Trial and Error
Annoying brothers and plotting happen. This story is also kind of mean to Linkle.
King Gustaf strolled past empty classrooms. Various projects were abandoned for the evening in the Hyrule Castle research labs and it felt empty at this time of day. The Sheikah, Impaz, trailed along and did her best to imitate Hazel's mannerisms. The fairies' telltale gleam was concealed as they hid in bags. He tapped out a coded order to send on the Gossip Stone network and barged in on his brother's favorite library. Since Sahasrahla wasn't there, he startled a couple of off-duty knights instead. Gustaf left with a quick apology to the confused Zoras and barged in on the chief librarian's study with success. Sahasrahla glared at his brother and snapped,
"Why can you never knock on the door like a normal, sane individual?" Normally Sahasrahla would say three words at a time if he was feeling talkative. Brothers being annoying changed that.
"It is a sacred duty of mine as a brother to make your life more interesting Sammy. Are you ready for the thing?" Gustaf said as he helped himself to a voltfruit from the table. Sahasrahla rolled his eyes.
"Did you properly plan for contingencies or just go around making vague statements at people? Oh, sorry Hazel. Good evening." he said to the disguised Impaz.
"Yes." was Gustaf's reply. The reason why Gustaf had the Triforce of Wisdom was that Sahasrahla didn't want to bother about Yiga murder attempts when he had more important things to do. He was much more of a scholar and fleeing across the country would distract him from important things like books and ancient artifact cataloging. Gustaf was the younger brother and inherited Zelda's talkativeness. He also inherited Link's predisposition towards trolling Yiga. Sometimes it seemed like Gustaf had way too much fun messing with people's heads. The coded message was Sahasrahla's idea actually: they didn't want a repeat of the mechanical army wiping everyone out like the last Calamity. By morning functional Guardian turrets were going to be completely harmless and armless. Knights were set for clearing everyone out at the slightest sign of Armageddon. "Hope we've got enough fighters on all the Divine Beasts. No Champion will be fighting alone this time."
In the evening light, he could see Vah Ruta standing in the farm fields. It was kind of the Zora to bring it here for the drought. "Are you heading out with the evacuation?"
"Not a chance."
"Ana! I'm so glad you two are okay, is your family okay too?" Groose asked.
Ana had to ask a lot of things. Hazel and Ana both had a lot to say. She started with a "Seriously you guys! Two days and you ended up with thousand-rupee bounties on your heads! What did you do?!" It seemed like a good way to get an explanation. Everyone started talking at once.
"Ana! Hey, um, so there's this Yiga guy pretending to be the hero with a fake sword and everything-"
"-Groose never would be working for the Yiga or saying suicidally mean stuff-"
"-This guy isn't actually named Cawlin, he's actually that same guy who didn't kill me-"
"-It wasn't our fault there were all those Cuccos-"
"-It was our fault! We would have done more but the guy woke up-"
"-The Linkle girl has a champion ability and fried some-"
"-Ravio's home to play! He was thirteenth place in the hide and seek championship when he played-"
Hazel took charge with a fold of her arms and said, "One at a time! Ana, that's Groose right? You tell me everything, please leave out unimportant stuff."
"Well, after we left Tarrey Town I tracked the two visitors down by the fairy fountain..." Groose explained about the events of the past couple days while the Koroks dragged off their prop. "...We ended up here this morning before dawn."
"Dal was right about 'Link.' He probably staged that fight to build a reputation." Hazel said. "That 'Link' pretended to rescue our brother and sister a while ago. He is going to pay for using my siblings like that."
"We need to prove this guy is a charlatan right away before he does more damage," Ana added. "I think our Grandfather is planning to be bait. He gave Hazel the Hero's Slate and we decided to start here. It made sense to find you and ask the Deku Tree for some wisdom."
