This is but one of the legends of which the people speak…
Long ago, in the days after the Hero of Time had departed from the land of Hyrule, his labor finished, an evil wind began to blow throughout the land. The whispers on the wind spoke of danger to all who did not leave the land to go and live atop the mountains. The beasts of the field and the birds of the air, having understood the scent of evil on the wind, migrated to the mountaintops long before the rains that would soon flood Hyrule had begun to fall and were saved. But the fish of Lake Hylia had neither limbs nor wings to carry them to safety, and though they knew nothing of the effect that the salty oceans would have on their kind, their instincts told them that to stay would be death. And so the lake fish grew afraid in the dull manner that all beasts understand when they sense death coming for them.
There was, however, one fish who understood fear different from a beast's. This fish feared not only for itself, but for all the fish of Lake Hylia, and vowed he would find a way to save them. So the fish began to learn the language of men, in the hopes of petitioning the king of Hyrule for aid since he knew not how to save them himself. The fish listened intently to the words of the Zoras and slowly grew to understand them. He practiced speaking all day, every day for many months, for his dread grew steadily as the angry clouds came ever closer.
When the fish had learned enough language to speak his piece to the king, he began the treacherous journey to the castle. The fish swam upstream against the current and many times was almost eaten or caught, but he persisted. After many days of hard swimming, the fish finally reached the moat around the castle. After resting for a brief time, the fish began to search for a way to enter the castle's walls and grew discouraged when he could find no such entrance. After much frantic searching, the fish, despairing of finding a way to enter, began to wail when he realized all his effort had come to naught.
"How shall I ever get to see the King when I am but a lowly fish!" he cried.
A passerby heard his cry and looked into the moat where he saw the fish thrashing in the water. Thinking himself mad, the man turned to go when the fish cried out to him, "Stop! You must help me see the King or else my people will surely perish!"
The man could not believe his own eyes and called down to the fish "How can it be that you are a talking fish? Such things do not exist! Tell me, fish, be you apparition or a creature of magic?"
The fish called back "I am but a humble fish! Will you help me, kind stranger? For I know nothing of the ways of men or of magic, but I must see the King and ask his aid lest my people be stricken from the earth! Please tell me, how does one gain an audience with his Highness?"
Feeling mischievous, the stranger concocted a lie with which to discourage the fish and said, "You must pass a test of power, a test of courage, and a test of wisdom, fish. But you cannot even walk and so you cannot enter to try; you would merely flop about on the floor!" At this the stranger began to laugh.
The fish grew silent for a moment. When he spoke, it was with resolve that he said, "Take me to the King and I will try myself against these tests."
The man looked at the fish and said "You will surely die, but I will take you should you wish it," and then gathered him into a bottle.
When the stranger presented the bottle to the King, the King was confused and asked of him, "Herald, why do you bring such a thing to me? Should you not take such a catch to the kitchens?" to which the stranger replied "No, sire, this fish wishes to prove his mettle in three tasks so that he may be deserving of the honor of speaking with the King. He has told me he will prove his strength, his courage, and his wisdom to your Highness should you but set him the tasks."
Before the King could become angry with what he thought a practical joke, the herald uncorked the bottle and the fish cried out eagerly "It is true, Great King, that I will try to prove myself worthy of an audience should you set me any task! Please let me attempt them at least!"
The King, shocked to hear a fish talking, turned to the herald and weakly bade him prepare three tasks for the fish, though he thought it an unusual request for the fish to make since never before had anyone had to prove themselves worthy of an audience in such a way.
The herald, sniggering at having tricked the fish into asking the King to let it prove itself when there was no such need, went away to prepare a task for the fish. While the mischievous herald was gone, the King asked the fish to tell him of his journey and how he had come to learn the language of men, so the fish told him of all that had passed and of his desire to make a request for aid from the King. The King, thunderstruck at the talking fish, listened intently and wondered at the creature before him and how it planned to pass the three tests it had volunteered for.
When the mischievous herald returned he had with him a large rock with a flat bottom, which he placed on the ground before the fish, saying "If you can move this rock you will have proven your power and can move on to the next task. Were you not bragging, fish, that you could move a mountain earlier? Surely a rock is nothing to one such as you."
Of course, the fish had said no such thing, but he had vowed to save his people, so he said nothing to the cruel herald and tipped over his bottle where he began to flap uselessly at the rock, trying to move it. The King, thinking the fish miraculous, waited to see how it would move the rock.
Some time passed while the fish flailed ineffectually, and the herald began to laugh at the fish's efforts. It started to become clear that the fish was struggling, but still he beat himself against the rock, trying to move it even the tiniest bit.
