Chapter 4: Tears of Light

Faron Woods usually had the strangest way of making me feel at ease. It was calm and serene, the only audible sounds being the songs of the birds in the trees, and the chittering of squirrels as they stockpiled on nuts and other small bits of food. But now, that peace was upset by the eerie black and orange of the twilight. It was more than a little unsettling.

I padded through the woods a little ways, Midna sitting on my back. I looked up at her, and saw a sight that probably should've made me laugh. She held the sword in her hand, holding it normally, but had the shield right on her face. I actually really wanted to laugh at her and tell her that she didn't know everything after all, but being an animal made that a tad difficult.

"These are the weapons you use in your world?" she asked. She swung the sword a few times, nearly lopping my head off in the process. She grunted in a very unladylike way. "You really think these things can slay the creatures of the twilight?" She then tossed the sword blade down into the ground and dropped the shield onto my face. "Well, I won't use them. But I'll tell you what…" She snapped her fingers, and the sword and shield became little black squares that faded from existence. "I'll hold onto them for you, wolfie. You know, for when you're human again.

"Now then," she continued, leaning in closer to my head. "Listen, now that you've proven yourself at least a little trustworthy, I think I can tell you a little something." She tugged on my ear teasingly, pulling my head back slightly. "I just need you to collect a few things for me. I can't really tell you all the details just yet, but it'll be easy. Trust me." Forgetting having a shield on her face. I wanted to laugh at that. I trusted this imp about as far as I could throw her. She suddenly perked up some, a mischievous smile on her face. "Do you hear that?"

I didn't know what she was talking about at first, but I tuned my ears. I soon heard what sounded like the pained cries of some hurt animal. Those cries sounded as though they were being repeated by an echo, which only made it sound worse.

"That's the lamentation of the Light Spirit of this area," Midna explained. She giggled darkly. "Sounds like it's in pain, huh?" She flipped over, lying on my back in a lounging position, lazily checking the little claws on her fingers as if they were nails. "You might want to hurry, or it might be too late. The longer you keep dawdling, the more the twilight spreads and engulfs your world." I looked over in the direction of those pained pleas for help. Midna sat up on my back and kicked my sides. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get moving!"

I seriously wanted to beat the little imp senseless, but I had to admit that she had a very valid point. I growled angrily for a moment, then went on down the path, making for the Faron Spring. As I headed down the road, however, more of those black stone slabs crashed into the ground and created a barrier, blocking my escape. Almost immediately, three Shadow Beasts fell out of the sky, all ready to tear me apart.

"Aw, come on!" Midna complained. "Penned again? Sheesh, these guys have no idea who they're dealing with." I glared at her for a second, trying to make sure that my eyes said, What are you talking about? "Well, no need to take them down one at a time. You can handle all three at once! I'll just wait up over there." She pointed over at a corner of the barrier and teleported over there, leaving me to contend with the trio of Shadow Beasts.

"Annoying little freak," I muttered to myself as the monsters charged in toward me. I leaped away from one beast's attack, only to be attacked by another of them. I was just barely able to avoid getting hit, and was able to pounce on the second monster. I was just about to tear into its throat with my fangs when I froze, a horrible thought coming to mind; what if I ended up the way I did when I killed that first Shadow Beast, just before Ordona appeared and calmed me?

The hesitation very nearly cost me my life, as the third monster swatted me off of its ally, sending me skidding across the ground painfully. I stood somewhat shakily, glaring at the trio of monsters. I shook my head. I couldn't think about what-ifs now. I had to act, or these demons were going to kill me. I ran at them, pouncing on one and raking my claws across its neck, drawing blood. I tore into it with my fangs, tasting the monster's blood as I did so. I jumped off of the fallen creature before I could become savage again, landing on another one. My claws bore into its chest as I kicked off of it, landing a few feet away.

The first monster, who was uninjured, tried to crush me under its huge fist, but I managed to sidestep the attack and countered by jumping onto it. I tore out the monster's throat in one bite, and jumped off of the beast, spitting out its flesh as I landed. Two down, one to go, I thought as my gaze fell upon the last Shadow Beast. But just then, the monster did something that I hadn't expected in the least; it unleashed a screaming roar that almost deafened me. I instinctively shut my eyes in response and tried in vain to cover my ears with my paws.

