The Shadow landed on the Sheikah disc outside the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab in the middle of a raging thunderstorm. The rain was coming down in sheets so thick he couldn't see a single feature of the landscape around him, and there was a wild electricity in the air that raised the hair on his arms and neck.

The one thing he could make out was the menacing blue necklace of a Guardian alarmingly close, though, luckily, stationary and too far to have noticed him. He sighed, then turned on his heel to face the Lab and ran the short distance past the merrily-burning Ancient furnace and up the steps to knock on the door.

It opened immediately to a miniscule, elderly Sheikah man wearing mechanical goggles, the glowing blue eyes of which were conical in shape and moved independently of one another, each made from metal plates fastened together and articulating with a soft whir. They slid from the Shadow's head to his toes a few times, then one stayed fixed on him while the other took a good look at the rain pounding on the window.

It was unnerving.

The man, likely Robbie, stood next to a strange machine that resembled a mildly-feminine robot, yet looked somehow familiar— possibly due to the Sheikah-style melding of stone with metal and the glowing blue shining from various parts of the unit. "Oh, my. Are you going to kill me?" The small man asked, voice much more interested than afraid.

The Shadow frowned. "Wasn't planning on it."

"Why, that looks just like a Sheikah Slate," the man said, raising a hand to point at the Shadow's waist.

"Because it is."

"You don't say. Ah, are you… the one called… Link?" the halting question and raised eyebrow speaking to Maybe-Robbie's skepticism.

"Close; Shadow Link."

"You don't say. Well, now, isn't that something," was the response, both strange eyes now focused disturbingly on the Shadow. "And, ah, what about Link? What happened to him?"

"Dead."

"Izzat so?"

"It is."

"Hm. So… can I help you?"

"I think so." He raised his hand to show the Mark there.

"Huh. Well, isn't that somethin'?" The old man seemed to accept it, one eye wandering back to the window. "It's, ah, comin' down pretty hard out there. Shouldn't you be dripping wet?"

"I ran really fast," the Shadow answered. "Dodged 'em."

Probably-Robbie snorted. "Sure, you did."

"Are you Robbie?"

"Well, now, ah… what makes you say that?"

"Purah and Symin told me to come find someone named Robbie here, and you're the only person I see." Just then, a slender woman, much younger and taller than Likely-Robbie, came out from a storage closet at the back of the room. "All right, ignore that last part."

But the old man had perked up. "Purah sent you, eh?" At the Shadow's nod, he asked, "And how is the old girl? I haven't seen her in about a hundred years," he said, trailing off with a fond look on his face.

"Oh, she had some sort of a mishap with an experiment and de-aged herself."

"Well, that was only a matter of time," Almost-surely-Robbie nodded. "Same old Purah, then. Good, good. " Then the uncanny eyes fixed on the Shadow's. "I have been waiting a long time for the new Hero to come find me. Can't say I ever expected it to be the Shadow of Link, but here we are, eh?"

The Shadow waited, but the man stayed quiet. "Yeah. So, are you Robbie?"

"Eh? Oh. Yeah, I am," Robbie shook his head and seemed to remember himself. "And that's Jerrin, my wife," he said, gesturing to the woman in the back. She raised her hand in a little wave, then went back to whatever she'd been doing as Robbie went on, "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was told you could upgrade the bombs, and I was wondering— first of all, if that's true, then can you upgrade all the runes?"

"It is, and I can." Outside, thunder boomed and lightning sizzled as if in agreement.

"And could I get some Ancient arrows from you?"

"Well, now, I don't see why not. They're for the Hero, after all, and if that's you, then… of course!" He nodded to himself, then one eye looked at the Shadow while the other roamed around the room. "Unfortunately, I, uh, don't actually have any in stock right now. But if you would bring me some more Ancient Materials, I'll have Cherry make a batch for you."

"Cherry?" The Shadow, looking around the small room and seeing only Jerrin, was confused as to whom Robbie was referring.

"My Ancient Oven," Robbie answered, placing a hand lovingly on the strange machine. "She was once the Guidance Stone in Kakariko—" which explained why it looked familiar— "but long ago, after the second consecutive cycle failed to begin, the elders decided that— with us being the three most scholarly in the village and all working on the Guardian Project— it was best that Impa, Purah, and myself split up in order to make the village less of a target for the evil spreading across Hyrule. Oh, Hylia, we were so young then!" He laughed softly to himself, shaking his head. "Purah took the Guidance Stone she'd been working with at Hyrule Castle and it was decided that I should take this one from the village. We headed for the Necluda and Akkala regions, which have large amounts of ancient energy, deciding who was going where along the way by the ancient method of rock, paper, scissors."

"What?"

"You know: rock breaks scissors; scissors cuts paper; paper covers rock."

"Never heard of it."

"Eh?" Robbie tilted his head, then nodded. "Oh, yeah. I suppose not. Here, stick your hand out like this," and the next few minutes passed with the elderly Sheikah scientist proceeding to teach the Shadow how to play the simple game. The Shadow pointed out that paper could also conceivably cover scissors, rock could certainly break through paper, and sufficient force might see a sufficiently sturdy pair of scissors the victor over certain kinds of rock, but Robbie advised him not to look too deeply into it: "It's just a way of making an important decision without having to actually decide much of anything important. Makes life seem a little easier that way, and if you don't like how it turns out, it's not really your fault; you lost a game," he chuckled.

