The Least Dangerous Game

Waking of Friday, October 12, 2018 ~ 2

The Least Dangerous Game

Eventually I floated down all the way to the Afromsia Coast.

I had reached the sea. At last I could switch out my one defense point Warm Doublet for something stronger.

There were more Koroks down here, hiding beneath huge stone slabs on the beach. And it had already been quite a fruitful Korok hunt up on the mountain! I was on a roll....

I started southward along the shore, using my Zora Armor to swim for it whenever the beach ran out and gave way to rocks, until I came to a certain Mapla Point.... and its resident Talus.

I recognized it. This was the first Talus David had ever defeated. I had helped him that time.

Now I took my own turn killing it, after which I continued to scare up a mess of Koroks, as well as a lot of new seafood: crabs, fish, porgies.... Lizalfos....

Following the coast, which bent in a general westerly direction now, I swam across Deepback Bay—which I’d always thought was a cool name whenever I saw it on my map—to reach Hateno Beach, which I traversed, and traversed, scaring up Koroks and killing baddies all the way, until I finally came to a landmark I recognized: the Hateno trailhead.

But I saw something else that piqued my interest, even further west.

Way up on top of a lone spire of rock standing out in the water.... was Kass!

So I swam out to meet him—killing an Octorok, in the water, along the way! Felt so boss.... Its Lizalfos pal proved to be a bit more trouble, though. Never mind him then! I swam out to the rocks, the Lizalfos buggered off, and I climbed up to visit with Kass.

He sang me a song about a Hero’s Stash, located at 17 of 24.... and said that this rock would show the way....

Well anything of twenty-four had to be a time of day.... and it was half past three! An easy wait.

And when five o’clock rolled around, the rock spire’s shadow pointed to.... Eventide Isle.

Well.... I knew what was over there.

I’d seen David do it.

Hadn’t done it myself yet! But....

Well.

Soon.

Before I took my leave from Kass’ rock I wanted to check if there were anything Magnesable in the surrounding waters. I took out a Bomb instead on accident.

“Wah!” Kass jolted with a start! XD

I put the Bomb away, switched to the appropriate Slate function, and swept the area.... but could see nothing. Well.... no worries.

I paraglided back toward the shore, coming up short and splashing down almost on top of that pesky Lizalfos I’d run into before. And this time, I killed the beast—in the water! In its own element! Excellent.

For old time’s sake I hiked up to Hateno by the grassy seaside switchbacks. I even considered the house. But once again I left it alone. I didn’t have the money for it at the moment anyway.

I’d picked up an awful lot of Luminous Stone in my travels thus far. Breaking from the Korok hunt for a spell, I warped to Cotera to see about my clothes. I had her do up my Radiant Suit, but.... not the Climbing Pants yet. I still wanted to show Siara all the funny animations, especially that fourth one. Later.

As long as I was in the neighborhood I paraglided across Kakariko Village and headed out the back door to the Sahasra Slope—and had the easiest time I’d ever had killing all three Guardians out there—and got a core for my trouble!

Life was just a bowl of cherries today! ^_^

From thence.... it was just a big crawl around the Dueling Peaks and all the western foothills and surrounding regions looking for more Koroks. It was, once again, pretty fruitful! Though the Silver Bokoblins down in that silty monster-nest did give me a bit of trouble. I thought I should see Hestu again soon.... maybe....

But before I did, I decided to warp over to Gerudo Town and check on Pokki.

She was in the canteen.

“I ask you, Furosa, is there anything better than a taste of Noble Pursuit?” she asked as she leaned against the bar.

“You were at death’s door and you ran all the way here for that! Good grief... You’re in incredible shape,” said Furosa in response, “Does that mean you don’t plan to investigate that shrine anymore?”

“Definitely. I never dreamed that kind of work would be so dull...”

Dull. Hah....

“I’m not surprised you found it dull,” said Furosa, “That sort of thing isn’t really “you”.”

“Yeah, you know what really is “me”? Drinking.”

HAH! XD That made me laugh! It was.... a little bit refreshing to have conversation so uncoddled from the NPCs!

While I was there, I went to see what those three gossips—Heh, Three Gossips—in the other room had to say. They spoke of one Perda, who had gone to find the Lover’s Pond.

