"Doesn't that look like…"

"Lady Mipha…"

"Responsible."

As the contingent of Zora led the Rising Sun Company, plus the Kass and the construction workers, into the city, Link was acutely aware of the whispers. Whispers from the Zora around him—from Bazz and his friends, from the older Zora with Muzu, from various other Zora adults that saw the group. That saw him. He was, it seemed, well known in Zora's Domain.

"Linny…?"

"Stole her away…"

"Mipha's killer."

None of the Zora were willing to speak openly, but several of them eyed Link with hostility. Link noticed a few of the guards gripping their weapons aggressively, and that in response, several of his allies were keeping their hands on their own weapons.

Though the hour was already getting late, the Zora led him up the stairs towards the palace. It would seem that, if Link really was entering the city, then the king wished to see him. He dreaded the meeting with the man whose daughter died because of him.

The worst part, he supposed, was that he did not fully understand the crime he was being blamed for. He assumed that it was his failure in defeating Ganon, which he could certainly understand. But there seemed to be something else to their accusations—something more direct. He wished that he had something more than a single memory from his childhood to fall back on.

The climb to the palace revealed more of the city's beauty, but also some of the things that set it apart from normal Hylian settlements. For one, Link could not actually see any residences. Though he spotted several shops on the bottom level, including what looked like an inn, complete with a small stable, he spotted nothing that looked like a home.

Another oddity about Zora's Domain was the eternal presence of water. At first, Link had assumed that it was just because of the rain, but it soon became apparent to him that the city was just built in such a way that water pooled on the ground in most places. Water even streamed down the stairs leading up to the second tier and the palace. Link's boots had somehow become even more waterlogged than they had been already.

He found the answer to his first observation as he crested the stairs leading to the second tier of Zora's Domain. He spotted a group of Zora children being led to some kind of communal pool just underneath the palace, where they were encouraged to lie down in the waters. He could see the forms of several other children that had already fallen asleep in the pools.

Gaddison must have seen his curious glance, because she explained a moment later. "Most Zora live in the waters below the city and in the river itself. However, the current can be difficult for the young ones to navigate, especially while sleeping. So the resting pools were created for the children to sleep in."

"What about the parents?" Lysithea asked, glancing back at her.

"What about them? Most of them sleep below."

"Away from their children?"

"Yes, of course," she said, smiling. "There isn't nearly enough room in the pools for the adults, after all. And adults don't have difficulties with the currents the way the children do. Many of the Zora from downriver have temporarily relocated to below the city because of the increased current, though. It's calmer here, even with the waterfall. And few make their homes outside of Zora's Domain anymore."

"What about potential dangers for the children, though? What if one of them was injured somehow, or someone wanted to harm them? Would it not be better to have adults present to protect them?" Dimitri asked.

"We do have a few adults who stay in the resting pools with the children for that exact reason," Gaddison said.

"Ah, I see. Good," Dimitri said, relieved.

When they reached the palace, the guards, both Sidon's and Muzu's, split off. Several of them were sent off to do other work, leaving only Bazz and one of the elder Zora that had followed Muzu to stand guard at the entrance. Bazz looked at Link and smiled, nodding his encouragement. The other guard scowled at Link.

"The presence of your entire company is not required," Muzu said.

Link nodded. "Flayn, Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, with me. Everyone else, please wait here."

Everyone else nodded except for Hubert and Dedue. "I should accompany Her Majesty. For her protection," Hubert insisted.

"And I should be there to protect His Highness," Dedue agreed.

"We'll be right outside this door," Hilda chastised the two of them. "If we hear fighting, we can go in and help."

Hubert and Dedue grudgingly accepted Hilda's logic, and waited as Link and the four he had indicated followed Sidon and Muzu into the throne room.

As Link entered, he looked around in awe. The inside of the palace was a large open dome. Several deep pools were set into the floor, forming a semi-circle around the outside of the room. The walls around the palace had several large openings overlooking the city and surrounding landscape, and two waterfalls on either side of the room flowed down to the lake far below. In the center of the room was a massive throne-like construction, made of the same stone as the rest of Zora's Domain, shaped into a large bowl with a shallow side facing forward. He saw water pouring over the edges of the throne.

