Van and courtney's adventures of legend of zelda tears of the kingdom part 2: Trial of two worlds

Van and courtney's adventures of legend of zelda tears of the kingdom part 2: Trial of two worlds is a written story between vanguardmaster47 and puppypower32

Plot[]

The mission is now clear: find the remaining 3 sages and stop the demon king's war path! But all is not as simple as it seems, for a new discovery reveals that two more secret stones exist, and the spirit of King Raruru appears and sends van and courtney on their own separate trials to obtain them. For courtney, its to tame the everfree forest along side revali and stop its now sudden spread, thanks to the demon king's minions, originating from a hidden temple inside the forest itself. For van, a strange smoke is enveloping part of cryptid nation, and making casters and beasties sick with a magical illness, all emanating from the top of the book cliffs of utah. This wouldn't be a problem, if the demon king's minions didn't steal van's spellbook. Good thing he has tulin by his side to help him, but can van find the magic within and stop this strange magical smoke the demon king's minions created?

Trivia[]

Van and courtney both gain secret stones and awaken as sages
Van awakens as the sage of earth
Courtney awakens as the sage of nature
Tulin meets Demeter for the first time
Eris makes brief appearance towards the end, foreshadowing his future as an antagonist for van's adventures series
this also begins an ongoing mystery that will be prevelant throughout the Elestrals related stories in van's adventure series: which caster or even god, betrayed and killed Tarkis (a fellow caster and the guardian king rauru entrusted the safety of the secret stone he hid in elestria) .

Scenes[]

Prologue: the gloom spreads[]

Portals to other worlds[]

Ponyville overgrown[]

(Courtney and Revali arrive in Ponyville and look down to see the citizens running in panic and it was overgrown with out of control vines with thorns on it)
Courtney: What’s going on?! Why is Ponyville covered in vines?!
Revali: *sees a little filly in danger as he swoops in and saves her*
(Revali gives the filly to her mother and she hugs her in relief as Revali takes to the skies to rejoin Courtney)
Revali: What do we do now, kid?
Courtney: We have to find the source behind all of this and keep the citizens out of harm’s way.
Revali: tch, pesky vines, if only we could control them...
Courtney: I’ll do it! *dives down towards the vines*
Revali: Courtney!
Courtney: *uses her magic to try and control the vines* Come on…

casters sickness[]

(van and tulin step out of the zonai portal and into elestria, within the temple of Demeter. )
Tulin: wow...so this is Elestria? its so...vibrant.
Van: yeah. (looks up to see the statue of demeter, but no casters worshiping or granting offerings. no elestrals, no spirits and no casters. yet it was the middle of the day) where is everyone
????: an excellent question indeed my child
(van and tulin both turn around and are greeted by a girl in a very verdant green garb, carrying a scythe that looked to be made of some kind of magic wood and crystal)
Van: D-demeter! Goddess demeter! it is an honor to see you again!
Demeter: calm yourself with the pleasantries young caster. As I have said in the past we are friends. (she looks over to tulin) oh my, is this a new elestral? have you been able to forge a contract finally?
Van: well...no this is tulin, the sage of wind from hyrule, and my new little brother. Thanks to him I learned how to cast runes. Still working on contracting an elestral though
Demeter: oh well how wonderful!
(tulin elbows van)
Tulin: (whispers) This is the goddess of earth you were talking about? she looks like she is 12 years old
Demeter: Looks can be decieving my new feathered friend. After all you are a mighty sage and you look to be quite young yourself
Tulin: oh right. point taken.
Demeter: (giggles) I am the goddess of the earth, Demeter. And this is my temple. Although as you can see, it is quite empty at the moment
Tulin: alright, Demeter, so what’s going on around here?
(Demeter takes the two outside and points to the plumes of magic smoke across the sky)
Demeter: ever since last week, there have been reports of some kind of strange smoke cloud hovering over elestria. we thought it was a forest fire at first but then, elestrals and casters started to become sick. though normal people are fine. It looks like this smoke only effects those attuned with magic. the veil that we gods have put up has been doing a decent job keeping it out but sometimes the smoke seeps in. because of that, everyone here barricaded themselves indoors. at this rate, the smoke will spread across all of Elestria if we don't stop it! we suspect it to be some kind of earth based spell, considering the smoke's make up has a lot more...minerals in it. its strange its almost like its gaseous magic rock rather than normal smoke.
tulin: thats terrible! well don't worry! I'm tulin! the sage of wind and van's little brother! I'm sure with my power I can blow all the smoke away! (he says demonstrating his gust ability and almost blowing love's hat off his head)
Demeter: woah! (she smiles at the young rito) impressive
Tulin: thanks! Dont worry between van and I we are sure to figure out whats causing this magic smoke.
Demeter: wonderful! we suspect the smoke to be coming from Foloi forest, south from here
Van: then thats where we are heading!
(suddenly various enemies from hyrule appear in town)
Demeter: (Readies her scythe) what are those creatures and how did they get passed the veil?!
Van: doesn't matter right now how, we need to take care of em and keep everyone in village safe! (van readies his pendant and summons onyx)
Tulin: *gets his bow out* Ready when you are, Van!

