Published on June 3rd, 2013.
Replaced (ver.1) on December 6th, 2015.
Chapter 4/50
Life in Skyloft - Part 1
Skyloft Arc (4/9)
"You want me to enroll your...sons?" the headmaster asked, eying on the Eds and Beedle.
"Well...to be accurate," Beedle said, scratching the back of his head and closing his eyes, "adopted sons."
"Adopted?" some people said. The Eds looked at the back of Beedle's head.
"Allow me to explain a brief story." Beedle cleared his throat. "A few years ago, on my private floating island during the blackness of the night, I was deeply enticed by my rare beetle. Now let me paint the picture even more." He breathed in and out. "A white column of light from the clouds below shot through my island. As my beetle and I were startled by this strange phenomenon, a mysterious old woman emerged out of the light along with three sleeping kids. She appeared to be in a panic and in rush, but she quickly told me to take care of these kids. Like everyone else if they were in my sandals, I was perplexed. But before she returned to the column of light alone, she firmly stated that these kids will be part of a great destiny, and that something will happen when the time comes."
Double D and Eddy gawked at this. Who would believe this story?! they thought.
"Now, as we reach this glorious day, I had taken care of these kids, and I decided they must become strong here in the Knight Academy. Why, you may ask? I... I do believe the Surface exists. The legend does exists! These kids are the proof!" The rest realized Beedle finished his tale as they stared at the Eds. While some people around looked skeptical, people like the headmaster, the blond girl, and Link thought about it.
"Are you crazy or what?!" the buff guy with the red pompadour asked, frowning. "Do you honestly think we would believe that tall tale? We already have enough here on Skyloft."
"But it does exists! Ask Eddward here. He can describe what the Surface looks like."
Wait, what?! Double D thought with sweat slithering down his forehead. Beedle grabbed Double D's shoulder and forced him to stand closer to the crowd.
Beedle whispered to the boy's ear. "Do your best." Double D quickly looked at Beedle before he turned to the rest of the crowd, seeing that they were waiting for his response.
"Uh...yes...well..." Double D picked his words carefully. "The land below is...an exhilarating world. There are...a lot of trees filled with wild life beyond your imagination...and lakes that are more vast than your own. Enormous rocks called mountains are so tall that they barely reach the clouds...and vast grains of sand called a desert makes your sweaty and dried." He gulped. Oh dear! How did I end up in this situation?! I'm just listing biomes that would hopefully makes sense in this world. Despite Double D's careful words, those who were still skeptical showed signs of huge disbelief.
"Yeah right," the buff guy said. "Next thing you'll say is that the birds below are smaller than our Loftwings, right?"
"They are."
"Hah! I don't believe any of that! We all don't! Right, guys?" His two friends agreed with him while another guy simply nodded.
The blond girl, however, could not help but stare at Double D with astonishment. No way... she thought. I... I was right! The Surface really does exists!
The buff guy pointed at Beedle and the Eds. "I'll give you a history lesson. We've been told that the Surface is an empty and barren place. Nothing exists there at all. Right, Instructor Horwell?"
"Yes," the one with the brown hair, named Horwell, answered in a somewhat weak tone.
"Your thoughts?" the one with the white hair asked the headmaster as everyone looked at the big guy.
The headmaster stared into space until he cleared his throat. "Destiny or not," he said, "I decided to enroll your sons." Everyone gasped.
"W-why?!" the buff guy asked. "You believed in that story?!"
The headmaster folded his arms. "As the headmaster of the Knight Academy...let's just say that I had my suspicions. However, I will not ignore those who wish to become strong. That is all."
"Awesome!" Ed said, pumping up his fists. "Now I can vanquish evil!"
The headmaster smiled. "Hoo hoo. It seems we have an energetic one here."
"Headmaster Gaepora," Horwell said, "let us not forget that the Wing Ceremony starts tomorrow."
"Ah, yes." He walked toward the Eds. "We are approaching the end of the academic year, so the timing must have been perfect, I may say. The enrollment evaluation will begin after the Wing Ceremony."
"Thank you so much for your kindness," Beedle said, smiling.
"Since you three will be staying here, we must all introduce ourselves."
"I am Ed, and I like chickens!" he said.
"In that case, my name is Eddward, but you may call my Double D," he said.
"The name's Eddy," he said, smiling in a smug way. "No need to be amazed."
