Nagori, Saimon and Senkyoku - A Wind Waker Tale

Just a few more straggler's to check up on...and something to note: Japser when he's in avian form - is a female...dont ask why - I don't know - he never explained it to me...crazy seagull. Sometimes it's best not to ask too many relevant questions...

And my thanks to Madiboo - Aryll/Kotori ended up with a much larger part in this as a direct result of those damn seagulls...oh my



Chapter 33:
The Tower of the Gods

The shadow tried to move one of his legs and it shifted slightly. Hito ground his teeth and thought; Well at least I can move it. He'd been careless and now found himself trapped by the Great Deku Tree on the island known as the Forest Haven. Unable to use his magic or even change form, Hito was forced to remain as he was, upside down. This did not come without out a price to the Tree and though the Forest Guardian was powerful, Hito knew it was only a matter of time before he escaped. Already most of the roots that touched him started to wither and become more brittle.

It was a stalemate and while the Tree could not afford to stay in direct contact with him for too long; Hito could not waste any more of his dwindling time with revenge, there would always be time for that later. Still, the Guardian Tree did slow him down and from the number of roots that still held him in place, obviously, that was the idea. He sighed and attempted to move his arm with no success.

Bored, Hito's thoughts turned back to his wayward Princess, what was she up to? She'd certainly left the island by now and must already know time was growing short. He bent his leg a little more, and felt a crack in one of the roots. His irritation with the limitations of this human form grew as he looked out over the water. It was then he noticed that the hero's boat was gone. Now, that held possibilities. It was small but unique and seemed to trail after the boy. What an interesting side effect of the magic used by Nohansen; it was as if the boat itself actually bonded to the hero. There was also the slim chance he could use that to help him locate the Princess. This assumed the Princess managed to drag that idiot boy along with her into the loop itself. This was probably the case; as he knew he'd already made the mistake of underestimating her. Worse still, if she did manage it he may have added to her strength.

It grated on him that she'd managed to avoid him and now he was three full cycles shorter on time. More worrisome to him though was the possibility the Princess had realized her anger for the boy was being nudged along by his unbinding spell. It wasn't completely unexpected, but it would be a whole lot easier to deal with her without the boy's interference. There must be another connection between them he simply didn't count on, but with all of the arguing he'd seen the pair doing he couldn't imagine what that would be. Hito wanted to laugh but that only aggravated his already pounding headache. He did however sneeze when a fly landed on his nose.

Hito consoled himself with the thought that even if they did manage to wreck all his minor magic, it didn't matter. Mei and Kei were together and his daemon was sure to be his ace in the hole. Now that the pair were grown, the daemon was surely be strong enough to defeat the hero.

The still missing tekuragari gave the shadow pause; where were they? He reached out to them, but neither responded to his call and he didn't feel them either, it was as if they no longer existed. Hito pulled at the roots that still held his hands, nothing there, so Hito twisted his body slightly, and heard another snap. The tightness around his chest lessened, and he took a deeper breath and he growled. This was going to take far too long.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Makar paused in his upward journey. This was taking far longer than he expected. Still, the voice urged him ever upward, so up he went, until, THUMP. He finally hit the top. Pausing on a nearby rock shelf, Makar turned to see that hidden behind a large gray boulder was the way out. The Wind Sage squinted as his eyes adjusted to the brightness outside the crevice. He heard the screeches of several angry kargaroks that were nesting in the arches nearby. Makar leaned out as far as he dared and took in the full height of the Tower. Something told him he needed to reach the top, and soon, but with those birds out there he'd have to wait.

"Greetings Wind Sage."

Makar heard a tiny voice say just near his feet and jumped back a bit. It was the voice again, but he was too curious to be frightened and asked, "Can you show yourself now?"

"Yes Wind Sage, you have done very well. But we must wait for the Earth Sage to arrive."

"She is coming here? Ooooo," Makar said with delight as he looked at the tiny form in front of him. "You are one of the Fairy Queen's children."

"Yes, my name is Nagori and I am glad you made it here safely."

"Did you send the crabs to my Temple?"

"No, I believe they helped you because you are a good and wise sage. You have learned the Song of Reminiscence very well. I heard you as you played it earlier."

"It is a good song. Can you tell me why I've never heard it before?"

