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eeling encouraged that his quest was already halfway over, Link returned to the Maku Tree, seeking its advice to find the fifth of the eight Essences. Though the Black Tower was still growing ominously taller as time passed, the changing past gradually being projected into the present, Link felt a little more comfortable about the situation, feeling as if there indeed was enough time to stop the Gerudo witches from achieving their goal. Despite this, Link still hurried towards the Maku Tree, hoping to seek more wisdom from the guardian of the land. Link approached the tree once again with reverence, and the Maku Tree smiled and directed him northward towards the mountain range in the northernmost coast of the isle, known as the Rolling Ridge Mountains. "There within the sprawling caves of the mountains," the Maku Tree said, "you will find what you seek. The Essence calls from the present, but only through the path of the past will you find your way."

Link left the presence of the tree and then jumped into the past before heading into the wilderness once again, passing through the land that would one day become Nayru's grove and into what laid beyond: the ominous mountains. He followed the narrow, dusty trail, wandering between the tall rocky walls that surrounded him on both sides. The trail led into a series of caverns, some of which seemed to be formed by the echoes of time, stalactites and stalagmites reaching desperately to one another, while others seemed to have been freshly dug, the sides of the walls still rough and jagged, rubble casually resting upon the cavern floor. Just as Link thought the path would never reach an end, soon he found a throng of Gorons living within was to be a cavernous city, but Link did not see such for between the hero and the sprawling city was a great boulder that had fallen down from the cave's ceiling, sealing off the antechamber from the rest of the cavern. The Gorons seemed desperate to remove the boulder for apparently their chieftain had been trapped beneath the heavy boulder when it fell, and the rock was too hard to break with their mighty fists. They knew that a Bomb Flower would be able to break the rock, but to their disappointment their crop that year had withered and died because of a severe drought. Link sighed as he left them, but soon he became encouraged and used the harp to bring him to the present, hoping that the Gorons there would have Bomb Flowers, but alas, they too did not have the precious bloom for a Moblin residing within the mountains had stolen their own crop. Link nodded and, knowing that his only path to the Essence was through the bolder of ages past, sought out for the keep of this enemy of the Gorons built high on the mountainside.

Link entered the keep secretly and stealthily, making sure not to alert the monsters there of his presence. He crept into the throne room of the keep where he found the Moblin that had stolen the precious flowers. Despite Link's precautions, the Moblin, known to his minions as the Great Moblin, had indeed been expecting Link's arrival, having personally seen Link draw near to the keep minutes before. The Moblin, angered by Link's audacity and his minions' ineptitude to the point of carelessness, heaved his stolen bombs at the Hero, not caring about the devistation he was causing to his own keep. Link dodged the bombs as they were thrown, evading their deadly explosions. Soon, as the walls began to crumble from the bombs' explosive might, the keep itself threatened to collapse, and Link quickly escaped from the a hole in the wall prior to the ceiling crashing down upon the Moblin lord, crushing him under its weight. Bomb flowers spilled out from his cache as the floors and walls gave way, thus allowing the Gorons to win back their pride. Quickly, Link returned to the Goron city and announced to the Gorons the good news, and in return for his efforts, they granted his one wish, to keep a single of the blooms for himself.

He returned to the past and offered the explosive flower to the Gorons, who were ecstatic by the gift. They heaved the bomb flower into the boulder, and the resulting explosion created a prominent fissure in the rock, splitting it in two and causing it to slowly slide off of the buried elder. The elder emerged from the boulder, standing up again with a great grin upon his face. He seemed completely unharmed at all, and to many this was not a surprise since the chieftain was well known for his strength and endurance. He thanked Link for the rescue and shook his hand mightily in appreciation. For his deeds, the Goron chieftain offered Link as a reward the Crown Key, a symbol of power within the tribe. He told Link that this key would open the resting place for their deceased chiefs of the past, great warriors and diggers in their own time. It was a place that no Hylian had ever been allowed to enter until that moment. Link thanked the Goron and left their presence. From the side of a cliff, Link could see the tomb that the Gorons had told him of, but Link knew that could not reach it, for a great gorge separated him from his objective. Link used the harp once more to the present, and his highest hopes had been realized, for a new path had been cut away to reach the palace within the present, and so he entered the Crown Dungeon.

