Demons, and Nightmares, Endai In Between

Waking of Saturday, May 11, 2019 (comprised of raw note editings from April 5, 2023 through April 12, 2023 that I really hope sound consistent because I left it alone for too long)

 

Demons, and Nightmares, Endai In Between

 

I went to the Coliseum and killed the Lynel. No sweat. It was awesome and I was feeling pretty good!

David said I was just showing off—to which I absolutely preened. Never done better with dodges and flurry rushes before!

However.... there was no shrine in the area. Nothing I could trip or activate to make one appear after clearing the dangerous space.

But I was not left completely without a prize; I took my new spoils to Kaysa to upgrade my Barbarian Armor. Now that I had seven Lynel guts, I could spare two apiece for each of the three armor pieces and still have one left over.

After that.... I went to Cotera, just because I hadn’t seen her in a while. I had her do up my new Amber Earrings all the way—I’d never seen her do the fourth level before—and my new Opal Earrings up three levels. But I would still need more Opal for the fourth level on those ones.

I ran around the Electric Lizalfos Baobab Grove in the Gerudo Highlands.... climbed further up into the range.... circumnavigated Spectacle Rock, just about.... Found a Korok beneath the little land bridge.... And a new Meteor Rod from a Wizzrobe who didn’t look like he really needed it....

No shrines though. Just wolves.

I circumnavigated Lake Mekar. I killed all the baddies on Mekar Island in the middle again. I even stayed on the island a few days waiting for respawns, though none ever came.

But still.... there were no shrines.

....

Hhhhhhh.

Hmm.

I would try Batrea Lake, by the Riverside Stable.

The Riverside Stable was on the west side of the Hylia River, but Batrea Lake lay in a forest on the east. There were two bridges convenient to the area, but.... Owlan Bridge seemed the shorter route. I jogged southward to cross.

On the other side, I found hecktons of Koroks, and megaBUTTtons of mushrooms of all kinds. And a very interesting giant hollow log stump in the middle of the lake.... with metal boxes inside of it.... Why?

But no shrines.

I meandered northward and came back across on the other bridge, Horwell Bridge—where I saw Leekah was in trouble again.

I saved her from her assailants, saw her to her feet, and began to escort her back toward the stable, when—that glowing, that fluttering, that cursed laughter....

We were waylaid by two Yiga and—just to complicate things—a friggin’ Octorok along for the ride.

I killed the archer in short order, but the big Yiga was more.... insistent. Amid the tussle I saw Leekah make a break for it—good. While she moved toward safety I continued to have it out with the big guy, but he was giving me such trouble.... And then as he leapt backward from my advances yet again, he landed shin-deep in the waters of the Hylia River.

I’d taken out my bow by this point and finally just shot the Octorok to get him to leave me alone. I still had the bow in my hands. A Forest Dweller’s Bow. I pelted the Big Yigaman with one of the bow’s triple-arrows, but upon seeing the paltry effect even this had, I fished into my quiver for something a little stronger—shin-deep in the water....

Ah! Shock Arrows!

Switching over to the new stock and aiming low into the current, I took him down in two juddering, spasming hits.

And he was down.

....His rupees must’ve sunk. But I sure as heck got his bananas.

I ran after Leekah, passing Beedle and Spoone on the way—Doctor Spoone—we really were already quite close to the Stable. But I caught up with her and escorted her the rest of the way nonetheless.

“I feel less anxious with you around,” she said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I said back, and I meant it.

That makes me feel good.

 

Uh.... And then I remembered something.... and made a manual save.

 

I wanted to test this Hylian Shield.

Strength 120.

Shield Guard Up +30.

What did it mean?

 

I ventured out into the lands around the Riverside Stable, looking for trouble.... Funny how it never showed up when you were looking for it.... until I finally was able to scare up a couple of Stalmoblins with sticks.

They banged their puny whackers against the brilliant, ringing shield of many ages.

This could take a while, I thought.

