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lol I think all of us fantasy writers are meanies....

and most of chapter 37 :D


Chapter 37


Forgive and Regret…


He watched in a haze as the woman he barely recognized performed the ritual that would seal his fate, trapping his soul in this lifeless body forever. The little girl next to him smiled softly to herself in amusement at something he could no longer comprehend. Something inside his head screamed at him to stop the woman but he couldn’t move. His body was no longer his own, he couldn’t even blink anymore.
He watched in apathetic inattention as the woman in front of him spun around with a curse as the guy leapt from the darkness. His sword shining with power as he swung it down hard as he could, slicing the woman across the chest as he landed.
The woman fell with a cry of fury as her blood spewed forth from the wound, covering her attacker in its sticky crimson embrace.
“Perfect.” The little girl purred as she phased out of existence when the woman fell to the ground.
He watched as the man hanging in midair was released from his bonds as the woman died. Something inside his head snapped, his eyes became unfocused and he smiled; finally he was allowed to die.

Gerad spared a glance as Ludd fell over, but ignored him for now to check on Calhan that had fallen to the floor when the bonds disappeared. He stepped over the corpse of Granny that had reverted back to how she had looked when they first met, her blood pooling around her.
“Gerad!” Selene cried after she got up off the floor to see what had happened.
“You guys alright?” Gerad asked rolling Calhan onto his back. Calhan was unconscious but still breathing, barely.
“Gerad get me out so I can heal him.” Selene suggested rattling the cage door.
Gerad got up from where he knelt next to Calhan and jogged over to Selene’s side of the column. He judged the distance as he approached and picked up his pace at the last minute.
He leapt and landed safely onto her platform skidding a couple inches. He walked over to her cage and inspected the lock. Taking a deep breath he swung at the lock with all his might and it shattered.
“Hurry he doesn’t have long with that amount of blood loss.” He said as he stepped back.
Selene crawled out of the cage and ran to the edge, leapt the gap, landed and stumbled. She turned the stumble into a forwards roll and continued on to Calhan’s side. Gathering her Sage energy she concentrated it in her hands and got to work on his wounds.
Gerad jumped the next two gaps to Dahrin’s cage while Selene worked on Calhan. After releasing Dahrin he moved on to Meria.
Dahrin ran to Ludd and rolled him over, “Ludd?!”
“Hey, Firefly.” Ludd whispered barely breathing.
“Selene!” Dahrin cried over his shoulder but saw her completely concentrating on saving Calhan. From the look on her face he could tell it was a fifty/fifty shot.
“Its….ok….” Ludd gasped out, “I…don’t have….any regrets…”
Ludd’s breathing became a horrible rattle in his chest and his eyes began to close. Dahrin shook his shoulder, “No, Ludd! Don’t leave me again!”
“I’m…glad…you found…someone to be your…important person…” Ludd said softly.
Ludd forced his eyes to focus on Dahrin’s face and stared him in the eye seemingly straight to his soul.
“Promise me Dahrin,” Ludd gasped, “Promise me…that what Granny…predicted…won’t come true…please! Don’t betray them!.....Don’t fall….”
Dahrin’s tears spilled out of his eyes as he nodded fervently, “I promise! Don’t leave! I promise!”
Ludd smiled as his eyes glazed over and he died for the last time. Dahrin hugged Ludd to his chest and balled like a little child.

