"Yes, that's it!" Rauru smiled as he looked into the flames Ryoga was conjuring up. "Don't force the flames, guide them. Feel their heat become one with the pulse of your heart."
Ryoga had his eyes closed. The Goron boy was standing in front of a big marble candelabra and flexed his muscles. But in his mind, he was calm. The heat was surrounding him and the flames formed a dancing pillar that seemed to leap out of where they were burning. But he had no fear. He controlled the fire, he was the Sage of Fire.
"I... I can see something..." he grunted as he opened his eyes wide and stared into the fire.
"It is the past you're seeing," Rauru explained. "Tell me what you see."
"I see... I see Akane! But she's a little kid again... Link and Ukyo are with her, too... they are on their way to the Temple of Time..."
"Good, then they managed to accomplish their mission," the Sage of Light smiled. "Soon enough, they will be back in our time... and the Sage of Shadow will soon be with us."
"Why... why is it that I am seeing exactly that point in time?" Ryoga asked. "Why not one year ago? Or twelve years? Or even hundred years?"
"Remember, they are heroes of fate," Rauru told the young Fire Sage. "And the fate of the Hero of Time is closely entwined with that of the Seven Sages. No matter where in time and space Link is, we can find him if we concentrate on our respective element. Now, continue with the exercises I told you about. Our powers will be well-trained by the time we fight the king of evil."
Leaving Ryoga to his exercises, he walked over to Saria and Ruto. The Kokiri and Zora were using their powers in a little competition of skills. With the powers of the forest, Saria created a wall made of wood and vines, to block the wave of water Ruto was directing at her.
"C'mooon, my waters!" Ruto grumbled as she focussed all her willpower on the water stream she was controlling. "You're stronger than a few little plants... remove them already!"
"Princess, you are trying too hard," Rauru said. "Be as flexible and formless and the water. You know the feeling when you swim freely through the depths of a lake?"
"Well, duh! Of course, I'm a Zora!"
"Well, it's the same feeling. Only that this time around, it's not you who's moving through the water, it's the water that is moving around by your powers."
"I... can't... do it..." Ruto grimaced as the vines grew even closer to block even the smallest drop of water.
Even though Saria was a nice and gentle girl, she couldn't help but grin smugly at Ruto's efforts. 'That's what you get for stealing my boy away, Mrs. Fish!'
She looked up in surprise when Rauru walked around her barrier of plants, looking at her sternly. "Young Sage of the Forest, you control your powers well, but I must advise you not to create any personal barriers between you and your fellow sages. In times of dire need, we will have to be sure that we can count on each other... and such a time will come very, very soon."
"Um... I don't know what you're talking about," the green-haired girl said with a blush.
"Don't try to hide your feelings. A sage can read the emotions of other people. Can't you see? On the other side of this plant wall, the princess of the Zora puts all her heart in controlling her new-found powers. In the heart of the young Ryoga, I can feel that he's thinking about his beloved ones back at home."
Saria looked at the floor in shame. "I... I'm sorry, Rauru..."
Rauru saw that something was troubling the young forest girl, so he walked over to Ruto and said: "I think that's enough for today."
"Whaaaat?" Ruto gasped as her stream of water stopped flowing. "B-but I haven't beaten her yet..."
"This is not a test where one sage needs to defeat the other," Rauru reminded her. "This is simply an exercise to hone your skills. We are all tired, tomorrow I will continue to teach you."
Ruto sighed. "Okay, if you say so..."
Saria dropped her wall of plants, and Ryoga's flames vanished back into the candelabra. Rauru took both Ryoga and Ruto to the side and quietly told them: "Please go to the resting room for now... I need to talk to our youngest sage for a while."
"Really? About what?" Ruto asked curiously.
But Ryoga firmly pulled the young Zora princess into the other room. "None of our business, Ruto!" he said.
Ruto struggled against his grip. "Hey, no fair! I wanna hear, too!"
"If Saria wants to tell us about it, she will do so in time. I swear, you're as stubborn as Ranma at times. I can see that it runs in the family..."
"Hey, don't talk about Oniichan that way!" Ruto angrily shouted. They then left the room, and the stone door closed behind them. Rauru and Saria were the only ones left in the Chamber of Sages. It was very quiet.
Rauru walked up to Saria and summoned two chairs of light that turned solid within seconds. He sat down on one and said: "Won't you share your troubles with me, young Kokiri?"
Saria sat down sullenly. "I'm not that young..." she murmured. "I'm 18 years old..."
Rauru smiled. "True, you are still the youngest sage, however, and it looks like you could use some guiding words from an old man like me."
