Fatigue and loss of blood made Link unaware of his return to the surface until strong arms slid underneath his own and dragged him out. He was immediately laid on the ground, where two pairs of hands began searching his person. One pair stopped at his shoulder, where its contact with his wound make Link cry out in pain.

"To his hut, quickly! Cado, tell the others to disperse! Paya, bring water, herbs, bandages and towels!"

Eyes half-closed to block out the midday sun, Link could just make out Impa's wrinkled visage darting sharply from one direction to the next as she issued the whip-like orders. The arms that had carried him from the shrine lifted him once again, but this time they kept his body horizontal to the ground. Despite the lack of a stretcher, those bearing him did not let his body jerk or shake en route to the hut.

In what seemed no time at all, Link was lain on his pallet and stripped down to his waist. Impa dismissed the two Sheikah men who had carried him, leaving only herself, Paya and Link remaining in the hut. The younger woman repeatedly came and went to deliver supplies to her grandmother, whose spider-like hands deftly washed, poulticed and dressed his wound with a disarming softness countered by a slew of irritable mutterings.

"All our technology poured into a century's worth of healing and safety, and this is how you thank us," Impa softly vented. "It is a wonder you survived Hateno last week, let alone the Calamity one hundred years ago. Paya, bring him water to drink. What did you face in the shrine, boy?"

Link's indignation was blunted by Paya's kind proferring of a flask to his lips. Knowing he could not yet rise by himself, he allowed her to gently tip the water into his open mouth. As she did, Link noticed her eyes widening at the sight of the many scars criss-crossing his chest and arms. Seeking to deflect attention and awkwardness alike, he decided to focus on Impa.

"A Guardian," Link answered after he had drunk. "A small one. At least, that is what I think it was."

"Just one?" Impa asked. At his confirming nod, the elder's eyes narrowed. "And did you use your slate to aid you? Even once, did it occur to you to rely on more than the piece of dead metal in your hands?

Shocked embarrassment quenched Link's previously rising temper. He had not even considered using the slate. Unlike at Hateno, where careful planning had allowed him to review all the weapons at his disposal, the Guardian's unexpected appearance had left him time only to rely on instinct. Wordlessly, he shook his head in reply.

"You must think!" Impa hissed furiously. "Neither Zelda nor Hyrule can afford for you to forget the tools provided for you to save them!"

"Little good they will do me if they are as useless as the one I found!" Link snapped angrily in return.

To his astonishment, the Sheikah elder actually snorted in a manner that reminded him strongly of Brigo.

"Is there still food here, Paya?" Impa asked, all but ignoring her indignant charge. "Bring him something. Humor and hunger always walked hand in hand with this one. It seems a century's passing has left that much intact, at least."

The younger woman jumped like a startled doe to her feet, but not before Link realized she had remained kneeling beside him, continuing to stare at the faded blemishes on his body. Maybe I won't have to drive her away anymore, he thought bitterly.

That thought was interrupted by the aroma of food as Paya returned with a platter of smoked meat and vegetables. In his haste to eat, Link forgot that sitting up caused no small amount of pain to his shoulder.

"Stay down and let the child feed you," Impa said with nearly as much irritation as Link and Paya showed at her instructions. She ignored both of them. "What did you find in the shrine?"

For answer, Link removed the sphere from his pouch and tossed it none too softly at the old woman. She caught it deftly with one hand - Of course she did, he thought bitterly - and proceeded to examine it closely.

A few moments of silence passed, during which Paya fed Link as though he were a child. Her annoyance at the task, however, seemed to have softened now that she was near Link once again. Perhaps forgetting herself, Paya's unoccupied hand reached out as though it might touch one of the scars on Link's right forearm. The Sheikah maiden snatched it back immediately when Impa spoke.

"I do not know what this is," the elder admitted. "Neither, I believe, would my sister. Her knowledge of the ancient technology is that of the larger structures, such as the towers and shrines - and the slates that connect them."

"So it is useless," Link confirmed heatedly between spoonfuls of meat. "If you are angry, be angry at your ancestors. Had I known this was all that awaited me, I would not have entered. Traveling here through the slate - and losing my friends - was price and prize enough."