Hmmmm....

Maybe I would make it an adventure for another day.

But for now....

It was time to head to Korok Woods. And Hestu. I’d accumulated an awful lot of Korok Seeds since I’d last seen him. I wanted to see what he might be able to do for me.

“Shaka-kala!” he exclaimed as always. With music notes flanking his speech.

“Weapon please,” I asked. And he obliged.

And when he had finished, “Dah-na-na-na-naaaaaaaa!” OH YEAH HE SANG THE SONG! With more music notes flanking! XD I’d forgotten!

Ah! Delightful times. ^_^

Well I’d had 99 Korok Seeds on me, and that expansion had cost me 45. And I asked, and the next weapon expansion would cost 55. And I only had 54 left.

Rats! Heh.... Guess I cut my Korok hunt only just a little too short....

Did I want to get another shield slot in the meanwhile? I could afford it. But.... only one more Korok Seed and I could get the weapon; it’d be a shame to let the opportunity go to waste.... Besides, in normal play I felt the need for expansion more in my weapons inventory than in my shields.... Still, maybe if I expanded my shield inventory some more, well, maybe it would run out of upgrading room, like my bows had. Why not....?

Nah. Not right now. I decided to wait.

It’d been a great hunt, but.... I was done for now.

I went to Pepp’s, and slept.

Good night.

Patience

Evening of Sunday, June 10, 2018 ~ 2

Patience

I’ve been.... known to be a nice sister sometimes....

I would wait for David before entering the Yiga Nest.

In the meantime.... I erranded.

Off to Dueling Peaks to ask Hino about the moon.... No Blood Moon this time.

Away to Hateno to swoop down on Teli once more.... No cores this time either.

Then a warp to the Divine Beast Vah Ruta to start another float down the lazy river, fishing for more Hearty Bass. As well as venturing inland to clear out some of my obsolete stamps. More than a few Lizalfos misadventures there—I’d forgotten what fun Shock Arrows can be.... @_@

I ended up in the wetlands before I thought to go back to Zora’s Domain to see if anybody were simply selling Hearty Bass.

They weren’t that I could discover.

But my sensor did lead me to find some more of the fishies out back, shooting up the waterfalls into Upland Zorana, until finally, finally.... I had ten of them.

Another warp over to Cotera—the fairies had respawned—how long do they take?? I caught three of them, but failed to notice a fourth before accidentally scaring it away.... Rats!

The Great Fairy was able to upgrade one of the remaining two pieces of Zora Armor. But I found that I had been so focused on collecting Hearty Bass.... that I had completely neglected to watch my supply of Lizalfos Tails! I was SHORT! D8

I don’t know! I had just always assumed I would have enough! You know, like Bokoblin horns, I thought they’d never run out! I’d certainly killed enough of them....

Evidently not.

Well.... I knew where I could find them at least.

I warped back to the wetlands and got busy hunting.

[Masks.... are so handy.]

But the reptilian devils were stingy; I wasn’t able to collect very many tails.

But as long as I was there.... when I could find no more Lizalfos to fight, I turned to the loose Guardian Stalker that had so terrified me before, as I had skirted round it high on the naked cliffs....

I killed it.

And—oh delight of delights—it dropped a CORE for me.

Excellent.

As the days continued to turn, I bounced again between Hino for moon details, and Teli to check for cores. But I had no luck with either of them....

Until David came home.

But by then it was so late, and I knew I would have to wake up so early, that....

I wasn’t sure if I was even up to tackling the Yiga Nest anymore.

Which was a little dispiriting. For both of us. But.... I was trying to be as sensible as I could be, with whatever sense I had leftover.

In the end, out of juice, I flipped to my map and piddled around aimlessly looking at various locations....

“You know,” said David, “I think you spend most of your time in this game just looking at your map, groaning about places you can’t visit.”

KhAUgh! .... My heart! X⩄X

He was exactly right. I was hungry to play more and yet fearful of getting too far ahead of the log.... looking at all the places I could visit but didn’t want to let myself get to.... And I didn’t want to cheat myself of too much sleep besides.

A laughing groan was my touché back to him, and we grimly grinned in my plight.... fed up....

