"Mipha, pilot the Divine Beast?"
The King of the Zora spoke in a quiet, doubtful voice. He was an imposing figure, thirty feet tall and wielding a trident that was even larger than he. She had always wondered how such a being even came out, given that the Zora usually grew just a little larger than the average Hylian. But biology wasn't important right now - she had to play the part of diplomat, representing her father and his interests.
"Yes," she said in a voice she hoped was confident. "My father, King Rhoam, has faith she will do her utmost. With your permission, of course," she added. She had heard about how protective King Dorephan was of his daughter. Not unlike her own father.
"Hmm." The Zora King put a hand to his chin and considered her words. "This will be a dangerous mission, piloting a Divine Beast against the Darkness." He leered down at her. "And, I understand that the knight who will seal that darkness has not yet appeared?"
She hung her head down in shame. "That is true," she admitted. Blast it. Despite how desperate times were becoming, it was as if Hylia couldn't catch them a break.
"I must refuse," said the king. "I cannot send my daughter into such peril."
Zelda and Link spent a single day among the Lizalfos before continuing on their trek into the Zora Domain. Part of the reason for their hasty retreat was because of Zelda's promise to Master Ripclaw that she would work towards repairing relations between the Zora and Lizal people. The other part of it was that she really couldn't stand the smell of fish, and they ate nothing else.
After saddling their horses and making it across to the other side of the city, they said farewell. Master Ripclaw left them with a parting gift, a package wrapped in several layers of seaweed. "Give this to the King of the Zora when you see him," the lizard leader instructed. "He will understand what it means."
"We will," Zelda promised. Though forging peace would undoubtedly prove difficult, the princess felt up to the task.
Then, with a strange croaking sound that might have been music, the assembled Lizal bid them a fond farewell.
That morning was a good one for travel. The tall mountains partially concealed the rising sun, bathing the land in a rich orange-yellow glow. Their path took them along the winding Zora River, such that a light fog floated on the ground by their horses' feet. The pine trees swayed gently in the cool breeze, bringing with it the smell of nature in bloom. Zelda couldn't have been happier.
Still, there was work to be done. "Link, you've been to the Zora Domain recently, correct? Who is their current King? Sidon?"
Her knight shook his head. "Dorephan."
Unease caught in the back of her throat. She had met with Dorephan over one hundred years ago, and she remembered his stubbornness. Out of all of the various leaders she was going to need to meet with in the coming years, it was he who she worried about the most. After all, she had insisted - at her father's behest - that Dorephan's daughter, the princess Mipha, pilot the Divine Beast Vah Ruta, a task which had proved fatal for the Zora woman. It already would have been difficult to get him to accept her as the future Queen of Hyrule, but now she would have to try to entreaty on the Lizal's behalf. Would he even allow them to enter his domain?
"What troubles you, Zelda?" Link was staring at her with those deep blue eyes again.
She blushed and looked away. "It's…nothing."
"No, it's not. It's Dorephan, isn't it?"
"How did you-?"
"I was terrified to meet with him, too." Zelda looked up. Link never admitted to being afraid. Ever. He shrugged. "I don't think it's any secret that Mipha had…feelings for me. She hand-crafted a Zora armor for me, after all. I think that's why she was so happy to pilot Vah Ruta - after the Master Sword claimed me as its knight, she seemed to think that we were destined for a life together. And yet…I survived, and she did not. Dorephan had every reason to hate me."
"And…did he?"
He gave a half-smile. "Not even slightly. If anything, he was happy to see that I had survived, after all that had happened. Don't get me wrong, some of the other elder Zora definitely resented me," he added quickly, "but Dorephan isn't that sort of king. All he cares about is the good of his people. All of them. After I defeated the Lynel of Ploymel Mountain and stopped Vah Ruta from flooding his domain, any hesitations he might have felt for me were gone in an instant."
Zelda frowned. That was all well and good, but it wasn't like she could just go and fight a bunch of monsters to win Dorephan's favor. Especially since many of the 'monsters' living around the Zora Domain were now hoping she would forge an alliance between them and the Zora.
