Ordon Village at night bares little resemblance to its daytime alter ego. Gone are the children brandishing stick swords, the short men harvesting pumpkins, the fishermen crammed upon the dock, the cuccos perpetual clucks, and the calls of happy goats bouncing down the hill from the pasture. At night, all is quiet—save for the tawny catfish that periodically hit the pond surface for fireflies. Even the wind, which earlier seemed to blow so formidably, is nonexistent; the mountain keeps the wind deities at bay.
Under the falling moon, the purple and pink pastel shingles on the houses' roofs appear in varying shades of blue. The houses themselves are ramshackle but sturdy cottages built ages ago and passed down from generation to generation. The dwellings are comprised of simple materials such as wood, mud, clay, stone and straw. One house nearest the water has a waterwheel, but it is presently out of commission. Another house, standing two-stories and possessing mounted goat horns as embellishments, serves as the mayor's residence.
Yetu and the woman climb the cliff behind the mayor's house and follow a slim footpath around a hill. Below them lies the pond. Yetu licks his lips upon spying the drowsy catfish and greengills. After sidling around another sketchy curve in the rock face, the two allies happen upon the mouth of Southern Ordon Forest. There is a pillar of rock one must run, leap to and leap from to enter the forest. The woman set herself in a running pose, but she is snatched by Yetu's hand as the yeti dashes from the cliff and leaps the gap in a single bound.
As they enter the blacker forest, the woman withdraws a haphazardly drawn map from her pouch. Since her lantern is devoid of oil, she must squint in the very limited moonlight to see anything. It is no use, however, as the writing and the parchment is too dark. The woman folds the map and places it back in her pouch. She ruminates about a solution and immediately turns to Yetu. She says, "Can you smell anything? Like a fire or food or something?"
Yetu cranes his neck and inhales deeply. He closes his eyes and tries to separate the keen forest odor from anything else he can sense. There is something. His face twists in abhorrence and he says, with eyes still closed, "There a big dead burned frog smell that way." His hand points directly south, straight ahead.
"That must be the place, yeah," the woman says.
They march onwards, stepping on cones and needles, in pitch-blackness. Considering that Yetu smelled a seemingly out of place odor, and given that his nose is not that many times stronger than hers, the woman believes that their destination must not be too distant. However, the house still eludes them five minutes in, while the darkness harassing them only builds. It is only due to Yetu's stern declaration that he has not lost the scent that the woman does not change her path.
Weary and worn, the woman stumbles a bit but hides her misstep under the cover of darkness. The soup alleviated the pains that stemmed from the poison fog, and it also added a serendipitous bounce to her step, but the sheer exhaustion incurred by her journey is undercutting her remaining energy. Her legs are mush and she maintains pace on will alone.
Fortunately, the green cottage pops up at the foot of Hawk Grass Mountain. It shares the style of the Ordon Village homes, but it glows with the vivid colors of newness. A quiet stream trickles down the mountain face and forks behind the house to a water wheel a quarter the size of the one in Ordon Village. There are two red lanterns on each side of the white-painted door, and a cobblestone path leading from the door to the shoddily crafted and unfinished split-rail fence. Trees of great height surround the land, making it seem as if the house is as natural as the land it was built upon.
Before the woman reaches the walkway, the sight of starry fireflies takes her aback. Within the fenced-off land they are innumerable. Everywhere the shades of blue, yellow, pink and green flicker and float. This sensation occurs from the grass all the way to the treetops. The woman scrutinizes the insects and wonders why they only appear within the perimeter of the land.
She hobbles up to the front door and notices that Yetu is walking in a different direction. She says, "Hey, where ya going?"
Yetu doesn't face her and simply replies "Yetu want to look stream for fish."
The woman nearing the house can hear many voices inside, none of which are instantly discernible. As she is about to knock, the door flies open. A man shorter than the woman peers wide-eyed at her from a scrunched face. His chin length brown hair is jagged and wiry, and his sideburns reach his jawbone. He wears a simple sleeveless white, one-button Henley tucked under a blue hakama fastened with a gold belt and his family's banner, which is emblazoned with the image of a white deku nut on blue background.
For a moment, he stares blankly in awe. His silence is contagious as the voices within the house cease as well. When he breaks his daze, he exclaims, "By Ordona's horn! I've been waiting all night for you to arrive."
The man, still holding the door, turns to the kitchen and hollers, "Lady Ashei is come!" Turning back to Ashei, the man says, "Hello, lady, my name is Talo and I am the First Associate to Colin, Resistance Representative of Ordon Village. I am very pleas-"
"Please spare her the formalities, Talo. Accompany her to our table," states a deep, folkish voice from the kitchen.
Talo smiles at Ashei and grips her gauntleted right hand. They walk over a woven reed rug to the kitchen. Other than the rug, the floors and walls in this part of the house are plain and unadorned. Ashei conjectures that the house is even younger than she initially calculated. Shades of brown constitute everything from the chairs to the cabinets to the support beams.