"I said my sister and I do not know its use," Impa answered firmly. "There is one other who might. Like Purah, he is a recluse, driven by his thirst for knowledge. His name is Robbie, and he dwells in the northeasternmost part of Hyrule. If fate takes you there, he may be able to help."

Without asking, Impa removed the slate from Link's belt and spoke clearly to it.

"You will go to Robbie of Akkala."

A telltale sound like that of a small bell answered from the slate. Upon receiving it from Impa, Link saw that a fifth golden dot now winked near the top-right corner of the map.

"I cannot promise to see this Robbie of yours," Link warned none too patiently. "I have already spent a fortnight tending to everything but that which I set out to do. I will not waste more. I leave for Zora's Domain on the morrow."

Impa tsked loudly, but did not immediately reply. Making certain Link's wound was properly bandaged one last time, she slowly stood and retrieved her walking stick. Only when she arrived at the hut's sliding door did she turn to address him once more.

"Your supplies will be ready for you in the morning," Impa informed him. "Sleep now, but come to me at dusk. Your wound prevented the ceremony from being completed. It will do my people good to witness its conclusion before you go, and it will not take long."

"What ceremony?" Link demanded.

Ignoring him, Impa addressed her granddaughter.

"Stay only to ensure he finishes his meal, then leave him in peace."

At Paya's assenting nod, Impa exited the hut. Link immediately turned to his caretaker, who was about to resume feeding him.

"What ceremony is she talking about?" he reiterated. The girl hesitated before responding.

"That shrine has stood as a sign of your coming," Paya finally explained. "As children, we were told its completion would signal your return - and the coming fall of Ganon. I believe Grandmother has something planned now that it has happened, though I do not know what."

Perhaps to prevent further questioning, Paya followed her answer with another spoonful of food. Link chewed reflectively. He did not think the girl was hiding anything from him, but he sorely missed Dorian. He had always been eager to explain anything to Link, particularly his people's history.

Link was startled out of his musings by a sudden outbreak of goosebumps. Paya had given in to her earlier curiosity and was now tracing a long scar that ran up the side of his right arm.

"Do… do you remember these?" she asked softly, not looking at him.

Trying to quell the shivers her touch had produced, Link shook his head. "They are as unfamiliar to me as your grandmother, whom I supposedly knew well."

Paya's soft finger followed the course of the scar until it ran into the edge of fresh bandaging at his shoulder.

"So much pain forgotten," she whispered. "And now you suffer again."

Link was nonplussed. Was this not the same woman who had been angry with him that very morning? His confusion reminded him of how that conversation had ended.

"Why do the Yiga trouble you so?" Link asked quietly.

Silence answered him at first, accompanied only by Paya's finger retracing its path down the same scar on his arm. When she finally spoke, it was without emotion.

"The Yiga killed my parents," she said hollowly, as though empty acknowledgment had deadened the pain within. "I was two. I do not remember them."

Her loss called to his. When Paya's finger reached the scar's end near his wrist, Link gently seized her hand.

"I am sorry," he said quietly.

Tears sprung to Paya's eyes. Her hand convulsed over his, then pulled away.

"I - I must go," she stammered as she struggled to her feet and ran to the door.

"Paya!"

The girl stopped and turned her head, as though only a part of her wanted to listen. Snow-white wisps of hair mingled with the tears running down her face. Despite the pain, Link had managed to prop himself up on his elbows in order to see her.

"I do not know what the future holds, Paya, but if this ends and I somehow live-"

"Don't!" Paya cried as she held up a hand to forestall him. "Please, don't! I cannot bear to think of you not, not - I cannot! Let me hope for what you would say, but speak it not when you have promised so much to so many already!"

With that, Paya fled through the door of Link's hut for the second time in as many days.

The pain from Link's wound combined with his confusion over Paya made falling asleep all but impossible. When he did briefly drift off, it was to find demons past and present waiting for him. Zelda and the four Champions gazed at him sadly, but none more so than that of the beautiful Zora.