“Come on, Calhan!” Selene said through gritted teeth as sweat poured off her body, “Work with me, old man!”
Gerad and Meria stood behind her both of them wanting to help but neither of them able to. Dahrin still sat where Ludd had fallen cradling him in his arms. He had stopped crying as hard but the tears still flowed.
Calhan’s wounds were closing but Selene wasn’t sure if it was a fast enough rate. Calhan was still frightfully pale. Selene pressed her powers harder and she could feel tightness in her chest that was making it hard to breathe. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew if she pushed too hard she’d break.
The minutes seemed to drag on into an eternity as the last wound closed. Selene gasped for breath as the glow disappeared from her hands. Selene looked at Calhan’s face and saw him blearily look back at her.
“I’m not an old man.” Calhan mumbled.
Selene laughed as she blacked out. Gerad caught her before she hit her head on the floor. Meria checked on Calhan and saw him sleeping peacefully. Sighing in relief she got up and walked over to Dahrin.
“Dahrin?” Meria gently put her hand on his shoulder.
“Why, did it have to be him?” Dahrin cried softly, “He was a great guy, I don’t get it.”
“I’m sorry, Dahrin, I don’t know.” Meria replied squatting down next to him.
A few minutes later Selene regained consciousness. Gerad gave her some water to drink before he got everyone to their feet.
“I don’t know where that girl went but I don’t think she’s here anymore.” Gerad said to them folding his arms across his chest, “We should probably head back to the fortress. We all need some rest and we also need to take care of Ludd.”
Dahrin nodded absently. Selene glanced at Granny’s body, “What about that?”
Gerad looked to Dahrin who just shrugged, “I don’t know. We can let mom know when we get back I guess.”
“That seems like a good plan.” Gerad nodded then walked over to where Calhan was sleeping. He bent down and shouldered Calhan. Grunting with effort to situate Calhan’s weight Gerad stopped in his tracks.
“How do we get out of here?” Gerad asked turning to the others.
“We can handle that for you.” A voice echoed out of the darkness.
Selene and Meria drew their weapons to the ready as Bai stepped out of the darkness. Gerad put Calhan back down gently and drew his sword, warily. Bai’s monochromatic eyes stared in amusement at the group till they came to rest on Dahrin who was holding Ludd’s body. He set Ludd’s body down and drew his swords.
“Where are you going with our toy?” She asked innocently.
Dahrin lunged at her with a horizontal slice at neck level. She bent backward without moving her feet dodging the slice easily. Dahrin screamed in rage as he continued to slice at her with Bai dodging each attack.
Bai giggled as Dahrin kept attacking, “Hold still, you imp!”
Bai stopped moving and Dahrin stabbed her in the gut. She didn’t even flinch; Dahrin stared at her in horror as a needle toothed grin spread across her face. Bai grabbed Dahrin’s wrist and the skin where she grabbed started to blister. Dahrin yelped in pain and let go of the sword.
Bai giggled even more as she pulled the sword from her flesh, “My turn.”
She clapped her hands together and the sword cloned itself. Dahrin backpedaled as Bai attacked with the two swords. She was devilishly quick and Dahrin couldn’t block all the attacks. Small wounds appeared all over his arms as he barely deflected strokes that would have killed him.
Bai blocked a slash from Gerad from behind without even looking. Selene and Meria joined in the fight but Bai continued to dodge them all easily. Despite her size she was incredibly strong, she stopped Selene’s swing with her bare foot while simultaneously blocking an attack from Dahrin and attacking Gerad.
Meria thought she had an opening and took it but Bai sent out a pulse of power that blew them all backwards. Gerad skid a couple of feet to where his head and shoulders went over the edge of the column. Meria rolled off the edge but caught the ledge in time to not fall to her death. Selene rolled back to her feet and went after Bai again. Dahrin joined her in the attack from the opposite direction.
Meria pulled herself back up onto solid ground in time to see Bai knock Selene and Dahrin both out. Bai then disappeared from view and reappeared next to Meria. Meria felt a blow to the back of her head and fell forward unconscious.
“Great.” Gerad grumbled as Bai turned her attention back to him.
He had gotten to his feet but the adrenaline rush was starting to take its toll on his already weary body. His leg cramped and he fell to his knees. Bai was still grinning as she slowly approached him.
“What is it that you want?” Gerad asked struggling back to his feet.
The demented glee on her face was replaced with a solemn thoughtful expression. Bai stopped just out of Gerad’s range.
“We have our reasons.” Bai’s voice shifted like it had once before to the calm monotone.
Purple lightning flashed across the ground from Bai’s feet to Gerad. He screamed in pain and fell to his hands and knees. Gerad gasped for breath his muscles twitching with fatigue and pain. Bai’s feet appeared in his line of sight and he looked up into her monochromatic eyes.
“Is it revenge?” Gerad chuckled, “Cause every time I ask, that’s all they say. Like that’s all the reason anybody needs.”
Bai smirked as she squatted down to his eye level, “Please, it’s not so drab as to be mere revenge.”
“Oh?” Gerad asked sarcastically impressed, “Then pray tell, what is it, if not mere revenge?”
Bai shrugged, “We have a debt to pay, but mainly because of boredom.”
“What are you?” Gerad asked disgusted.
“Old,” Bai answered, “Ancient even. Mainly forgotten but for legends.”
Gerad stared at her in utter confusion, “What?”
“My name is Ciar, I do believe you were told of me. Twin minds one brain, ring any bells?” Bai asked suddenly, “I’m sure that hag must have told you something along those lines.”
“So, Bai, is another person inside your head?” Gerad asked slowly, “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Well, many, many years ago, roughly eight hundred now, I ruled the sands of the Gerudo Desert and beyond it.” Ciar began, “Though, I was technically born dead, my parents who loved me desperately and didn’t have any other heirs made a pact with a demon, Bai. She joined with me and once again I lived. Years later they thought they had made a mistake and had me sealed away.”
“Let me guess, “ Gerad interrupted, “Ganondorf let you out sometime in the past year.”
“Precisely,” Ciar tapped him on the nose with her finger, “must be a hobby of his.”
A shock went through Gerad’s skull and he collapsed unconscious.


