The Legend of Zelda: The Four Sacred Winds
Book Two-The Hero of Life, Prologue: Mila of Windfall, This Is Your Life
Above the Great Sea-Sector B3
Mila was flying above the Great Sea, trapped in a magical orb of light and unable to move or change its course, which was headed straight for Mother Isle. This meant trouble, since the island's unique geography made it effectively an impenetrable valley that could only be reached from the sky. The spell carrying her through the air would serve well enough to bring her inside, but getting out again was a problem she was not at all confident she could solve-especially since the one taking her there was the Fairy Queen-the most powerfully magical entity in the Great Sea, and Rila suspected well beyond.
All she could do was reflect on events so far. She'd grown strong when the rumors of a new, powerful Forsaken Fortress overlord had reached the shores of her home, Windfall Island, but then an attack came from an unexpected direction-a second sinister presence known as Saligula wormed his way into the island and nearly succeeded in taking it completely over. She managed to rescue all the other island children, and formed them into the Killer Bees Windfall Island Resistance. She managed to win a few small victories, but it still seemed so hopeless...until Aryll, an Outset Islander she had met during traumatic events three years ago arrived with a swordarm-for-hire that apparently knew Aryll's brother somehow called Linebeck. Aryll figured out the weakness of Saligula's minions, Poes that he'd called Vice-Roys. Mila felt extreme shame at this-she had been too afraid of the Vice-Roys to deduce that sunlight would make them vulnerable. She had vowed to herself to never let fear cloud her judgment ever again after that, but she had used a fairy spell to expose the Poes in the course of driving away Saligula-and that had gotten the attention of the Fairy Queen, who informed her that it was forbidden for Hylians to use Fairy magic.
She had delayed sentencing Mila until Saligula had been driven from Windfall, but not a second longer. The light orb she was flying in had materialized around her the instant she, Aryll, and Linebeck had escaped Saligula's crumbling tower-she wasn't even given time to say goodbye. Somehow, she had to escape, because Saligula had been rescued by the new overlord of Forsaken Fortress, a figure even more sinister than Saligula, calling himself Demon Lord Ghirahim. Mila felt that they would surely form an alliance of some kind and was worried that together, they would prove too much for Aryll and Linebeck to handle. She could not afford to remain as the Fairy Queen's prisoner-or worse.
Soon, Mila touched down at the center of Mother Isle, and the orb vanished, as it was no longer needed. Now able to move, Mila scrambled to the nearest cliff wall. The Fairy Queen appeared again. "By Farore above...you're not actually going to try and climb the cliff? Even if you managed to find enough holds, you could get most of the way up and slip and fall to your doom with the slightest mistake! And even if you did get to the top, you'd have to climb down the other side. Your chances of surviving would be something like thousands to one!"
"I don't care," said Mila, looking for and failing to find any place for her hands to get purchase on the cliff wall. "I can't stay here. My life has taught me when there's something you can do to improve life, whether it's a single life or family like my own by hard work, or an entire kingdom of lives by defeating a great evil, you should do it-and if you don't, you're a coward or worse. I can help Aryll and Linebeck again, just like I did on Windfall. There's no way I'm staying a prisoner here, no matter what!"
Mila changed tactics, trying to get a running start, but the Fairy Queen loosed a bolt of magic at her which froze her in place before she started running. "Your words intrigue me, girl. You would speak to the Fairy Queen, the High Priestess of the great Goddess Farore herself, of matters of life and courage-the very elements of the deity I serve? You are one interesting mortal. Very well, I will give you a chance. I will convene the Court of the Fey. You see, there is one exception to our custom of forbidding Hylians from using Fairy magic. Our laws state that only the Hylian who has earned the title "Hero of Life" will be allowed to use such spells. However, to take on this quest, you must be approved by a majority of Great Fairies. And...if you fail to convince them of your courage, I'm afraid your sentence will be increased. You will be transmuted to the size of a bottle fairy so that your forbidden spells will no longer be usable. With that in mind...do you still wish for me to summon the Court of the Fey?" She loosed another bolt of magic, and Mila's paralysis vanished.
