They travelled along the road leading to a wooden bridge and crossed it over a hill out onto an open plain. There, the road disappeared into the landscape and Aloy and Link would have lost their way if not for a point of creation in the form of a monument of raised stone with stairs leading up and around it. The path leading alongside it is cobblestone with a small round fountain, but up on the monument itself is a larger U shaped fountain with three metal posts at its top with a pedestal in it that has the statue of a rearing horse. It was as they were passing it that Link had suddenly walked up there and faced that horse and blanked out, then revealed to Aloy that he remembered coming here with Zelda and she talked about how she would soon be seventeen and be able to go to the Spring of Wisdom located in Mount Lanayru off in the distance as he pointed it out to Aloy. The duo continued on their way north until they reached another bridge, this one longer and in worse shape, but they crossed without incident. Off to their right Hyrule Castle had become uncomfortably closer. Further up, they rescued a man who was fighting off a black Bokoblin and he thanked them. At the fork in the road, they would have to go west, but they had to go up to a Sheikah Tower that was just up a hill past a pond that has a strange forest of petrified trees in it that resemble giant flat top mushrooms. They arrived at the Sheikah Tower, which is in the center of the pond that engulfs those mushroom-like petrified trees, though there were three Wizrobes prancing about the place using lightening rods, along with two yellow Lizalfos swimming around armed with thunderspears. The battle was a difficult one as they first had to get close enough to engage them and then fight while standing atop one of those strange trees. They had to make liberal use of arrows, of which broke Link's golden bow and had to make use of a knight's bow. They expended their bomb arrows, though the last yellow Lizalfos they could dispatch in close combat. They were able to climb the tower and see a strange sight: a man gazing outward at the edge. Link had first engaged the tower to start working.
Now, they are walking up to that man as he still gazes intently and mutters how high it is, and that he wishes he were a bird-man.
"Excuse us," Aloy said.
The man yelps in shock as he whirls around to face them. He has a long slender face with round glasses and balding brown hair that he has combed back. "Wh-Where did you come? Don't scare me like that! How . . . How did you get up here? Though I suppose you could ask me the same question."
"What are you doing up here?" Aloy asked.
"You see," the man began, "I have dedicated my life to the study of bird-men! Their flight mechanics fascinate me! Given their weight, it should be physically impossible for them to fly with wings of their size. I just don't get it!"
"Aren't they called, Rito?" Aloy asked.
"Yes, they are," the man answered.
"But how did you get up here then?" Aloy asked.
"I was standing on the ground watching the skies, when suddenly this tower erupted beneath my feet! I've been stuck up here since with no way to get down."
"Is that so?" Aloy answered dryly as she gives Link a sarcastic, this is your fault, look.
"But my misfortune is a blessing in disguised! You see, this tower is the perfect place to observe bird-men in their natural habitat! Oh my." As if he had only just remembered something. "Now that you've climbed up here, how will you get down without falling?! I suppose you're stuck here too."
Link tells him that he and Aloy will just fly down.
"What?! You both can fly?! You both can fly like a birdman?! Is that true?! I thought it impossible for a Hylian to fly like a bird-man!"
"Actually, we first climbed up here from down through that opening over there," Aloy corrected. "Then we will use our paragliders to fly down from here."
"Ah," the man continued. "It's more like gliding then? That's still a step in the right direction! If I can analyze your glide distance and trajection, it may help us understand the science of birdman flight. Then maybe one day I'll finally realize my dream of becoming a bird!"
"Say what now?" Aloy asked wryly.
The man composes himself. "Would you both mind participating in a short research study? I want to see how far you both can glide. You'll both be compensated for your time and travel . . . depending on how far you can fly. So how about it?"
Link refuses.
"We're involved in something of greater importance," Aloy added.
"Okay," the man sighed. "But please come back soon! It's very boring up here."
"Why not simply climb down that ladder there?" Aloy pointed out. "There are even platforms at various points going down where you can rest up for a bit until you reach the ground."