Un/fortunately, some time later, another Big Yiga showed up. Now we’re talking.

The sun or my impatience eventually claimed the two stalcreatures, and I faced my new opponent.

Man, that thing took a beating, but the Hylian Shield did not bow or break under the blows of the Yiga Soldier. I followed the man, pressing in close, giving no blows of my own but only allowing him to swing his Windcleaver at me again and again, clanging and banging off the Hylian Shield.... until this one likewise leapt away from me straight backward and into the river.

As it turned out, the river ran deep just there and.... the Yiga Soldier despawned?

But a fresh one showed up just a moment later.

The same one? Did the game recognize that neither of us had yet prevailed in our quarrel? Or was it a newcomer?

I never found out.

I don’t suppose it mattered.

My shield took a BEATING. I could see in my inventories that its pristine sparkle had long since gone away, but still this Hylian Shield would just not die.

As we sported all up and down—well, as one of us sported and one of us did science all up and down the riverbank.... the Octoroks began to crop up again. I didn’t need any stones to the face—I tried to keep the Yigaman in between me and them. They hit him in the back of the head several times. I don’t suppose it was unexpected, but it still made me blink and then give an irreverent little chuckle. The way they just smashed and crumbled off his poor noggin....

My Hylian Shield stood strong against every blow. I never even parried. I just took hit after hit after hit, head-on, every time seeing those tiny sparks fly as the shield’s unplumbable durability was chipped away. Pebbles from a mountain.

Again, and again, and again, and—

 

What in Hylia’s name was that ungodly sound?

 

It was a voice—definitely a voice, and it was coming from the Yiga, but.... inhuman. Layered.... rippling.... Demonic.

Oh my gosh, I thought, had I carried this fight on for so long that the Yiga was glitching out?

“Zwuauzwuzwuzwuaezwaeuwa—” Incomprehensible sounds.

The unholy utterances persisted through the fight now, as long as we ever kept going, the Yiga repeatedly chanting weird demonic things at me as he conjured his ground-burrowing explosions.

Daruk came back to thrice look in on me—what on earth must he have thought?—only to be hammered away once again, and then it was back to shield-beating.

But the Hylian Shield just would not die.

But I wondered whether my game might, at this rate.

But I would like to know the shield’s limits....

But this demon in my ear.... I didn’t want to hear much more of this....

 

I fled into my pause menu and reloaded that manual save.

 

My shield was pristine again.

 

It had never broken.

 

“I’d rather have this guy with me,” the memory ran through my head.

Brother Mow indicated the man who, while he had finished the obstacle course within the time limit, was now so wrung out and huffing and puffing that he had been reduced to puking his guts out onto the ground.

The other course-runners were taken aback. Oh? Not the bigger, tougher man who had aced his way through and finished first?

“I told you to leave it all on the field. I know that this guy [the puker] is willing to push himself until he’s falling over sick on the field, but him? I have no idea what his breaking point is. I have no idea what could make him just snap out on the battlefield, and be unable to carry on when it counts.”

 

Or some such words....

 

That Hylian Shield....

I wanted to know its limits....

I didn’t want it to ever fail me when I needed it....

 

I’m....

I’m going to bed somewhere. Maybe my house.

 

But before I did, I met a man on horseback whom I didn’t think I had ever met before. His name was Endai.

“Ah, I’ve seen that look in your eye before,” he said, “You’ve lost track of what’s important in life, haven’t you?”

Huh. Remarkably.... astute.

“Catching bugs, swimming, infiltrating the castle, sleeping... The possibilities are endless, don’t you think?”

....!?

Who is this guy??

....

Just another man on the road.

And then too soon.... we parted ways.

 

....

 

He was right. I had lost track.

The Princess was waiting for me.

Calamity Ganon.... was waiting for me.

 

But where were the last two shrines....?

 

....

 

I went to Hateno—I went home.

This is my house.

♪  This is my house. ♪ ....

I put on pajamas.

Yes, these are my new pajamas.

