THE WAYS

Waking of Thursday, June 8, 2017 ~ 2

THE WAYS

I activated the Sheikah Tower. This was the Lake Tower. Finally those shrines I had been to when I came down here looking for Mei had some landscape to nestle in on my map, instead of just floating out there in the blue.

The new map showed plenty of interesting things.... one of the most conspicuous of which was a very large, perfect circle of what looked like stones, some distance to the southeast. The biggest Korok circle in the world....

And nearby that was—

Lake of the Horse God?

“David!”

“What?”

“Lake of the Horse God?” I looked at him expectantly.

He showed no expression.

David had once had a horse named Shaq. And at some point, he lost poor Shaq somewhere.

So I told him about the horse icon that shows up on the map. That would tell him where his horse was.

But he said he couldn’t find it anywhere.

So I told him to just go catch another horse, board it, and then take the freshly-caught horse out again, and the Stables would find his old horse.

I don’t remember if this worked or not. I think he said it did not work.... What?

And then I’d heard something else from Madman Joseph about “something something blah da da da UNLESS YOUR HORSE DIES blah blah something—”

D:

Did horses.... die?

Did poor Shaq....?

No horse icon, no Stable tricks.

Shaq was nowhere.

Oh dear....

I’ve been hesitant to take my horses on untried roads with me, but.... now I was NEVER going to let them out again! Oh my sweet Babies....

BUT THEN one day David said he got his Shaq back!

“Where was he?” I asked. :D

But David didn’t elaborate. “I just got him back. There are ways,” he added mysteriously.

“How?” I really wanted to know where he found his horse.

But he would only say that there were ways....

“Teach me the ways!” I said, not really wanting him to. :D

And he didn’t.

“Who told you about the ways?”

“Nobody, I just found them.”

“Did anyone.... talk about them at all?”

“No, I just went to a place and.... there were the ways,” he shrugged with a smile. “You can find any horse that way. Even if it’s dead.”

WAT. ._____.

“One time one of my horses died, and I already knew about the ways, and so I went there right away and.... got my horse back.” He shrugged loudly.

He was trying to impress and it was working.

“....Teach me the ways!” :D

But he just laughed....

There was something else out southeast—a marker I had left down in this region, back when I was in Faron Woods south of the lake with Tye and Sorelia. It marked another shrine I had seen, but not gone to claim.

I could see the shrine from the top of the tower—and from this height I could see it was next to a stable! Excellent.

Actually there was quite a lot I could see from this height; it was rather like looking at the map in my Slate.

It looked like there were two ways to get to that shrine and stable: one was a road that seemed to wind through Faron Woods, somewhat to my left. And the other.... well the air was quite clear, and I was quite high up.... and just in case I wasn’t, the ground looked most navigable....

I took the second option, and jumped for it, paragliding through the air....

Of course I wasn’t high enough; I should have known. Ahh, but you just feel so good when you’re so high up and the land lies so plain all around you!

I came down onto some bald, pointy hills crawling with Lizalfos—landed almost right on top of one, with no choice then but to whack him off. But with his health bar visible to me, I wasn’t worried. The Champion’s Tunic really is quite handy. No surprises.

At David’s suggestion I climbed to the top of that pointy little hill, and again paraglided toward the shrine and stable. I crossed over a wide open green field prowled by mounted bokoblins, the creepers.... But my angle this time was such that I didn’t have to worry about them either: I landed within breathing distance of the stable—the Highland Stable.

And that big circle I’d seen on my map wasn’t a giant Korok circle.... it was a circle of young cypress trees encompassing the stable! It made for quite a comely effect, I must say. Maybe they planted it as a barrier against the bokoblins so close....

Well! No time for the stable just now—I had a shrine to lock down. “The Ka’o Makagh Shrine!”

