"So how many gods do the Rito worship, anyway?" Urbosa asked.
They were gathered around the campfire. Nearly everyone had finished eating, but Revali had not yet had the opportunity to slip away, Zelda in tow, for archery practice. The Hylian Princess had confided the nature of their after-dinner activities to the Gerudo, but Urbosa did not know whether or not it had become common knowledge. She had yet to figure out why the Rito had taken an interest in Zelda in this particular case, but was slowly starting to realize Revali had a bit of a soft spot for the girl.
Revali stared at the Gerudo. "What?" The woman had apparently caught him off guard. The Rito furrowed his brow, to all appearances utterly thrown by the question.
"Come on." She crossed her arms over her chest in not-quite annoyance. "I've heard you mention at least half a dozen deities, usually while swearing, including the goddess Hylia. Do the Rito even worship Hylia?"
Revali's expression abruptly cleared. "Acknowledging that existence of a god is not the same thing as worshiping one," he told her haughtily.
Urbosa raised an eyebrow. "So you don't worship Hylia? How exactly does one acknowledge the existence of a god without worshiping her?"
Revali rolled his shoulders. "I acknowledge that King Dorophan is the ruler of the Zoras. That doesn't make him my king. You're a chieftan. A Gerudo chieftan. If the Rito acknowledge your position, that doesn't mean you suddenly rule us too."
Urbosa sighed. "Fine," she conceded. "So do the Rito acknowledge the existence of Hylia?"
"We don't typically go around denying other race's gods." The Rito flashed her a predatory smile before continuing. "We tend to collect stories from other cultures and pass them on. Folk tales, legends, mythology. It's supposed to help in understanding other races, to know their stories and beliefs." He shrugged. "And there's always the possibility that some of them are real. Not really in our best interest to piss one off by insisting it doesn't exist. Certainly if I ever run into one, I'm not going to waste time trying to convince it it isn't real."
"So how many gods do your people tell stories about?" Urbosa asked. "I've heard you mention some pretty ancient ones. There are also a few I've never even heard of."
Revali settled. The Gerudo was beginning to recognize the motion; it usually meant a story of some sort was coming, or, at the very least, a lecture.
"Din, Nayru, and Farore are supposed to be the three oldest and most powerful goddesses. They created Hyrule and the rest of the world. Din, the goddess of power, created land. Nayru was the goddess of wisdom, creator of magic, creator of law. Farore, goddess of courage, was the creator of life itself. The power of the three is represented in the Triforce, an ancient relic of great power, said to grant the heart's desire of whoever holds it.
"The goddess Hylia, it is said, was entrusted with the Triforce by Din, Nayru, and Farore. The namesake of the Hylian people and of the royal family, she was once served and heavily worshiped by the Sheikah," he nodded toward Impa, who did not deny the assertion, before continuing. "Long ago she is said to have appeared in Hyrule in mortal form as the first of your line, Princess."
Zelda nodded. "The name is passed down through the family. She was supposed to be the first to bear it. My-my powers are said to come from her."
"Statues to the goddess can be found all over Hyrule," Impa added, glancing worriedly at the young girl.
"There are those who worship Ganon as a god," Revali offered. "I suppose that's one explanation for why he doesn't seem to want to stay dead. It does seem more likely that a god would have to be sealed away than for him to simply be killed."
"But Ganon's evil," Mipha pointed out, horrified. Revali remained unmoved.
"Not all gods are benevolent," Urbosa admitted reluctantly. She could think of some past deities in Gerudo mythology that certainly would not have met that particular requirement.
"Cyclos and Zephos are said to be brothers and gods of the wind," Revali continued. "Cyclos can allegedly summon great cyclones. We used to worship them, during the times of the Great Flood. Some still do, though rarely with much devotion. It tends to be a more casual observance, these days.
"We also used to worship Valoo, though as I understand it he was more of a guardian spirit than on the level of say, the three goddesses or Hylia. He was a dragon spirit. We're taught that during the times of the Great Flood, a Rito could only fly after they had received one of his scales."
They had all heard the story of the Rito Sage Medli coming to the aid of the Guardian Valoo more than a few times by now. It seemed to be one of Zelda's favorite of the Rito's stories.
"The Zora used to worship an entity known as Jabu-Jabu, another guardian spirit. He was said to be much like a giant whale, I think?" Mipha nodded in confirmation.
"Volvagia was once a guardian spirit of Death Mountain, though as I understand it, he also once tried to destroy the Gorons as well."
"Ganon turned him against us, or so the story goes." Daruk offered. "A Hylian warrior saved us from him. And all of Hyrule from Ganon, as I remember correctly." Revali nodded in agreement before continuing.
