My body is stiff and aching all over, and I can hardly move. What happened...? I thought Oh yeah, I was chasing Ariador and... Could I be dead? I slowly opened my eyes No, I'm definitely not dead. I was facing upwards at a wooden ceiling But what was that before? That mist... It obviously did something to me...

"Hello." I was startled by a voice, and quickly tried to get up. Wincing in pain, I slowly laid back down, a hand on my back helping me "I wouldn't do that, if I were you..." she said, then paused for a moment "You're lucky we found you, you know."

"Wh-... Who are you...?" I managed to ask, before breaking out into a painful coughing fit. I noticed that I exhaled some of the mist each time I coughed, which quickly dissipated.

She shushed me "You're still very weak. I'm afraid you'll have to lie down here for a while. My name's Alexis." she knelt down next to me "I have to admit, you had me worried for a while there. Not many people survive in the Miasma for that long..." she trailed off, thinking about something "Oh, what am I doing? You need to rest, I can't be bothering you right now." she stood up and walked away.

What was that all about? I thought Well, at least I know I'm safe now. I closed my eyes I might as well take her advice...

Michael was explaining the situation to Roland, the town's patriarch, and why they were back so soon. Roland seemed to understand, telling Michael that he had a while before the crystal ran out of Myrrh, as they had always left a month before the crystal ran out, and they usually had plenty of time left when they got back. Michael then headed to his workshop to continue work on his sword.

Catherine was at her market in the south part of town, although there was no reason to, since she had already checked in on them before they left, and they were only gone for a total of five minutes. Left with nothing to do, she left for Alexis' house to check on the boy they had found.

Alexis' house was a mess, as usual. She seemed to be too busy on her research and brewing to focus on the house itself. Mostly that responsibility was left to her mother, and having two little brothers aged 7 and 9 didn't help matters either. On the couch laid the boy, eyes closed and motionless except for his breathing, which was steadily increasing in strength.

"Finally some good news..." Catherine said to herself "Hopefully we can learn more about him after all." She looked over him; As far as she could tell, he was Clavat. Then she noticed something "Wait a minute... Clavats don't have pointed ears." thinking about it, she couldn't recall any race with that feature, other than monsters. But he was clearly no monster; They thrived in the Miasma, while this boy was nearly killed by it "Perhaps we've found a new race?" She looked over at his equipment, set on the table nearby so that he would be more comfortable. Looking through it, she found many items, none of which she had found actually interesting. Useful, sure, but her market was mostly full as it was, and all the equipment she would ever need to take with her was the traditional Selkie Racket.

Next, she examined the sword and shield. There was nothing remarkable about the sword; This was more Michael's field, but she could tell that it was very basic, and just wasn't as good as his crafts. The shield, however, caught her attention. It appeared to have a reflective surface, and engraved on it were two birds, between them were three triangles arranged in a pyramid type of formation, leaving an upside-down triangular hole in the center. The triangles were the only part of the engraving that was colored, with them being golden. Along the outside rim of the shield was blue, and it appeared to be extremely well built. Maybe Michael had some competition after all...

Alexis walked into the room, greeting her "Ah, hello Catherine."

Catherine looked back at the shield in her hand "Have you seen this?"

"Yeah." Alexis walked over "It's very strange, huh? I've never seen that symbol before... What do you think it means?"

Catherine shrugged "Why should I care? I'm a thief, not a priest." she looked at the boy "If you really want to know, ask him."

"I wish I could..." Alexis hesitated "... but I can't. He's sleeping right now, and even if he were to wake up he would still be too weak to say much."

"I see. So, now that we know he'll be alright, how long will it take him to recover?"

"From the looks of it, he should be able to at least walk tomorrow. After that, it should take a couple of days for him to make a full recovery."

"That's good to hear." Catherine stared at the boy, thinking.

Alexis raised an eyebrow "I never knew you cared for strangers that much."

"It's not that. Looking closely, you can tell he's not part of any of the four races. I'd like to know where he came from, and about his race."

Alexis sighed. She came to expect this from her mentor, Catherine never cared for the lives of others. All she cared about was whether or not they had anything useful. She did have a point, though; Although he looked similar to a Clavat, his body structure was different than theirs, and he obviously wasn't a Selkie either, seeing the vast arrangement of equipment he kept with him.

"Well, I'm going to head back home. I might as well help my family run the buisness while I'm here, after all." Catherine knew that Alexis wasn't going to leave without ensuring her patient's safety.