dun dun dun muhahahaha

while writing this i have discovered that it is actually kinda difficult to come up with good bad guy backgrounds

and the last bit of 37



Gerad jerked awake on the cold stone ground of the temple entrance. He grabbed his head from the pain of the splitting headache. Gingerly, he sat up and looked around him. All of them were there passed out.
Gerad felt a shadow fall over him and he turned to see the camel looking at him. Gerad sighed as the camel nudged him in the back of the head when he turned back around. Gerad got slowly to his feet and patted the camel on the head.
“Good boy.” He mumbled as he hobbled over to Selene.
Every muscle in his body ached. He checked her pulse and then shook her shoulder to wake her up. She groaned and began to stir so Gerad moved on to Meria.
“Ooh, what happened?” Selene asked groaning as she sat up, “Last thing I remember was that kid beating the snot out of us.”
“I don’t know.” Gerad mumbled. He swayed slightly as he went to wake up Dahrin but steadied himself. Gerad noticed that Ludd’s body was here as well but not Granny’s. Dahrin sat up before Gerad got to him so he moved on to see if he could wake Calhan.
“My head feels like somebody’s beating it with a sledgehammer from the inside.” Dahrin groaned rubbing his temples.
Calhan yawned as he sat up, “G’mornin.”
“Oh, shut it.” Meria grumbled back.
“What’d I do?” Calhan asked glancing around at the rest of them.
Gerad just stood up and headed out the entrance, “Come on, let’s go back to the fortress.”
The others groaned but got up and followed after him. Dahrin fixed Ludd’s body to the camel’s back then grabbed its reins. None of them felt in good spirits, somehow they all felt like they had lost something in that battle. The sun was setting as they made their way across the dunes toward what they hoped would be some rest.

Nabooru sent two servants to prepare baths and bandages for the children when she caught sight of their state while they were still a distance off. As she peered through the spy glass in the fading light from the setting sun, the deep red of its rays was a fitting tribute to their walk of defeat.
The group made it to the fortress gates and were helped to the baths by assistants. Dahrin refused help as he took down Ludd’s body from the camel and walked away by himself. Nabooru silently motioned the assistants to let him be as she watched her son’s stiff shoulders as they dwindled with distance. She turned her attention back to the other children and Calhan.

Dahrin sat alone in his and Ludd’s alcove. They had held a funeral service for Ludd and had cremated the corpse following traditions. Dahrin felt so empty inside, he had lost his brother and his grandmother all in the same day.
“How sad, now I have no toys to play with.” Bai whispered in Dahrin’s ear.
“I will kill you.” Dahrin promised her through gritted teeth.
“Oh, promises, promises. Are empty till filled.” Bai taunted in a sing-song tone, “I crave amusement.”
Dahrin glared at her apparition as it floated into a kneeling position in front of him. Bai leaned on Dahrin’s knees and stared into his amber eyes that were filled with hate.
“Oh, now isn’t this amusing.” Bai giggled, “Seems you have a friend in your head as well.”
Bai leaned forward and put her lips next to Dahrin’s ear, “Amuse me.”
Something in Dahrin’s brain snapped.

‘Ah, finally.’


muhahahahahaha

What's going to happen?!?!

this



Chapter 38


Towards greener pastures, or clouds….



