The sunlight inside Vah Medoh streamed down through grates in the ceiling It was the only source of light in the dim space, but it was more than enough to illuminate the malice that blocked their path.
It had piled itself into columns with webs stretched between to block the stairs to the room beyond. From the tallest column on the right, another glowing eye stared at them. Farrow shuddered and drew her bow.
She shot the eye and it withered away as the rest of the malice decayed. Farrow noticed that as most of the plumes of malice dispersed some still hung in the air. She scanned the room beyond, a strange space with a large portion of the floor missing, and found she could see wisps of malice curling through the air and wafting up from the walls and floors. It wasn't as concentrated as the stuff from slain monsters but it concerned her.
Link had already started down the stairs, his sword drawn.
"Wait a second," Farrow said, gesturing for Link to come back. "Could you get my scarf and bandana out?" They'd put her pack and its contents into the slate for ease of transport.
Farrow didn't know if it would even help, but she preferred something between her and the malice in the air.
Link did as she asked and Farrow tied the bandana around her nose and mouth, offering Link the scarf.
"For the malice." She nodded to the room. Link glanced around and understanding lit his eyes. He nodded and tied her scarf around the lower half of his face.
Farrow didn't know if it was her imagination, but she could have sworn she felt her lungs tickle with the threat of a cough as they descended the stairs.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs Farrow saw that the holes in the floor were more like one large hole, with platforms suspended over it by rails. The drop led down to another level, thankfully, and not straight to the ground. Across the gap was a tiny guardian pacing back and forth in front of a slate podium.
It was the same size as the one Farrow had watched Link fight in the shrine at Kakariko, so she didn't panic, but they were out in the open on this platform.
Link drew his bow, eyes narrowed on the guardian. Farrow trusted his aim but readied her shield in case.
The guardian's head swiveled and its eye locked onto them. The eye flashed red just as Link's arrow shattered it. It collapsed, its lights dying and limbs spooling on the floor. It didn't move again.
Link spun his bow with a grin before stowing it. Farrow rolled her eyes but found she was smiling as well.
Link used the sheikah slate to move the metal platforms near each other to form a bridge to the other side. Farrow followed, her arms held out for balance. If she fell it would only be to the floor below, but that would still hurt.
On the other side Link approached the podium. Farrow found her attention drawn to the still guardian. She knelt beside it.
Link's arrow, still whole, sprouted from the shattered lens. She tugged it free and shards of glass tumbled from the ruined eye with it. She scanned its body, not sure what she was looking for. She'd never been so close to a newly dead one before. The ones rotting in Hyrule Field were warped with time, their parts overgrown with plantlife and seams sealed over by dirt and moss.
Her hands traced the hull, following the bubbling pattern that decorated it. Her fingers caught on a chink in the smooth dome. Farrow squinted at the point, finding a barely visible seam. There was no latch she could see, and trying to pry it open with her fingers did nothing but make her nail beds ache.
Farrow drew her dagger and pressed the point to the seam. It was too large to fit, but it did catch slightly. She worked at it, trying to pry the panel away. The knife didn't even leave a mark where the tip scraped against the ceramic.
A tap on her shoulder drew her attention away from the machine. Link nodded to it, an odd, flat expression on his face. Farrow leaned to the side and Link reached for the head of the guardian. He rotated it, stopped, and pressed one of the circles on its side. The hatch opened with a click and another hidden panel on the head popped open.
"How did you know to do that?" Farrow asked, pulling the body panel fully open.
Link dropped into a crouch beside her, his face still blank. 'I remembered the Princess trying to get one open. She figured it out in a few minutes. You reminded me.'
Farrow wasn't sure what to think of that. "Oh," she said. She wanted to know more, but she knew Link didn't remember more and she wouldn't twist the knife by asking. How much had the Princess known about the guardians and ancient tech? Farrow wondered if there was a way to fix the guardians and turn them against Ganon and his monsters, or if that would end the same as it had a hundred years ago.