"It is lost magic. But like most lost things they are found again eventually."

"The Great Deku Tree says that too, I lose a lot of things," Makar said by way of explanation. "Tell me fairy child, was it you I heard singing during our New Year celebration."

"Yes, I was outside of this Tower, waiting for a friend," the little fairy said as she looked up. "We will need to reach the top."

"I thought we might," Makar replied and looked back out of the crevice. While he watched he noticed the walls of the structure didn't appear as solid and realized he could see through them for a moment. How very, very odd... Makar thought. He shrugged and returned his attention back to the fairy and asked, "Why do you not have wings like your sisters?"

"I am too young," Nagori said, "But I hope to have them someday."

Makar watched the water outside the crevice for awhile and decided on a plan. If they were to attempt to reach the top at sundown, the birds outside would most likely be sleeping. Makar looked at his bow and the ornaments that hung there. With a sigh, the Wind Sage began to remove them. Soon all but one lay on the ground in front of him. Nagori watched as he wrapped them with great care in a small cloth he carried. After securing the package beneath his leaf, Makar removed the last and took a small sip of its contents.

"Why do you keep that one?" Nagori asked.

"It holds a bit of the Great Deku Tree's magic inside. I have used up most of it getting here, see?" he said and opened the little nut while the fairy looked inside. Nagori clapped all four of her hands together and giggled as the water it contained sparkled in the dim sunlight. Makar closed the nut and secured it to the bow again, "I do not believe I will be able to make it all the way to the top without it. I hope I will find a place to land."

"Then let us hope we shall not need it."

"I have a new song I've been practicing, it is very like the Winds Requiem and will let me make the winds blow harder if need be. I call it ‘The Ode to the Winds'."

"That sounds promising Wind Sage, the southwest side has been the windiest."

"Thank you, that is very helpful to know. It will be getting dark soon and we will leave then."

"Without the Earth Sage?"

"I am hopeful she will arrive in time, but something may slow her down and I do not know if we will get another chance. I am hoping the moon will stay hidden behind the clouds."

Nagori turned and looked up at the sky, with the barest of nods she said, "Yes Wind Sage, you are correct, then let us pray to the goddesses for a uneventful flight."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Medli struggled to fly faster as she attempted to outrun the pair of din forsaken kargaroks still behind her. She'd flown too close to Five-Eye Reef and those damned birds flew out after her and trailed her ever since. Medli wanted to rest but she still did not find a likely place to land without leaving herself exposed.

Ahead in the distance and only just visible through the thickening fog, she caught a glimpse of Southern Triangle Island. Not a lot of places to hide on the tiny island, but perhaps the fog by itself would be enough. Medli descended and dipped into the haze that covered the surface of the water and tried to hold a straight line toward the tiny island. This tactic appeared to work as the screeching of the kargaroks became more distant, but she knew she'd have to come up if only to keep herself from running head on into the shore.

She pulled out of the fog and cried out as she almost ran smack into a seahat. She veered right and the bell shaped sea monster took off after her, spinning its tentacle like arms over its head, propelling itself after her at top speed. Her cry of surprise attracted the attention of the kargaroks that still circled overhead and Medli cursed as she veered off to the left. She dove back into the fog but came up short again as she found herself faced with another seahat.

Both sea monsters now moved toward her with alarming speed as the birds above dove toward her. Medli spun wildly for a moment, righted herself, and got a bead on the island. She spotted the glowing statue of the Goddess Nayru and headed for it as she still tried to angle her flight to avoid the oncoming seahats. Others attracted by the commotion barreled toward her throwing up so much water in their passing they nearly knocked her into the sea.

Fright lent her strength and Medli flew even faster as she struggled to stay aloft. She heard a kargarok scream in frustration as it slammed into a seahat she barely managed to avoid. Those damned things are everywhere, she thought, and strained harder to reach the island that was now only a few hundred yards away. As she slanted her decent, she realized she was moving much too fast to land properly. She only just cleared the first steppe as she shot past the statue and hoped her momentum didn't carry her past the last one.

