Flight of the Zora
A Zelda Fan Fiction
by David Shank
Of all those inhabitants of Hyrule, the fate of the Zora was overshadowed only by the Gorons, who – though they sought the highest ground they could manage to find – were not pitied at all by the goddesses when the floods began. The Hylians had received the warnings and had prepared accordingly. The Gerudo, with spies and deception, learned of the warnings in spite of all precautions to keep them from saving themselves. The Kokiri, guarded by the Great Deku Tree, were sent off with the seeds of the Great Deku Tree, for he knew he would die when the floods came.
But the Zora received no warnings. Those who knew how to find them – and there were few remaining who could – believed the Zora would flourish. Indeed, what more could the ancient race of fish people wish for? Even when the flood became apparent to them, and they took notice of the ships the Hylians and Gerudo had constructed to save themselves, they felt no malice at not being forewarned. They would thrive in the world of water, with the evil Ganondorf thwarted by the goddesses themselves.
They had records of the hero whom had visited their domain generations before, and who had ascended the Princess Ruto of that age to a higher purpose as a sage and guardian of the sacred realm. It was known that their own treasure had helped ensure Ganondorf's defeat.
As the sky poured down the rain which would fill their world, as though coming from another world entirely, for there was far too much rain, the Zora soon realized their folly.
Much of Hyrule was encased in a bubble. The strongest of the Zora could almost swim close enough to reach the bubble in an effort to fall through, but the current seemed to radiate outward, forcing them back. Their own domain had not been preserved, nor the home of the Gorons. Some had thought to gather any valuables that might be lying around, and so found themselves burdened by the extra weight when the depth of the waters hiding Hyrule became deep enough and the currents deep enough to make life in this would-be paradise difficult and uncomfortable. In time, it grew to be impossible.
Those Zora that were weak and old could not battle the currents. They were the first to die off when they resigned to the forces they knew they could not beat. They took it as their chance to ride the currents until they were stronger and could join with the others or just die when they could no longer go on.
That was the least of their worries. The elders of the Zora passed on the wisdom that they had lived long lives and seen much, and that the future was to be left to the young and strong. The Zora took these words to heart, knowing that to try to save the elders would lead to the deaths of many more.
The first true sign that life would be much harsher under the Great Sea was when they first tried laying their eggs. Despite their best efforts, and with a few close calls, they could not find a calm enough area to lay their eggs. Within moments, all of the Zora's attempts to lay eggs were vanquished by a stray current. The rains had not stopped, and the flowing currents would not settle for a long time after the sun came through the clouds. By that time, the Zora would all be dead.
King Azure was the first to bring forth a solution. He gathered round his fellow Zora, who took pity with him for he was visibly smaller than he had been at his place as ruler of Zora's Domain, and spoke to them with strength which he hoped he might pass on to them.
"For ages we Zora have been confined to our frozen domain, the legends passed down to us from generations before us known but disregarded. It is the job of the King himself to remember these legends for a time when they may be of some use. When the flood began, I also passed this knowledge onto my son, the Prince Rito."
Rito, though still young, thought he knew where his father was going with this speech. "You want us to find Jabun?"
King Azure, with pride, nodded to his son. "The Water Spirit, Jabun, may be able to help us. He is the bearer and protector of a pearl of the goddesses. With this, he may have the power to make us strong, or else to give us a suitable place to live. With our guidance, he may even be able to settle the tumult of the Great Sea itself. It will be a long journey, due west of Hyrule itself if the legend is accurate, but we must do this, or else we may regard ourselves as extinct."
This rang with the Zora. And indeed the journey was long and perilous. With the currents washing them this way and that, they found difficulty in keeping on track. But against all odds, they found Jabun himself, and if not for the laziness of one Zora who drifted off in an errant current, they might never have found him.
King Azure, much more weary than he had been at the start of his journey, addressed Jabun. "Lord Jabun, Ancient Water Spirit. You are a legend among my people, the Zora. We have naught to give you but our loyalty. Still, we are dying, and I find myself forced to ask you to help us."
Jabun's words came slow and drawn out. "What is it you wish me to do?"
"We don't know the extent of your powers, but we ask that you do whatever you can to help us. We find ourselves faced with buffeting currents. Our weak are dying and we can not procreate. If you can give us the strength to beat these forces or else give us a suitable home, we would be ever grateful. I would never assume the extent of your powers, but if you could even settle the Great Sea—"
"The Great Sea can not be beaten," Jabun interrupted. "If I had that power, I would have already made the attempt, and you would not be here. But even now, I can do little for you. The Great Sea has beaten me, too. I am also dying."
