It took a little money and Bolson got to work. After a few hours of grunting, yelling, some kind of whooping and other such sounds from inside the house, the work was done. He told them that he needed another bed. He shouldn't have told them that while the Princess was there.
Because where there was the single, small bed which was perfectly suitable for his purposes, there is now a double bed. With curtains, frilly covers, and letters in lace hanging from the posters spelling out 'CONGRATULATIONS.'
"I can fix this," he says.
"Later," she mutters, and walks over to the foot of the bed, pulls up the covers and crawls underneath. The lump travels up to the pillows, pulling the covers over them and her and falling asleep.
He raises a finger, opens his mouth. Then closes his mouth, shuffling down the stairs, out the door. He locks it behind him, walking from his house, across the bridge to the town itself. Then he notices it. Them.
The people of this village. People who he's helped, who he's run errands for, solved problems for. The farmer girl who's flock were poached by bokoblins, the rotund man with the thing for the innkeeper, the shopkeepers and citizens of Hateno Village.
All cheering, with flowers hanging from rooftops, arches set up along the main dirt path and a sign set up congratulating Link on his nuptials.
"Oh no," he squeaks.
The first rule of villages where nothing happens: Gossip travels fast.
He does not try to take a life if he can help it, but he knows this.
He is going to murder Bolson.
Chapter 2:
Destiny's Dartboard
It was acknowledged that the Calamity blotted out several stars of the night sky. Story being story, however, some believe that the stars came from whatever climactic battle rocked Hyrule Field a short time ago. This was mostly dismissed as exaggeration.
Still, under the night sky, under the stars, the village of Hateno celebrates the nuptials of its local celebrity. The brave man of wealth who lit the blue torches dotting the village, who braved dangers and monsters without care, and who regularly infused the economy of Hateno with gemstones and Guardian parts.
Indeed, his legend is exaggerated. Some travelers say they saw him riding the Lord of the Mountain, but they were drunk. Given, other travelers say they saw him fighting ancient dragons, but he did show up every now and then with odd glowing scales so there may be truth to that.
The torches lighting the streets are decorated with curved horns. It was the idea of Pruce, the local shopkeeper, as Link did sell him the Lynel horns. Horns and hooves also decorate the windmills, as they seem to keep away the monsters.
It is into this revelry that the Princess emerges from the house. Music plays on wind instruments, light and cheerful, and people are dancing in the street. She watches this, and closes her eyes. She can smell the freshly baked breads, the aroma of fish and meat on open fires.
"I wonder what the occasion is?" she asks herself, walking down the hill into the main square.
She didn't have an opportunity to spend time with people when she was growing up. Her own sheltered life, her own interests and fame, kept her at a distance. To be able to walk among people without them knowing who she is, without attaching pre-conceived notions, is truly novel.
She sees Link at the center of a crowd, on a chair that has been hoisted up, carried through the square. Tilting her head, she blinks in confusion before someone grabs her arm and pulls her over to a table, where she finds herself sitting with several girls. Some her age, some younger.
"Yes?" she asks.
The one sitting across from her, the one pouring the drinks, gives off a knowing, cocky smile. "I'm Prima, this is Koyin-" The younger girl in a shepherd's clothes smiles. "And Sophie. She doesn't talk much, but she has good taste in drinks."
The mousy girl to Zelda's left gives a small wave.
"Right." The Princess clears her throat. "I'm Zelda."
"Like the Princess?" Prima asks. Zelda quickly nods. She has to think up better aliases. "Anyway, we heard the good news, but we also had a bit of a guess." Prima waggles her eyesbrows.
Zelda glances side to side. Good news? Guess?
"Right. Which would be..."
"Do you have a name picked out?" Koyin asks with a smile, "Also, Link was a really bit help with the bokoblins who were eating my herd, so if you ever need someone to watch the baby, let me know."
Well, Zelda thinks. This is new.
He caught sight of Zelda before she was dragged over to the table the innkeeper had set up, and silently prays for death. Pruce had taken charge of the celebrations. It made sense in a horrible way, as he was always the most enthusiastic when Link had something to sell or rumors to listen to, and it was only sensible that his good deeds would bite him on the ass in this fashion.
"So! I'd say there's at least three girls in this village alone that are jealous," the shopkeeper declares, glass raised, filled halfway with some unholy concoction, possibly from Purah's lab, "But we can't fault you for your honesty!"
The other men of the village cheer. Link quickly darts his gaze to the table, wondering bleakly at what trials she is going through.
"...so that means the Sheikah mechanisms are easy to operate, as long as you have a power source." Prima brought over several sets of gears that Link had sold to Pruce some weeks ago, now set up on the table. It looks more like art than a mechanism, but Zelda makes it move using a butterknife, moving one gear and causing the rest to move along with it.
The other women coo in awe. Followed by Zelda taking her drink and one-shotting it. "It's not indefinite, but a device with an ancient core can run for an extended length of time with minimal power loss."
"You mean like the Guardians?" Prima asks.
Zelda nods, holding out her cup for a refill. "Exactly. Ten thousand years old and the majority of them were still working before the Calamity hijacked them." She takes a gear, and whacks it with the knife. The gear is unblemished. The knife breaks. "I don't know what the material is, but Sheikah artifacts tend towards durable or resistant."
