Notes: Eheheheheh…Um…forgiveness because I'm posting these three which I should have posted forever ago in rapid succession?

Original Notes: I would like to point out that I use the original Gerudo crescent and star. Stupid PC censorship. Anyhow – I want to talk to you guys. Lessee… okay. So, I'm really, really happy that so many people are favoriting my story. It is a bit of a head-scratcher for me, though – most of the people who favorite my story have never reviewed it even once. Maybe I'm just weird, but I tend to post reviews on more stories than I favorite, not fewer. That is, I post reviews on many stories. Only some of those will I favorite. Thus, all stories that I favorite, I will have reviewed. I guess some people aren't like that, though. So, I'd like to make a request – if you have or will favorite my story, it would be great if you could drop me a review telling me what you like about it. (Also, I would like to thank iwish for continually reviewing my story – it means a lot to me.)

So, without further ado, let's get on with it.

Previous Chapter Summary: Stuff Happened. … I'm kinda getting tired of writing these summaries. But anyway… Link goes to the Sheikah caverns and meets with one of the leaders of the Shadow Folk named Depaz, a dangerous woman. He finds that in order to obtain true help from the Sheikah, he must pass a test called the Trial of Truth. In this trial, he is tested by the three goddesses. Farore teaches him about life; Din about power; and Nayru about using his head instead of just his heart.

CHAPTER NINETEEN: Mountain of Fire

Location: Sherikah, Plateau Caverns
Time: Midday of the ninetieth day of Summer (KAHII 35)

The grey-haired Sheikah man with red-orange eyes sat on the cool stone platform bearing the triangle surrounded by three circles, the symbol of shadow. It was one of the two Shadow Platforms in Hyrule. Originally, there had only been one, located in Kakariko, but during one of the previous Heroic Ages (as the times where a Hero arose to defeat the evil threat to Hyrule were rather appropriately named) the seal had been altered, split geographically to two locations. This was the second half of the seal, and it formed the base of the Sheikah society underground beneath Sherikah, the only above-ground living space for Sheikah in Hyrule.

The man sat on the platform, staring forward as if off into space. Around him were seven man-sized torches each with runes written down the sides and bearing a differently colored flame. One flame was a golden yellow, and that torch had a symbol near the top that resembled a sword and pick. The next was a magma red, and the symbol its torch bore was that of the rhombus-like quadrangle with three triangles above it, one pointing to the upper left, one to the upper right, and the other straight up. A torch with a symbol that resembled three crescents jammed together was lit with a watery blue flame. Fourth, the crying eye marked torch had a deep purple flame. Next, bearing a curvy symbol, was the forest green flame. An orange flame was atop a torch with a crescent and star. Finally, a violet flame rose from a torch with the phoenix and Triforce. The green and yellow flames were much lower than most of the rest of them, followed by the blue flame. The deep purple and orange flames burned highest. The red flame was the weakest, flickering as though it were about to sputter out. The violet flame, however, was by far the most interesting; it flared up and shrank down to almost nothing randomly.

The Sheikah was entirely silent, lost in his meditative art. He was Taes, the other leader of the Sheikah. Both he and Depaz were Shadow Masters, the most experienced, powerful, and skilled members of the Shadow Order. All members of the Order learned to control the Sage powers left behind by Impa, but some people were much better at it than others. But mastery of the Shadow powers was not the only ruler by which the members of the Shadow Order, known as Acolytes, were measured. Knowledge of history and legend also played a major role, as did physical skills such as fighting and stealth. Respect and understanding of tradition was absolutely essential if an Acolyte wished to progress in the Order. The specifics of the Order were kept secret from outsiders, but these things those who were close to the Sheikah knew. Not all Sheikah were members of the Shadow Order, and so even some Sheikah did not know the details.

"Taes, do you hear me?"

Taes didn't modify his unblinking expression at the semi-mental, semi-audible voice of Depaz.

"I am here, Depaz. Has the Hero passed the Trial of Truth?" he asked calmly, his own voice completely void of the lethal edge that was so obvious in his counterpart's.

"Yes. He's currently resting. He has not said anything about the trial, but it is obvious that it took up most of his mental and physical energy. It is possible that he faced death. I believe he will fall asleep soon."

"What favor has he asked of the Sheikah, now that he has passed the trial?"

"That we send what fighters we can spare of those remaining us to assist the Gorons in fighting back the encroaching enemies; that we supply him and his retinue with food and tools for the climb; and that we accompany his group until they reach Goron City. He handed me some documents signed by the King and Princess meant for the two of us. They ask for the same things. They also carry information about the Hero and a request for disclosure about historical facts relating to the Heroic Ages and also the shades."

"The torches are not particularly encouraging as of late," Taes said. "I agree we should provide them with all that they ask for. How was the Sword of Souls?"

There was obvious irritation in Depaz's voice. "It, or she, is both confrontational and disrespectful, but steadfastly loyal to the Hero. She called me a … never mind, it isn't important. The Hero is able to keep her in line so long as he realizes it is necessary."

"I see. As far as sending fighters is concerned – how many Acolytes do you think you'll need from my end?"

"It depends much on whom you send. Dulle and Sazra would both be highly beneficial. If you include them, I'd say a dozen Acolytes would be good."

"Hm. Is Kiara back?"

"Yes, she's the one who escorted the Hero's group to Kakariko. She hasn't improved that much since you last saw her."

