Before bed, Link contacted Astir to update him on what had happened.

I think you better issue a law banning the use of the Zora horn in Lake Hylia, Link warned. Once they take you, they don't let you go. They didn't say as much, but presumably they have some way of blocking our telepathy and teleportation, or else people they capture would get away—or at least let someone know where they are. We didn't pry as to why they have broken off all contact with 'surface-dwellers,' as they call us, but they seem to be quite prickly about their isolationism.

Astir agreed to issue a ban. He also promised to send a letter to Master Regan detailing everything that had happened with the Zora and all the things they had seen and learned.

That ought to pay him for his help quite nicely, Link said. I'm sure he will find it more valuable than a bag full of gold. Then he had a thought and laughed. Although you should make an exception for him when it comes to that ban. I think he might like nothing more than to be taken by the Zora and live here for the rest of his life.

The following day was spent with the royal family. With the ball over, they all had time to spend with Link and Zelda and their initial caution—as if afraid of putting a foot out of line—dissolved as they spent time together and got to know Link and Zelda as people instead of mythical beings. They asked about the Dark Days and Link and Zelda's quest and almost the entire day was spent recounting everything that had happened and answering questions. Even some of the advisors and staff found excuses to hang around the periphery of the room and eavesdrop. Everyone loved the story.

The next day, Link and Zelda rose early (at least the clock in their room said it was early; the light outside seemed no different) and dressed in Zora clothing that was a bit less fancy than their ball clothes, but which was still suitably rich. Zelda even had a modest crown, and both of them had earrings, albeit much less elaborate than before.

Link had protested when the maids had brought the clothes in, telling them that it would be better to wear their own clothing, but the maids informed them that it would take many days to cross to the other side of the ocean, so there was no need to put their traveling clothes on just yet.

Link didn't point out that going to the other side of the ocean was travel. He just assumed they were trying to hint that it would be rude to be poorly dressed while still in Zora territory. Or perhaps the queen and king would think it reflected poorly on them if they sent Link and Zelda away dressed like stablehands.

Link and Zelda were escorted by Fluet to a large room that could best be described as a porch. It had mullions forming windows on all three sides, but these went floor to ceiling, and the room itself jutted out from the side of the palace, like a porch. It was also completely unfurnished. Link supposed that the "windows" only served the purpose, as Fluet said, to hold the air in place.

The royal family was standing near an archway that probably functioned as a door, waiting on them to arrive. There were a couple of leather backpacks lying nearby, plus Link and Zelda's weapons. Eyeing the pile, Link saw that Zelda's bow was there. Apparently it had not needed replacing.

King Pynor noticed what Link was looking at. He put his hand over his heart and bowed. "We apologize for having ruined many of your things. We have replaced them as best as we can and hope they will prove adequate."

"I trust that they will be," Link said.

The king held out his hand and a servant hurried to put a horn into it. It was not dissimilar to a short ram's horn, although Link had no idea what sort of animal—or fish—it had come from. The king turned and offered it to Link. "This is similar to the great horn in Lake Hylia. It's not so loud that we can hear it from very great distances away, but if you blow it, the people closest to the human lands will hear it and someone will respond to you. Use it if you need any help at all from us—additional supplies, medical aid, or an escape route."

"Thank you for your help," Zelda said, "and your hospitality; we have enjoyed our time here. I wish we could have had relations when Link and I were on the throne; we would have very much liked to visit."

"We are very isolated from the outside world here," Queen Lyra said; "it has always seemed safer. But . . . maybe there's more to be gained than is risked. Perhaps we will reach out to the King of Hyrule and try some trade relations."

"I think it will do both sides some good," Link said. "I know, for example, that Fluet mentioned that wooden objects are highly prized. That's certainly something that could be traded for. On the surface, coral beads and pearls, especially, are very valuable."

"And whatever material you make your clothes from," Zelda added.

"Oh, yes, your silk, or whatever that is, is very wonderful," Link agreed. "There would probably be more demand for that than you could meet."

"It can be considered a type of silk, I think," the king said. "Only instead of being made from the cocoon of a worm, it is made from threads produced by a specific type of clam. It uses them like a net to catch particles of food floating by and then draws it back down to its mouth."

