Awakening the Storm

Thank goodness the Princess and her knight made that covering, for the morning rain was sudden and heavy. The Hero awoke to the soft rumbling from the clouds before the downpour began, 'That can't be me, right?' He tried to ask it to go away—several times in fact. It wasn't his.

He wanted to get a scope of the forest before pressing forward in their search. His descendant and Her Highness's cuddling had other plans. Link was certainly the worst offender by far, he practically hugged his side. Meanwhile Zelda only held his arm, resting her head on his bicep. Either way, he was stuck.

Time sighed, trying to find something to busy his mind. 'Gods…it still feels like we're being watched. At this point I wonder if it's a good thing or a bad thing that these two don't seem to notice.' His tired gaze caught sight of the Master Sword just over Link's messy hair. Something about the hilt reminded him of the end of the Hero of the Sky's story. The end of the beginning if you will. His smile was toothy as he taunted the demon god within the blade, 'Ha. I can only imagine what it's like to play a helping hand in fighting against your curse time and time again, Demise. What a fitting punishment for the likes of you.' His eyes trailed back to the leafy canopy before his ears perked at the sound of a familiar voice.

~Master, I should ask that you exercise restraint in your musings.~

He couldn't believe his ears as his gaze flicked back to the blade that glowed as it talked. 'Huh!? You sound just like Nav—'

~It is his curse that holds the true power after all. Not himself.~

~His consciousness faded long long ago.~

The Hero realized his chest quickly rose with each breath after the light left the mystical blade. Feeling its presence dissipate told him their brief exchange had finished with no point in attempting to rekindle it. Yet there was a realization within him as well, one that was blurred and muted behind several layers of doubt. Though he could tell it must have hurt from the melancholy filling his core. 'How do I feel sad without the grief that normally comes with it?' If anything, it made him uncomfortable experiencing the two emotions at once. One insisted he felt normal but tired while the other wondered why he wasn't crying.

Then Link breathed a sign of life into his otherwise dead body. His eyes blinked open, "Mornin' Time." Sitting up and wiping the crud away, he yawned, his pupils narrowing as they caught sight of the Princess, "Dear Hylia…I can't believe you were right…" He whispered.

"Mhm…and what were you just doing?"

His descendant looked away, "Yeah whatever…"

Their slight commotion was enough to stir the Princess awake. She initially smiled before she realized what she was doing and nearly scooted out into the rain! The Hero had grabbed her hand to keep her from doing so, "Ahem, um, sorry about that, Hero."

'You're both terrible.' Though he appreciated the distraction they provided. Whatever mixed emotion he felt had ebbed away along with the weather. Perfect timing. "Don't worry, I might have expected it." Though, now that he had the freedom to finally get up, he gladly took it with the others not far behind. He pointed north, which was straight ahead, "Based on what the dragon said, the spring should be in this direction. I guess we set up camp in the perfect spot, huh?"

"Seems so!"

Link had turned the deer meat they didn't eat into jerky. Not only was it still tasty, but it also preserved the meat without wasting it and was easy to travel with. Ahead of their camp, the land split two ways. The right led to the stream he bathed in, meanwhile the left revealed a path of sorts. Fallen Zonai statues and corners of unearthed stone led them through the rocky terrain until they came upon two erected pillars that suggested they'd come to a gate. Beyond it was a clearing soaked with standing puddles from the rain. More interestingly, to the left looked to be those same statues the found on the ground but standing up! They stuck out of ancient walls too! Zelda was going to need a new journal after this trip.

A hand had gone to Time's chin as he gazed at them, 'This is interesting to say the least, but,' he spied Her Highness trying to sketch it into her journal, 'I'd probably save that for when there are words to make out.' Roots stretching from trees covered a great deal of the ancient structure.

Next, the natural walls and hills narrowed to create a beautiful corridor of large palms and leafy trees. With the sun casting rays through the leaves, one could say it looked like paradise. They took note of more fallen pillars and another mostly intact wall. Half an hour later, the wide corridor further narrowed into a winding passage with cliffs hanging on either side. There were a few dopey bokoblins to shoot down, but it was nothing serious. The ground had flooded up to their ankles. They were quick to find its source up ahead: the same leaf-littered stream as before with flowering water grass sticking out of it.

There was no other way to go unless they wanted to take a short swim across. The width of the river left only ten or so feet of space to travel and considering there were still monsters lurking about—in terms of safe sword-swinging etiquette—they practically hugged the cliffside. This issue was brought to light when several blue lizalfos attacked them from the water.

Time blocked their projectile spit with his shield. He made a face as a particular creature leapt out of the water and shot a rock at him and the Princess. The Old Hylian slipped out, "No way, an octorock!?" Despite the shock, he parried it back at the water monster without hesitation, killing it.

One had jumped out of the water in an attempt to plunge its tri-split blade into the champion. Link dodged rolled behind it before cutting it's arm off. "The weapon's yours!" He called, kicking it his way.

'What a gnarly blade!' Though he already had an idea of how he'd use it. Two more jumped over the knight and rushed him to try to snatch the weapon back. A spiny tongue wrapped around his left hand, attempting to yank him away from Zelda, but the poor lizard underestimated the Hero's strength. He jerked it back in time to use its body as a shield as the other lizalfo skid forward and carved slashes into its spine. Time smirked as he slashed the jagged blade at its face, blinding it.

Link whipped around after dealing with the prior monster, coming in from behind to filet its sides before taking off its head.

"Hell yeah!" The Hero strongly approved of this new, more brutal approach, 'Aw, he's finally taking after me!' But a second later, he shoved him out of the way to shield another rock. A quick glance told him the remaining two lizalfos had no intention of leaving the water after witnessing what happened to the other three. Another flying boulder told him there were likely two octorocks left as well. He passed Link his shield, "Cover me, I'll try to make this quick."

"Got it."

