"Hmm. It seems this sacred location is blocking my powers. A change of venue is in order!"
-ancient wizard, Wizzro
Chapter 20: Guilt
Laruto 15th, Star Island…
A Rito rushed to Lord Xander's ship, landing on the deck and said, "Milord, we've information on the next location of the pearl."
"Ah! Good! Where is it?" Lord Xander asked.
Revali grumbled as the Rito said the next pearl, Farore's Pearl, was in the hands of a tribe of Koroks living the isles of the Forest Haven. The place was fabled to be one of the first places the goddess Farore landed while creating the world with the others of the trinity. The islands became filled with life, in stark contrast to much of the Ocean and was a hub for Forest magic. The Koroks of Hyrule migrated there, apparently trying to spread more forest across the ocean and beyond and originally used the place as a rest stop. After several hundreds of years making the same journeys, some volunteered to stay, creating the Forest Haven.
It was also a stronghold, nearly impenetrable as there wasn't much access from the sea. But the skies. That was a much better possibility to invade and get the pearl.
"The Koroks there aren't as peace-loving as you think. If their anything like their Hyrulean or Lorulean counterparts, they'll have weapons at the ready," Revali said.
"And what weapons would a forest dwelling tribe have?" Lord Xander asked.
Revali rolled his eyes and answered with, "Bows, spears, Deku cannons, slingshots…mostly anti-aerial weapons. So, sending in my people to blindly go in and find this pearl is not something I'm willing to do."
"Then what will you have me do? Go in as an ambassador?" Lord Xander asked.
"Well, you did with me and I'm starting to question it all. But, if you so insist, I'll go. While I'm distracting them, you can go in for the pearl," Revali told him.
Hytopia Castle Town, Madame Couture's shop…
"So, he's really the one?"
"Yes…He said so in his sleep. But he refuses to admit it while conscious."
"Then we can use him to restore our kingdom!"
"Not if he refuses."
"Then, we'll make him see, Madame! We'll make him help us!"
Ravio, sitting on the bed in his room and still cloaked in his familiar purple garb, looked up from a book he was reading, the Swordsman's Newsletter, seeing Zelda. The blonde had come to check up on him, coming up from the shop. She had a worried look and he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Um…are you really…him? The guy we've been waiting for…?" Zelda asked.
Ravio knew she meant. He had discovered that he was a part of the lost Hero, one of eight. And when the Madame found out, even though he had a feeling she already knew all these years, the resistance she funded wanted him for their liberation efforts. Ravio refused, not wanting to take on the empire and putting Zelda in danger.
He gave a small nod, adding, "But only a fragment…I…Please don't call me 'Hero'."
"But why not? That's what you ar…" Zelda started.
"Would a Hero abandon everyone because of his own fears? Or attack his own family and friends? Or…?" Ravio said.
"You know that you weren't yourself when all that happened," Zelda told him.
Looking at down, he muttered, "And I'm still not…Fractured into eight pieces…Maybe that's punishment for my cowardice…"
"As I said, you weren't yourself. Before they left, Groose and the others had talked fondly about how you used to be…before the accident. They said you were kind and brave, but a bit silly. And you even accepted a Gerudo as a brother…until it happened," Zelda said.
Ravio still didn't feel better, the guilt of everything happening coming down on him. His sister, Agitha, hated him for all the times that he attacked like a monster. Aryll feared him because of that and the many personality shifts. Groose, Karane and Pipit tried not to show it, even with the other fragments "Raven", "Kishin" and "Yami". And then his mother…she suffered much because of him and was watching over "Hasan" as he slept…back at home…in a ruined Aboda Village.
"I've no right to be ali…" Ravio muttered, depressed.
"Really? We're going that far? None of what happened was your fault. Forces wanted you not to become the Hero you're going to be. And apparently your depression is doing the same. But I won't let you wallow in despair," Zelda said, interrupting him.
She grabbed his arm and said, "C'mon! We're going to the Drablands!"
"Wh-Why?" Ravio asked, trying to pull away, but finding the woman's grip was terribly strong.
As they went downstairs, the pair passed up Beatriz in the Madame's shop. The rotund, but fashionable Hylian asked, "Where are you two going?"
"To train! He's gonna get out of this funk or so help me!" Zelda declared.
To Ravio's surprise, Beatriz followed, putting down a new dress she was going to try. The trio was stopped by the Madame at the entrance, to which Zelda said, "Madame Couture, Ravio has to snap out of this as we need him! This guilt isn't going to stop him from…"
"I know. But what are you to do if he still is in a funk?" the Madame asked.
Ravio sighed, not getting why Zelda was trying to force him to not feel the guilt. His family and friends were tortured by the empire because he existed. And before that, he kept them all in a constant state of fear as they didn't know who or what they were dealing with most of the time. Then his father…died because of him…
"No, he didn't. How could you or him possibly have known those monsters were there?" Zelda asked.