The inside of the guardian distracted her. Its insides were a maze of minuscule gears, wires, blocks with odd etchings, and dozens of other tiny pieces she couldn't begin to guess the purpose of.
A small spark of light in the dark machine had her reaching for it before she processed it. Her hand closed around a circular piece with something like a marble at the center. She pulled, and it gave with a click. She withdrew it and held it in her palm, Link leaned closer to look.
It was a glowing yellow sphere, covered in blocky patterns and encased in several rings that locked together and freely swiveled around the core. She had no idea what it was.
Farrow looked to Link, the question in her eyes. Link shook his head and shrugged. 'No idea.' That blank look was gone, to Farrow's relief.
Farrow pocketed the odd piece out of simple want. Maybe Purah could tell her what it did. Either way, she wanted to puzzle over it more.
She peered into the head of the guardian and found a tube extending horizontally across the inside of it. Metal arms held the tube in squinted at it until she realized it aligned with the lens of the eye. It must be the device that made the light they fired.
Farrow tried to tug it loose without luck. After a few minutes she figured out that the arms that held the tube rotated, and when she swiveled them all to one side, she could pull the tube free. Little shards of glass tinkled out of the end Link's arrow had pierced it. She squinted down the tube. It looked like there were layers and layers of lenses beyond the first shattered one and the interior walls glowed with faint blue lines running down the length.
She had no idea what to make of it, but stowed it away too. Farrow stood and handed Link his arrow. "Alright, what does the map say?"
'Revali said there are terminals I'll need to …' Link signed something Farrow didn't understand, and before she could ask for clarification he continued, 'the slate to the divine beast. And I can control the beast–a little.'
He took out his slate and Farrow frowned. "What do you mean you can control it? If you can already do then aren't we done?"
Link made a 'so-so' gesture and pressed something on the slate.
There was a deep boom from within the beast, a ringing screech, and the ground tilted under Farrow's feet.
"What did you do!" Farrow yelled, stepping to the right wall as the floor continued to tilt that way. Link was grinning. Of course he was.
Just as Farrow was really starting to worry about the tilt, and Link's sanity, it stopped with a shudder. The entire room was tilted to the left. It felt a little like being on a ship, but the rocking was in such slow motion it barely moved.
Link tucked the slate under one arm. 'That's all I can do right now: tilt it left and right.'
Farrow slumped against the wall. "Okay. Right. What did this mean?" Farrow tried to imitate the sign Link had used.
'C-a-l-i-b-r-a-t-e,' he spelled out.
Farrow rolled the word around in her head, barely understanding the meaning even with the clarification. She'd never heard that word before. She shook her head. "Okay, so what do we need to do to make that happen?"
Link tapped the slate again, and with another boom and screech the beast began tilting back towards level. 'We need to go to the five terminals in the beast and use the slate there. I have the map of the points.'
Once the floor was level again Link led them back over to the shifting panels, stopping once they were on the center one. Farrow watched Link look up at the railing holding the panel they stood on, then the slate, then the entrance to the left wing at the end of the rail. The panel they stood on wasn't metal, which meant there was only one way to move it.
Farrow knew where this was going and reached for the pillar at the center of the panel. "Get it over with," she said. Link nodded, hooked an arm around the pillar beside her and tapped the slate. He stowed it quickly and they both braced as the beast tilted.
The panel stayed where it was, until it lurched suddenly and went sliding down the rail toward the entry way before them. Farrow's heart jumped into her throat as the panel gained momentum and the end of the rail neared.
With a boom the panel slammed to a stop, sending Link and Farrow stumbling off and into the chamber of the wing. Farrow leaned back, struggling to slow her momentum against the slanted ground, and a sudden ramp made the slant even sharper. She fell back onto her butt to stop herself.
A noise like whispering paper and snapping twigs drew her attention up.
A monster's skull, cloaked in smoking malice, floated through the air toward her, teeth snapping. Farrow yelped and kicked it out of reflex. Luckily it didn't bite her foot, and it went spinning back into the room.