The whole group slept for about a week after their ordeal in the temple. Nabooru had sent scouts back to the temple to check on the situation. The scouts had reported back that a massive sandstorm had surrounded the temple and there was no way through.
“I was afraid something like this would happen.” Calhan said tapping a finger on his chin.
“What do you mean?” Gerad asked.
“Do you remember how the first time around, Ganondorf had all the different monsters hang out in the temples?” Calhan asked, “Well the reason for that was to keep the Sages from awakening.”
“Right, what’re you getting at?” Selene said slowly.
“Well, thankfully, this time around the sages are already awakened, but with that sand demon camping in the Temple, Dahrin’s Spirit powers will be reduced in efficiency.” Calhan explained.
“So what do you suggest we do?” Dahrin asked.
Calhan sighed, “I have no idea.”
Gerad exhaled in frustration and put his head on the table hitting it with a thunk. Selene played with the food on the plate in front of her while Meria and Dahrin stared at their hands.
“Do you think things would have gone better if the rest had been here?” Meria asked quietly.
Dahrin sighed, “Don’t do that. It’s happened, there’s no point in doing ‘what if’s’.”
“So what now?” Selene asked looking up from her plate.
Silence settled on the table as each one thought of what they could possibly do next. Gerad sat back in his chair.
“We move on and become stronger.” He said definitively, “Calhan, how do we get to the Wind Temple?”
Calhan started to answer but stopped a look of surprised curiosity on his face. At his silence the others look up. It was rare for Calhan to not have an immediate answer.
“I,” Calhan said slowly, “don’t remember.”
“Ah, crap.” Selene cried, “Don’t tell me that THAT was the memory Granny took?”
“Seems like it.” Calhan mused quietly to himself.
“Is there a way to figure it out?” Gerad asked desperately.
“Well, everything connected to the Wind Sage was in the town of Parsford.” Calhan said flustered.
“Where the heck is that?” Selene asked.
“Lon Lon Ranch.” Meria answered softly.
“Oh.” Gerad said surprised, “Guess we’re going there.”
“I’ll remain here.” Dahrin said suddenly, “Since, my Sage powers are going to be diminished, I will have to train as much as possible to not be a hindrance in the future.”
“But you’re not.” Selene began but Dahrin cut her off by placing a hand on her arm.
“I also have to keep an eye on the Temple for signs of when it can be entered again.” Dahrin continued, “This is for the best.”
Gerad nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I was going to suggest it if you hadn’t Dahrin.”
Gerad drained the last of his cup and glanced out the window into the failing light, “We’ll set out tomorrow. So we should get some sleep.”
The others stood and Meria, Selene, and Dahrin left the room. Gerad shut the door behind them and walked back to the table. Calhan stared at him in concern as Gerad sat down.
“You seem depressed.” Calhan observed.
Gerad snorted, “How can I not be?”
Sitting back Gerad groaned as he rubbed his eyes, “The group is less than half the strength it was, and on top of that we just lost a battle and a friend. An important clue was taken from us.”
Gerad slammed his fist on the table causing the plates to clatter, “Why does it have to be me, Calhan? I didn’t ask for any of this. The goddesses expect me to save the world from Ganondorf, without them lifting a finger? ”
Calhan listened in silence as Gerad continued, “I’m only twenty, I’m not my father, ok, he did everything by himself, and he saved the world once already. It’s not fair.”
Gerad leaned forward and put his face in his hands, “I can’t keep this up. I’m going to break.”
“Then break.” Calhan whispered softly.
Gerad jerked his head up not completely sure he heard right, “What?”
“Break.” Calhan repeated, “If you can’t handle it, that’s fine. Break.”
“Maybe you missed the part where Ganondorf is trying to take over the world…again.” Gerad said slowly.
“So?” Calhan countered, “True, everyone is doomed if the you fail, and yes, it’ll be hell if our last hope burst in our hands. But, who cares, because after all, you didn’t ask to be picked to save the world.”
Gerad just stared at Calhan.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did you want the ‘It’s ok, nobody’s blaming you, It’ll be alright..yada yada yada..’ speech?” Calhan asked in a condescending tone, “You didn’t ask to play the hero, well I’m sorry, we’re all the world has got, you’re just gonna have to buck up and hold out. I didn’t ask to have to skip my generation to come to this one and save the world but it happened. None of us asked for this Gerad, your sister didn’t ask to have to heal her friend’s wounds every twenty minutes. The rest of them didn’t ask for their predecessors’ past to come and haunt them at every turn either.”
Gerad sat back in his chair, shocked by the tone in Calhan’s voice. He was also staring at the finger Calhan had pointed at his face an inch away from his nose.
“These were the cards dealt to us, and we just have to suck it up and move on. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to see the world I’ve come to love burn because some jerk who can’t stay dead feels like taking over!”
Calhan sighed as he sat back down in his chair, “And if you do break, the rest of us are there to hold out till you pull yourself together.” Calhan continued in a softer tone, “Same as we would expect you to be there for us.”
Gerad stared at his hands while he thought about what Calhan said. Calhan drained the last of his cup, “Well, good talk. Good night.”
Calhan stood up from the table and flopped down on his bed. A few minutes later Gerad heard snoring. He chuckled as he stood up and blew out the candles.
As Gerad laid down he whispered over his shoulder to Calhan, “Thanks, old man.”


