This is a day late because my dumbass completely forgot to post it.
Hope you enjoy.
[Words: 2149]
Chapter 6:
Blood Moon
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The day at Hateno Lynk learns:
1) Lynk gets restless easily if not careful.
2) Wolfie, while trying to deny, very much enjoys fusses.
3) Lynk thinks she might know a smidge of the love she had once felt for Mipha.
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After Purah took the liberty of upgrading some of the other runes—Lynk would have to bring her Guardian parts for Purah to agree to upgrade the others—Lynk was given back the Slate, now complete with the camera feature and previously missing photos.
(Purah also mentioned a man called Robbie, a former colleague of hers who had a workshop in the Akkala region where he could supply her with ancient Sheikah weapons that would be effective against Guardians. She recommended them, warned really, that if Lynk had any plans to face off against them, those weapons would be a great necessity.)
Leaving Hateno, it was mostly backtracking the way Lynk and Wolfie had come from and with a day and a bit, arrived back at the Duelling Peak's stable once more—Lynk had an interesting ability to sniff out Korok as well as find interesting things like weapons and hidden chests. She took on some monsters, trying to find the best way to take on a lizalfos since they had a ranged fighting ability.
Consulting the map, Lynk believed there to be a path that led on around the other side of the mountain towards Zora's Domain. Lynk also acknowledged that the central map piece would be one she'd need to go get, but having spied it while on the Great Plateau, knew it to be on the other side—at least half a day's journey in the wrong direction. She would have to get it another time.
Thankfully, Lynk had a rough location for Tower in the region she was heading for since she'd marked it with the Slate while in Kakariko Village.
She arrives at Duelling Peak's stable as the sun begins to set and she met Beetle again, who had yet to depart from there. She happily greeted him with signs. Beetle gasped dramatically and greeted her in return, saying he was happy to see she had started learning sign, so she didn't need to agitate her throat.
Lynk had felt her cheeks warm as she beamed happily.
After selling somethings and buying as many arrows as she could from him, Lynk waved Beetle off as she and Wolfie walked on.
It began to grow truly dark as the pair grew closer to the Plateau and Lynk could see Wolfie was beginning to lag. She knew she could continue, there wasn't even an ache in her muscles or feet, but she didn't want to cause him any harm.
[Let us rest for the night.] She signs and finding a covering of trees, steps off the path to scout about for any monsters. Nothing. So Lynk gathered some wood to start a fire.
Wolfie had already settled down and was dozing when she returned.
It made Lynk feel guilty. Clearly, Wolfie had better stamina than most wolves with his build and size, but he didn't have the same… endurance as she did. She wasn't even tired and knew by her time in Kakariko that Lynk didn't need to sleep as often as others. She could go for two days before she really began to feel tried or the effects, at least. A part of Lynk wonders if that the time between needing to sleep would increase the more she builds up her strength and body.
She grimaced, still not knowing if she liked it or not. Part of her baulked at the thought of it being unnatural but another buzzed with the knowledge it would give her an upper hand in fights or—
Lynk exhaled and used a dagger to scratch the flint into sparking the fire to life. The wood crackled softly and the fire warmed her skin. The pleasant smell the campfire gave off made her hum happily—it was strange, but she loved it. It was soothing and eased something inside her, body loosening as she sat back against a tree.
Seeing that they would be stuck here for the foreseeable future, Lynk tugged the Slate from her hip to take a moment to look through the images that Purah had recovered. The Photo Compendium was a fascinating and useful tool, she'd found after taking photos of all sort of things she came across now that Lynk had access to the Camera.
It supplied her with brief snippets of information with each photo she took of flora and fauna. The Fox for example…
Grassland Fox:
This breed of fox is common to grasslands and forests and is hallmarked by its fluffy, white-tipped tail. Unlike other foxes, they tend to act independently rather than form packs. Being omnivores, they hunt animals smaller than themselves and often stick to eating fruit and insects
Common Locations:
Hyrule Field
Lanayru Great Spring
Recoverable Materials:
Raw Meat
She flicked to the next.
Mountain Goat:
These herbivores make their home in meadows and rocky areas. Their characteristically strong legs and hooves facilitate easy climbing over rocks. Goats aren't very quick, so they make good targets for beginning hunters.
Common locations:
Hyrule Ridge
Great Hyrule Forest.
Recoverable Materials
Raw Meat
Hightail Lizard:
A lizard found throughout Hyrule. It's a bit slow to react at times, but if given a chance to escape, it will dart off quickly. Cook it with monster parts for a speed-boosting elixir.
Common locations:
West Necluda
East Necluda
Cooking Effects:
Speed Up
That last one was curiosity inducing—Impa had mentioned elixirs in passing one evening, at the time Lynk hadn't been paying much attention, her focus stilted with her body finally succumbing to sleep.
But, that meant if she used a hightail lizard with monster parts, she'd get an elixir that increased her speed? What about stamina because surely increasing one's ability to move faster played into one's stamina. Also, how long would an elixir last? What other elixirs were there? A heat resistance? Cold resistance? One that might help increase her physical strength for a time?
