Continuation of the Evening of Monday, May 13, 2019 (comprised of raw note editings from April 5, 2023 through April 16, 2023 that I really hope sound consistent because I left it alone for too long)
Pictures of the Past
I really couldn’t remember. I couldn’t remember whether I had ever read Robbie’s Memoirs before.
I went to the first page....
Let me start from the beginning. It was
100 years ago... Calamity Ganon had
already swallowed Princess Zelda.
Oh.... Oh my. Wait, but hadn’t she—been the stronger?
What had happened to her? What did she do?
Dr. Purah and I had already taken Link
to the Shrine of Resurrection and left
him to recover.
Wait, then.... those two Sheikah soldiers.... Zelda had ordered them directly to transport me there. But here Robbie was saying that he and Purah had gotten me to the Shrine of Resurrection?
Then.... were there four of them that day?
Dr. Purah and I departed for
Kakariko Village, where we left
Lady Impa...
All three of us couldn’t stay together, of
course. We couldn’t risk Calamity Ganon
getting all of us in one strike.
Made sense.
If that happened, there’d be no one left
to deliver Princess Zelda’s message to
Link when he recovered and woke up...
I wonder.... did they expect it to take as long as it did? Did they know? What plans had they even laid? That’s a long time to wait....
We had to ensure at least one of us
would be able to talk to him.
Or perhaps it was that the world was still full of dangers, and the Calamity’s influence still reigned.
But if Zelda had already been swallowed by Calamity Ganon, as Robbie put it.... then that begs the question.... What battles was the Princess fighting on her own during that time? After she was swallowed but while the three Elder Sheikah were still in danger? What was going on? How long did it take her to subdue it? What struggles raged in the Castle?
So Dr. Purah and I set out to survive as
long as we could. We were lucky...
So they knew the Shrine of Resurrection would be a long time, then.
We found large amounts of ancient
energy in the Necluda and Akkala
regions. We could continue our research.
Ancient energy? ....The furnaces?
Just as we had in Hyrule Castle, we could
again set ourselves to finding some way
to seal Calamity Ganon away.
We decided who would go where in the
only fair way: rock, paper, scissors. [Oh gosh.]
I set out for Akkala soon after.
Next page.
I was all set to go to Akkala, but first I
decided to go with Dr. Purah to the
ancient energy source in Necluda.
...Actually, that implies I had any choice. [Uh?]
Dr. Purah laid on a pretty heavy guilt trip
when I suggested her going alone.
Ha, brazen as ever, I see.
“In a world as dangerous as ours, are
you seriously asking me to travel alone?”
She’s so darned pushy...
Well, if the Calamity was as big a threat as they claimed it was....
Anyway, Dr. Purah promised Lady Impa
that they’d meet again someday, then
she and I set out from Kakariko Village...
But not before loading a cart with the
Guidance Stone Dr. Purah had been
using at Hyrule Castle.
That thing that had upgraded my Slate, I think.
Next page.
We traveled for some time. South of the
Pillars of Levia, across Lake Siela, and
through Blatchery Plain...
The Valley of Terror.
Then we came upon Fort Hateno. Link
had battled an army of Guardians there [Half-remembered, half-imagined lightning flashed in my brain as the rain slicked over my hood on the parapet once more.],
and it was where he’d been defeated.
....Yes.
A master swordsman such as Link, who’d
impressed King Rhoam enough to be
made Princess Zelda’s personal knight...
Well, even someone like that has their
limits.
I’ll.... forgive your grammar for now, Robbie.
I’m sorry, Link...
I spent so much of my life researching
the Guardians...
Even with all my knowledge, I wasn’t
able to give you the weapons or power
you needed to succeed.
But I’m sure you did your best, Robbie.
I’m sure we all did our best....
Those were my thoughts as I looked
upon the broken husks of the Guardians
strewn around Fort Hateno.
You know, Robbie.... I have a great friend around those parts by the name of Garill.... Perhaps you two ought to talk. I’m sure hearing his words would return some strength to your heart.
Next page.
Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice that
Dr. Purah had slipped away.
!
I knew Hateno Village wasn’t much
farther along the road, and that the
Calamity had barely touched that area...
So I felt safe letting her continue on her
own. We parted ways without even
saying good-bye, I suppose.
Haahhhh, after all that fuss about traveling together, Purah?
Stirring myself back to action, I set
out on my own journey back toward
Kakariko Village.
Oh? But Akkala was the other way....
Next page.
With Dr. Purah “escorted” safely to
Hateno Village, it was time for me to
head to my new home in Akkala.
