Keeper of the Triforce
                           by Gregory Irgang (girgang@geocities.com)

     Author's note

This story takes place long before Link and Zelda were around. It fills
in many holes from the Zelda storyline; the creation of the Master
Sword and Book of Mudora, Ganon's origins, how the Swamp Ruins were ruined,
why the Triforce appears as a large triangle with an upside-down triangular
hole, and other mysteries. Also, unlike the games, this takes place in
Calatia, south of Hyrule.

     The Ancient Hero

Everybody in Hyrule has heard of Link's quest to reassemble the Triforce
of Wisdom, rescue Princess Zelda, and destroy Ganon (The Legend of
Zelda). But very few people know about Garin, the Hylian knight who
secretly helped Link (e.g., in The Legend of Zelda, he disguised himself as
an old man and gave Link the Master Sword). Even fewer know that Garin has
lived for centuries. And only Link, Zelda, and Garin himself know that long
before anyone had ever heard of Link or Zelda, Garin once held the Triforce
and forged a sword even more powerful than the Master Sword.

     Princess of Calatia

In the year 28 HR (Hylian Reckoning), King Tarin Dragmire of Calatia and
Queen Stacy had triplets: a daughter, Marin, and two sons, Garin and
Ganondorf. All was well in the kingdom until, in the year 34 HR, the
triplets were told about the Triforce. From that day onwards, Ganondorf
(better known as Ganon) was obsessed with finding the Triforce. Ganon's
obsession did not come to an end until, nearly 20 centuries later, he was
killed when Link's silver, Triforce-tipped arrow pierced his heart.

At the age of twelve, frustrated that his family would not give him the
Triforce, Ganon fled the palace and sought out the wizard Carock, who
agreed to teach the prince magic. However, by that time, Ganon was already
starting to become evil, and slowly corrupted the wizard. Three years later
(43 HR), Carock and Ganon's monsters began to terrorize the kingdom. Garin
heard rumors of a magical pendant deep in the northern mountains of the
Kingdom of Hyrule, even farther north than Death Mountain. He planned to
look for it in the hopes that it would help protect the people from Ganon.

     Aquamentus

When Garin told his father of his plan, the king reluctantly agreed.
Since Garin was a master swordsman -- certainly one of the best in the
kingdom, if not the best -- his father told him to take the royal sword and
shield with him, as well as some chain mail for protection. The next day
Garin departed for Ruto, a town at the foot of the mountains. When he
finally arrived, he was startled -- the town was burning! Seeing a
villager, he asked why the town was on fire.

"Carock's monster Aquamentus is here, along with several of his henchman,
the moblins! We're doomed!" the terrified villager replied.

Garin charged into the town and confronted Aquamentus. However, his sword
merely bounced off the dragon's scaly chest. Garin realized Aquamentus'
neck was vulnerable, be he was too short to attack it by about 40 feet. The
monster breathed fire at Garin, but he quickly dodged out of the way.
Villagers and moblins alike stopped what they were doing to gawk at the
human who had the audacity to fight the monster. As Aquamentus tried to
swat Garin with his tail the way you would swat a fly, Garin rolled out of
the way and then jumped onto the monster's tail. He quickly climbed up the
surprised monster's back and sliced at its neck until it collapsed, dead.
The townsmen cheered while the moblins shrieked and fled the town.

     The Golden Tower

After the flames were out, Garin went to see the village elder. The
elder told Garin, "Thank you, young sir. You saved the village. May I
ask your name?"

"I am Prince Garin. I am looking for a magical pendant in the northern
mountains to protect the kingdom from Carock," he replied.

"Many people have sought it before, but none have returned. It is in the
tower up north," the elder said as he pointed to a tower just barely
visible on the horizon. "You must pass a test to claim it. Good luck, your
highness."

The next day, Garin left the village and, shortly after sunset, arrived at
a huge tower made of solid gold. "Oh no," Garin groaned. "It must be
hundreds of feet tall, and I really hate climbing stairs!"

