Metal rang out as steel struck silver, the sharp strike ricocheting off white brick walls and rising up to the highest balconies and loftiest towers in the castle itself. Many peered out from high windows or over pale parapets to catch sight of what had caused this commotion. Many more stood watch in the Courtyard of the Fountain itself, watching in fascination as weapons flew like lightning bolts and tamed magic bolstered attacks.
Ruuya sat and watched in silence, head covered by her dark cloak despite the late summer warmth. Despite the large size of the central courtyard, it felt crowded with so many onlookers gathered, even though they had given the duelists exchanging blows before the Queen's Fountain a wide berth. The statue at its center, a deceased queen in a flowing dress holding a saucer from which water flowed, looked down on all here in judgment as though they had violated a sacred peace, but none noticed.
No, the crowd around Ruuya cheered. Linkle and Nan stood next to her, as did the others of the newest squad that had quickly been dubbed the 'Bazz Brigade' by its members. An idea, of course, proposed by Nan herself.
The girl was nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with her, occasionally shooting Ruuya odd looks from time to time when her gaze was briefly unglued from the combatants. She had insisted that Ruuya needed no hood. Everyone in the castle knew Gufuu's assistant was a Gerudo, and a few others of the staff and guards were Gerudo, too. So why did Ruuya need to hide? She hadn't felt the need to don that stupid hood in months, Nan had reasoned. Then she'd added, quite frankly, "it makes no damn sense."
Linkle had nodded vigorously along with every word. The two were thick as thieves, not that Ruuya cared much for that saying. Her sisters, her fellow thieves, had betrayed her, after all.
You betrayed them first, whispered a traitorous voice. She firmly ignored it, as she always did.
Nan just couldn't understand. All these Hyrulean eyes. They could see her, and worse than them were the red-haired guests that had come to watch that day. They had claimed they were Heralds of Gerudo Town, ambassadors of the Gerudo that had chosen mercantile ways and betrayed the Goddess and her chosen one. If they saw her, they would know her as a stranger. They would turn her over to the knights and have her slain, and not even Vaati's new rank and respect would protect her. For five days, she had tried her best to avoid them, shrinking into the shadows like a mouse might claw through the castle walls. And then this exhibition match had been called, and Nan and Linkle had insisted she come out of the potion room for once. She had resisted, but...
Why am I out here again?
Nan tugged on her sleeve, pointing to the combatants as black spade struck silver shaft and sparks flew, only for Impa to disappear in a puff of smoke and to strike Bazz from behind. Or try. He whirled around in a wide swipe, and caught the blade on a thin blue shield woven from magic–a spell called Nayru's Love–instead. The magic shield shattered like strange glass, water and ice rippling around the black blade.
Between one breath and the next, a spout of water shot out of the ground, launching him into the air and over the Sheikah woman. A mirror of Impa slid away from herself and Bazz's spear ran through one, the woman dispersing into smoke, but he managed to graze the real Impa with the side of his blade in a quick reversal.
No blood was drawn as they had magically dulled the edges of their weapons, but they still could sting and bruise. That, however, was the point, as she understood it. The sight of real blades recreated the fear and anxiety of true combat, but the spell brought down the risk. It was as close as one could get to a duel to the death without actual maiming or injury.
Bazz landed another blow, and Nan gave a cheer and Linkle a whoop, pounding her fist into her palm. Ruuya kept her head down. Oh, right. The pair had badgered her into coming. They insisted she'd regret it if she didn't watch this pre-planned duel, and reminded her that the Brigade was leaving on the morrow for their first official mission outside the Castle. It was the last chance she'd see Nan for at least two weeks, perhaps longer. The last chance to do anything with her, and the fearful look in the depths of Nan's blue eyes had convinced her.
The last time Nan had done anything like this, she'd lost her mother. Nan wanted a good memory to hang onto, in case something went awry. And with those Gerudo here, stoic and brooding, and not nearly as in awe of this display of skill and grace as the rest, Ruuya had given in. How could she deny her little sister one last fond memory?
Ruuya really wasn't sure what exactly had brought this duel about. If it were a political move on Alphonus' part to show off to his guests, a test of strength between warriors, or both. Or neither, considering the glares and heated but silent exchanges between the duelists. Perhaps it was just how these two worked out their differences, but she swore there was something more there, simmering beneath the surface.
Whatever it was, Ruuya couldn't quite place her finger on it.
But shadows swirled and water splashed as the duel moved ever onward. Another exchange ended with both striking each other at the same moment: Impa slashing his right arm, Bazz slamming his spear into her outer calf. Impa tripped, but quickly regained her footing, vanishing in a cloud of smoke. Yet, when she reappeared near the foot of the fountain and farther from Bazz, she noticeably limped, prompting the crowd to fall completely silent.
