Chapter 15: Separation

Link clung to the back of Firestar, watching the sky around him attentively. No more daydreaming while flying for him! Not until he knew that strange creature with all the eyestalks was gone, anyway.

Flying felt both comfortingly familiar and strange. After being on the surface for so long, he had grown used to walking, although he had never become accustomed to the constant emptiness he had felt where he would usually sense the presence of his Loftwing. She seemed to be happy to see him, too. He scratched the top of her head and ruffled her feathers, and she clicked her beak contentedly.

When they landed on Skyloft, he walked straight towards the bazaar, thinking about what Tala had asked him, and what he had explained to her. Link was glad that Tala had encouraged him to return to Skyloft in order to make use of the stone tablet he had received in Skyview Temple from Ghirahim. Her expressions on seeing his drawings of that had certainly been interesting. Tala had been shocked to discover that Ghirahim had been able to retrieve the tablet from the bird statue. She had said that shouldn't be possible and she didn't know how he had managed it. She was even more baffled to learn that Ghirahim had been just as puzzled by it. She had also been very surprised that Ghirahim would let Link keep the tablet. He hadn't explained what had happened before he received the tablet, though. He wasn't really sure he wanted to discuss that with the Sheikahs yet—he knew how much they distrusted the demons. At some point, he would have to bring it up. But he had to think about how that should be done. Certainly there would not be details.

He looked up and realized he had reached the bazaar. It was time to get himself another shield. The one that Ghirahim had destroyed had been from Gaepora. However, it had technically been from Rupin's shop, since Gaepora had bought it from there years ago. Link would pay Gaepora back for the broken shield. He could buy another one straight from Rupin.

Then again, maybe not.

"I wouldn't dream of accepting a single rupee from you! Oh, no. Not from the Chosen Hero of the Goddess!" He leaned forward and gave Link his brightest smile. Link slowly lowered the handful of rupees he held and his drawing of the metal shield. "I've got something very special for you, in fact. I'll go get it from the back room!" Rupin tiptoed away briskly, although Link noted that even when he was walking away from everyone, his walk looked like he was quietly creeping up behind a customer, his bright smile plastered on his face.

Rupin returned with a glossy purple shield with a bird claw in the center. "This is a sacred shield." Looking around surreptitiously, he raised his voice and said, "The perfect defense for a true hero like yourself! Of course, I only have twenty more of this one-of-a-kind wonder in stock! Other knights can purchase this true hero's shield for the bargain price of 500 rupees!" Still smiling brightly, Rupin handed Link the shield, and then went to tiptoe around his stall, giving cheerful smiles to any shoppers who looked his way.

Link could only stare at the brightly enameled shield he held in his hands. It was worth more than what Pipit, the most highly paid senior, made in a month. And Rupin had just given it to him for free.

It was difficult for Link to accept that what had just happened had really happened. Slowly, he attached the shield to the clasps on the shoulder strap he wore so that it covered the sword on his back. Then, looking back several times in case Rupin changed his mind, he walked out the door of the bazaar.

Kina was waiting for him outside. Link stopped abruptly in front of her.

"Hi, Link! I made some pumpkin soup for you. You know, for your quest?" She held out two bottles filled with the bright orange soup.

Link gave her a weak smile and hesitantly took them both. Kina walked beside him as he headed towards the Knight's Academy.

"You were gone so long some of the knights at the Academy started saying that you'd been eaten by monsters," Kina said. "But I knew you'd be back."

Link could guess which knights she was talking about.

"Sparrot wants to talk with you," she said. Link recalled that he hadn't seen the fortuneteller in the bazaar, which he had thought odd.

"He's with Gaepora and—some other people," she said. "They all want to talk to you, actually."

Gaepora's office looked a lot smaller when it was filled with people. Gaepora sat at his desk, looking nervous, while the rest stood near the bookshelves or on chairs borrowed from the classrooms.

Link saw Sparrot, Owlan, Orielle and her brother Parrow, Rusta, Keet, Eagus, and Peater. Also, he noticed a nervous-looking Fledge standing next to his friend Shad.

Shad waved at Link as he entered the room. "Hey, Link!" he said, adjusting his glasses. "I'd love to see some drawings of the surface! Hope you'll show us what it looks like. It would really help with my research on-"

Owlan gave him a stern look.

The blond-haired student knight ducked his head. "Ah, I mean, I'm sure there's a lot we don't know about the surface and we can help you a lot better if we do. Also there might be plants there." He looked up again and gave Owlan a wide smile.

Owlan sighed and looked over at Link. "We will try not to take up too much of your time. But there are a few things we'd like to help with."

"Yes," Gaepora said. "Let's get started."

At the end of it all, Link had been given more advice than he could possibly remember. At least all his adventure pouches were restocked, and Gaepora had given him a new hat to replace his missing one.

