm the only living thing that resides here anymore.”

“True,” the Poe conceded. “Very well, the temple again, I presume?”

“You always ask me that. Of course the temple, is there anywhere else worthwhile that you know of in this desert?”

The Poe sulked. “You don't have to be so mean about it.”

Turning from Saetoushei, the Poe began floating off into the swirling sand. Saetoushei leapt from the structure, landing easily on the sand below and followed the ghost.

Tael couldn't determine how long Saetoushei spent chasing the Poe through the slowly darkening skies. It seemed like forever before the ghost stopped and turned to Saetoushei.

“Here we are. Do you want me to wait to guide you back?”

“Naturally.” Saetoushei nodded once to the Poe and turned to walk forward. Instantly the dust cleared and Tael finally got a look at their destination.

The great Desert Colossus stood untested. It was the only establishment this far into the desert. The sand goddess was carved into the enormous rock wall, her head was over a hundred feet high. A dark opening sat at her feet.

Saetoushei strode right into the opening, unafraid of anything that might be there.

Saetoushei had been here many times since he became the warden of the fortress, seeking the advice of the Spirit Temple's guardian Sage. He walked unhindered through the torch-lit corridors and passages, finally coming out in the temple's main room. The majority of the room was occupied by a smaller version of the goddess statue, carved out of dyed rocks and gems. A lone figure stood at it's feet, staring up at it.

Saetoushei threw back the hood of his cloak and jostled Tael from his shoulder. “You wait here, and be quiet.”
Tael flew up to a pillar and sat on it's peak. Saetoushei walked slowly, almost reverently, to the figure by the statue.

The figure was a young woman. Thin and muscular, she was dressed in the ancient garb of the now-extinct Gerudo tribe: Arabian-style pants and shoes with decorative face paint and a sour expression on her face. The expression softened when she noticed Saetoushei.

Throwing her arm up at the statue, she remarked, “Whenever you come back after this, could you bring me some green paint and some sandpaper? This old thing is deteriorating faster than I am!”

Saetoushei replied, “What do you mean, `faster than I am'? You look exactly the same as you did years ago.”

She shrugged, “You'd be surprised how the mind is affected by age even more than the body is.”

“But your mind is no longer living. I'm talking to a spirit.”

The sage laughed. “We really need to work on your tact.”

Saetoushei almost smiled. “How are you, Nabooru?”

Nabooru laughed again. “As good a seven-years dead soul can be, I guess. But I can sense that you don't feel the same. What's on your mind?”

Saetoushei relayed the story and the warning to his old friend. Nabooru's eyes hardened and darkened the more he told her.

“I've come for advice. What should I do? Where do I go from here?”

The Spirit Sage thought hard. Saetoushei had often come to her for advice or to talk, but this was more serious than anything they had discussed since Dragmire's fall.

“What do you feel you should do, Saetoushei?” she replied to him.

The young man sighed. “I don't know. I wish I could just send Tael back, but he'd try to kill me before that happened. Skull Kid died to bring the Deku Mask and the warning to me. I almost feel like I am obligated to do something. But on the other hand, I would be breaking my own promises to myself.”

Nabooru said, “I guess my advice to you is this: do what you feel is right, not what is wanted.”

Saetoushei stared off into space for a long time. Then he asked, “Nabooru, can you go retrieve my equipment from the chamber?”

The Sage smiled, “I was hoping you'd say that…Link.”

“Come down from there now, Tael!”

The fairy was woken up by Saetoushei's shout. He hurried down from the pillar, stopping short at the sight that greeted him.

Saetoushei had removed his robes. He stood before Tael, clad in black pants with a gray tunic. Black boots covered his feet. His leather gauntlets protected his hands and wrists. His sword, forged in Termina long ago by the Mountain Smithy and his demented apprentice, was buckled over his left shoulder. A long black coat that reached nearly to the ground completed his outfit.

The fairy was impressed. “Besides the drab color scheme, you look just like you again.”

Saetoushei rolled his eyes. “Come on, let's go.”

The pair left the way they had come. Behind them, Nabooru watched their departure. She slowly faded away to rest herself, whispering, “May the Fates watch over you, my Hero of Time”