Meria left with the guard outside of Gerad and Calhan’s room, waving goodnight at Selene and Dahrin as he led Selene down the corridor in the opposite direction.
“Where’re we going?” Selene asked after a few feet of silence.
“I want to show you something before you leave.” Dahrin replied taking her by the hand.
Dahrin led her through the deserted corridors of the Fortress, they made so many turns that Selene was hopelessly lost after a few minutes. He eventually brought her to his alcove and Selene drew in a breath of awe at the beauty of the moonlight filtering through the opening in the ceiling. The small waterfall glittered like diamonds in the light of the full moon.
“It’s beautiful.” Selene whispered stepping further in.
Dahrin wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close, “Not as beautiful as you, my star.” Selene closed her eyes as Dahrin kissed her on the neck.
“I’m going to miss you.” Selene sighed as Dahrin continued to kiss her, “Will you be ok?”
Dahrin turned her in his arms and tilted her chin up too look into her eyes, “I’ll miss you terribly, but I’ll count the days till we’re reunited.”
Dahrin kissed her cutting off further doubts. Selene was slightly surprised at the passion in his kiss, but the fire she felt from it only made her want it more. Dahrin gently pulled her down onto the ground. She didn’t resist as he moved his kiss back to her neck. She whispered his name as he ran his hand down her thigh. Everywhere he touched burned and she became light headed from the rush.
He pushed his hand back up under her shirt wrapping around to underneath her back and pulled her tighter to himself. Something in her was yelling that they should stop; she was frightened to go any further.
“Dahirn,” Selene gasped out, “stop.”
Dahrin nibbled on her ear, “Why? I love you, I want to possess you.”
She pushed against his chest, “What’s wrong with you? This isn’t like you. You’ve never done this before.”
Dahrin sighed and pulled back away from her. In the moonlight his amber eyes stared down at her solemnly, he looked like a panther surveying his freshly caught prey. For some reason it frightened her. Selene clutched her arms to her chest staring up at him in fear.
A look of shock crossed Dahrin’s face. He smiled softly at her as he bent down and kissed her gently on the forehead.
“I’m sorry,” He sighed putting his forehead against hers, “for some reason it felt like I was about to lose you. Forgive me.”
Tears filled Selene’s eyes and Dahrin hugged her to his chest, “Losing Ludd must have been very hard for you.”
“Yeah,” Dahrin whispered back, “I just don’t want to lose you too. That’s what scares me most.”
Selene wiped away her tears as Dahrin stood up. He offered her a hand and together they walked out of the alcove. Selene straightened her clothes as best she could when they made it back to her and Meria’s room. She told Dahrin goodnight and went inside.
Dahrin walked back down the corridor to his own room as quiet as a panther. He nodded to the guards he passed on the way. Once inside his room he stood in front of his mirror.
“Told ya’ I could play you.” Dahrin whispered to the reflection in the mirror, “And don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that.” The reflection wasn’t mimicking his movements; instead it glared murderously at him.
The Dahrin outside the mirror chuckled, “What?”
“Don’t touch Selene again, Eshen.” The Dahrin in the mirror spat, “I don’t know how you got out and took over but I will find a way to fix this. Mark my words!”
Eshen chuckled, “Oh, settle down little bird.”
Eshen touched his lips with his fingers in thought. Looking back at Dahrin he licked his lips, “Sparkle’s quite the kisser. She tastes good too.”
“Bastard!” Dahrin cried slamming his fist against the mirror, “Don’t you dare touch her!”
Eshen laughed as he turned away from the mirror, “Don’t blow a fuse, my little birdie. We’re going to have so much fun, you and I.”


