Ocarina and Wind Sage of Time
Okay… So I was originally going to do a super, massively long chapter that was at least 4000 words to make up for me taking so long. (4000 words being long for me and about double my usual chapter length) But after reaching 2500 words I decided that I had a good place to leave it and that I could just continue on to what I have planned in the next chapter.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own it! If you don't know this by now then you've been ignoring my disclaimer on every single one of my chapters…
Chapter 8: The Zora King
A steady drum beat gave rhythm to the darkness of the world. Patches of warm white light filtered through the black of my vision. I winced as the instrument kept going, regardless of my wish for it to stop. I opened my eyes and tried to sit up, aching limbs weighing me down like glorified slabs of meat attached to my body. I realised that the percussion I had heard wasn't a drum at all, but simply my head as it throbbed at its own desire.
My mouth felt dry and my lips cracked apart as I moaned and glanced around, not knowing for how long I'd laid there for, but the sun was definitely lower in the sky than it was before. The Zora remained where he was, sunken slightly into the mud. I staggered to my feet, pins and needles poking furiously throughout my limbs.
I made my way over to the motionless fish-man and stared down at him. He seemed to still be breathing, which I was relieved to notice. I don't know how I would've felt if I'd accidently killed someone, even if that someone was from another race entirely and had been attacking me.
I hobbled towards the lake, my limbs regaining some strength as I moved them, and noticed a bottle on the ground along the way, which I picked up and examined.
This has the letter in it. I must've dropped it when that battle started…
Well it was a relief that I had spotted it. It would've been quite bad if I had gone to King Zora with tales of his daughter being trapped somewhere without any proof to back it up. That probably would go about as well as me just telling him that I kidnapped her and forgot where I left her.
I packed it away inside my backpack and shuffled the rest of the way to the lake. Invisible wind silently materialised around me, forming a sphere of protection as I jumped into the water.
Cocooned inside my air pocket, I trudged along the bottom of the lake, entering the underwater passageway that would take me back to Zora's Domain. I entered the left tunnel and was swept up it by the powerful water currents.
Wait… How does this even work? The wind stops the water from coming into contact with me so how am I being pulled by the current?
It didn't make much sense to me. The wind deflects anything that comes into contact with it. The only reason the wind moves is because I move. So why am I forced to move by a water current that isn't actually touching me?
Maybe the wind can't deflect everything completely and enough force would still hit me through it as I'm connected to the barrier… I wish I'd been given an instruction manual with my powers. It would make things so much easier sometimes…
I exited the underwater corridor into Zora's Domain and walked over to where the ground curved upwards and allowed me to get out of the water. I wasn't stopped by any Zoras, which was quite lucky, as I had no desire to get into more fights.
Although that one Zora over there definitely just saw me… And then quickly looked away and started swimming in the opposite direction.
Hmm… I guess not all of them are fighters. Either that or they don't believe in attacking thirteen year olds.
I followed the rising path as I walked towards where the king should be. Hopefully I could get him to move out of the way so I could get to the Great Fairy. If he got his people to attack me things could get problematic…
"Halt!" a voice commanded. I blinked and noticed that I had arrived at a giant flight of stairs. Standing in front of these was a pair of Zora.
"The king will see no visitors," one of them stated, clearly dismissing me.
I sighed internally. This wasn't going as well as I hoped it would and they hadn't even called me a criminal or tried to attack me.
"I have news of his missing daughter" I said.
They both turned and looked at me, studying me intently. Then their eyes both widened as they seemed to realise who I was and crouched down in preparation for if I suddenly attacked.
"Criminal scum! What have you done with the young Princess Ruto!" One of them growled out.
"I didn't do anything!" I exclaimed. I hated it when people blamed me for things I didn't do. Because I never did it in the first place people usually never bother listening to me when I refute their claims, unless I had some kind of indisputable proof.
"So why is it you have information about her if you didn't kidnap her?" the other one asked, studying me with squinted eyes.