She took the chance to rise, legs bent against the odd angle, but found the floor had enough friction that she wasn't in danger of falling. It was like being on a rocking ship; except the ship was frozen on a swell that wouldn't fall.
Link appeared beside her, bow drawn, and shot the skull as it began to drift back towards them. It crumbled apart and vanished in a puff of malice.
It took Farrow a second to make sense of the room before them. The angle threw her off but it was an open chamber with a slate pedestal raised high up on an alcove against one wall. With the room tilted the way it was, it was about level with them. A web of malice clung to the entrance of the alcove and a clump of the malice had what looked like a ring of teeth in it.
Farrow's face twisted in disgust, and as she watched it opened like a mouth and spat out another floating moblin skull.
Link shot that one too, before it had even seen them. He wobbled past her, his arms out to help him keep his balance as he approached the alcove. She couldn't wait to see him get his sea legs, she thought.
He reached the base of the alcove, shot an arrow up and into it, bursting the eye that had been nestled by the ceiling. The webbing of malice dissolved. Link considered the alcove, then looked back to her on the ramp. From here, she was looking down on him, and she could see the moment the idea lit his eyes. From the top of the ramp, he would be above the platform.
Link met her at the top of the ramp, running to get enough momentum to reach the top. He got his glider out, put on the sky stone, and when he was ready, Farrow shoved him in the direction of the podium with all her might at the same time he did a running jump.
Farrow stumbled down the ramp to slow herself, and watched as Link sailed to the podium. He flashed her a thumbs up before stowing his glider and taking out the slate. He set it to the podium and it flared blue, some of the malice whisping above it fading.
Link leapt down from the alcove and pointed them further into the wing. Farrow hadn't noticed before, she'd been distracted by the floating skulls, but the far wall of the room was make entirely of glass. On the other side was another chamber, locked away behind a barred doorway. Along the side of the room were rounded windows angled down, also made of glass. She'd never seen so much of it.
Farrow approached the glass wall and set a hand against it. It stretched all the way to the ceiling in a smooth clear sheet. There wasn't any warping of the room beyond and it was perfectly clear, unlike the glass of her bottles and the sea glass she sometimes found on the shore as a child.
Link came to stand beside her, his hands on his hips as he considered the room beyond. The crease in his brow told her he wore a perplexed frown under the scarf. Farrow focused and followed his gaze. The room contained another pedestal on the left wall, a strange divot that ran down the right side of the room before turning left to run parallel to the back wall. It ended by a section of wall that looked weak and crumbling. Where the divot turned was a round glowing orange protrusion from the wall.
The start of the divot led to the right side of the glass wall and there was something protruding through the glass. Next to that, on their side of the wall, was a large orange crystal embedded into the floor.
Farrow realized she wore a frown to match Link's.
Link huffed, took his sword from his back and swung at the glass. The sword struck with a sharp ring. The glass held firm and Farrow could practically see the impact rattle up Link's arm. He glared at the wall and rolled his shoulder.
Farrow didn't fault him for trying, but smashing their way in wasn't an option apparently. She approached the device in the glass.
It was a round funnel that fed into the other room and straight to the divot. She knelt and reached an arm through but it wasn't large enough to crawl through.
She rose in time to see Link tap the glowing crystal beside them.
It flashed blue with a bang, making them both jump. But the bang hadn't come from the crystal. Farrow looked toward the sound, and found one of the round windows in the other room had opened. It sent wind buffeting across the room, right where the divot in the floor turned to follow the back wall.
Farrow's stomach plunged with the thought of trying to fly through that window into the room. Thankfully, Link didn't seem to have the same idea.
He'd taken out his slate and with a few taps drew one of his glowing blue bombs from its surface. Farrow realized his plan right before he rolled the bomb into the funnel.
It ran down the divot, propelled by the angle of Vah Medoh and when it reached the turn the wind shoved it onward. It rolled all the way to the crumbling section of wall and Link tapped the slate.
