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Chapter 16

That night, Ravi dreamed of his father. They were back in their family quarters at the Yiga Hideout, and his parents sat close together on a pile of furs in front of the fire. Four-year-old Ravi lingered in the bedroom doorway, clutching his blanket, while the firelight flickered around the sandstone room. Shadows danced over barrels of arrows and baskets of crumpled clothes, and across the dining table scattered with ancient maps and the remnants of dinner. His mother leaned against his father, her cheek on his thick shoulder, and his arm wrapped around her, holding her close.

Scars traced across his pale skin. His fine, black hair was bound in a loose topknot. His sword hung on two pegs above the fire, the steel reflecting the orange light.

"You don't have to go," Kira murmured. "Send someone else to kill it."

"Who? It's an honorable fight. This time, I fight for you." He kissed the top of her wiry hair.

Ravi woke up.

His hammock swayed slowly, stirred by a cool morning breeze. Curled up in a sheepskin, with the walls of the hammock taut around him, he played out the rest of the dream. He padded across the sandstone floor, stepped over the furs, and slipped his small body into the gap between his parents. His father shifted to make room for him, and his mother tucked the blanket across his feet. He sighed.

An ache spread through him. Tears loosened behind his eyes. But in the space between the memory and the ache, today there was Link.

Ravi flung off the sheepskin. He maneuvered himself out of the hammock and dropped, barefoot, to the wooden platform. He took a deep breath. Saki had strung up Link's hammock in a niche in her craft nest. Neat stacks of boxes and chests of drawers ringed the round walls, and Ravi's boots sat beside her sewing chair. She'd tacked canvas to the open walls for privacy, darkening the space for sensitive Hylian eyes. The canvas fluttered in the wind and blue daylight shone around the edges.

Ravi wondered what a Hylian home looked like inside. Likely four walls, built of wood, like the ruins he'd seen in the abandoned village. Maybe like the cabin.

He tucked his shirt in and secured his dagger, and reached for his boots. Then he changed his mind and began to stretch.

He hadn't done his morning stretches in weeks. What was the point in the Depths? If he grew stronger, the Yiga would give him more work. He sat on the floor and bent over his legs, like he'd seen the swordsman doing. But he added his own Yiga poses, opening his chest and his hips, stretching his forearms and rolling his neck. Then he sat cross-legged and began a series of breathing exercises. He hadn't done the breathing in years. The air he inhaled in the Depths felt thick and sour in his lungs, but the air here was fresh and alive. He jumped up from his exercises and rolled up the curtain, and stood at the open window, eyes closed, breathing deep.

He wasn't wearing his goggles.

Ravi spun around and snatched them up from the floor under the hammock. Quickly, he fitted them over his head, but paused before setting them on his eyes.

The sun hadn't fully risen across the lake. The sky was pale blue, the morning hazy with first light. He let the goggles hang around his neck, then he stepped into his boots.

Saki was lighting the breakfast fire in the central room. "Sleep well?" She smiled. Though her beak didn't curve like Hylian lips, her eyes brightened and her face lifted.

Ravi nodded.

"I'll have breakfast soon. What do you like? Porridge? Griddle cakes? Eggs?"

"Do birds eat eggs?" he asked.

She laughed. "Not our eggs. Link likes his protein in the morning. I thought you might as well."

He shifted awkwardly, eyeing a bowl of red berries on the table. "I'll eat whatever you make. Whatever's easy. But I should go check on the horses. I'll be back."

He hurried from the nest, back out to the stairs that curved down the pillar.

They don't even know me. They're nice to me because of Link.

Ravi broke into a jog down the stairs.

I want them to be nice to me because of me.

He increased his pace, thumping loudly down the steps, startling a Rito man as he whisked around the curve. His breath shortened and his heart rate increased. He thought of Link climbing the stairs to the reservoir in Zora's Domain, as a morning warm up.

Ravi pivoted on a landing, then ran up the stairs, back the way he came. His legs burned. He gasped for air. But at the top of the landing, he touched the floor and ran back down the stairs.

