Chapter  6 : Return

Ghirahim was feeling much better. He had sent his clothes to be cleaned and had scrubbed every inch of himself until he felt clean again. It had taken several hot baths and an additional magical cleaning of his clothing to accomplish that, but he finally felt sanity returning.

Looking in the mirror, he took the time to admire the way his black skin shimmered over his perfect muscles with the glimmering traces of diamonds and white diamond-line markings he was so fond of. Ghirahim was well aware that he was vain. The Shard of Truth reminded him endlessly. He thought it one of his more appealing traits. After all, why should he deny the obvious truth that he was the most beautiful creature in the world? The shard seemed to say nothing at all about the truth of that statement, however. Apparently, it thought the opinions of others were necessary to judge relative beauty. I can't see why, though. My opinion is obviously right. The Shard took that moment to note he was prideful and egotistical as well. Yes, little shard. Please tell more about myself. Ghirahim smiled lazily into the mirror. Anyway, I suppose I should get dressed now.

He snapped, and covered his entire body in the slate gray paint he used, turning briefly in front of the mirror to see that it had truly covered his entire body. Then he painted the purple under his eyes himself. He pulled on his white jumpsuit and put his gold armband back on. Then he re-attached his cape, and carefully placed his gloves back on. He had had to replace his earring, but the new one was the twin of the one that had shattered, sky blue and in the shape of a perfect diamond. He was finishing combing through his hair when he heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" he said.

"Orynx," came the response. "May I enter?"

"Yes," Ghirahim said.

Orynx walked into the room, closing the door behind him. "I hope you are feeling better, my lord."

"Oh, definitely," Ghirahim said. "I am the picture of perfection right now." He pulled out his sword and brandished it at the mirror. "Die, villianous Sheikahs! Or, perhaps I could be merciful...if you bow to my irresistibly handsome visage!"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Orynx said.

Ghirahim frowned at the guard's dour expression in the mirror. "Does nothing amuse you, Orynx? Or are you just allergic to my sense of humor?"

"I don't see why a ruler requires a sense of humor of any kind, my lord," Orynx said. "You have not been a Fool for years now, and I doubt you have fond memories of that time. I don't know why you haven't sought to bury your former identity as thoroughly as you buried Releris."

Ghirahim turned around. "Because I was not the one who died that day," he said. "Releris forced me to be his Fool, yes, but I chose what to make of that, and I do not regret those choices. Because I was, and am, the best." he grinned. "Besides, I disagree with you. A sense of humor is an essential trait for staying sane under stress."

"I suppose that's true for some," Orynx said. He settled on a chair and began sharpening the Unbreakable Sword. "I have a question for you."

"Yes?"

"How was it that Sheikah boy nearly killed you? I saw you look away from him when you almost had him! And if it hadn't been for that impossible trick of yours, even a sorcerer wouldn't have been able to bring you back. The Sheikah would have hit your heart that time. I need to understand how it is you fight like a novice one moment, and better than any master the next."

Orynx was looking at the sword as he sharpened it, not at Ghirahim, but the demon lord could see the frustration etched on his features.

He threw up his hands. "Okay, I'll tell you." he said. "Remember our duel?"

"Quite well, yes."

"Remember how I promised not to use any magic?"

Orynx looked up at him, suspicion visible in his features. "Did you lie to me?"

"No, but I did tread at the line of my promise," Ghirahim said. "You see, that ability, and much of my other skill as a swordsman, is the result of memories that have a magical source. They—are not magic, in and of themselves, but I did obtain them through magic."

Orynx looked back at the sword he held. "I'm a fool."

"Sorry, Orynx, but you would never make a passable Fool. Your face nearly always wears all of those emotions a Fool is supposed to dispel. Besides, you don't even know how to juggle. You just didn't think about it long enough."

"That would be owing to my tremendously thick skull," Orynx scowled. "Of course! The memories come from the sword, don't they?"

"Yes. I have all the sword-fighting abilities of every demon who has ever wielded that sword. Which means that even if you might have been able to find some way to best me before, I know all of your tricks now, Orynx."

"That is how you know so much, then. But why...?"

