A Higher Conversation
-----------------------------------
"It's heading a touch to the north... and almost due east, too," Lance called, adjusting the spyglass as he tried to make out the typhoon in the distance. "Aiy, 'tis a great mother of a typhoon, it is. We'll miss it completely, luckily, but Tophet won't be sharin' our same fortune."
"Let's hope there weren't any ships in there," Zelda remarked, and instantly regretted it. Link blanched visibly and turned away from the railing, his head down. What if Miyako was caught in that?
"Oh, I doubt it," the sailor added quickly. "No captain's mad enough to ride a typhoon out."
"Typhoons can tear whole ships apart," Kentan offered brightly. "I've been in a couple myself. Flopping fishes, I hope I never have to wait one out again! The shoals get upset and disappear for a while, and then there's nothing to eat for a whole day, sometimes two." The Zora tugged on Link's sleeve. "Hey, c'mon, let's fight!"
"Not now," the nineteen-year-old replied. "I need to sit down for a few moments."
"You're not tired, are you?" Kentan asked, making a face. "I thought you were the Hero of Time!" Lance climbed deftly down from the lookout and jumped the last several feet.
"Kentan, matey, he is, but we're not just going to the Temple of Life for kicks. Aye, a friend of ours left for it on her own, and we're worried about her. Link, especially." Kentan's eyes widened in a knowing manner.
"Oh..." The Zora shrugged and wandered to the other side of the deck to watch the waves. The sailor patted Link on the back in a friendly manner.
"Don't worry, we'll ask if the Cloud Drifter docked at Fire's Eyes when we get there ourselves. If they're as good a distance ahead of us like I thought, then they should be close by there themselves."
"Fire's Eyes?" Link repeated, testing the Master Sword firmly against his hand. Lance nodded, sitting down beside him.
"Aye. 'Tis a strange name, isn't it? But they say in the city, from a high building, if you look north hard enough, you can see twin red glows on the horizon, but no one knows why."
"Probably how the light plays with the air that far north," Zelda commented, watching the typhoon travel almost due east, as Lance had said.
"Eh well, some things are better left unexplained," Lance shrugged.
-----------------------------------
The wind howled about the Cloud Drifter, making it impossible for anyone to stand. Captain Danto clasped grimly to the deck's railing; he would be damned before he went under deck while his ship was torn apart around him!
"Get you under deck!" roared the captain at a sailor trying to furl the sails. "Now!" The sailor scurried to the hatch and dropped in, closing it behind him. Danto staggered to the other side of the deck, bent double by the force of the typhoon. He shoved another anchor over the side of the ship and prayed it would be enough before climbing under deck.
It was their unhappy misfortune that they were in sight of Fire's Eyes before the typhoon pounced upon them.
-----------------------------------
Outside the typhoon raged on, the ship rocking madly under the sheer power of its wrath. Miyako clung to one of the fastened beds, not caring about the fact that it was close quarters and every man in the room probably got a good look up her dress. All that mattered was not being throw about like some chip of bark.
"What a storm!" Tyriso shouted to her over the roar of the wind. "This is the worst I've seen yet!"
'I bet it's the only storm you've seen,' she thought darkly, closing her eyes and attempting to calm her stomach. The bucking of the great caravel wasn't doing much for her equilibrium, and more than once she stifled the urge to vomit.
"SHROUN!" shrieked one of the sailors as the shoring of the planks began to tear apart. Frenzied froth and water poured in madly, more of the wooden laths groaning as they were snapped apart. The water battered Miyako and tore from her handhold. She opened her mouth to scream (though what good it would do, she didn't know) as she and the rest of the crew were swept out the side of the broken ship. There was terror, and pain, and the need to breathe air, then... nothing.
-----------------------------------
[Young Miyako, there is no reason for you to think that you can handle the evil waiting for you in the Temple of Life. Things have evolved beyond your capabilities; once, you might have been able to stop what is growing there, but now... the evil is much stronger than you can imagine.]
'Who are you?'
