Chapter 44 - Spreading the News
Summary: News of Tiray's return spreads.
It was a cloudy morning in Zora's Domain, and Mipha and Link held each other close in their room's slumber pool.
"That felt so intense - magical even!" sighed Mipha.
"It felt incredible for me, too," Link said as they kissed again. "I love you."
"I love you, too," said Mipha. "You make me as happy as I could ever wish!"
"And that's what I've always wanted for both of us," said Link. "By the way, you have the most beautiful eyes. They seem to glow, and I love looking into them."
As before, Link had noticed that his transition to life as a Zora had shifted his perception of colors, and Mipha's eyes seemed more golden than before. And like his earlier transformations, Mipha looked even cuter now, more attractive at a primal level. Mipha was about to answer when her Tab buzzed.
"Not another medical emergency, I hope!" said Link.
"No, thankfully, just a reminder about today's upcoming council meeting with Father. Thanks to your amorous impulses, it's later than I realized, and I should get up."
"Thanks to me? I think your amorous impulses were every bit as intense as mine! Anyway, I'll catch breakfast while you get ready," Link said as they climbed out of the pool.
After Link returned from Mikau Lake with a pair of Hyrule Bass, they sat down to eat breakfast together.
"Isn't it nice not having to burn your fish first, then let it cool?"
"It is," laughed Link. "I never told you, but that was the real reason I transformed into a Zora: so I could eat faster."
"Given your appetite, I'm not sure you're joking," laughed Mipha. "And we had this same conversation the day you made up your mind to transform after visiting Spool Bight. But I know very well you have other appetites."
"As do you," said Link, and they laughed, then leaned forward for a kiss.
"By the way, you'll have the house all to yourself this morning, sweetheart, until Mila arrives home for lunch. Do you know what you'll do?"
"In light of what just happened to Tiray, I was thinking of refreshing my memory and re-reading about that whole Vera incident in my journal."
"Good idea," said Mipha as she finished and rose to leave. "Would you prefer Mila or me to awaken you when we get home? Or should we just let you sleep?"
"Very funny, and I hope you're saving some sense of humor for the council meeting," said Link, who also rose from the table. "My journal's not all that boring! Well, not all of it, at least. Please say hello to father for me and give him my thanks for not inviting me to attend the meeting as well. I prefer to be home to welcome Mila when she arrives."
They embraced and kissed, then Mipha left, and the house suddenly felt still and empty. Midon and Lapha had returned to work at the Royal Ancient Tech Lab, and their son Link was away with his wife Tila and their family in North Hyrule for their daughter Tara's schooling. Mila had been working all week at the Hyrule Castle library and was expected home later.
Link made his way upstairs to the room he used as a study. He took one of the volumes of his journal down from the shelf, then sat at his desk, and opened to the first of seven chapters he had titled "A Shadow Arises." Tiray's miraculous return to life after over twenty years prompted him to refresh his memory about the events of that time. The enemy they had faced back then, Vera, was a formidable adversary with powerful dark magic. And she was all the more terrifying for being largely unseen, as she could remain undetected inside even a friend's or relative's mind until she was ready to move on. Vera was the daughter of the demon fairy Veran, the infamous Sorceress of Shadows, and her evil mother would have been proud of her offspring.
Link read all the way to the last chapter and was at the point where he and Mipha were returning to the Domain after Purah had successfully brought them back to their own time. Mipha was especially eager to return home then.
Link had just made the journey from the Temple of Time to Zora's Domain, but this time Mipha insisted on pulling him as fast as she could the entire way. She was not willing to ride a motorized cycle. The water splashed and surged around him as she raced along.
"Mipha, I'm going to be waterlogged if I swallow anymore!" gasped Link. "Can we slow down just a bit?"
"Sorry," said Mipha. "Now I almost do wish you were a Zora. But I'll slow down."
Link had to smile as even twenty-two years ago, Mipha was alluding to him becoming a Zora. But then his thoughts were interrupted when a heavy rain suddenly began to fall. It was a steady downfall without lightning, and the sound of its pitter-patter against the house and windows was impossible to ignore. Link had to fight the urge to rush outside and instead closed his eyes, leaned back, and luxuriated in how musical it all sounded.