"You'll figure something out," Link reassured her. "You always do."
They arrived at a bridge, which was flanked by two Zora watch towers. Zelda had always admired the beauty of Zora architecture. Even something as simple as these towers were made beautiful, constructed from lapis, crystal, and silver.
But something bothered her. There were no Zora upon the towers. "Has something happened?" she asked Link.
"I don't know," he said, putting a hand to the Master Sword's pommel. "There's always been at least one guard here whenever I've come through."
They pushed on, steering their horses carefully over the bridge and continuing along the trail. Dark clouds began to pass overhead, giving the entire area a sinister feel. Zelda shivered. Something was certainly wrong.
They found the first sign of trouble after climbing a steep hill: a fallen Bokoblin. A club and shattered wooden spear lay nearby. Link unsaddled and inspected the scene. "Whatever did this was big," he determined. "This wasn't Zora handiwork."
"But if it wasn't Zora, who did this?"
"I don't know. But Zora don't shatter shields like this - their style of fighting is more evasive, jabbing at exposed weaknesses with their spears. This is just…brutal." He hopped back on Epona's saddle. "Ready your bow, princess. I suspect we'll find out what did this before too long."
She nodded, summoning the Bow of Light into her hands.
They continued further, nervously glancing around every corner. There were additional signs of fighting - weapons lying half-broken on the ground, arrows embedded into trees - but they discovered no more bodies until they had reached another bridge. Half a dozen corpses, a mixture of Bokoblin and Moblin, were scattered around the area. Again, Link inspected them and came to the conclusion that their deaths were not brought by Zora hands. "They died by blunt force, not from attacks by a spear," he concluded.
"In your opinion, what sort of creature might do this sort of damage?" Zelda asked as they continued their way through the pass. "You've fought plenty of monsters, surely you have some idea."
Link thought about it for a moment, a hand to his chin. "Hinox are large, but are basically just giant Bokoblin, so they'd have no reason to fight each other," he said. "Bears rarely come up this far into the Zora Domain. In truth…I don't know. Whatever it is, it will be a challenging foe."
The sound of screams pierced the air. Link and Zelda looked at each other. It was coming from up ahead.
The scene they saw before them would forevermore be ingrained in Zelda's memory. The bodies of slain monsters, Bokoblin and Moblin, were strewn everywhere, broken and beaten. The source of their violent ends was evident, but it was unlike anything Zelda had ever seen before. At first glance, the bipedal beast resembled something she had read about in her history books, a prehistoric creature that predated any living thing in Hyrule. But this was flesh-and-blood, a giant, scaled behemoth with large claws, a spike-covered body, and a gaping maw filled with rows of sharp teeth. She watched as a Moblin charged it, swinging a spiked club, and was promptly swept aside with a shake of the beast's head, dashed against a nearby cliffside.
"Link!" They turned. A tall, red-scaled Zora was waving at them from the river.
"Sidon!" Link spurred his horse down the steep hillside towards him. The Zora burst out of the water to meet him, revealing a set of armor around his body and a long, white trident in one of his hands. The two warriors grasped hands, and the Zora flashed him a sparkling smile.
"This is Princess Zelda," Link said quickly, introducing her as she arrived to the scene. "Zelda, this is Prince Sidon." He turned to the Zora prince. "Can you tell us what's going on here?"
"That beast came out of nowhere, my friend. We heard the beginnings of its rampage a few hours ago, and have watched as it has given chase to all of the monsters in the pass."
"Is it friendly, perhaps?" Zelda asked, hopeful.
Sidon shook his head. "I do not think so. I have heard rumors of this beast before: a Dodongo, they call it. But they were only supposed to survive underground, not up here on the surface." He winced as a Bokoblin went flying past them. "Its armor is impenetrable - nothing the monsters have thrown against it has so much as chipped it. I fear it may be unstoppable."
"That's nonsense. Nothing is truly unstoppable." Zelda jumped down from her horse and crept up a ridge to examine the situation. Admittedly, Prince Sidon was partially correct: no arrow, club, spear, or sword seemed capable of harming the Dodongo. She watched as a Bokoblin even tried slicing at its thick tail, only to be knocked into the river. The Dodongo opened its maw and let out a mighty roar that shook the very air around it.