muahahahahahahaha

Eshen?!? I thought he'd show up eventually! Darhin! Don't let him make you evil!! Don't let him!! XD

looky looky looky!!!! an update!!!! ........... its not a complete chapter but i hope to have the rest of this chappy finished relatively soon!!! bear with me >.<



Chapter 39


Jump on three; one, two…


“Look out!” Gerad covered his head as the stacks of baskets came crashing down on top of him. Dust filled the small storeroom and caused everyone to evacuate into the open coughing and sneezing.
“I-ACHOO-uh, told you to be careful.” Selene said rubbing her nose.
Gerad hacked and coughed, “Yeah, yeah.”
“I told you it had been years since anyone’s been in there.” Meria said waving her hand in front of her to help clear the dust.
“Man, you’re just getting told left and right by girls, aren’t cha Gerad.” One of the farm hands teased.
“Shut up, Malcom.” Gerad grumbled as Malcom laughed.
Malcom was the youngest of the farmhands and only son of the haymaster. He was an intimidating sight at six foot seven, with a barrel chest and square jaw. His brown hair was tied back in a braid that went to his shoulders. His brown eyes danced with amusement and tears as he coughed from the dust.
Meria had told her parents about their predicament and Malon had showed them the entrance to the old cellars that were all that was left of the town of Parsford. Ralph had volunteered Malcom to help them with any heavy lifting they may need to do. So far all they had found was dust and lots of it.
“Is anyone else,” Selene sneezed, “beginning to think this is pointless?”
“Oh, I’ve thought that many times these past few days.” Calhan said rubbing his eyes.
The others laughed in agreement some shaking more dust out of their hair. Meria sat down on the grass to take in a few minutes of sunshine before they dared the musty recesses of the cellar again. Her gaze wandered to the south where the Moon Isle floated ominously closer to them, each day it became bigger.
“How much longer do we have?” Meria asked over her shoulder to Calhan who had sat a little behind her.
“You ok?” Selene asked him when Calhan didn’t answer.
Calhan yawned and rubbed his face, “Yeah, just really tired lately.”
“Malcom go get something to eat and drink for us, please?” Meria asked the big boy who grinned.
“Sure thing.” Malcom replied and trotted off to the house.
Once he was out of hearing Gerad knelt next to Calhan and stared hard at his face. Calhan looked at him quizzically till Selene gently grabbed his chin and turned his face to look at her.
“How long have you been feeling like this?” Selene asked tilting his head to different angles.
“Oh, you know,” Calhan replied flippantly, “not that long.”
“When, Calhan?” Selene demanded in such a tone she reminded Gerad of their mother.
Calhan sighed, “Right after I brought Gerad back to life at the Forest Temple.”
“And the medicine isn’t helping anymore?” Gerad asked concern fringing the edges of his voice.
Calhan pursed his lips and stared at the ground without answering. Selene looked at Gerad in confusion as she stood up.
“You ran out, didn’t you?” Gerad accused him sitting back on his legs.
“Not on purpose.” Calhan said flinching slightly, “Granny kind of broke my bottle.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?!” Gerad asked.
“Because we were somewhat preoccupied at the time.” Calhan replied his voice taking on a steely tone, “I’ll be fine as long as I don’t push too hard.”
“That’s not what you told me, way back when, Calhan.” Gerad retorted not at all phased by the authority in Calhan’s voice.
“What are you two talking about?” Selene finally demanded cutting into their conversation, “What medicine?”
Gerad sighed, “Calhan being the Lore Sage has its draw backs and part of it is aging really fast. Kelith made him some medicine to slow it down but now he’s out.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?” Selene asked turning back to Calhan with her hands on her hips.
Calhan sighed in aggravation and rubbed his face, “I’m not having this discussion.” He laughed humorlessly as he stood up and walked back to the entrance to the cellar.
“Calhan, wait.” Meria called after him as she got up and dusted grass off her pants. Gerad and Selene stayed put and watched in silence as Meria followed Calhan into the cellar.
“How long do you think he has left?” Selene asked turning to Gerad.
Gerad sighed as he got up from the ground. Looking at the floating island off in the distance he scratched his beard in thought.
“Not long enough.” Gerad replied softly.

