A keen edge laced the breeze that cut across Lake Totori's cliff-rimmed bowl, lending an added coolness to the northwestern morning. It was the kind of morning Hylia's winged creatures knew had been created especially for them. The wind playfully ruffled many a feather in Rito Village, all but calling them to cast aside their ground-bound labors and take to the sky.

It called especially to Notts, and it required all of Kass' considerable patience to pacify his third-hatched offspring.

"How come you get to leave? I wanna go, too!"

"I am sorry, my sweet, but you must stay here."

"S'not fair! You get to leave and fly and do what you want and leave me here with the dumb skybeast!"

"Divine Beast," Kass distractedly corrected his heated offspring. He was forgetting something. What was it? He breathed a heavy sigh of resignation when he remembered. Reluctantly, the Rito musician stretched one of his magnificent wings to the rafters of his abode and retrieved his short sword from its hiding place. "And you know I do not go for pleasure, my little beak."

The gentle use of her pet name did not mollify his eggchick. If anything, her small pink neck feathers ruffled more agitatedly, and she erupted in a string of enraged chirps.

"I don't wanna be little! I wanna go places with you and not be stuck on the ground anymore! Stupid skybeast!"

"Notts!"

Kass tried not to show relief at his wife's timely rescue, which saw Notts grumpily ushered outside. His stomach clenched slightly at the sight of her. Amali was as beautiful as ever, her light-green plumage accented by tips of yellow and white. Where others had found Kass an odd and even off-putting Rito, Amali only ever showed admiration and affection for the parrot-like bard. He felt Hylia had granted his wife a smidgeon of Her own grace — and, to him, a much healthier dose of luck that such a one would deign to love him.

Though he traveled often, the pain of departure never softened. Now, however, the thought of leaving his beloved and their beautiful brood now chilled him, especially when an overlarge shadow briefly blotted out the day's young sun. Rito husband and wife glanced skyward as one, noting the ceaseless circuit made by Vah Medoh. To Kass, it was a reminder he should be off. He knew that others considered the Divine Beast the chief and inarguable reason for him to stay. Best to out the arrow than let it fester, he thought firmly.

"It will be fine."

Kass found sweet understanding in his wife's warm words and golden gaze. Amali's eyes, as keen as any Rito, had ever been able to read his ill-concealed musings. Sword and supplies were left aside as he crossed the room to take her into his wings.

"I do not fret for myself," Kass murmured. "You and our daughters are the wind that guides my wings."

"You think we doubt this?" Amali's beak ran a short, soft furrow through his neck feathers. "We need no reassurances from you, Kass the Bard. Only a song of your adventures when you return. Two, if Kheel has her way."

Kass smiled at the thought of his demanding and musically talented daughter. Then he forced himself to withdraw from Amali's embrace and look her seriously in the eyes. "My leaving will breed a scorn that will swirl around you. Please, help the girls see…"

His voice broke. Picturing his daughters — who loved him so purely and completely — being confused and even swayed by the talk that would follow his departure nearly rent his heart in two.

"I will do my part, but you must do yours," Amali returned just as gravely. She had always been as honest as she was loving with her husband. "Icy words will melt the moment you return with the Hylian Champion. We have both seen the signs. Why should we doubt your success? And if we do not doubt, what do the opinions of others matter?"

Kass' heart overflowed with gratitude. It was one thing for his wife to accept his tales and vows, and another thing entirely to live through them. Once again he drew her close.

"I do not deserve you," he began before Amali crisply cut him off.

"Enough of that. Bid farewell to your daughters. The sooner you set out, the sooner you return to us."

Smiling ruefully — his wife's mood could change as suddenly as the winds in the Hebra — Kass shouldered his belongings and swept out of their octagonal abode. Every Rito family lived in such a home, each of which extended from the winding stairs that wound around the narrow base of the perch-shaped mountain at Lake Totori's center. Hammocks for the young hung from the rafters, while proper beds provided a resting place for the adults. It made for a tight fit, but only while sleeping. Rito were not known for loitering indoors.

Kass' brood stood on the causeway. They were, he realized with a pang, waiting without distraction. Even Notts looked up at her father's appearance, her fresh disappointment put aside for what she and her sisters recognized was an important farewell.

The parrot-like Rito got down to one knee and beckoned to his daughters one at a time. Each of his hatchlings deserved some undivided part of him. Praise, advice and an enveloping embrace were met with the uniqueness he cherished in his quintet of children.