In desperation Medli retracted her wings and rolled her self up to try to protect herself for she was very sure this was going to hurt, a lot. She struck the ground hard and only managed to sustain the curled position for the first few feet, as the impact knocked the wind out of her. Medli grunted as she skidded over the tall grass and over the first drop. Still it at least slowed her down enough that the collision with the nearby bushes didn't kill her outright. She only wished it did as everything went dark.

When Medli opened her eyes, she lay very still for a few moments and slowly turned herself over. Very slowly, there was not a part of her that didn't feel bruised. Her relief was short lived as she spotted the last of the kargarok above her. It screamed when it spotted her and dove straight toward her. In the moment of time that followed, Medli thought she heard sound of a sword being pulled, but that could only be wishful thinking. She closed her eyes and hoped it would at least be quick. The kargarok shrieked as it dove in for the kill and then...nothing.

After one minute went by and then another, Medli cautiously opened her eyes and realized she was still alive. She squinted into the afternoon sun. The fog started to burn off and the kargarok was gone. Medli turned her head slightly and was startled to see a pure white seagull; it sat quietly nearby and watched her with familiar blue eyes. Medli immediate thought of rito's legendary White Bird and smiled. Full of fanciful tales of hope it was always one of her favorites. She'd told it to Komali countless times when they were both little. The legendary bird in the stories was always around when a rito needed help far from the aerie.

The gull watched her and did not look away until another seagull landed nearby. As the new seagull neared, she recognized him and whispered, "Jake."

The larger gull regarded her with concern then squawked to the smaller white one, who screed in reply. Jake took off again and Medli wondered where he was going. The white gull came closer and sat near her head, she supposed, to keep her company all the while it watched her with those eyes.

Medli knew she'd seen those eyes somewhere before, but where? It didn't matter really as she realized she'd failed. There was no way she'd be able to leave this island in the shape she was in. To take her mind off the pain she asked the bird, "I know you, don't I?"

There was laughter in that one's eyes and Medli's thoughts wandered as she lost all sense of time. She fidgeted a little as she became more agitated with her situation, the white bird crooned to her when it saw her distress.

"I wish I understood the language of gulls, it's one of the few I never mastered."

The bird only watched her and looked away when the other returned. The white bird greeted the other's return with what sounded like playful scolding and together they looked at her. Medli noted some sort of exchange happened and then the pair took off.

"No, wait..." Medli said in a barely audible voice. She sighed; she was alone again trapped on an island too hurt to move. She was ready to let the darkness take her and the pain away when a new voice spoke.

"Earth Sage?"

It was a familiar and welcome as it pulled her back from the darkness.

"Earth Sage? Are you here?"

So this wasn't the end then.

"Here," Medli croaked and raised a hand it was the best she could manage and almost cried for joy when Komali's face appeared and hovered above hers.

"Earth Sage, what happened to you?"

Always so formal.

"A lot and nothing," Medli tried to say but her voice sounded so dry and faint, she wondered if he'd heard her at all. "I have to get to the Tower."

"Not like this," Komali said matter of factly, "Goddesses, are you alright?"

"I've had better days; can you help me sit up?"

He did, but winced with her as she groaned with each movement. He frowned and reached into his delivery bag and pulled out a vial filled with a glowing blue liquid.

"Drink this," he said as he removed the cap, "you look like you need it."

"Look that good, do I?" Medli asked and recognized the blue Chu jelly potion before she swallowed it down. It left a tingly, bitter after taste in her mouth but she sighed as the pain from all her bruises, cuts, and scrapes melted away. With her head feeling a little clearer, she thought again of that white seagull. Those eyes were so familiar; she'd seen them before and it bothered her that she didn't remember from where. It would be wonderful if the legendary bird had returned, but that was just a fairy tale. Or was it?

"Komali? How did you find me, it's not like you knew I was in the area."

"It was Jake who brought me here," he said as he replaced the vial in his bag, "bizarre thing too."

"Why?" she asked as she leaned back.

"That seagull turned into a boy." When Medli raised an eyebrow he added, "A very dangerous looking boy too. Those swords he carries were not playthings and once I got over the shock of seeing him change form, he spoke with a very strange accent, like jumbled up Hylian. All I got from it was; 'Earth Sage', 'hurt' and 'follow', so I did."

She smiled, "Got myself in quite a mess, where were you when Jake found you?"

"Bomb Island."

