Among the Ashes Chapter 98

Among the Ashes

Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt
Suddenly goes away somehow
One step closer
Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave I will not let anything
Take away what's standing in front of me
Every breath,
Every hour has come to this
One step closer
I have died everyday
Waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed
I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
And I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
~Christina Perri "A Thousand Years"

Chapter 98
Vows of Destiny


"Welcome, my young masters." The Archsage greeted Link and Zelda with open arms as they entered his chamber.

"You asked to see us, Lord Athos?" Zelda asked, shifting the sleeping bundle in her arms.

"Yes, please, sit." Athos gestured to the chairs set out before them. "I know what a taxing business this has been on you. Are you recovering well?"

"Yes. Remarkably so." Zelda took her husband's hand as he helped her settle into a chair with the baby cradled on her lap.

Link lingered momentarily, reaching down to smooth the blanket under his daughter's chin. His fingers graced the infant's cheek as she took a shuddering breath in her sleep, pursing her tiny lips before turning in against her mother's chest.

He smiled as he seated himself beside his wife, glowing with pride as his gaze stayed with his tiny daughter.

"I haven't had a chance to properly thank you for what you did," Zelda addressed the Archsage.

"Me?" Athos' bushy eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Oh, no. I'm afraid I can accept no thanks on your behalf. I do not deserve it."

"Of course you do. Without your kindness I doubt either my daughter or I would have survived." Zelda fell into a quiet reverence. "And I thank you."

"Do not speak so soon, My Lady." The Archsage folded his thin hands in his lap and dropped his eyes. "I've summoned you here for exactly this reason – because you deserve to know the truth. And the truth is that my actions in bringing you here were far more selfish than kind."

Zelda cocked her head, her brow knitting slightly. But before she could respond, Athos continued.

"It is an honor I do not deserve, to stand in your presence, knowing who you are… and the wrongs you will right, together." He bowed his head. "I have waited for this day, with perhaps more anticipation than any." His voice quivered as he spoke, and he lifted his eyes to Zelda's with a sort of penitent pleading for understanding. "For she was born to right the very wrongs which I myself wrought upon the world, so many years ago…."
Link's hand tightened around Zelda's shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"I've not always been the man you see before you. The truth is, I was responsible for the slaughter of hundreds of innocent Dragons in the final days of the Scourging."

"But you founded Arcadia with the Dragons," Zelda replied. "How could you have – "

"I founded this city as much out of a desire for peace as I did in an attempt to redeem myself for the part I played in the near-destruction of an ancient and noble race." Athos sighed. "I can never truly repair what I did, but I decided long ago that I would devote the rest of my lonely days to seeing that my mistakes will never be repeated."

"It was Man, then," Link questioned, "that started the Scourging?"

Athos looked up at him curiously.

"I've read accounts from both sides," Link explained. "The Dragons blame the humans and the Humans inevitably blame the Dragons. If you said the Dragons were innocent, then – "

"It's rarely that simple, Master Link." Athos shook his head slowly. "There are two sides to every story and, unfortunately, it is seldom that either is correct. The truth usually lies somewhere in between, in paths that neither side wishes to tread down for fear of what they may find at the end. You see I – I was afraid to admit such a truth when I stood alongside Humankind and helped to defeat the Dragons. It is much easier to kill an enemy that one does not wish to understand. If I had been wiser in those days, I never would have chosen sides so blindly, nor acted in such brutality."

"Surely you didn't – " Zelda stammered.

"I told myself at the time that I was acting out of a desire to save lives," Athos hurried on in a haste to explain. "By working with Anri and the Eight Heroes of Legend to end the Scourging quickly I believed the bloodshed would end and we could return peace to the world. What resulted instead was a slaughter. A massacre. And a legacy of hatred and fear for the very creatures that had, for so very long, helped maintain balance and order in our world."

"That's what caused the Ending Winter," Link replied. "The imbalance in the world caused by the war – not the actions of either side in and of itself."