I returned to Kakariko Village to collect
the remaining Guidance Stone [Ah. Of course.], then I
immediately set out for Akkala.
I made my way through the
Lanayru Wetlands and headed
toward Ternio Trail.
I knew that once I crossed the
Akkala Span [That bridge....], I would officially be in
Akkala.
The autumn leaves brought some joy to
my spirit as I crossed Shadow Pass
then headed north from Ordorac Quarry.
Me too, Robbie. Me too.
Akkala is known for its long stretches of
nothing. I’d set out hoping that would
still be the case...
Uh oh....
I was attacked by a Guardian here and
there as I went [!!], but remember, I’d spent
my life studying them.
Robbie!?
Dispatching them individually was no
challenge at all.
I find your nonchalance upsetting, sir.
In time, I reached the lighthouse in
Akkala. What a perfect place to keep an
eye on the monsters out there.
It was originally.... a lighthouse?
Who would need a lighthouse, here?
....
Hungry visions once again swirled in my mind of the lands beyond Hyrule. Or rather, in this case, the seas beyond. And a tiny bit of the horizon’s depressing sterility washed away in the waves.
I unloaded my Guidance Stone and
settled into my new home.
Feels.... like a lonely way to live. The necessity of it notwithstanding. Having to fling themselves all out to the wind like that?
I wonder how they all felt about it.
I wonder if they all wondered how I had felt....
Next Page.
And so began my life of solitary
research...
I knew I had to continue to research the
ancient soldier gear for Link... [!] He could
wake at any time.
Robbie.... You kept trying for my sake.
And “wake at any time”? Then.... But no, he hadn’t written this until after a hundred years had already passed. I think they knew the Shrine of Resurrection would take a long, long time.
I quickly settled on a routine. First,
I would carry the blue flame from
Tumlea Heights.
Next, I would melt the ancient materials,
refine the result, and then shape it into
ancient soldier gear.
It’s difficult to say how much progress
I made on my research. The routine
demanded so much focus, day after day.
I feel you, man. Boy do I feel you.
But then I had a clever thought!
I realized I could automate the entire
refinement process!
It took some significant work, but I was
able to successfully remodel
the Guidance Stone.
Thanks to my effort, it can refine any
ancient material inserted into it and offer
something in return.
Ah. Cherry.
I named this machine Cherry, after the
first girl I ever loved...
Ah yes.
Next page.
My research didn’t end with the creation
of Cherry, not at all! I realized that if she
was able to refine the ancient materials...
There was no reason she couldn’t also
manufacture ancient soldier gear, too!
Anyone could make ancient equipment!
I also decided then that I wanted to be
able to give her a voice so she could
speak.
I was filled with ambition then, but it was
no easy task to make my dreams a
reality.
But you did it.
Automating the manufacturing process
was extremely difficult. It took me
decades to figure it out.
....Sir I’m afraid I have no more words.
I’ll spare you the details of all the things
that went wrong...
But I will say it was complex enough that
I had to put my desires to remodel
Cherry on the back burner for a while.
Next page.
Days and months came and went. Before
I even realized it, I’d reached the ripe
age of 90.
The flow of time is always cruel, Robbie.
I would have been lost in my work even
then... But around that time, a young
woman named Jerrin arrived.
Ah.
She’d first trained with Dr. Purah, then
Lady Impa had sent her to aid me. She
quickly proved herself quite capable.
She carried the blue flame from
Tumlea Heights and even reworked and
improved my designs for Cherry.
The very fact that she had trekked all the
way from Kakariko Village alone proved
she was no ordinary girl.
Her intellect, her spirit... In hindsight, is
it any surprise that we eventually ended
up married?
Well, not since I first heard the story it isn’t.
Next page.
Thanks to Jerrin’s redesign, Cherry was
soon crafting ancient soldier gear
perfectly and speaking beautifully.
She spoke better than any machine I’d
ever heard. It would have been hard to
tell she wasn’t a native Hylian.
Yes, about that....
If I said, “Good morning,” she’d respond
with a sweet, “Good morning, Robbie.”
And she was helpful! “Cherry, where’d I
leave my book?” “It’s the third book from
the right on the second shelf, Robbie.”
She also knew to ask if she needed
something. “Robbie, could you increase
the furnace heat a little?”
I’d always go personally to fetch more
blue flame from Tumlea Heights. I didn’t
realize our interactions hurt someone...
Oh boy....
