"Sire, do you think we'll be there soon?" Tottika asked. The guard directed a concerned look through the rain-soaked landscape. "This storm isn't letting up."
"It's only rain," Sidon commented. The lightning storms Akkala was known for were frequent, but the weather was staying blessedly calm. Still, rain did little to pacify the prince's nerves. The steady dripping on his crest only reminded him of Vah Ruta's rampaging. Sidon took a deeper breath. 'It's only rain,' he repeated to himself. 'Besides, it was sunny just this morning.' He called over his shoulder, at the rest of his unit, "The Rist Peninsula isn't much farther!"
"Wish we could just swim the whole way," a white-scaled guard murmured.
"Ailbhe, don't use your spear as a walking stick," Tottika chastised. When Ailbhe only stuck her tongue out in response, her senior turned to the front of the group, a scandalized look on his face. "Captain Bazz—!"
"Ailbhe, for Hylia's sake, have some pride," Bazz sighed. "And Tottika, you're not a child, don't whine." The captain turned to Sidon with a suffering look. "Sire, I'm sorry for their behavior."
"We're all tired," Sidon acknowledged. "Hiking isn't exactly our strong suit." He turned his head again, briefly checking up on his unit's state.
The rain was mild enough – he could still see a fair distance beyond them. Ailbhe had ceased using her spear to help her walk, but she was clearly tired, if the way her feet flopped against the ground was any indication. Tottika was embarrassed, averting his eyes from the prince, but he trudged along the path easily enough. Gaddison and Junayd brought up the rear, and for once, Junayd seemed spent enough to keep his mouth shut. Gaddison, on the other hand, stood tall, and stoic, as if the day's journey hadn't affected her in the slightest. She gave Ailbhe's head-tail a quick whap with her hand, causing the white-scaled zora to straighten up.
Sidon smiled at them. "Not much longer!"
They descended the sloping hills, veering off the beaten path. It was dark, with the rain clouds blocking out much of day's remaining sunlight. In the distance, Sidon could see lanterns, and flickering candles on windowsills, on his left. Tarrey Town was quiet, all locked down for the night.
'We could stop to visit Kapson on the way back,' the prince mused. The town was close enough to their destination. The lizalfos had set up farther west, off the coast, to avoid the passersby. Hylians were still wary of monsters, and the prince wasn't certain if any arrangements had been made between Tarrey Town and Tristram's troops yet.
At the edge of Malin Bay, Sidon could see them – multitudes of lizalfos sprawled out along the spiraling peninsula. Shadowy shapes, which the prince figured must be powerful, black-scaled lizalfos, patrolled the far edges, closest to the ocean. Several lookout posts had been set up, and the guards in each tower were still. Each guard held their bows ready, though not drawn, with shock arrows resting in their claws. They were waiting. Watching the dark, rolling waves of the sea.
A sudden yap caused the group to pause, and a blue lizalfos hopped out of the water to meet them. Its spear was drawn, and it eyed Sidon's unit with wary suspicion.
"We've come from Zora's Domain," Sidon announced, his voice loud and clear over the soft sound of rainfall. "I seek an audience with General Tristram."
The blue gurgled at the group, before reluctantly lowering its spear. It called backward, over its shoulder, to its fellows. The other lizalfos, set on edge by the blue's initial cry of surprise, relaxed their guard. Then, the blue gestured for the zora to follow.
As they alternated between walking and swimming across the peninsula, Sidon met the eyes of many a curious lizalfos. A few perked up their heads in recognition. Most eyed the zora with apprehension. For Sidon, seeing lizalfos in a peaceful setting was starting to become the norm, despite their bloody history. Being surrounded by lizalfos guards didn't unnerve him as much as it used to. He could be confident that this meeting would go smoothly.
However, as they approached the center of the peninsula, the prince felt uneasiness crawling along the base of his neck.