Because I’m a girl playing this game.

It was roughly 11:00 pm.

I slept until the morning....

Good night.

 

~

 

And in my dreams.... I was escorting someone.... a woman and child, I think.

It was a dangerous time and place. Near to the castle.

I had to protect them....

A laser was targeting us—But we made it out of range....

Safe for the moment, and for the moment only. We were near to one of the gatehouses.

I could see something.... there near the castle....

There on the base of one of the rock pillars supporting the bridge over the moat... was that.... could that be.... some kind of opening into an inner part?

And on the bridge....

A Golden Lynel.

I had only heard of them in rumor.

But I had to get these people to safety.

Did they go on ahead? Did I send them? Or were they spooked by something?

Did they dash into the gatehouse too quickly? But there were Malice Mouths in there!

Or did a new laser find us?

They moved ahead to where I had thought that they would be safe, because I was busy fending off whatever was behind us, whatever was coming.... but something happened, something new, something spotted our movements.

No!

I was supposed to look after them. I couldn’t let them be hurt.

I had to save them—

Please no—

I had to keep them safe—

 

Owa Daim Elusive

Waking of Sunday, January 6, 2019 ~ 5

Owa Daim Elusive

The main control unit of Divine Beast Vah Medoh was situated up on the broad, mossy back of the bird, right in the center of the torso. These topmost bulkheads, open to the sky, were generally flat and level but for a step or two up or down between the different body segments. And there were fans set into the floor—huge, grated fans that generated terrific updrafts.

I had explored up here during my searching for the terminals, but there hadn’t been much more to find except a bit more Malice and a few more chests. No, this was to be the arena.

All along the mossy top of the entire wingspan was a weathered old parade of crumbling stone columns, cubicle, seamed, and cracked. Their broad, patchy arrangement seemed to indicate there may have been more of them at some point, but.... open to the elements, I could see how some of them could have been lost over time. They couldn’t be Stasised and they weren’t Magnesable, but they looked like they could provide good, albeit rapidly expendable cover....

There didn’t seem to be anything especially damaging to bump into out here....

I had just imagined so many times: if I were to design a boss-fight based on the Stasising ability of Monk Owa Daim, I would have made it a mad game of toro, playing chicken with the devil, Stasising him right before he collided, and then quickly dropping out of the way, leaving him to plow into whatever damaging hazard you were previously blocking.

But the environment seemed benign here....

But then, so had been the environments in other Divine Beasts; maybe the blighting Calamity would provide the hazard....

But I did not think overly much of this as I made my way up to the main control unit. The music was strung so tightly now, pulling through my core like an aching sinew.

I placed the Slate against the control unit, heard the clack of contact, and—there was not much hesitance this time before RHOOOSH! Up swirled the monster....

I watched this one’s proportions carefully as it coalesced into its hideous, dripping-magenta self.... Its arms were definitely larger....

Larger like Rito wings....

“Be careful, Link!” Revali’s voice sounded, “That monstrosity is one of Ganon’s own. Don’t let it defeat you! It defeated me 100 years ago, but only because I was winging it.”

For the first time, the rapier seemed to waver, its sheen revealing a desperate dinge as I heard the regret in his voice.

“Its aim is dead-on. Watch yourself!”

But Windblight Ganon, I found.... did not lead his target.

What lessons the humble Octorok could teach.

I only ran to avoid the monster’s projectiles, and cast Bomb Arrows back where I could. And whenever I did down him for a moment, it was difficult to get close enough to have it out with my blade. The length, the space.... it was all so much bigger and stretched out, when the enemy was specifically a flyer.

I’d thought.... for sure.... Stasis. But....

His projectiles were moving too fast. Difficult to lock onto. And even if I could.... what would I be able to do with them?

And as for him....

I did manage to lock him in the air once—but the charm never holds very long for creatures so powerful.... And I didn’t want to face him too long, lest I got shot.

I wanted to keep moving.

I wanted to be evasive.

So did Owa Daim, apparently.

