He had made excellent time climbing to the top, thanks to the hookshot and Power Bracelet; there wasn't even a hint of strain in his limbs. The thought of the Fairy-in-a-jar lived in the back of his mind, a failsafe in his pack which lightened the burden of his survival considerably.
The view from the peak the Shadow had climbed was spectacular, being the highest in the immediate area. The day had turned bright and the sky unencumbered by even the wispiest of clouds— he could see all the way to the vast mesas of Gerudo Valley, the icy peaks of the Hebra Mountains, the massive rivers of lava deeply scoring the sides of Death Mountain, the summits of both the Lanayru and Necluda Mountains, and he could just make out the enormous horse head of Dueling Peaks through the Pillars of Levia. He also spotted the various Towers dotting the landscape— glowing orange metal stalagmites piercing the sky.
"I wish I could capture this view, take it with me so I didn't have to rely on my memory of it."
"Oh, you can. The Sheikah Slate has a camera function, among other things." She spent a few minutes helping him figure out how to take an image of the landscape; he discovered that by pressing a certain button, he could stand in one spot and turn in a full circle to capture an amazing panoramic view. She informed him that the device also had a telescope feature, available through the camera lens, and a built-in map of Hyrule with what Navi called a 'zoom' function, which allowed him to enlarge the map to see much more detail than the one in his head.
Soon, however, he became aware of a distinct bite to the air, his breath pluming in front of him with every exhale. He felt hair rising on his arms and the back of his neck, the tips of his nose and ears began to hurt, and his teeth started to clatter together slightly. "N-Navi, what is this?"
"Oh! It'll be the cold, because you climbed quite high and the air is thinner up here. You didn't notice it while you were moving but now that you're resting, your body has time to feel it."
"I d-don't like it-t." He couldn't seem to keep his teeth together all of a sudden, a shudder starting there and working its way down his entire spine to his extremities.
"Hang on—" She flitted around him and he suddenly felt warmer, the rebel hairs laying back down as his internal temperature rose.
"Ahh. Much better. Thank you."
"Certainly."
"Hey, what are the Towers for?"
"The Sheikah Towers, when activated, can provide a form of teleportation between them."
That got his attention. "What?"
"Oh, yes. As long as the Ancient Furnace at the Hateno Lab is lit, you can use the Sheikah Slate to travel between any Towers."
"No way." He spent a minute looking around. He could see the spikes of several Towers easily; they stood out, being blazing orange and several stories tall. "So I wouldn't have to walk as far? I can just shoot from Tower to Tower and then walk or ride the rest of the way to wherever?" he asked, thinking about the Tower he'd seen in Faron, near where he'd crossed the river to Lakeside Stable, and the other one he'd passed without really noticing just before passing through the split mountain of Dueling Peaks. "You mean I could've just climbed that first Tower and teleported most of the way to Hateno?"
"Oh, no. They're not active right now. The Furnace must be out."
"How do you know that?"
"Because they'd be blue." She paused for a moment. "Good thing we're heading to Hateno."
"Is that where the Furnace is?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Why didn't you say anything about the Towers earlier?"
"Sometimes I don't know what I know until you ask about it. There's a lot in my head that I haven't had to think of in a very long time, you know."
Sufficiently warm and satisfied for now, the Shadow began his glide back to the stable. But as he neared the Pillars of Levia, he spotted something strange sticking out of the grass atop one of the columns and decided to check it out. Closer inspection proved it to be another treasure chest, half-buried in the hilltop. He aimed Magnesis at it and pulled it easily from the earth, cracking it open to find a silver rupee inside that made a satisfying clunk when he added it to his wallet.
As the Shadow passed over the destroyed Kakariko Bridge, he could see movement below. All sorts of Hyruleans bustled about on each side, beginning the long, necessary task of rebuilding: sturdy Gorons sorted large boulders into piles by size; winged Rito flew supplies between shores; swift Zora helped sift through the submerged rubble; Sheikah from Kakariko worked on one side while Hylians from elsewhere— including what must be a great number of the Royal Guard— helped on the other. In just the morning's work, they'd already cleared away most of the detritus and were testing and reinforcing the foundations left intact by the Talus' rampage.
