A Shadow of Hope Chapter 3
By Bane Nathos
Akon and Feroc had barely finished speaking with Link when he but in. "So explain this to me again, you were just testing me in my room for something you want me to do!" Link exclaimed, in reply to what the two men had said to him.
"Yes, you had to be tested so we could see if you were really as good as I've been told. We also had to make sure you'd come," Feroc replied wearily, as by now the arguments of the boy were started to wear down his patience.
"You could have just sent a message or come to ask me in person," Link stated.
"Would you really have come to us, if we had asked, you probably would have thought us insane for what we are about to tell you," Akon said.
At that Link refrained from speaking as the darker man, Feroc started telling a story.
"We have brought you here to ask you to help us, as you well know by now. But why, you ask without any doubt in your mind. Well here it is: across the deserts by the Gerudo Lands lays a mountain. That mountain is called Krag. Inside Krag there are vast caverns, which honeycomb the inside of the mountain. These caverns are immense, large enough to hold thousands of people and still have room to spare. For many years this mountain was not discovered by anyone because, a magically induced fog that no one had ever covered it penetrated. But ten years ago, that was changed when a group of eight men discovered the hidden mountain; when they mistakenly traveled into the fog surrounding the mountain and got lost in it."
"Well they were lost for some hours when one of the party found a way through the fog and found himself in a vast cavern. After discovering this cavern and a whole network of similar ones, the men conducted a thorough investigation of the mountain. Inside one of the mountains caverns was found a large room and in the room was found a small white pearl like stone, in a small iron box. This stone looked like any old stone but they group soon found out that it held great power. This was discovered when one of the party took the stone out of the box and from the stone a red light emerged that covered the man and soon the man fried from the inside out and just crumpled into a pile of ashes on the cavern floor. Aghast at what had just happened to their companion the group immediately left the accursed place and investigated other unexplored areas of the mountain. After a month of investigating the group left to return to their homes."
"They journeyed back towards their homes and stopped in the Gerudo Fortress to rest. There one of their party, Dajak by name, started having dreams about the accursed stone. He dreamt that by harnessing the stone's power he could purge the world of all it's evil and all the evil that had ever happened in it's evil past. At first he dismissed the idea as futile, but when the dream kept on coming back to him, he began having second thoughts about it and soon the idea started to devour him. He kept on stewing on the idea until one day, the group set up camp and it the morning he was found to be gone and all his belongings too."
"The group knowing about their companions continued dreams about the accursed stone knew exactly where he had gone, and followed with all the haste they could muster. But alas they weren't able to catch up to him before he had reached the accursed mountain. Even at the mountain he still had a lead on them, only being able to catch a fleeting glimpse of him before he disappeared into the vast caverns, the group followed him into the dark caverns and went directly to the room with the stone, knowing that he would be trying to reach that place to get the stone. When they arrived though, they found the stone had already been taken. They went and search the mountain and on it's peak they caught up to their companion, but alas, it was too late. Arriving just as their companion had finished reciting some chant, the group had the unenviable opportunity to see him take the stone from the iron box and stare in horror as their companion picked it up and start to change. The man's hair started changing from the blond hair it was to a dark black, and his eyes changed from green to a bright red.
"Seeing that great evil was happening the group decided that they should stop him before he did anything else. They advanced on him with their weapons drawn. The leader tried pleading with Dajak to drop the stone but he refused and sent a monstrous ball of fire into his face, incinerating the man's entire head. With their leader dead, the rest of the group attacked him, but Dajak was too strong. Within the space of a minute nearly whole group was dead, or dieing on the mountain peak from many wounds caused by the arcane power that had just been unleashed inside of him."
"In the massacre of the party though, something good did happen, two of the party survived and the two survivors fled down the mountain and into caverns trying to escape their now insane friend that had killed all their companions. They didn't go far before Dajak caught up with them though. Dajak attacked with the power he had harnessed from the stone, sending bolts of lightning and balls of fire at them. One of two survivors, a mage, cast a spell of protection and deflected most of the blasts, but knowing that soon they would be dead unless they did something soon, him and the other survivor, his apprentice, cast a powerful teleportation spell, using all the energy left in them, that was just strong enough to temporarily counter the power of the stone that Dajak was using to keep them there in the mountain, and with a flash the mage and his apprentice were gone. But with the slight breaking of the spells that had been cast by the cursed stone, and quake started sending the caverns collapsing down on top of Dajak."
"The two though, were transported to a cave on the outskirts of the Hyruleon fields. Where after many days of recovering the two decided that their next move would be for the mage to stand vidual by in the desert to see if Dajak came back and his apprentice went to Hyrule to look for signs of Dajak there. For two years they did this until Dajak was sited in Hyrule a few weeks ago. At that time the apprentice summoned for his master mage to get advice on the predicament and to find some way to stop him before he started killing and destroying more than he has already done."
"His master came and was told him about Dajak's new whereabouts and more. Also he was told where he might be able to get some help with the task of stopping Dajak."
"From him he was told of you and went to get you." Feroc stopped talking at that, pausing to let it sink in.
Amazed at the story he had just heard, Link stopped for a moment and let it sink in. He let the story sink for some time when he figured out that something wasn't right. "So the mage went to get me, but only you came, so that means…"
"Yes, that means that I am that mage, and Akon here is my apprentice, the same from the story I told you." Feroc said standing up to his full height and throwing aside his cloak. "I am Feroc, of the race of Akun, from the land of Akun, last of the once powerful mages of Akor, from the mountains of Kun."
"Wait, if you are a powerful mage, why would you want me?" Link asked.
"Haven't you been listening to the story, we need you to help us stop Dajak before he does something very dangerous." Akon stepped in and said.
"But if a powerful mage and companions couldn't stop him, what makes you think with me helping you, that he would be able to be stopped." Link stated.
"We have heard about your exploits and yes, we know about the triforce." Feroc said.
"But how do you know, I thought only my sister Zelda knew..."
"Akon here has been watching you for some time and has been doing his research, he knows about the triforce and about the master sword. But this time that sword won't be needed. All we need is your skills to help us, so what would it be."
"But you still haven't told me why you'd need me," Link said.
"We need you because in our years of vidual we have learned much about Dajak and have determined that he can be beaten, all we need is one more person to carry out our plan." Feroc said.
"And that is?"
"You will find out when you need to know,"
"Well……… first I need to think about it," Link said.
"Don't worry we'll give you the afternoon to think about it, when you have you answer meet us in the square. We'll be just inside one of the ally's." Feroc said as he opened the door for Link.
"K, that is what I'll do then," Link said as Akon cut his bonds that had kept him on the bed. Getting up Link departed from the house. He now had many crazy things to ponder over…