What was I supposed to do?

Owa Daim....?

I just ran to avoid his projectiles.... and when he took especially great affront at my retaliations and gained a second wind, I just ran to avoid the new, strange flying drones he conjured—these ones came at you four or five at a time!

I just ran.

Maybe if I’d stopped to think.... But I didn’t.

I only noted that Windblight Ganon continued to take damage from my Bomb Arrows.

And so.... I just stuck with what worked.

And I fought.

Maybe there was a more elegant solution, but....

I never found it.

I just pelted him with Bomb Arrows.

I didn’t even remember to use one of my many Lynel Bows. Just the Royal Bow that was already in my hands.

And I killed him.

I defeated Windblight Ganon, and it suffered an inglorious demise against a boy with a paraglider and a common bow. And a Rusty Shield.

Even so, I felt I should have been cleverer than this....

What was I supposed to have done, Owa Daim?

Ja Baij Triumphant

Waking of Friday, October 13, 2017 ~ 3

Ja Baij Triumphant

But of course, I was repulsed from making contact with my Sheikah Slate.

Unholy dark clouds swirled up around the main control unit, the evil energy condensing into a swirling blue light that was.... much too pretty for what it portended....

I momentarily wondered if I might even see Daruk instead. That light.... so fair....

But a few heartbeats later, the light coalesced into a massive sword, no a right sword-arm, the hulking limb clamped upon by some titanic hilt, from which gleamed a blade of Ancient make, twenty foot long at least—into a cruel left hand on an arm more lithe, palm curled upwards with vicious nails and malicious magenta flesh—into the bottom of the torso, the terrible drippy body, lost like hanging guts, uneven, non-corporeal, irrelevant—and into the head—into massive, massive armor in a wreck of towering dominance, wild horns jutting strangely and bloodred mane split into two matted flags waving—

Some of this I only remember from later glancing at the pictograph I took.

I think I was too close.

But I’m not going back to take another.

Fireblight Ganon was much beefier than Waterblight Ganon had been.

Ugh.

Fortunately, I still had a million ice arrows.

What a serendipitous elemental affinity.

Daruk’s voice encouraged me as I pelted him with arrow after arrow, as I dodged his blade and played ring-around-the-rosie about the main control unit, as I felled him and ran in swinging with the biggest stick I had on me—a Royal Claymore or something, some two-handed longsword with a sharp point and golden embellishments....

I don’t think I sliced him up too much between arrowings, though. I tried one time but.... so close, so dangerous....

And when Fireblight Ganon’s life meter was half-emptied.... he upped his game.

With a terrible roar no living thing could emulate, the monster flexed and flared, fire engulfing its person. The Ancient Blade turned a hot, bright orange. The thing took a place in the air, and began charging up what I could tell would be a devastating attack.

I took cover behind one of the many struts supporting the spiky frill on the Divine Beast’s back. The fiery charge raised in pitch, in intensity, until I heard the monster release it, and the air around me was instantly BLASTED outward, ignited, from where Fireblight Ganon hovered.

But I was safe. That was good cover.

I was confident.

In fact, I was still running on just the half remaining hearts I had left after climbing the volcano.

....

Sweet.

I peeked around and shot a few more Ice Arrows at him, but he soon found a new spot to occupy and charge up a new attack.

I had to move and duck down again.

I glanced at his life-meter. Was I doing any damage?

I stepped out once more and watched carefully as I pelted him again: the Ice Arrows seemed to impact on the encircling sphere of flame; they never made contact with the body beneath. And the life-meter didn’t go down.

My Ice Arrows were now ineffective.

Great, how was I going to hit him? I thought. Projectiles couldn’t penetrate the fireshield; did I need to get up close and personal with a melee weapon?

I looked at Fireblight Ganon again. He was charging up another fireball to cast at me.

And I looked at him.

Arms straining, claw hand trembling, muscles working.... he was gathering in a lot of energy for this....

And I saw—pulling it in.