Nearing the monolithic horse head, the Shadow noticed a little Korok pinwheel right on the nose of it, high up off the ground. He landed next to it and collected the little nugget, then spent a few moments observing the bustling stable below.
The first thing he noticed was the music floating on the breeze: the same as had been playing when the Shadow had first arrived at Lakeside. He spotted Kass standing out near the road; they exchanged nods in greeting— of course, he'd be aware of anyone arriving via sky, the Shadow thought— and the tune immediately changed to the new song the minstrel had been working on the last time the Shadow'd seen him. The Shadow listened for a few minutes as Kass played and hummed wordlessly, likely composing lyrics in his head. It seemed more complete than when last the Shadow'd heard it, fewer pauses and missed notes; he wondered what it was about.
He'd only been here for a short while and in the dark on his last visit; this morning, two young boys— another set of twins, by the looks of them— ran loud laps around the stable yurt, startling both the cuccos roaming freely along the north side of the building and the goats behind it before Probably-Rensa stepped into the Shadow's view and yelled at them to "Quit fooling around, you young hooligans! You've got chores to do!"
"Yes, Dad!" shouted one.
"Okay, Uncle Rensa!" chimed the other. Not twins, then, the Shadow realized, eyebrows lifting. Interesting.
Movement at the public cookstove drew his eye: a young lady sat, looking decidedly uncomfortable. Her shoulders were hunched up around her ears and she kept glancing between the young twins feeding the horses and where Rensa and Tasseren were probably leaning on either side of the counter. She was roasting apples with some other fruits and herbs in something that made the air smell fresh and sweet.
The Shadow glided down to land in almost the exact spot he'd stood when speaking to the twins the evening prior. He heard the woman and young, mirror-image stablehands startle, but surprised delight overtook the identical faces of Tasseren and Rensa for a moment, then Rensa took the green rupee out of his pocket and silently handed it to his brother.
The Shadow lifted his chin at the rupee. "Do you guys just hand that thing back and forth constantly?"
They answered in perfect synchronization, "Yeah."
Tasseren clarified, "We bet each other."
"All the time," Rensa added.
"About anything."
"And everything."
"So, rather than come up with new things all the time—"
"We just keep passing the same rupee back and forth."
"It started when we were little."
"Tass bet me I couldn't make my face turn purple."
"You passed out and hit your head."
"But I won."
"Sure, you did."
"Wait," the Shadow said. "So you bet your brother…"
"That the Talus would flatten you," Rensa said nonchalantly. The woman at the fire, who obviously couldn't help but overhear, snorted.
"Oh, don't take it personally. Obviously, he lost and you're fine," Tasseren gloated. "And welcome back, by the way! Talk of Hyrule, you are."
"There's been a definite uptick in traffic all day, people from all over coming to help rebuild the bridge."
"Already sold all the beds for tonight, except the one we kept for you, of course."
The Shadow nodded. "I appreciate that, fellas. Thanks."
The young not-twins barrelled up to the counter just the way Ardin at Lakeside had. Why were children always in such a hurry to get everywhere? Where did they keep all that energy in their small bodies? Is that why they went so fast— was it leaking out? Like a steam propellant?
"Boys, are your chores done?" Tasseren asked.
"Horses are fed!" one of them answered.
"Cuccos are, too!" put in the other.
"And the goats!"
"And the dogs!"
"And the cats!"
"Good, good," Rensa said.
And then the boys turned to the Shadow in eerie, perfect synchronization and he saw that, like Tasseren and Rensa, they were strikingly similar but for the eye color: one ice-blue and the other dark brown.
"You killed the Talus," the brown-eyed one said.
"Darton," Tasseren chided.