"Really brace yourself too, those things fly fast and hard," Time had the feeling it would take him by surprise if he didn't at least tip him off. He lined up a shot that would take out both lizalfos, ending their charade of projectile spit. It was soaking the shield and, in general, was very annoying and such a cheap attack. With them gone, it was too easy to pick off the octos, "Thanks."

The knight returned the wet shield, "Of course." He rolled out his shoulder, "You were right about those boulders."

They both turned to Zelda, finding her in the middle of eagerly scribing away. Link blinked in surprise while his ancestor wore a look of amused disbelief, "You okay over there Princess?"

The scratching of her pen ceased at the start of his sentence. Her timid gaze met theirs, "Y-Yes." She simultaneously sat up and closed her journal, "Just adding to my notes." Zelda stuck her head out to see around them, "Are they all dead now?"

Time took her hand and helped her to her feet, grinning, "You're really something else! Yes, we killed them all. Let's keep going."

She playfully scoffed, "Well what else was I supposed to do? Both of you were busy handling things."

Now he laughed, "What if one of us slipped up?"

The Princess waved him off, "Oh please, that's not possible so long as you're here. Though, I did notice something interesting."

His eyes were expectant.

"Despite fighting all of these monsters and that lynel from yesterday, your blessing hasn't reacted at all." This captured Link's attention as well.

They continued walking, stepping over the corpses, "You bring up a good point," but he shrugged, "I have no idea why that is."

Of course this made her question the logic, "If that lynel truly isn't stronger than you, what else is there? Calamity Ganon?"

His hands raised, sounding frank, "Yeah again, I have no clue. I tried to ask the Goddess of Power about it. I didn't get an answer."

"I suppose we'll find out later."

The ancient architecture became increasingly prominent as they followed the snaking riverbank upstream, leading to plenty of Sheikah slate pictures. Soon they crossed a makeshift wooden bridge, with their eyes fixed on the statue of Hylia several yards away…only it was tucked away in an open dragon's mouth? Made of stone of course. They all stopped in their tracks, gazing at it.

Until the ground shook.

"Huh!?" Zelda stumbled back, "What is—ah!" Both she and Link fell off as the rocky terrain beneath them rose from the ground, causing a brief quake.

"THE DAMN ROCKS ARE MONSTERS TOO!?" Time shouted in astonishment. By this point, trembling earth was second nature to him so he managed to maintain his balance. It was when the rock titan shook its head that he tripped and fell on his back, "Ack!" His mind raced for ideas. Being on top of it felt like an advantage. Really he had to roll his eyes as he got back on his feet, 'Damn, without bombs this thing is technically invincible! How are we—'

It had finished raising one of its arms into the air before slinging it at the champion and the Princess. Luckily Link grabbed her and dived out of the way. "Do something! Quick!" He yelled, trying to hurry Zelda to her feet.

'Aha! Bingo! Obvious weak spot discovered!' His eyes deviously settled on a chunky, darker-colored rock that stuck out like a sore thumb on the backside of the titan. It was in a bit of an awkward place, sure, but he could manage.

However, its attention must have settled back on him. Still missing an arm, it dipped down before throwing itself upward, tossing the Hero into the air!

He soared upward, 'UNBELIEVABLE! I—I mean—just how!?' Time shook his head, redirecting his awe into focus. Of course he had a plan. He yanked his bow off his back, imbuing three arrows with ice to freeze it's weak spot, 'That should make it at least decently brittle.' The second part of his plan came next, 'This is gonna suck…' Putting up his bow, he reared a fist back before throwing it forward, generating enough torque to make this hit really count. A perplexed smile emerged as the impact from his arrows stunned the rock into falling on its face. 'Oh Gods…this is really gonna suck!'

Time initially intended to shatter it with a well-placed punch after weakening it. His fist would have collided perpendicular to the rock, thus making it easier. Unfortunately, the weak point now stuck straight up, meaning he would have to contend with resistance simply because his hit would land head-on. Like a hammer to a nail. Still, he sucked in a breath just before his clenched hand smashed through the brittle rock, pulverizing it.

Link and Zelda watched this take place in mere seconds before ducking behind a fallen pillar as it exploded afterward. They peeped over as the dust began to clear.

Meanwhile, Time gripped his forearm. Excruciating pain racked up and down the entire left side of his upper body. He tried to take controlled breaths of air as he winced, hissing in place of cussing his heart out. Not even Link calling out to him could get his focus off his very broken hand. He exhaled, "Oooh c'mon, c'mon, c'moooon. Shit, just kick in already!" Inhale, "Holy Goddesses above this—" Exhale, "I should've come up with something else!" He didn't try to feign that he was even remotely fine when the other two ran up.

Zelda immediately backed away at the sight of blood, covering her face. On the other hand, Link stared at the mangled flesh and bone. He couldn't come up with the words to say.

A groan mumbled out as he felt the bones in his hand snap back together. His chipped knuckles regenerated what was lost as muscle stretched over it, his skin following suit. Finally, his crumpled fingers straightened out, leaving him to cautiously flex and extend them, heaving a sigh of relief, "I swear…if we had bombs…"

The Princess responded to the sound of his voice, "Y-You're okay now?"

"How did you know to do that?" Link asked, completely unbothered, "We've never been able to fell a stone talus before."

Time slowly stared back at him with a blank expression. Blinking, he put a hand on his shoulder, sounding sarcastically disappointed, "Oh Link…this is Hero-ing 101…oh my goodness…" The teacher in him had to pat his head as he explained, "If there is anything, and I mean anything you take from me, it's that you always go for the huge eyeball, the glowing anything—be it a pattern, a spot, a body part—literally anything. Oh, and any oddly colored jewel that otherwise makes no feasible sense for why it should be there. You will kill absolutely everything with that knowledge alone." 'Also thanks for reminding me what that thing was called. I had the feeling I'd heard of it already.'