"Interesting names," Gaepora said, nodding. "Well then, I am the headmaster of the Knight Academy: Gaepora." He bowed down slightly with his right arm.
"I am the instructor of practical skills, Owlan," the one with the white hair said. "Pleased to meet you three."
"I am the instructor of academic skills, Horwell," the one with the brown hair said. "I shall look forward to this." The Eds turned to the students as the girl with the yellow hair approached them.
"I'm Zelda, and I'm the daughter of the headmaster. It's a pleasure to meet you three," she said, smiling as she bowed in a ladylike way. Starting from the bottom, she wore brown boots and dark gray long dress. Around the green belt was a black sash with red bird symbols on each side. Her white, almost shoulder-less, shirt had long loose sleeves with two "X's" on both sides. Her hair in front of her forehead was straight and equal, and her bangs were wrapped tightly with white ribbons. Her yellow long hair was thick that reached the center of her back. The two noticeable features of her were her cobalt eyes and her very pointy ears. No one noticed, but the Eds' cheeks burned a bit hotter than normal.
Each student had their own Loftwings with different upper fur, hairstyle, and a belt for the rider to hold on. Each Loftwing had their hairstyle and belt the same as their master with the exception of Zelda's blue Loftwing.
"The name's Groose. Make sure you don't forget that name," the buff guy with red pompadour said. He wore brown boots and spring green baggy pants with designs in front of the pants. The darker green designs appeared to be plants with shoots, or branches, curled up. Out of everyone, he was very muscular, specifically the chest and the arms. The black belt was wrapped around the teal shirt and skirt combo. His brown fingerless gloves reached halfway up to his elbows. His shoulder was covered in his pointy light green shoulder cloth hooked with a red diamond. Around his thick neck was a wooden black choker. His long face itself was unusual to the Eds. His lip and eyes were light green, which was a strange color. He wore light blue simple earrings. The rest of his hair was red, including the eyebrows, and he was taller than Link. Link's height was roughly equal to Groose's shoulder. He controlled a black Loftwing with a black pompadour. The Eds suddenly noticed everyone had very pointy ears.
"Cawlin," he said as if he did not care. He was the shortest out of the students, but Eddy was still a tiny bit shorter to him. His overall height was around Groose's torso. His whole physical appearance was a bit bigger than average. Due to this, his black boots, white leggings, green skirt and shirt combo, black belt, mint sash, black fingerless elbow length gloves, and light orange shoulder cloth were made for his size. A colorless shiny orb was attached in front of his shoulder cloth. Cawlin's expression looked like he did not care, furthering the support of his attitude. His eyes, nose, and lip were small and narrow. The color of his hair was dark indigo. In the Eds' point of view, the left side of the hair was curled up a bit. The sides of his hair curled around his ears, showing two pointy section of his hair next to his cheeks. Cawlin possessed a brown Loftwing with the same hairstyle as his master.
"Strich," he said in a quiet tone. He was the tallest out of the students, even surpassing Groose's pompadour, but he was also the skinniest. Due to this, his clothes were matched to fit his size. He wore brown boots, sky blue baggy pants, long dark spring green skirt and sleeveless shirt, medium shade of scarlet belt and fingerless elbow length gloves, and long blue-gray shoulder cloth. An upside-down green triangle, attached on his shoulder cloth, was in front of his right chest instead of the center. Strich's head looked like an upside-down pear. His nose was big and round, and his yellow bowl haircut almost covered his shady eyes. His green Loftwing hid behind his master.
"A-and I'm Fledge," he said. Although his boots were brown, the front half of the upper boots were light green. His light gray baggy pants had designs of fern green vegetative shoots with two pairs of leaves. His orange skirt and shirt combo, with a black belt, was over the light gray sleeves. Like most people, he was wearing a tufts blue shoulder cloth with a perfect square diamond in front of his left shoulder. Fledge's face was a bit pale, and he had round coral pink blushes on his cheeks. His hair was like an asparagus business haircut. There were three features the Eds did not see fully: The tips of his fingers were a little red, his most attractive feature was his nape, or the back of his neck, and his rear was large. Before the Eds could look at Fledge's Loftwing, it already flew away. The rest of the Loftwings flew up in the sky.
"I guess that's everyone," Groose said, putting his hand on his stomach. "I'm feeling hungry. Let's go to the kitchen, Zelda."
"Hang on," Zelda said. "We forgot one more person."
