Link stared into the fire, its light playing off his blue eyes as the last threads of dusk faded from the western sky. Other than the ever-present lapping of running water, silence hovered over the riverbank. Even the hubbub from the nearby stable had died down, most of the relocated Hylians having decided to sleep off their needs until the morrow.
Six Zora sat on the side of the fire opposite Link and Spoone. The flames were being kept as low as possible both to avoid attention and to accommodate the Zora's extreme sensitivity to heat. It was only when Mei walked straight into the river, submerged to her eyes and fell asleep that Link truly appreciated the difference between his race and theirs - and the importance of their plea.
Link had listened intently as Fronk explained the Zora's plight and their need for a Hylian's help. He had been forced to interrupt, however, when an unexpected detail surfaced in the telling.
"Wait," Link had interjected. "What do you mean your king remembered the Divine Beast's weakness? Did it threaten you before now?"
Halted in mid-sentence, Fronk looked momentarily confused at the oddity of Link's question. "Only during The Great Calamity," the Zora explained as one does to a forgetful child. "But Vah Ruta relented of her own accord and slept in the east reservoir. I remember being very frightened of it until my parents assured me the Calamity had passed and Hylia had healed Ruta's spirit."
"You're saying you were alive when the Calamity occured?" Link asked incredulously. A sea of blankly staring yellow eyes answered him.
"Why… yes," Fronk responded, this time quite bewildered. "Many of us were, or were born shortly thereafter. I know our interactions with Hylians have lessened considerably since then, but I thought it was common knowledge that we Zora aged much more slowly. Perhaps you have never journeyed this close to the Domain before?"
"I have often marveled at the Zora's longevity," Spoone had offered enthusiastically. "I do wonder if it is not a byproduct of living so much of your lives in the water compared to Hylians. It would explain why we feel refreshed after a good dip, wouldn't it?"
Link was grateful for the healer's interruption, as it blunted the surprise his ignorance had caused. He did not, however, miss an extremely suspicious glance from one of the Zora - Bazz, the ebony-skinned male that had found his name so interesting earlier that evening.
Now Link thought he understood why, and the understanding alarmed him. Neither Fronk nor his companions looked especially old, yet they clearly remembered the Calamity. Would more elderly Zora recognize him as the Hylian Champion? Would that fact or his mission with Ruta be opposed by those who truly remembered him?
Deciding that announcing his true identity would be foolish before knowing everything he could, Link had kept silent on the matter and returned his focus to the Zora's quest. He paid rapt attention as Fronk recounted their briefly successful attempt to use shock arrows - and the threat those same arrows posed to their own people.
"Thus you see our dire need for a Hylian as brave as yourself, Master Link," Fronk passionately concluded. "If you were to calm Vah Ruta, the waters that even now threaten to breach the reservoir and flood this land would be halted. Your people - and mine - would be saved and indebted to you. Will you help us?"
Link deliberately took his time to answer. He was hesitant to reveal that the Zora's need coincided so conveniently with his own quest. If Bazz was any indication, there would undoubtedly be some - perhaps many - who would object to his help. His true mission would need to be revealed at some point, perhaps soon, but he would wait as long as he could to disclose it.
Finally, Link looked up and met the Zora's hopeful gaze across the low-burning fire.
"I will help your people, Fronk," Link confirmed steadily. "Whatever aid I can lend, it is yours."
The enthusiastic Zora clapped in delight while smiles broke out among his companions - save for Bazz, whose mouth twisted in distaste.
"Thank you, Master Link!" Fronk cried. "On behalf of my people, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"How is this Hylian - a Hylian we've only just met, mind you - to aid us when his path to Zora's Domain is dammed by lizardscum?"
Bazz's demand rent through the soft excitement like a cloth ripped in two. Each of the Zora looked at him in shock, none more so than Fronk.
"Does a razorclaw have you by the dorsal fin, brother?" Fronk asked incredulously. "This man saved my Mei's life and has offered to help our people, yet you speak of him as though he were a swindler come to offer us acorns for opals!"
The harsh-faced Zora stood up irritably at his companion's words while ignoring the others' stern nods of agreement.
"Let us hope, Fronk, that this Link has indeed earned the trust you are so willing to grant him," Bazz snapped. Without further explanation, the surly Zora turned and made his way into the river to submerge himself for sleep.
