CHAPTER 10
Following her two escorts, Aria took in the sights of Zora's Domain and all of its intricately-carved architecture, still in awe of how so alien a place could exist out in the land of Hyrule. Eventually she and her Zora guides arrived at the gateway of what looked like a large collection of small, circular pools.
She was of a mind to speak up when another Zora arrived to greet them. It had shown up so suddenly and moved so fluidly, she could have sworn it had just glided in like a ghost.
It was unlike any of the other Zoras she had seen. Judging by its more delicate, yet somewhat-voluptuous figure, its large, almond-shaped eyes, and its slightly-fuller lips, Aria could tell this one was female. The newcomer was tall, at least seven feet, and unlike all the other Zoras that Aria had seen, the fins on her arms and "head-tail" were longer, slightly-translucent, and moved in her wake like sheets of silk. Her scales were a myriad of deep-oranges and reds that paled to white once it reached her underside.
"Greetings." the Zora greeted them, with a gentle and somewhat-airy voice, "What brings a Hylian like you to our domain?"
"This Hylian was injured by a Moblin." One of the Zora escorts informed her, "Could you tend to her, Lady Thya?"
"Let me see." Thya said, holding out a hand with long, delicate fingers.
Aria had forgotten how much her arm was hurting because the moment the delicate Zora's fingers made contact, a vicious sting shot up her arm. Thya flinched, but did not retract her hand, rather she took it again but slower and more gently. With her opposite hand, she peeled back Aria's sleeve and inspected the bite wound, her large, green eyes darting from one tooth mark to the next.
Gently, she let Aria go, and smiled at her. "Your wound is painful, I imagine, but not as serious as it would have you believe." she assured her.
"Good." Aria said, "I hate the idea of it leading me on like that."
"Come with me, Hylian-"
"Aria." she corrected, "My name's Aria."
It could have been a trick of the light, but Aria could have sworn she saw a glint of something in Thya's eye. The very same glint she had seen when her own escort laid eyes on her father. Like before, however, it was gone the moment it had appeared, though, and Aria suspected she could have just imagined it.
"Very well, young Aria." Thya said, then turned her attention to Aria's escorts, "This should not take long. You are dismissed."
The two Zoras took a bow, then turned and left the premises without a word. Aria felt a light tug on her hand and followed Thya to the pools. In some, Zoras were lounging in a blissful, near-sleeplike state. Only now did Aria take note of the difference between the men and women of the Zoras. Males were taller and had more defined muscles, while females were shorter and had slightly-more voluptuous forms, though Thya seemed to be an exception when it came to height.
Other pools still appeared to be filled with fish, judging by the frequent bouts of movement in the water and the sheen of scales. Out of curiosity, Aria chanced a closer inspection and she actually stumbled slightly in surprise. Some of the "fish" had hands in place of fins, others had crude or half-grown feet too. Some even jumped out of the water with what was unmistakably childlike laughter.
Thya paused, then followed Aria's gaze and smiled. "Fascinating things, Zora children." she said, stifling a laugh, "And they grow so fast, too. It seems only yesterday when they were just starting to grow their land legs."
Aria looked up at Thya, puzzled at the term. "Land legs?"
"We Zoras are born in the water, you see," she explained, "Our children start out looking like fish. We grow hands by age three and legs by age six." As she spoke, several Zora children peered up at them from the pools and waved their greetings, which both Aria and Thya returned, albeit a little more awkwardly on Aria's part. "In a year or so, these ones will be learning how to walk."
"You Zoras are...bizarre." she realized what she said and quickly followed up with, "Er, no offense."
Thya only laughed, more amused by her statement than offended. "None taken. Besides, you Hylians are equally bizarre in the eyes of a Zora." she said, slyly, then guided her back to their original path.
They arrived at an empty pool and Thya gestured to a set of four stone steps with her webbed hand. "Enter." she said.
Aria looked at the pool. Its waters were pristine and the color of a polished sapphire, whereas all the water she had seen beyond the domain was significantly darker, almost lifeless. She knelt and slowly dipped her uninjured hand into the water. She was met with an odd experience. It was cool enough to be refreshing, but warm enough to not chill her. She removed her hand and had just reached for the hem of her tunic when she noticed Thya still watching.
"Er...do you mind?" she asked, feeling her cheeks go pink.
Thya seemed to start slightly, then allowed a slight laugh at herself. "Oh! Sorry. It's just been so long since a Hylian has visited our domain." she apologized, then swiftly turned her back to Aria so as to give her some modesty.
After making sure Thya or any other Zoras weren't watching, Aria removed her boots and disrobed, leaving her clothes in a neat pile a good distance from the pool. She then re-tested the waters with her foot before stepping into the pools seemingly-ethereal depths.