Link tried to explain that he would return for her, but the heart-shaped face merely wept. Then the Zora was Paya, and she too turned away in despair. Then Paya's brown eyes converged and became one blue eye glowing in the darkness. Link ran both to escape the eye and to find Zelda, but he only found her voice, urging him to hasten. Yet the faster he ran, the fainter the voice became, until he heard nothing but the chink of metal on wood. The Guardian was nearly upon him. Link turned and raised a sword of bright blue light.

"Sir Link! It is I, Cado!"

It was the Sheikah's iron-hard grip on his wrist that finally woke him. Link saw the blackened blade of Dorian's sword was just inches away from Cado's face, which was taut with the strain of holding off the unconscious blow. Link immediately relaxed.

"I am sorry, Cado," he gasped. "My dreams were ill-bred."

The Sheikah captain waited a moment to make sure Link was truly subdued. Then he released him and rose, by all appearances completely unperturbed.

"I would not have entered had Lady Impa not asked me to do so, Sir Link," Cado stated matter-of-factly. "She thought your wound would have healed enough by now. I will tell her you are not yet ready if you wish."

Only then did Link realize that late evening sunlight was pouring through the screened windows. Dusk would arrive very soon. He rose to his feet, pleasantly surprised to find that only minor discomfort remained in his shoulder. Wondering what poultice Impa had used, he quickly donned his clothes. A new tunic, identical to the one ruined by the Guardian, waited for him, as did a new leather pauldron for his shoulder. Link marveled at their quality and the swiftness with which they had been completed.

"If we are to go, it must be now, Sir Link," Cado interjected politely.

Nodding in agreement, Link gathered his cloak and Dorian's sword before taking one last look around the all-but-empty hut. He was ready to be quit of this place. Too much and not enough had happened here.

Link knew something was different the moment he stepped outside. Enough daylight remained for everyday tasks, but the village was devoid of its usual activity. Crops and livestock sat untended by human hands. No Sheikah strode the village paths purposefully toward his or her destination.

"Where is everyone?" Link asked warily. Cado inclined his head slightly as he responded.

"You see much, Sir Link," the Sheikah acknowledged. "My people await with Lady Impa. Come, please."

The full import of Impa's "ceremony" beginning to sink in, Link resigned himself to following Cado toward the now-familiar village clearing. It was after they rounded a large storefront that Link saw the crowd. It seemed every Sheikah in the village had gathered in front of the steps leading up to Impa's hut. All of them wore white coats and trousers or robes, which combined with their hair to form a sea of white that drowned the packed dirt on which they stood

The outermost ring of heads turned at the pair's approach. Eyes glanced toward his shoulder, but Link had already accounted for that. "It will do my people good..." That would not be the case if he showed weakness now. Link strove to hide what little pain remained from his wound. The sea of Sheikah parted to allow the pair to pass. Link forced himself to avoid scanning the myriad of faces for Paya. Perhaps it was better this way.

Hundreds of eyes quietly followed Link as he arrived with Cado at the foot of the stairs. The Sheikah captain then stood to one side, gesturing upward. Link looked in that direction and saw Impa waiting at the landing in front of her hut. Not knowing what awaited him there, he ascended.

A small smile played on the familiar wrinkled face as Link approached. Impa's first words were loud enough only for the two of them.

"You are well?" she asked softly. At his nod, the Sheikah elder's smile broadened. Then she gestured for Link to stand next to her and turn, so that both of them faced the white mass below.

"Link of Hyrule has returned!" Impa declared with a volume that belied her great age. "He has conquered the shrine that waited for him for centuries untold with the same bravery I myself witnessed of him a century ago. Now he departs to finish the task appointed him by our last king: to see the kingdom of Hyrule restored!"

In an instant, the quiet solemnity of the Sheikah was shattered by a roar that nearly made Link stumble backward in shock. Curved swords were raised to the sky. Children cheered from the shoulders of parents. Tears leaked from the eyes of the eldest among them, those whose parents had witnessed first-hand what Link was setting out to redeem.