The remaining four Zora were clearly nonplussed at Bazz's outburst, but Link kept his expression decidedly neutral. Spoone, however, broke the silence through the pipe he had removed from his satchel and was now smoking.
"His manners need his mother's attention, but your friend does bring up a good point," the healer observed. "How do you plan on traversing the wetlands, overgrown as they are with lizardscum?"
Link looked over his shoulder. The top-most portion of the Sheikah tower to the east glowed bright orange in the night. If the wetlands were as overwhelmed as Bazz and Spoone had said, reaching the tower for the sake of his Sheikah map was foolhardy at best.
"I cannot cut through an army of Ganonspawn myself, nor would I risk your own lives in such an endeavor," Link finally answered, looking at each of the group in turn. "You did not seek to aid your people only to die at your search's end. I will go to Zora's Domain, but you will know the safest path far better than I."
For answer, Fronk knelt and began tracing a finger through the bank sand to illustrate his explanation.
"We circled the wetlands from the north, but we did so with the aid of the Hylia River," the Zora explained. "We are swimmers born, but even we cannot bear you against the full might of the Hylia, and it would take much longer for you to reach Thims Bridge on foot."
"And it would be more dangerous," Spoone added with a puff from his pipe. "The Thims lies close to the Woodland Stable, which as you know is now ashes and dust. The Ganonspawn responsible for destroying the place could still be nearby."
"It is not around the Ganonspawn you must go, but through them."
The Zora whirled about in surprise, several of them with spears upraised. Link, however, smiled quietly as Cado entered the fire's muted glow. He had known the Sheikah was there, that he had slowly crept within earshot of them during their council, but Link had decided to keep that awareness on a need-to-know basis.
"Be still, friends," Link said calmingly. "Cado is a Sheikah and a friend. I am sure he will explain himself promptly."
Cado bowed toward the company. The Sheikah warrior had doffed his balaclava, leaving his scarred and weathered face exposed. His dark eyes nearly absorbed the modest firelight, while his silver-white hair bun seemed to reflect it.
"I will indeed," Cado agreed. "Honored Zora, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. May the waters carry you safely home."
If Link had not already put the Zoras' minds at ease, Cado's words certainly did the trick. Smiles of surprised pleasure bloomed on their faces, and Fronk went as far as to stand and shake the Sheikah's hand enthusiastically.
"Oh, I say, you are truly welcome among us, friend Sheikah," Fronk said warmly. "Your skills and sword are certainly honored additions to our company!"
Spoone was hardly behind the Zora in greeting the newcomer; the Hylian doctor rushed in to heartily clasp Cado's hand.
"I have always been fascinated by the Sheikah," the healer gushed. "I would be delighted to discuss the methods by which your elders reach the age they do, and how your warriors are healed from the most frightful of wounds!"
"I am sure you are, but now is not the time, Master Spoone," Link prodded him gently.
"Oh! Oh, yes of course. Please be seated Master Cado."
Returning the salutations as formally as his people did everything else, Cado removed the swords from his back and side so he could kneel next to the crude sand drawing.
"I am grateful the Zora do not remember us as enemies," Cado admitted as he began tracing to the right of Fronk's original work. "It seems King Dorephan continues to lead his people with the wisdom by which Hylia deemed him worthy of the throne. This is a good sign for what is to come."
Link did not miss the ever-so-slight glance from the Sheikah before tracing a large, uneven oval to the right of the path Fronk had sketched.
"What the Zora and healer have said is true, Link," Cado began. "Time is of the essence, and you cannot hope to earn its blessing by taking the northern path to the Thims. My scouts tell me that land is indeed crawling with Ganonspawn that even now move to join their brethren here."
The Zoras eyes widened in alarm.
"Must we meet them in battle first?" Fronk demanded. "Dare we ignore them long enough to attend to Vah Ruta?"
"One battle at a time, friend Zora," Cado responded calmly while tracing still more in the sand. "An army can be stalled, harried and held at bay. The waters raining from Vah Ruta cannot. If the reservoir breaks, everything from Zora's Domain to Hyrule Castle will flood. With all the survivors along the River Hylia now gathered at the stable - and in that flood's path - Ganon's trap is well set."
A somber silence set in as each of them visualized the truth of the Sheikah's pronouncement.
"This," Cado continued while pointing to the smaller oval within the larger, "is Mercay, the northernmost island of the Lanayru Wetlands. The water separating it from the land on which we now sit is forded and can be easily crossed on foot. Mercay's eastern waters are much deeper - they are where the Zora River meets the Hylia - but it should be possible to cross with a Zora's aid."
