Triforce of the Gods
Chapter Three: The Gerudo
THUNK!
Link, Cedra, and Colin looked up from the breakfast table in surprise, staring at the place where Zanna had dropped an enormous satchel.
"Good morning, Zanna," Helyn said casually, without missing a beat.
"For goodness sakes child, what is all that?" Cedra asked, blinking suspiciously at the square-shaped sack.
"It's all my things," Zanna replied lightly.
"Well what on earth is in there? The library?" The old woman laughed a bit, her eyes glittering with amusement.
Zanna just stared blankly back at her. "Actually... yes."
Helyn hid behind her napkin, dissolving into a fit of giggles, and Colin was fighting a smile of amazed humor.
"Don't you laugh at me, Impree Helyn," Zanna commanded firmly, using Helyn's full name. Impree was their tribe. Zanna straightened her shoulders and held her head very high, trying to appear dignified. "I only packed the tomes I may need. It's not as if I'll be able to come running back whenever I wish, and I don't want to be caught unprepared."
Helyn opened her mouth to make some sort of joke, but Link spoke first. "That's probably a good idea," he said with a nod, managing to speak civilly despite the fact that he, too, appeared somewhat surprised by the enormous bag.
"Yes, well, I thought so." Zanna said happily. She sat down, gingerly moving the bag to the floor by her feet and then pulling out a beaten-looking scroll. "Actually, our first destination ought to be a breeze," she explained as the others ate. She herself was far too nervous to have any kind of an appetite. "I mentioned last night that the most infamously winged tribe was the Yerlli tribe, right?"
Link nodded, his brow furrowing with attention. "Yes, I think so."
"Good. Well, there are only two of them still alive, unfortunately. One of them, Barlli, was eighty-eight as of six years ago. My feeling is that he's probably dead by now."
A frown settled upon the hero's face as he set his fork down and leaned in a little. "But what about the other? How old is he?"
Zanna smiled mischievously. "Actually, it's a she." Zanna grabbed the back of her chair and dragged it around the table with a loud, obnoxious scraping noise, causing Helyn to cover her ears.
"Zanna! That is no way to behave in front of a guest!" Cedra chided in exasperation, with a hint of embarrassment.
"It's all right," Link rushed to assure her, "I don't mind."
"You're much too kind," Cedra smiled gratefully, sending Zanna a warning look filled with poison.
But Zanna was much too absorbed in her scroll. She scooted her chair between Link and Colin, spreading the document out between them.
"It's almost absurd how easy this will be." She pointed down toward the end of what appeared to be a family tree. "The Yerlli messengers were the last tribe to be dismissed by the royal family. When they finally were released, they were so dedicated to the royal family that they decided to become ordinary soldiers!" She gestured excitedly, her elbow hitting Colin's glass of milk. Luckily, he caught it before it spilled.
"Oops, sorry about that. Nice catch though," Zanna smiled– distracted for only a split second before she dove in again. "Despite the Sheikah's incredible loyalty, however, the royal palace saw the action as a gesture of disobedience." She couldn't completely hide the flicker of disdain that touched her lips. "Hyrule was in the middle of a war on the Western border. There was a supply fort in Gisanko Valley that Hyrule desperately needed to capture, so they used the Sheikah soldiers to go in and conquer it. Ultimately they succeeded, but the battle was basically the royal family's scheme to get rid of the Yerlli once and for all. It cost over 3500 lives to secure the fort– at least three-fourths of which were Sheikah. It was almost genocide." Zanna took a deep breath, preparing to elaborate. "The interesting thing about that battle was that Hyrule actually need to advan—"
"I'm sorry," Link interrupted, putting one gauntlet-clad hand on top of Zanna's to stop her. "That was a despicable act, and it's a very good thing to know about. But... what does this have to do with the living descendant of Yerlli?"
Zanna was stricken for a moment, staring at Link almost as if he had startled her. She blinked, then sighed. "It... well... nothing, I guess," she muttered sulkily.
"Not that it isn't interesting..." Link said apologetically, unsettled by her suddenly quenched fervor.
