Just to the north, the skies of Tabantha shone painted by the massive spire of rock that housed the Rito's home, imposing itself along the landscape like a gigantic pillar holding up the sky if only by its own magnificence. Perhaps that was what first extended upon the Rito their initial sense of haughtiness- that they, alone, carried this world into the heavens while the other people of Hyrule remained held to the earth like every other beast of the land.

As long as Rito culture had been recorded, it was rife with tales of great men and women performing wonders, with little room for anybody lacking anything less that awe-inspiring feats. It was what every Rito strode toward, fought entire lifetimes for, and to their own detriment, some might say, it was why such burdens had been placed upon the youngest amongst their broods. Why Revali had been faced with an entire culture baring down on him, treating him as something lesser.

For how could any Rito become the greatest among them after such a disgraceful start to their life? Who could ever hope to overcome such a stinging start to existence?

Atop this gigantic spire of rock, jutting out from its sheer face of stone, rested almost in mid-air the wooden landing spot known simply as the Landing, where Link and Mipha had taken to rest once the Champions had arrived. Revali and Zelda had immediately taken to the Elder of the Rito, Olen, leaving the others to wander about, though, given the scorching eyes of the Rito guard, that quite indirectly meant remaining upon the Landing itself, segregating these strangers from the Rito's in general, particularly the younger fledglings, whose eyes would reflect sunlight in the smallest of crawlspaces upon the village as they snuck glances beneath the prying eyes of their grownups.

Link and Mipha sat on the edge-most portion of the lumber-strewn landing spot, legs dangling miles above Lake Totori, as they peered out onto the vast expanse of Hyrule before them, sitting in silence as they did so, though, that was more due to Urbosa's incessant complaining than anything to do with themselves, save for a minor smirk or two as the Gerudo griped up a storm.

"Honestly!" she muttered heatedly, "They didn't even ask! I'm her guardian, you'd think somebody would have had the very idea to invite me into- She's never had an official audience with a foreign dignitary on her own before! What makes them think she's prepared for-"

Her face narrowed, lips pursing in accusation, "What makes her think she's-…"

Link turned a glance over his shoulder toward the pacing Gerudo, "I thought you were the one championing her burgeoning adulting capabilities?"

"Well!" Urbosa shot back before groaning, crossing her arms as her feet continued clamoring along the wooden landing, "Well… Maybe it's not easy allowing your child to leave the nes-"

Her scowling eyes turned toward the two Rito guards stationed at the Landing's entrance, as if her next word was one to claim insult, so she slowly redirected, "You know- Leave the shallow pool."

Mipha grinned, taking the opportunity to bring some levity in the form of a tease, "Zora children, even before graduating from the shallows, are quite capable of-"

"You know what, I don't need that right now!" Urbosa retorted shakily, gritting her teeth as she shook her head, "The whole 'mother' thing has never been- Daruk! Would you please just come over here and relax?!"

Her scowl rested upon Daruk, who had remained as close to the opposite end as Link and Mipha as he could, attempting to remain as flat against the railing there as he could, still shaking nervously as his eyes relentlessly studied the wooden structure beneath him, "I-! I-! -just-!"

Urbosa's nerves still aquiver with the magnitude of an earthquake, his continued irrational behavior allowed her a chance to let off steam, her arms reaching out as she approached the Goron, "It's not gonna tear off! There's a rock formation beneath it- It's not-!"

"You-! You wouldn't-!" Daruk stammered, "You haven't a clue the might of a G- Goron! My very- weight would snap this- these flimsy boards in an instant!"

The Rito guards shared pithy glances at one another while Urbosa took Daruk's arm, the Gerudo pulling him further onto the platform, "C'mon, you oaf!"

"No!" Daruk pleaded.

Urbosa continued rather violently yanking Daruk along, "I'm trying to instruct you! Just-! Let me teach you not to be afraid!"

Retaining his rather considerable impression of a firmly entrenched mountain, Daruk remained where he was as Urbosa pressed on her incessant attack, leaving Link to point out plainly, "Good. Make him less afraid of the Landing and more afraid of you."

