Chapter 17
Two days swept by like the Rito breeze. For the first time he could remember, Ravi went to sleep on the second night and didn't dream. Maybe it was the exercise, or spending the afternoon at the archery range with Tulin and his father. Or maybe it was Saki's warm food, or the weightless hammock. But he woke up on the third day after Link had left and realized he hadn't thought about the Depths yesterday. Not even once.
Link came climbing up the stairs while Ravi was helping Saki wash the breakfast dishes. He looked stronger. Fresher. Maybe it was the golden morning light, but his hair seemed to shine and his eyes were bright. A new sword hung on his back—a jagged, ancient weapon with orange spikes.
Ravi surged toward him, but held it back, and continued wiping a bowl with a dish towel. His goggles hung around his neck. "Welcome back. We saved you breakfast. Tulin said you were coming."
"Thank you." Link pulled out a chair, sat, and dug into a bowl of rice and egg. "How was he?" he asked Saki.
"A pleasure." Saki smiled. "Yesterday, Teba gave him a gift."
Ravi set down his bow, hurried into his room, and came back with a swallow bow. "I didn't beat Tulin at the range, but I matched a few shots."
"Just two." Tulin swung into the room and landed across the table from Link. "We made you something."
Link's eyes shifted between the two of them.
Biting back a grin, Ravi ducked under the counter and pulled out a glass vial, hiding it in his hand. Carrying it close to his shirt, he went to Link, then revealed the vial with a dramatic flair. "The 'Elixir of Champions.'"
Link's eyes narrowed at the black liquid.
"It's roasted hearty truffle, garlic, and oil." Ravi shook it to remix the oil and water. "We tried a few recipes, and this one was the easiest to swallow."
"We colored it black with charcoal," Tulin said quickly, "for presentation."
Ravi rolled up his sleeve and extended his arm, showing three almost-healed cuts. "It works as well as the lizards."
Link pulled the cork from the vial, sniffed, and coughed. "That's a lot of garlic." He re-corked it and rubbed his wrist across his nose, blinking his watering eyes. "But I'll try it. Thanks."
Tulin stared at Ravi in shock.
Link grinned and stood, tucking the vial into his pouch. "It's not the worst thing I've eaten."
"What is the worst thing you've eaten?" Ravi asked.
Link gazed up into his memory. "I was half-awake one night, after a week on the trail, when I added moblin guts to my stew. And didn't notice until I took a bite." He shuddered, then grinned and met Ravi's eyes. "I'm ready to drop into the chasm. Will you help me with my armor?"
Ravi followed the swordsman into Saki's sewing room. Link unbuckled his hauberk and set his weapons on the floor, then he began drawing pieces of steel armor from his pouch. Gauntlets, greaves, pauldrons, an incredibly heavy chain mail shirt, a helmet with a red plume. Ravi set each down until a full suit of armor lay in pieces on the floor. Last, Link withdrew a padded doublet, stained with sweat under the arms.
"This is the gambeson," Link said. "It pads my chain mail." He removed his belt and his green tunic and handed them to Ravi. He slipped on a long-sleeve blue undershirt and shrugged the gambeson atop it.
"Now, the cap." He set a padded cloth cap over his hair, then kneeled on both knees. "Find the bottom of the chain mail."
Ravi struggled to lift the heavy shirt, but he found what seemed to be the hem and helped it over Link's head. The swordsman worked his arms through the sleeves. As he stood, the shirt fell past his hips with a dense jingle.
I can't believe I'm helping the swordsman Link prepare for war, Ravi thought. Against Kohga.
Link walked him through the process with the plate armor, strapping a cuisse to each thigh, the greaves to his boots, and the sabatons to his feet. He sandwiched Link's chest between the breastplate halves. Then he settled the pauldrons on his shoulders and buckled them to the breastplate. The swordsman held out his arms while Ravi tightened the vambraces and gauntlet straps, fussing with the unfamiliar buckles.
"Now my tabard," Link said. "To remember who we fight for."
Ravi opened a white tunic embroidered with the red Hyrule eagle. Link ducked under the hem, and Ravi pulled it down in the back. He arranged it over the straps, and the swordsman buckled on his belt with his magic pouch.
Link took a deep breath and twisted in the armor. He flexed his knees and performed a few lunges. His movements were slower, but grew more fluid as he adjusted to the weight. He flexed his gloves and strapped on his sword, his bow and quiver, finally topping the ensemble with a steel shield.