But I wanted to finish up with something.... And on my map I spied a very large Korok spiral on a butte southeast of Spectacle Rock.

Spectacle Rock....

I may not have played every Zelda game.... but there were some names I knew to hold in reverence.

Spectacle Rock was a huge, wide, flat-topped mesa just east-southeast of the Wasteland Tower. Or perhaps.... did it include the natural arch that connected to the tower’s butte?

Did it include both mountaintops?

I don’t know.

I warped to the Wasteland Tower, and paraglided as far as I could toward my destination, but was brought to my feet halfway across the natural arch.

I had never been to Spectacle Rock before. The vast openness of its upper reaches—its upper reach, for how could a plane so singular be anything but whole?—was unsettling.

It should have been the home of Taluses. I felt sure that once I crossed the midway point, some gargantuan monster of stone would erupt out of the ground at my trespassing to have a stern word with me.

Or perhaps in the center—those tiny little knobs there—surely between those would be a Korok hiding under a rock.

But there was nothing.

Just nothing.

There was a wolf. And a blue butterfly.

And nothing.

The afternoon was sinking; I wanted to be off that rock.

I steered according to my HUD and did not stop when I came to the edge but leapt off at once, heading for the Korok spiral’s butte.

I landed on the wall somewhat below the mark, but the scramble to the top was easy enough.

There were two spare rocks here. And a long way down on all sides, and so I knew I’d best not waste them....

I couldn’t quite tell where to put the extra rocks until I actually counted how many there already were in each arm of the spiral.

Two of them were shorter than the others.

Well, a little heavy lifting fixed that!

And out came the Korok and gave me a seed.

And that.... that was enough for the night.

I warped back to the Gerudo Canyon Stable.... and a good night’s sleep.

Gone Fishin'

Waking of Sunday, November 26, 2017 ~ 3

Gone Fishin’

I turned my attention to something that wouldn’t require a horse. Or rather something to which a horse would be most ill-suited, I suppose....

I recalled the time when Finley had sent me down the river with her love letter to Sasan—I had happily collected a lot of fish that day, and by doing no more than drifting with the current and floating right into them.

My Sheikah sensor was still tuned to detect the Hearty Bass I would need to upgrade my Zora Armor.

It was time for another ride down the lazy river.

I warped to Zora’s Domain, put on my Zora Suit and Lizalfos mask, and started floating down the river to pick up fishies. The pickings were rather slim however until I came to the Bank of Wishes. But the fishies weren’t the only things that showed up—the Lizalfos population increased dramatically as well. I remembered.

But my new mask made the passage much, much easier. Albeit a little alarming at times. As night fell I ventured onto the shore to catch my breath and regain my stamina again, when the single Lizalfos that had started eyeballing me was joined by three Stalizalfos bursting up out of the ground nearby!

In a trice and two steps they all stood in a tight semicircle before me with their noses inches from my own, creaking and chirruping their interest as they all looked at me. O.O

I excused myself back into the river. ^_^;;

And I did catch a few Hearty Bass along the way! The sensor was a big help—it can get so difficult to see the fish beneath the water’s surface, especially at night. Let alone tell what breed they are.

I scoured the wetlands below for the Bass as well. I had to switch between my Lizalfos mask and my Bokoblin mask quite a bit, but I’d say I did pretty good! If only those guys would have just kept out of the way....

They like to make small talk I guess.

After a time, my sensor could locate no more fish. And so with nine Hearty Bass in my pockets I warped back to Kakariko. I wasn’t sure exactly how many fish I needed, but nine seemed like a good hefty number to start with.

I checked with Cotera—it took five fish per piece for the Zora set, as it turned out.

What does she use from all these fish anyway?

I upgraded what I could anyway, as it started to rain.... again.

Thanks, Cotera.

I peered through the gloom.

Satori Mountain was still not lit up.

It was just such a rainy, rainy time these days. -_-

I wandered eastward; I thought I remembered hearing a shrine over there that I couldn’t find, somewhere along the Hateno road, long, long ago.

On the way I scaled one of the magnificent peaks surrounding Kakariko Village (there was a Korok on top) and took a moment to look around through the thinning drizzle.

Satori was alight now?

It glowed tealy green. Right before my eyes.

But it was 7:50 in the morning!

