The Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction / Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction ❯ The Cycle's End ❯ Chapter One: Reflections ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter One: Reflections

 

”Time passes, people move. Like a river's flow, it never ends. A childish mind will turn to noble ambition. Young love will become deep affection. The clear water's surface reflects growth. Now listen to the Serenade of Water to reflect upon yourself.”

-Sheik, Ocarina of Time

 

 

 

I have never concerned myself with time.

 

Time does not change me, age me, or diminish who I am. A long time ago, I could blink and find the landscape from snow to flowers, a brief rest would have children as elders, and a full sleep would change cities to ruins. None of this had concerned me.

 

Till now.

 

The book Kaula had given me, smelling of cowhide and spring water, scribbled in her hand, had been less than helpful thus far. Most passages were disjointed, erratic, some scrawled hastily with a random word or phrase. “ScorpSpider,” “Bat(?),” and “Three heads, Deep Water” were examples of her ramblings. Other passages were neat, almost a page long, clearly detailed. One, as such, reiterated upon the order to stay away from my farkas till what Kaula repeatedly referred to as “The Cycle's End.” Immediately I had to quell the desire to disobey, her rational firm on this. He would not remember me and, should I see him, I would not be well received. More so, she left the impression that my approaching him too soon might cause a reaction to have my farkas (not those others who might be considered to be him, but clearly weren't) to reject me at a later date.

 

Thus, my problem now.

 

Her indications of “when” the Cycle's End would occur were based on speculation. There was no clear day or time, month or year, outside of the fact that:

 

“The reflection of one thousand dead warriors, each similar in look and attire, with a thousand dead women beside them and a thousand more gruesome men and beast combinations yet only a single shadow surviving”

 

would mark the way. If what Kaula said is true, that each time he's reborn, my farkas is fated to die, I can only guess it to be around 18,000 years, if he lives to be eighteen each time. If he lives longer, the estimate grows higher.

 

Time now has a power over me I never suspected.

 

I stayed with Weedling, or whatever she called herself, for a while, after Kaula's passing. The girl was overly timid, always jumping when she saw a shadow, as though thinking it was me or that the shadow would rip her asunder as it had the chairs the day of Kaula's passing. I probed her several times in regards to Kaula's book but she didn't utter a single useful thing in its regard. Perhaps wind and grass were less divine than water? In the end, I departed, having nothing to keep me there.

 

I studied Kaula's words, tried to make sense of them. Half the time, while reading, I could hear her voice. There was an importance in them, these pages, but my lack of understanding nearly had me set the book aflame on more than once occasion.

 

“That which was bestowed to you shall be stripped away. It is not what you fear which will be taken, but that which you take for granted.”

 

Saying the words aloud in my own voice added no clarity to the situation. I sorely hoped she was not misleading me when she said I'd understand at the proper time. I was beginning to doubt my skills of deduction.

 

Beyond studying the tome, I'd done little else. Knowing the fragility of paper, I committed it to memory, every scribble, sketch, and scrawl. I had little need for the original text anymore but kept it on hand for reasons I could not fathom. The thought of dispatching it was… discomforting. So I kept it with me, glancing at the familiar handwriting on occasion.

 

I have no marker for how much time passed. I stayed in Hyrule for the most of it, having no reason or desire to depart elsewhere. In the time I studied Kaula's text, I also contemplated her final words to me.

 

“Thank you… Olorun.”

 

I had forgotten my name, or it had been taken from me, at the same stroke when the Goddesses had stolen my power. What bothered me more than the fact I'd lost it was that I hadn't even realized I'd lost it. Shadow, Demon, Dark Link, Phantom God… These names had all fit but reflecting back upon them, they didn't fit quite right. Not now, that I had my own name back.

 

But what else was I missing?

 

I tried to think further back, tried to remember, in more detail, my reign of terror on the Land of Hyrule, how I'd enslaved the people for my own pleasures and desires, raped the land with the need to taint the Light… and came up empty. I remembered my sins, but not the places, the faces of the people. It had never bothered me before, for I'd given it little consideration, too busy stewing at the Goddesses and cursing them for my lack of form, but now… I wonder. Was it really Hyrule? But if not Hyrule, then where? For the darkness of me, I can't fathom ever being outside of Hyrule but neither can I relate my memories to this place either. It just… it doesn't fit, as much as I try to make it.