Urbosa abruptly ceased her tugging to peer toward Link while Daruk shooed away her grip, her lips curling as she shot back toward the Hylian, "Are you criticizing my methods?"

"As a mother?" Link replied, "On the contrary. You've done more than enough for Zelda when it comes to instruction. She knows what she's doing up there. You don't have to sit here and wiggle and worry, tearing off Daruk's arm to sate your nerves."

Urbosa's stare softened, only for Daruk to chide her, "S- See!"

Her head whipped back toward him, a piercing gaze shooting toward him as Urbosa weighed her options, ultimately sighing as she rested her face against the palm of her hand.

"You know what, just in case, I ought to be up there, too," she reasoned aloud, making her way toward the Landing's entrance, "Daruk? You wanna get off this-"

She paused beneath the gaze of the two Rito guards, one of their faces coursing forward in heavy critique as he interrupted, "Were you to say flimsy one more time, I would be quite happy to demonstrate how hearty Rito craftsmanship can be…"

Despite the flagrantly vague threat, Urbosa tilted her head to the side as she completed, "-off this rickety platform?"

The guard's eyes narrowed, though a smirk stretched across his face as though he were impressed by her inability to be intimidated. In utter contrast to her stone-faced attitude, Daruk quickly fell onto all-fours to better distribute his weight atop the platform, skittering toward the entrance with a painfully slow gait as he did so, leaving Urbosa to frown.

"Just don't meet him on solid ground," Urbosa noted in some sort of challenge.

The Rito just barely released a smarmy chuckle as he stepped back toward the main, rising stairway that took visitors along the whole of Rito Village in offering, allowing Urbosa to advance, though she took a moment to return her attention toward Link and Mipha.

"You two gonna be alright down here?"

Link nodded in time with Mipha's reply, "Yes."

Urbosa raised her head in understanding before bending low to grab Daruk's arm, pulling him up the stairs and, hopefully, to his feet, muttering under her breath, "You're embarrassing us in front of the roosters…"

"Gah," Daruk complained, "This is why Gorons at high altitude have mountains underneath them…"

As he scurried to his feet, he followed Urbosa and the single guard up toward the walkway up the spire, leaving the Landing behind them, much to Daruk's elation, even if the main staircase remained rather weak beneath his weight. The three ascended further into the thinning air, leaving Link and Mipha alone beneath the watchful eye of the second Rito guard, his attention waning as the most boisterous of their guests had left.

The entirety of Hyrule remained as wide open as it ever possibly could in the vision of the two guests. With solitude returning, Link was able to peer out into the expanse of breathtaking landscapes he hadn't ever known, feeling slighted by his prior two expeditions out here into the West. He remained regretful, now more than ever, that his first excursion into Hebra hadn't yielded him this same vantage point. That time, he had been on a soldier's business, but even his second time, when he and Zelda had come during their first rigorous journey, the two had met Revali only outside of Rito Village. So close he'd come to this view, and now it had finally belonged to his memory.

His waning attention, lost as it was to those wilds along the horizon, suddenly snapped back at Mipha's voice, the Zora's warm voice so contrasting everything else about her, "Never seen these mountains?"

Link shook his head, "I have, just- Not from this particular viewpoint."

Smiling as her hands remained in her lap, just atop those dangling legs that remained in empty space off the edge of the Landing, Mipha quietly mused, "We have mountains in Zorana. but these are just different. Before my brother came along, I remember thinking about the world beyond Zorana; a world my parents were far too protective of me to explore. Such a comfort to know that, whatever mountains were out in the world, I had those cliffs surrounding my home to gaze upon. Why the need to explore when I already had those sheer walls of stone?"

Her smile weakened in melancholic regret, "It wasn't until this journey that I realized not all mountains are the same. Some sing songs of protection, like those of my home, but others sing in tones dangerous to me. Others, like these-"

"I haven't quite figured them out," Mipha revealed with a hint of hopeful inquiry in her voice, "But I've been sitting here this whole time, trying."