The bomb detonated, sending rubble bouncing off the glass wall and dust plumming. When the debris cleared a shining metal orb, taller than Farrow, was revealed.
"What are we supposed to do with that?" She wondered.
Link tucked the slate under his arm for a moment. 'Press the button.' Then he used the slate to grab the orb, while Farrow wondered what button he meant.
He moved the orb to line up with the right divot, and released it to send it rolling. Farrow realized the large protrusion from the wall was a button right as the orb slammed into it.
The bars in the doorway slid down with a bang.
Link jogged to the podium while Farrow eyed the open window with trepidation. She would be going nowhere near it, sky stone or not.
When Link placed the slate to the podium, Farrow heard Revali's voice again. His voice rang clearer this time, like he was in the room with them, not down a far hallway.
"Good! Three terminals remain."
Link eyed the slate and frowned. 'The next one is below us.'
"Below?" Farrow peered over his shoulder. The shape of a bird, or Vah Medoh, was highlighted in orange on his slate. There was a little blue arrow, Farrow guessed it was where they were, since it was on the left wing. Below them was an orange dot, with two others on the far side of the beast. Farrow squinted at the dot below them and realized there was another room on the wing, but it didn't appear connected to anything.
"Maybe there's a hatch here somewhere?"
They circled the room but couldn't find anything that looked like a way down. Farrow was examining the wall Link had detonated, hoping the blast had damaged the floor, when a sharp whistle drew her attention.
Link stood at the open window, hood swept off and hair streaming in the gale. He pointed down.
Farrow suppressed the urge to curse the Goddess for picking this one and joined him. She gripped the side of the window with both hands and followed Link's gesture. There was another platform below them that stretched to the body of the bird.
She wasn't sure why Link thought it was important until she realized the angle of the wing would make it possible for someone to glide to the wing from the body. Farrow nodded.
Farrow felt resignation settle over her. "What's a quick flight compared to the last one."
Link smiled and they assembled their gliders. The wind tearing at them meant they'd have to wait to open them until after they stepped out of the window.
Farrow checked to make sure her sky stone was still in easy grabbing position and gripped her glider. "On you," she said.
Link leapt, opened his glider and swung toward the body of Vah Medoh. Farrow didn't let herself linger, jumping as soon as Link was clear. The looming form of Vah Medoh made the ground look so much further away. They swept toward the platform below and set down without issue.
They looked back down the wing, and sure enough there was an open room with a terminal waiting inside.
'Wait here,' Link signed. Farrow nodded and he kicked off. Farrow watched him fly down to the room and land.
With Link safely landed she scanned the area. A mass of malice was visible just around the bend, closer to the center of Vah Medoh. She edged closer with her bow drawn and found a doorway into the beast, webbed with the inky mass.
One of the eyes glared down at her from the corner. She shot it and grimaced as it withered away. The malice blocking the entrance dissolved and was whipped away by the wind.
A deep boom signalled the tilting of the beast. Farrow braced against the wall as the floor rose up. She watched the horizon fall away and out of sight and the room Link was in rose high above her.
Vah Medoh let out a ringing screech as the tilt stopped. Farrow could see the spot of red and blonde that was Link step off the edge and sail her way. He was aiming for the doorway, and Farrow's gaze stayed locked on him to make sure he'd make the gap. She wasn't sure what she'd do alone on this thing.
But he made it, and went sailing past her into the room beyond. She ran to follow, registering the small guardian in the room as Link punched out the glider and dropped to the floor.
Farrow drew her bow and aimed for the red flare of the guardian's eye. A high whine rose and a stream of red light locked onto Link's chest as he stood. She let the arrow fly. The whine cut off as her arrow pinged off the lens. It wasn't enough to kill it, but in a flash Link was on it with his sword. It collapsed to the ground and its lights faded.
