"The dark power that you seek... It waits in a temple set in the bed of Lake Hylia."
-ancient water spirit, Lanayru
Chapter Sixteen: Temple of Droplets, pt. I
"What…what on earth? What are you doing in my domain, monster?" the snake incarnation, Lanayru, asked.
It watched as a shadowy figure entered the shrine and the spirit pulsated with powerful light. The monster, with decaying grey skin, clothes that were black as night, and burning red eyes, grinned with a fanged maw and dragged an iron sword behind it. Its shape and appearance looked like an undead version of the beloved Chosen One that died 50 years ago.
Lanayru would've wondered what it was looking at, but it had no time as the monster shrieked violently. It locked eyes with Lanayru's bright ones and screamed, "LANAYRU...BACK! I'M…!"
"No, you are not him! He died long ago! You're just a shambling, reanimated corpse," Lanayru retorted.
The monster shrieked again, a violent pulse of energy hitting the light spirit. It steeled itself, not wanting to be flung into the cavern wall again. Lanayru fired off a beam of light at the creature, but the monster managed to block it using powerful dark magic and its rusty iron sword.
The beam was slashed apart and the monster swung its sword again, sending off an arc of dark magic. The light spirit was cut in half and burst into a shower of light. The cave fell into darkness and the undead creature gave a triumphant roar. But the victory felt hollow as the creature felt…guilt. Why did it feel guilty?
Lake Hylia, Lanayru Shrine…
"Oni? Oni? Are you okay?" Aryll asked.
Oni shook his head and realized that he had started daydreaming. He couldn't remember what he was thinking about, but a sudden feeling of guilt gripped him. Aryll's concerned gaze prompted him to say, "I'm fine. Don't worry."
"Okay. I can't have you start going crazy on me too," the girl said.
The four were in a cavern that was filled with more snake statues. Rocky outcroppings served as pathways around the circular cavern and the upper cliffs were connected by wooden stairs. Frozen ivy was seen on parts of the cavern and the image of a boy in green climbing them crossed Oni's mind. At the bottom was ice-filled water and particles of light swirled about.
Aryll stared and asked, "What's this? What's with all the swirling light?"
Ruto sighed and said, "This is the reason why we didn't want to you come here."
Mipha nodded, saying, "This is what's left of the water spirit, Lanayru. She was attacked by dark forces long ago and…"
"When she was destroyed, the lake became defenseless and…" Ruto added.
"It froze over," Oni said.
"Yeah. But it was expedited by the darkness that overtook Hyrule and even more so after the magical access to Lakebed Temple was severed. We've come back to this place and suffered the cold to figure out how to get everything back to normal before the oceans freeze up too," Mipha told them.
"So, we need to protect what's left of Lanayru so the water underneath the lake doesn't go to. If it does, then Hyrule will be an eternal, frozen wasteland," Ruto said.
"Isn't it already?" Oni asked.
"Well…kinda. But if the water completely freezes, it'll get even harder for everyone to have running water. That and…" Mipha tried to explain.
"Temple…The Temple…"
The remains of Lanayru radiated with a soft light and a voice came from it. Ruto looked to Mipha, who asked it, "Um, Lanayru…What temple?"
"The Temple of Droplets…Enter…from the…second floor…The reincarnated…Chosen…entered…Find the…Water Element."
"Water Element?" Ruto asked.
"Formerly powered…the fabled…Palace of Winds…belonging to an ancient…wind sorcerer. The element…can reopen…Lakebed Temple. Find it…Find him…Bring both to me."
"Okay. We'll do so," Mipha said.
She looked at the cavern's entrance, waved her spear several times, and Oni and Aryll's jaws dropped at what they saw next. Water came up from the pool below and followed the movements of Mipha's spear. Oni and Aryll ducked as the Zora swung at them, commanding the water to follow. The liquid covered the entrance and froze instantaneously, creating a barrier and preventing their leave.
"There. Now Lanayru will be protected," she said.
"But, we can't leave," Aryll said.
"Don't worry. We're experts at Water magic. All we have to do is turn the ice into mist after we get back," Ruto told her.
Oni didn't think it was that great of an idea. If anything happened to them, they would receive no help. Ruto seemed confident that they would be okay. But something was telling him that her hubris would be detrimental.
"Oni! C'mon!" Aryll said.