Impa raised a wrinkled hand, casting a spell of silence over her people.

"Link will not accomplish this task alone!" she cried. "Even now, those who are not here with us work to pave the way for those to come. Others will flock to the Hyrulean banner. We will unite as one, merging like raindrops until we are a mighty flood from which the Demon King cannot hide!"

Another roar, louder than the first, issued from those gathered below. Link marveled at the show of raw emotion, which caused own blood to race with battle lust. Just when the energy of the scene might have begun to ebb, Impa asked for silence and spoke once more.

"Hylia is with us," she declared solemnly. "So must we be with her and her chosen knight. We will lend our support with our arms and our food and our lives. Be watchful. The time approaches."

"We will watch until the time has come!"

The villagers reply knelled as one voice, the forceful unity of their answer sending small shivers down Link's arms and back. The final exchange was clearly the formal conclusion of the ceremony; as soon as their own echoes died, the Sheikah dispersed to resume whatever activity needed doing. In a trice, the village center was all but empty, with no sign that such a gathering had taken place.

The only exception was Cado, who now took the opportunity to ascend the stairs. He walked right past Link and opened the double doors, through which Impa motioned Link should enter. Slightly confused, he did so, followed closely by the old woman and Cado. The latter closed the doors, but Impa did not resume her usual space at the other end of the room. Instead, she took a small bundle from Cado and presented it to Link.

"I know you are eager to depart, so I will be brief," Impa explained kindly. "The garments worn by Sheikah warriors are made in such a way that the person who wears them may be more silent than the most skilled hunter or assassin. These were made for you. Use them well."

Eyes wide with surprise, Link unfolded the bundle just enough to see various shades of dark blue greet his eyes. Within the folds he glimpsed a dark red depiction of the Sheikah eye. He looked down at the elderly face that had been the source of so much frustration and confusion since his awakening. Perhaps she knows what she's about after all, Link thought ruefully.

"Thank you," he said aloud. "Thank you for what you have given me."

Impa smiled knowingly. "Thank you for what you will be giving us."

The man stood amid a writhing mass of lizalfos, ignoring their tilted heads and round, rolling eyes. Around and behind him, the occasional forked tongue snaked out to taste the man's scent. The Wizzrobe knew the underfed lizardspawn wanted to eat the man. The Wizzrobe would kill them if they tried.

Even so, the red-clad warlock gave grudging respect to Hylian. The sight of armed and armored lizalfos alone should have set the man to spasming in terror. Not one tremor - nor any movement, for that matter - disturbed the thick folds of the man's long, dark cloak. Even his face gave nothing away from behind the thin black mask that covered it. In silent anonymity, he waited for his host to speak.

The Wizzrobe loomed before him, his great height magnified by his far more voluminous robes and hood. The Wizzrobe wondered if the man feared him.

He had no reason to. The man was valuable, for now. The Wizzrobe contemplated that value with the twisted rod held in his long, gloved fingers, its rounded end emitting the same red glow as its owner's eyes.

"The boy leaves tomorrow?"

The question grated from within the Wizzrobe's red cowl like a rusted gate sliding open. The lizardspawn grew still, fearful of interrupting the now-resumed conversation.

The black cloth concealing the man's face barely stirred upon answering.

"He will depart from Kakariko tomorrow, but in what direction I do not know."

The Wizzrobe's fingers twitched ever so slightly over his wand. The crimson-clothed sorcerer was sorely tempted to snuff out the Hylian's life then and there. A mere man, addressing one of the Lomei without a hint of deference or honorific. Once every drop of information was extracted, the fool would find himself pleading to his filthy goddess to let the lizalfos have him.

"Why tell me this?" the Wizzrobe hissed softly. "If the boy roams beyond my reach, you will have wasted time and an opportunity to serve the Demon King yourself."

This time, the man was smart enough to acknowledge the warlock's thinly veiled displeasure with a slight bow of the head. Perhaps he would keep it intact after all.

"Until he leaves, the boy is too well protected against a hidden blade, even one as invisible as my own," the man neutrally explained through his black mask. "Even alone, he is formidable. Your skill and army were the best courses available for accomplishing what our Master has commanded. If the boy eludes you, I will of course resort to other means."