As he started to enter, he heard a voice behind him. "So, you made it,
Garin." Garin turned around to see a wizzrobe. Raising a staff, he said, "I
am Ane, Carock's first disciple. You may have defeated Aquamentus but you
will perish here!" Ane fired a bolt of lightning from the staff, aimed
directly at Garin's head. Garin dove forward, rolled to his feet, and swung
his sword. It passed through Ane’s head, and the wizzrobe vanished. As
Garin heard laughing behind him, he turned and instinctively raised his
shield just in time to block a fireball. But Ane had teleported too close
to Garin. He suddenly slapped the staff with his sword ands grabbed it
before the wizzrobe could grab it. He pointed it at the now-chagrined Ane
and said "Fire!" A fireball flew from the staff and burned the wizzrobe to
ashes.

     The Mirror

After the destruction of Ane, his staff crumbled to dust. Garin entered
the tower and started climbing. Several hours later, he reached the top
floor and saw a hole in the roof.

After he rested half an hour to catch his breath (after all, he just
climbed about half a mile of stairs), Garin climbed through the hole and
saw a mirror on top. As he approached the mirror, his reflection walked out
of the mirror, its sword drawn. Garin realized that this must be the test
and attacked the image. They fought evenly for nearly a minute when Garin
landed a blow on the image, it struck him at the same time. Then, Garin
realized it was still only his reflection. As he stopped fighting, so did
the image. As he sheathed his sword and backed up, so did the image.

Garin then saw in the mirror a lever, but no matching lever on his side of
the tower. As he backed up, his reflection re-entered the mirror. He
positioned himself so that his reflection was holding the lever and felt
something in his hand. The lever was invisible, but its reflection wasn't!
As he pulled the lever, the mirror changed into a treasure chest appeared
in the exact center of the treasure chest.

As he approached it, he heard a voice in his mind: "You have shown Courage
by fighting Aquamentus, Power by defeating Ane, and Wisdom by solving the
puzzle of the tower. Open the chest, Garin, and take your reward." As Garin
opened the chest, he suddenly gasped in shock because he saw the absolute
last thing he expected to see in the chest.

     Discovery

When Garin opened the chest and saw a glowing Golden Triangle, he
immediately realized what it was: The Triforce. Garin grabbed it and
held it up to the sky. As he completed the most momentous event in all of
history, the Triforce emitted a golden light, far brighter than the sun, so
bright that it was even seen on the other side of the world. After a
moment, the light faded away into nothingness. Suddenly, the tower began to
shake and slowly sink into the earth. A startled Garin backed away and, due
to a sudden jolt, was thrown off the edge of the tower!

After falling two thousand feet, he landed on a large rock. Garin should
have died, but the Triforce saved him. However, the fall had broken his
sword and both legs.

As he looked in his backpack, he saw that the Triforce was broken into five
pieces: three Triangles and two smaller, oddly shaped pieces. He realized
that unless someone found him, he would soon die and the Triforce would
fall into the hands of the next person to look for the pendant that was
rumored to be in these mountains.

Just as he was about to give up hope, he heard a woman's voice behind him.
"Garin, are you okay?"

It was Aimenna, the elder's daughter, and (as the elder had proudly told
him) a magician. "Not really," Garin replied. "I fell of the tower and
broke both of my legs. How did you know to come here?"

Aimenna replied "When I saw the light, I knew you must have found the
pendant. Let's get you back to the elder's house so I can fix those broken
bones." She teleported them back to Ruto, but Garin had already lost
consciousness.

     Ganon's Fiendish Plan

When Garin woke up, he was lying on a bed in the elder's house. Aimenna
was speaking with her father, but as soon as she noticed that Garin was
awake, he became the focus of their attention.

"Garin, somehow your legs have healed in the few hours you were
unconscious. I think there must be some magic at work here," she told him.

Garin replied. "It must be the work of the Tri- uh, the pendant."

The Elder frowned. "There's something your not telling me, lad, something
that begins with Tri."

Garin replied. "I was hoping to keep it a secret, but you caught me. That
tower did not house a pendant, but the Triforce."

Shocked, Aimenna replied "We have to get it to your father, the King, at
once."