Saria sighed. "Very well... it is about Ruto... I can't stand her, you know?"
"Is it because of her behavior?" Rauru asked. "You have to remember that she is a princess and was raised differently..."
"That's not it," Saria proclaimed. "True, she's a bit snobby at times, but... what bothers me the most is that she seems to believe she can get whatever she wants! She's a princess, she found out that she's the Water Sage, and still she wants even more! And just because of some silly promise she and Link made back when they were kids..."
Rauru stroked his beard. "I see... so, this is more about Link than it is about Ruto, am I right?"
"Yes!" Saria nearly cried. "It's... it's just unfair! I've known him longer than any of the others, I'm his childhood friend, I should be the one who... who..."
"You think you have a right to claim Link as your own because you knew him before anyone else?"
Saria gasped in surprise. "No! Nonono, I d-didn't mean it like that... I mean... I'm just..."
But deep inside, she knew that she had thought just exactly that. She had felt fond feelings for Link before he even got to know Ruto, Malon, Zelda or any other girl, and she had automatically presumed that this would mean she had to be the one for him.
"After... after I acquired my Jusenkyo curse..." Saria whispered. "I was overjoyed. I finally could become an adult in appearance, not only in mind. Before that happened, I had always believed that Link could never see me as more than a friend, that we could never be more, since he was a Hylian, and I... a Kokiri..."
"You poor child," Rauru said softly. "Yes, I understand your feelings. Love can be a powerful force that helps people to overcome any hardship... Hylians, Kokiri, Zoras, Gerudos and Gorons alike. But, we can't let ourselves be blinded by it, you know? The most important question you have to ask is: Who would Link choose?"
Saria looked up at the wise, old man with teary eyes. "I... I thought... I never..."
"You never thought about it, isn't that right?" Rauru sighed. "You must remember, Link and Ukyo are both still children at heart. True, you are a Kokiri, but unlike most of the others, you took your time and grew up, at least in your heart and mind. Link, however, is still new to the concept of love between a man and a woman. And he is so busy with saving the Sages and all of Hyrule... I don't think he ever had the chance to think about it."
"But... but he made that promise to Ruto!" Saria shouted. "So why can't he do such a thing to me as well?"
"He asked her for the Zora Sapphire, not knowing about the ancient Zora custom that the princess only gives it to her betrothed one. I'm sure that even Queen Nodoka and King Zora had never seen the young hero as a suitor of their daughter, it all just happened within young Ruto's mind." He shook his head. "She will have to learn to let go... I thought that being a Sage would distract her from her... obsession with Link. Then again, it didn't cure you..."
Saria blushed again. "Do you... do you really think I'm just obsessed with Link? That all I'm feeling is just a stupid little crush?"
"I never said that, child," Rauru smiled. He gently put an arm around the Kokiri girl. "Still, patience is a virtue that every Sage should learn. Wait until Link has finished his quest. Maybe then he will have the time to think about love, and when he does, maybe he will realize what feelings you have for him."
Saria wiped her nose. "And Ruto?"
"I will talk to her tomorrow. You both have to remember not to put your rivalry between yourselves. You are the Sage of the Forest, and she is the Sage of Water... you must work together, just like the river gently cuts its path through the woods... do you understand?"
Saria sniffed one more time, then she nodded. "Yes, I understand. Thank you for your wise advice, Rauru!" And without any warning, she hugged him around his waist. "And thank you for listening to me..." she whispered.
The old sage's heart was warmed by the little girl, and he smiled down at her. "You are welcome, little one! Now, why don't you go to bed? I think we all need our sleep..."
Akane stepped down from the pedestal where Link had pulled the Master Sword from just seconds ago. She felt her whole body, looked down at her grown-up shape that once again filled her Sheikah outfit.
"I'm back..." she sighed. "I'm back and a grownup again... Thank Nayru..."
She turned around to face her two friends. "If I ever, ever suggest accompanying you when you decide to travel to the past, feel free to kick my butt! I will NEVER have to experience that again!"
Link frowned as he looked down at himself. "I don't see your problem... I liked it better when I was small."
"Can we get a move on already?" Tatl shouted. "We still got a Sage to save, remember?"
"That's right!" Navi nodded. "Now that we have the Lens of Truth, we can head to the Shadow Temple and..."
"And save Mom!" Akane nodded. "Come on, we've got no time to lose! Now that we're back in the normal time, the Shadow Beast could catch her any moment!"
"If he hasn't already..." Ukyo muttered.
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Sat, 07 Feb 2009 10:07)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.