Chapter 34: Within the Stone

"Breathe in, breathe out," Rauru's voice came from over Zelda's shoulder. "Think of somewhere important to you. A place where you know every detail. Every stone, every blade of grass. Contain all of it in your mind."

Zelda sat in the reliquary with the golden harp across her lap. Before her Ruaru's other students stood, watching her. Two acolytes with a career in the clergy named Helmin and Jakob. They'd already partaken in several lessons together, though this was the first where Rauru taught a new spell.

"Come on princess," Helmin gave a quiet cheer, while Jakob only smiled and nodded.

Zelda strummed the harp. Magic flowed from the sound through the air, radiating from the instrument. Dancing along her fingers, the energy rose up her arms and neck, until it reached behind her eyes.

The world went white.

At first Zelda thought of her bedroom, but decided against it. During the day maids would clean and prepare her clothes. Best not be distracted by them. Instead she focused on her hidden passage. Where she read prophecy and practiced the high art. And no servant could stumble upon her, no court attendant could ask for her aid, no dignitary could waste her time. Now that she had taken a position in her father's government, everyone seemed to think she was the path to her father's ear. More fool them, she never spoke to her father outside of their meetings.

She wanted to tell them all to go away. Instead she'd made her little passage a second home. Where she could solve the mysteries of the Goddesses without trying to make the rest of the world love her.

The light dimmed. The white turned to gray and the gray turned black.

And she was alone. With nothing but darkness around her.

This didn't seem right. She blinked to try and clear her vision, but nothing happened. Did she blink? Did her eyelids close at all? She couldn't tell, she couldn't feel the slight pressure over her eyes when she tried to shut them. In fact, she couldn't feel anything. No arms, nor legs, nor mouth. An empty phantom stuck within the dark.

What was she even looking at? Did her eyes not work? She couldn't see anything, but there was some kind of pattern to it. Lines or -no- textures. She couldn't see anything, and yet she felt differences in sections. Some rough, or smooth, others porous specks. That didn't make any sense. Was her mind trying to make sense of the nothing she stared at?

She tried to step forward, but that accomplished nothing. Of course, it wouldn't. Her body remained in the Temple, holding the harp under Rauru's watchful eye. She could not move, but what of her magic? Father Rauru said the greatest sages of the past would scry across Hyrule and cast mighty spells to change the course of history without leaving their homes.

She drew energy into herself to cast a spell of light. But that proved as effective as walking. Was she not strong enough?

No. Light magic came too easy for her, and she felt herself draw and expend the energy. She simply couldn't see any light.

But where was she?

She tried to turn around, get some barring on where she had sent herself. But wherever she looked, there was nothing but cold slablike darkness. She should have picked her bedroom. Even if she missed her chambers, there would be more to see within the castle than stonework.

Stones.

Was that what she was seeing? The stones around her pathway? Then why was it all rough nothingness?

No.

She wasn't looking at the stones, she'd be able to see something. She was within them. In the wall. That had to be it. Create as much light as she'd like, it would not penetrate stone.

Get me out of here. Zelda tried to crawl away. To lurch and thrash and push all around her. But she had no arms to shove, no body to press against the masonry and burst free.

No, don't panic. I just- I need- I need to end the spell. How did it work? The light spell required pushing the energy within yourself forward and dispersing it. If you give the proper incantation and center a slight burst of energy centered on yourself, you can wipe away grime and mud. But you can't put it back on. The Golden Three each left powerful spells that bore their name and required utmost faith and devotion. And to use time magic required an anchor or one could create entirely separate timelines or get stuck. Just as she was now. Stuck. But nothing about scrying. Why couldn't she think of how to pull her vision back? She'd listened to Rauru's lecture. She could be encased in these walls forever, stuck away from everyone. Unable to do anything until the end.

Rauru, get me out of here.

But she had no voice to beg.

Rauru!

She shifted her viewpoint all around, but all she could see was the rough grainy darkness of the stones. Pressing down on her. Without light. Without air. Trapped.

Impa, what do I do?

But how could Impa help? Frozen between the walls of her own home. Stuck in silence. Unable to act. Powerless. When had she last been powerless?

"Father! Help!" She wanted him to hold her in his arms and carry her to bed as she had when she was a child. "Father!"

"Zelda?" came a muffled voice from somewhere below her. "Did I…? Zelda?"

I'm here! I'm stuck! Help me, get me out! Please!

The rough patterns of stone disappeared. She floated alone in pure darkness. But she felt something. Pressure, over her eyes. Eyes. She could feel her eyes. She could feel her arms, her legs, her whole body. Hands gripped her shoulders.

"Father?" She opened her eyes.

"I have you, princess." Rauru's wrinkled face stood close before her, half hidden beneath his bushy mustache. "Can you hear me? Can you see me?"

"I-" her heart was racing. She took a deep breath. "Where? I?"

"You were screaming," Jakob said, he held the harp in his hands. Hadn't she been holding it? When did he take it from her? How- she needed to calm down. She took a breath and held it, letting the pounding in her chest slow.

"I- I think - thank you, Father Rauru, I miscast the spell," she took another breath, and let this one out in a long slow stream of air. "I was stuck in a wall."