"Why did I nearly let that Sheikah dog kill me?" Ghirahim said. "I said I had the abilities of all the wielders of the sword. But I am a performer by nature. It is habit for me to scan faces—to see what my audience thinks of me. Just as I was about to drive my sword through him, I saw the faces of our guests, and it—distressed me. I do not think they had ever seen one person try to kill another."

"You need to unlearn some of your old habits, then," Orynx said. "That was incredibly careless of you."

"I know," Ghirahim said. "I assure you, I have no desire to make that mistake again. I will pay more attention in the future. Or perhaps I should say less, for certain things."

"I would prefer you not fight the Sheikahs at all in the future," Orynx said.

"That would be unacceptable. You have no idea how much I crave their blood on my blade. They will see no further mercy from me, of that I guarantee." Ghirahim lidded his eyes, imagining what their blood would taste like—he had not had the chance to taste the Sheikah boy's blood—by the time he had been revived, he saw that the blade was far too muddy for him to consider that...

"Is this bloodthirst of yours from this sword as well?" Orynx held the Unbreakable Sword between his two hands, examining it.

"Yes," Ghirahim said. "The sword has a bit of a personality itself, which joined to mine when I was bonded to it."

"Then would it satisfy you if I took this sword and killed our enemies with it?"

"It would please me greatly, but it would not be nearly enough. Every fiber of my being desires to see them suffer, to taste their blood..."

"This sword seems to influence you more than I thought," Orynx said.

"You still don't understand, Orynx." Ghirahim gave him a small smile. "That sword is part of me, and I am part of the sword. We are one being, with a shared purpose."

Orynx's expression became guarded. "I see."

"Does this disturb you?"

"Yes," Orynx admitted. "If we do succeed in conquering the surface, would this bloodlust still drive you?"

"The sword has never seen a victory such as you describe, but I feel confident that would not be the case—it was not forged for purposeless destruction."

"I see," Orynx said. "I would ask that you wait a bit longer to attack the Sheikahs, however. You do need to rest."

"Oh, I agree," Ghirahim said. "I was being far too hasty. Anyway, I need time to work out the details of this excellent plan I have come up with."

"Plan?" Orynx raised a bushy eyebrow.

Ghirahim smiled. "You want to hear it?"

The Sheikah man marched Link to a bird statue. "This will take you back to the sky realm. You will find the Master Sword there. You will need that sword to face the demons."

He placed a hand on the Sky Hero's shoulder. "And you will need a lot more besides. Good luck."

Link looked back at him, concern in his eyes.

"Well, go on, now. You'll meet your friend again once you return, once you are equipped to face the challenges ahead."

Link nodded and touched the statue. A gust of wind drove him upwards and away. He rose rapidly, and in a minute he had passed through the hole the tornado had created in Skyloft's cloud barrier. He whistled and Firestar caught him on her back.

The Loftwing flew higher and then went into a dive. As he landed, another Skyloftian landed her Loftwing to his right. Link turned and saw the brown-haired woman dismount from her bird, her two long braids whipping around in the turbulent winds near the edge of the island. It was Orielle.

"Link!" She said, her expression concerned. "Are you alright? I saw you and Zelda get pulled into that tornado!"

Link dismounted from his bird and pointed out towards the clouds.

"She's still out there? What-" she paused as she saw what he was pointing at, her eyes widening. "It made a hole in the cloud barrier." Her voice had lowered. "What was that thing?"

She looked over at Link, who only shook his head. "You don't know? Oh, I can tell you're worried!"

Link nodded, his forehead creased. He started to walk in the direction of the school.

"Link, are you trying to find Gaepora?"

He turned back to her and tilted his head. Just then a frantic voice called, "Orielle! Is that you?"

"I guess my brother thought I got caught in the tornado," she said. She turned toward the man and said, "Yes, I'm fine!" Then she turned back to Link and said, "I saw Gaepora flying to the Lumpy Pumpkin a while back. I'm guessing you'll want to go there to tell him what's happened."

As Link nodded and turned to go, she placed a hand on his shoulder. Her eyes gave him a worried look. "And be careful. I saw—something odd out there."