Sophie raises a hand, much like a child in a schoolroom.
"Is everything the Sheikah made like...that?"
Zelda shakes her head, and downs her drink. "No. Some of it can be electricity resistant materials, or even thin and pliable cloth."
She stands up, giving them all a good view of her trousers. "For instance, these are an artifact I found some years ago. Apparently the ancient Sheikah used this for physical and mental training as part of a uniform, but that's only conjecture at this point."
"And you don't get cold in those?" Sophie asks, leaning forward to get a better look, "They don't look warm."
"They're thin but insulating." Zelda shrugs and plops back down in her seat, "Unfortunately, I don't have much in the way of clothes."
Sophie smiles and jams a thumb towards a house with a sign. While the writing is not the most legible, the outline of a shirt is easy to make out. "Come by. I'll take measurements."
Zelda narrows her eyes. "I don't like dresses."
"Well, you don't have gray hair or kids," Prima says with a snort, "Yet."
Zelda nods. "Well, I guess I could drink to that."
The other women at the table cheer in agreement, and everyone drinks.
The King watches.
"I don't know how she got that sort of tolerance for drink."
Urbosa does nothing to hide the pride in her smile.
While Hateno was not a particularly big town, it had enough people that the celebration lasted well into the night. The people reveled- after all their most famous resident had gotten married, was probably expecting, and also importantly the cloud of pure evil was gone. So with promise to a better future, and suggestions going over the heads of any children, the happy couple were prompted to return to their house and continue the party in private.
Which leads to the two lying, fully clothed, on the covers of the bed which started this whole mess.
"So how are you not drunk?" she asks.
"The Koroks can't get drunk, and I spent a while with them when I first got the Master Sword. They also like fermented apples a lot. I think I built up a tolerance," he responds, hands folded on his stomach, "You?"
"Closest thing I had to a mother was the chieftain of the Gerudo." She lies in a similar pose, hands folded on her stomach, staring at the ceiling.
"So what do we do about this?" he asks with a sigh, "Do you want me to sleep on the floor?"
She rolls her eyes. "I trust you." She quirks her lips. "Do you think I shouldn't trust you? Is there something you'd not telling me?"
He doesn't answer. The bed is comfortable. He doesn't want to sleep on the floor in his own house, but still. "So what do you want to do about the castle?"
She rolls onto her side, propping her head up on the pillow. "I don't know, really. The Calamity is sealed, and the danger has passed. Do we need the castle?"
He blinks, turning to her. "But the castle was your home."
She nods. "But that was a lifetime ago. Just because it was my home doesn't mean I need to go back there." She shuffles over, towards him. "There's too many regrets tied to that place. There's too much to do here."
Her hand finds his. He squeezes it, nodding. "So you'll be working with Purah?"
"And Impa. We should probably go to Kakariko sometime soon."
"And the Akkala Workshop," he responds, "Robbie's been busy."
Her arm drapes over his chest and she mutters an agreement, face buried in the pillow. He hears the snores, and sighs, patting her hand. His principal sleeping and safe next to him, he falls asleep soon after.
There was an advantage to anonymity. At best, she was a blonde hylian, which while unusual wasn't extraordinary. More exceptional was her connections- Link was a local celebrity and her familiarity with the laboratory at the top of the hill.
Sophie was good to her word, measuring her and tailoring for her pairs of normal cloth trousers and tunics. Purah was happy to have someone more fascinated with the ancient technology working with her, and so the next day Zelda began her work at the Hateno Laboratory.
When midnight fell the second day, the moon turned crimson and they knew things weren't as settled as they believed.
Still, there was work to be done. Things were simple and complicated at the same time. Link had his errands to do, retrieving parts and observations of Guardians for the laboratory. An expedition was planned for the labyrinth north of Akkala, to plum it for secrets.
"Which means we should be able to find an exceptional amount of Sheikah materials." The two sit on a bench outside the inn, a bowl at their feet half filled with wooden skewers and the remains of lunch. "And there should be a shrine there."
Link nods, leaning back and forth on the bench.
"Thinking of something?" she asks.
"I wish I knew where that pot was," he says with a shrug, "I had this pot the Kokori made for me and I lost it before the Calamity."
She cocks an eyebrow. Then pulls up her legs, sitting on her knees on the bench. The clothes that Sophie made for her are comfortable, warm. Better than dresses or gowns she'd have to wear as the Princess. It is a cool day, the sun out. Hateno is, as always relaxed and comfortable, and outside of the wind chimes and the occasional oos and ahs from the village entrance, it is peaceful. Serene.
"So there's the labyrinth, then we should talk with the Great Deku Tree about the sword," he says, counting off his fingers, "And after that?"
She shrugs and sips her tea. "I don't know. Is it too much to just enjoy the anonymity?"
Then, there's the gasp. The village seems to go silent. Link stands up, dropping his tea, eyes wide.
"Your Majesty!"
Zelda turns to the sound of the familiar voice, and sees Sidon, Prince of the Zora, fall to one knee in front of her.
Mipha sighs. "Well then."
Urbosa cocks an eyebrow. "Is that Sidon?"
"My brother, yes."
The ghosts glance at Mipha, then at the Zora who may as well have announced the Princess's identity to all of Eastern Hyrule.