Meanwhile, Ganon and Carock were hatching a sinister plot. "Master," Carock
told Ganon, "my first disciple, Ane has been killed. I believe that your
brother is responsible. Ane was trying to get a magical pendant in the
tower north of Ruto. Garin probably has the pendant by now."

Ganon replied. "So, that goody-two-shoes brother of mine is trying to
interfere. Let him keep the pendant. It's only a minor magical object." He
continued with a vicious grin, "I just came up with a great plan. Since my
brother is feeling so adventurous, let's let him find the Triforce and then
trade it for hostages. I know just the people to kidnap."

     The Letter

Garin and Aimenna magically teleported to the castle. When they arrived
at the castle, it was sheer chaos. Garin found a guard and asked him
what was going on.

"Prince Garin, your brother returned earlier today and insisted on a
private audience with your parents and sister. Since then, no one has heard
anything from them, except for a letter. It was found on the throne and has
instructions to be opened only by your highness," the Guard replied.

Garin and Aimenna then went to the throne room. Garin opened the letter and
read it out loud. It read, "Garin, I have captured our parents and sister.
If you find and give me the Triforce and I will return them alive. The
trade will take place thirty days from now at midnight, deep in the swamp
palace north of the castle. If you bring any guards or do not bring the
Triforce, I will kill the hostages. Signed, Ganondorf Dragmire."

For the next month, Garin ruled Calatia as the Interim King. During the
daytime, Aimenna used magic to search for the Garin's family, but to no
avail. During the nights, she taught Garin magic. One night, however, they
used a piece of the Triforce to forge a new blade for his sword [Author's
note: this is why the Triforce is always shown as a large triangle with a
triangular hole in the middle -- the part that used to be in the hole is
now the blade of Garin's sword, the Triforce Blade]. The two had fallen in
love, but they decided to delay marriage until they had dealt with Ganon.
On the day of the exchange, the two traveled to the swamp palace.
Teleporting long distances is quick, but it also tires the recipients, and
they needed their full wits for the upcoming confrontation.

     Rescue

"It's locked," Aimenna told Garin.

"No problem," Garin said as he drew his sword and held it aloft, "I have a
key."

With two mighty blows from his sword, he split the wooden door into pieces.
Aimenna inspected the damage and replied, "Looks like it was barred as
well."

As they entered the abandoned palace, she cast a spell to provide light and
then mentally located Ganon and the prisoners. Aimenna said, "This place is
full of traps. If we go teleport to the other side of this wall, we will be
between Ganondorf and your family."

"Okay, lets do so," Garin replied. "You rescue my family and I'll deal with
Ganondorf."

After disabling three traps, Aimenna arrived at the cell where Ganon kept
the royal hostages. As they saw her, the three backed away from the bars.

"Who are you?" the captive King asked.

"I'm Garin's fiancé. We came to rescue you. He is currently searching for
Ganondorf."

Queen Stacy asked her, "Isn't coming here unarmed a bit dangerous?"

"I'm not unarmed," Aimenna replied as she magically unlocked and opened the
door, "I'm a magician."

Marin said, "A magician? Cool!"

     Rescue

Meanwhile, Garin continued looking for Ganon. After walking for about
fifty feet, the Triforce Blade started to glow, revealing a black
object in the shadows not five feet from his leg. Suddenly, a beam of light
shot out from his sword, breaking the dark shape into pieces. As Garin
examined it, he realized it was a rare but extremely poisonous snake. One
bite, and Garin would have been dead within five seconds. He continued for
another forty or so feet, and then came to a fork in the path.

"This must be a trap," Garin thought.

He picked up a stone and flung it down the path to the right. Nothing
happened. He took another stone and threw it down the corridor ahead, of
him. As it hit the ground, the ceiling of the corridor collapsed.

"If I went that way," Garin said, "I would be dead. So I guess I go to the
right." Soon after, he came to a large room with a throne in the center.
Garin recognized the man sitting on the throne. He was Garin’s brother.

"So, you decided to come, Garin. I've been watching your actions since your
adventure at Ruto. You should have looked for the Triforce like I told you
to. By not doing so, you've doomed yourself and the girl you brought as
well as the hostages."