Sucking it in.

Like those Rock Octoroks....

And a suspicion I’d had of the four Divine Beasts blossomed into further realization.

Four Divine Beasts.

Four Plateau Shrines.

Four Slate Functions.

Each of these four beasts must have something to do with each of my four Slate functions....

Water with Water for Zoras—Cryonis—that one was obvious.

Magnesis and Stasis, those could go either way with the Gerudo and the Rito—

But Bombs?

Bombs were always and forever a Goron device.

And the Gorons were dealing with Vah Rudania.

Vah Rudania had to be dealt with with bombs.

Hadn’t the land of Eldin prepared me for such? Cannons activated by bombs, railcars activated by bombs....

And pulling, sucking Rock Octoroks, defeated by Bombs.

All of this flashed through my mind in the span of a heartbeat or two. Or maybe more—I’m not sure; my heart could have been going pretty fast.

Fireblight Ganon seared with raging heat as he completed his charge and let loose another exploding firebomb—I ducked where the blast couldn’t reach me.

But when he next stopped in the air to charge another attack, I called upon Ja Baij.

In my hour of need, I called upon the aid of the Sheikah Monk Ja Baij!

And Ja Baij delivered.

The round Bomb I hurled toward the demon menace was swirled up in the sucking whirlwind, spinning closer and closer—past the fireshield!—and I detonated.

I don’t remember if I could see the blue of the explosion. But I knew the monster felt it.

He tumbled out of the air and crashed upon the deck of Vah Rudania’s back, stunned and dazed! And in I ran!

I was so far away, but in I ran, swinging and slicing!

Too far away indeed—I didn’t get but a few hits in on him. But I got the pattern down, and there was no safety for him then.

I repeated the attack a few times as Daruk’s voice cheered me on—“Lay it on him, little guy!”

And I did.

And Fireblight Ganon screamed a high keening as it died.... high, high, wailing, shrieking like an over-boiling teapot.... terrible thing....

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!

Waking of Saturday, August 12, 2017 ~ 4

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!

On my way to the North Mine, I encountered a few of a breed of Octorok I’d been seeing lately. They’ll pop out of the earth, look around like they do, the little swear words.... But these kinds wouldn’t start spitting rocks at you the minute they saw you. Instead, they would spend a long moment inhaling, to pummel you with one big hit I imagine. I wouldn’t know, because I’ve never seen it happen. I always drop a bomb into the sucking draft first, and when they swallow it—

Well, you get the idea.

There was one Goron I met at the mine, but it wasn’t Yunobo. His name was Drak. Or, as he said it, “Draaaaaak”. He had a funny kind of drawl. X-)

The mine was blocked off. But Drak directed me to where the supply store was located: on one of those few baddie-infested craggy islets jutting up from that giant lake of lava behind me.

Skull-dens, boomers, and treehouses full of bow-weidling Red Lizalfos no less.

Well.

(Okay so perhaps they weren’t technically tree-houses, but great elaborate platforms anyway. But I’m still calling them treehouses.)

For a while I progressed by my superior archery skills, but after a time.... I did become curious about the great big.... mechanisms placed here and there. Things the Gorons used in their mining, no doubt.

I inspected one of them. It had a great big wide barrel, angled somewhere between thirty and forty-five degrees up from the horizon, on one end, and on the other end.... why that looked just like....

I took out my Sheikah Slate, and called upon Ja Baij.

The round bomb rolled perfectly into the little hole.

I backed up for safety, and detonated—and a hulking chunk of flaming hot rock came BOOMING out of the barrel! It arced over the lava lake and.... exploded pointlessly on the molten surface.

It was still pretty cool, though. I did it a few more times just for fun. X-) It turned out I didn’t need to back up for the bomb-blast; the mechanism seemed to contain it. Nifty!

Still, there had to be more to it.... There was one other part of the mechanism yet. It looked like a handle. But I couldn’t throw it. The A button didn’t work. Bombs didn’t work. In desperation I tried my sword—that worked. Though I hated to shorten the life of my weapons.