That was it!
Zelda turned towards Link and Sidon. "I have an idea. Prince Sidon, if you would be so kind as to instruct your warriors to gather whatever explosive arrows they have and meet us at the end of Luto's Crossing."
The Zora prince glanced at Link, who shrugged. "Very well," Sidon said. "We will meet you there."
"So what's your plan?" Link asked, after the Zora had all vanished into the nearby waters.
"If we can lead the Dodongo to Luto's Crossing, Sidon and his warriors can finish it off. But we'll have to get its attention." She ran a hand along Dodger's side. "Are you and Epona ready to run for your lives?"
"This is a terrible plan!" Link shouted over the roars of the Dodongo.
They were racing along the path which led up the mountainous terrain, Epona and Dodger wheezing as they struggled to keep ahead of the furious monster behind them.
Just as Zelda had theorized, while the Dodongo's scales were nigh impregnable, the monster could still feel it any time something struck its hide. So when she fired off a rapid succession of arrows - along with Link tossing whatever nearby weapons he could find - the monster whirled on her and gave chase.
Of course, she had not anticipated that something so large could move quite so fast. Even with just two legs, it nearly outpaced the two stallions, every step causing the ground to quake. She began to worry that the cliffside might collapse around them, leading both her and Link to an early grave.
"Just a little further!" she shouted, coaxing her stallion forward. They were nearly at the top of the ridge. Beyond that lay Luto's Crossing, a long bridge that spanned the length of Ruto Lake. If they could just get across, hopefully Prince Sidon and his warriors would be waiting.
The ground began to give way beneath them. Dodger just barely managed to get ahead of it, leaping onto the more solid platform of the bridge, but she glanced behind to find Epona struggling to keep up. The Dodongo charged forward, mouth open, preparing to gobble up horse and rider in one fell swoop.
"No!" Zelda fired off another shot from her bow, striking the beast squarely between the eyes. It snarled and changed directions, focusing on her instead. But even so, its tail swung in a wide arc, and with a loud whump it struck Link and sent him flying.
"Link!" She paused for a moment, watching as he sailed over the edge of the cliff. There was no way he could survive a fall from that height. But maybe he could…
Dodger whinnied and galloped forward along the bridge, and Zelda lost sight of him. Tears flooded her vision. No. He couldn't be gone. He was her knight. Her champion. They were supposed to unite Hyrule together, and then maybe after…
Booming snarls snapped her back into focus. The Dodongo had taken the bait and was now pursuing her across the bridge, just like she'd wanted. On the opposite end, she saw two dozen Zora warriors all armed with bows, explosive arrows nocked and ready. "When it opens its mouth again," she shouted, hoping they could hear her, "fire at will!"
"Ready!" She heard Sidon's voice calling above the din. "Aim!"
As Dodger reached the line of Zora, Zelda spun and leapt off of her horse, turning to face the incoming beast. Its maw was wide open in a ferocious roar, tongue flailing about as if in preparation for a delicious meal.
"FIRE!" she screamed, shooting an arrow from her own weapon.
Explosions rocked the mountainside as projectiles crashed against the behemoth. Zelda closed her eyes as dust and debris flew around her, and she felt rocks graze her bare arms and the shockwave push her back. Still she stood, not daring to fall over. She was Princess Zelda, and she would stand tall.
When at last the chaos settled and the world fell a little more silent, she blinked her eyes open. The Dodongo stood before them, but it was swaying from side-to-side. Its tongue now dangled out of its mouth, several arrows lodged into the muscle. The beast had barely fit on the bridge to begin with but now, as she watched, it slowly began leaning to the right. Zelda lifted her bow and brought another glowing arrow into her hands. "For Link," she whispered, before firing. The light arrow slammed against the side of its mouth, and with a final gasp, the Dodongo fell over the side of the bridge and plummeted into the lake below.