"As the Interim King of Calatia, I hereby strip you of your rank and exile
you to the Kingdom of Hyrule," Garin said.

"You're only the Interim King," Ganon sneered, "so you don't have the power
to do that!"

"I fully agree with my son's declaration of exile," a new voice said. The
sneer slid off of Ganon's face as he saw Aimenna and the former hostages
enter the room.

Ganon replied, "Your words will mean little when you are dead!" He shot a
large fireball at his family, but it was absorbed by Garin's sword.

"You should have gone to the Tower north of Ruto yourself instead of
sending Ane." As his brother's face went dead white, Garin opened his
backpack and removed the Triforce. "Look what I found on top of the tower!
As Garin, Keeper of the Triforce, I hereby command you: be gone from
Calatia!" Ganon shrieked as the Triforce teleported him to Hyrule.

     Escape

"It's finally over," Aimenna said.

"Now that Ganondorf has been banished to Hyrule, we can live in peace."

"No! It is not over!" They all turned to see the wizard Carock at the door.
"My master will return to Calatia and he will take the Triforce. But first,
vengeance will be mine!" The furious wizard shot a lightning bolt from his
staff, striking Queen Stacy. As she collapsed to the ground, Carock fired
another bolt, this time at Garin. He held up the Triforce Blade and
deflected the bolt into the ceiling, causing part of it to collapse.

Carock shouted "Good idea, fool! I will bury you all alive!" He shot
several bolts of lightning at the ceiling. "So long, mortals, and if you
survive, you get to feed my pet, Aquamentus 2!" Carock sneered as he
teleported to his exiled master in Hyrule. Garin quickly pulled the
Triforce out of his backpack. As the fatal cave-in started, Garin held the
Triforce aloft and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Burst!" The Swamp
Palace suddenly became the Swamp Ruins as the roof was magically hurled
miles away.

Aimenna, Garin, and his family left the swamp ruins and started the journey
home. However, after about ten minutes, they heard a deafening roar behind
them. Marin screamed, "Aquamentus 2!"

"Don’t worry," Garin replied, "the Triforce Blade is more than a match for
any creature, even one as big as Aquamentus." Aquamentus two had a heavily
armored neck and spines along its back and tail to prevent Garin from
climbing it the way he climbed the first Aquamentus back in Ruto. However,
Carock hadn't prepared for the Triforce blade. Garin charged and sliced at
the dragon. He only drew a thin trickle of blood from one of its toes, but
that was enough. Aquamentus 2 screeched in agony as the power of the
Triforce blade spread through its bloodstream, killing it from the inside
out. After a final shriek, the monster collapsed, dead. They returned to
the castle without any further interruptions.

     Epilogue: The Next Ten Years

Shortly after they returned, Garin and Aimenna were married. The two
moved to Hylia in southern Hyrule so that they could protect Hyrule in
case Ganon caused trouble there. To prevent the Triforce from being used
for evil, Garin created the Golden land and sealed the Triforce there.
Meanwhile, Queen Stacy, who had always doted on Ganon, slowly went mad. In
the year 47 HR, Princess Marin married Prince Richard of Hyrule. Soon
afterwards, Marin gave birth to twins: a boy, Link, and a girl, Zelda.
After consultation between the kings of Hyrule and Calatia, it was decided
that Zelda would be in the line of succession for Hyrule, whereas Link
would one day rule Calatia.

Several years later, a tragedy arose in Calatia. In the year 54 HR, the
royal family of Calatia went to visit Garin. However, a magical storm hit
their ship and tore it to splinters [Author’s note: Tarin, Marin, Stacy,
and Richard were not killed, but transported to Koholint. In The Legend of
Zelda: Link's Awakening, Link's ship was destroyed in almost the exact same
place]. When they heard the news, Garin and Aimenna created the Master
Sword, a weapon designed to reflect evil magic, and the Book of Mudora, a
collection of prophecy, so that Hyrule would be protected if Ganon caused
more problems. Then they traveled to Calatia so Garin could serve as regent
for his nephew. However, they knew that one day they would return to Hyrule
and deal with Ganon again.