"What sound did it make when it died?" the other one wanted to know.
"Shibo," Rensa scolded, but the children never stopped talking, gazing intently and unnervingly at the Shadow.
"Did it scream?"
"Was it more of a roar?"
"Is it true you killed two Hinoxes, too?"
"Which was harder to kill?"
"Are you going to find the guys that killed our moms?"
"Can I see your sword?"
"Can I see your shield?"
"Why are you all grey?"
"Why are your eyes all red?"
"If I touch you, will I turn grey?"
"If you bleed, is your blood grey, too?"
The Shadow's brain stuttered and caught on one of the questions tossed out in the middle. He blinked at the boys. "Wait, what?"
"I asked if your blood was grey, too."
"I bet it'll be red like his eyes," the other youngster reasoned.
"No, not that, the— what was that about mothers?" He looked to Tasseren and Rensa for help.
Tasseren looked down, but not before a devastated look overcame his face for a moment.
Rensa moved closer and reached out to lay his hand on his brother's shoulder, face also suddenly void of all joviality. "Boys," he said seriously, and it must be a tone used often, as both children scampered off without complaint. He took a deep breath. "Last summer, our wives went to Gerudo to perform at a festival—" he started.
"See, they're both in a famous troupe—" Tasseren added.
"It's the reason we met, actually—"
"They're the principal dancers—"
"And they stayed the night here on their way to perform for the king—"
"They drew our eye right away, of course, being twins—"
"And gorgeous, too. Legs for days—"
"And they're not all that common, after all."
"Legs?" the Shadow asked.
Tasseren snorted, shaking his head. "No, twins."
The Shadow looked between the two before him, then over to where Darton and Shibo were jabbing sticks at what looked to be a quickly-angering cucco before the words parsed themselves out in his head. "You married twins?"
"The Rosa sisters," Tasseren said, then sighed weightedly. "Darling Judo."
"Sweet Marilla," Rensa added, tears gathering in his voice.
The Shadow was awkwardly quiet, not wanting to disturb the tenuous grasp the men had on their emotions. He spent a few minutes wrapping his head around the fact that twins had married twins and had had nearly-identical offspring. Not only that, but as the Shadow looked around, he noticed that there were also two dogs with almost the exact same markings— some shaggy, shepherding-type soaking up the afternoon sun; two very similar-looking horses stood side-by-side in the stables; two pure black cats— one with bright green eyes, one with just one eye— lazed atop the storage boxes. The woman at the cookstove picked up her sweet-smelling plate and quickly carried it inside the stable.
When it looked like the threat of feelings had passed, the Shadow shaved the corners off his usual tone and asked, "What, uh, happened? Last year?"
Tasseren sniffled once more, but his voice wasn't watery. "The troupe was set to perform over in Gerudo Town, some big annual thing they do—"
"But their caravan was attacked on the road," Rensa said. "Only half the dancers made it…" he trailed off, looking down.
"Attacked?" the Shadow asked.
The change that overtook the twins was instantaneous and violent. They spoke in sync, right down to the venom dripping from their tone: "Yiga bastards."
Indeed, the Shadow thought. They seemed to attack everyone.
"I am… sorry for your loss," he told them, the words feeling thick and inadequate on his tongue. The moment stretched out until it was in danger of becoming brittle. At a loss for what else to say, he offered, "Would it help to know that I killed one of them two days ago?"
A sad, satisfied gleam came into Tasseren's eyes. "A bit."
Rensa nodded, face set. "Help more to know you'll finish off every one of them you come across."
The Shadow nodded. "I can do that."
"Now, then," Tasseren said, suddenly all business. "We were all set to pay you five silver rupees for the Talus—"
"In addition to all the precious gems they drop, of course—"
"Which are each worth a pretty rupee on their own, mind you—"
"Oh, especially over in Gerudo Town, for sure—"
"But since you've agreed to carry out our vengeance for us one Yiga bastard at a time—"
"We're doubling it," Rensa finished, handing the Shadow a small pouch that clinked distinctively. "One thousand rupees."