His student nodded with vigor, "Understood."

With that aside, Zelda's eyes held a worrisome gleam as her cheek rested in her hand, "You're lucky you're able to heal so fast…where did all the blood go?"

A few drops had fallen to the ground but otherwise both the Hero and the knight watched it get reabsorbed into his skin, "I guess it was soaked up…no use in wasting it I suppose." He looked to the spring ahead, "Anyways, I'm fine and we're safe…for now. Let's get you to the Spring of Courage."

They continued toward the steps leading into the mouth of the monument, taking note of the large pair of paws that rested beside it. Unfortunately, unlike the Spring of Power, the state of this spring was beyond poor. Once marble pillars with lit flames were now covered in moss and stood at a slant, broken. Cracks parted the earth-covered stone. Time couldn't stop the hand that came to his chest as a solemn feeling crept up within him, 'This must be because it's so well-hidden…still…' A flame flickered off the tip of his finger as he tried to relight one of the "ever-lit" candles held by the Hyrulian insignia. Instead of burning away the invasive flora he found himself shaking his hand with a hiss, "It burns!?"

Any other person would have simply taken that fact and moved on, but it only gave the Hero ideas. 'Very interesting! I already had the thought that this would totally make one of the coolest temple entrances I've ever seen, but it might just be!' He could already imagine it: a set of doors pulling aside as the trembling and shaking caused ages worth of dust and dirt to coat whatever stairs descended into the labyrinth. An earthy yet musty smell would infuse with the air and a shred of light catching the platform at the bottom would beckon him inside. 'There would be so many stalfos in there!' But he had to stop before his own ideas created a sense of longing that would be hard to hide. He turned away from the pillar, 'I'm getting waaay too ahead of myself. Damn, am I really so bored that an imaginary temple can make me that excited? Yikes…'

Zelda had changed into her white dress, or 'goddess attire' as Time liked to think. Previously she looked determined, but now there was hesitation. Still, upholding her duty prevailed over whatever thoughts put a damper on the shine in her eyes. In fact, he noticed it glow more after looking at him. 'Maybe she finds the fact that Din answered me to hold a smidge of hope for herself. I suppose it's pretty easy to assume this was a rather godless land until that happened, huh?'

The waters of this spring were shallow when compared to the previous one. If otherwise, the Hero might have enjoyed sitting with his legs in the water like he did last time. For now, he stood by Link who kept guard, facing away from Her Highness. 'Thinking about it now…' He glanced at his eyes, catching them flick away, 'yeah…you saw the reflection of Hylia's glow in my eyes and then I completely blew you off when you asked if it was true. Well, technically I said yes, but then we got really off topic. I wonder what that means to him…' His plan to attempt quiet small talk was instantly destroyed when a blonde dove flapped onto his shoulder.

"Visiting me again? So soon? How flattering, my love.~" Per usual, she shoved her cheek into his own.

This time Link took interest in the bird as well, whispering as his finger reached out to pet it, "Oh she's back again. You said she likes me right?"

"It seems that way," He replied, keeping an eye on her. A sparkle illuminated her silver irises, 'Dear Gods help me.'

"Ah, he's here too? Can I please talk to him now? Pretty please?"

"What happened to our agreement before?" He took her into his palm, "The one where you said you'd tell me everything you'd ask him first?"

If birds could smile, hers would be cheeky. "Of course, of course! I didn't hope you'd forget that.~ First, I would ask how he's doing, because I learned from you that's how they like to start conversations. Then, I woul—"

"Ah, see," He winced an eye closed but spoke with a tone of advantage in the old tongue, "that reminds me. How on earth would that not reveal I can talk to their Goddess? The one they think can solve all of their problems?"

She was straightforward, "We've been over this before. Those expectations are very dangerous."

Time pet her chin, "Beautiful Goddess, that does nothing to change their perception and you know that. I trust him with plenty of information, but absolutely not that. Not even he would understand your predicament over this whole thing. I hardly do." 'Checkmate.'

Hylia went from standing to plopping down in his hand as the feathers around her neck ruffled. She looked visibly annoyed.

"What happened?" Link softly asked. He still had the courage to lightly pet her head.

He smirked, replying in the New Hylian, "She's thinking of how to get her way."

"What does she want?"

"I want to go elsewhere with my darling Hero to sit in the shade and run my fingers through his hair! I want to remind him he's lucky his cunning wit charms me rather than irritates me!" Her chittering made the knight's finger retreat.

Time continued in the new tongue, "Aaww, really?" He cuddled her up to his cheek while rolling his eyes, giving Link an incredulous look, "Well, I'll be back. I presume we'll be here all day, but just call for me if it's something you can't handle." 'I have plenty of questions for this pretty dove anyways.' He pinched his cheek goodbye before zipping down the stairs and to the left, leaping onto the raised land beyond the ancient walls.

Most importantly, they were out of view…Hylia disagreed. "Why not come to my domain instead? I know you sense these traitorous eyes on us."

"Fair enough, take me there." The dense jungle dissolved into her familiar plain of clouds as he found his head in her lap while she exacted the desires she spoke of. His smile was small, "I'm sure there'll come a time when you can ask him whatever you like." He could see the twinge of disappointment in the corners of her eyes.

"I think you're just saying that to make me feel better, Fierce Deity. However, I respect your points and I'll respect your wishes."

"Ah, so not the part where you'd completely blow my cover, but that I basically don't want you to talk to the knight." Just thought he'd clarify. His eyes widened as he watched her genuinely nod along!

"I won't pretend to act as if I comprehend the inner workings of a society that changes too fast for me to keep up with, my sweet." She bent forward to kiss him, "Now, what's running through your pretty head?"

Time tried to gather his thoughts. Without getting barred by the strict "no interfering with other's affairs" rule, he went with the most interesting development, "What can I turn into?"