King Azure's face fell somber. "Great Jabun, if there is anything we can do to help—"
"You can not. I am dying, but that does not mean I will die. I feel the rains drawing to an end. When the goddesses are finished with their task, I will return to strength. But my time and your time mean different things. I will continue on long after even your grandchildren live their full lives. Your time is much shorter than mine. I can help you, but not now, not directly.
"I am not the only bearer of a Goddess Pearl'm gon. There are three of us, though only two of us live now, I sense. The Great Deku Tree is dead, though he will return in time. You must seek out the Fire Spirit, Valoo. His powers may help you."
"But Great Jabun," Prince Rito swam to the forefront to address the Water Spirit. "I am confused. How can the Fire Spirit help people of the water?"
"He was trusted to guard one of the goddess's pearls. You may find his powers more helpful than you can imagine, though I do not know yet how. Go where the water is warmest, to the north and east. Though the currents may fight against you, you should not have much difficulty discerning Valoo's mountain. It is very hot."
With this final simple statement, Jabun half-closed his eyes, seemingly disinterested. King Azure turned to his fellow Zora and, wordlessly, led them off to find where the water was warmest.
But as time grew on, though King Azure said nothing, the Zora could tell the King's health was failing him. This only forced him to push on with renewed resolve.
Not long after they had passed the bubble encasing Hyrule Castle, the Zora all felt a sudden change in the water temperature. The currents were different here, flowing directly against them, and so they had to work harder to keep moving. But the current came as a good sign; wherever this water came from, it was warmer there.
The going was slowed, and it was agreed that the group needed a rest in order to push on. They counted themselves lucky when they spotted a village of red-roofed houses. They touched down and found a building that might shelter them from the constantly changing and never relenting currents, and ultimately took refuge in an old windmill.
After settling in, Prince Rito found himself restless. He had not left Zora's Domain in his life except to go to Lake Hylia. Most other routes out had been sealed off or were frozen solid. Being young, the hard journey only seemed to strengthen him, and he found himself overtaken by wanderlust.
He slipped out, narrowly avoiding an errant swing of the windmill's blade. It was eerie to see such a sight: A windmill deprived of wind, sunken under water, and yet still moving with the water currents as if out of spite – or out of stubbornness.
Of all the buildings he could get into, most seemed to have been left after taking very few belongings. There were beds with sheets floating like specters, rusted tools, even hay strewn about and obscuring Rito's vision in one room. Not a living thing remained.
Up the hill, there was a gate hanging from a hinge half-open. Rito couldn't fight his curiosity. He swam through the gap in the gate, an unnecessary gesture that he did purely for fun, and moved up the hill with eyes flicking this way and that.
He came upon a cave opening in the wall where the slope turned back and up. It certainly seemed like the water in the cave was warmer than down in the village. He knew he shouldn't, but he did.
The entrance was long, but he felt the water heating up so that he thought it might become unbearable. He could hardly see a thing anymore, and he held a hand out in front of him in case he ran into something. But then even that was unnecessary.
A soft red glow came from ahead. He could just barely make out a room. And then suddenly the red light was all around him.
It came from cracks in the cooled lava about him. It was trying to escape and beat the cooling water; bubbles rose from unseen pockets here and there where the pressure had become too much.
Rito's eyes fell upon the skull of some giant, ancient monster, its lower jaw agape and askew. He'd never heard of such a place. Of course, with the heat, it was likely no Zora could have even survived in such a place for long without the benefit of the water.
And then he reeled back, because he realized suddenly what was beneath him, which he had originally thought were boulders cast about like marbles in an unorganized fashion. Gorons.
He had heard about them, but never before seen one. There was no way any of them could have survived. They were living rocks, practically the opposite of the Zora. They had clearly sought refuge within this cave, likely a monument to the great beast whose skull adorned the far wall. In fact, they all seemed to be turned toward it, though curled up in little boulders as they were.
It dawned on Rito at once that he should return to the others. He swam faster than he could remember ever swimming before. The effort of the long journey followed by a period of such rest had given him more than a second wind.
"Father!" Prince Rito burst out as he reentered the Windmill.
King Azure, a pale imitation of the great Zora he'd once been turned slowly toward his son. "Where have you been?"