The kitchen is left of the entryway, lit by a large lantern hanging from the low ceiling. Two windows, one on the north face and one on the east, are covered with closed blue curtains. A rocking chair sits before a wood-burning stove built into the northeast corner of the house. Below it on the eastern wall is a black stone bar with a stack of plates and cutting utensils on top. There is a small standalone cupboard situated beside the bar. The only other article of furniture in the kitchen is the small square table at which three people now sit.
"It is true, no? You are an original." A sleepy-eyed woman says in a childish tone, as she stands out from her chair and sidles next to Talo. The woman has blonde pigtails and wears a green dress more befitting Castle Town than Ordon. The woman also wears a grasshopper necklace of gold, ladybug earrings, a skulltula ring and pink butterfly wings. She is without footwear, so Ashei infers that this is the woman's home.
"Oh, where are my manners," the woman says. She bows to Ashei and speaks, "My name is Agitha. I hail from the great Hyrule Castle Town, like you! You've met my husband, Talo. Please have a seat. Would you like anything? Maybe a milk, or pumpkin soup?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Ashei lies. She sits down in the chair vacated by Agitha.
"Oh, you must want something. You've come all the way from Snowpeak. I will prepare for you some honey-water. That at least will ease your body, which must be sore from the journey."
Ashei smiles at Agitha. She then faces the blonde, doe-eyed man, who leans back in his chair. His arms are crossed. He is wearing the same kind of shirt as Talo, save that his left arm bears a green sleeve that extends to mid-forearm and is strapped across his ribs. There is a golden belt around his waist above a forest green waistband. Covering his crossed legs, a tan tunic skirt fans out from under the waistband, which leads to white, shin-length pants and buskins. His Ordon sword and shield hang from the back of his chair.
He leans forward and smiles. Raising his right hand as if taking a vow, though he means it in greeting, he says, "Hello, Lady Ashei. Pleased to meet you, ma'am. My name is Colin, son of-"
"Rusl," Ashei interjects. "I know. The resemblance is, well, it's not uncanny. You are shorter but more handsome than he. But your air. Your air is very much the same as his. You're both so confident and eternally youthful." Ashei's eyes widen. She leans forward and whispers, "Speaking of Rusl. Is he, yeah? Does he, um, exist?"
"Yes, thank the Goddesses. My father is a simple man. After the Hero of Legend defeated the King of Evil, my father hung up his boots and became a mayor's aide. He still does that task to this day."
"Oh, forgive me, yeah?" Ashei says, with her face bending in shame or disbelief.
"My father," Colin says, missing completely Ashei's somewhat negative tone, "is able to travel, which he loves, but most the time he's with his family: My mother, my sister and I. This is what's most important to him."
Ashei smiles and lightens, "Family is…truly important." After this statement, Ashei stares at the candles on the table. She seems dispirited by something.
Agitha returns with a tray of drinks. To Ashei, who sits on the east side of the table, she hands a mug of honey water. Talo, sitting on the south side, with his teardrop eyebrows, receives a bottle of milk, which Ashei warns is his last. Agitha places a plate with bread and a saucer of hornet honey in front of Colin, as well as a mug of hot apple water. To the youthful, green-haired woman in the white dress, Agitha gives a bottle of green potion. Agitha tells her, "Talo received this gift from his brother as a gag, as Talo cannot perform magic. I hope you enjoy it."
"I'm s-sure I will," speaks the timid, oval-faced girl with ringlet hair.
"I can't believe that I'm in the presence of an original member of the Resistance," Talo inserts. He takes a long pull on his milk bottle and slams the empty bottle on the table.
"You speak with my father every day," Colin asserts, wondering how Talo could forget such a fact.
"Yeah, I do," Talo chuckles, "but I don't really see Mr. Rusl like that. I've always known him. To me, he's just my best friend's dad, a neighbor."
Ashei focuses her attention on the shy girl to her right. The girl is avoiding eye contact, but taking many furtive peeks at the middle-aged heroine.
In her rocking chair by the oval stove, Agitha knits a shirt for her son. She notices Ashei's inquiring gaze and speaks, "That's Mel. She's a witch. Can you believe that? Such a beautiful girl!"
Blushing, Mel smiles. She waves at Ashei and says, "I am a witch, tis true."
Ashei then notices Mel's big violet eyes, which sparkle under her crooked red circular frames. She asks her, "Are you also a member of the Resistance?"
Mel giggles oddly, culminating with a light snort. She speaks, "I'm not that talented. No. I'm just an assistant, like Talo."
"'Just an assistant?'" Talo says, passionately.
"I'm sorry. So sorry," Mel says, shrinking in her chair, "I'm so very sorry for that. Please forgive me for my indiscretion."
Talo's eyes close. His neck falters under the weight of feeling completely insufferable. He leans his chair back to four legs and attains eye contact with Mel. Talo says, "Listen, I didn't really mean it. No need to beat yourself up about it. It was nothing, okay?"