Zanna shrugged. "I guess I was getting a little off-track. The point is, though, that two families decided not to join the Hyrulean army. They became merchants, but they preserved their Sheikah blood and maintained a small community in Castle Town for over one hundred years. It's actually only recently that they've wheedled down to their very last descendent, and luckily for us she still runs a shop in Castle Town! It doesn't get any simpler than that."
She beamed proudly, and for the first time Link actually looked very pleased with Zanna's information. "That's perfect!" he exclaimed. "We'll be able to contact her immediately. Who is she?"
Zanna pointed firmly at a single, isolated name– far down toward the end of the scroll. "Right there," she declared confidently. "Fanadi."
"Fanadi?" Link echoed, eyes widening.
"You know of her, Link?" Cedra asked, pleasantly surprised.
"Well... yes, I guess so. She's read my fortune a few times. I never would have expected her to be a real sorceress, though– she does hokey palm readings for ten rupees a piece. It doesn't seem likely that she would be the winged Sheikah that Zelda is so worried about finding," he said uncertainly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"But she is the descendent of Yerlli," Cedra pointed out wisely. "And things are not always as they appear."
"I agree with Grandmother," Zanna said thoughtfully. "Maybe Fanadi doesn't seem like the kind of person Princess Zelda would be interested in hunting down, but if it's a wing crest you're looking for, Fanadi is definitely your best bet. The Yerlli used wings as their crest consistently for more than two centuries, and she's the only one left."
Link nodded pensively, rubbing his chin. "All right then," he said finally, his eyes filling with determination. "We'll depart as soon as you're ready."
oXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo
The five of them left the village just as the sun had reached its highest point in the clear, grey sky. They waved as the village slowly became smaller and smaller, the huddled mass of white-cloaked figures gradually blending in with the snow.
Zanna sighed, turning to face forward again in her saddle. She was leading the group, followed by Link, then Colin, then Resha and Rowan.
"I still don't see why you have to be in the front," Rowan muttered angrily.
"Because," Resha shrugged flippantly. "I'm bigger and stronger than you are."
"Yeah, but... I'm still the man..." Rowan protested weakly.
Resha laughed heartily, elbowing Rowan so hard that he nearly tumbled off the horse. "You can't be much of one if your pride is so easily dwarfed," she snickered.
Rowan was speechless. "Resha!! I am not–! I'll have you know that I am very–"
"That's enough!" Zanna called back at them. "I don't think we need to hear any more of that– cut it out or you can stay behind."
Rowan and Resha's conversation dissolved into a murmur of bitter muttering and laughter. After about an hour of travel, they reached an inconspicuous cave entrance. Zanna hopped off her horse and approached the cave mouth confidently. It was very small, and seemed to be close to collapse. Certainly the horses would never fit, let alone enter of their own volition.
"What is she doing?" Colin asked Link, bringing his horse up beside the hero's.
"I don't know..." Link replied uncertainly.
They watched as Zanna planted her feet in front of the mouth of the cave, held out her hands and closed her eyes. After a split second, a sparkling purple fog began to swirl out of her palms, creating a large whirlpool parallel to the cave entrance. There was a gentle flash of light before, suddenly, the tiny hole in the side of the mountain became an enormous doorway, wide open to what appeared to be an underground road.
"Woah!" Colin gasped.
Even Link seemed amazed. "What is that?" he asked Rowan and Resha, twisting around in his saddle.
"Oh, that's the road to Castle Town," Resha shrugged. "You have to use sorcery to see it, so only Sheikah and Gerudo can pass. It's twice as fast as the highway."
Zanna swung back up onto her horse, grinning wolfishly at Link. "So?" she asked. "What do you think?"
Link shook his head, at a loss for words. "Let's just say I wish I would have known about this a week ago. It took me three days to get to your village!"
Zanna laughed. "Hylians are adorable. You spend all your time coming up with great big buildings and clever gadgets, but you never bother to learn basic sorcery. It comes in handy, you know." She kicked her horse and headed into the massive cavern. Link hesitated for a moment but eventually followed, and soon the party was all safely inside.