"If you believe that the Great Forest is magic, and if you believe that magical forest creatures called Koroks live inside the forest, there is supposed to be a giant tree-spirit known as the Great Deku Tree that acts as their guardian spirit." It was the most skeptical the Rito had sounded through the entire conversation, though Urbosa had no idea why he would take issue with the thought of a tree god and not have a problem with anything else he had mentioned so far.
A guardian tree spirit really didn't sound that much more far fetched than any of the other gods.
A light glinted in Daruk's eye. "You don't believe that the Great Forest is magic?" he asked. Revali shrugged, but they all knew him well enough by now to know the answer. "But you do believe in magic."
"Sure," Revali agreed, "My gale, your shield, Urbosa's lightning, and Mipha's healing are all some form of magic. It's rare, these days, certainly, but it's real enough."
The Goron frowned at him. "But you don't believe the Great Forest is magic," he said again, puzzled. "Have you ever been there?"
"Have you?" Revali met his gaze.
"But the Rito could fly over it, couldn't they?" Zelda asked, curious. "Surely one of your people-what's wrong?" Revali was shaking his head in a particularly impatient way.
"You can't fly over the Great Forest," he told her. "Everyone knows that."
"Why not?" Daruk asked, innocently enough.
"You just can't. It's not possible."
"But it's not magic?"
Revali let out a long stream of air through his nostrils. "How could an entire forest be magic? How could a tree be a guardian spirit of anything? It's stuck in the ground!"
"So any other gods?" Impa put in, before the Rito could really get started. "Goddesses? Malevolent deities?"
"Ordon, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru were Light Spirits sent by Din, Nayru, and Farore to Hyrule and were tasked with preserving the light of the land. They were said to overcome the power of some sort of shadow during some sort of war."
"That's...really vague." Urbosa was surprised. Usually Revali could and did recount a story as if he were reading it straight out of a book.
"It's one of those stories that you get from someone's senile great, great-grandfather that can't remember what year it is and sometimes thinks he just came back from his first hunt." Revali admitted reluctantly. "They'll talk about the four spirits, but good luck making any sense out of what they tell you. But apparently they used to be a thing, so I thought I'd mention them."
"Just in case," Mipha guessed, her eyes sparkling. The Zora also had a policy of being polite about gods that might potentially actually exist. It was simply better not to risk offending them.
"Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru might also have been charged with protecting Hyrule in the absence of the great goddess, during her time as a Hylian. They were dragons, supposedly. Faron was a water dragon, Eldin was a fire dragon, and Lanayru was a lightning dragon. Interestingly, there are supposedly elemental dragons alive today, spirits that protect and take their powers from the Springs of Wisdom, Courage, and Power."
Zelda was utterly enchanted. "Naydra, Farosh, and Dinrael, correct?" she asked. Startled, she said, "That sounds quite a bit like the Nayru, Farore, and Din you mentioned earlier!" Revali grinned at her.
"Levias was the guardian of the skies during this time," he continued.
"I've heard you mention Levias," Urbosa commented. "Was he a dragon too?"
Revali stiffened. "No."
"No?" Urbosa's instinct for trouble kicked in. "Not a dragon?"
"I just said he wasn't," the Rito snapped.
"Then what was he?" Revali glared at her. "Well?"
For a moment it looked as if he might storm off. Then he huffed, rolled his shoulders, and dropped his gaze to the campfire, though he had to realize it would make it even harder for him to see in the growing twilight once he looked away.
"Levias has been described as a giant, flying whale. With a beard." He scowled at the fire, and somehow managed to look so unhappy with the revelation that for once the Gerudo did not have the heart to tease him about it.
"What do you know about the Goddess of the Sands?" she asked, instead. Revali shook his head.
"Only that the Gerudo worshiped her for a time, and that worshiping her instead of Hylia caused a rift between the Hylian and Gerudo races. That, and the fact that Ganon was once allegedly their king."
"A long time ago," Urbosa scowled. "It is not something we are proud of."
"Of course," he agreed. "Then of course you have the Great Faeries, which in addition to blessing travelers who leave a proper, ahem, offering, imply the existence of faeries that are neither as great nor as powerful." Revali looked thoughtful, but perhaps he was simply trying to think of any deities he might have forgotten.
"In the south there's supposed to be a Goddess of Horses..." he squinted as he thought. "There may have been a Goddess of Fortune, or that may have been one of the Great Faeries. I seem to remember someone mentioning the Goddess of Time, but I can't recall anything about her. There was also something about a deity of life and strength, but I don't think he was the benevolent sort..."
Darkness settled around them as he trailed off. Sensing he was finished, his companions began to disperse, most to attend to last-minute preparations for the following morning or to begin settling in for bed. Urbosa remained where she was, watching the Rito, who seemed to be lost in thought, perhaps trying to recall the name of the Goddess of Horses, or to sort through what bits and pieces he could remember about the Light Spirits for something useful.