"I found a bottle with a letter written by her," I replied, trying to keep my face impassive as not to provoke a negative reaction.
The two guards glanced at each other quickly before returning their gazes on me.
"I think she's lying," one of them glared at me.
"I think she may be telling the truth," the other one stated, gazing at me intently.
"Well regardless of whether you think I'm lying or being truthful, it seems like a good reason for me to see the king now, right?" I stated dryly. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes as they both grimaced.
"Well… His majesty would probably want to see her…" one of them trailed off.
"We won't let you see the king unless you're our captive though," the other added.
I groaned and rolled my head, cracking my neck and sighing before agreeing to their terms. Hopefully this won't end with me dying or being imprisoned. I already had the joy of being the King of Hyrule's esteemed guest in his dungeon of 'fun'; I had no desire to further my travels and experience to being the prisoner of a race of fish people.
Saying that, now that I have unlocked some of my powers I could probably escape from any normal prisons… Oh. But these are fish people; I doubt there is any sense of normal at the moment…
They both grabbed one of my shoulders and forced me forward, half pushing me up the stairs as my small body struggled to keep up with the speed they were walking.
The stairs eventually ended, opening out into a chamber in which the King of Zora's sat, one of his spindly hands idly playing his moustache. I wasn't sure what made up the moustache though, whether it was hair, or something else. It looked kind of like fins or something similar just sticking out of his face.
He stopped as he noticed my entourage coming from the stairs. "I told you that I was to receive no visitors!" He bellowed angrily, spittle flying violently from his mouth. "Is it too much to ask that I wallow in depression from my daughter's disappearance?"
He didn't look too depressed when we came in though… In fact, if anything I would say that he seems angrier that we disturbed him from playing with his facial ha-… Thing…
"Apologies, my liege," the Zora on my right spoke, bowing and forcing me down onto my knees at the same time.
"Very well, why is it you have brought this young child before me?" The king asked after grumbling under his breath.
"Sir, this criminal says she has information about your daughter."
The king glanced down at me and almost recoiled.
"You brought the Wind Demon before me?" he exclaimed.
"Wind Sage, not – Ow!" I cried out, suddenly having my face implanted into the ground by a furious fish-man.
"How dare you speak in such a way before the king!" a voice screamed into my ear.
Seriously, what is it with not being able to speak to kings? How am I supposed to have a conversation with me being interrupted myself?
The force on the back of my head lessened and I raised my head, already wearied by how this was going. The face of the king, frozen in image, made me feel some dread towards the future though. In fact, it seemed like he wasn't moving at all.
Oh great, wouldn't it suck if I got blamed for killing a king just by being in the same room as him…
Luckily he seemed to snap out of it, before the Zora guards started pointing fingers or fins or whatever they would point when accusing me of something.
"Guards… Show me the back of her hands…" The king mumbled, eyes locking onto mine.
Well… Crap…
Both my hands were raised up, clearly showing the king the back of both. I readied myself in case I needed to call upon my powers. All it would take is the first sign of him wanting to kill me or keep me as a captive...
"By the great goddesses..." He whispered. He seemed to sit up a little straighter. "I didn't think it would be true..."
I felt like asking questions because he wasn't currently making much sense to me, but after the last time I spoke I decided to stay quiet for now.
"Release her and let her stand," the king commanded.
I was grateful to hear this; my knees were starting to ache from being pressed into the floor. As the guards let go of me I stood, moving my legs a little to get the blood flowing again.
"How did you get branded a criminal?"
"Once the King of Hyrule found out who I was he decided to keep me as his prisoner." I said, deciding to keep to the truth, but vary it slightly to sound better in my favour. "I escaped and he branded me a criminal, to try to regain control over me."
"Very well, I will let my people know that you are to be given free passage and not to be attacked."
"But my king!" exclaimed the guards.
The king looked at them, as if realising that they were still there. I felt exhilarated at the turn of events. Never could I have imagined that something like this would happen.