Lynk bit back an excited squeal at all these possibilities—this meant she would definitely be taking as many photos as possible of everything new she came across to complete the Photo Compendium and fill in her vast lack of knowledge.
It was a gift, she realised, this was a chance to help recover and relearn everything she had forgotten without the hassle of going in blind or asking another for help in learning and being stuck somewhere to learn said things. This way Lynk could keep on the move without any worry about being slowed down on her…journey, quest? Whatever the hell this was supposed to be called.
Saying it was a quest felt…wrong; she had failed once already. Quest sounded like this was some sort of fun and exciting hunt, however, in reality, it was anything but that.
Exhaling, Lynk turned her attention to the photos that the Princess had taken. There were twelve in total, but she frowned in annoyance, she had no idea where any of these might be. The only upside to them was the photos gave at least some sort of…environment clues. The sandy photos were clearly from the Gerudo Desert or surrounding area. The red-tinted rocks near Death Mountain…there was one somewhere in the castle—Lynk was dreading that one because it meant she was going to have to sneak in at some point and that meant Guardians.
All the other ones, Lynk was clueless about but despite that, there was at least some sort of starting point she supposed.
Lynk crossed her legs and pulled out her book. She hesitated a beat, unsure if she was ready to read more before deciding she was going to have to get over her fear eventually and opened it to the next page of where she left off.
Once upon a time, there was a young woman who desired nothing more than to protect others. A selfless want, one many often admired. Of course, such a desire was not yours alone, you worked beside the other knights that protected the Kingdom but before you had been made an official knight, you had spent many years training and tutoring others that joined the guard.
Just because you were Jin's daughter did not mean you weren't given grief at first—you had to prove yourself and so you did. Many came to respect you greatly over the years because if there is one thing men can get behind, it is dedication. Especially to the crown and country.
You worked beside your father and others to help train new trainees because you might not have been allowed to be knighted at that point, but you weren't going to allow that to stop you from doing everything you could do help prepare others who could.
I admired that selflessness. You had from a young age always wanted to be a knight and when you had learnt woman were not allowed to be such, it had disheartened you. Helkura had confided in me that the original reason you wished to do so, while you may have forgotten with time, was to protect Zelda.
She had been your best before your mother's death, and you had been Zelda's only friend her age. Perhaps her only friend period as Zelda may have had contact with others but truly, I doubt the Princess had ever seen them as her friends.
It had upset quite a few when you two drifted apart and you only reconnect later in life after you had drawn the Master Sword, and to say the reunion was a disaster would be an understatement. Zelda, frustrated at her lack of results for her magic, turned her angry confusion onto you.
It seemed no one had approached her to tell her perhaps you had your own burdens too.
You stayed silent, however, having no desire to retaliate to her actions. However, there was a turning point when after a specific instance where you had saved her from a stray Guardian that they theorised had gone down fighting. You saved her with a pot lid, oddly enough but you destroyed it. She yelled, you finally told her off before stalking away, needing space to breathe.
I remember watching you from inside as you took your anger and frustrations out on a tree in the garden. It was painful to watch to you cry and sob your heart out. I was hesitant to approach you in such a state, knowing you needed that space. Still, there were few instances that I ever saw such raw emotion from you.
It was a reminder that you are just as Hylian as everyone else. It wasn't fair that you were looked to, expected too just know what to do. To be perfect in every way just because you were the wielder of the sacred blade.
A cruel fate.
Before Lynk could turn the page, the night sky began to shift in a kaleidoscope of colours, the air around her grew heavy and there was a vile taste that hit the back of her mouth.
Flakes of Malice begun to fizzle into the air like ash, the moon, once a beautiful white, was stained crimson.
Her breath lodged in the throat.
A Blood Moon, Lynk realised in growing horror.
Wolfie, awoken, began growling, hackles raised as he searched for what was causing the disturbance.
Lynk swallowed.
In the far off distance, she watched on as Ganon roused, rising and circling, roaring and clearing searching. Did he know? Did he know she was awake?
Then she heard it, the chiming. She stood, absently her eyes searched left and right but instinctively she knew there was no one there. No, the sound belonged to someone far away, someone trapped within the walls of the castle.
…Lynk…
It was distant, wary, tired but still ever so persistent to pierce through the Malice that trapped her.
..Lynk, you must be on your guard…
…At the peak hour of the Blood Moon, Ganon's power grows. By its malevolence glow, the aimless spirits of the monsters slain in battle return to flesh once more…
…Lynk…Please, be careful and do not let this discourage you…
The thrum of magic fades, the hairs on the back of her neck relax and her shoulders slump. Lynk stares up at the crimson moon silently, her fingers curling and relaxing. She watches, perfectly still as time ticks, as the moon passes its peak and the bright glow grows dull until it is nothing more than a murky red.
Wolfie's huff brings her from her daze. Lynk turns to look at him, his eyes full of concern. She sighs, fighting the dread that festered inside her.