No wonder he wanted to be rested. No backflips in this.
Ravi added weighted lunges to his personal morning routine and handed Link his helmet.
"When I get back," Link said, tucking the helmet under his arm, "I'll teach you to clean it all. And fix the chain mail." The armor clinked as he stepped out into the main room.
The family waited for him, gathered together around the table.
"Thank you," Link said. "For everything."
Teba touched his forehead and extended his hand. "Fly in the protection of the Goddess."
Link jerked his head toward the door. Ravi snatched up his backpack, his swallow bow, and a small quiver of Rito arrows. His bokoblin sword hung from a new belt at his waist. Soon, he hoped to have a hauberk like Link's.
"Thank you," he said to the family, locking eyes with Tulin. He paused on the threshold, reluctant to leave.
"I'll be with you." Tulin winked. "You can't get rid of me."
Ravi's heart twisted, but he grinned, and ran after Link as the knight clinked down the stairs.
"You aren't wearing your goggles," Link said.
"My sight is getting better."
The stairs curved to the right, and Link passed into the sun. Light reflected off his armor. Ravi winced and slapped his hand over his eyes, then quickly drew up his goggles. "How do you get your armor on when I'm not here?"
"I travel to Lookout Landing," Link said. "There's an armor smith there, one of the last in Hyrule. I'll take you to meet him."
"Why didn't you wear armor the first time you faced Kohga?"
"I wasn't expecting to find him on that journey to the Depths—I was down there looking for bombs. I prefer to wear lighter armor for maneuverability. But this time, you mentioned a machine. I thought I should prepare to take some heavy hits."
Ravi fell silent. He's basing his strategy on what I told him. He trusts me. His face lightened, and he hurried up to Link's shoulder.
"I gathered some things while you were gone. Berries. A few lizards. Some herbs. Tulin showed me things to pick that might be useful."
The man nodded. "Thank you."
They reached the mid-point of the stairs, near the shelf of rock where the chasm waited, but instead of swinging over the railing, Link continued down. Ravi followed him to the bottom of the stairs and stood back as Link kneeled before the statue of the goddess.
"Grant me strength, wisdom, and courage." He briefly closed his eyes, like he was listening, then stood with a rattle of armor and started up the stairs again.
As he followed Link, Ravi glanced back at the statue. Her mossy, stone face seemed to smile at him. Ravi shook his head and ran after Link, back up to the shelf. The swordsman grasped the stair railing, swung his legs over, and dropped to the ledge below, landing with a heavy crash.
Ravi jumped down after him. "We added a ladder." He ran to the cliff edge and stood beside the top of a ladder which led down to the cave.
Link set his helmet on his head, climbed backwards down the ladder, and landed with another heavy crash. Ravi scrambled down quickly after him, and this time, walked with Link up to the edge of the chasm.
He cupped his hand over his mouth and nose. The stench of the gloom filled the cave. It rose from the walls of the chasm, like the funnel was a toxic throat, breathing poison.
Link buckled the strap of his helmet under his chin. He touched his pouch, withdrew a bamboo skewer of grilled mushrooms and ate them quickly, one by one. As he ate, a flush crept into his cheeks. His eyes dilated. He flicked the skewer into the chasm and turned to Ravi.
"I'm going to kill him this time."
Ravi drew in a sharp breath. His stomach turned over.
"Do you want to come?"
Ravi clutched his hands, knuckles turning white. "Won't I be in the way?"
"You'll be hiding. Watching. When it's over, I'll bring you back to the surface." He touched his Purah Pad.
His mouth dried. Staring at the blackness, he felt Link's sharp eyes, watching him. But what if he doesn't win? Of course Link would win. He was the Hero. It was only Kohga. But Ravi shook his head and stepped back. "I'll wait for you," he said hoarsely. "Keep watch."
Link nodded once, quick and decisive. Then he leaped into the chasm. He spread his arms and legs like a star, growing smaller and smaller until the chasm swallowed him.
Ravi exhaled. He paced to the edge of the cave entrance and back to the chasm, stomach tight. What have I done?
He remembered the Yiga rallies: soldiers pressing tight around him, chanting Kohga's name as the leader strutted on the platform. He remembered the day they summoned him to Kohga's quarters, five years ago.
Kohga dropped to one knee, coming down to his level.
"This is all we found."
A soldier dropped his mother's pack at his feet, and Kohga handed Rat a banana. "Don't cry, Little Rat. If you work hard, we'll have a place for you here. Won't we, boys?"