"Well, her brother has. He's far and away the most adept of the lower Acolytes at using the Sage powers. I'll send him as well."

"Thank you. I'll contact you again later if I need you."

"Of course."

*
Location: Hyrule Palace, Zelda's Bedchamber
Time: Evening of the ninetieth day of Summer (KAHII 35)

Zelda sat down on her bed and exhaled harshly in frustration. She covered her face with her hands. She wanted to scream. While her management of the Knights and Guards was going well, the same could not be said of the nobles. The lesser nobles weren't causing too much trouble, she supposed, but the Twelve Houses were being nothing but irritating.

"Anything I can do, Milady?" Sharla asked softly from the corner of the room. Recently, they had decided that one Sheikan bodyguard should be with the Princess at all times, and Sharla was a friend, so she was most often the one with Zelda in private.

"Not unless you can mind control the nobles into ceasing being such stubborn Bulbins," Zelda sighed, letting her hands fall to her sides. "Honestly! They're worse than the goblins are!"

Sharla viewed her liege with understanding in her hazel eyes. "It often does good just to express your feelings and opinions aloud to someone," she advised. "As Princess, you keep your personal views bottled up inside in the interest of diplomacy. Why don't you talk to me? I won't judge you or let any secrets out."

Zelda moved her legs up onto her bed and turned, allowing herself to flop backwards onto her pillows, her hair splaying outward.

"Where do I start?" she said. "The Twelve Houses just make me want to strangle their Heads. Curlain, Emit, Yael, Damien, Laxus, Mannel, Snowe, Armstrong, Elswood, Bryant, Kellay, and Orston. Out of the Twelve, I have only three supporters for the organization, collaboration, and supervision of the noble class in preparation for emergency. Thomas Damien, the youngest to ever be Head of one of the Twelve; Gerard Laxus, who has always been a reasonable man even if we disagreed; and Ernest Emit, who I think is just trying to avoid the stigma of his predecessor. All of the rest of them are being completely boneheaded about the situation."

She held up a hand and lifted a finger. "Xavier Curlain. He is holding to the position that I am being pretentious and unnecessarily overbearing. He thinks that I'm treating the nobles as children to be forced to play nice together and be babysat. He is older and more set in his ways, so my actions, which are unprecedented during his lifetime, are seen as those of an upstart."

She flicked a second finger up. "Heraes Mannel. An elderly and loyal man, to be sure, but he thinks that I'm overreacting. He refuses to see that disaster is on the horizon. And those who are old often don't like to change their ways; he is used to the independence that the nobles have and thinks my suggestion is quite scandalous. Still, despite his patent foolishness, he has much in the way of knowledge and experience. I need him on my side if I am to get anywhere."

A third finger went up. "William Snowe. He is around my age and extremely impetuous. It is obvious that he dislikes me strongly. He wants to sit around and enjoy himself with no responsibilities, taking full advantage of his position without ever doing his job. It is no surprise that he is opposed to anything that might intrude on his lazy indulgence. He's being very loud-mouthed about how pushy I am."

Her pinky followed suit. "Pierce Yael." She ground her teeth. "The man is a treasonous, traitorous hound, but he never does anything openly so I can't prove it. In some ways, he's worse than Raistler ever was, because Yael is actually smart enough to weasel his way out of things. Raistler may have had many skilled people working for him, but intelligence says that those people went to Yael, who can manage them better. From little ways to big ways, from open resistance to subtlety, Yael is doing his damnedest to undermine my efforts."

She lifted her thumb and raised one finger on her other hand. "Sean Armstrong and Urstein Elswood are being more passive about things, and I suspect I can sway them to my side if I keep at them long enough, but with people like Yael trying to keep me from going anywhere it won't be easy. I've enlisted Minerva to help convince Sean, since they belong to the same House, but I'm hesitant to try to get Eli's help on Urstein; the brothers aren't exactly on the best of terms and it might do more harm than good."

She raised another finger. "Frederick Bryant. He's generally a supporter of mine and a responsible man, but he's under a lot of pressure from the rest of his House, which is in disagreement with me. He's legitimately worried that if he goes along with me on this that he might have a riot inside his own extended family. I'll be honest, I can't really fault him for his position."

She followed it with another finger. "Kelly Kellay. The only female Head. Her House has always been one for going against the primary tradition. Unfortunately, it's because of that that she refuses to side with me; she thinks that it will pressure her House to conform to the others in order to "cooperate properly." Of course, that's nonsense, but she refuses to believe otherwise."

Zelda lifted up a ninth digit. "Richard Orston. I don't trust him any more than I trust Yael. He tends to play both sides in any conflict to maximize benefits for himself. He's a manipulative bastard. As far as I know, he's never done anything illegal; his record, official and otherwise, is pretty clean. He's just sneaky about twisting others around to get what he wants, often without them noticing he's doing it. He's an opportunist. In fact, if he starts agreeing with me, I'll be more concerned than I would if he kept disagreeing."

Zelda dropped her hands. "It's a tremendous headache," she complained. "I hate dealing with all the different selfish agendas of the nobles."

"Well…" Sharla began, "there are ways to influence the opinions of the nobles other than through argumentation. You could stage an attack on some of the nobles who think that it's unnecessary. Send a few Acolytes to make it look like there was an attack and have them pull back after causing some chaos."