No stopping.

He heard Link release the war cry as he cut off the shadow demon's head. The spirit behind that cry welled up inside him, and he continued running down to the goddess statue at the end of the stairs, then broke into a sprint. His boots pounded across the swinging bridge, and he stumbled in the center, caught himself on the rope. He almost jumped on top of the rope to walk across it to the other side, but it was a long fall to the lake, and he'd only just started training on the tightrope.

At the end of the bridge, he dropped to the grass and counted himself through fifty crunches. Then he flipped over into push-ups. His arms gave out after thirteen. Link had done at least eighty when he was training with Sidon. While talking the whole time.

Shaking, Ravi drank from a pool of clear water. He stretched his arms, jumped, and caught the lower branch of a pine tree. Clenched his core, he exhaled as he pulled his chin to touch the branch. One. Two.

I'm coming, Mother.

Three. Four. His hands burned on the rough bark.

I'm getting stronger.

Five. Six. He fell to the ground with a cry, and examined his flushed, raw hands. Maybe he'd earned a brief break. He hadn't eaten yet. Even the Yiga didn't ask him to hit rocks before breakfast.

But what if I have to fight one day without breakfast?

His legs trembled as he pushed himself to his feet. He broke into a light jog across the second bridge, and fell into lunges across the width of the next island, doubled back, and did them again.

By the time he reached the newspaper office, his stomach was about to turn up. But the gap between him and Link was so wide.

I won't fill the gap in a day. It takes time.

He splashed water on his flushed face at the well, then paid a visit to Sadee and Aurora. The golden horse was standing, munching fresh hay. Sadee lifted her head and nickered softly as Ravi approached. He held up his hand, and the mare sniffed it. Disappointed it was empty, she returned to her hay.

"I guess Traysi's taking care of you," Ravi said.

A shadow swooped over the awning, and Tulin dropped to the grass. His ornate bow was slung across his back. A small box, tied up in a kerchief, hung from his belt.

"I thought you ran off to the range." Tulin untied the bundle and thrust it towards him. "Mom sent you this."

Ravi untied the kerchief and opened the wooden box. Two fried eggs nestled on a bed of fluffy rice and greens. His stomach growled. "Thanks."

The Rito boy followed him to a wooden stump by an open fire, and Ravi balanced the box on his knees while he ate.

"What are those for?" Tulin pointed to Ravi's goggles, still hanging around his neck.

Ravi glanced up at the brightening sky and realized his eyes were aching, distantly, like an afterthought. He pulled the goggles on. "My eyes are still getting used to the light." He licked his spoon clean and glanced around the forest. "I don't think I should go to the range. I should hunt hearty lizards. Do they live in the snow?"

"You want to make elixirs for Link?"

Ravi nodded.

"We don't have many hearty lizards out here, but I have an idea." Tulin took off running into the woods.

Snatching up his empty box, Ravi ran after him and caught up to his side. "Do you have fairies?"

"I've only seen three fairies in my whole life," Tulin said. "I don't know where Link gets all of his. What I think you should do is make him recovery potions out of truffles. Those are easier to find, after the Upheaval. They're in caves."

"Truffle potions?"

Tulin nodded. "First, you'll have to roast them to activate the magic, then grind them into paste and mix them with water. Or maybe we could mix them with berry juice. That might taste better. I know where there's a cave." He jumped into the air.

Ravi ran to keep up. Tulin flew up the side of a hill and perched on the summit, waiting for Ravi. Slowing to a hike, Ravi picked his way up the hill. The sun came out, glittering on a thin carpet of fresh snow. As he climbed higher, he panted thickly, tasting blood in the back of his throat. Maybe he shouldn't have done those lunges. When he reached the summit, he bent over his knees. The wind gusted through his shirt, chilling his sweat.

"You're weak," Tulin said. "Why did Link pick you?"

Ravi wiped the back of his mouth and straightened. "Ask him. Where is he now?"