Link's eyes scanned those mountains to the east, wondering what music they must have been singing, even if the idea, he figured, was far more a result of Mipha being poetic than anything else. Still, he took a moment to, perhaps, ascertain that same feeling Mipha had attempted to conjure within herself, even if it were to little avail. He knew the mountain ranges of Hyrule all appeared different, that they all held a certain majesty all their own, yet he knew Mipha had been seeking even further meaning than that.

"Obnoxious august-ness," Link shrugged, earning him a giggle from behind Mipha's lips.

She chimed in reply, "I was thinking more along the lines of untapped veneration."

"Okay, now I know I'm not following along," Link admitted with low dismissal, leaning backward with his hands braved against the wooden platform beneath him.

With a wry smile of her own, Mipha explained, "Think about it. Hebra's enormous mountains all but eclipse this range which extends across Tabantha. I'm sure it sings a song so- so lonesome, perhaps. For all its majesty, it won't ever meet that of those peaks to the north, no matter how hard they might try."

Link dropped his eyes, watching that stretch of land that disappeared from his gaze just before melting into the water's edge of Lake Totori, "I think we're both doing the same thing."

A deep, inquisitive stare fell onto him as Mipha smirked, "What might that be?"

"Sticking our own, personal opinions of you-know-who onto the mountains themselves," Link admitted, his breath weak in regret as he did so.

Mipha's grin widened in humor, "Not even saying his name, now?"

Grumbling lowly so that only she would hear, Link buried his head against his chest before revealing, "…guess I feel a bit like these mountains."

At his referencing of her own wild thoughts, Mipha respectfully smiled before turning away, allowing the man she had come to love a moment to catch his thoughts before he continued, "You know, at best, I had the upper hand, even though I know, at worst, he and I were on equal footing. Now it's just-"

He frowned, "I don't know what I'm saying. I'm happy for him. I've always had companionship in some form or another. Now he can have something akin to that after so many years."

"Is that a little bit of understanding I hear?" Mipha inquired with an impish tone.

Link couldn't help his lips from stretching into a weak smirk, "You fight alongside a man, for once, and there's a bond there, whether you like it or not."

He felt Mipha's stare remain on him, forcing him to raise his head to meet her with a glance of his own, "or woman."

Mipha's brow narrowed in teasing accusation, "How'd you know I was staring you down about that misstep?"

"Because a certain somebody was the one who taught me a thing or two about keeping an eye out through my peripheral vision," Link simply recalled, "After you'd beaten me fifteen times to my once."

Smirking with a particular devilishness, Mipha offered, "You just weren't prepared."

"The Hero couldn't have prepared me for you," Link chuckled, shaking his head, "Much less the Knights' Academy. None of my instructors had ever encountered a battle-maiden Zora Princess before, so it never exactly came up in my curriculum."

Mipha smiled in pleasing radiance, happy to see this man, still as broken as he was from his battle with the Lowlanders, managing to work up a laugh. Still, the Knight's eyes remained sullen, as though staring off beyond that mountain range in some mirror-like introspection.

"He was the one who saved the day," Link shrugged, "I'd be dead if not for him."

His thumbs ran amongst one another, leaving Mipha's expression to dour in the midst of such honesty. She felt the pangs in his chest, as though his emotions were but water in a faucet ready to pour our if only his words would allow.

"I've saved nothing. No one," Link quietly reasoned, lips pursed in tugging thought, as he lifted his shoulders in notation, rustling the Master Sword that rested there, "This Sword might as well have chosen a pack mule if it simply needed somebody to carry it around. I'm no hero. The rest of you- You're the heroes."

Still, he grinned, "I'm just the note-taker."

Mipha glanced with trepidation, uncertain of this man's innermost thoughts, or even her own. She continued watching his fingers, twirling about nervously, sliding along one another without any moment of stillness as if his nerves had slipped into overdrive.

Slowly, she reached a hand over, tenderly sliding it between his pair, wrapping her fingers around the soft breadth of skin that made up such a loving stretch of warmth, leaving Link's attention nearing her.

"I couldn't even save you," Link muttered with a dismissive shrug.

Mipha's skin charged a soothing swath of calm iciness along the Hylian's palm, as though he had taken a grasp of snow into his grasp. His eyes fell in deepening thought.