When the shriek ended, I opened my eyes to see something that was downright horrifying. The two monsters that I had "killed" picked themselves up off the ground, their wounds instantly closing. It was obviously bad news, but I couldn't look away. It was fascinating in a frightening way. The three monsters marched closer to me, their shield-like faces shaking as though they were excited. Snarling in frustration, I sprinted into them, leaping onto one of them and ripping at its neck. I felt the delightful tingle of blood on my tongue as the monster bled out. I jumped off of it, letting the beast fall forward onto its face.

I stopped there. The other two monsters looked ready to kill me, but if I fought back and killed one of them, the last one would probably just scream again and revive its fallen comrades. I was in a no-win situation. Suddenly, I felt a weight on my back. I looked and saw Midna giving a disapproving look. "Geez, what's taking so long?" she asked impatiently. "I guess you still need my help. You lazy little beast." I growled at her in response. "Look, just get those two Shadow Beasts close together, and I'll handle the rest, okay?"

I reluctantly nodded my agreement and ran toward the pair of demons. I heard Midna grunt, and I then saw a circle of darkness appear at my feet, rimmed by a stream of what looked like light red, almost pink, electricity. The three monsters were caught inside, clearly not knowing what was coming – not that I knew what was going to happen, but still. The Shadow Beasts were each caught in an aura of pinkish sparks. It was then that Midna released the dark circle. I have no idea how it happened, but when that circle vanished, I shot like an arrow through both of the beasts in rapid succession, and apparently killing them instantly. The monsters collapsed onto the ground, and shortly thereafter, they all exploded into those little black squares that shot up into the sky and created another one of those weird patterns like before.

Midna didn't comment on the thing in the sky, so it may not have been important. Not yet at least. Paying it no more mind, I headed down the path to the source of the Light Spirit's cries, only to find the Faron Spring halfway dried up. I padded through what little water there was. I was surprised to discover the lack of the soothing feeling that the water usually had in it. Normally, these springs were so pristine, just sitting in them is said to heal even the gravest of wounds, but this spring water felt as bland as water from anywhere else. Another effect of the twilight, I assumed.

I noticed a small cloud of light floating just above the water. It sounded as though the lamentations were coming from it, so I approached it and asked, "Are you the… Light Spirit?"

"Yes…" a pained voice managed to rasp. "I am… the spirit… of this spring…" It was just plain sad hearing it talk like that. The Light Spirits were supposed to be powerful entities, but this was downright pitiful. Not to mention infuriating. Did the Shadow Beasts simply not care that they were hurting someone? "Please… gather my light… collect my scattered tears… and place them… in this vessel…"

I could practically feel the poor creature work the last bit of its strength, creating something that looked somewhat like a grapevine made of gold and silver with sixteen clear bulbs, eight on either side. The strange thing looped around my neck like a necklace, and I heard a small click.

"In this darkness…" the Light Spirit said weakly, "the creatures that carry my Tears of Light… have taken on the form… of insects…" I shivered when he said "insects." As I stated before, I do not like bugs. "In the twilight… these Shadow Insects are… invisible… just as those… who dwell in the light… good luck, blue-eyed beast…"

"Blue-eyed beast, eh?" Midna laughed. "Gee, it sounds like you've got yourself a new nickname!" I growled at her, but let it go. I had some bugs to squash.

I headed down the path that led through to the forest where Talo was taken when he and that monkey were captured by those monsters. I stopped when I saw something sparking and move into the short tunnel ahead of me. Curious, I tried the same trick that I did back at Hyrule Castle in order to see the spirits there. What I saw made me gasp; before me was a huge bug-like creature that was easily as big as the shield that I had taken from Jaggle's house. It was silvery, and looked sort of like a stinkbug.

"What are you waiting for?" Midna complained. "Kill it and take its Tear of Light already! I'm not getting any younger, you stupid Hylian!" I groaned in response, but pounced at the bug, which quickly scurried out of my reach. I pounced at it again, but evaded me again. This went on for several annoyingly long minutes, until I eventually caught the little pest and stomped my paw through its back, killing it almost instantly. I raised my paw out of its innards and promptly gagged. The thing smelled and looked HORRIBLE.

