Link, Zelda, Groose, and Pipit had arrived at the Sealed Grounds after a long flight home. No one really spoke much, but Link was glad that they were going home. Groose seemed anxious to get there, but he just figured that Ilysa would be there with his unborn child, which would make most people anxious. Since only Link, Pipit, and Groose had their Loftwings nearby, Zelda had rode with Link. She had held on to him, but she did so in a way that let him know she was uncomfortable with him, her touch only practical and in no way emotional.

Ilysa had been waiting inside the Sealed Temple, and she had run into Groose's arms before she even saw Zelda walk in. Ilysa was speechless that Zelda was there, and once Ilysa asked how she had returned, Zelda turned away and just stared at the Tree of Life. After a silence, Ilysa insisted that the details weren't important, but what was important was that she was back. Zelda didn't seem convinced.

Link asked Ilysa if she could get Gaepora and bring him, and that's when he saw some of the Zelda he had grown up with return. Ilysa eagerly went to retrieve him, and then Zelda insisted that she mend Groose's leg properly; potions were great, but nothing helped mend an injury like divine magic. While Zelda tended to Groose, Link hugged Pipit from behind, and planted a kiss on the side of his neck. Pipit hummed in response, before Link whispered in his ear:

"I love you Pip."

"I love you too."

"Good, because there's going to be a rough patch with her for a little bit. I need you to keep cool and know that I love you, and that I will stay with you no matter what." Pipit hummed again in response, this time a little more pensively. They remained in this embrace, holding one another until Zelda had finished and, together, they sat Groose on the stairs. Ilysa returned a few minutes later with Gaepora, who was delighted beyond compare. Ever since Zelda had "disappeared", Gaepora had shut himself in his cabin by the Sealed Grounds, where he sat day after day in a depressed and occasionally angry state of mind. Link had tried an uncountable number of times to help Gaepora recover, but eventually Gaepora had blamed Link for Zelda's "disappearance" and Link had ceased his efforts in aiding the man. Link had made sure that Groose checked in on Gaepora every few days for the last several years, and other than the occasional outburst, the only odd occurrence was that he had apparently taken a fascination with a surface bird that Owlan* had called "Owls", presumably in his own name. Gaepora's interest in the birds had become some sort of obsession over the years, and even Gaepora's demeanour and appearance had slowly merged into that of a man-owl blend. Groose and Link had decided to not trouble Gaepora with the details of Zelda's disappearance, so Gaepora had convinced himself that she had been taken, or had run off: his theories changed quite frequently. However, as Link watched father and daughter be reunited once again, he indulged himself in the thought that this was the last time that he would have to save her. Of course he knew it was foolish, but he was allowed to be indulged.

Zelda had gone off to the village with Gaepora, while Groose and Pipit went to the Knight Academy to return their equipment. Link and Ilysa had gone for a walk and they ended up sitting on the edge of the diving platform overlooking Lake Floria. They had silently been grieving Irsia for a while, and Ilysa fiddled with the green sash that was in her hands.

"Irsia had given this to me when I was younger; I had hurt my leg during an expedition and she bandaged me with this. I remember feeling so special that the chieftain had given it to me, and I don't think I've gone anywhere without it since. Even after I had been exiled for disobeying her direct orders, I always carried it because it in some way kept me connected to her. Now though, it feels like it has lost its life, its vitality, as if it had been connecting me with her, but there's no connection to be made anymore. Now it's just a reminder of what we've lost as a tribe, and it no longer connects me with the living, but with the dead."

"You told me once that the Sheikah have rituals to connect with the dead, to guard them even in the next life. Perhaps you have lost the connection because it is her that needs a connection to the living."

"That's… very insightful. When I return to the tribe for the Ritual of New Life, I will try to return this to her, perhaps you are right, perhaps it is her that now needs a connection."

"For the Ritual of New Life, how do you decide who becomes next chieftain?"

"It is based on many things: tribal status, age, relations to other tribes, skills as a warrior, and the likelihood of having a healthy child. It is important for us to bear healthy children, for the first born girl of the chieftain's family is to be named Impa, and the chieftain is to keep having children until Impa is born. If Impa is the first child, then the chieftain can have no more children."

"Well what about you, Ilysa? Are you a considerable choice to be a chieftain?"

"I am not considered experienced enough to be the chieftain of all Sheikah, however I would be eligible to become a chieftain of a smaller tribe amongst our people."

"What do you mean? Do the Sheikah live in various tribes, but all under one chieftain? How does that work?"

"Essentially, all of the Sheikah tribes live independent of one another; however each tribe is under the leadership of the High Chieftain of the Sheikah. The High Chieftain is responsible for all of the tribes, like the Kakariko tribe, the Ikana tribe, and of course, my tribe, the Hylian tribe."

"How are there so many tribes? Are there really that many Sheikah?"

"The land you now call home is vast and seemingly endless. The goddesses, when they made this realm, left many guardians and protectors to watch over each domain. As you know, this domain is guarded by the dragons Faron, Eldin, Lanayru, and the sky-spirit Levias. The domain of Kakariko is said to be protected by Spirits of Light, also with the names Faron, Eldin, Lanaryu, but Ordona instead of Levias. And the third domain, the domain of Ikana, is said to be guarded by four giants."

"Is it true though? Are there really that many protectors of the land?"

"That is what we are told, but I sometimes believe that the domains are more closely intertwined than anyone knows, and I think it may be possible that with all the evil in the world, all of those protectors guard this one meagre portion of the surface. I was Irsia's apprentice for many, many years, and I never once met a member of the other supposed tribes, so I think that may just be a story to keep us in our territory, so to speak. Perhaps, if the unprotected lands are so dangerous, we are always manipulated into never venturing beyond the borders of this domain. There are many theories. I once researched Hylia's abilities of time and space, and it is also possible that all of those guardians exist, but just not in this time. Perhaps the Sheikah are aware of the existence of other timelines without knowing what it is we know."

"You're starting to lose me. I guess all that matters is that whoever becomes chieftain has to be someone I can work with."

"Well, we will know soon enough."