On the one hand, Mipha tended towards quiet and friendly, but on the other hand they have seen her when she decides something needs to die.
"I can see the resemblance," Revali notes.
There is a saying. 'If Looks Could Kill.' Like many sayings, its exact origins are questionable, its etymology obscure. Normally, it is used as a negative. In this case, it would lead to a mixed outcome.
On the positive side, if looks could kill then the reign of Dorephan, magnificent and wise king of the Zora, would last for centuries more.
On the other hand, if looks could kill the look Link gives Sidon would kill him right then and there. Their eyes meet, and at that moment the Prince of the Zora sees something behind his hylian friend's gaze that he thought was only reserved for those of the Demon tribe, for those monsters who prey on the weak. He stands, quickly, and the message is received.
Balling a red fist, the shark man clears his throat. "My apologies!" he announces, "Indeed, I may commonly mistake any blonde Hylian woman for the Princess!"
Zelda pinches the bridge of her nose. Link grabs Sidon by the shoulders, turns him around, and marches him back down the main road, turning to go up the hill towards the house. After a few moments of silent contemplation, Zelda gets up and follows, taking her time.
She perks her ears, staring straight ahead but listening to conversations, listening to any talk or pronouncements or-
"Excuse me, Mrs. Link?"
She looks down. One of the children, of course. One of the many children of Hateno, who she doesn't know the name of because she's not really good with children.
"Are you really a princess?"
Zelda waggles her hand. "Wouldn't I need a castle to be a princess?"
The child thinks, finger to her lips. Then she nods and walks off, satisfied by Zelda's answer. Zelda continues walking, across the bridge and to the front door, opening it and staring at the flustered Link and embarrassed bright red shark man. She then gives off her warmest smile and walks over, clasping one of his hands with both of hers.
"Sidon," she says, "Look at you. I never thought I'd see you all grown up!"
The Zora prince smiles, and even though the teeth are jagged and many it is not off-putting at all, even when he seizes her in a full body hug. He laughs, spinning around, holding close the dear friend of his departed sister.
"So-" Link starts, and leans on the table. The milk and break and fruits he used to keep on the table are now in a cupboard. Instead, a contraption of ancient shafts and gears occupies the table. "So, Sidon-"
Sidon finally releases the princess, turning to Link. "Ah, right. What I told you." He turns to Zelda, both hands on her shoulders. "Word reached the Zora Domain that Link had gotten married. An odd traveling merchant with a fixation on insects had heard and told a hylian merchant who frequents the castle."
Link sighs, muttering under his breath.
"Since we still remember everything Link did, I had a gift made and set off for Hateno to give it personally."
He flashes his jagged smile. Link rubs the back of his neck.
"And then you arrived and saw it was me," Zelda says, folding her arms, "I see you've inherited your father's sense of drama."
"I imagine he will be louder once he's learned you've returned and haven't come to see him." Zelda's smirk disappears. Sidon shakes his head. "I mean no offense, Your Majesty. King Dorephan was relieved by the belief you were still alive, inside Hyrule Castle. But I admit I'm surprised to find you here, and not at the Castle."
She brushes his hands off her shoulders. Link tenses, watching her. "I have...put off any plans for re-taking the Castle, for now."
The Zora stares at her. He looks, briefly, to Link. There is a glance, an exchange. He turns back to her, and nods. "I can't say I understand. But I won't judge, for I've not been through a fraction of what you have. I assume you have some plan?"
"Some."
"Then know I will support it, no matter what it is. I- and the Zora- owe you as much. On one condition."
She perks an eyebrow. "Name it."
"Come to the Zora Domain. Speak with my father. It would do you both well." The prince turns from her to the crate propped up against the wall. A chest of aquamarine and pearl, glistening with condensation. "So are you actually married?"
Link shrugs. Zelda waggles her hand. "It's a mistake but we're running with it," Link says.
"I see." Sidon opens the chest, and takes from it two cloaks, wrought with beads and a deep, sea blue. "Still, please accept these gifts. As I've invited you both to the Zora Domain, it would only be appropriate to give you appropriate formal wear."
Zelda takes hers with a smile, feeling the silken cloth against her fingers. "They're beautiful. Thank you, Sidon."
"I did make sure that they would match Link's armor," Sidon says with a smile, "Given, not the same source, but..."
Zelda blinks, and turns to Link. "You have Zora armor?"
Link nods, rubbing the back of his neck. He glances at Sidon, then at her, looking for escape. Finding none.
"Made by my sister, no less!" Sidon exclaims, digging the hole deeper with the best of intentions.
Zelda perks up with a smile. She was always fascinated by Zora customs and materials. All of it quite advanced, quite alien. "So you re-fitted a set of armor for him?" she asks, turning to Sidon.
Link sucks his teeth. "No," Sidon answers. Zelda's eyes go wide and her cheeks flush red. She turns to Link, tilting her head. She turns back to Sidon, then back to Link.
"What?"
There were immediate and long term problems to solve. The Blood Moon's presence meant that the sealing of Calamity Ganon did not rid them of all their supernatural troubles. So she had to plan accordingly. Work smarter, and harder.
So, rather than deal with the very awkward bomb dropped in her lap, Zelda does what she does best and delves into matters both impersonal and intensely personal. She pulls Link along by the wrist, out the door, through the streets. Sidon follows, head tilted in confusion but silent.