The roots of the problem[]

Stolen spirit[]

(van began casting runes, sending rocks and boulders flying at the moblins, however van was caught off guard by what appeared to be a tiny stone talus's own rock attack knocking him back and the pendant to fall off his neck, sucking Onyx back inside it. the stone talus grabs the pendant before van could reach it and ran off back in the direction the billowing magic smoke was eminating from)
Van: no...nonononono! get back here I-(doubles over in pain) ugh...no...my pendant...onyx...
Tulin: van! I took care of the rest of those guys! (sees he is holding his chest in pain and his pendant wasn't around his neck) van...what happened?
Van: that thing took my pendant...they took Onyx...Now I really am powerless...
(tulin helps van up keeping van propped up on his shoulder)
Tulin: lets get back to love and sam, they should be able to patch you up. I hope Courtney and Master Revali are doing okay…

courtney and revali vs the everfree forest[]

Courtney: *breathes fires towards the vines*
Revali: Are you sure nothing like this has happened before?
Courtney: Not since Discord planted those seeds that almost killed the Tree of Harmony. But, these vines are different somehow…
(Suddenly, Courtney heard a spiritual voice)
????: come...come...to me...my bravehearted pup
Courtney: *to Revali* Did you hear that?
Revali: What is it?
Courtney: Something or someone is calling me…
(both courtney and revali braved the everfree forest courtney faintly hearing the words of the spirit calling her)
Courtney: Hello? Where are you?

Powerless once more?[]

(back in the temple, van is being treated for injuries using special magic bandages)
Demeter: now hold still, these will fix you up in no time
Van: uggggh....It feels like my ribs broke
Demeter: trust me this magic can even heal that in a manner of minutes
Van: but does it have to be so...slimey...?
Demeter: yes, that factor is absolutely necessary
(tulin grimaces and goes over to van)
Tulin: you doing okay big bro...? besides the whole ribs breaking thing...?
Van: no...I lost my pendant and my spirit partner, without them I can't fight! that was all I had...now...I really am just useless...
Tulin: what?! that’s not true at all! pendant or no pendant, rauru chose you as a candidate to become a new sage! and you said it yourself, the pendant and the spirit serve as a focus! even if you can't use specific runes now I'm sure you-
Van: tulin, only the most powerful casters can use runes that strong without their spirits! without Onyx I'm a weakling! I cant save anyone...not even Onyx...
(van sat back down, feeling broken, physically and mentally. meanwhile tulin looked determined)
Tulin: (starts to walk off) if thats how you really feel, then I'm gonna go get your pendant back! I'm not a caster or an elestral so the smoke won’t effect me! besides you and link helped me get my bow back! I’m gonna return the favor! (he flies off)
Van: tulin wait! (holds his chest in pain)
Demeter: settle down! wait for the bandages to heal you.
Van: grrrrrr...
Demeter: van, come with me. there is something I must show you
(Demeter takes van to the next room over, within were various tapestries telling the stories of casters from the past, as well as several artifacts and weapons)
Van: what are these?
Demeter: relics, from all my past champions.
Van: woah. but why show me this?
Love: (points to some of them, it showed these casters commanding great power without the aid of their spirits. in fact they were fighting to get their spirits back from a dark force) Long ago, a malevolent force had stolen the pendants and spirits of various casters. many of them felt powerless and mourned the losses of their spirits. But one of them stood against the malevolence. Even with his magic weakened without his spirit partner he fought against the malevolence. That courage moved me, and so I bestowed him a blessing. And together with his own power and my blessing he triumphed. On that day, he demonstrated something important. The magic isnt what makes a caster strong (she pokes the bottom of her scythe at van's chest where his heart is) its their heart
Van: my heart?
(Demeter takes the bandages off now that van had fully healed and goes over to the wall, taking down a pair of crystaline cestus)
Demeter: (gives van the cestus' and a magic bandana to protect him from the smoke) its your choice van. will you fight?
Van: (looks at the cestus' before getting determined, holding them up and putting them into their holsters at his sides) I'll fight! (he says putting on the bandana and running off to find tulin)
Demeter: (smiles) now that is my future champion
Tulin: *searches for the mini stone talus from the air that stole Van’s pendant* Onyx! you here? come on the talus and the pendant with onyx in it have to be down there somewhere

