It's odd, how quickly someone can get used to something. Even though it was only my second morning waking up in my little campsite, things progressed almost rotely: breakfast, research, lunch, talking with Fi. But those were the broad strokes. Ganon was in the details, as they say. After I'd brewed myself a satisfactory mug of coffee, a very limited and time-intensive resource I felt every right to treat myself with, I finally decided the time had come and carved my previously injured arm free of its restraint. It was a bit stiff, and sore, but otherwise usable.

It was only then that I realized I'd forgotten to set up my computer, so Fi could talk, so I quickly did that while sipping the still hot bean juice to properly fill my nervous system with the effects of caffeine I so desired. Once we'd greeted each other, I set to my work for the day. There were still a few things I needed measurements for, so I got those quickly, then set about my next big task: samples. In tiny plastic containers, I set about carefully chipping off pieces of stone, bigs of algae, local plant life, dirt, everything I thought might become relevant.

It was as I, extremely delicately, chipped off some of the marble pedestal holding the Master Sword, that Fi actually had something of substance to say. Or rather, ask. "What is it you are drinking today?" My tiny chisel was successfully able to break away a miniscule piece of enchanted stone, which I carefully put in my container, thinking of how to explain my drink to the sword spirit. "Your arm seems properly healed, but is this perhaps another potion?"

That was something to think about. "In a way?" I started, pondering the idea. "Well, it isn't magical, as far as we know. Though it sure seems like it sometimes." I tiled my cup so she could see inside it a little better. "It's called 'coffee', and it's made from a special bean, imported from Crescent Island, in Labrynna. It has this stimulant in it, called caffeine. It improves concentration, alertness, and helps keep us awake."

The sword spirit seemed to think that over before replying. "Fascinating." Apparently, that was all that needed to be said, so I went back to my work for a few hours, until, just as I'd finished filling a sample container with runoff water from a nearby stream, they asked me something else. "What is the purpose of your task today? I have been attempting to analyze it, but I lack sufficient context."

This was actually the last thing I was sampling that day, and I was getting hungry enough to make myself some onigiri, so I set my rice up to steam, then sat by the Master Sword and my computer to talk to Fi. "Well, as an anthropologist, when I'm studying an area like this, taking samples is important. I can take them all back to the fancy labs back home, and we can use it to learn more things about the area. Like, for example, your pedestal." I rested one hand on the cold stone for emphasis. "Based on radiometric dating, we can learn approximately how old the stone is, and the same can be said for the rest of the masonry I sampled. Plus, with your pedestal, we might even be able to try and analyze the enchantments at work."

"Had I been made a mortal, I believe I would have enjoyed being an 'anthropologist'. The work seems fruitful." Fi's comment made me chuckle as I moved over to finish putting together my lunch, then got ready to spend the rest of the day talking with the sword spirit. "What is humorous about what I have said?" they asked me.

"Well," I began, taking a bit of my rice ball, "You're probably the first person to hear me talk about the boring part of my job, the stuff like taking samples, and actually find it interesting. When I tell my Pop about it, he usually just rolls his eyes and asks if I'm seeing anyone yet." Fi didn't have an immediate reply to that, so I went back to my lunch, and after finishing my first onigiri, I asked, "So, what Hero would you like to talk about today?"

It was weird. Fi was a disembodied voice, and even that much only existed because I connected the Master Sword, their home so to speak, to my computer. Even thinking about it now, the question of where the sword ended and Fi began was an open one. Did they think of the sword as a place they lived, as their body? Or was their relationship more complex, something that didn't quite mesh with mortal language? Anyway, that question was relevant at the time, because whenever Fi paused between one of my questions and their own answer, I swore I could see the Sword's appearance change. Something about it's 'aura', perhaps? But it felt like I could see them thinking about it.

