*M i d n a*
Æsir Scribe
Sorry for the delay, folks. I had to add and change some stuff. 
Not to mention the fact that I was very hesitant to post this. I didn't know if you all would like it. But Magatha convinced me. 
Well, it's just a fan fic, and anything goes in fan fics, right? Let us see where this takes us.
This is a fan-fic based in the world of Wind Waker sixteen years after Ganondorf was defeated. I am also adding a bit of other stuff from other Zelda games, but not too much. So don't be surprised if you see a thing or two from other Zelda titles. Aside from that, guess I included some of my own stuff as well. I hope you enjoy reading it. And...I apologize once again because I don't have a map ready for you peeps. But I will probably be making one and posting it sometime.
Disclaimer: All Zelda related stuff belongs to Nintendo.
Specially dedicated to the following peeps: Magatha, Keyshe, Raindrop14, Linknerd09, Imogen, Hero of Time, Ghirahimiscool, Violet, Myriadviper42, Mandy287, WindmillIsland, Axle The Beast, and to anyone else who likes my sucky writing.
Try to see this story as if you were playing WW. Imagine the characters as those found in the game and you'll probably have a better time reading it.
Edit--Rated Pg13, but I guess younger folks can read it too.
The small coffer lay partially covered and moderately exposed on the soggy ground. It was not just any ordinary coffer or chest as those found all over the world, this one was golden colored with many rubies and gems all around. The coffer had been shining brightly as the sun had been reflecting its light over it on that sunny afternoon. It was no wonder that the young gal did not miss it when her dark eyes saw it as she had been approaching in the distance.
"What in the..." Aana Engelhart was surprised to see the shiny source. “What the hell is that?”
She was truly marveled at the way the object glimmered not ten feet away from her. Aana was a local fisher of the area, although she was not your ordinary human being, she was a Lycan, or as those hairy creatures were known as in the entire world, she was a werewolf. Lycans resembled ordinary human beings, but when the moon was full and visible and they saw it, they transmuted into ferocious beasts that were hard to kill. The Lycans were just one of three races that inhabited the Northwestern Realm, a large island which was divided in three zones that made up three realms: Broah, where the Lycans resided, Gelvassen, the desert home to the power-hungry Gerudo tribes, and Shair, a mountain-riddled section of the island home to the exotic and deadly Sheikah race.
Aana was short, barely reaching five feet in height. Her hair was long and dark and she kept it tied in two braids at her back. A purple, sleeveless blouse covered her busty torso, and she wore a grayish skirt that fell all the way down to her knees. A pair of dark sandals that she wore kept her feet secured from pointy stones and thorns found on the ground. Long ago she had injured her right knee after falling from a tree, so she also wore a knee brace, a special one that had been bought from a strange, masked Sheikah merchant.
Aana quickly realized that it was a coffer what was laying on the ground up ahead. And because she had been astonished to see it just laying there, Aana had dropped her wooden fishing pole and a light brown satchel with bait and fishing utensils that she had been carrying and had rushed on over to it immediately. She stared at it without bending low to retrieve it, just marveled at its beauty for a while. As she did that, she felt an eerie sensation within, a feeling that grew to a cold shiver, though Aana ignored it. Many times had she passed through this route on her way to Beksoth’s Eye, a large lake to the west that lay close to her village, and she had never run into anything like this. Before she knew it, Aana glanced about this way and that and then bent low and picked up the coffer without measuring the consequences. And to her surprise, when she clicked what appeared to be a small button in the form of a golden triangle with an eye in the middle, two fasteners gave way and a clicking sound was heard, startling her briefly.
Did I just unfasten the latches? Aana thought. She had, and she realized that when she lifted the top part of the coffer upwards. There, lying within on a purplish silky cloth was a stone in the shape of a diamond. It was big, about the size of an orange, but what was more surprising and made Aana’s mouth open in awe was the pure fact that it was beautiful, more so than the beautiful coffer which was its home.
"Beautiful!" Aana whispered as she continued staring at the stone.
She was dumbfounded, totally captivated by the stone’s beauty. Aana felt a strange urge to grab it, to hold it, and she did. With a trembling hand she reached for the stone, not really measuring any consequences that could come from touching the stone. She held the stone a few inches away from her dark eyes. She spun it around, twisting her hand a bit in order to do so. Aana, just by looking at the beauty of the stone, knew she had made a great find. It was not often that one such as herself came upon such valuable treasure, and so the girl believed that she had made a very valuable find this day. Yes, Aana believed that she had indeed found a valuable treasure that she could show off to her friends as well as her brothers and sisters from the orphanage where she lived at in a poor village known as Tox. Glancing about the area again, the Lycan girl came to understand that the powerful storm that had pummeled the region last night had probably exposed the coffer from its earthly grave.
"Well," Aana said as she pocketed the stone without giving the matter much more thought. "You belong to me now. How you happened to be there doesn't matter now. You’re mine, for I found you."
Returning a few paces back to retrieve her fishing pole and satchel, she was oblivious to the fact that having touched that stone had been a terrible and fatal mistake.
***
The spirit trapped within the stone felt the force of life, an energy that the being had longed to feel for so long. The time to be free had come, and how the spirit rejoiced within the stone.