"What are we doing?" Link asks.
"Hylia talks to you," she says, "Show me how."
He goes silent with agreement, even as she walks them through the streets and to the stone statue. Shrines to Hylia, patron goddess of Hyrule, dot the continent. The belief was that the royal family passed on the power of the Goddess through matrilineal descent. She had doubts.
Yes, she did somehow access her power, and use it to confine the Calamity for a hundred years. But still- but still, she couldn't feel it anymore. And the difficulty she faced finding it in the first place.
"I remember Mipha talking about this," Sidon says, "My father talked about it, as well."
Zelda nods, walking up to the statue. Link walks up next to her, reaching into his pockets. A simple, shimmering sphere, ever changing but constant in his hand. Magic, technology. At this level, the two mix, become indistinct.
He places the sphere in her hand. "I would give these to her," he explains, "And I'd hear her voice."
She nods, turning to the statue. She extends her hand, extends the sphere towards the statue. She doesn't hear commotion- perhaps only they can perceive it? Only they can see this?
"Hear me," she whispers, "Speak to me."
She closes her eyes, and feels a weight leave her hand. Perhaps the Goddess accepting the sphere? Perhaps the sphere dissipating, if it was some sort of liquid evaporating? She reaches out- the same mental muscles she used to try to talk with the Goddess. The same prayers, the same will. And as before, she hears nothing. Feels nothing.
She opens her eyes, and finds the street empty. Link and Sidon gone, most likely having left to more important matters. She doesn't hear the sounds of the villagers mulling about, or the children playing. She only hears the wind chimes.
So she turns, to walk back home.
But before her stands a dead man.
"I've given some thought to why you had such difficulty," Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule says, "It's a hundred years too late, but I think it was never your fault."
Her breath catches in her throat. She looks to her left, to her right. Finally turns back to him.
"Father."
"It is easy to dismiss this as an illusion, or a fever dream." The old man shakes his head, looking every one of his years plus a hundred more. "And the past is the past. This cannot change what happened before."
"Assuming this is real, yes," she says, walking from the statue, circling him, "Assuming this is you."
"If you did wish to talk to me, I have no doubt you would devise something," he says with a heavy sigh, "I weighed you down with duty when I should have listened to your insight. I mistook grief and trauma for determination. But you asked why the Goddess does not speak to you, and I think I know why."
She folds her arms. Whether her father, his ghost, an illusion, or delusion, she might as well hear it.
"Why?"
And she sees. The town becomes a mountain. Bitter wind but she does not freeze. But before her is not snow, but a black pit, consuming light and creating darkness, feeding on Wisdom to make Hate.
She sees it- the ribbon of scale and light and life within the pit, slumbering and held by the pitch, upon which the pustular eyes open-
And she screams, reeling back, Link catching her before she can crash to the ground.
Eyes wide, breaths shallow, she lets him walk her to a bench, sitting her down. "What happened?" he asks, voice a concerned whisper.
"It wasn't my fault," she breathes, she whispers, "It was Naydra's."
Despite its technological underpinnings, the initial leadership of the Zeldan Technocracy were members of upper-class Hylian society, and therefor still held some beliefs of the pre-Calamity religions. This formed a foundation of belief for the new mystery cults that sprang up during the Technocracy's formative years. While some of the underpinnings- the Triad, the Golden Triangle, and the Sacred Lands- came from Pre-Sheikah cults, there are symbols and artifacts which researchers have yet to determine the origins. In particular, the engraved words on the monument atop Mount Lanaryu. They read;
'Wisdom need not be studied, for it is never learned.
Power need not be reborn, for it is never slain.
Courage need not be remembered, for it is never forgotten.'
-History of the Zeldan Technocratic Union, Vol. 2
Sidon had since left for the Zora Domain. The advantage of being able to teleport to Shrines was that they could be there instantly, while it would take Sidon the better part of a day. A sphere with orange gems glowing with faint light sits on the table. Zelda works off a panel on the old ancient core, pulling off the gems with rubber coated tweezers and examining them with a careful eye.
She quirks her lips, glancing side to side. Would it be cheating? Would it? Honestly, it's not like there's people judging her anymore.
"Link?"
Sitting across from her, he looks up from the Sheikah Slate. He closes the map. "Yes?"
She cocks an eyebrow, glancing between the slate and him. "Two things, actually. I've always been curious how you figured out my password."
"Password?"
It is the innocence, the honesty in his question that adds weight to her theory. "Okay, put the slate into dormancy and turn it back on again. The top depression by the handle."
He nods, tapping the control. He turns the slate around in his hand and instinctively traces his finger in a perfect triangle on the screen. The screen flashes and comes to life. "And you just know to do that," she says.
He nods. "This was your password?"
"A simplified form of royal heraldry which doesn't resemble any symbols on the slate at all, yes, but that makes my hypothesis more likely."
He nods. "And let's assume I don't know what a hypothesis is."
She pinches the bridge of her nose with a sigh. "A hypothesis is, in scientific terms, a proposed explanation based on the limited information available-"
"So it's an idea." He smiles, that sweet and innocent smile.
"Yes." She picks up the core, handing it to him. "Should I take the throne, one of my first decrees will be that you read a thesaurus front to back. Now, take that apart and show me what provides power."
