Chapter 24
At midday, Link loaded the horses onto the pirate ship. Four fishermen darted around the deck, bare feet slapping over dark stains from the battle two days ago. Unfamiliar with the large vessel, they shouted suggestions and commands to each other as they unfurled the sail, readying the ship to depart for Akkala. Cherry barked eagerly from the ship, wagging her tail, but Ravi lingered on the wharf, wringing the shaft of his bow.
Myra leaned on a sturdy, gnarled stick. "You know I can't keep you. Not until they fix my house up."
"I could help," Ravi said. "I'm strong."
His grandmother smiled. She cupped his cheek.
Ravi's heart twisted. "You could come with us. Laurelin isn't safe for you. The Yiga are after me—they know you're here."
She laughed and hefted her stick. "Let them come. I've faced a bandit or two in my time. But if you miss me, you can visit anytime." She nodded to the shrine on the hill above the village. "I'll be here until they lay me beside Kira. But I have a few years left in me, enough to raise a grandson, and raise him right."
Ravi hugged her, tentative and stiff, until she squeezed him back.
"Don't think the hero can teach you everything," she murmured in his ear, and pulled away, pinching his nose. "There are some things only a Moma can knock into you."
"I'll find Mama's treasure," Ravi said, backing toward the gangplank. "I'll bring it home and share it with you. We'll rebuild your house."
"That's what I like to hear!" she called after him. "With glass in the window, and one of those new-fangled ice boxes."
He climbed the gangplank and stood with Link at the stern, lifting his hand in farewell, until the ship sailed from the harbor.
The steady afternoon wind pushed the ship east along the coastline. Aurora snorted and shuffled nervously, tied to the mainmast. Sadee's head lolled down and her eyes hung heavy and miserable. She burped, seasick. But Cherry dashed from port to starboard, planting her paws on the railing, barking at fish.
Ravi sat on the bow, watching dolphins leap in the blue waves that rolled past the hull. The wind played with his hair. Seagulls swooped overhead. He wondered what his mother would think of the ship, and he smiled to himself as he imagined her leaning from the spar at the top of the mainmast, knee hooked around a rope, shouting as she spied an island on the horizon.
Link jumped down from the rigging. He climbed the ladder to the deck and leaned his arms on the gunwale beside Ravi. They watched the dolphins for a moment, then Link spoke.
"Do you want a lesson?"
"Here?"
"We won't be in the way." Link tilted his head, a spark in his eye. "But you better tie up Cherry."
Ravi hopped off the railing. He chased down Cherry and collared her with a rope, then secured the leash to the mast. When he scrambled up the ladder and returned to the deck, Link extended the hilt of a wooden training sword.
"You've built up enough strength," he said. "Let's spar."
He drew a second training sword from his pouch, and Ravi stepped back six paces. They saluted, tapping their hilts to their chest, then Ravi fell into a stance. His heart picked up, remembering his last fight with Link.
The swordsman's posture was relaxed, but his grip on the weapon was steady. "We're going to practice fighting in a small space. Imagine there are walls around this deck. Your only weapon is a sword. How would you attack?"
Ravi feinted right, then jumped left. He beat at Link with the flat of the blade, attacking from one side then the other, and Link allowed himself to be herded into a corner. Then Ravi thrust for Link's chest, and the swordsman struck his blade away.
"Good. But don't thrust for the chest. It's the most heavily armored section—"
Ravi swung at Link's knees, and the swordsman jumped. The blade swept under his boots, and he landed lightly on the gunwale.
"That's a wall," Ravi said.
Link grinned and hopped off, bringing his sword in a vertical slice toward Ravi's head. The boy blocked, but his own weapon collided with his forehead under the force of Link's blow. He swept Link's sword away and retreated, panting, forehead pulsing with a hot bruise.
"Press it," Link said. "I was off balance."
Ravi ran in.
Link caught his low strike, swept his sword away, grasped his wrist, and grounded Ravi on the deck. "Don't rush it."
"You just said to press it."
"Keep a clear head. Don't attack with emotion." Link offered his hand to help him up, but Ravi scrambled to his feet.
"Change of scene: the walls are down." Link pointed to the 'wall' behind Ravi. "A moblin broke through."
Ravi spun around and Link ran past him, touching his pouch, swapping his sword for a long stick. At the gunwale, he pivoted and fell into a stance, brandishing the 'spear.'
"That's not fair!" Ravi cried.
"Was is never fair!" Link thrust with the spear.
Ravi leaped to the side and vanished in a puff of smoke. He reappeared in the air at Link's shoulder and swung for the swordsman's exposed neck. An image flashed in his mind: the shadow demon in the snowy ruins, Link's sword swinging, the head flying. Is this who I want to be?