The man's not-so-subtle hint of equality, followed by his equally discernible threat, nearly ignited the Wizzrobe's anger beyond recall. As it was, he flicked the red-glowing wand in his hand. In an instant, three rings of fire surrounded the man at his neck, waist and legs, all of them shrinking slowly inward toward his darkly clothed flesh. The gathered lizalfos twitched and jumped in agitation, their eyes rolling and tongues flicking madly at the prospect of a fresh meal.

The Wizzrobe's eyes blazed in the night, their blurred reflection visible in the wetlands' waters. How satisfying it would be when this Hylian learned his place below those empowered by the Demon King.

"You will apprise me of the boy's whereabouts regardless of where he goes," the Wizzrobe heatedly wheezed. "If I do not hear from you in two days, your life - and whatever worth remains to it - is forfeit, Hylian."

The man showed no alarm at the sight of circling flame nor at the warlock's words. Impassively he stood, his masked visage matching the calm of the rest of him.

"Take care that you do not forfeit your chances at being named Karanlik, Wizzrobe," the man said with tantalizing calm.

The Wizzrobe was so startled that the rings of fire disappeared. The lizalfos, able to understand the Hylian tongue, had gone completely silent.

"How do you know?" the Wizzrobe hissed.

"It is enough that I do," the man smoothly replied. "If you claim that honor, it is yours. If you fail to do so, our Master will know how and why. With that in mind, I suggest you deem my life - and the knowledge it offers - of great worth indeed."

With those words - and without waiting for any hint of dismissal - the man turned on his heel departed unopposed through the restless crowd of lizalfos. With his black cloak, it did not take the Hylian long to disappear into the night.

The Wizzrobe did not wait. Another flick of his wand created a wall of fire some twenty feet high around the small island on which the lizalfos were gathered. Unlike the rings around the man, the wall closed inward quickly, instantly killing the surprised and entrapped creatures.

The stench drew other lizalfos to the island, but the Wizzrobe did not care about them. They had not heard the promise of Karanlik.

Sidon poked at a smoking pile of wood with his spear. There was no hope behind the effort, but any action seemed better than none at all. Doing nothing would have felt like an admission of defeat to the forces that had decimated Woodlands Stable.

The Zora prince had seen and smelled the bokoblins long before finding the remains of their handiwork. He had taken great pains to avoid their notice, for they were many and on the move. By now, the Ganonspawn had either crossed the Thims Bridge or continued south along the Hylia River's eastern banks. The former would mean they intended to wipe out the Wetlands Stable. The latter would lead the beasts to Zora's Domain.

Much as it pained Sidon to admit it, he needed the pigspawn to make for the stable first. It would be nearly impossible to evade both these Ganonspawn and the lizalfos in the wetlands to reach his water brethren. He and those with him would be all but sealed out of Zora's Domain, too late to help their people and too few to help themselves.

Woodlands Stable had lain at the base of Death Mountain, just southeast of a village that had fallen to similar evil one hundred years prior. Sidon gripped the haft of his spear tightly. Rauru Settlement had been kind to the Zora, ever willing to supply trade and welcome in equal measure. The community had been home to the families of fishermen and soldiers, the latter of which were stationed at a Hylian military camp just north of where Sidon now stood. Both village and camp were now decrepit ruins of an age long past.

Now Sidon was bearing witness to a new wave of filth that threatened to engulf his world. Even now it was gathering strength against his own kingdom, which was already floundering amid Vah Ruta's waters from within.

The crunch of wood and ash called Sidon's attention. A blue-skinned Zora, still glistening from his recent swim to reach him, saluted with his spear.

"Prince Sidon," Gruve greeted him, "the Ganonspawn have crossed the Thims."

The Zora prince breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank Hylia," Sidon murmured to himself before addressing his companion. "What of Fronk's party? Have you seen or heard from them?"

"Nothing, Your Highness," Gruve answered worriedly. "If they are still near Wetlands Stable, the Ganonspawn will likely find them."