"Did we?" Groose pretended as he was heading inside the Knight Academy with Cawlin and Strich.
"It's okay, Zelda," Link said. "At least one of them knows my name."
"Yeah!" Ed agreed, putting his right arm around Link's neck. "His name is Link, and he owns a red chicken!"
"'Crimson Loftwing.'" Link turned to Zelda with a smile. "See? Ed already introduced me to his friends."
Zelda laughed, putting his right hand in front of her mouth. "I guess you're right," she said.
"Well, that was odd," Double D said, referring to Ed introducing Link instead of Link himself.
"Okay," Gaepora said. "Now that everyone has introduced themselves, let's head inside to the kitchen for breakfast. Today's breakfast is special for today and tomorrow." Everyone headed inside the Knight Academy except for the Eds and Beedle.
"Why did you came up with that ridiculous story?!" Eddy asked Beedle.
"Let me ask you this question," Beedle replied. "Do you think everyone you'll meet will believe the truth?" He saw the boys blinking in deep thought. "As you already know, everyone here does not believe the Surface exists. The truth has become the ghost of the past for many long years. What are the chances someone will believe you three are from another world?"
"Very...low," Double D answered, a bit hesitant in his voice.
"After listening to your previous adventure last night, I started thinking about this problem should you three leave this world. Let me engrave this into your mind." Ed, Double D, and Eddy were in respective order as Beedle placed his hands on Ed and Eddy's shoulder. "You three are the most luckiest beings ever, and while your adventures bend time and reality, not everyone will believe your Crossover Books. Think about it for a moment." A swept of wind breezed through the Eds in their thinking mode.
"What...made you believe us?"
Beeldle smiled. "You three have round ears." He revealed his left pointy ear that was buried in his hair. "I wouldn't be surprised if someone asks your round ears. Plus, you three were wearing strange clothes."
Double D's lips curved up a bit. "You do have a point, Beedle."
"Still," Eddy said, folding his arms, "I don't like the idea of being your adopted sons."
"Round ears are boring," Ed said.
"Well, I have to go back to work as a shopkeeper," Beedle said, stepping on his ship. "I must prepare myself for tomorrow's Wing Ceremony. My business will most likely escalate for that most anticipated event. If you ever need me, I will always float above the giant building called the bazaar."
"Er, wait!" Double D said. "What is the Wing Ceremony?"
"Ask the headmaster. He knows the full details."
"Bye Terry! We'll miss you!" Ed said, waving at him. Beedle simply nodded before heading in and preparing to lift off.
"Finally!" Eddy said, throwing his hands up. "I was starting to get real hungry! Come on! Let's go!" He headed inside the Knight Academy with Double D and Ed following behind.
"You sure are impatient, Eddy!" Double D said. As they headed in, they were inside a big and long hall. The interior was made of irregular shaped rocks consisting of mostly green and brown. In front of them was the place to eat as Gaepora suggested. They passed through the upside down "U" to see the rest of the people from outside. On their left was the academy's small cafeteria consisting of several wooden tables in different sizes. The right side was the kitchen with an old woman carrying plates full of foods.
"Why, hello there!" she said. She was slightly taller than Eddy's hair. Her gray hair was shaped like small wings with one strand of hair in front of her forehead. She had a long old face, a green scarf tied around her neck, purple shirt with thick sleeves, red apron, thick brown pants, ankle socks, and stringed sandals. "So you three must be the new students. I'm the dormitory housemother and the lunch lady. Call me Henya."
Double D smiled. "I'm pleased to meet you."
"Check it out, Ed," Eddy whispered. "Can you imagine her with a white rooster body?"
Ed grinned. "I sure do, Eddy," he replied, imagining Henya in white rooster clothes.
"The headmaster would like to see you boys at his own private table," Henya said, pointing at the far corner where Gaepora was the closest to the fireplace. As the Eds walked to Gaepora's table, Gaepora noticed the Eds coming.
"Ah, there you are," Gaepora said. "Please have a seat." When they took their seats, they looked around the cafeteria. Owlan and Horwell were the closest to them as they accepted their breakfast from Henya. Link and Zelda was the third closest with their two person table, and Groose's gang was next to another corner so that they could see everyone in their location. Fledge occupied his single table, but he was next to Zelda. "So how's our cafeteria?"
"It looks cool!" Ed answered, looking around more.
"Nicely done," Double D replied. Although, our school's cafeteria is more advanced and much cleaner.
