Chapter 24: Rito Village
From then on, they were able to travel much quicker along the normal path. Making their way past Nero Hill and across Kolami Bridge thy finally got to the Rito Stable. They had resumed their normal act of Princess and Knight. Ever since Rito Village came into sight Zelda had been showing more enthusiasm. She was eager to hear whether or not Elder Kaneli would have an answer for them.
As they approached the gate to the village, the two Rito guards noticed them and one quickly took off into the sky. Once they got close, the Rito that stayed behind knelt and bowed his head before addressing Zelda.
"Welcome to Rito Village Princess, we are glad to see you here."
"Thank you sir," she replied with a smile, "I'm glad to be back."
With a smile he stepped to the side to allow Zelda to pass and they started to make their way up the stairs. The sun was nearing the horizon and Zelda was hoping to talk to Elder Kaneli before nightfall. When they got to the top, a big smile broke on Kaneli's face as he saw Zelda.
"Princess! How have you been, it's been too long since we last saw you here." His voice raspy with excitement.
Elder Kaneli did his best to bow from his chair, he may have been old but he never ran out of enthusiasm.
"Elder Kaneli! we've been very busy as of late but gladly so," she smiled, "It brings me pleasure to see you again."
"Oh you really know how to warm an old birds heart, now what is it that I can help you with?"
"Well, we are here for two reasons actually, the first being to ask yours and Champion Revali's permission to enter Vah Medoh."
"Ah, well, you know Revali, always training. Lately he's been staying in the Flight Range, or at least I assume so since the guards tell me he hasn't been in the village lately. It'd probably be better for you to talk to him in the morning after you've rested and I'm sure he could take you up. You could also speak to Teba, he usually trains with Revali so he's bound to know where he is."
"Thank you, we'll make sure to stop by first thing tomorrow for his help. The other reason we came to you was because King Dorephan suggested that you might be able to answer a few questions for us." Zelda said, causing Kaneli to lean forward in his seat at the mention of the Zora King.
Zelda continued, "We've visited the three springs and at each one we found a spirit which needed our aid in cleansing the malice that still remained in this world. We also discovered that there was a fourth that we didn't know about and we were wondering if you knew where we could find this spring. Or at the very least where to start our search?"
Link noticed a familiar glint in the elders eyes, one similar to when Zelda would dive into one of her scholarly monologues.
"Well then, I never thought I'd hear about that fourth spirit again, it's been years since I last read about it. I'm sure you already know all about the three pieces of the triforce?" He asked, and Zelda nodded for him to continue.
"And have you ever heard about the fourth part of the Triforce?" His words this time caused Zelda to cock her head in confusion.
"No? I have not." She said, listening very intently now.
"Saying that it's a fourth part might be a bit misleading as it isn't a piece in the same way as those of wisdom, courage, and power. It is called a Triforce after all. Instead, the fourth part, which is the upside-down triangle gap in the center, is thought to represent another world that may reside alongside our own. Many believe that there is a dark world that is almost like a reflection of our own. It was also believed that the spirit which represented this 'fourth part' was that of the hero of legend who once traveled between these worlds. I can't remember what this fourth spirit was though, it really was a long time ago."
Zelda was fascinated by everything he was saying, she hadn't read about any of that in the books at the castle. Her mind raced but eventually she found the words to ask her question.
"But why is this kept so quiet? I've never heard about it in all my lectures about the Triforce." She asked.
"Well, seeing as the triforce is meant to represent the Goddesses, people believed that it was impure to associate it with the 'dark' world. However, the more educated people found these prejudices to be incorrect, just because it was representative of the dark world didn't necessarily mean it was inherently evil. Regardless, belief and practices surrounding it declined and eventually were forgotten. But this was long before all of us, King Dorephan even." He ended with a pensive look on his face.
"And where could we find this?"
"There were talks of a temple dedicated to it just East of here, but we were never able to find it with the maps we had. However, those maps are all gone now, and I can't remember the exact location." He said with a somewhat disappointed look on his face.
They were silent for a moment unable to think of any more clues but Link stood back with a somewhat confused look on his face.
"You mean the old temple in the bottom of Tanagar Canyon?" He said.
Zelda and Elder Kaneli both turned to him simultaneously, "What?"
"What?" They said in unison.
"Yeah, there was an old temple that I visited in the bottom, there was a shrine in there."
"I guess you have your answer then princess." Kaneli laughed. "Just promise me you'll come and tell me what you find if you travel there."
They spoke for a bit longer before excusing themselves for the night, they still had some things to tend to tomorrow and Zelda already thought she wouldn't be able to sleep through the excitement of this new information. Link and Zelda took up beds in the Swallow's Roost inn, although Zelda was eager for the next day Link knew he would have to deal with a certain someone soon enough. He wasn't looking forward to it but at this point, it couldn't be helped. Before he knew it, his exhaustion from the long day pulled him into a deep sleep.