 

During this time of contemplation, I felt a subtle use of the Dark Arts. The spell itself was powerful, creating dark copies of the victim, allowing the darkness in their heart to take form and shape, ripping the victim apart. However, the user of this spell was weak and the shadows came out the same. I personally went to find him, to show him how such a spell should be used.

 

Immersing myself in the shadows, I was able to flow along their path, able to appear at any point they emerged from. It is a method of travel which is faster, by far, than horse but, grudgingly, a fraction slower than light. Reaching my destination, I prepared to emerge from the shadows, intending to find the fool who dared to use the Dark Arts before stopping myself completely.

 

My farkas.

 

In a sealed room, accessible only to shadows and light, was my farkas. He was fighting four Shadow versions of himself, all of them weak and easily dispatched. The most they did was stumble around, hoping to bump or hit my farkas and steal his health away. One sword swing easily dispatched them, leaving small heart vials in their place. With them gone, he set his sights on the person, or rather, fairy who summoned them. However, the building began to shake and the floor began to fall, the walls crumbling around us.

 

I was half out of the shadows before I remembered Kaula's warnings and reluctantly sunk back in them, allowing them to drag me to the base of what appeared to be a large tower, as the object casting them, too, fell. My farkas was surprisingly uninjured and appeared with the Demonic Fairy at the base of the tower. She was crafty with her form shifting, I'll give her that, though her use of Dark Arts over all was pathetic and the shapes she chose reflected that. A true master could have picked something much more deadly than a beetle or bee, though the spider had potential. In the end, I had no need to dispatch of her, as my farkas did it for me.

 

Yet… he was not my farkas.

 

As the initial pleasure of seeing him wore down, I could see subtle differences. I, who was he, knew of all his fighting skills. This one… he knew of them too, but the timing was different. A little pause here, a rushed slash there… even the way he held himself was wrong.

 

He is, but he isn't, my farkas.

 

After dispatching her to the Dark World, which I'm sure is where she was banished too, based on her use of the Dark Arts, the farkas left with some other mortals. I contemplated on following him but did not. He was not mine to follow.

 

Traveling by the shadows, I returned to my point of origin, studying Kaula's book again, seeking to find answers.

 

=*=*=*=

 

I have no marker for how much time passed. I know that several towns were rebuilt, the rivers cut deeper, and the mountains seemed to grow taller, but I have no marker for how many years. I only know that I was awakened from a half state of mind by a sudden change. No sight or sound marked it, though the only equivalent I have to describe it is a heightened sense of awareness, as a doe might feel when a branch snaps in a silent forest. Rather than flee, I took off towards it, eager to find what had caused it.

 

And found not one, but four, farkas.

 

A hasty scrawl, blotted in spots, formed in my mind. “One sword= 4.”

 

Each one was dressed in a different tunic, Red, Blue, Violet, and the traditional Green. They all held a sword, each seeming slightly confused and dazed as to what had transpired. The magic in the sword made me recoil slightly, sensing the good within it, and keep to the shadows more.

 

“Wh-What the…”

 

“That Legend about…”

 

“The one who pulls the Four Sword, his body shall be four is…”

 

“True then!”

 

While they were distracted, I could feel a Dark Arts user approaching. Unlike the last time, this user had potential in the skills and wielded them skillfully. In the form of a giant Rock Golem, he appeared and began to attack the holders of the sword, which I can only assume was what had sealed him initially, based on fragments of the conversation I could hear. I was torn with my loyalty at this point, to help him who also was gifted with the Dark Arts or those who were a fragmented portion of the one I loved.

 

In the end, I did neither and watched, as was instructed of me.

 

The wielders of the Four Sword, the farkas as four, were abysmal at first. Their fighting style was well and good but they lacked cooperation and nearly fell at the stone fist of the weakened Dark Arts user. In the end, they were able to succeed in defeating his Rock Golem form but he was far from done. I could sense his departure in the wind, not on the way to the Dark World. He still had much fighting and havoc to do before they would be rid of him completely.

 

Then, I saw him. The Shadow of the Four. The true shadow of the hero, the darkness in his heart given form. He was along side a wall of stone, smirking at the heroes celebrating their victory, his heart so dark I could feel the pulses of shadows in every beat. In some ways, he favored me more than his counterparts, though his skin was as fair as theirs and his eyes were green-blue with hair a shade of purple, the darkness was the same. I considered capturing him, for Kaula's words had not mentioned any Shadow of my Farkas, but he dissipated into shadows, departing for places unknown to me.

 

I wanted him.