Hylia snorted as she laughed, "What sort of question is that?"

"No really!" He began to sit up, "How does mine 'look stronger' than yours, but yours is more able?"

"Oh I was just saying that about the dove. I'm normally a dragon, my love." She playfully bit the air in his direction, "Hehe!~ I could eat you up, couldn't I?"

He quickly scooted away from her, "Hylia no. We're not—you're not going to explore whatever strange thought that is. Now seriously," He pressed more, "how do I do it? Do I think it? Will it? How do you do it?"

A peculiar look crossed her eye as she cocked her head, "It's second nature to me. I think I'd say I'm hardly thinking at all, really." Her smile returned once her hand perched at her hip, "Hmph, you're always after a new angle with this game of ours. I can respect that. Keeping things interesting."

"Believe me, I'll admit to you when you've caught me in my tracks." He put on his most convincing case of puppy eyes as he pulled her close and delicately pecked her cheek, whispering as a butterfly flit from the kiss, "Won't you humor me a little?"

"Mm hm hm hmm!~" She giggled, her cheeks sparkling with light as her eyes glowed brighter, "Oh, I love it when you do that! " The Goddess scooted into his lap, trailing her fingers up his chest before snatching his jaw and covering his face in kisses. "I suppose I'll humor you this once!—peck— Trying to reassure me before seducing me like that, you must love this game as much as I do!"

His heart could sprout wings and fly out of his chest, 'How the hell do my actions keep speaking to her like this?! I didn't know she liked me accidentally contradicting myself!' He didn't mean it that way, but he might as well roll with it. "Okay okay," he gently ended the barrage of affection, "I'm waiting for the part where you actually humor my question, sweet Hylia, not just my face."

She straightened up, "Right, right. I suppose when I'm conscious of it, I first think of how big I am and what it's going to be. I can't say I'm restricted when it comes to what I specifically transform into, but we all have preferences don't we?" Hylia floated into the air, a bright light enveloping her.

He watched in awe as a magnificent white dragon with four legs and four wings appeared before his eyes. She also had four eyes on either side of her head, making eight altogether. They were metallic gold with yellow light bleeding in from the edge of the iris toward a black slit pupil. Scales covered her body with crystalline spikes protruding from her shoulders, back, and tail. Even her claws could have been found in a gem mine! Though he gulped at the hundreds of golden, needle-point teeth he saw when she "smiled."

"Aw, no worries, that's only when they're split apart." By the end of her sentence, they'd all retracted back together, like a morning glory closing in the afternoon. Now it looked like she had a fairly normal amount of teeth.

His pupils narrowed, 'That's still probably one of the most frightening things I've seen in a while. Holy shit.' "My Gods, Hylia!" he exclaimed, "I think I'm more surprised you didn't take Demise down yourself!" 'He really cursed the wrong Goddess!'

She laughed, which was really a barking kind of roar that sent purple sparks out of her mouth, "That's one way to destroy the world, my sweet. Very creative." The Goddess sent a wave of clouds furling as she laid down with her head resting on her feet. Each gust of air from her nostrils stirred them more, "Your turn."

He stood, 'Dammit, I got zero hints from her as to what I am!' Though his gut feeling sure as hell knew that it wasn't a dragon capable of killing everyone and everything…right? 'She said no restrictions…but what's my preference!?' Seeing her head cock in the other direction through his peripherals spiked his nerves. His hands turned into fists, "Give me a sec! I'm thinking!"

Her eyes blinked independently of each other.

Time took a deep breath, 'Just think of the size…and what it is…' This was an interesting time for the lush imagery of Kokiri Forest to pop into his head. No, the start of the maze in Lost Woods in front of the entrance to the Forest Temple! A wolfos had lunged at him from the bushes. He recalled the way it whimpered once he'd slain it, 'Right…I thought to myself something like, "I'd be a better wolf than you," since I'd thought they must have been thrown out of the pack before getting thwarted by some kind of evil or despair…A wolf…' That felt right.

The next thing he knew, he felt as though he went from standing on two feet to being on all fours, a biped to a quadruped. He threw his head back, a roaring howl erupting from him as the light covering his body faded to reveal golden-blonde and white fur. The deity blinked at his white paws, not to mention the snout that extended in front of him!

Hylia shifted back into her typical form, rubbing his head, "Haha! It's just how I remember it! Majestic little thing.~"

But the wolf staggered back, "This feels…this feels like—" Poof! Time sat up from the clouds, "too much concentration…" His eyes took in his bare everything, "Why the hell am I naked after that! What!?" Though his black clothes re-threaded around his limbs after his outburst, "Ugh…I swear…"

Of course the Goddess snickered, though she was more predominantly intrigued, "I certainly didn't expect that. Too much concentration, you say?" Her chin sat on the back of her hand, "Hm…"

"Maybe I'm just a little out of practice," Time thought aloud. "Oh also, that void you told me about. I know you described yours as a pond, but for me it's as if I'm literally looking out to sea! My noble form sits at the edge of a cliff as if I'm watching over it. Though, just recently, I had moved elsewhere before going straight back. Is that," He shrugged, "normal, I guess?"

Her brows came together, muttering, "There are two entities in your—" Her eyes widened as she cut herself off.

"Wait what? What do you mean by two?"

She shook her head, "Sorry, I was…thinking of something else." A neutral expression took over, "It's also entirely possible that we simply see different things when it comes to our powers. That's to be expected of course."

"Hm, fair point." Time used his hand to pull away part of the clouds to peer at what was going on at the spring. Currently nothing. "Well, I appreciate you reminding me how this transformation works." He stood and kissed her forehead, "Goodbye for now."

"Bye, my love.~"

The Hero reappeared where they initially left. He hopped back down and found Link in the same spot as before, "Goodness, I can't believe you haven't moved! Not even a little!"

Link looked him up and down, cutting to the chase, "Are you…okay? You feel a little…off."