"Want to know what's weirder? Jasper did the same thing on Outset."

"Turned into a boy?"

Medli nodded.

"I thought Jasper was a female."

"She is, or was, I told you it was weird. Anyway, that boy kept me from getting turned into and icicle. I went to the fairy fountain on Outset to speak with the Great Fairy and found out the Fairy Queen and all the Great Fairies are trapped in some sort of frozen prison. I don't know if that will affect the health fairies floating around though."

"Then Tetra's letter was right, the Guardians have been called back. I wonder who is responsible for that," Komali said as he looked out over the water. "As you asked I showed the letter to my Father but parts of it were fading. He read it and for the first time in my life, he didn't ask me a thousand and one questions, just said 'Go see Valoo'."

"And how did that go?"

"Valoo and I still have a bit of a language gap."

"Quill helped you?"

He gave her sidelong glance. "Yes," he laughed a little and said, "I never could fool you, and I'm planning to tell my father that Quill is far better suited to the post of Chieftain. I think he knows in his heart I do not want it and truthfully, I'm not sure I'll ever be ready for that kind of responsibility. It will not matter though, because in the end it is Valoo who will have the final say."

"Your father has high hopes for you, and don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself? It's not like the position will be open anytime soon. You should know that Quill already told me he has no interest in the post. In fact, Komali, he's received an offer to do some traveling when he retires. If you're hoping Valoo will let you off the hook, you have so not been paying attention."

"I still think for the good of the tribe, I should defer to him when the time comes, Earth Sage."

Medli fought the urge to smack some sense into him and said instead, "Did you forget our conversation on Headstone?"

"What conversation?"

"About calling me Earth Sage all the time, my name, its Medli."

"Sorry, but you are the Earth Sage."

"No wonder Tetra get ticked off when they call her Princess," Medli muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Never mind, just use my name occasionally, okay?"

Komali nodded and Medli stretched out her arm with the wing extended to look for damage to her flight feathers. She changed to subject and said, "Well, for what its worth there are times when the Guardians will act without being called. From the way I understand it, they are only supposed to act if things get out of hand." Medli frowned. "And boy, have they ever. Sort of a stopgap against evil, but there should be four. I wonder where the other two are."

"Perhaps they have not heard the call."

"I wonder if that white gull I saw before you came is the third, she was traveling with Jake." Medli paused still trying to place those eyes. "There should be one more."

"You think this white gull is the legendary one?"

"Hmm? I don't know, her eyes were not like a normal gull's, just the way she looked at me, she knew me."

Komali wore a skeptical look but did not challenge the statement as he helped her to her feet. "Why did you leave the temple?"

"LaRuto came to me and warned me of the shadow's approach and I barely made it out in time. I only pray Makar is safe, Jasper said he'd need my help soon."

"At the Wind Temple? That's quite a trip from Outset."

"No, Jasper said to go to the Tower, Makar has to be on his way there somehow." Medli turned and looked at the statue, Nayru's Pearl was still missing. "And one of the pearls still hasn't been placed. LaRuto seemed to think the Tower would be there when I arrived and Jasper alluded to the same. The Deku Tree and Valoo have already made sure Din's and Farore's Pearls are in place. Perhaps that's where they went..." Medli said to herself. "To find Jabun."

"They?"

"Link and Tetra," Medli said and realized she was confusing him so she continued, "When I left my Temple, I wanted to talk to Link to see if he'd come up with any clues as to what was going on. That's how I ended up on Outset. I thought he might go there but when I arrived he was tied to a tree and his house was on fire."

"What?" Komali gasped.

"The fire burned so hot that it left nothing but ashes behind, whomever or whatever started that fire didn't want survivors, but that's not even the scary part. Once Link freed himself, he talked to Jake for minute or two and then the bird left for somewhere and that's when the shadow showed itself and attacked him." Medli shuddered. "Probably the weirdest part of it all was that the creature looked exactly like Link, or real damn similar. That fight went on for what seemed like forever. Honestly Komali I have no idea how he survived that battle and I have never seen anyone move that fast."

"He does handle that sword of his very well." Komali said.

