Fan Fiction Friday: The Era Without A Hero – Part 41

||  Part Forty ||  Part Forty-Two  ||

Part Forty-One

Zelda sat by the window and let out a long sigh. Rassa sat down beside her and smiled with a reassuring pat on the leg.

“If anybody can help us, it’s Lord Sagesse. I have worked with him for many years. He’s incredibly wise and powerful. Even the most boisterous and devoted enemies of Hyrule would think twice before crossing him.”

Zelda smiled, “That’s reassuring. He has always been very kind to me. I remember as a child once, I snuck out of the castle and went to the Temple of Time. Mother was terribly upset when she found me, but then Lord Sagesse arrived and told her it had been his fault for not informing my attendants. He gave me a piece of candy afterward too.”

Rassa laughed, “That sly old fox. He always did have a soft spot for you. I remember helping him one day when he came through Kingdom Bay. There had been some urgent matter, but he made time to talk about his most recent encounter with you and your father actually. You two had been sparring and I guess he accidentally walked between you two.”

“Yes! Father nearly took his head off because he was practicing with a giant two-handed blade!” Zelda laughed, the memory recalling itself like a picture in her head.

“Yes, that’s what he said. If I had hair anymore, he would have shaved it clean off,” Rassa said, doing her best impression of the Sage of Shadow.

The two shared a few more stories of Sagesse as the night went on. Rassa admitted her fondness for the man, having known him even before his awakening. They were roughly the same age it turned out. Sagesse had been seventeen when he first heard the calling to the Shadow Temple, but it wasn’t for another four years before he properly awoke. He was two years her senior, but they often would lay memorial wreaths on the graves of the fallen soldiers in the Kakariko graveyard together.

 

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“Did you hear that?” the young Sagesse asked.

“Hear what?” Rassa replied, holding an armful of wreaths with small white flowers in them.

“That voice…”

Rassa looked around in confusion.

The graveyard was empty, save for the two of them. A thin layer of fog held to the air and gray clouds lingered in the sky overhead. They had been laying memorial wreaths on the graves of fallen soldiers and tending to some of the neglected tombstones, as was part of their duties.

Sagesse was nearly at the point in his schooling where he was to determine the path he would take as an adult. His devotion to studies made him an excellent candidate to be a monk, many had said. His parents had died when he was young and he had no real attachments to the world, meaning the years in solitude wouldn’t mean much as far as a change in his personal life. However, he was also extremely adept in his magic usage, which led some to believe he would be better suited to a life in the ranks of clerics and mages.

“Have you thought about your graduation?” Rassa asked, breaking the moment of silence that seemed awkward.

“I haven’t,” he said, continuing on to the next headstone.

“I heard somebody talking that you were looking at a soldier position, in Castletown maybe,” she hadn’t heard this but was instead trying to garner a reaction.

“I don’t think that’d be a worthwhile use of my skills. Then again, traveling to some remote peak and meditating there for half a century doesn’t bring me much optimism either.”

“So, it’s a mage or cleric’s life for you?”

Sagesse scoffed.

“Am I mistaken?”

He paused suddenly and turned to face the backside of the graveyard. A cold wind cut through the small valley. The wind was strong enough to blow both the wide-brimmed straw hats from their head and send Sagesse’s long braid whipping back for a moment.

“I hear you,” Sagesse replied to nothing.

“What?”

“Is this truly my fate then?”

“Who are you talking to?”

The wind kicked up stronger and pushed Rassa down. She watched as Sagesse slowly began walking towards the back of the graveyard.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

“I hear you, but please, show me the way. Show me how.”

Rassa set the wreaths down and rushed ahead of Sagesse. She turned around in front of him, then recoiled in shock. His eyes had gone milky white, and a small glowing emblem sat in the middle of his forehead. He pushed past her, almost ignoring her entirely.

“Sagesse!”

Finally, he paused and looked at her.

“I must answer their call… They’re… in pain.”

He continued walking and finally reached the back of the graveyard. A flight of stairs magically appeared and Rassa watched as he ascended them to the small cave that rested in the hills. She tried to follow, but when she reached them, the wind became so strong that it pushed her back.

Rassa raced back into the village and let the elders know. They then calmly retreated into the largest home in the village where they met with the mayor. At dawn of the next day, the whole village was told of what happened and Rassa learned that Sagesse had been called to be the Sage of Shadow.

 

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“It was quite a day,” Rassa smiled. “However, we didn’t know how long he would be in there. After a week, people started to worry. After a month, offerings began being laid at the cave. Then at one year, it became a memorial almost.”

“How long was he in the Shadow Temple?” Zelda asked.

“Ten years. He was thirty-two years old when he came back out. When he came out, it was a day of celebration unlike any Kakariko had seen in quite some time.”

“Ten years?” Zelda exclaimed. “I can’t imagine what that was like for him.”

“He was quite different when he came back out, I must admit. I hardly recognized him, and he had this totally different demeanor towards everything. The way he approached tasks and things. It’s difficult to explain.”

“No, I think I understand,” Zelda said, her mind thinking back. “Osmond did the same sort of thing. Before going to the front lines, he had this boyish charm almost. Afterward, though, he had this more serious side to him.”

Rassa chuckled, to which Zelda gave her a confused look.

“It’s nothing, dear. Just thinking about how long you two will have together. The world is yours to behold and I’m happy that you found one another. It’s that small grain of goodness to rise from tragedy. I see it, and it gives me hope. Others see it and it reminds them that dark days are always followed by light.” She stood up and crossed to the fire, tending to it for a moment. “Don’t lose sight of that.”

Zelda smiled and nodded.

The two eventually joined Yoon in getting some desperately needed rest. As the first light of dawn broke through the windows, they awoke with a sense of relief. Lindsey stirred from her sleep and was able to reassure the others that she would be alright. Just after they finished their humble breakfast, a knock came from the door.

Cautiously, Yoon peeked out the window, before nodding to Zelda that it was clear to open. Two figures stepped through the doorway. Laruto lowered her hood first then took a seat to catch her breath. The other figure lowered his traveling cloak but kept his robed head beneath its cowl.

“Good morning, friends. Good morning, your Grace.”