As soon as the brown material touched the Shadow's skin, the color quickly bled out of it, leaving it as grey as anything else he owned.
"Oooh…" the twins said in unison, and then Tasseren took the green rupee out of his pocket and handed it back to Rensa.
The Shadow snorted and shook his head— which, of course, made him lighten ever-so-slightly, causing a reenactment of the previous moment that ended with the rupee back in Tasseren's pocket— and headed inside to refill his canteen with some clean water and eat lunch.
"Oh, hiiii!" a familiar voice said. The Shadow turned from the counter with his newly-filled canteen to see the immense pack of Beedle sitting at a table with the young lady who'd been by the fire earlier. "We were just reading about you!" the merchant said as he held out a piece of paper with "Hyrule Rumor Mill by Traysi" in big, bold print at the top.
"Hey, you're famous!" the woman added. "I'm Sagessa, by the way."
"Hello," he nodded absently at her as he scanned the page, face becoming increasingly hot the farther he read. He sighed and put it back on the table when he'd finished. "Fuck."
"The way I hear it, this is old news," Sagessa said. "Heard all about your exploits first thing this morning. 'Sides the bridge, you're all anyone can talk about."
"I like it," Beedle announced. "Makes a nice change from just talking about all the monsters everywhere."
A while later, after a light lunch of bread, cheese, and fruit, the Shadow nodded his farewells and set off on foot toward Fort Hateno; there were several hours of daylight left and he didn't feel tired in the least, so he decided that he might as well keep moving.
The Ash Swamp and Blatchery Plain together spanned the distance between the stable and Fort Hateno, and from above they had also both appeared choked with stone ruins, wild horses, and more mossy, metal Guardian skeletons.
"If you wish to take the most direct route, I can keep your feet and legs dry," Navi popped out to say.
"Let's do that."
Two hours later and about halfway across, they ran through a Bokoblin camp which offered a few rupees and little resistance but for one archer. The Shadow heard an arrow whistle past his ear, close enough for him to feel the breeze. He spun quickly, nocking his own arrow and returning fire— and his aim was much better, striking the Bokoblin right between the eyes and destroying it in one hit when it fell from its perch and into the blazing fire, then ran around chaotically until the fire turned to purple smoke in a satisfying twist of the laws of physics.
He picked up the road again near the high, fortified stone wall of Fort Hateno not long before dusk. Outside the open portcullis stood a veritable graveyard thick with fallen Guardians, some knocked over, some upright but legless, some just disembodied legs, other units intact, just… dead. The glassy, lifeless eyes eerily reflected the Shadow and Navi as they passed, causing a shiver to roll over his skin that was completely different from the cold chill he'd experienced earlier.
As if on cue, the Guardian he was passing suddenly started to make noise— an awful, ominous stone-grinding-against-stone followed by a soft, reverberating gong. Red lightning shot through what appeared to be an outer stone or possibly rough-hewn metal layer, then settled into the patterns carved into it, lit from within as the machine rumbled to life. The top rose up terrifyingly to reveal a metal neck area encircled with what looked like alternating u and n markings, and the single eye in the spinning top section blinked lidlessly awake, all of which was electrified in an alarming shade of blue. The servos within whirred and clinked as the aiming and firing mechanisms spluttered to life.
"Oh, fuck!" the Shadow swore, and the words might've come from his toes, he felt them so deeply.
"Hey! Looks like you'll get to test your shield and sword like we were talking about!" Navi cheered.
"Ever the fucking optimist." Shit, the eye had found him. A high-pitched beeping sound started and a thin red beam of light struck him painlessly in the chest. He looked down at it, confused. "Is that it?" He stepped to the left, but it remained steady on his chest. Oh, that can't be good.
"No, that's just the targeting system locking onto you."