"Alright, I'll see you later, then." Alexis replied as she walked to the boy. She wasn't going to leave his side anytime soon - She had always been like this, much more caring than the other Selkies. This was probably due, in part, to her life growing up. Unlike most Selkies who were born and raised in Leuda, Alexis' family lived in Tipa long before her birth. They grew tired of life in Leuda and, wanting to get away, they moved to Tipa. There, they settled down and had three children: Alexis and, about 12 years later, her two younger brothers, Samuel and Benjamin. As a result, Alexis was never introduced to the Selkies' hostile way of life, instead growing up with the much kinder Clavats in Tipa.

Alexis laid down on the opposite couch, staring at the boy in front of her. A dozen questions ran through her mind and, with no one available to answer them, they were slowly tormenting her. Even so, she kept silent, not wanting to interrupt her patient's rest, which would speed up the healing process quite a bit.

I awoke to the smell of cooked fish. Looking around the room, I could see a table in front of the couch I was laying on, with another couch on the opposite side, as well as several chairs on the ends. I could hear voices coming from a doorway, which seemed to lead to the kitchen. A few moments later, a girl - Alexis, the same girl from earlier - came out holding a tray in each hand.

"Good evening." She greeted me "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling-..." I said, coughing once more "a lot better now."

"That's good." She looked at the tray in her left hand "Do you like fish?"

I nodded, sitting up with some difficulty - I couldn't get myself completely upright, still laying on my side, but it would have to do - while Alexis set the trays down on the table, moving my equipment onto the floor next to the couch "Sam! Ben!" She called "Dinner's ready!"

In seconds, two little boys - Both around nine or ten years old - ran through the hallway into the room and sat down on the chairs. A woman in her early 40s walked in carrying plates and utensils for everyone.

"So, is this the one you were talking about?" She asked Alexis, who nodded "Well, it's very nice to meet you. What's your name?"

"Link." I answered "I take it you're Alexis' mother?"

She nodded "That's right; Amelia Selani. These are my sons, Samuel and Benjamin."

They waved at me happily "Hi!" "It's nice to meet you, Link!"

Amelia shushed them "Don't be so loud, please. Link is still not feeling well."

"Sorry..." They said in unison, making Alexis chuckle.

"Don't worry about them." She told me "My brothers are usually very hyper."

"It's fine." I said, giggling slightly myself "Although, they do seem perfectly synchronized."

"So it would seem. Anyway Link, if you don't mind, I'd like to get to know more about you."

"Fair enough. You saved me, after all."

"Alright..." Alexis said, struggling with where she should start "What race are you?"

I raised an eyebrow, but quickly remembered that this was another world "I'm a Hylian."

"What's that?" Benjamin asked.

"It's what I am." I answered plainly "I don't think it can get much simpler than that."

"Why do you have pointed ears?" Alexis asked.

"Well..." I started "No one's entirely sure themselves, but some theorize that it's so that we can hear the voices of the Gods."

"Where do you live?"

"I live on an island called Outset." I stopped for a moment, considering that I had left to search for New Hyrule "... Actually, I haven't been there in a while, now that I think about it."

"Where is that?"

"It's..." I actually wasn't sure. The portal Ariador created could have taken me anywhere. I just had to assume it was a long ways away "It's very far from here."

"I see. Do you miss your family?"

"Very much." I thought of Aryll, my sister, more than anything else "... I wonder how she's doing...?" I said to myself "And, more to the point... How am I going to get back?"

Alexis leaned forward "Huh? What are you mumbling?"

I shook my head "It's nothing." I answered. I'd have to figure that out later, for now I would just have to rest, after having been attacked by that mist. This thought brought my attention to something important "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions now?" I asked Alexis.

"No, go right ahead." She answered.

"Now, where I come from is very similar to this place, except for one thing: That strange, sparkling mist that I encountered when I first came here. What was that?"

They looked at each other "Where did you say you found him, again?" Amelia asked Alexis.

"Between Marr's Pass and Cathuridge Mine." She answered.

"That's in the center of the map, isn't it?"

"I assume he got a ride with a Caravan or something..." Alexis turned to me "... right?"

I shook my head "I got here a different way." I attempted to explain what I knew about the portals, and that they were the reason I was there in the first place.

"Wow..." Alexis didn't know what to say "So then, you had no idea that..."

"... that the mist was dangerous at all." I finished "I just assumed it was part of the landscape."

"No, the danger is prevelant in all of our minds." Amelia said.

"It's called the Miasma." Alexis explained "It's a poisonous gas that covers the entire world. Short-term contact will weaken most people, while long-term will cause almost certain death, even after escaping before that happens."