Link was thoughtful. "Rather like a spider's web."

"Yes."

"We do refer to webs as being made from silk, so I suppose you're right that it should be called silk."

He held his hand out to King Pynor. "Thank you again for your help."

The king looked surprised—almost startled—by Link's proffered hand. It wasn't clear if he was unfamiliar with the gesture of shaking hands, or if he didn't think someone like Link would want to shake his.

He touched his heart, then put his hand timidly into Link's.

"You don't have to thank us, My Lord, for serving you. Again, our apologies for how you were first treated," the king said.

"It's alright," Link said. "Mistakes happen."

"It is more than a simple mistake when we threaten our own goddess with death for blowing the horn that belongs to her," Queen Lyra corrected.

Link smiled a little. "I was wondering if anyone noticed that irony."

The queen hung her head. "It is to our everlasting shame."

"Don't worry about it," Link said. "It's not the first time we've been roughed up by people who ended up being good allies."

"Roughed up worse than this," Zelda pointed out.

"Oh, yes, we've been tortured. This was just a little misunderstanding; no harm was done."

The horrified looks on the king's and queen's faces said their guilt was not assuaged by this information.

"I don't know how to feel about committing crimes against your person that were just slightly less awful than torture," the king said.

"A lot less awful," Link corrected. "And, as Zelda said before, all is forgiven." He laughed a bit. "We are very forgiving towards people who feed us."

King Pynor still looked a little upset. He started to say something, but Link reached up and clapped him on the shoulder, stopping him. "It's fine," he said seriously. "Don't beat yourself up about it."

Finally, the king nodded.

Link turned to the queen and bowed over her hand and kissed it. "It was very nice to meet you, Your Majesty."

Then he turned to Princess Fiora. "Your Highness, it was nice to meet you as well," he said, offering his hand. "I enjoyed your company at the ball."

The girl blushed coral-pink as she put her hand in Link's. He kissed her hand as well and she devolved into a fit of giggles that she quickly tried to suppress. Whatever Link had said to her when they danced had obviously made an impression on her. Zelda recognized a crush when she saw one.

Zelda offered her hand to King Pynor, then to Prince Ule. The prince managed to maintain his dignity better than his sister, but he too was grinning from ear to ear when he rose from kissing Zelda's hand. Clearly he was just as thrilled as his sister that such a legendary figure had acknowledged him.

The servant attending Their Majesties stuck his hand out the door and appeared to make some sort of gesture. A moment later, something resembling a wheel-less carriage was backed inside. Unlike the enclosed carriages which were typical in Hyrule and Erenrue, this one was more like the open rickshaws which were popular in Shi-Ha. The difference was that it did have a frame roof, similar to the glass-less windows in the palace, which presumably held in an air bubble. It also had a door in the back, instead of on the side, and the seats were on the sides instead of front and back.

The doormen hurried to open the carriage doors and they loaded up Link and Zelda's bags and equipment in the front of the carriage.

Link helped Zelda into the carriage and turned back to the royal family. "I don't know if we will ever get to see you again, but once again, thank you for your help."

"It was our honor, My Lord," Queen Lyra said, as she touched her heart. "Please, call us if you need us." The rest of the family put their hands to their chest, then all of them bowed.

Link put his hand to his forehead, as if shielding his eyes from the sun, then lifted his arm in the traditional Kakariko good-bye. He turned to enter the carriage, then turned back as he remembered something.

"Oh, if a man named 'Regan' ever blows your horn, could you not send him to the mines as a favor to us?" Link said. "He was the one who suggested we contact you and told us where the horn was. He is a great scholar of the ocean and is deeply fascinated with it. I think he'd love nothing more than to come down here and live out the rest of his life looking at your coral and seaweed."

King Pynor threw his head back and laughed. The queen smiled. "As a favor to you, we will welcome him to our court if he chooses to come down."

"Or, if you decide you want to interact with surface-dwellers, I would recommend him as your point of contact. He's in Meridor, though, not Hyrule. But he's well-known enough that someone could find him for you. Just ask for Master Regan."

"We will make a note of that," King Pynor nodded.

