by N Felts
the Gerudo conjures a glyph beneath the unconscious warrior, launching him high above the town with a flick of his wrist. Resuming his march toward the church, he hears the guard land in the moat behind him with a loud splash.
Expecting Nayru’s chosen to intercept him, the king of thieves is pleasantly surprised when he arrives at the large church doors without incident. The single guard draws his sword, waiting for the warlock to make the first move, but he soon discovers fleeing would have been the best course of action. The tall double-doors are ripped from their hinges, and the guard skips to a violent stop near the altar. The distant howl of a Wolfos signals nightfall as Ganondorf passes between the pews at a casual pace. The exceptionally old priest hobbles into view, palming nearby objects for balance as he seeks to ascertain the meaning of the commotion. The pig-like visage crawls onto the Gerudo’s face the moment he lays eyes on the holy geezer, his sharpening teeth digging into his gums as he grins crazily. Taking a moment to clear his throat, the priest welcomes his visitor.
“This is a holy place,” he starts, his voice meek and brittle. “The likes of you are not welcome here. What are you after? Money? You won’t find any here,” he rants, sounding convincingly like a senile old coot.
“You cannot deceive me, sage,” Din bellows through her chosen’s lips. “If your vessel’s death is what you wish, then you shall have it.”
“What in the name of Hylia are you,” he starts, cut off by an orb of energy rocketing toward his chest. Deflected by a barrier of light, the purple ball ricochets into the air, blasting a sizeable hole in the rear wall of the church, bringing down a large portion of the ceiling as well. A gradual sigh tumbles from the old man’s lips as he sees his disguise has worn out its use. With only one chance to gain the upper hand, he bides his time, eyeing the Gerudo king carefully. Resuming his march toward the altar, Ganondorf stares into the priest’s soul with primal eyes, yet to decide precisely how he will kill him. Revealed by the church’s newest renovation, the sky suddenly flashes rapidly, sporadic bolts of lightning dancing through the open air and catching the Gerudo’s attention. Realizing his opportunity, the old man grunts briefly, slapping his wrists together with his palms facing the warlock. A blinding light engulfs the church, shining for all of Hyrule to see as the building lights up like a beacon. Barely able to lift a defensive hand in time, the king of thieves summons a dark barrier, scarcely managing to weather the holy torrent erupting from the priest’s palms. The continual wave of destructive light is parted at the center, the Gerudo focusing his power into a concentrated point, thrusting the defensive spear of darkness slowly forward. The rows of wooden benches are annihilated in the purifying blast as the power struggle continues between the two wizards. Dialing his power up beyond his capacity, the old man begins to push the dark lord back, roaring even louder as he attempts to finish him off. Licking her lips in anticipation, Din squeezes her chosen’s form against hers within her protective orb of flame. The sudden injection of immeasurable power leaps through Ganondorf’s body like electricity, exploding out of his palm and reaming his dark spear completely through the waning priest. The altar as well as the thick stone wall behind the holy man is decimated as his eyes reveal his defeat.
The radiating light fades as the old man collapses to his knees. With a wide-eyed expression of shock and pain, he finally collapses to the ground. Standing where he once stood, the sage of light faces the incarnation of evil without fear. Having won the fight, the king of thieves cannot understand why his body still quakes painfully. A dark pit of boiling hellfire eats at him from the inside out, the overwhelming power screaming through his veins as he fails to exert control over Din’s gift. A primal roar to dwarf all others erupts from his throat as an atomic blast of pure, evil force levels the entire section of town. The church evaporates in the blink of an eye, the nearby houses annihilated within the brief hurricane of fire and darkness. Staring blankly at the subsiding devastation, he is at a total loss as to what just occurred. His thirst for destruction has never before been quenched, but the degree of power he just wielded is beyond his wildest imagination. The power to destroy everything at his fingertips. Every creature, every structure, all of civilization now exists on his whims. An endless rain of wreckage tumbles down all around him, the moon shining down upon the newly formed crater with a silvery hue. Trapped in a permanent trance of absurd contemplation, Ganondorf is freed from the clutches of his sanity when he hears a medallion bounce off the ground nearby. Stumbling over to the source of the noise in a drunken state, he scoops the shimmering, yellow coin out of the dirt. Slithering back into his mind like a viper, Din pushes him to continue, loosening the shackles of his humanity in pursuit of far grander goals. Suddenly unable to focus on any other thought, the dark lord grips the golden trinket tightly as he marches back into the town. Only one sage remains.