The insect's body exploded then, exposing a blue sphere of light that floated gently toward the ground. I didn't fail to notice how Midna seemed to recoil slightly at the sphere's glow. I leaned into it, sniffing it curiously. The Light Spirit said that I should store the Tears of Light into the vessel around my neck, but I had no idea how to go about doing that. I touched the orb, and jumped back as it burst into three little streams of light that went directly into one of the vessel's bulbs, which began to glow with the same blue light as the Tear.

"Well," Midna muttered somewhat angrily, "that stupid spirit could've at least warned us about how bright those things are." I raised an eyebrow at her. It hadn't been that bright at all. I guess her being a shadow-dweller made her more sensitive to light. I headed off to continue my search for those bugs… I did not enjoy even a single moment of it.

-o-

I had collected a number of those Tears of Light. I got four from the house of a guy who lives in the woods and sells lanterns and oil to travelers. I got two more at the entrance to the dark tunnel that led deeper into the forest (the gate there was locked apparently, so I was forced to dig under it to get through), and three more at the forest's edge. Getting through the woods proved troublesome, because there was apparently some kind of poisonous fog filling the whole place. Fortunately, I was able to use that directed jump thing that Midna used for me. I collected two more Tears inside a large, hollowed-out tree on my way to the other side of the woods, where I got my paws on two more.

I noticed that my bestial side hadn't shown itself since I collected that first Tear. Maybe the Tears of Light quelled that part of me, I thought, just like how being in the presence of a full-strength Light Spirit calmed me. It was only a theory though. And it was one that I wasn't really eager to test out.

I headed further into the woods, where I saw a trio of Shadow Beasts skulking about in a clearing. I sighed in frustration. I really didn't have time for this. I charged in, and was – get ready for a shocker – immediately penned in by those black slabs. One of the Shadow Beasts seemed to want to keep its distance, so decided to go after that one first. I sprinted past the other two beasts, who barely had time to react to my presence before I leaped and landed on the far monster's back. I quickly began clawing and biting at its neck in different places, easily killing it, then leaped off of it and made my way for those other two demons.

Midna created another ring of dark energy, locking onto to the Shadow Beasts, then released it, sending me flying through them, killing them both instantly. I left even as their bodies blew apart and became another strange pattern in the sky. It was then that I noticed something to my left. There was a massive thing made of wood with a large arch at the top of it. It looked to be curved somewhat, but there didn't seem to be anything truly remarkable about it. Thing is, I never saw it there before.

"Hey, what's the holdup?" Midna said, kicking my sides impatiently. "Go and get those last Tears of Light already, will you?" I glared at her, but couldn't argue (for numerous reasons). I gave one last glance to that giant hunk of wood before leaving.

I kept an eye out for anything suspicious. I only needed to grab two more Tears. After that, Faron Woods would be free of the twilight. I followed what might've been the scent of those Shadow Insects, and soon found myself at the path that led up to the Forest Temple. I headed up the path and saw a spirit floating just above a short pole, two sparking things – obviously Shadow Insects – scampering around it. I let myself go into my heightened senses state and saw that the spirit was the monkey that had been captured along with Talo. She was shaking fearfully, calling out for help. I easily killed the bugs and grabbed one of the Tears before hearing the monkey speak again.

"Did someone… save me?" she asked aloud, looking around for her savior. She sighed in what must've been relief. "Sheesh, everything's been so crazy lately. First Boss Ook starts acting like a jerk, and now there are monsters and weird bugs all over the woods!" I couldn't help but nod in agreement to her complaints, even if I didn't know who this "Ook" character was. "I think I even saw him take those village kids into the temple for some reason." My eyes widened at this. The children were in the temple? I heard the monkey sigh to herself. "And now I'm talking to myself. I should really find the others soon."

After learning that tidbit of information regarding Ilia and the kids, I grabbed the last Tear of Light and let it flow into the vessel on my neck. My entire body suddenly felt warm, as if there was a gentle fire in my belly. I closed my eyes as light slowly filled my vision.