Ruuya could feel them wondering. Was it over? Was it done? Had a victor finally won?
Wearily, spear still lowered and readied to strike, Bazz spoke, hints of exhaustion laced into his voice. "There is no shame in surrendering, if–"
Impa huffed, then dashed forward, splitting into five copies of herself. It had been a trick. A ruse. A quick one meant to pull on the Zora's natural compassion for others.
Ruuya recalled, briefly, what he had told her, in that instant. If he could not finish off Impa relatively quickly, she would win, even with the limits placed on her and her powers to make the duel fair. The fight, no doubt, would soon tilt in her favor. She prayed that Din might find it in her to rejuvenate him.
Wielding two spades in each hand, ten blades bounced off a quickly summoned dome, protecting the Zora from the initial strike. But when the next one came, the shield splattered, and a blade tore into his right hand. It fell uselessly to his side.
Surely, Ruuya thought, heart now racing, this was the end. Surely, there was no way that the Zora could come back from this. Nan had squeezed her eyes tight. Linkle held her friend close, arm wrapped around her, left hand reaching back as though the girl might soon withdraw her blade and join the fray. The rest of the Brigade looked like they might jump in too.
Ruuya had to give Bazz credit, he had whipped this bunch of country bumpkins into a strong and loyal force in less than six months. There was something to be said for that kind of stupid courage, but Ruuya shook her head, her hood drooping back slightly.
"This isn't your fight."
A quick glance from one tall Gerudo made her pull it lower again.
At the last moment, Bazz spun his spear in a wide arc with his good hand, conjuring a thick wave of water that tore each of the five Impas apart. The Courtyard was empty of white-haired women, shades and living both. One heartbeat passed. From a shimmer of shadow far above the Zora's head, Impa appeared and dove from the Heavens above, spade pointed down and too fast for Bazz to see her. Without even looking, he raised the spear behind his back, deflecting the blow partially on the shaft of his weapon. She turned mid-air and kicked off the spear, landed lightly on her toes, and jabbed her spade into his chest, her back to him.
And another spade, once discarded, nicked her neck. It was held in his "injured" hand. Ruuya spread out her magical senses, and felt the last remnants of water magic dissipating into mist. Instead of cheers and the crash of metal, silence struck. A strange and empty cacophony filled the Courtyard of the Fountain.
Slowly, the King began to clap. "Very good, very good," Alphonus said, spreading his arms wide as he approached the pair. "I don't think I've seen a duel such as that in ages. Koume, what do you think of the fight of our champions?"
The tail on the Zora's head flipped briefly from side to side. A disapproving grimace struck Impa's face like a bolt of lightning, but faded just as quickly. Exchanging a quick glance, both lowered their spades, and Bazz handed the Sheikah back her weapon, his hand lingering for a moment on top of hers. At last, they turned to the old Gerudo woman the King had addressed.
Koume, despite bearing the name of one of the witch-twins of legend, did not look the part of a witch herself. Yes, her hair was white and encumbered with gold and gems, and her skin wrinkled, a cool yet golden russet. Still, there was a type of sturdy elegance to the tall and stocky woman in the red and yellow dress. She gave the King a proper curtsy, but did not share his smile.
"Was this display meant to frighten us into submission, Your Majesty?"
Alphonus paled to a crisp white. "Nah–nah–no, Lady Koume," he said. "Whatever would make you assume such a hideous thing?"
A cloaked figure crouched down next to Ruuya, and she sighed, prepared for whatever jab Vaati might spring. He had his store of elixirs and that fool bard could wait another day for a stamina potion. She glanced up.
Then mentally backpedaled.
This was not Vaati. The figure was too broad and tall for the small and lanky mage. Not one of the Brigade. Not a Gerudo. A guard? Turning her head to face the stranger, she raised an eyebrow. The face was obscured by a brown cloak, a sturdy one that would not blow away in the winds. A bit like the one she used to own, only more worn. Instinctively, she looked down for a scabbard or hilt.
She found neither, and winter's chill seized her heart.
A hand peeked out of the side of his cloak. Not delicate and prim, but thick and calloused from a harsh life.
And they were dark like her own.
They were dark like her own.
No.
The voe withdrew his hood, red hair of flame, golden eyes of amber, dark skin of deep, rich brown. He flashed her a broad and toothy grin.
No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
She could hear the shouts of triumph from her sisters. Whispers of prophecies fulfilled, of promises made whole.
"My mother will, no doubt, keep the King occupied with her measured displeasure for a time. We are merchants, yes? But we do not like to be seen as weak merely because of our peaceful occupation," the voe, the Desert King said. Ruuya begged her body to move. Begged her legs to get up and run. But she stayed still as a statue in a forgotten temple. Her sisters leaped with joy. "My people call me Dragmire. You are the apprentice to the Potion Master, Lord Gufuu, correct?"