I kept looking.

The light did not dim as the time passed eight.

I thought it only lit up at night....

Decisions, decisions.... Shrine? Or Satori?

....

Satori.

The Shrine wouldn’t go anywhere.

Heavenly Apex . . . Rock Bottom

Waking of Tuesday, May 2, 2017 ~ 3

Heavenly Apex . . . Rock Bottom

Ah, Sheem Dagoze’s was a fun little shrine....

The cliffs certainly were tall here. I ran along the high ledge on the north side—the non-Satori-Mountain side—and headed west. Straaange looking things crossed my periphery, but.... I didn’t stop to investigate. Oddly-shaped trees like gigantic mushrooms, a yammering conglomeration of blue moblins—what in the world were they all so riled up about? I would explore this area more thoroughly another time.

As the river bent toward the south, I eventually ran out of footing and had to paraglide closer to the water’s surface—a big piece of land jutted up like a plateau inside the canyon down there.... But as I jogged across it another stalmoblin popped up to say hello.

I didn’t have time for it, but ran straight to the plateau’s westernmost tip; the stalmoblin left off back by some trees....

I could see the next best place to go if I wanted to maintain this agile altitude—across the river on Mount Satori was another ledge—with.... baobab trees on it?

How interesting.

However, the rain had returned, and with the little plateau’s height, I wasn’t positive I’d be able to make that ledge.... There was a large possibility I’d touch down on the face of the cliff beneath, and I didn’t want to get caught in the rain there and slip.

So I just had to wait it out.

And as I waited, there was little else for me to do but look around: a ruddy, tiered sort of mountain range stood before me, west of the river.

I looked up. Some of its higher bluffs were dusted with snow.

I looked up further.

“WHAT THE—”

Gleaming electric yellow against the night sky, undulating like a jellyfish, long, gargantuan, twining like an enormous snake, four forelegs, two hind, floating on the snowy, cloudy air, passing in such serene slowness for its sheer size—

It was a DRAGON.

I had found David’s Dragon.

I snapped a pictograph, and my Compendium informed me its name was Farosh—a spirit of lightning in the form of a great dragon. Although it meant no ill toward men, it was still very dangerous to approach.

Well—

I—

....

Wow.

My Compendium also mentioned something about the Spring of Courage.

Was the Spring of Courage on top of that tiered mountain range?

Zelda had mentioned a Spring of Courage....

Eventually the rain let up, and I paraglided over to the low riverside cliff on Mount Satori—I’d been wise to wait; I didn’t make the top of the ledge, but had to scramble up from the sheer rock face.

The baobab trees were big and bewildering! I ran through them, following the cliff’s edge until—it disappeared? Suddenly I was running through the bottom of a valley bordered by both Mount Satori and the tiered red mountain range. What just happened?

I turned around and had a careful look into the gorge.

The river seemed to stop.

No, surely this had to be just a land bridge. The river just passed underground for a while—

I floated down—well, fell in, really, after trying to get a better view.

The river really did just stop in a dead end.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?”

Where the heck was the LAKE?

Rivers didn’t just run out—I had known this ever since Ben had explained it to me way back when I’d shown him my very first fantasy map. I hated having been wrong about something and it was irritating to think of redrawing my map, but at least I then knew some proper geology. DEAD END RIVERS....

“Shut up its Hyrule,” my own ironic voice sounded in my head.

Rivers don’t run out....

I puttered around the bottom for a while—the wind was unnaturally strong, blowing everything in toward this dead end; it was a little creepy. The Korok I found was small consolation for my long journey to nowhere.

Hhhhh.

There was nothing else for it except to start swimming back.

I changed into my Zora Armor; it’d be slow going against the current.

TWO HEROIC MEN TOO AWESOME FOR WORDS

Waking of Saturday, March 18, 2017 ~ 9

TWO HEROIC MEN TOO AWESOME FOR WORDS

I stood a while with Sidon on the dock before we spoke. When we did he turned and flashed his winning grin at me—a bit more subdued this time.

I don’t suppose waiting would have made it any easier. But then.... somehow, with Sidon there, in all his mad grinning confidence, his unwavering surety.... maybe it didn’t seem like such a hard thing after all.