More time passed and the King began to worry for the fish, for it was clear he could not breathe- yet still he threw himself at the rock.
After yet more time had passed, the fish began to gasp and wheeze as he desperately flung himself against the hard stone. The herald no longer laughed, for the fish's struggles were becoming weaker.
Finally, when it appeared that the fish would kill itself if it attempted any further to move the rock, the King could bear to watch the fish's painful struggle no longer and commanded the herald to bring a basin of water. Yet even having heard the king's command, still the fish threw its battered body against the rock with all its puny might. Afraid that the fish might hurt itself further, the King rose from his seat and held the fish in his arms, trying to calm its thrashing body.
The herald returned running, bringing with him a basin of water, and- ashamed at having almost killed the determined creature- he gently took the fish from the king and lowered it into the water. When the fish was back in the water it began to cry tears of shame at its defeat. The unhappy fish despaired of ever being worthy of an audience with the King and was overwhelmed with pity for both himself and his people.
The King, seeing the fish's tears, was moved and began to speak. "I commend you, worthy fish, at having passed your three trials. You have proven your power in coming all this way to meet with me, your wisdom by learning the speech of man, and your courage by facing death for the sake of your people. Speak, noble fish, and tell me what you would have me do. You have earned the right to ask of this King anything it is within my power to give you."
"I am but a lowly fish, Great King, and know not what to ask for my people. I had counted that in your wisdom you might know of a way to aid us when the rains come so that we are not stricken from this earth."
"I know not how to help your people, noble fish. I can see no way to protect you from the rains, nor do I understand why it should be necessary to do so. Do not fish breathe the water as easily as I breathe the air?"
"The wind brings to us whispers of death to all those who stay. I know not why it should be so either, but I trust what the wind tells me and I ask that the King help us find a way to move to the highlands where the land walkers and the birds have all gone."
"Noble fish, I know not of a way to move a lake into the sky. I'm sorry that I cannot help you, but I would counsel you not to worry, for I am in the midst of a plan to save all of Hyrule and put to rights this silly talk of running to the highlands. Stay, noble fish, and I will make you a member of my household. You have accomplished much and it would be my shame to send you home empty handed, but should you wish to return to your people I shall send you home with an escort and pray for your prosperity as long as I live."
The fish thought it foolishness to ignore the whisperings of the wind, and was surprised that such a great man should not know that which even the simplest of beasts understood. But the fish said nothing of this, instead saying, "If you in your great wisdom know not how to help my people, then I ask only that you should pray to the goddesses on our behalf. Surely they would not listen to the prayers of a lowly fish, but the prayers of a King might do some good. I beg of you, Great King, please ask the Golden Sisters to spare my people!"
The King looked at the fish and said, "You have proven yourself to be a powerful, wise, and courageous fish; such that the goddesses are sure to listen should you ask them yourself. Have you not after all learned to speak the language of men? Ask of them what you wish, worthy fish. They are sure to answer."
The fish balked at such an answer- how could the goddesses hear the prayers of a fish? But nonetheless he hesitantly began to speak, saying, "Though I am naught but a lowly fish, I beseech Thee, The Golden Three, to spare my people death from the rains. I ask only that you might grant us the power, the wisdom, and the courage to survive whatever the rains may bring."
No sooner had the fish finished speaking than he began to transform: She of the Flaming Arms bestowed upon him and his ilk the power to survive in both the salty waters of the ocean and the pure waters of Lake Hylia. She of the Wise Heart gave to every fish in the lake the wisdom of man, so that they were made in their savior's likeness and could speak the language of man as he did. She of the Wild Soul looked down upon her creation and laughed, declaring that there was nothing she could give to him that he did not already have on his own, and simply blessed the fish with a holy kiss blown to him on the breeze.
Such was the origin of the Fishmen.
The First Fishman returned to his people and when the rains came they were saved by the gifts he had won for them all and prospered in the new world. It is said that when the rains had finished, the First Fishman met his friend the King once more, and as thanks for giving him the confidence to speak for himself, he taught a boat the hard-gotten secrets of the language of men that he had learned so long ago. Some say his descendants still speak of their debt to the King to this very day…. But that is nothing more than the whispers of the wind.
A/N: Urgghhhh this chapter was forged with my sweat, blood, and tears and did not want to be written! After all, it only took me a million years to write the stupid thing. I've got something else in the works that will either be another chapter in this story or, if it becomes big enough, a separate story of its own. So hopefully I'll have something else up...sometime soon?