Aria waded in until the water came up to her collarbone, then in an act of pure whim, she took a deep breath and submerged herself completely, letting the sensation engulf her entire being. After touching her feet to the bottom, she tread water until her head breached the surface. Breathing a sigh of contentment, she returned to the steps and took a seat on the bottommost one, smoothing back her dirty-blonde hair with her hands as she leaned back.
"Ready?"
Aria craned her neck to see Thya looming over her. The water was murky enough that she felt properly-covered, but she tried not to move around too much just in case. She nodded, and Thya knelt at the pool's edge and raised her pointer finger. She then lowered that very finger to the water and gave the surface a gentle, subtle touch. On contact, there came a ripple as though someone had cast a stone into the water. The formerly-dark surface steadily grew lighter and lighter until the water itself glowed a very bright shade of aquamarine.
An odd sensation went through Aria as she sat in the glowing water. The wear and aches she felt from her long hike to the domain and subsequent fight with Moblins seemed to fade from her limbs. It was as though a heavy load had been lifted from her back and it was sorely tempting for her to just fall asleep where she sat.
A gentle, long-fingered hand softly took her forearm and raised it above the water and Aria turned to watch as Thya used her opposite hand to scoop up a handful of the pool's water. With that same hand, she suspended her palm just above the bite wound. The water, miraculously, did not fall from her palm, instead forming some kind of orb that surrounded her arm like a sort of cocoon, glowing the same color.
To Aria's amazement, the pain seemed to be seeping out of her arm like poison being drawn from a wound. If she focused, she could actually see the bite marks slowly fading away like a hole being filled. When Thya closed her eyes, the glow faded and the water splashed down to the floor. Aria stared in awe at her arm, which now looked like it had never been harmed at all.
"Wow…" Aria said, gingerly touching the formerly-wounded spot and finding she couldn't even feel the slightest sting, then ran her fingers along the length of her forearm, admiring its unmarred skin, "I guess you Zoras weren't lying about your healing."
"It is our specialty." Thya said, warmly, "I am told that I'm gifted even among our best healers." Her eyes went strangely-distant. "We were actually approached by wounded Hylian soldiers in decades' past...back in the days of the old Royal Family."
"You mean before the attack?" Aria asked, craning her neck to meet Thya's eyes.
Thya closed her eyes as she nodded solemnly. "Indeed. Things changed after the tragedy. We Zoras are living through harsh times, especially these last few years."
"How so?" Aria asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Link had been prepared for the worst. He had steeled himself to the best of his ability for what was to come.
When he and his old friend sat at a pool's edge, just as they had so long ago, he did not know he was in for the biggest shock of his life.
He had expected something awful and it was at first, though nothing he had not already pieced together. Ceto had told him how fish were becoming scarcer by the year. Where once they shoaled in the thousands, there were now only a few hundred. Where places once teemed with life, there was eerie silence and a lack of life. Among those they managed to catch, some fought more viciously than before and brought sickness to those who ate them. Some fish, Ceto told, were missing chunks of flesh to a blight that was slowly poisoning their waterways.
"Malice." he had said unconsciously.
Ceto nodded his agreement. He, too, had known of Malice from ages gone. "I am glad you have not forgotten, old friend, but I'm afraid it does not end there."
When the Zora patriarch spoke next, the words struck Link like a great hammer. He had expected Malice to be a part of the Zoras' plight, but he had not been prepared for this.
"We Zoras have suffered losses." Ceto told him, "Scouts of ours that went downriver never came back. When more went to investigate under cover of darkness, they discovered their mutilated forms...with their skins removed."
"From the monsters?" Link asked, tentatively, "The ones that attacked me and Aria on the path here?"
"For the most part, yes." Ceto answered, then hung his head, "But we have also suffered...by Hylian hands."
In that moment, time seemed to slow to a near-halt and, in that moment, Link seemed to lose the ability to blink or even breathe. He wondered if he had heard Ceto correctly. In the moment following those very words, the entire world had gone very cold. He could not breathe. He could not blink. He could not even comprehend if he had correctly heard what his old friend had just told him.
"It was a gradual change, but Hylians have started treating us with increasing disinterest, or worse, scorn. I hear word that Zora skins and scales are sold for high rewards, especially among the upper classes." King Ceto averted his gaze as he shook his head, "While nowhere near as barbaric as the beasts that haunt the land, many Hylians are not above it, as my people downriver have witnessed. " He turned to Link and seemed to notice his shock, for he quickly added, "I'm not saying all Hylians do! You will always have my trust." He sighed, then reverted to his slower, solemn tone, "But I can only convince my own people of that for so long. Those who saved you at our doorstep are among my most loyal guardsmen, but those further down the riverways are far less-trusting of Hylians. After being hunted by monster and Hylian alike, and with Malice bringing communication between our settlements to a near-halt, my people are becoming untrustworthy."
"That can't be." Link said, trying to process everything he had heard, "How can it have gotten this bad?"
