Wisdom: Some think it equivalent to knowledge. While both are yielded through learning, they have one fundamental difference: knowledge can be acquired from hours of study, but wisdom must be amassed from years of experience. Wisdom can be passed down through generations of sages, compiling an ever-growing pool of information on judgment, which is used in every decision.
Link was outside the city gate in the pouring rain, writhing in pain once more. But this time, he saw something else... a vision within his nightmare... of the Ocarina of Time, dramatically displacing a splash of water, slowly dropping down into the liquid, becoming engulfed by the fluid mass.
He jolted awake. He did not want to look at the river on which he was gently floating down. After receiving thanks from the Zora people and their king, he managed to borrow a row boat to take on the Zora River overnight to Castle Town, promising to return for his betrothed... someday.
The pieces of his dream were coming together: first, there was the flight of the Hyrulean princess and her attendant on the white mare, with the pursuing Gerudo king on his black stallion, both clear as day. Then there's the rest, happening more like a blur: the torture of Ganondorf's dark magic, the object floating past his vision, revealed as the legendary Ocarina of Time, the tongues of the flames licking the city beyond the ramparts of its wall, and now... the Ocarina of Time sinking into an elusive body of water.
"Restless sleep again?" Navi asked grimly.
Link nodded. The visions were fresh in his mind.
"We will get to Zelda and put an end to this!" she reassured, "do you have the royal decree of entry ready?"
Link rummaged through his knapsack. He had a depleted wallet and no more food... just the skin of water he packed, the two bottles he now had, the map and compass from Impa, the ocarina from Saria, and there it was, the letter signed by Zelda.
"I have it here," he replied.
Link also reached for the Spiritual Stones he toiled for. With such legacy behind them, who knew when they were last united like this?
It was morning, and they were out of the hills about Zora's Domain, in the openness of the Hyrule Plain. It was sunny, but the clouds above began to shift. They grew thicker... and darker... very quickly.
"Oh, no..."
Link felt a bottomless pit open in his stomach, sucking the hope he had down into it. He grabbed the oar and rowed to the left shore. Forgetting about the boat, he abandoned it, and ran... ran as fast as he could.
The rain began to fall, thunder ominously booming in the distance, streaks of lightning flashing before it. It picked up... rapidly, puddles forming in the wild grass, turning the soil to mud beneath his boots as they slammed to the ground in a presto rhythm.
Link grew weary from sprinting, panting through his pursed lips as they dripped with the pouring rain. But he endured... he had to. He had to get there before it happened. It was all he could focus on. Every other thought was pushed aside in a tunnel... a vision... set on one single goal.
Finally, the gate came into view. The uncanny resemblance to his dream blew him away even further in the rain. As he approached the gate, he noticed the drawbridge was closed.
"Navi, I have a bad feeling about this," Link groaned.
There was an earsplitting boom from within the walls, followed by the sight of dark smoke rising in the rain. In response, the drawbridge began to creak open...
"No," Link cried, his heart racing, "no, no, no!"
Link tried to convince himself this was not happening. He told himself this was not real... a dream. Yes, another nightmare of his; he was still peacefully afloat on the serene waters of the Zora River on that calm morning.
The white mare emerged from the gate. Impa was charging forward, determined to get her princess to safety, or at least away from Ganondorf. Was it the plan they hatched to defy him? Was it the royal family secret key, which Zelda played with such beauty in the palace courtyard so many days ago?
Right as they passed Link, Zelda saw him, just as she did in that wretched dream. However, she turned, flinging her arm in Link's direction, chucking something high over his head. Looking up at it, Link saw what it was. He recognized the glimmer of the raindrops stuck to it. The Ocarina of Time spun with the same gyrating pattern as it did in his nightmare, all the way to the outer rim of the city, which was now subjected to flames, dancing as they did in his nightmare. It splashed into the river-fed moat... the one that supposedly protected the city. It engulfed it as the water did in his latest nightmare.
Link blamed himself for taking too long... just one day... one hour earlier... and this could have been prevented. He was enraged, furious with himself that he allowed this to happen.
The thunderous sound of the maleficent hooves was picking up... a harbinger for what he was about to face. The black stallion emerged from the glowing orange gate and crossed the drawbridge. It reared as its master tightened the reigns.
"Damn it," the master yelled, looking off to the south, "I lost her..."
He noticed the boy with a fairy standing off the side of the road, frozen with fear. Yes, Link was afraid... not just of Ganondorf, but of this moment. This moment had been haunting him for days, and now it was a reality, a realization of something out of his control. What he would give for this realization to be false...
Ganondorf looked him over with his golden eyes, and smirked with one side of his mouth, chuckling ever so slightly. "Hey, kid."
Link remained frozen in place, breathing air in and out at the pace of a fire blower.
"You must have seen the white horse gallop past just now," he coldly insisted, "which way did it go?"
Link was still frozen. The only thing not realized from his dream was...
"Answer me!" Ganondorf demanded, with his hand raised, effortlessly commanding the invisible force Link dreaded. It knocked him off his feet, landing him squarely on his back. "Tell me!" Ganondorf growled as the magic ran through Link, doling out the same excruciating pain as it did in his nightmare. Writhing on the ground, Link refused to give him anything.
Finally, it stopped. "So, you think you can protect them from me..." he scoffed arrogantly, "you've got guts, kid."
Shaking, Link struggled to his feet.
"Heh heh-heh," he laughed, slowly and brutally, "you want a piece of me?" He raised his hand again, making Link flinch. "Very funny! I like your attitude. You're a pathetic little fool, though, you know that? Do you realize who you're dealing with!?"
Link was shivering. Whether it was from the rain or from the curse was not apparent. But tears were sliding down his face, and the reason for that... was apparent.
"I am Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo, and soon... I will be the King of Hyrule!"
He flipped the reigns, and the horse galloped onward, after Zelda and Impa.
"I'm sorry Link," Navi apologized, "I just... froze up."
Navi was not a perfect creature... no fairy was... neither the Kokiri, nor the Hylians for that matter, nor the Gorons or Zora, nor the Sheikah even... nor the Gerudo... definitely not the Gerudo. "So-did I, Navi. So-did I."
Link walked to the drawbridge and looked onward down the avenue. The fire was all over. Some edifices were already reduced to rubble. Link was nearly frozen again with sheer shock... and sadness. There was a crowd moving towards him: civilians, evacuating the terrors. Link could hear their screams growing louder.
"The Ocarina, Link!" said Navi.
Of course! Link had nearly forgotten. Zelda must have figured that getting it to Link was her only hope. "That's why she threw it," Link said, thinking aloud.
He ran to the bank of the moat. It was there, glimmering like the message in the bottle was. He dove in. Once he felt the cool ceramic in his palm, he grasped it, and returned to the shore.
It seemed to glow with a mystical light... and a mystical tune... A D, F A D, F. He did not know how, but Link was hearing this haunting tune, and he knew it to be the final key to unlocking the Door of Time, and retrieving the sacred relic known as the Triforce.