To Zoras, the sound and feel of rain were both joyful and musical, as were so many things water-related. A love of music was rooted in their souls, dating back to their distant ancestors, the Parella, who served the water dragon Faron and swam amidst her musical Tadtones in ancient Lake Floria. If you checked a Zora's Tab, you would undoubtedly find it filled with music, and musical performances were the most popular entertainment. It was no accident that Zora royal family members were often given names based on musical scales.
Link, of course, had always loved the sound of rain, even as a Hylian, and especially when falling asleep. But rain and water sounded and felt different to him now. It affected him more deeply, and he thought that was a good sign that his Zora conversion was becoming even more complete. It was that special bond with music and water that Mipha had told him to expect.
Just then, he was interrupted by the buzz of his Tab he had set down beside his journal, indicating a message had arrived. He opened his eyes and picked it up to read it, forgetting, as usual, he could have used his thoughts.
Mila_ZD:To: Link_ZD:Home in a few minutes, Dad.
He answered at once.
Link_ZD:To:Mila_ZD:Great! See you soon.
It would be wonderful to have Mila home again. Link smiled as he remembered a young Mila sitting on his lap at this very desk while he wrote in this same journal. She was so cute as a young child! And Mila took after Mipha more so than any of their other children. Besides inheriting Mipha's healing power, Mila was the most sensitive to personal matters and instinctively understood people's feelings. For example, she had been the best at dealing with the complicated Astra situation, both with him and Mipha, as well as with Astra herself. And like Mipha, Mila had this urge to look after him, even disobeying her mother to sneak off and save his life after his battle with Dark Link. And then again, she helped rescue him from Sopha in North Hyrule when he was taken unawares. Come to think of it, Astra had also saved him from Sopha, that time in the Applean Forest. His daughters had rescued him more times than he cared to admit! Was he losing his touch after having become a father? No, that was ridiculous! But speaking of Astra, he wondered how she was.
Suddenly a voice came to him.
"Your love of music has grown, Master."
"Yes, Fi, I guess it has," said Link.
"I sense you were thinking of your Goddess blood daughter. Her Grace will permit me to tell you that she is doing well and has fulfilled all that was expected of her so far."
"I'm happy to hear it," said Link. "Thank you, Fi, for reassuring me she is well. But I'm not surprised she has been successful. She trained well and is rather special."
"More than you realize, Master. She reminded me of a time long ago when I served my first master. After the demon king Demise was defeated, I learned later that the first child with both the blood of the goddess and the hero was born while I slept."
"I see," said Link. "So, do you keep a journal of past events like me?"
"I store past events as data, Master, very precisely and completely. But I do not waste storage by bloating my data with superfluous commentary," said Fi in a tone suggestive of having been slightly insulted.
"Fair enough," laughed Link. "But what you call my superfluous commentary is intended to make the data interesting to others and more readable. So anyway, let's not end our conversation on a sour note."
"A sour note? Are not all musical notes sweet in their own right?"
"It's a note out of tune with the rest of the melody," said Link. "I mean, let's not end our conversation on something unpleasant. If the Goddess permits it, please tell Astra I love her and miss her."
"I will, though she already knows this, Master. Just as you know that she loves and misses you."
"We still like to hear it said," said Link. "Mipha and I know we love each other, but hearing it still makes us happy."
"I will convey your message then, Master," said Fi. "Farewell until next time."
Link was at once interrupted by the sound of the entrance door opening and a voice he recognized, though it sounded slightly different to him now, thanks to his Zora sense of hearing.
"Hey, Dad! I'm home!" shouted Mila.
"I'll be right down," Link said as he closed his journal, stood up, and went downstairs.
"Hi, sweetheart!" said Link as he and Mila embraced. "It's great to have you home. I missed you."
"Thanks! It's great to be home, and I missed you too, Dad. But why are you inside on such a nice rainy day?"
"It just started to rain here, and I wanted to review part of my journal while Mom's at a council meeting," said Link.