The light died down quickly, and I opened my eyes. I was back at the Faron Spring, but it was filled back its former glory. I saw the vessel that held the Tears of Light drift down into the water, looking as though it were merging with it. Midna appeared before me, floating in a lounging position.

"Aw, and just when I was starting to like this place," she complained. "What's so great about a world of light anyway?" I was about to respond, but she just giggled and said, "Well, see you later!" She then vanished into my shadow again.

I heard the familiar sound of a loud drip, like when I met Ordona, and a large orb of golden light rose from the spring. A body began to form around the orb, looking like a huge monkey of some kind. It swirled its form around the light, its massive tail arching around it. I now saw the monkey-like form of the Light Spirit of Faron Woods. He looked at me with large golden eyes. "I'm Faron," he said in a voice that didn't sound anything like what I had expected. He sounded a bit wilder, more mischievous. "I'm the Light Spirit of these woods. I guess I should thank you for returning me to my former self. You've got my gratitude."

"Um…" I hesitated somewhat. I didn't really think that he would talk like a normal person. "You're welcome… I guess."

"Since you've returned the light to this province," Faron continued, stopping to make a few monkey-like sounds, "you have also been returned to your human form. Go ahead. Take a look at yourself, kid." I did as he said, and my eyes widened at my new look. I had thought that my clothes felt a little different, but I didn't expect a full-blown costume change; I was wearing a formfitting grass-green tunic, with pale brown leggings and brown leather boots. On my hand were fingerless gloves, the one on my left hand bearing a hardened guard. I could feel the sword and shield strapped onto my back, and that something was my head. I took it off and found that it was long, floppy cap that matched my new tunic.

"Wh-what in the world? What is all this?"

"Your new outfit was once the same one worn by the legendary hero many generations ago," Faron explained, making a few more "eeks" and "ooks" as he did so. "Of course, it had to be retailored specifically for you, seeing as how the last one to wear it was a young man, not a girl."

"Legendary hero?" I asked, not seeing what those old fairy tales had to do with me.

"You see, you've been chosen by the gods as the next destined hero, just like many of your ancestors. It's your destiny to confront this newest threat to the Kingdom of Hyrule. You're the next in a long line of great heroes. Your name is Lyn Marian Ysond. You're the last and greatest hope that this land has."

I couldn't think of a response. I was simply too dumbfounded to do so. Me? A legendary hero? That was about as likely as a horseless carriage being invented. I was just a girl from some farming village on the southern edge of the kingdom for crying out loud! How was I supposed to make a difference in anything? I guess Faron could read my thoughts through my face, because what he said next was somewhat comforting.

"I know that this must be a bit of a shock to you," he said in an understanding tone, "but whether you believe it or not, you have the strength to do this thing. If you didn't, you never would've been chosen." He had a point about that, I guessed. "However…" There it was. The catch. "… it'll be impossible for you to face the ruler of this pervading twilight with the power that you've got right now. In order to beat him, you'll have to match his power. Within the temple that lies deep within this forest, there's an ancient, dark power that no being from the light should touch. You'll have to find this power and its counterparts in order to face the King of Twilight."

"But if I can't touch it, then how the hell am I supposed to use it?" I asked, not really seeing the logic in that.

"Ask your shadow," the Light Spirit replied cryptically. With that, he faded from existence, leaving me alone with the annoying little pest that was Midna. And speak of the devil…

"Boy, that's a surprise, isn't it?" she said as she jumped from my shadow and hovered in front of me. "So you're supposed to be some big-time hero girl, huh? Well, that explains why you didn't turn into a spirit like everybody else!"

"You know, I get the feeling that you know a lot more than what you let on," I stated bluntly, giving the imp a hard glare. "What did Faron mean when he that I had to match the Twilight King's power?"

"Oh, you'll see soon enough, Hylian," she teased with a giggle. I rolled my eyes in response to her cryptic reply. "By the way, do you plan on heading to that temple that that spirit mentioned?"

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. That monkey spirit said that the kids from my village were led into the temple, so I really should take a look."

The imp giggled playfully. "What a coincidence! I was planning on heading there myself! Let's get going, sister!"