Time frowned, gazing at himself, "I mean, feel pretty fine. Wh—"

Sniff.

They both turned around to find Zelda quietly sobbing on her knees.

"Why…isn't any of this working?" She sank further into herself, "I don't feel any different than I did before when I prayed elsewhere. My grandmother…I believe she mentioned something about hearing voices from the Sacred Realm or seeing images of people." The Princess slammed her fist through the surface of the water, making a splash, "I've never seen nor heard anything!" Tears streamed down her cheeks, "I'm either cursed or exactly as those gossipers always say: a failure."

"Why don't you—"

She quickly looked over her shoulder, trying to wipe her tears with wet hands.

The Hero blinked, "Yeah, why don't you call it quits for now?" He left the knight to keep watch while he went to see what was wrong. He offered her a hand, a hopeful smile tugging at the corners of his lips as she took it. He tried to soothe her with his soft voice, "We still have one more after all. There's no way it can't be it. It's your piece."

Zelda wrapped him into a hug after she got to her feet, "I'm sorry…I…I just really need this right now." She sniffed in silence for a few moments before taking a deep breath, "I have to be seventeen first."

He hugged her back, "That's great!"

"Really?" Her emerald eyes slowly rose to meet his.

"Yes! This way you can really dig into your research until then! What did you send Impa off to do?"

Her lashes fluttered as she took a step back. Maybe this was a new light on things, "I—well she told me that Purah and Robbie had brought up a new angle on how to go about excavating the Ancient Temple, so they're likely back there! A-And I still have the guardians on the castle grounds!"

"Exactly!" Watching that same determined light return to her eyes made the internal guilt eating him alive a little less atrocious. He hadn't forgotten the Goddess's warning regarding the Princess's powers, 'I'm definitely more convinced she doesn't play a hand in it. I mean…thinking about what she's done so far…how could she? Would it really make sense to leave it up to her?' Even if Hylia told him so to his face, he couldn't imagine actually telling Zelda it was the case. 'I doubt she'd believe me too.'

She wiped another tear from her eye, "Okay, I think I'm ready t—"

"Time! Yiga!" Link shouted.

Both of them ran to the platform, gasping at the sheer number of scythemen and blademasters spread at the back of the clearing that led to the spring. The Hero's eyes narrowed, "Sooga."

Master Khoga's second in command glared back at him through his mask. The gaze could have split someone in half if they walked in front of it. His hand rested on the hilt of his blade.

Then there were more.

Lynels with different elemental arrows at the ready stomped out of the upper line of trees. Most of them were blue, black…some of them were on fire!? Dark purple sludge emerged from the ground in large pools, getting the smaller footmen to teleport back. This alone gave away how not even this fit whatever plan they previously had. Rising from the sludge was an army of moblins imbued with different elements along with white and purple lizalfos bearing sharp spears and swords. Two wizzrobes taunted them from afar, one with the power of ice and the other thunder.

Sooga stood his ground while the rest of his troop looked to him as if to ask what they were going to do. A slight nod of his head resulted in a roar of a battle cry that invigorated the monsters around them.

Link looked to his ancestor, "This…doesn't look good."

The monsters broke in a run towards them.

Time shoved his shield into Link's hands, sounding sure, "I'll buy us time. I have a way out of this." In the next second, he imbued an arrow with fire, pulverizing the ice wizzrobe. 'Dammit, there's no opposite element to electricity! Ice it is!' Three ice arrows killed the sorcerer. One to freeze, another to chip, the third to shatter. His clouds had gathered above at the sign of conflict, murmuring warnings through low rolls of thunder.

The knight turned to retreat into the spring with the Princess when the Hero grabbed his shoulder, yanking the Master Sword out of its sheath. Link whipped around in shock.

The Hero of Time drew in a breath, his fingers flexing as his grip tightened on the trusty blade. The monsters stampeding toward him began to move slower and slower. The sword glowed as he relentlessly sent sword beam after sword beam into the crowd. Each sharp ray of light whistled as it flew into the air. It could cut through monsters, yes, but it was not nearly as effective as his own blade. Even at its full potential it could at best mow down three or so monsters at a time. When time moved normally, his face scrunched in dismay at how little it accomplished.

Slash after slash, he could feel his blood growing hotter as they kept coming. An onslaught of torrential rain drenched his enemies as he now contended with the Yiga appearing next to him, having to momentarily divert his focus to take them out before continuing to hold the monsters back. 'This is madness!' His clouds agreed, striking down a lynel from the cliff's edges. The fierce markings already shined on his cheeks and forehead. Several more slashes later his ears perked.

Shhhhhhd…

His foot slid back against the stone. The first sign of retreat. His face twisted with rage. That was the last straw. Strings of electricity flickered off his shoulders as the Fierce Deity's growl shook the earth.

His deafening war cry quaked it.

THOOM!

At the same time, a fantastic bolt of lightning struck him, donning him his teal tunic and cap as the explosion sent the monsters at his feet flying backwards. Seething with wrath, he punched his left hand in the air with the sword, waving it in a circle as the furling clouds above responded by violently stirring. His voice could be heard across the entire jungle, "Kill them all! Let nothing trail us! NOTHING!" Bolts strong enough to upturn the earth struck everything he deemed a threat. They relentlessly beamed down. The sounds of the explosions were nearly as deafening as his cry. Even he was struck a few times, though remained unaffected by his own smite.

He was pissed that it came to this.

Spinning on his heel, he found Link and Zelda hiding at the edge of the spring with their ears covered. He zipped behind them, sheathing the Master Sword back onto the champion's back. His stern expression remained despite the sounds of their surprised yelps, "Grab onto my tunic. We're leaving."

They scrambled back to him to do as they were told.

He threw his arms into the air, "Return me to my checkpoint!"

