I do not own anything.
'thought'
"Speech"
"Text via book or newspaper... when those are around..."
System Text
My blade swishes through the air, leaving behind a trail of spectral swords.
*CLANG*
A shower of sparks sprays from the hard light spear. Merely getting close to it a biting chill fills my body.
Luckily, I had the foresight to dry us all off before we started fighting, but the general moistness and humidity of the divine beast probably makes its ice powers stronger...
Is this perhaps why Mipha lost? A creature that used one of the Zora People's greatest weaknesses. Ice?
My attack briefly causes the creature's arm to slide back, a single arrow stabbing into the creature's shoulder, viney growths exploding outwards from it and clinging to the blight's torso. My deflecting of its spear and the restraining of its body means it's easily left open for Linkle to surge forwards, under the effect of my Bladed Dash spell, the master sword stabbing downwards, three copies rapidly following it.
The blade sinks down to its hilt in the beast's forehead, magical power surging along its length three times. The final time shooting out the back of its head with a shower of purple goopy slime-like gore.
"SCRRREEEEEEGH!"
The creature of purplish black sludge lets out a loud shriek that echoes throughout the room, its entire body shuddering and shaking.
It seems to poof into black smoke.
"..."
"..."
A quest has been completed!
"Was that... It?" I question slowly.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Linkle falls to her knees, uncaring that she's getting her Sheik leggings wet.
"I..." Mipha begins quietly. "That was..."
She lets out a long self-loathing sigh. "Well. Regardless. Vah Ruta has been cleansed. You have my deepest gratitude for... er... avenging my death..."
Seal the divine Beasts #2:
Vah Ruta has been tainted, creating a ceaseless downpour that risks flooding the Zora's domain. The main issue of this is that the rest of Hyrule will surely follow if something isn't done soon. Perhaps two heroes should purify the beast
Objective: Clear out the Malice infecting Divine Beast #3, Vah Ruta: [x]
Bonus Objectives:
Slay Waterblight Singlehandedly: [-]
Slay Waterblight without taking a single point of damage: [x]
Rewards: 10,000 Experience, 'Piece of Heart' feat.
Bonus Rewards: 15000 Experience, 1 to any stat of your choosing, one Item work up to 40,000 GP.
Piece of Heart: {General}
Through facing great trials and tribulations you have grown more powerful, sturdier, and more durable.
You gain 5 Hit Points, For every Hit Die you possess beyond 5, you gain an additional 1 hit point. If you have more than 5 Hit Dice, you gain 1 hit points whenever you gain a Hit Die (such as when you gain a level).
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times, its effects stack both with itself and the likes of Toughness. Every 4 times this feat is gained, its effects improve by .25. (Thus at 4 iterations of the feat, overall, you will be gaining 5 hit points per level instead of 4. at 8, you gain 12 per level, and so on.
Note: this feat cannot be selected via level up and must be granted by the GM/System.
That is...
Wow...
That's fucking overpowered. It scales infinitely?
I put the spare stat point into Constitution raising the number to a nice even sixteen.
Name: Aurum
Class: Bard {Thundercaller}
Level: 10 (28600/75000)
Race: Half Elf
Size: M
Health: 98/98
Stats:
Strength: 18
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 16
Inteligence: 10
Wisdom: 12
Charisma 24
Not bad. Not bad at all.
I find my gaze slowly straying towards Linkle as she rises to her feet.
She looks quite refreshed as well.
Did...
She gain something similar?
"So... what now?" Linkle questions, gazing around the room.
"Firstly..." The ethereal voice begins quietly. "I... would like to speak face to face."
A shimmer seems to flicker around the room, a ghostly haze appearing at the far side.
Flickering blue flames seem to condense as a red skinned woman appears.
A saddened frown rests on her lips as she floats just above the water.
"Mipha..." Linkle whispers, sending pangs of distraught through our slight empathic link.
My eyes flick back to the quest window.
'I wonder...'
"I-I'm sorry." Linkle whispers. "I-I... I failed."
"You didn't fail, Linkle..." The woman sighs.
"But- But I was supposed to be the hero of legend, I-I was supposed to save everyone! And- and now... not only you... but... but... Urbosa... and Daruk... and Revali. S-So many people were hurt... S-So many people died." The blonde looks down at the floor, her hands shaking.
