Privy Thoughts Again

Evening of Wednesday, June 19, 2019 (comprised of many raw note editings from May 1 through May 10, 2023 that I really hope sound consistent because I left it alone for too long)

Privy Thoughts Again

I had asked the interwebs the previous day. Or the day before. For help. Help on the last two shrines. There was no answer for a long time.

But there was an answer today.

But I didn’t look at it. Because David.... encouraged me not to. He told me I was like the church member who finally just said That’s it I’m gonna try a beer, and then ALL my friends who drink would be like NONONONONO DON’T DO THAT??

Keepin’ me on the straight and narrow.

So I left the thread alone.

And I never went back.

That teaser for a Breath of the Wild sequel came out the other day.... I saw Link and Zelda traveling underground..... leading some large, horned pack-beast.... and Zelda had cut her hair!

And I just thought Underground.... underground....

If I play that game.... and I don’t meet up again with Master Kohga....

If Master Kohga doesn’t appear again with his antics

and all his silly dialogue....

If I don’t get to kick that guy’s butt again

until he becomes a good guy,

becomes a part of my nakama,

becomes my Friend....

Well that would just be the saddest panda.

~

Is nakama even the right word?

I can’t remember my Japanese art history class....

~

I had only one hundred and eighteen shrines.

....

I must....

I must look forward.

I cannot see another way....

Do I dawdle?

Do I try?

Where do I go?

....

My shoulder was too girly and roundy; no way the Little Link was gonna stay put there. I reclined him comfortably on the couch beside me instead.

....

I saved.

I went.

And I was in the Library. In a little concealed hidey-hole that had somehow always escaped my notice until now, hidden behind another Magnesable bookshelf at the head of the room.

The King’s Study.

Saved here, and....

There was a chest, with a gold rupee inside it, and....

There was a book.

Sitting open on a stately desk.

King Rhoam’s Journal.

The Writings of

Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule

Today, as the sun rose and a new day

was born, my daughter, too, joined this

sweet world.

Oh.... such a span of years in this journal!

In keeping with the traditions of

the royal family, I have decided

to name her...Zelda.

I am not a man accustomed to frivolous

musings, but now seems as good a time

as any to begin my royal memorandum.

Next.

Reports keep arriving regarding the

excavation of relics. The fortune teller’s

predictions seem to be coming true.

That Fortune-Teller again....

Calamity Ganon was not a figure of fable,

or even of legend. He actually existed in

our great land of Hyrule.

What was that even like? To not know, to have him be so distant.... So distant it feels like just a legend. A story....

We must investigate all the relics, learn

as much as we can. But understanding

the Divine Beasts alone will take time...

Zelda’s eyes lit up like a wildfire when

I told her about the relics... I must admit,

she has a knack for research.

The King admits it.... But.... He still must have felt the sway of the mighty responsibilities on their shoulders....

Next.

My Queen has left this world. [Oh....] Her death

was so sudden and unexpected, I awaken

most nights unsure if she is really gone.

Zelda never cried, never faltered. [No?] Not

even during the royal funeral or later

when she and I were alone with our grief.

I must assume her strength is a result of

us repeatedly informing her of her duty

to be a valiant and steady princess.

I wonder.... That woman from her dream....

For a child of merely six [Six??] years of age,

her conduct was truly that of a born

leader. Her strength gives me hope.

From now on, I must raise her all alone...

Now, only I remain to prepare her for her

difficult future as princess of Hyrule.

I wonder.... if there have ever been Hyrulean Princesses who were not named Zelda....

Next.

Zelda finally reported back after her visit

to the fountain. [Oh not this day already, surely....] It seems her sacred

sealing power has still yet to awaken.

It has been a year and three months

since her mother passed. [Oh, no, she was younger then.... a different fountain maybe....] Perhaps she is

held back by heartache too deep to heal.

If the Ganon prophecy wasn’t looming

over our heads, I would tell her to take

her time... To wait until she is ready.

They—or he—did feel the pressure, then.

But our situation is dire and leaves no

room for weakness—even on behalf of

my beloved daughter.

It.... must have been hard. For him.

My heart breaks for Zelda, but I must act

as a king, not a father. I must order her

to train relentlessly at the fountain.

Next.

I was told Zelda went off to research

ancient technology, so I had no

choice but to confront her about it.

That day.

She claims she was simply using her day

off from training to indulge in a bit of

research, but still I scolded her.

She won’t get it through her head...

Forcing me to tell her the same thing

I have been repeating ad nauseam.

No but she must have known.... But felt so helpless....

The reason her sacred powers still won’t

awaken is because she’s spending all her

efforts playing at being a scholar!

Huhhhh.

Next.

In truth, I understand Zelda’s feelings.

Painfully so. She lost her mother, her

teacher, before she could learn from her.

Ten pointless years of self-training,

without so much as a book or note

to help her find her way...

It sounds.... hard.

Those in the castle talk behind her back.

And I, her only family, scold her for

her shortcomings.

Hhhhh.

No wonder she wishes to hide away in

her beloved relic research. I’d love

nothing more than to console her...

These two poor hard lost souls.

But I must stay strong. She MUST

fulfill her duty, just as we all must.

Even if she comes to despise me.

I cannot fault him. He is being a father. He is being a man.

Next.

I have been told my Zelda went to the

Spring of Wisdom...

Not this day.

This will likely be her last chance. [....Does he.... sense something, somehow?]

If she is unable to awaken her power

at Lanayru, all hope is truly lost.

No.

Please, do not tell me the King died thinking ruin and calamity had come upon him because of his daughter....

If she comes back without success,

then I shall speak kindly with her.

Scolding is pointless now.

Lost.... lost....

Lost chances.

I forced 10 years of training on her...

and after all that, it seems her power

will stubbornly awaken some other way.

Perhaps I should encourage her to keep

researching her beloved relics. They may

just lead her to answers I can’t provide.

For now, I sit anxiously, more a father

than a king in this moment. I sit and

await my daughter’s return.

....

That.... is the end.

This study.

....

I wonder how it ended for him.

....

I have to go.

I will try to make my way to the top.

After I save again....

~