"Anyway," he continued, as though the conversation hadn't paused at all, "I settled here, in the old lighthouse, which I thought fit well with my side goal of keeping an eye on all the monsters out there. It took some significant work, but I was eventually able to remodel the Guidance Stone into an Ancient Oven for refining and manufacturing Ancient Materials, and I named her Cherry, after my first love.

"After many years, Jerrin came along and not only was she beautiful, she was also brilliant, knowledgeable, and competent. She helped me carry the Blue Flame daily from Tumela Heights— a harrowing journey with that Guardian planted just down the hill, there—" he gestured in the general direction— "before we built the furnace outside the door to house a portion of it, and then we had to figure out a way to protect both of them from the monsters that constantly roam the countryside and any other shenanigans. She helped me work out a spell that would protect the furnaces, and she was instrumental in helping me further modify Cherry into the wondrous machine she is today."

"What are Ancient Materials?"

"Oh, Guardian parts. You know: gears, cores, screws, shafts, springs; things like that that drop when one is defeated. Much of my research has been trying to find ways of doing that very thing. If you run across one of the ancient battle sites around Hyrule, where there are many dead Guardians, you should be able to grab a whole bunch of things. Sometimes decayed Guardians will drop parts as they age; you might find them lying in the grass near one. You can also buy them in Tarrey Town and a few other places."

The Shadow thought back to the Guardian he'd fought near Fort Hateno— it had steamed and sparked, but had it also spit out parts? He couldn't recall. "How many of what kind do you need?"

"Well, to make one Ancient arrow, I need ninety rupees, eh, two Ancient Screws, one Ancient Shaft, and, ah, one regular arrow. I can only give quantity breaks on rupees, not parts, understand, so a bundle of three'll cost ya two fifty, six screws, and three shafts and arrows, and a bundle of five would come to, eh, four hundred, ten and five, respectively."

The Shadow thought for a moment. "Would you give me anything for taking care of the Guardian practically outside your door?"

"Eh? Well, ah…" The elderly man put his hand to his chin, considering. "I suppose I could give you half off a bundle of five."

"How about that whole first batch of five is free— except the parts, of course?"

"Ehhh…"

"I mean, if you have the capability of making arrows to destroy Guardians in a single shot— why haven't you?"

"Oh, we don't have a bow here."

"What?"

"No need for one." At the Shadow's look, Robbie clarified, "Neither Jerrin nor I can hit the broad side of a barn with one, even if we're inside it with the doors closed," he added with a chuckle. "We have actually tried."

"That's pretty bad."

"Absolutely atrocious!" Robbie grinned, unabashed.

"So is it a deal, then? The first batch of five for free if I bring you the parts?"

"Oh, all right."

The Shadow nodded. "I'll take care of your Guardian once the rain stops."

"Splendid!"

"So, in the meantime," the Shadow said, thunder booming as if on cue, "can I get that upgrade?"

"Oh, certainly. That's going to be two hundred rupees."

"All right."

"Eh, that's per rune, just so we're clear." Those strange lizard eyes both focused unsettlingly on him again. "Ancient research isn't cheap, you know, and the cost of living's only gone up in the decades I've been here."

"It's not a problem," the Shadow responded, thinking about the reward he'd just earned from King Dorephan.

"Excellent. Cherry!" Robbie said excitedly. The Shadow distinctly heard Jerrin sigh disgustedly, and Robbie must've, as well, since he quickly amended: "Er, ah, Ancient Oven!"

The machine suddenly beeped loudly and came to life. "Hello, zzzt, Robbie," it said in a robotic voice that was nonetheless distinctly female.

"Hello, my dear." The Shadow thought this was an odd thing to say to a machine, especially given the way Jerrin responded to that, but shrugged mentally and let it go. It wasn't his problem how the tiny man referred to things or who might be irritated by it. "We need to upgrade the runes on this Sheikah Slate," Robbie finished.

A series of buzzes and beeps was the reply, and Robbie loaded the tablet into the mouth slot on the machine. "Processing…" the Ancient Oven said, its ear pieces rotating. The next few minutes were filled with mostly beeping, humming, buzzing, and whirring. Suddenly, all the noises ceased and the mouth opened once more, allowing the Shadow to grab the Sheikah Slate with a, "Thanks for your time. Come again, bwop, FamiliarNameMissing!"

The Shadow paid Robbie, who said, "Now, to explain! In addition to doubling the range of your bombs, you also now have square bombs! Simply press and hold the button to choose between bomb types. Now, since the blast radius has expanded, it also carries the feature of not blowing you up."

The Shadow, who vividly remembered being blasted by his own bomb arrow, thought this was wonderful once he got over his mild horror at it having been a possibility he'd not known about before. "Great."

"Yes, indeed! And Magnesis, Stasis, and Cryonis are also much stronger and have nearly double the range. You also now have the most state-of-the-art camera and a new feature we just added that will allow you to input an item you need to find and search for it using what we call the Sheikah Sensor! It will act as a homing beacon, letting you know how close you are to the thing you're searching for— eh, the beeping will get louder as you draw nearer your destination. Unfortunately, you must have one sample for it to go from, but there is also a very large database loaded on it that holds many of the flora and fauna native to Hyrule— and room for expansion, so that should be sufficient for you!"

