The Legend of Zelda: Wisdom and Courage

Chapter 20: Conquest of Chaos

Veran was assured of her victory. After all, she had planned everything out so well that there was little room left for any error. She had taken into account every last detail and had a solution for everything in case something went wrong, tying up every last loose end she came across. She had practiced extreme patience and cunning, and had studied all the necessary lore down to the letter to ensure that she was leaving nothing out. She had gathered every last bit of powerful magic that her tribe still had left and had collected all of the resources that would aid in her success. And now, she had the prize that she had sought after for so long: the golden power of the gods, the Triforce.

With its full strength at her command, the Sorceress of Shadows was unstoppable. As a show of her enhanced magic and might, Veran had laid waste to the capital city of Hyrule, and had shortly after done the same to its castle. The only building she had left standing among the rubble was the Temple of Time, and solely for the fact that it was there that the entrance to the Sacred Realm was located, a place which she hoped to conquer once her conquest of Hyrule was through. But Veran was in no rush; she wanted to savor the destruction of the kingdom that had been denied to her ancestors as much as she could. Yet even so, the land of Hyrule was already hers. None could hope to stand against her awesome power, not even the former princess or her fallen hero, both of whom Veran had successfully slaughtered when she destroyed the castle. Her only regret was not getting to murder them with her own hands, but she had been too excited upon gaining the complete Triforce that she didn't bother to waste any more time on the two of them. But even in all her formidable strength, the sorceress was still not satisfied. She craved even more power, beyond what even the omnipotent Triforce could give her. Where she could get such power, even she did not know, but she did know of those who would have such knowledge, and she would stop at nothing until she obtained it.

Veran's purpose in traveling to the forbidden desert prison was actually two-fold. Both of her reasons involved the spirits of the ancient sages who had sent her back to her realm, where she was imprisoned by her own foolish people for roughly seventeen long, hard years. When she had finally found her way back into the world of light, the sorceress had made sure to stay out of the detection of the sages and thanks to her decisiveness, she had been able to avoid capture. Now that the Triforce was hers to control, even they would be powerless to stop her dark regime, for there were few in the entire world who could even try to defeat her without being immediately destroyed. And so she headed to their dwelling place within the Arbiter's Grounds, not only to force them into revealing another source of power, but also to brag about their inability to stop her. The old fools would pay for sending her back to her hated home, just as Hyrule would pay for its unfair prosperity.

Veran arrived within the sage's chamber in a flourish of flame, with a dark smirk already showing on her face. "Hear me ancient sages of Hyrule!" she shouted to the empty, sun-burnt area, knowing that the hidden spirits would hear her voice. "It is I, Veran, the former Sorceress of Shadow. Now that I have the Triforce in my hands, I shall henceforth be referred to as the Queen of Shadows. Come out from hiding, you cowards, and hear my demands, for there is nothing you can do to defeat me!"

Slowly but surely, the ethereal, ghostlike forms of the six sages materialized atop the six circular spires high above the chamber, each one bearing their respective symbols. In the future that did not occur, when Hyrule had been in danger under Ganondorf's reign, they had taken on physical forms of varying races in order aid the Hero of Time. But since the threat of the Gerudo King had been diminished, there was no longer any need for them to take such forms. Now they existed in these identical, mystical forms, the secret of their protection over Hyrule and their very existence hidden away from most who lived in the kingdom. Veran scowled up at them in hatred, remembering how they had banished her back to her native home years ago, just as she had been on the pinnacle of claiming the kingdom as her own. "Foolish sages…" she hissed in ire for the suffering they had caused her. "I command you to tell me the locations of any remaining sources of power within the land of Hyrule. Do this, or be destroyed by my incredible might!"