He led the way to a small gathering of trees to rest beneath. A clear stream twisted its way through the middle, which all three thankfully drank from. Raven let Sahm loose to forage among the tall grasses at Link’s discretion that they were safe in the area. For the first time in hours both were content with a silence that was satisfied and not awkward. The urgency was there, but their most recent victory dampened it. Both would have liked to have time to regenerate, to find Espergrai and leave Garof for a later date. But both were far from finished their duties.

Link was not surprised when he heard Rauru’s voice in the back of his mind, as he sat, for the first time since he was in Sahaar. Though weak and barely audible the message was clear.

“Hurry, please…”

Even Raven seemed to have sensed it that time. Both stood at the same moment and exchanged a look of understanding. Their time of rest was short, but those few minutes were all they really needed. They left Sahm behind at Link’s assurance the horse was safest there. He’d been through enough for the time being. He claimed also to know a song on the Ocarina that no horse could resist following, in case they needed Sahmaraf again.

The journey through Hyrule Field was short, for Link knew the area extremely well. They walked on in their now customary silence, each taking in their surroundings, lost in awe. Raven had never seen a place so green, so vibrant. Not a particle of sand cursed the beautiful landscape. As she looked ahead to the right she saw a mountain range. For the first time she was able to comprehend what she was about to fight for. Even if her village was gone, there was a world beyond so vast and amazing she couldn’t stand the thought of anyone, especially not Garof, destroying it. She imagined settling into this new place with Esper, rebuilding her life. Her strength returned to her, she was determined to take back what was hers, even if she risked a fate of eternal doom.

Link also felt the captivating power and beauty of the young landscape. Never had he truly appreciated his homeland as he did now. He felt a certain sense of power, as if he was in control of something. The Triforce is attainable, he thought, as they entered Hyrule Castle Town in the early day. It was certainly different; the walls around the town were smaller and there were more houses than shops. The two landmarks of the town stood high as ever, though; Hyrule Castle and the Temple of Time. The latter, however, seemed to have caused quite a stir among the townsfolk. As Link and Raven passed through the town they caught snippets of gossip from its residents.

“The Triforce does exist! What other power could have built such a structure overnight?!”

“All its doors are locked and no windows can be either breached or seen through! What is it for, if it can’t be penetrated?”

“Have Rauru and his brothers finally returned?”

“Keep the children away from it!”

When the two warriors walked to the front door of the Temple of Time, the crowd around the building parted, cautiously studying the strangers. The only sound at all was the fluttering of an owl’s wings as he left a nearby tree, awakened from his daytime slumber.

The door stuck for both Link and Raven when they tried it, but neither was near ready to give up there. The owl’s parting meant something to Link, reminded him of Rauru, Kaepora Gaebora. He drew the nearly forgotten Ocarina of Time from the bottom of his pocket and put it to his lips. Only one tune fit the occasion and location. Forth from it came the Song of Time, a gentle minor melody he used before to enter the Sacred Realm and remove obstacles from his path. To the shock of the villagers, the door to the Temple slowly opened.

The door shut once Link and Raven entered. Before them lay a vast checkered floor, illuminated by the object in its center. Both stared in disbelief at what they saw. It was there, the golden triangle of the Three Goddesses who had created the land, the Triforce. Whoever beheld it could have any wish, and desire, immediately granted. It was all either of them had worked so hard for, dreamed of, the most sacred and powerful object either would ever see. Yet there was something missing from the Triforce. Only two of the golden triangles were linked together, leaving a gaping hole where the third should have been.

Their attention was quickly diverted to the corner of the room, where Rauru and Garof sat, both at the brink of exhaustion, when Garof spoke. Though his form was weak his spirit was strong.

“It seems our niece has arrived, Rauru,” he sneered, rising to his feet.

Raven’s head spun; niece? Both Link and Raven drew their swords, but Garof seemed unconcerned about a fight. Raven looked to Rauru uncertainly. Garof broke in before Rauru could speak.

“Yes, that is correct. We are all family, here,” he continued, ignoring Link completely. “Thine grandfather wouldn’t trust just his eldest son with the Triforce, that would be foolish.” He smiled at Rauru as he spoke again.