***
After she had successfully gone to fish at the lake and returned back to her home village with a handsome catch for the day, Aana decided that it would be for the best not to show the stone nor the coffer to anyone, not even her adoptive mother, whom she thought would probably take them away from her after asking so many questions about how it was that she had come to find them. If the stone was valuable, perhaps she could gain much from selling it to a trader when the caravans made their weekly trip through the area. The coffer, too, she believed, had some great value due to all the gems on it. If that turned out to be the case, she would then surprise the matron she called mother, and also her brothers and sisters by buying lots of merchandise and give it to them as presents.
Those became the girl’s plans, but a few days after she had found the stone, things took a nasty turn. Aana began hearing eerie whispers in her mind. The whispers went on for a couple of days, bothering her, scaring her. But not only that, Aana had been having vivid nightmares as well during the night, too vivid, in fact, that she had found herself on the same location several times. She had seen what seemed to be a large temple or something, and disturbing and gory scenes as well, and a huge creature that she had never seen. She had awoken with her heart thumping her chest wildly and with her arms and face all sweaty several times. The voice that she heard within her mind had a rough and tough tone to it, scary beyond imagination, wicked even, just like those nightmares. The voice had been obligating her to do something that she did not want to. The forty five year old Lycan fought hard against its wishes as hard as anyone could have, but Aana, who was just a young Lycan, had been no match for the voice's willpower in the end. The voice had been telling her to smash the stone on the ground, but Aana, being the poor Lycan that she was, had not wanted to do it merely because she'd had plans to sell it and make a good profit and maybe give herself and those she called loved ones gifts and a better life for a while. In fact, if she sold the stone and coffer for a hefty price, maybe she’d have more than enough that they all could leave this land that they called a home and make it to the central realm of Hyrule, where rumors said there was more opportunity to strike it rich than old Broah. Though Aana had never set foot in that realm, it was well known that the remains of Hyrule, which once had been a mighty realm, were just a group of small islands, but with beautiful sights worthy of being seen. If not Hyrule, then maybe perhaps they could go to Tri Realm, a large piece of land to the north of Hyrule that was home to other unknown species to her. She only knew those by name: the famous Dragir, the kind Fairies, and the beautiful Selkies. Aana had believed that those places must have beautiful sights as well. And it was not that her home realm of Broah did not offer precious sights for her to see, it did, and Aana had seen many of them, but Aana wanted to see the rest of the world too. She wanted to meet different people and even creatures from the other races that were said to be residing amongst them in the world. Laying eyes on an Elf, a Fairy, a Mermaid, a Siren, or perhaps an exotic Dragir or a Selkie, was a dream that Aana wanted to realize. And not just her, she had believed, but many other folks who had never seen such creatures had that same dream as well.
And so truly coveting that, truly wanting to do all that, Aana had opposed the voice's wishes for several days, and in the process she had refrained from letting anyone else from the entire village know of what was going on. She did well to keep the stone and the matter hidden from everyone else, but she knew she could not hide the matter for ever. As she went through her daily routine on that new sunny day, which was a Friday to be exact, Aana acted normally and carried on with life, though she was very troubled within. What was worse, her troubles were starting to reflect on her own semblance. Over the past days she had lost much sleep, her puffy, darkened eyes now showed that, and her light tan skin seemed a bit paler than usual. All that, her adoptive mother, Varinka Engelhart by name, noted and remarked it to her that morning as they were having breakfast. Aana just told her that she was fine, that she had been losing sleep lately but nothing more.
“Are you sure, dear?” asked Varinka. The Lycan woman was well-built, stood three inches shy of six feet, and had pale skin and long, blond hair to go with a pretty face despite her two hundred and four years of life. Twelve years ago Varinka had been a notorious knight in the Broahn army, but she had quit that line of work after an incident with a fellow Lycan had gone bad for her. In time, she went back north to Tox village, the village where she had been born. Soon after, she had taken a liking to caring for orphans, and thus she had dedicated her life to taking care of seven unfortunate children; five females and two males. That morning, Varinka’s mature voice was truly filled with concern for her daughter, and Aana understood it well.
"I'm fine," Aana insisted, but Varinka would not be easily fooled.
“No, you look terrible, Aana,” Varinka said. “What is going on with you?”
“You worry too much over nothing, Mother,” Aana told her from her place at the table. Furthermore, before Varinka could reply to that, the lass had been quick to abandon the table, grabbed her fishing tools, left the orphanage and the village altogether that morning and had gone to the lake, hoping to forget about things and just have a fine day.
As she sat fishing on a wooden dock that had been built close to the lake-bank ignoring the presence of other fisherman and fisherwoman from the village, Aana knew that the trouble she had been having with the voice had broaden concern within her and also other people, such as the woman she called mother. Aana had always believed that she was a strong girl, despite some of the villagers and friends having told her once that she was fragile-looking and soft when it came to her feelings. Her own brothers and sisters had frown at her when she’d told them back in the day that she would one day become a famous knight of Broah, just like Varinka had been. Aana scowled at the thought that she was weak as she reeled in another catch, a twelve-foot catfish that would make a good dinner plate for her or someone else from her family that night. Aana believed in herself that she was strong, believed that she could resist the voice for the upcoming two days. Then she would gladly sell the stone to a trader on Sunday and be done with all this.
That night, and the following day, knowing of the girl’s intention, the voice within the stone continued to assail her, now more urgent than ever. Suddenly, Aana, who’d been cutting wood behind the orphanage, broke down in silent tears, unable to take the pressure much longer. She forgot about wanting to make a profit with the stone and just thought about going to Beksoth’s Eye and cast the stone into the lake, for she understood that she had gotten her hands on something truly evil. Somehow the being trapped within the stone perceived her change of thoughts, and so it began to assault the girl with even greater threats.