The cavern was so huge that two horses could easily walk side by side with room to spare. The ceiling was twenty feet above them, with large, wet stalactites hanging down. Magically lit lanterns lined the walls, giving the whole road an eery glow, and every mile or so there was a small, room-like area off to the left or right, where one could pull off the road and set up camp for the night.
"This is incredible!" Link exclaimed next to Zanna, his head craned back to see up into the dark, craggy ceiling. "And this was all built by sorcery?"
"Sure," Zanna shrugged, although she was inwardly very proud of the accomplishments of her people. "Took over one hundred years to carve, but I think it was worth it."
"Yeah," Link breathed in awe. "I'd say so."
Zanna watched him while he was busy staring at the ceiling, and her smile was obvious despite the fact that most of her face was hidden by a scarf and a hood. Link's appreciation for the road made her feel... warm. His piercing blue eyes were wide, sandy blond hair framing his strong, well-sculpted face. He possessed a strange but perfect balance of masculinity and beauty, Zanna thought to herself. She couldn't quite explain it... Link noticed her staring, and Zanna quickly looked away– blushing heavily. Thank goodness for her scarf!
Meanwhile, Rowan and Resha were singing an old Sheikah folk song to entertain Colin, who was enraptured despite the fact that the pair seemed to be singing in two different keys.
"The shadows overtook him then,
his last command fulfilled.
And he left his wife a-weeping there
alone upon the hill.
Warriors may triumph,
and sorcerers may shine.
But not a soul can outsmart Death
when it comes his time."
Colin applauded enthusiastically, smiling at the two Sheikah. "That's kind of a sad song," he said, pushing his golden hair out of his eyes.
Rowan nodded. "It is. The Sheikah have always had a fascination with death, and a great respect for it. Nobody ever lives in a Sheikah legend," he said gravely.
"Not even the heros?" Colin asked.
Resha snorted, shaking her head. "Especially not the heroes. You take on a special quest as a Sheikah and you're just asking to be killed in battle."
Colin looked back and forth between the two of them, squinting a little. "So... that means before we finish our adventure, both of you are going to die in battle?"
Resha and Rowan blinked at one another before looking back at Colin. "Do you want us to die?" Resha asked sharply, glaring.
"Er– no!!" Colin exclaimed, eyes wide with alarm as he looked up at the towering woman. "That's not what I meant!"
"Then how about you stop calling it an 'adventure?' You'll jinx us!" Resha demanded, her yellow Gerudo eyes virtually glowing with her unspoken threat.
"Oh– right. Sure. Sorry," Colin placated, looking somewhat mortified.
There was a brief pause.
"Wanna hear another song?" Rowan asked cheerfully.
"No!" Colin begged. "I mean... not right now."
They continued traveling for many hours, talking lightly amongst themselves. Zanna convinced Link to tell some stories about how he'd defeated Ganondorf, and Rowan was snoozing soundly against Resha's back. When they began to get hungry, they pulled off the road and set up a campsite.
"We should probably get a little bit of sleep before we continue," Zanna said as Rowan magically lit a fire in the empty pit and began passing out the dried food they'd packed. "We'll still be there by tomorrow morning," she added with a glance at Link.
He sighed, nodding. "I suppose a few hours couldn't hurt. Some rest would do us good."
It didn't take long before they'd all eaten and pulled out their bedding. Rowan and Colin slept side-by-side in one corner, while Resha slept close to the road so she could wake up if any Gerudo approached. Link and Zanna remained awake, close to the fire with their backs against the far wall.
"So you told me about how you defeated Ganon," Zanna said, stretching her legs out in front of her. "But what ever happened to your friend, Midna?"
"Hmm..." Link said, smiling despite the sadness that had crept into his eyes. "That's a good question, I guess. Once Ganondorf was defeated, she went back to her own dimension. And for safety's sake... she destroyed the mirror." He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the stone wall behind him, remembering. "We didn't even get to say goodbye... not in the proper way, at least. It's ridiculous, but even after three years I still look for her sometimes when I'm not thinking. I know that she's gone but at the same time..." Link trailed off, staring pensively into the flames.