"Sorry? Your journal? Do you mean that labor of love you worked so hard on for so many years and wanted to abandon not that long ago? Do you mean that journal, Dad?"
"You are getting so very much like your mother!" laughed Link as he shook his head and kissed her on the cheek. "One little mistake about ending my journal, and I get teased about it from then on, never able to outswim it."
"Little mistake?" laughed Mila. "It was a terrible mistake! And Mom and I tease you because we love you. But, speaking of Mom, she Tabbed me you were home alone and said she would bring home lunch soon."
"Great! Everything going well at the castle?"
"Yes, still updating our history books as we learn more from the Forgotten Temple area," said Mila. "And Zelda said to say hello. She stopped by the library one of the days I was there, and we had a nice chat."
"Yes, I'll have to revisit Zelda soon, or I will never hear the end of it from her either. By the way, you heard about Tiray, Tila's cousin, right?"
"Yes, indeed I did! Lapha messaged me about it," said Mila. "It seems I picked the wrong time to work at the castle library and missed something amazing."
"It's fine, and I'm sure we will all learn more about it. Midon missed it too, and he was staying here," said Link.
"I assume you didn't notice, but Bab's Babble Bubble already has some drippings about the Tiray incident and posted something," said Mila.
"No, you're right. I didn't see it," said Link. "I usually don't read Bab's posts as I seldom know anyone she writes about. So what did it say?"
"Here, it's easier if you just read it yourself, Dad," said Mila handing Link her Tab opened to the post.
A Murky Meeting?
Here's a juicy morsel to sink your fangs into, and it was submitted by one of our sharp-eyed readers. Depending on how this story flows, it has an excellent chance of winning the tip of the week award and even the end-of-the-month prize! So, let's dive right into it!
What, you may well ask, were our Majesty Queen Faray, a Sheikah doctor, and two of our guards doing at the ferry pier just after dawn? Well, for one thing, we know they were meeting Ambassador Laray, but who was Laray's unknown companion? Something secret and mysterious is going on, no doubt about it! Ambassador Laray and her unknown companion, a female Zora, arrived on a high-speed military vessel and were whisked away to Ambassador Laray's residence. There has been no statement from the royal family about this unusual activity, and we're keeping an eye on developments.
Now, dear readers, keep those tips coming. And, as always, read our posts for any updates. We're here to tell you what's making the biggest splash in Hyrule!
"I see," said Link as he handed the Tab back. "Well, I can hardly blame whoever saw them for not recognizing Tiray, given how long it's been. They were probably too young even to remember the incident."
Just then, the door opened again, and Mipha walked in carrying three fish.
"Hey, Mom!" said Mila as she and Mipha embraced.
"Glad you're home, sweetheart," said Mipha. "Let's have lunch while the fish are fresh. Then, we can catch up while we eat."
"Great! I'm starving," said Link, and Mipha laughed, shaking her head.
Link retrieved three dishes and utensils, and they all sat at the table.
"What were you doing while I was away, sweetheart?" Mipha asked Link after they had each swallowed a bite.
"I did as planned, reviewed my journal, the parts about Vera."
"And it didn't put you to sleep after all?" said Mipha as Mila laughed.
"No, sweetheart, because, as you love to point out, my memory is so poor I forgot everything that happened. It was like reading a whole new adventure," Link teased back.
"I can see you're getting better at teasing back, Dad," laughed Mila. "I wonder if the Zora in you is making you smarter."
"Maybe," laughed Link. "I'm smart enough not to argue it isn't!"
"I know I've said this before, but I'm thoroughly delighted you changed Dad," said Mila. "Aside from worrying about you abandoning us to return to live with Hylians, I used to worry about you drowning when I was younger and even had occasional nightmares about it."
"I'm so sorry I gave you cause to worry, sweetheart," said Link. "I never wanted to, and I did my best to reassure you every chance I could."
"If we're lining up for apologies over causing worry, I think I should be at the head of the line," laughed Mipha.
"Probably," said Link as he swallowed another bite of fish. "I'm too hungry to argue with you about that either."
"Let's finish lunch so we can enjoy the rain while it lasts," said Mipha.