He didn't know General Tristram. None of his guards did. They had no business in Akkala, prior to this event. Akkalan lizalfos tended to stay in their part of Hyrule, and Sidon couldn't recall ever having problems with them. General Tristram was an enigma. The Akkalan's tactics were a mystery, and his nature toward zora, doubly-so.
Gerald had promised cooperation, but Sidon braced himself regardless.
The zora unit was quiet as they approached the shrine, in the middle of the peninsula. Ritaag Zumo, Link had called it. It looked much like the Ne'ez Yohma shrine, in the Domain – tall, imposing, and made of a strange, black metal. Rain water poured down its sides in sheets. Blue light danced across its base in spiraling patterns, painting the makeshift base in a strange, ethereal glow. Around the shrine, the lizalfos had set up campsites, and barricades. Driftwood was laced together with rope, forming spiked walls between their base and the sea.
The blue lizalfos leading the zora made a yapping noise, saluting a pair of guards. The guards paused, looking the unit over, their eyes darting in several directions as they accounted for the zora's weapons. At length, they moved to the sides of their makeshift barricade, to allow the newcomers through.
As they were led around to the front of the shrine, Sidon spotted a lone lizalfos warrior. He was tall for his species, his head stretching upward, gazing at the far-off mountains with a forlorn stare. The glow of the shrine reflected off his silver scales, and his stillness upon Sidon's approach made the prince question if he weren't some intricately designed statue. His armor, though typical of a lizalfos of high rank, sported deep gashes along his back – marks from fighting a foe far more powerful than the race's usual enemies. A massive sword rested in the silver's claws, dangling there, half-forgotten.
It was a strange-looking weapon, with what appeared to be two blades attached to the guard, held together with a connecting bridge further down. White markings crawled along the sword's edges, inching further and further up the blade. The magic within it twisted and coiled its way up the metal. When the marks reached the guard, the blade suddenly sparked, jerking the lizalfos to awareness. As the sword pulsed with pale, yellow light, Sidon blanched as he realized exactly what weapon the silver held.
A great thunderblade.
Sidon felt, more than saw, his group of guards collectively flinch upon noticing the sword. Spelled with lightning, single blow from it could mean their end. The prince's hand wandered to his topaz bracer, running his fingertips over the gemstones. He could resist the spell within the silver's blade, to an extent, but he had no desire to test how much.
The blue lizalfos yapped again, and the distracted silver's eyes locked onto the group of zora. His crimson gaze wandered over Sidon and his guards, noting their armor and spears. The glow of the shrine tinted them all with a harsh, cold light, and the silver lizalfos grimaced at the group. He let out a low, rumbling growl, speaking in Lizal.
"So, the Domain has sent her guards to us."
"General Tristram," Sidon inclined his head to the other, "I presume." Inwardly, he mirrored Tristram's grimace. A small part of him hoped that the Akkala lizalfos would be able to speak Hylian, unlike their Lanaryu counterparts. It seemed this group would also only speak in Lizal, their mother tongue. Sidon felt confident in his own understanding of the language, but apart from Bazz, his guards would only be able to follow half the conversation.
"I am Tristram – the general in this, my homeland, Akkala," Tristram yapped in return, swinging his thunderblade smoothly onto his back.
Sidon's eyes followed the arc of the blade, nervously. He fought to keep his fear of the weapon off his face. 'He isn't Isolda,' the prince reminded himself. 'He's not going to threaten you with it. …Well. Probably.' Gerald had described Tristram as 'the Woeful,' in his letter – a title that told Sidon nothing regarding how volatile the general might be. Still, this meeting had to go well. It was a simple thing. Go talk to the lizalfos, then the odd-looking zora, then get back to the Domain. Easy. Tristram was supposed to cooperate.
One of the general's eyes flitted over Sidon's regalia. The other paused, spotting the scar on the fin framing Sidon's face. The silver squinted at it. "…But, what is this? A scar on your left forefin do you bear," he gurgled. Then, discerning something, he reared back in surprise. "A wound near the eye, but not near enough!" he chirped.