Zelda sat up and shook her head. "I'd already thought of that. I don't think it's a good idea. If something goes wrong and the Sheikah are discovered, everything will go to hell. Even if nothing goes wrong, it might provoke the wrong response. No, it's safer not to do that. I need to find the proper incentives. I have three of the Twelve on my side. In order for this to work, I need at least nine of them. Yael, Snowe, and Orston are almost certainly the three I won't get. I can probably get Armstrong and Elswood eventually. That's five. Mannel is a must, but I need to figure out how to convince him the threat is credible. Kellay needs some kind of proof that her House won't be meddled with. Curlain, I think, needs his ego stroked. I don't want to have to make myself into a fool to let him feel that I acknowledge him, but I may have to. And I need to somehow figure out how to prevent a conflict in Bryant's House. If I can do that, he'll side with me immediately."

"I'm not sure you really need my advice, Milady," Sharla responded. "You're a brilliant woman, and very wise for your age. I trust that you will figure it out in the end."

"I certainly hope so," Zelda answered, falling back onto her bed. "Or there will be hell to pay."

*
Location: Death Mountain, Goron City
Time: Late Evening of the ninetieth day of Summer (KAHII 35)

The Goron shook his head and rumbled sadly, "Three of our Brothers gave their lives today, Big Brother, and many more may never race again. It is a sad day today. When will the ones Brother King Armin sent get here?"

Kodroga frowned. "I do not know, Brother. It will be soon. Perhaps even tomorrow. We must protect our city until then."

The small group of Gorons who stood near the only entrance still open to Goron City rumbled in agreement. Every day more Brothers had died defending the entrance to the city from Tektites, Lizalfos, and Dodongos. The Magtails and Toadpoli didn't cause them problems at the moment since they couldn't get in the other entrances. If they hadn't closed off all the other exits from the city as the mysterious stranger had said, they wouldn't have been able to hold off all the assaults and might have gone under already.

The sound of a Goron rolling up the slope toward them from further inside the city caused them to turn. The light brown ball sped its way up and uncurled into an adult Goron who stood slightly over seven and three quarters feet tall. He had a dragon tattoo on the back of his right arm, stylized to represent the legendary patron spirit of the Gorons, a dragon known as Valoo. Valoo, though no living Goron could be said to have seen it, was always depicted as a large red dragon with four massive wings, a long barbed tail, four powerful legs, and a sharp tooth-filled fire-breathing maw. It was much more exciting than the other dragon of legend, the terrible Volvagia, which had been an oversized flying snake with legs.

The Goron addressed Kodroga. "Big Brother, there has been a breach in the passage closest to the Temple!" he said urgently. "Magtails and Dodongos are swarming in! Some of our Brothers are defending it, but we need you to come help so we can close it back up! Godoro is with the Brothers fighting!"

Big Brother's eyes widened in alarm. "Godoro? Why is he there?" He shook his head. "No, do not answer. We must make haste! Come, Brothers!" The group curled up unto balls and took off at top speed. They barreled down the slopes and headed for the Temple passage.

*
Godoro smashed his right fist into the eye of the giant red and black centipede in front of him, causing it to recoil and curl into a vulnerable ball. To his left he saw another one preparing to lunge and gave it the same treatment with his other fist. An eight-foot-long fire-breathing, green-scaled, iguana-like lizard crawled up in front of him between the two balled-up Magtails and began to inhale. Godoro closed his eyes and set himself against the blast of flame that the Dodongo belched out onto him. He felt the intense heat, but because he was a Goron, he was unharmed. He jumped forward and landed clumsily on top of it with a crash, his hands near to its red tail, the one spot on a Dodongo that was vulnerable to attack. He brought his fists together on either side of it with a crash, causing the beast to trumpet breathily in pain as its tail was nearly flattened between his hands.

It writhed and threw him off. He curled into a defensive position and took another blast of flame. As soon as he stood to attack again, he saw that there were still more Dodongos and Magtails coming from down the tunnel. In fact, two more Magtails had reached him already. He couldn't call on his Brothers for help, since each of the Gorons who had been nearby when the beasts broke through the stone rubble barrier was separated from the others by monsters. It was almost as though each Goron were a rock in a stream of centipedes and lizards.

He ignored the Dodongo for the moment and blocked against the twin Magtail strikes by bashing the pincers in the side with his fists. They shook themselves and pulled back, opening up to lunge again. He moved left, dealing that one a swift left uppercut to the eye, then brought his arm up to block the other, receiving a small gash in it for his trouble. He closed his eyes to avoid the flames from another fire blast and delivered a right straight, hoping to get lucky and hit the Magtail in its eye. And lucky he was, as he felt the squishy feeling and heard it give its bug screech as it curled up.

Opening his eyes again, he jumped atop the Dodongo a second time, being far too slow to run around it to reach its tail. Like last time, he smashed its tail, only this time the tail burst open in a shower of blood and the Dodongo bucked, throwing him off. He rolled back further up the tunnel away from it as it began to pulse. With a boom!, the lizard exploded like a bomb, sending various body parts everywhere. All four Magtails he had injured around it were caught in, and destroyed by, the explosion. Unfortunately, the blast did nothing to deter the creatures coming from behind, and a row of three Dodongos came lumbering toward him.