When the feeling of danger and dread continued to claw at his gut after traveling further into the forest, he cast Farore's Wind as a failsafe near the bridge of Hylia when he'd left for a few minutes to retrieve his arrows. He knew it could take the Princess and the knight with him because Navi never had to come find him after he used it. She would sit on his head or shoulder before he finished the spell.

Zelda and Link stumbled to the ground after they reappeared, meanwhile the deity remained standing, fidgeting as he tried to regain control over his anger. He could still hear his bolts pelting the land in the distance. He could see them too. They didn't help. His rain had spanned to this part of the land as well and became stronger at his presence. Time snorted steam with each exhale, 'I'm fine…we're fine.' His fingers curled at his sides, 'I did what I had to…surely they won't go after anyone else.' Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and imagined the void, or rather the sea.

His eyes narrowed.

Previously, he sat near the edge of the obsidian cliff, staring out at the silvery waters. Now he found himself standing with his toes hanging off the edge! He could feel himself holding his breath as the soft breeze from before felt more like a threat. Instead of a whirlpool, the waters had erupted into violent waves fighting amongst each other. 'Why…' His heart rate soared, 'Why can't I move backwards!? I—I can't control myself here!?' Outside of his mind, this realization along with casting the high-energy spell made him fall onto all fours. Heaving the moist air in and out felt like it was beginning to choke him.

He feared falling off the ledge. He feared the outcome if he somehow slipped. He feared the wind picking up and gusting him off.

Shhhp.

His left foot slid forward against his will, leaving him to balance on just the right. 'NO!' The deity's forehead squished into the sopping wet grass as his hands pushed against his temples. Hyperventilating, his thoughts sped into flashes as he tried to reign in his exponentially growing stress and agitation. 'Just…deep breaths…clear skies…happy memories…' Something—no some one was rolling him onto his back outside of his thoughts. It wasn't important. Slowly, too slowly, he managed to beg his heart to ease into a calmer pace. Recasting his eyes out to sea, he witnessed the blue-silver magic floating off his chin and cheeks in far larger drops than before. As more and more fell into the feisty waves, the waters became more peaceful, brighter. In tandem, his shell reluctantly, gradually backed away from the edge and resumed sitting.

His sigh, while relieved, reflected his shaken mental state, "Th-that…was so close." A wet sniff was interrupted by a jolt in surprise that his hand touched something that wasn't grass. His sapphire eyes instantly connected to his descendant's. Without wasting a second, he tackled him into a hug, "Link! I—" 'Ugh, why do I keep wanting to cry dammit!' A sob threatened to erupt if he didn't take a moment to steady his breathing. He obeyed, gulping before continuing in a soft tone. It was hard to hear though the rain.

"Link—" A hiccup in his words choked the tears into running down his cheeks anyways. He squeezed him tight, "I-I almost lost it…" He kept seeing glimpses of what could've happened in his mind. It was the same scenario, only he stared into the white eyes of a god who smirked at the challenge, grinned at the idea of staying and further staining the land with blood. His voice evaporated into a whisper, "I don't know if I could have come back from it either…" He shook his head in distress. He knew how this sounded, how this looked, "I-I'm sorry, I know this is unlike me b—"

Link squeezed him back, "You have nothing to apologize for."

"I know…" He exhaled, sniffing, "I—It was—" All over again he was getting worked up, "I was terrified! Gods above…I truly thought I was going to fall off the edge!" The feeling of his face smacking into the silver waves plagued his mind. Fingers ran through his blonde, wet hair.

"But you didn't. You're here," The champion soothed, "And you just single-handedly saved us from certain death." He smiled, "Also, that lightning is probably the most wicked thing I've ever seen." Though he murmured, "My ears kind of hurt though…"

The corners of his lips twitched after struggling to curve upward. More sniffing followed as he meekly laughed, "Oh be quiet—sniff—I saw the way you two looked at me before we warped."

Link scoffed, "That's not fair and you know it."

Now the Hero looked over his shoulder at the Princess, speaking louder, "Zelda? Are you okay? You're not hurt, right?"

She appeared to be in shock as she propped herself on her arms. Wiping rainwater off her brow, her mouth opened to speak but it was as if she was caught up in what to say. "I'm…n-not hurt…" She slowly replied, "Are you alright, H-Hero?" Her eyes flicked to the lightning in the distance. It fired off in longer intervals than before.

His face fell, "I could be better…" He stood, pulling Link to his feet before offering his hand to her, "I should have told you guys, but I've had an awful feeling about this forest the moment we rode into it. This was the last spell I know, one that lets me return to the same spot I cast it."

"Ah," She took it, standing as well, "So you can't teleport…"

An amused smile pushed at his cheeks, "Oh definitely not. That is far beyond my abilities." 'Did I just hear her say "is it?" Huh?' Something nudged his left side, "Link what are yo—" He blinked.

Link was standing to his right.

"O-Oh, then…" He turned, reaching his left hand out, "what is…!?" To his surprise, his hand rubbed against a distinct, soft, leathery texture. Before he could make the connection, a pair of teal eyes with orange sclera opened in thin air, accented with red glowing eyelashes. A moment later, another dragon with a similar body to Farore, but fire-themed, appeared before them. This one had curved, flaming horns that heated the torrential rain into steam. It's nostrils widened as it breathed a gust of air at the Hero. It's long body stretched toward the bridge, curling into itself.

Farosh appeared the same way, only she was perched on the great gate to the bridge. She leapt down, sniffing at the god as well, "I'm far more grateful than you know. Thank you for getting rid of those pests."

Zelda and Link's jaws fell into the soggy grass as they stood in awe. They were so close too!

The electric dragon blinked to the other, "Dinraal. What are you doing?"

His voice rumbled the ground as his snout gently pushed against Time, sniffing him further, "You smell vaguely of my ancestor, Fierce Deity. I assume she's treated you well?"