The dungeon, Link could tell, was a majestic place, a place that was of great honor. The rooms nearest the entrance of the Goron graveyard were largely ceremonial, filled with rich decoration of Goron craft. Deeper within, however, the rooms turned into hard stone, left perhaps purposefully unfinished, and it was here where the twin witches' taint had seeped. The dungeon had, as had all of them before, been taken over by monsters. Link's blade had swept through the enemies that stood against them, his courage becoming more and more prominent within him as he fought them one by one. He continued deeper into the mausoleum, and eventually he uncovered within an ancient chest a treasure that the Hero easily recognized. It was a long slender staff, its hue a rich mix of deep red and vibrant orange, the colors of the setting sun. It was a Cane of Somaria, identical to the one he had once found in the Dark World. As he examined it, he noticed a small inscription upon it in his own tongue, and it read:

In this year, we are bound together.
The future of our peoples shall be forever bright.
May The Golden Spirit bind us all in prosperity.

Link smiled, and he remembered the ancient tales of the world of the seas. The Golden Spirit, once the ship belonging to a queen of Hyrule, had been the ship that had discovered these lands nearly two centuries ago. The magical cane apparently had been a gift to this land in hopes that good tidings would bind them together, and the magicians of old must have made several, leaving one within the borders of their ancient land. Taking the precious artifact from its place, he continued his quest into the dungeon, where the Essence lay waiting.

Link entered the final room of the dungeon, and as the door shut behind him, it rapidly filled with a thick fog that hindered all vision. Soon it began to coalesce into a single form, a dense cloud so thick that it seemed virtually solid. A face appeared within it, hidden slightly by the rustling wind. Link rushed forward to the cloud and thrust his sword into it, but his sword did not find anything to strike, and Link, thrown off balance, fell within the cloud, lost to its wiles. Link coughed violently as he passed through the cloud, dizzy without air to breathe, and slowly he crawled his way out from the cloud and into fresh air. The cloud, named Smog, turned around to face the hero, and after emitting a devious chuckle, it sent a stream of gas at him, hoping to suffocate the hero into submission and death. Without any other chance of escape, Link used the cane to create a block before him, effectively diverting the stream of dust from reaching him, and then with another swish of the cane, the block ceased to be as it split into energy bolt aimed at the monster. The blast from the cane penetrated the cloud and electrified it, causing it to swirl out of control and vanish. The dust streamed out of it and fell into a pile upon the floor, again shaping into something solid. Link came to the pile and examined it, and instead of dust it had become dirt; indeed it became the Sacred Soil: earth that would provide its warmth throughout the generations. Link was relieved to have yet another Essence behind him, knowing soon that the final battle would inevitably draw nigh.

As Link left the ancient Goron temple, a gentle breeze wafted towards Link, carrying with it the voice of the Maku Tree. The tree had whispered congratulations to the warrior as well as a heartfelt offering of thanks, for indeed the memory of the tree was slowly being restored. Link smiled happily, hoping that the tree could feel his sentiment. The tree did, but despite this, it felt a momentary confusion, for despite Link's attainment of the Sacred Soil, it still felt the calling from an Essence within the mountaintops, this time far back into the past. Link said that he would investigate it, and so he returned to the Goron caverns and asked them if they knew of any other temples buried in the mountain valleys. The chieftain of the Gorons mentioned that there was another city of Gorons similar to their own living in the easternmost mountains of the island, and that they lived near a place known as the Mermaid's Cave, a place they had guarded for several hundred years.

Thanking the chief for his time, Link went into the east through the winding hills to where the Gorons stood guard, and there the eldest of the Gorons told of a tale long remembered about the Mermaid's Caverns. He told of a legend that believed that those who dared to enter the caverns and survive the tests presented to him would be able to swim as fast and as deep as the fish of the sea; however, such tales were mere legends now, hardly believed by the Gorons, not to mention inconsequential due to their loathing of the sea. Link inquired further about the caverns, but the elder had no more knowledge of the caves. However, he could see how eager the boy was, and so the elder bestowed upon him the key to the caverns, wishing the boy luck in his quest for the power of the fishes.

