I was prepared for a lot of difficult tasks growing up, since I was a politician's daughter, but never imagined I would be asked to do half of the things I did before I held an office of my own.
I am the only child of the leader of the Sheikah tribe. Hundreds of years after the Hero Link defeated the Great Calamity, the Sheikah were almost non-existant. Since we are just a sub-classification of Hylian, many of our ancestors had no qualms about marrying outsiders. They even claimed it was "healthy." Eventually Kakariko Village reached the point to where it was full of blonde-haired Hylians claiming they were descendants from the nimble Sheikah warriors. However just a few generations before I was born, our elder decided it was best to focus on our heritage and try to restore the Sheikah to their former glory. So the people practiced martial arts, revived the ancient language, focused on technological advances, and above all respected the white hair and red eyes that the Sheikah of the past possessed.
My father is almost pure Sheikah. His ancestors were nearly all Sheikah elders and appreciated the laws and traditions that the tribe held. He is an only child and so the position naturally fell to him since his whole life was dedicated to the tribe. His schooling consisted of nothing but Sheikah laws. He practiced martial arts with a private tutor. His toys were all about how to improve technology. He even was blessed with the white hair and slender build of a pure Sheikah, a trait that not many had.
His father arranged a marriage with the daughter of a leader from a nearby Hylian village. Kakariko had been experiencing some prejudice from the kingdom of Hyrule, specifically from the Hylians. The Hylians felt as though the Sheikah believed that they were a superior tribe. Due to our village's focus on reviving the Sheikah blood, the tribe found itself ostracized from the rest of the Hylian citizens. My grandfather hoped that this marriage would bring some sort of peace to the growing tensions between them, and it did.
I grew up knowing that I would be the next leader of the Sheikah tribe. My schooling was much like my father's, learning about the history of Hyrule with a focus on our tribe and learning four languages. I learned a bit of martial arts, but was told that I wouldn't need it due to our village's armed forces. I was sent away for several years to train with the Gerudo, a group of all woman warriors who were unmatched in physical strength and military tactic, except for the Goron. I was to become the military leader, ambassador, and elder for the Sheikah. It all fell on my slender shoulders since I was the only heir.
I was confident in my role. I was already serving as the ambassador for the tribe by the time I turned twenty. When I was twenty-five, I represented the team assembled for the Hyrule Games, a competition between the races of Hyrule that occurred every four years. This was my second time at the Games, but countless time in Castletown.
The whole city was decorated for the Games. Flags representing the different races hung out the windows and above doors of the locals' homes. Booths lined the streets selling clothing and souvenirs. Bands played in the square, and all types of people could be seen dancing to the music at all hours of the day. My teammates' eyes were sparkling with excitement as they surveyed their surroundings. I wanted them to enjoy their time here as much as I wanted them to win the competitions beginning in a few days. I told them all to explore the town and that I expected them at the training ground early tomorrow before I let them go. I skipped the festival and was escorted directly to the princess. She and I were longtime friends. She was just a few years younger than me, so we were able to bond over things like living in the public eye.
The day before the games started, I was training with my team when a bright flash of light came from the sky. I wanted to brush it off as lightning, but it didn't seem quite right. I quietly left my team and ran out of Castletown to investigate it.
As soon as I reached the sight where the lightning had struck, I saw creatures that hadn't been seen since the calamity. I quickly ran to the bushes to get a closer look and hide myself. I leaned my head out to see what was happening. Not that far ahead, the creatures were attacking a Goron disguised a ball of rock. I dashed towards the Goron to help him, but he destroyed them with one swing. I hid back in the bush and watched as he rolled back into town. In the distance behind me I could see the flashes of light more clearly. It definitely wasn't lightening. They came from a pillar of light where more monsters were coming out
I started to run back to Castletown to alert the others, but ran into an army of Hylian soldiers. They told me that these creatures were coming towards the town and that we needed to protect ourselves. We gathered into small groups prepared ourselves to take on whatever came our way. I was placed in a group with the same Goron I saw earlier and two Hylians. I tried to warn my group about these monsters and that I had read about them in history books, but it was too late. The time had come to fight.
Three of the creatures came up against our group of four. I tried my best to defeat the one attacking me, but it was larger than I was by several inches and definitely weighed more than me. It was erratic in its movements and hard to predict. As I managed to finally kill the monster, one of the other two killed one of the Hylians. The Goron, after he looked over and saw the lifeless body of the young man, was filled with rage and knocked the beast he was fighting out with one blow. The other Hylian dropped his weapon and ran over, screaming and sobbing, as the Goron turned to the last monster. The dead man was his younger brother.
Time stopped. I had won my first real battle. I looked up, expecting to see the other groups of warriors standing in victory with us. But I didn't. Instead, I saw the opposite: Hyrule citizens strewn about the city, either unconscious or deceased. I tried not to think about which one it was. More and more monsters were coming into the city, and I decided that it was time to get out. I ran, the Goron following me. He quickly passed me and rolled into a small wooded area near Castletown. I followed and hid in the bushes.
