Once Link and Claude returned to Kakariko Village, the Rising Sun Company set off for Zora's Domain. The trek there involved a few monster attacks, mostly Stalfos. Most living monsters seemed to decide that there were simply too many members of the Company, and attacking them would be too dangerous.
After some travel, they reached a trading post in the Lanayru Wetlands. A perfect place to stay the night. There was a stable much like the Dueling Peaks Stable, but there were also several other buildings nearby, as well as a few crude watchtowers.
One of the guards in the watchtowers asked them to identify themselves. Claude answered that they were the Rising Sun Company, a company of mercenaries traveling to Zora's Domain to find work.
"Mercenaries, eh?" the guard asked. "Well, I don't know what the Zoras want with mercenaries, but if you're willing to pay for your drinks, you can rest your feet here."
After boarding their horses for the night, the company decided to enter the stable. There they found a number of people laughing and eating and drinking as a large bird-man played an instrument that none of them recognized.
"The musician. What is he?" Ingrid asked.
"A Rito," Link answered. "Don't worry, he's no monster."
"Apparently there are bird people in Hyrule," Sylvain told her. "Link had a friend who was one."
"Okay," Ingrid accepted. "We met tree people. Why not bird people too?"
"At this point, Hyrule is home to so many strange things that I've decided to just accept it," Claude said, shrugging.
"That's probably a good idea," Link admitted.
"Greetings, friends!" the Rito musician bellowed. When he saw Link, however, a thoughtful look crossed his eyes.
The Rito seemed to dismiss his thoughts and played a song for the patrons, a tune about a candlestick maker who wanted to see the Koroks but couldn't, and the Koroks always played tricks on him but he was none the wiser. It was a funny song.
However, once the song had ended and the Rising Sun members had been seated, the musician held up a wing to forestall the patrons' requests.
"There shall be plenty of time for requests in due time, the musician said. "But I feel inspired to play a specific song at the moment."
"Is it Old Joe Smoke, Kass?" one patron asked.
"No, no," the musician, seemingly named Kass, said. "It is a song that has been handed down since ancient times. It is a song of heroes and villains, courage and magic, and a great victory. It is a true story, though one from long ago." The crowd responded positively, which caused the Rito to smile and begin to sway slightly as he played additional notes on his accordion, slow and methodical.
"The kingdom of Hyrule is a vast and storied land, oft grasped in the palm of a villainous hand," he sang. "A dark force of destruction, many times undone, rises once again—Ganon, the calamitous one."
The color drained from Link's face as Kass sang.
"But hope survives in Hyrule, for all is not lost, two brave souls protect it, no matter the cost. A goddess-blood princess and a fearless knight, they appear in each age to fight the good fight. Their battle with Ganon committed to song, to keep it through time, no matter how long."
Link didn't move. Despite the song being a cruel reminder of his failure, he couldn't stop listening. He believed he had heard the song before. Was that possible?
"Now begins the second verse, listen and you'll know, of their battle with Ganon ten thousand years ago. The kingdom of Hyrule was once a land of lasting peace; a culture of such strength and wit, that suffering did cease. But Ganon lurked beneath the surface, strengthening its jaws, so the ancient people of Hyrule set out to help the cause.
"Their efforts bore fruit in an automated force, to help avert Calamity by sealing it at its source. Four giant behemoths for which power never ceased, each of these titans was called a 'Divine Beast.' And free-willed machines that hunted down their prey, these Guardians were built to last so they could join the fray."
So the song wasn't about him personally. Well, it was, but it was about his predecessor. That explained how he could have heard it.
"To guide the beasts in battle, warriors were needed, so four Champions were pledged to see Ganon defeated. Divine Beasts, Champions, princess, and knight, their plan to rout Ganon with all of their might. And when Calamity Ganon reared its head, Hyrule rose against it, the optimism of Hyrule all the more incensed it.
"Ganon raged in its assault, boiling with hate; it gnashed its teeth and thrashed about, but it was all too late. The Guardians kept the heroes safe through every hour, the Divine Beasts unleashed attacks that weakened Ganon's power.
"The hero with the sealing sword struck the final blow, and the holy power of the princess sealed Ganon so. And that is the story of the brazen attack, on Calamity Ganon 10,000 years back."
Link knew he had heard this song before, but when?
"Hey, Kass!" one patron shouted. "If this is a true story, why in the gods' names, is that castle standing destroyed, and why do I have to fight off monsters every other day?"
Kass' smile faltered slightly, but inclined his head in acknowledgement. "This song, of course, spoke of the ancient hero and princess from ten thousand years past, who achieved victory against the Calamity Ganon. These were not the same individuals that fought against Ganon one hundred years ago, before the Age of Burning Fields."
"Obviously!" A woman spoke this time, and several others muttered agreement with her. Link felt his heart sink even further.
"Friends," Kass said, holding up one more calming hand. "The story from one hundred years ago is another tale, indeed, and not one that I am prepared to tell this evening. However, in the defense of the princess and her knight, the Calamity Ganon has been subdued, at least for a time."
The woman who had previously spoken up snorted derisively. "And a good lot that has done us! You can't walk one hundred feet into Hyrule Field without being ambushed by monsters, or worse. No princess, no hero, and that creature hovering over the castle… My daughter keeps having nightmares about it! The only reason I don't take her and go is because I don't think there's any place that will be safe when it does come for us."
It was clear that Kass's song had ruined the patrons' mood. Link couldn't blame them, really.
"I liked the song," Dorothea admitted.
Link stood up and walked away. "Aren't you going to order food?" Raphael called after him.
