Chapter Seven
“Flickering Candle”


“I’ve been having these dreams lately.” Drake was saying. Vale looked curiously at him, “Dreams…Prophetic?” she asked.

Drake shook his head, “I’m not sure, but I feel like something is going to happen.” Drake was sitting across from Vale. He was sitting in a chair while Vale sat on the edge of her bed. The lamp beside the bed was on, shining its light through the dim blue darkness.

Drake hesitated before saying, “Do you promise not to tell anyone?” Vale nodded, wanting him to get on with it. “Well…in the dreams, it always takes place at different places, and the build up to it is never the same. At the end, though…” Drake paused.

Vale waited for a few moments before saying, “…and?”

Drake shook his head and muttered, “…Never mind… It’s stupid.”

Vale spoke, “Tell me, in these dreams…did people refer to you with a different name?”

Drake looked surprised for a moment, “…yes. They called me Derek.”

Vale took this revelation calmly, “…I see.”

“You think these dreams have something to do with me being the Wind Waker?” Drake asked. Vale nodded, “Quite truthfully…I had my doubts at first, but now I know you’re supposed to be the one to find and awaken the two sages.”

Drake scoffed at the thought, “To fully power up the Master Sword…Look, even if I am this ‘Wind Waker’, you said it yourself we don’t even know where the Master Sword is.”

“I don’t know where it is exactly, but I do know that it is hidden somewhere in Katasaku.”

“That’s across the Great Sea.” Drake muttered, “Why would it be so far away from Hyrule?”

Vale sighed, “To keep it safe, I suppose…I knew the girl who hid it. Sakura was her name. She and Sarah are pretty much twins.”

“…Twins?” Drake asked, “That’s another thing…how do you know all these people? They’ve died over five hundred years ago.”

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.” Vale muttered. Drake looked at her curiously, “…try me.”

Suddenly, the light went out. Vale and Drake quickly looked to the lamp. They glanced at each other and stood up. The door to Vale’s room opened, revealing Trever, “Hey, the electricity’s out…again. It’s not just us, either…it’s the same story with every building in Hyrule.”

“…Blackout.” Drake muttered, “Do you think-”

Trever nodded, “Yeah…something is up. Whatever it is, someone doesn’t want us to figure it out.”

“The Rain…” Vale said, staring out at the window. Trever and Drake looked at her. Vale continued looking at the storm outside and said, “It’s not natural.”

Drake and Trever looked at her, puzzled. Drake asked, “What are you talking about?”

Vale stood up and places her trembling hand on the glass, feeling the strangely warm rain, “This rain…I can sense something unnatural about it…the water…it’s been tainted with blood.”

The rain was pouring, and lightening seared through the blackened sky.

“Look, Link! Do you see it? What has happened to this place?” the Wind Waker, Link and King of Red Lions docks onto Greatfish Island. At the sight of broken wreckage and the lack of any life whatsoever, the boat stammered, “Wh-What is the meaning of this? The island...It is......We are too late. I knew we had precious little time, but I never suspected how little...A great water spirit named Jabun once lived here, but no sign of him remains...”

“Ho, there! Link!” Quill, a Rito whom had helped Link begin his quest, flies into view, Quill lands beside Link and wipes the water from his beak and eyes before continuing, “So, you’re here! I’ve been looking for you! Are you by chance seeking the Great Spirit, Jabun? I'm sorry to report to you that Jabun can no longer be found here. Just look at how this place has been torn to pieces... I suppose this, too, is the work of the shadow in Forsaken Fortress. But fear not! Jabun was able to flee this island before it was attacked. He is in a safer abode now. Would you like to guess where that abode may be? …On the island where you were born…on Outset.”

Link shouts in surprise, “Outset Island?! But that means…we have to go back!”

Quill interrupted a disturbed Link, “-Yet even if you were to go to Outset now, you would not be able to see Jabun. The cave where he hides is sealed with a mighty stone slab that repels all who try to pass it. Why, not even the pirates with their mighty ship could get in...”

Link thought about his family, his grandmother, his friends. Quill notices this and said, “...I must apologize, Link. I thought if anyone would know of your whereabouts, it would be the pirates. I told them this tale without so much as a thought for the consequences. I don’t know what they hoped to get, but they immediately set sail for Outset Island and tried to break into the cave...It is lucky that they could not gain entrance. I have heard that they were last spotted on Windfall Island, but doing what, I do not know. If you wish to see Jabun, I think you'd better search for the pirates on Windfall Island.”

Quill looks around the wreckage with a troubled expression, “What an eerie isle this is... Everywhere else boasts clear skies and calm seas, but this place suffers under dark clouds and rain. Valoo must have been right when he asked me to bring word of Jabun to you... He called this island cursed... I would counsel against staying here longer than you have to. ...But that is your decision. I have told you of Jabun, so my task is complete!” Quill flies away.

King of Red Lions sighs in relief as Link walks up to him, the boat exclaimed, “So, Jabun has survived! The sea spirit has lived through the trials of many long years. He must have caught wind of Ganon's attack beforehand... If we are to believe the words of the Rito postman, then the pirates know something about the cave where Jabun hides. Why don't we go first to Windfall and search for them there?”

Link knew his home wasn’t in any actual danger yet, but he knew he had to hurry if it was to stay that way. Link hops into the boat and sets sail towards Windfall Island. He was going to pay Tetra and her crew a little visit.

Vale sat in bed, under the covers as the rain pitter-pattered against her window. She was reading a book; it was her mother’s diary. The candle beside her bed glowed faintly, lighting up her room.

The others were doing who knows what. All she knew was that she wasn’t needed at the moment.

She turned the page and muttered, “…Mother, were you really this depressed?”

Suddenly, the candle beside her flickered. She glanced at it out of the corner of her eye without turning her head.

Her eyes stared back down to the book. After a few silent moments, Vale tosses the book aside and summons her staff. She looks up over her bed to see a female Sheikah, already falling from the ceiling towards her, dressed like the male Sheikah from before, red visors glowing strongly. This one had short black hair; her face was covered under the mask and visor.

“-Akari!!!” Vale shouts without knowing why. As soon as the Sheikah lands on Vale, the candle flickers harder and goes out, leaving the room in darkness once again.

All this happened in a split second.