Please. Help.
By the grace of Din, she sprang to her feet. "Go," she said sharply, words failing her. And she fled.
Running, running, running through the Castle halls blindly, and knocking over vases, people, and things of various shapes until she reached the Potion Room, kicking open the door and slamming it shut behind her.
Vaati looked up from his book as she slumped down on the floor, rolling into a ball and squeezing her eyes shut. Then a cold hand brushed her shoulder with long and slender fingers. Peering out between her knees, she looked up at Vaati, who almost seemed...concerned.
"What happened?"
"He...he…" She shook so hard the words didn't flow. "He...spah...spah..."
"Dammit woman," he said, then reached for her hand. Something pulled on her magic, then tugged on it harshly. "Now, what happened?"
Her tongue worked, suddenly of its own accord. As though the very wind was drawing the words out of her, forcing her to talk. She felt magic burst from them both, his working, her power.
"The voe they spoke of, the king of legend, the one they praised–he's, he's..." Ruuya stared past the mage. Cheers erupted in her head, a beast towering above the desert. She swallowed saliva thick as quicksand. The memories, oh Din, the memories walked in front of her. With her. Beside her. They were here. They were here. They. Were. Here. She could not escape them. Ruuya pulled on her hair, rocking back and forth, back and forth... "Dragmire. There was a voe. A Gerudo. He said his name was Dragmire. Gerudo never have voe children."
"Yes, only every few centuries or so," he replied, his voice calm and steady, a safe place in the desert storm. She latched onto it, praying that neither sand nor lightning would break it. Strange to think the wind itself was the only safe thing in the storm, but she dared not let go. "Might as well be never, I suppose."
He dropped her hand, and her magic snapped back in place, like a clawshot pulled back into its spring. She heard something uncork, the smell of freshly crushed mint filled the air. Green potion, made to restore magic, or put someone to sleep if they drank too much, her mind whispered. A hint of cold rationality as her sisters belted praise, hands raised to the ceiling.
The wind itself was safe.
"I will not bother with vile, faux comforts, Ruuya," Vaati said, passing through a pair of children. "It could be him. It could also be another. Not all male Gerudo were Ganon. But if it were, don't you think I, the Great Vaati, would sense and recognize his magic?"
She stared at him, finding all words lost to her again. Did he not hear their voices echo against the stone walls of this very room?
"Why do I even bother?" he said, shaking his head. "Drink this, we will figure out what to do with you in the morning."
Ruuya swallowed the green potion whole, and then another. Even as her head grew heavy, her sisters shout for joy.
/-/
She shut her eyes and opened them to clear blue skies. The sun did not blind or sear her. No voices from the Castle reached her ears. There were distant flickers of laughter and music, but she could not tell from where.
Yet, she was unworried. Ruuya sat up and took in the endless running hills of Hyrule Field, like a fisherman would take in a lake. She was waiting. Waiting for something.
The sun's light faded. The earth rumbled. Ruuya turned to where the sun was heading, and everything inside her turned to ice.
Fog, deep purple and howling, rolled in across the plains. Its form boiled and bulged, rushing as quick as a Lynel.
Ruuya spun on her toes, and ran. The winds screamed around her, boughs bending in the trees, but she knew without looking that the fog was still coming.
She sprinted for all she was worth, unknowing how close the fog was and not wanting to. It blew through a village, and the people collapsed. It blew through woods and the trees decayed. The rolling hills were as a graveyard, clever keaton roaming the ruined countryside.
The darkness choked the land, choked the kingdom, choked her, cloying at her throat, burning her with a familiar fire.
Suddenly, rays of light cut through the ever present fog. She couldn't see who it was, or what it was, only that a green shape stood in their center.
The rays brightened, something inhuman screamed, and the person-thing in green leapt from the light.
Steel glinted as time burst into flames. A shadow cast over fields and villages and people.
And a blade shot forward into her eye.
She screamed and screamed, gnashing her teeth, but the pain would not abide. It sank into her skull, and when the person – the boy stepped back, he stood with his brothers. The children grew into men, donned armor, and withered away. Pustules emerged from their backs and joints, dead black skin falling away to reveal gleaming, pus-yellow eyes. The dead soldiers of Hyrule gazed upon her balefully with crimson sockets, hefted their weapons, and advanced.
/-/
"She's been like that since yesterday."
The malice grew and grew and grew. It poisoned the ground. It poisoned the water. It poisoned the air. It poisoned the hearts of human, monster, and beast alike. The full moon rose red above the field, the mountain, the desert, the sea, and in all those places where its haunting light touched…
"Since her encounter…" A second speaker paused, but she could not see either, not with the darkness so thick and heavy. "It does not matter."