He glances down at the core, then back to her. Hesitantly, he begins working off a panel with his thumb. "So you and Mipha," she says.
"Me and Mipha," he says, softly, "What do you want to know?"
She shrugs. She leans back in the chair, folding her hands on the table. "Was it one-sided? Mutual? Mipha was something of a romantic, but still-"
"It was-" He looks up from the core, fingers still working on the panels and jewels, "It was complicated. I did care about her. We did spend a lot of time together, and I did love her. And it's easy to love someone like her."
She nods, mouth a straight line. "But the armor was a surprise."
"It was." He shakes his head. "According to Dorephan, she finished it before the Calamity. She'd been serious for a long time, but I didn't know." He closes his eyes, fingers working. "We were close, but..."
"Closer than us?" she asks.
He shrugs. "I don't know. I knew Mipha since I was four."
Sh nods, pursing her lips. The Zora don't age like Hylians. She knows that. He knows that. "So why didn't you ever act on it?"
"Because it would have been a political shitstorm."
She taps her chin, thinking. She nods. "Yes, I could see that."
"And Revali would have killed me in my sleep."
"I protest!" Revali raises a wing and a finger, and if he had mass and weight he would stamp his foot, too. "Do I honestly come across as the type who would kill a fellow Champion over something as inconsequential as him having the affections of two of the women in our troupe?"
He turns to his fellow ghosts. The three other Champions nod. The King cocks an eyebrow, and turns to Urbosa. "He's not talking about you, is he?"
"No," she responds, patting his hand, "No he's not."
"I see." The King strokes his beard, plans already forming in his mind. "I see."
Zelda taps her chin, and nods. "I could see that, too." Cut off like she is from the magical, she does not hear the squawk of outrage, but Link glances up, then back to her.
He looks down. "Huh." The core itself is split, one half bearing a screw, the other half a hole perfectly fitted to it. Between them lays a gemstone, pale yellow and faintly scratched. "So I think this is the power source. Recognize it?"
"Not off hand." She picks it up in a pair of rubber tongs. "After we finish with Naydra, though, we should head to Goron City and have this looked at. Perhaps find a way to take apart a working Guardian to see what its intact power source looks like, too."
She hands him the gem, and he pockets it. "So," she says, standing up, "You've activated the Shrine beneath Dorephan's throne?"
He nods. "I haven't gone into it, though."
"Fair enough. We'll do that after we fix the dragon."
Great carved and glistening arches weave above the sea. Every bright, ever a jewel rising amongst the waters, the walkways of azure and pearl form a great ring from which the rest of the city both hangs and supports.
This is the Zora Domain, the city amongst the waterfalls. Above it, the Divine Beast Vah Ruta keeps her vigil. More art than machine, the Sheikah construct keeps its trunk raised, the tusks dim and silent since the end of the Calamity.
A hushed silence comes over the Domain. The older of the Zora stand on the walkways overlooking the promenade, bowing their heads in silent respect. The younger stand at attention, and the children are quiet, puzzled by the deference, the ceremony.
The blonde hylian walks up the stairway towards the throneroom. She dresses in an aqua blue tunic and black trousers and a cerulean cloak, carries herself with purpose, with familiarity. She walks to the throne, and meets the gaze of the immense and magnificent personage upon the throne. The Zora do not age like hylians.
Old age is when they become too big, too massive, to live. So at well over a century, out of necessity and out of respect for his people's wishes, he has continued to grow, continued to thrive as his people thrive. The immense blue shark man upon the throne smiles, and his teeth are many and sharp.
"Princess," Dorephan says, voice a low bass, "Welcome."
Zelda bows, arms out. Next to his father, Sidon stands at attention. He wears a blue sash over one shoulder, much like his sister did.
"Your Majesty," she says, "My apologies for not coming sooner. The world has changed, and I with it."
Dorephan inclines his head in agreement. Under the light of the sun, reflected off the coral arches of the city, the scar upon his head seems more prominent. "It has. Which is why I wished to speak with you, Princess."
She stands up straight. "Of course."
"But first," the king says, tenting his hands, "Did you come alone? Where is Link?"
"He will be along shortly," she says with a smile, "I understand that you've been having a recurring problem with a Lynel in the nearby mountains. Consider it done with."
The red mane of the immense centaur is already slick, with both the sudden storm and its own blood. Stamping hooves, the lynel snarls, baring teeth. It charges, hands digging into soil and rock for extra leverage, extra speed.
The hylian before it would be right to run. Right to die.
Instead, he digs boots into the dirt and moves. The lynel's face comes in contact with the blue light of the repurposed guardian shield. Were this any normal soldier, normal night, momentum and mass would have won.
But instead, the lynel stumbles back. Shock crosses its disturbingly hylian features. Its mouth opens, stunned and struck dumb by what just happened. This thought goes through its head, and it is the last thing to truly go through its head.
Well, that and a spear with blades of blue light. The lynel stumbles back, collapses, and vanishes in black smoke. Its sword embeds itself in the ground, and Link gives it a once over before picking it up. He looks around, quirking his lips, and points.
He walks, following the hoof prints, squatting down and touching them, seeing how bent the grass is, how deep the furrows. This is not the first time he's killed this lynel.