Aana fought hard against the voice, against the foe trapped within the stone, but the adversary would not be denied, it won the battle in the end.
Aana did as it ordered her to, mainly because the voice had promised her and her family a gruesome death if she did not do as told.
Forget about wanting to be rid of me, the voice had told her telepathically. It’s too late to be doing that, little girl. No, you will not throw the stone into the lake, for if you do so, I will surely find you and I will make sure that you suffer a slow and painful death, as well as your loved ones. Release me! Break the stone against the ground and I will spare you that grim fate!
Aana, too frightened, viewed the voice’s last words as an exit, as an escape to the nightmare that she had gotten herself involved in.
On that early Sunday morning, as the sun lit the day with its early warmth and the wind blew lightly, Aana left the village under the guise that she was going fishing. She sought a lonely place within a close-by forest east of Tox village where no one could interrupt her in what she was about to do.
Once there, the Lycan brought the beautiful stone out and stared at it for a long while, the girl thinking about what could have been and wondering whether she was doing the right thing or not by doing as the voice within the stone wanted her to. Perceiving the girl’s hesitation, the voice reminded her of the warning, of the death she would suffer if she did not obey.
Release me! Do it now or I will surely do as I’ve told you.
And so the scared girl had no choice but to smash the stone hard against the ground a few seconds later; after all, the voice had promised to spare her. With the stone shattered to pieces, the evil spirit that had been imprisoned within the stone, the spirit of a Gerudo male who long ago had split his soul into five fragments, was free again from his long imprisonment.
The wind quickly picked up around Aana, and the sky above darkened, with the clouds moving along rapidly. The day had turned from sunny and pleasurable to an eerie night-like ambient that scared Aana to the core as she witnessed the changes. Elsewhere, those living their lives in Broah, Gelvassen, and Shair, also were witnesses to the sudden change, and most of them became confused, some felt a weird, unexplained fear within. What had just occured? Varinka, who had been outside, had gathered her orphans and had told them to get inside. She had been in too much awe and wonderment of the abrupt changes to remember about Aana, and so she never came to imagine that she could be out there in trouble.
Leaves that had fallen from the trees were quickly picked up by the wind and some of those pelted Aana's face and body, forcing her to close her eyes. Aana’s own fright made her fall on her butt as she had began to retreat, but she was quick to stand up. She did not run, though, for she was too interested of what was going on around her. Unbeknownst to her, this act, this panoramic change was caused by the magic that had spilled out of that stone when it had broken.
The wind suddenly died, the dust began to settle, and the leaves came falling down slowly from the sky once again, but the darkness all around remained. Suddenly, from the ground there rose a nearly invisible gaseous essence, which Aana saw clearly with bulging eyes. The girl suddenly perceived an evil sensation all around her as the gaseous essence surrounded her. Suddenly, Aana was scared as never before when in front of her she saw a pair of enormous eyes staring directly at her. Traumatized and scared as she already was, Aana had not known what to do then, but she suddenly screamed and ran for her life when reality had finally sunk in that she had done something stupid and careless. As she ran away through that dark forest as fast as she could, she shivered badly when she heard the wickedest laugh that she had ever heard coming behind her. "Huar-huar-huar-huar-huar!"
In her fear, Aana tripped with a fallen branch and fell to the ground, her face hitting the floor hard and causing her to bleed from both her mouth and nose. She also scraped her arms and even her chin, but she got up almost immediately and continued running away. She perceived that whatever had been sealed inside the stone was coming after her.
And she was right, for the gaseous essence had fused itself with the leaves and other floating debris and had transformed into a nightmarish-looking monster. No, it was not a monster, but a broad-bodied being that was thrice Aana’s height. Knowing he was free from the stone, the leafed-bodied Ganondorf grinned in satisfaction and flew after the girl for a while, enjoying the chase, enjoying scaring the wits out of her. He knew she was definitely a Lycan, a member of the slaves to his own race back in the past, and so more the enjoyment for him.
The leafed being finally rammed into the girl’s back, forcing her to fall down to the ground. Aana screamed and flipped over in order to be facing upwards. The nightmarish creature was floating right above her, and she shrieked as she used her arms as a shield, thinking that the thing, whatever it was, would come pressing down on her. But Ganondorf did not. He just remained hovering and observing the frightened girl. More than being interested in her, the dark lord's thoughts were reflecting on the past. He had been cheated last time he had been alive in this world. King Daphnes Nohansen had stolen his wish. The leafed Ganondorf's mouth suddenly curled into an evil smile. The time for payback, it seemed, had come too soon. It would begin with this stupid Lycan. Ganondorf was about to swoop down and steal the very life essence from the girl, but before he moved an inch, there suddenly came an abrupt call in his mind.
Don't harm the girl, Ganondorf. Spare her and make your way here.
You! The spirit of Ganondorf replied telepathically. What do you want?
The dark lord was angry after having recognized the voice that had intruded his mind.
I want to help you get what you want, came the reply in his head, which sounded more like a teasing purr.
You abandoned me ages ago. I have no desire to even speak with you. Be gone from my mind, foul goddess.
The voice in his mind replied: And if I do that, you will remain as the mocking fool of the gods? You will remain ever alone in your quest to obtain power and fulfill your dream...that is, until you run out of stones? You only have but two left, Ganondorf.
The dark lord was shocked to hear that. How do you know that I...