"Please allow me to assist you in further practice of your abilities," Fi intoned. Her wings moved in small up-and-down motions.

Link glanced over at the group of people standing near the light tower who were watching him with interest.

"However, there is a 98% chance that your practice would be disturbed if we stayed in Skyloft. I advise we travel to a more remote island to locate a suitably safe and quiet place to practice."

Link nodded. He knew a good place for that. He walked back toward the Knight Academy where he could sense his Loftwing waiting for him. When he arrived, he noticed that she was sitting next to Mint and Aristelle. The three Loftwings appeared to be resting. Firestar cawed as Link approached and rose to a standing position. She tilted her head and looked behind him as he approached.

"Hey, Link!" Fledge's voice said from behind him.

"We have something for you!" Shad's voice said. "Er, well, Fledge does anyway."

Link turned around. Fledge stopped near Link. He held the item, handle out, towards Link. "I bought it from Beedle."

"Yes, and that price-gouger charged you an absolute fortune for it!" Shad said, his expression pained.

Link reluctantly took the item from Fledge. He wasn't sure how to best express the notion that Fledge hadn't needed to do this. Link probably could've gotten it for free. Besides, what was he going to do with a bug net?

"Luvina's husband can do some interesting potion enhancements with bugs," Shad explained. "I'd bet if you got some from the surface, he could do a lot more with them than usual. Er, if there are bugs on the surface? There are, right?"

Link nodded.

"Oh, and if you could drop off one or two for my research-?" Shad said hopefully.

Link nodded again and smiled. He guessed Shad hadn't wanted to ask about that in front of Owlan.

Link heard an angry caw from behind him.

"Stop that, Mint!" Fledge said, scolding his green Loftwing. He walked over to the burly bird and pulled him by his neck away from the grey Aristelle, who again squawked her displeasure at him. The green bird held several of her feathers in his beak.

"I'm sorry, Shad," Fledge said. "I just don't understand why he's been so ill-tempered lately."

Shad shrugged. "Aristelle doesn't hold grudges any more than I do. Mint's moodiness probably has something to do with how much Groose has been picking on you. Your Loftwing must want to fight him."

"I couldn't let him do that!" Fledge said, his expression horrified.

Shad shrugged again. "Didn't say you should—just that it's clearly what he wants to do. You have one really ferocious Loftwing, Fledge."

Fledge's ferocious Loftwing nuzzled the student knight affectionately.

Link wondered where Groose was. He hadn't seen him around since he had returned to Skyloft. Not that he particularly wanted to.

Link was flying on Firestar again, this time toward the hollowed-out mountain island. As he approached, the tentacle-eyed creature appeared suddenly from behind one of the rocky islands. It lunged at him and grabbed him off his bird. Then, before he could do anything, it ripped the sword off his back and tossed it away from him.

Link reached out uselessly as the sword fell towards the cloud barrier. The hairs on the back of his neck rose, then, as he realized the creature was laughing.

"Such luck! I was just about to give this up for the day, and then you appear!" The creature shook him in its tentacle, as if for emphasis.

The creature could talk?

Link's heart sank as he saw that it had grabbed Firestar as well, and held the Loftwing on the other side of its body. The tentacled eyes surrounded Link, peering closely as if examining him from every angle. "Oh, there is no mistaking you, is there, Hylia's Beloved?"

Link saw the winged mouth open and close, its sharp teeth glittering in the sunlight.

"You look just like that loathsome Eldren did. Do you sound like him, too? Any smug retorts before you meet your doom?"

Link shook his head frantically.

"I guess not. Very well. Say goodbye to the world, you wretched creature."

To his horror, Link realized the tentacle holding him was moving him towards its mouth. Link struggled. As the creature brought him up to its mouth, he managed to kick one of its teeth hard enough to break it. The creature gave a high-pitched shriek, then, spitting out the tooth. It's tentacles suddenly started moving around wildly like the last time he had seen it.

Then Link saw several knights appear in formation on their Loftwings. They stabbed the creature's tentacles, causing it to release Link and his Loftwing. Then one of the knights caught Link on his own dark blue Loftwing.

Pipit and Karane waved at him.

"Thought you could use a bit of help there, hero," Pipit said.

Karane held up a sword—the Goddess Sword. It glinted in the sunlight. "Hey, looks like you dropped this, Link. Bad time to be without a sword, eh?"

Link stood in the empty volcano, watching Fi, who floated in front of him. Pipit and Karane had assured him that they knew how to handle the creature and had led the other knights away to chase it back to the outskirts of The Hundred Isles. Link and his Loftwing had continued on to the small hollow-mountain island. When he arrived, Firestar landed him inside the hollowed-out rock cone.

Link pondered what had just happened. No one who had talked to him had said anything about the creature speaking. Link guessed they hadn't heard it do so. Still, he wondered why it hadn't done so before.

