The pain was nearly intolerable. But Mipha was, first and foremost, a warrior. A fighter. And she knew that if she was able to get through the Calamity, then she could get through this.
"Okay, and... push!"
Another agonizing wave of pain; so much so that she hardly felt it. She felt as if she were ascending to another plain of existence, as if she were outside of herself, looking down.
"You're doing great, keep going!"
Pain was pain; something everybody felt. But suffering was not pain. Everyone feels pain all the time, but suffering comes only a select few times in one's life. Suffering was always linked to purpose. It always had a reason for existing.
For usually, something would follow it. A change, a revelation. A new beginning.
"You're almost there…"
To think that the series of events in her life had led to this moment…it was scarcely believable. She felt ethereal, effervescent. Like a spirit.
And then there they were. Seven perfect little eggs, all wrapped up in her arms, and she wrapped in the arms of another.
Another vision came to light. She was still wrapped in the same arms that held her before, ever so lovingly. Beside them in the water, nestling up against her side, were seven Zora babies.
Her children. Hers..and Link's.
The vision gave way to a third: the same vision, but now at night. Link was away, and the children were asleep. She rested, eyes facing the ceiling, uncertainty welling in her heart.
She had heard the murmurings of her people, speaking about them. The half-Zora, the impure. Others would react in defense: "She can choose whoever she wishes to have children with."
All this and more locked deep within her heart. These were not just her children. They were a symbol of change in the Zora. A change that not all welcomed.
But she welcomed them a thousand times over. Her life changed when they hatched from their eggs for the first time, their tiny beady eyes looking up to their mother and father. She was filled with all the curiosity and wonder and love she could possibly muster, and it was all for them. For then, she would do anything.
So when the time came, she chose the children.
.
.
.
It had been so long since Mipha had last teleported. It was something that she was frequently used to doing during the days of battling the Calamity. It was never advised to use it too much, but teleportation was always handy when needing to reach a particular battlefield in a rush. Despite this, she had never enjoyed the nauseating sensation of teleportation, and doubly hated it now.
Her vision returned to her, and slowly she could feel the cold, wet ground forming beneath her feet. Her sensations subsequently reformed and she took in the incredible scenes that beheld her.
She stood on the edge of the mountain, and in front of her was a scene of complete carnage. Around a hundred Hylian troops had formed a defensive shield around Shatterback Point, and facing them were fifteen Lynels, each towering in size. One or two of the Lynels lay wounded or dead around the top of the mountain, but the rest slammed away at the walls of shields held up by the Hylians, each crushing blow further denting the defenses.
Mipha saw to her horror that a number of Hylians had already succumbed to the Lynels, their bodies strewn across the mountaintop. Some had been ravaged by their jagged blades, whereas others had succumbed to the electric arrows they wielded. Their corpses lay twisted in the dirt.
Mipha could hardly catch her breath. Astounded and shocked by the madness that was unfolding before her, she unconsciously stepped away from the diving point towards the defensive line. It was clear to her that they had been pushed to this point, fighting a losing battle, struggling to survive.
As she walked, the Lynels fell out of sight behind the large defensive shields multiple Hylians held up, but their presence became all the more stronger: told through their crashing blows against the shield formations and their blood curdling roars.
One of the Hylian soldiers crouching beneath the defensive line spotted Mipha standing at the line, unnoticed by everyone else. His eyes shot wide and he stumbled towards her, half in shock. Blood was trickling from within his helmet, painting his face partly a crimson red, presenting his maddened visage.
"L-Lady Mipha!" He stuttered. "What in the gods' name are you doing here?"
"I've…"
But words failed Mipha. Any resolve that she had felt back at the domain, facing off against Repherhan, had been wiped completely by the devastation she was witnessing around her.
A crash erupted from behind Mipha, coupled with an intense wave of heat that unsteadied her. She turned to see the remnants of flames that had cracked against the shield wall, wisps of fire seeping through the cracks. One of the soldiers holding up the shield wall jerked back from his position, grabbing his arm, yelling in agony. Smoke hissed from his hand.
"Lady Mipha!"
Another voice called from behind her again, and she turned, somewhat dizzy. Another Hylian soldier was running towards her, a panicked look in her face. "Lady Mipha, please! You must come quick!"
He hadn't even questioned why she was here, she thought. "W-what…"
"Queen Hylia...she's...she's not going to make it!"
All around her suddenly became a blur. The sounds around her faded into a mess of screams and roars, her vision felt as if it were failing. She could barely make out the features of the soldier standing in front of her, beckoning to her. She could barely feel her hand on her cane nor her feet in the ground. She felt as if she were afloat.
She was moving. Moving across the defensive line slowly, almost at a relaxed pace, at complete juxtaposition with everything and everyone around her. The sound of steel against steel, the guttural screams of battle; they faded into insignificance. Time itself seemed to slow around her. She saw the pained, anguished faces of those holding up the defensive shields, barely able to resist the crushing blows of the Lynels, and felt little.
She stopped. Not of her own volition, but as if a hand were guiding her through her steps. She looked down.
Queen Hylia was lying in the arms of two soldiers, garbed in bent and broken battle armour. A broken sword lay by her side. Blood stained her torso. A deep sea of crimson, becoming ever more deeper as Mipha followed the trail of blood to its source: her shoulder. A gaping wound had been carved there, and the broken, bloodstained shock arrow that lay beside the shattered sword told Mipha all she needed to know.
Her face was one of those near the end of life. Etched around Queen Hylia's eyes were the clear signs of struggle, her eyelids shallow, deep and pale. An angered, battle-hardened expression had deserted her as she gazed half-wittingly up at Mipha, just barely able to notice her presence. Her lips moved, but Mipha couldn't hear what she was saying.