He noticed that they were already on the second floor. The young man caught up with them and the four headed for a large door on the upper alcove. Oni opened the door and he could've sworn he had done the same in a similar-looking cavern. In the next room was a small, ice-covered portal that looked like the frozen lake outside.
Before they could do anything else, the remains of Lanayru gave them a warning.
"Be careful…That portal…leads to another…world. A world where…large things…are small…and small things…are large. Step onto…the portal…and you'll…be transported. Find the element…Find the Chosen…and return to me."
"Okay. We'll do that," Mipha said.
She stood on the icy platform and held up her spear. Blue light surrounded her and Oni could see ancient Hylian script surrounding her. He, surprisingly, could read it and the words were "shrinking", "growing" and "water mages". Aryll yelped while Oni jumped as Mipha suddenly disappeared.
"Okay, my turn," Ruto said.
The same happened to her as she suddenly disappeared in the same light. Aryll gulped and said, "Here goes nothing."
She stood on the platform and the ancient Hylian words "warrior child" appeared in yellow light. The girl raised her hands and yelled, "Geronimo!"
Like the Zora twins, Aryll disappeared. Unnerved, Oni muttered, "Uh…Well, I can't leave. And I don't know Water magic. And it's cold here…Uh…I'm not looking forward to this…"
He stood on the portal and purple light surrounded him. He saw the ancient words for "lost", "warrior" and, to his shock, "demon" appear. The light overtook him and Oni saw everything around him suddenly grow bigger. He fell, entering a small hole in the portal and entering the freezing temple.
Temple of Droplets, entrance…
"Ow…What just happened?" Aryll groaned.
Oni had landed on his back and felt as if he had broken something. He moaned, sitting up and seeing an impatient Ruto and a helping-Aryll-to-her-feet Mipha. Ruto huffed and asked, "Seriously, you guys took forever to wake up."
"They were only dazed for five minutes, Ruto," Mipha responded.
"Still too long," Ruto retorted.
Oni shook his head, trying to gather his bearings. When he fully recovered, the young man looked up and saw a hole in the ceiling. The bright light that came from it was strong with magical energy and Oni figured that it was the same portal they came from. The four were on a dais and down the stairs was an ice-covered floor leading to doors at the north and south. The south door was barred by a large lock in the shape of an eye. The northern door was unlocked and Oni thought that was the first place to search.
"Oh, guys. Be careful!" Mipha said.
"Why?" Aryll asked, walking down the stairs.
She slipped the instant she stepped on the ice and started sliding toward the edge of the icy pathway. All Oni could see was inky blackness and he knew it was an abyss. Mipha, quickly thinking, slammed the bottom of her spear into the ice and several barriers appeared around the room, stopping Aryll moments before she careened into the darkness.
"Like I was saying, be careful not to fall. We only have so much magic power to use," Mipha warned.
"Okay. I won't slip on my backside. Got it," Aryll told her.
Carefully, the four traversed to the north, pushing and turning into mist small ice blocks that were in the way. Once at the northern door, they went through, only to find a room filled with pots and torches. On the left was a locked door while the right was unlocked. Just as Oni took his first step farther in, he was stopped by various ancient scripts that pulsed with light.
"Huh? What…?" he said.
"Oni, what's wrong? What is that?" Aryll asked.
"I can't read that. Looks like old Hylian," Ruto told her sister.
Oni read it aloud, saying, "'To those aiding the Chosen…Four things are necessary for finding the element…The dungeon map shows the layout of the temple…The compass shows the way to treasure. Small keys open the way to other rooms. The 'Large Key' or 'Boss Key' opens the way to the temple's guardian. Dungeon items found are also necessary to traverse."
"Oh. So basic dungeon crawling instructions?" Mipha asked.
"I guess…Most of this stuff…I…know already. Was I an explorer or something?" Oni thought aloud.
"What do you mean? You got amnesia?" Ruto asked.
"He does. But he's been remembering some stuff since he met us. So, based on what he said he remembers, he could've been a Twili-Imperial Guard-Explorer Guy," Aryll said.
More words appeared and Oni translated, "'Find the Chosen One…The one chosen by the gods…Find him, the element, and defeat the temple's guardian. Only then can you escape.' Wow, kinda demanding, don't you think?"
"Well, at least our instructions are clear, but how to find a small key for that door?" Mipha said.
"If you see a locked door and an unlocked one nearby, go through the unlocked one. A key's usually found beyond there. And how do I know that? I have no idea," Oni said, still not sure where all that came from.