At the turn of the switch, the whole mechanism rotated. And wouldn’t you know it, why, I do declare, the barrel looked like it just about lined up perfectly with that there treehouse full of Lizalfos now.

Hmmm.

I rolled in another bomb, and set it off.

You ever blow up—just blow up—a whole treehouse before?

It feels good, man.

Some of the baddie-nests were situated between the set angles of the cannons, and so I had to get creative with my timing. But all in all, I’d say I got the hang of using the cannons pretty well down.

My gosh what pandemonious delight.

Riot! XD

Once I’d cleaned out most of the whole smattering of islets, there was just one more cracked stone barrier to breach, at the top of the final mountaintop. One cannonblast took it out easily enough. And holed up in the back of that cavern.... was Yunobo, I presumed.

“Oh man, oh man, oh man—” he whimpered, fearing the monsters had broken through and were now come to get him....! His voice was young, and light. Especially for a Goron.

But it wasn’t monsters; it was just me.

We exchanged some words, about who I was, and what Boss Bludo had asked me to do. Aside from the light blue neckerchief, Yunobo looked like most other Gorons, though his eyes were not quite so large. He also had a funny little cowlick on his crown that hung over to one side. How old was this . . . dare I say kid?

With the way cleared of monsters, Yunobo took the painkillers and went back to the town.

But I stayed to satisfy my shrine-detector.

It was difficult to get a fix on the signal’s direction, with so little footing beneath me. But I couldn’t see the shrine anywhere anyway; it had to be hidden.

There were some metal rails leading into a cave beneath that rockpile-island that resembled a crab.... and the signal did seem strongest in that general direction....

David was most anxious to watch me figure out the railcars.

Ever see Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?

Yeah it was kinda like that. O_O

All my flashbacks were of zipping unbalanced over hot lava and sailing over gaps in the rails, Indy grabbing a hank of that curly blonde hair and shoving everyone’s heads down into the cart. I was legitimately frightened that I might flip over if I went too fast! But I made it to the crab island without incident, and there indeed was the shrine. I beat it, went back, wandered around town a bit more.... but did not speak immediately to Bludo again.

Rather—as is so my wont—I decided to take a detour, and go and visit the Great Fairies to spruce up my new Flamebreaker clothes.

Kaysa first—she blew her magic on me. Cotera next, and she bopped me with a kissed finger.

And then I realized: it didn’t seem to matter which fairy magicked up my wardrobe. The first level up would always be done with a blow, the second with a bop, and the third with a giant kiss right to the face.

I guessed any given fairy could just as well do more than one level too, and I didn’t have to travel between them.

But I couldn’t see Mija or any other fairy about upping my Firebreaker armor a third level just then anyway, because I was short a number of something called Smotherwing Butterflies—and that was a critter I’d not yet encountered.

In fact, it seemed there were lots of ingredients I was short of to have my wardrobe enhanced anymore.

Ice Keese wings. Well certainly those were easy, I thought, and warped to the Keh Namut Shrine on the Great Plateau. I went hunting around those peaks and Mount Hylia.... but was only able to harvest one Ice Keese wing in the end.

What other cold places did I know?

Hunting around, hunting around.... as the hour grew later.... hunting around....

Until....

....

I didn’t quite remember where I stopped.

Korok Guides

Waking of Monday, July 3, 2017 ~ 2

Korok Guides

I was ready to charge north toward the low grassy lands by the sea. But first I met a man heading for the Goddess statue. His name was Stamm, and he was a traveling chef. “They say hunger makes the best sauce. Or is it love?” he said. “But then what does that make us but hungry chefs or fools in love?” he added.

I didn’t buy any of his food, but I sold him a bunch of my monster parts. That kicked me over ten thousand rupees!

And then I got distracted by a Korok. It was hiding on the natural bridge to the Goddess statue, and grabbing it was dastardly difficult! But grab it I did, almost down on the complete underside of the red, red stone.