He leapt into the water, flipping like he does, and called me in. I would ride on his back. He would get me close, and with my Zora Armor I would be able to ascend the four waterfalls spilling from Vah Ruta’s back, to land my Shock Arrows on the orbs above.

And away we went, slicing through the water at incredible speed! Prince Sidon’s dulcet tenor spurring us onward, steady as a rock—that guy could move. And when Vah Ruta reacted to our presence—I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t that!

How it trumpeted, crying out so loudly—pulling huge blocks of ice from the water, hovering them up as if by magic, and hurling them at us one after the other.

“Get rid of that ice!” the Prince shouted to me. Two of the bergs struck us, and it hurt—Sidon punched through—before I got my fumbling bow into my hands, whereupon I started dropping them out of the air one by one as Sidon flew through the water in a wide curve, arcing round the beast. Spray flew, rain slashed at our faces, and when Vah Ruta’s opening volley had run dry, Sidon darted in toward its side—“Do you have those Shock Arrows?” he called.

Man. His voice so fair and princely even here.

I readied them in my quiver. Sidon came right up against the raging beast’s side, maintaining a swift movement—no static targets here—as he bounded back and forth between two of the waterfalls. “Now, Link!”

I took the fall on the right side, I leapt from his back, spearing upward, upward, leaping in and out of the current like a fish, testament to the handiwork of Lady Mipha—until I broke through the upper surface and shot into the air—high above my target. I drew my bow, looked down, and time seemed to slow.... There was the orb, huge and pink, I drew, pulled back, let fly.... everything crackled and yellow and then I was falling....

I plashed back into the water with jarring violence, back in the tempest, back in the storm, back up to speed—“Nice going!”—there he was—and I grabbed onto the Prince’s back again and he hauled us outta there—Vah Ruta had collected more ice to try and crush us with—grateful I was carrying so many arrows.... though my bows couldn’t take all the firing.... grateful I was packing more than one bow....

Again and again, THAT VOICE.

WHO VOICED THIS GUY?

“Can you stop that ice?”

“Get those Shock Arrows!”

“You did it, Link!”

“Shock Arrows ready?”

And as I plummeted from the final orb—“Marvelous!”

AND YOU KNOW? It’s possible it’s not even a stupendous actor and he’s just lucky to be riding on the writing and animation of a character who already bleeds charisma! But I just like him!

Just channeling through the water like a mad torpedo on the back of the Prince of the Zoras, diving up waterfalls and sailing into the sky for freefalling archery with that friggin’ dulcet tenor still playing the cheer squad and EAUGH!

Do you know how hard I pumped my fists, how high I pranced and skipped as I went to close the curtains because it was getting dark, how convicted my affirmations to the house at large that “THAT WAS SO COOL”?

GAUGH.

Yes, I think the voice acting did add something, thickened the atmosphere of the charged, charged moment.

And as the Divine Beast Vah Ruta quieted, as the waterflow cut off and the sky became brighter.... Sidon took us in close—there was a platform....

“You wanted to get inside that thing, right?”

I did want to get inside it.

I still had to infiltrate its depths, and retake it for Princess Zelda.

“Finish the job, Link,” Sidon urged, low and even from the water below as the Beast began to float higher and I was lifted away, higher and higher....

DEEPLY MOVED

Waking of Saturday, March 18, 2017 ~ 4

DEEPLY MOVED

When I traveled back to Zora’s Domain, I exited the shrine’s grotto, and came upon Gruve looking over a waterfall that spilled into the lowest lake at the base of the Domain.

He was impressed with my new Zora Armor, and told me to show him what I could do with it: dive down—with my most beautiful diving form!—and then swim back up the waterfall.

I peered over the edge. I’d combed the bottom of the Domain and scooped up plenty of fallen treasures down there, and I knew there were also plenty of rocks.

But I took a leap of faith, arced right over and speared into the water like an arrow.

Gruve was moved to tears by my graceful execution, and called me to swim back up the waterfall.

Well, King Dorephan had said I’d be able to do that with the Zora Armor.... now was as good a time as any to try it. I swam to where the roaring column of water pounded into the lake below in a swirling, churning froth.... and pressed A.