I read the name with such fierce enunciation that David laughed. “Sounds like ‘Leggo my Eggo’ when you say it like that,” he said. XD

I again felt only slightly cheap inside as I became aware of small Guardians around corners before I saw them—thanks to my Tunic. The first one had 100 health. The second one had 13. 13! Maybe that was the kind I’d faced in the shrines back on the Plateau so long ago. 13.... What a pitiable number....

I cut it down in one hit with a 14 Lizal Boomerang. And it gave me Ancient Gears. “Why thank you!” I told it. ^_^

When I’d claimed the Spirit Orb and exited the shrine, I took only a brief skip around the stable to meet the locals before heading into the stable’s backyard—opposite the wide green field, a similar lawn stretched away between two tall grey cliff faces, bending out of sight to the right. The Lake of the Horse God was back there....

The lawn rose up a bit before coming to an abrupt end and a short drop into the water. But there was nothing there but a Korok. The dry-ish waterway continued on between the two cliff faces and away out of sight....

What were The Ways....?

I tried bringing one of my horses to the edge of the sward before the water.... but still nothing happened.

Above the water, rather over the far end of the little lake, a wooden bridge extended across from one cliff face to another—a path seemed to cut through the mountain just there. I boarded my horse again, ran back to the lake—the wild horses which haunted the backyard were getting tired of my passing by now—and climbed up to the bridge.

Horse God Bridge it was called. But the path beyond it, to the left, didn’t lead anywhere except to a nameless little pond at the end of a tiny box canyon.

Hm, but the topo there had a strange symmetry to it.... Maybe it was worth a look, as long as I was there.

I followed the trail and found.... another Fairy Cocoon! :D

Well that was dandy! ^_^

I approached the cocoon. The same low, mournful, distorted voice rumbled out from inside it. But it said....

“Hast thou... I mean... Have you ever felt the pain of losing a horse companion?”

And one half of me thought, Oh my gosh it’s The WAYS!! 8D

And another half thought, No wait please speak all archaic to me, I love it! D:

“Hast thou... I mean... Have you....” XD

I wondered how the original Japanese must have read.

Well, it seemed this fairy had the ability to resurrect any horse companions I might have lost.... but first I had to hand over a thousand rupees. Through a crack in the cocoon, she held out a snappy, expectant hand like the others had done.

I’d done a little business back at the stable, making just over a thousand on my monster parts collection. Easy come easy go I guess. I handed it over.

The cocoon pulsated and rippled apart into a flower, mystical water splashed in its center, and up came—oh this one’s hair was different—no was it a headdress of some kind?—like plates, or scales, shingled over her head—no there were too many pieces, too much to the form—the whole form—her whole body—so textured—banners and braids and trailing things—what shape was this?

This wasn’t like Cotera or Mija.

The Horse God had a long neck like cloth dancing in the wind, and its face was a rustruddy, stylized mask engraved with many designs.... a horse’s face. Rather like the shape of the stables themselves.... And although the face was static, it still moved.... queer little jerks and twists and shakes, like the movements of a bird’s head, though perhaps not quite so sharp.

The hands however were still the same robust, womanly hands with elegantly painted nails.

But the arms....? There was just.... a misty, purplish kind of.... something....

“Ah, if my arms were corporeal, they’d surely be all cramped up by now!” the Horse God said as she.... he.... it.... stretched.

The voice was still low and warbly.

I’ll just say it was a she. And her name was Malanya.

She pondered for a moment on how to repay me before leaning in quite close and saying, “Shall I make you my meal?”

But then she leaned back out with a laugh.... only kidding.... haha.... hahhhh.... .__.

She seemed to read my experience with horses and pronounced me to be in some kind of good standing I gathered.

Well my horses are quite closely bonded with me.

She said if I ever lost a horse companion, she would be able to bring it back for me.

But if she sensed any kind of foul intent.... in the death of my horse....

She leaned in close again, her sharp-nailed hands floating creepily. “Then you shall suffer my wrath!”

o__o

Sounds like she means bidness....

“You found the ways!” David patted my shoulder.

Well, I could handle that well enough I think.

“I found the ways!” ^_^