The moments following the Dodongo's defeat were a blur for the princess. She vaguely recalled the Zora cheering and celebrating, and had a distinct vision of Prince Sidon flashing her a bright smile and calling her a total genius, but after that things grew hazy. She knew that the prince, upon seeing her disheartened expression and realizing that Link was missing, shouted for several of his warriors to go off in search of the missing knight, and then ordered her to follow him. How long the journey took into the Zora city, though, she did not know. Nor did she even remember getting there. All she knew is that in what felt like an instant, she was standing before the throne of King Dorephan.
"-all we can do to find him," the king said. "My hope is that he will have at least fallen into the river. Even if dear Link has met his end, we will at least be able to give him a proper burial."
"I…what?" She looked up into the massive king's face. "I apologize, King Dorephan. I…I do not feel well."
He looked down at her with pity. "Of course. Perhaps it is best that you get some rest. We can talk on important matters later." The king nodded to someone behind her. "Yona, please escort Princess Zelda to her chambers. See to it that she is made comfortable."
"Of course, my king." A green-scaled Zora took Zelda by the arm and gently guided her towards the rooms below the throne room.
She wasn't sure how long she remained in that room. An hour? A day? A week? All she could think about was how she had failed him. She had known that her plan to defeat the Dodongo was risky…but then again, everything she had done since properly returning to the world had not been without risk. She had just assumed that, like in every other situation, they would prevail. After all, Link had fought who-knows-how-many monsters before, had conquered the four Divine Beasts, and slain Calamity Ganon. In her mind, he had been invincible.
And now…
When she finally felt fit enough to leave her room, it was not guilt but shame that washed over her. She had wasted time, precious time, feeling sorry for herself. That wasn't what Link would have wanted. Taking deep breaths, she forced herself to come to the conclusion that she would just have to continue with the quest they had started together. It was the only way she could make it up to him.
Returning to the throne room, she found that King Dorephan was in the middle of a council meeting. Despite this, he seemed pleased to see her. "Come in, come in!" he cried, waving her over. Several of the council members, older Zora whose features were wrinkled with age, grumbled, but he ignored them.
"I apologize for my behavior," Zelda began. "It was unbecoming to hide away for…so long."
"Four days," mumbled one of the council members.
"Oh, shush," King Dorephan scolded. Turning to Zelda, he said, "Do not worry about Seggin. He's an old fool who would be grumpy even if all the monsters in the world vanished without a trace. How are you, dear?"
"I am as well as I can be. Erm, thank you, for not being upset with my behavior."
"Nonsense, princess. When I lost Mipha, I daresay I hid away for…what was it, Seggin, a few months? I understand your grief."
Zelda bit her tongue. Mipha. "I feel I must apologize again, King Dorephan. It was at my request that Mipha piloted Vah Ruta, and-"
The king held up a fin to silence her. "The time for blame and feeling sorry for ourselves has long since passed. Mipha would have made the choice whether I gave her permission or not. It is thanks to her that Calamity Ganon is no more, yes? I would say that hers is a noble sacrifice, worthy of remaining in the history books for all ages to come." He paused and released a heavy sigh. "Let us speak no more of those unpleasant topics. I wish to commend you in your efforts in vanquishing the Dodongo that threatened our territory. Prince Sidon has told me all about your exploit. How did you put it again?"
"A legendary feat for the history books!" Sidon applauded, flashing her a bright smile. "Why, what you did would dwarf even the legendary feat of our champion Link!"
His words nearly brought tears to her eyes. She blinked them away, clearing her throat. "Thank you, Prince Sidon. Thank you, King Dorephan. I was hoping…well, the reason I came to the Zora Domain to begin with was to speak of the future."
The king leaned back in his throne and nodded. "Those are the best conversations. Please, go on."
"Thank you." Zelda glanced around at the assembled council members. "I know that your people have suffered these past one hundred years, and while you say I don't need to, King Dorephan, I still feel I must apologize for my failure that allowed that suffering to take place. But now, with Calamity Ganon destroyed and his armies weakening by the day, we have an opportunity to bring peace to Hyrule once more. I intend to visit each of the great countries of Hyrule and ask you to work together, so that no one might threaten us ever again. I believe that it is only under a united Hyrule that we can ensure peace and prosperity for all, now and forevermore."