Finding the Nature temple[]

(After what seemed like hours, courtney and revali arrived at a place in the everfree forest that courtney had never seen before: a large expansive temple that was overrun with vines and plant life)
Courtney: That’s strange. I never thought this place was here. I thought the Castle of the Two Sisters was the only place in the Everfree Forest. *to the voice who called her* Hello? I’m here!
Revali: Are you sure you heard this voice from here? There’s nothing here.
Courtney: I’m positive.

Magic from within[]

(tulin followed the mini talus deep within the foloi forest but before he could follow any further he is knocked out of the air from an attack from larger stone talus. tulin draws his bow but before he could fire the stone talus falls and explodes to dust, a crystal cestus embedded into what was once the crystal on its back. Van then shows up and pulls the cestus out of the crystal)
Van: NO ONE hurts my little brother!
Tulin: Van! You came!
Van: of course! (he helps tulin up and pulls him into a hug) I’m done feeling sorry for myself. now is the time for action. Everyone is fighting right now to stop the demon king, no matter who they are. I’m gonna fight to!
Tulin: *takes out his bow* Let’s go!
(the duo continue deeper into the forest)
van: so you said it went through here right?
Tulin: Yeah!
(the two reach a clearing in the forest and see a bunch of mini taluses guardian what appeared to be chasm in the middle of the clearing. but none of em had the pendant)
van: it must have gone into that chasm! and it looks like the chasm is the source of the smoke to! (just then the mini taluses notice van) oops...that was too loud (pulls out his cestus' but gets dogpiled by the taluses)
Tulin: van! d-don't worry! I'll figure something out!
Van: (as he is struggling, he remembers tulin's words about going with the flow of the magic and connecting with the element. even if van couldnt cast any specific runes, maybe he could still channel the power of the earth in some way. he doubted he would be strong enough but remembering Demeter's words about heart making a caster strong, van's resolve was hardened. he began to glow with the caramel brown aura once more and he pushes the taluses off. as they charge at him once more van channels earth magic into his hand and pushes it towards the ground without actually touching the ground. this then creates a pillar that shoots up from the ground launching the taluses into the hole)
Van: (breathing deep as the pillar receeds into the earth) w-woah...what did I just do? Did I just...use magic without Onyx?!
Tulin: Looks like it!
(van looks at his glowing hand and clenches it into a fist with a determined smile)
Van: lets go stop that smoke, get my pendant back and get my secret stone!
Tulin: Right!
(the two then hear a spiritual voice)
????: come....come here...my heroic successor....
van: did...did you hear that? its just like when your ancestor was talking to you! but it can't be an ancestor for me, I'm not from elestria...so who...
Tulin: I don’t know but there’s only one way to find out.
Van: good thing I still have the glide armor from the brotherhood ceremony! (He puts it on and van hold tulin's wing) going down?
Tulin: yup!
(the two then jump into the chasm and land safely in the depths. Luckily van did have a few zonai floodlights on him that could help the two see in the dark, but they didn't need them for long, because they soon found themselves in a bright cavern illuminated my light crystals, and in front of them stood a tower surrounded by a multi tiered coliseum. Van had heard about the modern day caster clashes and how they were conducted in battle areans like this one but this seemed ancient! this must have been one of the first clash arenas ever constructed! now converted into some kind of temple)
Tulin: Whoa…