"Yes," said Mila, "after what I said just now, if I backed down I wouldn't just be a coward, but a hypocrite as well. I could never forgive myself." At this answer, the Fairy Queen shot another ray of magic at her. "I'll need to remove the limits on my power to summon the Court, and...your fledgling magic sense would be overwhelemed just by my presence, so I've gotten rid of it for a few hours. All right...here I go!" She threw her Great Fairy Doll high in the air, and it flashed with brilliance that would've blinded Mila if she'd been looking right at it. In the same instant, the Fairy Queen grew taller, but not higher, and her clothing changed slightly to a metallic green priestess robe that flowed like liquid steel. She was now as imposing physically as she was magically. She spoke, and her mildly squeaky and childish voice was gone utterly, replaced by one of full maturity and layered with wisdom of ages and magical power beyond fathoming. "Fairies of the Great Sea, hear me! I call upon the Court of the Fey! Convene to me!"
No sooner was it said than done. All seven of the Great Sea's Great Fairies appeared at their queen's side in an instant. Mila was struck with an involuntary trembling that she quickly shook off-most people were lucky to behold a single Great Fairy in their whole lifetime, and here there were seven of them at the same time! She could not identify any of them by name or station, only that there were two blue ones, two pink ones, two yellow ones, and one violet one. The violet one was evidently the leader, for she was the one who addressed the Queen. "My queen, the call has been answered. For what reason do you summon us?"
"You are all charged with passing judgment on this mortal, who has violated sacred fairy law, dabbling in forbidden magics. You must take measure of her worthiness to undergo Farore's Sacred Trials. I will depart to the First Wellspring, to contain my power and observe, so that you shall decide without interference."
Most of the Great Fairies made nervous chittering noises-Mila guessed they were in some kind of secret Fairy language. The violet Great Fairy was an exception-she only bowed and said "It is understood, my queen." The Queen Fairy turned into a multitude of colored sparkles at these words and disappeared into the fountain at the epicenter of Mother Isle.
"All right girls," said the Violet Great Fairy when the Queen had gone. "This is a tall order our queen has given us, so we'll need to all work together. Worthiness to undergo Farore's Trials...I believe the ancient texts say that the measure of that worthiness is courage."
"Naturally," said one of the Pinks, "I mean, they ARE Farore's trials. Not much else would make sense, her being the Goddess of Courage, after all."
"But the question is this," said a Yellow, "How do we go about actually measuring it?"
"Perhaps the best way would be to examine her, and her memories-determine in full truth what she has learned from her experiences, how they have shaped her, what made her into what she now is, to get better insight into what she now indeed is," said a Blue.
"Hmm...that would be a start, certainly," said the Violet. "Girl, do you consent to the opening of your mind-your memories, your life so far, laid bare before this Court?"
"I do consent, ma'm," said Mila, bowing respectfully, "but...it's Mila, if...if that's all right."
The Violet chuckled. "Very will...Mila. Stare with your full attention on the glow that appears before you." An orb of light materialized right in front of Mila, and she followed the instruction. It was a dim light, but very interesting, so she had no trouble complying. In fact, she started to suspect at this point that she wouldn't now be able to look away if she wanted to...and an instant later, she fell fully into a trance. The orb expanded, becoming much larger, and showing a projection that began going through every last one of Mila's memories. Mila was aware, as a consciousness and soul, of everything that was shown on the orb projector, but was unable to register much else, look away, or otherwise move, for the spell had seized her actual mind completely, and would not let it go until the Court had finished.
Fortunately, they were moving through the thought stream of Mila's memories extremely quickly-effectively viewing in a few hours what actually took place over nearly sixteen years, retaining it all magically so not an instant of those years went unabsorbed by any of them. To Mila, however, it was nothing but a confusing blur barely even recognizable as her life. They say your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die, thought Mila's consciousness while the rest of her was helpless and inert, I just hope this is going to be an exception.
The sun was low in the sky when the Court finished at last. Mila came out of her trance as the memory orb faded, feeling oddly refreshed, as though she'd slept for twice as long as she'd been under the orb's effects. "My," said Violet, "A most interesting set of experiences. The Queen was right to take an interest in you, clearly. In fact, we all have gained much more information from your life than we'd thought possible. All in favor of coming to a vote immediately?"
At these words, seven beautiful golden braziers materialized, one in front of each Great Fairy. They were three times taller than any brazier Mila had ever seen, and more enchanting and glorious than any in her father's former collection. After a slight deliberation, each of those torches became lit one by one, the color of their flames matching the color of the Great Fairy controlling them. "A unanimous decision," said the Violet, "very well. We will deliver the verdict when the Queen returns."
As soon as that sentence was spoke, the Fairy Queen returned, this time back in her child form-for her own benefit, Mila rightly guessed, noticing that a lot of time had now passed-and even without that, she had felt the return of her Fairy sense. "Proceed with the verdict, my Court," said the Queen, and the first of the Court on the far left, a Pink, floated forward slightly. "She is a fascinating mortal, my Queen," she said, "from the least humble of beginnings and an equally tragic fall from grace, she has learned much, including, I believe, courage. I say that this mortal has the potential to become the Hero of Life." At these words, that Great Fairy's brazier sprang to life, a brilliant pink flame bursting forth.