If only he could stop the red trying to tint his cheeks, "That's one way of putting it, but yes, I saw her recently."

He lightly sneezed, looking to Farore, "Am I doing something with his gift from her? Is that why you brought me here?"

"Yes, forge it into a blade."

"A blade?" His eye drifted closer, opening wider to peer at him, "I suppose there's enough for that. Hand it to me."

Time's eyes widened, '…as if I know how to do that…' But another gut feeling told him he did, so he went with it, closing his eyes. Din's magic glowed brighter and brighter. Without thinking, his left hand hovered in front of his face with his palm toward him. The knight and the Princess watched as the magic flew to collect in the space between his face and hand, forming a fiery ball. When they reopened, he pushed the collection of power toward Din's descendant.

The dragon caught it in his hands, "Such an important task you've given me. Making a sword for a god."

Farosh seemed to smile at him, "You do owe me. This is payment."

"That was centuries ago."

"Are you complaining?"

Dinraal sat up, snorting fire, "I wouldn't dare! Now then, help me stabilize this."

She did as she was asked, her first pair of hands settling around the ball as well, "This is proof you need to practice your smithing more."

The three of them watched as flames shot from the fire dragon's hands, engulfing the element. His horns ignited further as the process carried on and small bolts of green lightning would strike at random intervals. A few minutes later, a black blade whose cross-guard held Dinraal's likeness at the center descended into the god's hands. The one-handed sword had two white, round, cloudy gems that sat in the dragon's mouth and made up the pommel. At the ricasso was the insignia for Power.

Time took a few steps away from the other two to give it a couple of swings, cutting the rain, "It feels good! Thank you so much!"

"Ah, you must be new to my work," Dinraal rested his chin in his hand, "Infuse an element of your choosing into it. Behold its true power!"

Naturally, the first thing he thought of was fire. He cast the same imbuing spell he used for arrows and watched in amazement as the gems, the edge of the blade, and the Old Hylian text in the fuller glowed orange and yellow! A roaring flame encapsulated the blade. "This is awesome!" It looked cool too! Smiling, the fire vanquished as he held it closer to read what the words said, for they still retained their glow, "Emblaze this tribute with your Power."

"And so you shall," He nodded, snapping his fingers to will an appropriate scabbard around the blade. "Now, had Din given me more to work with, it might have rivaled that of the Master Sword, Fierce Deity." He blew smoke, "No, this craft cannot cut the air like that sacred blade can. In the meantime, whatever you fuse into the blade will be lost over the course of a few hours. You will find it is not indefinite while in use either." Dinraal snorted at Farosh, "I shall be off. It was an honor to make you this. I hope it serves you well." With that, the fire dragon bound into the air, quickly hiding from sight.

Farosh wore a curious look in her eye as she drifted in the direction of the knight and the Princess. She seemed to speak to what they just ran from, "You are lucky to have such a powerful protector to guide you, Hylians. My grounds have grown lush from the essence of those without such luck. I should hope you are grateful."

Time nervously laughed, "Trust me, they are!" He brought her focus back to himself, "Thank you once again for this. Sorry for any damage my…storm may have caused."

"As rare as they've become as of late—or so my ears have heard—I find myself quite honored to witness let alone house one in my own territory, Fierce Deity." She kindly blinked her respects, "May the passings stay kind." Farosh leapt over them, soaring back into her forest.

The Hero strapped the sword across his left shoulder, "Oh right…" He explained, "we both sorta knew something was wrong with the forest. She um, promised me a sword if I got rid of it." Finally the rain was beginning to lighten into a sprinkle. It'd grown dim as dusk set in alongside his dark clouds.

Link's eyes were dead set on his new sword, meanwhile it was obvious Zelda itched to write down everything she'd witnessed thus far. "What was Farosh saying to us?" She fervently asked, "I couldn't tell if she was mad…or curious…or—"

"Well," Time had to put a hand on his hip and another at his chin before he carefully repeated her message, "She…yeah she was basically saying that you both were lucky I was able to get us out of there. Um…" 'Should I really say that part?' He tapped his foot, "I guess to translate literally, she said, 'My grounds have grown lush from the essence of those without such luck.' Or—as I would interpret it—you should be happy you're not dead because I get the feeling she might not have felt all that bad about it. I don't really understand why she felt the need to say something like that."

This came as a surprise to them. A hand rose to the Princess's chest, "I suppose she's rather frank then…what were they saying before?"

He told her it was essentially Farore telling Dinraal to make him the sword as payment for some favor she must have done hundreds of years ago. He yawned as a thought struck him, "Oh Gods…our horses."

Zelda gasped, "Are they still in there!?"

Time recoiled at the idea, briskly shaking his head no, "There's no way. They would have sensed the danger coming." He pointed back at the castle, "My best guess? Grace knows to return to the castle—more specifically the stables—when I don't come back for a while. I think they either beat us there or they'll show up sometime tomorrow if they don't get distracted or spooked along the way."

"Your horse knows to do that? How do we know the others followed?"

"Ah, horses are herd animals, and yeah, it's something I taught her. A failsafe for emergency situations so that way I know where I can find her no matter what." He nodded to the bridge, "The East Post is nearby, right? I bet we could make it there in three hours tops. We could borrow their horses and return to the castle by late tonight or technically early in the morning if you want, Zelda." He could tell from her eyes that she wasn't keen on traveling so far by foot, especially since she had her clothes and journal to carry by hand as well. He strolled over to her and scooped her into a bridal carry, "Don't worry, I know you must be tired from praying for so long."

Link checked the clearing for any remaining items they could leave behind, "We should have everything."

"Great, set the pace." He received a confused look, "Well we're not walking, right?" 'Three hours tops was not calculated based on walking speed.'

"Oh I get what you're—gotcha." He began to jog ahead, his ancestor matching his speed beside him.