"Guards, leave us!" The king bellowed. "Spread the word that this child is to be given the same courtesy as any royal member of the Zora!"
The guards looked like they wanted to refute that command, or at the very least question it. I suppose if I was in their position I would probably be wondering if my king had gone mad or had been put under a spell by the criminal mage. As it was, I was just glad to be out of dangerous territory and could finally relax a little.
"Not that I'm complaining, but I'm a little surprised at your willingness to aid me..." I said after the guards had left.
"Nonsense! You are the Wind Sage! Chosen by the goddesses themselves to save the world from the cataclysm!" He explained joyfully. "The Zora nation will stand ready to aid you in your quest for as long as you require!"
I blinked.
Cataclysm? Quest? What?
I wanted to ask about this as I was really confused. At the same time I didn't want to make it seem like I had no idea what he was talking about, in case he suddenly retracted his previous statement.
"The cataclysm... Do you know what it will actually be?" I asked carefully. I was guessing it was Ganondorf taking over the world, but surely it would be Link who would stop him, not me?
"You don't know?" The king looked surprised. "I assumed the goddesses would have told you all about it and how to stop it."
"Ah, they didn't tell me anything about it." I sheepishly admitted. "They just picked me and didn't explain much to me. Can you tell me what it is going to be?"
"I don't know." The king shrugged. "All I know is what has been passed down from one king to the next."
"What do you mean?"
"There was once a great Zora seer. She foretold of the cataclysm that would destroy Hyrule and the people in it. It is said that a warrior chosen by the goddesses, wielding wind magic and having a balance of power, wisdom and courage will arrive in the last dispensation of time before this event and could prevent it from happening. The arrival of this "Wind Sage", as the seer called the warrior, would bring great bloodshed and sorrow, but they will be the only one with a chance to prevent the cataclysm from ever occurring. This is the story that has been passed down in secret between the Kings of the Zora."
I stood still, taking the time to absorb this new information that had left me internally reeling.
Damn the goddesses. They told me I was coming here to aid Link in his quest, why would they lie about what they really wanted me to do? Bah, I'll never understand their way of thinking. Stupid, stinking deities...
"I hope I can live up to your expectations," I told the Zora king.
"Yes, I hope so as well. But you are the only one who has a chance of doing this, so I have no choice but to rely upon you and help you in whatever way I can."
"Thank you," I said gratefully.
"Now then, what actually brings you here?" The king asked.
"Two reasons. First I need access to the area behind you so that I can visit the Great Fairy fountain that is hidden back there. The second is to tell you that your daughter is inside your guardian deity, Lord Jabu-Jabu."
"What!" The king exclaimed. "Lord Jabu-Jabu would never…!"
"Actually…" I interrupted. "I have a letter written from her saying that she is."
"Ah…" He sighed. "Let me see it, I beg you."
I pulled the letter out of the bottle and handed it over, putting the bottle back into my backpack as I watched the King's eyes dart backwards and forwards as he read the paper.
"Help me. I'm waiting for you inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly." The King read aloud. "Well it's signed by her… Very well, I'll grant you passage to where our guardian deity resides if you promise to save her."
"I have a friend who is collecting the Spiritual Stones to stop Ganondorf; I'm sure he'll save your daughter." I told him.
"I will only let you pass if you agree to save my daughter."
"But my friend…" I tried.
"I have no idea how long your friend will take to arrive, or if he will even be capable of saving her," the king stated. "If you save her then I'm sure you can persuade her to give you her stone, and then you can just pass it on to your friend."
Oh great… Just what I need…
I supressed the urge to sigh. I really didn't want to have to navigate the insides of a giant fish, fight electrically charged monsters, and try to save a bratty princess just so I could get her 'engagement ring'.
"Fine…" I reluctantly agreed. It would be pretty bad of me to not save her if her dad is letting me past so I can get what I want…
Curse my morals! This would be so much easier if I just lied and left after visiting the fairy…
This was going to be a long day…