"Splendid." He ripped the shield off his back, jogging a few steps to his right, left, backward— the red line of death followed him steadily, unerringly, relentlessly.
"Move!" Just as the Fairy yelled, the Guardian made a horrifying screech. An electric blue-white circle of light formed around the eye— as if it hadn't been menacing enough already.
Instinct took over and he darted to his left, taking shelter behind another Guardian husk— one that did him the enormous favor of not springing to life— just as a thick beam of bright, whiter-than-white light erupted from the eye of the Guardian and obliterated the chunk of land the Shadow had just vacated.
"Fucking shit," he spat, chest heaving. He took a moment to think, trying to calm the initial rush of energy that had burst into life. "Hit it in the eye, you said, right?"
"Yes."
He grabbed his bow and a shock arrow. Loading it, he stood still for a full minute, hidden behind the inanimate Guardian husk. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to relax and steady himself.
Ready, he stepped out from behind his temporary shelter. The eye found him almost instantly, pinning him with the red beacon as he shot his arrow. It struck true, sending yellow-green bolts of electricity all throughout the ancient body.
But when the charge dissipated, the head spun wildly for a moment and then immediately locked onto him as though nothing had happened.
"You said shoot it in the eye!"
"I never said it would only take one hit!
"Gah!" he shouted as the beeping warned him of the coming shot. He dove for cover behind another defunct Guardian, feeling the searing heat as the beam just barely missed his exposed back.
He chose a bomb arrow, loaded it, and spent another quick moment centering himself before stepping out to take the shot.
With the same outcome. The unit's head whirled before righting itself and homing back in on him.
"Fuck, I'm just wasting arrows, aren't I?" he asked after he'd sought cover once more.
"No, you're doing damage, just not enough at once."
"Goddess damn it!" He let his head fall back to rest on the dead Guardian behind him. "Okay." He stowed his bow and thought for a moment. "Okay."
Using the hookshot as a weapon might've gone better had he remembered to not press the button the second time, activating the chain retraction mechanism. In an instant, he was uncomfortably close to the big fucking laser that was preparing to fire. He did the only thing he could think of: he pulled his glowing sword and let the hookshot finish bringing him to his target.
He drew back just before impact, then thrust the sword right into the metal eye of death.
He could tell instantly it wasn't over.
The blow had been just enough to disrupt the firing mechanism momentarily, and apparently, having a sword embedded in its eye made the head unable to spin, so it resorted to high-pitched, panicked beeps and sad little whines.
The Shadow reclaimed both the sword and the hookshot; the head of the Guardian, once freed, immediately took up its usual post-hit cycle. There was a definite, satisfying hitch in the gearing, however; the movement no longer perfectly smooth.
"Nice hit!"
"Not enough, though," he said as he found shelter nearby and took a quick rest there to regroup and strategize.
"The only thing as powerful as the beam of a Guardian is the Skyward Strike of the Master Sword."
"What's a Skyward Strike?"
"The Master Sword has a special ability that allows it to gather extra power by pointing it at the sky and then releasing it as a beam of light, much like a laser."
"No shit."
"I am fairly positive that that ability is unique to the Master Sword and Fi, Shadow Link. I do not believe your sword to be capable of it, though, of course, I do not know for sure as it, too, has been blessed by Farore."
"Can't hurt to try." Still hidden from the spicy gaze of the Guardian, the Shadow raised his darkly-glowing sword high into the air. He held it there for several moments, but felt nothing changing. The red jewel flared weakly, but that was all. "I don't think it worked."
"I don't think so, either. Give it a swing, anyway; test it out."
He did. Nothing happened. He couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"Maybe it's locked somehow. Or cursed. There is something about your sword, a magic about it I don't understand…"
"Or maybe it's just not as strong as the other one," he reasoned. The sword in his hand blinked twice before glowing a smidge brighter, as if offended.
"The Hero must go through many trials in order to be able to wield the Master Sword. You refuse to accept your fate as the Hero at all," Navi said, reclaiming his attention.