"You would have him traverse the wetlands themselves?" Fronk asked with a frown while studying Cado's route. "Though most of the lizardscum remain cloistered south of Mercay, some of them surely remain watching for my water brethren to enter the Hylia. How does Master Link plan to reach the island - much less cross it - without being seen?"
But Link knew the answer even before Cado revealed a portion of it.
"Stealth will be his ally," the Sheikah replied, his nearly black eyes looking steadfastly at Link. "Stealth and the night, for lizalfos are at their most active by day. He will make his way to Mercay through the Moor Garrison ruins, which offer him cover right up to the ford. After that, the hill that makes up the majority of Mercay should conceal him from lizalfos to the south. He need only slip past those on Mercay's northern side to reach whomever of you is to take him across the water."
"A bold plan, but a necessary one," Link observed approvingly. "I am willing, but I will not ask one of you to risk yourselves at the river for my sake. If necessary, I will find my own way to cross."
Fronk's webbed hand gripped Link's shoulder heartily. "We chose to join our Prince Sidon in finding a Hylian to help us. Now that we have found him, we will do our utmost to see him safely to the Domain. I will carry the honor of your safe arrival, Master Link. At the moon's peak tomorrow night, I will find you at Mercay's eastern side."
"And what of the rest of us?" a young, green-skinned Zora asked eagerly.
"You and the others will leave at daybreak," Fronk promptly replied. "Gather any of our brethren you find along the Hylia and then seek out Prince Sidon. I will take Master Link to the north side of the Zora River's mouth. His Highness and our water brethren must be ready to cover our escape should we be discovered."
"Then it is settled," Link affirmed before turning to Cado. "Will you journey with us then? Two Hylians may stand a better chance against Vah Ruta than one."
"I will accompany you as far as Mercay," Cado said, shaking his head. "An extra blade and pair of eyes in the dark will help ensure all goes well. After that, I must help my people do what they can against the gathering Ganonspawn. With Hylia's help, we can slow them enough until the Zora are free to join us."
Link grasped the Sheikah's forearm in farewell. "You are a good man, Cado," he said quietly. "I will see you tomorrow night."
Cado bowed toward the Zora and Spoone, then retreated into the darkness. Fronk cocked his head to the side for a moment, then shook his head in admiration.
"Not a sound!" the Zora said admiringly. "He could catch a stealthfin unawares, that one. Link, on behalf of my people, I cannot thank you enough. We are indebted for the dangers you brave on our behalf."
Link glanced once more to the east, where the Sheikah tower shone like a beacon of safety on the other side of the wetlands.
"Thank me after the deed, friend Fronk," Link said. "Until then, may Hylia go with us."
Bazz took care to remain as still as possible while floating in the small river inlet. His body would have unconsciously done as much in sleep, but raw emotion made that impossible on this night. He floated among his slumbering water brethren while heatedly reviewing the night's events.
Bazz had owned extraordinary hearing even as a calf, a gift that helped him become one of the best fishers and warriors in Zora's Domain. He was grateful for that advantage now, for it allowed him to listen to his brethren's conversation with the Hylian filth. Despite his position as a captain of the Domain's guard, Bazz had not wanted to aid Prince Sidon in his quest. Hylians had been trusted to defend his people once. They had failed them, to the ruin of nearly all his people held dear.
His father knew this better than most. Bazz had grown up admiring a very specific decoration hung for all to see: a trident with diamonds and rubies artfully embellishing its silver staff, which was topped by three beautifully curved prongs...
Bazz propelled his tiny body from the entrance pool of his home to the stone couch along the far wall. He imagined himself accomplishing the feat as well as Prince Sidon, who was nearly twice his age. Bazz badly wanted the elders to talk of him the same way they spoke of the prince.
"He's the best swimmer since a young Seggin!" they would exclaim excitedly among themselves. "He will do the Zora proud when he is grown!"
Bazz wanted to do his people proud, too, but none more so than his father, the Great Demon Sergeant. Just that day, Seggin and his son had watched Trello, another respected elder, remove the fabulous trident from its brackets on the throne room wall and use it in a solemn show of unrivaled skill for the Champion Festival. Bazz had snuck in front of the adult Zoras to watch his father's friend wield the long weapon by the rare light of fire set up solely for this ceremony. Bazz did not understand why many of the elders wept over something so awe-inspiring.