Meria ducked through the entrance of the cellar and walked cautiously down the flight of stone steps. Coming to the hallway at the bottom she saw movement on her left and followed after Calhan.
He ducked into a side room a few feet away and Meria followed. She turned the corner to see Calhan leaning against the left wall clutching his chest with his shoulders hunched in pain.
“Calhan!” Meria cried running the few steps to his side and catching him as he slid to the floor.
In the flickering light of a lamp set on the floor by the entrance, Calhan’s face was very pale. He gasped giant gulps of air in pain as he leaned his head back against the cold wall.
“I’ll get Selene.” Meria said standing up and turning to rush out the door.
“Don’t,” Calhan rasped grabbing her arm in a grip like steel, “I’ll be alright, it won’t last long.”
Meria didn’t leave, not because of Calhan’s request but because of his grip. She slowly knelt and waited anxiously as Calhan’s breathing became less labored. A few moments passed and Calhan’s grip on her wrist slacked and dropped.
“Calhan?” Meria asked softly and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Hmm?” Calhan asked without opening his eyes.
“Tell me the truth,” Meria said still soft but there was an underlying firmness to her voice, “how long do you have?”
Calhan chuckled, “Long enough, I hope.”
She didn’t say anything as she watched Calhan breathe slowly. Now that she thought on it Calhan hadn’t been up to his normal pace since the Forest temple, and none of them had noticed. As she studied his face she noticed silver streaks beginning to form in his black hair and goatee. Wrinkles were becoming more apparent around his eyes and mouth.
“Do I really look that bad to you?” Calhan asked her softly startling her out of her thoughts.
“Sorry,” Meria replied, “I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just; you look so different from when we started three months ago.”
Calhan laughed, “It’s only been three months? Feels like years since we set out from Hyrule Castle.”
Meria merely nodded as Calhan closed his eyes again. She sighed to herself as she looked around the small room. It was the one they had evacuated from a little while ago, the baskets were still scattered across the floor.
“What’s that?” Meria asked standing up.
“What?” Calhan asked blinking his eyes as Meria grabbed the lantern and headed to the back of the room.
She picked her way over the fallen baskets and past other stacks of things so covered in dust as to no longer be recognizable. Setting the lantern on what she thought was a table Meria wiped a layer of dust off the back wall.
“Hey, Calhan,” She called over her shoulder, “come look at this.”
Calhan grunted as he got up from where he sat and made his way to her. Peering over her shoulder at the wall Calhan stroked his goatee.
“Well,” Calhan said touching the wall where the text was chiseled, “I’ll be. I think we might have found our answer.”
“Can you read it?” Meria asked scooting over so Calhan could look at the text closer.
“It’s really old Hylian.” Calhan mused to himself.
Meria was silent listening to him mumble the foreign tongue under his breath. It sent chills up her spine the longer she listened to him speak. A loud crack from the entrance startled them both.
“Oh-ho that hurt.” Malcom grimaced rubbing his forehead where he had hit it on the low entrance.
“Malcom.” Meria sighed, “Are you alrihgt?”
“Ya’, I’m hard headed enough it didn’t damage me.” Malcom grinned, “I brought the snacks you requested. The other two said you were down here.”
“Thanks, Malcom.” Meria smiled at him as she patted him on the arm, “Come on Calhan let’s go get something to eat.”
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.” Calhan said without turning around. Meria rolled her eyes and left, she knew he would come up when he got hungry enough. Malcom followed Meria out of the small room and up the corridor to the open air.
Selene and Gerad were already sitting on the ground eating the fruit and bread Malcom had brought.
“How’s he?” Gerad asked around a bite of food.
“He says he’ll be alright.” Meria replied sitting down and taking an apple out of the basket, “We found some text on the wall in that room, he’ll be up when he gets hungry enough.”
Selene laughed, “You sure about that?”
Meria was silent as she bit into the apple; she shrugged, “Maybe.”
Gerad shook his head as he smiled. A gentle breeze was blowing from the east carrying the scent of Hyrule fields. The sun shone down and Gerad found his mind wandering to thoughts of Aerica and eventually to the rest of the crew, he wondered how they were fairing.
“I miss the rest of the guys.” Selene sighed as she picked blades of grass at her feet.
Gerad nodded, “Yeah, me too.”
Meria sighed as she stood up and dusted off her pants. Bending down she picked out a couple pieces of fruit and a loaf of bread.
“I’m going to bring these to the scholar before he starves himself.” Meria said in mock aggravation.
“Alright,” Gerad smiled up at her, “we’ll be down in a bit.”
Meria waved her acknowledgment over her shoulder as she descended once again into the dank darkness of the cellars. As she rounded the corner into the room she rolled her eyes when she saw Calhan hadn’t moved at all.
“Hey,” Meria called to him as she approached, “eat something.”
“Yeah in a minute.” Calhan mumbled without turning around.
“No now.” Meria protested shoving an apple between his face and the wall. Calhan sighed as he took the apple and bit into it.
“Figure out what it says?” Meria asked him over turning a bucket to perch on next to him.
Calhan didn’t answer as he took another thoughtful bite from the apple. He wiped more dust further down the wall off as he continued to read the script. Meria sat there in silence waiting for an answer and slowly realizing she had been forgotten.
“Calhan.” Meria said suddenly causing him to jump.
“What?” He asked startled, “Oh, sorry, yeah it’s about the Temple but so far it hasn’t said where it’s at.”
“So what does it say exactly?” Meria asked leaning closer to the wall.
“Well,” Calhan said leaning back and taking another bite of the apple, “once you get past the poetry and find the actual facts, not very much.”
Meria nodded slowly, “Poetry?”
“Yeah,” Calhan sighed in frustration, “back in the day they were all about writing in rhymes and riddles. Why they couldn’t just say ‘so and so is here and this is how you get to it’ I don’t know.”
Meria pursed her lips as she leaned back and studied the text as a whole. The years hadn’t affected the stone too much and she could see the carvings were once extravagant with detailed pictures. Towards the bottom of the text there was a perfect circle.
“What’s this?” Meria asked brushing dust off of it.
“I don’t know.” Calhan said peering at it with her.
Meria tilted her head in curiosity as she ran her fingers over the little bulge in the wall. The circle gave way as she pressed on it and there was a loud click. Meria snatched her fingers back and shot off the bucket as the room started rumbling.
Calhan stood next to her and they both backed up as the wall with the writing fell backward revealing a tunnel. The two of the coughed and sneezed as more dust was raised from the wall falling.