"Cree, you're a good helper at Misa's shop. Try not to get in her way while I'm gone."

"Thanks, Papa. Yes, Papa."

"You've done very well helping with the fish, Genli. Remember to let someone else have the first helping. It shows a good heart."

"Aw, but if I help catch it, I should get to choose the best part!"

"I will miss your singing, my little Kheel. Remember not to sing aloud when others are sleeping."

"Okay, Papa, I'll just hum reeeally soft!"

"Make me something while I'm gone, Kotts? Just don't forget to let Mama know when you're using her needle and thread."

"I won't, Papa."

"When I am returned and the Divine Beast pacified, we will fly to Talonto Peak, you and I. Until then I ask you to be patient, my little Notts."

"Truly, Papa? Well, alright. If you return quickly."

"I will try," Kass reassured her. Then he turned to the wings of his heart. They had already shared a moment alone, true, but he felt it important for his daughters to see a reminder of the love their parents shared. His deep golden eyes drank in Amali's features, so much more refined than his own broad appearance.

"And you, my love, I will keep in my mind's eye so as to hasten my homecoming." He embraced her fiercely once more.

"See that you do," Amali whispered tenderly while winking roguishly at her daughters. "I will not have a husband who does not miss me terribly the moment I leave his sight."

The five Rito hatchlings tittered loudly at their mother ordering their father so, but Kass did not mind. Far from it.

Releasing his wife for the last time, Kass shouldered his supplies and waved a final farewell to his family. Normally they would accompany him to the final rope bridge connecting the lake-locked village to the mainland, but Kass had forbade it this day. Bad enough that his daughters would likely hear others slander their father. He would not allow them to see it with their own eyes.

Kass made his way down the sectioned staircases that wound around the ancient stone core on which the village was built. The wood was completely repaired and showed no sign of Medoh's initial attack, which in itself had been a randomly wild burst of fury. Every so often, the Divine Beast's ever-present shadow came into view, repeating its slow and unceasing course around the Rito's ancestral home. Rather than the guardian it had been made to be, Medoh was now a warden of metal that ensured its feathered prisoners did not escape to the skies.

Other Rito were out and about, all but the children engaged in the never-ending tasks of finding food or crafting goods that would be traded with Hylians at the nearby stable. Male Rito carved bows or fletched arrows, while the women carefully sewed naturally molted feathers onto regular garments. Such clothing was much prized by Hylians and the occasional Gerudo that braved the Hebra Mountains to the north or the Tabantha Tundra to the northeast. Fish had become just as valuable payment as rupees. Medoh guarded the Rito's native waters, and horses were not an option. Walking to a safe point from which to fly was both tiring and humiliating. To many, trading for fish was the lesser shame.

Yet neither was as shaming as what Kass was about to do. Only his family and Kaneli knew of his plans. The Rito elder respected his vows, but Kass knew he was pained by the friction fulfilling them would cause. Not since the Calamity had his people been so frayed. Teba and many of the warriors were openly opposed to the elders' counsel. Onto thit precarious powder keg, the peculiar bard was preparing to toss another spark.

Now some of the adult Rito were beginning to notice the nature of Kass' departure. Raised eyebrows and whispers bloomed at the sight of the pack on his back and sword at his waist. Those assigned to fish on this day were already flown. The warriors, as yet, had not engaged their enemy above. Kass could almost feel the wave of questions and suspicion swell in his wake. Yet he remained blessedly unaccosted… until he reached the three smaller islands that bridged the waters between Rito Village and the mainland.

Each of the landmasses rose like great pillars from Totori's depths below, their sides worn smooth by countless years of water on rock. Their tops, however, boasted pines, grass and even small ponds in which Rito young often played. Kass' daughters were especially fond of congregating here, often to play at house or some other game.

Now, the largest island represented something far less jovial: the divide between the Rito's elders and warriors. Here the latter congregated, making the grim preparations for their assault on Vah Medoh. A handful of male Rito surrounded each of the small, scattered fires that dotted the islet. They carefully used the flames to melt metal - again, bought or traded from Hylians - into broad arrowheads, which were then hafted onto feathered shafts more straight and true than any others crafted in Hyrule. Others sharpened feathered spears, swords and daggers on small stones retrieved from the island ponds.