The Shadow could see how that could be useful, so he nodded in appreciation. "Thank you."

"Oh, certainly."

And then there wasn't much else to say, yet the thunderstorm still pounding outside made leaving a less-than-appealing option, so they ended up just staring awkwardly at each other for a few moments and then looked around the room, avoiding eye contact until the Shadow's stomach gurgled angrily. Robbie's googly eyes zeroed in on the Shadow again, one dropping to his offending midsection, and the Shadow realized he'd not eaten since before the meeting with Dorephan that morning.

The silence resumed and stretched itself out, preparing for a long, uncomfortable stay.

Jerrin snorted softly and shook her head before saying, "Would you like something to eat? I'm about to make dinner; you're welcome to stay until the storm stops."

"Oh, sure. Thank you," the Shadow answered, watching as Robbie grinned widely, mechanical eyes trying to see everything at once and constantly moving.

Not even ten minutes later, the Shadow sat down with Robbie and Jerrin to enjoy the incredibly fragrant and savory mushroom sauté Jerrin had somehow whipped together, along with some fresh wildberries and hydromelon juice. The mushrooms tasted amazing— they started out with a little zestiness he hadn't been expecting that tapered quickly to a mild sweetness. "Mmm. This is really good," the Shadow practically moaned.

"Oh, it really isn't anything special and only takes a few minutes. It's just a few Zapshrooms and some Goron spice sauteed in a little goat butter with a dash of salt."

"Goron spice?" the Shadow asked. He'd never heard of it.

"Oh, it's a blend of spices; the actual recipe is an ancient Goron secret handed down for generations, or so they tell me. I got it on our last trip to Goron City a few months ago. Wouldn't mind heading that way sometime soon for some more, though," she said, eyes boring into the side of Robbie's head.

"Of course, dear. We'll go as soon as the mountain isn't spouting fire and smoke anymore."

"It's what?" the Shadow asked.

"Death Mountain over in Eldin, where the Gorons make their home. Hot place— if you go there, you need to drink some Fireproof Elixir or you'll surely regret it!" Robbie cackled. "But it's a great city to visit— lovely folk, the Gorons.

"In general, for all that there are several rivers of lava constantly flowing down the sides, the mountain is rarely a threat. About a week ago, though, a black cloud appeared over the mountain and it looks as though it might erupt at some point soon."
"What?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry overmuch; old Bludo has something he does to relieve the pressure and stop that happening— probably doing whatever it is right now, as a matter of fact. Why, I'd be surprised if the smoke didn't clear up within a day or two. As hardy as the Gorons are, even they couldn't survive being covered in lava."

The Shadow thought back to the one time he'd consciously noticed Hyrule's highest point. It was right after he'd left the Great Fairy near Kakariko, it must've been… his fourth day? When he'd climbed Bonooru's Stand and taken the panoramic picture that he'd just now remembered. He took out his Sheikah Slate and pulled up the picture gallery, finding a beautiful photograph— if he did say so himself— and no dark cloud over Death Mountain.

"It happens sometimes?" the Shadow asked, unconvinced. The timing did not strike him as mere coincidence so soon after battling an interloper from another realm.

"Oh, sure," Robbie said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Throughout the centuries, the Gorons have devised methods of controlling the volcano, building vents to ease the pressure so it never erupts and they can live on it in relative peace. Occasionally, one of the vents will get clogged by a random rockslide or some unlucky monster falling in and getting stuck in the shaft, and that's when we get the dark cloud. They usually have it cleared up in a few days."

"So it's unusual for it to last a week?"

"Eh, come to think of it— yes. Can't go too long, you see, or— BOOM!" Robbie threw his arms wide to mimic an exploding volcano. "I believe Bludo has guards stationed near each vent to catch blockages before they become a real problem."

The Shadow frowned. "Then why would it get bad enough to make a cloud?"

"Well, sometimes the blockage is too severe and they end up closing that vent off and digging a whole new one somewhere else. That takes a few extra days. I think the very longest I've seen it has been ten days. It's only happened once, and the cloud was enormous and pitch black by the end."

"Has it ever erupted?"

"Not in my lifetime, no. Oh, Hylia, that would be absolutely devastating for Hyrule."

"Catastrophic," Jerrin put in. "Calamitous. Say, I've got several bottles of Fireproof Elixir in the back; let me give you a couple in case you head that way."

As she moved off, one of Robbie's eyes wandered to the window. "Well, it looks like the storm has mostly passed; the rain has let up quite a bit. Might clear up in time for sunset, even."

The Shadow heard the implication and rose to gather his things. Jerrin returned with two bottles that she handed to him with a small smile. "Safe travels."

"Yes, come see us again when you've got enough materials and I'll make you those Ancient arrows!" Robbie said. "If you want to have a good look around this area, go ahead and climb those steps there all the way to the top, and then keep going."

The Shadow frowned at the odd wording but nodded at them and went up the spiraling stairs.