[I am your patron goddess, Farore. You have much courage and strength, mortal, but you often rush into action without thinking. You must realize you cannot do everything alone. You must learn to put more faith into other people. When Link comes to you, accept him wholly. You love him, but you still believe that you do not need anyone else. You have been chosen to be his other half. Had matters been different, perhaps this would not be so.]
'Are you saying the whole reason why we're together in the first place is that I'm just a part of your scheme to make him a great hero?'
[Of course not, little one, all mortals have the right to choose their paths. They may find themselves heavily influenced in one direction, but the choice is always theirs. Always yours. I have already given Link everything that would make him a great hero. He needs no one else to make his own legends, but he is not unnatural; Link will need love and affection, same as any mortal.]
'...'
[I sense your question, Miyako, you want to know why we did not choose Zelda to be Link's other half.]
'Well, it seemed obvious to any person with half a brain. Hero meets princess. Hero rescues princess. Hero marries princess. It's not a difficult concept.'
[You are right, we could have chosen Zelda. In many different realities, we have. But here, now, on this plane, this world, Link needs /you/, Miyako.]
'What are you talking about? I don't understand! Realities? Planes?!'
[Hush, little one, that part is not important. You must learn to have faith in others, to gain wisdom through good judgment. Your task is approaching; you and Link will face the most consequential trial yet. Now, Miyako, you must go back.]
'...Go back? Where?'
[To life, little one.]
-----------------------------------
Calm. Everything was calm. The gentle rubbing motions on her back tried to lure her to sleep, but Miyako forced her eyes open.
The Kreyan girl was lying on her stomach in a soft bed, and from the feel of it on her body, she was naked from the neck down. The massaging motion stopped, and the hands removed themselves.
"Oh, she's coming around," a motherly voice breathed, obviously relieved. "Goodness, girl, you gave us such a scare for a while!"
"Wh... what? Where is this?" Remembering that she was without clothing, Miyako rolled onto her back underneath the bedsheets.
"Hush, child, you're in Fire's Eyes. The typhoon hit the ship you were on, Cloud Drifter, and tore it to pieces. Danto found you floating unconscious in the water, and swam you to shore." The eighteen-year-old sat up, clutching the sheets to her.
"Oh, shroun!" She covered her eyes for a moment, trying to think. "How... how much of the crew...?"
"Only a few survived, plus the two passengers," Danto answered gravely, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He nodded his head to the woman, who was pretty in a motherly fashion. "This is my wife, Ala."
"Nice to meet you," Miyako murmured, looking down at the clean white sheets. Somehow, the introduction would have been better had she had clothes on. "How long has it been?"
"A few days," Ala replied, picking up a steaming teapot and pouring some tea into a small cup. "Here, drink this. You swallowed so much water, I declare, the whole sea musta gone down a foot, I reckon!"
"How am I going to get to the Island of Light now?" Miyako thought aloud, sipping the fragrant drink lightly. Danto shook his head.
"I can't afford another caravel at the moment; my friend, Captain York, is salvaging the pieces of Cloud Drifter as we speak. Hopefully I'll be able to rebuild most of the ship, though I don't set me hopes on it. As for how you'll get to the Island of Light... Well, miss, all I can say is you better hope another ship comes along to take you. I'm dreadful sorry."
"No, it's not your fault," she sighed, closing her eyes. "Thank you for taking care of me." Ala clucked her tongue emphatically in response.
" 'Twas no problem a'tall, girl. Get you to sleep, now; you're still weak from the shipwreck."
-----------------------------------
"Pull her in, mates!" called one of the dockhands, grabbing one of the ropes that Captain Lanceton tossed to him. About ten other strong young men joined him, and they helped pull the Miya' Tana against the dock. "There she is, now, tie her off!" As several tied the ropes to the posts, the others stacked a ramp against the ship's side, and the four travelers and the captain descended onto the deck.
"Well, strike me sails, 'tis Lanceton, you old seadog!" Danto laughed, running towards his old friend. They grinned at each other and spoke rapidly in Kreyan.