The hero put aside the Gorons' legend for the moment and refocused himself upon the Essence, and so Link, heeding the tree's advice, sent himself into the past by way of the Harp of Ages and used the ancient key upon the lock to the caverns. There he saw a palace half flooded. Though a drought had claimed the Bomb Flower crop, the underground caverns were deluged with waters from the sea beyond, as if some hidden tunnel connected the two together. The deep waters and deadly riptides made many rooms impossible to pass, and this caused Link think all the more about the legendary story told to him by the Goron elder. His hopes of finding that which would make him as fast as the fishes, however, were dashed when he finally reached a huge pool of churning seawater, the ceiling gradually lowering itself completely into the water, thus blocking his path forward. The item was not accessible in the past, and so instead, trusting in the Goron's advice, he returned to the present and fought his way through the dungeon once more to find that the water no longer filled the rooms in the present age, and so Link rushed quickly in to find the Mermaid Suit resting daintily upon a pillar. At once, with the ability of the fishes, he returned to the past and donned the vestment, leaping into the water. At first, he felt strange, but he quickly became quite used to no longer needed to breathe the free air above the surface as well as no longer feeling the violent sea currents rip across him, making it feel as if the sea completely tame.

Link swam for a good distance beneath the waves, farther than he could have made it without the suit, before surfacing once again in a room that had a ceiling just a short height above the water's line. The few lanterns lit merely revealed the room with a dim light, the candles' reflections flickering and swaying ominously against the walls of the room. Link clambered atop a tall pillar, its surface skimming the water's surface, even before he could remove the Mermaid's Suit from his body, a great fish suddenly leapt out of the water and spat a rock towards the hero at high speed. Link saw it just in time, rolling out of the way from the fish. The fish, known as the Octogon Fish, splashed in annoyance and shot several more at the hero, but Link had now had time to raise his shield, and all the rocks that connected were deflected by Link's defense. With nothing more that it could do to ambush Link, the fish finally submerged into the water, hoping to catch Link by surprise once it leapt out once again, but Link was prepared and jumped into the water with his sword at the ready. The moment he plunged into the water, after getting his bearings in the underwater realm, he quickly dove straight towards the fish, his sword pointed directly at it. The fish, caught unaware, only had time to turn towards Link before the sword struck him in the head, splitting it open and sending a black liquid out into the water. Link backed away and watched it as it convulsed in its death, and just as it began to dissolve into the water, it shot out a final rock, but it was a rock unlike the others, for it appeared to be a model of a snow-capped mountain. As soon as Link held it in its hands, he knew that it was the sixth Essence, the Bereft Peak, a lonely spirit that remained stalwart throughout all of time. Link placed it within his pack and returned towards the entrance, taking off the Mermaid Suit before emerging from the cavern.

Not hearing a message from the Maku Tree as he left the dungeon, Link returned to Lynna Village to where the Maku Tree resided, and the tree seemed almost giddy with delight as Link entered, yet despite its good humor, it only whispered to Link, as if it were afraid that someone might be watching them. "Link, Queen Ambi is getting ready to leave the castle, and she is taking her personal guards with her towards the Black Tower. This might be our only chance to rescue Nayru from Veran's clutches! Go to the castle, quickly!" Without delay, Link hurried to the bridge next to the castle, ducking behind a bush to wait for his chance; however, Link was not alone, for Ralph had heard the same news and was also seeking to rescue Nayru. Ralph told Link of a secret passageway into the castle, told to him by one of the villagers, and they agreed it was the best way to enter the castle unseen. Shortly their whispers fell silent as Ambi's entourage made their way from the castle walls, beyond the heroes' hiding place, and towards the Black Tower to the south. Link and Ralph came out and quickly sneaked into the castle before the gates could be closed.

