The Oracle of Earth

By Pata Hikari


This world is believed to lie parallel to that of others. The most prominent is the Scared Realm. However, others are believed to exist.

-Records found in the Spirit Temple



Chapter 6: Hidden Pathways



Saria yawned as she walked downstairs, she had gotten a very nice sleep and now she wanted to have breakfast. Preferably some bacon, that would be good...

"Good morning!" She said cheerfully as she spotted Link. He was eating at a table with that Maple girl. "How are you today?" She asked. She got no answer. Her face slipped into a frown as she felt the atmosphere that filled the room. The two were glaring at each other as they ate slowly. One could feel the heat being emitted from the silent argument the two seemed to be having.

"Um... is this a bad time?" She asked weakly.

"Oh, good morning Saria." Link said, not turning his gaze from Maple.

"Don’t think I’m taking my eyes off of you boy..." Maple muttered.

"You’re going to be looking at me for a long time then..." Link growled.

"Um... can somebody explain what’s going on?" Saria asked

"They’re being idiots..." Kalo sighed, "Don’t bother with them right now."

"OK..." Saria stared at the two, a few minutes passed. "Link. Stop it. Now." she finally ordered.

"Huh? What?" Link said, "What do you mean by that?"

"You’re both acting like children. That’s what!" Kalo snapped, "You both need to forget it!"

"Tell that to psycho boy here." Maple muttered.

"Link isn’t psycho!" Saria exclaimed.

"Sometime tells me you don’t know your boyfriend that well..." Maple said.

Saria paused, her eyes narrowed. "Link..." She gave him a Look. (Look #9: The words you speak will decide your fate.) "...just what did you do?"

"Err..." Link paled, "I just... talked to her!"

"Right..." Saria dryly intoned, "And what else?"

"There were threats of violence!" Maple said chipperly.

"Um... She was..." Link withered under Saria’s glare.

"She was... what?" Saria said coldly.

"She insulted you!" Link shouted, "You think I can let someone get away with that?"

Saria looked at Link for a moment, "I think I can handle someone saying something about me." She said, "I don’t need you scaring people over something so petty!"

"Whoa..." Maple whispered, "Argument. No fun times for Link tonight." She snickered.

"What was that!" Link snapped.

"Nothing," Maple smirked, "Just ignore me..."

"Link, leave her alone." Saria said, "We need to talk about some things."

"That can wait! Last I checked we need to get going!" Link snapped, "In case you forgot, there’s the whole issue of the world falling apart!"

"Don’t try to change the subject!" Saria grabbed Link’s arm, "You need to learn to control your temper!

"Who's changing the subject!" Link snapped, "I'm just trying to keep up our priorities!"

"Both of you shut up!" Kalo shouted, "Saria, Link makes a good point, we need to keep on moving! But don't think that you're going to get out of a talking to Link!" He glared at them both.

"But-" Link tired to say.

"Not one word out of either of you!" Kalo ordered.

Both Kokiris shut their mouths and settled for glaring at Kalo.

"Wow..." Maple said, "You have to teach me how to do that."


Navi floated through the trees, her mind a torrent of emotions.

All her life she had been a servant, she had always done what was asked of her, and once the task was done she moved on. It had been a simple existence, one which he had never questioned.

So why was this any different? She remembered it well, the Great Deku Tree had asked her to guide the Hero of Time to his fate, it had been a simple task. She knew what had to be done, but was forbidden to reveal it directly. So she had guided him with gentle hints, letting others point the way. It had all been so easy, compared to other jobs she had done in her life. Watching over a boy should have been nothing!

Yet she had grown to care for Link, that proved to be her undoing.

Love. Not romantic love, no, she doubted she would ever feel that in her existence. But the pure love a mother has for a child. The beautiful love between two people who trust each other utterly. The kind of love that is public, that can be shared with all. That was the strange new emotion that Link had awoken within her.

In so many ways she hated it.

Yet she couldn't stand the thought of losing the wonderful memories and emotions that being with him had given her.

So she had fled to this faraway land, hoping to avoid the pain caused by her mistakes.

It was one of the dumbest ideas she had ever conceived. And after five thousand years... that was saying a lot.