They followed his advice and Aryll ducked as one of the pots suddenly flung itself towards her, breaking as it hit a far wall. Another aimed for Mipha and she broke it with a simple swing of her spear. A third aimed for Ruto's head and she swiped at it with a small wave of water. The last one headed straight for Oni and he deftly performed a horizontal strike with the thin sword he had bought in the capital, cutting it in half.
"Okay! Now if all the inanimate objects can stop trying to kill us!" Ruto yelled.
Oni grumbled as the Zora just had to open her mouth. The torches in the room started firing off fireballs and the magical flames rushed straight for them. The four ran into the next room and Oni slammed the door behind him as he was the last one in. He couldn't breathe a sigh of relief as the next room was filled with Red Chuchus, bright light, and an out-of-place panel.
Aryll readied her sword and shield and bashed one of the Chuchus with her wooden sword. It splattered and Mipha attacked a second one, stabbing it with her spear. Ruto took out the last one, summoning water and surrounding the jelly-like monster. She slammed her staff onto the stone floor and the water froze, encasing it in ice. Mipha jumped in the air and landed spear first onto the frozen Chuchu, shattering it into many pieces.
Oni nodded, pleased that the girls knew how to fight.
'That'll make things easier if anything happens,' he thought.
A series of stairs went noticed by him and that was their next destination. Once downstairs, the group only saw a frozen pond, a key encased in an ice block, a barrier preventing them from stepping onto the frozen pond, and a lever. Aryll pulled the handle before anyone could object and the ceiling opened up, revealing sunlight. The freezing room felt warm and Ruto sighed in relief.
"Ah, now I can feel my toes thawing out," she said.
Mipha looked at her and said, "The Water Dragon's scale is supposed to keep you warm. How are you even cold?"
"You're not?" Ruto asked.
"Not too much. But anyway. What are we to do now? We have sunlight, but…" Mipha asked.
"Can't you use the ice to make some stairs or a bridge?" Oni asked.
"That's the problem with ice. You have to be standing on it or be able to reach it to use it since it's so stagnant. Unlike water or mist," Mipha replied.
"So, you can't turn the ice over there into water?" Aryll asked.
"Only if you want this room to be flooded. That and it takes great magical energy to do so from afar," Ruto told her.
Remembering the odd panel in the room above, Oni told Aryll to head back up. Aryll objected, thinking the Chuchus would've respawned. Mipha agreed to go with her and the two left. Moments later, they dropped down from the ceiling, landing on the frozen pond. Mipha seemed to get what Oni thought to do and pushed the ice block toward the sunlight.
It melted immediately and Aryll picked up a small key. She held it up proudly and Oni snickered as she looked rather silly.
"Okay, now just push this barrier block here and we can go," he said.
She did and the two rejoined Oni and Ruto. After going back up and into the room with the killer pots and lanterns, Oni quickly used the small key and practically pushed the girls into the next room. Once again, there was no sign of relief as Blue Chuchus were in that room. As with the red variety, the group took them out quickly, using magic and brute force.
After the jelly-like enemies' defeat, the four noticed more sunlight pouring in from the ceiling and a hole in the middle of the room. Barriers barred access to the stairs on the other side and Oni looked down. He could see another frozen pond, along with stone embedded in the ice and ice blocks. One of them had a peculiar-looking key and the young man muttered, "Hopefully I won't get hurt this time."
"Huh? What?" Aryll said.
"Okay, time to jump," Oni told the girls.
"Again?" Aryll asked.
Oni nodded and Mipha was the first to go, yelling, "Jalapeno!"
Ruto was next, yelling, "Serrano!"
Aryll made a praying motion and screamed, "Mahalo!"
Oni was last and, in the rather silly pattern, yelled, "Do a barrel roll-o!"
Frozen pond puzzle, Temple of Droplets…
"GAH! OW! Not again…" Oni groaned as he landed hard on his backside.
Ruto eyed him and said, "Well, you didn't break anything. I can tell. So, get up. Right now."
He did so, only to slip and fall back down. The entire floor was indeed a frozen pond and it was as clear as glass. Carefully getting up, Oni got to his feet and Ruto slid towards the far side of the room and looked like she was ice skating. Mipha did the same while Aryll used the stones to keep herself balanced.
"Oh! OH! Look! Found something!" Ruto yelled.