The lab still carried the exposed bones of the old lighthouse, the stone walls of the second story canting inward ever so slightly before they abruptly ended in a nice, even edge— for less than half of the circumference. There was a huge portion where the stone had been lost over the years, bolstered by wooden slats. No trace of the roof remained; the second floor— dominated by a massive telescope— took the brunt of the weather, and a canvas awning suspended over the opening for the stairwell kept the first floor dry.

A small set of steps and an opening for a door which no longer existed led outside the wall to a wooden walkway that wrapped nearly all the way around the building. He followed it to the end and looked down to see what had probably once been the enormous light that would've warned ships off the coast in the building's heyday and a pile of stone where the foundation had been destroyed. A section of the missing upper portion of wall lay next to the glass structure, an indication that it hadn't simply been time that had ravaged the building.

The higher "floors" outside the walls were a series of wooden platforms and storage sheds connected by precarious plank walkways and creaky ladders. A huge windmill turned creakily in the coastal wind.

Climbing to the third level put him right next to the telescope, where he could now see a wooden viewing platform bolted to the top of it. The floor also wrapped around to another shed and slanted walkway that led to a strange wood-and-metal structure. Venturing over, he discovered that it was a lifting mechanism, a decayed Guardian dangling from the hook at the end.

"I wonder if Purah and Robbie know how much their labs are alike," the Shadow mused aloud. "It sounds like they haven't seen each other since they both settled in, yet they both managed to find places at high elevations and on cliffs, put these huge fucking telescopes on top of 'em, and build magnificent, technologically-advanced machines with minimal assistance."

"It's not so surprising," Navi answered. "They grew up together and had the same teachers. I believe they disliked working too closely with one another as they are not only intellectual rivals, but also very similar in personality and quite competitive. Especially with each other."

"I can see that being the case," he nodded.

Two and a half boards placed next to each other functioned as a plank that stretched between the fourth level and the telescope. The rain had trickled off to a drizzle by the time the Shadow reached the viewing platform, the highest point in the area. He wasn't really surprised to see a lounge chair, open umbrella, and a small table set up on it, but the shimmer in the air above the chair did catch him off guard.

He sighed as he reached out to touch it and greet the Korok, receiving its polished nugget to put in his pack, then ignored the little creature to look around.

The orange rays of sun poking through the clouds off to the west indicated that the evening should be mostly clear and good for traveling. He smiled, looking forward to riding Epona again. But it would still be a couple of hours until full dark, so he contented himself with looking around curiously.

With the sky brighter, he could see that Akkala seemed very lush and green, the landscape liberally dotted with trees of all different shapes and colors. The telescope was pointed westward, directly at Death Mountain which, sure enough, had developed a dark, sinister cloud lurking above it, the result of several columns of smoke rising from the top of the cratered peak.

"Shit."

"Oh, Hylia— it certainly does not look good, no."

"That reminds me— Fi visited last night." He proceeded to run over everything they'd discussed, peppering in a few thoughts he'd been having since his first talk with Dorephan. "It doesn't seem like sealing is the answer in the long run. They sealed Demise away and he came back as Ganondorf… who was also sealed away and came back. I think they might've been onto something with the Champions idea last time and trying to finally end this bullshit. Too bad it didn't work."

"It certainly was not for lack of effort. We had some of the most powerful people in Hyrule assembled and ready to fight."

"What do you mean 'powerful'?"

"Just like Mipha's Grace allows her to heal others, each of the Champions possessed a special ability: Revali, the finest Rito warrior, perfected the creation of a strong upward draft, the current of which was enough to lift him into the sky where he was most effective with his bow; Daruk, the Goron Champion, was able to project a shield around himself that would absorb nearly any impact; the chief of the Gerudo, Urbosa, found a way to focus her unbridled fury into real lightning that she could summon at will to strike any enemies in a large area around herself."

"Holy shit."

"Yes. And Link was one of the most skilled bladesmen Hyrule has ever seen before or since— he was prodigious with a sword at a very young age and only Revali came close to his skill as an archer. They had nearly everything going for them."

"Only 'nearly', though."

"Sadly, yes. Princess Zelda went to every sacred spring and Goddess Statue, prayed for days and weeks on end, neglecting her own health and wellness trying to awaken the Goddess but, unfortunately, nothing worked. It nearly broke her; she was despondent and only barely pulled herself together in time for the final battle, though she fought valiantly and they did manage to seal Ganondorf away for a long time. She carried the weight of what she considered her failure the rest of her days."

"Mm," he hummed. Why was hearing about a long-dead Zelda feeling sorry for herself making his own mood drop? To distract himself, he asked, "Why do you think Hylia never woke up?"

"Who can say? I do know that, as strong as we were, it was still not enough. If your intention is to try to end the cycle again, Shadow Link, I think it's safe to say we must find a way to awaken her."

The Shadow frowned but nodded and followed the coastline south with his eyes, which settled on the strange spiral beach of Rist Peninsula before moving closer, down to the blue glow on the side of the hill. He noted it and kept his eyes moving east to what looked to be a large pile of decayed and rotting Guardians just down the hill from the lab, doubtlessly already picked over for parts by Robbie and Jerrin, or whoever else.

To the north and east, the coast of the Akkala Sea was daringly close to the lab, the blue horizon broken up by a huge, cube-shaped island not all that far from the shore. Ominous red dots moved methodically above the walls of what appeared to be an enormous maze.