"So, if it's been that long since the last blood moon," he mutters. He continues walking, following the tracks, mentally tracing the normal pace and habits of this lynel.
Next to a particularly broken tree pin cushioned with arrows, he takes the lynel's sword and digs, digging out a pit as long and wide as the lynel, and a foot deep.
A pit he then proceeds to fill with red and yellow balls of goo.
"The Calamity is sealed, and the old Kingdom of Hyrule is gone." She stands before the Zora King, majestic in his girth. Sidon stands between the two, and opposite him, across the throne room, the old adviser Muzu listens raptly.
"So two things of old are gone, and we have the opportunity to rebuild, and build something new. The Guardians still stand, but with the absence of the Calamity they can serve us."
She takes out a sphere from her bag. An old, shining ancient core. "I am examining the technology of the ancient Sheikah. This core provides power- and before the Calamity, this is all we wanted to know. After Link and I deal with Naydra, we will go to Goron City and figure out what sort of materials were used to construct this."
"And then, learn to make more?" Dorephan asks.
Zelda nods. "We have plenty of machines and devices left by the ancient Sheikah, but I intend to make new ones. Technology we understand is harder to subvert."
The Zora King leans back. His great throne strains, but endures. Hands on the armrests, he smiles. "And what of the Castle, Princess?"
Zelda shrugs. She holds the core in both hands, silent for a long moment. "I can't say I have plans for it, for right now," she states, "The Zora are unique among the people of Hyrule. Many of you remember me from before the Calamity, but the same doesn't hold true for everyone. The Zora know of me. You remember when I recruited Mipha as Champion of Vah Ruta."
She turns from the King, to the many watching from the rafters above.
"But it has been a hundred years since my father died. A bloodline does not give me a mandate. That mandate must come from the people of Hyrule, not from a ruined castle and a broken throne."
Somehow, she meets their gaze. All of them.
"My family once ruled all of Hyrule, but my family is gone." She gestures to Dorephan. "He has ruled you for more than a hundred years. He has earned your loyalty and your fealty, as has Sidon. As would Mipha, and for that I am sorry."
She folds her hands behind her, shaking her head. "It was my fault, and my family's fault, that we experienced these tragedies. I will not make a claim for the throne, but I will work to rebuild. This-" She holds up the ancient core for all to see. "Is the key to our future. We can build a new Hyrule, a better Hyrule. We can build it together."
The Zora cheer. Not just the ones in the rafters above, but the ones on the arches overlooking the throne room. The ones in the streets. Ones too young to remember her, and ones old enough to remember the mistakes of the old kingdom. Red flushes her cheeks, and she turns to Dorephan, bowing.
"Thank you for this audience, Your Majesty."
"Of course." Dorephan inclines his massive head. He leans forward, reaches out, and lightly baps her on the head. "But to clarify- for you to accomplish everything you want to do, you would be Queen."
She sighs, rubbing the back of her neck. "I...guess? I'm much more interested in building infrastructure and trade."
"We could think of a new title." He leans back, smiling. "Good luck on your endeavors, Princess."
Zelda nods, pockets the core, and walks out of the throne room. Past the throne room, out by the statue of the fallen princess Mipha, she meets up with Link and the two vanish in blue light.
The people go about their business. The Zora crowded on the rafters and the arches return to their jobs, to their homes, to their play, until just Sidon remains in the throne room with his father.
"Sidon."
The Prince turns to his King.
"Yes?"
"I am not tired of living," Dorephan states, "And have no plans to leave the Domain yet. But I say this." He tents his hands, smiling. "If I were to see Zelda sit upon the throne of Hyrule Castle, I would consider my life fulfilled."
The wind atop the mountain hits like a rock. Thankfully, she'd donned a bracelet to protect her, the warmth of the rubies keeping her from freezing. He merely donned what she guessed was Rito clothing. Or, a Rito idea of what Hylians would wear. Nonetheless, the feathered tunic and trousers look comfortable and are functional.
But for now, she pays more attention to the image on the slate's screen, a zoomed in view of Mount Lanaryu.
She cannot see anything- if the Dragon is there, it is hiding. That makes sense. That makes complete sense. Unlike the conveyance that Link has put together to carry them both to Lanaryu's peak.
She turns to the flat rock that he's chosen as the base. She walks over to it, and pokes the inflated balloon sack. While it has a face, while it has eyes, the best she can tell is that it is cosmetic. Or at least dead.
"And you've done this before," she states.
"A few times," he says, fixing the last of the eight balloons, all set at equidistant points on the slab, "Usually, I'd use the Stasis rune and hold on, but I don't think you'd appreciate it."
She cocks an eyebrow. "I'm not sure how that would work."
Link grins in reminiscence. She'll ask for a demonstration later. She watches him check his quiver, checking arrows with red bulbs at the ends, and ones with yellow tuning forks. "You've stocked up," she says.
"I made these," he responds, double checking the bomb arrows, "Turns out I could take some fire-aspected chu chu jelly, use some flint to poke it, and make a much bigger explosion than the ones Pruce was selling." He checks his bow, a Sheikah construct with a cord of blue light. "So I took apart the arrows I found and figured out how they worked."