As I hid in the bush, I noticed another pillar of light in the center of a clearing. The monsters surrounded the Goron. He rolled in a ball, and I expected him to perform a sneak attack as he had done before. After all, these foes are inquisitive, but not too bright. Instead, he rolled straight into the pillar of light and immediately disappeared. I gasped in shock. That Goron had just committed suicide! I couldn't believe my eyes. The monsters heard me, and I stood very still and waited for the monsters to go away, but they never did.
I thought that maybe I could sneak around them, but they caught me and pushed me into the center of the clearing with my back facing the pillar of light. I was terrified. The world I knew was coming to an end. I struck a fighting stance, still weak from my previous battle. I threw a punch at the nearest monster and missed. It hit me with the club in its hands and I stumbled back several feet and landed on my back. This is where I die. Darkness started creeping into my vision. I could barely make out the silhouettes of a large bird and a giant rock. I heard their voices too.
"What use do the dead have for a scarf?" I heard an undeniable Rito accent ask. His shape disappeared from my blurry vision, but his voice was very close to my face. I could feel the scarf around my neck being tugged away.
"I don't think she's dead, brother," the deep and graveled voice of a Goron replied. My scarf was suddenly let go, and it fell back around my neck. "Hey little one. Wake up." A massive hand jolted me back and forth until I regained full consciousness. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Am I okay?" I repeated the question weakly. The Goron nodded his head and dropped his hand from his shoulder. I propped myself up and looked at the Rito, who had a disappointed look on his face and whose wings were crossed as he looked at the feathers that would be a Hylian's fingers. "No. I am not okay. I don't know what's going on. Do you?"
The Rito grinned at me with a, "No." I looked around and saw a few dead soldiers lying around. The one directly behind the Rito had clearly been looted. On the Rito's hip was a sword made for Hylian soldiers. "But I got some great weapons out of it." I scowled at him.
"Hey. I think I know you." The Goron said. "You're that little Sheikah that everyone was going on about was important to keep safe, aren't ya?"
I nodded. "Probably. My name is Era Demal. I'm the ambassador for the Sheikah tribe. My father is the elder of Kakariko Villiage."
"Name's Gortron the Goron, brother!" the Goron replied loudly as he beat his fist against his chest. I squinted and leaned back at the sound of his booming voice. We both looked at the Rito, who was now holding his new sword and admiring it.
"Oh. Right. My name is Rass." He said.
"Didn't we fight together in Castletown?" I asked the Goron. He nodded. "I thought you killed yourself when you ran into the beam of light!"
"No. I followed him into it," he chuckled as he nodded towards the Rito.
"Anyway, I'm sorry about the battle at Castletown. I wish I could have saved that man, but I'm not a very good fighter." The image of the two brothers replayed in my head. I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to forget it, since it was the first time I had really seen death.
"Then what are you good at?" Rass asked
"I'm a politician. I'm good at books and things. I can tell you all about the creatures we just fought." I replied.
"Ah! Book Friend. Tell us about your books."
"They're bokoblins." I explained as I stood up. "The Hero during the Great Calamity fought tons of these things. They were abundant during that time and pretty much went extinct once Calamity Ganon was defeated since they were under his control."
"Hopefully this doesn't mean that Ganon is back. The cycle was supposed to have been broken when the Hero defeated the Calamity. It's all supposed to be a thing of the past." I said. "I need to get back to my village."
I stopped speaking and took a look around. We were right where I remember being, but it looked a little bit different. Namely, the statues were destroyed and there weren't as many trees as I remembered there being. "This seems off." I said.
"I was thinking that too," agreed Gortron.
"Rass, do you mind flying up above the treetops to see what's going on?" Rass nodded and flew up for a bit before coming back down.
"Friends, there are robots walking around!" He exclaimed with a grin. "We should try to be their friends." I pressed my hands together and held them against my face.
"What's wrong?" Gortron asked.
"This might sound absolutely crazy, but I think we traveled back in time," I said, removing my hands from my face and pointing them down.
"That's not possible," Gorton replied with hesitation. He definitely thought I was crazy.
"How amazing!" Rass said. He was so excited, his wings started flapping and he hovered just about a foot off the ground.
"What makes you think so?" Gortron asked me after a moment.
"These robots are called Guardians," I explained. "They're ancient Sheikah technology that our ancestors planned to use against Calamity Gannon. But Gannon was stronger than anyone could imagine and he took control over all of the Guardians as well as the Divine Beasts. We destroyed what was left of them after the Hero defeated Gannon. There's no other explanation. Tell me, Rass, what color were the lights in them?"
"Red. Definitely Red. My favorite color," he said. I sighed.
I sighed. "I'm certain. It's the only way they could be out walking around right now."
Gortron's was frozen in shock. Rass moved in between Gorton and me, placed a wing on either of our backs, and pulled us into some sort of side hug. "Rock Friend, Book Friend. This is going to be great."
I pulled away in disgust that he would think this was exciting. "No, it's not. We are stuck in a time of great danger."
Gortron nodded in agreement. "What do you think we should do, little one?"
"We need to head to my hometown. The leader during this time was pivotal in honing the Hero's ability to overcome the Great Calamity. She was very wise and may be able to point us in a direction. I know a path that can get us there quickly."