I coughed once again, which reminded me of the Miasma that I was coughing out "Wait, so does that mean...?!"

"Miasma is easily inhaled into the lungs - That's where it does its work. It uses the lungs as sort of a transportation hub; The body confuses it with oxygen, absorbing it into the blood and distributing it as such, so that it can attack every part of the body at once."

I shuddered as she finished "So, does that mean that it's inside me right now?"

She nodded "Don't worry, though. Although you were certainly exposed to the Miasma long enough to get a lethal dose-"

"Using what she knew about Myrrh and plants," Samuel interrupted "Alexis made a cure!"

"Really?" I was amazed "Are you a doctor, then?"

"Well, not exactly." Alexis answered "I'm an alchemist, although my main focus is medicinal herbs and, of course, the Miasma cure. I know at least a little bit of everything, though. Everyone here treats me like a doctor though which, I have to admit, is kind of nice sometimes."

"So, is your cure why I've been coughing up Miasma?"

"Yep. Myrrh is well known for repelling Miasma, and it's the most important ingredient in my cure; It repels the Miasma and pushes it out of the lungs. It also uses several medicinal plants that, when mixed into a potion, is absorbed into the blood stream, helping the body fix most damage the Miasma would have done previously." she paused for a moment, thinking of something "Although, I'd be careful from here on out. My cure, while extremely effective, can't remove all of the Miasma in your system. There will be some left - Not enough to do any kind of damage, but it will leave you even more susceptible to Miasma, meaning you'll be affected by it much quicker, and it will be much more unpleasant than the first time."

I sighed. Oh well, it couldn't be all good, after all "I'll make note of that. So, why did you choose to be an alchemist?"

No one answered immediately, they just stared at each other for a few seconds "I guess you could say that it was because of my father..." Alexis answered.

"Is he an alchemist too?"

"No," Amelia said "he was a member of our Crystal Caravan."

"What's that?"

"It's a group of people that go out and collect Myrrh. See, each town is protected by a giant crystal filled with Myrrh, which keeps back the Miasma. However, the Myrrh's power doesn't last forever, and that's where the Caravans come in. Each town has a Crystal Caravan which goes out into the world to search for Myrrh Trees, which produce Myrrh. Along their way, they are protected by the Miasma by the town's Crystal Chalice, which they need to fill with Myrrh from the trees. A full Chalice is equal to a year of protection. Once they are finished they head back to their town, where the Patriarch then fills the crystal, protecting the town for another year."

"It's an extremely dangerous job, and he knew it." Alexis said "What he didn't know was that the group that was our Crystal Caravan at the time didn't care for the lives of others." She lowered her head "So, when he was badly injured by monsters, they just... Left him behind to die in the Miasma..."

"Hey, take it easy, Alexis..." Amelia tried to calm her down.

Alexis raised her head again, her eyes full of tears "I hate them so much!" She shouted "How about I break their legs and toss them into the Miasma? See how they like it!"

I was taken aback "Um, Alexis..." I tried to talk to her; This side of her was very unnerving "Please, calm down... I know how you feel."

She shot me a glare; If looks could kill, it would have killed all of a cat's nine lives "No!" she screamed "You have no idea what it's like! Your parents probably gave you everything you wanted, huh? You don't know what it's like, losing a parent!"

"Alexis, I-"

"How could you even think that you understand me? Your father was probably a soldier, and gave you those weapons, didn't he? Your family was likely rich because of it, too! You-"

I couldn't take it anymore "For the love of Nayru, shut up already!" I yelled back "You know nothing about me! First of all, I got all of those items by my own strength and power, they were never given to me at all!" I stood up and, despite the immense pain I was feeling from my stiff and already aching legs, I continued "Second, don't you even think I don't understand how you feel! I've been through more hardship than you could possibly go through in a lifetime! Third, you've only met me today, so don't you dare assume anything about my personal life! You are incorrect in so many of your assumptions that, frankly, it's insulting!" I laid back down, facing away from them "... Just- Leave me alone for the time being, okay?!"

Alexis sat there for a moment "... Link, I-"

I turned around "NOW!"

With it obviously being unwise to be around me at this time, the family cleaned up everything and quickly left the room "I'm not even sure he was capable of yelling that loud, in his condition." I heard Alexis say as she left the room "And him standing up like that? I must have really struck a nerve..."

Once I was alone, I closed my eyes, trying to hold back my own tears, but failing. That argument brought back so many horrible memories, it just overwhelmed me. Soon after that, I fell asleep.