"Exactly." Athos confirmed. "The weapons we wielded were far too powerful. While we succeeded in driving the Dragons from this realm, by ending the fighting with chaos and further bloodshed we did not restore balance, we left it only more unstable. I was not the only one to regret my actions. Anri himself feared the power of the Emblem he held. He vowed to keep its secret hidden and returned to Aritia where he founded his own legacy. As for me, " the old man seemed to wilt as he searched for his words, "my legacy was lost long before the Scourging. The generations of my children were scattered and lost to distant lands, my bloodline cursed. I had no people, no land to call home.

"Ashamed of what I'd done, with nowhere to go and no end of this life in sight, I set off in self-imposed exile. Eventually I was claimed by the desert, and for a time I wandered the desolate lands with only the bleak hope that I might wait out the duration of this world in isolation. At the very least I was comforted with the knowledge that I could do no further harm existing alone in a wilderness of sand. That was until the day I stumbled across the very last thing I could have imagined to find here."

A slight spark of life returned to the Archsage's eyes as he whispered the word, "Dragons. Not just any Dragons – Divine Dragons. They had taken refuge in this barren wasteland with their last few human allies. When I came across them, they were hiding in caves, barely subsisting off the land. But they were here," he said in awe. "Together. Living in peace. It was… remarkable. I knew then and there that I had found my calling – the only hope I had left of redemption."

"You founded Arcadia." Link answered.

"I have devoted my life to the protection of this – the last great society of Humans and Dragons. The barrier I created around Arcadia keeps it safe, hidden from the outside world, but this isolated existence cannot last forever. We have waited over a thousand years for change to come… and finally, it has."

"Why are you telling us this?" Zelda asked stiffly. "What has this got to do with us?" Her eyes flickered down to the sleeping child in her arms. "With her?"

"Everything," Athos replied in earnest. "It has long been foretold that, one day, a child would be born within the walls of Arcadia. Neither human, nor Dragon, and yet a princess over all. A child who, one day… will bring peace to our world. Peace that we have not known in millennia. Peace… beyond description."

Zelda glanced up at Link, then back at Athos, her heart beating in her throat. "And you think – "

"I do not think," Athos shook his head. "I know."

"Our baby?" Zelda withdrew, her eyes widening while she searched for an escape. "But she – "

"You should not be surprised, Zelda, that a child born to the Hero of Time and the Princess of Destiny would herself be born with a fate and purpose of great importance."

Zelda's arms tightened instinctively around her daughter. "What purpose, exactly?"

"She was born of Power," Athos went on in a slow, deliberate tone. "Protected by the Triforce, and destined to bear it. Just as her parents. Her very life is a miracle. You cannot doubt but that she has been watched over by the Goddesses themselves."

Tears sprung to Zelda's eyes and she felt Link's steadying hand on her shoulder. "I do not doubt it," she whispered. "I have feared it every moment since her conception. Every beat of her heart I felt growing inside of me - " Her voice broke and she leaned into Link for support.

"You need not fear for her." Athos' wrinkled brow lifted over his eyes as he looked upon the child and her mother with compassion. "We have awaited her birth for thousands of years. Through her, balance will be restored to our world… at last."

The corners of Link's eyes twitched with worry, though his expression remained stoic. "You're certain it's her?"

"I am." Ancient grief shadowed his deeply-lined face, and for a moment he appeared nothing more than a frail, old man burdened with many lifetimes of sadness. He lifted his tear-stained eyes, a faint spark of hope flickering in their depths.

"Aydin," he whispered in reverence, bowing his head. His withered fingers began to shake and he reached out to touch the baby's brow while tears welled in his ancient, grey eyes. "Princess of Arcadia."

Zelda's face paled and she stared for a moment before she could choke out, "What did you call her?"

"Aydin," Athos repeated. "In the ancient tongue, 'born of fire and power'. It is her name. Her title. Written in prophecy for ages."

"Aydin…" Zelda repeated, looking from the child to Link. "That's it. That's her name."