That someone...was Jerrin. Perhaps it
was due to her namesake, but my
exchanges with Cherry hurt Jerrin.
Next page.
Despite the fact that she knew Cherry
was only a machine, she still felt uneasy
with my interactions with her.
She was in tears when she told me. She
knew it made little sense, and yet she
couldn’t help how she felt.
I was devastated. I hadn’t even realized
the pain I was causing.
Much of offense is taken, too, Robbie.
Although Jerrin had designed Cherry, she
was now being hurt by her own creation.
We agreed to restore Cherry to her
original, mechanical way of speaking. I
took it upon myself to make the changes.
Ah. So that’s why she was the way she was.
Next....
From then on, I was careful to not refer
to her as Cherry. Doing so would anger
my wife. Instead, I called her...
ancient oven.
Some time later, Jerrin gave birth to a
baby boy, a beautiful young one who
bore all the features of his mother.
We decided to name him Granté, and
together we passed the time as a happy
family at Akkala Ancient Tech Lab.
It was, unfortunately, only a temporary
peace. Princess Zelda did her best to
contain Calamity Ganon...
! Then she was struggling....
Around the time Granté turned three, a
letter from Dr. Purah arrived. It was a
shock to receive it.
Yes? What did it say?
The last time she’d written, it was to talk
about an assistant from Kakariko Village,
whom she felt was useless.
?
She was writing now to let me know
she’d completed research on powering
up the runes, like Stasis.
Hearing this reinvigorated my interest
in researching ancient soldier gear.
NEXT PAGE AGAIN—HOW LONG DOES THIS GO ON FOR, ROBBIE?
Granté grew fast, and it wasn’t long
before he towered over me!
This book is towering over me....
He loved to carry blue flame from
Tumlea Heights, calling it a chance to
train his body.
I could see the curiosity in his eyes, and
so I encouraged him to travel the world
and see as much as he could.
He’d always been independent. But I was
still surprised when, the very day I told
him to travel, he left!
Oh.
Writing about Granté’s training
reminds me...
A few days before he left, I thought it
might be a good idea to have Granté
study with Dr. Purah.
I wrote to her to ask what she thought of
such an idea, and she sent a letter that
simply said...
“Don’t send anyone here!”
I wonder what happened to her to make
her say such a thing...
Oh.... That must have been when she.... when that happened to her.
That was all there was to the book of Robbie’s Memoirs.
Longer than most logs I’d read around Hyrule.
....
But perhaps I’m not one to speak.
Those three. Robbie, Impa, and Purah.
Robbie said he and Purah had gotten me to the Shrine of Resurrection.
But what about those two soldiers?
Were there four people that day?
The artworks in my head rippled and morphed, burgeoning out with the irrepressible ferocity of a creeping kudzu....
I really needed to wrap this up. It was my bedtime.
I’ll go back to my house in Hateno....
But upon warping back to the village I thought.... But first....
But first Purah. I want to find and read her diary too.
I remembered her warning me before not to go upstairs and look at her diary, and I remembered looking about the space of her tech lab, and finding that there didn’t seem to be an upstairs. Just a ladder that led to nowhere. Why hadn’t I pursued her hints then?
But in poking about a little deeper this time, inside and out, I was able to get up on top of her roof, and it was here that I discovered a little external staircase spiraling up and around the single large tower in the architecture, to a door in its side.
Had I really never been here either?
Somewhere so obvious and beckoning as this?
Surely I must have noticed this spiraling walkway countless times before....
Was it just Hateno’s sullen flavor for me?
I didn’t know.
I only walked through the high door and found myself in a cluttered little loft of a bedroom, rife with bookshelves and strewn with guardian-bits, and containing a little writing desk in the center, lit by a lantern.
There was her diary sitting open upon it.
Research diary for anti-aging rune.
CLASSIFIED! For Purah’s eyes only!
Oh! How piquing....
First page.
Date: ???
Work has finally begun on my anti-aging
rune. If all goes to plan, I believe it will
effectively reverse the aging process.
This technology will enable us to make
retired warriors young again, thereby
strengthening the Hyrulean army.
Hadn’t thought of that application but okay.... Couldn’t speak to how the soldiers would feel about it.... though I’m sure they’d answer any call from their beloved King....
When Calamity Ganon inevitably returns,
we’ll be ready. Our offense will be solid,
and our defense impenetrable.
The need for this tech pains me, but I
truly hope to use it to attain everlasting
peace for all.
Your heart’s in a good place, Purah.
Next page.
Date: ???
The beta version of my anti-aging rune
is complete. I have already added it to
the Sheikah Slate I made for myself.