"When you're close to someone, you carry them with you out of habit," Zanna agreed. "It's almost reflexive... like they're a natural part of you that should be there."
Surprised, he looked over at her and nodded. "Yeah, that's a good way of putting it," he said. Link was polite enough not to pry, but his expression was filled with curiosity.
Zanna smiled. "You wouldn't know this," she said slowly, "but Rowan actually had a twin brother once."
"Really?" He glanced over at Rowan, who was sleeping peacefully despite the fact that he was snoring loudly enough to wake the dead. Colin shifted in his sleep, unconsciously throwing an arm over the Sheikah's face. Rowan jerked with a snort, and the snoring stopped. Zanna chuckled.
"What happened to him?" Link asked.
She shook her head, as if it would somehow lessen the bitterness of the memory. "It was a careless accident," she explained. "His name was Caell. I love Rowan, don't get me wrong, but... Caell was the best friend I ever had. He was unlike anyone I've ever known." Zanna paused uncertainly, wondering if she should go on. Perhaps it wasn't right to tell these things to an outsider... And yet part of her felt reassured by Link's presence. In a strange way, she felt like she should talk about it, as if sharing Caell with someone outside of their little village would be a good way to honor his memory.
She decided to continue. "The two of us were out on the mountain one day, doing something we shouldn't have been doing... I don't remember what. Gathering snowballs to ambush Rowan, probably," she smirked. "It was stupid to go out by ourselves, but we were only sixteen. We didn't understand yet that, in the mountains, the smallest mistake can cost you your life." Zanna tilted her head slightly as she watched the dancing flames, inevitably reminded of Caell's body burning atop his funeral pyre.
"I was hiding from him behind a tree, and he was trying to find me. I was so busy trying not to laugh that I didn't hear the wolfos behind me until it was well within reach. It swiped me twice before I was able to roll out of the way– I still have the scars," she said with more than a hint of disgust. "I hate those despicable creatures. It would have finished me off, if Caell hadn't heard me scream. He came running as quickly as he could, but neither of us were very good sorcerers at that point. All he had was this little dagger." Zanna used two fingers to show how small the blade was. "He went after it, but it seemed to annoy the creature more than anything else," she said in a voice that was thick with regret.
"He attacked the wolfos?" Link asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yeah," Zanna sighed, laughing a little. "He killed the bastard, too. My coat is made from the pelt of that damn wolf. But... he didn't make it. Not even back to the village. If I'd have carried him faster, my Grandmother would have been able to heal him, but–" She took a deep breath, fighting off visions of the long journey back to the town square, leaving a trail of blood in the snow, Caell's battered body slung over her shoulder as his breathing grew fainter and fainter in her ear. His hair– once long and splendid– tainted red and blown in her face by the winter wind.
"Every time I see Rowan..." Zanna murmured.
"You see Caell," Link finished, now fully understanding her earlier comment.
Zanna nodded slowly, and a bittersweet smile gradually made its way across her face. "Exactly," she said. "But I'm glad, because it means I still have Caell with me. It's good to remember the dead that way."
Link raised an eyebrow, shaking his head skeptically. "It doesn't feel very good to me," he said.
She had to laugh. "Well, I didn't say it feels good, I just said it is good," Zanna corrected. "But I guess that's stereotypical Sheikah thinking. We're obsessed with the dead."
"Cheerful," Link observed dryly.
Zanna shook her head, smirking as she watched the fire dance inside its circle of stone. "You have no idea," she muttered. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, each watching the flame, lost in their own thoughts.
"I'm sorry about your friend," Link said after a while.
Zanna looked up in surprise, and she cocked her head, studying him curiously. "Thanks," she said. "I'm sorry about Midna."
"We're both sorry, then. At least we have something in common," he replied with a wry smile.
Zanna laughed. "I would have preferred a shared interest in archery, but this works too."