"Hyrule's current king does not see us in a good light." Ceto said, solemnly, "I suspect he never has."
Link's attention snapped right up to focus on Ceto's face, faster than he thought he could go. "You've seen him?"
"Only once." Ceto answered, "Not long after he took the throne, he came to our domain all by himself. No guards. No escort. He sought me out straightaway."
"What did he want?" Link asked, "War?"
Ceto shook his massive head. "War is not what he wants," he replied, then added, "Not now, anyway. I believe he wishes to maintain the image of an admirable, benevolent conqueror for as long as possible." He looked Link in the eye and finally answered, "He wanted complete subjugation of my people-promising they would be free and unharmed if they recognized him as the one and only King of Hyrule.
"Not wanting to just cast aside centuries of loyalty to the Royal Family of old, I refused his offer without hesitation." His eyes shifted, betraying his suspicion. "He took it in unnaturally-good stride. On hearing my refusal, he merely thanked me for my time, then casually left the domain."
"Like that? Without a single word?" Link asked.
Once again, Ceto shook his head. "No. He left without a single outburst or threat, but he made sure to have the last word in our discussion. Before he left the royal chamber, he said, 'Come harsher times, you will learn to acknowledge my sovereignty'."
"And when did Malice start showing up?" Link asked, wishing to change the subject.
"I'm not sure." Ceto told him, "I've learned of its presence years ago, but I suspect it could have been spreading for much longer."
"Do you share my belief that he is the source of Malice?" Link asked.
Ceto nodded. "I do. But I'm afraid there is little that we Zoras can do. We are largely bound to the water, and Malice has poisoned the riverways and more. To my knowledge, only our domain, the seaside and Lake Hylia are seemingly-untouched. But who's to say they haven't already been tainted in some form or another?"
Link bit back a growl. Malice, it seemed, was putting Hyrule into a chokehold, trying to strangle all life it touched into submission.
It was happening again, like the world's worst recurring nightmare.
"Ceto…" Link said, trying to ease in an offer to help.
Ceto seemed to catch what he was aiming for and shook his head. "No, Link. I have as much power over the Malice as you do. And the destruction of its likeliest source will only cause further problems. You know that, don't you?"
"I know, I know!" Link said, barely keeping a damper on his frustration. Once he let himself breathe a bit, his anger seemed to ease and he looked Ceto in the eye, hoping the Zora King could see his point, "But I've left Hyrule to suffer for fifteen years. It's needed help for so long and all I've done is hide on the outskirts!"
"You know why you had to, and so do we-" Ceto interjected, but Link was quick to cut him off.
"I learned that Malice was spreading again mere days ago. You and the rest of Hyrule have had to deal with it for years, with it getting worse by the day! I've put it off for so long, for her sake at that, but I can't anymore. I won't hide while Hyrule suffers!" Ceto looked mildly taken aback, but remained where he sat. "I need help, so I came to find it." Link said, "If you won't help, then I'll find someone else-"
"You know I would help any ally to the Royal Family of Hyrule." Ceto replied, cutting him off with surprising volume and sharpness, "The man who seats himself on Hyrule's throne is no king in my eyes! The Royal Family of old was benevolent and longed for peace. He only wants conquest and is choking all of Hyrule to force us all under his boot. I, like any other, wish him to be removed from the throne he stole."
Link just looked at Ceto, surprised at the Zora King's sudden outburst and the ironclad dedication to his own words. "However," Ceto said, his demeanor and voice softening again, "This is not an easy path to walk. It will be a long and difficult road. One false move can be the difference between success and defeat. I know you have waited long, but patience must be practiced, old friend."
Link removed his gaze from the towering Zora and he let loose a sigh that he had not known he was holding in. Ceto had a point, he admitted to himself.
He felt Ceto rest the palm of a massive hand on his back. "There is no reason to abandon hope yet." the Zora monarch soothed, "I have held out for this long for more than simple, blind faith. I do agree with you that the time for waiting is over. It is time for action to be taken."
Link returned his gaze to that of the king's. "What can we do?" he inquired, with all the air and composure of a soldier awaiting orders.
"Seek out Thya, my chief healer. She should be looking after your daughter at the baths." Ceto instructed, getting to his feet with a heave, "Tell her to find my sons and daughters down by the seaside. The life-blood of our domain is the sea. Perhaps there is a clue to be found beneath its waters?"
"Your children are also looking for answers?" Link inquired.
"In part." Ceto responded, "It is also a precaution. Should the worst come to be, my people plan to flee Hyrule in search of safer waters."
"It won't come to that." Link said, determination lighting a fire in his voice, "The waterways of Hyrule will be safe again. I promise."
Ceto nodded his vast head. "I believe you, Link. Now, go," he said, pointing a finger to the entryway, "Your daughter-and mine-awaits."