Hazel's brain was churning and processing the information. They needed a plan. "So with a limit on two uses per person of the transport rune per day I'm thinking we do a relay of some kind with the Slate. It can take two people at once and I don't want to try more than that at a time unless we are about to be crushed under rubble." Hazel said as they walked around the side of the tree. They asked a Korok to go let Linkle know the sisters were here now. "Strich can fly out but the forest entrance is swarming with opportunists at the moment. It is going to take time to have the knights called off your case even with Ana's word. I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be disguised when in public right now until whatever trap is sprung by Grandpa. We'll have to come up with a name to call me." Hazel thought of the purple hair dye she brought. She might not even need that if she could get the illusion spell working. "We should convene and ask if that Ravio guy has other talents or information." Inside info on the Yiga would be useful even when outdated. Who else would know what Veran was capable of? The matter of the sword was also very concerning. Hazel worried the Legendary Hero would be just as crazy as the stories of her great-grandfather Link. She would take up a career in piracy or something if that was the case.
"He was terrified of his own shadow. I'm not sure he'll want to come." Strich said uncertainly to Hazel. Hazel sighed irritably.
"Pity. We could use a guy with that much magic power on our side. Did the Koroks retrieve that cane or rod of his?"
Ravio walked into view and waved cheerfully. He was toting an empty bucket and some cloth on his arms. A Korok was riding on his shoulders. Hazel examined the amateur sorcerer-merchant. He looked a lot like Groose described him to be, not like the description on the Gossip Stone network.
"OH! You, uh, Miss Princesses! Hey, um, The name's Ravio! Um, did they tell you about me yet, or..." Ana waved as Hazel introduced them.
"I'm Hazel, that's Ana. You can stop bowing, please. "
"Hey, Ravio, are you okay there? Were-were you crying or something?" Groose asked. Ravio wiped his face with the cloth a little.
"No-Course not!"
"He totally was," snickered a Korok that had followed behind Ravio. Hazel raised an eyebrow at the disheveled boy who hastily explained that there was a lot of dust around. Hazel had the urge to pat Ravio on the head and offer him a cookie. He was so non-threatening it was a wonder anyone thought he was evil.
"It's nothing! Really! Hey, um... Groose? Strich? Can-can I come help you fight Veran?" Surprise was evident on the Tarrey Guards' faces. Hazel figured this saved her having to convince the guy to help. It still wasn't a guarantee he wouldn't turn tail and bolt when things got rough but it was something. "She-I-they-I can't just stand back and hide anymore. I told Grandpa I'd go help! I'm not fearless like Linkle but I bet I can help with my magic!"
"Seriously? Are you sure? You almost died back there, buddy." Strich pointed out. "We do want the extra help but will you be all right?"
"Can't ask for all my rupees back if the Kingdom is destroyed! The Koroks retrieved the Cane of Pacci, the lightning rod, and are trying to find my old tornado rod. The old ice rod disintegrated so they stole one from the Knights for me!" He realized what he'd said. "Um sorry, Ididn'ttellMekarandRowntodothat." Hazel thanked Ravio while trying hard not to smirk at the embarrassed boy. Ravio was invited to listen in to the planning while he got his bucket filled. He dashed off to finish cleaning up in private and change clothes.
Scratch that, Hazel had the urge to pat him on the head and offer him a radish.
When he peeled off his gloves and sank his hands into the water he scrubbed a bit. He paused. He scrubbed a little more. That mark wasn't there before and it wasn't going away.
Ravio rapidly finished changing and marched outside to demand answers from a tree.
"What is this?" Ravio asked while pointing to the back of his left hand. He was fairly certain he wasn't possessed by a demon pig thing and that wasn't the Triforce of Wisdom either. The Great Deku Tree was probably looking. It was hard to tell.
"As I told you before, you found your courage."
