Chapter 14: The Wounds of Hyrule
Link
After receiving the 4 jewels that The Hero of Spirits said would be needed to unlock the way into the resting place of the next sword, we continued our journey. We flew this time to appease Revali, who was annoyed by our other forms of transportation. Our destination was the Four Sword Sanctuary, the resting place of the Titular Sword and last piece we needed to complete our quest. I just wish that it had been somewhere else.
I kept a close eye on the others as we opened the doors to the main courtyard of Hyrule Castle, allowing them to see firsthand the destruction that the calamity caused. Mipha took it about as well as I expected her to as she began to cry. Revali caught her in his wings as he tried to comfort her while visibly hiding his own emotions. Urbosa looked at the scene with growing anger while Daruk looked around with a sad look on his face.
"Link? You ok?" Zelda said.
Now that I wasn't trying to fight for my life, and the Champions were here, something seemed different about the Castle. A sentinel that fell to Ganon. Because of me. Because I wasn't ready.
"Let's just go," I said.
"Link, are you-"
I stopped her with a glance before going further into the Castle, not saying another word as I did so.
Revali
I couldn't help but notice that Link was silent again. (Sigh), That's not a good sign. Not a good sign at all. I kept my eye on him as we continued into the Castle, the path forward being filled with abandoned weapons, guardian parts, and even some intact deactivated guardians. All skeletons of a war that we all had fought in and for that matter lost, at least the first time. As those thoughts crossed my mind, it suddenly occurred to me what everyone else must be thinking. The wounds that The Calamity left were still very much open for the majority of us, myself included. As seen as my stoic expression that I had been trying to keep started to crack. I Looked at this group of heroes who were stepping over broken stone and glass and I knew we all felt it; failure for us being unable to stop the events of 100 years ago, and grief for those we couldn't save.
Once it occurred to me finally what these emotions were, the cracking turned into crumbling as tears slid down my face despite my best efforts. I quickly wiped them away, only to have more fall as I broke further. I tried to pull myself together before anyone saw, only to suddenly be interrupted by a soft touch. I looked down to see that Mipha had noticed my change in behavior. She didn't say a word, but she didn't need to. Her own tear-filled eyes told me that we were on the same air current. Without thinking, I knelt down and wrapped my wings around her, both of us silently sobbing as the wounds that Ganon had opened began to bleed out.
Link
Revali didn't notice that I was watching him and Mipha lean on each other for support as they both tried to come to terms with the true effects of The Calamity. As the rest of the team continued to emotionally break, my own expression fell. I must admit that I was also feeling the pain that Ganon had caused in the past, but unlike everyone else I had a longer time to process it physically and emotionally thanks to Zelda and Revali, and yet… it still hurt. So how much worse must it be for everyone else? I turned away from Revali and Mipha and closed my eyes, stopping just short of the main castle doors.
Revali noticed this and protested despite his broken state, still trying to hide the fact that he had been crying a few seconds ago and still was.
"What are you doing? Don't we need to get that sword!? Let's go!" he said.
"All of us are hurt Revali. We need time to rest and recover." I said.
"I feel fine!"
"Don't lie to me, Rev.! I know the wounds you're trying to hide!" I took out the Sheikah Slate, "Hiding them won't heal them. Trust me, I know. Everyone gather around. We need to regroup at a safe place. We'll return here via quick travel tomorrow."
They all gathered around as Revali instead turned away, wings crossed. As we all touched each other, ready to quick-travel, I reached out and grabbed Revali just as I activated the quick travel option, taking him with us as we warped across Hyrule.
After we arrived, he quickly brushed me off with a scowl, "What was that for?"
"When I said everyone, that meant you!"
He growled and was about to lunge at me when Urbosa caught him.
"That's enough from you!" she said. "If Link thinks that we should rest, then we should rest"
He sneered in response, and looked like he was about ready to lunge at me again when Mipha gently grabbed his wing. Revali's demeanor got softer as soon as he realized who exactly had his wing, something that not only I noticed as Urbosa gave a slight smile of satisfaction.
I finally spoke up to change the topic. "We'll fast travel to a shrine inside the castle to make up for lost time. But right now we all need to come to terms with what happened 100 years ago. Whether we want to admit it or not. So I brought us here, to the Forgotten Temple." I said, pointing to the cave around us and the large and very prominent Goddess that was behind the Shrine we had used to get here.
Every emotion was seemingly momentarily dissolved as they all looked at the massive statue in awe, Zelda however was easily the most awestruck, "How long has this been here?"
"Longer than even the Ancient Sheikah I bet, maybe it's even older than Hyrule itself. All I know is that we're safe here, even with the stationary guardians outside."
Revali's eyes widened as he spun to face me. "What!? GUARDIANS!?"
I slightly laughed. "Don't worry, they can't get to us in here. And they're probably deactivated anyways. Just be careful walking outside that door if you want to keep your tail feathers."
He let out a sigh of exasperation as he shook his head, "If you say so."
"What matters is that I come here to train, meditate, think, and sometimes pray. To me, this, this… is my flight range."
"Really? You consider this place peaceful? Despite the fact that it's threatened by one of the most dangerous enemies in all of Hyrule?" Revali asked.
"You mean my target practice?" I laughed.
"Wha…? Seriously?"
I snickered, "Relax. I'm kidding, ya big hatchling."
"BIG HATCHLING?! I'M TEN YEARS OLDER THAN YOU!"
"Sure you are."
"Why you little!"
Revali continued to rant, his protests and insults echoing throughout the cave as all of our laughter drowned out his complaints.
After we had all calmed down, had a good meal, and even relaxed a bit, we settled down for a good night's sleep next to a simple campfire. At least, until the Master Sword woke me up with its signature chime. Slowly but surely, I stirred awake to see a certain White-skinned Freak looking over us.
"Ah, you're finally awake," he said.
Suddenly alert, I drew the sword and shield and immediately prepared to engage him.
"As much as I would love to shed your blood right here and now, I actually have other plans. I see you have been working on your sword. It won't help you, and neither will The Four Sword. If you draw it, a threat unlike anything you've seen will be unleashed. So don't do it, ok? In fact, stay out of my way in general. Next time I see you, I promise I won't hold back."
I responded with a war cry as I tried to hit him with a jump strike that I had been secretly charging as he kept talking, only to hit empty air as he teleported away.
"Link? Is something wrong?" Zelda said.
I turned to see that the sound of my attack had woken everyone up. But what to do? It was still the middle of the night, right? Nevertheless, Ghirahim knew about our quest. He knew we were after The Four Sword, so we had to move fast before he could put in any more countermeasures.
"I'm sorry, but we need to move. This place is no longer safe." I said, readying myself for travel again.
Revali threw his wings in the air, "Was it ever?"
I shot him a glare that could pierce a guardian's armor, causing him to actually recoil in response. My expression softened slightly before turning to the others with a look of resolve, "Let's go, we've got one more sword to find."