Twilight and Apocrypha

"Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful."
My realm was left unconnected. Portions of Hyrule were preserved by the Triforce: frozen from the progress of time. These shattered lands were my only link to what was once Zelda's kingdom.
I wandered the remains of my realm, consoled what was left of my people, and avoided the Ruptured Towers that were growing near my palace's ruins. I watched the towers as they multiplied and linked with the Temple of Time. I saw Misery appear, and with its arrival, the sky changed. From thin air a mass of writhing tentacles and eyes emerged. The eyes all stared at me.
"I am Hermaeus Mora," said a slow, slurring voice, "I am the guardian of the unseen, and knower of the unknown. I have been watching you, mortal."
"Is this your doing?" I asked, motioning to the Ruptured Towers. "This is my realm. My kingdom. You have no place here."
"The Ruptured Towers are not of my making," Hermaeus Mora explained, "The fourth tower is mine: a gateway to Apocrypha. The rest are fragments of Hyrule, sunken into the sands of your world, tended to by the Hero's Shade."
"Hero's Shade?" I exclaimed, "What hero?"
"Oh, you do not know," Mora stated. "Of course you do not know. The Hero of Time you called him once. His grief is potent. His guilt is strong."
"Link was trapped here? He was in my realm all along?"
Mora laughed, "No, mortal, he was in the land of Termina. Do you not understand? Your Hero was dead. He fell. He tried to reach Hyrule. Oh, he tried. He opened a link, of course, but it backfired."
"It wouldn't have mattered if he reached Hyrule. The World-Eater was unstoppable."
"Yes, Alduin would not have been stopped by your hero. It is another's destiny to defeat him. He is the cleanser of worlds. Hyrule was but an egg for the next world to hatch from."
I started to speak again, but stopped myself. I paused in thought.
"Why have you appeared to me?" I asked.
"This realm is an interesting one. It contains many fragments of Hyrule: its history, its relics, its creatures. It is unique."
"It is my home," I said, guessing what Mora was about to suggest.
"I will annex your realm to Apocrypha and preserve it. This knowledge is valuable."
"This is my home," I repeated, "I will not give it to you."
"I was not requesting your permission, mortal."
"No! You cannot do this!" I shouted, watching Hermaeus Mora fade from my sight. I saw his minions emerge from the fourth tower, and begin surveying his prize.
I ran to the Temple of Time and opened a portal to the Mirror of Twilight. I destroyed the key and told my secrets to the Gossip Stones and the Phantom Hourglass. I tried to escape, but the Seekers found me.
"I was going to let you live," I heard Hermaeus Mora say, "You would have been an interesting specimen. But I cannot have you share my secrets. Your corpse will have to suffice."
As the Seekers approached, I looked to the sky. It was a sickly green and seemed to writhe. The golden light of my home was gone. I felt the Seekers' cold touch. I was ready for the end.
But then I heard her voice.
"You are free."
== Notes ==
Twilight and Apocrypha details the origins and true nature of the Ruptured Towers, especially Misery. Just as the Shattered Lands are the preserved remnants of Hyrule, the Ruptured Towers are the preserved remnants of the Twilight Realm. The book also serves to explain the Key of Twilight and the presence of Apocryphal architecture in the Ruptured Towers, Shattered Lands, and Link Between Worlds. The book alludes to one possible reason for the Charred Fragment found in Apocrypha.
Hermaeus Mora mentions that the fourth tower is his. However, Misery (the Apocryphal tower) is the fifth tower visited by the player in the Ruptured Towers. This may be an error on Midna's part, or it may simply be that the Towers had moved by the time the Dragonborn entered them, or that Doubt, Fear, Anguish, or Loss came into being after the events of Twilight and Apocrypha.
By saying that "Hyrule was but an egg for the next world to hatch from," Hermaeus Mora echoes Paarthurnax, who would say something similar thousands of years after Midna's encounter with Hermaeus Mora.
Like Ganon's Fate and Queen of Twilight, Twilight and Apocrypha chronicles the interaction between Daedra and residents of Hyrule and its connected realms.
== Background and Inspiration ==
Twilight and Apocrypha was included in version 6.3 of Relics of Hyrule to provide context for Midna's Tomb as well as the Ruptured Towers, Shattered Lands, and Link Between Worlds. It serves as part of Midna's epilogue to the story of Relics of Hyrule, and the involvement of the Daedra with the affairs of Hyrule and associated realms. As such, the book is a direct connection between Elder Scrolls lore and Legend of Zelda lore.
The opening quote is by Samuel Johnson.
== See also ==
Midna's Lament
The Last Great War of Hyrule (book)
The Battle of a Thousand Heroes
Queen of Twilight
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Ganon's Fate
Category:Books
Category:Lore