"I'm not your sister," I muttered as she sunk into my shadow again. I headed down the path that led to the forest. Since the gate was locked, I would have to try and find a key to get past it. As I walked, a small weed a few feet ahead of me shook and trembled. Curious, I leaned a little bit closer. That was about when the large blue head shot out of the ground, snapping its toothy jaws at my face, making me jump back in surprise. I stared at the plantlike creature with wide eyes; that thing had nearly bitten my head off!

"My, my, aren't we jumpy!" Midna teased from my shadow.

"Shut up," I said back to her, not taking my eyes off of the blue-headed plant. I soon recognized it as a Deku Baba, carnivorous plants that eat any unwary creature that comes within its attack range. I drew out my sword and shield and waited for the plant to make the first blow. I didn't have to wait long, as the Baba attempted to attack again, but its head bounced off my shield, giving me an opening to cut the thing's head of. The blue head of the Baba rolled on the ground and hardened after a few seconds. I sheathed my weapons and continued down the path, taking a right to pay a visit to the lantern guy.

He seemed to be either asleep or just really spaced out as I approached, as he didn't react to my presence at all. I couldn't help but notice that he had a bird's nest in his hair, which was quite an odd sight. After a few seconds, I coughed into my hand, catching his attention. "Whoa, sorry about that," he said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "I didn't get a whole lot of sleep the other night. Lot of monsters running around these days."

"Tell me about it," I said in full agreement, but I knew for a fact that this guy didn't even know the half of it. "Hey, do you know where I can get a key to get past the gate?"

"The gate to the forest?" he asked in reply. I nodded affirmatively. "I don't know. I locked that thing up to keep the worse monsters out and away. And besides, you're just a girl. They'll eat you up and spit you out in a second."

I narrowed my eyes at his comment. "I'll have you know," I said adamantly, "that I've dealt with monsters before. I can take care of myself just fine, thank you." He didn't look completely reassured, but after a few seconds, he finally nodded.

"Well, all right. You do look like you're geared up for it. Just be careful out there, all right?" I nodded as he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out the key and handed it to me. I nodded again to show my appreciation and headed for the gate. I turned the key in the lock, which fell to the ground with a heavy thud! I was just about to walk through the tunnel ahead when I heard the lantern guy yell "Wait!" I turned to face him. He was running over to me, carrying a lantern in his hand. He stopped, panting slightly, and held the lantern up. "You're going to need one of these if you want to get through here without getting lost. There's plenty of dark places that you'll need a lantern in."

I sighed in slight annoyance. "How much?" I asked.

He shook his. "This is for free. Every new customer gets the first lantern free of charge. It's a business strategy. If you want, I can sell you an extra bottle of oil for if you run out. Won't be cheap though."

I took the lantern. "So, how much for the bottle of oil?"

"That'll be a hundred Rupees, miss." My face fell a little. That was almost all the money that I had. I sighed in defeat and brought out my wallet. The lantern salesman held out a bottle of oil in one hand, and held his other hand ready. I dumped the contents of my wallet out into his palm; a purple Rupee, two red ones, and two blues. A yellow Rupee also fell out, but he was good enough to return it to me, in addition to handing over the bottle. "Thanks for your business, ma'am!" he said as he stuffed the gems into his pocket and walked away.

I looked at the lantern and bottle that were now in my hands. A thought suddenly occurred to me; where would I put them? It's not like I had a backpack to put them in or anything. "Midna?" I called the imp.

"What is it?" she asked in an annoyed tone. I still to this very day find it amazing that she would always say things to annoy people, but when asked to do something herself, she would act as it were something trivial and unimportant.

"Do you think you can do that thing you did with the sword and shield before?" I asked genuine curiosity. "You know, how you 'held onto them?'"

"I can't do that in the light world," she explained. "I'm not strong enough. I was only able to do that earlier because this area was covered in twilight at the time. It's also why I didn't store the sword and shield away before we came here."

"Oh. Well, how am I supposed to carry these things?" I held up the lantern and bottle to specify.

"You've got a pouch on your belt, genius," she pointed out. I checked to see if she was right, and, of course, she was. But it was barely bigger than my fist. "If your new duds use to belong to some magical hero, then maybe it's magic or something. Try it."