Link pointed them to a doorway on the other side of the room and they exited to see the right wing. It was almost exactly the same as the other wing, except Farrow could see malice blocking the entrance on the far side. The glowing ember of an eye was barely visible. There was a rail on the underside of the wing. At the far end a type of carriage hung from it.
"We're going there aren't we?" Farrow said.
Link nodded, already tapping on the slate.
Vah Medoh titled again, the wing rising up above them and the suspended carriage sliding down the track with increasing speed. Farrow's heartbeat picked up as it neared and slammed to a stop right at the edge of their platform.
'We have to ride it,' Link signed. 'I'll shoot the eye.' He stepped into the carriage and held out a hand to help her up. She took his hand and he hauled her up into the carriage. They clung to the railing and regarded the malice ahead.
Link had to hook and arm around one of the beams to sign. 'I'll shoot it before we get there, but the stop is gonna hurt.'
Farrow regarded the carriage and the angle of the track. "We'll be alright." She sat down with her back to the railing and pressed her head back. It would work.
Link nodded and took out the slate. As soon as Farrow heard the call of the beast, Link was stowing the slate and readying his bow.
Farrow reached out to grip his boot, knowing none of his hands were free to steady himself.
The divine beast's body rose up and the carriage tilted back beneath Farrow, making her stomach swoop. A grinding noise rose as the carriage started sliding down the railing.
The slow crawl gained speed as the divine beast finished tilting and after a moment she heard Link loose his arrow. As soon as he did he dropped down beside her and copied her position.
Farrow gripped the railing with white knuckles as their speed got faster and faster. It felt like falling backwards and she had to fight the urge to turn around.
She registered they'd passed through a doorway and the carriage slammed to a stop. The railing she braced against slammed into her back, knocking the breath from her and the force of it kicked off a radiating headache that reached down into her teeth. It felt like the divine beast had swatted her.
"Ow," she said when she hauled breath back into her lungs. She made no move to get up yet.
Link's face was also pinched in pain. 'Same,' he signed with a wobbly hand.
They stayed there for a few minutes. No monsters demanded their attention. Farrow watched the clouds drift past Vah Medoh looming above them and listened to the whir of the beast's propellers. It would have been serene except for the smog of malice around them.
Link took out the slate and ordered Vah Medoh to level out, tilting the world below back into view. He was the first one to scrape himself off the railing and Farrow groaned as she followed suit.
The room they were now in was empty except for a ramp leading up. They followed it and in the room above was a terminal and a locked gate.
Link set the slate to the terminal. The malice vanished, the glow turned blue, and the locked gate slid open.
"One more remains," Revali's voice said. He sounded like he was standing beside them.
In the room beyond the gate was the last terminal. It was behind a locked gate and the room had another hammer and button mechanism. Link worked out almost immediately that a crystal opened the windows, which blew a fan, that then raised a wall that would allow the hammer to run the track to the button.
Farrow watched Link's easy use of the slate's time freeze ability and manipulation of the beast. He made it look easy, moving so many heavy devices. Farrow wondered when that would start feeling normal.
The hammer ground down the track and slammed into the button with a bang. The gate to the last terminal slid open.
"That was it!" Revali exclaimed as Link set the slate to the terminal. "Now you need to go to the main control unit on the back of Vah Medoh. Flap to it!"
Something about the room was different now. Farrow thought maybe she was imagining it because they'd found the last terminal, but then she realized it was easier to see. The malice was gone from the air.
Farrow pulled down her bandana and inhaled. The air seemed normal, as far as she could tell. "Link, I think you've done it."
Link, seeing her bandana off, pulled down his scarf too. He beamed. 'Almost.'
Link leveled Vah Medoh and led them back to the heart of the beast. There was a shaft at the center with a roaring updraft. Link went first, using his glider to ride the wind up. Farrow followed a moment later.
The wind hauled her up past the levels of Vah Medoh until sunlight spilled over her and she rose up onto the back of the beast.