"Are you kidding? Linkle's absolutely fearless! Groose is loads more heroic! Strich is a proper knight too! I couldn't even defend myself in sparring as a kid! I'm scared of just about everything!" The Sheikah fighting stances all felt so wrong and he couldn't bring himself to injure people. He at least was decent at archery. The shadow magic slipped his grasp. The only reason the old Yiga Master asked Veran not to kill Ravio was that he made the best banana bread of all the children. Ravio was too afraid to sneak bites from the allotted bananas when cooking. His problems with magic had ceased when the Deku Tree convinced him using magic wouldn't turn him evil. It helped using other magic elements than shadow.
"Do you think heroes are never afraid?"
"There is no way. Are we going to have to do an exorcism on me or something?"
"That is not the Triforce of Power, Child." the tree reassured a pacing Ravio. "...You could not draw the sword when you first came to the forest because you were not ready to face your past and your fears." He knew this would be a lot for the boy to take in.
"Yeah, well, why me?"
"The Goddesses decide matters for reasons of their own. I believe that you were needed by Groose in the past. Had you not stayed that long, he would be dead. Had you not run that night, you would have been lost. Fate brought you here." Ravio sat down and peered past the branches to where the last direct sunlight was fading. The sword stood there like it always had. There was likely more to it than walking over there and drawing the weapon. "Every wielder of the Sword of Evil's Bane is a little different."
"...How long have you known?" Ravio asked. Did he let me stay that first night because he knew this?
"I began to suspect within the first week when you started to show more of your spirit. Were you not the Hero of Legend, I would still have welcomed you here. I became certain when you first told me about some of your dreams. This is part of why I encouraged you to travel in the traditional manner of Koroks that come of age."
"...ah. The dreams? The ones with the clawed things or the giant snake or...?"
"The one where the girl goes to kiss you then pushes you off the top of a statue."
"What."
"I believe that was a memory from a past life."
"Why would she do that!?" Ravio said indignantly. Now he had yet another thing to be afraid of: murder by princess.
Rusl drank in the sunset from atop Vah Medoh. The chill did little to diminish the beauty of nature. They were almost to the Rito Village to drop off any family members incapable of fighting monster catastrophes.
"So Teba, how on earth did you get roped into dad's plans?" Teba shrugged.
"He said it would be the last time he'd ever ask me to use Vah Medoh as a favor for him." It didn't sound like he believed it either.
"I was under the impression he'd only stop asking to be flown around when he was dead," Rusl said with a chuckle. His chuckle turned into a horrified, "Turn this bird around! Please!" and his realization hit Teba too.
"First we get rid of the children. It's only a couple minutes and I don't want to worry about your kids if a Blight hits us!"
"No wonder he had us pack ancient arrows!"
Approximately seven years ago, a boy clutched his knife and trembled in the shadow of a fallen tree. Ravio thought he could do this one thing and then spend the rest of the time in the kitchens where he wouldn't have to fight people or something like that. He'd been so close to finally proving he could be a member of the clan. He just needed a simple cut to become accepted, valuable, and welcomed. His mother would know he didn't, couldn't do it. She always knew and would be happy to finally be permitted to use him as a spell component. The other kid was his age and he recognized that emotion on the other kid's face. He felt that terror and despair too. Taking a life just felt so wrong so Ravio smeared blood onto the knife from a random puddle and tried not to think about where it probably came from.
Now that Ravio had the taste of fresh air, of trees, and grass underfoot, he couldn't go back to living in the Yiga Hideout even if there were no death sentence awaiting in the form of Veran. The rock caves would feel even more like a crypt now. Ravio wondered if someone would kill him here in the raid. Maybe he'd get to haunt these trees and spend eternity away from the cold, unforgiving Hebra mountains?
Ravio couldn't stop looking at the fog-saturated treeline ahead of him. He should have been watching for danger but his eyes kept going back to the woods. Yiga children were raised with the spirits of the forest cast as bogeymen to make children behave. This fear of the creatures which lurked in that fog ran deep and made Ravio shudder.
He did not notice the knight approaching until a hand was clamped down on his shoulder. Ravio screamed. He instinctively tried to stab the hand and run. The man blocked the knife and Ravio practically dislocated his shoulder before blindly sprinting forwards, away from the knight and right into the fog.