Next to her, one of the Yellows came forward. "The words spoke so far have merit, and Mila has indeed performed valorous deeds these recent days. But do these deeds in fact prove the presence of true courage? I say they do not...and there were many things I saw in her that further call her courage into question. I say that this mortal does not have the potential." When she was finished, the Yellow's flame alighted as well-but it was much smaller, and colored a pure, melancholy black. Mila quivered-she was rapidly losing her nerve.
Next, the Blue between the Violet and the Yellow floated forth. "While it is indeed true that great deeds do not necessarily presume courage, it is also true that courage necessarily presumes great deeds. Courage that has not been tested is invisible to the point of practical non-existence. Well, this mortal's courage has been tested, and I find it far from wanting. I say this mortal has the potential." A blue flame burst from her brazier, and she floated back. Mila sighed with relief.
"Well I say her courage IS wanting," said the Blue on the Violet's left, "did neither of you see what I saw? When her island was taken, she scurried around like a baseless rodent and had all her followers do the same. This does not seem as courage to me-in fact it is the opposite! I say this mortal does not have the potential." What nerve Mila had regained from the previous vote vaporized along with nearly all of the rest of it.
"I DID see what you saw," said the Yellow on the opposite side, "and apparently I saw it on a much deeper level than you did. Her scurrying was no cowardice, and neither was her balking at the enhanced Poes. They are extremely uncommon monsters-no more than a fifth of the world has heard of them, and fewer have seen them. While it may not demonstrate perfect courage to fear the unknown, neither does it demonstrate cowardice. I say this mortal has the potential." A yellow flame erupted from her brazier, and she yielded the floor to the Pink on the tail end of the Court.
"You say that her actions do not demonstrate perfect courage," she began, "and yet you still vote in her favor? Is it not perfect courage that is in fact required to face Farore's Trials? Your logic is sound, but not your conclusion. I say this mortal does not have the potential." A third small black flame flickered forth.
Mila's heart had been sinking around the middle of the third vote, and now, it was undeniably at rock bottom. Her legs gave way, collapsing her to her knees and a torrent of trembles she had been mentally damming back broke through that dam, causing minor hyperventilations and a few tears that she could no longer hold back. Not only am I going to be shrunk to the size of a fairy, she thought, but I won't be able to help Aryll and Linebeck and...I'll never see them again! She could no longer hold back her tears at all at this thought, dissolving into sobs that were silent at first, but eventually became audible. I'll never see Aryll again...I'll never see Father or Maggie or any of the former Resistance or any of the others again! I'm about to lose my home...these fairies may as well go ahead and take my life instead. In fact...it'd be BETTER to die than to suffer what's coming...once I'm shrunk, the first chance I get...the Great Sea can take me. "It's over...oh great Goddesses...why oh why like this?" she accidentally said aloud.
The Violet, who had been silently shaking her head while she telepathically observed this breakdown, now allowed a single tear to issue from her right eye, which then flowed down her cheek and dripped from her face, expanding and solidifying as it fell into a crystal clear, teardrop shaped gem. The Fairy Queen discreetly made it disappear and materialize in her hand. "All of you see this," said the Violet, "this girl, so full of iron will-and this trait cannot be denied no matter the truth of her courage-reduced to this sight. It is by our hand that this has occurred-never has this Court been so divided, never has a decision even reached a point requiring my own vote be cast, and in truth, every single one of the arguments I have heard has had deep flaws. I could expound on each of them, but I desire to cease Mila's suffering, and such exposition would prolong it. I am deeply ashamed of us all. And so, here is my own argument. It is true that only one with perfect or near perfect courage is worthy to become the Hero of Life, or indeed, to gain any of the Hero titles the great Goddesses see fit to bestow. However, arguing against Mila's right to attempt this quest on the basis that her courage has yet to reach this level ignores the entirety of the quest's purpose. As it was said, courage only has meaning if it is tested. The true purpose of Farore's Sacred Trials is to test new, invisible courage, not confirm what courage is already obvious. I say this mortal does have the potential."
Her light burst forth on her brazier, a beautiful shade of violet and larger than any of the other votes for. To Mila, it would have been extremely beautiful even without what it represented, and with that representation it was the most beautiful sight she felt she would ever behold.