It took an hour and a half to get across the bridge alone! The heroes panted as they took a breather by the other gate. Link did a fair job at saving face from how tired he must have been. Time sat Zelda down, breathing a sigh as he watched her stretch her arms. If it weren't for his weapons, she could have easily hiked up her skirt and sat on his shoulders instead. 'Speaking of which, if turning into a wolf were a more normal thing, I bet both of them could have ridden on my back!' He rolled his eyes at himself, 'Pfft, I can't even hold it though. Much less, I'm never exactly in a position to practice it either…is that something I should be good at?'

Watching him think must have reminded Zelda of something, "Oh right, what happened to you after we teleported to the bridge?"

A half-smile inhabited his face, "Not to make it seem like I have anger issues—because I don't—but I was sorta fighting myself back there trying to let go of how pissed off I was." He shrugged, "Kinda felt like I was going to lose my mind a little after seeing them continue to come as if I didn't just mow half of them down. And then the damn Yiga trying to take shots at me too, all the while I'm grateful they left both of you alone." His gaze plainly met her's, "I dunno…I really don't get that mad about anything. I was kind of scared for a moment that it wouldn't go away. When I stopped seeing red, I was beyond relieved."

"Ah…" The way her eyes widened indicated another realization all on its own. She folded her hands, "Sorry for…asking you to open up about that so quickly." The Princess cast her gaze to the plains ahead of them. There was still a long way to go, "It's just…so much happened back there, and I know I'll feel better once I'm able to wrap my head around it all. I have so many questions," She glanced back, looking at Link, "but I'll save it for when we've all had a moment to…relax. That's not the word I wanted to use, but you both know what I mean."

He thoughtfully nodded along with her knight, 'I'm really not looking forward to getting softly interrogated. Though, it's about time she diverted at least some of her suspicion to Link. I don't want that for him, but still, he isn't helping himself all that much when it comes to concealing how he appears to be very unbothered by everything I do.' Time gave it more thought, 'Well, but at the same time, he could just as easily say that it's his job to not get surprised by every little thing anyways. Bastard.' The Hero retook the Princess into his arms, and they continued the trek to the East Post.

It was seven-fifty when they left. It was ten-fifteen when they finally arrived. Zelda had fallen asleep in his hold while Link's eyes struggled to open past half-mast. The guards were quick to show them to a couple of rooms. Time was on autopilot as he laid Her Highness down to rest and strolled around to the other side of the bed to clamber in beside her. This left Link in a bit of an awkward position, but he was so exhausted he had no idea what he wound up doing.

Sleep had whisked away his consciousness without so much as a plea.

"Sooga!" Master Khoga happily mused with laughter at the appearance of his lackey, "Good news I presume? Please tell! Don't keep me waiting!" He flinched, sniffing the air, "Why does it smell like wet grass?"

His shoulders fell a few centimeters at the remark, "That would be me, Master. I apologize." He was straightforward, "Unfortunately—"

"UNFORTUNATELY!?"

Sooga sighed, "Yes. We arrived at the sacred spring with our men at the ready and the other three cornered with nowhere else to run. However, what happened next should please you. Calamity Ganon must have sensed our vengeance for monsters rose from dark pools of what I can only assume were his magic."

Khoga gasped with glee, "That's amazing! Truly an honor to fight alongside His Majesty's forces!" Then his hand went to his chin, "Wait, so then what happened after that?"

"The god must have used his powers, because aside from keeping us at bay with the Master Sword—yes, he can wield it as well—he called forth a storm that slaughtered the Calamity's forces with lightning strong enough to take down the castle. The explosions were so loud we were forced to retreat unless we wanted to lose more members from the initial onslaught. Master, it even struck him and he wasn't affected by it in the slightest."

"So…you're telling me—hmph." He paused, crossing his arms, "First, what intel did you gather from spying on them?"

"He can speak with the dragons using the old tongue, though I'm unsure if we can consider them to be his allies or not. More importantly, it's become obvious that his bond with the Hylian champion is very strong."

"The dra—!?" He mouthed the rest of the word, "Well that's… problematic. He's best friends with the champion, though? You're sure?" He floated from his chair to his comrade, "I've seen that guy and there's not a lot of person to be friends with, Sooga. He's the pawniest pawn that entire kingdom has!"

"Master, this past month has shown that it's not uncommon to see them together. I suspect that if there's one person who already knows what he truly is, it's him. We could use this to our advantage as well."

"Very well," he waved him off. "I'll trust your intuition for when to strike next. Amp up the stakes so he can't kill us with a damn storm too! And remember eyes! This needs to be seen by tons of people if it's going to work the way we intend for it to!" He yawned, "I'm tired…of this nonsense in general. Though, it makes me feel better knowing that our worship hasn't been for naught! I'm gonna take a nap."

Sooga bowed, "Rest well."

The Master's head snapped back at him, "You won't join me? Sooga you know how lonely I get! I nearly caught on fire last time! Remember?"

He looked up from his bow, "I should ensure our next victory first, Master."

"So I'll see you after you give them a pep talk. Good."

They warped away.

Author's Note:

I like to think that Dinraal was the one who made the different elemental blades in BotW. Perhaps this means he became better at smithing 100 years later. It's not a perfect idea (pretty sure elemental weapons can be found in shrine chests, which denotes that they were in fact made 10k years ago), but it's a fun idea imo. It gives the idea the dragons do more than vibe in their namesake regions. Makes me wonder which dragon split Dueling Peaks...I bet it was Naydra.

Also I love writing the Khoga/Sooga POV segments at the end! I can always hear Khoga's voice actor in my head when I write his dialogue! XD

Lastly, just this one time I'll direct you guys to my Tumblr where I post art every once in a while, because I made art of the sword Time gets and it's genuinely so cool.

Link to post: theyoungtraveler/719784850335416320/ah-you-must-be-new-to-my-work-dinraal-rested?source=share