And then I got distracted by a rock.

It was actually the top of a ruin, just over the hill, on the east side by the sea. A dreadfully fast Korok lived there, and it was tough work catching it! The Impossibly Fast Ruins Puzzle.

And then I got distracted by another Korok.

I chased this third one all the way down the slope and nearly to the seaside before I caught it in some ruins.

And then I got distracted by an ORB.

There was a sign next to it. It seemed.... if I carried this orb all the way out to the end of Rist Peninsula.... it sounded like.... Why it sounded like a shrine might just appear!

I looked up. The base, the root of the Rist Peninsula seemed to be just off the grass where these ruins stood. And out into the bay the peninsula stretched and swirled in on itself like a giant, sandy tendril. And as I scoped in on its far distant tip in the center.... I could indeed see a waiting pedestal.

The peninsula looked a lot bigger from here near the beach. ._.

I considered: the journey was probably fraught with all manner of nasties, no doubt designed to slow me down, to delay. Would it be worth it to run through the peninsula first, and clean them all out? It would take time.... and there was no telling when the next Blood Moon was.... All that work could be for naught. Would there be a time limit to this....?

Ah just blow it, I thought, and picked up the orb and went for it.

There was no time limit—it seemed more like an epic trek than anything else; the outer swirl of the peninsula was so huge, enemies wouldn’t even populate until we were at most.... mmmm forty-five degrees away from each other I’d say.

There were moblins on the sand, lizalfos in the sea, octoroks keeping them company, and occasionally some mounted bokoblins. I bombed, I brawled, I Stasised, and I dodged. And picked up a few crabs along the way....

I remember near the center, tired of cutting my way through, I huffed it past some baddies just to get further down the spiral with the heavy orb held over my head while a great dark moblin lumbered after me, keeping pace quite close on my heels! We both stopped at the same time, I to finally deal with him, and he.... I’m not sure why. Had he reached the limit of his territory? Did an octorok accidentally pelt him?

I never knew and he never said, and I cut him down.

At the rainy end of a very long walk, I finally came to the pedestal in the center, and set down my burden—and up rumbled a shrine. The Ritaag Zumo Shrine.

And there it was that I entered my first non-puzzle, non-combat shrine, and received a Spirit Orb without any further obstruction: Ritaag Zumo’s Blessing.

Or had Kass’s shrines held Blessings in them?

No I think this was my first one. The Into The Vortex Shrine Quest. I had already proven myself by getting the orb to its pedestal, and so the monk gave me his Spirit Orb freely.

Cool.

Okay.... thanks for bringing me here, Koroks.

Another Storm

Waking of Sunday, June 25, 2017 ~ 2

Another Storm

Vah Naboris was so far away now....

The desert below was vast.

Still I clung to the bottom of the frost line, high on the mountain range.

David was absolutely boggled why I didn’t just go to that place out in the desert, the one with the shrine right next to it.

But I didn’t want to.... not yet.... I felt more drawn.... to the Volcano. The breadcrumbs seemed to pull me there.

These Gerudo Highlands? This was just a lark, this was exploring....

Mmmm this was not the determined Hero I thought I’d be playing....

Sometimes I wonder if it’s because I let myself slip from being the farthest along in the game. I know it’s not a race, but.... there’s something in that, I think....

Hm.

I ventured into the freezing snow to solve a magnetic Korok puzzle. I climbed up the back of a Talus to show David how it’s done. I didn’t even know how many Talus kills that was for me. Felt like a boss.

Creeping shrinelight shone from the desert floor far below, looming out of a gigantic ribcage lost in a cloud of sand.

“Why don’t you go get that one?”

“You mean that shrine that got eaten by some giant thing?”

No, David, I wouldn’t even go get that one—

A sandstorm blustered up out of nowhere and obliterated the world. Everything was lost in a greenbeige haze.

The map in my HUD went static.

“What?”

David groaned a knowing groan.