"I beg your pardon?" Sidon asked, his eyes narrowing. 'Not near enough? Was that a threat?'
"My sight is not deceived! You are the prince! Prince Sidon, of the zora!" Tristram yapped, his mouth widening in an excited, toothless grin. "Isolda, she mentioned your name, several times past. Her ire for you is like none I've seen!"
"Oh," Sidon breathed as the words clicked. The silver had been quoting Isolda. She would be bitter that the wound on his fin hadn't hit his eyes. Sidon resisted the urge to roll them. Instead, he donned a patient smile, keeping his voice even. "…Isolda and I are not on the best of terms."
At that, Tristram let out a cackle. "Egregiously understated, that." He crossed his arms, tapping his claws rhythmically against his bicep. "You are here to sort out this mess, I hope? Though this place is my home, I have no wish, nor any will, to be patrolling it."
"That is the plan," Sidon affirmed with a nod. "A quick word with these zora should be enough to clear things up."
"Then, we will take care of this matter now," Tristram decided, turning on his heel toward the ocean.
"Wait, now?" Sidon questioned, aghast. "We've only just arrived! We need to assess the situation first, get some rest – Hylia's sake, it's already nightfall!"
Tristram stopped in his tracks, and then let out a heavy groan. He rounded on Sidon, jabbing his finger in the air to point at the prince. "That matters not, to me! It must be done. In Hylia's Lake do I now belong, attending to my king and my true love!"
"You overstep, general," Sidon growled. "My unit and I will not be ordered around. I am here to resolve things peaceably among the zora, not help you reach your…" The prince paused, Tristram's phrasing registering fully. His head tilted to the side, regarding the silver lizalfos with bewilderment. "Wait, I'm sorry, you said your king and your love?" The phrasing was odd, and Sidon wracked his brain for Lizal grammar to explain it. The declaration seemed to be referencing Gerald. As far as he knew, Gerald had only briefly made an appearance in Akkala.
Yet, somehow, Tristram had fallen in love with his king.
Tristram let out a frustrated wail. "My love! My baroness of bloodshed, she!"
'Oh, so he didn't mean the king is his love,' Sidon realized, correcting himself. He opened his mouth to ask for clarification, but Tristram immediately continued with another cry of anguish.
"Her spear has pierced my heart, and there remains! Beloved, dear Isolda, my true love! She watches the Lake while the Prime is out." He shook his fist at the mountains to the west, as though it was the landscape itself responsible for the horrendous separation. "Full of woe, they call me," the lizalfos choked out, his voice raising in pitch at his distress."And so it is! Tristram, the Woeful, for my soul does weep! It is bereaved, without her by my side!" Then, the silver howled at the sky, rain running down his face like teardrops.
Sidon stared at the general, his lips parted in shock at the outburst. 'He's in love with Isolda?' On the one hand, he could sympathize with the silver – this task was keeping him away from his own beloved.
On the other, he wasn't sure if he could be happy that Isolda, of all people, found love.
'Baroness of bloodshed, indeed,' Sidon mused. He stood quiet as Tristram sobbed, unsure how to proceed. The silver only continued to wail, crying into his claws. Around them, Tristram's troops blatantly ignored their general's distress, keeping to their posts and trying to avoid looking at the sobbing silver. The blue lizalfos that had led the zora to the shrine gurgled quietly, rolling his eyes at the scene.
Behind the prince, Bazz whispered. "Sire, I didn't catch all of that – did you just make him cry?"
"He made himself cry!" Sidon hissed back. "He's in love with Isolda!"
Bazz shot the prince a flabbergasted look. When Tristram's legs gave out, and the lizalfos collapsed to the ground to sob harder, the captain winced. "…Poor bastard."
"My place is beside her," Tristram continued with a moan. "To fight with her, to rend and rip our foes, together! Why, I can think of no greater privilege!" After a moment of heavy sniffling, the silver let out an aggravated sigh. "Alas, instead, bound am I here, with you." He glared up at Sidon from the ground. "How loathsome it is! Zora should fix this, not I."