I shot up the inside of the funnel like a salmon!—leaping out at whiles like a dolphin!—until I shot out the top of the fall, high into the air, high above Gruve, and at the very height of my freefall clung onto my glider to hover slowly back down to the platform.

Gruve just could not get over the stunning display of my hydrodynamic form.

He gave me some seeds I can cook with that will make me run—and swim—faster.

Mystical Shishkabob

Waking of Saturday, March 18, 2017 ~ 3

Mystical Shishkabob

I sometimes wonder what people must think when I use the Sheikah Slate to Travel. Disappearing in a ribbony blue glow right before their eyes.... I hope poor Muzu didn’t have a heart attack.

I came down at the shrine above Kakariko and headed into Cotera’s forest. One of those little rabbit-spirits was running around—I’d heard that anyone with the skill to hit one with an arrow would find a nice surprise.... Oh but they’d seemed so cute and sweet, I thought, even as I nocked my arrow and took aim....

It squeaked when the arrow connected, and ran off through the grass. But at the spot where it had been hit, that spot of ground.... there were rupees! Thirty of them I think! One red and two blues, yes....

Well!

Perhaps I oughtn’t to be so shy of hunting them in the future!

It’s always pleasant to visit Cotera. Her woods are full of useful herbs and there are plenty of fairies to catch—though I didn’t see any this time.... Maybe they were all already in my pocket—if one of them heals me.... does it return home to Cotera’s spring? ....I’ll have to look....

She did her thing and used a few spare Lizalfos horns I had to enhance my new Zora Armor, upping its defense for me a bit.

It seemed a pretty special garment; I hoped Mipha wouldn’t mind the alteration to her handiwork. It was for the sake of keeping me better protected. I’m sure she would have understood.

Hundred-Year-Old Memory

Waking of Saturday, March 18, 2017 ~ 2

Hundred-Year-Old Memory

I donned my new Zora Armor, and went downstairs to find Sidon and Muzu by the statue of Lady Mipha.

The Prince seemed a little hot-headed about something, seemed to be holding something in.... and it was in the pattering rain, with narrowed eyes that he finally said it plain to Muzu’s face:

I, Link, was the one Lady Mipha had loved.

I reeled.

I didn’t move, but I reeled.

What? Me? How? But—

“I didn’t know it at the time of course, being only a child,” the Prince went on, “But for years after her death I had always heard the tales from my father about my sister’s undying love for a Hylian named Link—”

“Until you can show me one shred of proof—!” Muzu contended.

I felt.... so guilty then as I looked up into her face in the statue.... staring, staring.... I gasped—

A sunny time in the Reservoir when Vah Ruta was quiet, and Mipha and I sat atop the very tip of its trunk raised high in the air—so tiny on its bronzy, gargantuan form....

Just talk. Just talk as she moved her hand over my arm, the pulsing blue-white glow from her palm swaying gently over the deep gashes in my flesh.

And she was reminded of when I was just a reckless child, and she was always willing to heal my wounds, and how I looked grown-up so fast....

And maybe if Calamity Ganon did come back, and we could seal him away.... maybe things could go back to the way they used to, she said, and maybe.... maybe we could spend some time together—

“You’re shivering like a hatchling, what’s wrong with you?” Muzu spat.

“Mipha.... I remember,” I said.

“Oh don’t tell me you remember her now, when it’s most convenient.”

“Don’t you get it yet, Muzu?” the Prince interjected. “The proof is right in front of you. Look at him.”

It slowly dawned on both Muzu and myself that.... the Zora Armor crafted by Lady Mipha.... fitted my body perfectly.

My human body.

She had made it for me.

Muzu quieted.

If this was really the one Lady Mipha had loved....

He told me there was a great monster, on Ploymus Mountain—a Lynel.

Oh dear.

Prince Sidon gasped. “It’s a man-beast!” he shouted.

Muzu told me it had the Shock Arrows. They could be found high on Ploymus Mountain. I could collect them there. They were scattered all over.

But, he confided to me there was a chance I might not survive.

But I had to help the Prince. And retake the Divine Beast as last instructed by Princess Zelda through Impa.

And.... for Mipha’s sake.... I had to do something.

