Fan Fiction Friday: The Silence Within The Stone – Chapter 23

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Chapter Twenty-Three

The beast lunged forward, tearing through the open-air between them with minimal effort. The party responded in kind, their weapons thrust forward as they dashed ahead, determined to meet the dragon head-on. It was a foolhardy effort, as Silindrath raked one of its great claws in an arc, batting the four away. Luckily for them, its claws had missed their mark and the only significant damage sustained was the wind knocked from their lungs. They stumbled to their feet, preparing for another pass as Silindrath circled the mountaintop.

“We can’t keep going like this!” Link yelled to his comrades. “We can’t go in all at once! We have to play to our strengths!”

“I do not take orders Hylian, I give them!” Tauru exclaimed, darting away from the party toward the path of Silindrath’s trajectory. Link stood speechless. He had done nothing to the Zora prince and couldn’t fathom why he bore such ill will toward him. Jenoa rushed forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“His fate will be his own. There is nothing you can do for one such as he. Let ours not be a product of folly. We will move forward with your plan. Rukio, do you agree?” The young Goron turned toward the two of them. His breathing was still a bit laborious from the impact he had just sustained, but he raised a hand with a wide grin and gave a large thumbs up in response. Jenoa nodded in approval. “Now,” she began, “tell us what we should do Link.”

Tauru darted in and out of Silindrath’s attacks, his grace and speed on full display, his slender body made for such things. He thrust and swung his crystalline spear outward but to no avail. No matter how many times he tried to make contact, he would fall short. He knew that his reserves of stamina were not infinite, and Silindrath would ultimately win this war of attrition that they were now locked into. He caught glimpses behind him of the three that accompanied him on this venture and saw them spreading out from one another. What could they be planning? A gnawing realization that his pride may have gotten the better of him stirred within, and he realized that perhaps the Hylian may have been right. He clenched his teeth in frustration and braced himself for another attempt at one of Silindrath’s vital areas and failed yet again. The dragon anticipated Tauru’s attack and reacted accordingly, swiping forward. He caught Tauru by the shoulder and sent him hurtling back toward the rock wall surrounding the entrance to the cave. He struck hard, and slumped to the ground motionlessly, blue blood seeping from the gash he had been given from Silindrath’s outstretched claws. The fact that he had sustained a wound of that degree was a miracle and spoke volumes about the young Zora’s dexterity.

Rukio rolled forward seeing Silindrath circling around to finish what he had began. He began to pull Tauru’s body away but knew he would have no time to escape successfully. He braced himself against the wall, Tauru a crumpled heap in front of him, and prepared for the worst. The dragon landed on the plateau, and began to lunge forward, its teeth gnashing away but finding no means of penetrating the thick, rock-like back of Rukio. Frustrated, he pushed his head inward, intending to smash the two into the wall, but Rukio held his ground. His mighty arms held fast against each slam from the head of Silindrath. After several attempts however, his strength had begun to wane but he did his best to not let the dragon take notice of his growing weakness. In a final, desperate effort, Silindrath began to inhale deeply, his abdomen swelling and filling with visible blue energy. His head craned backward, prepared to lunge forward to spray his icy, magic breath on the two warriors before a searing pain caused him to cease his preparations. In the midst of their quarrel, he had neglected to maintain focus on Link and Jenoa, who were now below him, slicing away at his expanded belly. The scales that covered it had spread wide, exposing a soft layer beneath. The two stabbed and sliced ferociously, darting in and out of the dragon’s feet as it moved back and forth in an effort to escape its attackers.

Rukio turned to watch the spectacle, but felt a hand on his shoulder, averting his focus back to where it had been and saw Tauru rise slowly grasping at his shoulder. He looked downward at it and scoffed.

“It’s nothing,” he grumbled at Rukio who had a look of concern splayed across his face. “I’ve endured worse and this is sure to not be the last. Now if you’d be so kind, we have work to do.” Rukio nodded and watched as Tauru began to scale the rock wall, unsure at first of what his plan was. He wasn’t trying to escape. There was nowhere left to run here at the top of the mountain. The midday sun caught the crystalline spear he carried on his back and sent the glare into Rukio’s eyes. He rubbed them quickly, and the realization of what he was going to attempt dawned on him.

“Hey brother!” he yelled to Link. “Tauru’s back up and I think he’s ready to do that thing you were talking about earlier!” Link jumped backward, ceasing his assault for a moment to catch a glimpse of Tauru scaling the rock wall.

“Jenoa! We’ve got to keep this up for a little longer! We don’t want him taking off though. If he does, then this has all been for nothing! Can you do something about that!?” She looked upward and gained inspiration.

“I have an idea, but I’ll need you to continue to draw his attention!” Link leapt forward, continuing to stab upward causing streams of icy blue gore to seep onto the snow below. Had it not been so horrific it would have made for a rather beautiful sight. Jenoa braced herself and leapt upward, seizing a moment that she saw to climb aboard the dragon’s hind legs. She stuck a scimitar deep into its thigh for leverage, resulting in a loud, piercing shriek from the beast. Hoisting herself up further utilizing her improvised handhold, she waited for another opportunity to accomplish her task when Silindrath brought his maw down to bear on her. His jaws opened wide but were batted away by the force of a large, spherical object. Rukio had propelled himself forward and sprang upward as a makeshift cannonball, dazing Silindrath before he could make a meal out of the Gerudo warrioress. She drew the scimitar from Silindrath’s thigh and brought both of them upward before leaping forth, bringing them both downward on the membrane of the dragon’s wing, cutting downward as though they were simple drapes made of cloth. The dragon flailed wildly now and Rukio knew that its movements wouldn’t give Tauru the opportunity he needed to play his part. He leapt upward and brought his arms around the dragon’s neck, pulling him downward and using every last reserve of strength he had to hold it as still as he could.

“If you’re gonna do what I think you’re gonna do,” Rukio began through gritted teeth, “you’d better do it now!” Tauru knew very well whom he was addressing and reading his spear. Gazing downward he watched for another moment longer, waiting for the time to strike. “C’mon!” Rukio called out again, now aided by Link and Jenoa who suspected he was nearing the end of his ability to hold the dragon down as best as he could. Tauru took a deep breath and leaped upward, bringing his spear to bear downward. He sailed through the cold air and prayed to Nayru that he find his mark.

A piercing, metallic sound cut the air, as Tauru stood on the head of Silindrath, his spear embedded in his skull. The dragon gave one last gasp of breath before its eyes rolled back into its head. Silindrath, who had caused such misery, was no more.

Bryan King is an editor for Zelda Dungeon. He loves writing about everyone’s favorite green-clad elfin boy, and thinks Zelda II doesn’t get the love it so rightly deserves.