"You know, now that you mention it, I don't think Link was using a sword. It looked more like a staff, but it didn't seem like he was attacking at all. I think that's why it went on for so long. Whatever that shadow is, Link either wasn't trying to destroy it or he simply didn't know how to. I don't think he used any magic because parts of the staff glowed as he fought, but there was never any hint that magic being used."

"And you're thinking that if Link was unwilling to use magic against it than we'd better not try to either."

"That coupled with the fact that LaRuto said something similar. I also thought I saw an arrow being fired..." Medli stopped as something occurred to her that didn't before. "Actually the last time I saw Tetra, she was coming down from the watchtower after Link managed to push the shadow off the island. That's when they left Outset, I have no idea where they are now though."

"How does Tetra fit into all this? How did she get to Outset if we only just left her at the Forest Haven?" Komali asked.

"I'm not sure. It might have something to do with the time loop she wrote about but that still wouldn't explain how she made it to Outset." Medli knew the answer was right there under her beak.

"Well don't forget, pirate or not, she's still the Crown Princess of Hyrule," Komali said, "There's no telling the amount of magic she can handle."

"Of course, I can't believe I didn't see it before." Medli laughed to herself she walked around to get the few remaining kinks out of her system. "Talk about not seeing the obvious. Komali, she must be a Sage too. Link's always said she was more than just the pirate she showed to everyone else and somewhere between the Forest Haven and Outset, she's become far stronger than just being a princess of Hyrule would explain. When I saw Link three weeks ago, he was very worried because he still wasn't able to find out anything and he'd gone from one end of the Great Sea to the other. Most people aren't aware of this but aside from being the Princess; she is also the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom. That surely had something to do with it. I mean it is a Triforce piece after all."

"Boy, and I thought being Chieftain would be a pain. But if Tetra is a Sage, which one?"

His tone made her think of the first time he found out she was the Earth Sage, like she'd gained some unworldly knowledge of future events.

"I don't know, and it really just a guess. Throughout most of Hyrule's history, there were seven sages to keep the land and people safe, but since the flood, there's only been me and Makar and if the shadow wants to set Ganon free, he'll need a sacrifice and the Hero's blood, to sprinkle on the stone..."

"So if that's why the shadow chasing her he must want more from her than conversation?" Medli nodded. "But Ganondorf is at the bottom of the Ocean."


Medli frowned and looked in the direction of the Tower again. "I'm not so sure about anything anymore. We picked them up near the Tower right?"

Komali nodded as he came to the same conclusion. "Best get a move on then. Makar may already be there and if Jasper is a Guardian and says you need to assist the Wind Sage, then assist him you will."

"You're coming too?"

"I may be able to squirm out of being Chieftain," Komali said while he ignored her sour look, "but if the bearers of wisdom and courage are overwhelmed we are all doomed, I know that much."

Medli nodded and looked back at the statue. "I hope they get that pearl in place soon. Otherwise it's going to be a very wet landing."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the sun sunk slowly toward the sea, the calm waters surrounding Southern Triangle Island began to flow up over the shoreline. A lone seagull landed near the statue and paced in the early evening sun. A large but unseen shape made a great hole in the water and the boy who now stood near the shore accepted the delicate looking blue tinted sphere and bowed. When the unseen form sunk back into the water, the boy stepped back.

Jasper walked to the dimly glowing statue of the Goddess Nayru and placed the blue orb into her hands. The Pearl flashed and knowing what was coming, he hastily jumped from in front of the statue to the steppe below and ducked.

A burst of pure white energy shot from the recently placed object in the direction of Eastern Triangle Island. The Pearl held by the Goddess Farore's statue on that island absorbed the light and shone with an emerald radiance before refracting the beam, which now headed for Northern Triangle Island. There, Din's statue waited with her namesake goddesses' Pearl to receive the shaft of light. Its crimson glow enveloped the area while bending the light, once again, back toward her blue sister's Pearl. The connections now complete caused the sea water within its boundaries to glow.

The boy looked up from his spot on the ground, though he was too far to see the Tower, there was a rumble in the distance that told him it was there. He looked back at the now brightly glowing statue of the Goddess Nayru and glanced up at the moon in the slowly darkening sky. So many things were happening, too quickly and Jasper frowned. Still so much to do and not nearly enough time to do it all, he sighed as he jumped into the air and Jasper made her way Southwest toward Outset.

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