Link paused, watching her closely. "Aydin?"

"Yes!" She nodded, smiling with tears in her eyes. "I can't explain it, it's just… right. I can feel it."

"But what does this mean for her?" Link implored. "She's just a child, a baby. She can't – "

"I know this is a lot to bear," Athos said gently. "But, for now, it means only that she is under our protection. Just as we were here to see her safely into this world, we will see that she is kept safe until the day that she can fulfill the destiny laid out before her."

Link and Zelda turned to each other, standing close as they silently pondered the options placed before them.

"I must make it clear," Athos continued, "I can do nothing to protect her beyond the borders of this land. The seal that blinds the world to Arcadia's existence is the only thing keeping her safe. You evaded the Black Fang in your escape from Ostia, but they followed your trail into the desert and even now they are searching for you. Searching for us."

"So they let us go." Link spat. "They're trying to use us to find Arcadia?"

Athos nodded. "Nothing would please them more than to gain access to the most powerful, deadly arsenal of Dragon power that remains in this realm."

"But why? They already have more Dragons at their disposal than any other army I've ever seen! If they just want to destroy cities and break down walls, they already have more than enough forces to do so."

"Because, as you inferred, they are after much more than that." Athos paused, looking them over. "You see, Vale is building an army, but not the kind you may think." Athos cast his eyes at Link. "He's not looking for brute strength, he's looking for power. True power, in the form of Quintessence – pure life force," he clarified. "He's using it to build an army of creatures so twisted and distorted by the powers of his Black art that they walk the line between mortality and immortality."
Link and Zelda exchanged a glance, their thoughts flowing in unison.

"Hector mentioned something similar to this," Link voiced. "He encountered a similar form of Dark Magic being practiced on the Isle of Valor."

"I'm certain he did," Athos confirmed. "It was during Hector's quest with Eliwood that Morphs were first created by Nergal… and now Vale is creating them again."

"Morphs?" Zelda asked in trepidation.

"Dark beings of Vale's own creation that answer to nothing and no one but him, and do so with unquestioning loyalty. They live, in a perverted sense of the word, only to do their master's bidding. With such an army at his disposal…."

"No one can create life from nothing," Zelda argued. "Not even with the darkest forms of magic. Such a creature would be false, empty – "

"Indeed," Athos agreed. "These creatures draw their breath from the stolen Quintessence of the living. Which is why Vale has been gathering the Dragons, marching the Black Fang to war, creating desolation and destruction across Diem. For every mortal that dies within his grasp has his life force sacrificed to Vale's cause, fueling the creation of the army that Vale will soon unleash upon the world."

"Then Aritia – " Link's eyes widened in horror.

"Was a victory for Vale, in more ways than one. He brought those poor, desperate creatures to Aritia knowing that there is no army in the world more driven or better equipped to slay Dragons. Of course, he knew that the Dragons would put up a good fight, and they did. Aritia sustained substantial losses in the battle, weakening them terribly although they managed to win the day – as Vale knew they would. That was indeed his intention - for every Dragon the Aritian forces slayed unleashed enough Quintessence to create thousands of Morphs to march in Vale's army."

"How long before he has enough of these Morphs to launch a full attack?"

"That I don't know," Athos answered grimly. "If there's one thing Vale has its patience. He won't move prematurely. He'll take his time, perfecting his creations. I'm afraid that by the time he strikes his Morphs will be more powerful even than the ones Eliwood faced in battle decades ago, during the war that brought him to my doorstep in search of answers."

"Why did he come to you for answers?" Zelda asked.

"Because, unfortunately, I knew the sorcerer responsible for their creation. He was once a friend of mine. In fact, he was with me in the days when Arcadia was founded. He used the Dragon's knowledge to his own ends, twisting what he learned into a new form of Dark Magic that he eventually used to create the first Morphs. By the time I realized what path his quest for knowledge had taken him down it was too late. I managed to exile him from Arcadia, but that only meant he found new places to sew his seeds of evil. It was he that opened the Dragon gate that brought Ninian and Nils back into our world. He used his own children as pawns in his war."