Curling up into a ball, he barreled down toward them and swerved around them, rolling across their tails. They bellowed in unison and spun around to face him, but he had continued going, swerving again to cut around behind them a second time. He repeated this twice more before their tails broke and he had to retreat again. This time a half-dozen Magtails that were crawling up got caught and died.

Godoro was heavily bruised and scratched in no small number of places, but he was relatively unhurt. He spared a glance to see how his six Brothers were faring. On the whole, they seemed to be doing about the same as him, though one was completely uninjured and another had a large gash down his side. Godoro's head pounded from the blood rushing to it. This was his first ever real battle. He, like all Gorons, had trained in the form of sport, but actual fighting was never really the same thing.

"Brothers!" he called. "Keep fighting! These enemies, they cannot make us to budge one inch! We must keep fighting until Akagor brings back Big Brother and the others! For our Brothers!" he gave the rallying cry.

"For our Brothers!" the others responded, and all seven threw themselves back into the melee with new fervor. Nothing could defeat them. No brutish, stupid monsters would ever take Goron City. The Goron Brotherhood would never fall!

Twenty minutes of unending battle later, they finally heard the rumble of Big Brother's unit of defenders rolling down toward them. The newly arrived Gorons took to the battlefield and began to push the river of fiends back. Big Brother Kodroga waited until they had passed a specific point and then hit several precisely calculated points along the wall.

"Pull back, Brothers! It is done!"

They swiftly spun their way back to where he stood, and the walls rumbled loudly before crashing down and filling in the tunnel. There was a single, unified sigh of relief. They were safe again – for now.

The most severely wounded of the Gorons were assisted off to a place where they could recover with the help of medicines; an infirmary in all but name. Kodroga looked his son up and down, taking in the multitude of scratches and small cuts on top of the bruises that covered the youth. He had handled himself very well to be hurt only as badly as he was. Gorons were built very differently than Hylians, humans, or Sheikah, however; the amount of damage that Godoro had sustained was painful yet far from life-threatening, but if one of the fleshier races had taken that many hits they would be well past dead.

"Well done, Godoro!" the Big Brother of the Gorons applauded the younger member of his race. "You fought a good fight and defended the city from harm." He clapped his son on the back. "All that boxing with Akagor made you strong, did it not, Brother!"

Godoro beamed with pleasure. He had shown those monsters that they could not mess with the Gorons! That Big Brother was proud of him was only gemstones in the ore. He had felt very alive in a way he never had before when he was fighting those monsters. Even more alive than when he was boxing or racing.

"I am glad to have fought those monsters, Big Brother!" he said excitedly. "I want to fight them all away! We cannot just stay and wait for help; we need to attack the monsters ourselves!"

Kodroga shook his head. "Little Brother, you must remember the words that I have said – we must not seek danger. My Sworn Brother the King will not fail us. We wait."

Godoro's face fell, but he did not argue. There was no point. He would just have to take things into his own hands without saying a single word.

*
Location: Kakariko
Time: Night of the ninetieth day of Summer (KAHII 35)

Link lay on his side in his bed, thinking. He had only awoken about an hour ago and returned to the surface. His requests had been granted. According to Depaz, they were leaving tomorrow morning and would be accompanied by a score and a half Sheikah. Thirty Sheikah, especially since at least two thirds of them were "Acolytes," which Link was given to understand were those who used the powers of the Sage of Shadow (he wasn't sure he really understood all that), was the equivalent of a small army. They really were pulling out all the stops for him since he had passed the Trial of Truth. He strongly suspected that forcing him to take that test had been the result of some secret agenda of which he was unaware. After his conversation with Nayru, it had occurred to him that it would be a very good idea to be cautious about taking anything the Sheikah said or did at face value.

So tomorrow in the early morning he, Aurora, Alexis, Avery, Hawke and his Knights, and thirty Sheikah would begin the climb of Death Mountain. It was a very treacherous trek, especially during this troubled time. They would have to be careful of rockslides, monsters, and random eruptions. There was no way in which this could be considered easy. They would be very lucky indeed, Depaz had informed him, if they all made it to Goron City alive. That was not particularly confidence-inspiring or encouraging. It would be up to him to make sure as many people made it as possible, he decided. He didn't tell Aurora that, though, because she would think he was being dumb for placing the responsibility on himself.

Link sighed and closed his eyes. I wish things didn't have to be so difficult, he thought. If I could just be confronted with the source of everybody's problems and fight it, life would be so much easier. He wrapped the sheets around his legs. But I'm not going to give up even for an instant. I'm going to follow this thing through even if it takes 'till the end of my life. Farore, you are definitely my favorite goddess. I hope you're watching over me. And Din, I'm glad you think so highly of me. I'll be counting on the passionate joy of battle to carry me through my fights. Nayru…I'll try my best to make the right decisions.

