The storm had passed by the time the sun emerged over the mountains.

Zelda stretched and yawned, a series of rippling cracks filling the air as she did so. Sleeping on the ground made one terribly stiff in the mornings.

She looked around the camp. Link, as always, had woken up before anyone else, and he was busy at work over the fire. Prince Sidon was quietly talking to Teba and Harth, while Fyson was trying to wake up a loudly snoring Yunobo. The three Sheikah who had accompanied them all this way were awake as well, and Zelda gave them a once over. It struck her that she didn't actually know any of their names, and she grimaced. Her personal feelings on her escort aside, they had been nothing but polite, loyal, and steadfast thus far.

They'd endured her ignoring them for five days with stoic acceptance. The least she could do would be to learn about them.

The leader of the Shiekah looked up as she approached, and she nodded to Zelda.

"Can I help you, Princess Zelda?"

"I need to apologize," began Zelda, brushing a stray bit of hair out of her face, "I've never really appreciated being assigned guards. It took me months to warm up to Link...which is no excuse, I know. I am sorry for my attitude towards the three of you."

The leader blinked slowly, then nodded.

"Our duty is to you, Princess, but the apology is appreciated."

Zelda gave the Sheikah warrior a small grin.

"May I inquire as to your names? I confess, I do not know them."

"Well, I'm Judee. I lead these two knuckleheads, and my main weapon is the Eightfold Blade. The shorty to my left is Leya, she's our ranger, she uses knives and her Phrenic bow. And finally, the big hunk of love to my right is Stick. He doesn't talk much, but he's deadly with his Edge of Duality."

Zelda nodded her greetings to Leya and Sticks in turn. Sticks merely grunted, while Leya smiled and asked "How does this morning find you Princess? Decently, I hope."

"I am rather sore from sleeping on the ground, but that's to be expected. I'm not as used to this as Link is."

Leya nodded enthusiastically, then leaned closer, a glint in her eyes.

"Speaking of Link...is it true that he single handedly killed a Silver Lynel?"

Zelda tilted her head, thinking.

"Recently? I don't know, you'd have to ask him. But before the Calamity, yes, and not just a Silver. He killed a Gold Lynel single handedly as well, though it was a hard fought battle."

Leya leaned back, eyes wide.

"A Gold!? I thought those were a myth!"

"No, they are, or were, very real. They led Ganon's armies as his generals. Terrifying beasts. I...don't know if any survived until this time though."

Zelda felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Link. He grinned at her, and then began flashing through handsigns rapidly.

{I've killed two Gold Lynels since waking up at the Shrine of Resurrection. Nasty bastards, but they always drop the best weapons. So, yes, they are still around, though they are rare. Here, take a look at this bow I got off of one of them!}

Zelda watched on in mild bemusement as Link summoned an absolutely massive bow made of metal and bone from the Sheikah Slate and handed it over to Leya. The Sheikah took it with a gleeful expression, which quickly morphed into a strained grimace when the bow was dropped into her arms.

"Unf! Oh, it's heavy, I can barely even lift it...how did you make it look easy?"

Link shrugged and picked the Lynel bow out of Leya's struggling grasp with one hand, not appearing even the slightest bit strained. With one hand he signed {I guess I'm just used to it.}

Zelda stifled a laugh at the dumbstruck look on Leya's face, and she turned her attention back to Sticks and Judee. Sticks had turned back to sharpening his greatsword, ignoring the goings on, but Judee was studying Link with a strange expression as the Hylian swordsman walked back to the campfire to tend to his wok.

"I never thought I'd meet an incarnation of the Hero. He's...different, from what I was expecting."

Zelda hummed in agreement as she too looked at Link, who dipped a spatula into the wok to flip over the cooking flapjacks. Link saw them looking at him and he smiled, then returned his attention to the wok as he began removing golden cakes.

"I suppose he is different from what I was expecting as well," began Zelda, "But I don't think that's a bad thing. Not at all."

. . .

"Alright...what's the damage report?"

Hornet looked around her circle of advisors. Ogrim was currently absent, as he was coordinating clean-up efforts with the bugs that hoped to reform the Guard, and Cornifer was recovering from a blow to the head, but the rest of her Council was present. Battered, tired, and dirty, but present.