 

I bided my time, a few minutes passing, before a wave of Dark Arts flooded the area by the castle. Traveling by darkness, I contented myself with watching as the Shadow of my Farkas brought forth monsters of impressive size and stature, kept them under his control, and laid waste to Hyrule castle and several of its nearby towns. He did not discriminate in those he attacked, allowing the monsters to do as they willed, leaving the castle cracked and broken. He lay in wait there so I too waited, wanting to know more of this side of my farkas.

 

The four heroes came and he confronted them, and I learned of Gufuu, the Dark Arts user who had appeared as the Stone Golem. I also learned that this Shadow Farkas also harbored the same obsession with Zelda as my own farkas, disappointing, really, though he was more inclined to do her ill than good fortune. He fought well and I was inclined to believe that he was not just a clone of the darkness in Farkas' heart. He seemed to actually be the darkness in Farkas, which was intriguing as it was infuriating. He could not have been summoned or brought forth by Gufuu, as that mage was sealed at the time. So who released this one? Had Shadow Farkas had enough strength of his own to break free of the Dark World? Unlikely… but not without possibility.

 

The fight that suddenly erupted amongst them, the four and the one, was going badly for the four heroes. As I watched, the Shadow easily knocked them aside. His power drew me forth but before I could claim him, a blinding light in the form of a fairy drove both he and I aside. He out of fear, I out of surprise. I had almost forgotten, I was not to be seen.

 

When the light cleared, the four were gone leaving the shadow behind. He was badly shaken though he tried not to show it, I could make out the trembling of his hand. Such an intense reaction… if this was the fear of the Shadow, what was the fear of the Light?

 

I followed the exploits of the four and the one, interested in learning more of my farkas, though these five together still did not equal he. I still had plans to steal the Shadow Farkas but laid them to rest upon the realization that if I did, it might change how my final farkas would be. Without the shadow in his heart, would he really be my farkas? It was such a glorious creature too… I wanted him to have it later, to see when it might surface again. Such bitterness mingled with sorrow and hate… I wanted him to have this.

 

I was able to glean from this… cycle, if you will, that Ganon still had power, in whatever realm he was sealed. It seemed the Shadow of Farkas had been brought forth by him, with aid of an object called “The Dark Mirror.” An artifact created either within the Dark World and brought to this one or by someone who forged it with the Dark Arts, it had the power to make Shadow Farkas and Gufuu immortal.

 

Imagine my immense surprise when Shadow Farkas was the one to destroy it.

 

As Light can house Darkness, so can Darkness house Light. His dispersal of the mirror brought about his own end, as well as Gufuu's. In return, it also forced Ganon to appear, allowing the four heroes to rescue Zelda, that bitch, and defeat the King of Darkness.

 

However, with one part of themselves gone, the others were sure to follow. Not more than a month had passed after the four rejoined before they, he, departed to the next cycle.

 

=*=*=*=

 

When I could sense him, I would follow, keeping to the shadows, masking my presence. Many times, he had companions, others, he traveled alone. Always after her, for her. Each time succeeding, and yet, failing.

 

After the episode with the Four Swords, I heeded Kaula's words more carefully. I did little to interfere with my Farkas, as loathe as I was to do so. Perhaps a monster stumbled or held still a second too long, but there was certainly no way to pin that on a shadow, much less me, now was there? Though I was almost caught once… perhaps a hundred years or so past my first time seeing my farkas…

 

At least, I assume it to have been that long, it may have been longer but I'd grown used to Time's teasing drag.

 

In the land where it had all began, his home, this time. He'd ventured into the basement with a lantern, shining it around, looking for something. When he extinguished the flame to leave, I'd emerged from the shadows but had apparently done so closer than I'd intended. He turned before I could merge again, catching sight of me. I remained still, only taking a step back when he approached. I wasn't sure what to do, as this had never happened. I'd always been so meticulous about not being seen…

 

He seemed to squint in the darkness a little more before turning around and leaving. Releasing my taunt muscles, I tried to fathom why he'd departed so soon, why he hadn't attacked. The answer came when I turned around, my reflection barely hazy in the mirror. For a moment, I was reminded of the other mirror, so many years past, that the Shadow Farkas had broken. Was this mirror, hidden in the dark, a reminder of that past forgotten? If so, perhaps there was hope that when I met my farkas, he would remember me… though at a level below his subconscious.

 

I could hope.