...It brought the dead back to life. The servants of the beast they were, monsters in all shapes and forms. From lowly imps to terrifying monstrosities. In crimson moonlight, the dark things were put back together, flesh forming from ashes, bones unshattering.
"Will you do as I asked?"
A sigh answered him.
"Or do I need to command it?"
Yet worst of all, a dark silhouette arose. A giant which blocked out the stars, outlined only in red. Ruuya shivered at the sight, shaking in her bed like one possessed.
"His Majesty will not approve of further delay."
It had the horns of an ox.
"Not even a day?"
The body of a man.
"I fear so. Alphonus is quite anxious to test our mettle."
The eyes of a demon.
"Ganon," she said in a half-daze, horror making her tremble and sweet. She rolled up into a ball, and wept. "It's Ganondorf."
There was a sharp gasp, something loud slammed against the floor. "How does a Gerudo from the deep desert know that name…"
"How should I know?"
Ganon's hand reached for her, finding her even in this secret place deep inside the Castle. She begged for release. Begged for some way to reach safety. Begged that hand would not…
Then the hand that came for her, instead of gigantic, took on a different shape. It was slick and cold to the touch and landed on her bare shoulder. That, finally, startled Ruuya awake. Her eyes flew open, she took a deep breath, and sat bolt upright in bed. With a harsh shove, she pushed the closest voe away from her, causing him to stumble and trip over a cushioned chair with a heavy bang. Looking around, she realized she was in the large study attached to the Mixing Room. She was safe. Dragmire hadn't found her…
Ruuya took a deep, unsteady breath. Then glanced to the side. The person who had fallen, now a tangle of black limbs, blue cape, and silver armor on the ground, was not Vaati, but Bazz. She should have known. Vaati was too small to cause such a racket.
"As you can see, Bazz, the recent meeting with her kin has put her in a...difficult state of mind."
From the floor, Bazz grunted, lifting a fin to his rounded forehead.
"I...I'm...fine," she said, still shaking. Ruuya pulled her knees up to her chest, then glanced at Bazz. "Sorry."
All she got was a nod from the Zora, who had carefully sat up, dusting off a few shards of glass from the skirt of his tunic and legs. Ouch. He must have broken a bottle or two when he fell. With her magical defenses fallen so low, somehow, she felt the cold trickle of water magic as Bazz started to heal the superficial cuts covering his arms and legs.
"You're anything but fine," Vaati snapped, revealing both fangs. "From what I have gathered, this Dragmire and his kin will be here for two more weeks." He waved a hand dismissively in her direction. "An inconvenience, considering the paranoid state of my foolish apprentice..."
"Who could put herself and my soldiers in more danger if she came with us in her current state," Bazz said, concern thickening his accent. The blue light faded as the last of his small wounds closed. "Perhaps if they weren't so new and inexperienced, I would allow it. But that boy…"
"Boy?"
"Alphonus."
Bazz bowed his head. "I should not call the King such, forgive me," he said. Vaati snorted. "'Tis a dangerous locale, Lord Gufuu, one a man of your years doubtlessly knows quite well. It is already a weary undertaking, and unwise, perhaps. If I had a choice on this matter, they would have their trials on a different mission!"
"So, I do have to order you?" Dangerous glee sparkled in the sorcerer's eyes. He clasped his hands together beneath his chin. "A wondrous thought."
The Zora clenched his teeth, his head-tail down and straight, as though he might grab his discarded spear, spring to his feet, and attack. Instead, he gave a reluctant nod.
"Then consider it a command," Vaati declared, grinning sharply. "You will take Ruuya with your brigade under the guise of finding rare ingredients for potion making…"
The thought of escape, even momentary, cleared her mind. The shouts died, the dreams faded to smoke. She could think clearly again. Placing her head on her knees, she let curiosity speak for her.
"Where are we going?"
"The Lost Woods," Bazz answered. "It is even less pleasant than it sounds. They are filled with fog, leafless trees, mirages, and the souls of the damned. The paths within it confuse and befuddle. It is a simple reconnaissance mission, and yet..."
That probably should have filled her with renewed dread, even made her refuse Vaati's plans. That, no doubt, was his goal. Instead, the idea thrilled her. No Gerudo spies. No gloating Vaati to contend with. Fewer stupid Hyrulean eyes. A feverish fire lit within her. It sounded like a wonderful oasis compared to her current set of circumstances. A wellspring in a desert gone dangerous and dry.
"Sounds great," she said, grabbing her spear and lifting herself from the bed with renewed gusto. "Any place is better than here."
Even a wood filled with the undead.
SQ: A short chapter but an important one.