Ravio looked at her in confusion and she said, "I read your mind and the twins before they left to find the other 'yous'. He did what any parent would if they were trying to help their child."
"Yes. Any parent would do anything to help their child, even if it means defying authorities," Madame Couture said, looking at Zelda.
Zelda had a bit of a guilty look on her face and Ravio asked, "Wait. Your pare…?"
"Let's go, okay?" Zelda said, grabbing his arm again and leaving.
"Beatriz, watch over those two for me," the Madame said.
Beatriz nodded and followed.
"Run Ravio!" a woman in a black cloak screamed, holding a crossbow.
Little Ravio, dressed in a dark purple cloak, saw his mother surrounded by Hyrulian soldiers. She grabbed their captain, holding him hostage as she demanded for her son to run and never look back. The boy started, but turned around to see the soldiers closing in. Terrified, he screamed, "Mom, no!"
"Don't worry about me! Just run!" she shouted.
One of the soldiers snatched the crossbow from her, pulling her away from the captain. Taking an ice rod, the captain aimed at her chest, firing and freezing the woman. She became a statue and Ravio screamed in horror. The soldiers then slammed their spears into the statue, shattering her into pieces.
The boy ran, not knowing where he was going in those rainy plains…
Drablands, Illusory Mansion…
Using her magic, Zelda teleported Ravio, Beatriz and herself to an old manor in the middle of the Drablands. The old mansion was said to be the old home of the Couture family, but was abandoned during the Hyrulian Conquest of the country. Since then, the place was overrun by monsters and dangerous flora.
Standing in the courtyard, Beatriz looked around and asked, "Um, Z-Zelda, what are we doing here?"
"You know the old stories about this place?" Zelda asked.
"Um, yes?" Beatriz replied.
Ravio remembered Zelda telling him that the old mansion was also home to a great treasure, a huge haul. The empire had heard of it as well, sending in troops to find it. But none returned as the mansion was said to hold many illusions. The current rumor was that the soldiers turned on each other, as one survivor returned and said they attacked each other. Another was that an invisible monster guarded the place and attacked them. But due to the one survivor, most believed illusions controlled the place.
No one knew the truth, but apparently Zelda wanted to find out. Ravio didn't, neither did Beatriz. But the youth said, "The treasure is said to hold great power, power to reflect light and dispel illusions. It was left behind by a Great Hero, with Madame Couture's family charged in protecting it. She told me when the empire came and drove them from their home, her ancestors left it behind, but created the illusions to keep people from stealing it."
"So, you want us to go in and…?" Ravio asked.
"Not 'us'. Just you," Zelda said.
Beatriz sighed in relief and Ravio asked, "W-Wait, what? Why only me?"
"Because the item is for you. So, why put the two of us in danger?" Zelda grinned.
Ravio snarled, showing a bit of his sharpened canines. He did not like being tricked and didn't appreciated it at all. He wasn't trying to do the job of Hero as he felt he didn't deserve it. Not after everything that happened.
"Beatriz and I will wait for you here and we'll have a victory picnic for you," Zelda said.
"And if I don't come back…?" Ravio asked.
"Um, then we'll hold a wake for you and I'll make sure that all your favorite foods are cooked. But…let's not think like that, my little risotto," Beatriz said.
Ravio was taken aback, her foodbased nickname for him everchanging. But "risotto"? He didn't know why she called him a rice dish…
"Ravio! What is this?"
"Oh, that's nutcake."
"A what?"
"A cake filled with forest nuts like acorns and hazelnuts."
"And what's that Mister Ravio?"
"Oh, those are crepes, something I learned traveling in Labrynna."
"Uh, why do they look like flatbreads?"
"They kinda are, but they can be either sweet or savory."
"Wow. You know a lot about cooking, Mister Ravio."
"Eh…"
"Er, how about staying here in this village?"
"Um…I thought you'd have to be Gerudo or a 'vai' to live here."
"We're not as strict as our counterparts in Hyrule. You see that as we have a lot of half-breeds here…"
"Yeah. I noticed. But why me? I'm not special or anything."
"Well…you caught Ravenna's eye."
"Huh? The elder's daughter?"
"Yup. The very one. She couldn't stop talking about you after you gave her that pendant."
"Aw! You're blushing, Mister!"
"S-Shut up…"
Illusory Mansion, entrance…
Entering alone and cursing as he didn't have a weapon, Ravio saw the old mansion's vestibule. It reminded him of the Snowpeak Ruins…Ruins? The place wasn't in ruins anymore. It was…turned into…
"GAH!" Ravio shouted, collapsing to his knees.
He held his head, feeling as if he was splitting apart. His body was also in great pain, the scars he had all over radiating with it. Memories of the Snowpeak Ruins before its repurposing into the Great Wall filled his mind. Two creatures, Yeti, were the inhabitants at the time and he needed to find a mirror shard within the mansion/fortress. He succeeded in locating it, but the mirror's power turned the female Yeti into a monster.
Ravio curled up into a ball, feeling as if he was about to be torn apart. Another memory came, one where he was in some kind of Gerudo town and he caught the eye of the elder's daughter. He was only there to sell his wares, but the isolated desert town in Samasa was amazed at him as he was brave enough to cross the shifting sands.
His vision becoming hazy, Ravio's last memory was meeting Groose for the first time. The boy had his caravan attacked by a monster, and he was distraught. Lydia and…Sigmund…brought him home and introduced him. He was…happy to have…a brother and hoped he got to stay for good…
"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" Ravio cried, passing out from the great pain.
Shadows surrounded him and tried to engulf him, but Ravio's body began glowing a brilliant light. The shadows hissed and fled from him, coalescing into a hooded figure with similar features to Ravio. He hid behind an armored statue, snarling as the light consumed Ravio. His body lifted into the air and the shadow's red eyes became as fire.
"No take away! NO TAKE AWAY!" the shadow screamed.
It turned into a shadowy Wolfos, leaping at the unconscious, glowing-with-brilliance Ravio. But it hit an invisible barrier and sent flying back into a wall. The beast got up, attempting to lunge at him again. This time, Ravio disappeared upon contact with the beast's tackle. The creature slid to a halt, seeing that its prey was gone. Frustrated, it howled with fury, consuming the entire vestibule in darkness.
"Hey. Hey!"
"Who's there?"
"I guess you forgot that quick. Just wake up, 'kay?"
Ravio opened his eyes, hearing, "Seriously, I didn't think you'd wake up after that. Looked painful."
He was in what seemed to be the mansion's dining hall. It looked as if it was trapped in time, with many of the furnishings and decorations still intact the day the Couture family was driven out. The chandelier, golden, was covered in cobwebs, along with candlesticks on the white-cloth-covered long table. Chairs was coated in dust and the ancient china looked as if it had seen better days.
"How-How did I get here?" Ravio asked himself.
"Farore's Wind, I guess."
He jumped as he saw a specter sitting in one of the chairs. That specter was familiar, a figure that he met in that dream. The ashen-haired young man with red eyes and the same face as Ravio's said, "It's 'Yami'. And you're 'Ravio'."
"Um, y-yeah…Why are you…?" Ravio asked, standing.
"All ghostly-looking? It's because I'm asleep and apparently our consciousness can transfer to the others whenever any of us need help. Hasan and Kiba already had that happen to them, communicating from Hyrule to the Great Sea. And apparently, they switched consciousnesses and combined them to become stronger…Something that caused those two to transform…" Yami explained.
A vision of the redhaired Hasan and the tafrah Kiba came to Ravio and he could see the two becoming one, a dark haired version of Hasan, with wolfish features like Kiba and armor that was a combination of Hylian and Gerudo styles. The vision was somewhat haunting as he didn't think that was possible. But another memory of the Hero of Time using masks of differing races came to him.
"Yeah. That came to me too. That version of us used masked in Termina, before it was brought back to the world," Yami said.
"And features like the green hat showed up in each form…except for that 'Fierce Deity' one," Ravio said, remembering.
He then wondered why that came up. Looking to Yami, he asked, "So, why are you here now? I'm fine."
"Not really. I could feel the angst all the way from Zora Seas. Seriously, why are you so guilt ridden?" Yami asked.
"You know why, especially if you're me," Ravio told him.
"It's not like we can go back and change anything. So, feeling guilty over things we had no control over isn't helping," Yami said, sounding harsh.
The purple garb wearing fragment shook his head, not believing that the other didn't understand. Everything that happened was his fault. His cowardice brought so much pain to those he loved, along with the ailments that persistent for years. Everything was his…
"It's not! So, stop thinking that!" Yami shouted.
His ruby red eyes seemed to glow and the other told Ravio, "Something Mipha told me a while back, as I felt guilty too. A Hero ever walks forward, accepting the consequence of what's been and never looking back. They have to live in the now, or else risk being stuck in the past. Like what nearly happened to the Hero of Time."
Ravio could see Mipha telling Yami that, days after he woke up from the awakening. The Zora had given him that advice as he was in a funk just like Ravio. Her sister, Ruto, had shouted about how they needed him not to be a bump on a log. She meant well, but her delivery was kinda…mean.
Yami smirked, saying, "Well, she is the 'precocious princess' for a reason. Anyway, you'll need my help in getting past that shadow and to the treasure."
"So, you're going to switch with me or something?" Ravio asked.
"If that thing shows up, yeah," Yami replied.
He stood up from the chair, phasing through and telling Ravio, "The shadow's coming. Follow me. We'll get that treasure and get outta here."
Ravio did so, getting that Yami could sense the beast coming after him.
And there's the next chapter. Well, two of them felt guilt, remembering the heck they didn't mean to put Aryll and the others through.
-miano53