"Yes... and we were the four champions... we were meant to shoulder your burden... yet all we accomplished was having our divine beasts taken from us. We... we only held you back!"
"DON'T SAY THAT!" Linkle screams, tears beginning to stream down her face. "D-Don't ever say that Mipha! H-how dare you! You- Y-You-"
Seeing Linkle like this... it causes my heart to ache.
With that. My mind is set.
I slowly walk forwards reaching in my bag for the item I just purchased.
'Wait... you can't be thinking of using that spell, right?' The blade on my back shakes slightly.
"I must..." I whisper under my breath. "If I want to protect her smile."
'I suppose... I cannot dissuade you, then... be careful, Aurum.'
Linkle cradles her face, quietly sobbing as I walk forwards, pulling out my new magical item.
A large roll of paper unfurls.
Pov: Nearby.
Linkle is... distraught.
She had heard about the demise of her friends but...
To come face to face with it is just... so much worse...
Purah's still around, Impa was old, Zelda is still alive as well just sealing Calamity Ganon. But seeing what remains of her friend after she was so ruthlessly killed.
It- it tears her heart to pieces. An absolute slap to the face.
"Linkle..." The Zora whispers. "It's okay... I've long since come to terms with it. What is important now... is what you shall be doing in the future."
She hears the crinkling of paper, causing her to look to the person she is- technically- married to.
He unfurls a large roll of paper.
"Let's see if this works." He begins.
With a crackle, magical energy explodes around him, water flows away from him in waves.
What is... he doing?
His eyes seem to glow, lights flickering on the back of his hand.
Three shadowy triangles appear... it's similar to what happens when Purah uses the Triforce of Knowledge, but there's no golden piece of the triforce... just three empty black ones that are only visible due to the light around them.
One of the empty black shapes begins to flicker slightly.
His hair is blown around as if he is caught in an updraft, sparks of magical energy sparking and coiling across his limbs.
Words in a language that the girl doesn't know leaves his mouth as a large glowing glyph appears underneath him.
"Vivifica." He intones, voice sounding slightly two-toned as he holds out a hand in her general direction.
The world turns white, an immense light shining from behind the blonde hero of hyrule.
She turns, eyes wide as the glow begins to fade. "Wh-"
Standing there... is a red skinned Zora...
Alive.
She seems just as shocked as Linkle is.
"What the fuck?" The wielder of the master sword whispers, confusion obvious on her face.
She gapes, completely dumbfounded at Mipha...
LIVING. MIPHA.
Aurum- He revived her?! How?! What?
"Aurum..." Linkle whispers, as Mipha's eyes widen, she looks over herself.
"What did you- How did you-" The blonde sputters as she slowly turns, seeing the white haired Sheikah stood there.
Purah's eyes are wide, the triangle at the back of her hand glowing dimly as her red eyes seem to scan the male hero of Hyrule.
Questions form of her lips, but she seemingly can barely get over her shock to voice them.
She blinks quickly rushing forwards, a look of concern on her face.
Huh?
Aurum's shoulders shake as he hunches over.
*Grk-*
A gout of blood seems to spew from his mouth.
Linkle stands rooted in shock, horrified at what she is seeing.
Aurum falls to his knees, Purah managing to catch him before he falls forwards.
Huh?
She feels eerily cold, sounds fade as a persistent ring fills her ears.
Her breath comes out in short pants as her eyes grow wide.
What's...
Why is he-
"AURUM!" She shrieks, diving forwards.
She slides on her knees, coming to a stop beside him as Purah holds him, uncaring about the fact that she scrapes her knees on the metallic and stony floor.
"AURUM!" She screams again. "NO! NO NO NO NO! PLEASE!"
"YOU IDIOT!" She screams tightly grasping his hand, tears prickling at her eyes.
"I just... couldn't bear to see you cry." He weakly gurgles, hand coming up to cup her cheek.
"This is bad." Purah whispers, looking slightly pale. "What he just did- I- I have no idea how he did it- no... it was a spell... but it was far beyond his capabilities. Even spending all of his magical power it wasn't enough so his body cannibalized itself to supply the magic."
Mipha crouches down on the other side, her hands glowing.
"I... can heal him." The girl whispers as a bright blue light seems to shine over the sheikah. "You are lucky that he tried this with me instead of one of the others."