 

=*=*=*=

 

When the waters flooded Hyrule, I'd been expecting it. There was a very clear passage of:

 

“The people's prayers shall be answered, though not by one in green but by floods of blue. Rise to the mountains or be swept away.”

 

which alluded enough that when the waters came, I was ready to depart. I stopped once, just as the water came raining down, at the house of the departed Kaula. There was no house any more, not even the ruins of one. The land was untouched again, even the stone pillar marking the passing of her teacher corroded into nothing. What remained that marked this as the place I remembered was the pond, slightly depleted, and the flowers Kaula had planted at her mentor's grave, which has spread past the isolated area and along the land, further than what my own eyesight could see. Dark violet flowers with yellow inside them and golden flowers with dark purple inside them. There was no one here to save or warn, Weedling surely had passed beyond to the Sacred Realm by now, as her student after her, and theirs following…

 

I turned to go but could not prevent myself from saving two flowers, one of each color, with which I grudgingly planted on the peak of one of the mountaintops. It was too small to be inhabitable by any mortals, when the water came and left this as nothing more than an island, but the volcanic soil would do well for these flowers and their offspring. It was a simple enough thing but I found myself vexed over it, though no particular reason came to mind.

 

There was another passage mentioned;

 

“The Righteous King shall plunge the Golden Realm to the deep, from which the Evil Power shall not touch the Light”

 

that I could only fathom at. I wasn't sure if it was mentioning that the Golden Realm, Hyrule, would surface or if it was in pairing to the passage of the people's prayers. It did not concern me overly much, though the fact that it perplexed me was bothersome. It has been some time since the initial flood of water and I've seen little change, though once it seemed as though the waters may have receded.

 

Currently, I travel in a boat crafted by a people whose name is already forgotten due to Time's decay. They had been a sea faring people before the Great Sea had formed, perhaps descendents of those once living in Hyrule, though their skin was darker than most, hueing just a shade lighter than my own. They were craftsmen in their own right, enough so that this vessel was paid for and not stolen or coerced. While I could have done either, the vessels they had did not suit my needs and to force them to build me a vessel without pay would have ended poorly, as would the boat they would have ended up building. No, I paid and am pleased to admit it worth the price.

 

The wood was of the darkest oak they could find, each plank coated with a layer of Sea Spells from their own mage. Ones to prevent leaks, ones to keep the wood from rotting, even several to keep barnacles from sticking and to travel swiftly over the water. I added my own, unseen, to deter lesser monsters from attacking me (which was more out of my desire to be undisturbed then anything) and to prevent telescopes from seeing my vessel. The mage must have sensed this extra layer of magic but said nothing, as it was not the Dark Arts that I used to do this.

 

It was large enough to house three, though I only planned for it to house two. I preferred the cabin to be roomy instead of cramped, not liking the confidingness the walls made me feel, dark oak or not. The ship was easily maneuverable by one, guided by the sail instead of oars, though I had little use for the sail. With the fragments of the Water Magic I'd kept, still within me after these long centuries, I could easily propel the ship in the water with just a thought.

 

Which was made less helpful by the fact that I had little clue of where to go.

 

Now, as the sun was beginning its decent, I turned my eyes to it, finding fault in this constant reminder of the Light. Its counter, the moon, was little better, a reflection of Light into Dark, which made me pause in thought. I had thought Shadow Farkas held a fraction of Light within him… but perhaps it was just a reflection. Perhaps the Four of One Farkas held a Light so bright it could cast a reflection of Light into the Shadow. If that was the case… could my own Farkas reflect Light into me?

 

It was disturbing, this thought, for as much as I wanted to deny it, it held a realm of possibility. Yet, before I could dwell further into what the implications of this possibility could be, I sensed something. Something that made me still.

 

Dark Arts. Someone was using them again, to such a degree that my own powers were naught in comparison. From what I could tell, it was heading towards the setting sun. As the wind blew towards me, tugging at my hair and tunic, it brought the scent of smoke… and the sound of drums. Immediately, I sent my boat in that direction, sudden eagerness making me dizzy. Perhaps this was it, this was the way to my farkas! The passage rang loudly in my ears, Kaula's voice whispering it:

 

“Follow the scent of smoke and the sound of drums, the trembling of the wind and a heaviness in the air. You will feel death. It will lead you, though you will arrive first.”

 

And so, I followed it.

 

=*=*=*==*=*=*==*=*=*==*=*=*=

 

End Notes: For an English version of The Zelda Manga, go to www.onemanga.com.