Hylian Folklore: A Retelling of the Twilight Princess

The Twilight Mirror

Link could feel his body taking shape again. That was a weird feeling that he had hoped to never experience again. He opened his eyes to find himself standing in the hot desert sands. Midna had used the portal to transport them to the Gerudo Desert. Standing before them was a massive fortress. He looked up at the Imp who still sat on his back.

"Surprised?" she giggled at his expression, "I can only travel between portals that are already open. Zant foolishly left this one open when he was freed from the mirror."

This mirror was starting to sound strange to Link. What kind of mirror could trap people inside of it? Was it a good thing to help this little Imp gain control of such a thing? Then again, he did not want it in the hands of Zant or Ganondorf either.

"Don't just stand there, let's get past those guards," Midna was clearly in a hurry to get to the mirror, "You take out the one on the right, and I will get the one on the left."

Link was relieved that she was willing to do some team work for a change. He hid behind some supply crates and pots that were scattered in every direction, and waited for the guard to turn her back to him. Link launch himself into the air and landed square on the guard's back, knocking her to the ground. Midna wrapped her strange hair around the other guard's neck and threw her into a wall, knocking her out cold. Link's guard struggled to her free and ran away in a panic.

"Why did you let her get away?" Midna's voice had a note of disappointment, "Great move dog breath, now she is just going to bring back reinforcements! We better get moving before they catch up with us."

Link quickly ran inside. At the heart of the fortress was a giant tower.

"The mirror is up there," she said pointing to the top of the tower.

Of coarse it would be up there, Link thought to himself with a huff. Nothing with this Imp can be easy. He climbed up what felt like endless flights of stairs and his legs felt like rubber by the time they had reached the top. There was no roof at the top of this desert tower. Only large pillars with strange statues on top, one of which had fallen and shattered. At the center was an enormous mirror with unusual, white, circular patterns etched all over it's entire surface. Midna jumped off his back and floated over to the mirror. She leaned with one arm on the mirror, the other on her hip, and a sly, toothy grin across her face.

"This is the Twilight Mirror. A very powerful and ancient relic that separates our two worlds. But that is not the only thing it can do," she said patting the mirror with her hand, "It reflects a persons true self. Go ahead," She tipped the mirror downward, "take a look."

Link slowly walked up to the mirror until he was nearly standing under it. He looked up and was surprised but what he had seen. Not only did he see a reflection of his true Hylian self standing before him, but he was also wearing a green tunic and a long green cap.

"The hero clad in green," Midna said looking at her nails as if she were not even interested in what was going on, "Honestly I think you made a better wolf."

Link noticed that his body felt odd, like when he had woken up as a wolf. He looked down at his hand with the Triforce symbol. Wait, he was looking a hand! He looked down at his torso and legs. No fur. No Paws. No tail. He was himself again!

Midna looked down at Link and gave him a slight smile, "Well I held up my end of the bargain, time to hold up yours. Are you ready?"

Link gave her a quick nod.

"Good!"

Midna tipped the mirror back to its original position. She floated in front of it for a moment, but nothing happened. Link was sure he noticed a hint of sadness in her face.