And it was all for nothing now anyway, seeing as Link seemed to be here for some Goddess-cursed reason.

So now what?

Letting out a frustrated groan, Navi drifted with the breeze for a few minutes. This was not what she had intended...

She felt something strange, something she hadn't felt before. Navi flew over to the source of the feeling. It wasn't that far away... "Huh?" she stared at the swirling blue light formed on the ground. She could see how the currents reacted to it, and she could make a pretty good guess at what it was.

It was a distortion in the very fabric of reality.

"Oh boy..."


They were walking.

Maple hated walking, it was so boring!

She looked ahead of her, Ditz-Girl and Psycho-Pervert were marching in front, neither of them talking. The last time either of them had said anything was when Maple had quickly explained to Saria why she was following them.

"Why is it that the moment we come here they start fighting?" She heard the fairy mutter.

"I guess they normally aren't like this?" She asked, keeping an eye on the two.

"No... Normally they get along great, though... I guess fighting was inevitable." Kalo sighed.

Maple shrugged, "As long as they're mad at each other, I don't have to deal with them. So I'm fine with it."

"That's a horrible thing to say." Kalo glared at her, "You shouldn't be glad that two people are fighting!"

Maple grinned lopsidedly at Kalo, "Guess what? I ain't the type to care much. You don't like it? Well you can kiss my cute little butt."

"You are a very infuriating girl, you know that?" Kalo asked her dryly.

Maple winked, "It's part of my charm."

"I see, so you're a bad girl type." A new voice said.

"Huh?" Maple turned to the side... and saw a kid, that was transparent, and floating in the air!

She stared at him for a moment.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKK! Ghost!" Maple screamed at the top of her lungs, "Get it away!" She shrieked.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well." The ghost said dryly.

"Oh boy..." Link finally spoke as he noticed, "Makan what the hell did you do?"

"Get it away!" Maple threw a fireball at the spirit, not that it did anything.

"As amusing as watching you panic is," Link said, "Seeing you scared of Makan of all people is rather sad."

"You know this thing?" Maple looked at Link.

"I prefer to be called a Gaurdian Spirit." Makan dryly stated.

"But... but..." Maple stammered.

"Let's just continue this before you start wetting yourself." Link smirked, "Come on people." He pulled out his sword, "Let's see..."

"Why are you using a sword of a compass?" Maple asked.

"It's magic." Makan said, causing Maple to jump.

"Don't do that!" She shouted nervously.

"You know," Makan grinned flirtatiously, "you're kind of cute like this."

Maple's eye twitched... "Aaaaahhhh!"

"That's enough." Saria grabbed Makan's ear, "Now quit scaring the poor girl."

"Ow! Miss Sarrrriiiaaa..." Makan groaned, "Must you be so cruel?"

"Sometimes you deserve it." Saria said flatly.

"Fine, I can take a hint." Makan vanished.

"Let's continue..." Link said simply.

"At least they seem to have forgotten their anger... for now..." Kalo muttered.


They had been wandering around a small forest for three hours.

Three hours.

Needless to say, Link was getting rather ticked. The Noble Sword was flashing seemingly at random, meaning that the directions they turned were random, meaning that they were getting lost, meaning a very pissed off Link.

"I think we've passed here before." Maple said gleefully... for the twentieth time.

"I get it! We're wandering in circles!" Link snapped at her.

"What's wrong with it..." Kalo asked.

A rustling sound was heard. It was a strange noise.

"Who's there?" Saria asked quickly.

"Shh..." Link waved his hand, "Let's be careful."

A voice could be heard now...

"Like... amigod... this is so horrible!" The voice was high pitched and sounded female, "First that 'temple' falls from the sky and now I end up who knows where?"

"What?" Link said, "I think whatever it is, it's harmless."

"Huh?" The voice said, "Who's there! Eeek!" Whoever was talking started running through the bushes. However, the voice ran in the wrong direction. Instead of running away from what was scaring her, she ran-

WHAM!

straight into Link. Knocking them both to the ground.

"What is it...?" Maple asked.

"Guh?" Link groaned and looked up...

Straight into a pair of yellow, glowing, eyes.