The others joined her, with Aryll gripping Oni for dear life, and one of the blocks had a large key. In the center of that key was an eye matching the one on the door near the temple's entrance. The other two were empty and no one knew what they were for, but Oni's mind started racing as he looked at the sunlight near the stairs and the many stones jutting out from the ice.
"Okay. Ruto. Push the Boss Key block," Oni said.
Ruto shrugged and did as she was told. The ice block slid toward the sunlit area, hitting the stone in front of it. Oni saw the other two and told Mipha, "Mipha, push the one on my right forward and then to the right."
She did so and the block hit the stone and then the wall. He then told her to move it forward again, towards another stone. The Zora did so, following his instructions carefully. Ruto was then instructed to push the Boss Key block towards the ice block on his left. She did and the block slid into the other. She pushed it again, pushing it towards another stone nearer the light and then towards the other ice block.
The Zora girl got it and pushed it again to the far side of the room. It slid and hit another stone. With one final push, she got it towards the light, freeing the Boss Key from its icy prison. Like Aryll, she dramatically held it up in triumph, yelling, "Finally!"
"What do you mean 'finally'? We just got in here," Mipha said.
"So? I just want to get the Water Element, find that Chosen One guy, and get out of this place and back to bed," Ruto told her.
Temple of Droplets, in front of the Boss Door…
"And we put this here," Aryll said.
Oni grabbed her, putting her on his shoulders and lifting up towards the massive lock. Aryll placed it inside, turning it and hearing a loud click. The door opened on its own and the group headed forward.
The next room was a large hallway, filled with pottery, torches, and ice. Most of the floor was covered in it and in the center of the room was a large block of ice. Within it was a blue, water-droplet-shaped jewel, and beyond it was an iced-over door. Two doors were at Oni's right and left, with the left also frozen over, leaving the right door open.
Mipha and Ruto slid towards the large ice block and the calmer twin said, "Oh. This is the Water Element. But how can we get it?"
Oni looked up and saw a closed panel. On ledges overlooking the room on both sides were levers. His mind started processing what was going on and said, "We should split up and find a way to get to those levers."
"What levers?" Aryll asked him.
He pointed to them and Ruto yelled, "I'm going with Mipha!"
"No. I don't think that would be a good idea. Neither of them knows how to use Water magic, Ruto," Mipha said.
"Then what do we do?" she asked her twin.
Mipha elected to go with Aryll while Ruto was to go with Oni. The young Zora stared at him and muttered, "Try to keep up with me, human."
She rushed for the right open door and immediately yelped as pots flew up to attack her. She ducked and the pots shattered upon hitting the floor. Oni rolled his eyes and wished Aryll and Mipha luck. With that, he followed Ruto.
With Ruto and Oni…
After finding a dungeon map, swimming along a water-submerged path, and falling down a waterfall, Oni and Ruto kept swimming, following a small river's path to a lone grave near a rock wall. Just before they could reach it, a spiked pillar rolled along, going up and down the river's path. Ruto dove, dodging it. Oni did the same, diving moments before the pillar could impale his face.
He re-emerged, arriving at the grave and an iron gate. Ruto stared at the grave and said, "It's in old Hylian and I can't read it."
"Okay, okay. All you had to do was ask. Just press that floor switch first," Oni said, spotting a large white button in a nearby corner.
"Why? What if monsters come down and try to kill us? Or evil pots? Or torches?" Ruto asked.
"Nothing's gonna try to kill us…I think. But if they do, we're strong enough, right?" Oni said.
Ruto shook her head, saying, "I just don't want more suicidal pots trying to kill me. I just want to get out of here and go back to bed."
"Just press the button. I'll cut apart any pots that try to hurt you, 'kay?" Oni told her.
Ruto grumbled but did as she was told. She stepped on the switch and the gate blocking their way forward went underwater. Oni read the text of the grave and said, "'The way forward is hidden in the bottom of the pot'. What pot? There are no pots around here."
"I don't want to see any more of them right now," Ruto muttered.
Oni didn't want to go back into the freezing water but knew he had no choice. Steeling himself, he jumped into the water, narrowly dodging the spiked pillar. Ruto did the same, waiting until the pillar had started going back upstream. The pair swam forward and entered the next area.
There, were stone pillars arranged oddly. They weren't blocking anything, but their shape was just off to Oni. Farther in was another iron gate and a platform with another floor switch. The duo floated in the center of the stone structure and Oni muttered, "Let me see."