"The current death count stands at one hundred and three, but there's still plenty of ruined houses to search," Quirrel said lowly, "If the rate at which we've been uncovering bodies continues…probably around two hundred fifty dead, all told. Plenty of wounded too, though they're being seen to."

Hornet nodded with weary acceptance. As harsh as it was to say, living through the Infection had made it much easier to accept death on such a scale. That was not to say she was unaffected by the mass deaths; no, Hornet burned with anger at the ones who had done this, and vowed to herself that when the Kingdom had regained its strength, they would never suffer an attack like this again. Not without reprisal.

"You'll see that the bodies of the slain will be interred in the Resting Grounds, Quirrel, unless anyone objects?" said Hornet. After a few seconds of silence, Hornet turned to Elderbug and asked "What about the town itself?"

Elderbug heaved a long sigh, tiredness written on every part of his body.

"Thirty two houses were totally destroyed, and another forty or so have some degree of damage. We also lost two storehouses that were full of freshly harvested food. The rain, rock, and mud spoiled the supplies inside, though we still might be able to feed it to gruzzers. The meat from the slain monsters should make up for that, though." Elderbug paused and shifted in his seat with a wince. "Some of the damage wasn't even caused by the monsters. The houses in Dirtmouth weren't built to withstand rain, and many of them are leaking. We'll need to check that the intact storehouses aren't full of spoiling food as well."

"Mmm…there should be at least one bug here in town who knows about water-proofing," said Hornet, "If not, we'll send a messenger to the City of Tears to bring up a constructor with the necessary knowledge. I don't know when the next rainfall will be; assume it's coming soon, so water-proofing should be a top priority. As for the houses ruined and damaged, if they're beyond recovery, salvage what you can to repair the other houses."

Hornet paused, taking a moment to think.

"And the citizens, what are my subjects feeling now that the attack is over?"

"I can take that one," said Iselda, pausing from sharpening her nail, "I pulled a shift in the wounded area after the battle was done, to keep an eye on Corny. Bugs talk when they're scared…and they are scared, though thankfully, most are keeping it together. It helped that the battle ended so decisively, and that you and the rest of us were seen in the thick of it."

"Ah, speaking of bugs who were in the thick of it," started Quirrel, "I haven't had a chance to mention it yet, we've been so busy, but I…encountered a rather interesting figure during the fight. A Nailmaster named Mato."

Hornet chittered in surprise and said "Really? Last I heard, they had all chosen to isolate themselves throughout Hallownest, to better study the nail arts. If he's here…well, if nothing else, it's a golden opportunity. I've been meaning to reform the Five Great Knights, and in light of this fight, we need them more than ever."

"Really?," asked Quirrel, shocked, "You think he'll accept? My knowledge of the Nailmasters is spotty, but I remember that one of their number swore that none of his students would ever serve the King."

"Even if he doesn't become one of the new Great Knights, perhaps he can still impart some of his martial knowledge to the recruits. I have hope that he will agree to join up, though. These are strange times, and I am not my Father." said Hornet. The other members of the Council shared glances, but decided not to comment. After no one else spoke up, Hornet nodded to herself and started to stand up.

"Alright…Iselda, you are to put exploration on hold for the moment. I want you to talk with that Hy'leen staying with Bretta. Find out everything you can about the monsters that attacked us. If he cannot provide sufficient answers, go to the Hy'leens up in Tarrey Town, ask them."

Iselda chirped in agreement and returned to sharpening her nail. Hornet turned to Quirrel and Elderbug.

"I'm interring the bodies in the Resting Grounds, and Elderbug is overseeing repair work." said Quirrel. Hornet chirped in assent.

"I'll speak with Ogrim about stepping up reforming the Guard, and looking for new recruits for the Great Knights. I do not intend to be caught out like this again. Good meeting." With that said, Hornet left out the door, taking a long moment to study Dirtmouth.

The storm had petered out before the burning orb rose, but there were still intermittent showers of rain. What few bugs that could be seen on the streets hurried around, fearful energy charging their steps. The fighting hadn't penetrated this deep into Dirtmouth, but every bug had heard the news.

It was a major hit to morale. She'd need to do something to take their minds off of it. Perhaps a feast; even if the monster flesh didn't make up for the spoiled supplies, they had more than enough at present to afford a small feast.

But, that was a plan to implement at another time.

Hornet straightened up and marched through Dirtmouth with royal poise, her exhaustion pushed aside with the aid of long practice. Sleep could come later; for now, she had a kingdom to run.