Helmin burst out in laughter, but stopped after Rauru gave him a furious look.

"All is well, princess," Rauru wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he leaned down so they were near eye level. "That must have been very frightening. But you are safe now." He gave her a gentle smile, "the Goddesses would not let anything happen to you. And I hope you realize that I would not let your spell go awry."

"I know. I knew then, as well. But it was so… overwhelming. I couldn't hear you. I couldn't feel anything. Just encased in dark stone." A shudder went up her spine, but even that was some comfort, proof she had some body to even have such a reaction.

"That happens," he looked over to his other students. "My mentor told me the mind finds it difficult to manifest in two separate locations at once. There is too much conflicting information to understand. Many practitioners prefer complete seclusion before scrying over long distances."

"Where did you go?" Jakob said.

"The castle," she said. "A little room I know."

"A place of comfort," Rauru said, once more turning on his tutoring voice. "That was good, the spell can send your senses anywhere, but you must be precise. Beginners may have difficulty finding locations for which they are familiar. But masters can send their vision far and wide. It is said that the ancient Interlopers in their war against the crown sent their sight through the halls of their enemies. Even further, they could scry beyond the world to lands hidden behind mirrors."

"Are there lands behind mirrors?" Jakob asked.

"So the stories go," Rauru said.

"There must be," Zelda thought back to her old history lessons. "At the end of the War of Shadows, King Balathonos II sealed the Interlopers behind one of their mirrors." She'd known that before she took to reading through the entire Library of Hyrule. As a child, Sister Fellitia used to tell her stories of the War of Shadows to entertain her. Always casting the Interlopers as dark and mysterious people, turned evil through greed and black magic. Impa hated those stories.

"So the histories tell," Rauru agreed. "But several in my order have tried to glance at this secret world themselves. Even my predecessor found nothing, and Father Hinton knew more of the high arts than I."

"Father Rauru," Zelda said as he helped her out of the chair. Her legs shook as she stood, her body still tense and uncomfortable from her failed spell. Thankfully none of the priests could see it beneath her frock.

"Yes, Princess?"

"This spell, can it only be used to look at locations on land?"

He fiddled at his mustache. "No, you can look over the sea or sky if it pleases you."

"No, that's not what I mean." Zelda paused and tried to right the line of questioning in her head. "Say I wished to find someone or something in particular. Could I set my eyes to them directly?"

"Ahh, now that is a complex answer. This spell only works based on location. However, you can combine it with other spells to create the same effect."

"Who you spying on, princess?" Helmin said with a cheeky grin. "Some young knight caught your fancy?" He gave a bark of a laugh, Jakob gave a quiet polite chuckle as well.

Zelda lifted her chin. "If that's your first thought, you might be in the wrong profession. I'll leave perversion to you, I have little time for such foolishness."

"I didn't mean-" he tried to say, before Rauru cut him off with a sigh.

A part of her felt that little twitch of joy that she could still shut someone down with a word. But she was supposed to be gaining their love and admiration. How could she do that when she snapped at them for telling simple jokes? And of the two Jakob looked the more embarrassed and he had hardly laughed at all. "I'm... sorry?" But the damage was already done.

"There is nothing to apologize for," Rauru said before he turned to Helmin. "I expect more from you than crass japes. You shall go next."

Helmin took the harp from Jakob and smiled with confidence. Though both acolytes had their specialties, of the two Helmin was the more talented. From the few lessons Zelda shared with them, it seemed Helmin pursued the priesthood to study magic, while Jakob pursued magic to be a better priest.

With a flourish of his fingers, Helmin strummed the harp and his eyes went white.

"Good," Rauru nodded to himself. "Good."

"Father Rauru?" Zelda said.

"Yes, princess?"

"You never finished answering my question."

"Oh yes, Jakob, make certain he comes out of the spell safely." Though he did not take his eyes from Helmin as he spoke. "A different spell may be used to locate certain items or peoples. And from there, one can scry them."

"What spell?"

"There are several. The most efficient way is to locate some kind of beacon of magic. Once marked with such a beacon they can be discovered almost anywhere."

"A beacon of magic? How does one create one of those?"

"It's simple enough to mark someone. If it will help you, I could make that our next lesson after you master this one."

"I'd have to know where someone was first, before I can put a beacon upon them, wouldn't I?"

"Touching them is the usual method. Though some great sages of the past could do so just with a look."

That wouldn't do her any good. "And the other methods?"

"There are records of masters scrying the unmarked. However, it is always someone they know at a deep personal level. And it is rare. To the point that I know my mentor never achieved such familiarity with anyone."

"Lovers and the like, then?"

"Not always. Siblings can have such a bond, twins and triplets most common of all. Though as I understand it, any deep connection works. Even something as simple as a friendship, though the kind most only find once in their lives."

That would do her no good either. Two brief meetings with some boy hardly made them friends, much less partners tied through their life. "And nothing else?"