Scourge of the everfree forest[]

The temple beneath the earth[]

(the two entered the colosseum and noticed at the top of the tower in the center was a bright glowing force field)
Van: woah! this place is massive! if this is anything like what modern clash arenas are like...(gulp) oh dear the stage fright (van shuddered thinking about it, but shakes himself out of it) but thats a concern for another time
(the two then heard the mysterious voice again)
????: my heroic successor, the top of this tower is protected by a powerful forcefield that can only be disabled by setting five columns back into place. find them, use your power to deactivate the forcefield and claim what you have come for...(the voice fades out)
van: columns huh? this is gonna be easier than I thought! come on little bro! let’s climb that tower!
Tulin: Right!
(the duo begin their search for the 5 collumns in the tower)
Van: wow its a lot bigger on the inside.
Tulin: looks like some of the staircases are broken to
Van: hehe, stairs? where we're going we dont need stairs! (van brings tulin close to him and his left hand glows, pushing it down towards the earth and a pillar shoots the to up into the air sending them up to the 4th floor of the seven floor tower)
Tulin: (groans a little) okay a little warning next time before ya do that okay big bro? (he said holding his stomach)
Van: hehe sorry little bro. (the two then went inside one of the rooms, the walls covered in some kind of writing) hey this looks like elestrian runes. The word kind not the magic spell kind.
Tulin: I wish I had a translator. I don’t know what it says.
Van: actually you’re looking at your translator right here! (he winks) Demeter has been teaching me a bit of Elestrian to help me learn about ancient caster societies! Ironically its a lot easier to learn that language than japanese (he chuckled before reading the inscriptions)
Tulin: *looks at the tapastries and depictions of past casters and champions on the walls*
Van: ah ha got it! it says here, "the columns once raised now lay scathed, to fix them approach their shrine and send a strike to the sky" a strike to the sky huh? (van then spots one of the column shrines) I think I have an idea (getting up close to it van strikes the ground with his power creating a pillar under the columns which raises it up and into a hole on the roof that locks it in) alright! one down 4 more to go!
Tulin: Let’s go find the other 4.
(the two begin seraching the other floors of the tower but no luck.)
van: hmmm if the other pillars aren't in the tower then maybe they're in the colosseum!
Tulin: good call big bro!
(the two make their way back through the tower and down to the colosseum)
Tulin: *looks around*
(while searching the two hear a faint rumbling noise from another room and go to investigate, upon entering the two discover what appears to be a small anteater-like creature with a green sproutlike body)
Tulin: huh, there were no soldier constructs like those in the wind temple, but I can take care of em easily! (he draws his bow only for van to stop him)
Van: woah woah wait! little bro, thats not a soldier construct. Thats and elestral! I think I know which one to. its an aardbud!
Tulin: (lowers his bow) Aardbud? What's an Aardbud?
Van: An earth elestral that is able to burrow underground. their tongues are practically like whips! Poor guy must have been down here this whole time. hey tulin? do we still have any wild berries?
Tulin: yeah? (gives van a few) why?
Van: watch this. (van approaches the Aardbud as it eyes him, sizing him up to see if he is a threat. He then places some wild berries on the ground in front of him as a peace offering to him, to which the Aardbud ate and smiled, going over to van and rubbing against his leg affectionately) hehe, little guy must not have had surface food in a long time.
tulin: awwww he is actually pretty cute (he says watches the Aardbud rub up against van)
(suddenly though the Aardbud hid behind van in fear)
Tulin: huh? whats wrong little guy? you look like youve seen a ghost
Van: No, not a ghost but...(he says seeing the approach of a few soldier constructs) looks like we have company!
Tulin: okay now these guys are soldier constructs! lets take em together! (he draws his bow ready to let loose some bomb arrows)
Van: (draws his cestus' and readies himself for a fight to protect the Aardbud)
(van and tulin charge the approaching constructs taking out a few. just as van was about to get sneak attacked however, The Aardbud charged at the constructs and wrapping its tongue around a boulder and swinging it like a mace, smashing one of the constructs to bits)
Tulin: wow this little guy can even fight too!