"We are going to," Sidon protested, his hands raised in an effort to pacify the general, "Once you give us more infor—"
The silver slapped at the wet sand beneath him with an angry growl. "My soldiers should not slave away, in muck and mud, defending Hylians! Defending this coast from invaders!" Getting to his feet, Tristram shook the sand from himself with an irritable flick of his tail. Again, he pointed accusingly at the zora."No, Prince Sidon, it should be you! Madness, this, that we defend the zora from their own." He looked over the prince again, sneering, and gave a derisive sniff. "I do not know why my king holds you dear, a prince who holds no power to his name!"
"As far as I am aware," Sidon spoke, his tone snappish, despite his effort to keep it even, "Your orders come from the king of lizalfos himself. I am not the one that keeps you here." The prince waved a hand to the ocean. "We are not the ones attacking you, general. To my knowledge, the zora you're fighting only attack you because they don't know about the treaties!"
"My talented tactician did say so," Tristram noted with a nod. "Since my Isolda did depart, things changed. My forces have spied zora sneaking by – From the sea they come and attack us all. Us, Hylians, and Bokoblin alike. To zora such as these, all are the same."
"They…They've what?" Sidon questioned, his jaw dropping. "They've been attacking hylians?" The prince could hear his unit startle behind him. Attacking lizalfos, he could understand. The races had been bitter enemies for so long, there was still bound to be some bad blood between them.
Hylians, however, had been friends to the zora for millennia.
"General Tristram," Sidon growled. "We will not face these zora tonight. Zora do not attack hylians. If the ones you've been facing have been going after our allies as though they were bokoblins, then…" He trailed off, a feeling of concern nagging at him.
Zora knew the hylians were friends. All of them. No zora in the Domain would dare harm their most trusted allies. Even the elders, with their bitter resentment at the death of Mipha, wouldn't raise a hand to a hylian without the king's say-so.
Which meant, if these truly were zora, they had no fealty to their king.
Sidon groaned internally. This was growing more complicated by the second. "They can't be connected to our Domain," the prince stated. "They're acting on their own, in all likelihood, and my orders won't mean much to them."
Tristram tutted, bringing a claw to his pointed chin. "No fealty to your zora crown, you say? Such complications I did not predict." After thinking, he quietly gurgled, "It's dangerous then, to send you to sea." Then, his hands flew to the sides of his head in frustration. The silver directed another anguished moan at the sky. "Oh, but of course it would turn out this way! My life, once so blessed by her presence, is, as always, frightfully cursed yet again!"
"We can't approach them like this," Sidon asserted. "These zora do not follow our law. I will not speak with them until you give us more information."
Tristram dragged his hands over his face with an unhappy grumble. "Of course, you should not go out to sea now. A foolish errand, to approach them so, while lacking knowledge of their tendencies!" He let out a slow hiss, as he contemplated the group. "Should Sidon suffer harm, I should face wrath. Isolda's, no, but Gerald, king and Prime – His Majesty would have me flayed alive..." the silver muttered bitterly. At great length, the general threw his hands in the air, defeated. "Fine, fine, I tell you! You shall sleep this night. Come morning we will speak of strategy."
Sidon nodded to the silver, relief washing over his tense shoulders. "Good. Then, we'll resume this conversation in the morning."
Tristram gurgled grumpily, and then turned. He barked orders to his soldiers, who snapped back to attention.
Sidon and his unit were shuffled to a section of calm water, surrounded by guards. Other sleeping lizalfos dotted the sand close by.
"Bazz and I will keep watch, sire," Gaddison stated, not following the rest of the unit into the water.
Sidon sank into the bay's salty water with a sigh. "They are our allies, Gadds. I don't think that's necessary. Not really a show of good faith, either."
"We don't have to know Lizal to get that Tristram doesn't like you," Bazz smirked down at the prince. "Besides, if those other zora show up, I'd like to be awake for it."