. . .

Sidon, Prince of the Zora, grinned widely as he watched his friend Link compete with their traveling companions in an impromptu archery contest. A comment had been made by the Rito, Harth, about being the best shooter amongst their number, and there had been…protests. While the three Rito and the Sheikah Ranger Leya were arguing, Link had merely smiled, taken out a very fine looking bow, and shot a leaf off of a nearby tree. The competition had swiftly followed, each archer making increasingly distant or unusual shots.

How delightful! Truly, the spirit of friendship was growing between them. He wished that Link had taken him along on his travels before. Imagine all the adventures he had missed out on! Ah, but the Zora needed their Prince; the only reason he was here now was to meet with these strange new bugs.

Sidon's smile remained, but it became a tad less bright as he thought about the new arrivals. Not to say that he feared them! No, if what the scouts had reported was true, the citizens of this "Hallownest" were a friendly people, welcoming of outsiders despite their unusual appearance and strange culture. No, what worried Sidon was their location, and their ignorance of Hyrule. Akkala was known to have fewer of Ganon's beasts than some other regions, but they also tended to be stronger than in other regions.

He trusted that the bugs knew how to defend themselves, but still. He worried for them. It would be a terrible thing to arrive in Hyrule only to get wiped out before they could spread their fins.

The party of ten crested Kanalet Ridge, and the Torin Wetlands finally came into view. Sidon was the first to see the town before him, due to his greater height, and he stopped in place.

"Sidon, what's wrong?" asked Zelda, "Did you see…oh."

The Princess turned her head sharply to Link and Fyson.

"Did it look like that before?"

Both of the men shook their heads. Link's eyes stayed on the town, focusing hard on the area of destruction visible even from this distance. Dozens of houses were destroyed, and Sidon could see the body of at least one Black Hinox.

"An attack…a large one. They seem to have weathered it though, I can see bugs going about their business," said Teba, eyes sharp.

Yunobo gulped.

"Attack? Do you think they're alright? Should we…go and help?"

Fyson was already stretching his wings out.

"I may not speak the local language, but I can-"

"Stop."

The command rang out from the Princess, and Sidon's smile vanished. Surely, she did not mean to leave the bugs to fend for themselves…

"I understand your desire to help, and I do wish to offer assistance, but please, let us think through this first," said Zelda slowly, "If there was an attack by the forces of Ganon, then they will be on guard, wary of another attack. Showing up unannounced could trigger hostilities, especially when so many strangers are in our party. There's still so much we don't know about them…we need to approach this carefully…"

Princess Zelda's brow scrunched together as she considered the problem.

"Fyson, you are known to them, so you would be the best option to announce our arrival. Make sure that they see you, and land well outside of town. Let them come to you. The rest of us will follow the path down at a fast trot, not a gallop; we want to make good time, but neither do we wish to alarm them with our haste. I'm sure that they know enough to take care of themselves for the hour or so it will take to reach the village."

Fyson nodded and took off, the gust from his feathers blowing dirt over the road. Sidon let out a quiet sigh of relief; the Princess was merely being cautious. Wise, given the situation, but then, she was blessed by Nayru according to the legends.

"Double time everyone!" called Zelda, and those with horses began walking down the hill at a moderate clip. The two remaining Rito took to the skies, Yunobo curled up into a ball and rolled down the hill, and Sidon broke out into a light jog, his large size letting him keep pace with the horses.

Author's Note:

*kicks down door* Guess who's back!

Wow, it's been awhile. A little over a year and a half. In that time, we moved into the new house, then almost immediately got evacuated again from another fire. This one, thankfully, didn't burn the house down, though it did come awful close (within 100 feet). That's not an excuse, I could have easily got back on top of this waaaay before now, it just...never happened? Idk, I sat down at least four other times over the past year and a half and tried to get back into it, but the words just wouldn't come out. Then, off the cuff, earlier today I thought "Hey, I should try writing again." and then I finished the chapter. Funny how that works out.

I'm not gonna question it though. Gonna ride my muse until the muse runs out. Maybe I'll pump out another 30 chapters before disappearing again. Maybe I'll write a grand total of one chapter and run out of steam. Who knows! I don't!

Sorry, think I'm a little jazzed up from writing again. Man, that's a rush when the stars finally align and I can concentrate.