Sorry for the late review. You know, there are only 2 stories that can forced me to read more than 200k of words in less than 1 month, and this is one of them.

As a so-called "Vaati Enthusiast" like myself (trust me, I can be a bit obsessed with him sometimes XD), this one particularly captured my attention really much. I love how you still keep the traits of the mage, the arrogant, short-tempered one. That was the Vaati that we always knew and loved. And then, you excellently revealed his other self, somewhat a lost kid who was trying to find his way out of the haywire of life. The way you put that little inner battle between his fierce and hotheaded moments, to me, made it perfect for us readers to understand why he behaved like that. I mean, for one moment, he acted like a complete dick, but then his mind and words gave in, and at that moment, everything made sense.

The next big thing is the plot-twist. Oh. My. God. The plot-twist was the one that hit me super hard in the head. Like how I always thought the story was gonna go this way and have a happy happy ending, and then you came in and just changed everything. But for the good way tho. Because of that, we could see the many "slices of onion" of Vaati and our beloved hero himself. I was touched by the way you talked about Link's dilemma. Fate sometimes wanna mess with us a lot, right?

I don't know what to say more, because I can't think of anything else. Everything's already perfect the way it is. There might be a few rushed part here and there, but overall, the way you guide us readers to the straight path, and then immediately shove us into the distorted one, force us to think about the story is amazing. All the inner wars, all the quarrels, all the battles, it's so perfect. You earn my fav, mate. A favorable fav.

Can Link and I make ou-I mean kill each other yet?

The ending got me. Genuine tears were shed and the feels oozed my heart into a puddle.

Some stray thoughts: Thistle was great. Nutty, ambitious, his impact on the story, and the parallels and contrasts with Vaati were intriguing. And he filled in a unique slot to flesh out the monster hierarchy. Well done :)

Linebeck, I had a really hard time caring about at all. Possibly because I have no prior attachment to him since there are more Zelda games out there than I even know about, and his was one of them.

Link made me smile. The conversation with Medli was so adorable and sincere. Really reinforced the impression I was picking up since the Master Sword's trial that the best and most important thing Link could do was believe.

The empty victory with Dethl was a nice touch, too.

Overall, was a nice read. I couldn't put it down. (Finished the whole thing within something like 30 hours or less.) Not... perfect, per sey, but looking at your author notes, it's apparent you were quite aware of where things fell below the bar. Also, this was written some years ago, as a rewrite to boot, and I have no doubt whatsoever that you're quite happy calling it good and done. So hey, looks like you learned a whole lot from writing it, and that's what counts ;)

I really, really wanted Vaati and Ezlo to talk or just -something- at the end, and that little healing conscience convo delivered exactly that.

Then, the parting ways. Well, yeah. It'd be ridiculous for the little twerp magician to just stick around, so parting ways only makes sense. But dang. Hit me right in the feels.

A very heartfelt second chance story. :)

Aaah, should have known Vaati was making too many right decisions. xD At which I laugh and am... hmm, disappointed in a good way? Does that make sense? I'm pretty sure that's an oxymoron, lol. *cough* To elaborate, of course the horribleness would resurface after getting some power back. At the same time, I want him to choose the right things, but it would be weird if went all goody-goody.

Explanation for the seal loosening is simple and makes sense *nods* An extra nod to Link expanding on the bark vs bite mentality.

Aww... I didn't -quite- cry, but darn if it wasn't a near thing. Excited and saddened at the same time. Because whoa, that happened.

All those insecurities dug up, a hard decision that genuinely didn't have a good answer because Helmaroc shut down all the better options. And that was nicely done. Really nicely done. Often when stories raise "gray" situations, I still find myself brainstorming reasons for things to have gone differently. But here, I feel like anything different would be an injustice to characters. They were themselves.

And I'd venture to say Vaati definitely picked the right decision. And that the right decision feeling in character really says a lot about how much has happened.

Major props.

By the way, after taking a glance at where your older version connected, merging them was a good call. This Wind Waker arc works on a whole lot of already established functions and character growths that don't stand up well on their own. (Starting a new 'story' with the WW arc paints Vaati as waaay OOC, but building to it is effective. Then, there's Link and Vaati's entire relationship and the inventory changearoo, the plot as a whole... *blinks* So yeah, totally works as a single entity, but seems like it'd be a lot weaker separated. The funny part about it is that most of the reasons are because it's fanfic. In original fiction, separated would probably be better.)

Although, there's one thing that struck me as a little odd, but it might just me being uber zealous about fantasy game logic translating into other mediums. Any Minish not knowing the bare basics of swimming to survive puddles strikes me as utterly implausible, thus in my mind, Vaati definitely should have known how to swim. But in the same stroke, yeah, he probably wouldn't be comfortable with it because last time he probably swam was in an entirely different form, lol, so I can still swallow him being very uncomfortable with the idea of swimming nonetheless.

This chapter really struck me. Strength courage and trust were the names of the tests, and it really did feel like that theme carried through well. :)

And that chapter closing. Dang that was poignant. Especially Vaati being a bloody mess, barely won, tinged with hysteria, but he's thinking about Ezlo. Still trying to prove something to his master even when it's all said and done and shouldn't really matter anymore. But it does.

As an aside, Telma swatting Vaati for "playing with his food" was glorious :D

BTW, there are more than a few holes in my Zelda knowledge. I'm playing the Minish Cap as I write ;) And that's the first and only Vaati villain game I've gotten around to yet. I've never played Wind Waker at all, and I started Twilight Princess at a relative's house... Nor have I read any official Zelda manga. *blinks* I should check into that. Sooo... yeah. Plot relevant holes in knowledge, but it certainly didn't stop me :P

Your stories are so good 3 you write everything so perfect!