"Roy's grandfather?" Zelda's face paled. "How awful…."

Athos nodded. "When I saw that he had forgotten even them, I realized that the Nergal I had once known truly was gone. Overcome by the darkness he had pursued. He gave up his humanity in a quest for power, and in the end became as much a slave to the Morphs as they were to him."

"So Vale is using Nergal's magic," Link reiterated. "Trying to finish what he started."

"He's not only using Nergal's magic. He's improving it. Making it stronger, darker, and more powerful." He paused. "I believe you met one of his creations in Ostia before you fled. In fact… it was the reason you fled."

Link's eyes flew open in realization. "That was a Morph?"

"What?" Zelda looked between the two of them in confusion. "What was?"

"That thing that attacked you," Link explained. "The one that looked like me."

Athos nodded. "The Morph has pursued you to the borders of our land. Hawkeye has seen him scouring the desert for you, moving with an inhuman tolerance to the heat and lack of water."

"He's still out there?" Link demanded.

"But he can't get into Arcadia, can he?" Zelda clutched her baby closer. "There's no way he can break the barrier."

"No, you're safe here," Athos assured. "The only thing that worries me is the fact that Vale has made a Morph specifically designed to look like Link."

"Not only that," she offered tentatively. "When he spoke to me, he thought he was Link."

Athos' brows knit. "What did he say?"

"He called me 'his', and when I refused him, he said he needed blood, and then something about following his master's orders so that he could be complete."

"That is indeed disturbing news." The Archsage folded his bony hands against his chin with a look of deep pondering, concern on his face. "I feared Vale's efforts to surpass Nergal's magic with his Morphs, but if this means what I'm afraid it does, then things are far worse than I expected."

"And what exactly do you think it means?" Zelda pressed hesitantly.

Athos held his breath a long moment before he released it with a sigh. "I'm afraid it means that Vale has discovered how to infuse his Morphs with human blood. If this Morph of yours is seeking for your blood to become 'complete'," he cast his eyes over Link.

"It's trying to become me." Link determined.

"A Morph with the blood of a human running through its veins…" Athos contemplated the thought. "It would bring them one step closer to becoming truly human themselves and certainly make them far more powerful. Aside from the fact that, if it works, he can create a near-perfect copy of anyone he wishes."

"Why would Vale need a copy of me?" Link argued. "What good will that do him?"

"I can't tell you all of the thoughts of his mind." Athos shrugged. "It could be your ties to Hyrule's queen. It could be that you are a warrior of superior reputation and he wishes to duplicate your skills for his own use. It could be a matter of experiment, or of some greater purpose that I don't yet fully understand."

"It wasn't just you he was after, Link," Zelda clarified, biting her lip in anxiety as she spoke. "He threatened me with a knife… he wanted my blood, too."

"I'll spill his blood long before he'll take a drop of yours," Link growled, putting his hand on his sword. "Have no fear about that."

"You'll do no such thing," Athos chided. "You'll let Hawkeye deal with him."

"I prefer to fight my own battles," Link replied stiffly. "Especially when it comes to protecting Zelda."

"Yes, I know you do. But we simply afford that risk. Not now."

"What risk?"

"The risk of you being seen! Right now it's just a suspicion that you are actually being harbored in Arcadia and we must keep it that way. No one can know you're here. No one. If the Black Fang catches the slightest breath of truth to the rumor of you being here, Vale will come looking for you with the full strength of his forces, and there will be nothing I can do to protect you."

"But you said that we're safe here," Zelda replied. "That they can't get in through the barrier."

"One Morph poses no threat to our safety," Athos reiterated, "Vale, on the other hand, does."

"Let him come," Link snarled. "Let us be done with this!"

"I will forgive your words, Master Link, knowing you are speaking out of anger, but you can't possibly be so foolish. If you wish to face Vale now then you truly do not understand the full extent of his powers."