She set down on the moss covered back, the sky wide and burning with the setting sun. It was a welcoming sight after the rooms of the beast. Wind rolled over the stems of weeds growing from the cracks in the beast. The wings extended off to either side. The entire back was flat except for crumbling columns that dotted the wings, and the glowing orange terminal that stood in the center.
This terminal was larger than the other had been, at least twice Farrow's height, and was shaped almost like a bulb of garlic.
Link faced it, his hair streaming in the wind and his cheeks already red from the chill. The rubies glowed red in his hair as their magic worked to keep him warm. The chill was nipping at the tips of her ears too.
Farrow nudged him with an elbow, a grin creeping across her face. "Come on, it's cold. I want to go find a fire to warm up by."
Link snorted and approached the terminal. Malice wisped from it, but it was ripped away by the wind before it could build.
As Link reached out to set the slate against the podium Revali's voice broke through the air.
"Wait!"
Farrow jumped at the alarm in his voice.
But Link had already set the slate to the podium. The malice that had been weakly leaking from the podium exploded in a wave of red and purple billowing smoke.
Link jerked away from the podium, reaching for his weapon. Farrow drew her bow.
The smoke spun up from the terminal, growing denser by the moment. Little blue threads spooled from the terminal and joined the smoke. They wove together as the malice condensed into a hulking form.
A hunched figure formed hanging in the air above. Its skin glistened with red malice and its arms hung down a little longer than they should be. Its entire right hand was engulfed in a bulky device spotted with guardian eyes clustered at the end. Where there should have been a face, a flat mask with ancient tech designs and one blue eye stared down at them. The whole thing looked like a mass of malice that had been lumped into the shape of a torso and then someone had shoved ancient tech parts into it. Malice dripped from where its legs should have been.
Revali spoke. "That's one of Ganon's creations. It was what murdered me a hundred years ago. It plays dirty." His voice was sharp with bitter anger.
The beast was enormous. Farrow had to crane her neck just to look at it hanging over them. When the last plume of malice condensed into place it arched its back and let out a lung rattling scream.
"I hate to say it, but you must avenge me Link!"
Farrow's feet wouldn't move. Fear had locked her in place.
The monster hefted its arm and pointed the eyes on the end at them. The largest eye flashed red and a narrow red laser locked onto Link. He was already running for the nearest pillar. That broke her from her stasis.
Farrow drew her bow and aimed for the monster's eye. The ribbon tied to her bow string trailed straight in the wind. She adjusted: aimed a little upwind of the monster, and fired. The arrow missed the eye, but struck the neck of the monster. It flinched at the strike but the laser didn't die. A piercing tone rang out as the eye flared and a beam of blue light shot out.
Link had made it behind the pillar in time. The beam hit the pillar, sending up a plume of dust and embers that were whipped away by the wind.
Farrow made ready to run, but realized the creature hadn't even looked her way. She reached for another arrow.
Link sprinted from cover and rushed forward, sword in hand.
As he neared the monster swept out its other arm and a gust of wind slammed into Link. He was blown off his feet entirely and sent flying back toward the edge of the beast.
Farrow dropped her bow and sprinted, feeling as slow as a tortoise. Link hit the ground, his momentum carrying him to the edge. The laser was on him again as his boots skidded over the side and into open air.
Farrow reached him in time to grab one arm and sprawl, desperate to make herself an anchor. She skidded a few heart pounding inches, and they stopped. Link dangled over the edge, one hand clinging back to her arm and the other white knuckled on his sword. Farrow had managed to hook the toe of her boot on a ridge and braced herself against the ground to keep her grip on Link's arm. His face was twisted in concentration as he set his boots against the side of the beast.
A high whine sent ice flooding through Farrow's veins. She craned her neck to see the monster looming over them. Its laser dancing on her shoulder and the blue eye stared fire her way. She strained to pull Link up but her elbow skidded off the slick moss. The whine sharpened and she knew they were about to die.
There was a crack of wings and an arrow shattered the fire in the eye. The monster screamed, recoiling from it.