"Navi, what is that?"

"Lomei Labyrinth Island was designed by the ancient Zonai people— a long-deceased clan of fierce warriors who began as worshippers of Demise before turning against him when he betrayed one of their leaders. They made it, along with North Lomei Labyrinth in the Hebra Mountains and South Lomei Labyrinth in Gerudo, to protect the three separate pieces of a special set of armor they'd created, to ensure that whomever donned it was worthy."

"What's so special about it?"

"It's imbued with some of their ancient magic, an enhanced attack ability. They call it the Barbarian Armor. Fittingly, it is very well-guarded."

"By what?" He asked, though the sinking in his stomach warned him of the answer.

"All sorts of enemies, but most notably that particular island is littered with Guardians; there are three Skywatchers actively patrolling right now."

"That's a lot."

"That we can see."

"There's that tiny ray of sunshine."

"You know your shield can defeat them."

"Yeah, one at a time," he said, and dropped his gaze to the Guardian on the hillside below. Thinking through his inventory, he asked, "Navi, Light arrows should work for this, too, shouldn't they?"

"Certainly, Shadow Link."

"Then what would be the need for Ancient arrows?"

"I cannot say I've ever seen anyone use a Light arrow on a Guardian. Ancient arrows were made specifically to stop Guardians in one shot where they were so that they could then be mined for parts."

"Guess there's only one way to find out," he said, drawing the Ancient bow and a Light arrow. He lined up the Guardian in the sight and then waited, timing his shot so that the eye was pointed toward him. A trail of light followed the arrow as it streaked down the hillside, exploding into brilliance as it reached its target and forcing the Shadow's eyes shut.

When he opened them, the Guardian was nowhere to be seen. Nor did there appear to be any parts left lying where it had been, but he decided to glide down and check.

Nothing. "Fuck."

"Well, that answers that," Navi said, flitting around the spot where the Guardian had been. "Where do you want to head now?"

"Robbie said we can buy Ancient Materials in Tarrey town," the Shadow said, taking out his Sheikah Slate. "And since it's easier to buy parts than to kill things for them and I have a ton of money, I was thinking I'd try that first. But there are still a few hours until sunset, so I guess I should start walking."

Just then a light drizzle began to fall again, and he looked up to see the sky had turned that pre-storm, dark gray. "I thought for sure it was going to be a clear evening," he frowned.

"Akkala has very frequent showers and storms. As in several per day. I believe it's also part of the reason Robbie built an Ancient Furnace closer to the lab; it was probably incredibly frustrating and tedious to transport the Blue Flame daily."

"No doubt." He looked back up at the lab. "Doesn't really make sense to walk in the rain when there's a Guidance Stone right there," he said, heading back up the hill. Once inside the lab, he took out his Sheikah Slate and pulled up the map feature. It looked like it would be a fairly short and easy glide from Akkala Tower.

"You headed to Tarrey Town, then?" At the Shadow's nod, Robbie continued, "Eh, you're welcome to use Cher— er, ah, the Ancient Oven. The Guidance Stone feature is still active, of course. Just put that in her mouth, there."

Feeling a little strange about the humanized machine, the Shadow did as told. The drawer that functioned as the lower mandible of the mouth remained open so he could interact with the tablet.

"Our son, Granté, lives there. He's a traveling merchant, but he doesn't really do much traveling anymore. Likes his rooftop too much, he says. If you see him, tell him we say 'Hi' and it's time to come home for a visit," Robbie said just as the Shadow pressed the button to go, so he only had time to nod as he felt his body disintegrating.


He opened his eyes facing Death Mountain again, realizing he was even closer to the bubbling, angry visage than he'd been at the lab. The sky was clear here and his breath plumed in front of him, though Navi's magic kept him warm as he swung his gaze to the right and found himself looking— even at that distance— decidedly downward at the lab he'd just left, indicating just how high in the air he was.

Something looked out of place in his peripheral vision and he turned his head to see a moss-covered, legless Guardian Stalker hanging slightly over the lip of the tower. No parts lay nearby, but movement over the edge drew his eye downward a bit, to where at least three flying Guardians patrolled the stone ruins of whatever fort or outpost the tower appeared to sprout from. He frowned, but after a few minutes it was clear that they weren't looking up toward him as part of their routine so he turned his attention to the landscape.

His eyes landed on a small, almost-perfectly circular, elevated island in the middle of Lake Akkala— his destination, Tarrey Town. He kept his gaze moving toward a verdant valley cut into the cliff beside the lake that was giving off a soft glow. "Navi, is that the Great Fairy you told me lives around here?"

"Yes. Mija. You should—"

"Visit her so she can not say anything useful and maybe manhandle me a bit?" He sighed. "Sure, sounds great. We'll do it on the way out of town later. Epona will get a kick out of it."

"You're determined to keep your glass half empty, aren't you?"

"What? No, I'm not thirsty."

Navi snorted and twinkled merrily like he'd amused her somehow as he moved farther around the tower so he could see the whole area, picking out the interesting features. The three legs of Akkala Falls poured steadily down the cliff face from their source at Toto Lake on the northeast side of the outer regions of Zora's Domain.