"I . . . I'll think about it," the man answered.
Aloy sighs impatiently.
"Look, you can't stay up here forever. At some point, you'll have to get down from here. Now, you won't die from starvation because that will take too long, but you can die from exposure or even dehydration. Hopefully your desperation to live should override your timidness."
"You . . . have a point there, miss," the man said.
That's when he narrows his eyes at Aloy, then he gives a start; the sort of reaction one would do upon noticing something strange for the first time.
"Let me guess, you only just notice my ears just now," Aloy deduced dryly.
"Yes, why are they that shape?"
"Because I'm not from around these parts."
Link tells Aloy that they should go now and go over to their jump point. Link is the first to jump, and Aloy follows. They whip out their respective paragliders and glide all the way down to land at the fork in the road. And not a moment too soon as Aloy felt as if she were about to let go from the increased exhaustion that comes from a lack of sleep. They turn west and walk, with the road taking them alongside a set of hills that look to have been blasted to bits, but with those large strange petrified flat top mushroom trees.
It is close to noon when they reach a female traveler with short brown hair near to a sign with her head hanging.
"Excuse me," the female traveler said to them. "Do you know which way I should go if I wanted to get to the Gerudo Desert?"
"We do know," Aloy said.
"Oh, I'm so glad!" The traveler sighed as she raises her head to regard them, showing that she has narrow eyes. "I was sure you wouldn't tell me."
"Why wouldn't we tell you?" Aloy said.
"We meet again," The traveler instead answered. "Link, Aloy."
Aloy tenses over that remark as she can see that this woman is starting to tense as well, and those narrow eyes now look predatory.
"Begone, enemies of my master!" The woman snarled as she takes on a battle stance.
In a puff of smoke and pile of red notes, the traveler is revealed to be a Yiga, only this time armed with what looks to be a metal circle with a row of spikes jutting out from its outer edge that is attached to a handle. The Yiga does a backflip and disappears in a flurry of red notes. Aloy and Link are quick to jump aside as the Yiga comes falling down with that weapon slashing. Link would have been the target. Aloy swings her spear and catches the Yiga on the thigh, causing her to flinch, then disappear in a flurry of red notes once again. This time Aloy stands still, knowing her Shield Weaver is charged back up and that the Yiga will be caught off guard if she should so choose to target her next.
There is a flash and a metallic twang in Aloy's ears as she knows that Yiga had tried just that. Aloy twirls around with a vicious swing and catches that Yiga across her chest, gashing deeply. That is when Link follows through from one side and stabs deeply through the Yiga's chest. The Yiga falls and disappears in a puff of smoke and flurry of red notes.
"Well now that was a bit of a workout," Aloy gasped. "Aaah . . . The exhaustion is really catching up to me now."
Link lays hands upon her. It is then that the spirit of Mipha appears to circle around her and rise upwards, along with her voice saying that it is her grace that will save her. Aloy suddenly perks up.
"Whoa! I now feel as if I had slept the entire night away without interruption! That power is amazing!"
Link smiles and tells her that they can continue onward. They take a moment to read the nearby sign and it states to beware of bandits on the road at night and that the Tabantha Stable can provide them with protection.
"What about the Yiga during the daytime?" Aloy said dryly.
She finally takes notice of something far up ahead. Something that she had seen before when they were on their way to Hateno Village and saw it from the nearby Sheikah Tower.
"The last Divine Beast," Aloy said in a tone of finality, and Link agrees.
"So how are we going to get up into that?" Aloy wondered.
Link answers that maybe the Rito could help.
They soon see the stable up ahead. Behind it and up atop a rugged hill is a Sheikah Shrine. They continue walking and are soon up to the hill and climb up to that shrine. Link opens it and they enter. Once down inside they telepathically hear the voice of the monk telling them that he is Shae Loya and that he offers this test in the name of the Goddess Hylia.