"You're so helpful."
"I try."
He drew in a deep lungful of air and let it gust out on a sigh. "Okay. Okay." Another fortifying breath. "I need a laser beam." He looked at her, thinking. "And you said Link's shield could reflect them."
"Yes."
"And that you'd trust mine to be just as strong."
"Yes," she said firmly. "I do."
"And I have a Fairy in a jar in my pack that can revive me if I die."
"That's true."
"This is a really stupid idea."
"Do you have a better one?"
"Not really."
"You'll be fine."
"You're such a fucking ray of sunshine."
"That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
"Don't get used to it."
'I'd never."
"Okay." Another breath. "Fuck. Okay." He pulled his shield into position and stepped out.
The red beam took just a moment to find him; the unit seemed to be making some extra clunks and whines that it hadn't previously. As the sounds intensified and the Guardian prepared to fire, the Shadow held his shield tighter, hunkering down and ducking his head to get as much of himself behind it as possible.
The sound of the laser firing seemed so much louder when he wasn't running from it. He felt the impact like a bolt of lightning directly to the bones in his arm and they bruised under the force, but the shield held fast, redirecting the beam off to the side where it absolutely ruined an oblivious squirrel's day.
"Fuck, that hurt."
"It worked, though! You just need better aim!"
"Yeah, yeah." He let the eye find him again, readying his shield for another hit. He used his right hand to help brace for impact and kept his head above the shield enough to ensure that he hit his target.
The sensation of the deadly beam striking his shield at the perfect angle to return it to its origin was indescribable, and leaps and bounds better than just taking the hit and deflecting it.
The shot struck the Guardian's eye and the whole unit went berserk. The head spun wildly back and forth and the body rocked in its earthen grave as steam and sparks flew from everywhere at once before it made a few final, sad noises and settled back down in its slump, defeated at last.
The Shadow's shoulders relaxed and he took a few deep breaths. "Well, that was bullshit."
"You handled it fairly well."
"Fucking arm hurts now."
"Consider that a lesson learned; a battle scar."
"Bruises don't scar."
"Sometimes I think you just like to be contrary."
He shrugged. She wasn't wrong.
"On the bright side, we know for sure your shield is just as strong as Link's was. So that's good news."
He nodded, satisfied in that, at least.
"Do not worry about your sword. We don't know enough about it yet to be sure of its strength. It may well surprise us."
Not far inside the gate, a young man stood with his jaw slack and his eyes bouncing between the approaching Shadow and where the charred husk of the defeated Guardian lay smoking in his wake.
"You. You… The Guardian… It— you— how—"
The Shadow patted the shield lightly where it rested on his back. "Trust your equipment," he said sagely. He ignored the tiny, invisible snort Navi let out.
The man shook himself and offered, "Name's Garill. I came to see with my own eyes and pay my respects to the warriors who fought and died here so long ago." His eyes glazed over with this faraway look. "If I'd have been alive back then, I like to think that I'd have fought these Guardians here, right by the warrior's side."
He trailed off, so the Shadow said awkwardly, "Uh, okay," which made Garill's focus snap back to the present visibly.
"Hey— wow, I saw you take on that Guardian— I thought I was dreaming for a minute! That was amazing! You'd have made a fantastic warrior against the forces of darkness, even though you look like you came from— oh, no! I mean— dang it…" His shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry."
The Shadow sighed, but was saved from having to respond by the angry hiss of whatever had been gently sizzling on the open cookstove under the shelter of a huge tree. "Oh, no!" Garill lamented, rushing to tend his dinner.
When the cookstove was free, the Shadow tossed some mushrooms, salt, herbs, and butter into the pan, enjoying the rich, earthy smell as the mushrooms softened and browned tantalizingly.
As they ate, the Shadow was treated to a replay of his battle with the Guardian from an outsider's point of view, complete with supporting gestures and sound effects. Despite his original reluctance, the Shadow was entertained.
After dinner, the sun hung low on the horizon, but it was still there so he nodded farewell to Garill and moved on toward Hateno. Before Navi even had a chance to reemerge, however, he came upon an older man outside a small, wooden cottage that had been hidden in the trees and behind a grassy knoll. The man seemed completely unaware of his surroundings, which was proven when the Shadow moved directly past him to grab a few low-hanging apples from the tree nearby. He stowed them in his pack, aided by the light from the single lamp by the door.
The Shadow was near enough to hear the man muttering to himself as he stared off into the swiftly-oncoming sunset: "'Darkness holds the Key to the Power of the Light. Four trials await in Earth, Air, Fire, and Water to unlock Wisdom, Courage, and Power, …' It seems so straightforward, and yet the answer remains just out of my reach. Well, the Power of the Light must be the Triforce: Wisdom, Power, and Courage. So… must one first defeat four elemental-themed trials and gather keys, or key pieces, perhaps, and those keys will unlock a map which reveals the location of the Triforce? But where are the trials found? Oh!" He startled as he noticed the Shadow, arms coming up to shield his face and flinching backward. "What do you want? I'm just a scholar; I don't have anything of value to you, I'm sure," he sneered, voice shaking.
"I don't want anything, I'm just passing through," the Shadow protested, raising his empty hands defensively and wishing the sun had set already so he could call Epona.
"Ha! Let me guess: you caught wind of the great Dr. Calip's groundbreaking research and just had to meet him for yourself, eh?" He looked expectantly at the Shadow.
The Shadow looked around, but saw no one else. He turned back to the man. "Who?"
"Wha— Why, don't tell me you've never even heard of me! After I dedicated my life to researching the ancient texts?!" He paused to sigh (somewhat dramatically, the Shadow thought). "Well, you'd better remember my name, for it's not the last time you'll hear of it," he said with more obvious dramatic flair.
"Uh… Cliff, was it?" the Shadow tried halfheartedly.
"Ca-lip," the man overenunciated. "And while I'm at it, it's Doctor Calip, if you please. I didn't study my rear end off to be called Mister Calip," he finished, sniffing haughtily.
"Of course not, Dr. Calip," the Shadow agreed without hesitation, which appeared to have been the right thing to say.
"Oh!" Calip exclaimed, face lighting up as he smiled, demeanor softening visibly and immediately. "It rolled off your tongue so naturally: Dr. Calip. It was downright salivary! Hmph. This changes things." He clapped his hands together once. "Very well, then. I'm feeling charitable, so I'll let a few things spill. Come on into my cabin," he said, turning to head inside.
Intrigued, the Shadow followed the self-styled doctor into the building, closing the door behind them. Should this turn out to be a lure into an attack, the Shadow was fairly certain he could hold his own.
The interior was simple but cozy— everything was in the main room but for the washroom, which was through a door in the back corner. But he could see nothing that resembled what the Shadow assumed a physician's office would look like. "Do you see your patients here or somewhere else?" the Shadow asked.
"What? Oh, no. Not that kind of doctor."
"Oh."
"I suppose you could call me a scholar or an expert," Calip said thoughtfully, then shook it off. "Now, what I'm about to reveal to you is just between us, understand?" The doctor waited for the Shadow's nod before turning to grab a book off his desk and hold it out for the Shadow to take.
Cocking his head slightly, the Shadow accepted it, opening it to find neat lines of immaculately-penned, handwritten notes.
"The ancient texts are elsewhere, of course, but these are my personal translations," Calip explained, and the Shadow spent the next hour learning about the Triforce and the puzzle of the Key or Keys of darkness which would possibly allow access to it. According to Calip's translations, there were either four Keys or four pieces of one Key scattered throughout Hyrule, each hidden at the end of a trial… which was also, apparently, hidden. Once the Key or Key pieces had been gathered, one could then seek the Triforce, which apparently involved more trials said to brutally test the worthiness of the seeker. Confusingly, the text also sometimes referred to a Key that would open something it called The Door, but failed to give further explanation for, or even clarify if it was a separate item. It was frustratingly unclear how many Keys there actually were.
