Kaladin finally stumbled upon Kakariko, after a very long walk. The town kind of looked like a small Azish village, extravagant in red and gold. All the villagers Kaladin talked to directed him to the large building in the back to find Impa. The guards didn't even blink when Kaladin started to walk up the stairs. Either Impa somehow knew that Kaladin was coming, or the guards were village boys who didn't know what to do. The latter was more likely. Typical.
Impa, an old woman sitting on a cushion in the middle of the room, was unfazed when Kaladin walked in, instead of the hero. Someone who must have been her niece or granddaughter wasn't as composed and she started blushing furiously when Kaladin looked her way. Impa sent the girl out. Kaladin knew that he was going to hear from Syl later about the girl, whom he later found out was named Paya. He didn't know why she was so embarrassed upon seeing him, but he'd spent enough time around Shallan to know that it was some woman thing he didn't understand.
"So the Goddess has chosen a new hero…fascinating. Did something happen to Link? But you wouldn't know…I wonder how you landed here. Step forward, young one. What is your name?" Impa talked in a rumble, strong but evident of her age.
"My name is Kaladin. I'm from another planet, one called Roshar. The ghost of Rhoam told me that you needed help vanquishing a dark god."
"That we do. You are a brave one to take on Ganon. I would send you home anyway, since this isn't your fight-" Impa had looked Kaladin up and down, leaning closer. She nodded, satisfied then continued,"But I can see that you've made up your mind. Besides, we had to close down the ways to the cognitive realm so that Ganon couldn't get out." Impa confirmed what Greta had mentioned. He was stuck for now. "Until Ganon is defeated, you're trapped. How did you come to get here?"
Kaladin explained how he had woken in a pool of water, and made his way off of the plateau. He left out the bit about Zelda talking to him, since he wasn't entirely sure he wasn't just crazy, no matter if Syl believed him.
Impa nodded and said,"I see. I fear that you and Link appear to have switched places. We have no way to contact Link, with Zelda indisposed. Sit," she gestured to a pillow on the floor, "I have a story to tell you, on behalf of Zelda."
Impa explained how the war with the Calamity had been going on for generations, and what became of Zelda and her chosen champions. Zelda had wanted to tell Link that he needed to rescue the divine beasts so that they couldn't fight against him, and since they were his only hope to defeat Ganon. She also mentioned how Zelda was the original owner of the slate.
"While I'm not sure any of it would mean much to you, that sheikah slate contains valuable information. Though it does seem damaged…Take the slate to Purah in Hateno. She should be able to fix it. I wish you best of luck. Come visit from time to time, yes? Especially after you get the slate fixed."
Kaladin exited Impa's house, and then walked up the hill to a shrine he'd noticed earlier. He activated it, and rode the floor down. It seemed that all of the shrines were below ground. Instead of the usual metal and sheikah contraptions set up, was another door. Two chests sat outside, which Kaladin opened. Inside one was a massive sword, and the other held a shield.
The shrine's monk said,"To you who enter here, I offer this test of strength in the name of the Goddess."
The door opened. Kaladin walked in, and a strange looking guardian powered up. But it didn't immediately try to fire a laser at him. Instead it moved closer, holding out a glowing blue sword. It swung, and Kaladin ducked. He was still holding the huge sword, so he swung at the machine's center. A few exposed wires were cut, but the thing kept going. The fight continued like this for a while, Kaladin dodging and landing hits.
Until his sword broke in a shower of sparks. Frantically, Kaladin reached for a soldier's spear, which he'd found earlier on his way to Kakariko, lying in the dirt. He hadn't planned to keep it, but he had doubted that anyone was using it. His hand kept coming up empty, and the guardian kept swiping at him. He couldn't die in one of these things, could he?
"I'll distract it," Syl called out. "Remember to picture the object, Kaladin."
Syl flew over, and distracted the guardian for a moment. She became visible to the machine, and it started to swipe at her. When Syl forgot to dodge, its blows went through her. Kaladin focused on the image of the spear, standard length and simple. A blue ribbon was wrapped around the center. Kaladin reached in, and gripped wood. The spear came out smoothly. He gestured to Syl, and the fight continued. Soon the guardian exploded in a harmless burst of light. He claimed an opal and a spirit orb from the shrine.
Outside, Zelda spoke to him. "Are you okay? I couldn't sense you for a few minutes. What happened there?"
"I fought a small guardian, as part of a shrine trial. I'm okay. Except the sword I was given inside broke."
"I'm glad to hear that you're okay now. I forgot to warn you about weapons on Hyrule. They don't last terribly long. Nobody knows if it was a curse by the Goddess or simply the way we forge here, but everything breaks, and quite quickly. A few scholars were working on the problem before Ganon happened. Keep the weapons you find lying around. I'm afraid that's the best I can offer."
"I'll keep that in mind." He was about to ask Zelda what kinds of things the scholars worked on during Calamity's rise, but the connection was lost.
Kaladin stayed at the village inn, paying in the little gems he'd been finding all over. They weren't cut for stormlight but he'd learned at the Dueling Peaks stable that they were for payment. Between Syl and him, they'd been finding the rupees all over, in chests and such. He wasn't going to leave money lying around. Tomorrow he'd walk to Hateno village.