The Phantom Hourglass

II

The sound of softly rolling waves flowed through the air.
Link heard their slow rythym slowly fade into his mind as he came awake.

He felt moist grainy sand under his back. His clothes were partially damp.
The sunlight above him turned the inside of his eyelids were a warm red, and when he finally blinked his eyes open, he squinted as the noonday sun hung right above him.

"You're awake!"

Link had been sitting up when the unfamiliar voice startled him. He sat up fully, then spun around, finding that he was on a beach.

What...

"Hi!"

Link darted his gaze around again, and finally found the source of the voice.

It was... a fairy. It floated in front of his face, giving off a faint white glow.

"I'm Ciela!" the fairy said in a young, chipper voice, "what's your name?"

"Um, Link."

"Huh," she said, placing her hands on her hips, "that's a funny name."

"I...." Link was at a loss for words. He was very... confused. He hurt all over, and was having a difficult time thinking straight.

"I was really worried when I saw you wash up on the beach," her tone becoming a bit more calm. "You looked pretty roughed up."

Link stood up, watching curiously as the fairy flitted around him.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"Mercay island," she answered.

Link looked into the island's interior. It was covered in green forests, wrapping around a high ridge in the middle.

"I've never heard of it," Link said, spying some modest houses on a nearby hillside.

"What are you talking about?" Ciela laughed. "Everyone knows about this island. It's only the largest island in the sea!"

Link highly doubted that. Outset rivaled its size, and Windfall especially was far larger.

"Do you need help?" Ciela asked. "You look like you need to rest."

"Rest?" Link said, "I don't have any time to rest. My friend Tetra is in danger. We lost sight of her when she boarded a mysterious dark ship."

The fairy gasped. "You aren't talking about the ghost ship are you?! No one who's gone aboard has ever returned!"

"Well," Link said, "that is going to change."

"You're going to actually try to find it?!"

"Yes," Link said flatly. "Can you help me find it, or find someone who can?"

"Well...," Ciela said folding her arms, "Grandpa might be able to help you. I'll take you to him."

Ciela suddenly took off, and Link ran after her.
A trail of light, like a string of sparkling dew drops followed after her.
Link had seen fairies several times, but this one was strange. Most fairies were not nearly so talkative, and were very reclusive. She seemed more like the fairies from the ancient hero's day.

Link felt a burning frustration as he followed the fairy. He needed to find Tetra, and he had nothing. He didn't have his sword, he didn't have the windwaker, and he didn't have any rupees either.

But he wasn't going to let himself be beaten by a ship. He'd defeated Ganondorf, the embodiment of evil to the Hylian people. Even if this ghost ship was actually cursed, he'd confronted far worse.

Link and the fairy reached a small cottage, with an old looking thatch roof. An old man sat under an awning in front of it.

"Grandpa," Ciela spoke quickly, "I found this boy washed up on the beach and he needs help!"

The man angled his gaze upward at Link. He had grey, reflective eyes, peering through a thick full beard that wreathed his face.

"What is your name boy?" the old man asked with a surprisingly strong baritone voice.

"Link," he answered.

The man stared. He rested both his hands on a staff, red in color and topped with a conch-like shell.