Meanwhile, in North Hyrule, Linky was walking his daughter Tara to class. The family lived in a dwelling alongside Jabu Lagoon, a body of water fed by a tributary of the North Hyrule Sea and just a short distance north of the domain itself.
"It's wonderful you enjoy school so much," said Linky as they held hands and walked along the path.
"What's not to enjoy?" said Tara. "Our teachers are excellent."
"That's one reason we're living here because the school is so good," said Linky. "Anyway, you have everything, sweetheart?"
"All I need, Dad, relax," said Tara with a smile.
"Then I'll pick you up this afternoon," said Linky. "Stay out of trouble!"
"You, too, Dad," laughed Tara, and then they hugged goodbye as Linky kissed her on the forehead.
Tara waved to him as she entered the school, and Linky waved back, then turned back toward home. He enjoyed spending extra time with Tara while Tila was home with their one-year-old son, Lanka. Tara was getting so mature for a twelve-year-old, and he wasn't sure how much longer she would want her Dad to walk her to school. Anyway, enjoy the time you had was how he felt.
As Linky arrived home, Tila was playing with Lanka in the lagoon. Just then, Tila's Tab buzzed with a priority message.
"Can you watch Lanka for a moment, sweetheart," said Tila. "My sister needs to speak with me."
"Sure," said Linky. "I hope nothing is wrong."
Although Tila had two sisters, Linky understood that she never referred to the oldest one, Sopha, as her sister. If she mentioned Sopha at all, which was hardly ever, it was only by name. The message was clearly from Faray, and Tila called her at once.
"You ready for a shock, Ti," said Faray. "Cousin Tiray returned to life."
"What? I don't think I understand what you just said," said Tila.
"I don't understand it either, and it will take some investigation by our Sheikah scientists to sort out what happened. But Tiray was found alive in the Akkala Sea, where currents must have carried her coffin. She returned here early this morning in the company of her sister Laray."
"Wow! You're sure, and you're serious? I don't know what to say, Fa, other than this is unbelievably good news," said Tila. "I can't wait to see Tiray. We had fun playing together growing up."
"Well, that's the problem," said Faray. "Whatever process preserved her from death caused her to lose her memory. So she didn't recognize even her sister or me. And I had doctor Fanda use a milder version of our sister's mind probe to verify Tiray wasn't faking."
"Oh! Well, I guess it does make sense to be cautious. But that must be terrible for her," said Tila. "I will keep that in mind when I see her, of course."
"That's it for now as if that's not enough," said Faray. "Talk to you later."
They ended the call, and Tila returned to the water, where Link was playing with Lanka.
"Anything wrong?"
"No, not exactly. Something is incredibly right," said Tila. "My cousin Tiray turned up alive. We all thought she died and even had a funeral service for her."
"I never remember you speaking of her," said Linky.
"It happened when you were ten years old, dearest, so obviously, before we grew close. And afterward, there seemed no reason to mention it," said Tila. "But Tiray and I played together when we were small, and it was funny how we would both answer if someone called 'Ti.' So we agreed she would call me 'Ti,' and I would call her 'Ti Ti.' And we jokingly kept using those nicknames with each other even after we both grew up. I was actually a bit envious of Tiray's real name. I thought it sounded sweeter and more melodic than mine."
"I think your name is perfect and beautiful," said Linky. "Just like everything else about you."
"You're so sweet," said Tila as they exchanged a brief kiss, upon which Lanka splashed them both and then giggled, making both Tila and Linky laugh. "But I'm eager to meet with Tiray. Perhaps spending time with me will help her memory."
Later that afternoon, in a small dwelling just north of the domain throne room, Laray had awoken and awaited her sister Tiray to do so as well. Tiray looked just as Laray remembered her, and she should know as she had kept pictures of her on her Tab all these years. If Tiray felt up to it today, she could begin reintroducing her to their home. Then her musings were interrupted by a voice.
"Good morning, sister," said Tiray. "I'm assuming it is morning."
"Early afternoon, but we were both tired," said Laray. "How do you feel?"
"Normal, I guess," said Tiray. "Rested."
