PART IV

XXIV

Getting out of Hyrule was not simple. Firstly, I had to wait for a coach to show up – a few hours waiting in the searing sun. Secondly, I had to explain to him why I was out in the desert; I think I said I wanted to take some night photographs of the temple. And then, thirdly, I had to get through customs with an artefact tucked under my clothing. Fortunately, I was not checked. I could not put it in my Mana Storage, because it is inherently magical. The weight of such an object in Storage, within my mind, would cause it to implode. I looked into Hyrulian law later on and found that it would have come under treasure-hunting, so it was acceptable to take it outside of the country.

My thirst for light continued. The sunshine was not enough to satisfy it. Knowing that it was for light, I racked my brain to see what I could do. I would try being near electric lights once I got back to the Mushroom Kingdom; it did not work.

It had caused a problem going into the Kingdom, so I had to declare it as a weapon of personal protection, even if I didn’t know how to use it. Having no original need for a suitcase or backpack, and no such place selling them in Termina, I had to keep it with me. I was afraid to let it out of my sight.

That night, I sat on the bed of my hotel room in one of the free overnight hostels that are in Toad Town, and weighed it all up. I was holding the boomerang in my hand at the time, tapping it against the palm of my other hand. I needed light, and that light needed to be strong and as pure as possible. I thought about lasers, but it seemed to be ridiculous to shoot myself. So, if I did not know what this problem with light was all about, I would go where I would be sure to get an answer.

I phoned Aunt Tia – fortunately, the Archipelago is only a few hours behind the Mushroom Kingdom. I talked to her about my trip, until I got to Hyrule. I could not find words to say.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m still here. I just…”

“What?”

“…Do you know the Spirit Temple in Hyrule?”

“Yes, I’ve heard of it. What’s wrong, Dyluck?”

“I think I’ve had some sort of supernatural experience.”

“Well, I’m sure that the place is very inspiring, but–”

“Not like that. After seeing it, I had dreams. I kept being told that there was something in there; told, Aunt Tia. Every night I was in Hyrule. So I went there, and went in, and…I found a boomerang.”

“Come again?”

“Dreams told me to go in the Spirit Temple, I did; I found a boomerang. It’s true, Aunt Tia, you have to believe me.”

“…Okay. But what’s so special about a boomerang?”

“I touched it and had visions. And now I…it’s hard to explain. All I know is that it involves light.”

“…Right…so…”

“I’m not coming back to Yoshiville,” I told her. “At least…at least not for a while.”

“Where are you heading to?”

“Gold City, on Fa’Diel. There’s a palace there that’s devoted totally to light. I think they can give me answers, if…if it’s not where I’m supposed to be. I have the boomerang with me; maybe they can look at it.”

“So when will you be back?”

“I don’t know.”

At this point the phone beeped at me.

“I have to go, Aunt Tia, it’s about to disconnect me,” I spoke quickly. “I guess this is goodbye, at least for a while.”

“Alright, you take care, Dyluck, and make sure you tell your parents. All the best, and may the gods be with you.”

“You too, Aunt Tia. Bye.”

After my Heratu’s attack, I awoke on a bed of Matango Terminal. I then called my parents. It was late at night and they would have been asleep, so I left a message on the answering machine that basically said what I told Aunt Tia and that I was going to the Light Palace.

I paid my cannon fare and I felt that I was now back home. After experiencing Yamauchi’s slow methods of transport for a number of weeks, it was just like meeting an old friend. I purchased a map of Gold City and a travel bag to wear for the boomerang.

It was also night-time in Gold City when I arrived, but it did not seem to matter to the locals: the city never sleeps. As soon as I arrived, I realised why it was called Gold City: everything is coated in shiny yellow metal. Whether or not it is actually gold is something that is not revealed, but the place dazzles by day, and in the heart of it all is the Light Palace, a tower that used to stand taller than the rest of the town until they built the skyscrapers. Now it makes up for its height with a dazzling laser shooting up into the sky by day and night.

So it was quite easy to find amidst the bustle of the city. I was impressed by all of the technology around me. I had seen the number of things my mother ordered from the Gilded Isle over the years and had always liked them: now I was surrounded by them. Oh, how Ark would have loved it!

I arrived at the Palace’s gates and discovered that it would not open until sunrise, so I had to spend the night. Well, let me tell you something that is an essential survival guide for the non-Fa’Dieli: Gold City is expensive. The room in the hotel cost 1000 Lucre, and that was for just one night, with the company family discount. Most of that is made up of taxes towards the city, and I think I know where it all goes to, if that metal really is gold. I was worried that I was going to need to take out a personal mortgage, or even sell the boomerang, if I was going to stay there any longer. Fortunately, I would not need to.

The next morning, I went to the Light Palace. Even though I have seen taller buildings, looking up at its tower evoked the same sense of awe I had at the Spirit Temple. It seemed so large, and I was so small and insignificant compared to it, like just a drop of water in the river of time. Inside, the feeling continued. Stained-glass windows pour in from all directions, making the place a veritable kaleidoscope. When I go there nowadays, I still have pangs of this first feeling.