Bazz was not nearly old enough to wield his own spear, but he had a thin piece of driftwood that served just as well. Instead of the stone couch, he fancied he was at the high banks of the Zora River, fighting off a horde of monstrous lizalfos that threatened his beloved Domain. Each of the imaginary beasts fell with satisfying hisses as they were run through with his "spearpoint."
As he turned to slay another imaginary lizalfo that had dared to sneak up on him from the rear, Seggin gracefully leaped out of the entrance pool and onto the floor. The young Zora immediately dropped his "weapon" and ran to give his father a tight hug around his knees.
"Father!" Bazz cried. "Wasn't the festival wonderful? Elder Trello is the most skilled spearfish of the Domain, after you of course!"
Seggin smiled down broadly at his enthusiastic offspring.
"Thank you, my son," the ebony-skinned father said while affectionately rubbing Bazz's small headtail. "Have you been fighting off Ganonspawn again?"
Bazz nodded vigorously in reply. "Oh yes! I will be a brave warrior just like you, and then I will earn a wonderful trident just like Elder Trello!"
To the youngster's surprise, Seggin's face fell. He swallowed visibly, then sat down somewhat suddenly on the couch. The adult Zora took his time to gather his emotions, then looked very hard at his son. Finally, he motioned for Bazz to sit beside him.
"Trello did not win that weapon, my son," Seggin began after the young calf had willingly clambered up next to him. "It was made to remember our dear late Princess Mipha, whom Hylia graced with the power to heal both body and soul. It is because of her that I - and many of my water brethren - survived wounds that would otherwise have claimed our lives. Her magic healed us, and her kindness blessed all who met her."
"What happened to her?" Bazz asked, his yellow eyes now wide with curious fascination.
Seggin seemed to consider his young son for another moment before arriving at a decision.
"Come with me, my son."
Bazz was nonplussed to see his father reapproach the entrance pool, which was now completely black compared to the clear blue it was during broad daylight. Many were the times Bazz's tailfin had been tanned for trying to sneak out and swim at night. Now, the thrill of doing so at his father's invitation sent his heart racing in anticipation of the unknown.
Bull and calf swam together through the small tunnel that opened up into the great bowl of water from which Zora's Domain rose. Son followed father to the surface, then up the Zora-built waterfalls that cascaded from the Domain's main level. They were the only ones up and about. Unlike Hylians, who fritter away the night in a vain attempt to more fully live out their much shorter lives, the Zora used the night as it was intended: for sleeping. Even at the tender age of twenty, Bazz understood this, which was what made his father's actions so peculiar and slightly frightening. What was it he must see at this hour?
The sound of the two Zoras' feet slapping the silver-and-turquoise floor echoed faintly. The soothing light from carved and crushed luminous stone - which was worked into most of the Domain's architecture - softly illuminated their beloved Domain. Bazz had never been allowed to walk his people's majestic streets this late before, and he felt the simple stirrings of pride within him. Of all the wonders of Hyrule, surely this was the one with which Hylia was most pleased.
On they walked until they reached the central plaza, where full-grown father and diminutive son approached one of the newer additions to the Domain. From the center of a circular fountain rose a statue lovingly carved from the same combination of metal and stone that made up the rest of the Zoras' home. In perfect detail, the masterpiece depicted a small, female Zora holding a trident much longer than herself. She held the weapon with the tines pointed down, her heart-shaped face smiling kindly downward.
In silence, Bazz and his father beheld the wondrous piece of art with only the gentle lapping of the fountain's water disturbing the night's silence. Finally, Seggin knelt and tremulously looked at his son. Bazz could not help but notice tears shimmering in his father's eyes, and it frightened him.
"My son," his father began in a voice that sounded very different from the confident tones Bazz was used to hearing, "you know who this is, don't you?"
Confident in the lessons he had learned from his elders, Bazz answered promptly. "Her Highness, the late Princess Mipha, who healed those of ailing bodies and broken hearts, the Champion of the Zora whose life was given while fighting The Great Calamity a quarter century ago."
Seggin smiled tremulously at his son's ready answer.
"Indeed she is, my son," he said with an approving nod. "So you have been taught, and all that is true. But you have not been taught the whole truth."
Bazz felt a rush of adrenaline at this surprise. What secret knowledge would his father impart regarding the fabled princess?
