Chapter 22: Destiny Draws Near
We arrived at the Shrine of Resurrection after a two-day journey. The door was shut tight, as I had hoped it would be, that meant the Princess was safe, the door had not been breached.
"So, what are we going to do know? Knock and hope someone answers or it opens?"
"Or wait here until it does."
"Link, you do realize that that could take…"
We were interrupted when the shrine sprang to life and the door peeled back. I drew my sword and shield as Revali readied an arrow, both of us acting on complete reflex. We had both hoped it was just Zelda, but as warriors, we had to be ready if it wasn't. Once the door was open, I cautiously began making my way to the opened door. I heard the sound of someone struggling as I got closer to the rock face that you had to scale to get out. I looked down to see the arm of the person trying to get out.
It was the wing-arm combination of a Rito, its feathers were a golden blonde, and the entire arm itself was shaking as the person, female by the sound of the voice, strained to pull themselves up. I sheathed my sword and shield, somehow, I didn't think they would hurt me. Suddenly, they lost their grip with a yelp, without thinking, I reached out and caught them.
"Don't worry, I've got you."
With a little bit of a strain, I helped them up, as I did, I got a better look. I was right, she was a female Rito. Her eyes were shut tight in strain so I couldn't see their color at the moment, but her head feathers were in a braid that looked somewhat crudely made with a few stray feathers sticking out. She was wearing a somewhat familiar blue tunic, it looked as though it had been recently and crudely tailored from a tunic made for a Hylian, her pants and shoes also followed a same fate, modified from what I thought were Hylian riding boots. I swore I had seen them before, but where? When she finally opened her eyes, the pieces began to fall into place. They were deep green and full of kindness and relief as they met mine.
"Zelda?"
"Link!"
She wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace, I was so off guard by her change in appearance, that for a bit I didn't hug back. Why was she a Rito? Was there a way change her back? Should we change her back? So many questions, so little answers, perhaps we will answer them after we dealt with Ganon.
I escorted Zelda out of the Shrine by the hand into the light, Revali was equally surprised as he saw Zelda.
"Princess?"
"It's good to see you in one-piece Revali."
Revali just stood there, jaw agape, finally he spoke.
"Have you done something different with your… feathers?"
She looked at her wing, "I have to admit that my new appearance is a bit of a shock, but there are worst side effects, besides, how many Hylians can say they can fly?"
"You might need lessons for something like that. I mean how else could you possibly…?" Revali started.
Zelda however, decided to try it for herself, and did fairly well, though I could tell there was a bit of a struggle. It was like watching a hatchling fly for the first time, and I couldn't help but smile. After about a minute-long flight, she got tired and fell out of the sky, coincidentally, right into my arms with an oof.
"Don't worry Princess, we'll make a Rito out of you yet."
She smiled.
"I'd like that."
We touched beaks for a moment, until I realized what that meant and quickly separated, blushing profusely as I scratched the back of my head feathers, as I normally did when nervous. Zelda cleared his throat.
"Anyways, Link do you still have that Light Bow I gave you in the battle against Ganon?"
I nodded and produced it, as I expected she took it back, what happened next though I most definitely did not expect. She walked over to Revali and after telling him what it was and what it was for gave it to him. At her encouragement, he gave it a test, producing an arrow as the string was pulled back and fired. He was worthy to wield it, I tried not to let my jaw drop in surprise While it was true that I was utterly shocked, I was also happy. He was more confused than anything as he looked the Sacred Weapon over.
"I can't give you The Master Sword, so I hope this will suffice."
Revali Smiled.
"This will do nicely."
She grabbed his wing.
"Remember this is a sacred weapon though, Treat it.. as.. such…"
Revali shook her off with a somewhat scared nod. I gently approached Zelda.
"Princess, may I have the Slate back please?"
She hesitated before unclipping it from my belt and handing it to me. I immediately went to work choosing a shrine to quick travel to off the plateau. With a nod we all joined hands and teleported off the plateau.
The shrine we travelled to was not at the castle itself, but rather Hyrule Field. Revali was shocked and a little annoyed.
"I thought you said time was of the essence, could you not have just transported us close to the main gates, or in the castle itself?"
"What if Ganon is expecting that? Keep in mind that the same strategy does not often work twice on him as we learned painfully the first time the six of us faced him."
Revali looked away in silence. I sighed.
"I'm sorry I mentioned it Revali, but I wanted to simply illustrate a point. Anyways, so this time I think I will use my secret weapon."
With that I materialized my "Secret Weapon" in front of me. Revali's eyes widened as the metal and blue glow of Sheikah Tech caught his eye. I walked over and slung my leg over the side situating myself comfortably on the seat as I took the handlebars. After checking that the tank was full, I motioned for Zelda to climb on behind me. Revali finally spoke.
"If I may ask, what exactly is this?"
I smiled.
"This is the Master Cycle Zero, given to me for passing the Beast tamer's trials. My own Divine Beast, The Master Cycle Zero."
Revali scoffed, "Mine's better, its bigger and can fly."
"Who said this one can't fly?"
Revali gasped in disbelief.
"Just kidding, it can't fly, can jump quite a bit though. Could you please scout ahead?"
He smirked.
"Alright, but if we survive this, I want a turn ok?"
I nodded in agreement and sped of as Revali took to the sky using one of his gales.
The journey to the castle took a couple of days with a few stops to refuel and rest. We got to the actual castle on the day of the full moon which I imagined was the day of the blood moon. As I thought it would be, it was crawling with guardians and monsters of every kind. Revali actually got almost blasted out of the sky a few times as our supply of Ancient Arrows between the two of us was all but exhausted. We made it to the inner sanctum just as the sun finished setting. As soon as it was, moonlight poured in the window. My right hand twitched at the ready, it was anytime now. Without warning, the sky turned red. Revali and I drew and readied our respective sacred weapons as Zelda readied herself to cast her spells. The very earth began to shake, throwing us off balance with a cry of shock as the tremor intensified. Tendrils of malice crawled down the walls and across the ceiling, giving the castle a sinister look. Finally, a beam of red energy pulsed down into the center of the room making the floor crack and the cracks glow. When the light (if you could call it that) faded, a figure stood in its place. He was tall and muscular, Gerudo by the looks of it in build. His very skin seemed to be composed of malice as her stared at me with pupil-less eyes which narrowed in rage. I readied my sword and shield as Revali readied a light arrow. None of us needed to be told who this monster was. We knew it was him. He was finally here. And he was angry.
