Link can’t cross over into the parts of the world where twilight has fallen on his own, so Midna has to go through and pull him through. As it turns out, Midna didn't want the sword and shield for herself – a good thing, because she handles the sword by the blade and wears the shield like a mask – but for Link once he gets his form back. She poofs the sword and shield off and says Link’s next task is gathering some things for her. This is starting to sound like the last task. To start, she directs Link to the spirit of Faron Woods, then lounges on his back while humming a few notes of her theme music, heh.
Before they can reach the spirit, they’re pinned in by three shadow beings. Midna tries to sit the fight out, but Link struggles with it. The big problem is that Link’s fine at taking them down one at a time, but if two are downed, the one left standing will howl and revive its compatriots, and Link’s not great at area effect damage as a wolf. (No spin attacks here.) Midna eventually figures out Link’s having trouble and offers to help with the fight, by expanding a circle of shadow energy that traps the beings, and then Link jumps between them, killing them before the revival can happen.
The light spirit is barely holding together, and asks Link to recover its light, giving him a vessel to hold it in. The locations for the Tears of Light Link needs are marked on his map, so Link sets out to recover them. There are sixteen total, each held by an insect of darkness. The north part of the forest has filled with a purple fog, and it’s best if Link and Midna not step in it. So, it’s more jumping over the trees, ignoring the Deku Babas that spawn in the branches and trying not to get knocked over by a swinging log. The bugs are bothering the guy who gave Link his lantern and the monkey Talo chased into the woods; the latter mentions seeing the village kids being led through the forest and her boss going weird.
Once Link gathers the last Tears of Light, he’s automatically returned to the Faron spring, where the twilight is dispelled, to Midna’s disappointment. Faron, the light spirit, takes form, looking like an extra-long-tailed monkey. Faron says that Link’s form in the twilight is a sign of his status as the chosen one, and his powers are awakening. Link is back to being human, and his clothes have changed to the familiar green tunic. Faron asks Link to do one more thing: find a power locked away within the nearby temple. This power is forbidden, but desperate times. Midna’s interested in heading to the temple, and says Link might find his friends there.
At this point, Link can go back to the village, where things are just as bad as when he visited as a wolf. The kids are gone, the mayor’s gone off to look for them – without a sword or shield, since Link has the ones he was going to take – and Rusl’s in bad shape. On the bright side – hey, at least Link’s okay! Uli, Rusl’s wife, recognizes the sword, but assumes Link got it back from the monsters that stole it. The lantern oil salesman locked a gate leading to the temple, so Link needs to go visit him to get the key. The salesman has one other thing to offer: a bottle of oil, for 100 rupees. A bit steep for the oil, but Link gets to keep the bottle, which… well, it’s less than I Can’t Believe It’s Not Beedle charged.
As Link enters the north part of Faron Woods, the monkey snatches the lantern from him and uses it to clear a path through the purple fog. She cowers when monsters are near, so Link kills them for her. Once they’re through, she drops the lantern and runs off. The trip used up all the oil, but Trill’s just ahead. As Link approaches the temple entrance, a golden wolf sits in his path and pounces on him when he gets close. Link’s spirit awakens surrounded by fog; the golden wolf is there, too, but transforms into an undead warrior. Link tries to attack the warrior but the attack bounces off the shield and the warrior’s counterattack knocks him down. The warrior says that Link’s not strong enough to be the hero yet, but offers to teach him skills as his power increases. The first skill is the Ending Blow, which finishes off a downed enemy. Before returning Link to consciousness, the warrior says there are six skills left to learn, and when the time comes, Link should seek “statues that howl with the sound of the wind” to call him again. It’s not explicit, but based on what he says of Link’s wolf form and his own golden wolf form, the warrior is a Hero from a past age.
With that out of the way, Link continues on to the temple entrance, uses the lantern to burn the spiderweb spun across it, and heads inside.
Next: Monkeying around.