"This is small...and other...things," Eddy replied with a frown.
"You don't say?" Gaepora asked.
"I mean, where's the people?! Where's the energy!? And more importantly, where's my food?!"
Double D's inner face cringed. "You have to forgive my friend," he said to Gaepora. "He can be quite impatient."
"It's okay," Gaepora said. "First, the rest of the students should be here any moment now."
"The rest?"
"The upperclassmen, or should I say, knights of Skyloft." As soon as he said that, the seniors of the academy entered the cafeteria. There were more knights than the Eds suspected. Most of them had these in common: long pointy hats, chain mail underneath their shirt and skirt combo, leather gloves, pants, long boots, and their weapons. Most of their weapons were long swords strapped on their back or their waist. There were a variety of students such as cheeky ones, stern ones, charming ones, narrow-minded ones, urbane ones, and more. Henya had already placed their foods on the big, round "senior table", explaining the delay of the breakfast. When they all took their seats, the whole room had become a typical loud cafeteria. Gaepora smiled at Eddy. "There's the energy you needed, right?"
"Yup," Eddy answered with a small grin.
After Henya delivered all the food, she finished it by carrying a heavy plate and heading to the Eds and Gaepora. "Sorry for the long wait," she said, "but I hope you'll be full of energy with this." She gave out the foods to them. The Eds took a full look at their foods.
"Pumpkin soup?"
"Heartful Pumpkin Soup." The fragile white bowls contained streaming pumpkin soup with pink small hearts (not to be confused with actual human hearts). "This baby is simply the best soup in existent. With its sweet flavor from the pumpkins, the hearts will revitalize your body for a bit. Pumpkins are a stable diet here. And here are your drinks." She gave each of them a glass full of milk.
"Milk as well?" Double D asked, being slightly surprised.
"Yes. There are two floating islands southeast from here. One produces pumpkin while the other produces milk."
"Interesting." With that, Henya left them and headed back to the kitchen.
"Now that's sweet!" Eddy said after gulping a mouthful of milk.
Double D began to slurp his soup. "I must say, this soup makes my body warm, even my heart."
"It's a human heart!" Ed said in a jokeful way, holding the dripping heart above his head. This caused some students around to look at him and seeing the newcomers.
"Ed, please! Don't play with your food!" The three continued to eat their breakfast.
"There is a reason why I specifically asked you three to my table," Gaepora said. "Since you three will be staying here, I asked three students to be your roommates. Think of if as the academy's orientation."
"Who are our roommates?"
"Luckily, these are the people you already know. Ed's roommate will by Link. Double D, you will be with Fledge. Lastly, Eddy's roommate will be Groose."
"Really?!" Eddy asked, gaping. "That guy who insulted my...clothes?! I wanna be with that girl with the yellow hair!"
"I'm sorry, but we have a policy for that. Boys and girls cannot be in the same bedroom. The boys are on this floor while the girls are on the second floor, along with the staffs. Besides, those three do not have roommates. When you finish your breakfast, I highly recommend you meet with your respective roommate."
"Fine..." Eddy continued to eat. At least I'll face that guy.
"So why is today's breakfast special?" Double D asked Gaepora.
"It is the time where the upperclassmen mingle with the rest of the students," Gaepora answered. "The upperclassmen are always on training nearly every day, but today is their day off. They also encourage the ones competing for tomorrow's Wing Ceremony."
"Please elaborate what is the Wing Ceremony."
Gaepora cleared his throat. "The Wing Ceremony, also known as Birdrider's Ceremony, is an annual event held on Skyloft for students enrolled in the Knight Academy that consists of a competition and a formal ceremony with the participants reenacting the roles of the Goddess Hylia and her Chosen Hero. Whoever wins the competition is declared the champion. The winner will advance to the next class level at the academy and take part in the ceremony playing the part of the Goddess's Hero."
"I see." Double D placed his hand on his chin. Hylia's name again... I need to recall the things I know so far. In the far past, the evil monsters caused chaos for the ultimate power. Based on the description, Eddy automatically assumed it's a wish, but...anything is possible after our last adventure. Then, Hylia sent the humans and the ultimate power skyward so that the evil monsters cannot take it. In the end, she restored peace. In other words...Skyloft was the island Hylia sent it skyward, thus proving the fact the Surface exists. Now the Chosen Hero...
"So who's competing?" Eddy asked Gaepora.