"And lose them," Sidon concluded in the most light-hearted manner he could muster. Traversing Hyrule without stepping on some Calamity-bred filth seemed all but impossible now. "Bokoblins have no hope of harming our brethren as long as they stay near the river, which I have commanded them to do."

"Yes, Your Highness," Gruve nodded. Sidon, however, noticed the young bull seemed to be glancing worriedly to the side. At first, he could not see why that would be.

"What is it, Gruve?" he asked, concerned.

"Forgive me, Your Highness," Gruve admitted shamefully. "It's just… I'll be glad to get away from that."

Sidon looked to where Gruve had gestured and understood. From the midst of the military camp ruins a short distance away reared another of the magnificently curious Sheikah Towers that had sprouted from the earth some weeks ago. Unlike its twin in the wetlands, this one was not surrounded by an army of lizardspawn. Sidon had taken a moment to appraise the structure at its base. He had marveled much while learning little.

Gruve, however, had endured the unfortunate experience of being atop the wetlands tower when it began rising from the earth. The poor Zora had waited a full day before resigning himself to a rushed escape from both the fearful height and the surrounding lizalfos.

"Surely it is not so different from a waterfall's peak?" Sidon asked with a sudden grin.

Gruve blew water out of his nose in response. "Only if Hylia kept you at the top and forced you to look down."

Sidon nodded sympathetically. Soaring the waters was not the same as soaring the heavens, the latter of which was a foreign and unwanted gift to the Zora.

"What now, Your Highness?"

Gruve's question recalled Sidon's attention to where it was required. What now, indeed? Half a score of his people were still out there, searching for a Hylian that would face Vah Ruta. Had their search been in vain? If it was, could they risk another attempt? Two swarms of Ganonspawn massed outside the Domain, threatening both it and its closest neighboring stable. Would his people face their fires or Vah Ruta's flood first?

"We will fall back to Inogo Bridge," Sidon said finally while slinging his enormous spear over his back. "There we will wait until Fronk's party returns. Until then, we will ensure the Ganonspawn do not attempt to enter the Domain. Tell the others at the river. I will join you shortly."

Gruve saluted and left, Sidon noted, with a relieved glance towards the looming Sheikah tower. The Zora prince's smile disappeared as he knelt in the cooling ash of Woodlands Stable. The sensation was uncomfortable for a Zora, but comfort was the least of his concerns now. What he was about to do was usually done in the shallow banks of a river. That was for his own people, of course.

"You have navigated the rivers of life and found their end," Sidon murmured, his right hand clenching burnt timber rather than damp driftwood. "May Hylia's waters welcome you home."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: A lot of emotion from the normally reserved Sheikah, a change especially apparent in Paya. After being spoonfed propriety her whole life, it's easy to see why her affection for Link has torn her in two. It took me a while to decide how she would react, and hopefully her future actions will sit well with you.

Unlike the rest of Hyrule's people, the Sheikah have known of and been waiting for Link's return since his fall to the Calamity. This chapter was the opportunity to show how much that wait cost - and what seeing Hyrule's Champion return portended for them. It's no longer a hopeful tale. It's real and happening, perhaps just as the eldest among them would have been tempted to discard their hopes of this day dawning.

We haven't seen the last of the Wizzrobe's mysterious "ally." As for the warlock himself, his merciless efforts to become Karanlik have only just begun. Transforming him from a faceless, story-less bad guy into a key antagonist took some brainstorming, but I'm honestly excited for where his character is heading.

The plight of the wetlands and Zora's Domain is becoming clear, now, and will become clearer in the chapters ahead. Though far more prepared, Sidon's people seem in as much danger as the overwhelmed stable. Don't worry: much, much more of the Zora is coming.

As always, please feel free to leave a review/comment. Whether you're an entrenched Zelda fan or enjoying this world for the first time, it's fun seeing and responding to your takes and reactions. If I was lucky enough to write something you enjoy, don't hesitate to hit that Follow/Fav button at the top or bottom of this page. I hope life is treating you well. - mattwrites