"Let me get you something to eat," said Laray.
"I feel well enough to go with you," said Tiray.
"Great! We can catch some fish at Jabu Lagoon. It's just a short walk north of here, and the fish are fresher than at the store," said Laray.
"Let's go," said Tiray as she climbed out of their slumber pool.
Tiray hadn't noticed the bracelet Laray deliberately left out, hoping perhaps it would trigger some recollection. She would give it to her sister later when they had a quiet moment.
"This path will take us directly there," said Laray as they left their dwelling. "When we were both small, we played in that lagoon. Later, when we were older, we were allowed to play in the bigger waves and stronger currents of the North Hyrule Sea. That's where you got bit by that crab."
"It's quite beautiful here," said Tiray. "I have vague recollections of growing up here, I think."
"That's encouraging," said Laray. "Later, after we eat, I can show you around our domain."
As they approached the lagoon, they could see Linky, Tila, and Lanka in the water.
"Oh, we're in luck," said Laray. "That's cousin Tila with her husband and son."
They approached the lagoon, and Tila noticed, recognizing both of them at once.
"La La and Ti Ti!" exclaimed Tila as she rushed over to them. "Hello, Tiray. My sister told me you probably wouldn't remember, but I'm Tila, or Ti as you used to call me. We often played together as children."
"I … I'm sorry, cousin Tila, I don't remember," said Tiray. "At least not yet."
"Tila is cousin Faray's younger sister," said Laray. "You will recall you met Faray early this morning."
"Yes, of course," said Tiray. "You say we played together as children, cousin Tila?"
"Yes, we did, and I can share some stories with you later if you like. But now come meet my husband, Link, and our one-year-old son Lanka," said Tila. "Our twelve-year-old daughter Tara is in class."
"Link? Then you are the son of Mipha and Link?" Tiray asked.
"Yes, that's right, and pleased to meet you, Tiray," said Link.
"And your little boy is adorable," said Tiray. "His eyes are very distinctive."
"That's my doing," laughed Linky. "Our daughter Tara also has blue eyes, but a deeper shade."
"Unless you have plans, why don't you spend the afternoon with us here at the lagoon," said Tila. "I'd love to reminisce with you, Tiray."
"Are you okay with that, Ti? It may help your memory," said Laray.
"Yes, of course," said Tiray. "I appreciate your willingness to spend the time."
"Now we better catch a couple of fish, and we will be right back," said Laray as she took Tiray's hand, and they both dove under the water and then swam to a deeper part of the lagoon.
Meanwhile, at the Royal Ancient Tech lab not far from Hyrule Castle, Lapha was meeting with Purah and Robbie to discuss what had happened.
"It seems immersion in and absorption of liquid Ancient Energy can prevent death in some circumstances. As you know, my father claimed that is what happened to him in his original timeline. So, this could be a promising medical treatment. But it seems to come with the disadvantage of erasing the subject's memory. So, after the treatment, they're like a different person unless they can recover their memories."
"Still, to prevent the death of someone you care about, it would seem to be worth it," said Robbie.
"Probably," said Purah. "But you both may be jumping to a conclusion."
"What?" said Robbie.
"I probably know as much about Vera as anyone," said Purah. "She took over the mind of her victim and controlled them. However, we don't know if the restoration process damaged Tiray's memory or if Vera wiped Tiray's memory clean just before abandoning her as a host."
"That's true," said Lapha, nodding.
"Although, in your father's case, the restoration process undoubtedly damaged his memory. It's something worth investigating. I'm still annoyed that my sister Impa used her influence with Zelda to stop me from more thoroughly researching the workings of the Shrine of Resurrection. And you took Impa's side, Robbie."
"I think she and I were both afraid you'd kill yourself in some experiment to test the process," said Robbie. "We understood the utility of you remaining alive exceeded the potential value of more precise restoration parameters."
"I guarantee my sister didn't think that way!" laughed Purah. "But I get your point."
"I think we will need to wait for the North Hyrule scientists to conduct their investigation," said Lapha. "But I will keep in close touch with them. I think this may be a promising area of research for developing more effective cures."