"Four shall be competing tomorrow," Gaepora replied. "It will be Link, Groose, Cawlin, and Strich."
"Who do you think will win?"
"About that... From most people's point of view, they would cheer on Groose."
"Him?!"
"As the headmaster, I know every student enrolled here. Groose may look...a little rough around the edges, but he's probably a hardworking and surprisingly skilled kid. He also acts like the leader of the kids in the dormitory. His friends, Cawlin and Strich, are average riders from what I've seen."
"And Link?" Ed asked.
"I want to say Link will win, but he hasn't been practicing much, to be honest. However, that may not be the case."
"What makes you say that?" Double D asked, raising an eyebrow. "Practice makes perfect."
Gaepora started to smile, glancing at Link from afar. "It's his bond with his one-of-a-kind Crimson Loftwing." It was at that moment the energy slowly died away inside the cafeteria. The four noticed almost everyone was going outside to see their Loftwings. The whole area outside was filled with riders and colorful Loftwings. "Today's breakfast may be over, but it's the start of the Loftwings' feeding time. Feel free to roam around Skyloft, but remember what we discussed about. Make sure you three come back here tonight."
"We will, Headmaster Gaepora." The Eds began to leave the cafeteria. "Well, gentleman, we need to meet our assigned roommates."
"Do I have to?" Eddy asked, sighing. "I kinda don't like Groose."
"Well, you have to make friends with him, Eddy. You might warm up with him eventually."
"Yeah...but... Where's Ed?" The two suddenly realized that, unaware that Ed had already rushed outside to see Link and all the Loftwings. Both of them realized the danger of Ed and the "chickens".
"Oh no..."
"Oh, for crying out loud!"
"Eddy, find him."
"What?! Why?!"
"You can control Ed more than I can."
"No! I..." Eddy paused. "You know what? Yeah, I can! I just tackle him while his guard is down!" He immediately ran outside.
"No, Eddy! Don't use force in the academic sanctuary!" Double D let out a sigh and looked around the halls. He suddenly saw Fledge attempting to left a full-sized green barrel. "Uh, hello there!"
Fledge turned around. "Oh! H-hi!" he said, panting. "You must be Double D, am I correct?"
"That is correct. You're Fledge."
"Yes. The headmaster informed me about this. We should stick together...but I need to lift this barrel into the kitchen by Henya's request. Can you help me, Double D."
"Uh...I'll try...but I'm a frail kid." They both approached the barrel and tried to lift it. Unfortunately, the barrel's weight was too much as they were forced to put it down and pant out loud
"Oh... This is troubling."
I wonder how they're doing...compared to this. Double D wanted to avoid this kind of physical activity.
"Are you...Double D?" a girl's voice asked. They looked up at the source of the voice as Double D widened his eyes a bit, seeing Zelda.
Meanwhile, Eddy was trying to locate Ed in this huge crowd of riders and Loftwings. Not only it was difficult to find a fool, as Eddy thought, Eddy was being very cautious around the Loftwings. Due to his history of birds, it was no surprise to see Eddy quickly turning his head around. "This is a pain," he murmured as he was trying to go through two Loftwings. As the Loftwings scooted away, Eddy yelped a bit as he fell down to the ground.
"Huh? I know you," a voice said. Eddy spat out some grass before he looked up to see Groose and his gang with their smug looks. "Nice entrance, kid."
"Groose..." Eddy knew he did not like Groose mocking him.
Ed was having a blast by touching all the Loftwings' fur while finding Link and his Crimson Loftwing. Some people around were still a bit uncomfortable by Ed's behavior. He finally reached the corner of the place to see Link lying down on his Crimson Loftwing. Both of them were in a state of peace since they were away from the noisy crowd. When they heard the sound of grass crushing, they opened up their eyes to see a towering figure smiling at them. "Wakey wakey! Rise and shine!" Ed said.
Three interactions were happening at the same time. Two different worlds interacting at the same time. One day of interaction to build a solid friendship.
Hyrule Historia's references:
1. Zelda's alternative clothes (P.10)
2. Link's and Grooses's height compared to Groose's gang (P.24)
3. Fledge's final version (P.24)
4. Henya's white rooster body (P.23)
5. A variety of students (P.24)
6. Producer Iwamoto's and designer Hirono's quote on pumpkins. For this story, ignore the quote about the nonexistent milk and cows (P.37)
7. Designer Hirono's quote on Groose (P.24)