“Have you seen this?” I asked him.

He had.

I opened up my Sheikah Slate.

Static. Blue-on-black static.

Nothing. It was nonfunctional.

I put it away.

I couldn’t see anything. Only the ground for a few yards around me.

I pressed on, forward into the raging din, but then—

That soft little xylo-cowbell tap, that chime that means No.

And

You can’t go any farther.

Words at the bottom of my screen.

“Nooo!” I howled, running against the press of nothing, feet not going anywhere.

I paused and—if my map was malfunctioning, how did I place that stamp?

I marked the spot with a Star.

And with nowhere else to go.... I headed down the mountain.... and with a new spot of ground to stand on veered hard into the west once more!

And once more I could not move any farther.

And I marked that spot with a Star.

One more drop in elevation, another press against the edge, another Star....

Could I even see these stamps on my static map?

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t see. Everything was gone. Storks flew away into the howling wind. Wolves loomed out of the airborne murk. My Great Thunderblade became my flashlight.

I came to a rock ledge overlooking the desert I could not see.

“I’m at the edge of the universe,” I said.

There was nowhere left to go but back counterclockwise around the mountain. I had to jog quite far before the sandstorm let up and the air cleared enough for me to see.

My Sheikah Slate came back to life and I looked at the stamps I had placed.

They formed a perfectly vertical line near the western edge of my map.

“You should do what I did,” said David, “I just went to my map, scrolled aaaall the way down to the bottom-left corner, and put a marker, then I unpaused to see where it was!”

Ugh! “Nooo!” What a ghastly thought!

So that was the end. I couldn’t circumnavigate the Gerudo Highlands after all. The highest, westernmost plateau continued off into spaces and areas over which I could not pan.

And I felt a little sadness again . . . . but not like before.

Before, when I saw the sea, there was something more awful there. Woeful. An empty isolation.

But here on the sandblasted mountainside.... something inside me joyed to know that....

The land went on.

I don’t know, I just....

I liked that thought.

There was a kind of dread finality when the border was the sea, but when you can see the land goes on?

There’s something hopeful there.

When more is left to the imagination.

I went back round the mountain. I found more Koroks here and there. I saw the lower entrance to that Satan Canyon with all the frogs.

I paraglided to the other side of it—boggling David further still as to why I did not just go down and explore the sandy desert floor.

I did take a look at a couple of treasure chests down there. One of them was Magnesable, but the other....

“Maybe you’re not close enough,” said David.

“Oh, I’m close enough,” I said, and it was my turn to have a knowing groan in my voice.

David was confused. “What, are there things that disguise themselves to look like treasure chests?”

I only narrowed my eyes as I regarded the chest on the screen. Oh I’d love to see his first encounter with one of those....

I climbed further up the rocks, still counterclockwise back around the mountain, and found some amazing ruins haunted by three Lizalfos and an Ice Wizzrobe. I bombed the Wizzrobe from a nearby cliff, and killed the Lizalfos up close; looting the place turned over a bunch of SWEET bows, man. I left a bow stamp there for later.

A hop, skip and a jump further around the mountain and all at once the screen flicked to an interrupted connection message from my WiiU.

My controller had run out of batteries.

Well.... it was just as well. It was getting pretty late, and I had to pack anyway.

I set the controller in its cradle and set to filling my suitcase....

I’d never run my battery completely dry before. I checked in every few minutes until there was enough juice to at least put Link safe in the pause screen for a while. And there he sat while I went through my packing list.

And by the time I was done.... I really should have just gone to bed. But instead I justified myself in playing just a little bit more by reasoning that after all that packing, I really deserved a little cool-down time....

But I played much like I got ready for the family reunion: with much procrastinatory wandering.

I only wended my way back toward the Gerudo Tower, exploring some of the lower reaches of that spiral path around the Tower hole—I really think there must not be a floor there—finally just warped back up to the Tower platform, saved.... quit.... and went to bed.

I got a good twenty minutes before my alarm went off.