The trek across the field proved far more difficult than Link anticipated. What seemed at first a flat plain of grass was in reality a series of rolling hills, uneven terrain, and winding paths amongst various hazards. Everything ranging from dangerous sand traps to seemingly harmless gopher holes veiled by foliage proved threatening. And yet there was a beauty to all of it. A harsh land where all inhabitants vied for survival, pitted against the elements and each other. A vicious world, most unlike the wood Link had known all his life. Despite its terror, there also existed a supreme majesty.
At the moment, Link, Sahasrahla, and Sleipnir were busy scaling yet another slope; Sahasrahla leading Sleipnir, and Link wandering a bit behind, still attempting to absorb all that was around him now, and reminiscing on all that he had left behind. Navi was reciting some story to him that he had no concern for, and thus was ignoring her, however it seemed to have no discernable effect on her, as she continued to talk.
Finally reaching the summit of the hill, Sahasrahla decided that a small rest would be in order. It had been several hours since they began their trek, and even the strength of Sleipnir began waning after such a journey. Taking a seat next to Sahasrahla on top of the mound, Link turned to the old man, still ignoring Navi, and said, "So, if the journey across the field has been so treacherous, how is it that anyone travels across Hyrule?"
Finally taking the hint, Navi quieted down. Sahasrahla plucked a blade of grass from the ground, and placed the end of it in his mouth before answering, "Heh, I forget tha' yeh wouldn' know nothin' 'bout Hyrule. A jus' question, lad."
Removing the blade of grass from his mouth and twirling it between his fingers, he continued, "Well, like I said to yeh before, not many a soul has explored this area of Hyrule. I was lookin' to be the first to find yer village, after all."
Now thinking on the matter, Link did recall Sahasrahla mentioning this detail. "So, not many paths lead to this part of the field. In fact, none of them do," Sahasrahla finished.
"None?!" Link exclaimed.
"Aye, lad. Not a one."
"You mean to tell me that your people have never tried to make contact with us, despite knowing that we exist?"
"Well, not exactly. See, there only be a few of us what believe in these rumours of forest folk. Most of 'em reside in Lon Lon, as a matter o' fact. The believers, tha' is."
"And the dissenters?" Link asked, mildly concerned.
"Well, to tell the truth, lad, they kind of be all o'er. Most folk don' believe yeh exist," Sahasrahla said nervously, "To be honest, I'd doubt tha' anyone be believin' yeh."
A small smile formed on the edges of Link's lips, something Sahasrahla had never seen before. Reaching into his waist pouch, Link slyly said, "Sahasrahla, would you know the legend of the Spiritual Stones?"
Sahasrahla rolled his eyes in response and said, "Well blimey, lad, who in this wide world don'?"
The smile on Link's face became a little more pronounced. "And how many actually own one of these Spiritual Stones?"
"Link, what are you doing?" Navi asked, sure that he wasn't supposed to reveal this information to this swordsmen they still barely knew.
"No, Navi, it's okay," Link assured her.
Still uncertain of Link's intentions, or his sudden placement of trust in this man, she let him continue. "Well," Sahasrahla said with emphasis, almost ignoring Navi's interjection, "Ther' only be three of 'em! Each one of them tings was entrusted to a single tribe. The Spiritual Stone of Water to the Zora. The Stone of Fire to the Gorons. And the third was 'posed to be given to the Children of the forest, but not a soul 'as ever seen tha' one. Some don' even believe it exists."
Link was now having a hard time from breaking into a full-mouthed grin; Navi grimaced, though neither Link nor Sahasrahla took notice, for her size. Removing his hand from his pouch, Link produced an Emerald, laced with gold in the shape of a spiral. "I think I found your third one," he said, clearly quite pleased with the show he had just put on.
Sahasrahla nearly fell over, he was so taken aback by the stone. A shocked expression accompanied this as he exclaimed, "I-I don' believe me eyes! Where did yeh come by tha'?!"
"The Guardian of the forest entrusted it to me upon my departure. He... explained that it would help prove I was telling the truth about my origin," Link stated, garnering an even more horrified look from Navi for mentioning who had given it to him.