Purah made her own Slate?
....
I guess it shouldn’t surprise me.
Since I am to be the test subject of this
experiment, Symin booted up the rune
and directed its rays at my body.
After 20 seconds of exposure, I felt
extreme fatigue and broke into a fever,
forcing us to cease the experiment.
20 seconds?
She’s braver than I.
Unable to stay awake, I went to bed
immediately. Tomorrow I will try to
figure out what went awry.
Next page....
Anti-Aging Experimental Trial
Day 2
My extreme full-body fatigue has slightly
improved, for which I am grateful. Still,
I do not recognize the face in my mirror.
Oh boy....
My hair is thick again and floor-length.
My wrinkles, once deep as trenches,
have vanished without a trace.
It seems the anti-aging effect works.
However, I did not expect the reversal
to happen so frighteningly fast.
Maybe next time try just three seconds.
This morning I kicked Symin awake and
had him run a full physical exam on me.
My height, weight, vision, bone density,
heart, blood... We tested everything we
could, pushing our facility to its limit.
Our discoveries were startling. My results
were typical of a Sheikah woman in her
early 50s.
Wrinkle-free in your fifties sounds pretty good!
In other words, I reversed my age by
more than 70 years in a single night.
Wait wait wait, Purah—you’re....?
I mean pardon me for posing such a forbidden question, but you had lived into your.... hundred-and-twenties?
....
I guess Japanese women really don’t get old or fat.
I can only hope I do not awaken to find
I have the body of a newborn baby...
Oh gads....
Next page.
Anti-Aging Experimental Trial
Day 3
I awoke with an abundance of energy.
It has been decades since I slept so well.
Oh wow.
Upon waking, I immediately checked the
mirror, only to be greeted by a youthful
version of myself.
According to Symin’s examination,
I have the body of a Sheikah woman
in her 30s.
Thirty years old... I was around that age
when I was first able to continue my
research following the Great Calamity.
Purah.... How long had you lived? How long have you lived?
The first thing I did was try to figure out
how to expand the functionality of the
Sheikah Sensor.
I was around 80 years old when that
expansion was completed. I intend to
bequeath this tech to our sleeping hero.
Oh wait, then was Purah’s Sheikah Slate back then, the one she says she built.... actually the one I had in my possession right now?
I thought the one and only Sheikah Slate had been unearthed or something somewhere. Didn’t Zelda say something about that....?
Or am I misremembering?
I hope to the gods that he will be able to
assist in the destruction of the Calamity
that swallowed our Princess Zelda whole.
Again, they mention this—Zelda, what happened to you? What did you do?
Into what terrible jaws did you march away so willingly?
Or was your showdown entirely of your own accord?
What did you do?
Next page.
Anti-Aging Experimental Trial
Day 4
After today’s routine physical, the results
show that I have the body of a Sheikah
woman in her 20s.
Well at least it seems to be slowing down.
I haven’t felt this good in a century!
This is all taking me back to when the
Great Calamity happened...
Ganon had been dormant for 10,000
years. Perhaps his power had been
building all that time.
The slaughter that followed was arbitrary
and merciless. The destruction complete.
No....
We lost everything... Hyrule Castle,
Princess Zelda... Well, perhaps not
everything was lost.
But I saw her. In a memory from my sword, I saw her.
She escaped to the forest with my blade.
She had to have only gone back to face the Calamity of her own volition.
Hadn’t she?
A youth named Link was brought to me a
hundred years ago, covered in wounds
and on death’s doorstep.
!
Was that.... our first meeting, then? Purah’s and mine?
Link... So young, yet so courageous.
Please.... Attribute it to Farore, not to me.
[Er wait would this Link think something like this?]
He was the youngest knight to have ever
been appointed to the Imperial Guard at
Hyrule Castle.
Was—was I now? I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere before....
He was also a gifted swordsman who was
selected as captain of Princess Zelda’s
personal guard.
Captain? Me?
I thought I was just her one appointed knight....
Did I have men under my charge?
I thought of all those swords I had seen stuck into the earth, out in Blatchery Plain, out in the Valley of Terror. Out where we had made our final stand....
Had others fought with me there?
Had others died with me there?
I thought his skills would be enough to
defeat Ganon in glorious fashion...
But....
Since ancient times, the royal family of
Hyrule and us Sheikah researchers have
had a strong bond. Their pain is our own.
We took the swordsman and the
Sheikah Slate Princess Zelda left
behind to the Shrine of Resurrection.
