You can find more of this on by Subscribe/Star (dot adult slash KajaWilder), it's posted past Ch. 110 there. You can find the same on my new (via Discord per their ToS), under /WildErotica. The DISCORD is at h-t_t-p_s-:_/-/_discord-._g-g_/-N9yDASt6Cw (taking out hyphens and underscores, 'cause FFnet). If you prefer direct links, go to my Discord and follow the 'links in general' section to find the ones you want. All of my fics are well ahead of what I post here, often 10-30 chapters ahead.
You can also read my original fiction on Kindle, or Kindle Unlimited for free. My author page: www ._amazon ._com / stores / Kaja-Wilder/ (this time taking out underscores and spaces, but leave the one hyphen).
Enjoy!
Chap. 80: Meeting, the First
Zelda hiked upward, westward, occasionally trending more north-west, for seventeen hours the next day. Trotter's Downfall, at least in the area away from the disgustingly filthy, odiferous blue Hinox she and Celessa had been able to bring down with good planning, teamwork, and a little bit of luck, was a beautiful, pastoral place. The northern slopes of the Lanayru Heights that dropped down to the wide, swift-flowing Rutela River were a series of rolling shelves, long, often wide plateaus that rose and fell as she walked along them.
Birds chirped as the air grew slowly warmer, and the winter coats of both deer and fox changed from white to their usual red-orange and browns. It rained for about three hours near mid-day, which prompted the princess to eat her lunch beneath a towering pine, occasionally exchanging pleasantries with a forgetful, but helpful, Korok who kept giving her bad directions with an earnest tone and expression displayed on their mask.
The second half of the hike, while beautiful still, was much more arduous. While she'd spent the first six hours after splitting up with Celessa walking mostly downward, she had to make up for much of that drop in far less horizontal distance as the land rose once more to the Rabia Plain, east of Kakariko Village and north of the Lanayru Promenade.
The countryside was wild, untamed, much as most of Hyrule was in the current age, but there were fewer signs of civilization than she'd seen almost anywhere else. Even the long-lost lands of southern Necluda, high on the slopes of other large mountain ranges, had some ruins and old buildings.
Here, there was nothing. Just untamed, untouched wilderness as far as she could see, with the tiny exception of the single massive dam from which the Rutela River flowed, now so far behind her as to actually seem insignificant. Trees of mixed deciduous and conifer types filled much of the land, but there were also flowered, mountain prairies, swift-moving streams fed by the un-numbered glaciers atop the higher mountains, flowing endlessly toward not the sea, but the larger river below.
Butterflies, dragonflies, regular flies, and larger fauna abounded as well. Zelda even spotted one Honeyvore Bear she was glad to add to the Hyrule Compendium from a safe mile and a half distance. It had turned to look in her direction once, but shuffled off without becoming a problem after that.
The climb up to the high plateau of the Rabia Plain had not been exactly arduous, but Zelda was more than ready for a night's rest. She found the perfect shelter just before reaching the top of the climb, where she suspected there had once been a road.
A huge rock, a hundred feet tall and three times that wide in either direction, had a small stand of bushes and a few trees growing atop it, but of more interest was the wide-mouthed cavern within.
Zelda was a bit nervous as she used the light from a torch to examine the interior, largely because of the bear she had seen earlier.
Don't piss off a bear, her Knight had once told her, Zelda somehow remembered, one of the few memories she'd had from the start. A snipped of a voice with no context, though there was a little more now. They're faster than they look, and vicious if angered. Leave them alone, and they'll leave you alone. Mostly.
There was no sign of bear habitation, however. In fact, the most dangerous creatures see saw within the large cave, whose mouth was wide enough that late sunset light reflected inside in quantities large enough to at least partially illuminate the far wall, were bats. Not Keese, the monstrous, one-eyed, blood-sucking variety, but regular bats that ate fruit and small, flying insects. And those nested, she saw, almost entirely in a small crack near the lower, southern end of the cavern. The smell of guano was pungent there, but on the opposite end, closest to the plains above, she smelled only earth and distant forest.