I like Opal :3 and Vaati and Zelda and all the characters! You protray them pretty good. I admire you because I'm not able to write adventure... I just can't xD and when I'm reading the fights you write and all that, it's not boring but exciting! :3 I'm liking this fic so far and I'm happy because it's very long! :3 I guess I'll take my time to read and come back to review later n.n

I loved the story! I'm not experienced in writing. although i cant say enough how amazing the story went. You really kept me on the edge of my seat reading this. Great job!

I'm so sorry I didn't review the other chapters... I've been reading Rend off and on for at least a few months, now. I remember how much I enjoyed the Beyond Centuries originally, and I think I enjoyed Rend even more. I'm not always that great at caring if a character is ooc (like, Vaati, if it makes him more lovey-dovey in a story, for example). This fanfic, though, had such slight changes over large amounts of time that it really is believable, in my mind. I regret not being around to review during the years that you wrote this. It was always nice to have a response at each new chapter.

Y'know, in terms of non-lovey-dovey stories for The Legend of Zelda, you're my favorite author. I really feel like you could have your stories published, even though they're fanfiction. I figure, the mangas for The Legend of Zelda don't follow the exact storylines of the games, so why shouldn't other changes be alright in published material? Plus, that would be so epic! Having a hard copy of Rend for when the power goes out, and having the artwork in one place with it. :)

I plan to start reading either OA or the one about Vaati's past, next. For now, unfortunately, I have class. I just want to say again how much I love your stories! I try not to use the word "love" a lot, especially when referring to material objects or non-living things in general, but I adore your fiction. I really look forward to reading your other stories. I forget if i've read the latest chapter of Forget-me-nots and Violets, so I have to add that to my reading list, too. I'll try to at least review for each chapter on that one :)

I wish to give you a small review.
This story was one hell of a good story. I am full of praise, but I don't know where to start or where to end.
It was a great story, many good ideas, many good characters.
I want you the best of feelings and to be proud of your creations, since this was nothing short of a full fledged fantasy novel in the TLoZ universe.

I only wish to share some points with you since I think you might find them interesting, even though the story has been finished for more than a year.
I actually loved Opal the Render as a character. In fact, I think she was one of the most fascinating characters by far that you created in this story, en par with Vaati and Thistle (I found Links character good, but not as appealing as those two). And the whole struggle Light faction vs Dark faction.
So I was pretty saddened by the fact that you killed her in the end, since she was something I always find appealing: Neutral in a world full of "good" and "evil". Someone who has been part of that but failed to see the sense in continuing. There were so many things I liked about her. The fact that she was kind of a resigned warrior, that she played with everyone, that she partly remained mysterious etc. I think it's a shame you couldn't use her further for anything and simply used her as a small plot element.

I'd love to see her again, having somehow survived the whole ordeal (after all she can manipulate space and time) in another story, if that was possible.

Another credit I wanted to give you was for Vaatis characters. I love how all of your storys are somehow intertwined and how you manage to fill Vaatis nonexistant character in the game with so, so much life. Thank you for that, this story and everything you have written (I might write another review when I'm finised with other storys, I've read "Tainted hearts" already and am greatly interested in your Vaati).

Anyway, good luck with further writing ;)

Great, amazing, awesome story! Do you think you could make a Vaati story were he is fully evil? And overcome the goddesses, while becoming a God? Something to think about.

Wow, I really meant to leave a review a long time ago, but I never got around to it. Sorry 'bout that. In any case this story was fantastic. I loved the time shifts and how you personified the monsters, especially Argorok and the Helmaroc King.

Thistle was a fun character. A thoroughly and uncommonly stable and actually enjoyable OC, not causing anyone to step out of their character. Here's to silly Wizzrobes!
Also, despite what people seem to keep telling you, is nothing like Kefka: Thistle's motivated by his inferiority complex, Kefka's motivated by his all-consuming passion for destroying anything he sees in the most horrific and painful way possible. Yes, you should play the game. Play the one on GBA, Final Fantasy VI on a GBA emulator, you just won't find it in stores. It tells the story better than the SNES version.

And finally: Vaati. Was. Perfect. Just like you, I always felt that Vaati went bad because of Ezlo's strict and overprotective actions. If Ezlo had provided better guidance, Vaati would never have gone mad with stolen power. In fact, I can see Vaati as a hero quite easily, which is what caught my attention in this fic.

Thank you for writing such an incredible Vaati story. It was worth every minute of time you put into it and more.

I've been refusing to close the tab for days now. Because closing the tab means accepting it's over...and I don't want that.
I'll...just...sit here and wait for OA instead then, eh...?

Oh and I really loved the imaginary conversation between Ezlo and Vaati here and the way you pictured their relationship.

"In a remote place, somewhere, a breeze began to blow."
At the computer, all over the world, fangirls began to cry.

My eyes are watery because my dinner burnt my tongue that's all! This chapter was a nice end, even though it's so sad. You had me all teary and then you go and post a sneak peek and get me all happy again. Did this really start in 2010? Has that much time passed already... I feel old. Thank you so much for writing all of this and continuing to make more! I love this story [and all of your other ones as well] so much. I am sad that this story has ended but... I can't wait to see Thistle again. He's such a cutie [ew what did I just say, I'm being ooc .]. My cat would also like to thank you because it was your story chapters that would would keep me in place so that she could sleep on my lap. I wanted to jump up and down while reading this chapter and even more so with that sneak peek. Thank you so much and I hope you have fun with the next story! I'll be waiting!

and im starting to cry up i cant wait for more