Once in the woods, Ravio's dread and terror did not diminish. Under it was a deeper emotion which he had no name for.
He could see the fires of the camp burning and it wasn't too late to return to the raiding party and rejoin it. Ravio decided he'd rather face the spirits of the forest than his mother. He was sitting there and trying to will himself to move forward and look for water or a sleeping spot, but the old warnings kept him from moving away from the known.
"The forest isn't gonna hurt you, you know." Ravio spun around to face the man in old-fashioned knight armor.
"St-stay back! I've got, um, knives! I'll kill you!"
The man had his eyes hidden under the visor and mouth in a perfectly neutral expression, but Ravio still caught a hint of amusement when he said, "I saw you not kill that other kid." Ravio didn't relax even when the man held up weaponless hands and sat down. Ravio said nothing but watched and wondered if he was surrounded. When he cast a glance backward, the lights of the camp were not there.
Ravio decided he had to say something. "...Are you gonna arrest me?"
"Nah. You look like you've been through enough." There was another long silence. Ravio decided maybe he would crouch down. He could be up and running faster than this guy in full plate armor. Ravio wasn't used to being listened to in such a nice way. It was weird but he felt way more comfortable listening to the enemy knight than the trainer back home.
"I'm not going back even if I find my way out of the woods... My mother will kill me." Ravio thought about it. "She'll reanimate me probably after draining my soul? I'm pretty sure wandering as a Poe here would be better than that..." he saw a bit of anger in the knight's frown and flinched.
"I'm not mad at you." The knight fell silent as Ravio stared back. It was an awkwardly long time before either of them moved or said anything. Could the others find him even here with location spells? He'd be in even more trouble for fraternizing with the enemy. Almost as if the knight knew what Ravio was thinking, he said, "Shadow magic can't pierce this fog. I know the Koroks will like you if you are nice to them."
"They eat people or turn them into trees!" Ravio was surprised by the small laugh from the knight. He was now openly grinning.
"Have you ever met a Korok?!" The knight and Ravio kept talking well into the morning before Ravio decided to follow the knight's instructions on how to find the Great Deku Tree. Ravio was still scared and uncertain what that feeling was which emanated from the forest. He didn't see the blond knight vanish.
It was a long time until Ravio named what the deeper emotion was. He felt welcome.
It was while the princesses and guards were weighing options by the shrine when Linkle charged through the grass. "I-Who took my sword?" Linkle asked. "Did-Did some guy just come and take it?" Linkle was flabbergasted to say the least. "It was there when I left! Wait..." She turned around and examined the group to see if someone sneaked it past her. "Guys! Help me look!" she yelled to some Koroks that were lazing about the place or hovering. As one, the group followed a very distraught Linkle. The Sword wasn't there. Linkle turned to the Deku tree and yelled for him to wake up.
Hazel saw blue light coalescing in the air and a boy with dark hair and a purple tunic materialized.
"-ou can't be serious! How did you EEEEEvvveennn hi." Ravio froze with his hands on the handle of the sword. He seemed to realize where he was and who was looking at him.
"Ravio, what are you doing?" Linkle asked as a guilty look stole over his face.
"I, um. Hi? The Hero of the Wild said I need to unlearn Yiga combat lessons. I just lost. Again."
"Again? Is-Is he fighting you?" Linkle said incredulously.
"How would that even work?" Groose asked as his brain derailed on that train on thought.
"I don't know. The Koroks say I'm only gone for seconds at a time." Ravio's hands hovered over the hilt. Hazel leaned to the side to get a better look at the Triforce mark. "I'm doing better. He used a stick that's on fire this time, you know, instead of just a plain old stick."
Linkle glared at Ravio. "You rotten little cheater! You didn't tell me anything about this stuff!" Ravio held up his hands defensively.
"I didn't know anything until, like, eight hours ago!"
"It has only been a few minutes out here." the Deku Tree boomed.