Mipha had seen this image so many times before. Queen Hylia was dying in front of her eyes.
She knew what she had to do.
All sound had now been muted to her, and she operated in deafening silence. Her age was no longer a barrier, and the weight in her heart was exactly what she needed it to be. It was her anchor; a key to unlocking her special power. Mipha placed her hands upon the gaping wound, and closed her eyes.
Like flowing water, she felt her energy flowing through her body and into her hands. An ethereal blue glow shone from her palms, illuminating all around her. The broken threads of muscle that had been torn asunder in Queen Hylia's chest began to shudder and shift, twitch and writhe. They began to move, separated strands moving closer to each other. They wove and interwove: a delicate tapestry of the flesh that was once torn now coming back together again. Queen Hylia's eyes closed peacefully; the guards around her felt panic, but Mipha felt nothing but calmness.
Within a minute, the wound was closed. On Queen Hylia's skin was nothing more than a jagged red scar.
Mipha looked to her right, her flowing energy now deserting her. Amidst it all, the section of the defensive line nearest to her and Queen Hylia had been thrown aside by a towering Lynel. She now stared at the beast, merely a meter or two away, as the giant gritted its foul teeth, snarling at her.
No Hylian soldiers stood between her and the Lynel. She faced it alone.
There was nothing she could do, she thought, but she did not feel fear. She didn't even feel pain, or any resignation even. Just acceptance. Acceptance that she had done what she had come to do. She did her bit, she thought. Nobody else asked for anything more than her best, and she knew she could die having given it her everything. The rest…
The Lynel roared and raised its titanic, jagged blade. The two guards who held Queen Hylia quickly stepped out in front of Mipha to defend her, but she knew it would be no good.
She closed her eyes and allowed the end to come. For she knew Link would be there, on the other side, waiting for her.
.
.
.
I speak today to share with you some news that will affect this kingdom greatly. For better or worse, I cannot say.
I am not blind to the tensions and anxieties that have been rumbling within our domain for the past year regarding my personal life. I know there are those who oppose me, and those who do not. But this does not matter to me. All that matters to me is that harmony is returned to Zora's Domain, as it once was.
Since my father passed away, it has been both my pleasure and sadness to rule as queen. I have done my best to serve only in the interests of you, the people. But despite this, I know that there are decisions I have made that people feel have not been in their own interests. Let me be clear where the cause of the divide has been: my marriage to a Hylian and bearing his children. Children who, at present, are heirs to the throne of the domain.
I knew that when I made this decision that it would be a cause for tension. Not once in the history of the Zora had its monarch been anything but one of pure Zora blood, through and through. I knew that when my children were born, that the day would come to make a decision on whether this time-honored tradition of our people would come to an end.
After consideration and hearing arguments on both sides, I have decided that this tradition must continue. And as such, I will be abdicating the throne and leaving Zora's Domain.
I have agreed the terms of my abdication with the Zora council. Myself, Link and my children are to leave the Domain together. Then, once my children are of age, they too must not come back to the Domain. We will effectively disappear from the face of Hyrule, as best as we can manage.
In my absence, the Zora council will take temporary power until a successor, another of the royal lineage, is deemed fit to take the throne. There is no set timescale for this, and my successor will only be appointed once they are fully confident that he or she can lead our people to continued prosperity.
Let me be clear: I never wanted it to come to this. But I have always followed my heart. Know that I do not make this decision out of anger, or spite, or sadness, but of love.
It is my love for Link, and for my children, that drives me to this decision. It is my love for you too, the Zora, that has brought me to this conclusion. I want nothing more than for the Zora to live in harmony with the rest of Hyrule and live peacefully. And I know that my decisions have placed this at risk.
But also know that I do not regret my decisions. Again, it is my heart that I have decided to follow. Those of you who have been lucky enough to know what it is to love someone will know the feelings that have driven my decision today. Though I will effectively vanish from the Domain, I will not lose my family. And even when the children are old enough and must leave, I know that I will always have them, and the treasured memories of times to come.
And lastly…I will always, always have my dear Link by my side, no matter what happens.
Through love, we will survive. Through hate we shall perish. So my final message to you, the Zora, is this: should you ever be forced to make a decision where love is an option, then choose it.
Because love was what I chose.
.
.
.
"No!"
There was a huge clashing sound of metal on metal. Mipha opened her eyes suddenly. She scarcely believed the vision that beheld her.
The Lynel had been staggered back, and in front of it stood a large, physically imposing Zora. As he turned his head, Mipha recognized him at once.
"R-Repherhan?" she uttered.
"Get to safety, Mipha!" he yelled. Turning back, he parried a pair of strikes from the Lynel with his trident, before skilfully plunging its tip into the belly of the beast. The Lynel screamed out in pain and reared back, retreating as the trident left its bloody mark.
All around Mipha, more and more Zora soldiers started to appear, clutching spears, swords, shields: the instruments of war once intended to be used against the Hylians themselves. But now, the Zoras had reared them against the common foe.
"Soldiers, charge the Lynels!" Repherhan commanded. At once, the hoards of Zora soldiers started to rush towards the Lynels, who had been taken back by the sudden onslaught of Zora soldiers that were appearing from all angles of the mountain. The bone curdling roars of the Lynels had been replaced with the triumphant roars of the Zora, united as one, as they charged fearlessly towards the beasts.
Mipha witnessed all this and more around her in an overwhelming wave. Her energy drained quickly from before, and soon her legs gave way from beneath her.
And then nothing.
Nothing but total darkness.