"Captain Danto!" Lance exclaimed excitedly. "Are you docking here?"
"Am I standing here, lad?" The former captain of the Cloud Drifter chucked the young sailor's chin. "Well, we didn't exactly dock. We were hit by the typhoon, aye, a big monster." His face went sober. "I lost many good men that day..."
"You had passengers on board, didn't you?" Link demanded, clenching his fists to stop him from shaking information out of the captain. Danto nodded, his expression lightening.
"Aye, Miyako and the two others, Tyriso and Martin, are at me house, with the wife. I'll take ye there in a moment." The captain turned to Lance's father. "Now, Lanceton..."
-----------------------------------
To Link, it was an agonizing eternity, waiting for the two captains to stop conversing. Lance sensed his friend's impatience and tried to distract him with jokes, but the Hero of Time could only tap his foot impatiently, questions tearing at his heart. Was she all right, did she still love him...
"All right, then, let's be off," Danto called, striding down the length of the dock. Zelda opted to stay and help the crew load new supplies, and after giving Lance and Kentan dangerous looks, they volunteered to stay behind as well.
"Why can't we go?" Kentan asked sullenly, watching the two figures disappear into the large city. Zelda shook her head at the naïve Zora.
"You do not understand about love and the need to be alone," she answered. Kentan made a wry face. "Now, come help me lift this crate."
-----------------------------------
I considered not updating today, but then I realized I had absolutely nothing better to do, 'cos I lent out my copy of SSB: Melee to a friend, and well... now I want to play it. -_-; Anyway... I don't want this to turn into some romance type deal 'cos I suck at romance/sexual settings, but it is and there's nothing I can do about it. My story has taken a life of its own and refuses to listen to me. As my dad would say, it's becoming a teenager. Har, har.
I'm done ranting, and I'll do the usual sacrificing of little children (in the game Black & White, mind) if you review. Even if it's a flame that encourages me to engage in physically impossible sexual activities, I'll still sacrifice a couple of children for you. I'll even throw in a couple of Perfectly Normal Beasts. ^_~
-----------------------------------
"It's heading a touch to the north... and almost due east, too," Lance called, adjusting the spyglass as he tried to make out the typhoon in the distance. "Aiy, 'tis a great mother of a typhoon, it is. We'll miss it completely, luckily, but Tophet won't be sharin' our same fortune."
"Let's hope there weren't any ships in there," Zelda remarked, and instantly regretted it. Link blanched visibly and turned away from the railing, his head down. What if Miyako was caught in that?
"Oh, I doubt it," the sailor added quickly. "No captain's mad enough to ride a typhoon out."
"Typhoons can tear whole ships apart," Kentan offered brightly. "I've been in a couple myself. Flopping fishes, I hope I never have to wait one out again! The shoals get upset and disappear for a while, and then there's nothing to eat for a whole day, sometimes two." The Zora tugged on Link's sleeve. "Hey, c'mon, let's fight!"
"Not now," the nineteen-year-old replied. "I need to sit down for a few moments."
"You're not tired, are you?" Kentan asked, making a face. "I thought you were the Hero of Time!" Lance climbed deftly down from the lookout and jumped the last several feet.
"Kentan, matey, he is, but we're not just going to the Temple of Life for kicks. Aye, a friend of ours left for it on her own, and we're worried about her. Link, especially." Kentan's eyes widened in a knowing manner.
"Oh..." The Zora shrugged and wandered to the other side of the deck to watch the waves. The sailor patted Link on the back in a friendly manner.
"Don't worry, we'll ask if the Cloud Drifter docked at Fire's Eyes when we get there ourselves. If they're as good a distance ahead of us like I thought, then they should be close by there themselves."
"Fire's Eyes?" Link repeated, testing the Master Sword firmly against his hand. Lance nodded, sitting down beside him.
"Aye. 'Tis a strange name, isn't it? But they say in the city, from a high building, if you look north hard enough, you can see twin red glows on the horizon, but no one knows why."
"Probably how the light plays with the air that far north," Zelda commented, watching the typhoon travel almost due east, as Lance had said.
