Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and the Hero of Time ❯ Introductions and Explanations ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4-Introductions and Explanations

Three ghosts hovered in the middle of the entrance hall, obviously expecting company. One was the ghost of Dampé, the onetime gravedigger from Kakariko Village or Ikana-nobody knew which. The other two were equally difficult to identify-one in green Poe rags and his brother in red. The green one had the moon on his gray hat and the red one bore the mark of the sun.

"Oh, brother," Link sighed. "What are you three doing here, of all places?"

"We are trying to earn a place in the afterlife," said Flat the Younger, the green ghost. "Alzeroth and William, the owners of this palace, needed a little help, and we volunteered. If we are needed, we will serve, that is our job. Follow us, please, and we will take you to the Chamber of Meetings."

Dampé lead the way up the grand staircase to the second story of the tower. A vast door at the first landing stood wide open, in between two staircases on either side-one up to the third floor, the other down to the first. The ghosts escorted the party into the room, where they met with a few familiar faces.

"What are they doing here," said Nabooru, pointing at two witches hovering nearby on their broomsticks. "What in Din's name are they doing here?!"

"I beg your pardon," said Kotake, the witch with the blue jewel. "I have never seen you before, much less frightened you out of your wits."

"Hah! If you never saw me before, then who hypnotized me and used me as a loyal minion for seven years in that timeline?"

"Nabooru," said Link. "I hate to break it to you, but the two witches in this room are not the Twinrova you are familiar with. Koume and Kotake from that pair were evil and malicious, and I killed them at the Spirit Temple. However, I met a good pair of witches with the same names as the Twinrova sisters in Termina. Kotake ran the Magic Hags' Potion Shop in the Southern Swamp and Koume conducted boat cruises."

"The young man is quite correct," said Kotake. "We are the good counterparts of the evil sisters that shared our names. We are the medical staff hired at a good price by William and Alzeroth." Nabooru had fainted, obviously from shock at learning that the two witches were not the same ones that had kidnapped here. Koume checked her pulse carefully and pronounced her fine, just a little overwhelmed. Darunia picked her up and carefully slung her over his broad shoulder.

"Now that that business is finished," said Alzeroth, entering, "there are some things I should tell you. I shall be conjuring illusions in this chamber to explain my story visually before you meet the others. I would suggest you sit down in the chairs on the sides of the chamber, as this may take some time."

Everyone did as was suggested and sat down in the cushioned chairs. Mido was next to Saria if she needed a shoulder to cry on, and Shiro was in between Malon and Romani. Mr. Toto and the Indigo-go's sat near Gorman and Princess Ruto. Nabooru was resting on a couch to the left of the door they had entered.

Alzeroth clapped his hands and the braziers in the room dimmed, leaving a circle of light in the center of the chamber. A ball of blue and green light soon rose from the floor-the illusion of a world.

"This is Elsewhere as it was before this set of circumstances began. This world is a haven for wizards and magical beings of all sorts, be they human in form or fearsome dragons. However, the peace created on this world at its inception could not last forever. Several thousand years after the deity known as The Author wrote Elsewhere into being, a cult of evil known as the Magic-Haters came to this world. The Magic-Haters used a form of science called `space travel' to cross the void between their world and Elsewhere. Elsewhere was unprepared for the attack and our forces were all but destroyed."

"You said `our forces'," Link said. "You mean to tell us that you were there when these Magic-Haters invaded Elsewhere?"

"Quite correct. I am a type of godlike being known as an Eternal. I am not a true deity, however, and do not desire mortal worship. I can alter my physical appearance at whim, so that nobody gets too suspicious. Like the Kokiri, I live for all eternity or until the world I live on is utterly destroyed. I was there when the pentagram-shaped vessel carrying the Magic-Haters landed not five hundred miles from here. I was disguised then, much as I am disguised now, but that is of little consequence at this point.

"In time, we managed to find a way to repulse the Magic-Haters and keep them from coming back. Our finest mages and smithies were contracted to forge a blade of immense power. This blade, marked with the sacred emblem of Elsewhere, the Falcon, could only by held by a warrior brave and true. In other words, it worked just like the Master Sword works, only in the proper hands. We searched the worlds of magic for just such a hero, and we finally found one perfect on a world called Earth.

"This hero, Xavier by name, came to Elsewhere quite willingly. He met with my agents and formed a group of fighters to be reckoned with. One of those agents was an apprentice wizard named Daragon. Daragon was power-hungry and antisocial, but he managed to fit into the ragtag party quite well. He used an artifact called the Rod of Subversion to steal magical power from his enemies and make it his own. Daragon also stole sixteen books of elemental magic, equivalent to the Sage Medallions or the Spiritual Stones in Hyrule.

"When Xavier defeated the Magic-Haters in pitched battle, Daragon revealed his true purpose. He shattered the Falcon Blade into countless impotent fragments and claimed Elsewhere for his own. I tried to stop him myself that day, as this illusion will show…" A pair of figures resolved from the image of Elsewhere. One was a man wearing white robes, obviously Alzeroth, only his eyes were silver. The other figure was Daragon, a wizard in midnight-blue robes bearing a staff that glowed with hideous light.

"You must be stopped," said Alzeroth's image. "Daragon, all you see in the sky is a universe that is your toy. Have you no compassion for the innocents that you are going to torment?"

"Foolish whelp, you are speaking to Daragon, the master of this world. If thou wouldst stop me, then try it."

"I pity you, Daragon, and I will stay here to fight you to the end of the Final Age if I need to."

"You fool, you are just a mortal man, and I am Daragon!" Daragon broke out cackling wickedly, not noticing that Alzeroth had summoned a staff of his own. "So, you would have a duel of wizards, then! Destroying you is all I need to do before every wizard in existence bows before me as Lord and Master!"

"Vondosot dosat othon monot," chanted Alzeroth in a singsong tone. "Rothan defin derinol vondorium Darakonos." The rod in his hand began glowing bright white and hit Daragon with a bolt of holy lightning. Daragon shrugged it off, unharmed, and shattered the rod into fifteen glittering pieces. Alzeroth kept hold of the largest piece while the others flew off into the sky. The figures vanished to be replaced by the image of Elsewhere once again.

"When Daragon broke the Staff of Holiness, a pervasive evil began to spread over Elsewhere," Alzeroth said as the image of Elsewhere began to darken. "The people suffered under mental and physical torment that defies description. The towers of the kingdoms were cast down and the stones turned into impotent dust. Daragon killed all who resisted and then resurrected the dead as zombies and similar undead. It was around this time that William erected a barrier of the remaining good energy about the few surviving villages of humans and other similar life.

"Daragon tried to penetrate the barrier right after it went up. However, the Rod of Subversion led him to a new world that he could corrupt with his power. Daragon opened a dimensional gate and transfigured himself into a monster form that all would fear. He was at Hyrule, just one minute after Din, Farore, and Nayru left the Triforce there. Daragon took a new name for his new form that would eventually strike fear into all of Hyrule. Daragon's monster form is called…Drakan."

"That's impossible," said Nabooru, getting up and acting shocked. "Drakan was a legend, no more or less than that! You cannot possibly be serious!"

"My dear Sage of Spirit," Alzeroth said with a smirk. "I have never been more serious in all my countless years of life. Five hundred forty-three years ago, Daragon came to Hyrule in the disguise of Drakan. He placed a curse on the newborn Gerudo race that made them all female except for the one male born to them each century, the Dragmire. So, Nabooru, you and all who hate Ganondorf for what he is have a claim on Drakan. Daragon is human in form, but the Rod of Subversion granted him immortality and eternal youth from the power it stole, so he is truly the `mythical' God of Evil.

"One hundred seven years ago by the Hyrulian calendar, the Gerudo attacked everyone. They were eventually brought to an apparent standstill in a battle at what is now Kakariko Village. The other races, once bitter rivals, united under the Hylian flag to defeat them. The Kokiri were unaware of these great battles, but the Great Deku Tree took note of them. The Gerudo King survived to wreak revenge by attacking the Temple of Time and killing the Hylian King. The first Hero of Time avenged his leader by slicing him with the Master Sword until he burned into ash."

"What do you mean, the first Hero of Time," Link asked, shocked. "Only one of my ancestors could possibly have come before me, as my mom died delivering me to Kokiri Forest."

"It was your father," Zelda said. "I was educated in Hylian history as a child, and I remember reading of a battle in the Temple of Time from that period in history. The winner was General Hero Link of the Hylian Army. The royal archivists noted that he was married and had a wife, and a baby son not quite two weeks old. The wife was last seen running toward Kokiri Forest, bleeding from several arrow wounds and cradling her baby in her arms."

"You wife is quite correct, sir," said Alzeroth. "You are not seventeen, as you suppose, but one hundred seven years old. Your father is, sorry to say, still alive, but trapped in an enchanted sleep at Delabor Castle. We will defeat Daragon and remove him from Elsewhere permanently, and then you will go back to Hyrule and save him. When you have children, and I have no doubt that you will, they will be better off with two grandfathers instead of one."

"Who else is going to be here with us," asked Mido, covering up Link's discomfort.

"A group of people from a world called Earth. They too have a bone to pick with Drakan and have been summoned to this tower by William. Please go into the room on the right if you want to find out about them before you meet them." Everyone turned to the correct door except Link and Zelda. "I'm sorry to shock you like this, but it is my belief that the truth is generally preferable to lies. You have a right to know."

"Thanks for telling me," Link said. "I had wondered about my father, but now, I know that I will have to save him. But how do I know that these things will come to pass?"

"There is a prophecy among the Delaborites concerning the fall of their evil emperor. `Only one with great courage can defeat the monsters of the realm and save the few who remain.' That is the sign that will guide you to your father." Link nodded, blinked himself back to reality, kissed Zelda on the cheek, and led her into the proper doorway.

Alzeroth breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't blundered on any further. Revealing too much information too quickly could ruin everything, especially in front of the Sages. The three other transformations of Link would recognize him if he took off this disguise, along with the hero himself.

In the chamber, the party from the world of Hyrule saw a lot of moving illusions. They learned of Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic. They saw Voldemort kill Lily and James Potter and then turn into something less than the meanest ghost. They saw Harry Potter grow up at the Dursleys and find out he was a wizard. They saw everything that was known about Harry Potter and his friends in the world of magic. They saw the bigotry, the acceptance, everything the people they would be meeting knew.

While that was going on, the delegation from Earth received the briefing about Drakan and then saw illusions of Hyrule. It was rather more interesting than the History of Magic class, which was extremely boring. As luck would have it, both groups exited their chambers simultaneously.

"It is an honor to meet all of you," said Harry, bowing deeply.

"The same to all of you," said Link, bowing just as deeply. "Voldemort sounds like quite a tricky character, Harry."

"So does Ganondorf, Link."

"And Daragon, or Drakan, is even worse than both of them put together," said William, stepping into the chamber. "Now that all of us know who we are, please follow me to the front gates. Ganondorf is coming on Volvagia to deliver an ultimatum that all of us need to hear." Link and the Sages hurried down the stairs to the doorway out of the tower, followed shortly thereafter by everyone else.

Just as Alzeroth shut the door behind the last straggler, Hagrid, Ganondorf landed Volvagia on the lawns. The Gerudo wore the blue sash of diplomatic neutrality over his black armor and a look of contempt on his face.

"What do you want," Link asked with his voice colder than Blue Fire.

"I want to know why you think you can stop Lord Daragon and I, boy. You have a lot of nerve for someone only seventeen years old."

"I am one hundred seven, Ganondorf, and you are only forty-three. I think I have a right to show nerve toward you as your elder. Before you break out laughing, I'll have you know that I am not joking; I am really that old."

"Humph. Be that as it may, you damnable man, you will never be able to stop the inevitable triumph of the Dark Order. If you want to live, you should surrender all weapons not part of your physical bodies immediately. This includes Triforces, wands, and any sort of animal that may be on your side. Failure to comply will result in a slow, tortured, extremely painful death."

"You don't scare me," said Kafei. "I have seen my world's moon twenty feet from obliterating everything, and that scared me. I got turned into a ten-year-old and nearly missed my wedding, and that scared me. No Ganondorf, you do not scare me one bit, since I know that Link and the Sages, not to mention Darmani, the Deku, and Mikau, can take care of you easily. Why don't you just fly back to the Evil Realm or wherever you came from and stay there?"

"Good set of insults, Kafei," Link said with a grin. "I second that motion, Ganondorf, and I will never give up to you and your master, not now, not ever."

"I am not scared of you either," said Hermione. "I have read of creatures like you, Ganondorf, and I know that you and your kind are bullies and cowards. If I had less moral fiber in my blood, I would use Avada Kedavra on you right away."

"And you would not do a bit of good," said William. "Ganondorf used the Triforce of Power to prevent himself from aging or dying even if it is removed from his body. He will come to realize that immortality can be worse than slavery after a while, but not yet."

"Who the aktajhá are you," Ganondorf demanded in fury.

"I am William, the rightful…king of all Elsewhere, using terms you can understand. Ganondorf, I would suggest you leave this place right away. We send you with this ultimatum: Drakan must return what he stole from me and destroy the Rod of Subversion before we can talk any sort of peace."

"What did Lord Daragon steal from you?"

"My emotions," said William in his deadpan voice. "I cannot feel hatred, or love, or any of the normal range of emotions people can feel. I simply am, and the Dementor's Kiss would not do any further harm to me. Expecto Patronum!" The spell was directed at the fiendish dementors trying to sneak into the tower, and they scattered the moment the silver dragon flew at them.

"Whoa," said Ron as the Patronus faded from view. "So that's the Patronus Charm, eh, Harry? Pretty impressive, if you ask me."

"There was something familiar about the Silver Dragon, though," said Professor Lupin. "Something I'd read about, maybe, but perhaps not."

"Ah, so you too recall the tale of the Silver Dragon," Alzeroth said, smiling. "It is indeed in a book, or in more than one book, to be precise."

"Now then, if you would all follow me," said William. "We have to analyze our options and divine the best course of action. I know that some," he said with a gaze at Hermione and Professor McGonagall, "think Divination is useless, but I leave all of my options open." With that, William turned, and walked them up to a chamber near the top of the tower, above even the lower barrier of clouds.

Note: The Elsewhere-related backstory deviates severely from what really happened way back when. I'll be putting the truth of the matter up in good time.