"Princess Mipha, may Hylia guard her spirit, did fall to The Calamity, but it was a fate she need not have suffered were it not for the Hylians who betrayed her."
Bazz's eyes grew wide. His father no longer appeared sad. He looked angry, far angrier than when he had found his son had strayed all the way to Ruto Lake without consent the previous year.
"How did they betray her, father?" Bazz whispered with the innocent fright children often feel.
"Had they kept their part of the bargain, Lady Mipha would not have been left to be consumed by The Divine Beast," Seggin answered in a much fiercer whisper than his son's. Spittle began to form at the edges of the Demon Sergeant's mouth as he tried to keep his rage contained. "Had they sealed away the Calamity as they had promised, had they not left her to face its backblast alone, our princess would be with us in life instead of the dead metal and stone you see before you. They failed her and the Zora, and the hearts of our people pay the price for that failure even now."
"Why would they do that?" Bazz nearly squeaked with frightened curiosity. "Who betrayed her, father?"
"They do not teach you the traitors' names because our king does not wish to harbor ill will toward anyone," Seggin spat. "He is noble and good, but by choosing to forget our past he may doom us to repeat it. I will not make the same mistake with you, my son."
Seggin took his son's face in his hands, the small claws on his fingers digging painfully into his childish face. Bazz winced, but he could not look away from his father's manic gaze.
"You must always remember that it was the Hylians who betrayed us," Seggin said hoarsely. "It was Princess Zelda and her Champion, Link of Hyrule, who betrayed our Mipha to her death. Never forget that my son. Never forget that it was the Hylians who doomed our princess, who doomed all the kingdom of Hyrule. Never forget that to trust a Hylian is to court loss and grief and death."
The smallest ripple of water stirred Bazz from his reverie, but he was subconsciously able to keep himself stationary even as the last of his water brethren entered the inlet to sleep. On the bank, he could see the Hylian swordsman and the healer settle down next to the fire for the night.
Bazz's face twisted with an ugly grimace. Link. What foolish - or worse, cruel - parents would name their offspring after the Hylian Champion that had failed not only their own people, but all of Hyrule? And what evil fate had decided to offer such a man to the Zoras in their hour of need?
Seventy years had passed since his father's lesson, but Bazz had not forgotten it. In the past, when Hylians braved the journey to Zora's Domain to trade their goods, he had treated them with the suspicion they deserved. Some - like Prince Sidon - welcomed them with open arms. If Bazz had his way, he would have greeted them with a sharpened spearpoint that forced them to go right back to their land-locked hovels. That was why he had initially fought against his father's private request to join Prince Sidon on the idiotic quest.
"Why should I help His Highness seek help from those responsible for his sister's death?" Bazz had snapped in frustration. "You have taught me Hylians are not to be trusted!"
"Of course they aren't, my blind son," Seggin had replied impatiently. "That is why you will go with them! You cannot openly hinder the prince's search, but you must know who they find and report back to me as soon as the opportunity presents itself! Many of the other elders find a Hylian's help as distasteful as we do. If we have enough forewarning, we may be able to prevent the mistakes of a century ago from repeating themselves! Until then, you must aid our king's wishes. Is that clear?"
Bazz had reluctantly agreed, but now that the fruits of their search were being realized, he was consumed with the urgency to warn his father. Surely the elders - and perhaps even their king - would not be tempted to accept the help of a Hylian named after the disgraced Champion.
If all went well, it would not matter. Perhaps their would-be savior would meet his doom crossing the wetlands.
And if the lizardscum won't save my people, Bazz thought savagely, I will.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Even within the G-rated limits of the BOTW game, the Zora's distaste for Hylians in general and Link in particular is palpable. What would happen if that abhorrence was unleashed? We see the beginning of that answer here. The violent distrust of Seggin and other Zora will not be dismissed by simply clicking through harmless dialogue. There is a new danger for Link, here, one that will only multiply ten-fold if/when his true identity is discovered.
The stage is set for a truly epic journey to Zora's Domain, but don't get too far ahead of yourselves. A twist is coming, one that ties off a loose end from the previous book. In the meantime, if you enjoy what you've read so far, feel free to give that Fav/Follow button a click. Don't hesitate to comment via Review with your take on where things are headed. Love hearing from you guys and I appreciate your readership. Hope life is treating you well. - mattwrites