"You did save me," Mipha spoke up gently, a fright hidden in her voice, "Maybe not up on Death Mountain, but-"

Her thumb caressed the back of his hand, allowing her a moment's respite as she worked up the courage to press on, "I didn't decide to become a warrior just because."

She had earned Link's attention as his eyes raised to peer into her own, suddenly causing a wave of embarrassment, along with a twinge of nausea, to swell up within her stomach.

"Maybe one day…" she smiled weakly, "I'll tell you why I chose to fight."

Link's eyes wandered away with a teasing acknowledgement, "It certainly wasn't to teach me how to beat you in duels more often."

She only smirked at his subtle compliment, "So you say you're no hero? You saved me. The way it was told on the way up here, Revali would have been mincemeat had you not intervened. Make it twice if you count Gerudo Desert and that stunt he pulled. Zora's Domain, you were as valiant a fighter as any other Champion."

"I believe-" she paused as she pulled her satchel across her body to where she could investigate its contents better, finally pulling out the picture book Zelda had given her at the start of the journey, "-this little tome has something to say about that."

"Goddess," Link groaned, rolling his head along his shoulders before chuckling, "You've brought citations."

She smirked, "A side-effect of teaching me to read, though, even without that, I have all the knowledge I need."

As she scurried through the pages, her fingers quickly flipping across paper, Mipha finally came to that same story Link had recounted for her so long ago atop Satori Mountain, "Here. 'The Sword of Evil's Bane', wasn't it? The Hero leaves the Master Sword to the care of Hyrule Castle in his old age, where it would remain for centuries, "until it's reclaimed once again by one so destined". See?"

"I see that you quoted that correctly," Link nodded, "You've really been practicing."

She smiled, "I've been trying."

Link reached over to her lap where the book lay, flipping the page to the next in sequence; another story, another colorful assortment of graphic novelization accompanying the rather juvenile tome. Mipha watched curiously as Link pulled away without much notice of the story in question.

"Why not give an unfamiliar one a go?" he asked, "If this is our final destination during this adventure- I suppose it's only appropriate to gauge your progress, huh?"

Mipha bit her lip at the thought, still not wholly confident in even her abilities to understand Hylian script meant for their children. Still, caught in that space between wanting to impress the man she loved and causing torrential embarrassment to herself, she couldn't help but focus on that first proposition. After all, were she to screw up, so knew Link would be too critical of her error.

"Well, I- I suppose," Mipha offered with a deep gasp of breath, readying herself as she continued flipping through pages, coming to a story wherein its pictures appealed to her.

As Link turned away, listening for her progression, Mipha's lips turned upward in mischievous ambush, taking a moment as though she were readying herself, "This one's about a knight."

She paused, wondering if Link might have caught on already, though her silence only won his impulse to break the silence, his shoulders raising, "That's how a lot of stories begin, yes."

Mipha concealed a silent chuckle as she went on, "-a knight visiting a lake somewhere. He's on leave, or simply left his post- anything to find this moment, alone, with a woman he's there to meet."

"In a children's picture book?" Link inquired with wonderment, "I'm beginning to think you and Zelda had something more of an arrangement."

Mipha pressed on with lips turning wryly, "She's nameless. or he doesn't know her name. That fact eludes him. All he knows is that familial sort of love from this woman. They're lovers, or, perhaps… more than that."

Link's eyes narrowed in thought.

"Two children-"

A dry expression shot across Link's face as he turned toward his companion, "See, this is why I had planned for you to take my journal only because I was expecting to be dead before having to explain anything. Even then, I had hoped the language barrier would have been in my favor in some respect…"

He groaned with shame, running his hands across his face, "Goddess…"

Mipha's mischievous smirk dissolved into one of mere contentedness as she assured, "For what it's worth, I could only work out so much. I never saw a name for-"

Lowering her head, a wavering pang shot through her chest, "-for whomever you were writing about."

