The Fallen Sage
By The Mariner
mariner211219@yahoo.com

Chapter 1: Summonings

(Author's note: this story is an extrapolation of the Legend of Zelda, 
the story told by Impa in Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link.  Don't worry, 
it's not necessary to know that story.  This fits in with the history 
of Hyrule from what I have gathered.  It takes place hundreds of years 
before Ocarina of Time.)

"Slow down, young prince!"  Shelin Impa tried unsuccessfully to keep up 
with her charge.  The boy, the crown prince of the largest kingdom of 
Hyrule, was giddy with excitement as he ran through the castle.  Shelin 
was the granddaughter of the first Impa to serve the royal family.  The 
middle aged nursemaid enjoyed her service and had already insured that 
her daughter and his husband would serve in this job when she had gone.  
The Impa line had pledged this service, and she was not one to break 
it.  She even insisted on being called Impa to honor her line.

Meanwhile, Prince Eloan, barely four years old, paid no attention to 
his nanny.  A servant had just told him that he could see his parents 
now.  For months now Impa had been telling him that he would have a new 
brother or sister.  And now the day had arrived.  He reached his parents' 
chambers and stopped, waiting for Impa to catch up.  She did and opened 
the door for the young prince.  He saw his mother in bed, holding a 
little bundle, and his father standing next to her, looking more happy 
than the child could ever remember.  He slowly moved up towards his 
mother, climbing up on the bed to see better.  He looked at the bundle and 
saw a cute little face, sleeping contently.  Its hair was matted and 
short, but already took on a reddish hue.  

The Queen of Hyrule smiled at her young son.  "That's your new baby 
sister, Eloan."  Eloan looked up.  "What's her name?"  "Zelda.  Her name 
is Zelda."  The little boy struggled to say the unfamiliar name.  
"Z...Zelda.  I like it.  It's a pretty name."

From the doorway, Shelin Impa smiled.  It seemed as if they would get 
along well.

Across the backdrop of the giant Death Mountain Range, two horses could 
be made out in the twilight.  Mudora, not used to riding for so long, 
continued to complain to the cloaked figure in front of him.  Mudora was 
young, no more than fifteen, but certainly none would consider him 
boyish.  The lad was smarter and more well versed in Hylian lore than most 
of the citizens of Kasuto.  He had taken up apprenticeship with the 
wizard of Kasuto, hoping to learn more of the mysterious magic of Hyrule.  
But, truth to be told, he was more interested in studying the dusty old 
books of Hyrule, including the ancient legends.  His master, Bagrand, 
was convinced he would become a scribe.  Scribes, of course, usually did 
not have to deal with two week long trips across Hyrule.  

"Relax, Mudora, we are almost there."  It was true; the boy could see 
the spires of the great Hyrule Castle already.  Mudora was glad, not 
only to end this miserable trip, but also to see Rauru again.  The older 
man was Bagrand's first apprentice, learning the mystic arts from one of 
the most powerful men in the world.  Rauru had left Kasuto 4 years ago, 
just when Mudora was starting.  Mudora remembered the man's good humor 
and his long lecture's against the abuse of magical power.  He as a 
good man, Mudora thought, and certainly deserved his post as the king's 
special advisor on magic.  But he had called on his old master, so 
something must be amiss.  One does not call on Bagrand for simple 
pleasantries.

They arrived at the castle only a few hours later.  They were let in 
without any problems and led to their rooms, where they were instructed 
to rest.  Early in the morning they were called upon, and after a hasty 
breakfast, were brought into a small room.  Moments later, a short, 
somewhat rotund man entered the room, followed by a tall knight.  Mudora 
stood and greeted the former.  "Rauru!  It is good to see you again."  
Rauru smiled and nodded to the boy, but it was obvious that his 
attention was elsewhere.  Bagrand, slightly embarrassed at his apprentice's 
reaction, shot him a look that basically stated shut up and sit down.  He 
then turned his attention on the duo.  "Pleasantries aside, Rauru, who 
is that with you, and why have you called me here?"

Rauru sat down, motioning a seat to his companion.  "This is Kaepora 
Gaebora, the leader of the mage knights.  He has a distinct interest in 
what we are about to discuss."  He then turned attention to the boy.  
"Mudora, this is important and could very well change Hyrule forever.  
Can you accept the responsibility of listening to this discussion?"  The 
lad, not waiting for instructions from his master, nodded solemnly, 
confused with Rauru's tone but excited about the possibilities.  With that 
settled, Rauru once again focused his attention on his former mentor.  
"Bagrand, I believe I have found it."

"Found what?"  

"The fabled Sacred Realm," Rauru replied calmly.

Chapter 2:  Golden Lands

"By Sacred Realm I assume you mean the place where the goddesses 
departed this land?" 

"Of course, what did you think I meant?"  Rauru was slightly displeased 
with his former mentor's lack of enthusiasm.

"But, my dear Rauru, what has gotten into you?  How would you find this 
place, and why would you want to go there anyway?  What is so special 
about the goddesses departing point?"  Bagrand was slightly annoyed.  He 
had been called from Kasuto simply to find where the goddesses left?  