Zelda sucks her teeth. His back is to her, so he doesn't see the blush creeping up her cheeks and her hands clenching. Little does he know that analysis and understanding are her fetish.
"Okay, let's get going." He hands her a bag. She looks into it, and finds many deflated octorock heads inside. "The balloons deflate after a while, so you're going to have to drop them. They inflate as soon as they hit something, though."
She purses her lips. Maybe that works?
"Is this the only thing that you can get from an octorock?"
"I've managed to get some tentacles and eyes as well. I once got so hungry that I ate them." He shakes his head, walking onto the center of the platform. "I don't recommend it."
She walks up behind him, taking out a balloon. "Alright, so it floats. How does the propulsion work? A rune on the slate or-"
He pulls out a leaf. A large leaf, nearly as big as him. He swings it and the platform floats forward, slowly but smoothly.
"That should not work like that." He swings again and the platform moves faster. "That makes no sense! That's a complete violation of how inertia and momentum should work!"
He swings again. "You haven't spent much time with the Koroks, have you?"
One of the highest peaks in Hyrule, Mount Lanaryu was consecrated in the name of the Goddess of Wisdom. Its white peaks and icy slopes provide a challenge for anyone to reach, taking strength, determination, and wisdom to reach the top. Or, in the case of the impromptu airship, the ability to bypass the laws of physics.
"Cloud cover's thick," Link says.
He swings again. The leaf, in turn, produces wind in a strict violation of how momentum would work. She, however, can feel it. The bubbling wrongness, bringing her back to the hundred years inside Hyrule Castle.
"There is Malice here," she whispers, "That vision was true-"
The clouds beneath them part. With sudden, terrible motion. Something black, and wrong, and with far too many eyes rises, and splits the raft in a single strike.
Link swears, grabbing at the paraglider to slow his descent, and looks up.
His heart rises to his throat and he sees Zelda vanish into the maw of the corrupted dragon, which closes its jaws with a thunderous snap.
The skies above Lanaryu become darkness. Black, pitch. But not the fire and fury she remembers from her century within Hyrule Castle. It becomes black, but it becomes warm. A warmth which holds off the hate, shielding the core of this serpent from the Malice.
Zelda falls- she was unprepared, she was sloppy. She knows that. She has complete faith that Link will fix this, of course. He will rescue her again, as he has countless times before. So she does not worry.
"And why is that?"
Because she trusts him. She trusts him with her life, with her soul. No matter what disagreements, no matter what obstacles or interruptions, she knows him. Well enough, at least.
And...who was that?
She opens her eyes, and finds herself floating in darkness, but in the darkness there is light. She turns, moving along a three dimensional axis to face the light, and sees-
Herself. Or, an older version. A later self? Who's bloom has become a full blossom, who's intelligence has become wisdom, who-
Who she recognizes. Not her later self, but a face so distant but distinct in her memory. A woman with long golden hair, in a blue and white gown she wears with grace Zelda could only aspire to. Who's face is one of wisdom and warmth, and with eyes like emeralds in sunlight.
"My child," she says, "My Little Bird. It's been too long."
It has. It has been too long. So her hands clench into fists and her teeth grind. "No. No you do not get to wear her face."
Queen Zelda, departed monarch of the kingdom, reaches up and cups the princess's cheeks. "I know this is difficult, and I know this hurts," she says, "But think. Who do you think I am, and why am I here?"
The voice is the same. The questions the same, for her mother did much to light the fires of inquisitiveness in her, even in those few precious years she was there.
"Hylia," Zelda says, "Wearing the face of my mother so I won't hold you to task for the Calamity."
The Queen nods. "I am Hylia," she says, "And your mother, and you. It's a long, long story. But it's not that simple, and it's time you learned the truth."
He catches the currents on the glider. Where a sensible man would fly away from the serpent covered in blackened spores, with pustular eyes dotting its length, he flies towards it. Momentum carries him, intent carries him.
The first arrow impacts its flank and the explosion does nothing but gets its attention. It turns, many eyes focused on him, its maw opening with a hiss of black smoke.
Just like he wanted.
So does Link land on the mountain peak, the great serpent bearing down on him with many eyes, claws of glistening sapphire, and the murderous intent of the Calamity directing its actions. He reaches behind, grabs the hilt, and unsheathes the blade. It flickers, and the holy white light of the Master Sword illuminates the mountain.
And Link leaps off the mountain, to do battle with a dragon.
"The truth is that Hylia reincarnates in our family line but the power that we have access to is not actually from Hylia."
Queen Zelda blinks. She most likely had some great, grandiose explanation planned. "That's absolutely correct." She blinks again. "How did you know that?"
Floating in the darkness with her mother, or ghost of her mother, or reincarnation of a goddess who is being embodied by her mother, Zelda rubs the back of her neck. She smiles. "It was my hypothesis on why I couldn't access my powers. I did receive a vision of Naydra, and believe that Naydra's condition is why."
She clears her throat. "And a hypothesis is a-"
"A proposed explanation based on the limited information available." The Queen smiles, hand on her shoulder. "And it's correct. Naydra is the source of our power. The power you used to hold back the Calamity for a hundred years. The power I was fated to wield against the Calamity."
"But you died." She says it, barely a whisper. Old wounds still fresh.