Link dropped his hands back into his lap with a sigh, "It's not- It's more embarrassing than anything else, I suppose. There never was a woman I was referring to. That's why whatever mentions you skimmed across were left nameless. I just-"

His face spun awkwardly as he summoned, not only the words to say, but the courage to reveal such a thing to a woman whose opinion of him had become of the utmost importance. Such a spotlight cast down upon him as Mipha watched him curiously, much like those nights when the two of them were together, and yet, for some strange reason, this moment of bared emotion felt far more strenuous than had bared skin.

"I was a career soldier, and then a knight. Even more importantly, a knight in the Royal Guard. My destiny was set; strewn out before me like an endless path of carpet. I was to become a man who only knew the life of a Knight, even unto my death, with only medals and notches along my sword's hilt as the only lasting things of note about my being," Link started with a shrug, "I cannot say I despised that life, but- So devoid was love between my parents that I suppose I began longing for such a thing myself. To see what might bind two people other than a sense of duty to their kingdom."

He felt his shoulders tug once again, "I suppose it started as nothing more than a silly thought rolling around in my head, but- So many nights on patrol, out on scouting runs with my men, fighting back the loneliness of keeping watch alone with nothing but my journal to entertain me- I began to play with the idea, spinning that thought into a web of fictitious possibility, until something of an empty framework appeared."

"I'd write about things I'd miss. things I wish I might have been able to share with another- this nameless, faceless woman- were I not chained to my fate," he continued, taking a moment to grin amusedly, "For all that jealousy Zelda had toward me- I was so jealous of her. Even if fate takes every one of us, at least, for a time, she had nothing but possibility. A chance to step in whatever direction she would have liked, regardless of the outcome."

"She never had a name, but- the more I reflected upon my life-" his ideas sputtered to a stop, speech pausing in harmony while he collected his thoughts, "You know, we'd been separated for years. But in all that time, I grew to learn, all too well, that my life was so much better with you in it. This mystery woman I conjured up-"

He smiled in weak realization, as though he'd been foolish to have ever believed otherwise, "-it was always you."

Mipha lowered her head for a brief moment in short reverence, smiling sweetly at the thought before turning her attention back toward her lover, reaching out a hand to grasp tenderly to his arm, "That explains the newest portions."

"Well, yeah," Link admitted with a chuckle, "Once I understood the journal's purpose, I figured it best to switch to simpler language, just in case you decided to relinquish your training or something."

Mipha cocked a smirk, "You know I never give up."

"I said 'or something'," Link reminded lightly, "Like me nearly being led to my death, for instance."

At such a thought, Mipha was taken aback, though her grasp remained true along Link's arm. For whatever reason, more owed to the stagnant air that began to resonate only because they both knew that one life between them brought back from death was toying with fate, already, a silence came to rest in that space between them, with Mipha's touch all that bound the both of them.

In a slowly sudden movement, Link reached up to his shoulder, working through the aches that fired through his sore muscles, grabbing hold of the Master Sword before drawing it clear, holding it tightly in his lap by its hilt alone, watching its gleaming edge shoot glistening rays of sunlight against his eyes.

"It's funny," Link reasoned with a softened grin, "The one thing fate, perhaps, hand-picked me for- the thing that made me realize our fates aren't nearly as concrete as what we believe."

He gently waved the weapon back and forth, careful not to release it down the chasmous drop toward Totori Lake, quietly thinking to himself before continuing, "I once said, a while ago, that this thing made me feel more lost than before I'd taken it into my hand. Knowing, now, what this Sword means…"

"It's certainly better than any idea I ever could have ever conjured up, alone," he smiled, "From how Zelda tells it, this Sword brings to this world the greatest evils, if only in challenge. But I think there's more to it than that."

His eyes flashed toward Mipha, "I think it brings about the most magnificent of events, just as much. How else might it have heard my heart, chosen you as its wielder, too? How else might it have brought me on this journey only to have me fall in love with you so that you might be brought back from death?"

Link's attention spun toward Mipha as his journal entered his view, turning to watch her as the lips upon her face crawled into a distant smile, "Seeing as how I shouldn't have this yet, perhaps its best that it remain with you."

Her eyes, mournful as they were, sparkled to life, "Your eloquence can be enticing to hear, but- So long as you can also write such things down, as well, I'd like them to be recorded in some fashion. Zoras live longer, you know, so there will always be a time when I'll need your words, here, as much as I need them passing my ears."