Finally, they gave me a response. "Since the topic of humor has come up once more, my first Master has been on my mind. The hero who wielded my sword before it was even the Master Sword, who fought not for a princess, but for his friend. The first Link in the chain of reincarnation. Do you know anything regarding this particular Hero, in this time?"

Once again, Fi had made the dangerous mistake of prodding my personal obsession. "It...sounds like you're referring to the Hero of Legend?" I started, feeling off-footed. My venture was a hesitant one, if only because actual chronology was a difficult subject when tackling the various Heroes. "It's a dumb title, but it's used to refer to several legends that a lot of people, me included, think refer to the oldest known Hero. We think he might have been associated with the sky? And Hylia? Honestly, there are more holes in what we know about him than with any other Hero."

"I am sorry to hear that," was Fi's immediate reply, and I could actually hear something resembling grief in their tone. "As I said, he was my first Master, and the only one to whom I appeared in visual form. I have enjoyed serving all of my many Masters, but perhaps because of the fact we were able to communicate directly, he is the one who stands out the most. Our time together was...personal."

That was pretty amazing to hear. So, Fi used to actually be able to show up, as a person somehow? But only to this first Hero? That was new information, but as I took notes on it, which was much easier now that I was able to use both hands, I had more and more questions. Though I did want to be careful. From their tone, it was clear that Fi had a closer bond with this particular incarnation than most others. "You said the topic of humor made you think about him, right? Why? Can you tell me more about him?"

The Master Sword actually felt like it was glowing with some positive aura, as unscientific as that sounds, at my question. "Master started off only trying to help his friend, the first Zelda, who had fallen from their home in Skyloft, a floating island in the sky." I underlined my notes for that. Reports of floating sky islands popped up all the time, both in the various legends, but also as recently as a few hundred years ago. "In time, the scope of his journey grew, until he was saving the world from Demise. It was that monster's curse that caused my Master and Zelda to be reincarnated, time and time again." Everything Fi had just told me was enough to practically triple what we knew about the Hero of Legend. Then, after a pause, Fi added, "He was also, by a wide margin, the Master who made the most jokes. By my analysis, in my time with him, he made 42.4% more attempts at humor per hour than any other Master."

There was that weird topic of humor cropping up again. Not that I was one to complain, I enjoyed humanizing this mythical figures, and I like comedy. "So, what kind of jokes did he tell? Puns? Slapstick?"

"Sarcasm." Fi said the word like it was something utterly vile. "Even I was not safe from his dry ridicule. It went hand in hand with his utter lack of humility." If Fi had been able to sight, I was pretty sure they would have, but instead a short silence did the same job. "Many of my Master's incarnations are humble, rarely one to boast. But perhaps too much time around that red-haired ruffian affected him adversely, because my first Master was unable to stop himself from reminding others of the feats he'd accomplished. It was never in malice, he merely had a high opinion of himself. Which, considering much of what he did, was understandable. Very few of my Master's collected the entire Triforce, as he did."

That made my eyes bug out. If legends of the Goddess's gift was accurate, then that relic held, well, power beyond imagination. "What did he wish for?" I whispered, unable to stop myself from wondering what I would do if I got a hand on the fabled triangles.

Fi made a pleased sound, one that I had to wonder was their equivalent of a laugh. "For the destruction of Demise. It was the only way he could see Zelda again." I had no clue if there were actual romantic undertones to what they were saying, or if I was just imagining it. What I wasn't imagining, I was sure, was how happy they were to tell me it. But that affability vanished when a strange, warbling sound came from the woods to my left. I froze, and Fi quickly told me, "You are not safe. Put your equipment away, now, and get to safety." They didn't have to tell me twice, and my training came in handy. Being able to hide what you were doing quickly was a skill often fostered by the Sheikah, and that showed when in under a minute I and all my belongings were back inside my circle, just as dusk began to fall. Whatever made that sound, I could still hear it, as I settled in to sleep for the night. I did my best to ignore thinking about what kind of creature could startle Fi that much.