As his breathing leveled off into the steady breath of sleepers, Aurora watched him from her seated position on the floor, leaning against the wall. She still didn't like the way Link looked when he slept. Whether he was troubled or peaceful, he was always helpless in sleep. Link had told her about the Trial of Truth and what it had entailed. Aurora had been aware of the part for which she had been sort-of-present, but the rest he had to fill her in on. Farore's trial was the one she found the strangest. It almost seemed like the goddess wasn't testing him at all, but rather simply trying to get him to reach an understanding so that he could be at peace with the killing that he would have to commit in the future. Din's trial was by far the most interesting to her, and she told Link so; all the moves that Din had used were abilities that Aurora would have if she had other gems – mostly the fire gem, but also the forest gem for the earthquake. She supposed it made sense; the Sword of Souls was a goddess-blessed sword after all. Additionally, in that trial Link had been able to easily and without exhaustion use her powers, even ones he hadn't used before. Aurora wasn't sure of the significance of this, but she suspected it had something to do with Din's comment about the fight showcasing a portion of Link's potential. Finally, Nayru's trial just ticked her off. She supposed she shouldn't get upset at a goddess, but…. In any case, Link had taken the goddess's words to heart, which she supposed was the point.

The talk of trusting others, however, did resonate with her. She thought that was one of Link's weaknesses – a willingness to trust without reason. For example, though she wouldn't tell Link; she was still not entirely trusting of Avery. Some of his stories (such as the encounter with Dark Link) seemed a little too…convenient. His hatred of the Moblins had been personal; much more than one would get just for having had a tough time fighting them before. There was some story he wasn't willing to tell. She could easily see that he was keeping secrets from them, though she couldn't guess at what those secrets were. However, he had never shown signs of wanting to do anything detrimental to Link or other important people and he had been willing to lay his life on the line for others, so she figured it was all right to treat him as a friend, at least for now. But that didn't mean she would lower her guard around him. Link would say she was being paranoid and probably get offended, but that was just how Link was.

She sighed. Tomorrow's going to be a long day, she acknowledged. I just know we're going to run into all kinds of problems. With thirty Sheikah, it'll be no surprise if something horrible happens to some of them; Link will blame himself if and when it does. He's very unreasonable like that. But it is comforting to know that we'll have our own little army for when we climb the mountain. She closed her eyes. I just hope nothing happens to Avery or Alexis, or Link will be beside himself. Heck, I'll be upset too.

She let her thoughts gradually fade as she, too, dropped off to sleep.

*
Location: Death Mountain Exterior
Time: Late Morning of the final (91) day of Summer (KAHII35)

Link wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his right hand, the bodily liquid splashing off onto the rocks as his glove removed it from his skin. The team had already been climbing the mountain for four hours; they had started not long after sunrise. He felt really sorry for the Sheikah and for Alexis, who wore those thick suits. He felt sorry for the Knights in their armor. Actually, he felt sorry for just about everyone – he, Avery, and obviously Aurora were the best off. The fact that it was the last day of summer didn't mean that it wasn't a true scorcher, and the mountain itself seemed to be radiating intense heat; even those who didn't normally had to wear gloves.

"You okay?" the friendly, relaxed voice of one of the younger Sheikah said from beside him. He turned his face sideways to look at the Sheikan youth as he continued to climb. Dressed in the traditional Sheikan garb (like all the Sheikah with him), a boy his or Avery's age looked at him in casual concern with crimson eyes. He wasn't wearing a head-wrap portion or any mask or scarf to cover his face, which gave Link a full view of his facial expression under his dirty-blond hair. Link fought unsuccessfully against his natural reaction – his instinctual decision that he liked this boy, whatever his eye color.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded, grinning despite the discomfort of the situation. The Sheikah returned his grin with a wide half-smile. Link hadn't even thought it was possible to have a wide smile that covered only half your face.

"Good to hear," the boy answered back. "Can't have our Hero bumming out on us, now can we?" he joked. "Name's Sheik, by the way. Traditional name, comes from the great Impa's first pupil's name."

"Link," the Ordon boy replied. "Apparently fate makes all the Heroes be named that. I'd shake your hand, but I'm kind of busy."

"Hey, what do you know, me too!" Sheik exclaimed. "Funny coincidence, that. Guess it'll have to wait till later. Say, what's the name of your companion?"

Aurora blinked in surprise.

"I had no idea you could see me," she said honestly. "You're really good at hiding it. I'm Aurora, the Sword of Souls. Powerful sword of legendary powers and so forth. Link's my wielder and such. Only people with exceptionally strong souls can perceive me when I'm like this, which makes you one of 'em." She nodded her head.

"Well, it's an honor, milady Aurora," Sheik replied graciously. "Were I able, I would kiss your hand. It truly is such a shame that I cannot, for a beauty such as yourself only comes along but rarely." He nodded his own head as well, his face all politeness.

"Well, aren't you a flatterer," Aurora said with a grin. "Bet it wins you points with the ladies."

"Well, when I speak the truth, and it matches what a pretty girl wishes to hear, I cannot be blamed if she is happy," Sheik said. Link laughed.

"So you're a ladies' man, huh? You should be interesting to get to know," Link informed him. "You should try out your charms on Alex, the girl wearing the black suit that looks kinda like a Sheikah suit. Her full name's Alexis, actually, but she's fine with Alex or Lexi."

"Oh, absolutely," Sheik agreed. "I can't let a pretty young girl go without a compliment. I'll wait till we reach Twin Spires and regroup, though, I don't want to lose my footing trying to clamber around on the side of the mountain."

"Sheik, you blockhead!" a female voice called from further down the mountain. "Can't you keep your mouth shut for once? Think of the embarrassment you're putting Kiara through."

"That's Gina. She's a friend of mine our age," Sheik informed Link. "And Kiara is my sister. Kiara disguises herself when she goes on missions. It's a different disguise each time. Sometimes she even disguises herself as a different Sheikah. Just recently, she pretended to be a guy. You know her – she's the one who escorted you here from Castle City."