"Take turns then," Sidon ordered. "If tonight has been any indication, things are going to be even more of a hassle when we actually speak to the zora."
"We're still going to talk to them?" Tottika asked from beside the prince, incredulous.
"But you said they have no fealty to the crown, right?" Ailbhe pouted, stepping into the water herself. "They're not our people, are they?"
"They're still zora," Sidon stressed. As his unit continued to mumble amongst themselves, Sidon huffed. 'They've lost their confidence.' He shot the rest of his group a bright grin. "I'm sure we can still work something out! They're kin, after all."
As his soldiers eventually began to relax in the water, Sidon moved to the side, looking beyond the shrine to the edges of the peninsula. He could still watch the lizalfos guards from here. They patrolled around in the rain, unceasing. Tense. Double the number of shadowy figures walked along the outskirts, stationed there after finding out the zora attacking them weren't confused allies, after all. If any lizalfos eyes wandered to the shoreline of Akkala, the other eye was fixated firmly on the ocean.
Sidon let his eyes drift shut, but his mind still whirled. Zora, from the uncharted sea, who attacked hylians and lizalfos alike. Zora that had lived unconnected to the Domain, hidden in the depths for ages. Zora that were not his people, but close enough that he would be expected to take care of the problem. They could be hostile. They could be friendly. At this point, he simply didn't know. As the rain continued to drip steadily on his head, Sidon found himself thinking back to his champion.
If a fight broke out, Link would be pissed.
'Perhaps I should have brought him along after all,' Sidon sulked, unsure if the bitter taste in his mouth was from the salt of the bay, or his increasing unease.
Sidon looked over the ocean, his face uncharacteristically grim. 'They populate deep water,' he thought to himself, recalling Tristram's observations. 'Always carrying weapons, mainly spears. Attack on sight. Look like monsters. Comprehend Lizal but attacked the lizalfos anyway.' He brought his hand to his lips, contemplating the fact. 'Comprehend Lizal…'
"Sire," Bazz interrupted the prince's musings. "We're all ready to depart."
Sidon nodded to the captain. "Given my order to retreat, defend yourselves while heading back to the peninsula. Understood?"
"Yes sir," Bazz nodded. He gripped his spear tightly, the weapon drawn and ready for whatever lay lurking beneath the ocean waves.
"Stay together," Sidon ordered, making eye contact with each member of his unit. "With any luck, this will be a quick, simple chat." He stepped to the side of his fellows, gazing back toward land. General Tristram stood at the edge of the peninsula, his great thunderblade in hand. The prince held his hand aloft, signaling their departure. At Tristram's returning salute, Sidon turned, diving head-first into a small wave. His unit followed suit.
The water was murky.
Sidon's gills flinched at the realization, recalling his fight with a beast made of water in the lizalfos temple. That water had been tainted with Ganon's Malice, and the scars along his side throbbed at the memory. The ocean's murkiness, though, was only sand. Silt. Debris kicked up by the continuous movement of the waves. There was no threat of Calamity in the sea. Or anywhere else in Hyrule, for that matter. The prince took a breath, focusing on what lay in front of them.
As the zora dove deeper, the prince followed the decline of sand beneath them. Eventually, Tristram had told them, the edge would drop off into open water, like diving over the edge of a cliff.
Off a cliff, and into the dark.
The sea zora's group was small, only attacking in short bursts before retreating to the deepest depths of the ocean. Always the same group, too. Tristram ordered scouts into the sea, to look out over the last bit of Hyrule's shelf to find the renegades, but even on days where the sun was bright, and the ocean was clear, there was nothing. The fish, whole schools of porgi, seemed to have abandoned the area, driven off by potential predators.
So, the prince would have to go into the dark to find the zora.
All at once, they hit the end of the shelf, and Sidon found himself looking into an expanse of deep blue. So blue, in fact, that he was unsure whether he'd be able to see something off in the distance, or if his eyes were playing tricks on him. The water looked like a solid wall, nothing like the lakes of Hyrule. Even Lake Hylia, large as it was, eventually ended. Here, there didn't appear to be an end.