Link ducked with unnatural speed and the sword passed harmlessly over his head. He brought the shaft of his spear around, catching Ravi in the ribs, knocking him to the deck.
Ravi fell, bruising his knees, and the tip of the spear touched his neck.
"Dead." Link spun the spear and thumped the butt on the deck.
"I didn't want to hurt you," the boy muttered, climbing to his feet.
"You won't." Link's smile disappeared. "Don't hesitate. War isn't a game. It's your life or theirs. Your enemy will seek out your weakness and press in with everything he's got. Now try again. Imagine I'm Karta and I have Myra tied up in a chair."
Strength surged into him, and Ravi dashed forward. His mind cleared: he saw the pattern of attack laid out before him and Link's own counterattacks, like the battle had already been written. He dodged and struck the spear to the ground, hammering it a second time to lodge the tip in a crack, then jumped on the shaft. His weight snapped it. He vanished as he fell and reappeared at the broken half, still clutched in Link's hands. He grabbed the broken stick and jammed the butt into Link's stomach.
Air rushed out of the swordsman's chest. He winced and swung the broken shaft like a sword, striking Ravi's blade out of his hands. The practice sword spun through the air and fell with a clatter on the lower deck. Ravi darted for the second half of the stick, fallen on the deck, but Link swiped it up and crossed both 'blades' together, framing Ravi's neck.
"Still dead. But good." He lowered his sticks and tossed them over his shoulder into the water. "That's how you need to fight every battle. Remember who it's for."
"Who are you fighting for? Besides Zelda?"
Link smiled softly. He gazed out at the white waves rolling on the shore and the grassy hills rising above the cliffs. A sea hawk cried, circling high above them. "Life," he said. "This world has a lot of heartache, but it's still beautiful when you choose to see it. I want everyone to have a chance to live. No one—assassin or demon king—should take their choice away from them."
He drew his training sword from his pouch, dropped into a stance, and grinned. "Come at me again."
The ship sailed north for three days, cutting through the waves in a brisk wind like the Great Spirit Naydra was blowing them into Akkala. Sheer cliffs rimmed the ocean, crowned with brilliant red and orange trees.
Between scattered bouts of training, Link disappeared below deck, curled up in a hammock, and slept like a stone. Without moving, without snoring. Ravi didn't disturb him.
As they sailed, the sun sank deep into Ravi's skin. He felt like he was airing out. Like a shirt flapping on a clothesline in the salty wind: clean, brisk, and empty. Ready for something new.
On the third day, the ship passed three tall islands which rose from the sea, sheer and vertical. They rounded a sharp promontory, and as Ravi gazed at the hills beyond the cliffs, a tiny, fluttering speck caught his eye. Black, with a flash of white clutched in its claws. A keese, heading north-east. His fingernails dug into the wooden gunwale. Sitting beside him, Cherry lifted her eyes, gazing at Ravi in concern. He gave her a weak smile and scratched her head.
They sailed around a spiral sandbar with a shrine in the center, then drifted to the end of their voyage, dropping anchored offshore beside a short beach. Link constructed a pier to offload the horses. Once on shore, Link and Ravi waved farewell to the fishermen and mounted up.
"Where are we going?" Ravi asked Link.
The swordsman glanced at Ravi with a faint grin but said nothing. He clicked his tongue, urging Aurora onto a road and up a hill.
Akkala was a lush region. Crickets chirped, and the wind rustled the leaves in the colorful trees. Fireflies hovered over the grass, blinking to life as the clouds deepened to fire-red. Cherry wandered the countryside, nose in the grass, chasing squirrels and grasshoppers. But she circled back around to the horses, never letting them stray too far out of sight.
"That's Tarrey Town," Link said, pointing to the lights of homes on a column of rock in the center of a lake. "I helped build it. They wanted to carve a statue of me, but I talked them down, thank the Goddess. I couldn't reason with the Zora, though." He shuddered.
They continued to climb the road, passing a vacant, decaying monster tower, then a tree-lined pond which echoed with the croaking of frogs. Above the pond, Link turned right off the road and pulled Aurora to a halt.
A large, flat shelf of land sat in front of them. The empty grass waved in the wind.
"What do you see?" Link asked.
Ravi glanced behind and around them. "Grass?"
A smile spread across Link's face. He turned to the flat shelf. "You can show yourselves."
Light flickered in the grass. A rattle sounded and more dots of light appeared. They shot towards Link, then several koroks popped out of hiding. More kept coming, until a sea of brown, green, and yellow spirits surrounded the horses. Cherry sat under Ravi's stirrup, tongue lolling as she panted, oblivious to the spirits.
A korok saluted, striking his brown leaf-face with a stick. "Tee hee! Welcome home, Mr. Hero! Safe and secure. Just for you."
"No bandits?" Link asked.
"A mean man with a mask was poking around the pond, but we scared him, tee hee." The sea of koroks giggled. "Scared him silly, Mr. Hero!"