"I didn't mean to get that dreary," Link acknowledged with a boyish grin.

"Still," Mipha went on, smiling in harmony with him as she rested the journal at his side, "I don't mean to pry."

Link rolled his eyes as he returned the Master Sword to its sheath, "I'd have drowned twice over had you not."

Smirking, Mipha shook her head, "When we were kids, you needed me. You can take care of yourself, now."

"No," Link assured, his eyes resting upon the journal, "No, I'm- quite sure I still need you."

Mipha felt her heart tug. All of a sudden, their minds crossed, both of them suddenly thinking of this very moment- so close they were in body and soul; thinking how the end of this journey meant the end of these very instances. Perhaps not entirely, but those days where they could both be sure that the best nights would follow-

"Why don't you hang onto it," Link spoke up softly, sliding the tome back toward Mipha.

She glanced at his hand with a look of wondering confusion, quietly retorting, "But-"

"When this is all over-" Link grinned warily, taking stock of those words he had once shared with this woman, "I'll shower your scales with so many kisses, tracing between them all so that you might hide them there for when you need them. But, just in case-"

He pulled away his hand, surrendering his ownership over more than just his waning thoughts. That tome had been as much to him as Mipha did at that moment, for it held everything he had ever wanted to speak to that then-unnamed woman he would have trekked across all of Hyrule to name. It had been Mipha, he knew, before that had crossed that boundary that only lovers know.

"If you run out," Link shrugged, stretching his lips into a wiry, boyish tug, "You'll need this."

Mipha smiled at the thought, carefully reaching down to handle the tome, "Then I'll treasure it dearly. As much as I cherish your very heart."

Nodding, Link leaned closer, taking a brief kiss at her shoulder before returning to his unaltered stance, "If we can't share a life together, right now, perhaps that will suffice, even if it's a watered down version. If something were ever to happen-"

His face grew dark, "-were this coming conflict that Zelda says will be so cataclysmic-"

Turning toward this woman whom had, indeed, held his heart as surely as she now held that journal, Link fought to bring out a smile, "Perhaps this might be our entire lives together, in some way."

"In some way," Mipha replied with a dour look of her own, though her brilliant timbre broke past her lips, "As I work out these anecdotes, though, I expect you to make good on them, in reality. They do seem quite sweet."

Link chuckled, "Some sweet, some-"

He quickly paused, eyes averting in dangerous realization, "You know, I might actually need it back-"

Mipha immediately leaned away from him, shoving the journal into her satchel to keep the Hylians paws from it, laughing at his wild antics while swatting away his grasp. Link growled as he battled for control of the tome, but eventually sighed in defeat, returning to his seated position with a sigh.

"I tried to warn you," he reflected with half a frown.

Before he could press on with his guilt trip, his attention returned as Mipha slid her body toward him, closing that distance between their sides as she wormed her way against him. Link only barely held back a grin, hoping to retain his cool air, though it became simpler as Mipha reached up a hand to allow her dainty touch to meet his shoulder, as though her chilling skin were a match for his frosty personality.

"Some sweet," she teased, "and some savory?"

A blush upon Link's face, his unintentional offering to her fluttering heart.

Mipha giggled, "I quite like the coalescence."

Her cheek came to his shoulder, making a show of twisting her eyes up toward his as though she were a puppy, leaving Link appropriately enamored by this magnificent being who would so dare to share love with him.

Link allowed his head to fall to the side, resting atop her own, the two joining in this basking effort as the sun slowly crept behind the mountains before them. So lost were they in one another's presence, neither of them could tell, exactly, whose hand took the other's- only that, at some point, they could so delicately feel themselves joined further, perhaps for the final time like this, at least for a long time.

"I love you," Mipha heard, not as much through Link's words as through his warmth and the panging of his heart as it skipped while those words left him.

She so wished such a sensation could be etched onto paper, too.

Eyes closed in heavenly reverence, Mipha's lips raised like the mightiest breath ever taken by Hyrule itself.

"I love you, too."