"I think I know where we need to go. We're already here! It's just a little farther, the home of the Gorons is here. They live on Death Mountain, right? I think that's where we are!"
"Hmm," the king said. He closed his eyes and seemed to consider, but Rito knew he'd fallen asleep.
"Father?" Rito said weakly.
A female Zora swam over then. Liala, Rito recognized. She checked King Azure and turned to Rito. "He is okay, but not for much longer. He has pushed himself too hard."
"He is doing his duty as the king of the Zora to save his people, Liala," an older male Zora said. He had a strong voice that carried.
Prince Rito's brow drew down. "Then I will find the Fire Spirit myself so that he may help my father. He has done his duty. He needs worry no more."
After Prince Rito had left. The male Zora turned to Liala and said, "He will make a fine king."
Rito was not tired as he ascended through the warm currents. He felt nothing but his duty and the needs of his people. He was his father's son, and he would show what that meant.
He breached the surface and felt the shock of the cold air on his face. It had been so long since he'd felt air. The clouds overhead were thick, but he guessed the sun was near the horizon – whether nightfall or sunrise he could not tell.
An island rose before him, with heat rippling the air over its high peak. He swam to it until his feet found the beach.
Walking seemed an alien feeling after all that time underwater. His muscles were no longer adapted to standing upright, and he fell twice and stumbled many more. He may have misjudged his strength, he realized.
But he was where he needed to be. He was sure of it. Then where was the Fire Spirit? Where was Valoo?
He spotted a mound of red under some kind of natural arch. And when the prince approached it, he noticed it was rising and falling in a steady, slow rhythm.
Rito would have run if he thought he still remembered how, but his heartbeat quickened. The red mound twitched and a head arose. The head of a dragon, if Rito's approximation from old stories and legends was accurate.
"This is not a creature I expected to see in my lifetime," the dragon said. He seemed almost amused.
"I don't think the goddesses could even have foreseen our meeting," said Prince Rito. He attempted a bow, but feared being knocked off-kilter, and so he merely nodded his head in as solemn and humble a fashion as he could manage.
"What brings you here man of the sea?"
"Lord Valoo, my people, the Zora, need your help. We fear we will not survive until the end of the flood. Our numbers have already dwindled to only a few."
Valoo still did not rise. He seemed only capable of holding his head aloft. He snorted and two puffs of smoke came from his nostrils. "And you have not sought Jabun? I feel he might be of more use to you. The Gorons are all dead, and I fear I may be close to joining them."
"Lord Jabun is weak. He has suffered from the changing and violent currents just as the Zora have. But he says he will get better. Surely you will, too? Or is the matter mostly with the loss of the Gorons."
Valoo looked sad suddenly. "They relied on me. They expected me to find a solution, to help them and save them. But I could not. I have failed, and I accept my fate."
The Fire Spirit made to lay his head back down, but Rito yelled at him: "Is that it? Your Gorons died and you feel like you should just roll over and die? You'll find yourself responsible for the the deaths of more than just the Gorons if you do that. The Zora will die without you, too!"
Valoo seemed to consider Rito calmly. He remained silent for a time, and then shook his head. "You speak with a fire I did not expect to see in a Zora. I wish I could help you, but the Goddess Pearl I was to protect was lost. The Gorons forsook me for not doing more to save them. They took the Pearl and hid it. It is likely under the water, where I can not look for it, but I can sense it. It is still down there. If you bring it to me... I may be able to help you."
Rito let out a breath. This was the first sign of hope for the Zora. He wasted no time in returning to the depths of the sea, but he did not return immediately to his father. He could not bear to find that King Azure was dead and the throne was now his own. Not yet. Though part of him wanted to return just to see his fears were unjust, not yet.
He did not return to the cave. He did not want to see scattered dead boulders that he knew were once living Gorons. Instead, he continued up the slope outside of the cave and around. There was another cave entrance, which he entered without hesitation, moving slowly in case he should run into something unexpected.
There was no red glow where the cave tunnel opened up, but a small hole in the ceiling provided some light. He could make out a circular room of multiple levels with holes a long the walls – for stairs, he guessed.
There were doors all around, though mostly on the bottom level. He attempted to move one, but found it was solid rock. He remembered vaguely hearing of someone who'd developed a bomb which could explode underwater. He suddenly wished he had one.
There must be nothing else around, he reasoned. Then he swam up through the hole in the high center of the domed ceiling above and looked down. It was all too obvious then.