Then he looked down.
Sidon was a zora. The crown prince. Built for swimming, diving, and exploring Hyrule's lakes and rivers. Built for the water. Water was home to him.
Looking down, into the dark expanse of sheer nothingness, the prince felt a lump of fear in his throat.
A gasp from behind Sidon made him jump. He spun in the water, finding his unit all staring at a wide-eyed Ailbhe.
The white-scaled guard's eyes flicked to her companions, and an awkward smile stretched her lips. "It's, uh. It's pretty dark down there, huh?"
"Do they not have luminous stones in the ocean?" Junayd asked.
"Perhaps not," Sidon acknowledged. He looked down again, his bright scales stark against the darkness below.
"How do they even see each other?" Ailbhe wondered.
"Once we find them," Bazz commented, "maybe we can ask."
"If they don't try to kill us first, you mean," Gaddison shot back, frowning.
"Now, now," Sidon looked to his unit with a smile. "Let's not be pessimistic."
Gaddison huffed. "I'd call it realistic, but yes, my prince."
"We don't have to go all the way down, I should think," Sidon shrugged. "If they're nearby, they'll be able to hear us if we get close."
Ailbhe shuddered, holding her spear close to her chest. "Ooh, I don't want to get close…"
Sidon shot her a sympathetic smile, and then maneuvered himself downward. Despite the protests, his unit was close behind.
It grew gradually more difficult to see in the depths, and Sidon paused his group before sight became completely impossible. They'd be able to smell each other, should they go further, but the prince elected to avoid the deeper water for now. He searched for some other scent in the ocean, something that would pinpoint the other zora. The most he got was salt. Fish. The ocean was full of unfamiliar scents, and the prince sighed inwardly.
At length, Sidon cupped a hand around his mouth. "Hello?" he called into the dark. When met with silence, he switched to Lizal, his voice rumbling through the deep. "Hello!"
"Sire," Bazz sighed. "I don't think just shouting at them is going to—"
"Wait, what's that?" Tottika interrupted, pointing to a spot far, far below them. "I think that's…That's a light!" The guard paused, a look of confusion flitting across his features. "…It's moving."
Sidon followed the point of Tottika's claw, looking into the dark. Sure enough, a small light was below them, bobbing around the water. "That might be one of them," the prince observed. He waved for his unit to follow, and they descended toward the light.
It was deeper than Sidon expected.
Their surroundings slowly began to vanish in the depths. Still, the bobbing light remained constant. Sidon approached it steadily, one hand ready to grab the spear on his back. When the light was no more than a few yards away, the prince thought he could see a body in the dark, though it was impossible to make out its features. He felt his guards tense behind him. "…Hello?"
Everything went white.
Sidon could hear his unit shouting. The light seemed to explode, and Sidon's eyes squeezed shut at the sudden brightness. He blinked against it, his eyes straining to readjust. A shape – a body – was in front of him, and the silhouette looked at least somewhat like a zora, though the legs were too long. The torso too short, more like a Hylian's. Sidon cursed – it had to be one of the zora they were searching for, but where had that light come from?
When his eyes finally started to adjust, he found the source.
A zora floated in front of him, or something related to one. A girl, judging by the slight frame, covered in lightweight armor, with twisting decorative patterns all over the metal. He couldn't tell where one line of it began or ended. Light radiated off her fins – on her head, her shoulders, her arms, and hips. Each fin had a bright, pale blue membrane, and it glowed. Spots along her arms and face were similarly lit, and Sidon found himself staring into deep, dark blue eyes. Her irises were a paler blue, and he couldn't see a pupil anywhere in their depths. The zora's teeth were long, and oddly sized – thin spires that prevented her from closing her mouth. Her head tilted at the sight of the group, regarding Sidon and his unit with bewildered wonder.
Sidon mirrored her expression. "…Who are—?"
The glowing zora backed away in a panic, and then screeched.