Why is it safe and clear? There's not even a firepit here. Someone must have been here at some point, surely? And if people aren't here, haven't been in centuries at least, then why are there so few animals? This would be an ideal cave for them, would it not?
It was a mystery that left the princess a little nervous, wondering what might go wrong in the night, but as she laid out her bedroll and prepared to rest, lonely in a way she couldn't quite define but was, at least, mostly not sexually, Zelda could come up with no answers.
Her slumber, as she drifted off far too late, was at least deep, peaceful, and restful. She was not accosted, either by dreams, nightmares, or living creatures. For once, it was just a good night's sleep.
Well-rested, Zelda ate a quick breakfast before the sun had risen beyond Mount Lanayru, though she could see bright light on the mountains to the north and south, so it had come up from the distant horizon on the oceans when she set out after a long, high-armed stretch in the cavern entrance. The birdsong was even more impressive this fine morning, which was crisp, cool, clear, and gorgeous.
"I thought it was beautiful yesterday," Zelda whispered to no one, "but seeing it during sunrise… if I ever live to see Hyrule restored, this place must remain as it is. Untouched, as nature made it."
It was a small thing, a simple goal, one Zelda was sure she would even likely forget until it became necessary again, but she felt the weight of… what, destiny? Such a strange concept, to think, to imagine, even to know that some aspect of her life was predetermined, when her choices seemed to so often have great weight behind them! There was something, though, behind speaking those words aloud. Something sacred, for lack of a better term, as if she'd just made an oath to Hylia. Not the goddess high in the heavens, who watched over them from afar, but the one within her. The one that seemed, somehow, more real despite being less Goddess than reincarnated soul.
As her journey toward Kakariko, to old friends and new, continued, the natural beauty of the world was not the thing that quickened her steps, however.
It was the music. She first heard it before she realized it was there, and found herself humming along. Only an hour later did the princess realize she was humming to something, an unfamiliar tune. At least, one that she hadn't known before then.
It was a simple melody, but rich in undertones and layers, played masterfully on some sort of instrument Zelda could not identify thanks to her missing memories, but that seemed haunting, and achingly familiar.
For hours, she tracked the sound as it echoed and rebounded off the canyon and mountain walls, through the woods, across the meadows. Slowly, it grew closer, an unending siren's song that took only brief breaks.
There were flaws, though.
A missing note or three here, one that sounded not sour, but out-of-place there. Whenever such a thing occurred, within a few notes there would be a repeat, the same tune but a tried again and again in endless repetition until it sounded better, if not perfect. Then the song would start anew, from the beginning, with the most recent change adapted in.
Closer, louder, over one last hill as a humongous herd of thirty deer led by a massive, twenty-pronged set of antlers….
Zelda paused. At the top of the hill, beneath a twisting, gnarled, ancient oak still crowned with green leaves, there was a circle. A Sheikah circle, glowing softly orange, and for a moment, she expected a two-foot indentation at the center of the design. But there wasn't, it was flat, smooth, aside from the pulsing orange rune-work.
Below the hill she had just crested, she saw the source of the enchanting music at last. It was a bird. A bird with cerulean-blue feathers, white at the breast and wingtips, black and red and gold highlights, wearing a harness and playing a… a… what was that instrument called? She wanted to see 'accordion', but no, that was wrong… even if they looked similar. Harp… something…
Chords…
Zelda was distracted from that musing by remembering she was staring at a giant bird, at least twice as tall as she was, with a thick chest, vibrant, colorful plumage, and an owl-like beak capable of tearing her whole head from her neck, if it wanted to. The being carried no weapons, aside from what looked like a simple hunting knife among other things on its belt and baldric, but a sheaf of notes and papers were pinned to another tree, and others held down by rocks in the low grass around the thing.
The song started up again after a catch, another off-sounding note, and the creature's eyes closed as it started to softly sing, too, looking sightlessly up to the sky. "Majestic King of creatures free, his head adorned with crown of bone-"
Zelda gasped. She knew that song! She didn't know how, of course, but the familiarity, the loveliness, of the melody suddenly made far more sense. She must have known it in her past life, before her memories had been erased!
