***Preliminary steps are taken to begin rebuilding Castle Town and exploring outside of Hyrule
***Author's note: This site won't let me put in strings of asterisks or any other characters to separate sections of the chapter, so I had to resort to a string of 'W's.' I know it looks dumb, but it's not my fault! :-D
Chapter 11 – the reconstruction begins
Royal Rumor Mill – Volume 1
Traysi here, with a special, extra-long edition of the Rumor Mill – The Princess Lives!
It's no rumor! An anonymous tipster told me about a certain royal wedding, so I had to go there myself to see with my own eyes. She's the real deal, people, THE Princess Zelda, right down to the Triforce on the back of her hand and the golden ceremonial wrist bands she was rumored to have worn when visiting the sacred springs.
And who was she marrying, you ask? None other than her knight from a century ago, a man many of us have already met in recent months: Master Link, the hero of legend. Mindblowing, isn't it? Both of them back in Hyrule, physically unchanged from a hundred years in some kind of stasis. And imagine, a former commoner is now the Prince Consort. These are exciting and progressive times we live in, am I right?
While I didn't witness the wedding itself, I was allowed to attend the feast afterwards, and wow! Master Link was dressed in a very smart Royal Guard uniform, handsome as ever, and the princess wore a stunning sleeveless gown of the lightest blush of pink, with silk flowers at the top and embroidered vines cascading down the whole length of it. She wore a crown of silent princess flowers to top it all off. There were attendees from all four corners of Hyrule, and food certainly fit for a royal wedding. A Rito bard named Kass played delightful music while his lovely rainbow-colored daughters sang and some of the Lurelin villagers drummed. It was quite the party!
Keep your eyes open for the next issue – the Princess has enlisted me to be her royal public relations officer, and there will be major announcements coming soon!
WWWWW
"First of all, Mr. Bolson, I thank you for meeting with me, and I commend you on how you've taken action to promote community development in Hyrule. We need men of action to return Hyrule to its former liveliness."
I had determined that Bolson was our key to beginning the rebuilding, but we had some issues to iron out before we could work together. I was determined to be as diplomatic as possible in my dealings with him; he was a good leader but had some questionable business practices. I wanted to encourage ethical accountability without injuring his pride. As it was, he visibly puffed with pride at my praise.
"Second, I wish to hire Bolson Construction to begin the first stage of our reconstruction, but I understand that your hiring policy currently only allows for people whose names end with 'son' to become employees at your company. While it is a good gimmick on a small scale, we are looking to rebuild not only Castle Town but several other towns across Hyrule. We also hope to establish a town or two in Akkala. For this, we will need a good many skilled people, and unfortunately, people with names ending in 'son' are not very common. Should you choose to accept my assignment, I would respectfully request that you amend your hiring policy to be more inclusive of those who are otherwise highly qualified for construction work, else I shall be forced to hire independent contractors."
Bolson opened his mouth to protest, but I held up my hand to silence him. "Please allow me to finish presenting my proposal, Mr. Bolson.
"Third, I understand that you have been working rather hurriedly but with limited resources and have had to resort to standardized construction templates and what many might consider substandard methods, such as using large unsightly staples to secure joints and such. This may be acceptable in the short-term for temporary residences, but when we rebuild Castle Town and erect new settlements, I wish to be true to the original architecture, as Castle Town is an historical landmark in Hyrule. I know you take great pride in your work, so I'm sure you can agree with me that for the sake of history and future tourism we should keep our towns historically accurate. Not that I am not open to making subtle improvements. My Sheikah scientists are experimenting with the possibility of harnessing electricity for widespread use in homes and businesses for lighting and even for cooking.
"Please consider carefully everything I have just told you, and share your thoughts with me. I sincerely hope that we can reach a mutually beneficial agreement."
To my surprise, Bolson was quite receptive to my terms. I could almost see the rupees in his eyes as he thought of all the business I could provide him and his company. His only condition for me was that he be able to continue to use the jingle he had personally written, and the little dance that went along with it. I am no one to hamper anyone's creativity, so long as it doesn't harm or offend anyone, so I was happy to agree. It didn't take him long to build a small temporary business office just outside the main gate of Castle Town. Once we had the town rebuilt, the Bolson Construction home office would have a place of honor in the central market.
Another thing we felt was essential to bring back to Hyrule was a postal service. It seemed that Hyrule had not had postmen since before the Calamity, and people currently relied on travelers to deliver messages. I felt that a few Ritos would fit the bill nicely; Kaneli had some people in mind and would send them my way.
Traysi, too, would have a shop in Castle Town. Her dream was to publish a real newspaper and hire roving reporters to bring her the news from all over Hyrule. She could then dispatch heralds to every village to share with them the news from the castle and all of the other villages. In the meantime, she would operate from Hateno Village, where Link and I paid for her to stay at the Ton Pu Inn until Castle Town was up and running. Her first official assignment was to put out a recruiting notice.
WWWWW
Royal Rumor Mill – Volume 2
Traysi here – who wants a job?
Let me tell you, dear readers, the Princess has some great things planned for Hyrule, but she can't make them happen without our help. First order of business: rebuilding Hyrule Castle Town! All able-bodied, community-minded masons, painters, well-diggers, and carpenters are encouraged to report to the Bolson Construction headquarters, conveniently located outside the main entrance to the Castle Town ruins, and sign up.
The Princess also wants to send out adventurers to explore beyond the boundaries of Hyrule, in the hopes of attracting settlers to rebuild our population and our economy. If you're an adrenaline junkie who wants to be a major player in the future of Hyrule, this job is for you! Some seasoned adventurers have set up a recruiting station at the Rito Stable. Go see Mils and Mina to explore the great unknown!
Hyrule also needs people for governmental positions. If you're good with finances, planning projects, diplomacy – ANYTHING, really – the Princess needs trustworthy people to manage the treasury, infrastructure replacement, interregional diplomacy (and hopefully, someday soon, foreign relations), agriculture development and food distribution, et cetera. Bring your skills (and some wooden weapons and electricity-resistant elixirs) to Zora Domain and be interviewed by King Dorephan and Prince Sidon themselves.
Until next time, this is Traysi, signing off!