"So do you worship any gods, or is that too personal a question?" she asked eventually, and he startled.
"What?" he asked, distracted.
Urbosa repeated the question.
"We pass on the stories, but we aren't particularly religious," Revali offered. "I've never seen a god, or goddess, or even a faerie. I suppose if I ever did I would be reluctant to refuse anything they asked me, given how powerful they're supposed to be."
Urbosa considered that. "No knowing what would happen if you offended one," she agreed. "But I've heard you profane the gods' names a lot. Don't you think that might offend them just a little bit?"
Revali grimaced. "If they're all-knowing, they already know, and they haven't killed me yet?" he hazarded.
Urbosa had to laugh. "Maybe they just haven't gotten tired of you yet," she teased. "One day Levias will have had enough, and then that's it." She made a cutting motion across her throat. "No more Revali."
He stiffened, and the Gerudo had just enough time to wonder if he believed in the gods perhaps a little more than he had let on before he turned and stalked off in the general direction of his bedroll.
A second later she heard something heavy hit the ground, followed by a stream of profanity that blistered even her veteran ears and was decidedly uncomplimentary towards at least a handful of the deities he had so recently expounded upon.
"Levias cursed, molting son of a serpent," he snarled. "Twice blessed with a crooked wing and a twisted feather! Nest robbing, egg-sucking, hides-in-the-shadows-" he fell silent for a moment before continuing in a particularly long-suffering tone of voice, "Demise, heap your wrath upon those who go wandering after dark."
Urbosa went after him, nearly tripping over the Rito as she realized, too late, that he had managed to lose his footing in the darkness and gone sprawling.
"Watch it!" he snapped, pulling himself up into a sitting position.
"Sorry," Urbosa eyed Revali, wavered, then came to a decision. Sitting down beside him, she asked, "What did I say?"
She saw him freeze in the near darkness. As close as she was to him, she heard his breath catch. A second later he forced his shoulders down and started breathing again, but the damage was done.
"I said something really offensive," she guessed. "I'd like to know what it was. Is it that you do believe in the gods, at least enough for the thought to bother you?"
"I don't believe in gods or goddess or tree-spirits or great faeries," he mumbled. At least he had finally figured out that she wasn't going to leave without an answer. "If I meet one, that may change, but so far-" he shrugged. "Nothing."
"So you aren't worried about being smitten." Urbosa studied the increasingly shadowy form of the Rito beside her. "So what is it?"
He rolled his shoulders-It occurred to her that the Rito did that when he was uncomfortable-as he considered the question. "I know you don't like me," he said instead of answering.
Or maybe he was answering, in his own round-about way. The Rito had a way of making you work for answer, even when he wasn't refusing to talk.
Urbosa opened her mouth to deny the statement.
"None of the others do, either." She closed her mouth. "I know I don't exactly have a winning personality. That's fine. I don't need to be liked. But I've more than proven myself as Rito Champion. I am the best flyer of all my people, and the best archer in Hyrule. You need me in the fight against Calamity Ganon. You can't just get rid of me because you're tired of having me around."
He sounded angry, far angrier than she had ever heard him. Angry and bitter, and almost as if he suspected it was only a matter of time before they tried to do exactly that. Her joke about the gods growing tired of him must have served to reinforce the idea in his mind, but for him to snap that quickly, it was not one he dwelt on infrequently.
Urbosa shook her head. Zelda would never go back on her word. She had named him Rito Champion; the only way she would ever consider naming a new Champion was if he, goddess forbid, were crippled or killed in some battle.
Daruk had declared the Rito a brother; the Goron would never allow Revali to be left behind. Such an act would be considered a betrayal. It would also never occur to the Goron as a possibility, not when he considered the Rito one of them.
Urbosa would never consider getting rid of Revali either. She respected his skills as a warrior far too much to even entertain the notion. They needed him in the coming battle.
She also, if she were being completely honest with herself, did not entirely dislike the Rito. He was irritable, and boastful, and quarrelsome, and arrogant, and loud, and argumentative, and a dozen other uncomplimentary adjectives. He did not get along with Link at all, and though there were times when he managed to get along with the others briefly, he also managed to upset them just as easily.
He was, however, highly intelligent and possessed a wicked sense of humor. In battle he was not only skilled, but also brave and loyal, refusing to leave a fallen ally to fend for themselves, even if it meant putting himself at risk. He was kind to Zelda, at least, as kind as he knew how to be, and seemed to at least be trying to get along with the others, even if he was not very good at it. He was the best flyer and the best archer Urbosa had ever seen. He was, for better or worse, one of them.
She opened her mouth to tell him that, only to realize he was gone.
Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Universe, Breath of the Wild in particular, does not belong to me.