King Dorephan nodded politely. "And I suppose that you will lead this united Hyrule, taking your place upon the throne in your father's castle?"
"I…am not sure yet," Zelda admitted. "While I am King Rhoam's only descendant, I do not wish to assume that just because I was the princess of Hyrule, I am its rightful ruler. Whoever is to lead should be someone that everyone agrees to, to guarantee that there is no dissent."
"Hmmph." One of the advisors, a green one whose face looked like it was melting with age, crossed his arms. "Sounds like you are avoiding responsibility."
"I disagree," said King Dorephan, raising himself up a little higher. "I think that your decision speaks of accumulated wisdom, Princess Zelda. While the Zora will stand behind you and your campaign to unite Hyrule under one rule, there undoubtedly will be some who disagree. The Rito, in particular, I believe will prove difficult."
She nodded. "That is why I think it is imperative to visit the major cities and speak with leaders. Even if it is not I who ends up taking up the mantle of leadership, I think it is important that everyone has a voice." She paused. "On that topic…"
The Zora king looked at her with interest. "Yes?"
"I think there is a situation that you should be aware of. Tell me, King Dorephan, what do you know of the Lizal people?"
He leaned back in his throne, a frown across his face. "An interesting question, princess. To call them a 'people', I feel is quite generous. Monsters they are. Monsters they have been. And monsters they shall always be. For as long as recorded history, they have plagued the Zora, fighting over territory."
She looked him in the eyes. "What if I were to tell you that this wasn't entirely true?"
Zelda proceeded to spend the next several hours detailing the king and his council about her time in the Lizal village. It was clear from the outset that many in her audience found her claims dubious at best - when she began to describe Master Ripclaw's tale about the true history of the Lizal people, one of the advisors stood up and simply left the throne room. Still she continued, describing everything with as much detail as she could muster. She owed it to them: Master Ripclaw, the other Lizal, and Link. He had believed in her. It was about time she believed in herself.
When all was said and done, she found Dorephan regarding her with a look that seemed a mix between curiosity and frustration. "You say that the Lizal wish to have peace with us?" he said, sounding uncertain. "I am not sure this is possible. Even if this Master Ripclaw's tale about his kind is true, we have been warring with them for generations. My great-grandmother was slain by one-"
"He also asked me to bring you something." Zelda quickly fished out the seaweed-wrapped package Master Ripclaw had given her. "He said…he said you would understand what it means."
The parcel passed from her hands to Sidon's, then from Sidon to his father. The Zora King handled the package gingerly, as if he were expecting a trap to burst forth from it. Had Zelda not seen how earnestly the Lizal wanted peace, she might have thought the same. Still, she wanted desperately to know what Master Ripclaw thought would be an offering of peace, and stared intently as Dorephan unwrapped it.
It was a statue. She could barely see it from her vantage point, but Zelda was fairly certain that the statue was in the shape of the Goddess Hylia, like so many others scattered around the world of Hyrule. Only this one looked different: rather than being carved from stone, however, it was made from crystal and lapis.
"The Zora Divinity," King Dorephan whispered, though his voice was loud enough that she still heard him clearly. "For six centuries the location of this holy artifact has eluded my people. It was stolen by a Hylian, you know," he added, now speaking directly to Zelda. "A robber who saw it only as a prize to be cashed in. That it should return to us now, after the defeat of Calamity Ganon, I think speaks volumes of how our people shall thrive."
"So does that mean you will consider Master Ripclaw's offer?" Zelda asked, hopeful.
"Blasphemy!" shouted one of the advisors. Two others were shaking their heads.
King Dorephan was silent for a moment, staring down at the figure in his hands. When he finally spoke again, his voice remained somber. "The return of the Zora Divinity is indeed no small matter. I can at least agree to not wage war on their camp, as was planned. But to ally ourselves with such monsters, when our history is so full of bloodshed? I cannot justify such a decision."