He climbed up as high as he could and sat at the top of one pillar. The young man scanned the structure with his ruby eyes and noticed the stones were arranged in the image of a pot.
"Ruto, dive over there!" Oni said, pointing at the "pot's" bottom.
"Why? We're supposed to be looking for a pot," Ruto told him.
"That's the thing. There are no pots anywhere in here. And this whole stone structure's shaped like one. So, dive over there," Oni explained.
Reluctantly, the Zora did so and found a key in the waters below. Smugly, Oni yelled, "See? What'd I tell ya?"
With Mipha and Aryll…
"Oh! Where did this map come from?" Mipha said, a map suddenly appearing in her hands.
The Zora stared at it and saw several rooms highlighted in blue. Aryll and her's current position was a flashing blue room and they were standing in the middle of an ice path. Unlike before, the paths split and Mipha could only make a few barriers at a time. The duo carefully walked along the ice bridge and came to a split in the road. One led to a treasure chest and Mipha elected to go and get it.
A few tense moments later, she managed to reach it and opened it. Instead of anything useful, she only found a yellow rupee, only worth 10. Aryll called out to her and asked, "What was it?"
"Only ten rupees…That was not worth walking and risking death," Mipha said, disappointed.
She rejoined Aryll after another few tense moments and the pair slowly walked towards a platform. Running along it were ten razor traps, all moving in their own rhythm. Mipha warned Aryll not to get too close and the Hylian grabbed her for dear life. Once an opening was present, the two slid into the middle of the moving traps and Mipha sighed in relief.
That went away as the traps' constant moving made tinkling sounds that started to grate her ears. Aryll was the same and asked, "Should I start singing a song to it or something? Sounds like a metronome."
"Please do not," Mipha told her.
"Aw…" Aryll whined as they continued their careful trek along the icy path.
Once on the other side, the two went through an open door, leading to a room filled with ice blocks obstructing a path to a stairwell, another available one, and a locked door. At the stairwell in front of them was someone standing with their back facing the girls. Recognizing the salt and pepper-colored hair, Aryll said, "Raven? Raven!"
The man slowly turned around and Mipha pulled Aryll back, saying, "Don't move."
"Why not? We found Raven and now we can…" she said.
Mipha ignored her, asking the older Hylian, "Who are you…really? What are you?"
"'What'? He's Hylian," Aryll told her.
Raven stared at the two as if he hadn't a clue who they were. Mipha kept Aryll behind her and said, "How is this possible? You're here, but at the same time…you're not. Like darkness cloaks you like a veil and…"
The Hylian male kept his stare at them and then locked eyes with Aryll. In a daze, he said, "A-Aryll…I…"
He fell to the ground, face first, and dropped a small key in the process. Mist and a blast of dark magic pushed the pair back onto the locked door and dispersed after a few minutes. In Raven's place was a blonde and Aryll knew who it was.
"Link!?" she screamed, running to his side.
She turned him onto his back while Mipha scooped up the small key. Her brother's face was very pale and he shivered violently. Aryll tried to shake him awake, but the boy stayed asleep. Mipha put a hand to his forehead and said, "He's…No…No way!"
She checked his left hand and saw his triangle-shaped birthmark. The Zora looked to Aryll and said, "We have to get him out of here."
"But we need to get the Water Element and find that 'Chosen One' guy," Aryll said, not seeing what was going on.
"Well, we've found him. But we need to get him out of here as quickly as possible. I fear the worse if he stays here," Mipha told her.
Link's eyes shot open and he pushed past the two, stealing the small key from Mipha and opening the locked door. He rushed through and Aryll chased after him. Sensing danger coming from the new Chosen One, Mipha yelled, "Aryll! Wait! Don't go after him!"
Her cries were ignored as the girl, out of concern, ran after her brother.
And here's chapter 16. Originally, I didn't know what to do about the events surrounding Lake Hylia in previous drafts. But after seeing MasaeAnela's let's play of The Minish Cap, I ended up going with using the Temple of Droplets as a story arc. That and now we see more of how magic works in this fic. Like the Avatar series, but Zelda-esque…if that makes any sense.
And thanks to Sweetie-Saphira for their review on the last chapter.
Update 7-7-2023: Well, it looks like there's not much to update for this chapter. But we'll see what's actually going on with Link and why he's suddenly incredibly aggressive to the group.
-miano53