"That was a woman?" Aurora exclaimed. She shook her head. "Well, she's good at disguise, I guess. Although that constant two-word whisper thing was very annoying," she added with a scowl.

"What's Gina talking about?" Link queried. "Why would you talking be an embarrassment?"

"Oh, that's because Sheikah are supposed to be all quiet and mission-oriented and stuff like that," Sheik answered dismissively. "But I've never really held to that much. I can keep my mouth shut on the topics that it needs to be. Why lose the art of conversation?"

*
It was just after one in the afternoon when they reached the Twin Spires, a large rock formation jutting out of the mountain. The mountain path was finally visible again – they had been crawling on the surface for much of the climb because the volcanic activity and rockslides combined had obliterated much of the previous path. Here, though, the smooth path was once again present – and it was from this point onward that they would need to be careful of eruptions and monsters. Once all of the party had reached the regrouping point and a headcount had been made to make sure everyone was present, they stopped for a brief but necessary lunch.

Link sat with Avery, Alexis, Sheik, and Gina. The female Sheikah was a redhead with fiery red eyes who also left her head and face completely uncovered.

"Oh beauteous one," Sheik began, taking hold of Alexis's hand, much to her surprise. "It has been long since I have seen such a raven-haired beauty. Such fair skin and dark hair make an irresistible combination. And your rich green eyes could capture any lost soul in their depths." He raised her hand up to his lips. "Might I have the pleasure of your name?"

When he let go of her hand, she stared at it, then back up at him. She was speechless for several seconds. :Link hid his grin by feeding his face, and Avery smirked. Gina, however, smacked him in the back of the head.

"You blockhead! What if she actually takes you seriously? You want to be held responsible for that?"

Sheik adopted a hurt expression, rubbing where his friend had hit him. "You wound me, oh flame-haired beauty. I spoke no lies. Is it my fault that I'm just that charming?"

At this, Aurora could help herself no longer and roared with laughter. Sheik turned to her, his big half-smile on his face. "Yes, quite. It's truly humorous that anyone would blame me," he said. Gina frowned at him.

"I hope you're talking to the sword, not to thin air," she said. She couldn't see or hear Aurora, but the Sheikah had been told about the Sword of Souls.

"Most assuredly, fire-eyed gorgeous one," Sheik answered, earning himself another smack, which he took graciously across the face, not even attempting to dodge.

"Um…hello to you, too, I guess?" Alex said. He grinned at her. She grinned back. "And Mr. Charming, don't you know it's rude to ask for someone else's name before giving your own?" This time, Gina laughed. Sheik looked horrified at himself.

"My sincerest apologies," he said. "My moniker is Sheik, after the first disciple of Impa, the Sage of Shadow." He winked at her. "Can you tell me your name now?"

She laughed. Link had heard her laugh a few times before, but it never ceased to amaze him. He thought that his sister's laugh was beautiful, and that Aurora's uproarious laugh had a pretty quality to it as well; but Alex's laugh was different. It was less bell-like than Alice's and less hearty than Aurora's. It was like a giggle, but richer, fuller. It didn't give the impression of airheaded-ness that the giggles of other girls he had heard, but it did seem more childlike than the laughs of the other two. It made him think about how horrible it must have been for a ten-year-old girl to be ripped from her happy family by murder and then soaked in the blood of others as she was trained as an assassin. She had so many years of her life that she had missed, and it was time for her to catch up on them. Her laugh brought a genuine smile to his face. He loved her laugh.

"I'm Alexis, or Alex, or Lexi. Call me whichever one you want," she told the Sheikah with a smile.

"Then I shall call you my Lady Alexis," he proclaimed, picking up his sandwich and taking a bite. "Mm, this stuff is good."

"Unbelievable," Avery remarked, biting into his apple. "I thought I had the Sheikah figured out, but you are so different that I don't know what to make of you." He raised a hand. "Avery, by the way," he told the two Sheikah in his characteristic accent.

"And of course, I'm Link," the green-clad boy noted, continuing to munch on his sandwich.

"Gina," the red-haired girl supplied. "This idiot's friend," she added, pointing at Sheik with her thumb.

The small group continued to chat while they consumed their meals. In the course of the conversation, the Sheikah learned Avery's mercenary occupation and foreign origin, Alexis's history and former occupation (this subject was brought up because of her garb, which except for design and color was pretty much the same as the Sheikah's, right down to not having any head or face coverings, as she had not replaced the veil), Aurora's personality, and Link's background. The companions, on the other hand, learned that Sheik was an important person who had some Sage powers and that Gina was a less important person who also had some Sage powers. The two refused to elaborate on this, saying that it was Sheikah business and therefore secret. Link could be told, as he had passed the Trial of Truth, but since others were present they weren't allowed to tell.

Sheik was an interesting individual. He was well educated and very articulate. Unlike many Sheikah, he was quite the conversationalist, and he had a light-hearted sense of humor. From what Link could gather, he was not so much a ladies' man as a wannabe ladies' man; he was a flatterer and could be very suave when he wanted to, but that didn't mean he had women swooning over him. He was, like Avery, eighteen years old, but he claimed (and Gina didn't argue) that he was more skilled than many of his elders. He used a combination of Sage powers (a type of magic based around shadows), hand-to-hand combat, knives, daggers, throwing stars, and various other weapons. His weapons, he said, were hidden within his uniform or within his shadow itself.