Together, the duo headed for the hidden entrance into the castle, evading the sight of the few remaining guards stationed about the courtyard. Once inside, Ralph and Link looked at one another and realized quickly that their chances of being unseen would be better if they split up and tried to find Nayru on their own. Link wished Ralph luck as Ralph did to Link, and Link left in search of the throne room. The castle was full of servants performing the common tasks that kept the castle running from day to day, but Link found it very strange, having known how Hyrule Castle itself was operated, that soldiers were present everywhere as they supervised every chore being done, making sure that none of the servants had a moment's rest. Figuring that Veran was to blame for this, he slipped silently through the corridors, heading upstairs into the grand banquet room. From a strategic vantage point, he could see that the throne room was still guarded, and so he crept towards the door while hiding in the shadows caused by the pillars in the room, and upon reaching the door, Link sent the first guard into unconsciousness by hitting him on the helmet with the hilt of his sword. The second guard turned to look in surprise as Link immediately brought the flat of the blade against the other guard's suit of armor. The shock of the blow was so great that the guard collapsed in a dizzy haze, unaware of what happened.

Link shut the door him, and latched it, sealing away all others from intruding. The moment the latch was in place, however, the room turned pitch black save for a few lanterns illuminating the throne room. The windows, through some unforeseen force or magic, had been promptly shut, darkening the room to make it devoid of light. An eerie voice then sought to refill the room's vacuum, laughing at first before speaking. "So, you think you are bold, do you, Link? You think you can destroy me and prevent the Age of Shadow from coming? Worry not, for the battle is already lost to you. Soon the Flame of Sorrow will be lit, and then it will be merely a matter of time before the land will be covered in Darkness!"

Link scanned the room for the Oracle desperately, trying to find her, but try as he might, he could not find her; instead, he tried to stall for time. "That is, of course, unless I destroy you first."

"Fool!" Veran said harshly. "You wouldn't dare strike your precious Oracle, would you? You may strike at me, but it will be Nayru who dies! Are you still eager to fight?"

Link paused for a moment, wondering whether or not the sorceress' words were indeed true, but if they were, he could not chance killing Nayru. "Well," Link finally answered, his voice in a tone of mock-apathy, "if that is the way of things, then perhaps you'll see just how much Nayru means to me!" Link dug into the satchel of seeds that he had been collecting as he wandered over Holodrum and Labrynna, and he pulled out small handful, tossing them to the ground. Link's hope came true as apparently a few of the seeds within his fist had been Ember Seeds, for as those seed split apart upon the marble tiling, bright flames came out of it, once again lighting the room albeit dimly, finally revealing the Oracle of Ages, sitting upon the throne. It revealed more than that, however, for it revealed the sly, sarcastic expression upon the hero's lips. "That is, if you're willing."

"It would be my pleasure."

Nayru stood and leapt into the air, almost floating gently in a glide before landing nearly halfway across upon the marble floor. Her hands rose up, a finger pointed at Link, and the hero recognized this as the sign of a spell, and so he ran away from Nayru's gaze just as an energy blast electrified the air behind him. As Nayru recovered from the exhaustion of the spell, Link reached into his satchel once more and pulled out a green seed, known as a Mystery Seed, aimed it upon his slingshot, and fired it into Nayru's body. The shot surprised Nayru, and she began to laugh wickedly at first in retort, but inevitably her face turned pale and weak, and she collapsed onto the floor; Link's grin looked as if he had just been victorious, for the Mystery Seed was a rare find that typically induced a brief sleep upon the victims it ensnared, and he supposed that Veran would not be able to inhabit Nayru in that status. Behind Nayru, a figure started to appear, her expression quite angry and loathsome. Veran, now without her host body to hide in, appeared in her true form, and again she pointed at Link and cast a dark beam at the hero, hoping to split him in half. Link hid behind a pillar in the room, but soon he realized that the beam was destroying the pillar itself, slicing the pillar into two. With little time to spare, Link emerged from the pillar and took the sword from his scabbard, hurling it across the room at Veran with all his might. Link's shot had been blind, and while it had strayed from its desired course, it still managed to slice her right shoulder deeply, severing veins and spilling blood everywhere. The sorceress screamed out in pain but continued to fight, and try as Link might, he could not retrieve his sword from the witch for Veran knew that without it, the hero was powerless.