Tulin closed his eyes. "He's still in Gerudo Town. Sleeping. I can't wake him—he's really out." He gazed up at the sky. "If he goes to the Zonai islands, I'll have to help him. He always asks for me in the sky. Let's find that cave." He jumped into the air again.

Ravi scooped a handful of snow. Eating it, he followed the Rito boy further up the mountain. The trees thickened. He had left his doublet behind at the nest, but the exercise and the rising sun warmed him, until Tulin led him around the mountain and into the shadow of a hill. The temperature dropped. He shivered, rubbing his arms, breathing on his stiff hands.

"It's right up here," Tulin called from a ridge of rock.

There was no way up the ridge, but straight up. At the foot of the rock, Ravi blew one last time on his hands, then he gripped the rock and climbed.

He felt stronger today than yesterday—and weaker. His arms trembled. But a new strength rose within him, coming from his core. Or maybe his soul. He felt like he—Ravi—could go farther than before, even if his body could not. Hand by hand, foothold by foothold, he pulled himself up the rock until he clawed over the rim. Face hot, he pushed himself to his feet.

"I'm so glad I'm not a Hylian," Tulin said. "It would be awful not to fly."

"I can do other things."

"Like what?"

Ravi closed his eyes. He summoned the strings of light, manipulating them with hand symbols for Illusion, Tree, Water, and Air. His body vanished.

The Rito boy gasped.

Inside the mirage, Ravi smiled. The world wavered like he was underwater, looking up at the rippling surface. He stood perfectly still, taking tiny, quick breaths through his nose. Tulin's eyes passed through him. They darted around the snow, but continued coming back to Ravi's boot prints, which hadn't moved. He poked the 'empty' space with a feather-finger, and the illusion wavered, like poking the surface of a pond.

Tulin jumped back, then he laughed. "Wow!"

Grinning, Ravi broke the illusion. His body flickered and reappeared.

"You can turn invisible?"

"Light is an illusion," Ravi said, marching through the snow toward the mouth of a cave. "Your eyes see what they're told to see."

"How did you learn that?" Tulin ran after him. "Can you teach me? I want to be invisible."

Ravi stepped into the cave and stopped. "It was a lot of work. And you have to start with Evaporating, first. I don't think your parents would want you to learn this." He blew on his hands and headed into the cave.

"My dad is training me to be the greatest warrior the Rito have ever seen. I'm already a sage." He puffed his chest feathers. "He won't mind if I learn it."

"I learned it from the Yiga."

Tulin drew in a breath. He hung behind as Ravi headed deeper into the cave.

"But I'm not one of them anymore." Ravi's voice echoed around the stone walls. He stood still, clenched his fists, and shouted to the ceiling. "I'm not!"

I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not. His voice echoed, spiraling into the darkness. He nodded.

Tulin's talons scratched the rock as he ran up behind Ravi. "Are you a deserter? Are they coming for you?"

Ravi froze. He swallowed. "They think I'm still one of them. Maybe. I think. Look! A truffle." He ran to the cave wall, kneeled, and poked a plump truffle, growing in a pile of rotting leaves. Scooping his fingers under it, he broke it free like a mushroom and sniffed it.

"That's a good one." Tulin opened a medium-sized pouch strapped to his belt, and Ravi dropped it in.

They moved deeper into the cave. Ravi removed his goggles, and they hunted for a few minutes in silence.

Tulin found another truffle and added it to the pouch. "Does Link know about the Yiga?" he said at last.

"He saved me from them."

"Why does he trust you?"

Ravi felt along the mossy wall. "He didn't, at first. But if I can make him some elixirs, it might help."

The tunnel split into two branches, one angling down, the other to the left. He started to the left, but Tulin didn't follow. Ravi turned back. Tulin sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes glowing ghostly blue. The stone on his ankle shone brightly in the cave.

"Keep hunting," Tulin muttered. "I'm flying with Link."

Leaving the boy, Ravi explored the left tunnel. He picked clusters of bright seeds, three luminous purple mushrooms, and one more truffle. Around a curve, he ran into a bulbous, mushroom-like monster that clung to the ceiling and spat clouds of frost at him.