the secret stone of nature[]

(Courtney and Revali had defeated the flora-like like and approached the alter with the secret stone)
Revali: well, looks like we can finally put this forest problem behind us, and you can claim the secret stone
Courtney: Right! *flies over to the secret stone as she touches it*
(A bright light shines from the stone)
Courtney: *shields her eyes from the bright light* Whoa!! Jeez, that’s bright!
(the spirit of the stone's guardian appears to Courtney and Revali. to both their surprise its actually a dog like courtney)
???: Courtney… my bravehearted pup.
Courtney: Who… are you? Are you the one who called us?
???: Yes, I am your ancestor from a long time ago. I am Prince Jarilo, a sage of nature.
Courtney: You’re a royal? Just like me?
Jarilo: Yes, I used my plant abilities to give new life to the Everfree Forest and to all of Equestria. To share in all it’s beauty. One day, I was visited by a king from another world as well as his sage of time, who entrusted me with safeguarding a great treasure for you to inherit: my secret stone.
Courtney: A king from another world… *gasps* King Rauru!
Jarilo: Yes. I will show you. *uses his magic to show her and Revali a flashback of Jarilo talking with the Sage of Time* The Sage of Time gave me a very important mission in hopes that someday a brave swordsman will fight along side my successor as the next sage of nature.
The Sage of Time: Equestria… The ponies of this fair land will be in danger. But, there is one brave, special little dog that will inherit this… *gives him the secret stone of nature* Please protect this stone until one brave little pup, one that can control nature and claim it.
Prince Jarilo: You have my word. I promise I won’t fail you.
(The flashback ends…)
Prince Jarilo: And now, the time has finally come. Courtney, my bravehearted pup. You have proven yourself worthy by stopping the scourge of the Everfree Forest and save Equestria from being overgrown by vines, please take up my secret stone and defeat the demon king!
(A light shines as the spirit disappears)
Courtney: I can’t believe it… A royal like me was a sage… *to Revali* That’s so cool!! *turns to the secret stone* I’ll do it! As future princess of Equestria, I will gladly accept this secret stone!
(The stone glowed rose gold and the kanji for nature with an eye in it was engraved onto it before it embedded itself into Courtney’s Pup Tag collar)
Courtney: Behold, I am the Sage of Nature! Check this out! *summons her avatar that can control vines*

Scourge of the original Earth arena[]

