Chapter 3 - Sheikah Technology
Summary: After a year of research, Dr. Purah is able to create a Timeshift Stone. Link is eager to use it at Zora's Domain.
Almost a year had gone by since Link's meeting with Purah. He had not heard anything from her and desperately wanted to. But he was hesitant to ask her for two reasons: first, she hated anyone interrupting her research, and second, he wanted to believe she was making progress and didn't want to hear bad news.
He had visited Zelda as promised but spent most of his time in Zora's Domain. He was always welcome there, but the people he knew had their own lives to live, and he felt uncomfortable interrupting them too much to discuss the past. His journeys tended to be lonely ones, re-visiting places and hoping they would trigger some hidden corner of his memory. Sometimes they did, but more often, they didn't. It was frustrating.
He had just spent the day exploring the area around Zora's Domain, hoping for some more recollections but without success. It was time to return to the Domain, get something to eat and then spend the night at the Seabed Inn. He first stopped at the Coral Reef market for some fish. By now, everyone knew him.
"Link, good evening," said Clef. "As usual, we have some very fresh fish today."
"Yes, I know your fish is always fresh," laughed Link. "I'll take a Sizzlefin Trout and some Hylian rice, please."
"Here you are," said Clef. "That will be 36 rupees, please. And please enjoy your meal."
Link paid and took the food over to the pot near the inn to cook it. As he did so, Kodah saw him and approached.
"Linny, I assume you are staying at the inn tonight?" said Kodah. "There is a message for you. Let me get it."
Kodah retrieved the message as Link finished cooking his food. He took the message and his food and carried it to one of the structures overlooking the plaza, where he could sit down and eat. After sitting down and beginning his meal, he opened the envelope. It was a message from Dr. Purah.
Link,
I am sending this message to Zora's Domain since I believe you spend most of your time there these days.
I have some good news I wish to share with you, and I think you will be pleased. But I am reluctant to put it in writing for fear of spies. Please return to our lab as soon as possible.
Dr. Purah Director-Hateno Ancient Tech Lab
This was exciting! But it was too late, and he was too tired to travel back to Hateno Village now. He finished his meal and returned to the plaza, then walked up the steps and stopped by Goddess Hylia's statue. He bowed his head and said a prayer for Zelda and for his departed friends and for the success of his venture. Since Hylia was the Goddess of Time, prayer to her seemed most appropriate. Then he made his way back down to the plaza.
Prince Sidon was standing in front of Mipha's statue, lost in thought. He came here every night to think about the sister he loved so much and missed. That was something they had in common, and he sometimes spoke with Sidon. But tonight, he did not want to disturb his thoughts. As was his custom when here overnight, Link placed a Blue Nightshade flower at the foot of Mipha's statue.
"Good night, Mipha," whispered Link. "You know I love you, and I miss you."
He stood there for a few more minutes as he gazed at her statue. Then he headed to the inn. Given the good news that Purah hinted at, he splurged and spent 80 rupees on a waterbed. He was soon fast asleep.
The journey back to Hateno Village was uneventful. He took a shortcut by swimming across the Rutala River, which was a much shorter route than following the road. He soon arrived at the tech lab, where he was welcomed in. Purah came right to the point.
"Link, we have made excellent progress on some Sheikah technology. While we have not figured out how the Temple of Time can be made to work, we have been able to create a pair of refined Timeshift Stones. And we can control the time shift amount pretty accurately. It turns out this is another function of the Sheikah Slate. As you may know from the legends, a Timeshift Stone can move an area around it back and forth in time. You strike the stone once to go back, then strike it again to return to the present. We've tested it, but you have to be careful. If you use it to go back in time, the effects of your actions will be evident in the present when you return, at least in the area under the stone's control, that is," said Purah.
"This is great progress," Link said. "When can I use one of the stones?"
"We thought you would ask us that, and before we told you about our progress, we shared our findings with Queen Zelda. She said she would permit you to use one of the stones if you promised to use it wisely and carefully. She said she had an idea what you had in mind, by the way," said Purah.
"I want to use it in Zora's Domain," Link said.
"Zelda told us that, so let me lay out some essential rules. She said you would want to meet with the late Zora Champion, Mipha. You must choose a time and place where you are not already meeting with her in the past, as interaction with your past self can cause unpredictable results. If you emerge in a time and place where your past self is present, you must quickly return to the present. Do you understand this? It is of crucial importance!"
"Yes, I understand," said Link.
Purah went on, "You must also meet someplace where no one else is present or likely to wander into the Timeshift Stone range. It's important we limit contact with others and any timeline tampering as much as possible."
"I think I know a good place for that," Link answered. "Vah Ruta back then sat in the middle of East Reservoir Lake, and I know Mipha often went there alone to train. I would like to consult my notes before committing to the actual time shift."
To recover his memories, Link had been taking notes for his journal from the information in diaries or other records he could find, plus conversations with Zoras. The former was more accurate, as even those with excellent memories could hardly be expected to give day-by-day accounts from over a hundred years ago. But the conversations still helped.
"Another rule it may be harder for you to follow is that you cannot reveal anything about someone's future. We are still researching time travel. If you warn Mipha, for example, about her death, it can have unpredictable results for both you, her, and all of us. You may even end up being killed in that unpredictable scenario. Again, we need to understand things better before we tamper with our timeline." Link understood and agreed.
"Finally," said Purah, "you must be careful not to leave the area controlled by the stone. If you were to do that, you would vanish from the past and suddenly return to our present."
"I'll be careful to stay within the Timeshift Stone range," said Link.
"Very well," said Purah. "We have only created two stones. When you tell us the time shift needed, I will program a stone using the Sheikah Slate."
Link left to return home and consult his notes. He needed to pick a time that he felt confident Mipha would be training alone, and he wouldn't be there. That would have been shortly before Ganon's return. After looking over everything, he returned to the lab.
"I think eight days before the Great Calamity would be a perfect time," Link said. "I know Mipha was busy training then, and I'm pretty sure she would be doing that alone at Vah Ruta. Also, I know I was far away from there then."
Purah reached over her desk and uncovered a bluish stone with a Sheikah symbol on it. Using the Sheikah Slate, she entered some information. The stone flashed white for an instant, then returned to a glowing blue. She handed the stone to Link.
"Thank you Purah and Symin. You don't know how much this means to me. Wish me well," said Link.
And with that, he left clutching the precious stone.