Luminescence

The True Nature of Immortals

Link didn't want to meet back up with the sun. And frankly, who would?

So he lingered as long as he dared. Lucky for him the physician was under contract with the royal crown, making him the best of the land, so the rare, expensive balm he had used on Link's burns was working miracles. After a day and a night his burns were already most of the way healed, and as the red faded he grew closer and closer to looking like a baked potato. He wondered if even a life-time of being a cave savage would bring him back to any normal color of skin. Sure girls like men who were tanned, but this was just ridiculous.

He had breakfast with Zelda the next morning in her study. She remained rather quiet, and Link was beginning to realize that the Princess of Hyrule might just be a rather introverted, introspective person. She read a book as she elegantly scooped scrambled eggs into her mouth.

She looked up at him as though awaking from a dream when he asked her a question.

"What was that?"

"I asked 'what are you reading?'" he said.

"Oh, it's research. I'm trying to read up all I can on the guardians of the border, the sky spirits, and the history of Hyrule in general."

"Anything good so far?"

"Not entirely. Most of the information we have is based mostly on mythology and legends, and those are unreliable and warped at best. I guess it's good to know them in case there is some small truth in them."

She looked back to her book and took up another mouthful of scrambled eggs. He nibbled on his sausage, wondering if that was it to Zelda's wisdom concerning the situation. About ten minutes later, right as he was considering getting up after finishing breakfast, she spoke up.

"There's just this one thing that keeps repeating itself that I just don't get."

"What is it?" he asked.

"They keep repeating how mortality is a gift given by the gods and that immortality is like...a sort of natural occurrence." she lifted her head and gazed out of the window, eyebrows furrowed. "If that is the case...was it really Midna who gave up something? And then once she gave up her gift she returned to her natural state of immortality? But that just doesn't make any sense. How is the suffering and sickness that comes from mortality a gift?"

"Luna said something along the lines of that."

For the first time that morning Zelda was all attention.

"What did she say?"

"That mortality was a gift, and that although she suffered because of it she was able to experience the good even better because of them, or something like that. Maybe that's why Jasmeen and the sun are so careless of the romantic feelings of Luna and Midna and keep believing them to be stupid. Maybe romantic love is one of those things that you can only appreciate through suffering. It doesn't make much sense to me, though, anyways, the whole gift part. There are lots of things I'd rather live without. Maybe something different happens to us when we die."

"Perhaps." The Princess looked back out the window, eyebrows still furrowed. "Which brings up another thing. I found an old legend about an immortal being killed off by another. It was very...cryptic. It sounded more like a children's story. But the immortal was killed because he was trying to destroy all that the goddesses had created out of jealousy."

To Link, it sounded more than familiar.

"There were even talking animals in it, though, so...I don't know whether to put much stock into it. Besides, I'd hate to think of us having to do something as ghastly as kill Midna. Surely there's a way to break the curse or whatever is over her."