(van and tulin, after finally setting all the pillars and disabling the forcefield head back up to the top of the tower, in the chamber where the secret stone was)
Van: this is it! all thats left is to get that secret stone. no sign of my pendant or onyx though...
(van's thought was interupted as the mini taluses swarmed into the room and from the ceiling descended a wizrobe in caramel brown robes, holding a rod with what appeared to be an amber colored opal in it, and several pendants floating around him, one of which was indeed van's pendant containing onyx. in addition to the pendants however the duo spot a cauldron floating around it to, with mini taluses jumping in causing the cauldron to bubble, spewing out the smoke that has been enveloping cryptid nation)
Van: so this guy’s the one who stole my pendant! and look he's the one creating the smoke and the mini taluses! well he picked the wrong caster to steal from! (his hand glowed that bright caramel brown as he drew his cestus') hey ugly!
(the wizrobe, known as the stone wizrobe, turned to the duo)
Van: if you think you can get away with stealing my pendant and my spirit partner and covering elestria in your magic smoke, then you've got another thing coming! hear me now! my name is van solas! and I will defeat you! (turns to tulin) ready to rumble bro?
Tulin: You bet I am!
(the wizrobe giggles sinisterly as he counjours up multiple mini taluses, and just like that the fight is on!)
(tulin draws his bow and fires a volley of bomb arrows at the talluses while van tries to get a hit in with one of his cestus' only for the wizrobe to teleport each time)
Van: grrrr, this is ridiculous! I can't get a hit in! (sees the floating cauldron spewing smoke) but maybe...(the wizrobe appears again closer to the cauldron floating above him) now! (van uses his power to send a pillar of earth up, hitting the cauldron and causing the smoke to envelop the wizrobe weakening it) it worked! now's our chance!
Tulin: I got your back, big bro!
Van: right! start shooting him! (van says as he starts hitting the wizrobe with his cestus')
Tulin: *gets out some bomb arrows* Some payback is in order!
Van: now your talking! fire away little bro! (van jumped out of the way)
Tulin: *fires the bomb arrows*
(the stone wizrobe was blown back onto the floor before getting up, floating in the air and waving its magic rod. Suddenly, a big crystal clear orb appeared around the wizrobe, making it impervous to attacks)
Van: that shield looks tough! but I bet a well placed earth pillar should be able to smash through!
Tulin: And it’ll give us a chance to attack!
Van: exactly! (van readies his pillar technique but before he can he is surrounded by pebblets) oh come on not these things again! (van is dogpiled by the pebblets) agh! they're holding me down! cant get a clear shot!
(suddenly, the pebblets begin bursting into dust, the cause being Aardbud smashing through them with his tongue wrapped around a boulder, backed up by what appears to be an army of spirits behind him. meanwhile the stone wizrobe was being encircled by a teratlas and a owlune, a mini t-rex thuinder spirit, wreathed in shadow and stone, making the wizrobe dizzy within its own barrier)
Van: the spirits of the temple! they're helping us!
Tulin: must be their way of returning the favor for saving them!
Van: (with a confident smile his hand glows, directing the power to the ground and sending a pillar up shattering the forcefield and knocking the wizrobe into the smoke weakening it again) little bro! time for a new move! I call it the brother blast off! I launch you into the air and you let loose with a barrage of bomb arrows!
Tulin: Got it!
Van: alright on three!
Van and tulin: one! two! Three! Brother blastoff!
(van creates a pillar that launches tulin into the air, once airborn he launches a volley of bomb arrows knocking the stone wizrobe to the ground! van then launches himself skyward tomahawk held above his head and bringing it down upon landing onto the wizrobe destroying it, dropping van's pendant at his feet)
Van: my pendant!! (in addition to that, the cauldron disappeared along with the smoke and pebblets, and in front of them was the pedistal with the floating secret stone)
Van: (puts it back on and onyx comes out)
Onyx: uggggh...w-what happened? Van? Tulin? (he sees the army of spirits and the Aardbud) okay, what did I miss...
Van: ill explain later, but right now im so glad to have you back.

The secret stone of earth[]