Link waved goodbye again, then entered the carriage and one of the doormen closed the door behind him.

Link sat on the plush, silk-covered seat beside Zelda as they pulled away from the palace. Like a Shi-Ha rickshaw, the front of the carriage had a big crossbar between the carriage shafts, only instead of a person pulling, there were two Zora who were swimming.

Zelda was looking back and Link followed her gaze. The "windows" of the palace were indeed an opaque silver, so that nothing inside could be seen. But light still seemed to emanate from inside, so it glowed like a jewel in the dark water. In fact, the entire coral structure was round in shape, like a glistening silvery pearl fresh from an oyster.

"You were right that they were not bad people and would help us," Zelda said, still looking behind, as if she could see the royal family where they left them.

"Well, that was down to luck, I think. If we hadn't been who we are, it would have been the silver mines for us."

"Yes, but they only helped you in the past because of who you were," Zelda pointed out. "You weren't betting that they would help just anybody; you bet that they would help you."

"I suppose that's true."

The palace and the rest of the city quickly disappeared back into the blackness. When Link looked up, he could see a small amount of light above, indicating the surface. He wasn't sure if Pynor had been teasing him, though, when he said that the Zora could tell time by looking at the sky. While he could see light, he definitely could not see the sun.

"You know who Pynor reminds me of?" Link suddenly asked.

"Who?"

"Your Uncle Zeyde. He had a similar sort of calm demeanor and he was very pleasant and gracious."

Zelda considered it. "Yes, maybe so."

"I think that's why I liked him as soon as I met him; he seemed familiar."

"I thought you liked him because he gave you all the fresh seafood you could eat."

Link laughed uproariously. "Well, that certainly added a lot of points to his score."

It seemed to be sometime around nightfall on the surface when lights began to emerge from the darkness again. Once the novelty had worn off the carriage ride, it had become a very dull trip. There was nothing at all to see out in the darkness. The runners (maybe "swimmers" was a better term for them given the context) stopped very infrequently to rest. They would take the carriage down to the sea floor and, by way of gestures, indicate they were going to have a little break. Unlike closer to shore, there was nothing at all of interest within the radius of light around the carriage. There were no corals or seaweed at this depth; just lightly rolling dunes of sand. Only very rarely did they see a strange, lone creature creeping along the bottom.

Link and Zelda had found a hamper of food and drink in the front of the carriage, and they ate lunch while they talked about what they had seen and speculated on aspects of Zora culture and history they still knew nothing about.

With little else to do after lunch, they had both taken a bench and took a nap.

But now there were lights at regular intervals down below, like lamp posts along a road, guiding travelers towards something—presumably a city. It felt like another half hour or so before more lights began to appear ahead of them. The Zora pulling the carriage descended to the bottom, skimming the ocean floor, and soon dark shapes with silvery, stained glass-like windows came out of the gloom. Each building radiated a small amount of light—enough to see that something was there, but not enough to see details.

"I think the Zora can see in the dark much better than we can," Link said, as they watched the buildings pass by. "And I think that's why they keep their lights rather dim: they're probably sensitive to the light."

"But they go up on land," Zelda pointed out.

"They never said they go up in the daytime," Link contradicted. "Remember Pynor said they didn't do well in the sun, so it would make sense if they did their farming at night."

Underneath the carriage appeared rocks, not dissimilar to a cobblestone street on land—the only difference being that the underwater stones did not appear to have any mortar between them.

"What's the purpose of a paved street when no one walks?" Zelda asked.

"The only thing I can think of is it keeps people or strong currents from stirring up the sand," Link said.

They slowly traveled into what looked like it might be the center of town. There was a very large house there with a walled garden full of different sorts of seagrass and giant seaweed that resembled trees more than the seaweed Link's family used to eat in place of cabbage.

The carriage haulers went up a stone path between the plants to what looked like the same sort of porch that the palace had. At an archway, they turned the carriage and carefully backed it in.

Link and Zelda stood and a moment later, a doorman opened the carriage door and stood back, allowing them to exit.

"Good evening, My Lady and My Lord," said the rather rotund, middle-aged Zora man who met them. He put his hand over his heart and bowed a little. "I am Duke Jasper. Welcome to my home."