The interior is colossal with a floor beneath them as they are standing upon a raised area of it. Across the way is a large recess in the wall with a sphere that bounces up and down, only that it is upon a pop up platform hidden by a grating. Beneath that grating is an indentation. In another section of wall at the bottom is a barred off room.
"We have to figure out how to get that sphere down into that pit," Aloy said, "and then that door down there will open for us . . . Any ideas?"
Link stares at the bouncing sphere for a moment, then tells Aloy to get ready to shoot that sphere as he takes out the Sheikah Slate. She takes out her sharpshot bow and an arrow. Link uses Stasis on the sphere just as it reaches its highest point and Aloy is quick to take aim and let loose with a volley of arrows, hitting the frozen sphere. The sphere unfreezes and falls, only this time it rolls down a ramp that could not be seen at first and into the indentation.
Aloy shrieks as she is launched high into the air, but manages to retain the mental clarity to whip out her paraglider and glide back down to below. She bends forward while clasping her knees gasping.
"I'm okay!" Aloy yelled back up at Link without looking while raising her arm in assurance. "That just surpised me! I guess that sphere was not the means of opening that door over there."
She looks up and sees that where she had been standing, the pop up platform keeps popping up like back in the Rota Ooh Shrine and the other one that juggled that sphere. Link is standing near it as he looks back down at her. Aloy walks back up the ramp to the top and does a double take while looking up high to her right.
"Link, look up there!" She stated while pointing at a small alcove high up above the barred doorway and near the ceiling.
Link takes out the knight's bow and an arrow, then steps onto the pop up just as it drops back down. The platform pops up, launching him high into the air as it did with Aloy. At his peak, he takes aim and releases an arrow into the alcove. A clink of metal is heard and Aloy looks to see the bars on the doorway now gone. Link glides down as Aloy hurries down the ramp to meet up with Link. She does a double take at the wall that was at their back when they entered and sees a wooden platform high up above.
Better keep quiet about it or he might think there's a chest up there.
At the bottom, they see that it leads to a monk and enter. The monk has his face veiling and has his hands in front of himself with palms pressed together in prayer. His left leg is folded across his right knee while being supported upright in a squat by his right foot upon his toes.
The monk telepathically congratulates them and gives them their spirit orb, then disappears into blue light motes. The duo return outside. They notice a man just below them gazing intently across the canyon. They glide down to him, and he takes notice of them. He is wearing a beige hat and has brown hair with braided sidelocks.
"What is it, my smart man and woman?" The man asked.
"What are you looking at?" Aloy asked.
"What could it be?" The man pondered, then points. "I happened to notice that a section of the cliff face there in the distance looks almost man-made."
The duo see that the section of that cliff has etches on it.
"My smart man and woman, tell me," the man next asked. "You can see it too, yes?"
"Yeah, it does look like etches of some sort," Aloy answered.
"I would take a closer look if I could get there on my own," the man said.
"It is pretty far away," Aloy said. "Anyway, we've got to be on our way."
The duo leave the cliff and walk across the grounds of the stable. They ask a girl what this place is and she tells them that it is the Tabantha Bridge Stable. As they walk past a feeding trough with horses at it, Aloy notices someone staring at the horses.
"That person looks familiar," she said. "I wonder?" And she goes to them, with Link following.
Once at the trough, they hear the person speaking aloud in a familiar voice. "Yes . . . It's nice to relax and observe the animals every once in a while." The person in question takes notice of Aloy and Link and turns to greet them.
"Hey!" Pikango said. "We meet again. Are you out traveling as well?"
"Indeed we are," Aloy answered as she glances at Link.
"I've traveled all over the world," Pikango continued, "so I'm happy to tell you about new places, if you want. If you have a picture to show me, let's see it already!"
Link takes out the Sheikah Slate and shows Pikango.
"Ah, these are . . . the ancient columns." Then turns and points to a bridge just up ahead. "If you cross the Tabantha Great Bridge over there, there's a large cliff to the south. The ruins are atop that cliff. I recall that shrine you can see on the right there too, so I'm pretty certain that's the place."
Link and Aloy thank him and are on their way. The Great Tabatha Bridge is a very long bridge stretching over a very wide and deep canyon. The bridge is wooden but looks ready to fall apart. There are windmills of all sorts perched up on the canyon walls nearby. Across it and behind a cliffwall, another Sheikah Tower looms high.
"That bridge looks to be in even worse shape than the last one," Aloy said as she scans it with her focus. "Fortunately, the bridge seems to be sturdier than it looks." She then looks ahead. "That's a Sheikah Tower we need to check out." As her focus reads it as such. "Those cliffs to the left. Can you see ruins on top of them? Because there's another Sheikah Shrine up there."
Link answers yes.
"So I guess that is where we have to go next."
Link begins walking across it and Aloy falls in step. Each step across causes a board to creak. Despite not finding anything wrong with the bridge, Aloy cannot help but to envision a board suddenly breaking and either her or Link or both of them falling. Fortunately, they could whip out their paragliders and glide down, but then they would find it harder to get to Rito Village.
It is as they are nearing the end that Link stops and points at something up ahead across the bridge.
"Damn it, it's another one of those Guardian Skywatchers," Aloy growled while she scans it with her focus and it reads it as such. "And we're out of bomb arrows too. Now I do have my tearblast arrows, but I only have nine left. Yet they are the most effective against these machines."
Aloy takes out her sharpshot bow and readies a tearblast arrow. She takes aim and releases. The arrow strikes the Skywatcher and makes that telltale droning buzz that increases in intensity, then explodes to cause the Skywatcher to explode into pieces as well.
Link congratulates Aloy and they continue onward and reach the other side. They reach the spot where the Skywatcher had been hovering and this time it is Aloy collecting the parts. They round the bend and the duo duck out of sight just as another Skywatcher draws a bead on the closest of the pair, that being Aloy. She readies another tearblast arrow and quickly jumps out to take aim at the Skywatcher as it draws a bead on her once again. She releases and the tearblast arrow strikes true, destroying the Skywatcher and Aloy collects the parts.
They pass underneath a natural arch and look around for where to climb. The cliffs are still so steep. It is after they walk out of there that the road turns sharply to their right and becomes more open. And the cliff becomes more inclined so that they can easily climb up. The Sheikah Tower also looms large before them just up the hill. Yet, first things first as Link tells Aloy that he wants to check out those ruins just above them, claiming that there is something about them that tickles at his memory. The duo climb the hill and come upon broken stone fixtures that were once walls and arches to various buildings. Amongst them is the Sheikah Shrine.
That is when Link blanks out once again and Aloy watches as he is lost in thought for a moment. He finally snaps out of it with a gasp.
"What did you remember this time?" Aloy asked.
Link tells her about how he rode up here to find Zelda examining the Sheikah Shrine and her getting cross with him for coming after her.
"She sounds pretty headstrong," Aloy said dryly, then snickers while looking away as if at something distant that had caught her attention. "Kinda like me. Anyway," as she looks back to Link, "let's get inside that shrine."
Link takes out the Sheikah Slate and opens the shrine's door. The duo enter and are taken down inside where they are telepathically told by the monk named Tena Ko'sah that he offers this trial in the name of the Goddess Hylia. There is a wall of gratings held up by intricate arches and crossbeams of the material that the shrine is made from. An open doorway beckons them to enter. Once past it, they are within a larger room though with a lower roof, and stone pillars about the place pitted with cracks. Way in the back is a barred off room with the monk inside.
Link tells Aloy that this will be a combat against a small Guardian and takes out the feathered edge as Aloy takes out her spear. Together, they stalk forward and soon a platform rises with a small Guardian on it that raises its domed head to unfold three rod-like arms that end in an ancient sword, axe, and shield simultaneously.
The duo briefly nod at each other, then rush toward that small Guardian to do battle.