“In fact, he wouldn’t even trust his second eldest son.” His gaze switched to Raven. “Nor did he trust thine father, his youngest son. Instead he entrusted each of us with a corner of it, so the two dominant could overpower the weaker-minded. I was meant to have them all in the end, of course, as I am the eldest. I have the Triforce of Power, Rauru the Triforce of Wisdom… and thine father, the Triforce of Courage. Somewhere within thee, child, lies that Triforce. Once it is mine, the corners of my will can overpower Rauru’s in a second. No feeble temples can ever stop me again,” Garof motioned about the room triumphantly.

“Nor any feeble swords,” he added’ gesturing to the sword Raven wielded, then to Rauru. “Go ahead, Rauru. Show her thine blade,” he swiftly drew his own.

Link gasped as Rauru feebly produced a sword hidden within his robes. It was none other than the legendary Master Sword. Its hilt was a deep purple, while the blade glimmered silver. Garof blade was nearly identical with a green hilt. The sword that once belonged to Raven’s father was the same but with a hilt of silver.

“The strongest two corners of the Triforce will overpower the last. Thou art the only one who can end this stalemate, my dear niece. Only once thou assumes thy eternal form will thine powers be mine,” Garof grinned maniacally.

“We shall battle to the death, then,” Raven growled at her uncle.

“Just like thine father, then,” Garof replied. He looked to Link for the first time. “But I think it hardly fair thine little friend should help thee a second time.” Garof raised his hands, summoning the Triforce of Power.

Link stared in horror as a giant wall of flame appeared between him and Raven. It circled with sickening speed around both Raven and Garof; Link was forced to back away as the flames licked at his boots. His nightmarish prophecy from the field was appearing before his eyes. Swiftly he drew his bow and fired an arrow through the flames toward Garof, but the fire burned it to nothing in a second. The searing heat scalded Link’s face and drove him from the flames in agony.

Inside the circle of fire it was immediately evident that Raven was outmatched. Garof’s moves were quick and calculated, while hers were uncertain. Garof lunged at her with his sword then manipulated the flames to keep her from striking back. She was barely able to defend herself from the madman, but certainly not ready to give up. She caught Link’s eye through the flames and the message in her own eyes was clear: help me.

Link ran to Rauru, who stood near the flames with despair in his eyes. His glance flickered toward Link as he spoke.

“How did you know to enter this Temple, Link? It was sealed….” He trailed.

“I learned the Song of Time long ago, in this very temple.” He pulled the Ocarina from his tunic. “I... just knew to play it,” Link looked uncertainly at Rauru, then back to Raven.

“Father taught each of us certain melodies, all three with unique powers over the others,” Rauru started. “I am the keeper of the gateway between all worlds, the Sacred Realm. My song, the one you know, affects all things divine. Raven’s father was also taught a song, which protects the world we live in now. Garof’s melody is the most powerful, however. His is the melody of the Golden Land, where the Triforce rests. …. As the eldest he was granted the most dangerous reality to guard, but it’s caused him to go mad from power.” he sighed slowly, his eyes locked wearily on the battle.

“If he defeats our niece…. He’ll have anything he wishes from the Triforce.”

“I had a prophecy, Rauru,” Link started. "Sent to me by… a raven… And in that prophecy I saw what we now see before us. Only, she was holding your sword… she sang to me…” he tried desperately to make sense of his thoughts.

“She came to you as a raven?”

Link nodded in reply, his gaze fast on Raven. “Her eternal form… her father’s eternal form-”

he stopped as one of Garof’s swift jabs at Raven caught her off guard. Her sword was knocked from her hand and slid across the floor, too close to the flames for her to retrieve. Swiftly Link took the Master Sword from Rauru.

“She shall fight with the Master Sword after all!” Rauru grunted as he heaved it through the flames. It repelled the fire and landed close enough for Raven to grasp. She clutched the new blade with renewed strength, but her eyes were still hopeless.

Garof ran toward her and jabbed his own sacred sword toward her abdomen. She blocked him with the Master Sword and was blinded a moment by the shower of sparks that flew toward her. Even with the power of the sword she was all but helpless as she lay with her back to the tiled floor. It was bitterly cold despite the flames that heated every atom surrounding it.

She called to Link as Garof swung his sword down on her a second time. Link screamed back as he futilely shot more arrows through the fire. Rauru was nearly unconscious, exhausted from the heat. It would be over in a matter of seconds. Link stopped shooting and stared toward Raven as she barely blocked Garof’s second blow. He searched his mind, but it was blank. The only thing that was left inside his head was Raven’s Song.

In desperation and trance, Link pulled the Ocarina from his tunic and played the Raven’s melody. He closed his eyes in concentration, sweat streaming down his forehead, as the shrill notes overpowered the roar of the fire. They filled his consciousness and resonated through his body. He saw red through his shut eyelids as the fire roared to its peak, then turned to black again. The crowd outside the Temple shielded their eyes from the blast of light that came from within. Link felt as if some great power flew and struggled from him. The Triforce on his hand burned gold as sank to his knees, completely out of breath yet unable to pause until the song finished.

He struggled for air as the instrument dropped away from his lips. He was acutely aware of his Triforce of Courage, the same the girl somehow possessed, glowing brighter than ever before. The fire was hardly audible at all. Shocked, he flickered open his eyes to find that the fire was reduced to no more than a few fingers on the tile. His eyes instantly darted to the battle within.

Link struggled to his feet in lightning speed, eyes wide in terror, and screamed to his beloved Raven. Yet, his every movement seemed no faster than a child’s first, weak step. He knew he was far too late. The scene that lay before him had no mortal outcome.

Garof lay on the floor, nearly dead, as his final ball of hatred sailed toward Raven for the second time in history. In the split second she had to look up, the voices of the future screamed once inside her head. Rauru’s Triforce of Wisdom shone, the glow from the Triforce of Courage disappeared from Link’s hand and glimmered on Raven’s own fist. The Triforces had overpowered Garof.

For that first and final time, Raven’s eternal destiny sparked into her awareness. Her future flashed before her in the horrific black ball; eternity as immortality, as a Raven. Link met her eye a final time as he sprinted toward her in vain. Raven drew the Master sword as the ball swirled down onto her.

She slit her own throat at the same instant it crashed into her chest.

Link screamed to her, ran to her. Her unseeing eyes never left his as the ball encased and transformed her. Blood poured from her neck and soaked the feathers that appeared on her chest as her body hovered within the ball. Her eyes stared on as black beads; her gentle lips now a hard beak. The curse left her and she dropped to the floor, wings splayed, neck slit; a raven.

Garof lay silent. Rauru lay unconscious from exhaustion. The final flame flickered away. The Triforce lit the room a brilliant gold in its entirety, a sight Link would not see again for hundreds of years.

Link stopped running. His icy blue eyes stared down vacantly at the body before him, disconnected from thought. He dropped to his knees before her as a silent tear struck the tile floor in front of him. It was the only sound within the Temple, frozen in time. The Raven’s eyes met the vacancy of Link’s, somewhere within realms beyond the living. Another tear fell as he whispered to her.

“I’ve failed you.”

Yet as he stared within the tiny black beads, he knew. He saw the gratitude. There was no failure in his quest, no guilt to grasp at. He kissed Raven’s beak with the utmost gentleness a first and final time.

Link stood slowly, his gaze drifting over the sleeping Rauru. The Triforce was his to protect. The Triforce on Link’s own hand glowed as he neared it. He reached toward the golden triangle. He knew it to be the only gateway home. His fingers met its being. A blue light blinded and hurled him into the Sacred Realm, his last memory from the quest a glance into the Raven’s contented eyes. He would never know.

History would continue as it was meant to. Sahaar was doomed to be lost before he ever came. Ganondorf was perhaps the only reason Link existed at all, in the future. History was set to continue from his intervention untouched, but for the one thing he set to do; a small, tortured creature was finally let to rest…. And Link would never even know her name.

Next..