Link gestured to the boy beside him. "Do you remember Ravi?"
"I do!" A korok jumped up in the back, with a long green leaf for a face. "I remember Mr. Ravi. In the temple ruins!"
Awkwardly, Ravi waved back. "What's all this?" he murmured to Link.
The swordsman grinned. He turned to the koroks again. "Ravi is going to live here now. Will you protect him, as you protect me?"
Excited rattles rippled through the koroks and the leader with the stick saluted again. "On my honor, Mr. Hero. No bandits allowed."
"Thank you. Will you let us pass?"
The sea of koroks parted, and the leader waved his stick in the air like he was drawing a rainbow. The air rippled and Ravi gasped as a curtain of light drew back.
A two-story house sat on the flat ledge. It was simple, constructed of squares, and painted green. Candles flickered in the upstairs windows and smoke curled from a stone chimney. Vines crawled up the north-facing side, sprouting blue evening flowers. A stable and paddock stood against the short rock wall, and ferns sprouted at the base of a well with a bright red roof.
Link dismounted and stroked Aurora's golden neck. "Good girl. That was a long journey." He led her through the sea of koroks, which began vanishing back into dots of light one at a time, until only the leader remained. He nodded at Ravi, jerking his head toward the house. "I'll show you inside."
Ravi led Sadee forward in a daze. He dismounted in front of the short porch and automatically tied her reins to a hitching loop. "This is your house?"
"My second house. The first one I gave to Zelda. Hateno is convenient, but it's growing too busy. And strange. I always loved Akkala. I can breathe out here." From his front porch, he gazed out at the ocean and across the rolling plains. He lingered for a moment with his hand on the latch, then pushed the door inward with a smile. "Welcome home."
Ravi stepped over the threshold. The air smelled like spices—pepper, nutmeg, and chili—and leather oil.
A table sat in the center of the common room, lightly cluttered with books, dishes, and a vase of wilted flowers. In the kitchen on his left, a fire crackled in the hearth and an army of jars stood waiting in crates beside the washbasin. On his right stood a goddess statue, flowers woven around her head. Weapons flanked her on either side. Two shields hung on the wall: a red and blue shield painted with the crest of Hyrule, and a long, black royal shield. A twisted blue and silver sword hung beside them. The uncorrupted metal shone in the light of the flickering lamps.
More weapons cluttered the floor: corrupted broadswords, great swords, bows. Chests sat against the walls, locked with ancient magic.
"Sorry, it's a mess." Link scratched the back of his head. "I ran out of space in my inventory and had to dump a bunch of stuff here." He pulled off his boots. "I'll show you upstairs. Cherry needs to stay outside. And take off your shoes, please. I have a new mat."
Ravi pushed the door shut, murmuring a quiet apology to Cherry. He removed his dusty boots, leaving them at the bottom step, and followed Link up the stairs. Lifelike paintings hung on the walls of places Ravi had never seen: Gorons. Rito. Zoras. Gerudo. Mountain ranges, deep forests. Windmills.
At the top of the stairs, they entered a loft. A rice-straw training mat covered the floor; it slightly gave under Ravi's feet, cushioned with padding. Iron weights sat beside a wooden bench and an iron ladder hung horizontally from the ceiling. A door stood across from the stairs, leading to a rooftop balcony.
Link pointed to a door to the left of the stairs. "This is my room." He crossed the loft and pushed open a door on the right. "And this is yours."
A bed sat against the far wall, neatly made with a colorful woolen blanket. A chest stood at the foot of the bed for his clothes, and a desk sat under a glass window framed in white curtains.
"My room?" Ravi ran his hand down the doorframe, coming away with a film of pine dust on his palm.
"They just finished it yesterday." Link's eyes lit up from within. "What do you think?"
Slowly, Ravi stepped into the room, padding in his stockings over the hand-woven rug. He fingered a clothes hook on the wall. He'd never had his own room before. "For me?"
"I'll let you unpack," Link said. "Rest up tonight and I'll explain your duties in the morning." He knocked his fist on the doorframe. "This house and the surrounding land are protected by the koroks. While I was in the sky, getting my arm replaced, someone broke into my rental in Hateno and stole my extra gear. I tried to be smarter this time around. The koroks protect this house with the same magic that surrounds the Lost Woods. No one can pass through without their permission. You'll be safe here. The Yiga have a base on the opposite cliff, almost within eyesight, and they've never found me."
Clutching his backpack, Ravi stood in the center of his new room, chest too full to speak.
"I hope you'll be happy here," Link said softly, "As long as you want to stay."
Ravi nodded. His throat tightened. He thought of the keese flapping past the cliff, heading north. But said nothing.
The hero stepped back, and leaving the boy alone, gently pulled the door shut.