Sidon flashed his winning grin and called me to the plan—he would head for the Eastern Reservoir, where Vah Ruta was, and I could use the Zora Armor to take the shortcut up Mikau and Lulu Lakes to the high meadows of Ploymus Mountain—and after I got the Shock Arrows—at least twenty of them, Muzu suggested—we could meet up at the piers on top of the Eastern Reservoir.

Right now? I thought. I felt like I’d just lived a hundred years.

I had lived a hundred years.

And by the way who was he to address me as Young One when we first met when I may very well have been his same age or even older—

That grin.

He’s a good leader, Sidon is.

“I’m in. Let’s do this!” I chose the bold response.

I just needed to take a couple of detours first....

Lord of the Zoras

Waking of Saturday, March 18, 2017

Lord of the Zoras

Well, it was time to follow Sidon, and go and speak with the Zora King.

I found him in the high throne room.

He was massive. Royal blue body and back, pale moon-white front and face, and a bulging lobe like a beluga’s with a lighter-colored slash across the front—the mark of his battle with the Guardian. Jeweled silver armor and regalia spilled over his great, pleated barrel chest, and his trailing head-fin—longer than many trees I had ever seen—had been pushed to hang down his left side. Towering, towering above me, he sat proud and tall between his son Prince Sidon on his left, and a bent old green-skinned, ray-headed Zora on his right.

He recognized me too. And he said so.

But Prince Sidon had not. “That Link?” he said, “THE Link?” He had thought my name sounded familiar, I remembered he had said before.

That the Hylian Prince Sidon had found to aid them would turn out to be no less than the Champion Link.... King Dorephan concluded that our meeting, then, must have been nothing short of destiny.

But I told him that I had lost my memory. He seemed aghast that I could not even remember his daughter, Lady Mipha. Shocked.... but not unsteadied.

All the Zora elders seemed to hate me because I had taken away their Lady Mipha—and here was Lady Mipha’s father. Perhaps the one with the most reason of all to despise me. And yet he showed no trace, gave no sign.... I had.... a great admiration for the civilized tone he still used with me.

He seemed a goodly king; had his head on straight—he was trying to think of all the people of Hyrule. Vah Ruta had the ability to create an endless supply of water, and if it wasn’t stopped soon, not only would the resulting floods wreak havoc among the Zoran kingdom, water-breathers though they were, but it would also affect countless Hylian lives in the lands downstream. Already the effects were showing—I had even seen Ledo, and an apprentice of his named Fronk, trying to work repairs on a number of support pillars that had become damaged in the downpour.

Vah Ruta needed to be dealt with, very soon, and the truth, King Dorephan conceded, doing me the courtesy of being bluntly honest, was that the Zoras could not handle the Divine Beast alone.

The four orbs upon its back, which controlled the waterflow, were offline and out of control, and they needed an electrical current running through them to stem the flow of water.

This was what I was here for.

Because my body was more insulated against the Shock Arrows they would need to stabilize the orbs.

They asked for my aid.

Well, I had good news for them: Princess Zelda had tasked me with nearly the same goal.

King Dorephan—the unbelievable bulk of him—shot forward in his throne. “Princess Zelda is alive?” he asked.

“Yes, in Hyrule Castle,” I said.

He concluded once more that our meeting must have been fated. If there was a chance to retake Vah Ruta, there was also a chance to seal away Calamity Ganon for good....

He would give me all the help I needed—and he gifted me a set of beautiful Zora Armor, which has been crafted by Zoran Princesses for generations.

At this point the ray-headed Zora, Muzu, had had enough. Hylians, he argued, were the reason the world was in the state it was in in the first place, ever since they had sought out and abused the ancient technology of the Sheikah one hundred years ago.

To give one of them a Zoran Princess’ armor—armor that was traditionally supposed to be crafted for the one the Zora Princess would marry....

And Lady Mipha had crafted that armor herself! How could King Dorephan just hand it over to the very one who led Lady Mipha to her death?

Prince Sidon rebuked him, telling him to watch the way he spoke to the King and his guest, and reminding him that working together with the Hylians was their best chance of stopping Vah Ruta.

But Muzu wouldn’t have it, and he left the throne room.

Prince Sidon followed him.

The King asked me to follow as well, to try and talk to him.... because Muzu was the resident expert on just where and how Shock Arrows could be found.