Just then, Queen Ambi burst into the throne room, the windows being cast open in response to her command. She began to demand an explanation, but soon stopped short once she saw her ally Nayru asleep upon the floor as well as an unfamiliar Veran hurling ominous spells at the Hero. A voice was uttered, but it was not the queen's. It was Veran who spoke, interrupting the sentence Ambi would never say. "Well, this bodes interesting. Link, you have not seen the last of me yet!" The sorceress melded into shadow once more abandoning her true form, and quickly Link rushed for his sword. After picking it off the ground, Link spun to see Veran descending into Ambi's body, making it much too late to destroy Veran with just power and might alone; instead, he rushed back to the Oracle Nayru, only now waking up in a great confusion. Link helped her up carefully, telling her quickly that he would protect her until they escaped.

Soon Veran's shrill laugh once again haunted the air, and Link knew that she and Ambi had finally merged into one body. "At last! Link, you fool. The Black Tower is nigh completed, and already sorrow has plagued this land's people. The flame will light regardless of your meddling. I no longer need your witch Nayru; I only need the power of the past in order to fulfill Koume's and Kotake's vision!"

Unexpectedly, at that moment Ralph broke through the doors into the royal chambers to find Nayru already under Link's care, but he gasped upon seeing the queen's face, already distorted and pallid under Veran's influence. Nayru was free, but Ambi was now made prisoner to Veran's wishes. "You're just in time, Ralph... just in time to die. Guards! I sentence these three to immediate death! Do what you must!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it, Veran!" cried the cerulean-haired oracle. "You may have your power, but I still control time. Behold!" The mage of time lifted her arms into the air, spread open like the wings of a bird, and a great light surged through the room, filling it with light so bright that it would blind any who saw it. All stood in place, averting their sight with their hands, and in a flash, Link felt the distortions of time pulling at him as it had so many times before, and shortly he was back in the present, resting outside Nayru's cottage in the woods.

The three took a breath of relief, glad to be free from Veran's grip, but it was Nayru who blushed with shame, her head turning towards the ground. "Oh goddesses, what have I done?" she cried aloud. "My hand has touched all of this. Link, I am sorry. My deeds have caused you great wrong, and you have spent your days here fixing the wrongs I have created. Can I ever be forgiven, Link?"

Link merely placed a hand upon Nayru's shoulder and then lifted her chin with the forefinger of his other hand. "Nayru, it was not you who caused this to happen. It has been the work of Veran. You are as clean as the snow in winter."

The Oracle had no choice but to smile. "Thank you, Hero. I am ever grateful for your words. However, now it is time that I set things right. My power to influence time is limited; it is governed by rules that even I do not quite understand. But I can do what I can... and Link! You have the Harp of Ages! You have my spirit with you wherever you go so long as you carry my sacred instrument. I give it to you with the hope that you might save our island from devastation. The seventh Essence is far to the southwest on a small isle in the Great Sea, but Veran's deeds have polluted the waters and made the way impassible save one that I shall create for you, a pathway that transcends time itself.

"Link, I bind myself to you and make my power yours. Link, let me teach you the Tune of Time, the tune that will let you transgress the time freely from past to present and even the future, but I know you shall use it wisely and not for your own good. Give me the Harp, and I shall teach you its melody."

Link did as the Oracle asked of him, and he watched carefully as the maiden played the notes upon the shimmering instrument. After playing it twice, she handed it back, and Link plucked the strings delicately, playing the song from memory perfectly. The Oracle applauded his performance and gave him a gentle hug. "Now, Hero, do what Destiny has called you to do... what you have wished of Destiny. Find the meaning of Power, Wisdom, and Courage before you. Already the Triforce has accepted you; already you have begun to know what the Triforce stands for. Go, save Labrynna, and your journey shall be complete. If ever you do need my aid, do not hesitate to ask of me what you will. Fare thee well, and may the Way of the Hero lead to the Triforce."

Link gave a smile to both Nayru and Ralph, and after given them a few words of confidence and encouragement, he began his journey south towards the Great Sea, where the final two Essences awaited him.