"Get him up!" Revali's voice ordered. Then she saw him. He was a hazy green figure flapping above them, her bow in his talons. "This is a terrible bow. Hurry up!" Another crack of wings and he was out of view.
Farrow braced herself and hauled Link up enough that he could hook his arms over the edge and pull himself up the rest of the way. He scrambled over the edge, flashing her a grateful look as he sprinted for the monster.
Farrow turned to see Revali's form flitting around the monster. It screamed and swatted at him, paying no attention to Link as he approached.
Link reached the monster's side and struck. He got two good blows in, malice spurting from where he struck its ribs, before the monster unraveled into blue glowing threads. The threads streamed away, coalescing further down the right wing.
Farrow, unsure of what to do without her bow, had drawn the sword Paya had given her. She felt absolutely useless.
The glowing threads condensed to form the monster again. Malice still dripped from its wounded side.
It raised its arm and a burst of blue lights flew from it toward Link.
Link raised his shield and braced, his boots skidding with his momentum. The blasts impacted his shield in quick succession, pushing him back a couple inches with each impact. Farrow took the chance to gain ground. She ran past Link for one of the pillars just a little closer to the monster.
Revali sailed above them all, pausing to fire another arrow into the face of the monster. It crumpled to the ground.
"Now!" Revali shouted.
Link hurled forward and stabbed into the monster's side. He wrenched the blade free as it recoiled and rose.
"Get back!" Revali said.
Link retreated, joining Farrow behind her pillar just as the monster sprang up. It swept out a hand, sending a wall of wind screaming past the pillar they hid behind.
Farrow peaked out as the gale died. The creature rose up, hovering out of reach and four small, seed pod looking devices rose from its back. They looked like ancient tech and hovered in a semicircle around the monster.
As Farrow tried to guess their purpose they opened like flowers and blue lights came cascading from them toward the pillar.
Farrow ducked back behind the pillar as the blasts rattle against it. With a crack, the pillar buckled, and she and Link were forced to scramble away.
Wishing for her bow, Farrow bolted for the nearest pillar and tried to think. As she neared it, one of the pods swung down into her path, aiming somewhere to her right.
She didn't even think about it, she just slashed down at the thing. It snapped shut, bounced off the ground, and tried to wobble back into the air. Farrow didn't let it. She hacked at it again, and again.
It spat sparks at the second blow, and on the fourth its glow had died and it lay unmoving. Panting, Farrow booted it over the edge of the wing and ran.
"Use the updrafts!"
Farrow looked to see Link run for one of the grates on the floor. She hadn't noticed them before.
Link reached it, jumped, opened his glider, and let the updraft haul him skyward. The remaining pods swarmed him, snapping open.
Farrow just had the thought to throw her sword at one of them, when Link punched out the glider reached for his bow.
He blurred and in the span of a breath fired three arrows into the monster's eye. The pods dropped from the air as the creature crashed to the ground.
Link hit the ground running and drew his sword. He sprinted for the monster and when he reached it let his momentum bury his blade in its eye.
A scream tore out of the thing as Link wrenched the sword free.
It lurched up, arching its back and writhing as malice poured from its wounds. Link danced back to avoid the splatter. Malice steamed from it and a purple glow appeared between the gaps tearing open in its skin. With a final shriek it burst apart. The wind cleared away the remaining haze and in a moment it was gone without a trace.
Farrow caught her breath, letting herself relax as nothing else appeared to fight them.
Link straightened and sheathed his sword. 'You good?'
"Yeah," Farrow said and a laugh bubbled out of her. She realized her elbow stung from where she'd scraped it, but that was the only injury she'd gotten besides a few bruises. "Oh goddess what the fuck was that?"
"A blight," Revali said as he touched down before them. He looked clearer now. She could make out his individual feathers, but he was still translucent and appeared faintly green. He kicked her bow back toward her. "That's terrible quality. Where in Hyrule did you find it?" Before Farrow could even think of a reply, he continued.