On that throne sat King Dorephan. King Dorephan, whom Sidon had told Link about, was far larger than any of the other Zora that Link had seen.

If the other Zora were fish, then King Dorephan was a whale. He sat upon the throne, and still, his head lifted high above Link and even Sidon's head, who stood to the right hand of the throne. His skin was textured navy blue with a white chest. Also, like the other Zora, he had thick fins extending from either side of his head—four of them—and a snout placed just above his eyes, that seemed to droop down to the middle of his face. He was also far broader than the other Zora but didn't appear overweight. Instead, he seemed to be made of muscle—his arms, chest, and shoulders were all massive. His arms, alone, looked to be thicker than Link's body was. The king had several scars along those arms, as well as on his chest and head. He had once been a warrior, if he wasn't still.

"Whoa," was the only thing Claude could say, and Link had to agree.

"So you've returned, at last," King Dorephan said in a loud, sonorous voice. "Link, Champion of Hyrule."

Link just stood there, unsure of what to say.

A smile split Dorephan's lips, revealing sharp teeth, and he leaned down some so he could speak in more conversational tones. "It's good to see you. I had heard—we all heard—that you had fallen in combat during the Calamity. I am happy to see that you survived, my friend, though I do wonder at how you survived and where you have been these last one hundred years…"

Link swallowed and licked his lips. "I have been…" He cleared his throat, trying to project a stronger voice. "I did fall during the Calamity. I was placed in an ancient Sheikah chamber that restored me, but—"

"You are telling me that the Sheikah have technology such as this, yet have not shared it?" Muzu said. "Why, with this, we could have saved—"

"Peace, Muzu," King Dorephan said, holding up a hand. "Continue, Link."

"It… restored me to health, but slowly. I've been asleep for the last one hundred years, your majesty. And it… took my memories. I can't remember anything from before I woke."

Dorephan's friendly face grew sorrowful. "I am truly sorry to hear that, as I have many fond memories of your time spent here. Is there no hope at recovering your lost memories?"

"I…" He hesitated, thinking back to the flash of memory he'd received on his way into the city. "I believe that some will return. Already, I started remembering… pieces. But I don't know."

Dorephan nodded, his smile returning. "Well, you spent a great deal of time here, so perhaps being here will reawaken some of them."

"I hope so, your majesty."

"And what of my daughter, Mipha?" The king's tone grew hesitant. "Have you lost all memories of her, as well?"

Link grimaced at the question, and he took a moment to answer, wondering if he should disclose the brief memory he'd received when entering the city. Finally, he decided that truth would serve him best.

"I have, but entering the city brought back… something. A fragment. I hope that more might return in time. I understand that she was a true friend."

"A truer friend, I doubt you've ever had, and more." The king's voice grew somber. "You and Mipha were very close, Link. I do hope that being here helps you recover some of that."

"Father," Sidon said from the side of the throne. "Perhaps we can speak more of my sister at a later time. I do believe that Link came here with another goal in mind."

"Oh, yes," Dorephan said, nodding and looking at his son. "Yes, of course! We do have more important matters at hand than reminiscing about better times. Please, introduce your compatriots to me."

Link nodded. "Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, Claude von Riegan, and Flayn of Garreg Mach, Your Majesty. The four of them and their friends have agreed to help me in my attempt to liberate the Divine Beasts."

"Garreg Mach, you say? I have not heard of that place," King Dorephan mused.

"We hail from outside of Hyrule," Flayn explained.

"Your Majesty, this is a farce," Muzu protested. "If even with Mipha's aid, this Hylian fool could not destroy Calamity Ganon, why should we trust him to be able to do so now? Especially as he does not have the sword that seals the darkness."

"Muzu raises a good point," Dorephan agreed.

"Flayn?" Link asked.

Flayn nodded. She raised her hand and conjured a flash of blinding light.

"You seek to impress us with parlor tricks?" Muzu asked, after a few seconds.