I gave you the power you possess, so of course I know all about you, replied the voice of the goddess. You thought no one would know of your secret plan to hide your precious stones? Well let me remind you that the eyes of Umbria are many. I possess critical information concerning your precious stones that you surely would want to hear. Too bad you don't want to play with me....
The words of the goddess had alerted Ganondorf. She had said that she possessed critical information about his crafted stones. Were they in peril of being destroyed or something? Did Umbria know where he had hid the others?
You abandoned me! Ganondorf accused in anger, his eyes still on the inoffensive Lycan girl, who remained below him, too scared to move. You did not grace me with your help when most I needed you...because of you my people were nearly destroyed, wiped out by those celestial guardians!
Well, and why did I do that, silly mortal? You failed to deliver the accorded payment to our deal back then. After all I gave you, you simply betrayed me and went your own way. You went as far as to split your soul in secret in order to become like me, like my kin, and end up not paying what you owed. Your pure soul belonged to me, and yet you split it just to avoid giving it to me. That's why I abandoned you and your pathetic army. You should be glad that I've allowed you to live up until now, but you know that I rightfully could have gone after you and take back what rightfully belongs to me. And yet I didn't, nor do I plan to, for even as unworthy as you are, you're still just a tool to my eyes.
You can no longer have my soul, Ganondorf replied. I beat you by splitting it in many fragments many years back. You know what will happen once the last of my stones is destroyed, or when I finally am defeated. No soul for you, Goddess. I have won in the end, and if leave this world I must, there will be no regrets. And...I never was your tool. I was merely gaining for myself, was even smart enough to understand the forbidden magics that you said I'd never be able to grasp.
You weren't that smart, for I merely gave you meager powers...to you...who still after all this time continues being nothing but a poor, miserable mortal.
I was smart enough to fool and use you! Ganondorf was hurt. Anyway...our talk is over. Leave me alone.
The time of my imprisonment is almost up, the goddess reminded him of something he already knew too well but had not really interested him in the least. Unlike my brother Demise, I will soon be leaving this dark prison of mine and will be free.
Ganondorf considered the words stoically.
You still have five years to go, Umbria, Ganondorf’s reply sounded cocky. By that time many things can happen. I could even finish my work and become a god like you and all your kin.
Or, if you don’t stop the girl, she’ll be the end of you, idiot. She’s after them, you know? Your precious stones! She seeks to destroy them!
Who is? Tell me! Which girl?!
All of a sudden, the leafed Ganondorf saw that the Lycan girl had finally decided to go for it, to attempt to get up and run away. He let her, but he brought her down once again after she had run for about twenty feet.
“Stay put, you,” Ganondorf told her using a tough, scary tone. “Or I will definitely kill you.”
Aana never doubted that the monster, whatever it was, wouldn’t do that. She remained on the ground in her cowered state, wishing that the creature did not hurt her.
See, Ganondorf? You're still weak. You depend so much on others. I will tell you, but you must renew your vow to me, the goddess’s voice came to Ganondorf once again. By doing so, you will be taking care of a little favor for me as well. Only then will I be able to forgive your insolence, Fool.
Consider it done, Ganondorf’s reply had sounded desperate to the goddess back in her place of residence. The news that the goddess had given him had really unnerved him. But what is it exactly that you want me to do?
Hylia’s sword was found five years ago by some injudicious Selkie.
What? Truly? One of those ugly sealfolk pests found the god-slaying weapon?
Yes, the goddess revealed, chuckling at Ganondorf's funny words to describe the Selkie. He had not changed one bit since the first day that she had met him, his hate for the other races still remained. Get the blade for me and I will forgive your insolence. We would be even then, you not owing anything to me, our contract would become void.
It was an offer that no one could refuse, not even him.
Consider this task done.
You have to come down here and convince me that you've repented and accept me as your principal. So do it now! You know that my patience has a limit, Ganondorf...and besides, you don’t want to be late in getting here to hear the news, lest you want that girl to find and destroy your precious stones. I will be waiting for you.
The spirit of Ganondorf did not like that. He knew that he was in trouble. If something happened to his remaining stones, he could very well be living his very last era on earth this time. When his life ended this time, there would be no more hope to finish his work.
Feeling pressured to take leave, Ganondorf regarded the Lycan girl with hateful eyes.
"You released me!" Aana clearly heard the same wicked voice that she had been hearing all those days. "I, Master Ganondorf, Lord of the Gerudo, will spare your miserable life because of that, Slave. But make no mistake...your world will soon be enveloped in darkness. Huar-Huar-Huar-Huar!"
Just then, to Aana’s horror, the leafed monster, who knew that he had important things to do, came crashing down upon her as it continued to laugh wickedly. Aana screamed in horror, her heart nearly coming to a stop, but all that the Lycan girl felt was the leaves hitting her body and nothing else.
She remained lying there, cringed, trembling badly, and with her arms covering her head, leaves on her body and lying all around her. Aana was too scared to move. When finally she composed herself and noticed with large, demented-like eyes that all was calm around her, the Lycan girl suddenly felt very weak, and she could not get up, not even after trying, for her arms and legs felt tender, too weak to sustain her. The Lycan’s sudden weakness was due to the spirit having made contact with her flesh and bone body when it had swooshed down upon her. Aana, after the horror that she had experienced that day, would not be the same again. The last thing that she saw that day before her weak, enlarged eyes closed was the darkened, eerie sky above.