"I've faced him before."

"And yet he lives," Athos retorted.

"I intend to put an end to that. If not now, then when we return to Hyrule," Link informed him in a slow, deliberate tone. "We will retake our kingdom."
Athos' countenance fell. "You intend to return?"

"Of course we do."

"With an infant in tow?"

"We won't leave immediately, but - "

"Then when? Zelda cannot be without you, and your baby cannot survive without her mother. You must think!"

"I am thinking about my family," Link answered through his teeth. "I will not be separated from them, ever again! But this is not our home and not our land. Hyrule is in need and I am the only one who can save it."

"Yes, but now is not the time for impatience, my young master. There is no question of your loyalty to your kingdom, or to your family, but the fact remains that you cannot return there now. As I told you before, I can do nothing to protect the child beyond the borders of Arcadia. If you leave, they will find you. And if they find her, they will kill her."

"They will not – "

"Powerful as you are, you can not stand up to the whole of Vale's army on your own!" Athos' voice rose to a trembling boom. "You must listen to me, Link. You must stay here."

"For how long?" Link demanded. "How long do you expect us to cower here while our people continue to suffer at the hand of the Black Fang? How long do you expect us abandon them?"

"Until all things are fulfilled," the old man answered. "I know it seems like you are abandoning them, but returning to Hyrule now would only spell their doom. You must wait here, until the time is right. You must have patience."
Link raked his hair back with an exasperated sigh, and Zelda touched his arm to still him.

"Aydin will be safe here?" Zelda inquired of Athos, watching the Archsage closely though she kept a steady hold on Link. "Can you promise me?"

Athos drew a slow breath, his gazed fixed on the sleeping infant in Zelda's arms. Finally, he nodded.

"As long as she is in Arcadia, no harm will come to her." He lifted his eyes to Zelda's. "I swear my very life upon it."

"Then we accept your invitation to stay." Link's arm flexed beneath Zelda's hand, and she gave him a bracing squeeze. "Until the time is right."

"Very good, Your Majesty." Athos bowed deeply. "Very good…."

The couple remained quiet as they exited Athos' chamber and started back to their own. The thought of their quarters held a whole new sense of undefined permanence. Would they remain here in the temple for their duration or move to a house of their own in the city? What would Link do, trapped here like a prisoner for months, even years? What would she do?

Suddenly afraid Link was listening to her troubled thoughts, she spoke.

"We will go home Link, we will," she assured, though a lump formed in her throat as she listened to the emptiness of her own words. "Someday."

Link drew his arm around her and sighed, holding her close as they walked.

"It's funny," he said quietly. "With all the years I've spent away, now that I'm finally ready to go back… I can't."

Zelda stopped in her tracks, overcome by an onslaught of tears she couldn't hold back. Link drew her into his arms and held her as she cried, and she could feel the steady beating of his heart against her cheek.

"We will go back," he echoed her words with calm conviction. "But for now, at least we're together." He kissed her on the forehead and drew in his breath against her. "I wouldn't trade that for the world."

Zelda turned her chin up to look into her husband's eyes and pressed the little bundle of their daughter against his heart. "Me neither."

Link traced the pattern of the Triforce on the back of Zelda's hand, his heartbeat slowly steadying.

"Three pieces of the same whole," he whispered, touching the soft curls on his daughter's head with a twinge of a smile on his lips. "Together at last."



*****



Walking on a soft carpet of earth and brush, Elice entered the garden on Jeigan's arm. The watching crowd fell silent, rising to their feet as she appeared before them – the bride-to-be, and soon after, their queen.

Despite the chill of the October wind, Elice fell a warm flush rise to her face as she proceeded down the aisle towards Roy's awaiting hand. The thick, furry collar of her snow-white cloak tickled against her neck and chin. She tread carefully, the weight of her train dragging slowly behind her over the colorful bed of fallen leaves at her feet.