She yawned and rose to her feet, stretching her arms up over her head. Her body was demanding rest, and if she ignored it any longer she feared she would simply keel over and pass out. As she climbed into her sleeping bag, Zanna realized that for the first time in quite awhile she felt like she might actually be able to get a decent night's sleep. Talking about Caell to someone who had never met him was more of a relief than she had imagined it would be... She felt lighter, somehow– the way she usually felt after a good cry. Zanna snuggled into the cozy softness of her sleeping bag, no longer worried about the nightmares that would almost certainly come to her.
"Goodnight, Link," she murmured before drifting off. "Thanks for listening to my rambling."
The hero smiled.
oXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo
Zanna couldn't have been asleep for more than a few hours when she was shaken awake. Her eyes fluttered open to reveal Rowan stooped over her, his soft, hazel gaze the only way of recognizing him behind his scarf. But, oh, how well she knew that gaze...
"Zanna, snap out of it," he commanded, shaking her a little harder.
"I'm awake!" she hissed, propping herself up on her hands. "What is it?" Zanna scanned the campsite hazily. Link was up and armed with Colin by his side, and they both were near Resha, who was standing in the middle of the road. The music of a single, sad, violin met Zanna's ears, and she gasped.
"Gerudo," Rowan nodded, before Zanna could even say anything. "They're coming way faster than usual, and it sounds like just a single caravan. Resha's got her hood off already."
"Right," Zanna said firmly, standing up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She went to wait with the others. Resha stood far in front of them, her high, red ponytail shining in the lamplight. She was truly beautiful in her own exotic way, Zanna couldn't help but think. Tall and slender with rich mocha skin and a profile that was worthy of a marble statue... Try as she might, Zanna had to admit that she would probably never be as gorgeous as Resha.
"You didn't tell me she was a Gerudo," Link said, snapping Zanna out of her thoughts.
"Oh yeah..." she said, nodding as she realized he was right. "I guess I had almost forgotten myself. We tease her all the time about being so big, but... we think of her as just one of us."
"We adopted her," Rowan grinned, folding his arms over his chest. Even behind his scarf Zanna could see that the young Sheikah was blushing as he studied Resha's face. He was always flushed when Resha had her scarf off. Zanna suspected that, on some deeply subconscious level, Rowan was in love with her. Or at least wanted to kiss her very badly.
"You look a little hot under that scarf, Rowan," Zanna said wryly. "Maybe you should take your coat off. Or Resha's coat for that matter..."
If possible, Rowan got even redder. "Shut up, Zanna," he said huffily, but there was a pleading sort of desperation in his voice. Zanna laughed.
Resha reeled around, glaring. All four of them shirked under her gaze, which burned like a tiger's eyes in the dark. "All of you, be quiet!" she commanded. "They're coming."
Slowly, becoming clearer and clearer in the murky light of the cavern, a Gerudo wagon rounded the corner. The wooden desert schooner was old and rickety, with a painted cloth top showing images of dancers and various acts of debauchery. There was a large hole right in the top of the canvas which had been clumsily patched with black fabric, and the wagon was drawn by a tired old donkey who had certainly seen better days. Interestingly, no other wagons followed. It was not a caravan, but rather a single, solitary wagon.
The Gerudo who was driving the schooner pulled the donkey to a stop, and hopped off the wagon. The violin music ended suddenly, and four more Gerudo crept cautiously from behind the wagon. All of them were barefoot. They looked worse for wear, even by Gerudo standards. Their high ponytails were rumpled and oily, their faces were dirty and the matching purple skirts they all wore– usually flamboyant and cheerful– were torn and stained in several places.
The head Gerudo was dressed slightly better, but she looked no less exhausted. The jewel on her forehead was crooked, and her dancing belt of coins was missing several large pieces. She wore a dark green scarf on her head, which indicated her leadership.
"Sister," she said to Resha in a deep, resonant voice. "You are dressed as one of the tribespeople. Why do you travel this way?"
"I could ask the same of you," Resha pointed out. "I joined the Sheikah long ago, when I was separated from my family. But what about you? Where's the rest of your caravan?"
The young Gerudo sighed, and rubbed the dark circles under her eyes. "We have been traveling for two days without sleep just to escape them," she said miserably.
Resha's eyes widened. "Why? What happened?"