Honestly, he thought the colorful forests that dotted the entire region were the most impressive aspect of Akkala and since they all looked pretty much the same from that distance, he decided he'd stalled long enough.

He knew any arrow but Light would basically be a waste, but he didn't want to obliterate the Guardian if he was going to mine it for parts afterward, so had to get its attention in order to get it to fire its beam at him. He grabbed a bomb arrow and aimed at the nearest Skywatcher— which wasn't actually that close, it was at least two stories below him and out far enough that he felt the need to use the straight-shooting Ancient bow— carefully waiting for the best moment.

In the next heartbeat, he regretted his decision to pick a fight with the flying bastard because it had already swung its laser eye up and around, locked onto him, and shot a deadly beam of white-hot energy.

Unable to bring his shield up in time, he reacted on instinct, throwing himself backward as the shot just missed his head. He'd expected to land on the floor, but was too close to the opening where one could conceivably climb up from the base of the tower (were it not guarded by multiple ridiculous flying fuckers) and he hit the stone railing hard with a crack! that he felt before hearing and then toppled over. He flailed in the air ineffectually for a few moments before landing with another crack! in a painful heap on the highest of the landings that staggered the tall cylinder of the tower like climbing lily pads. He closed his eyes against a wave of nausea.

"Hey! That was fast!"

"Your powers of observation remain unrivaled," he groaned. "Fuck! I wasn't ready for that."

"Are you all right?"

"Might've cracked a rib." He concentrated on controlling his breathing against the rolling waves of pain. "Uuungh, or two. Maybe three. Fuck."

"Use the charm Mipha gave you!"

"Oh, yeah. Almost forgot," he said, bringing his hand up to wrap around the symbol now hanging from his neck. A soft green glow enveloped him and his brain called up the scent of petrichor without any input from his nose. "Whoa." He felt… amazing, physically speaking. "That's probably going to get a lot of use."

"I've no doubt. Oh!"

"Now what?"

"Your eyes! There is white at the corners now where it used to be all red."

"Oh. Huh," he said, trying to process that while surrounded by deadly war machines with such devastatingly-quick targeting mechanisms. "Okay." His skin seemed to have also gained the barest hint of blue tinting but that could be the cloudy, near-dusk light playing with his eyes.

He peeked around the corner to find the Guardian much more menacing when closer to the same elevation. He loaded another bomb arrow, peeked around the ledge protecting him, aimed, and fired, immediately dropping the bow and bringing up his shield as the Guardian nearly-instantly returned fire.

The reflected beam didn't strike the eye he'd been aiming for; instead, he managed to destroy one of the three propeller units keeping the Skywatcher off the ground. Seeing it hanging there by its two remaining engines made him realize he'd expanded his potential targets, which pulled up one corner of his mouth.

He repeated the action with another bomb arrow, but his aim with the shield was off and the return shot went wide. He frowned and tried again with better luck and the Skywatcher wobbled precariously, its one remaining engine trying valiantly to keep the heavy machine aloft.

One last round was enough to knock the Guardian from the sky at last, but the Shadow watched with a dwindling sense of satisfaction as the machine hit the stone walkway it had been patrolling. Then it proceeded to bounce off and fall farther down, watchful eye spinning madly as it tumbled out of sight into the valley below.

"Well, that was tedious."

"I agree."

"And basically pointless," the Shadow breathed out, eyes locked on the last place he'd seen the Skywatcher. "Fuck."

"Probably a good idea, then, to try to buy as many Ancient Materials as you can so you can have Robbie make you a whole bunch of Ancient arrows, huh?"

"Yeah, probably." He huffed out a sigh. "I've seen enough of this tower."

Navi snorted as he grabbed his glider and jumped, letting the wind carry him over the other Skywatchers guarding the tower and on to Tarrey Town.


Gliding over the Torin Wetland, he spied two active Guardian Stalkers and what looked to be at least a dozen decayed ones amongst the trees, but he knew from experience that that didn't necessarily mean they'd stay that way and was happy to be flying over as opposed to walking through.

Tarrey Town was set up like a small, permanent farmers market. Six houses— all built in the signature Bolson Construction style of brightly-colored cubic modules stacked and arranged in different shapes— lined the edge of town facing the center, which seemed to have some sort of statue or monument as the focal point. In front of three of the houses were tables strewn with various wares for sale and signage giving each stand a designation, with a fourth building bearing the telltale markings of an inn.

As he drew nearer to town, he realized the monument in the center was a Goddess Statue, set serenely in a wood-and-water shrine before a tall pillar and surrounded by four shorter pillars that each created individual waterfalls.

An elderly Hylian man and woman were wandering around the town, stopping occasionally to speak to a neighbor. A shaggy black, white, and tan dog was standing in front of one of the houses that did not have a shop set up in front of it, between the inn and the shop tended by a teal Rito male.

Near the end of the Rito's stand, a public cookstove burned invitingly and next to that, a Goron sat in front of his house, looking with concern toward Death Mountain. A younger Goron stood behind the table, ready to sell precious gems while two more dogs playfully ran together behind the house, barking occasionally.