*End of Intro*
Not to mention the fact that I was very hesitant to post this. I didn't know if you all would like it. But Magatha convinced me. Well, it's just a fan fic, and anything goes in fan fics, right? Let us see where this takes us.This is a fan-fic based in the world of Wind Waker sixteen years after Ganondorf was defeated. I am also adding a bit of other stuff from other Zelda games, but not too much. So don't be surprised if you see a thing or two from other Zelda titles. Aside from that, guess I included some of my own stuff as well. I hope you enjoy reading it. And...I apologize once again because I don't have a map ready for you peeps. But I will probably be making one and posting it sometime.
Disclaimer: All Zelda related stuff belongs to Nintendo.
Specially dedicated to the following peeps: Magatha, Keyshe, Raindrop14, Linknerd09, Imogen, Hero of Time, Ghirahimiscool, Violet, Myriadviper42, Mandy287, WindmillIsland, Axle The Beast, and to anyone else who likes my sucky writing.
Try to see this story as if you were playing WW. Imagine the characters as those found in the game and you'll probably have a better time reading it.
Edit--Rated Pg13, but I guess younger folks can read it too.
The Legend of Zelda
Ascension of the Last
Prelude
Northwest Realm, 4th of August, Era 1606 (16 years after Ganondorf’s defeat at the hands of Link)
Ascension of the Last
Prelude
Northwest Realm, 4th of August, Era 1606 (16 years after Ganondorf’s defeat at the hands of Link)
The small coffer lay partially covered and moderately exposed on the soggy ground. It was not just any ordinary coffer or chest as those found all over the world, this one was golden colored with many rubies and gems all around. The coffer had been shining brightly as the sun had been reflecting its light over it on that sunny afternoon. It was no wonder that the young gal did not miss it when her dark eyes saw it as she had been approaching in the distance.
"What in the..." Aana Engelhart was surprised to see the shiny source. “What the hell is that?”
She was truly marveled at the way the object glimmered not ten feet away from her. Aana was a local fisher of the area, although she was not your ordinary human being, she was a Lycan, or as those hairy creatures were known as in the entire world, she was a werewolf. Lycans resembled ordinary human beings, but when the moon was full and visible and they saw it, they transmuted into ferocious beasts that were hard to kill. The Lycans were just one of three races that inhabited the Northwestern Realm, a large island which was divided in three zones that made up three realms: Broah, where the Lycans resided, Gelvassen, the desert home to the power-hungry Gerudo tribes, and Shair, a mountain-riddled section of the island home to the exotic and deadly Sheikah race.
Aana was short, barely reaching five feet in height. Her hair was long and dark and she kept it tied in two braids at her back. A purple, sleeveless blouse covered her busty torso, and she wore a grayish skirt that fell all the way down to her knees. A pair of dark sandals that she wore kept her feet secured from pointy stones and thorns found on the ground. Long ago she had injured her right knee after falling from a tree, so she also wore a knee brace, a special one that had been bought from a strange, masked Sheikah merchant.
Aana quickly realized that it was a coffer what was laying on the ground up ahead. And because she had been astonished to see it just laying there, Aana had dropped her wooden fishing pole and a light brown satchel with bait and fishing utensils that she had been carrying and had rushed on over to it immediately. She stared at it without bending low to retrieve it, just marveled at its beauty for a while. As she did that, she felt an eerie sensation within, a feeling that grew to a cold shiver, though Aana ignored it. Many times had she passed through this route on her way to Beksoth’s Eye, a large lake to the west that lay close to her village, and she had never run into anything like this. Before she knew it, Aana glanced about this way and that and then bent low and picked up the coffer without measuring the consequences. And to her surprise, when she clicked what appeared to be a small button in the form of a golden triangle with an eye in the middle, two fasteners gave way and a clicking sound was heard, startling her briefly.
Did I just unfasten the latches? Aana thought. She had, and she realized that when she lifted the top part of the coffer upwards. There, lying within on a purplish silky cloth was a stone in the shape of a diamond. It was big, about the size of an orange, but what was more surprising and made Aana’s mouth open in awe was the pure fact that it was beautiful, more so than the beautiful coffer which was its home.
"Beautiful!" Aana whispered as she continued staring at the stone.
She was dumbfounded, totally captivated by the stone’s beauty. Aana felt a strange urge to grab it, to hold it, and she did. With a trembling hand she reached for the stone, not really measuring any consequences that could come from touching the stone. She held the stone a few inches away from her dark eyes. She spun it around, twisting her hand a bit in order to do so. Aana, just by looking at the beauty of the stone, knew she had made a great find. It was not often that one such as herself came upon such valuable treasure, and so the girl believed that she had made a very valuable find this day. Yes, Aana believed that she had indeed found a valuable treasure that she could show off to her friends as well as her brothers and sisters from the orphanage where she lived at in a poor village known as Tox. Glancing about the area again, the Lycan girl came to understand that the powerful storm that had pummeled the region last night had probably exposed the coffer from its earthly grave.
"Well," Aana said as she pocketed the stone without giving the matter much more thought. "You belong to me now. How you happened to be there doesn't matter now. You’re mine, for I found you."
Returning a few paces back to retrieve her fishing pole and satchel, she was oblivious to the fact that having touched that stone had been a terrible and fatal mistake.
***
The spirit trapped within the stone felt the force of life, an energy that the being had longed to feel for so long. The time to be free had come, and how the spirit rejoiced within the stone.