Sidon flinched – the sound an ear-splitting scream that pierced his skull. High-pitched and shrieking. The prince turned in the water, looking for Bazz. His comrades were similarly debilitated, weapons forgotten in favor of trying to block out the sound. Sidon couldn't tell if the scream was bouncing off the shelf – or anything, really, beyond the darkness.
Suddenly, more sea zora lit up behind his unit, their weapons drawn.
"Intruders in our province!" Shouted the nearest sea zora, in a heavily accented growl. Angry, bulging eyes locked onto Sidon's. "Kill them all!"
Sidon, in a panic, hit Bazz on the shoulder to grab his attention. "Get the others! Retreat!" Then, the prince swam past him, grabbing the arms of Ailbhe and Junayd. He kicked hard against the water, heading up.
At least, he hoped it was up. It was hard to tell.
'We went too far down,' Sidon chastised himself. 'We should never have gone that far—'
His self-lecture was interrupted when a spear went whizzing past his head.
Sidon veered to the side, letting go of his guards. "Go!" he shouted. "Get back to Tristram!" Ailbhe only had time to shoot the prince a look of concern before they heard a yell from below. One of the sea zora, one that resembled the screeching girl but with a much longer head-tail, sparked once at the prince before going dark. The prince cursed, propelling himself further upward.
As he went, the water got brighter. Sunlight was above Sidon's head, and he could make out the shape of Hyrule's shelf again.
It was much farther away than it should be.
The prince looked over his shoulder, seeing his other guards not far behind him. Beyond them were the sea zora.
More kept popping out of the dark, giving chase to the guards. Each of the sea zora was vastly different from in size and shape – some with larger teeth, some with small spines. Limbs too long, or too short. Their scales were dark – Dark blues, deep browns, blacks and grays, all the better to take advantage of the lack of light below. Eyes were larger, if they had eyes at all. One of them sported a completely transparent crest, its eyes inside its head, and Sidon gawked at the sight.
'I think I understand Isolda's assessment, now.'
"Don't just float there, Sidon!" Bazz yelled, coming up and grabbing the prince's wrist.
The touch snapped Sidon out of his reverie, and he propelled himself through the water next to Gaddison and Tottika. Their spears were missing, but neither guard seemed to care, too hellbent on getting back to shore. Sidon shook his head as he swam, not wanting to lose focus again. Not wanting to look back at the sea zora. They'd looked deformed, like some sort of Malice-tainted hybrid of a zora and a monster.
The sand sloped upward, and soon grew too shallow to swim in. Sidon leapt from the water and flipped, reorienting himself to land on the beaches. A black lizalfos yapped next to him in surprise. The zora soldiers landed, one by one, Junayd tripping and scrambling up the beach. Sidon looked back then, to the water, and briefly spotted a sea zora's head floating along the surface. Eyes inside it's crest, watching.
Looking further, he saw more, in the waves.
A loud yap turned Sidon's attention back to the lizalfos. Tristram stood not twenty feet away, watching Sidon's panicked guards with confusion.
"They want to kill us, Tristram!" Sidon shouted. He ripped his spear from his back and spun back around, just in time to see several sea zora jumping out of the water.
Immediately, they began to clash with the lizalfos. One of the larger foes, with a thick crest, charged his way past a lizalfos guard. He barreled toward Sidon, striking at the prince with a short sword.
Sidon blocked, bracing his spear in a diagonal across his chest. The sea zora roared, leaping at the prince and colliding with him. Sidon fell backward, and the two crashed to the ground, Sidon's spear pinned between them. The prince pushed against his weapon, trying to shove the hulking foe off.
The sea zora snapped at the prince, biting in the air. His jaw, oddly fleshy and wrinkled, opened wide, revealing several rows of sharp teeth. Sidon cursed, struggling to put more distance between himself and the risk of getting bitten. The sea zora's jaw twitched, his teeth making a curious clicking noise.
The sea zora's jaw extended from its face, spanning the short distance, and clamped down on Sidon's throat.