Guiding Light:
The Ignorance and the Bliss
Attempting no strategic movements back into the shadow, Sheik feels she is portraying her desire for dialogue well. The boy approaches exceptionally cautiously, and rightfully so, her motives a mystery to him. As he reaches an optimal speaking range, the ninja retains the poise of a friend while remaining ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Expecting to be the one to initiate the conversation, she is surprised when the boy speaks first.
“Who are you?” He asks with a respectable amount of base in his voice.
“I should ask you the same,” Sheik quickly retorts, eyeing the boy’s peculiar armor. “You hide your face like someone with everything to lose.”
“Yeah?” He chuckles with a cavalier tone. “You’re one to talk.”
“I’ve lost enough. Perhaps you’d like to explain what motives drive a boy to travel to every corner of the kingdom. You’ve visited every sacred temple you’ve come across, and you’ve sought discord with the one man who would save us all from the coming evil.”
“He attacked me first!” Rift interrupts, his veil of maturity crumbling with the agitated response.
“Unlikely,” she breathes, shaking her head. His patience all but gone already, the boy subconsciously begins to flex his knuckles, unintentionally promoting his thoughts of violence. “I’ll not stand idly by while someone conspires against the well-being of the realm,” she starts, beginning to grow defensive. “I’ll ask again. What are your motives?”
“My motives are my own,” he replies with an angry grimace beneath his cowl.
“I’ve no desire to harm you. Please don’t make this,” she starts, desperate to appeal to him.
“I don’t have time for this,” the boy declares, turning his back on her and ascending out of the cave. Her diplomatic approach failing, Sheik produces a single needle, twirling it between her fingers as she considers her options. If he will not listen to reason, there can be only one contingency. He is clearly up to something, and his recurring strife with Link is not something so easily forgiven. With an effortless grace, she whips the spike in his direction, aiming for his back in a simple attempt to get his attention. Suddenly, Mai phases into existence directly behind Rift, batting the projectile aside and glaring at the ninja with hatred.
“What?” Sheik mouths, recognizing the essence of a goddess when she sees it. Neither Din, nor Farore, the black-haired beauty vanishes an instant later. Turning to face the ninja once again, Rift is far from pleased by this turn of events. He has attempted to simply walk away, but if it is a fight she wants, he will certainly oblige. Marching directly at the ninja, his plan of attack is a mystery until he shifts far to the left in the blink of an eye, kicking one of the torches out of the ground an instant later. The tumbling metal erection misses by a large margin, Sheik’s reflexes far beyond anything the boy has encountered before. With the conversation at an apparent end, the ninja leaps into the air, disappearing into the shadows as she reaches the high ceiling. Utilizing her spikes to stab at the rock above, she agilely moves across the ro
of of the cavern, landing at the room’s perimeter, and stalking her prey from the darkness. Quickly dashing to the center of the torches, Rift carefully scans his surroundings, waiting for the assassin to make her move. Several tense seconds pass, the only sound within the alcove being the steady crackle of the torches. Without warning, a loud noise echoes throughout the cave, the sound of metal striking metal. Rapidly searching for the source, the boy realizes the Sheikah intends to extend her veil of shadow by extinguishing the flames all around him. A rainstorm of needles hit the dozens of torches from every angle, the force from the impact displacing the coals just enough to snuff out the fire. His options quickly dwindling, Rift must fight off the urge to panic as the available light shrinks smaller and smaller.
With only a few torches remaining, Sheik dances around the outer edges of the cave, looking for ideal angles to blot out the last of the light. Underestimating his resourcefulness, she stares in awe as the boy begins to tear the torches out of the ground, launching them toward the entrance like flaming javelins. By the time the ninja deduces his goals, it is too late. Rift