Link threw a glance at Zelda, but saw she was as clueless as him about what was going on. "Thank you, Your Grace," Link replied. Although Zelda had always done the lion's share of paperwork and administrative meetings as queen, and had sat in judgment and heard petitions more often than Link—especially after she stopped having children—Link had always taken the lead when it came to matters of diplomacy. As Zelda liked to say, he liked people more than she did and was more charming. He was much better at cajoling to get what they wanted; Zelda was the one who tapped in when someone needed scaring straight.

The duke straightened up and smiled at them. "Her Majesty told me at the ball that you would be traveling west and asked if I would host you on your journey. I said I would be delighted to do so, if my accommodations are suitable to guests such as yourself."

Ah, Link thought to himself. Now the reason why they had stopped made sense. "As long as you have air for us to breathe, we will be very happy with your accommodations."

The duke laughed a deep, jolly sort of laugh. "I would like to brag that my air is better than anyone else's, but I am afraid that would be a lie; it all comes from the same place. But," he added with a playful wag of his finger, "I do have more than anyone else in the city—I can say that much."

"There's never such a thing as too much air for a surface dweller," Link said, making the man laugh again. Duke Jasper was instantly likeable because he was seemed so jolly.

"Come," the duke said, gesturing to a set of double-doors on the opposite side of the porch. "We have been expecting your arrival and dinner is ready."

"I won't ever say no to fresh seafood," Link said, letting the duke escort them into the house.

"You are a man after my own heart," Jasper said with a smile, patting his round belly.

It turned out that Queen Lyra's ball had not simply been about showing off her court to Link and Zelda, or letting her nobles have a chance to ogle such legendary figures; instead, she had used the opportunity to ask certain nobles for favors. The journey across the ocean took nine days when swimming from Zora city to Zora city, and Link and Zelda could certainly not make camp on the side of the road every night, as they did when they were on land, and the vortexes that connected the cities were too long for them to travel through; they would drown before they could make it to the other end. So the queen had arranged for Link and Zelda to be the guests of the highest-ranking person in each city along the journey. Each host also provided two servants to take the carriage to the next stop so that they constantly had fresh haulers and made the best time.

Although the carriage ride during the day continued to be boring, Link and Zelda very much looked forward to their evenings with various Zora nobles and their families and they learned much more and had many of their questions answered. Although their very first encounter with the Zora had been a rather unpleasant experience, everyone on their journey was polite and eager to help.

As the days went on, the rank of the Zora they stayed with slowly decreased, as did the size of the cities. By their eighth and final night, they were staying in a village with a mere knight as its highest-ranking denizen. Although Sir Loren's house was quite modest, he and his only daughter—a girl who looked to be the equivalent of about thirteen or so—were very good company. As they were much closer to the lower class than their previous hosts, Link and Zelda were able to learn more about the lives of average Zora.

Loren also knew a little bit about the human realm, as they were now less than half a day's journey from the shore. But his news was bleak.

"We used to trade with humans when I was a boy," he told them after dinner, as they sipped on a sweet fruit drink that seemed to serve as the equivalent of dessert wine, although it was non-alcoholic. "I know that the capital has had a no-contact policy with surface-dwellers for a very long time, but we're so far away, on the outskirts of the kingdom, that we kind of have our own rules that suit our needs."

Link nodded. "Where I grew up was not too far from the capital of Hyrule, but it was on the edge of the kingdom, on the ocean, and it was culturally different because it was the only part of the kingdom that was devoted to fishing. Everyone else was farmers. We had a different style of dress and different customs." He touched the short, fine gold chains that dangled from his left ear. "Only sailors from my county pierce their ears, for example; no one else in Hyrule did that."

"Well, not until you made it fashionable," Zelda pointed out.

"Well, yes. And my Kakariko clothes became fashionable as well." He gestured to Loren. "I'm sure if Loren had become king, people would have wanted to follow his customs as well."

Loren laughed. "I doubt that. I know many in the capital find us to be rubes out here."

"Yes, and people thought the same about where I'm from," Link said. "They changed their minds."

"Why did you stop having contact with humans?" Zelda asked, putting the conversation back on track.