"Can I try?" Linkle asked. "How did you get there?"
"Uh... To be honest I don't know how it works. I sort of grabbed it. Hey, um, Linkle's a hero, can you let her go take the trial? Please?" Ravio asked the sword.
The sword stood there in the pedestal doing nothing whatsoever.
"She's way more courageous than little old me."
The sword stood there in the pedestal doing nothing whatsoever.
"At the very least she's hero material. She's got a champion ability too! She can take over if I die, right?"
The sword stood there in the pedestal doing nothing whatsoever.
Ana whispered to Strich and Groose to ask if this was normal behavior for Ravio. Groose walked over and gently tapped the pommel. He was rewarded with a numb index finger. Linkle looked ready to cry when Ravio said apologetically "...Fi says you can wield her if there's a big emergency and I'm about to die?"
Dinner that night was an awkward affair. Ravio wanted to help cook but was told to keep working on the trial. He, when pressed for details, remarked the Hero of the Wild was using a sharper stick now. Hazel and Ana opted to let him worry about the details with the Master Sword while they planned with Strich, Groose, and a quiet Linkle. Moving preemptively was dangerous and so was letting the Yiga clan make their next move. Ravio scrounged up a sheath for the Master Sword and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly he got used to the weight on his back. It was familiar.
"...You know there's something I don't quite get, Ravio, about why you are here now." Hazel put down her spoon and rested against the wooden wall. "Why didn't you run away with your Captain? I mean, was it just a sense of duty? You could have just told these guys the secret of how to get through the fog and let the Lost Woods worry about judging them."
Groose wanted to hear this too. "Was it something the fortune teller said?"
"Welllll..." Ravio scooped out the last of his soup. "See, it's like this. When I went in for the fortune teller guy, he said I would see my mother and sister. I didn't think anything of it because when I left the clan seven years ago, I was an only child. I planned to stay on shore just long enough to hand a letter to a Korok then sail off with the rest of the crew.
"Linkle's fortune scared me because there was no way the fortune teller could have known about me being from the forest and he'd been accurate about the other stuff. If the fortune teller is right about me having a sister there's some little kid who is having to live with Veran. She's the worst and you don't want to know the details. It's also been long enough that Veran's probably figured out how to sacrifice a child for renewed youth or possess her own kid."
Linkle spoke up for the first time all meal. "Wait, Ravio, you stuck around a country where a whole tribe of assassins will kill you for desertion for a fortune? You are risking sacrifice or possession for a sister you've never met?" Linkle asked.
"I mean, they think I'm dead but yeah. Something like that. Plus you are really heroic, and I thought you were going to be the Hero of Legend, so it's my duty as a son of the Deku Tree to help you out. It made sense to start by coming here to ask Grandpa for advice on how to rescue a kid from the clan. I'm kind of wondering if the fortune-teller wasn't one-hundred percent accurate, the Koroks haven't overheard the Yiga say anything about Veran having a daughter..."
After dinner, the conversation got moving again when Ana looked at the Gossip Stone network and said, "Hey, your bounty went up. Ravio's got more charges on his warrant now."
"Oh that, that is a lot of rupees. Wow." Groose was less impressed. He spoke to Ravio,
"Are your cousins doing more stuff to make our lives miserable?"
"Probably. Hey, maybe we should turn ourselves in and claim the bounty for ourselves!"
"Ha, sure. We would all be filthy rich while rotting in a dungeon waiting for the Calamity to get us." Groose paused and looked at the calculating expression on Ravio's face. "Oh Holy Hylia. You are not joking."
Note: I'm wishing I named the librarian Conan now. It would be much easier to spell than Sashasrhraslha. Maybe I should get that Trial DLC? I doubt the Trial of the Sword would be half as difficult as the Hero of the Wild repeatedly kicking your behind into next week. Maybe he's bitter that Ravio gets to keep a shirt when he didn't? Minor and some major edits 7/14/19, and 9/7