"I'd say it would, at tha'!" Sahasrahla said, still quite shocked by the recent turn of events.
"And something that I didn't really understand. He said that the Spiritual Stone of the Forest would help me complete my quest, somehow."
"Well, couldn' really help yeh with tha', since I've no ide-er jus' wha' yer quest is. And yeh ain' been exactly forthcomin' 'bout that aspect of yer journey. I can' imagine tha' I'll get much from yeh on tha', in which case, I can' give yeh much either."
Navi was about ready to give Link a stiff reminder that information of that sensitivity needed to remain secret when he just shrugged, replying, "That's okay. I'm sure I'll figure it out on my own eventually."
Navi breathed a sigh of relief at Link's keeping that knowledge to himself. "Alrigh', lad, ye be all smart about it," Sahasrahla said, still unsure of just what to make of the situation, "But for now, we best be goin'. Not good to stay in any one place in this neck of the woods, if yeh know wha' I mean. Fiends and monsters be walking 'bout in broad daylight these days."
Pulling himself to his feet, Sahasrahla nearly extended a hand to his companion, but quickly thought better of it. Best to let 'im figure out on 'is own tha' he needs help e'ry once in a while, he mused.
The three now continued their journey across the gargantuan field, once again winding their way between hazards, scaling and descending various hills, and all the while being wary to not upset anything that might perceive them as a threat. Unfortunately, the latter of their intentions was thwarted when Link stumbled into a particularly thick patch of grass. Stepping into an area where he could not see the ground, Link disturbed some slumbering creature, for no more than a few meters in front of him, a monstrous plant erupted from the ground.
It at first appeared to be nothing more than just an over-sized flower, but as it continued to sprout forth from the earth, it was clear that it was something much more foul. Now towering more than five meters in the air, the vegetative behemoth finally ceased growing. The body of the giant plant was as a bulbous sac: soft and fleshy, with roots lacing patterns on it. On its cap was a large flower. Red petals lined with cerulean veins made up the blossom. At its base was a thick root, extending below the earth. Lined around this were six smaller tendril-like roots, leading from the base of the sac to the ground. Now though, the six smaller roots retracted from the soil, and reached out to form six shafts extending straight out from the body of what Link could only assume was some kind of plant creature. "Link," Navi started, a hint of fear in her voice, "I think now would be a good time to draw your sword and shield."
But Link wasn't paying attention to Navi. His gaze was fixed on the plant. The six roots of the plant now stiffened, and flattened themselves, taking the shape of blades. Link could only stand there and watch as all this occurred in front of him within a few seconds time. He heard Sahasrahla shouting something to him, but his mind was focused only on the event unfolding before his eyes, and he heard not what his companion was trying to tell him. "Consider this yer first test, lad!" Sahasrahla cried merrily, laughing afterwards, but Link didn't take notice.
His gaze was fixed upon the creature in front of him. Without warning, the blades at the base of the sac slowly began to turn. A freely rotating motor structure was a rarity of biology, but it would appear that this creature had beaten the odds of evolution, for the blades continued to rotate. Now picking up speed in their rotation, the creature slowly began to rise, the large central root released its grip on the ground, and the beast took off into the air, its six spinning roots no doubt responsible for its flight capabilities.
Angling its blossom toward Link, the creature launched itself at him, its blades spinning ferociously fast. Finally taking Navi's advice, Link reached behind his shoulder to grab his shield and his sword. Now attaching the shield in his right hand, and grasping the blade in his left, he stood ready to defend himself. Confident that he had the physical prowess and proper training to take down this behemoth, he readied himself for the attack. Dodging swiftly to the side to avoid the propeller of the plant, Link sliced his sword along the hide of the creature's body.
Despite how fleshy and soft the sac had at first seemed, it gave no heed to Link's blade. At most, he managed to cut a few of the roots that wound their way around it, but nothing more. Turning back, Link saw that the fiend was mildly thrown off balance, but otherwise unscathed. "Link! I think it's weak spot is on its underbelly," Navi cried out in an attempt to help, but Link could barely hear her over the sound of his own heart.
Turning itself around, the beast charged Link once again, faster this time. This sudden attack was unanticipated, and it caught the young boy off guard. Unable to dash out of harm's way this time, Link raised his shield in a desperate attempt to fend the beast off.
The sound of metal being struck rang out as one of the blades collided with his shield. The force of the impact threw him back several feet, flinging him into a nearby bramble. The bush tore at his skin and clothes, making them even more tattered than they were before. Ignoring the pain, Link pulled himself free from the shrub and wiped the blood from his brow, readying himself for battle once again. However, the blow backwards had severely disoriented him, and he swooned. Losing his balance, he dropped to one knee, looking up only just in time to see the plant creature turning around to make yet another pass at him.
Link tried to pull himself up to his feet, but it was to no avail. He could do naught but remain stationary, and await his doom. He bowed his head and accepted his fate.
Pfft.
Pfft.
Pfft.
Link looked up to see three arrows stuck into the central root that protruded from beneath the creature. He turned his head to find Sahasrahla standing a few meters away, holding a bow up as though he had just fired it. The fiend knew it was beat, and thus retreated back to its subterranean abode, conceding defeat to its foe. "Link! Link! Hey! Are you okay?!" Navi screeched in her high pitched voice.
"Yes, Navi," Link snarled, clearly annoyed by her, "I'm fine."
Seeing that the battle had ended, Sahasrahla placed the bow back into a pouch on Sleipnir. "Sorry to hold off for so long, lad, but me thinks tha' yeh needed to experience a real battle," Sahasrahla said calmly, folding his arms in front of his chest.
"You mean to tell me that you risked my well-being for the sake of some experience?" Link asked surprisingly placid, raising an eyebrow.
A small laugh escaped Sahasrahla's lips before saying, "Nah, I wouldn' do somethin' like tha'. I had me bow trained on 'im the whole time. Ye were ne'er in any real danger, lad. I jus' wanted to wait and see if yeh could do it yerself. Me hopes tha' ye've learned somethin' from this."
"How could you do something so reckless?!" Navi flew up to Sahasrahla's face and asked, trying her best to yell at him; he had difficulty taking her seriously, for her size.
He suddenly had the urge to flick her away, but knew that it wouldn't be a good idea. Got to stop thinking like that, he thought to himself, chuckling a bit as he did so.
"It's okay, Navi," Link said, merely shrugging, "What was that thing, anyways?"
Navi gave a somewhat stern look in Link's direction for being so apathetic, but decided to leave the issue alone and fly back to Link's side. "It's called a peahat," Sahasrahla said, answering Link's question, "Bloody stupid name fer it, if yeh ask me, but it's wha' them scientists in the capital city thought they oughta be named."
"Are they very dangerous?" Link asked, curious.
"Hah! Hardly. I've fought dozens of them tings in me days, and I haven' had a problem with a single one of 'em," Sahasrahla said nonchalantly, before seeing the obvious look of annoyance on Link's face from this comment and added, "Barrin' 'fore I knew wha' I was doin' with a blade, of course."
A bit of a nervous chuckle accompanied this. "Well, lad, me thinks we've seen enough excitement fer one day. Le's be off, shall we?"
Link nodded, sheathing his sword and replacing his shield on his back as he did so. The next few hours were rather dull, and passed without incident. Rising the crest of a rather large hill, a large gated city finally came into view some ways off in the distance. "Tha' ther' be our destination," Sahasrahla told Link, "Lon Lon. We be gettin' close."
It was near evening before the pair at length found themselves at the gates of the city. Both were quite ready for some rest, and were glad at the thought of finally receiving some. Before approaching the gate, Sahasrahla stopped the trio for a moment. "Uh, Navi," he started, "none of these folk have e'er seen a fairy before. I don' know how they'll react."
"Wait, didn't you say that you knew people here who already believed in our existence?" Navi retorted, unsure where he was going with this.
"Well, yeah, but… tha' doesn' mean tha' most people do. They won' have any problem with yeh," Sahasrahla said, "probably."
"Probably?!" Navi cried.
Link was starting to chuckle the more the conversation went on. "Well, yeah, probably. Anyways, is there any way yeh can keep yerself hidden or anything?"
Link was starting to turn from chuckles to laughter as Navi looked completely shocked at what she was hearing. Looking around a bit, Navi finally turned around at Link with a sly grin on her face. Still chuckling, "What are you looking at?" he asked.
"Link," she said, pausing long before continuing, "lift up your hat."
It was now Sahasrahla's turn to laugh, as he immediately realized what was happening. Link was a little slower, but still suspicious, asking, "What for?"
A slight chuckle escaped her mouth before, "So I can hide in it, silly!"
"What?!" Link exclaimed, clearly uncomfortable with the thought of it, "Why there?"
Navi adapted a slightly concupiscent tone, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Would you rather I hide somewhere else?"
Link's face turned a deep shade of red as Sahasrahla began laughing long and deep. Without saying a word, Link removed his cap from his crown, revealing his dirty blonde hair, and lowered his head. "Thank you," Navi said, giggling profusely, and flew up to his head to rest.
Link replaced his hat and looked at Sahasrahla, his face still a deep red. "Can we continue now please," he said, somewhat antagonistically.
Sahasrahla was still laughing so hard he couldn't speak, so he merely nodded and they made their way to the main gate. The gatekeeper made some vague, generic comment welcoming them to Lon Lon as they passed the threshold of the city's borders. Link and Sahasrahla both regained their composures as they came to a large open space.
Before Link now lay a sight that he had never known: hundreds of people walked the streets, crowding out the stone roads, something else entirely unfamiliar to him. Shops lined every street, selling everything from weapons to healing medicines. All manner of folk walked about; the young and the old; the big and the small; the strong and the weak. Many not even human. Link caught glimpses of large, round, orange creatures that seemed to have some kind of rocks protruding from their backs. Blue and white athletic forms covered in fins and scales also walked about. And every one of them looked as though they had some business to attend to. Link couldn't possibly conceive what all these people had to do all at once, but it was clear that they did. The whole city was a bustling place of trade and business. Link couldn't gather much more than that.
"So, lad," Sahasrahla said, grinning widely, "wha' do yeh think?"
Link looked at his companion, dumbfounded. Words tried to form on his tongue, but none of them came to fruition. Sahasrahla simply laughed and said, "Aye, tha's to be expected, lad. Come, we best get ol' Sleipnir here into the stables. Wouldn' want 'im to be catchin' a cold from stayin' out in the night, now would we?"
After leaving Sleipnir in the town's stables, Sahasrahla mentioned a tavern he knew of with an inn, so as they could rest for the night, and hopefully find someone willing to see them to Hyrule Castle, as the roads could be dangerous if traveled alone. Strolling through various market places and busy squares where both the shops and the people appeared to be preparing to retire for the night, the pair came to the base of a large hill. "the town be split inta two levels," Sahasrahla explained, seeing Link's confusion at the acclivity, "All the market places be in this, the lower of two levels, and up here be a more, well... rural area of town."
Link caught the hesitance towards the end of Sahasrahla's explanation, and offered him a sideways glance, along with a raised eyebrow, for it: "Rural?"
"Well, lad, this town started as nothin' but a wee group of farmers, tryin' to make their way in the world. Figured the middle o' nowhere, where there be not a soul to disturb 'em, oughtta be a good place to put a ranch. And it seems they was right, fer a city soon sprung up aroun' it. The busy market yeh jus' saw is wha' tha' turned inta. The ranches remain to this day, up this here hill. Them wha' folk stayed behind to tend 'em kind of formed their own li'l community. Tha's the place we be headin' fer," Sahasrahla finished, taking a deep breath.
Link allowed a small smile, and nodded at Sahasrahla, saying, "Well, if the history lesson is over, may we proceed?"
"Aye, lad, we may, but don' yeh be gettin' smart on me," Sahasrahla answered with a small grin on his face.
After climbing the hill, Link could indeed see that this area was much more rural than the bustling place of trade he had witnessed before. The streets were not nearly as densely packed, if they could even be called streets. Where as before the roads were paved of stone and brick, here only the earth served as a path.
Far less people roamed the street, in part because there were less of them to do so, and in part because of the late hour of the day. There seemed to be naught but a main plaza, with few small roads branching off, leading off into the distance, where Link caught sights of various homesteads, cattle enclosings, and fields of hay. When he had seen the town from a distance, he knew that it was big, but the true scope of this city had escaped him until this moment. Link hadn't even noticed it, but his mouth had been agape for most of their journey through this township. He had never seen such a place, and didn't expect to see one again soon. Link was truly in awe.
Sahasrahla just kept pushing forwards, and after a moment of pause, Link followed him. Veering course off to the left, Sahasrahla finally ceased his march in front of an old tavern. Rather worn and shabby, the pub was somewhat small, and the dull red paint was chipping and peeling in several places, revealing the brown wood underneath. Link glanced above the door to a sign stating the tavern's name and couldn't help but laugh a little. "The Cow's Udder?" Link inquired humorously.
"And jus' wha' is wrong with a name like tha'?" Sahasrahla said smiling, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh... nothing," Link said, and continued laughing to himself as they entered the bar.
All manner of folk occupied the interior. There were the stout and the meager, the short and the tall, those who were old and wizened, and those who were young and strong. The same creatures wandering the streets earlier occupied this tavern, along with those who were more human, but all were so tightly packed it was a wonder anyone could navigate the place. Link knew not what to make of the spectacle before him, for he had seen naught similar to it. A low, gruff, yet friendly voice suddenly rang out somewhere in front of Link, though he couldn't tell from whom it came: "Sal? Sal!" the voice cried out, dragging out the vowel the second time it called out.
Sahasrahla looked around for the source of the voice but was unsuccessful. "Sal! Over here!" the voice cried out again.
From the crowd, a man squeezed through a few of the figures in front of them. How he had managed to make his way through the crowd with such ease was something of a mystery, for his girth seemed as though it would make this nigh impossible. An incredibly round, short man now stood before them. His skin was tanned from many years of hard labour and sun, and his face was so flushed it seemed to be in a permanent state of exertion. The top of his head was completely bald, and the hair that he remained seemed to be more of a mane as it ran seamlessly into his large, grizzly beard. His hair was dark at the roots and lighter at the tips, another sign of much time in the sun. The shaggy unkempt hair he did have was pulled back into a ponytail. A dirty red shirt, covered by even dirtier blue suspenders, seemed as though it had been the only clothes he had worn for weeks. Link couldn't help but wonder if he had any other clothes.
His small, beady eyes met with Sahasrahla's, whose face immediately turned into an enormous smile. "Talon!" he exclaimed exuberantly before clasping the man in a hearty embrace, which was readily returned by the man.
The man laughed deeply and said, "Ah, Sal, it's been a while, but I knew yeh couldn' stay away from here for too long."
"Aye, Talon, I couldn't," Sahasrahla said, taking a step back, a hand still on the man's shoulder.
"What brings yeh round these parts?" the man asked before noticing Link, "And who's yer little friend?"
Sahasrahla smiled and looked at Link for a moment before turning back to Talon: "Those questions have the same answer, actually. Le' me buy yeh a drink, and I can answer 'em for yeh," he said, leading his friend over to the bar, "'Fore we do tha' though, le' me introduce yeh."
Looking at Link, he started, "Link, this be me old friend, Talon. We go back a long ways. And Talon, this be Link."
"Why hello there, little feller," Talon said, offering his thick beefy hand down in greeting; Link took it, his hand dwarfed by Talon's, and was rewarded with a large streak of dirt on his palm, even more noticeable than that which was already there.
Actually, now that he thought of it, Link hadn't gotten the chance to bathe since they'd left the forest. Not that it was of particular concern in this area, as most appeared even dirtier than he, but this was no way to see a princess….
Link was snapped from his reverie as Talon and Sahasrahla headed towards the bar, starting to leave him behind. Quickly drawing himself up and following them into the crowd, Link was surprised when he suddenly ran into a large creature that had walked in front of his path. Looking up to see what it was, his jaw went agape at the sight that stood before him: an orange behemoth, so large it covered his view. An enormous figure, easily ten times Link's size, the beast was covered in spiny growths of rock, deposits of silicate lacing them up and down in intricate, yet organic, patterns.
Link didn't quite know what to make of it at first, and then the creature turned around, revealing its front side: a large belly, accompanied by equally large sinews, were perhaps the most intimidating aspects of the creature. Its large muscular arms looked as though they were capable of carving through rock. The fact that the creature had a face meant that there must have been a head, but Link couldn't tell where the body ended and it began. The brute had a small peak at its crown, topped with a small growth of rock. When the creature opened its mouth, a low, rumbling, and surprisingly friendly voice escaped: "Whoa, little Hylian, I didn't see you there. You might want to watch your step in this place."
And with that, the being pursed its lips into what Link could only interpret as an awkward attempt at a smile, turned round, and pushed its way back into the crowd, unintentionally forcing aside a whole slew of the other patrons as he, or at least Link thought it was a he, did so. Shaking his head from the moment, Link continued through the crowd to find Sahasrahla. Finally he saw him talking with his friend Talon at the bar. Running up, Link was about to ask him just what that thing was he encountered, when he overheard what him and his friend were talking about. "So, is that boy a Child of the forest?" the man named Talon asked quietly.
Looking around somewhat suspiciously, Sahasrahla hesitantly answered, "Yes."
Talon tried his hardest to suppress his joyous laughter, and it came out in a hoarse guffaw. "I knew it! I knew it!" he exclaimed in a whisper, "Oh, Sal, you sly dog you. Where's he headed?"
Sahasrahla took a long drink from the pint of ale in front of him. "Hyrule Castle," he said, putting the glass back down on the bar, garnering a bushy eyebrow being raised on Talon's face, "He didn' tell me why. Tha's just where he has to get to. Which brings me to wha' I really wanted to ask yeh."
"I take it yeh need passage 'long to capital city," Talon said, almost reading Sahasrahla's mind, "And ye're in luck, 'cause me and Malon are headin' thar tomorrow. Got a shipmen' what needs delivery."
Coming up to them now, Link finally made his presence known. "Ah, Link, there yeh are, lad," Sahasrahla exclaimed, "What took you so long?"
It was clearly more of a rhetorical question, as he immediately turned his attention back to Talon. "So, Malon'll be taggin' along, eh? Isn' she a bit young fer tha'?"
"Heh, yer memory's startin' to go in yer age, Sal. Malon's twelve now," Talon answered.
"Twelve! She mus' have grown quite a bit since the las' time I saw her then."
The conversation then turned towards far more frivolous talk about things that Link was neither familiar with nor interested in. This continued until it was completely dark outside. More and more of the patrons began leaving the bar until there were only a few left. Finally, Talon and Sahasrahla realized the lateness of the hour. "Oh, no, I lef' Malon up on the ranch all on her own. She's gonna give me all kinds of hell for being late," Talon said, holding his head in his hands, "Hey, Sal, where are you staying for the night?"
"Well," Sahasrahla began, "as it stands, we don' have one yet. I was hopin' to look for an inn somewhere 'round here."
"No, don' be ridiculous," Talon said, clapping Sahasrahla on the shoulder, "Yeh can stay with me and Malon up on the ranch tonight. 'Specially since ye'll be leaving with us in the mornin'."
"We would be honored," Sahasrahla said in the most serious tone Link had heard since meeting him.
After a moment, his face cracked into a smile, which quickly turned into a raucous bout of laughter between the two friends as they gave each other an affection grab on the shoulder. "Ah, Sal, I have missed you," Talon said joyously, clearly elated about seeing his old friend again, "Come on, le's get going. Don' wanna make Malon any madder, after all."
After giving parting sentiments to the bartender and remaining patrons, the duo exited the tavern with Link following behind them. They walked for a while along the road before Sahasrahla pulled back from Talon to speak with Link. "So, lad, we should be in Hyrule by tomorrow evening," he said to the young boy.
"Good," Link replied somewhat distantly, "Sahasrahla, can I ask you a question?"
"Aye, lad, go ahead," he replied.
"What was that, uh, thing about back there? Where you and he just laughed for no reason?"
Sahasrahla looked at Link with a hint of melancholy in his gaze. "If there's anything I hope for yeh, lad, it's tha' ye'll someday understand tha'."
And with that, Sahasrahla caught back up with Talon, leaving Link to ponder his final words.