"My readings indicated the creature was being controlled by telepathic contact with someone on the surface," Fi said. "When you damaged its tooth, you broke that contact by providing an overriding external stimulus."

That was strange. How was it that Fi had decided to answer exactly the question he had been wondering about?

"Because I can telepathically read your thoughts, Master," Fi answered.

Link gave her a horrified look. He didn't want someone reading all his thoughts! He held his hands to his head and shook it vigorously. How could he get her out?

"Master, please do not be agitated. I see I did not properly explain," Fi said. She danced to the top of the large mushroom growing inside the mountain. "While you do not need any awareness of this ability to use it, I can only read those those thoughts you wish to share with me."

Link took a few deep breaths. He supposed—that wasn't so bad. Not as bad as he'd thought, anyway.

"Has this additional information positively affected your emotional state?" Fi asked, tilting her expressionless face.

Link lowered his hands from his head and nodded.

"Good. Then let us continue your practice." Fi led him through several different kinds of sword swipe. Then she had him combine them in various ways. Though Link had had plenty of training at sword-fighting as a knight, what Fi was teaching him was entirely new. He was fairly sure that even the Horwell and Owlan wouldn't know these things.

Lastly, she asked him to practice something completely different. Jumping.

"I would like you to jump to the top of this hollowed-out rock cone, Master," she intoned. "Please give this your best effort."

Link looked up at the top of the cone some forty feet up in the air. He jumped several times, each time trying to jump as high as he could. After making about forty attempts, he stopped, breathing heavily.

"Thank you. Your current record is 4 feet and 3 inches, Master."

Link collapsed to the ground, looking up at the impossibly far circle of light at the top of the cone. How was he supposed to jump all the way up there? If this was supposed to be one of his amazing abilities, it didn't seem to be manifesting itself.

"No need to be discouraged, Master. I am confident you will improve in time. For now, you should head back to Skyloft, though, since the sun has begun to set. I advise you rest here for the night, as Gaepora suggested, before continuing to Eldin Volcano."

Link slowly rose from the ground and crawled onto Firestar's back. Sleep sounded like a good idea to him. Still, he watched the skies with extreme care as the Loftwing wheeled back towards Skyloft, his heart jumping at every movement in the sky. But this time, at least, they all turned out to be Loftwings. Still, he wasn't going to let his guard down any time soon. Whoever had been controlling that many-eyed monster really, really hated him.

Link collapsed into his bed. Gaepora had urged him earlier to get some sleep before he continued looking for Zelda, since he was of the opinion that it was too dangerous to sleep somewhere Link had never been. Fi apparently agreed, and Link had no objections, since he had no idea what the next area he visited would be like. After the talk with what was apparently being called the Committee of Assistants to the Hero, he welcomed the familiar surroundings of his room. Not that long ago, he had thought the surface dwellers were insane. Now it seemed like the whole of Skyloft had gone insane. Nothing was like he remembered it. Everyone noticed him, and not simply as a somewhat unusually silent student knight. Everyone wanted to help him. Of course, Rusta he could understand. The old man had taken care of Link ever since his mother had passed away. And Gaepora was surely worried about Zelda. But everyone else—well, they seemed to notice him much more than they otherwise would.

Like Peater! The only time he had ever talked to him before was to either ask if he wanted to pay to use his sword practice arena, or to threaten him to stay away from his daughter-that last one had always baffled Link, as he only recalled waving to Peatrice once. Zelda had once said that Peater was simply overprotective. But today the old knight had been trying to give him sword lessons! And Sparrot had told him prophecies for free! But what had he ever done to earn any of that? Staring up at the wall, he wondered if they would all be so impressed if they realized that so far, all he'd managed to do was get captured by the demon lord, fall in love with him, and then get rescued. He didn't think that any of that would sound very heroic. If he didn't manage to do something heroic soon, he was going to give Fi to Pipit.

Ghirahim mentally went over his list of current tasks. Find Hylia/Zelda. Find Link. Talk to mogma king. Attend Amelia's tea party. Nap. Talk to Grendel. He smiled. Well, it is already in order of importance. He knew that the first two would need to wait for the right opportunity, however. So, mogma king it is. He snapped, and the surroundings around him shifted from his rooms in the palace to a rocky outcropping above a river of lava and below a slightly smoggy blue sky.

Two burly mogma guards locked their eyes on him warily. "You are Lord Ghirahim?" one of them asked.

"Yes," Ghirahim said. "I am here to see King Guld. I believe he agreed to meet with me at this time?"

The blond-haired guard on his left crossed his arms and said, "You have to pay up first."

The one on his right, with a shock of blue hair running across the center of his head, nodded emphatically. "We don't take no one to see His Richness unless they pay the fee." He held out his hand.

Ghirahim sighed. Of course, it would only be polite to show deference to their customs. He snapped, and some gems appeared from his teleportation cache. "Will this be sufficient?"