Gina, also an eighteen-year-old, had similar training to her friend. She often hit him for being stupid or ridiculous. She was also well educated, which seemed to be common for Sheikah, and she pretended to be more traditional than Sheik. In reality, she was very similar in her love of conversation and humor. Link got the distinct impression that the two were not only friends, but best friends. He liked her as well, almost as much as he liked Sheik.

Finally, the miniature army got up and started again. The one leading them, a Sheikah man called Dulle, warned them to be on the lookout for any signs of monsters and to be wary of any earthquakes, since they heralded eruptions and could set off rockslides. The small company that had eaten lunch together traveled as a unit, sticking close as the entire group moved up the sloped path.

A strange-sounding cry brought the attention of the people to a crag jutting out several hundred feet ahead about thirty minutes later. Atop the rock, an unarmored Lizalfos had raised its sword and sounded an alert in its language. It went down with an arrow through its throat, courtesy of the excellent archer Aaron, a few seconds later, but by then it was too late. The mountain appeared to come alive with creatures that seemed to come from nowhere, popping up from cracks and unseen ledges.

Twenty some Lizalfos wearing varying amounts of armor and carrying either swords or axes made up the intelligent portion of the enemy troops. At least two-score red Tektites, which looked like man-sized hexagonal armored jumping spiders with only four legs and a single giant eye, hopped into view. The ground beneath everyone began to shake and they heard an ominous rumble.

Drawing his swords, Link remarked, "This won't be pretty."

"Well," Sheik replied, reaching down toward his shadow and lifting out a spiked chain some eight feet long, "that depends on whether you think blood is pretty."

"Since when do bugs have pretty blood?" Avery asked wryly.

"What is wrong with you? Get ready to fight!" Gina yelled at them as the enemy thundered down toward the group of 39 people (including Aurora).

"Actually," Alexis said softly, "this should be over fairly quickly. They outnumber us by less than two to one."

It was, however, not the make-up of the enemy force that proved problematic – it was the terrain. Both Lizalfos and Tektites had no difficulty running all over the rough mountainside, but the Sheikah, Hylians, and human could only easily fight on the path. This allowed the creatures to surround the Hyrulian forces and attack from all sides. However much this put the fighters at a disadvantage, there was no denying the complete superiority of the non-monsters. The Tektites simply jumped at their targets, allowing for attacking them while they moved. The resilient bugs needed multiple fighters to take them down unless they were struck in the eye and blinded, rendering them easier to handle. Their thick carapace posed a problem for the Knights and Avery as well as about a half-dozen of the Sheikah, but Alexis's violet edge, Aurora's crackling blade, and anything imbued with Shadow powers (which Link found up made up the weapons of about two dozen of the Sheikah) cut through it with ease.

The Lizalfos were a slightly bigger problem. They were certainly more intelligent than Bulblins or Bokoblins, and their skills were not terribly shabby. Unfortunately for them, they were facing professionals who had devoted their lives to fighting. When the battle was over, every foe lay slain and nobody on Link's side had died, though there were four Sheikah who probably wouldn't be able to fight very well at least until they received medical attention and recuperated. Aaron also had a nasty gash on his right arm, rendering him unable to draw his bow.

The wounded were bandaged, and then the group was on its way again. As time went by, they came to understand just how infested the mountain was. The higher up they climbed, the more enemies that they encountered. Within two hours, it had become commonplace to see at least a half-dozen monsters within two hundred feet at any given time. This was in addition to the random caves of Dodongos that steadily crawled out across the path, breathing fire at the travelers, and the additional parties of Lizalfos or Tektites. By five o'clock, the volcano had finally erupted, spewing ash into the air and sending little streams of lava down the mountain in random directions. Volcanic globs of cooling lava rock blasted and landed on the mountainside, every so often striking the path and forcing a detour.

It was nearly seven when there was a horrible clattering rumble and they saw the rockslide. It was headed straight for them.

"Acolytes!" Dulle shouted. "Form perimeter! Shadow wall, deflection! Don't let the rocks hit the group!"

"Get in the middle of the group!" Sheik yelled at his companions over the rumble. "Where the Knights and the injured are! Gina and I will stay here at the edge with the other Sheikah!"

Avery, Alexis, and Link obeyed without question. As the cascade of boulders approached, all the uninjured Sheikah around the edges of the group stepped into identical stances. They weaved their arms in a short, intricate motion, then held them up above their heads as though they were holding something back. Their shadows, and the shadows of any nearby people of ledges, merged and stretched up from the ground, forming a wall that arched over the group like an angled dome. It didn't block the sight of the people inside, merely dimming their perception; it was translucent. The rock avalanche struck the shield and thundered around and over it, causing many of the Sheikah to exhibit signs of straining.

Aurora watched from beside Sheik, her eyes narrowed. This many people with Sage powers…something was fishy about the Sheikah. But that wasn't the important thing. No, the important thing is what she thought she might have caught a glimpse of though the gaps in the rocks as they tumbled past – a black figure far in the distance moving away from where the rockslide had come from. She wasn't going to mention it to the others, but she had a suspicion that the figure was two things – one, the cause of the disaster, and two, Dark Link.