***
Tox Village, Broah, Era 1606
After she had successfully gone to fish at the lake and returned back to her home village with a handsome catch for the day, Aana decided that it would be for the best not to show the stone nor the coffer to anyone, not even her adoptive mother, whom she thought would probably take them away from her after asking so many questions about how it was that she had come to find them. If the stone was valuable, perhaps she could gain much from selling it to a trader when the caravans made their weekly trip through the area. The coffer, too, she believed, had some great value due to all the gems on it. If that turned out to be the case, she would then surprise the matron she called mother, and also her brothers and sisters by buying lots of merchandise and give it to them as presents.
Those became the girl’s plans, but a few days after she had found the stone, things took a nasty turn. Aana began hearing eerie whispers in her mind. The whispers went on for a couple of days, bothering her, scaring her. But not only that, Aana had been having vivid nightmares as well during the night, too vivid, in fact, that she had found herself on the same location several times. She had seen what seemed to be a large temple or something, and disturbing and gory scenes as well, and a huge creature that she had never seen. She had awoken with her heart thumping her chest wildly and with her arms and face all sweaty several times. The voice that she heard within her mind had a rough and tough tone to it, scary beyond imagination, wicked even, just like those nightmares. The voice had been obligating her to do something that she did not want to. The forty five year old Lycan fought hard against its wishes as hard as anyone could have, but Aana, who was just a young Lycan, had been no match for the voice's willpower in the end. The voice had been telling her to smash the stone on the ground, but Aana, being the poor Lycan that she was, had not wanted to do it merely because she'd had plans to sell it and make a good profit and maybe give herself and those she called loved ones gifts and a better life for a while. In fact, if she sold the stone and coffer for a hefty price, maybe she’d have more than enough that they all could leave this land that they called a home and make it to the central realm of Hyrule, where rumors said there was more opportunity to strike it rich than old Broah. Though Aana had never set foot in that realm, it was well known that the remains of Hyrule, which once had been a mighty realm, were just a group of small islands, but with beautiful sights worthy of being seen. If not Hyrule, then maybe perhaps they could go to Tri Realm, a large piece of land to the north of Hyrule that was home to other unknown species to her. She only knew those by name: the famous Dragir, the kind Fairies, and the beautiful Selkies. Aana had believed that those places must have beautiful sights as well. And it was not that her home realm of Broah did not offer precious sights for her to see, it did, and Aana had seen many of them, but Aana wanted to see the rest of the world too. She wanted to meet different people and even creatures from the other races that were said to be residing amongst them in the world. Laying eyes on an Elf, a Fairy, a Mermaid, a Siren, or perhaps an exotic Dragir or a Selkie, was a dream that Aana wanted to realize. And not just her, she had believed, but many other folks who had never seen such creatures had that same dream as well.
And so truly coveting that, truly wanting to do all that, Aana had opposed the voice's wishes for several days, and in the process she had refrained from letting anyone else from the entire village know of what was going on. She did well to keep the stone and the matter hidden from everyone else, but she knew she could not hide the matter for ever. As she went through her daily routine on that new sunny day, which was a Friday to be exact, Aana acted normally and carried on with life, though she was very troubled within. What was worse, her troubles were starting to reflect on her own semblance. Over the past days she had lost much sleep, her puffy, darkened eyes now showed that, and her light tan skin seemed a bit paler than usual. All that, her adoptive mother, Varinka Engelhart by name, noted and remarked it to her that morning as they were having breakfast. Aana just told her that she was fine, that she had been losing sleep lately but nothing more.
“Are you sure, dear?” asked Varinka. The Lycan woman was well-built, stood three inches shy of six feet, and had pale skin and long, blond hair to go with a pretty face despite her two hundred and four years of life. Twelve years ago Varinka had been a notorious knight in the Broahn army, but she had quit that line of work after an incident with a fellow Lycan had gone bad for her. In time, she went back north to Tox village, the village where she had been born. Soon after, she had taken a liking to caring for orphans, and thus she had dedicated her life to taking care of seven unfortunate children; five females and two males. That morning, Varinka’s mature voice was truly filled with concern for her daughter, and Aana understood it well.
"I'm fine," Aana insisted, but Varinka would not be easily fooled.
“No, you look terrible, Aana,” Varinka said. “What is going on with you?”
“You worry too much over nothing, Mother,” Aana told her from her place at the table. Furthermore, before Varinka could reply to that, the lass had been quick to abandon the table, grabbed her fishing tools, left the orphanage and the village altogether that morning and had gone to the lake, hoping to forget about things and just have a fine day.
As she sat fishing on a wooden dock that had been built close to the lake-bank ignoring the presence of other fisherman and fisherwoman from the village, Aana knew that the trouble she had been having with the voice had broaden concern within her and also other people, such as the woman she called mother. Aana had always believed that she was a strong girl, despite some of the villagers and friends having told her once that she was fragile-looking and soft when it came to her feelings. Her own brothers and sisters had frown at her when she’d told them back in the day that she would one day become a famous knight of Broah, just like Varinka had been. Aana scowled at the thought that she was weak as she reeled in another catch, a twelve-foot catfish that would make a good dinner plate for her or someone else from her family that night. Aana believed in herself that she was strong, believed that she could resist the voice for the upcoming two days. Then she would gladly sell the stone to a trader on Sunday and be done with all this.
That night, and the following day, knowing of the girl’s intention, the voice within the stone continued to assail her, now more urgent than ever. Suddenly, Aana, who’d been cutting wood behind the orphanage, broke down in silent tears, unable to take the pressure much longer. She forgot about wanting to make a profit with the stone and just thought about going to Beksoth’s Eye and cast the stone into the lake, for she understood that she had gotten her hands on something truly evil. Somehow the being trapped within the stone perceived her change of thoughts, and so it began to assault the girl with even greater threats.