Link gave her a small smile and nodded. Whatever was out there, he doubted it could be worse than the insane surface dwellers. The only reason he was going to back down there was to rescue Zelda. From the Sheikahs. And then they were both going to go back home.

He mounted Firestar and the bird took off from the platform. Link gave small nudges to the bird, indicating the direction he wanted to travel in. Firestar responded swiftly, turning towards the round inn in the distance. As Link watched the island in the distance grow larger, something large grasped him around the waist and and an enormous eye stared into him.

Link screamed as he was ripped from his Loftwing. He looked down. The bulk of the beast flew below Link on wide, colorful wings around a single eye and mouth. A mass of tentacles and eyes swirled around the creature in a disjointed, uncoordinated dance.

Link pulled the practice sword from its sheath and stabbed the eye of the tentacle holding him. An ear-piercing shriek emanated from the mouth of the creature below, and it released him. Link whistled and Firestar swooped underneath and caught him, rolling away as the creature lashed out at her. Link returned the sword to its sheath, breathing raggedly. As they approached the Inn, Firestar banked left and turned, landing near the front door. Link jumped off and ran across the grassy field to the Inn, banging the door open to enter. He heard exclamations of surprise as he stood in the doorway, catching his breath.

"Link! There you are!" Rusta ran up to Link. Looking him over, the thin old man frowned. "You're injured!" He pointed toward the wound.

Link's eyes widened in surprise. His placed a hand on his back, right under his shoulder and brought it back in front of his face. It was covered in blood.

He placed his hand on the wound again, feeling around it.

The old man tilted his head. "You can't feel the wound?"

Link nodded.

"Let's get it washed off and get some bandages on that thing. I'll want to know what happened to you as well, boy."

Just then Gaepora entered the room. "Rusta, is that Link?"

"Yes, thank the Goddess!" the old man exclaimed. "He's here!"

"Link! My daughter—Zelda, is she all right?" Gaepora's wide eyes held anxiety and fear in them. He settled into the chair opposite where Rusta was cleaning the wound under Link 's shoulder.

Kina brought some charcoal and paper for Link, while Pumm brought soup for them all. Gaepora pulled some rupees out of his money pouch to pay the innkeeper, but Pumm waved it away. "This one's on the house," he said.

Link drew the creature that attacked him and held the paper out for Rusta to see.

"So this thing was what got you, eh?" Rusta asked.

Link nodded.

"And what of my daughter?" Gaepora asked.

Link lowered his gaze.

"Is she—she's not—hurt—is she?"

Link shook his head. He made a spinning motion with one hand, and moved the other down. He sketched a picture to show Skyloft, and then, far below that, Zelda on the surface. Then he drew another image, this one with the demons and Sheikahs in a menacing circle around her.

"Oh, I see," Gaepora said, alarmed. "Let's get you back to the Academy right now. I think it's time to give you your Knight's gear. Then, will you help me find Zelda?"

Link nodded solemnly, but held up the picture of the creature that had attacked him.

"Yes, several people have seen that thing flying around ever since that tornado came through earlier today. Fortunately, it seems to stay away from the landmasses. Anyway, you should be fine with me. I came with some of the other knights. The creature has learned from us not to attack a large formation flying around. Such a frightening-looking thing, though."

Link nodded in understanding.

He waved to Rusta and walked with Gaepora around the Inn to the other side of the island, where they met with the senior knight students. They all jumped and called their Loftwings, the birds lining up in a V shape after catching the knights on their backs.

After he had assured himself that the creature wasn't bearing down on them despite the formation's presence, Link thought about what had happened on the surface. He wanted to understand it, even though none of it made any sense to him. Why had the demons been trying to capture the Goddess? And why had they mistaken Zelda for her? The one who had claimed to rule the surface, who had called himself Ghirahim, he had recognized from his dream. But he was dead now. Whatever the dream thought he was going to do to Link, he hadn't had a chance to. And at least he had been going to send them both home.

The Sheikahs apparently thought Link would have no problem leaving Zelda with them, even though they also thought she was the Goddess and even had some crazy story to explain it. Link wished he could've had some time with Zelda before they had whisked her away. She had seemed convinced by the Sheikahs story, but Link had never heard anything like what they said.