Once the boulders and other stones had finally passed them by, the Sheikan blockers released the shadowy wall to fall back into its original form and fell to their knees. Only five of the Sheikah remained standing. One, Aurora noted, was Sheik. Unlike the others near him, he was showing only mild signs of weariness; he apparently had greater magical stamina than they did. Another was the leader of the group, Dulle, who also seemed nearly unfazed by the exercise. A light-brown-haired female Sheikah standing near Dulle, whom she thought she had heard Dulle call Sazra, stood as well. The remaining two standing Sheikah wore headscarves, so it was impossible for the sword spirit to tell anything about them from where she stood.

"You all right, Gina?" Sheik asked in a slightly concerned tone, glancing down at his kneeling and heavily-breathing friend. She turned her head to glare at him.

"My apologies, oh stunning one," he said with a grin, relieved that she was fine.

"Let's get moving again! Wounded, exhausted, move toward the center of the group!" Dulle called out. "Those still strong, stay around the outside! Sheik, Hero, Mercenary – to the front!"

In the shuffle to make the new formation, Aurora moved back to Link. When her partner, Avery, and Sheik had gotten up to the front near Dulle and Sazra, the latter said, "Listen up, Hero of Blades. We're most of the way there; barring any unusual circumstances or detours, we should reach the entrance to Goron City in three hours. It will be nearly impossible for you and your non-Sheikan companions to see by then, so you'll have to rely on us. Until it becomes too dark for visibility, try to remain at the front or wherever the highest concentration of enemies happens to be. We've been extremely lucky; there have been no casualties. But our fighting force is at less than half strength right now – eleven Acolytes and all the non-Acolytes are out of commission for reasons of injury or exhaustion, as well as three of the Knights. We cannot let our guard down; our strongest fighters have to be in the thick of things."

Link nodded. "Understood."

"Acknowledged," Avery replied.

Dulle looked over at Sheik. "Keep your mind focused," he advised. "Don't get distracted. You'll be the Hero's eyes in the coming dark. If you allow the Hero to fall, you'll be answering to Impa; you understand?"

Sheik nodded, his face grim, recognizing the threat of the death penalty. "Yes sir."

Wordlessly, the group continued their ascent of the ancient mountain. All previous friendly energy seemed to have vanished. The sky began to grow darker, and when they were still approximately a half-hour away from their destination Link finally acknowledged that he couldn't see well enough to do more than put one foot in front of the other.

"Don't worry about it," Sheik assured him, his red eyes glowing with little rings of purple around his irises. "I've got you covered. With Sage magic, I can see in the dark even better than Sheikah naturally can. We won't get blind-sided."

"And your glowing sword should help us to be able to fight, should it become necessary," Avery added.

"Name," Aurora said shortly. "I have one."

Sheik suppressed a snicker. "Does he always treat you with such disrespect, oh beauteous one?" he asked her.

"Yes," she replied, sticking her tongue out in Avery's general direction.

"Well –" Avery began, but he was cut off by a massive shaking roar that rocked the landscaped beneath them so hard that the Knights and several of the more injured Sheikah lost their footing. Link and Avery just barely managed to steady themselves, and Aurora, blessed with incorporeality, was unaffected. The night sky lit up brightly as a huge jet of lava several thousand feet across blasted straight up from the peak of Death Mountain. As the red-hot molten mess separated in the air and came raining down in all directions like a burning fountain, Link decided that Death Mountain was not, in fact, one of the places that had been inappropriately named. It truly lived up to its nickname – the Mountain of Fire.

"Oh Din," breathed Avery in a mixture of awe and horror, his eyes wide.

"Holy daeisrin…" Sheik whispered.

Link just gazed openmouthed.

"What in the name of the goddesses is that?" Aurora cried.

Around them, the rest of the miniature army was expressing their own shock, disbelief, and/or despair with gasps, groans, moans, and all manner of exclamations. They were far too close. It was a certainty that they would be struck by falling lava. And not only them. This eruption would run down the mountainside all the way to Kakariko. This was disaster.

"The Mountain of Fire shall be our burial place," Dulle said bitterly. "No one save the goddesses can stop that."

The group stood still and watched as the Sheikah was proved wrong in an amazing display. A tiny figure suddenly appeared in the air near the spreading and descending lava – at least, tiny from the perspectives of the viewers; the person was far enough away that he appeared nearly as small as a gnat. A strong voice that cut through the roar in a glorious echo proclaimed, "Nayru's Grand Barrier!"

The figure threw out its arms, and a shimmering translucent blue diamond-shaped barrier miles wide appeared surrounding the lava. The liquid rock struck it as the molten substance fell, running down the inside of the shield and back into the mountain through the very same hole it had come out of. The barrier lasted for precisely as long as the eruption, which was a short but solid five minutes. Once the shimmer of the barrier and glow of the rock disappeared, the world was once more plunged into darkness, leaving the company uncertain of the fate of the one who had cast the powerful spell. There was a stunned silence.

"Who…who was that?" Link asked aloud, voicing the thoughts of them all.

END CHAPTER NINETEEN

COMING NEXT IN CHAPTER TWENTY: RUBY OF THE INFERNO

When Link and company reach Goron City at last, they find that the true task still ahead of them is one that the extended entourage of the Shadow Folk cannot help the Hero to accomplish. But one more member wishes to join with the Hero's band, and his presence may turn the tide and save them all.