Hurt

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel.
I focus on the pain:
The only thing that's real.
The needle tears a hole,
The old familiar sting.
Try to kill it all away,
But I remember everything.
What have I become?
My sweetest friend.
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end.
You could have it all:
My empire of dirt.
I will let you down,
I will make you hurt.
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair,
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair.
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear.
You are someone else,
I am still right here.
If I could start again,
A million miles away,
I would keep myself,
I would find a way.
== Location ==
Hurt is found in a corridor in Hilda's Tomb.
== Background and Inspiration ==
Hurt is a song by Nine Inch Nails, later covered by Johnny Cash. 
Hurt was added in version 6.4 with Hilda's Tomb. It was included to explore Hilda's feelings regarding the imminent destruction of Lorule. In the context of Relics of Hyrule, the song's lyrics serve to explore Hilda's feelings toward both good and evil during the fall of her kingdom and her own self-reflection. 
=== Symbolic Breakdown ===
Lyrics	Meaning in Relics of Hyrule
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel.
I focus on the pain:
The only thing that's real.	Hilda reflects on the destruction of Lorule 
and its descent into nothingness.
She has become unsure if she still exists.
The needle tears a hole,
The old familiar sting.	Hilda realizes she still exists and is capable
of pain and reflection.
Try to kill it all away,
But I remember everything.	Hilda is either trying to forget, or is reminding
the evil that destroyed her kingdom that as
much as they try to destroy and kill, she will
remember what they have done.
What have I become?
My sweetest friend.
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end.	Hilda reflects to a lost friend on her lapses into 
evil while trying to prevent the destruction of her kingdom,
and laments the loss of all of her fellow citizens.
Alternatively, Hilda is the last remaining citizen of Lorule
and has become her own sole companion.
You could have it all:
My empire of dirt.	Hilda admits defeat to the evil that destroyed Lorule, but
as Lorule is destroyed, it is an empty victory. Lorule is 
an "empire of dirt," reduced to rubble and ash.
I will let you down,
I will make you hurt.	Hilda threatens her foe that she will not join their side,
and if forced to do so, she will deliberately sabotage
their efforts. She threatens to bring them the same pain 
and suffering she has endured and will continue to 
undermine her foe.
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair,
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair.	Hilda feels that her regency is a burden, and confesses
to being dishonest and deceitful to her people during her reign.
She regrets her unfairness, but as Lorule is lost, she cannot
regain the trust of her people.
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear.
You are someone else,
I am still right here.	Hilda acknowledges that over time her regrets, anger and 
memories regarding Lorule will fade, and the world (including
the reader) will move on, leaving her behind forever in obscurity.
If I could start again,
A million miles away,
I would keep myself,
I would find a way.	Hilda fantasizes about an alternative past in which she would
be able to stay just and fair to her people during the downfall
or unobtainable renaissance of her kingdom.
======
== See Also ==
Hilda's Tomb
Hilda's Confession
Hilda's Proposition
Crownless
Ruptured Poems
Category:Poetry
Category:Books