Very cool, very cool... Hey, when IS Shiek, Zora prince (forgot his name...), and the others coming to oin back up with the group?

at the end of the world

hey i know its been awhile, some stuff happened but here is a tidbit and i hope to get back into writing more soon >.< this is the rest of chapter 39.



“What was that noise?” Gerad asked as he rounded the corner into the room.
He didn’t get very far before he started another sneezing fit. Selene and Malcom came in a few moments later.
“Where do you suppose that leads?” Meria asked pointing down the tunnel.
“Only one way to find out.” Calhan replied picking up the lantern.
The others followed him into the tunnel that gently sloped downward. Gerad brought up the rear and glanced back over his shoulder as they rounded a bend in the tunnel and saw the entrance swallowed by the darkness.
Feelings of apprehension were starting to creep onto his shoulders as he remembered his solitary trip through the dark corridors of the Spirit temple. Turning back to face the front he almost walked into Malcom who had stopped.
“What’s up?” Gerad asked stepping around Malcom to see what had made the procession stop.
Calhan had held up his hand when they had reached an archway that led to a vast open room. As Gerad stood beside Selene, Calhan cautiously stepped into the room holding the lantern high to give more light to their surroundings.
The room was circular with a high ceiling. The room seemed to have been carved out of the rock that Lon Lon Ranch sat on. As the group moved to the center Meria glanced at the floor and recognized that it was the Wind Sage crest.
“Calhan look at this.” Meria said pointing to the floor.
“Interesting.” Calhan mused squatting down to the floor.
“What do you suppose this room is Calhan?” Selene asked as she walked towards the left.
“Not sure.” Calhan replied as he tapped his finger on his chin as he thought.
Meria walked past him toward the center of the room, something there seemed to glow. She peered at a spot on the ground that pulsed dimly. As she walked closer it pulsed faster. The others’ voices seemed to fade away and be replaced with the sound of wind streaming past her ears.
Meria reached the point of light in the exact center of the room and stopped. The light continued to pulse so fast to be an almost continuous glow. As she watched it went out. The silence was suddenly replaced by a great gust of wind that swirled around Meria.
“Meria!” Gerad called then was blown down to the ground by the wind.
There was a bright flash of light and the wind stopped. The lantern had gone out and Gerad couldn’t see anything. A small glow came from his left and he saw Selene outlined in light.
Calhan used Selene’s Sage glow to relight the lantern and held it up peering in the direction Meria was.
“Where did she go?” Malcom asked as they all stared at the empty space where Meria had been.



dun dun dun