The two mogmas looked approvingly at the gems.

"Not bad," the blond-haired one said.

"Those are some good-quality diamonds, sure," the blue-haired one said. "You could've added a few more sapphires, though."

Ghirahim snapped again, and several more of the light blue gems appeared. "Is that sufficient?"

"Weeeellll," the blond-haired one said. "A few more rubies might help-"

Ghirahim gave them a small smile. "Of course, if this isn't good enough for you, maybe I should just—take it all back and cancel my appointment..."

"No-that's-just-fine," the blond-haired one said quickly.

"Looks good to me," the blue-haired one nodded. "Give it here. We'll take you to see the king."

Ghirahim handed him the gems and followed the two mogma guards through a series of winding caverns. They walked on a rocky platform above a pool of lava. After they came to a certain point, the two mogmas began digging a tunnel into the wall. Ghirahim followed behind them, grimacing. Bits of rock and dirt fell into his hair from the top of the cavern. He tried to brush them off. "Is this really necessary?"

"Yeah. Do you think the King lives anywhere with direct surface access? Ha! No one's gonna get to him that easy!" The blue-haired one said.

"I see. You know, I was wondering what your names are," Ghirahim said. "I don't recall either of you introducing yourself."

"Name's Bronzi," the blond-haired one said.

"I'm Nackle," the blue-haired one said.

"Thank you." Ghirahim said. He created a small light with his magic and sent it to hover directly over his head. Neither of the mogmas seemed to have any difficulty digging in the increasingly dim tunnel, but Ghirahim didn't have whatever sense allowed them to navigate in the near-complete darkness of the tunnels.

"How much longer until we reach your king?" Ghirahim asked.

Bronzi used one hand to scratch his head as he used the other to dig furiously. "Not too long now—maybe a day."

Ghirahim stopped. "A day. An entire day. How far is he underground? Should I just go back to the Lower Realms to find him?"

"No need to be so impatient," Nackle said. "Digging takes time, you know. Not like this is an easy stroll across the surface, or we can just magically teleport there."

Ghirahim scowled. "If you told me where he was, I could."

Bronzi laughed. "No you couldn't. His Richness made sure of that the moment he learned what you were."

"That's right," Nackle said. "No way in or out but by digging there."

Devious creatures, Ghirahim thought. "So, you say he has a way to block teleportation?"

The two mogma guards nodded.

"Yeah. So don't be thinking you can try anything like that," Nackle said as his long claws dug through the dirt in front of them.

"Unless you don't mind how many pieces you come out as in the end," Bronzi added, chuckling darkly.

Ghirahim began to wonder if this was some sort of trap. The surface dwellers were not necessarily malicious, but they certainly didn't trust the demons. And his soldiers had moved into the mogma's territory without asking. Still, he was confident that he could handle anything they had planned for him. Teleportation was hardly his only ability, after all.

"I see," Ghirahim said. "Actually, I am quite interested in methods of blocking teleportation. Do you think the king would be willing to share how it's done?"

The mogmas shared a puzzled look.

"Eh, really? Maybe—for a price, of course," Bronzi said.

"Of course," Ghirahim said, smiling. Even if this was a trap, the demon lord planned to get something useful for his trouble. He grimaced as a clump of dirt hit his shoulder. Especially after a day of this.

Zelda was glad her protective cloak was black. She was completely covered in dirt at this point.

"How much longer, Perrin?" Impa asked. "You know how much I hate delays."

"Unfortunately, yes," Perrin said. "Only a couple more hours and we'll be there."

"That long?" Impa said, sighing. "The temple is a quarter mile from us. I could've been there in seconds."

"Thought you didn't want to alert every demon guard posted around that place," Perrin said. "Besides, you know no one else would be faster. At least we'll be taking the shortest path down here." The mogma's claws made a screeching sound as they scraped dirt away from rock. "Ah, another charming lode of Eldin Ore." The mogma pressed a hand against it and a large swath of the rock in front of them began to melt. Impa had explained to Zelda that Perrin was a fire sorcerer, so he could cause things to become hot or burst into flame. He apparently wanted the firestone since it could focus his power.

"So, you and Impa know each other?" Zelda asked. "Are you old friends or something?"

Perrin chuckled. "Sure, little goddess. Me and Impa go way back—ten years back, to be precise. We're the best friends ever. After all, I just loved being interrogated like a criminal when she mistook me for the slimy thief who stole the Sheikah's sparkly purple stone from them."

"You have the same hair color-"

"Because of course black is such an exotic and unique hair color," Perrin said.

"We cleared it up,eventually," Impa said. "That is what is important."

"Yeah. At least the Sage of Truth believed me," Perrin said.

They stood inside the temple, near the locked entrance. Perrin had explained to Zelda that this was the only place in the temple foundation that wasn't spelled against entry.

"Well, as great as it's been being terrorized by you again, Impa," Perrin said, "I'd like my ridiculously gaudy firestone now."

Impa gave him the stone.

He looked down at Zelda. "Good luck, little goddess. Just don't be disappointed when you realize that your goddess powers are all in her head."

Impa rolled her eyes, and Perrin disappeared back down his tunnel.

"Impa?" Zelda asked.

"I hope you're not worried about what he said," Impa said. "As you know, it is not just I who knows you to be the the Goddess."

"Yes, I know," Zelda said. "I just wanted to ask—it was Granite who was the Sage of Truth, wasn't she? Because she possessed the Shard of Truth?"

"Yes," Impa said.

"So does that mean that Ghirahim is now the Sage of Truth?"

"No," Impa said. "A demon cannot be the Sage of Truth."

They walked through the temple. Impa was being more careful here—she had explained to Zelda earlier that they had to navigate the inside of this temple carefully.

"Why not?" Zelda asked.

"Because the Sage of Truth is not merely a person who possesses the Shard, but a person who can withstand its power indefinitely. There are a few in this world, such as myself, who can wield the shard for limited periods of time. How a demon could have even managed that, I am not sure, but I must assume from what you and Granite have told me that he does possess some capability to use it. Still, I know Granite must have been mistaken in her belief that he is a true wielder of the Shard."

"But why do you think that's so impossible? I know you don't like the demons, but-"

"That is not the reason," Impa said quietly. "The reason is that the demons have an instinctive desire, placed in them by Demise, to destroy all of your magic. Even unaware of the shard's origins, they would feel a natural revulsion towards it. And if they knew what it was, they would destroy it. But a true wielder of the shard would never destroy it. I suspect that the source of its magic is something of which Ghirahim is not aware. Which is why we must act quickly, if we are to have any chance of reclaiming it from him."

The temple was lit brightly by the fires burning in sconces on elephant statues and by the deep red light the magma gave off. The ceiling rose far above them. Up there, it was much darker, only the faintest bit of light from the fires and the red glow of the magma reaching the high vaulted ceiling. Zelda thought she saw some sort of large pods hanging from the ceiling far above them.

Impa suddenly held her finger over her lips and pulled them behind a column near the doorway.

"Demon on the other side," she whispered. "Somehow one got in here. I'll handle him."

Zelda could see Impa looking cautiously over the side of the column, presumably watching the demon. She waited quietly near Impa and tried not to breathe too loudly.

Suddenly Zelda felt large hands grab her, pulling her—upwards?

"Ahahahahaha! Let's see you fly, Sheikah scum!" A deep female voice said mockingly from behind Zelda. The demon's blue muscular arms snaked across her waist, holding her tightly. Zelda heard the soft sound of wingbeats from behind her.

Impa had turned around, of course, but Zelda was already being held by the demon hovering high above the floor.

"Put her down," Impa said, her voice dark. An energy orb glowed in her hand.

Zelda's captor laughed again. "I don't think you want to use that thing, pesky Sheikah," the demon said. "If you harm me, I might drop your Goddess in that lava below me. I'm sure you wouldn't want that."

"I will be ready if you do that. If you harm her, I will make you rue the day you were born, demon," Impa said, her eyes filled with rage.

"And why would I ruin my advantage?" the demon asked. "I have no intention of harming your precious Goddess. But I know that you won't, either. So you can't harm me, unless you want to be the one who kills her. Delicious irony, isn't it?"

Zelda looked down at the lava bubbling far below her, grimacing.

"Surrender her back to me, now, demon, or you will come to regret this," Impa said. "You cannot hover over that lava forever."

"I don't need to," the demon said.

"Impa! Behind you!" Zelda yelled, and the red demon that had been creeping up behind her yelped and leapt away as she threw the energy orb at him. Zelda looked away as the red demon hit the surface of the lava. She was surprised when the demon behind her only laughed again.

"Trelan, you lazy loafer! Stop taking a bath and attack the Sheikah!"

"You attack her!" a male voice shot back. "You know I won't be of much use once I get out of this muck." Zelda looked over at the lava again. To her shock, the demon was actually swimming through it.

Zelda heard a sigh behind her. "I suppose. Oh, well—no big deal." She heard a piercing whistle from behind her. "Shadow Squadron! Dispose of the Sheikah."

Zelda heard a rustling sound above her. Then, looking up, she realized belatedly that the pods she had seen earlier had actually been demons with their large leathery wings wrapped around themselves like sleeping keese.

They flew around Zelda's captor, swarming Impa. As Zelda watched the dark cloud of demons descending on her guardian, her heart sank. The demon who held her flew above it all through the tall doorway and deeper into the temple.

The demon woman set her down on a rocky outcropping. Now that she was no longer facing away from the demon, she could see that her captor was a very muscular demon with blue-black hair and yellow eyes. Her pupils were slitted, and she had long, curvy spiraling horns jutting out from her hair. Like the other winged demons, here wings were shaped like those of a keese.

The other demon, the red one, watched her curiously as he cleared the solidifying magma from his body. He looked very similar to the blue one, actually, with the same kind of wings and curving spiraling horns on his head. Unlike the female demon, he actually wore very little—only a loincloth with a belt and a thick strap across his shoulder. A red sword handle jutted from his back.

The blue demon attached a shackle on a long chain to Zelda's leg.

"What are you doing?" Zelda asked, alarmed. Were they just going to leave her here? She was starting to feel overheated already, even with the protective clothing that Impa had said would help protect her against the heat of the volcano. Impa. What had happened to her, when all those demons had attacked her? Zelda feared the worst.

The blue demon removed a metal jar from the pack she wore, and offered it to her. "You are to be restrained to prevent your escape until Lord Ghirahim arrives. We're to give you food and water as you require it. You are not to be harmed." The words were said tersely, but their meaning, at least, comforted her. She drank some of the water, which was surprisingly cool.

"Thank you, I guess. What—what is your name?"

"I am Nix," the blue demon said, her wings flapping several times before folding themselves behind her back.

"I—my name's Zelda."

"Very well-if that is what you wish to be called. You may call for us if you require anything. We will be over there." she gestured to the area below the large dragon head statue that seemed to be the centerpiece of the room.

Zelda nodded. "I see."

The demon launched herself into the air and flew to the rocky outcropping under the dragon head. The red demon joined her, though he walked despite the fact that he also had wings. Zelda could see he was still pulling solidified lava off of his body.

When the demons began conversing with each other, Zelda realized that despite the distance, she could hear them perfectly. Something her music tutor once mentioned came to mind then—she had said that some spaces caused sound to echo and concentrate in certain places. Zelda guessed that must be true of this space, though the two demons seemed unaware of this. Since Zelda had nothing better to do, she listened to their conversation. It was less stressful than thinking about what had happened to Impa. Or what might happen to her.

Zelda took another gulp of water from the metal jar.

"Can you believe this?" the red demon said. Zelda remembered that Nix had called him Trelan. He pulled another piece of cooled magma off one of his wings. "We just caught the Goddess!"

"Ha! Yeah! I can't wait to see the look on Orynx's face. For once, he missed out on all the fun. Seriously, he'll be crushed. Great job with the distraction, by the way."

"Oh, no problem. I'm sure the Sheikah was entranced by my excellent physique."

Nix laughed. "You're as vain as Lord Ghirahim."

"I'm not that vain. But just look at these muscles!" He flexed a bicep. "They are impressive!"

"Well, whatever it was, it worked. And I think we are deserving of some slight recognition and credit for this. I don't think I'll ask for much, really. A fortress keep in Faron Woods would be quite sufficient."

"Heh. All I want is to be named a Lord. Lord Trelan has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Really? All you want is a fancy title?" Nix asked. "Some of us are easily pleased, I suppose. You do realize that some of the nobles have considerably less than we do, don't you? Especially those who think that honest work is beneath them."

Trelan flapped his wings, dislodging more rock shards. "Oh, I wasn't planning on retiring. No, I'll be Lord Trelan of the Elite Guard. I'd also ask never to see Ferrik's smug little face again, but I don't think that request would ever be granted."

"Hah! Now that I understand! He is an arrogant little worm, isn't he? Always trying to act like he's better than all the rest of us."

"Yes, exactly," Trelan said. "I do despise it when he tries to order us around."

"I know. The nerve! Hasn't he ever heard of seniority?" Nix leaned against the wall.

"Since he doesn't have it, I guess he thinks it's not important," Trelan said.

"He is always baiting Orynx, too. I do not understand how he has lasted even this long." From her position on the rocky outcropping, Zelda could just barely see the small form of Nix turn her head. "I should probably give our prisoner some food. How often do you suppose Sky People need to be fed?"

Link was formless in his dream again. Three people stood in front of him. He recognized two of them from a previous dream. Eldren and Alat. The other one was Tala, in the younger form she had shown him earlier.

"Stand still, Eldren," Tala said.

Eldren grimaced. "Look, it's nothing, really." He turned the wound on his arm away from Tala. "It'll go away on its own. It's not even cursed."

"No, it's worse than that. It's infected." Tala scowled at him. "It needs to be healed. You have an unbreakable spirit, Eldren, not an unbreakable body."

"There are people who need your help more than me," Eldren said. "Besides, if you heal it now, that'll be yet another battle scar you've deprived me of, Tala. How many is it now? I've lost track." He shifted again as she moved to try to get a closer look at the wound.

Tala narrowed her eyes, and several vines rose up from the ground and grabbed the black-garbed elf.

"Hey!" he protested. "That is completely unsporting!"

"Stop being impossible and sit still. Now let me fix it before it festers." Tala looked over the wound on his arm.

Alat snickered and crossed her arms.

There was a knock and another Sheikah entered the room. "Commander Alat," he began, facing the black-armored Sheikah. "Your assistance with the battle planning is required immediately."

The armored Sheikah woman grimaced at the mention of her name. "Of course."

"You're not to go anywhere either, Aly, until I look at you as well," Tala said.

"That's right, Commander Alat. If I have to suffer, so do you," Eldren said from the tangle of vines wrapped around him.

Alat gave Eldren a sharp look. "Don't be ridiculous," she said, turning to Tala. "My healer already healed me, and even if he hadn't, you know you couldn't-"

"I can still have a look. So you just stay right there," Tala said.

"Fine," Alat said. "But there's not even a scar."

Link's dream shifted, and he found himself in his body again, and standing in Faron Woods. Then he saw Ghirahim. The demon lord gave him a wide smile and walked over to him, walking through a small stream. He embraced Link and bent over to whisper in his ear. "So this is where you've been hiding. But you can't hide from me."

He pushed Link down into the grass and settled on top of him. Then he kissed Link on his ear and all down the side of his face.

Ghirahim ran a gloved hand through the elf's hair. "I love you. I only wish—I didn't have to kill you." Link looked into his eyes. He seemed sad, now. Then Link noticed something in his chest. He looked down. A jagged black sword was plunged through his heart.

Ghirahim and the ground disappeared around him and Link was falling down the pit of the Sealed Grounds again. He hit the floor and opened his eyes. Sunlight streamed into his room. He took a few deep breaths. This falling off his bed thing was becoming a habit. Maybe he needed to put some cushions on his floor. He sighed, and slowly rose to his feet. His dream had been looking so promising, too, until that last bit.

"Ugh," Ghirahim said. "Is this torture almost over?" He was absolutely caked with dirt. It hadn't helped that he had had to sleep in it, too. Apparently, mogmas thought nothing of sleeping on their tunnel floors without even a blanket to lay on. Ghirahim wished he had thought to put something like that in one of his teleportation caches. As it was, he had had to sleep in the rocky dirt. He had at least been able to put a shield around himself, which had protected him from the constant patter of dirt pieces from the ceiling of the tunnel. And also from the mogma guards, in case they planned to try anything while he slept.

"We'll be there very soon, I assure you," Nackle said.

His words turned out to be true, to Ghirahim's relief. In minutes, the dirt in front of the two mogmas was all dug away, suddenly revealing a great cavern at the end of the tunnel. Ghirahim stepped in after the two mogmas, looking around. A few torches lined the cavern wall, but otherwise it seemed dark and empty.

The sudden sense of emptiness was something that Ghirahim noticed not only in the cavern, but in himself as well. He realized with a chill that the whatever the mogma king used to block teleportation was blocking his other powers as well. All of them. And to his horror, he realized there was something else missing as well—part of himself. He had been cut off from the Unbreakable Sword.

"Where's Guld?" Ghirahim asked. "If this is some sort of trick..."

"No trick," Bronzi assured him.

The Shard of Truth confirmed what the mogma had said. At least that still works, Ghirahim thought, feeling a slight sense of relief. Still, he definitely hadn't planned for this.

"Here, let me go get him for you." The mogma walked off into the cavern, disappearing into the darkness beyond the few torches here.

Ghirahim heard the sound of something being struck, and a blazing white light filled the room. When it cleared, they were standing—somewhere else. It looked almost as if they were back in Faron woods, except this place was filled with a different kind of tree. This kind tapered at the top and grew needles instead of leaves. The air was cool, but warmer than the bitter cold of the cavern. Sunlight streamed into the area, despite the lack of any visible sun or sky. A yellow border marked the transition between forest grounds and cavern floor. Ghirahim turned around. He looked all around him, not bothering to hide his surprise. "What is this?"

"This is my own personal world," a voice said. "Very scenic, don't you think?"

Ghirahim turned around again, and saw a mogma with a large white beard and a long mane of grey hair. The two mogma guards took positions on either side of the shorter mogma, and Bronzi handed him the gems. The aged mogma threw several back to the guards, who took their prizes eagerly.

"King Guld?" Ghirahim said.

The mogma nodded, his sharp eyes focused on the demon lord. "That's me. Big boss of all mogmas. And you must be the self-proclaimed Lord of the Surface."

Ghirahim gave him a small bow. "The one and only," he said. "I believe you have some complaints with respect to my soldiers? I do hope they have not been hostile—their orders are to not attack your people."

"You are correct—there have been no fatalities, or I would be having much sharper words with you now. Still, I have an objection. Namely that they are trespassing on our grounds. We do not like trespassers, Lord Ghirahim."

"That is understandable. You have a very nice place here. Still, I hope we can negotiate terms which will allow us to share this area."

Guld gave him a small smile. "Ah. You wish to share, I see. The problem is, we mogmas are not big on sharing. Especially when it comes to treasure, which we have much of in Eldin."

"I've noticed," Ghirahim said. "But you see, we demons are not here for treasure-hunting. Our interest in Eldin relates more to the lands in this area. For which I have something to offer you-more treasure."

The mogma raised a bushy eyebrow. "Really? How much more?"

"In the Lower Realms, we have flawless gems larger than you," Ghirahim said. "We demons are drowning in gems. But we've never had a reason to bother trading them with anyone. If we did, I would have plenty to trade with you."

Guld narrowed his eyes. "That sounds intriguing, but what would you want in return? Would you demand a price even larger than what you gave us? We are not planning on leaving this place."

"That would not be necessary. From the mogmas, I would ask for only a portion of Eldin's surface in return. The tunnels here, of course, would still belong entirely to you, and if we wanted to stay there, we would have to lease an area. But we are not overly fond of underground areas—we do not live in the Lower Realms by choice. So I think you would have those mostly to yourselves. What do you think?"

"I think that could be agreeable," Guld said. "But would it also be possible for us to purchase some of these areas in the Lower Realms? They sound like very good areas for treasure hunting."

Ghirahim frowned. "It would be better if we brought the gems up to you. The Lower Realms are extremely dangerous." And who in their right mind would want to live there?

"We mogmas are not unused to danger. Is that your only objection?"

"Yes. Otherwise I could give you much of the Lower Realms once we moved out of there-the land and the gems."

"It won't be worth much to me, though, if Hylia restores the Seal," Guld said, scratching his long beard.

Ghirahim shrugged. "If that happens, all of us demons will be sent back to the Lower Realms, and you get all your lands in Eldin back, along with any gems we've already brought you." Not that I'm going to let that happen. "So you have nothing to lose by accepting my offer."

Guld looked thoughtful. "Well, I'm not going to say no to gems the size of me. Bring us some of those, and we'll discuss the purchase of land in the Eldin area. I will have to see what the other mogmas who have claimed the various areas will agree to, of course. But I think you will be able to purchase the land you are looking for."

"Excellent," Ghirahim said. "Also, I am quite interested in this—world you have here." Ghirahim waved his hands at the sunlit trees and grass around them. "And if I am guessing correctly, whatever magic creates this also prevents teleportation to this area. How does this work?"

"Ah," the mogma king smiled. "Such knowledge is a valuable thing. Bring me three or four of those mogma-sized gems you mentioned and we can discuss it. But this agreement is for information only. The means which I use to create this place will remain mine."

Ghirahim nodded. "Understood."

"Good. There is one more thing, though."

"And what is that?"

"We will not swear fealty to you. Whatever, a 'Lord of the Surface' is, the mogmas do not serve him. And no amount gems will change that. Is that clear?"

Ghirahim smiled. "Understood. I did not think that your loyalty could be bought."

"Good. There have been some in the past who did not understand that important fact about us. Much to their misfortune." Guld turned and walked back into the trees. There was the sound of something being struck again, and the trees and sunlight disappeared into the darkness of the cavern, only a few torches lighting a small portion of it. Even when the area was dark, Ghirahim could sense the emptiness where his magic should be, the emptiness caused by the power that had created the strange underground vale. The two mogma guards walked back towards the tunnel.

"We can walk you out of here before we seal up the tunnel again," Nackle said. Ghirahim walked briskly into the tunnel, and felt his magic return to him. He also felt the part of him that had gone return to him. "Happily, that won't be necessary," he said, giving them a bright smile. "I thank you for your assistance in getting me here. But I'll be teleporting back to the surface. Much faster, you see." No more dirt-filled tunnels for me! He gave them a small bow, and snapped.

He appeared near an out-of-the-way hot spring in the volcano area. Ghirahim took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Then he immersed himself in the water, clothes and all, to wash the caked dirt from the tunnel off. That had very definitely not gone according to plan. The mogmas hadn't mentioned that their device, whatever it was, would block his other powers as well. They must not have known that it would, though. Ghirahim was sure the reason his other powers had been blocked was the same as the one he had warned Orynx about before he had come to the surface—some powerful magic had cut off his connection to the sword. That had been horrible, especially given the loss of part of himself along with his magic. He had forced himself to appear unconcerned so the mogmas would hopefully not realize the vulnerable position he had been in. But the entire meeting had been terrifying. As he scrubbed the dirt out of his hair, he wondered how had the mogma king had obtained anything that powerful. And if the power was linked to some sort of relic, as Ghirahim suspected, did the Sheikahs have access to this ability? Ghirahim had to know what power the mogma king had used. He would waste no time shipping those mogma-sized gems to Guld.

But before he did that, it was time to check on Trelan and Nix. King Guld's gem shipment may have jumped in priority, but Ghirahim still had a goddess to catch.