Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
A/N: I got the idea for this story from when you get the Grappling Hook and Medli tells you that the Rito used them before they had wings. So I decided to expand on that, and here you go. This is my first fic, so I don't know if it's all that good, but whatever.
Chapter 1: The Beginning of a Journey
Atrieos sat on his usual rock, staring out at the wide sea and dreaming of adventure. The adolescent Rito had always been a dreamer, but his love of high places and insatiable curiosity were starting to become a worry to his parents. They feared that he would attempt to go beyond the Spring and climb the mountain. Not only were there demons and monsters everywhere in the high places, but a fearsome dragon lived at the peak, one that all the Rito lived in fear of. Surely Atrieos would try to go there, if only to see what the dragon looked like. The Pool was guarded, but Atrieos was not only agile, but exceedingly cunning; if anyone could slip past the guard, he could. So they asked the Council to speak with him on the matter.
"Atrieos! Come down!" Atrieos turned to look below him, seeing his best friend, Shiria, calling him. He was older than she was by a month, but it had never stood in the way of their friendship.
"Coming!" he swung his grappling hook expertly, looping it around a branch and swinging down from his high perch, "What's up?"
"You're to see the Council!"
"The Council? Why would they want to see me?"
"I don't know, but you'd better not keep them waiting!"
"Okay, I'll see you later!" Atrieos ran into the aerie, nearly running into several older Rito. At last he reached the Council Chamber, where he slowed to a respectful walk before the strongest, wisest members of the Rito tribe. Standing in the center of the room, he nervously waited for the Council Chief to speak.
"Young Atrieos, is it?" the Chief, a powerful Rito named Korilo, asked, his strong voice ringing through the cavern.
"Yes, sir," Atrieos hoped that he didn't sound too nervous.
"You wish to have adventures, Atrieos?"
"Yes, I would very much like that," he became slightly bolder now that he was closer to his medium.
"You would like to explore beyond the Spring?"
"If I could, I would go beyond and up onto the mountain. Perhaps even up to the top."
"It is dangerous, there is a great dragon there."
"I would like to see this dragon, to see what it looks like and how big it is."
"But how would you get up to the dragon?"
"I would find a way."
"So you are determined to see the dragon."
"Yes," there was a good deal of muttering and serious nodding, and Atrieos began to suspect a trap. This was confirmed with Korilo's next words.
"This cannot be allowed, young Atrieos. And so this Council decrees that to keep you from wasting your life in this manner, your grappling hook is to be taken from you, and you are not permitted outside without supervision by an adult Rito until you can see sense. This session of the Council is concluded."
Atrieos stood there for a few seconds, too shocked to protest. One of the Council members took his grappling hook and led him out of the chamber, then left him alone. Already it felt as though a great gaping hole had opened within his heart where his freedom had been. Why hadn't he been more careful with his words? Now he couldn't even go outside without being watched and kept from doing anything dangerous, much less go on an adventure or see the dragon. He was trapped, caged within his own words, and there was no breaking free from the bonds he had placed upon himself.
Numbly, he walked outside; he had a few minutes before word of his sentence reached the rest of the Tribe, so he could spend some time alone. Standing on the beach, he stared out at the sea while cold waves lapped at his feet and salty wind blew his hair back. Walking out farther until the sea was up to his knees, he closed is eyes and abandoned his mind to wander and say goodbye to all of his now inaccessible special places. Turning to go back before he was discovered, he felt something hard knock against his foot. He reached into the water, pulling out a translucent sky-blue stone that sparkled in the light, with the faint outline of a wing in the center. He would keep it, a symbol of his hopes, his dreams. Casting one last fond glance back at the sea, he walked into the aerie. Once his home and now his prison; with only a small stone to remember by. To remember the freedom that had been dashed against the sharp rocks at the bottom of the cliff beneath the Council chamber. Lost and broken forever.
It had been storming for weeks, and all the Rito were growing tired of being stuck inside the aerie. Of course, the most restless of all of them was Atrieos. He was sick of the stone, sick of the darkness that was only pierced by flickering candles, sick of the constant howling of the wind and rain outside. He had become irritable and wouldn't leave his quarters unless necessary; not even Shiria could get him to talk to her. Little did anyone know that he was not, in fact, sulking, but preparing. He was leaving the aerie and climbing the mountain, and the storm was the perfect cover. He had already filled a small haversack with food, several empty bottles, his special rock, and his dagger. He was just waiting for his chance to get out unnoticed. The perfect opportunity presented itself one night when the Rito guarding the passage to the Spring was called away to help with something or other. As soon as he left, Atrieos slunk through the passage and outside to the Spring. After swimming across and filling his Empty Bottles with water, he began his journey to the top. No turning back now.