All told, the makeshift military camp boasted at least three score Rito, all of them young, most unmarried. Kass sadly noted the presence of one brother hardly removed from his fledgling years. No beads adorned the warrior braids hanging from the sides of his headfeathers. He would not earn those until after his first battle - if he survived it. As if summoned, Vah Medoh's shadow passed over the young Rito and his companions. They did not notice it - but they did notice Kass' arrival.

Every pair of golden eyes widened at the sight of the bard, taking in his sword without at first noticing the rest of his supplies. One warrior, his plumage white as freshly fallen snow, quickly rose and strode to meet him. Kass' heart beat faster in anxious anticipation. Teba was captain and leader to all the Rito warriors. This endeavor to attack Vah Medoh had begun with him, and those with few years and hot blood had rallied around his desire for vengeance. Other than Kaneli, there was not another Rito alive who commanded as much respect. Out of the gust and into the storm, Kass thought resignedly.

"Kass," Teba curtly acknowledged upon drawing near. "I will not deny being surprised to see you. Do you come to fly with us?"

No, Teba. I go elsewhere. Call me a coward if you will. May Hylia fly with you. The heated words and quick dismissal were tempting. Yet Kass knew he must avoid widening whatever wedge he was about to drive into his people. Taking a deep breath, Kass forced himself to look into Teba's sharply beaked visage and speak with a calmness he did not feel.

"I cannot, Teba. I go to seek help where it may be found. I pray to Hylia you and yours be kept safe while I am gone."

The words were a softened version of his hot-tempered draft, and he did not rudely push past the Rito captain in order to ward off protest. Whatever was about to happen, Teba deserved a chance to respond at the very least.

As it was, Teba's black eyebrows contracted sharply above white head feathers.

"Help? What help will you find that can reach that?"

A black-tipped wing pointed sharply to the hovering Divine Beast, demanding an answer. Kass sighed. Whatever hope he had of an amicable parting was dashed by the aggressive pride before him. Yet he must try.

"An ancient one," Kass said humbly. He would not toss oil on the fire he was about to ignite. If his brethren discovered he was searching for a long-dead Champion, madness would supersede betrayal in their eyes. He would not let such a word taint his name within his daughters' hearing.

Now who is proud? the bard thought bitterly.

"The Sheikah built Vah Medoh," Kass said aloud. "They should know how to defeat it."

"We could be dead by the time you return," Teba said flatly, Kass knew, in an effort to curb his building anger. "You would leave your wife and eggchicks to chance, for chance?"

The accusation had come sooner than Kass had expected. He struggled to keep his tone level. "My family understands and supports my task. I have explained it to Elder Kaneli. I believe I am doing my best to-"

"To what? Fly out of harm's way?"

Teba's raised words carried well. There was not a Rito within earshot who was not keenly observing the conversation between bard and warrior. Many had risen to their feet, expressions of severe disapproval etched on their faces. And why should they not? Kass thought helplessly. Their captain has all but called me a coward. Such accusations were rare among the Rito, who were a notoriously uncowardly people. To be judged a coward was to be all but cast out.

"You think I would leave my family and not return until the danger is gone?" Kass asked desperately. "I go to help them, to help all of you! Can you not believe me?"

"I believe what I see, and I see your tail feathers," Teba returned scornfully. "I see you running away, laden with provisions while your family stays and starves under Medoh's shadow. I see you bearing a sword you would never raise on your people's behalf."

"Much good steel will do you against Vah Medoh!" Kass' retort drew angry words. He ignored them. "You fish with a stick instead of a net and mock me for doing the latter!"

"Your words mean as much as feathers on a Goron," Teba sneered. "The right choice is not always easy, minstrel. You fear to face long odds and death, even for the sake of your loved ones. No, you would rather hide with your music to shut your ears to your family's suffering."

"You talk of fear, Teba?" Kass softly asked. "Of choices? You disobey the elders for the heat of battle, which only conceals your fear of doing anything else."

Teba's response was swift and harsh. Kass lay sprawled on the ground, pain battling dulled wits from the warrior's furious blow to the side of his head. Teba loomed over him, his feathered chest heaving with unspent rage.

"Go," he screeched. "Crawl from here like the worm you are. Be thankful for the family you leave behind. They are your only claim to being a Rito, now."

Kass haltingly got to his claws, his head throbbing from pain and pride alike. The other Rito showed neither pity nor concern for the bard. Anger and scorn simmered openly on their faces. Kass quickly shouldered his dislodged belongings and threaded his way between them until he was on the rope bridge to the next islet. He did not stop or look back.