"I might be able to find more. But the last obvious one is magic itself. The beacon is only a marker the caster can recognize. But any infusion of magic should do. Once you've felt the auras that surrounds a practitioner of the high arts you might be able to find them. But you must know it all, have it memorized as well as you know your own shadow. Then it is possible to discover them through those means. That is why most of the great beings of magic shield themselves from any attempt to find them. I myself have certain charms placed upon me to prevent unwanted visitations."

She thought to the dark presence that reached out to smother her that hung around King Dragmire. "Thank you, Father Rauru."

He frowned at her. "These are specific questions, Princess. Is there something you wish to speak to me about?"

"No," Zelda said. Perhaps a bit too fast. Rauru gave her a stern look. "Not yet anyway. I'm still working out some of the details."

"Very well," Rauru said, with a tentative slowness to his voice. "I won't press further. But remember, I lead an order of priests that have been kept hidden for hundreds of years. I can keep a secret."

Zelda smiled to the kind old man. "I know, and when I can, I'll tell you everything. I just need a little more time on this myself."

"Very well, but until you learn not to send your farsight into walls, I'd suggest sending a messenger."

"Of course, I won't."

"You're going to try anyway, aren't you?" He sighed, "No don't answer. I'd rather not be lied to in my own temple. After Jakob we'll try you again. I want you to scry that corner." He waved at the ceiling. "So I can talk you out of the spell should things go wrong."

"Thank you, Father Rauru."

"And please, remember some spells are dangerous, I don't want a repeat of the time spell incident. You're very clever, princess. But with magic you must also be cautious." Then he stopped and looked up at the ceiling. "And Helmin, I know you're listening to us. Very clever. You've proven your skill, end your spell and let Jakob take his turn."

"It has to be here," Zelda muttered to herself. Her light shone over her shoulder, brightening the books and papers piled over her room.

She should be sleeping. It had been a long day, during Rauru's lesson and after. Though not a particularly draining one. Even with a class of only three, the older students took up too much time and drew Rauru's attention. She'd made faster progress alone.

Perhaps she could demand that Rauru return her to individual lessons. She was still a princess after all. Rauru and Impa had forced the current state of affairs on her. They could change it back.

After a disappointing and slow lesson, her day held nothing but more wastes of time. A meeting with the guild of spicers over Octoroks disrupting shipping lanes. During which her father kept giving her strange glances. But he didn't say anything to her. He never did unless it related to their work.

After that meeting, she sat in her father's council on three criminal cases. One lord blamed another for seducing his daughter. A merchant claimed that bandits robbed and beat him just outside the walls of Castle Town. A sad tale, but then he accused another man of being the robber based only upon his voice. And the last, and longest of them all was a tangled web of a case that involved the theft of some goats.

It was all so… pointless. Would this be the rest of her life when she became queen? How did her father handle this drudgery every day? And he sat there in judgment of every single case, hearing everyone in full before making his decision.

Did he rail against them as Zelda had in her head the entire time?

What does it matter if he seduced your daughter? She's happy! Let them marry!

You can't hang a man for a voice you think is somewhat similar to the one that wronged you. You need more proof than that!

Who cares about goats? There's a war! How is he still talking?

But no matter how much she raged, she sat there. Upright and proper, looking for all the world like the perfect princess. So that everyone in court would know her as trustworthy and worth their praise and loyalty. Or at least, she hoped that's how she came across.

Only when the last case concluded, far too late, did the hall become set for supper. By the time she ate, it was already dark and she was supposed to go to sleep. Or at least, to her bedroom.

"Here it is!" She pushed a few scrolls off the book and almost jumped on her bed to read it. A strange book, that she would ignore were it not for the references made to it by other authors. All of whom regarded it as the premier authority on its subject, even if the writer had been a kook. One referred to the work as done by either a brilliant child or a madman. Another described it as half a silly picture book for children, and half a scholar's treatise.

Accolades which did not fill Zelda with confidence. And even if the book proved useful, she would need more. Another look through Rauru's books for a spell on sensing magic from a distance.

For the hundredth time she thought about bringing Rauru into her plot. He was a good man. Smart too, in his way. Perhaps, wise was the word more befitting him. But if she told him about Link, she'd have to tell him about Nayru's prophecies. And he would demand to see them. He would want to bring them to his temple, right where Ganondorf would find them again.

And if she refused him? What would happen then? Would he cut her off from training? Would he think less of her? Would he stop talking to her all together like her…

No.

It was better if only she knew the location of the prophecies. If only Impa knew everything else. If she could compartmentalize every piece of information, she controlled where it spread. No chance Rauru tells Helmin and Jakob, and either of them spread it over the city. Keep knowledge tightly controlled, just as Impa taught her.

Then, once she found all she needed, she had only to become as knowledgeable in the high art as a grand mage, as stealthy as a Sheikah needle, as skilled in politics as a Zora courtier, an expert in the ways of warfare, and uncover the mysteries of the Goddesses that have been lost for generations. Simple. Anyone can do that.

She let her light move a little closer to the page, and refocused her attention on the text. The first page made her lip curl in disgust. The entirety of it featured a cartoon of the author, a short pudgy man wearing a skintight green suit and cap that left nothing to the imagination. With a bulbous red face and a ridiculous grin.

"Well, Mr. Tingle," she said to the book. "Give me some clue how to find fairies."