"Anyway, that was a blight. A manifestation of Ganon's will. It's what murdered me and what's kept me from taking back control of Vah Medoh. I've spent the last hundred years keeping Ganon from using it on Hyrule." Farrow paled at the idea of the divine beast raining down fire from above on the people of Hyrule.
Revali's eyes snapped up to Link and narrowed. "I had assumed you were dead too. And I know it's been too long for you to still look this young." Link stared at Revali with a strange look in his eyes. Something like curiosity and caution.
'I was almost killed. Impa and the Princess sent me to the shrine of resurrection. I woke up a few weeks ago.'
Revali's eyes narrowed. "The shrine of resurrection? Hm. Well, you're here now. When are you planning to kill Ganon and how can I assist? I still hate playing second fiddle to you, but I despise the idea of him breathing more."
'After I free the other divine beasts. You're the first.'
Revali flinched, but covered so quickly Farrow almost missed it. "So all the beasts fell? All of the pilots?"
Link's lips thinned.
"Impa said they lost contact after the pilots went to their beasts," Farrow said. "None of them came back."
Revali gave a heavy sigh. He abruptly glared at Farrow. "And who are you?"
"Farrow," she sheathed her sword and scoped her bow off the ground. "I'm his guide." She wasn't sure what else to say about that.
Revali curled a lip. "Guide? He doesn't need one. Hyrule wouldn't have changed that much in this time."
Farrow raised an eyebrow. "It does when you can't fly over the landslides, rivers, and forests." She wouldn't mention Link's memory loss. That wasn't for her to say.
'I don't remember Hyrule,' Link signed, simplifying things. 'I woke up without memories. I've only been able to remember some things here and there.'
Shock wiped the haughty expression from Revali's face. "You don't remember? Any of it?"
Link shrugged. 'I remember you telling me to fight you up here. And that I wouldn't be able to get here. But not much else.'
Revali laughed. It sounded more tired than amused. "Ah I suppose I did. Well congratulations you've proved me wrong. That does make sense. You seem different."
Revali straightened. "Now that you've freed me I'll have control of Vah Medoh once again. I'll be aiming it at Ganon and awaiting your signal to fire. In the meantime, take this." Revali threw out a wing and a glowing white orb flew from his feather-tips and to Link's chest, where it vanished like the shrine blessings he received.
"That is Revali's Gale," Revali said. "I pass the skill, I spend years refining, to you. You may express your gratitude."
Farrow couldn't see anything different about Link, but with a puzzled frown he crouched and a green glow lit his heels. He sprang up and a gust of wind roared up around him, flinging him high into the air.
Farrow watched open mouthed as he drifted back down.
'Thank you,' Link signed once he was back on the ground.
Revali's feathers ruffled in bemusement. "Not very satisfying, knowing you don't remember me. Well then," he turned away, waving a wing toward the edge of the divine beast, "it's time you both leave. My energy is fading and I need to move Vah Medoh into position."
"Wait," Farrow said, "do you know if there's a way to free the guardians from Ganon's control too?" If they could do that it would cripple him. He'd have fewer weapons to deploy against Link and the people of Hyrule.
Revali shook his head. "None that I am aware of. Now go. And get a decent bow soon." Revali's figure faded and Vah Medoh let out a shriek. The ground tilted beneath them as its left wing dipped, angling the beast north.
Farrow exchanged a look with Link and they ran for the lower edge of the beast. Together they leapt off and deployed their gliders. Vah Medoh sailed away from them, propellers whirring.
As it got further away the whisper of the wind rose to cover the hum of the beast. When it reached Rito Village it angled down, huge talons extending to latch onto the mountain that loomed above it. It roosted like a bird on a branch. A red laser appeared from its beak, cutting through the night sky and over Hyrule to land on the shrouded castle.
Vah Medoh sat unmoving. Waiting.
Farrow angled north, following Link back toward the glowing lights of Rito Village below.