Next to the Gorons, a burly Hylian man wearing the compartmented belt of a construction worker stood ready to sell what looked to be a full set of some sort of clothes or armor displayed before him. The Shadow assumed this was the elusive Hudson— formerly of Hateno, now the foreman of Bolson Construction's Tarrey Town division, and also the romantic partner of the Gerudo the Shadow had met in Zora's Domain, Rhondson.

The last house had a donkey standing in its front yard, seemingly content to eat grass and ignore the locals. The Shadow felt a fleeting stab of irrational jealousy toward the animal before turning his attention to landing.

He came down on the wooden deck in front of the Goddess Statue, facing away from it on principle. This meant he was actually looking directly out the gate and along the narrow path leading into town where the horizon was tinted pink, orange, and purple by the sun setting behind him.

The Shadow approached the Hylian, who happened to be closest; the sign next to his table read Rhondson Armor Boutique. The man's eyes were downcast and his face drawn, only looking up when the Shadow cleared his throat and said, "Are you Hudson?"

"Eh? Yeah, who's— oh!" The large man visibly recoiled, a hand dropping to the hammer on his belt.

The Shadow frowned, hand itching to reach for his own sword but resisting. "I was just going to tell you that I met Rhondson in Zora's Domain yesterday; she should be on her way here."

Light broke over Hudson's face like the dawn and he stood up straighter, attention focused on the Shadow. "You did? When? What happened? Is she all right?"

The Shadow nodded. "She's fine; there was a situation that had developed in the area and the whole kingdom was put on lockdown while she was there. But everything's fine now and Dorephan reopened the kingdom just last night."

"Wonderful news, wonderful!" A grin split the face under the bushy mustache, but confusion quickly overtook it. "Wait, how can you have been in Zora's Domain last night…?"

"I'm faster than I look."

Hudson snorted, but narrowed his eyes. "Appeared as if you came from the direction of Akkala Tower."

"I did."

"Which is blue now."

"So it is."

"Mhm," Hudson said, but let it go. "Anyone ever tell you you look a lot like Link?"

"A few."

"You ain't him, though. 'Less you took a good knock on your head and changed personalities."

The Shadow snorted. "No, I'm not Link. I'm Shadow Link."

"No kiddin'?" Receiving the Shadow's nod, Hudson marveled, "Well, ain't that somethin'? What's that about?" he asked, gesturing to the Shadow's right hand.

"I was Chosen."

Hudson eyed him. "Don't exactly look happy about it."

"Not."

Another nod. "Bolson'll be upset."

"He was. He and Karson tried to throw me out of my new house, but I persuaded them to see it from my perspective."

"Right, okay," Hudson grunted and nodded. "Say, are you in need of a fine set of Gerudo Voe armor? It's handmade."

"Er, I don't think so. Thanks, anyway."

"Okay, then. Thanks, again, for letting me know about Rhondson. I appreciate it." They nodded at each other, and the Shadow moved away before the moment could turn awkward.

The young Goron at the next stand peeped, "Welcome!" from under his yellow construction hat, which rose to just barely above the edge of the table displaying large chunks of sapphire, ruby, and amber for sale. "Buy somethin'!" The sign declared it to be the Ore and More.

"Oh, uh. No, thanks."

"Then move along, sir."

The Shadow snorted. "You got it, pal."

"I'm not your pal, buddy."

"I'm not your buddy, friend."

"I'm not your friend, guy."

"Pelison!" the larger Goron finally interjected, sounding annoyed. The Shadow, however, had been having a great time, and the grin on the young Pelison's face when he bounced on his toes and came briefly into the Shadow's view told the same story.

"Sorry, Greyson," Pelison said, not sounding sorry in the least. The Shadow smirked at him and received a wink in return.

From around the back of the house trotted two of the dogs the Shadow had spotted earlier. The black one went straight to Greyson, but the golden one came over to sniff the Shadow's boots. And knees. And— "Hey, woah there, pup," he said, pushing the dog's nose away from his crotch. Undaunted, the dog opened its mouth and gave the Shadow's hand a big, slobbery lick before trotting away to eat some nearby grass it apparently found appetizing.

"Hey, little guy," Greyson said, looking directly at the Shadow, "where did you come from?" His eyes slid quickly to the looming mountain and back.

The dog at his feet got up to wander over by the Shadow, where it sat quietly and looked up at him with baleful eyes. He reached down to pat its head and scratch behind its ears, which must've satisfied it because it wandered over to the other one and they started playing tug-of-war with a stick one had found.

"Akkala Tower, and before that, the Ancient Tech Lab," the Shadow answered.

"Oh," Greyson's face fell. "I thought maybe you'd come from Eldin with word from Bludo— or anyone up there, really. That cloud worries me."

"I was under the impression that that was somewhat normal; is it not?"

"Well, it would usually be fixed by now. But old Bludo's health isn't great anymore, and I worry that Yunobo hasn't had the chance to learn how to properly take care of the mountain. Or that something else has happened."

The look on the Goron's face made something sink in the Shadow's stomach.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to be heading that way, would you?" Greyson asked.

"I hadn't planned on it." Here it comes… the Shadow thought.

"Could you, though?"

And there it was. Fucking Hero bullshit. "Visit the only-somewhat-tamed volcano under the ominous black cloud?"