Aana fought hard against the voice, against the foe trapped within the stone, but the adversary would not be denied, it won the battle in the end.
Aana did as it ordered her to, mainly because the voice had promised her and her family a gruesome death if she did not do as told.
Forget about wanting to be rid of me, the voice had told her telepathically. It’s too late to be doing that, little girl. No, you will not throw the stone into the lake, for if you do so, I will surely find you and I will make sure that you suffer a slow and painful death, as well as your loved ones. Release me! Break the stone against the ground and I will spare you that grim fate!
Aana, too frightened, viewed the voice’s last words as an exit, as an escape to the nightmare that she had gotten herself involved in.
On that early Sunday morning, as the sun lit the day with its early warmth and the wind blew lightly, Aana left the village under the guise that she was going fishing. She sought a lonely place within a close-by forest east of Tox village where no one could interrupt her in what she was about to do.
Once there, the Lycan brought the beautiful stone out and stared at it for a long while, the girl thinking about what could have been and wondering whether she was doing the right thing or not by doing as the voice within the stone wanted her to. Perceiving the girl’s hesitation, the voice reminded her of the warning, of the death she would suffer if she did not obey.
Release me! Do it now or I will surely do as I’ve told you.
And so the scared girl had no choice but to smash the stone hard against the ground a few seconds later; after all, the voice had promised to spare her. With the stone shattered to pieces, the evil spirit that had been imprisoned within the stone, the spirit of a Gerudo male who long ago had split his soul into five fragments, was free again from his long imprisonment.
The wind quickly picked up around Aana, and the sky above darkened, with the clouds moving along rapidly. The day had turned from sunny and pleasurable to an eerie night-like ambient that scared Aana to the core as she witnessed the changes. Elsewhere, those living their lives in Broah, Gelvassen, and Shair, also were witnesses to the sudden change, and most of them became confused, some felt a weird, unexplained fear within. What had just occured? Varinka, who had been outside, had gathered her orphans and had told them to get inside. She had been in too much awe and wonderment of the abrupt changes to remember about Aana, and so she never came to imagine that she could be out there in trouble.
Leaves that had fallen from the trees were quickly picked up by the wind and some of those pelted Aana's face and body, forcing her to close her eyes. Aana’s own fright made her fall on her butt as she had began to retreat, but she was quick to stand up. She did not run, though, for she was too interested of what was going on around her. Unbeknownst to her, this act, this panoramic change was caused by the magic that had spilled out of that stone when it had broken.
The wind suddenly died, the dust began to settle, and the leaves came falling down slowly from the sky once again, but the darkness all around remained. Suddenly, from the ground there rose a nearly invisible gaseous essence, which Aana saw clearly with bulging eyes. The girl suddenly perceived an evil sensation all around her as the gaseous essence surrounded her. Suddenly, Aana was scared as never before when in front of her she saw a pair of enormous eyes staring directly at her. Traumatized and scared as she already was, Aana had not known what to do then, but she suddenly screamed and ran for her life when reality had finally sunk in that she had done something stupid and careless. As she ran away through that dark forest as fast as she could, she shivered badly when she heard the wickedest laugh that she had ever heard coming behind her. "Huar-huar-huar-huar-huar!"
In her fear, Aana tripped with a fallen branch and fell to the ground, her face hitting the floor hard and causing her to bleed from both her mouth and nose. She also scraped her arms and even her chin, but she got up almost immediately and continued running away. She perceived that whatever had been sealed inside the stone was coming after her.
And she was right, for the gaseous essence had fused itself with the leaves and other floating debris and had transformed into a nightmarish-looking monster. No, it was not a monster, but a broad-bodied being that was thrice Aana’s height. Knowing he was free from the stone, the leafed-bodied Ganondorf grinned in satisfaction and flew after the girl for a while, enjoying the chase, enjoying scaring the wits out of her. He knew she was definitely a Lycan, a member of the slaves to his own race back in the past, and so more the enjoyment for him.
The leafed being finally rammed into the girl’s back, forcing her to fall down to the ground. Aana screamed and flipped over in order to be facing upwards. The nightmarish creature was floating right above her, and she shrieked as she used her arms as a shield, thinking that the thing, whatever it was, would come pressing down on her. But Ganondorf did not. He just remained hovering and observing the frightened girl. More than being interested in her, the dark lord's thoughts were reflecting on the past. He had been cheated last time he had been alive in this world. King Daphnes Nohansen had stolen his wish. The leafed Ganondorf's mouth suddenly curled into an evil smile. The time for payback, it seemed, had come too soon. It would begin with this stupid Lycan. Ganondorf was about to swoop down and steal the very life essence from the girl, but before he moved an inch, there suddenly came an abrupt call in his mind.
Don't harm the girl, Ganondorf. Spare her and make your way here.
You! The spirit of Ganondorf replied telepathically. What do you want?
The dark lord was angry after having recognized the voice that had intruded his mind.
I want to help you get what you want, came the reply in his head, which sounded more like a teasing purr.
You abandoned me ages ago. I have no desire to even speak with you. Be gone from my mind, foul goddess.
The voice in his mind replied: And if I do that, you will remain as the mocking fool of the gods? You will remain ever alone in your quest to obtain power and fulfill your dream...that is, until you run out of stones? You only have but two left, Ganondorf.
