Link is falling in a black void when he hears a voice saying his name. He looks up and sees an angelic figure against a bright light, and the camera zooms in on her, a blue woman who says, “I am waiting for you. The time has come for you to awaken. You are vital to a mission of great importance.” She says Link’s name again, before the vision turns to Link falling through the sky, just a little above Zelda. Zelda falls into the mouth of the giant scaly worm Link’s dreamed about before, causing Link to wake up back at the Knight Academy. Link’s Loftwing caught him and brought him back to the Academy, limp and unconscious, but mostly unharmed. Zelda didn’t make it back, so Link explains what happened. As Gaepora takes it in, Link immediately tries to jump to his feet, but Gaepora stops him. He asks if anything about Zelda seemed off, and Link brings up her talk of the surface, and his dreams. Gaepora doubts there’s any connection, so he clearly has no idea how these things work. He leaves, telling Link to rest and that Zelda will be fine.
As soon as he’s gone, Link hears the blue woman’s voice outside the door. Going out into the hall, he sees her at the foot of the stairs, and follows her. She goes up the stairs and through the door and continues on through Skyloft, giving Link a chance to practice platforming, climbing, and dangling. Along the way, Link fights ChuChus, Keese, and a Remlit, who’s a lot less friendly after dark. The woman eventually comes to a wall with a Loftwing crest (reminiscent of the later crest minus the Triforce) at the base of the Goddess Statue. She passes through the wall, the crest glows, the wall disappears, and Link follows her in.
In the center of the cave, there’s a stone with a sword stuck in the middle. The blue woman emerges from the sword to greet Link, “The one chosen by my creator. I have been waiting for you. You will play a role in a great destiny.” Her name is Fi. Link has a destiny, starting with taking up the sword in the cave, and Fi is meant to help him fulfill it. Link is still uncertain, so Fi decides to help put his mind at ease a bit by telling him that Zelda is indeed alive and part of Link’s mission. And so, if he wants to help Zelda, he should probably take the sword. That spurs Link to action, and he walks up to the stone and draws the sword. Eventually. It’s not just “walk up to the sword and press the button to pick it up.” No, it’s motion controls again. Sigh. After drawing the sword, he has to hold it straight up so that it can be charged by light. The captions identify the sword as the Goddess Sword.
Gaepora enters, saying he had suspicions about Link, and seeing Link with the Goddess Sword confirms them. The sword chamber was left by the goddess with a few words, “When the light of the goddess’s sword shines bright, the great apocalypse will wake from its long slumber. Do not fear, for it is then that a youth, guided by my hand, shall reveal himself in a place most sacred.” The sword chamber’s existence was known only to a few. And recently, along with Link’s dreams and Zelda’s voices, the Goddess Sword has been glowing. And he finally acknowledges Fi, adding the rest of the prophecy, “The youth will be guided by one born of the blade – one who is youthful in likeness yet wise with knowledge immeasurable.”
Fi calls oral tradition inaccurate, and notes that Gaepora’s rendering of the prophecy is incomplete. “The youth who draws forth the guiding sword shall be known and the goddess’s chosen hero, and it is he who possesses an unbreakable spirit. He shall be burdened with the task of abolishing the shadow of apocalypse from the land. Such is his destiny. With the spirit of the blade at his side, he shall soar over the clouds and plummet below… and united with the spirit maiden, shall bring forth a piercing light that resurrects the land.” Link remembers Zelda’s words from earlier, and Fi says his journey will take him to the surface.
Gaepora says it’s not so easy; no one has pierced the cloud barrier in living memory. Fi gives Link a tablet that can show a path to the surface. To use it, he first needs to activate the altar in the chamber by striking the crest above it with a Skyward Strike (point the sword up to charge, then strike). This reveals a little niche that the tablet fits in the lower right corner of. (Shades of the Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks maps.) Once the tablet is placed, a light flies from the Goddess Statue that splits the clouds, allowing Link to travel through the goddess’ barrier to the surface. Fi returns to the Goddess Sword, where she lives.
Gaepora stops Link for a final request. He doesn’t know what the “apocalypse” the prophecy mentions is, but it’s clear Link and Zelda are caught up in stopping it. He asks Link to find Zelda and bring her back and to see his journey through to fulfill the prophecy. And he has one final thing for Link… for winning the race, he was supposed to receive a knight’s uniform. It should be ready soon, and will suit Link better during his travels.
Next: Link needs a shield! And potions!