"I would, but I can't leave my little brother by himself to watch the shop for that long, and I'd rather not close shop entirely so both of us can go."

The Shadow was about to say, not for free, but the younger Goron spoke first.

"You should pay him if you want him to go for you, Greyson," Pelison piped up. "That's quite the trip; you can't expect him to make it for nothing."

"Good point, little bro," Greyson praised. He looked over the ores displayed on the table, then reached somewhere beneath it and brought out a chunk of opal that caught the dying sunlight and reflected it stunningly, and a large, sparkling diamond. "Would this be enough to make the trip worth it for ya, little guy?"

"That'll work. I'll head out as soon as it's fully dark."

"I sure do appreciate it, little guy."

"You got a name?" Pelison asked.

"Yep."

A moment of silence passed before the young Goron pressed, "You feel like sharin' it?"

The Shadow grinned and told them, then spent a few minutes getting directions directly to Bludo's hut in Goron City before taking his leave of them to greet the Rito operating the Slippery Falcon (Tarrey Town Branch).

"May I help you?"

The Shadow spent a few moments looking at the Ancient Materials on display and felt his hopes drop. The merchant had a few Ancient gears, springs, and giant cores, but only three screws and no shafts. He frowned. "I was hoping to buy some Ancient shafts in addition to the screws."

The vendor replied, "Oh, our stock constantly rotates; in a week's time, we'll have completely turned over our inventory for new items. Good for repeat business, you know."

The Shadow tilted his head. "Sure, I can see that. There a lot of demand for these?"

"Oh, sure— exceedingly useful things. Some use them to make elixirs, some to research Guardians, and some trade them to Kilton for his oddities."

"Kilton?"

"Monster researcher who runs a traveling shop called the Fang and Bone. He sets up in a different spot along his route every night, and he's only open from dusk 'til dawn."

"That's different."

"He's a different kind of guy."

"Fair enough," the Shadow agreed as he paid for the items he wanted. "I'm also looking for Granté, do you know where he is?"

"Oh, sure. That's his donkey right there," the Rito pointed to the house to the north of the entrance to town. "Spends all his time when home researching the stuff he collects on his journeys abroad."

"The donkey?"

The Rito snorted. "No, Granté. Usually out on his balcony during the day, though he's probably inside by now. Most of us go to bed pretty early here, since that damned donkey likes to bray us all awake at the crack of dawn."

The Shadow snickered. "What a jackass."

The vendor smiled genuinely at him. "You said it." He held out a hand. "Fyson, at your service."

"Shadow Link," the Shadow returned in kind.

"No kidding? I must say, you're a lot less murder-y than I've always been led to assume."

"It's early yet," the Shadow deadpanned.

"Depends who you ask," Fyson said, unruffled. "Check back next time you're in the area; it's possible I'll have what you're looking for then."

The Shadow nodded and left the marketplace, walking the short distance around the path to the house with the donkey and knocking on the door.

After a few moments, a tall, blond Sheikah man answered through a crack in the door that was kept from opening by a length of chain. "Yes?"

"Granté?"

"Maybe. Who wants to know?"

"I saw your parents earlier today, and they asked me to tell you that they say 'Hi' and to go home for a visit soon."

"Oh," Granté said, startled, then rolled his eyes and huffed out a breath. "Yeah, okay. Thanks. You got a name?"

"Shadow Link. And no problem, I was coming to town, anyway," the Shadow said as he turned and walked down the steps. The donkey snuffled in his direction as the door shut behind him.

The sky had finally darkened to full night, and the Shadow felt his mood lighten in anticipation. But before he could draw in his breath to whistle for Epona, he heard a tiny, insistent jingle by his ear and felt a tug on it in the direction of the Goddess statue in the center of town.

He frowned, whispering, "No, damn it," even as the tug became more firm. "Knock it off." He dug in his heels, so the little shit tugged on his hair instead. "Ow! You little asshole!" he hissed. "Fine. But this is a fucking waste of time and you know it."

He muttered to himself the whole way, irritated aplenty even in the face of the serene setting around the statue. He stood before the stone goddess and closed his eyes, trying to let the gentle sound of the waterfalls calm his mind.

"Goddess Hylia."

"Chosen Hero of Farore, I can offer you great wisdom."

"Go for it."

"The horizon darkens unnaturally. Hyrule is in great peril."

The Shadow's head tilted to the side. "'Unnaturally'? Holy shit, that almost sounded helpful. Are you okay?"

"Go, and bring peace to Hyrule."

He snorted. "That's more like it."

"Go, and bring peace to Hyrule."

"Yeah, yeah." He turned away, taking a last look around the tranquil island town. The lingering dusk had finally given way to the softer, off-white of the lanterns, spaced at intervals which left few truly dark spaces or deep shadows and lent the whole place a feeling of safety and security. With the vendors watching him curiously and a deep sense of anticipation in his chest, he whistled for Epona.

A bright swirl of blue and gold later she stood before him, tall and magnificent in her boniness. She nickered and tossed her head in greeting and he reached out to pat her neck. "Hey, girl. Feels like it's been forever. You good and rested?"

She tossed her head up and down and stomped once with her foreleg. He grinned as he mounted and directed her out of town, the gasps and whispers of awe from the town residents following them out the gate.