She took a deep breath and fell in step behind the Elite Guard, allowing them to lead the way down the aisle formed by two long rows of soldiers in full battle attire standing at attention. Each raised their sword creating a rippling wave of movement as she passed through. The Elite parted as she neared the altar, joining the ranks of the soldiers on either side. One by one her Guard bowed in obeisance and opened the way for Elice to stand alone, at last facing her future husband awaiting her at the altar.
Each step that brought her closer to Roy brought with it the realization that her brother was truly gone. He was not here to hold her arm. To walk beside her. To give her away.

Even the swell of joy she felt as she drew close enough to meet Roy's eyes could not stop the tears from welling in her own.

Roy tipped his chin, letting her know he understood, though the strength in his countenance bid her to keep coming. One step closer. One foot in front of the other. Until, at last, she joined her hand with his and took her place forever at his side.

Their eyes remained fixed as Nils recited the oath of marriage, and she pledged her life to the man she had known since he was only a girl. The boy with the freckles and the flaming-red hair. The boy that, so long ago, she had opened her heart to with the simple gift of a button, given to still his tears and let him know that he wasn't alone.

And now he slipped a ring over her finger with a promise that they would never be alone again.

Hand in hand they turned to face the gathered assembly, and Elice let her eyes wash over the sea of on looking faces. There, she found the faces of loyal friends, from soldiers to servants to her fellow Healers.

Elice couldn't help but smile as she recognized a group of faces she had first met in Harmony – friends of Nils who had come to Aritia's aid. She even caught sight of Jag lingering in the back, his hand entwined with Zaira's as they watched.

Never in her life would she have imagined these faces amidst the crowd of guests at her wedding. Aritians, Dragons and Sentei alike, gathered to witness her union with Roy. It seemed strange, nearly impossible when she thought about it. Yet, somehow, she could imagine it no other way.

It was the faces she didn't see that jarred her. Link and Zelda. Manasa even.

And Marth.

The pain of his absence hit her with renewed force. As many times as she searched the crowd, she would not find him. But as she held Roy's hand and followed him down the aisle towards the exiting archway, past the Elite soldiers on either side holding their swords aloft in salute, through the sea of familiar faces, both old and new, she felt a new sense of hope rising within her.

A pair of Dragons roared overhead and the couple came to a stop, watching as the winged creatures descended from the sky. With a stream of flames, they set the arch ablaze, the flames burning bright under the twilight sky.

Elice looked to Roy, who shot Nils a smile before he lifted Elice into his arms. With her arms clasped around his neck, Roy carried her forward towards the crackling flames. A part of her knew she should be nervous, but as she leaned her head against his chest and felt him breathe, she knew he would never let her come to harm.

Head held high, Roy walked through the arch and into the inferno. The roar softened to a gentle crackle and blazing heat to harmless warmth as the fire cooled instantly into dazzling blue flames. Elice closed her eyes, feeling the gentle licking of the blue fire against her skin.

When she opened her eyes on the other side, Roy set her on her feet again.

"Pretty good, huh?" He smiled and pressed his forehead against hers.

"You can do better." She cocked her chin to the side and nudged his nose, massaging the hairs on the back of his neck with an increasingly longing touch.

"Can I kiss her now, Nils?" Roy asked breathlessly, never taking his eyes off of her.

"Kiss your wife," Nils instructed.

Before the words left him, Roy's lips were against Elice's as they tangled into each other's arms. She tightened her arms around his neck and he lifted her onto her toes, straining themselves together as their lips moved in tandem.

Blue fire leapt from Roy's skin, seeping out of him until the light enveloped Elice as well. Entwined in the safety of the flames, if only for a moment, they clung to one another, alone in the world.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew had to savor this long-awaited embrace. Because, at some point, she would have to let go. Then everything would change.

But while everything Elice had expected of her life seemed to have crumbled beneath her feet, nothing could take away the simple, overwhelming joy of this moment. Knowing that she was his wife. He was her husband. And, together, they would find a way to lift Aritia back up from among the ashes.


*****