I sighed and did so, placing the lantern into the pouch first. I was amazed when it went in without any kind of resistance. I tried it with the bottle, and that worked perfectly as well. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised. With that dilemma solved, Midna dropped into my shadow again, and I made my way through the tunnel that led into the forest.

-o-

I mentally cursed at myself as I picked my empty lantern up off the ground. The very same monkey that had been kidnapped along with Talo had taken the lantern and led me through the dark fog that enshrouded most of the forest. Midna had berated me for not paying enough attention, which was actually true. My mind had wandered off to a few old memories from when I was little. Everything had seemed so simple back then. The whole world was black and white, and easy to understand. Oh, how things change so drastically.

After refilling my lantern with the extra oil that I bought from that salesman, I continued on my way, heading for the temple. I once again noticed that huge wooden thing, but paid it little mind as I walked past it. The forest sounded as though it had become a bit more peaceful. I could hear the chirps and calls of birds and the louds yelps of monkeys in the distance. I began to wonder about what Faron had told me. He had said that my ancestors had also been heroes chosen by the gods. How many of my blood family members had been heroes?

As I pondered this, I heard the sound of a dog panting a few feet ahead. Having been brought back from my musing, I could see a golden wolf sitting before me, blocking my path to the temple. Its left eye was a bright red, and seemed to be brimming with intelligence. Its right eye was closed and seemed heavily scarred. It seemed to glow as though it was a spirit of some kind. It suddenly went into a position so that it could pounce me, growling viciously. I quickly drew my sword and shield, ready to fight. The golden wolf then jumped, and just as it was about to land…

Everything went blank… though not for long.

I moaned as I picked myself up off the ground, my sword and shield still in my hands. I looked around at my surroundings – or lack thereof. Everything seemed to be a misty white, though I could spot a mountain in the distance, as well as a forest. I could also hear a wolf's panting behind me, but that slowly became the deep breaths of a grown man. I turned to face the stranger, but froze at the sight.

The guy I saw was literally a skeleton wearing filthy, moss-covered armor, brandishing a rusty long sword and a mossy shield. His left eye socket glowed red, just like the golden wolf's eye had. The skeletal warrior dropped into a fighting stance, prepared to take and dish out blows. I sunk into a stance as well, ready to fight. I ran at the enemy and slashed at him, but he easily, almost lazily, blocked my attack, hit me with his shield, and then slammed the flat of his blade into my gut.

As I lay on the ground in pain, I heard the warrior say in a raspy voice, "A blade holds no strength unless the one who wields it has courage." I slowly got back up to my feet and glared at the armored skeleton. "You may be the one chosen by the gods to purge evil from this world, but your current level of so-called 'skill' would disgrace the proud green of the hero's tunic you wear."

"Go ahead and tell me what you really think," I replied.

The skull-faced man glowered at me. "Young one," he said seriously, "you have much to learn. And you must learn with haste. I have come to you so that I may pass on my knowledge to you. I shall teach you a certain skills that can only be learned by one of the heroes selected by the gods."

"Wait, you're going to teach me these skills?" I asked, my suspicion replaced by surprise. "Does that mean that you used to be one of those heroes?"

The skeleton gave no answer to my question. "The first technique that I shall teach you is necessary for finishing many an enemy. It is called the Ending Blow."

-o-

I awoke back in the forest, remembering the encounter with the skeletal warrior with perfect clarity. He had taught me the Ending Blow, which I could use to finish a downed enemy. He also told me that if I wanted to learn a new skill, I would have to find things called Howling Stones.

"Hey!" I heard Midna call. "Sheesh, it's about time you woke up. You just randomly pulled out your sword and shield and passed out. What happened?"

"Didn't you see the wolf?" I asked.

"What wolf?"

That piqued my curiosity. That warrior, who apparently wanted to be called Shade, was invisible to Midna. That could only mean that I had just been seeing things, or I was the only one who could see him. I shook my head. "Never mind," I said simply. I guess Midna accepted it, seeing as how she never brought the subject up again. I managed stand steadily and continued on the path to the Forest Temple. The entrance to the temple was dark and foreboding, something that I was growing used to relatively quickly. I brought out my lantern and lit it, holding it up to light the darkness ahead of me. Mustering up all of my courage, I stepped inside, not knowing what dangers I may have to face.