From directly beneath Prince Rito, inside a large jar he had initially disregarded, came a pulsating orange glow. He shot straight down. The hole in the top of the jar was too large for him to fit inside, so he tipped it over, and out came the Pearl which would be his people's salvation.
Then he returned to the windmill, satisfied that the time to worry had passed.
More people were crowded around the king when Prince Rito entered.
"Prince, come quick," Liala beckoned.
The orange glow of the Pearl sent shadows shifting around the room as Prince Rito dropped it right there and swam to his father. It didn't seem possible that he should be in such a terrible state. His gills fluttered, and his face was incredibly drawn and pallid.
"Father!" Rito said as the crowd parted for him to pass. He put a hand to his father's arm. "Father, I've done it! I've found a way to save us, all of us! Valoo, the Goddess Pearl, there's no time to explain with you in this condition. We must got to the Fire Spirit."
King Azure managed a small shake of the head. "You are the most worthy heir in Zora history, my prince." His eyes opened then and the corners of his mouth turned up into a strained smile.
The smile suddenly failed. King Azure's black eyes closed. His gills stopped flapping.
"Father?" Rito said quietly, his voice cracking through the tightness in his throat. But there came no answer. And he knew there would not ever come one.
Liala moved to Rito's side and placed a hand upon his shoulder. He needed no words. He nodded and turned away from his father. He swam to the Pearl and lifted it up again. "Follow me, and bring my father with us."
Rito headed the group and led them up onto the beach. He could tell then that it had been sunset when he was on the island earlier. The others all tripped and stumbled up the beach as he had the first time.
Valoo did not hear them approach, and was startled by the sound of the Pearl falling next to him. His eyes fell upon it with much surprise. And then they turned to Rito and the rest of the Zora in turn.
"I have brought you what you need, Lord Valoo, though we lost one more in that time. It could not be prevented, but it hardens our need for your help."
Valoo said, "You speak of this loss gravely. May I ask who the poor soul was?"
"My father, King Azure."
Valoo gave a slow nod, "Then you must be the king?"
"I am Rito, Pri—" but then he realized he had been ignoring the obvious, the thing he did not want to address because it finalized the death of his father. "I am King Rito of the Zora," he corrected himself while staring at the sand at his feet.
"I can help you," Valoo said slowly. King Rito's head rose to watch Lord Valoo rise to his full height, which was a staggering one. He picked up the Pearl and looked upon the Zora.
His head, with its long neck, turned to stare at something. Rito followed the Fire Spirit's gaze and saw a bird in a high nest. Its feathers were ruffled against the rain and wind, and its golden plumage likely would have had a resplendent gleam about them had they not been wet.
"I must first ask you what exactly your plight is so that I might help you more aptly. There are caves here which will shelter you, so that is not an issue for it requires no help from the goddesses."
King Rito had decided the most dire problem the Zora faced long before this moment. "We fear the waters of the world will not settle for a long time – longer than we can wait. We can not lay our eggs without having them washed away. Unless you can cease the rains or the raging sea, that is the problem to which we seek a solution."
Valoo snorted again and the two wisps of smoke came. "As I suspected." He again looked to the bird. "Rocs. Angry creatures if you disturb them, but beautiful to see them fly. Were they not so remote, I imagine they would be sought out for their golden feathers. And after the rains settle, perhaps they will indeed be hunted." He turned back to the group of Zora before him, all staring in awe. The Fire Spirit closed his eyes and put his forehead to the Pearl. It glowed more intensely, and then fell dim again.
He set the Pearl on the ground again and grew silent. After a moment, Rito asked, "Is that it?"
"Yes. I have changed you. You no longer need lay eggs underwater. Look to the Rocs for guidance." He looked over at the late King Azure. "You may not find it easy to bury your lost king. I will help you dig a grave. But then I must rest."
Rito nodded appreciatively. "What do you wish to be done with the Pearl?"
"With the new state of the world, I can do little to protect it. If I were to drop it into the water from high atop my peak, we might never again find it. Keep it with your people, the new people that spawn from your eggs."
"New people? You mean we will no longer be Zora?"
"No. Your descendants will be men of the air, not of the water."
King Rito turned back to his people, the last of their kind. Duty bound him to save them. Would they still live on as the same people, despite the undeniably vast difference?
But then he turned back to Valoo. "Your decision was a wise one, Lord Valoo. You saw a people faced with extinction and instead presented us with evolution."
"And one day, I will enjoy watching your people fly."