The woman looked warily at Resha's travel companions, then lowered her voice slightly. "They have fallen desperately ill," she said nervously. "Sister, if I were you, I would turn around now. Some disease has taken my kin, and they no longer recognize us. They've lost their minds– they're attacking everything that crosses their path. You must turn around immediately."
"We aren't turning around," Zanna insisted, hands on her hips.
Rowan elbowed her hard in the ribs, shocked. "Shut up, Zanna!" he hissed.
But Zanna just shook her head, approaching Resha and the Gerudo leader. The Gerudo woman narrowed her eyes, her right hand falling to a place on her skirt that doubtlessly hid a dagger.
"You are not a Gerudo, Sorcerer. This business does not concern you," she growled.
Zanna did not relent. "That's exactly right," she said, nodding. "I am a sorcerer, and so are my companions. We can heal your caravan if we come across them. Wouldn't you like us to help them, if we can?"
"Do you think we are so primitive?" the Gerudo spat, her tired face glowing with fury. "Of course we tried to heal them! You are not the only ones capable of petty magic! There is something foul about this illness; I don't know what it is. But if our great healers fell victim to the curse, I severely doubt that anything more could be accomplished by a group of idiot mountain-dwellers. I've warned you. If it's death you want, keep going!"
The angry Gerudo hopped back onto her wagon as the four other women clambered in through the back, and then with a flick of the reigns they were off again. Link and Rowan had to pull Colin out of the way as the wagon passed, revealing the frightened stares of the four women within. Zanna and Resha watched the wagon rattle out of sight before speaking.
"What the hell was that, Zanna?" Resha rounded on her, her voice filled with annoyance. "Your interference scared them away before I could even get any specific information!"
Zanna wasn't listening, however. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she watched the space where the wagon had been, and her pupils were shrinking and growing erratically.
"Did she say her caravan had fallen ill?" Link asked Resha gravely.
Resha just nodded. "Why?"
Link's face was very somber as he too now turned to stare down the road. "I think... I think this is the beginning of the curse Zelda was worried about."
"What do you mean?" Rowan asked, alarmed.
"The winged Sheikah is supposed to be able to stop a curse that's come over Hyrule. And the curse is... a plague. An illness that takes over people's minds."
"And she's sick!" Zanna gasped, her eyes still fixed but unseeing on the place where the wagon had been. Everyone stared at her uneasily, unsure of what she was saying. "She's sick," Zanna repeated emphatically. "I can feel it through my empathy. That Gerudo caught the illness and she knows it– that's why she's so irritable. She's trying to get those four women out of the cavern before she falls ill. And she's so afraid..." Zanna said, trying to gesture something with her hands that could express the tremendous fear that the Gerudo woman was feeling. "I've never sensed anything like it– she's utterly terrified."
"Zanna is an empath," Rowan explained to Link, who looked completely lost. "She senses what other people are feeling. It's kind of... her specialty."
Link nodded slowly, warily looking at Zanna's wide, unfocused gaze. "But... what does that mean for us? Should we follow the Gerudo?"
Zanna shook her head forcefully, snapping out of her trance. "No. We can't afford it. I've never felt anyone so afraid in my entire life. If it's true that only the winged Sheikah can stop this curse, then we need to locate her immediately. We've got to keep going."
The group exchanged nervous glances, and Rowan put his hand on Colin's shoulder. "What about the infected Caravan?" he asked, looking worried. "We won't be any good if we catch the disease ourselves."
"I don't think that's the problem," Resha interjected. "I can put up a barrier around all of us that should be able to keep out disease. What we should be worried about is how violent they're going to be."
"Right..." Link said. "Because if they were violent enough to drive away their own family..."
Zanna nodded. "It's going to be pretty bad. And we can't kill them because they're just sick, not evil. Depending on how many there are, we might not be able to make it through..."
"We don't have any choice," Link said firmly, drawing his sword. "We have to stop this plague before it gets to the heart of the country, which means we have to find the winged Sheikah as soon as possible."
"You're right..." Zanna agreed, motivated slightly by his courage. "We can't turn back now. Everyone ready your horses and your weapons– we'll move out as soon as we're packed."