"Eh well, some things are better left unexplained," Lance shrugged.
-----------------------------------
The wind howled about the Cloud Drifter, making it impossible for anyone to stand. Captain Danto clasped grimly to the deck's railing; he would be damned before he went under deck while his ship was torn apart around him!
"Get you under deck!" roared the captain at a sailor trying to furl the sails. "Now!" The sailor scurried to the hatch and dropped in, closing it behind him. Danto staggered to the other side of the deck, bent double by the force of the typhoon. He shoved another anchor over the side of the ship and prayed it would be enough before climbing under deck.
It was their unhappy misfortune that they were in sight of Fire's Eyes before the typhoon pounced upon them.
-----------------------------------
Outside the typhoon raged on, the ship rocking madly under the sheer power of its wrath. Miyako clung to one of the fastened beds, not caring about the fact that it was close quarters and every man in the room probably got a good look up her dress. All that mattered was not being throw about like some chip of bark.
"What a storm!" Tyriso shouted to her over the roar of the wind. "This is the worst I've seen yet!"
'I bet it's the only storm you've seen,' she thought darkly, closing her eyes and attempting to calm her stomach. The bucking of the great caravel wasn't doing much for her equilibrium, and more than once she stifled the urge to vomit.
"SHROUN!" shrieked one of the sailors as the shoring of the planks began to tear apart. Frenzied froth and water poured in madly, more of the wooden laths groaning as they were snapped apart. The water battered Miyako and tore from her handhold. She opened her mouth to scream (though what good it would do, she didn't know) as she and the rest of the crew were swept out the side of the broken ship. There was terror, and pain, and the need to breathe air, then... nothing.
-----------------------------------
[Young Miyako, there is no reason for you to think that you can handle the evil waiting for you in the Temple of Life. Things have evolved beyond your capabilities; once, you might have been able to stop what is growing there, but now... the evil is much stronger than you can imagine.]
'Who are you?'
[I am your patron goddess, Farore. You have much courage and strength, mortal, but you often rush into action without thinking. You must realize you cannot do everything alone. You must learn to put more faith into other people. When Link comes to you, accept him wholly. You love him, but you still believe that you do not need anyone else. You have been chosen to be his other half. Had matters been different, perhaps this would not be so.]
'Are you saying the whole reason why we're together in the first place is that I'm just a part of your scheme to make him a great hero?'
[Of course not, little one, all mortals have the right to choose their paths. They may find themselves heavily influenced in one direction, but the choice is always theirs. Always yours. I have already given Link everything that would make him a great hero. He needs no one else to make his own legends, but he is not unnatural; Link will need love and affection, same as any mortal.]
'...'
[I sense your question, Miyako, you want to know why we did not choose Zelda to be Link's other half.]
'Well, it seemed obvious to any person with half a brain. Hero meets princess. Hero rescues princess. Hero marries princess. It's not a difficult concept.'
[You are right, we could have chosen Zelda. In many different realities, we have. But here, now, on this plane, this world, Link needs /you/, Miyako.]
'What are you talking about? I don't understand! Realities? Planes?!'
[Hush, little one, that part is not important. You must learn to have faith in others, to gain wisdom through good judgment. Your task is approaching; you and Link will face the most consequential trial yet. Now, Miyako, you must go back.]
'...Go back? Where?'
[To life, little one.]
-----------------------------------
Calm. Everything was calm. The gentle rubbing motions on her back tried to lure her to sleep, but Miyako forced her eyes open.
The Kreyan girl was lying on her stomach in a soft bed, and from the feel of it on her body, she was naked from the neck down. The massaging motion stopped, and the hands removed themselves.
"Oh, she's coming around," a motherly voice breathed, obviously relieved. "Goodness, girl, you gave us such a scare for a while!"
"Wh... what? Where is this?" Remembering that she was without clothing, Miyako rolled onto her back underneath the bedsheets.