The old stories said that Skyloft had once been part of the surface, sure. But then the land had become barren and dark and so the Goddess had lifted the islands into the sky. Certainly nothing he had ever read had indicated that the stories the surface dwellers told were true.

Link thought it much more likely they were just all insane.

As he came to a landing on the main island and dismounted his Loftwing, he saw a flash of blue light, and a dual colored woman appeared, floating in the air as if she were a curtain blowing softly in the wind.

Link could see everyone staring at him as the figure approached.

"Awaken, Chosen of the Goddess," the blue and purple figure intoned, holding her fluttering wings out in front of her. "The time has come for you to take up my sword, Master."

"I realize the Sheikahs' temple on the Sealed Grounds is quite beyond our ability to capture at this moment," Ghirahim said. He held up a finger "But! My scouts informed me earlier that the Sheikahs are right now escorting Hylia to a different temple deep in the forest. One considerably less fortified. Abandoned, even!"

Orynx scratched the top of his head, his expression puzzled. "Why would they do that?"

"I'll be sure to ask them when I take her back," Ghirahim said, grinning.

"It sounds like a trap."

"Somehow I knew you would say that." Ghirahim rose from the chair. "Which is why I'm taking a full contingent of soldiers with me. Overkill, I think, but since I've already redone the shield over the pit, I don't think the Sheikahs can do anything to us while they're gone."

"Well, I suppose as long as you are taking reasonable precautions-" Orynx rose. "I'll prepare for the trip."

Ghirahim's face fell. "Ah, that's where I have some bad news for you, Orynx. I regret to inform you that you won't be coming along with me this time."

Orynx scowled. "And why not?"

Ghirahim pointed to the sword his guard held. "Because I've asked you to guard the Unbreakable Sword for me. If something does go wrong, I'd rather not give the Sheikahs the opportunity to run off with it. No, the safest place for it is within my shield. Here."

"Then that is also the safest place for you," Orynx said.

"True," Ghirahim said. "But this is going to be tricky. The Sheikahs must die but the girl must not. She knows me, so I might be able to convince her to come with us willingly, and even if that is not possible, I must still be there. Since she must be captured but without being harmed in any way.The Sky People are such delicate creatures. Too easy to kill."

"Perhaps you could send Ferrik. I'm sure he would follow your instructions-"

"Yes, he will be coming along, anyway, in fact. But there is also the matter of ensuring that the Sheikahs die. Ferrik is skilled, but I doubt our enemies will send anyone but the best to guard their Goddess Incarnate. I would perhaps trust you to the task of retrieving her—but I will not have that sword outside the shield. Not yet, at least."

Orynx scowled. "Very well. I don't like it, but I'll stay here."

"Good!" Ghirahim said. "I do appreciate your compliance with my orders, however reluctant it may be."

When Orynx left, Ghirahim made preparations to travel to the temple. He readied the contingent of soldiers for travel, and asked Kiris to accompany him as well. Lastly, he stopped at the tall, wooden structure painted all in black with green runes. As one of the Elite Guard, Ferrik was allowed to have considerably larger lodgings than the other soldiers. He was the only one of the four guards to have chosen such quarters for himself, however.

With a wry smile, Ghirahim gave a brief knock on the door.

It opened almost immediately. "My lord!" Ferrik bowed deeply. "It is an honor to accompany you on this vital mission. I am prepared to leave immediately at your orders-"

Ghirahim waved his hand lazily. "Yes, thank you Ferrik. Your enthusiasm is appreciated, but I'll remind you that we don't leave until tomorrow. I must also warn you again that this will be a dangerous mission."

"Understood!" Ferrik said, his expression eager.

Ghirahim continued. "The Sheikahs are guarding their Goddess, and this time, they have had time to prepare. So we will be reacting to their move, rather than the other way around."

Ferrik said nothing, but seemed to listen with rapt attention. Ghirahim sighed inwardly. He is certainly loyal, if sometimes painfully so.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ferrik," Ghirahim said. "We leave at dawn."