I had arrived with the tourists, and so when I went to talk to one of the acolytes, she immediately passed me off as one.

“Excuse me, I need to talk to someone about something in private,” I said quietly in perfect Pandoran as she tried to get away.

She stopped, turned, and came over to me. “I have never heard one of your kind speak Pandoran like that,” she told me, surprised. She then frowned and continued, “You are carrying a weapon of magical qualities; I can sense it on you. Should you harm me in any–”

“I don’t intend to,” I told her quickly. “It’s what I want to talk about. I don’t feel comfortable talking about it in a place like this with people around. Is there someone I can talk to?”

“Yes. One of the more senior acolytes should be able to help. Please, follow me.”

She led me upstairs, past more stained-glass windows and friezes of various places and events on Fa’Diel, over to a metal door. She knocked on it.

“Yes?” a man’s voice called from the other side, in Empiretongue.

She opened the door slightly, poked her head in and talked in the same language to him. After a brief reply, she turned to me and said, “Please, go in. Syoro Alyk will see you.”

I was ushered in. Even though his room seemed to function like an office, Syoro Alyk’s room was still impressive. Light was everywhere, making everything glow: somehow, I knew this was where I needed to be.

“Parano, Syoro…” he started as he stood.

“Yoshi von Kippo,” I answered.

“Syoro Yoshi von Kippo. Alright. Please, take a seat and tell me: what brings you to seek the advice of the Light Palace?”

“This,” I said, taking the boomerang out of my clothes and putting it on the desk. “I’m sure you can tell it’s magical. Ever since I found it, I’ve been feeling strange.”

“I see,” he answered. “If you feel that it has cursed you, I should be able to lift it for you.”

“I don’t think it’s that.” I told him about my experience with the Spirit Temple and how I felt that I needed strong, pure light. “That’s why I’m here.”

“Are you sure this is not a curse?”

“I’m pretty sure. My thirst for light is the only real ill effect of this and that doesn’t sound like a curse to me.”

“Curses can come in many different forms, Syoro Yoshi von Kippo,” Syoro Alyk told me. “Let’s assume, however, that it isn’t for now. Please, allow me to study this weapon.”

I nodded to him, and he closed his eyes and put his hand over it. I could feel some fluctuations on the Mana Field before he snapped his eyes open.

“Syoro Yoshi von Kippo, if this boomerang is what I think it is…”

I blinked. “What is it?”

“Do you have any plans for the rest of your life?”

I blinked again and pulled my head back. “Why do you ask? I’m not…going to die…am I?”

“No, you aren’t, it’s just that…here. Please wait a moment.”

He pressed a button on a speaker-phone on his desk and waited for a pick-up at the other end. I was confused by what Syoro Alyk was telling me. What was this about plans for the rest of my life?

“Yes?” came a man’s voice at the other end.

“Syoro, Alyk here. I have something you really need to see. I mean, really need.”

“What is it?”

“A young gentleman Yoshi has come in with a magical boomerang and has talked to me about having a thirst for light and seeing images – apparently, Popoie was in them. I’ve run my hand over it and I need you to see it, if it is what I think it is, so that we’re sure.”

“Yes. Alright. Send him up. Thank you, Alyk.”

“You’re welcome, Syoro.”

He pushed the button on the phone and turned to me. “The Guardian of the Light Palace will talk to you. Please, come with me.”

I stood up as he made to leave. I was going to be talking to the Guardian of the Light Palace! I quivered slightly. “Is there something wrong?” I asked worriedly as I picked up the boomerang.

“No, you’re not going to die. The Guardian needs to just make sure about your weapon there.”

Syoro Alyk led me up some more floors of the Palace. I did not talk to him. My mind was trying to calm myself down. This was a Palace Guardian I was about to talk to. The most important people I had spoken to before in my life then were officers in the Pandoran Army. And now one of the most powerful people on Fa’Diel wanted to talk to me. To me, a mere son of Yoshi migrant innkeepers!

It was not long until we stood before the double wooden doors of the Guardian’s office. Syoro Alyk pressed a button, and after a moment, the doors swung open.

Standing behind his large wooden desk in robes of silver, white and gold was Shero Amanleo. Although they were not his ceremonial robes, the aged man was still impressive. I did not know whether or not I needed to bow or salute or kneel or anything.

“Parano,” he greeted, smiling warmly at me.

I remained silent, trying to find words to say.

“Yes, it must be rather daunting for you,” he replied to my failure to speak with a slight chuckle. “Please, take a seat and don’t be afraid. Thank you, Alyk.”

He nodded to the acolyte, who replied likewise. He turned and the doors closed behind him. I sat down in a comfortable leather chair as the Guardian of the Light Palace sat down in his across the desk from me. I gripped the armrests tightly and sat stiffly.