The soldiers behind him muttered affirmations.
Kohga leaped to his feet, spreading his arms wide. "The benevolence of Kohga is limitless! I shall teach you, young child. You shall grow strong! A mighty warrior, a mighty Yiga!"
Now, within the hour, Kohga was going to die.
Ravi sat and crossed his legs at the mouth of the cave, leaning against the wall. On his left, the lake spread out below, water shining in the morning light. The fresh air blew into the cave, pushing the stench deeper inside. He leaned his head back on the rock, but couldn't get comfortable. Up on the surface, it was silent, except for the chirping of birds in the trees above. No one knew in the world, except him and Tulin's family, that below them all right now, Link was battling a monstrous machine. For their freedom.
I should have gone with him. But as he stole a glance at the chasm, the hair on his arms lifted. He stood and faced the chasm, clenching his fists. "I will never go back to you again."
Ravi set down his weapons and shrugged off his pack. He stretched and performed his morning calisthenics in the mouth of the cave. Sweaty, he snatched up his bokoblin sword. The blade had two edges; he was used to the single-edged Sevenfold Blade. He faced the chasm and started his training routine from his time with the Yiga. Fifty blocks. Fifty upward strikes, fifty thrusts. As he swung the sword, he swung it at the gloom. Maybe he'd go back to the Depths one day—taller, stronger, older. When he finished the routine, he switched hands and did it again.
A mighty warrior.
The sun shifted higher overhead. Ravi stretched and cooled down. He spat on a rock and sharpened his bokoblin sword until he could shave hair off his arm. Finally, something he could do. He'd sharpened enough blades for the Yiga.
A rumble echoed in the chasm's throat. Ravi froze with his blade on the rock, in mid-scrape. Then he kicked the stone over the edge, snatched up his pack and weapons, and jumped to his feet. The rumble grew louder, rising fast. A brilliant blue light illuminated the walls of the chasm, and the throat coughed up a tangle of machine parts, spitting blue rocket fire. The tangle struck the cave ceiling, ricocheted, and bounced to one wall and the next.
Ravi hit the ground on his face, covering his head. The machine finally struck the wall opposite him and rolled to the floor, where it sat smoking. A man coughed. Ravi lifted his head.
Kohga lay tangled in a metal harness, attached to an amalgamation of a dozen rockets. His cheek bled through his cracked mask and his Yiga uniform smoldered with burns. One of his legs was bent at an angle, mid-shin. He coughed again. "Help."
Ravi snatched his backpack and weapons, drawing them to himself. He backed against the wall of the cave, breathing fast and small.
"Yiga," Kohga muttered hoarsely.
Ravi felt a whisper, like the temperature had dropped several degrees. He fluttered his icy fingers, creating the symbols for Silence and Stone, and twisted the strings of light around him. His figure blended into the rock just as another light shot up from the chasm.
A single rocket, attached to a shield, shot from the chasm like a blue star, drawing a figure in black with it. The rocket expired. The figure dropped the shield into the chasm and whipped out a black glider. He floated down and landed with a light tap at Kohga's feet. The glider vanished.
Karta wore his black hood. Two black swords hung across his back, over his short cape. The Yiga emblem gleamed on his black breastplate, reflecting the red light of the gloom puddles as he stood over Kohga, looking down.
"Get me out of this thing." Kohga coughed. "That's an order. From your fearless…" He coughed again and whimpered. "Leader."
Karta nudged an expired rocket with his toe, and the device detached with a helpless clatter. The man drew one of his swords with a chilling ring.
Ravi held his breath.
"A hundred and twenty years." Karta held the tip of his blade to the man's chin.
Kohga clawed at the melted buckles securing his harness to his chest.
"They gave us a prophecy," Karta said, "and what did your family do with it? The return of Ganon foretold. A princess who couldn't awaken her power—they practically dropped the throne in our lap. Yet your grandfather only managed to kill Zelda's mother, and they never knew who poisoned her. They thought it was an illness. And you: a clown and a coward. Beaten by a child, four times."
The sword flicked, and Kohga gasped. A line of blood opened on his chin. "Treason," he whispered. "Treachery. Yiga!"
Ravi pressed against the rock wall.
A laugh tumbled through Karta's mask. "They aren't coming for you. The Yiga will listen to me, now. They will follow me. I will lift the Yiga higher than you dreamed. The Sheikah laugh at us. I will make them fear us once again. But you will be forgotten."
Kohga struggled in his harness, then he grew still. They locked eyes.