"I'm not hungry," Link answered. With that, he left the Stable.
Outside, he watched the horizon, trying and failing to keep from thinking about how he had failed a century ago. About how everyone who had died in the Calamity would have survived if he had been stronger, smarter, better.
He heard footsteps behind him and guessed that one of his companions had followed him out. He turned and saw Dimitri.
"Are you going to try to tell me I shouldn't be feeling sorry for myself?" Link asked.
"Of course not. I'm just here to take you back to the table so you can eat something. Feel as sorry for yourself as you must, but do so on a full stomach," Dimitri said.
Despite himself, Link chuckled a bit at that.
"I won't pretend to know anything about your failure a century ago," Dimitri told Link. "Nor will I tell you how you should feel. But I will say this. You aren't the only one who failed to prevent the senseless slaughter of a great many innocents."
"I take it there's a story behind that," Link assumed.
"I will not tell you anything until after you have eaten," Dimitri insisted.
"Fine," Link agreed, and the two of them reentered the stable.
Once they had sat back down, Kass asked if he could take a seat at the table with the two of them and Dorothea. Link shrugged. "Sure."
Kass sat down. "You are unfamiliar faces to me, and I am familiar with most of the travelers who frequent this road. Might I ask who you are?"
Dorothea explained that they were the Rising Sun Mercenaries, and they were escorting travelers from Hateno Village to Zora's Domain.
Kass' eyes widened and he smiled. "To Zora's Domain, you say? What a wonderful coincidence! I, too, have begun a trek to Zora's Domain. I've heard of some troubles with the ancient Divine Beast there, and I wished to see it for myself."
Link's heart sank. This seemed to be quite an unfair turn of events. "You are… investigating the Divine Beast?"
"Oh! You know of the Divine Beasts, then? Wonderful! Many people that I have spoken to from your region are not particularly aware of such things. One hundred years is not quite enough time for their existence to fall into legend, but some are simply… unaware of their veracity. In fact, many children I speak to—oh!" Kass appeared embarrassed, the feathers around his neck puffing out slightly. "Forgive me, I do not mean to compare you to a child."
Link shook his head to indicate no offense taken, after which Kass looked relieved. He smiled.
"I merely meant that, unless you live in the shadow of one such creation, it is easy to dismiss them as fables or exaggerations. We Rito, naturally, have lived within a short flight of Vah Medoh for the last one hundred years, so their truth is not lost on us."
Vah Medoh. The Divine Beast piloted by the Rito, Revali. A Champion that perished at Ganon's rise. The facts played through Link's mind like a mantra. He had done his best to commit these things to memory since leaving Kakariko Village. He may not remember them, but he could at least know of them.
"But of course, you asked me a question, did you not? You asked if I was investigating the Divine Beast Vah Ruta. That is not my intent, exactly, no. You see, I am a traveling minstrel, as I am sure you may have guessed. I once studied under the renowned Sheikah poet, Rao, who was the Court Poet for the Royal Family before their fall one hundred years ago."
"You did seem to know your way around a ballad," Dorothea complimented him.
"You liked it? Excellent. It seemed the ballad of the Hero and Princess of ten thousand years ago soured the mood of the room," Kass admitted.
"My late master wrote and sung of the time and heroes from before the Calamity, you see. Specifically, of the princess Zelda, her knight, and the four Champions that fought to prevent Ganon's rise. And I am continuing my late master's life work in my travels. I am traveling to Zora's Domain now with the hopes that I may discover more of Mipha, the Zora Champion, in order to continue my master's epic, which he left, tragically, unfinished when he perished many years ago."
Link grimaced. It was just his luck that he had run into someone with an intimate knowledge of his failed mission.
"Is… everything all right?" Kass looked at him curiously. "You look concerned."
"Oh, I just—" He faltered. "It's just… sad. What happened to her, and the other Champions."
The Rito nodded sagely. "Yes, indeed. A true tragedy. Such hopes were placed upon the six, and for it all to end so direly…" Silence fell between them for a time before Kass continued. "Of course, I do not fully believe that all hope is lost. The princess still lives, and with her there remains hope of Ganon's defeat."
"Hopefully, you're right," Link said.
"It occurs to me that I never asked your name. That seems inexcusably rude on my part, so, please. You know my name; might I know yours?"
"Link."
"Link?" Kass' tone was curious. Link's blood ran cold and he inwardly cursed himself. Why would he have used his real name when talking to this person, who clearly knew much of the past? "It is fascinating, then, that you wear that tunic."
"Is it?" He tried to keep his voice carefully even, but he still refused to meet Kass' eyes. He did not want to see that knowing expression.
"It appears to be the same color worn by the Champions of old, based on what I have been told. And Link was the name of the princess' knight and wielder of the Master Sword."
"I… didn't know that." Link forced himself to meet Kass' gaze and smile in what he hoped was an innocent fashion.
"Yes, well, such details are often lost to time. The hero's name, especially, often appears to change in stories and myths, depending on the person telling the story. Some even mistakenly call him by the princess' name, as silly as that might sound." Kass chuckled softly. "But my master actually knew the man, and he informed me that his name was Link, just like you."
"That is strange." Link broke eye contact.
Before Kass could ask any uncomfortable questions, however, they heard Monica shout angrily. "I'm eighteen! I'm an adult already! Give me ale!"
"Sorry miss, no alcohol until you're twenty-one," the server said.
"This is bullshit!" Monica protested. "I'm old enough to fight monsters, but I can't have an ale?"
Link sighed. "I should take care of this."