Zelda hung her head low as Prince Sidon stood up and protested. The king shook his head. "My decision on this matter is final. While I appreciate your counsel, Princess Zelda, who else would possibly vouch for the sincerity of their claims?"
"I would."
The voice, confident and defiant, sent a chill down Zelda's spine. No…it couldn't be. She turned around to face the source.
Link, the Champion of Hyrule, stood at the entrance to the throne room. Though his face was bruised, and he was using the Master Sword like a cane, he managed to stand tall. Upon his person he wore the Zora armor, the very armor which Zelda knew Mipha had made especially for him all those years ago.
Zelda couldn't help herself. She rushed forward, and in an uncharacteristic display of affection, wrapped her knight in a tight embrace. "Oh, how I grieved!" she cried. "Oh how glad I am to find that you are okay!" She separated herself from him and stared into his face. "But…how did you survive? None of the scouts could find any sign of you."
"That was our doing." Behind the knight, looking awkward and out of place, was the black Lizal, Master Ripclaw himself.
"What is the meaning of this?!" cried one of the advisors. "How dare you bring a monster into our sacred home!"
King Dorephan leered at Link. "I think you had best explain yourself, little knight."
He did. Slowly, but gaining momentum as he did, Link explained that after the Dodongo swept him off the cliffside, he landed in Ruto Lake. Battered against rocks, he was swept down the river, until he arrived unconscious at the home of the Lizal.
"They found me, half-broken, and took care of me. That is why your scouts couldn't find me - they didn't dare approach the village."
The Zora King still looked doubtful. Speaking directly to the leader of the Lizal, he questioned, "You would really take in this knight, who has slain dozens, if not hundreds, of your people?"
Master Ripclaw straightened his back and locked his eyes with Dorephan's. "When Link slew Calamity Ganon, it was not just your people he saved. It was ours, as well."
Link went on to detail how the Lizal cared for him, fixing his wounds and feeding him even while he lay unconscious for two days. When he at last awoke, Master Ripclaw thought to take Link to the Zora himself, as a gesture of goodwill.
"We want peace," the Lizal said. "For too long, our people have waged war against one another. I do not expect forgiveness in a day. I do not even expect it to happen in my lifetime. But when I leave this world, I want to leave it knowing that our people might once again work together as allies."
"I agree." Prince Sidon stood up and walked over to Master Ripclaw. "I know I am young, but I have seen my fair share of conflict. I think it would be wise for us to share in the peace Link and Zelda have brought us, and to do our part to rebuild relations between our people." He extended a hand to the Lizal. "Even if my father does not, I accept your promise of friendship."
The two shook hands, and Sidon flashed Master Ripclaw one of his signature smiles. Zelda found herself smiling uncontrollably. She had her knight back by her side, and her diplomacy was finally starting to work.
King Dorephan scratched his chin contemplatively. "It is fate that the younger generation should see the world and how it can be improved better than the ones who came before them," he said. "Such is the folly of age. I would be foolish not to see my son's wisdom, and the wisdom of Princess Zelda, on this matter." He sighed. "Master Ripclaw, I cannot promise that things will be perfect. But, perhaps if we work together, we can ensure a brighter future for both of our peoples."
Master Ripclaw licked his eyeball and nodded. "That is all anyone can ask for."
"Then it is decided!" The Zora King stood up from his throne, towering over all who were assembled there. "From this day forth, may the Zora and Lizal people work together, to achieve a harmony like that of our ancient past. Master Ripclaw, I request that you send several delegates here to meet with us, and in turn I shall send several delegates to your village. It will take some time, but I am sure that we can-"
The ground began to rumble. Zelda caught Link before he could fall to the ground, but others were not quite so lucky. As the quakes continued, she watched as chunks of the cliffs surrounding the Zora Domain broke off and fell into the lake with a violent crash. Screams echoed up from the city as people attempted to find someplace the southeast, a plume of water rose up into the air, like the eruption of a watery volcano.
"What is this!?" Master Ripclaw croaked.
Link answered in a grim voice, barely audible above the din. "Vah Ruta has reawoken."