The sound of it was quiet, but somehow the bird-creature heard it even over its own voice and playing. Both went silent at once, as the head swiveled to look at her.
Zelda froze under the piercing, steady gaze, like prey caught by some great predator.
"Ah, I didn't see you approach. It's unusual to see a traveler in such a quiet, out-of-the-way place, especially one without the wings to travel so easily. It's a pleasure to meet you, if you're of a peaceful sort. If not, well… do not let my size fool you, I am quicker than you might think."
"No, I'm not here to fight," Zelda assured the creature, and held up her empty hands to prove it, "I'm just passing through, and I heard your playing… it's beautiful."
Somehow, despite the beak for a mouth, the creature smiled, visible in its eyes and how the muscles around the back of the beak flexed, "Ah! In that case, let me introduce myself!" It gave a low bow, the instrument fell to its side on a strap, and one huge, blue-feathered arm swept out to the side, as large as Zelda was tall, while the other moved across its chest in a deep bow. "I am known as Kass. A wandering troubador of some renown, he who wanders far from home! Student of the master's teachings, my notes and lore are so far-reaching! Kin of Rito, feathered folk, take heed, give listen, to every note! My songs uplift, in dulcet tones, Harpsichord gift, from king's lost throne! Hah… don't be alarmed, m'lady, I am simply a Troubador, as I said. My teacher was once the Royal Musician of the Court of Hyrule… and, frankly, the old man, rest him, always taught me I should introduce myself with a bit of panache. At least, as an entertainer."
Zelda could only smile widely and start walking down the hill quickly. It took her a few moments to reach him, and she gasped for a moment as she realized just how tall Kass was: easily over twice her height! Yet when she offered a curtsy of her own, he laughed loudly and waved it off, "Nay, nay… You needn't bow to me, miss. I know who you are. If anything, I should bow lower to you, Princess of Hyrule."
No sooner had he said it then Kass proved his intent, this time dipping low onto a proportionately shorter knee, and sweeping up her hand in the feathered grip of a paw that seemed as large as her torso, before his beak-tip touched her fingers in a gesture clearly designed to imitate a courtly ring-kiss.
His avian eyes shined with mirth, but also pleasure, as he stood up tall once more, and with sharp eyes looked down at her. "What brings you this way, Princess?"
She blushed slightly, still unused to that kind of attention, "Please, call me Zelda. I would use an alias on first meeting, but it seems you recognized me right off."
Kass nodded happily, "Indeed. I was confused for a moment, I'll admit, but you match my old mentor's description of you perfectly. Cassian was a most talented teacher, and he was quite fond of you."
"Cassian?" Zelda asked, confused, "I don't know who that is."
"You do not recall the man who taught you the piano, or the harp? He loved you like a daughter!"
Zelda took a step back at the sheer shock Kass was showing, "I'm sorry! I don't… I don't remember anything from back then. Or at least, very little. I lost almost all of my memories, when…"
As she trailed off, understanding and empathy flowed out from Kass' expressive, bird-like face. "Ah… I see. I apologize, Princess, I meant neither to frighten or startle. I was simply aghast. My mentor, Cassian, was the royal musician of the Court of Hyrule, favored by both your father and mother. His first student after the castle and kingdom fell was my mother, as he found safety and solace among my people. I was named after him, in fact, as… well, they are gone now and I expect no one alive would care any longer. I am half-Rito, technically. I call Cassian my mentor, but he was also my father. It is the reason why I am so much larger than most Rito."
"So you are Rito, I had thought that's what you meant," Zelda replied, smiling once more to show she wasn't more than briefly startled by his volume, "Are all Rito… birds? Or bird-like?"
"Indeed," Kass agreed with another strange grin of his own, and held his arm-wings out to either side as he stretched taller still, "Most of our men are similar in myself to proportion, only I am about three feet taller than the average. I am also stockier, thicker. So large in fact I actually have difficulty getting into the air, though I fly well enough once I do. Of course, most Rito need help, a lofty position or updraft, for example. Only the legendary Champion Revali, in all our storied history, was able to soar on wings and magic alone."