"Glory to the Yiga." Karta raised his sword. "No more bananas."
Ravi squeezed his eyes shut, but his ears remained open. He cringed at the sound of Karta's blade through flesh and held his breath, clutching the strings of light around him. His heart raced, pounding so loud, he was sure Karta could hear it.
He knows I'm here. The blade is coming for me.
A blowing sound rose from the chasm, and he cracked his eyes open as a hot-air balloon lifted from the Depths.
"Master Kohga!" Two Yiga soldiers jumped off the platform. They drew their swords and landed in battle-stances.
Link stood over the body, sword painted red, while Kohga's blood seeped from his open neck. He sheathed his sword and ran for the ladder, and as he brushed past Ravi, the boy felt the strings of illusion, tight around Karta's figure. Karta struck back the soldiers pursuing him and scrambled up the ladder.
"Chase him!" One soldier shouted as 'Link' disappeared.
The other soldier shoved him. "You chase him."
Frozen, they stared up at the ceiling, then ran back to Kohga's body and kneeled over him.
"Master Kohga." The first soldier sniffed. The second soldier folded Kohga's hands across his chest.
A shadow dropped from above, and Karta landed lightly in the cave. He wore his red Blademaster uniform and the white mask, his hood pulled over his head. "What's this?"
"Link killed him!" the soldier cried. "He killed Master Kohga! Did you see him? He just ran by you!"
"I saw him." Karta bent over Kohga, examining the wound. "Take him to the hideout. Assemble the Yiga. Draw everyone in from every post, from the Depths and the surface. We will send Master to his ancestors with honor. But act quickly. Link might return."
Ravi felt lightheaded. He clutched the strings of light, begging them to stay. He'd never maintained an illusion this long. But he held it while the Yiga detached Karta from his rocket contraption and bundled him onto the hot-air balloon. They pushed it to the mouth of the cave and spun an illusion around it, rendering the balloon invisible, then the two soldiers climbed on and bore the balloon away.
Karta remained standing in the cave. He watched the flicker in the air as the balloon floated out. The hem of his hood fluttered in the wind. He lifted his head, as though sniffing.
Sweat trickled down Ravi's spine, pooling in the damp cotton at the small of his back. He can't smell me through the mask. I could hardly smell through the mask. It's too thick.
The man swept his eyes around the cave, taking in the red stain on the rock under the discarded contraption. Then he struck his hand into his palm and vanished.
Ravi held the illusion. His limbs locked, rigid, around his weapons. A cramp began in his left foot. The wind swept through the cave, chilling his sweat. Still, he grasped the illusion.
Fire illuminated the walls of the chasm as a second hot-air balloon ascended from the Depths. As the balloon rose above the mouth, Link hopped off. He grunted in pain as he landed on the stone and limped away from the gloom, cradling his left arm to his chest. He stopped at the vacant blood stain, gazing at the broken, empty harness.
Link sighed. He hung his head, shoulders dropping in weariness. Then he swung his leg back, and with a shout of frustration, kicked an empty rocket out of the cave. Turning back, he lifted his voice. "Ravi?"
The illusion broke. Ravi gasped for air.
Soot smudged Link's armor and face, and blood soaked his pant behind his right knee. His left pauldron was bashed in and mangled. He limped to Ravi and stood over the boy. "What's wrong?"
Ravi shook his head. He unfolded his stiff legs. With his right arm, Link pulled him to his feet. Ravi dropped his bow. Arrows spilled from his quiver.
"Kohga's dead," Ravi whispered. "He's dead."
Link closed his eyes in relief. "Finally."
Ravi's eyes prickled with tears. He scrubbed his running nose with his sleeve, snatched up his weapons, and scrambled up the ladder to the sunlight. On the grass, he clutched his arms, shivering as he waited for Link.
Green light flared behind Ravi, and the boy spun around as the swordsman's head erupted from the earth. Link shook his head, pressed his glowing arm against the earth, and leaped from the liquid stone. He landed with a crash, winced, and staggered, favoring his injured leg.
"They… killed him," Ravi stammered. "They took his body. The Yiga—"
"Save it." Under the soot, Link's face paled with pain. He unhooked his Purah Pad with one hand and swiped the screen with his thumb. The map zoomed in on Hyrule Field, and as he touched a glowing dot below Hyrule Castle, Ravi grabbed Link's wrist. The light swept him away from Rito Village, from the blood on the stone, from Karta. He didn't look back.