In the second tunnel, he found a blue spirit frog who hopped around the ceiling and blew bubbles. It looked like the frogs who guarded the entrance to the Yiga hideout. Ravi bowed, touching his forehead with prayerful hands, and hurried back to Tulin.

The boy stretched his wings and yawned. "Link's done flying, for now. Let's go roast the truffles."

"I think they're cool enough." Ravi poked the roasted truffle with his finger. It fell over on the skillet, revealing its charred underside.

"Good." Tulin set a mortar and pestle on his mother's kitchen counter. He glanced nervously through the open wall of the nest. "Mom is quilting with her sister this afternoon, but she didn't say when she'll be back. Put it in here."

Ravi placed the truffle in the mortar, and Tulin smashed it with the pestle. "We want to make a paste. Get the juice. It's in the icebox."

Under the counter stood a large wooden box with a heavy door. Ravi jerked hard on the handle and the door sprang open. Frosty air spilled out, coming from the cluster of ice fruits sitting in the back. He retrieved a jar of red berry juice.

"You give this a try. You'll be making them for him." Tulin handed him the pestle, and Ravi began pulverizing the truffle. It broke apart easily.

"Is Link going to take you everywhere he goes?" Tulin asked.

"He can't," Ravi said.

"He takes me everywhere."

"As a ghost. Can he take you into shrines?"

Tulin frowned. "He can't use me in shrines. He says it's 'part of the test.'"

Ravi leaned over the mortar, peering at the brown paste smeared around the stone edges. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Why wouldn't it?" Tulin poured some berry juice into a clay mug. "He can't eat truffles in the midst of battle—he'd choke to death. And it's hard to find fairies and hearty lizards, so I thought why not use plants? They're a lot easier to forage. I want to try this with hearty radishes next."

Ravi scraped the paste up with a spoon and dropped it into the juice, and Tulin stirred with a wooden whisk until it thickened to the consistency of gravy. He poured it into a small glass bottle and held it to the light. Bits of uncrushed truffle and berry seeds swam in the thick brown liquid.

Ravi fought back a grin. "I don't know. It looks awful. Like—" He snickered.

Tulin slapped his beak. His shoulders shook, then he laughed. "It does!"

"He'd rather die than drink that."

"We have to test it." Tulin wiped a tear from his eye and glanced at his mother's block of kitchen knives.

Rolling up his sleeve, Ravi bared his arm. He pulled a paring knife from the block, and before he could convince himself not to, drew a thin cut across his skin. It stung and blood welled up instantly, but he set his face like stone. Tulin stopped laughing, and Ravi lifted the glass to his lips.

"Bottoms up." He took a sip and gagged. It was gritty—the burned, pungent taste made worse by the sweetness of the berry juice. He forced himself to swallow, then opened his mouth to show it was gone.

Tulin grimaced.

Ravi coughed and spat a berry seed across the counter. A warm sensation spread down his throat and the skin around his cut tingled. He held out his arm as the skin folded together and healed, leaving a slim, pink line.

Their eyes met.

"It works," Ravi said.

Tulin chuckled. "But he won't drink it like this. Maybe we should change the color." He reached into a cupboard, pulled out a medical kit, and withdrew a bottle of black charcoal dust. "Mom keeps this for when we have an upset stomach." He measured a teaspoon into the elixir, corked the bottle, and shook until the liquid turned black.

Ravi lifted his eyebrow. "It looks worse."

"It's incognito. If his enemies find it, they'll think it's poison." Tulin smiled. "A beauty like this needs a name."

"'Tulin's Gift,'" Ravi said.

"You made it. 'Ravi's Gift.'"

Ravi scrunched his eyebrows. "'Truffle Surprise.' No."

"Maybe something with 'heart' in it? Or 'champion?'"

Ravi snapped his fingers. "'Elixir of Champions.'"

Tulin chuckled. "Perfect." He dropped the second roasted truffle in the mortar and picked up the pestle. "Let's make another one."