"I… see," Zelda said, "So still much taller than me, and more slender, but similar in build. And your women? Presuming, of course…?"
"Ah, I'll describe my wife, then. I miss her… and our children. I'm on a journey, you see, a quest of sorts. But I'll stay on-point. If I start to ramble and warble like a chick, bring me back on-point, I won't be offended, Princess. At any rate, Amali, my mate, is a gorgeous creature of green feather. Slender, tall, beautiful, with a voice like a summer breeze, and anger like the crashing lightning. Powerful, violent, and quickly-fading! Rito women, in general, are much like us: full of breast, slender of waist, with talons and feathered hands. They tend to be of different coloration, however, often what most of Hyrule would call 'feminine' colors. Pink, purple, blue, and so on. My daughters themselves, in fact, represent all common colors among our female folk: Green, blue, pink, yellow, red, and purple. Our men are more simple: brown, white, black plumage is more common. My own blue coloration is, we suspect, another mutation from my father's blood."
"I see," Zelda nodded again, "Is… please, pardon me if this is an offense, but I feel I must ask… you seem not necessarily shy of your heritage, but speak of it as if it is shameful. Is it…?"
"Ah. No, not as much these days," Kass replied, shaking his head, "But back then, pairings between Rito and Hylian were rare. Not frowned upon, necessarily, but our sheer size tended to cause harm to our mothers. Often, if such a child were born, it would be the last egg the mother ever produced. Such was the case for Kheelia, my mother. Now, pairings happen more frequently, but rarely result in egg thanks to the herbaceous tea that has spread since the scholarly pursuits of the Sheikah in times past."
"I.. ah. That tea, yes. I understand," Zelda nodded, thinking back to the particular brew Purah had taught her during her convalescence from giving birth not just to a Bokoblin, but several dozen Octorok eggs as well. "You were playing a song, before.. do you know the name? Its words are unknown, but both they and the tune are oddly familiar to my missing memories."
"I do not, actually, know the name of it," Kass mused, "I am not sure it has one. I know it was original composed, at least in part, by my mentor. Cassian wrote a great many songs about Hyrule during his time at Court. Unfortunately, there was a great fire at that time, and as he fled the Castle, many of this notes were lost. My quest now relates to such: I seed to return to places he knew, his notes in hand, and remake his songs anew."
Zelda smiled. Once more, Kass had slipped into rhyme, seemingly without notice. "A noble goal. Have you made much progress? Was this one of those songs, then?"
"Indeed, and no, and yes. He wrote this years ago, of course, but the descriptions of the place match it perfectly. Allow me… though keep in mind, the song is not yet complete. It may need refining, and many lines are still missing."
Then he launched into the tune once more, the now-familiar, still-haunting melody sweeping across Zelda as she closed her eyes, transporting her along with the lyrics to a distant time, in the exact same place. "Majestic King of creatures free, his head adorned with crown of bone…" Only this time, instead of being interrupted, Kass continued. "He dances and prances, 'mid fields of green, verdant and lush, food for this King, a rider, a queen, mounting not obscene, an outdoor room, and below, ride this king to his throne to show, the mighty queen, a shrine to show…"
"It's beautiful," Zelda whispered, "though… it does seem a little off, somehow."
"As I've told you, the song is yet incomplete. I also know that once, the song was written about twin Kings, but was changed before he died to mention a queen instead."
Zelda frowned, "That makes no sense. Why would he change it like that?"
"I do not yet know or understand," Kass admitted, "but it is definitely of this place. I am not sure what it means…"
Zelda gasped, as a momentary movement caught her eye: the same stag from earlier, with its twenty-pronged antlers. "A king of beasts, crowned with bone," she whispered, a gentle hand raising a finger to point at the distant animal.
Kass' head swiveled slowly, "Ah… yes… indeed, Princess. Then if the rest is true…"
"I've got to… what? Catch it? Ride it, to… the throne? The pedestal up there?"
"And it should show you one of the long-dormant, now-active Shrines, yes! I believe that is it, Princess! Now, I can finish my father's, my mentor's work! Thank you!"
"You do that," Zelda grinned happily, "I've got a deer to catch!"