The Queen nods. "Fate and destiny don't hold up well against free will. I was fated to destroy the Calamity. You were fated to rebuild, after me. You've been burdened by so much, and you've come so far. I was prepared to sacrifice myself to save Hyrule, but I can only ask you to live for it."
There is a blast of white, like thunder on high. Zelda smiles, knowing that outside, a force of nature, a being beyond such things as death, is finding its invulnerability threatened. "So Naydra is the source," she says, "How do I access it? How do I keep myself from being cut off from it?"
The Queen takes her shoulders, and turns her around. Zelda's eyes go wide, and she sees.
She sees what is truly inside the dragon.
A great field, larger than the fields outside the castle of her youth. Beneath a golden sky and amber clouds, at the very center of this world, it shines down like the sun.
But it is not a sun. For the sun is round and fiery, but this.
This shines like gold.
As your mother did, and her mother before.
You are offered a covenant.
She looks down, and on the back of her hand, the heraldry appears. But not like it was stitched, not like it was sewn. But it glows.
Will you accept?
The dragon rises, climbing higher and higher into the sky. The black upon its scales sucks in the light, devours hope. Its many eyes wild, yellowed and stained, yet not as numerous as they were.
As the Master Sword drives into another one, it shrieks and explodes, and Link holds onto the scales, continuing his climb up Naydra's back.
It has been established by historians that the Majesty's story of her Covenant with the Triforce of Wisdom was a metaphor for her discovery of her power. Assuming that past Princesses of the Old Kingdom had similar experiences, they did not generally approach the Triforce of Wisdom as if it owed them money.
-History of the Zeldan Technocratic Union, Vol. 3
"Alright." Zelda idly examines the sigil on her hand, and turns to the light. "What's the terms of the covenant?"
The light is silent. Behind her, the former Queen raises an eyebrow. "I'm sorry," Zelda adds, "Did you expect me to simply accept the covenant on faith?"
She raises a finger, and if it were close enough to touch she would begin poking the golden object before her. "I've had a century of what happens when you rely entirely on faith, thank you very much. Where were you-"
She gestures towards the thing. The thing which she can only make out the rough shape of.
"When I was drowning in faith and a cloud of absolute evil ate my father?"
Behind her, the Queen smiles. She reaches out, wrapping her arms around Zelda from behind. For the first time in over a century, Zelda allows her mother to hold her. This does calm her righteous indignation, but does not make her less analytical. One is born of anger, the other is just innate.
"Assuming that this covenant is the source of our power," she says, wiggling out of her mother's embrace, "What does it entail? What are you?"
The light clears, and she sees.
Hovering before her, it is a lot smaller than the light given off would suggest. Instead of the theoretical size of the Sun, it is smaller than her. A single, perfect triangle made of golden light, radiating warmth, radiating wisdom and thought.
It hovers before her, right before her. Even though she's never heard of it, even though she's never seen it, there is a part of her which recognizes it.
In the beginning, Naryu came to this world and infused it with law, with order, with those things that are discovered by science, magic, and innovation.
When she and her sisters left, they created a final gift for this world.
The Goddess of Wisdom left behind her power within this vessel, [Incarnate].
"Odd." Zelda tilts her head. "Wisdom is knowing what you do not know. If I form a covenant with you, what do I gain?"
"It's not just power," her mother says, a hand on her shoulder, "But a connection. An understanding."
She turns to her mother. Arms folded, eyes narrowed. "And the price?"
"Protect Hyrule from those who would ruin it."
Zelda's shoulders slump. She turns to the triangle. "Alright, if that's pro-rated then we have a deal."
Pro-rated?
"I've already been protecting Hyrule for a hundred years. If we're going to make a covenant, I want a hundred years of power, right now." She pokes the triangle. "I have been operating on a deficit. Are we clear?"
The triangle is silent for long moments.
The Covenant is sealed.
And then she gets all the power.
Link made it halfway up the dragon before the Malice covering it screamed like it was set on fire. Which it was. Golden fire which burned the liquid evil to vapor, incinerating it within a split second and cleansing the viscous black from the brilliant blue and purple scales.
The dragon roars, freed of its shackles, freed of its chains.
Its mouth opens wide and golden light issues forth.
From the jaws of the dragon, the Princess emerges, enveloped in golden light, eyes clothed, swathed in holy sunlight.
And then drops, screaming.
"Why can't I flyyyyyyyyyy-"
She screams, and would scream all the way down. At least, before Link grabs her, arm around her waist and other hand holding both handles of the closed paraglider. She grabs the other handle, spreading the chute and arresting their fall, other arm holding onto his tunic.
"It could have warned me!"
The two float gently to the ground, the dragon circling the peak beneath them. Soon, circling above them. They set down, the dragon settling upon the peak. Zelda steps forward as they land, stepping towards the dragon. And out of the corner of her eye, she sees it, the shifting black.
She extends her hand and golden light envelops the last bit of malice, wrapping it in a bubble of holy light and floating towards her.
She smiles, a smile not dissimilar to a Zora's in that it is both friendly and predatory.
"Oh, don't panic," she says, "After all, goddess is right here." She narrows her eyes, leaning in and meeting the yellow eye trapped inside. "But she's fresh out of mercy. Now tell me everything."
Link takes a step back, and not for the first time he wonders exactly what he got himself into.
End Chapter 2