"It looks like you've found someone just as reckless as you, huh Linkle?"
The blonde's shoulders shake as tears gently pelt the chest of the bleeding sheikah.
'ow...'
My mouth tastes coppery, my body feels heavy.
I feel... empty...
I let out a weak groan, cracking open an eye.
"Oh? You're awake."
I blink twice, eyes darting to the top of a nearby silvery dresser.
"Saria?" I whisper. "Were- were you watching me sleep?"
"Huh?" The girl blinks. "Yeah?"
"..."
"Why?" I mutter.
"Well, we all thought it'd be safer after seeing Linkle disembowel some seemingly normal with a spoon only for them to poof into some guy in a red suit." She shrugs, propping her head up with one hand.
"Ah... yeah..." I quietly sigh.
"Is- is everyone alright?"
"Everyone but you." The girl points out. "So... What was all that? You can revive the dead?"
"That was a spell that... can revive the dead, yes." I nod once.
"Any dead?"
"As long as they've died in roughly one hundred years... give or take a decade... any more than that is impossible." I admit.
"I see." The girl sighs.
"So what's happened while I have been out? How long have I been out?"
"Well... congratulations. You're officially a noble of the Zora People now with authority second only to the Royal family."
"Wait... what?" I blink twice.
"You brought back their long deceased princess. One adored by their people." The girl deadpans. "That's kind of a big deal. Even if it did result in you almost dying in compensation."
"So... how long has it been?"
"Five days." She answers.
"Ah."
I stare forwards suddenly.
"Wow... I got fucked up."
Health: 69/69
Stats:
Strength: 9*
Dexterity: 9*
Constitution: 8*
Inteligence: 10
Wisdom: 12
Charisma 24
All of my physical stats have been temporarily crippled... or 'damaged'.
Wait. Shit. All of them have taken two points of drain as well! That's so much more annoying to get rid of! DAMN IT!
Ability damage can be solved with simple bed rest... but drain? That requires Restoration at the very least.
Not impossible for me to get, honestly. I just need to do a quest that offers an 'item' reward.
And-
Magic Deficiency: 662:54:21
Your magical powers have been strained to the point of near collapse. You won't regain any more spell slots regardless of how long you rest.
"..."
I watch the number tick down.
"I can't use magic..." I whisper.
"That's right." Saria nods once. "But don't worry. Purah said that it'll eventually come back in like a month."
A breath leaves my lips as I rub my temples. "Better than being gone forever, I suppose."
"The thing you should be worried about is your body." The girl points out. "Purah said that you've permanently crippled yourself."
"Ah. Yeah. I did feel weak, but I should be able to fix that eventually." I admit, a hand coming to my chest. "I don't regret doing it, though."
"Haah." The girl sighs. "I owe Purah ten Rupees. She said that you'd say something like that."
The corners of her mouth turn upwards. "I'm glad to see that you're okay though, Aurum."
"Thank you for watching over me for the past couple of days, Saria." I smile.
"It was the least I could do." She replies. "You're kind of my friend, after all."
"Besides." The girl waves off. "You saved me from being poisoned and being trapped in amber. This is payment for that."
She hops down. "I'm glad you're okay... now I'm going to go find Linkle and tell her that you're awake."
"Oh. She knows." I mutter quietly causing the girl to blink twice. "I'd step away from the door if I were you."
Her head turns, gazing at the shut door as she takes a single step to the side.
*BANG*
It is slammed open, narrowly missing her as she flinches back.
"AURUM!" Linkle cries as she rushes forwards, nearly tripping over the rug as she stops beside the bed.
She envelopes me in a tight hug, her shoulders shaking slightly as I return it.
"Hey, Linkle." I whisper as I gently rub the back of my head. "I'm glad to see that you're alright."
"Alright... Alright? ALRIGHT?! YOU BASTARD!" The girl growls, grabbing the front of my shirt. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?! Do you know how it feels to have your heart stop?! Dread and hopelessness filling every single part of your body as you feel like the one person you love DIES IN YOUR ARMS?!"
"I'm sorry." I whisper.
"You're such an idiot! I can't believe you!" The girl shouts.
"I just couldn't bare to see you crying like that." I whisper.
"SO, YOU MADE ME CRY WORSE?!"
"I... won't do it again." I whisper into her ear. "I'll never force you to feel that way again."
"YOU'D BETTER NOT OR I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!" She growls, cupping my face with her hands.
Her lips press against my own as she rubs the back of my head.
"Still..." She whispers after breaking the kiss. "You... You revived her. Thank you."
"I plan to do the same to the other four as well." I admit.
"NO NO NO! You certainly fucking DO NOT." The girl glares.
"After I get the triforce of magic." I cut in. "So I'll have more than enough energy to perform the spell."
"Ah."
"So..." The girl mutters, cupping her chin. "The next course of action is Kohga?"
"Well, my next course of action is waiting a month for my magic to come back."
"Ah. Right." The girl mutters under her breath as she takes a seat on the bed.
I notice the Sovereign blade sheathed on her back as I lean into the pillows behind me. "So how has everyone been? Is Mipha well?"
"Well, she's alive." Linkle deadpans. "That's more than she can say she was before we showed up."
"Is she alright?!"
"Yes! You're the only one hurt." The blonde rolls her eyes.
"That's good..." I let out a sigh of relief.
"GOOD?!- I will SMACK you boy." She glares.
"Sorry, sorry." I wave. "I fucked up and put my life in danger... I get it..."
"Hmph." The girl harrumphs as she crawls into bed, gently cradling me as she lays down. "As long as we're clear on that."
I simply just bask in her presence, closing her eyes, a near constant flurry of doting and worrying emotions crashing into me through our empathic link.
"Thank you." The girl suddenly whispers causing me to hum.
She elaborates a moment later.
"M-My friends are dead... it... hurts so much... I can't even say that I've come to terms with it, but thanks to you? M-maybe they won't stay dead. Maybe I can have my friends back."
I gently kiss her cheek. "You will. Calamity Ganon will die, we'll free the princess, deal with all those pesky things around and well, maybe we might go out and see the world... or maybe settle down in Hateno village."
"I'd like that." The girl smiles.
I blink, realizing Saria's still in the room.
"Want to join us?" I offer, causing the girl's face to flush red.
"N-No! I believe I'll pass. I need to go tell Purah and Mipha that you're awake." She quickly slips out of the room, closing the door behind her.
"Ah... probably not enough time to have a little fun, then." Linkle sighs.
"Actually... I'm really not in the mood anyways." I admit causing the blonde to blink owlishly at me.
"Who are you and what have you done with Aurum?"
"I know... doesn't sound like me at all, but I just feel so... weak and sick and just... 'blegh' right now." I continue as I slink down under the blankets.
"Are you okay?" The girl worries.
"Yeah, fine. Just... waiting for my body to get better." I admit.
The girl flinches slightly.
"Ah... about that... Purah said... that you might not be able to fight to your full potential even after a lot of bed rest... that some of your strength has been... permanently sapped."
"Ah. Yeah. That. That's nothing a little restoration spell won't fix. The only issue is that I don't know that spell." I answer.
"..."
"Can he?" The girl asks, looking over her shoulder to the sword hilt poking over her shoulder.
"Yes." It seems to glow.
"So the triforce of magic?" The girl asks, turning back to me.
"Yep."
"Damn." She curses. "It always comes back to Kohga."
"Shit!" I curse suddenly.
"What?! What is it!?"
"We forgot to go check out of that one pillar on top of the mountain." I sigh, shoulders slumping slightly.
"..."
"Oooooh right. We got sidetracked with... Vah Makar... and Saria..." Linkle whispers.
I lay back gazing upwards to a single screen floating above me.
An Achievement has been granted:
Save the Zora Princess:
Mipha was dead... but I suppose that means very little to a higher level DnD character. You've definitely shaken some people, though.
Reward:
Mipha's Grace, 5000 Exp
Mipha's Grace:
Once per year, whenever your hit-point total is brought to below 0, you automatically heal to 1/4 of your maximum total health.
Ah...
That's...
Pretty powerful.
"So what's the whole deal with wielding Vivi?" I ask.
"Oh... she's teaching me how to dual wield! There's supposedly six more master swords, after all, right? At some point, it's likely that I'm going to be forced to use two at once!" She declares.
"Likely. But honestly, I didn't even really know Vivi knew how to dual wield." I agree with a single nod.
"One of my previous wielders did." The sword supplies.
I let out a hum of acknowledgement. "Still. Six swords. Dual wielding will only let you use two... You want to try holding one in your teeth?"
"No. That'd shatter them."
"Says fucking rockroast girl."
"It was ONE TIME!"
"So... you're the one Linkle married." The red skinned fish girl in front of me frowns, crossing her arms as she sits on a small chair at the edge of my bed.
Holy shit...
She's jealous.
I thought the whole Link x Mipha plotline would have been shelved since Link was replaced by Linkle.
But no... it appears that Mipha here swings both ways... for Link-le at least.
"Yeah..." I admit quietly, scratching the back of my head. "Not much of a choice on that."
"Don't tell her THAT." Linkle shrieks, a scarlet blush appearing on her face.
"What? Don't tell her that Purah tricked us into going into a temple whose sole purpose was to get me to bre-" The hero of Hyrule covers my mouth with a hand.
After a long moment she pulls back as we seem to have come to a mental understanding.
"Fiiine." I sigh, shoulders slumping. "I won't tell her."
"You'd better not." She huffs, pouting at me.
I roll my shoulder starting to feel a little bit better.
It has been about three days since I woke up.
I'm slowly but surely getting better.
My stats are out of the negatives at least.
All tens.
Thus, I'm an average man.
I still feel weak, but now I don't feel... like... sick constantly.
That's good at least.
Plus, despite my magic being shot for the next couple of weeks, my bardic performance is still here, so it's not like I'm totally defenseless. Then there's my Ki.
I could summon an army of clones then cause someone's head to explode with a torrent of noise.
"I heard that you kept me stable after I... overused my magic." I begin quietly, gaze returning to Mipha. "Thank you."
"You REVIVED me." The girl points out. "How could mere healing magic even slightly compare?!"
"You kept me from dying, I guess." I shrug idly. "I just couldn't handle Linkle crying, honestly."
"And yet you made her cry even more than my death." The girl observes causing me to wince.
"I didn't expect that spell to take that much out of me... like, sure, I expected maybe unconsciousness... maybe inability to use magic for a little while... not have my body practically eat itself."
"Regardless, I'm not attempting that again until I get stronger." I admit.
"So... you're going to revive the other champions as well?" Mipha asks.
"Of course." I smile. "I already said I was going to."
"AFTER you regain that Triforce piece. Not before... NEVER before." Linkle glares at the side of my head.
"Yeah..." I agree with a single nod.
"Thank you..." The girl whispers, looking down at the floor of the room, there's a slight flush to her face. "It means a lot to me that you put your life on the line for me."
"Once more, think nothing of it. I did it for Linkle." I smile.
"Hero Aurum. The Zora people will never forget this miracle you have granted us." The giant king of the Zora people booms as he sits at the head of a massive banquet table.
"No- merely allowing me to stay here as I recover is more than enough." I try to humbly decline the praise... but ah... it's not going well.
"Nonsense! You put your life on the line to bring my daughter back to me! You selflessly fought back death itself! That feat in and of itself should be shouted to the heavens and Hylia above."
My eyes stray to Linkle who is sat just beside me, begging for some sort of assistance, she just simply grins at my discomfort.
My eyes flick across the room to Purah who is stood at the far side, she just offers a single wave and mouths the words 'You're on your own'.
Betrayal!
Why have my friends thrown me aside in my time of need.
I find my gaze straying down to the table as I sit in silence, my hands clasping together in my lap.
"Now that your health has improved, allow me to open this feast with my gratitude... In celebration for the purification of Vah Ruta, the recovery of our two heroes of Hyrule and the return of my precious daughter!"
Said daughter- who was sat on my other side, looks just as embarrassed as me, a slight blush on her cream colored cheeks that make them look almost as red as the rest of her body.
Her eyes briefly lock with my own, but she looks away quickly, as do I.
You know...
Maybe King Dorephan here was trying to set us up? Am I misreading this?
Maybe?
I mean, either way I had planned to eventually get into her lack of pants now that she's alive, but... huh...
The large king raises a truly massive wine glass. More a 'wine bowl' than glass. "To Hyrule's prosperity!"
Many around the large room mirror the action, myself included.
Well... two divine beasts down... fourteen- plus one- more to go.
Sorry if i missed re-bolding some text. copy pasting it over doesn't keep italics or bold text... and considering how badly FFN has been breaking over the past couple of days... I was actually thinking I might not be able to even post this.