(pendant around his neck once again, van and tulin step up to the pedestal, the secret stone glowing a vibrant white. Van reaches out to touch it and it pulses, engulfing the room in light, where van and tulin are taken to a pocket dimension. a symbol resembling that of the kanji for earth with an eye in it floating around them. before them stood what appeared to be the spirit of a earth caster in a zonai mask which resembled a teratlas. It only took van a moment to recognize the spirit as the caster from demeter's story)
????: Van solas...my heroic successor.
Van: that voice...so it was you guiding us? but...there is no way your my ancestor. I'm not from this world
????: On the contrary. Just like you, I was from the real world, from a much more ancient time, but like you I had the ability to cross into the fictional multiverse. my name is Tarkis. Champion of Demeter, and a caster of the earth element, and your ancestor
Van: an earth caster...just like me! and wait...so you’re like me?! you were from the real world?! Ancestor?!
Tarkis: indeed. A gladiator I once was but here, I became so much more. But back to the subject at hand, never before have I seen magic used the way you have used it. the way you command earth is commendable. I'm proud, and could think of no one better to be my successor and take up the gift from another world: the secret stone
Van: the gift from another world?
Tarkis: Indeed, allow me to show you (he shows them both a flashback, in his time he was one of demeter's many elestral caster champions around him were some Teratlas', Equilynx, and even a Centaurbor!) in my time I defended my home from evil casters and a malevolent force that tried to seperate casters from their spirits one day, a portal opened within the earth arena, and it was there I met a strange animal like being and a young woman he refered to as, the sage of time. they told me that the humans of this world would play a part in defeating the demon king, and that one specific human caster inherit this secret stone, a user of earth magic in particular. her words still echo in my head)
Sage of time: the humans....the casters of this world can help us. One day, a human will come to inherit this (she places a secret stone in his hand) please protect it until that day, when the human will be strong enough to claim this stone and command the earth with his magic!
Tarkis: (nods) it would be my honor to do so. I swear, that you can count on the casters of this world, to aid you in your battle
(the flashback ends)
Tarkis: and now you have come, you passed my tests, and you have proven your strong enough to wield the secret stone. Now its up to you. take up the stone and fufill the promise made to the sage of time! (the room glows with light and just like that the two are back in the temple and Tarkis was gone)
Van: Me...a sage...just like you tulin...I must admit, I didn't think I was worthy after all that happened...but now, I know that I need to do this! for the sake of everyone, its time to stop doubting and believe in myself, to kick the demon king's butt! I proudly accept this secret stone!
(the stone glowed caramel brown and the kanji for earth with an eye in it was engraved onto it before it forming a greek-styled sash around van with the secret stone embedding into the part draped over his chest where his heart is)
Van: I am now the sage of earth! and this...this is my power! (he summons a spiritual avatar of himself that can create earth pillars like him. he then desummons it)
Tulin: (had the biggest grin on his face)
Van: little bro? whats-(before he could say anything tulin wrapped his wings around van in a tight hug)
Tulin: sage bros! (he smiles)
Van: (smiles warmly back at the little rito hugging him as well, even onyx joined in)
(just then the Aardbud approached van, motioning him to put his hand on its head)
Onyx: van, I think this little guy wants to join you
Van: wait...you mean...
Onyx: only one way to find out
(van approaches and puts his hand on Aardbud's head. His pendant glowed and Onyx entered the pendant. the mark of the earth element glowed on both van and Aardbud before finally subsiding. Van and Aardbud had now become partners. Van had contracted his first elestral)

Meeting back up![]

(the two groups met back up at the temple of time in the sky islands)
Rauru: Ah so you all have returned, I assume that things went well?
Van: (shows him the secret stone embedded into his sash)
Courtney: (shows him the secret stone embedded into her collar)
Rauru: wonderful. two new never before seen sages. you will both be invaluable in the battle against the demon king.

Epilogue: van and courtney's vows to link[]

(van and courtney put their hands in the center)
Van: go ahead link, put your hand in
(link does so, putting his zonai hand in the center with van and courtney as the two glow their respective elemental colors)
Van: I, Van solas, the sage of earth-
Courtney: and I, Courtney Elison, the sage of nature-
Van and Courtney: Vow to fight by your side until the end!
Van: now take this!
Courtney: As proof of our vows!
(the glow flowed through them and into link's hand, creating two new rings, each emblazoned with their sage symbols)
Van: now with those rings you can call on our power when ever you need to! (van said with a smile) now then, we have 3 more sages to find, lets get back on the trail!
(with that the group departed rito village, but something was on van's mind, something that caught tulin's attention)
Tulin: rupee for your thoughts big bro?
Van: well its just...my ancestor was a champion of demeter. One of the best too! so he should have ascended and became immortal. but when we met him...he was a spirit. meaning...
Tulin: you...don't think someone...killed him do you?
Van: exactly. but the question is...who?
(back in the earth temple a shadow slinked across the room where the secret stone was once held, the figure emerged and approached the pedistal)
????: the key has been taken...now all I need is for the barer to return. Finally...the game has begun (despite her human form, her unnaturally big smile and the golden apple in her hand betrayed her. she then walked away and stood before a secret door, one with the an engraving of the secret stone on it. the goddess' plan...was now in motion.)

(to be continued)