Then were there two Sheikah Slates after all?
Although the Slumber of Restoration had
not been fully tested, we decided to put
the swordsman under to save his life.
I’m glad you did, Purah. Between untested hazard and certain death.... I’d take the hazard.
It was the best we could do...
Next page.
Heh, that she always called me “the swordsman”....
Anti-Aging Experimental Trial
Day 5
I awoke to something horrifying...
a scarlet lump scarring my
otherwise youthful face.
After analyzing this monstrosity,
I have come to the conclusion that
it is just a pimple. A big one.
Oh boy. Still younger again.
The results of today’s physical exam
indicate that my body and mind have
reverted to those of a teenager.
And mind, you say?
I feel like Symin looks at me differently.
Which irritates me. I got angry when he
insisted on running my blood test for me.
I mean, really! What even! I can do it all
by myself! ...In any case, I wonder what
experiment I should focus on next.
Mm-hmm, and mind.
The blue flame in the furnace outside is
growing weaker by the day. I do hope the
Guidance Stone doesn’t stop working...
Next page.
Anti-Aging Experimental Trial
Day 6
My age reversal has progressed
further still. I now look and feel
like a 6-year-old.
Oh Purah.
My height has regressed so much that
I can no longer reach things in high
places. It’s super annoying.
Where is that genius swordsman we
placed in the Slumber of Restoration,
anyway? Wake up, already!
Purah would you even know how to rush something like that?
If he doesn’t awaken soon, my feature
expansions for the Sheikah Sensor will
go to waste.
But even if he does manage to wake up,
how can I be sure he’ll find me here?
I want to go and just kick Linky awake, [Linky?]
but I doubt Symin would help me. It’d be
hard with my 6-year-old body anyway.
Well I’m glad you didn’t, Purah....
Instead, I think I’ll begin working on a
rune to un-reverse my aging process.
I hope it works for you; sounds like you’ve had too much of a good thing....
Next page.
Anti-Aging Experimental Trial
Day 7
This morning’s exam results indicated
that I am still age 6, same as yesterday.
Perhaps my age-reversal has stopped.
Well that’s a relief.
As luck would have it, today I also
finished developing the beta version
of an age-boosting rune! ♪
Uh oh.
If successful, this should be able to
reverse the effects of the anti-aging
rune. I hope it will, anyway.
All I need to do is increase the output
and expose myself to its rays...
Just be careful, Purah; I’d hate to see you age too far and die.
However, when I tried to add this feature
to the Sheikah Slate I made, I found that
the Guidance Stone had stopped!
Ah.... can’t say I’m sorry about that.
What’s more, the blue flame in the
furnace outside has gone out!
I sent Symin to the ancient furnace,
but he was too clumsy and it was
raining and nothing went to plan.
So I had to go down there to help,
but a girl in the village saw me.
What a mess I’ve made...
!
I think I’ve spoken to that girl.
Not only am I unable to continue my
research in this state, I can only work
by the light of gas lamps. What to do...
Next page.
Date: ???
I can’t believe it... Our hero, Linky,
has awoken from his 100-year slumber!
As expected, he has lost his memory.
I think I preferred her as an adult when she just referred to me as “the swordsman”.
And what did she mean “as expected” anyway?
The Slumber of Restoration... I really
should have done a test run on that
thing first. Well, live and learn.
Indeed.
But I’m still not sorry for its help.
In any case, he got the ancient furnace
working, so now I can start my research
once again. Finally!! ☆
Only a truly gifted and heroic swordsman
like him could have achieved all that. ♪
Speaking of...this seems like a good
opportunity to get him to do some
other chores for me too, heh. ☆
That.... seemed to be the last page.
....
These diaries.... They all made for.... interesting reconstructions. Some of more import to me than others.
It gave me much to think about as I finally made my way back to my house.
UH, WHERE IS MY DOOR.
MY WEAPONS?
But no, they suddenly populated on their mounts.
BUT WHERE IS MY DOOR?
UH?
I went up the stairs to my bed. Turned around.
Oh, my door was there.
....
You know.... I begin to worry about this game. First that Big Yiga that I toyed with for ages out by the river, and the strange chanting animations he would get stuck in.... and now my disappearing house.... I’d been half-expecting to see Bolson standing around outside asking for more cash....
Huh.
....
I’d better hurry up and finish this game....
....
I put Link to bed this time in nothing but his Gerudo Sirwal Harem Pants.
They looked comfy.
It’s my house I can walk around with no shirt on if I want.
Good night.