"Hush, child, you're in Fire's Eyes. The typhoon hit the ship you were on, Cloud Drifter, and tore it to pieces. Danto found you floating unconscious in the water, and swam you to shore." The eighteen-year-old sat up, clutching the sheets to her.
"Oh, shroun!" She covered her eyes for a moment, trying to think. "How... how much of the crew...?"
"Only a few survived, plus the two passengers," Danto answered gravely, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He nodded his head to the woman, who was pretty in a motherly fashion. "This is my wife, Ala."
"Nice to meet you," Miyako murmured, looking down at the clean white sheets. Somehow, the introduction would have been better had she had clothes on. "How long has it been?"
"A few days," Ala replied, picking up a steaming teapot and pouring some tea into a small cup. "Here, drink this. You swallowed so much water, I declare, the whole sea musta gone down a foot, I reckon!"
"How am I going to get to the Island of Light now?" Miyako thought aloud, sipping the fragrant drink lightly. Danto shook his head.
"I can't afford another caravel at the moment; my friend, Captain York, is salvaging the pieces of Cloud Drifter as we speak. Hopefully I'll be able to rebuild most of the ship, though I don't set me hopes on it. As for how you'll get to the Island of Light... Well, miss, all I can say is you better hope another ship comes along to take you. I'm dreadful sorry."
"No, it's not your fault," she sighed, closing her eyes. "Thank you for taking care of me." Ala clucked her tongue emphatically in response.
" 'Twas no problem a'tall, girl. Get you to sleep, now; you're still weak from the shipwreck."
-----------------------------------
"Pull her in, mates!" called one of the dockhands, grabbing one of the ropes that Captain Lanceton tossed to him. About ten other strong young men joined him, and they helped pull the Miya' Tana against the dock. "There she is, now, tie her off!" As several tied the ropes to the posts, the others stacked a ramp against the ship's side, and the four travelers and the captain descended onto the deck.
"Well, strike me sails, 'tis Lanceton, you old seadog!" Danto laughed, running towards his old friend. They grinned at each other and spoke rapidly in Kreyan.
"Captain Danto!" Lance exclaimed excitedly. "Are you docking here?"
"Am I standing here, lad?" The former captain of the Cloud Drifter chucked the young sailor's chin. "Well, we didn't exactly dock. We were hit by the typhoon, aye, a big monster." His face went sober. "I lost many good men that day..."
"You had passengers on board, didn't you?" Link demanded, clenching his fists to stop him from shaking information out of the captain. Danto nodded, his expression lightening.
"Aye, Miyako and the two others, Tyriso and Martin, are at me house, with the wife. I'll take ye there in a moment." The captain turned to Lance's father. "Now, Lanceton..."
-----------------------------------
To Link, it was an agonizing eternity, waiting for the two captains to stop conversing. Lance sensed his friend's impatience and tried to distract him with jokes, but the Hero of Time could only tap his foot impatiently, questions tearing at his heart. Was she all right, did she still love him...
"All right, then, let's be off," Danto called, striding down the length of the dock. Zelda opted to stay and help the crew load new supplies, and after giving Lance and Kentan dangerous looks, they volunteered to stay behind as well.
"Why can't we go?" Kentan asked sullenly, watching the two figures disappear into the large city. Zelda shook her head at the naïve Zora.
"You do not understand about love and the need to be alone," she answered. Kentan made a wry face. "Now, come help me lift this crate."
-----------------------------------
I considered not updating today, but then I realized I had absolutely nothing better to do, 'cos I lent out my copy of SSB: Melee to a friend, and well... now I want to play it. -_-; Anyway... I don't want this to turn into some romance type deal 'cos I suck at romance/sexual settings, but it is and there's nothing I can do about it. My story has taken a life of its own and refuses to listen to me. As my dad would say, it's becoming a teenager. Har, har.
I'm done ranting, and I'll do the usual sacrificing of little children (in the game Black & White, mind) if you review. Even if it's a flame that encourages me to engage in physically impossible sexual activities, I'll still sacrifice a couple of children for you. I'll even throw in a couple of Perfectly Normal Beasts. ^_~