"Sadly, I have not been able to examine all of the ancient texts," the doctor explained.
"Why not?"
"They are being studied by the princess, and so I must wait," he lamented, sighing dramatically. He seemed a pretty dramatic guy all around, the Shadow thought. A glance at the window showed that it was fully dark outside, so he bid the scholarly man farewell and went out to whistle for Epona.
She nickered at him as he greeted her, then they were off. The ride was, of course, exhilarating; the wind whipping past and Navi laughing in his ear. It was also uneventful but for the occasional warning shot of an Octorok and Bokoblin-shaped speed bumps in the road.
They climbed the hill and halted outside the gates to Hateno just a few hours later, the guard at the gate fast asleep. The Shadow dismounted and patted the Stalhorse's neck, watching as she disappeared before making his way to the Great Ton Pu Inn.
Inside, the woman behind the counter said, "Oh, hey, Link. What can I do for— oh! Uhh… Link?"
"Not exactly," the Shadow answered. "I'm looking for his house."
Ten minutes later, the Shadow crossed the wooden footbridge and caught his first glimpse of the house he had already claimed as his in his head. A cookfire burned comfortingly off to the left as he made his way up the path to his front door. He took a deep breath, reached out his hand, and turned the knob.
He stepped into a large room, Navi lighting the space for him. It was sparingly furnished with a dining table, four chairs, and several display plaques on the wall occupied by all manner of weapons and shields that he would definitely be taking a closer look at in the morning. Above hung a square lattice wooden chandelier that nearly spanned the room. On the left-hand wall and at the far side of the main room was the washroom; to his right was a small kitchen, and above that was the bedroom loft.
He made his way up the stairs, toed off his boots, and fell onto the bed, exhausted.
His last thought before sleep took him was a comfort he never thought he'd have: I'm home.
Happy holidays, everyone, no matter which one(s) you celebrate - or, if you don't do any - hello! And welcome to Hateno (finally, amiright?). :) I tried to put a "Feliz, Navi's dad" joke in this chapter, but I couldn't make it work without sounding ridiculous, so just know that I made the attempt.
The Guardian that awakens by Fort Hateno isn't exactly where it is here, but its actual location didn't work with the story so I had to move it, move it. (That's a really old reference for really old dorks like me. You're all welcome.)
Thanks to a comment from a reader, I have a new headcanon: the father of Tasseren and Rensa was a skinny strongman in a traveling circus and he'd used the bracelet in his act. It had a non-powered twin at one time for camouflage purposes but that had been lost, and in order to keep the twins from fighting over it, they'd simply put it away.
And thanks to a re-read prompted by a comment from another reader, I've also gone back and tweaked a small section of the previous chapter to be less abusive on the Shadow's part. That's not what I'm going for, and I'd hate to alienate any readers for my carelessness (originally, he smacked her into the wall at Impa's, but now he points a butter knife at her).
It's been a few chapters, so I should probably remind you that this is a true work in progress, meaning I'm writing the thing as I go, I do not have chapters written ahead, just… parts of chapters and an outline that I might sometimes follow, if the Shadow feels like it. I will always try to tell you if I've gone back and changed something, though. Fair warning: I'm not sure the bit about the Key/Keys works properly and might change a bit at some point. I wrestled pretty hard with that, or I might've actually gotten this out last night. (Edit 12-28-21: I did, in fact, just go back and change it a bit. I'm much happier with it now. I also added a line just before we enter the cabin because of one of my fantastic readers... Shadow, my dude, have some sense of self-preservation!) :)
Anyway, as always, drop me a line and let me know what you think; I love hearing from you guys! Stay safe if you go out and party next weekend; see you next year! Thank you so much for reading!