Loren's face darkened. "Because they grew wicked."

Link and Zelda exchanged glances. "Wicked in what way?" Link asked.

"They became more likely to cheat us when we traded. Already by the time I was a boy, there were few people left that we would trade with. And those people came from families that had been our trading partners in previous generations. We live longer than humans, you know, so in our lifetime we might interact with several generations of one family."

"No, we didn't know that. How long do you live?" Zelda asked.

"About two hundred years."

"That's the lifespan of a Hylian these days," Link said. "Do your children grow up quickly or more slowly?"

"More slowly than human children." He gestured to his daughter sitting beside him. "Honora is twenty-five years old."

"If she were Hylian, to look at her, she'd be about thirteen or so."

"At what age do your people marry?" Honora asked.

"Sometimes as young as sixteen, but eighteen to about twenty-one or twenty-two is more typical. Men usually marry when they're a bit older and women a bit younger."

Honora looked even more shocked. "That's just a child for us!"

"We don't marry until after thirty," Loren said. "And thirty would be young. Thirty-five to forty is average."

"It sounds like you age about twice as slowly as we do."

"But you live to be the same age as us," Honora pointed out. "You just grow up in half the time."

"That may be because every Hylian today has some human blood. Humans age faster." He looked at Zelda. "The first Hylians didn't mature as quickly as they do now, did they?"

She frowned, concentrating. "I . . . don't think so. But I can't be sure. You know time didn't have any real meaning to us back then."

Link turned back to Loren. "So you stopped trading with humans because they became greedy and cheated you?"

"It was worse than that. A friend of my father's was robbed and nearly beaten to death after he went ashore to trade. He would have been killed, but he managed to get back into the water."

Zelda was shocked. "Was he beaten by the people he was trading with?"

"No, he was attacked after he left their place."

"Did anybody do anything about it?" Link asked.

"My father was the knight here before me and he gathered up all the men and went to the human village, but many more humans turned out against them—plus they had the land advantage. We're limited to how much time we can spend above ground, especially during the day, and I believe this was the height of summer, which shortened the time even more.

"My father had to back down. The family his friend traded with were the last honest people in the village; everyone else had either become corrupt or had left for greener kelp beds. The family told our people they should not come back; they were planning on leaving and it was too dangerous to attempt to trade with anyone else."

"Did the king and queen not do anything about it?"

"No, Father never reported it. Remember, we were trading when we really weren't supposed to. At best, the Queen would have told us it was our fault for disobeying; at worst, my father's friend would have been fined or forced to do time in the mines as punishment."

Link looked at Zelda. "We will have to be very careful. We'll need to keep money hidden to protect against cutpurses."

"You'll have to guard against more than that, I'm afraid," Loren said.

"Like what?"

"There's something evil emanating from the land. My grandfather said he could feel the change from when he was a boy. I didn't feel anything when he told me, but that's probably because I was used to the way it felt already. But the past decade or so, it's steadily grown until it's obvious to me. And it's intensified in the last several months, as if it's moving towards some sort of crescendo."

Link and Zelda were silent for several minutes as they processed this ominous pronouncement. "Can you identify this evil?" Link finally asked. "Is it anything specific?"

Loren shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe it's Dark Magic seeping out, or maybe it's something else; I can't be sure."

"Humans aren't supposed to have magic," Zelda said. "The ones that lived in our realm did sometimes have it, but that was because they had Hylian blood. But humans here, in this realm, should not have it."

"But at least one person has it, somehow," Link pointed out, "because he or she made it through the storm barrier to steal the Prince of Hyrule and then take him back. At least, we think he was brought back here. We can't be entirely sure, but we think they want him in order to breed Hylian blood into their line so they can possess magic."

"Maybe more people than you think have it; maybe it's Dark Magic that I'm feeling," Loren said.

"Are you the only one that notices it?" Zelda asked.

"Oh, no, everyone feels it. It's so strong now that even the little children do not want to play on the west side of the village. They say the sea feels angry over there."

Link looked at Zelda. "Maybe the person we're looking for is nearby."

"I hope so. Otherwise, if everyone is evil and doing Dark Magic, it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack."