Riding the Dragon

Waking of Thursday, May 25, 2017

Riding the Dragon

Hm, maybe I’m getting too in-depth with these entries. I feel like they might be stressing me out. Maybe I’ll try and sparse ‘em up like they were at the beginning....

I warped to the Dueling Peaks Tower, paraglided through the rain over to Giro’s Woods, and made my way back to Deya Village Ruins. It didn’t take too long to recolate the Two Statues memory. Luckily the sun had come out by then, and I was able to get a few decent pictographs.

A wonderfully scudded sky blew indecisive sun and shadow over the hill as I remembered....

But in my memory.... it was raining after all.

Zelda sat beneath the tree, beside the statues. “This won’t let up any time soon,” she said.

I was standing. Moving. Honing my skill. My sword was in my hands, and I cut and sliced through various stances, ending on a deep exhale as I brought the blade in before me.

“Do you ever wonder if you’ll wake up one day and realize you’re not a fighter?”

I didn’t.... quite understand.

I think I still don’t understand. What she was talking about.

Of all the memories I had revisited, I recall this one the least vividly. Perhaps because there was one thing she said that seemed to blot out all others—so strong, I don’t even remember the way she worded it. Just the raw concept rings in my mind:

She said I take after my father.

I have a father.

I was born into a house of the Royal Guard. It had been expected all my life that I would become a Knight.

Then why was Princess Zelda saying these things....?

I took after my father, I had great skill, prowess....

“It’s no wonder that you would be the chosen one,” she said.

Chosen one?

It was always expected that I would become a Knight.

That was how I was raised.

“But if you had been told that your entire life....” she said.

Why did she look so.... sad?

“Do you think you would have chosen a different path?”

Why did she look so sad?

I came back to myself in the half-sun, took a few more pictographs, forgot to scare up the Korok that would have photobombed them, and moved on.

Now that I was so close to it again, I really was curious about that huge, dark-stoned bridge. I climbed the tree over the Two Statues, and leapt from its branches to paraglide across the river toward it....

I bypassed the bokoblin’s treehouse and went for the bridge’s north end. The Bridge of Hylia it was called. An impressive structure.

But the whole time as I crossed it, I kept looking over the edge, and straining my ears for that beautiful erhu.... Where was Farosh? Wouldn’t he rise? He did for David....

I had a brief party with three Lizalfos in the middle of the bridge, and a troublesome scuffle with their stal-counterparts at the south end, and some stalbokoblins. Nearly knocked me off into the lake! That annoying one with the swinging spear....

But I put them all down, and considered the nearby Sheikah Tower....

Nnnnnghyeahhh I would do the tower north of Upland Zorana first. I was pretty sure that would show me Akkala.

But while I was on the bridge I decided to climb up on top of the south bridge-tower just because of.... curiosity.

“That’s a good reason,” David affirmed.

As I climbed onto the last parapet—“Hey there’s an updraft!” I said. It had blown up out of nowhere.

“That’s because—!” David started, but he didn’t need to continue.

As I got on top, Farosh was right there, twining before my eyes!

“Isn’t that a sight!” I beamed.

I remembered—how David had said he’d encountered a simliar updraft when Farosh flew by, and followed it out of curiosity. How he’d said he’d gotten too close to Farosh, and been zapped by one of his little lightning balls.

Well, the next time Farosh came around, erhu in tow, I decided that.... I wanted to see where that updraft would take me too!

I leapt after Farosh and it was a turbulent affair! Getting close! LIGHTNING BALLS! Dodging, dodging—and how he twined all about! And I was too low and he was above me! And there were so many lightning balls! Beeeennnding to the right to follow his course—and I zipped around one lightning ball so close I thought for sure I’d had it—

And then Farosh dipped lower—I was weaving, darting, dodging and—wonder of wonders—I got above his back.

Maybe it was just the lightning balls that were dangerous. Maybe he’d acknowledge me somehow if I actually made contact....

Now or never—I let go of my paraglider.

SIZZLE.

I bounced off his back with a painful choking sound.

But his back was still beneath me.

SIZZLE. “Hlck!”

I bounced again as he continued in his perfect, sinuous course.

SIZZLE. “Agck!”

Bounce.

SIZZLE. “Gmff!”

Bounce.

SIZZLE. “Hrack!”

Bounce.

“Oh my gosh, Farosh! Let me OFF!” If I could just tip down over his flank—

“It doesn’t keep hurting you!” David pointed out. And I looked at my hearts. I was down one from those stal-fiends on the bridge, but I wasn’t going down any further.

SIZZLE. “GYAAAH!”

That was so comforting.

Farosh’s long, long body and tail finally passed out from under me and I fell through the cool, soothing air, and parachuted toward a little dock on the central southern shore. “I RODE THE DRAGON!” I cheered. 8D

“I wouldn’t exactly call that riding,” said David.

I warped to the Bosh Kala Shrine—the shrine by Proxim Bridge—and had a nice visit with Brigo. He wasn’t so skittish this time, but dutifully patrolled the bridge, as it constituted part of an important route.

After that I decided to chase down a beacon I had left in my scope—I had placed it on a shrine just a little north of Proxim Bridge, between Proxim Bridge and the Floret Sandbar.

And heading north from Proxim Bridge, sporting with a few octoroks and a rich little camp of bokoblins, I came upon the Riverside Stable.

So this was the Riverside Stable that bored kid at the Wetland Stable had mentioned!

A couple of people spoke to me, such that I gained a couple of new sidequests:

Gotter, a food connoisseur who was strangely obsessed with beauty and whose grandfather’s grandfather had been the Royal Family’s chef, asked whether, if I ever got inside Hyrule Castle, would I please keep my eyes out for a cookbook?

“Gotter.... you nuts,” I said, and fled inside the stable, where I met Parcy.

She told me she used to sneak inside the castle all the time for all the cool treasure there.

ò__O ????

But no longer, ever since it had become so dangerous.

But she asked me, if I ever went inside the castle—what was wrong with these people?—would I keep my eyes out for the Royal Guards’ gear?

Hey, I was a Royal Guard—you filchin’ my stuff, Parcy?

I spoke to the innkeep, thinking maybe I’d just take a little nap. His name was Ember.

Huh, Embry had been the name of the one at the Outskirt Stable.... I hadn’t been keeping track otherwise. Were all their names somewhat similar?

It was in the nine o’clock hour. I slept until noon.

It was overcast when I woke up.