"Who knows what the goddesses placed in that land?  Perhaps the 
goddesses themselves are still there.  It is not from this world, you know.  
It is in an entirely different dimension."
"And the king has ordered us to investigate with all deliberate speed" 
cut in Gaebora, who seemed bored with the proceedings.
"He said to find anybody who might be useful, and so I chose you to aid 
me, Bagrand."  Finished Rauru.  "This could be the greatest moment in 
Hyrule's history.

"So I am ordered by the king to go on a fruitless quest, eh?  This 
whole mess seems ridiculous.  How, may I ask, are we to leave this 
dimension?"  

At this point Rauru seemed to notice Mudora again.  "Do you remember 
verse 24 of the Races Canticle, Mudora?"

"Of course.  'And the goddesses gave the Hylian race pointed ears, like 
the Sheikah and Kokiri before them.  But the ears of Hylia could hear 
messages from the goddesses, for they wished the Hylians to be blessed 
above all.'  I never believed it much, though."  Mudora looked rather 
shy to be quoting such legends in front of so many great men.

"Perhaps because you are Sheikah and feel jealous, eh?"  Rauru smiled 
and turned his attention back to Bagrand.  "Well, I have found many 
ancient scrolls of Hylians who claim to have received such messages.  They 
claim that playing a sacred song, on a magical instrument, with a large 
magical force gathered, will open a rift.  That is why we need you.  An 
ocarina has been crafted, but we do not know how strong this magical 
force must be."

"Why ocarina?"  Bagrand asked out of curiosity.

"It's the only instrument I can play," Kaepora said in a low voice.

Bagrand shrugged in a sort of I-Guess-That-Makes-Sense-Forget-I-Asked 
kind of way.  Rauru merely stated "We begin tomorrow.  Make sure you are 
prepared.  May we have lots of luck, old man."  With that he and 
Gaebora left.  Bagrand and Mudora watched them leave.  Bagrand turned to his 
student.  "I get the feeling that Kaepora guy doesn't like me."  Mudora 
shrugged, but his master continued.  "It doesn't matter, really.  This 
whole stupid thing will end soon and then we can get back to Kasuto.  
But it looks as if you are in for the ride, so pay attention to 
everything.  I think I will call this lesson 'what happens when you spend too 
much time in a royal court.'"  Mudora laughed.

That night, back in his chambers, Mudora took out a book from his 
belongings.  About a year ago, he started to collect his thoughts on the 
ancient lore and wrote them down in this volume.  The words "Mudora's 
Journal" were written on its bright green cover.  It appears I will have 
more to write in this, Mudora thought.

Mudora had no idea what to expect, but even so his experiences were 
beyond anything he could have imagined.  The day started ordinary enough, 
as Bagrand and he walked with Gaebora and Rauru to the royal gardens.  
The mage knight was in a better mood, and chatted with the boy all the 
way there.  He seemed nice enough, even if he did have a tendency to 
drone on and on about things everyone already knew.  When they reached 
the gardens, the royal family was there, from the king down to the baby 
princess.  Mudora was shocked and embarrassed; who was he to meet the 
royal family?  Fortunately, as the youngest member of the four, he was 
virtually ignored, and Bagrand did most of the talking.  Merely 
formalities, of course.  Bagrand extolled the king's virtues while the king 
spoke of the significance of this moment.  Finally, the king gave Kaepora 
Gaebora a beautiful blue ocarina.  The four moved away from the king, 
and the knight began to play.

Mudora was impressed.  The quality of the ocarina was perfect, and 
sounded somewhat different than all others he had heard.  And the song was 
beautiful, almost timeless.  It gave Mudora the sense of being outside 
of time.  He heard his mentor whisper "By Din..." in awe, and then it 
hit him.  A strong force, a magical barrier stronger than he could ever 
imagine, seemed to repel him.  He could sense the other three trying to 
break through that barrier, but it seemed no use.  If anything could 
prove the existence of the goddesses, this was it.  Suddenly, the force 
collapsed....

Eloan, the young prince, was bored with the whole ordeal.  Although he 
was starting to realize the importance of his father, these sort of 
things started to bore him.  Sure the music was nice, but what was the 
point?  Yet his mouth opened with awe as he saw a miracle performed before 
his eyes.  A brilliant blue shaft of light burst out from the ground, 
shooting upwards as far as the eye could see.  The shaft, originating in 
the center of the four mages, expanded outward in a ring until it 
enveloped the four.  The ring of light slowly shrunk back inwards and 
dissipated.  Rauru, Kaepora, Bagrand, and Mudora were nowhere to be seen.  

When Mudora could see again, after the blinding blue light, everything 
had changed.  There was no castle, no gardens, no king.  Instead, they 
were in the middle of a beautiful valley during what appeared to be a 
sunset.  Bagrand, looking around, said "It appears I owe you an apology, 
Rauru.  You do seem to have found the Sacred Realm.  But, what exactly 
is here?"  Rauru offered a noncommittal response when Mudora noticed 
something rather odd.  Although the sky was golden, like a sunset, the 
sun was still high in the sky.  Mudora pointed this out to the older men, 
and they were forced to agree.  

"This golden light seems to emanate from those mountains.  Something 
must be up there," Kaepora offered.  The others agreed, and it was 
quickly decided that the golden light should be their destination.  Slowly, 
the first four travelers to the Sacred Realm moved toward the brilliant 
light.