The dark lord was shocked to hear that. How do you know that I...
I gave you the power you possess, so of course I know all about you, replied the voice of the goddess. You thought no one would know of your secret plan to hide your precious stones? Well let me remind you that the eyes of Umbria are many. I possess critical information concerning your precious stones that you surely would want to hear. Too bad you don't want to play with me....
The words of the goddess had alerted Ganondorf. She had said that she possessed critical information about his crafted stones. Were they in peril of being destroyed or something? Did Umbria know where he had hid the others?
You abandoned me! Ganondorf accused in anger, his eyes still on the inoffensive Lycan girl, who remained below him, too scared to move. You did not grace me with your help when most I needed you...because of you my people were nearly destroyed, wiped out by those celestial guardians!
Well, and why did I do that, silly mortal? You failed to deliver the accorded payment to our deal back then. After all I gave you, you simply betrayed me and went your own way. You went as far as to split your soul in secret in order to become like me, like my kin, and end up not paying what you owed. Your pure soul belonged to me, and yet you split it just to avoid giving it to me. That's why I abandoned you and your pathetic army. You should be glad that I've allowed you to live up until now, but you know that I rightfully could have gone after you and take back what rightfully belongs to me. And yet I didn't, nor do I plan to, for even as unworthy as you are, you're still just a tool to my eyes.
You can no longer have my soul, Ganondorf replied. I beat you by splitting it in many fragments many years back. You know what will happen once the last of my stones is destroyed, or when I finally am defeated. No soul for you, Goddess. I have won in the end, and if leave this world I must, there will be no regrets. And...I never was your tool. I was merely gaining for myself, was even smart enough to understand the forbidden magics that you said I'd never be able to grasp.
You weren't that smart, for I merely gave you meager powers...to you...who still after all this time continues being nothing but a poor, miserable mortal.
I was smart enough to fool and use you! Ganondorf was hurt. Anyway...our talk is over. Leave me alone.
The time of my imprisonment is almost up, the goddess reminded him of something he already knew too well but had not really interested him in the least. Unlike my brother Demise, I will soon be leaving this dark prison of mine and will be free.
Ganondorf considered the words stoically.
You still have five years to go, Umbria, Ganondorf’s reply sounded cocky. By that time many things can happen. I could even finish my work and become a god like you and all your kin.
Or, if you don’t stop the girl, she’ll be the end of you, idiot. She’s after them, you know? Your precious stones! She seeks to destroy them!
Who is? Tell me! Which girl?!
All of a sudden, the leafed Ganondorf saw that the Lycan girl had finally decided to go for it, to attempt to get up and run away. He let her, but he brought her down once again after she had run for about twenty feet.
“Stay put, you,” Ganondorf told her using a tough, scary tone. “Or I will definitely kill you.”
Aana never doubted that the monster, whatever it was, wouldn’t do that. She remained on the ground in her cowered state, wishing that the creature did not hurt her.
See, Ganondorf? You're still weak. You depend so much on others. I will tell you, but you must renew your vow to me, the goddess’s voice came to Ganondorf once again. By doing so, you will be taking care of a little favor for me as well. Only then will I be able to forgive your insolence, Fool.
Consider it done, Ganondorf’s reply had sounded desperate to the goddess back in her place of residence. The news that the goddess had given him had really unnerved him. But what is it exactly that you want me to do?
Hylia’s sword was found five years ago by some injudicious Selkie.
What? Truly? One of those ugly sealfolk pests found the god-slaying weapon?
Yes, the goddess revealed, chuckling at Ganondorf's funny words to describe the Selkie. He had not changed one bit since the first day that she had met him, his hate for the other races still remained. Get the blade for me and I will forgive your insolence. We would be even then, you not owing anything to me, our contract would become void.
It was an offer that no one could refuse, not even him.
Consider this task done.
You have to come down here and convince me that you've repented and accept me as your principal. So do it now! You know that my patience has a limit, Ganondorf...and besides, you don’t want to be late in getting here to hear the news, lest you want that girl to find and destroy your precious stones. I will be waiting for you.
The spirit of Ganondorf did not like that. He knew that he was in trouble. If something happened to his remaining stones, he could very well be living his very last era on earth this time. When his life ended this time, there would be no more hope to finish his work.
Feeling pressured to take leave, Ganondorf regarded the Lycan girl with hateful eyes.
"You released me!" Aana clearly heard the same wicked voice that she had been hearing all those days. "I, Master Ganondorf, Lord of the Gerudo, will spare your miserable life because of that, Slave. But make no mistake...your world will soon be enveloped in darkness. Huar-Huar-Huar-Huar!"
Just then, to Aana’s horror, the leafed monster, who knew that he had important things to do, came crashing down upon her as it continued to laugh wickedly. Aana screamed in horror, her heart nearly coming to a stop, but all that the Lycan girl felt was the leaves hitting her body and nothing else.
She remained lying there, cringed, trembling badly, and with her arms covering her head, leaves on her body and lying all around her. Aana was too scared to move. When finally she composed herself and noticed with large, demented-like eyes that all was calm around her, the Lycan girl suddenly felt very weak, and she could not get up, not even after trying, for her arms and legs felt tender, too weak to sustain her. The Lycan’s sudden weakness was due to the spirit having made contact with her flesh and bone body when it had swooshed down upon her. Aana, after the horror that she had experienced that day, would not be the same again. The last thing that she saw that day before her weak, enlarged eyes closed was the darkened, eerie sky above.
*End of Intro*
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