"Gah!" Link pulled himself up, knocking what was on him to the ground in the process. He looked down... "Oh, sorry, you startled me." He said, to the... person... "Are you OK?"

The small thing pulled... herself... up. She was shorter then Maple, wearing a bright orange cloak. Only her eyes, a glowing yellow, could be seen. A large red bow (that added about six inches to her height) was sitting on top of her hood. She looked at Link for a moment, before giggling. "I'm OK now." She said lightly.

"You have to stop meeting people like this." Kalo snickered.

"Very amusing." Link said, he turned back to the small girl in the cloak. "Um, hello there."

"Hiiii." The girl said, "My name's Rosa... what's yours?"

"Err, Link." He stared as she burst into another fit of giggles. "Is there anything you need?"

"Oh!" Rosa jumped up, "It's just horrible! You see, first this weird, like, ‘temple' falls from the sky, then I ,like, get lost. And I, like, end up in this totally weird place!"

"Weird... temple?" Saria kneeled down in front of Rosa, "What do you mean by that?"

"I like, mean," Rosa said haughtily, "Is that a 'temple' fell from the sky. Duh." She looked at Saria like is the most obvious thing in the world.

"What did it look like?" Maple asked, grinning slightly. Finally! Someone shorter then her!

"Like a 'temple.' What else would it look like?" Rosa gave Maple a look that suggested that the witch wasn't very bright...

"I understand that. But what does the temple look like?" Maple said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, it would be useful to know that." Saria said.

"Like, I already told you." Rosa said, annoyed, "are you two, like, dumb or something?"

Maple's eye twitched, "That's it! She's gonna burn!" Fireballs formed in her hands.

"No! Don't!" Saria shouted, but it was too late. The fiery spells slammed into Rosa.

With a massive flare of light, the explosion quickly passed.

Link gave Saria a dry look, "You say I have a problem with my temper?"

"Oh wow!" The smoke cleared and Rosa was standing there, apparently unharmed, "That was totally awesome!" She squealed with joy, "You managed to warm me up! I've been, like, so chilly since I got here."

Maple stood there for a moment, her eyes twitching, "Why won't my spells actually work for once!" She screamed.

Kalo shook his head, "Are you all done?"

"Whoa!" Rosa said, "Like, the cute little bug, it like, talks!"

There was a moment of silence.

Kalo coughed, "Anyway... Rosa, can you tell me what a temple is?"

"That's just stupid..." Link muttered.

"How should I know?" Rosa asked, "A 'temple' is a 'temple' isn't it?"

Maple started beating her head against a nearby tree.

Link shook his head, "That isn't exactly important. Can you tell us... what you are?"

"What I am?" Rosa blinked. (At least, her glowing eyes vanished for a moment.) "I am... Rosa."

"We're dealing with a freaking genius here." Maple groaned.

"No," Saria said, "That's not what we mean. What do your people call themselves?"

"Why should I tell you?" Rosa asked her.

"Because, it might help us find out where you came from." Link said, "OK?"

"Oh! Sure thing Link!" Rosa giggled, "I'm a Subrosian."

"A Subrosian?" Saria asked, looking at Kalo.

"Never heard of them." Kalo said.

Link shrugged, "Well, Rosa, if your lost then it's a simple matter of retracing your steps."

"But... How can I do that in such a scary place!" Rosa cried, "This place... it's so frightening!"

They looked around at the quiet forest...

"OK... She's starting to get on my nerves..." Saria muttered.

Link pulled out the Noble Sword, "Look, Rosa, we know that you probably are worried... but-"

"I'm scared!" Rosa shouted, latching onto Link's leg.

"Gah!" Link tried to jump, but he has the weight that was Rosa attached to him, so he just fell to the ground, his sword hitting the ground. "Please let go of me..." He said dully.

Saria covered her mouth, barely managing to keep herself from laughing.

Maple did no such thing.

"Bwahahahaha! That's just too rich!" Maple fell to the ground laughing, she looked up,
"Hey, the freaky sword is really bright now."

"Hmm?" Link stared at the Noble Sword, it was flashing really brightly. He picked it up, as he moved it around it flashed even brighter when it got near his legs... "Rosa, could you stand up for a moment?"

"OK!" Rosa said, a little too happily. As she quickly let go of Link and returned to a standing position.

Link waved the Noble Sword in front of her. It got brighter the closer it was to her, and it got dimmer the farther it was from her. He stared at her for a moment, "Rosa... do you have anything with you?"

"Well.. I do have this totally pretty key I found near the 'temple.'" Rosa pulled out an elegant golden key from within her robes. It was covered with engravings and runes. At the handle the Triforce Emblem was carved into it.

"That looks important..." Maple said, "Where have I seen that before...?"

"Give me that!" Saria suddenly shouted, "That's not for you to have!"

Everybody suddenly stared at Saria.

"Why should I give it to you? It's, like, mine!" Rosa stared at the Kokiri.

"Oh... I think I saw the head priestess with that when I visited the Temple of Din..." Maple said.

"Yeah, you did." Saria looked at Rosa, "That thing there," she pointed to the key, "is the key to a sacred Temple of the Goddesses. Only those who are called by the Three can hold and use that key."

"Uh-huh." Maple said, "You that's pretty devout. Do you work at a temple or something?" She asked humorously.

"Yeah, I do." Saria answered, "Now give me that key!"

Rosa clutched it tight, "No! Why should I, like, give it to you?"

Saria sighed... "Listen... It's really important."

"Psst!" Maple whispered to Saria, "Ask Link there to ask her to give it to you."

Saria looked at Maple for a moment, before grinning. -Oh Link... ask her to give me the key.-

What? Oh fine, I'll do it. Link shook his head, it had been a while since Saria had sent him a telepathic message. "Rosa, I think that Saria has a good point. Will you please give it to her?"

The Subrosian looked at Link, "Oh... fine." She handed the key to Saria.

"Thank you." Saria smiled sweetly.

"Whoa... freaky." Maple said, "He asked her just a moment after I suggested it."

"Huh?" Saria stared at Maple, "Oh right... yeah..." -Hey Link, let's not tell Maple about this little talent we have.-

Link nodded, before sighing, "What are we going to do with this key?"

Saria smirked, "With this key I can find the Temple of Din. I'm willing to bet that one of the Essences of Earth is contained there." Saria held up the key, "Let's see how this thing works... I've only read about them..." Saria closed her eyes, entering a state of meditation.

"What is she doing?" Maple asked.

"It looks like she's trying to bring out the key's power." Link said flatly.

Maple chuckled slightly, "If what she has is a powerful as she says it is... there's no way that she could do it. Heck, I doubt my parents could do it."

"Blessed Goddess," Saria began chanting, as a red light began to form around the key, "Mighty Crafter of the rich earth. I beseech thee, grant thy humble servant the power she needs."

Link shook his head, Saria never seemed to run out of ways to surprise him... How could anyone compare?

"What is she... she's bringing out it's power?" Maple stumbled back, "But... that can't be right!"

"I merely ask for a small piece of your eternal knowledge," Saria continued, the red light swirling around her whole body, "Allow me to know the path to your Great Temple. So I may serve you further." Saria held up the key... a golden triangle formed on her hand... "Grant me this gift! Devine Guidance!" The red light became blinding, and there was a sudden gust of wind, that nearly blew them all away. In the wind... one could hear a soft voice... barely understandable...

"I shall..."

The light faded and Saria was standing there... her whole body covered in sweat. She smiled,

"I know where the Temple is."

"That was like, so pretty!" Rosa said.

"Somebody fry her... please..." Maple muttered..


Navi had been sitting on the ground, watching the distortion for the past few hours now. It seemed to be stable, it hadn't trying to suck anything into it. All it did was sit there quiet and... well, it wasn't unnoticeable .

Large blue vortexes in the ground tend to be noticeable.

Navi suddenly stood up, she could feel the approach of some people. Two Kokiri, no doubt Link and Saria. Though Navi could not figure out how Saria was here, that didn't change the fact that she was. There were two other people, one was Kalo, and the other was someone who was the product of more then one generation of racial interbreeding. There was also an odd... blank spot. Like the absence of a presence, yet something was there.Navi quickly ducked behind some plants, this time making sure that her presence was masked.

"I still refuse to believe it was anything more then luck." An unknown girl's voice said.

"You really like to delude yourself, don't you?" Link's voice replied.

"What's so hard to believe about it?" This time it was Saria's voice.

"It's just that my grandma would need to do some work to something like that probably. Besides, even if you do work at a temple in Hyrule, that doesn’t mean you can channel the power of a divine artifact." The unknown girl said, "Besides, you're just a kid."

"And what are you then Maple?" Kalo asked.

Navi could tell they were getting closer, she could probably see them now. Keeping her light out, she peered out of her hiding place. She could see them, for the first time is months, she saw people she had known...

Link had changed, he looked slightly taller. His hair had changed from the old style where his bangs framed his face to one where they shadowed one side of it, though you could still see both his eyes. He was no longer wearing a Kokiri Tunic, instead choosing to wear Hylian clothing. Though he kept the hat. A sword was strapped to his back, nothing more.

Navi couldn't believe how different he looked, everything about him suggested a maturity, a since of adulthood, that hadn't existed before. He appeared a lot more confident then before... could seven months really have done this?

"I'm still a kid too." The strange girl in black, Maple, said, "I can't do some stuff. It's a fact of life."

"That's limiting." Saria replied, "Who's to say what one can and can't do?"

Navi's brain nearly froze when she saw Saria, the beautiful young woman that stood near Link bore very little resemblance to the Kokiri she was supposed to be. Like Link, she was wearing Hylian clothes, her hair was slightly longer. A strange, yetfamiler, blade was strapped to her side. She too had changed, dispte all logic pointing against it.

It scared Navi, in a way. What was there that remained of her memories anymore?

"Hey! I, like, remember this place!" Another voice called out, it came from the strange hooded creature... that was making the blank spot.

"The Temple of Din is... through... that?" Saria said, pointing to the distortion.

"You're kidding me." Maple said, "What is that thing anyway?"

"It's a distortion in reality." Kalo explained, "It seems to be safe."

Good job Kalo, glad to see you're still watching them... Navi thought.

"This is, like, how I got here!" The creature said, "That's how I get home!"

"Well, that's convient." Maple said, "Well... if it's safe... Saria, you go first."

Saria gave Maple a dull look, "Very cute. But I think I will." She walked over to the distortion, "Here goes nothing..." She jumped into the blue light, there was a flare of power, and she was gone.

"Guess I'm next." Kalo flew into the distortion.

"See ya Maple! If you wanna come, just jump in!" Link laughed as he went into the unknown area...

"Wait for me Link!" The creature called out, running in after him.

"Jerks... They're all jerks." Maple muttered as she walked into the vortex.

Navi stood there for a moment... "Link..." She wanted to see him, to see if he was doing well...

She could, after all, avoid being seen...

Moving faster then she could change her mind, Navi flew into the distortion.

Instantly she felt the effects, as everything around her began moving at speeds that were not possible normally. The blue spiral devolved into such a rainbow of colors that Navi doubted that all of them had names. She heard nothing but rushing wind... Then, it all stopped and Navi appeared behind the others... they were all shocked, and she could see why.

The place they had entered looked dead. The earth was rocky, covered only with a few weed-like plants. Rivers of lava flowed freely. The heat was amazing, Navi was sure that Death Mountain was only slightly hotter. The worst part was the sky, it was blood red. No sun shone, and bolts of lightning flashed constantly.

What was worse was that Navi felt cut off... she could no longer see the Currents of Mana.

"Where are we...?" Saria whispered

The hooded creature laughed, "This is my home, Subrosia."


Authors Note: I wanted to get more done in this chapter... but then it would be twice as long if I put in everything I wanted in it... Oh well... Well, things are going to get interesting next chapter. When the Rod of Seasons in introduced. There's a funny story behind all this though... You see, I haven't played Oracle of Seasons in a while... so I had gotten some things screwed up. I have recently discovered my errors and have corrected the plans I have for this story accordingly. No need to worry though, it dosn't change the plot in the long run. It mainly deals with the order of a few events. Well, I guess that's it.



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