“For some reason, you look oddly familiar,” he told me, cocking his head. “Where have I seen you…ah yes! You would be Nase Porami’s friend, am I correct?”

I nodded.

“Good man, Nase. He talks about you fondly, Dyluck, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Syoro,” I replied in a near-whisper, my voice on the edge of quavering.

“Dyluck Yoshi…von Kippo, I believe it is now?”

“Yes, Syoro,” I answered likewise, wondering how many of the Guardians knew who I was.

“Good, good,” he said, smiling. “You may drop the ‘Syoro’ if you wish.”

His face was kind and his eyes twinkled. I began to relax.

“Syoro Alyk tells me that you have a boomerang you wish to identify, yes?” he asked.

“Yes, I do,” I replied, my voice slightly more confident, placing the boomerang on the desk before him.

“May I?” he said, holding his hand over it.

I nodded.

Once more, I felt the Mana Field ripple before I saw his eyes snap open.

“Well, well…this is unexpected indeed! How did you obtain this?”

I told him.

“Are you aware of what you have been carrying?”

I paused, and then shook my head.

He leaned forward and brought his hands together. “Your weapon has the same Mana signature as Kakkara’s Bow, Tasnica’s Whip, and the Mana Sword. All of them have the mark of Watts the Blacksmith in their crafting. This boomerang, I am happy to declare, is none other than Popoie’s Boomerang.”

I squeezed back in my chair, my mouth agape. The Mana Sprite of Legend had used this very weapon? No wonder I had seen Popoie in my visions! And, since this weapon had been lost for over 200 years, bringing it back would make me a hero!

“Congratulations, Syoro von Kippo. This does call for celebrations, but not before the time is right.”

I closed my mouth.

“Although it may seem that you have found this weapon, it is, in fact, the other way around. The weapon has found you. You spoke about having a thirst for light and, when I felt this weapon on the Field, it became clear to me that it has bonded itself to you.”

“Bonded?”

“Yes. It has been calling out for someone who can be worthy of its use and, with whom, become one. It wants to be a part of you, and you a part of it. For this to happen, you have to make yourself worthy of it.”

“Why me, though? Why me?”

“The Mana Knight asked the very same question. Of course, he was of the Tribe of Mana and could, therefore, wield the Sword; little did he know it at the time. But he was part of a greater purpose as, I’m sure, you are. You did not find this weapon, nor did it find you, by accident. It was fated.”

“But…but I’m just…just me. I haven’t done anything spectacular in my life. I’m not a great leader or powerful warrior or anything. I’m just a humble Yoshi who grew up here on Fa’Diel.”

“You’re not a great leader or powerful warrior now. But, you will be.”

“Surely, there’s someone better than me. Here, you take it and find someone.”

“I can’t do that, Dyluck,” he told me, refusing my offer by pulling back. “I can’t. It found you and you alone. You are not a messenger – I felt that in here,” he pointed at the boomerang. “You are a destination.”

“But…but why?”

“I don’t know either. What I do know is that you have some purpose for being alive that the cosmos has given to you. I am sure that you will discover it, and this weapon is merely a key.”

I closed my eyes and nodded. “I see,” I said, after a moment’s contemplation. “What happens now?”

The Guardian of the Light Palace leaned forward again. I opened my eyes and saw his features grow stern. “I have detected a feeling of…lust, in the boomerang. Not by the weapon itself: oh, no, but by those outside it. This is a key to the purpose of your life, but it has the potential to be a key to other people’s lives as well; people the weapon feels are not deserving of that. If this weapon were to fall into the hands of the unworthy, they would misuse this and wreak devastation. As it has found you, it is your duty to protect it from them. If you have any pre-existing plans as to what to do with your life, it is time to give them up. You will become a Guardian, like me, and in that role, you will keep this from falling into the hands of those who lust for this weapon’s power.”

I recoiled. “What…what if I do not, Syoro?”

“If you don’t, then the future is bleak for all of Fa’Diel, if not the cosmos.”

I have never felt weight upon my shoulders as I did just then. “Yes…yes, I will. It seems I have no choice.”

“You do; you’ve just taken the sensible one,” he smiled at me.

I cracked a smile back at him, and then asked, “What do I do to protect this? It does not seem at all powerful…I don’t see why people would go after this other than for trophy-collecting.”

“Your boomerang has a lot of power locked away in it, just waiting to be released,” he explained. “What you see now is a pitiful remnant of what it once was. Even Watts did not release its full potential. What I propose you do is that you unlock its power, and with that power unlocked, you protect it by using it.”

“I…I don’t know how. I wouldn’t even know where to begin!”

The Guardian nodded. “Then start calling me Shero, because we are going to be partners in working on this, and get to know your way around the Light Palace, because it is going to be your new home. Together, the boomerang will become powerful as its potential is unlocked, and as for you, you’ll be…refined.”

Little did I know what he meant by “refined”. I would, though.

Oh, yes, I would.