The next day, the Company made their way to Rito Village. Rito Village was larger than the name suggested, made up of what appeared to be hundreds of little huts built in a series of rings stacked atop each other on the way up a central rock spire. The spire was in the center of a large, round lake—Lake Totori—and was surrounded by several smaller islands that each bore their own huts and homes, all connected by a complicated series of wooden bridges and ladders. Even the walls of the deep depression that the lake was in had their own wooden abodes built against them. All around, the avian people could be seen walking and gliding between buildings, passing over the lake with each with their wings outstretched. The sprawling city was set against a backdrop of a large, snowy mountain range on the other side of the lake. The Hebra mountains made up the entire northwest corner of Hyrule, providing an interesting counterpoint to Death Mountain, which was just as far north as these were.
"I wonder if Death Mountain would be as cold as these mountains, were it not a volcano," Dimitri wondered.
Kass shook his head. "There seems to be no correlation between latitude and temperature. The Gerudo Highlands, south of here, are even colder than the Hebra region. The Akkala region isn't cold at all."
Suddenly, a long, piercing screech rang through the air. Kass flinched. "Oh no."
Following his gaze to the source of the screech, the Company saw Vah Medoh for the first time. Shaped like a bird with a long, pointed beak, two outstretched wings, a tail, and two legs ending in clawed feet, Divine Beast Vah Medoh was an incredible sight to see. Link quickly removed his Sheikah Slate, activating its telescope rune to get a better view of the mechanical creature.
Red lights pulsed all over its metal and stone body, including a spiral pattern wrapped around its beak. Spinning fans—propellers, Link's vague memories told him—had been placed on its undercarriage, somehow providing it with enough lift to remain in the air, just as the flying Guardians had. Familiar lances of blue-white light, just like those fired by the Guardians, fired wildly into the air.
It wasn't immediately obvious what Medoh was firing at, but Link quickly found the targets. A pair of Rito were flying around Vah Medoh and peppering the Divine Beast with bomb arrows, but they weren't managing to do much damage to the Divine Beast.
Unfortunately, one of the lances of energy hit one of the Rito, and knocked him out of the sky. Thinking quickly, the other Rito dove out of the air, caught his companion in his talons, and spread his wings, helping slow his fall. They landed somewhere in Rito Village.
"Are they all right?" Mercedes asked.
"Let's hope so," Kass said somberly. "Likely, that was Teba and Harth. I know they've been wanting to drive Medoh off for some time now, even though the Elder has been trying to dissuade them. It seems Medoh got close enough today that they decided to try it."
Link returned his gaze to Vah Medoh. It seemed to have lost interest in Rito Village for now. It wasn't getting closer, but it wasn't getting further away either.
There was nothing for it at the moment, so they kept following Kass.
A bit later, five small Rito children saw Kass. "Dad!" They instantly ran over to Kass and started hugging him. They were followed by a slender Rito woman with teal coloring. She smiled fondly at the children, but she wrapped her wings around her body in an anxious way. Link saw her eyes flick up towards the Divine Beast.
"Friends, this is my wife Amali, and my daughters, Kheel, Genli, Kotts, Notts, and Cree. Amali, kids, this is the Rising Sun Company."
"You're the ones who fought the giant monsters who were messing with the Zoras and Gorons?" the yellow one asked. "Can you fight the bird monster too?"
"Yes, we fought Vah Ruta and Vah Rudania. As for whether we can fight Vah Medoh, that's what we're here to find out," Link said.
"I don't think they can do it," the green one said. "They don't even have wings! How are they going to get up to it?"
"Good question," Link thought.
Kass chuckled and patted her head fondly. "We'll make sure he can get up there, don't worry." He looked at Amali and smiled apologetically. "Amali, if you could… I fear that I must get Link to see Elder Kaneli. In light of this morning's events, I feel it might be the best time to broach the subject with him again."
She nodded and swept her wing back towards the house. "Girls, let's let your father and Mr. Link go for now. You still have some school work that you need to complete before you practice singing."
A chorus of aww's followed this pronouncement, but a fierce look from their mother sent the girls scrambling back into the family home. Amali stepped closer to Kass, and they pressed their foreheads and beaks together in a show of affection. When she pulled away from Kass, she smiled at the Company. "It was nice to meet you all. I'd ask you to join us for dinner, but I'm not sure I'd be able to cook for all of you."
It took them quite some time to finally reach the top, and Link felt winded by the time they stopped in front of their destination. The Elder's hut was much like all of the others that the Company had passed. The Elder of the Rito, it would seem, did not require a palace like a king, but made do with the same resources and means as the others did.
Inside, sitting on a wooden rocking chair, was a tall, round Rito. The Elder had a long white beard, and a pair of long, feathery eyebrows that extended out past his head. He had a small hooked beak, rather than the larger beaks that many of the other Rito had. Link wasn't sure if there were different species among the Rito, but he thought that the Elder bore a distinct resemblance to an owl.
The Elder was speaking to another Rito. This one had white feathers running all the way down his body, with the exception of darker grey feathers at his wingtips and tail. The feathers atop his head curved up to form a spiked appearance. While most of the other Rito that Link had seen had worn simple clothing of colored fabric across their breasts and waists, this one wore worn leather armor and had a bow slung across his back. He bore the unmistakable appearance of a warrior. Link thought that he recognized him.
"—warned you of the dangers of attacking the Divine Beast, and now look at what has come of it, Teba. Harth is barely hanging onto life, and all you have accomplished is angering the beast!"
The other Rito named Teba shook his head, and Link thought that he saw his feathers expanding out some, making him look larger. He swung his wing in a cutting motion. "We're all barely hanging onto life! We're barely able to gather fish from the lake anymore, we can't teach our children how to fly, and even the mountains have become off-limits now that Medoh has started attacking us there. We have to do something, Kaneli!"
"No! I will not have you bringing down its wrath on us all with your rash actions. I told you before that you were not to launch another attack on it, and you ignored me. I will not stand for it again," the Elder said, leaning forward in his chair. He, too, had grown larger, his feathers puffing out.
Teba stared defiantly up at the Elder, his feathered fingers forming tight fists. "I'm not going to stand back and watch as we waste away. There is barely enough food to go around as it is—what will we do when the next batch of hatchlings arrive? There is already talk among the outer settlements about migrating east." He paused as the Elder's expression showed brief confusion.
"You've heard, haven't you? The Divine Beasts to the east have stopped raging. Someone figured out a way to calm them—we can do the same."
Kass seemingly decided this was the best possible time to cut in. He cleared his throat loudly and stepped into the hut. "Elder Kaneli, Teba, I apologize for interrupting your discussion, but I believe I have brought some people who may be able to aid us in regards to the Divine Beast."