"It is no trick," Flayn said. "I am a direct descendant of...two of the Four Saints blessed by the Goddess Sothis. I am an ordained priest of Sothis, and with the power granted to me, I can purify Vah Ruta of its corruption."

Dorephan seemed lost in thought. Eventually, he came to a conclusion. "In that case, you might have a chance of purifying Vah Ruta after all. I do not know your Sothis, but if she is a powerful Goddess, then you might be able to exorcise Vah Ruta of Ganon's influence.

"Now," the king said, turning his focus towards Sidon. "Sidon, the plan that you spoke of last week. At the time, it seemed impossible, but perhaps now…"

"Father, I hardly think—that is really more of Zora business, is it not? I don't believe that we should involve Link and his friends in anything beyond what they came here to do."

Link looked back and forth between the two Zora as they spoke, frowning. He had no idea of what they were speaking.

King Dorephan chuckled softly. "Sidon, who do you think it was that defeated the last one that decided to claim Ploymus Mountain for his own?"

"Your majesty?" Link said, drawing attention the two Zora's attention back to him. "If you have a plan for subduing the Divine Best, I would like to hear it. Whatever I can do to help…"

Dorephan smiled warmly at this before glancing back down at Sidon. The younger Zora sighed softly in acceptance and stepped closer to Link. He was tall enough that Link, even standing on the raised dais, was only eye-level with him.

"Yes, I suppose your help would be appreciated due to the nature of the task," he said. "You see, we have made several attempts already to calm Ruta, but nothing has been effective with the exception of one thing—shock arrows."

"Like the ones that the lizalfos are being armed with?" Claude asked.

"Yes, exactly," Sidon said. "We were able to recently discover that a shock arrow, shot with precision at key points on Ruta's body, is able to cause her to shut down temporarily. However, as you might have seen during our encounter with the lizalfos, Zora are particularly sensitive to electric shock. We cannot safely use shock arrows ourselves."

"So, you let us use the shock arrows, and we disable Ruta," Claude reasoned. "What's the catch?"

"We don't have enough shock arrows to do the job," Sidon explained.

"So, we take them from the Lizalfos?" Edelgard reasoned.

The Zora sighed softly, shaking his head. "That's the problem. We found the one shock arrow we used against the Divine Beast. And the lizalfos—who knows where they got theirs. I know that we searched any lizalfo camps that we've come across, but very rarely do they have shock arrows. We have no time to search for them."

"Is it possible to buy them off a merchant?" Dimitri asked.

"Perhaps, but that would require time that I'm afraid we do not have. The East Lake Reservoir, where Ruta makes her home, is already far fuller than is safe. If that dam breaks, then the result would be catastrophic."

"So, what did you have in mind?" Edelgard asked impatiently.

"So that leaves us with, really, only one viable option. The lynel on Ploymus Mountain."

"Lynel?" Link asked.

"A fearsome beast that has taken up residence on top of the mountain. It isn't the first time one of their kind has done so. Father is right—the last time one did so, you defeated it at Mipha's bequest."

"I don't really understand," Link said, frowning. "How does defeating the lynel help with the Divine Beast?"

"It has shock arrows."

Oh.

"We have, of course, tried to kill or, at least, drive the lynel away, but it is a crafty, deadly foe. Several of our greatest warriors have tried, and not all of them survived to escape." Sidon shook his head, opening his mouth to say more, but then stopped, glancing at his father. Link had the sense that there was more to this story that Sidon hadn't told.

"Link, I know that this is much to ask of you," King Dorephan said gravely, leaning forward again. "But we believe that the only way to get past Ruta's defenses will be through the use of shock arrows. The single arrow that Seggin used was very effective, but it was not permanent. Our scholars believe that, with several more, it might do enough damage to fully shut it down or, at least, revert it back to its previous, dormant state."

Link's gaze flicked between Sidon and Dorephan, taking in each of their expressions, frustrated and imploring, respectively. Finally, he sighed.

"I will do it, your majesty."

Muzu harrumphed. "More likely you and your party will be slaughtered." He addressed Link's friends. "If you care about your lives, you should abandon him to this foolish quest. He will only lead you to your deaths."

"That's a risk we must take," Dimitri said.