The Goddess of Power has forsaken them.
This is the belief that crept into the hearts of all she once served as patron to. This is the thought of so many as the earth shakes and the sky bleeds red for the second time in a matter of centuries. Who else is to blame? Surely not Nayru, for she gave her new princess wisdom enough to take sanctuary in a sealed temple. Neither could it be Farore, for the Forest Mother would do no wrong, even if it stands abundantly clear that she has no intention of calling back the hero all had come to rely upon.
So Din is to blame. And she is the least surprised out of all of them.
Once, she was worshipped, praised as highly as her sisters. The women of the desert were said to be her blades of vengeance upon any who would blacken her name; the very stones upon the mountains, her eyes and ears. When there was a place for the gods on the earth, she gifted the volcanoes she had crafted in her own hands to the stones that she gave life, taking instead to the heavens and living among the stars. For that purpose, they called her wish-granter, star dancer, heavenly sister. She listened to every name on every mortal's breath and laughed. Sometimes, she indulged them.
But the game the gods played soon left a bitter taste in her mouth. Why wouldn't it? The champion she chose mere decades after their world began to thrive was, more often than not, a conceited bastard. Every time she took up the challenge to move a piece on the chessboard, he failed her. She did everything she could to kindle passion, to grant enough purpose to make a victory worth everyone's while for just a short time. And once the world realized she was to blame for their ills, the prayers ceased. The Gerudos all went rogue, no longer proud bringers of justice; the Gorons retreated as close to their precious earth and as far from the heavens as they could get.
Since they had forsaken her first, she forsook them right back. Wishes were matters of mortal perception, no longer in her domain. Certainly, she still danced, but not for the amusement of bringing the hushed rumors to life. Rather, she danced to pass the time. The stars danced with her, and for a time she found pleasure in leaving the world she had woven between her fingers like silk on a loom now tarnished. Her champion, sealed away for a time she hadn't bothered to keep track of, meant nothing more to her than a game piece that had been tossed to the side. Existence was glad to see her retreat into her shell, or so she believed.
Then the bastard came crawling back out of his grave.
He just couldn't sit still, could he? No, of course not. But when the prayers returned for the first time in what felt like an eternity, Din sat on her star-spangled throne and sneered. She had nothing to offer them; the closest to an answer anyone would get was to look to her siblings instead.
She was almost amused when Nayru came to her, trailing traces of the sea air in her wake and rippling the fabrics of space in her approach, cutting straight to the point for such a rare occasion: there was no champion of courage, and the champion of wisdom was hidden away where she would never be found, so they were going to flood Hyrule to finally put an end to this nonsense. About time, the Scarlet Divine told her, barely paying attention to the plans. You have to help, the Azure insisted, because no one else could keep that child who could never have enough playthings in one place for too long.
What's in it for me?
There was no reply, but curiosity still got the better of the Goddess of Power. After all, it wasn't every day that you got to watch a country flood. So Din returned to the stratosphere, raising flames from the earth and sealing her petulant child inside them. It wouldn't be enough to kill him by a long shot, not with the Triforce of Power gleaming in his hands-but it was enough to cause a distraction. Clouds flooded the sky, darker than the world had ever seen and bursting with the tears of the Sea Siren. With Farore keeping her children of the forest safe in the embrace of hundreds of trees tangling together as a barrier, all Din had to do was sit back and watch.
Join with the barren earth, Nayru breathed, and the flood did as it was bid: spilling from the skies and rising from the oceans. Be as a Great Sea, passable by no man, no creature of Farore-born to swim. Let Hylia's subjects begin a new chapter in their history from the mountaintops, to be islands. The rest, the insubordinate, the unworthy and unjust: choke the life from their veins and seal their breath in the temples of our holy Voices, the Sages.
One would assume that a deity with the greatest regard for wisdom would have the foresight to realize the impact of her words, but she was still locked in a trance; still fueling the flood, no doubt. Din relaxed her hold on the trembling earth as the waves crashed in around her champion, sealing him in a watery tomb cased with molten rock. That was all there was to do, wasn't it? Those the Golden had deemed worthy of keeping the air in their lungs had all escaped to the mountaintops, out of the flood's path.
Spoken too soon, she realized, looking to the east. Screams and prayers erupted in her ears like the cacophony from hell, all of them shrill and... unfamiliar. The Zoras were in pain. But why? They should thrive in an infinite ocean, shouldn't they? Surely Nayru had enough foresight to grant some kind of gift to them.
Unless...
They, too, were creatures born of Farore.
Din turned from her position above the clouds. Her sister was still entranced. Cursing every other god she knew of for irony's sake, she shot back into the heavens with nothing left behind but wisps of smoke that settled amongst the clouds, barely serving to darken them by a shade. Her stars clustered around her, excited children awaiting orders, and she gave them one.
Do you hear the wish of the Zoras? she demanded, hearing more souls leave their earthly tethers in the world below by the moment-their dreams poured over her like broken glass, lost and afraid without owners. She would deal with them later. Go to them. Bring them closer to the heavens: give them wings. If they live to see the sun again, they will be my children.
As the shower of heavenly blessings descended back to the earth, the goddess followed them as far as the cloud barrier. One by one, stars penetrated the rising waves, their light disappearing like extinguished flames each time. Din held her breath. Creating life wasn't her job. Changing the course of nature... well, she had yet to see if she could make it work.
All at once, the earth beneath the flood lit up with all the stars of a galaxy. Even as the water continued to rise, beams of light shot into the sky, breaking through the clouds and calling to their master for further direction. She conducted them without hesitation; turn their gills to beaks, their fins to wings, and their lust for the depths of those dark waters to a desire to take to the skies. Cast them onto the wind, and send them to seek the same shelter as every other worthy soul.
In moments, the results were clear: birdlike creatures flapping their new wings almost haphazardly, crowding together but still airborne, began to make their way to the jutting peaks of the distant mountains. Din let out her breath. Those peaks were practically islands already, seeing as how the flood had risen so quickly, and the torrents slowed. All that was left to do was calm the restless dead.
With their dreams still swirling and wailing in her hands, she crossed the newborn sea to a southern island, not far at all from one of the Hylian settlements that would doubtlessly come to life when the sun returned.
A new world needs new Sages, she told the mix of dreams. And you need a new purpose. I suppose if I can change life, it can't hurt to try and grant it. How about you do me a favor and guard this temple? Until I can find another use for it, anyway. Now that Nayru's dragged me back from halfway across the heavens, I might as well get ready to play a new game.
Dreams could not speak, or so she had been led to believe-neither did she think they could express emotion. But if anything felt like an affirmative, the new pulsing of those in her hands did. The goddess dropped them, letting them hover in the air, and called one last star to her side.
There should still be some fresh water inside this temple. If not, I'll purify it for you. She glanced at the star. Well, we granted the rest of them wings. Now grant this one life.
The Rito and the Earth Sage, Laruto, were born on the same day and to the same god. Nayru would be furious, Din decided as she returned to the heavens. But maybe negotiations could be made.
She wouldn't forsake her children again. At least, not for a very, very long time.
Did I just write something publishable that wasn't a character insert of some kind?
I did.
Who'd have thought?
Sure, we could believe what Fado said about the Sages playing for the Royal Family... but why do that when he and Laruto are the last Sages of the old versions of their races? Not to mention the mystery of Komali holding Din's Pearl when the Rito were descended from the Zora, who originally held the gem of Nayru. Better idea: kick the authoress who shouldn't be awake this early into the plot hole and fill the rest with divine shenanigans. Good as new!