Mel smiles and readjusts her glasses.
Colin cuts through the drama and states plainly, addressing Ashei, "Do you know what we're all doing here?"
"No," Ashei says. She grins in a reserved way, "I really thought you would know."
Agitha laughs, "No one seems to know, yet so many have been called! What's going on?"
"'So many have been called.' What does she mean, precisely?" Ashei asks. All four Resistance members are now leaning above the candles with their elbows supporting their weight.
"I'm a captain and you're a captain," Colin says. "That's two of five. The other three captains are bringing assistants. Just how many, I'm unsure."
Ashei makes a perturbed face and says, "This is never how it was run before. How can so many individuals hope to get along? What can be so dangerous that it requires the combined force of so many? This is quite strange."
"Have you met the Count?" Talo asks of Ashei.
"No, I haven't. Snowpeak is cutoff from the rest of Hyrule. News doesn't get there. Have any of you met him."
Colin's gaze is transfixed on the dancing candle. He whispers, "Briefly."
"Come on, Colin. You know you never really met him," Talo says, speaking rather loudly given the time of night.
"Okay. I only spoke with his messenger, but messages were delivered from him to me and I to him."
"What about you?" Ashei says, looking in the direction of Mel.
"Never. My master says that she knows him, but she's never said a word about him." Mel scans the wall as she rakes her mind for any beneficial information. "Nope. I cannot recall ever hearing any accounts of his life."
"Who is your master? I assume from your, yeah, magical nature, you are the apprentice of Telma's successor. She dabbled in the occult," Ashei says, while her eyes playfully widen.
"Yes. Telma decided like Rusl that she wanted to settle down. She still works at her bar. She designated my master Syrup to be her replacement should the Resistance be called to order. Syrup is a master witch who lives in a hut in Old Kakariko."
"Is she not here yet?" Ashei asks.
Mel's eyes twice glance at something to Ashei's left. Ashei smiles, cranes her neck and scans the space behind her chair. There is only the eastern wall. When the eastern wall becomes the southern wall there is a wooden door. Ashei rotates her head back to Mel. She asks, "Is she outside?"
"Yes," Mel says, stifling a grin.
Ashei immediately heads for the door.
Talo and Colin stand up. "She's not much for chitchat, huh?" Talo whispers to Colin while strapping his bow to his back. He ties a white hachimaki to his head.
There under the table is Mel's black pointed hat. She puts it on and drapes her big red supply bag over her shoulder. She finds her silver slippers and plunges her black/yellow-striped stockings into them.
Talo walks over to Agitha, asleep in the rocker, to kiss her goodbye. After saying their farewells, she follows him to the door where Mel, Colin and Ashei are standing. Upon exiting the house, the smell of burning frogs that Yetu had earlier detected plugs their noses. Talo cowers, shields his nose and curses the smell with expletives. The rest of the group endures without such melodramatics.
As they follow the odor, Agitha, leaning against the doorframe, says, "Have you ever seen such a glorious sight?" When Ashei stops to listen, Agitha continues, "These babes came here after I planted an ancient deku nut, which I bought at a bazaar. The tree never grew, but the fireflies made this land their home. I don't know why. Maybe they can sense that my spirit is the same as theirs." Agitha looks up and smiles. She continues, "In the city, I never imagined such magic could exist. To live among a swarm of living light; this is truly the composition of my dreams."
"Where are you going with all this?" asks Ashei, impatiently.
"The world is a dark place. Less so than before, but the golden age of Hyrule is behind us."
"That's untrue," Colin asserts, "the world was never dark. Hyrule was simply sick for a couple years."
Ashei looks askance at Colin. She blows at her bangs with a strong gust. She says, "You were a mere child then, yeah? Lemme tell you something, then: two decades ago your father likely sugarcoated his tale of the outcome of the war. It is true that the Hero won, but the battle did not clear this world of the darkness that remains today."
"I'm not sure I follow you. I mean," Colin says, with head askew, "I never detect much darkness in Ordon Village, or in the surrounding forest."
"Okay, but that's just-"
"If you lived in Castle Town, I think your opinion would differ," Agitha says, unaware of having interrupted Ashei.
"Exactly," Mel says, immediately becoming bashful after the fact.
"Please continue," Agitha implores, "I'm interested to hear your opinion on the subject. Given you were born after all this."
Mel taps her foot nervously. She says, "I was born in Kakariko three years after the twilight. I now live in desolate Old Kakariko, and I can tell you that the sun comes up everyday, but the dark, unclean feeling remains, as if the very air we breathe contains the effluvia of something sinister, something which was never washed away, some presence which will forever exist as a cruel joke from the goddesses themselves."
Agitha beams, "Yes, yes! That is also the way I feel, which is why I cherish these babes. The fireflies act as my beacon of security in this dark world. Everyone needs a light in the darkness."
Ashei grabs a bottle, the same bottle that when filled with yeti soup saved her life, and scoops up two fireflies. She then stoppers the bottle.
